Brandon

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Obama's Broken Promises on Tax Increases in ObamaCare

A good reminder of all the lies that were told to sell this terrible plan and the lies that are still being told!



OBAMA: "Absolutely NOT a tax increase!

Voters who pay scant attention to these issues need to be put on warning before November. If they don't vote to REPLACE OBAMA and REPEAL OBAMACARE by voting for Romney and Republicans for the House and Senate it will be too late for them to avoid the coming tax increase!

Another of Obama's Poster Child Green Energy Firms Go Bankrupt

Pink slips instead of the 1500 jobs promised!

Abound Solar is filing for bankruptcy. Obama touted the firm as #17 on his list of 100 Recovery Projects That Are Changing America. Abound follows Solyndra and a growing list of other green energy firms that took  billions in federal loans and later went bankrupt.

Here's Obama in a July 2010 Weekly Address talking about how the promises for green jobs that are now dashed:

Obama: Abound Solar  will “create more than
2,000 construction  jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.” NOT!

Meanwhile, their is a potential for explosive job and economic growth in hydrocarbon based fuels and Obama is doing everything he can to block it.

From the way Obama keeps shoveling taxpayer funds down the green energy rat hole you would almost think that he is trying to give payoffs to his green energy friends. Nah! Would he do that?

Thursday, June 28, 2012

House Votes CONTEMPT for Attorney General Holder

And where is the Attorney General while all this is taking place? Disneyworld!

The vote holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing a lawful subpoena by the House Oversight Committee for documents in the Fast and Furious scandal was held Thursday afternoon. The vote was 255-67 with 17 House Democrats joining all but two Republicans in approving the measure.

Background documents for the resolution are here.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General is visiting Disneyworld. I'd suggest he stay there but they already have a Goofy!

Supreme Court Upholds Obama's HUGE Tax Increase on the Middle Class

It's not just a broken campaign promise. It's a deliberate deception which saps freedom and will not improve health care!

The Supreme Court ruled today that the individual mandate in ObamaCare is in fact a tax and therefore within the power of congress to enact. This despite that President Obama insisted that the individual mandate which requires everyone to buy health insurance was "absolutely" not a tax increase. Obama's Solicitor General argued before the court that the mandate was a tax. The ruling today means that Obama violated his "firm pledge" not to raise "any of your taxes." Obama also made a mockery of his campaign pledge that health care should "never be purchased with tax increases on middle class families." Today's ruling means middle class workers who do not currently have health insurance will pay thousands in new taxes.

Apparently the deceptive argument  presented to the Court was fine with Chief Justice Roberts who  joined the four liberal Justices and upheld the constitutionality of ObamaCare. In his decision Robert's writes:  “Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness.”

But the issues at stake here are much greater than just a new tax. The twisted decision by the majority of the Court left the dissenting four Justices: Kennedy, Alito, Scalia and Thomas deeply troubled. All four found the entire law unconstitutional. From their written dissent [PDF]:
The Court’s disposition, invented and atextual as it is,does not even have the merit of avoiding constitutionaldifficulties. It creates them. The holding that the IndividualMandate is a tax raises a difficult constitutional question (what is a direct tax?) that the Court resolves with inadequate deliberation. And the judgment on the Medicaid Expansion issue ushers in new federalism concerns and places an unaccustomed strain upon the Union. Those States that decline the Medicaid Expansion must subsidize, by the federal tax dollars taken from their citizens, vast grants to the States that accept the MedicaidExpansion. If that destabilizing political dynamic, soantagonistic to a harmonious Union, is to be introduced atall, it should be by Congress, not by the Judiciary.

The values that should have determined our course today are caution, minimalism, and the understanding thatthe Federal Government is one of limited powers. But the Court’s ruling undermines those values at every turn. In the name of restraint, it overreaches. In the name of constitutional avoidance, it creates new constitutional questions. In the name of cooperative federalism, it undermines
state sovereignty.

The Constitution, though it dates from the founding ofthe Republic, has powerful meaning and vital relevanceto our own times. The constitutional protections that this case involves are protections of structure. Structural protections—notably, the restraints imposed by federalism and separation of powers—are less romantic and have less obvious a connection to personal freedom than the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Civil War Amendments. Hence they tend to be undervalued or even forgotten by our citizens. It should be the responsibility of the Court toteach otherwise, to remind our people that the Framers considered structural protections of freedom the most im- portant ones, for which reason they alone were embod-ied in the original Constitution and not left to lateramendment. The fragmentation of power produced by thestructure of our Government is central to liberty, and when we destroy it, we place liberty at peril. Today’sdecision should have vindicated, should have taught, thistruth; instead, our judgment today has disregarded it.

For the reasons here stated, we would find the Act invalid
in its entirety.
We respectfully dissent.

Classless Response from DNC

President Obama loves to wag his finger and lecture Republicans on civility. But once again, people on his side are apparently exempt from that standard. Two Tweets from officials at the Democrat National Committee revealed the crass mindset of the people working to re-elect Obama:
Greg Greene, DNC’s new media director  chimed in with "TAKE THAT MOTHER******S!!"

Patrick Gaspard, Executive Director DNC "it's constitutional. Bitches."
Funny how even when Democrats win they still find a way to be crude and vile!

Senate GOP Leader McConnell Sums Up Case Against ObamaCare

In a speech on the Senate Floor in the wake of the decison the Senate GOP Leader said:
“Two and a half years ago, a Democrat president teamed up with a Democrat-led Congress to force a piece of legislation on the American people that they never asked for, and that has turned out to be just as disastrous as many of us predicted.

