Tag Archives: Obamanation = Abomination

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B.O.’s Subversion of Legal System

It doesn’t matter WHO B.O. submits for appointment to SCOTUS…the real damage is his statement defining his attitude towards the conduct of jurisprudence…as ably spelled out by Jeff Jacoby:

Lady Justice’s blindfold

Judicial dispassion — the ability to decide cases without being influenced by personal feelings or political preferences — is indispensable to the rule of law. So indispensable, in fact, that the one-sentence judicial oath required of every federal judge and justice contains no fewer than three expressions of it: “I …do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me …under the Constitution and laws of the United States, so help me God.”

After examining some of the Biblical roots of our judicial system (secularists read it and weep!) Jacoby brings that original background as applied in the establishment of our Constitutional republic:

Without judicial restraint there is no rule of law. We live under “a government of laws and not of men,” to quote John Adams’s resonant phrase, only so long as judges stick to neutrally resolving the disputes before them, applying the law and upholding the Constitution even when doing so leads to results they personally dislike. That is why the judicial oath is so adamant about impartiality. That is why Lady Justice is so frequently depicted — as on the sculpted lampposts outside the US Supreme Court — wearing a blindfold and carrying balanced scales.

Then…the heart of the problem with B.O.’s attitude: emotionalism should trump the law:

And that is why President Obama’s “empathy” standard is so disturbing, and has generated so much comment.

Time and again, Obama has called for judges who do not put their private political views aside when deciding cases. In choosing a replacement for Justice David Souter, the president says, he will seek not just “excellence and integrity,” but a justice whose “quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people’s hopes and struggles,” would be “an essential ingredient” in his jurisprudence. In an interview last year, he said he would look for judges “sympathetic” to those “on the outside, those who are vulnerable, those who are powerless.”…But such cardiac justice is precisely what judges “do solemnly swear” to renounce. Sympathy for others is an admirable virtue, but a judge’s private commiserations are not relevant to the law he is expected to apply.

If Obama means what he says, he wants judges who can be counted on to violate their oath of office.

…and so B.O. then would violate his OWN oath of office…but what else is new about THAT?

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The Soprano Administration

Gangster government gave Chrysler to the UAW

Give President Obama credit – he at least made the proverbial offer Chrysler’s secured creditors couldn’t refuse. The way Obama strong-armed creditors who rightfully expected to be treated justly under the law was right out of Juan Peron’s playbook. Like the Argentinian strong man, Obama muscled the owners and creditors out of a productive private company and gave it to union leaders, who will then fill his campaign coffers in gratitude for his generosity. The Examiner’s Michael Barone – who has forgotten more about American government and politics than most Washington political experts know – was correct to dub Obama’s Chrysler heist “an episode of Gangster Government.”

Another example of this that comes to mind is the “aristocracy of pull” described by Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged.

Forget what anybody in the White House or what is left of the Chrysler executive corps claims to the contrary because the UAW effectively owns the company now, holding 55 percent of its stock. True, the union doesn’t get an explicit controlling majority of the board of directors, but who needs that when you’ve got the White House guaranteeing your work and the U.S. Treasury Department making sure you never have to worry about the bottom line. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger’s place in Big Labor’s Hall of Fame is now secure. He found a sugar daddy with an endless supply of cash. So UAW members and retirees can keep right on drawing those pay and benefits so excessively generous they made it impossible for the old Chrysler to compete with Toyota and Honda.

What next? One shudders to consider the possible (probable?) course.

Constitution Watch

She’s Makin a List, Checkin’ it twice…

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Among the recent spewage from the Janet Reno Napolitano (same difference!) Department of Homeland Security is this little number:

Federal agency warns of radicals on right

The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in “rightwing extremist activity,” saying the economic recession, the election of America’s first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

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(Click on image for link to document.)

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines “rightwing extremism in the United States” as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

“It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration,” the warning says.

According to that, if one is a supporter of either the 2nd, or 10th Amendments, or a veteran, you could be worthy of watching out for as a possible “rightwing extremist”, or sympathizer.  Even more threatening (shudder, gasp) are those who might not like President Obama for a variety of reasons.  (Admittedly, some of those reasons ARE truly rank, but hey Janet – there ARE a lot of us who dislike the B.O. regime because of policies and political differences…and we’re not all neo-Nazi racists…in spite of what you infer.

There are other categories of likely suspects for being right-wing subversives…dang!…I fit right in there in many instances, in spite of NOT being a closet Nazi, Klanner, or even a former member of the (actually innocuous) John Birch Society.  (I WAS in the 1980 SD Reagan delegation though…THAT must be it!)

Putting this together with the flap a couple of weeks ago about the Missouri State