“Amid economic recession, a spiraling federal debt, and accelerating increases in government health spending, they proposed a bill that has made these problems worse.

“Americans were promised lower health care costs. They’re going up.

“Americans were promised lower premiums. They’re going up.

“Most Americans were promised their taxes wouldn’t change. They’re going up.

“Seniors were promised Medicare would be protected. It was raided to pay for a new entitlement instead.

“Americans were promised it would create jobs. The CBO predicts it will lead to nearly 1 million fewer jobs.

“Americans were promised they could keep their plan if they liked it, yet millions have learned they can’t.

“And the President of the United States himself promised up and down that this bill was not a tax.

“This was one of the Democrats’ top selling points — because they knew it would have never passed if they said it was. The Supreme Court has spoken. This law is a tax.

“This bill was sold to the American people on a deception. But it’s not just that the promises about this law weren’t kept. It’s that it’s made the problems it was meant to solve even worse.

“The supposed cure has proved to be worse than the disease.

“So it’s not just that the promises about this law weren’t kept. It’s that it has made the problems it was meant to solve even worse.

“The supposed cure has proved to be worse than the disease.

“So the pundits will talk a lot today about what they think today’s ruling means and what it doesn’t mean. But I can assure you this: Republicans won’t let up whatsoever in our determination to repeal this terrible law and replace it with the kind of reforms that will truly address the problems it was meant to solve.
Romney Responds: Replace Obama and Repeal ObamaCare!

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney didn't waste any time in defining the decision as the central issue in the fall campaign:
[T]his is now a time for the American people to make a choice. You can choose whether you want to have a larger and larger government, more and more intrusive in your life, separating you and your doctor, whether you're comfortable with more deficits, higher debt that we pass on to the coming generations, whether you're willing to have the government put in place a plan that potentially causes you to lose the insurance that you like, or whether instead you want to return to a time when the American people will have their own choice in health care, where consumers will be able to make their choices as to what kind of health insurance they want.

This is a time of choice for the American people. Our mission is clear: If we want to get rid of Obamacare, we're going to have replace President Obama. My mission is to make sure we do exactly that: that we return to the American people the privilege they've always had to live their lives in the way they feel most appropriate, where we don't pass on to coming generations massive deficits and debt, where we don't have a setting where jobs are lost.
House GOP to vote for Repeal on July 11

As a demonstration of their resolve, the House GOP has scheduled a vote to repeal Obamacare. The recorded vote will put Democrats on record once again as the election approaches.

Replace Obama! Repeal ObamaCare!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Obama's Broken Promises and Failed Economic Policy Means 2008 Campaign Donors Keeping Their Money in 2012

The ultimate irony is that many Obama donors were better off during the Bush years and can't afford to give now!

Want to know why Obama is so desperate to raise campaign cash that he wants you to turn over your birthday or wedding/anniversary gifts to him? His campaign is burning through Obama's cash stash spending more than it raised in May (the same month Romney outraised him).

But the really bad news for Obama is that the people who donated most in 2008 are not stepping up again this time around. That goes for the really big donors, the so-called "bundlers" who raked in millions for Obama and are now enjoying the payoff of serving as ambassadors in foreign lands. Many are still at their posts overseas enjoying the perks but they're not forking over the dough.

Worse still are the hundreds of  thousands of average Joes out there who contributed more than $200 in 2008 but are either giving smaller amounts or not contributing at all. The story is an older one from Buzzfeed but cannot be ignored:
In 2008, more than 550,000 gave more than $200 to Barack Obama, entering their names in the longest list of individual donors ever seen in American politics.

That list was a snapshot of the hope Obama inspired in a cross sections of liberals, young professionals, African-Americans, and Democrats who saw in him a generational and historic moment. But now, as Obama struggles to keep pace with his 2008 fundraising clip, that list offers a cross-section of Democratic disappointment and alienation. According to a BuzzFeed analysis of campaign finance data, 88% of the people who gave $200 or more in 2008 — 537,806 people — have not yet given that sum this year. And this drop-off isn’t simply an artifact of timing. A full 87% of the people who gave $200 — the sum that triggers an itemized report to the Federal Elections Commission — through April of 2008, 182,078 people, had not contributed by the end of last month.
And it's not just money. Interviews with those who previously gave more than $200 show a huge lack of enthusiasm compared to 2008. It's not just Obama Girl who isn't enthused about re-electing Obama. And these are folks who not only will not be donating as generously, but will are also less likely to go door to door on Obama's behalf or make the phone calls or talk to their family and friends about the campaign.

Here are some snippets from the interviews:
  • “Where’s the change I can believe in?..“I wish he was the socialist they accused him of being.” asked Lisa Pike, a 55-year-old from Williamsburg, Va.
  • “Mostly, the thing is we want more,” said Kirsten Leitzinger of Rebersburg, Pa. “We were a little upset about healthcare. I really, really wanted that public option.”
  • “I’m looking around here for leadership, and it didn’t happen,” said Elizabeth Hollins of Williamsburg, Va.
  • Sandra McCauley, a retired family counselor from Jeffersonville, Ind. who gave $400 in 2008. “I’d like to see us out of Afghanistan.”
  • “I didn’t feel good that what I expected wasn’t done,” said Prashant Kothari, 65, an anesthesiologist from Tiffin, Ohio who gave $500 in 2008. “The promises during the campaign didn’t materialize.”
Obama Donors Better Off Under BUSH

Just as big an influence on many former givers is the bad economy:
“Financially, I had more money back then than I do today,” said Greg Holmes, who works in the technology sector in Cedar Park, Texas, and gave $550 last cycle. “I’ll vote for him, but I probably won’t give any money.”

“I don’t have as much money,” said Ann Walling, a retired Episcopal priest from Franklin, Tenn. who donated $1,900 to Obama in ‘08.
Other donors have decided to put their money into other races. One interviewee cited his donation to the effort to recall Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Bet he wishes he hadn't done that!

And it's not like Obama isn't trying to raise money. This week alone he's attending nine fundraisers in four states and that's only by Tuesday. Obama has held more fundraisers than all his predecessors since Nixon COMBINED. He has a massive online fundraising operation which four years ago generated unprecedented mountains of campaign cash. But even with the power of the White House behind him, Obama is not generating anything like the dough he needs to overcome the weakness of his record in office.

And since Mitt Romney won't be making the same mistake that John McCain did by staying within the federal spending limits that Obama had previously pledged to follow (broke that promise too) Obama is in danger of not being able to compete as effectively as he did in key states in 2008.

The saddest fact for Obama is that his campaign won't be able to deficit spend the way Obama's government has these past three and a half years!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Obama Wants You to Turn Over Your Birthday/Anniversary/Wedding Gifts to Fund His Campaign

It's bad enough he blew through $5 trillion in new debt. Now he wants your birthday money!

The news that Romney beat Obama in fundraising for May must have started a panic in the Obama campaign. Ben Shapiro at Breitbart's Big Government reports that the level of desperation at team Obama must be getting out of control. They have now set up what they call an "Obama Event Registry" where instead of you getting gifts for your wedding, anniversary, birthday, etc. you can ask friends and family to donate to the Obama campaign instead.

From the Obama campaign web site:
Got a special milestone or event coming up?

Instead of another gift card you’ll forget to use, ask your friends and family for something that will go a little further: a donation to Obama for America. Register your next celebration—whether it’s a birthday, bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, or anniversary—with the Obama campaign. It’s a great way to show your support for a cause that’s important to you on your big day.
Elsewhere on the site they declare that this griftathon is a "It’s a great way to support the President on your big day." Notice how even "on your big day" the Obama campaign thinks that your focus should be on Obama, not you? What else is new. Obama is the most narcissistic president in modern history!

PhotobucketWhat's next? No Christmas for Kiddies?

As the Obama campaign grows ever more desperate will they send out another appeal asking parent's to forgo buying Christmas gifts for their children? How do you tell little Billy or Susie that that new bike or video game isn't coming this year because Obama is more important?

I suppose that none of this should really surprise us. After all the demands from Obama that we pay more and more in taxes every year. In his mind it's only "fair" that all we have should go to him!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Documents Obama is Hiding in Fast and Furious Scandal

Interdepartmental memos do not merit Executive Privilege!

Yesterday the news broke that Obama elevated the Fast and Furious scandal by invoking Executive Privilege to shield the release of further documents. This lead many to wonder what are they hiding?

The big unanswered question in the Fast and Furious scandal is what happened between February 2011 when the Department of Justice denied it had let guns "walk" to Mexico resulting in the killing of U.S. Border Agent Brian Terry and scores of Mexican nationals and the admission in December 2011 that this in fact had happened and that earlier statements to Congress were misleading.

Here's the House Oversight Committee statement explaining the importance of these documents:
Why are the post February 4, 2011, documents critically important?

On February 4, 2011, the Department of Justice denied whistleblower allegations that guns in Operation Fast and Furious had been allowed to “walk” to Mexico and defended the Operation itself. Ten months later, on December 2, 2011, the Justice Department formally withdrew this denial and acknowledged that Fast and Furious was “fundamentally flawed.” In responding to Congress, however, the Justice Department has taken the position that it will not share its internal deliberations related to Operation Fast and Furious that occurred after it denied anything inappropriate occurred on February 4, 2011. This position effectively denies Congress and the American people information about:

o The Justice Department switching its view from denying whistleblower allegations to admitting they were true.

o Hiding the identity of officials who led the charge to call whistleblowers liars and retaliate against them.

o The reactions of top officials when confronted with evidence about gunwalking in Fast and Furious, including whether they were surprised or were already aware.

o The Justice Department’s assessment of responsibility for officials who knew about reckless conduct or were negligent.

o Whether senior officials and political appointees at fault in Operation Fast and Furious were held to the same standards as lower level career employees whom the Department has primarily blamed.

While officials at the Department of Justice had earlier claimed that divulging this information would have a “chilling effect” on future internal deliberations, they have more recently expressed a greater willingness to produce this material. Congress, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has never recognized internal agency discussions as privileged and protected.
WH Response: GOP Should Focus on Jobs.
Note to WH: 30 GOP Jobs Bills Stalled in Senate!


No surprise that White House Spokesman Jay Carney completely glossed over the fact that Executive Privilege does not apply to interdepartmental documents being sought. Instead, Carney attempted to shift the focus by saying that "Given the economic challenges facing the country, we believe that House Republicans" should help grow the economy instead of "political theater."

Speaking of political theater, last week we had Obama's 54 minute speech in Cleveland on the economy which was long on recycled rhetoric and absent any new ideas. At the time, House Speaker Boehner reminded us that the House has 30 jobs bills that have been blocked or stalled by Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Here's the video:

If the White House wants to continue to point to the Administration's failure to create jobs for the American people that's fine by me. If they want to continue to shield disclosure of documents that reveal why they changed their story on Fast and Furious Americans will want to know WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

C O V E R U P!

Why is Obama willing to invoke Executive Privilege to protect Attorney General Holder?

From an Administration that promised a new level of accountability and transparency the only thing transparent about the Fast and Furious scandal is that the Obama Administration has something to hide.

The last straw came Wednesday when Obama invoked Executive Privilege to withhold documents that a House investigating committee has been seeking for years to get answers in the Fast and Furious scandal that cost the life of American Border Agent Brian Terry and countless Mexican nationals.

The shifting stories, the retractions, the stonewalling all of it suggests that the scandal is much bigger than what we have already learned.

It's also abundantly clear that Attorney General Holder, whose Department oversaw the gun running program, has misled Congress. Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was forced to resign for far less.

Which raises the question about what exactly is Holder hiding? If this was just a matter of Holder's incompetence, or even possible criminality in lying to Congress isn't it likely that Obama would throw him under the bus quicker than his white grandmother? Is there information contained in these withheld documents that show direct links to the White House in the Fast and Furious operation?

In 2007 then Senator Obama suggested the Bush Administration was attempting to "hide behind Executive Privilege" and he went on to reassert the right of Congress to be informed [video]. The issue at that time was mainly political in nature. In the present case, lives were lost. Don't the American people have the same right to know that Obama defended in 2007? Or is he hiding something that would bring his presidency to a quick end in November?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Obama's "Reset" of Relations with Russia Makes Things WORSE!

Forget Putin's snub of Obama. The Russians are openly challenging the United States and threatening peace!

Years ago during the Cold War (which Reagan won despite Democrat objections)there specialists in Soviet Affairs called Kremlinologists. It was there job to examine every photo of Soviet leaders and look for hidden signals about any possible shift in Kremlin policy.

Today, you don't need to be a specialist in body language to see that things are not all smiles in the U.S. Russian relationship. Here's a photo from the G-20 meeting in Mexico on Monday showing Russian President Vladimir Putin with Obama.

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Few smiles for U.S. Russian relationship in G20 meeting between Putin and Obama
CBS News has a report describing how "The two men barely looked at each other. You could just feel, sort of, the tension between them." Putin apparently lectured Obama on his support for failed Arab Spring transitions.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Readers may recall that shortly after taking office in 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handed the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a large plastic button that said "reset" in English along with what the oh-so-smart Obama Administration thought was the Russian translation. When Hillary Clinton presented the button to Lavrov he informed her that they got the translation wrong. The word in Russian on Hillary's button said "overcharge." And that's the way it's been with the Russians ever since. The U.S. gives up way too much and gets nothing in return!

Obama bent over backward to appease the Russians in the hopes they would help us deal with Iran's development of nukes. We tossed Polish and Czech allies under the bus on  hard fought missile defense agreements and in return, the Russians helped Iran build a nuclear reactor.

To Syria the Russians are sending attack helicopters which the Assad government will use to kill thousands more of it's people. Russians are also sending naval vessels to Syria as a show of support. Complaints by the U.S. fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, the killing in Syria continues. Worse still, there is even a news report that Russia, China, Iran and Syria may be planning joint war games in the Middle East.

On top of all that Russian President Putin snubbed Obama and declined an invite to Camp David and the G-8 Summit in May.  .

Clearly the Russians have nothing but contempt for Obama who has proved once again that weakness and appeasement only invites aggression and makes cooperation more difficult if not impossible.

We're long overdue for a real "reset" with the Russians. And the best reset we can have  is President Romney. Let's return to a policy of peace through strength. It works!

Monday, June 18, 2012

A Feel Good Story

How a rescue cat changed the life of an autistic boy!

Four year old Fraser, who lives in Great Britain, developed autism early in life. Frustration in dealing with the condition often lead to temper tantrums and stress for his family.

But one day, Fraser's parents took Fraser to see Billy the cat. The Daily Mail tells the story:
‘The first time we took Fraser to see Billy, the cat went straight to him,’ Mrs Booth added. ‘Fraser sat down on the floor and Billy laid across him with his paws on his legs and just started purring. Fraser said “This is our cat, he can come live with us,” and that was that.’

‘Billy has made a complete difference to our family life, he’s taken away the stress, he’s added happiness and an air of calm, he’s just been amazing.
Billy follows Fraser around and seems to sense his moods and is always ready to step in with a purr and a cuddle if Fraser seems to be getting upset.

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The arrangement is a good one for Billy the cat. He was abandoned by his previous owners and living in a boarded up house when he was rescued.

The rest of the story with more photos is here.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

The Biggest Obama Scandal of All

The second to put American lives at risk.
And how it will all be swept under the rug.

First there was Fast and Furious where the Obama Department of Justice let Mexican drug cartels get their hands on assault weapons. American border agent and countless Mexicans were killed as a result. Attorney General Eric Holder is still stonewalling congressional investigations and may face a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives for Contempt of Congress.

Next there was Solyndra and numerous other green energy firms that went bankrupt after billions of federal tax dollars where pumped in. Thousands of jobs were lost along with the money yet Obama's campaign contributors who were financial backers of the projects made millions.

But each of these is dwarfed by Leakgate in which the most sensitive national security information, including vital knowledge of ongoing intelligence operations and personnel were systematically leaked to reporters in a way that appears to make Obama look like a tough guy.

Peggy Noonan summarizes the severity of the leaks. In short we have given up the secrets we use to protect ourselves and hunt down the bad guys. We have also revealed the methods and in some cases identities of secret agents operating in the field. One such agent as Dr. Afridi who helped us track down Osama bin Laden. He's now in jail. Another was a Saudi who gave us critical information on Al Queda plots in Yemen. His information helped stop plots that would have killed scores of Americans. He's now on the run.

The leaks also confirmed that the Israelis and the U.S. worked together at a secret U.S. facility (which the leakers named) to create a computer virus to infect Iranian nuclear sites to slow down their progress in building a bomb.

Just as troubling were the disclosures about weaknesses in Pakistani nuclear security. We might as well give Al Queda a roadmap on how to get material for a dirty bomb.

All the bad guys have to do is buy the book and read the paper to learn the most sensitive secrets effecting ongoing intelligence operations.

Sources of the leaks are key insiders in Obama's White House.

Democrat and Republican heads of Intelligence Committees in both the House and Senate were so outraged that they joined together and issued a joint statement:
"In recent weeks, we have become increasingly concerned at the continued leaks regarding sensitive intelligence programs and activities, including specific details of sources and methods. The accelerating pace of such disclosures, the sensitivity of the matters in question, and the harm caused to our national security interests is alarming and unacceptable.

"These disclosures have seriously interfered with ongoing intelligence programs and have put at jeopardy our intelligence capability to act in the future. Each disclosure puts American lives at risk, makes it more difficult to recruit assets, strains the trust of our partners, and threatens imminent and irreparable damage to our national security in the face of urgent and rapidly adapting threats worldwide.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee went further and described "an avalanche of leaks." Feinstein also released a separate statement:
“I am deeply disturbed by the continuing leaks of classified information to the media, most recently regarding alleged cyber efforts targeting Iran’s nuclear program.

Today I sent a classified letter to the president outlining my deep concerns about the release of this information. I made it clear that disclosures of this type endanger American lives and undermine America’s national security.

Administration Reaction: Deny and Delay

In a rare press appearance Obama claimed that any suggestion his White House was leaking for political gain was "offensive" and "wrong." So, if you've done nothing wrong why not have a full investigation by an independent prosecutor? The White House response to that suggestion? One word: "no!"

Instead Eric Holder, the most political Attorney General since Nixon's friend John Mitchell conspired to obstruct justice in the Watergate investigation appointed two Department attorneys. One of whom, Ronald Machen, is a long time Obama donor having written his first check to Obama for his 2004 Senate campaign. Does that sound like a guy who will be willing to dig deep at the Obama White House?

It's also important to note that when still members of the U.S. Senate both Obama and Biden repeatedly requested special prosecutors to investigate the Bush Administration. Now the shoe is on the other foot and so is their attitude towards impartial and independent investigations.

This is no Plame Game

Those who recall the media firestorm which broke when Bush White House officials were accused of revealing Valerie Plame as an employee of the CIA might be puzzled by the low key media reaction to this latest news. After all, Plame was no longer a covert agent and her life was never placed at risk. No one was ever prosecuted for revealing her name to the media. But the story went on for years kept alive by the news media which made sure it was front page news. Bush's top aide Karl Rove was all but convicted by a constant drumbeat of press stories.

In the Plame case, shortly after the initial story broke Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the investigation and appointed Patrick Fitzgerald as Special Counsel. Do you think we will see that same kind of impartiality in this case?

If the same standard of media outrage that was generated in the Plame case were applied here where actual lives and ongoing intelligence operations are being put at risk we would have wall to wall media coverage with the Obama White House and Attorney General Eric Holder besieged with press inquiries.

The issues here are so serious that they could conceivably be the cause of some future war or terrorist attack that was preventable if they disclosures had not taken place. Yet since this is the Obama Administration we can count on the news media to keep the story hushed up as much as possible. After all, to many in the media Obama's

Friday, June 15, 2012

Obama's Big Economic Speech: 54 minutes of word for word repetition and NO new ideas

Even Democrats in the media have had enough.

Contrast with 30 House GOP jobs bills waiting for action in the Senate!

So, Thursday was Obama's latest effort at a big speech on the economy. He was trying to get back on top of the news cycle after weeks of reacting to bad news. Considering that political need, why would he spend 54 minutes delivering a speech with so much rhetoric recycled from previous speeches?

Take a look:


By now it's no longer a joke that his teleprompter is broken.

Dana Milbank at Washington Post summed up Obama's speech this way: "instead of going to Ohio on Thursday with a compelling plan for the future, the president gave Americans a falsehood wrapped in a fallacy." Milbank expanded on this theme trashing Obama for his failure to come up with a real viable economic plan and concludes by saying:
Undoubtedly, Obama would take heat from his base if he put forth a serious plan along the lines of Bowles-Simpson, whose recommendations he never quite embraced. Doing so would also blunt his political advantage as the defender of Medicare from Republican marauders.

But taking a stand on concrete fixes for the nation’s fiscal problems would get Obama credit for strong leadership — and he would be able to tell the new economic narrative Americans crave. There’s even the remote chance that taking such a gamble would bring Republicans to the table.

Early in 2010, Obama told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that he’d “rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president.” Now he is acting in the opposite manner: hoping to limp to a second term without addressing the looming debt crisis — which, as JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon told Congress this week, has contributed to today’s economic malaise.

House Jobs Plans Wait for Dems to Act in Senate

Obama has repeatedly said he would listen to ideas from both sides of the aisle. He's also given Congress a "to do list" for action on jobs. Well, perhaps he could set a better example by asking the Senate to consider bills passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives.

The GOP has new ideas for job creating that are stalled in the Senate while Obama offers stale recycled rhetoric and political attacks! Where is YOUR plan Obama?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Obama's Favorability at New Global Low

I used to think that if he got booted out of the White House some foreign country might be foolish enough to take him. Apparently not!
From the latest Pew Global Attitudes Survey:

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Even more troubling for the long term is that under Obama more people overseas now view China as the world's economic superpower:
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How long will it be before the Nobel Prize Committee asks for the Peace Prize to be returned?

Obama is losing support at home and abroad. Thank goodness we can remedy the problem in a few months by sending him back to Chicago!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Debunking Dems Excuse for Losing in Wisconsin

They spent as much or more as GOP and still lost!

Rather than face up to the real lesson of the Wisconsin recall election that brought massive defeat for Democrats they are busy making excuses. They did the same thing in 2010 when they got what Obama called called a "shellacking." A month before the election stories began appearing claiming that the GOP had some unfair advantage in spending. Totally bogus of course but it kept Democrats from realizing what the real issues where which motivated voters.

Ditto in Wisconsin. The voters liked Scott Walker's reforms and were turned off by union thuggery and the doom and gloom scenario painted by Democrats. Whining about a money disadvantage in Wisconsin will not help Democrats as they prepare for November. Besides that it's a lie.

In the Governor's recall election Walker (R) did raise more direct money than Barrett. But the overall level of spending was nearly the same. Richard Baehr at American Thinker has the details which includes this chart from the MacIver Institute showing all the connections between liberal groups and the recall campaign:

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Full size image here.

Returning for a moment to 2010, the Wall Street Journal had the following chart and accompanying story showing all independent expenditures in 2010 midterm elections. Big Labor unions were three of the top five biggest campaign spenders in 2010.

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As an aside, we never heard Democrats complain about fairness when Obama broke his pledge to stay within the public financing of campaigns and outspent McCain by more than 3 to 1.
When Democrats complain that independent expenditures on behalf of Republicans is unfair, what they really mean is that they cannot compete and win on a level playing field. Unions have been able to use mandatory dues to support the Democrat party for decades and now that advantage has been nullified. Too bad for them!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

"Obama Girl" Not Excited for Obama and Not Endorsing

Hints in her interview that she may even vote for Romney?

A couple of days ago I alluded to the fact that Bill Clinton and other senior Dems seem to be having second thoughts about Obama. Like rats leaving a sinking ship they seem to sense that he's no longer up to the job and they don't want to associate themselves too closely with what is beginning to look like a losing campaign.

And now, one of the icons of hopey-changey fever is also withdrawing her support. Amber Lee Ettinger, aka "Obama Girl" became famous for her 2008 video "Crush on Obama" seen below:



Amber Lee's crush along with all the empty promises of hopenchange has evaporated. From the Daily Caller interview:
Amber Lee Ettinger, widely known as “Obama Girl” during the 2008 presidential campaign, told The Daily Caller she is “not as excited as I was the last time, that’s for sure.”
...
This time, however, Ettinger won’t say if she still supports Obama. “At this point I’m keeping that to myself,” she told TheDC. “If I’m not making videos, I’m not sure it’s anyone’s business who I’m voting for this time around.”

“I think in the next few months it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens,” Ettinger said. ”I’d like to get out there and see what the young voters think about both candidates… I might need to break out my flip cam and take a road trip.”
I doubt that Amber Lee's lack of enthusiasm will dissuade voters for Obama but the problem is that her feelings are likely to be echoed by millions of other younger voters who have recovered from their hopey-changey hangover.

A Gallup Poll from April shows that while Obama still retains a large lead over Romney in the 18 to 29 age bracket but fewer of them are registered to vote compared to older voters and of those only 56% say they will definitely vote in 2012.

Obama has lost the youth vote and lost the Independent vote. He's dropped 10 points in support among Jewish voters. Unless he's able to turn that around he will be, as he predicted in 2009 a "one term" president!

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Obama Failed to Learn the Lesson of Wisconsin Recall

He still insists that more money be thrown down a Big Labor/Big Government rat hole.
No wonder the economy remains in so much trouble!

You know Obama is starting to panic when he calls a hastily arranged news conference to try and get ahead of the news and not simply be reacting to it as he has these past few weeks. But the risk for a news conference is that you have Obama off teleprompter. And while his gaffes may not be as bad as his foot in mouth Vice President Obama often says things that his teleprompter never would.

Always on Watch (AOW) has the story of Friday's news conference, along with video, of Obama declaring that  "the private economy is .doing fine." Once the laughing stopped, Republicans came out to denounce how clueless and out of touch Obama is. AOW even has the instant video reaction from the RNC that would make a great campaign ad.

But it's what Obama said after that whopper which caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. It's sometimes easy to overlook what appears to be boilerplate in Obama's remarks but this deserves closer attention. The WSJ editorial board picked up this snippet of Obama's remarks which followed the whopper:
OBAMA: "The private sector is doing fine. Where we're seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government—oftentimes, cuts initiated by governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don't have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.

"And so, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is, how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry."

The Journal Editorial Board points out that despite the recession, revenues for states have increased 6% over the last two years. The reason many states are still in deep financial trouble is the burdens placed on them by the greedy Big Labor unions that were just defeated in Wisconsin.

On Saturday, in his Weekly Address, Obama doubled down on more spending for government employees as if that is the answer for creating economic growth. Yet, if government spending was the key to economic growth Greece would be entering a second golden age!

What Obama wants to do is throw more money at states filtering it through the unions with another nice kickback to the Democrat Party. That's why the original 2009 Stimulus failed. It didn't go to creating jobs, but to protecting Big Labor and kickbacks to Democrat campaigns.

And while Democrats complain about Republican Super Pacs, it's no secret that the biggest big spender of all on campaigns are the labor unions with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) leading the way.

It's also no coincidence that in the wake of Gov. Scott Walkers reforms in Wisconsin, AFSCME has seen the number of dues paying members fall by more than half in that state. If Walker's reforms now spread to other states who are currently held hostage by Big Labor, AFSCME's national membership may plummet along with the dues that fuel Democrat campaigns.

So naturally Obama is going to go out there and suggest that instead of creating jobs for Americans who are out of work what he thinks is needed is another batch of taxpayer money going to his union friends so they can keep funding his campaign.

Sorry Obama. You blew hundreds of billions of dollars down your Big Labor rat hole with the Stimulus. The GOP won't let you skin the American taxpayer for more corrupt union payoffs. The handwriting is on the wall. You and your union buddies need to start packing!

Friday, June 08, 2012

Peggy Noonan Nails It: Obama's House of Cards Collapsing!

The man who spent his nearly his entire presidency playing or fundraising is now exposed as the empty suit we all knew he was!

I stopped reading Peggy Noonan's columns a few years back when she became enthralled by Obama in 2008. But credit to her, she figured out fairly quickly that the promise of an Obama presidency was a mirage. Now, in the last months before the election the mirage has completely evaporated and Peggy, like so many others who have awoken from the spell, now sees what the rest of us knew from the beginning.

In the windup for her latest column she describes how Obama bragged on the stump recently that he was actually a low spender, citing a flawed commentary that was easily debunked. Peggy describes that the problem with Obama is he actually believed the story was true. Noonan writes "That's more alarming, isn't it, the idea that he knows so little about the effects of his own economic program that he thinks he really is a low spender."

Here's the conclusion of her column:
Any president will, in a presidential election year, be political. But there is a startling sense with Mr. Obama that that's all he is now, that he and his people are all politics, all the time, undeviatingly, on every issue. He isn't even trying to lead, he's just trying to win.

Most ominously, there are the national-security leaks that are becoming a national scandal—the "avalanche of leaks," according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, that are somehow and for some reason coming out of the administration. A terrorist "kill list," reports of U.S. spies infiltrating Al Qaeda in Yemen, stories about Osama bin Laden's DNA and how America got it, and U.S. involvement in the Stuxnet computer virus, used against Iranian nuclear facilities. These leaks, say the California Democrat, put "American lives in jeopardy," put "our nation's security in jeopardy."

This isn't the usual—this is something different. A special counsel may be appointed.

And where is the president in all this? On his way to Anna Wintour's house. He's busy. He's running for president.

But why? He could be president now if he wanted to be.

It just all increasingly looks like a house of cards. Bill Clinton—that ol' hound dog, that gifted pol who truly loves politics, who always loved figuring out exactly where the people were and then going to exactly that spot and claiming it—Bill Clinton is showing all the signs of someone who is, let us say, essentially unimpressed by the incumbent. He defended Mitt Romney as a businessman—"a sterling record"—said he doesn't like personal attacks in politics, then fulsomely supported the president, and then said that the Bush tax cuts should be extended.

His friends say he can't help himself, that he's getting old and a little more compulsively loquacious. Maybe. But maybe Bubba's looking at the president and seeing what far more than half of Washington sees: a man who is limited, who thinks himself clever, and who doesn't know that clever right now won't cut it.


Because Bill Clinton loves politics, he hates losers. Maybe he just can't resist sticking it to them a little, when he gets a chance.
Worse still for Democrats is the gnawing realization that Obama may be headed for a huge loss in November. Mark Halperin writes about it in Time Magazine but what is more revealing are the the number of elected officials, like Bill Clinton, who are coming out and either criticizing the Obama Administration or undercutting their lines of attack on Romney.

Let's face it, Dems can see the handwriting on the wall. To paraphrase Sen. John Kerry, would you want to be the last Dem to go give up your political life for Obama? It's a sinking ship and the rats are starting to jump!

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Death Threats for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Where is Obama and the Civility Police?

In the wake of the Tucson massacre which killed 6 people and left 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords grievously wounded  Democrats put out the word that it was the tone that Republicans like Sarah Palin engaged in ("targeted" Dems for defeat) that created a climate where violence was encouraged. 

In the Tucson memorial President Obama warned that we must "make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."

When Rush Limbaugh called contraceptive activist Sandra Fluke a "prostitute" Obama famously said “All decent folks can agree, that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse."

Apparently the standard for civility that Obama frequently demands from the right does not apply when it comes to his allies. In the Wisconsin recall controversy the violent rhetoric "Walker Dead  or Alive" showed up early in the effort to secure union greed.

Now that the 18 month effort to overturn the democratic decision of Wisconsin voters in 2010 has utterly failed the haters are coming out of the woodwork. Here's what is happening on Twitter among those upset by the loss in Tuesday's recall:
@__SupaMcNASTY__
KILL SCOTT WALKER KILL SCOTT WALKER KILL SCOTT WALKER KILL SCOTT WALKER KILL SCOTT WALKER KILL SCOTT WALKER! Ole Bitch Ass Pig Ass Nigga!!!!
There is much more violent and racist rhetoric on display here.

Where are Obama and the Civility Police when all there threats are being made? Absolutely silent! Will they be called on by the media to denounce these criminals or will the matter simply be ignored? We know the answer. But that won't stop them from leaping in unison to denounce Rush Limbaugh next time he says a nasty word about one of their own!

HUGE Walker Win in Wisconsin a Preview for November?

THIS is what democracy looks like!

Walker won with more votes than he received when first elected in 2010. More than 7% margin of victory GOP incumbents for other recalls of the Lt. Governor and state senate also won. Full results here.

The effort to restore America took a huge step forward tonight with the huge recall win for Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker (R). An 18 month campaign in which union activists pulled out all the stops failed utterly. Unions bussed in hundreds of activists from out of state during the past year and half and spent tens of millions of dollars. All to protect their power and greed.

Despite Obama's repeated calls for civility in our political discourse the unions resorted to some of the most vile political rhetoric and tactics. They claimed "this is what democracy looks like" as they occupied the state capitol at the same time Democrat state senators fled to Illinois hamstringing legislative business.

Union activists claimed it was all to protect union rights. But in the end, it turned out that what was really at stake was the union monopoly and the greed of Big Labor leaders. When teachers got the right to drop out of the union they did so in droves. That's a lot of mandatory dues no longer going to support union fat cats and Democrat politicians.

Another Walker reform was the elimination of a union monopoly in some school districts for the provision of health care which was offered by unions at higher costs than the free market. That's more big money not going to enrich union leaders who are notoriously overpaid.

The upside for teachers is that they no longer are forced to have dues taken from their paycheck and the districts which save money with Walker's reforms are free to pay teachers more. In one district the base pay for teachers was raised 17%. That beats any union demand. And those teachers will get to keep more of that money rather than hand it over to the union bosses.

Message for November

While exit polls from the recall election still show Obama with a 9% lead in the state that's 5% less than he won in 2008. But note that the exit polls predicted a closer race so that 9% may be closer to 6%.That means that Wisconsin may move from being a likely Obama state to a possible toss up in the months ahead. If ripples from this vote spread to nearby states like Iowa and Minnesota where Obama's margin was less than Wisconsin in 2008 he could be in real trouble.

The vote heard round the country. On to November!

UPDATE:
BOO HOO! Whiny Dem Calls Failure "End of democracy"

You'll want to see this video of a Dem in Wisconsin sobbing on election night. Remember that these are the clowns who started the ugly protests and recall vote to overturn the decision of Wisconsin voters in 2010. They spent tens of millions of union dollars and bussed in activists from all over the country. Now that they are beaten they cry that it's unfair. WHO CARES!

2nd Update: Dem Slaps Challenger Barrett

Here's a video of a supporter of the Democrat challenger slapping him for conceding to Walker. These people are UNHINGED!
To them, democracy only exists when their minority viewpoint prevails. They better get used to failure. There is more to come in November!

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Viewer Alert: Set DVR for Sunday's Diamond Jubilee Celebration from Britain

Only the second time in the thousand year history of the British Monarchy has there been a Diamond Jubilee!

Sixty years ago Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British Throne. She has been a singular and constant figure in world history at a time of enormous change.

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Coronation Day June 2, 1953
For three days beginning Sunday, Britain will be the scene of pageantry and events throughout the country. BBC America will have the fullest coverage (schedule) but other US networks such as Fox News will also have coverage.

Anglophiles may also appreciate the photo coverage in the Daily Mail. All photos are in large format:
  • Restored color images of the Coronation.
  • Photos from early Royal Family home movies.
  • Newly discovered historic photos.
  • Series of aerial shots of British landmarks and places of interest.
From the aerial collection this shot:
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Myth and legend: Some believe Glastonbury Tor in Somerset is the final resting place of King Arthur
Hats off to our British cousins, America's most faithful ally, as they celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee!

Friday, June 01, 2012

Obama's Epic Fail: No More Excuses. The Bad Economy and Rise in Unemployment is HIS FAULT!

In his own words, he had three years to fix the problem and he failed. That means he's a one termer!

Friday's bad employment number was just the latest in bad economic news. See below for more on Obama's epic fail.

The unemployment rate went back up to 8.2% after only 69,000 jobs were created. 80,000 fewer than predicted. Match that with a revision to March and April numbers which were overstated by 49,000 jobs. The only thing that is saving Obama from a total meltdown is the fact that so many people have given up looking for work. If the Labor Participation Rate was the same as when Obama took office the unemployment rate today would be 10.9%.

In between a record six fundraisers on Friday (that's what he does best) Obama is out there blaming George Bush and the Republicans. I won't repeat what he said. You've heard it all before. The man who said "I'm not going to make any excuses" has an endless assortment of excuses. It's never his fault.

Yet we can point back to the initial projections of the Obama Administration when it came into office in 2009. They said, give us what we want with the Stimulus Bill and unemployment will not go above 8%. By now unemployment was supposed to be 5.7%. Here's the famous chart which compares Obama's economic projection to reality:
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The problem is that  much of the Stimulus money did not go to "shovel ready jobs" (what a joke) it went to Obama's big campaign contributors and the Big Labor unions. Even Democrats refused to go along with more of that kind of corrupt and wasteful spending.

The fact is that Obama failed to meet his own standards for success and admitted that he will be held accountable. In November we have the chance to elect a leader who puts average Americans ahead of the corruptocrats who have looted the Treasury for billions while the millions of Americans remain out of work are being asked to foot the bill!

George and Laura Bush Back in the White House for Official Portrait Unveiling

More than a few Americans wish they had never left!

The official portraits of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush which will hang in the White House:

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Full size image for President Bush here. For First Lady Laura here.
Details on portraits and commission here.
George and Laura reflect on their portraits in the White House East Room surrounded by former Bush Administration officials and former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush.

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The White House portraits are much more formal than the informal portraits for the National Portrait Gallery which the Bush's unveiled in December 2008.

Video of the unveiling and President Bush's remarks is here.

Nice to see a moment of class and good grace return to the White House. Well, no worry. In little more than eight months that will be the norm once again!
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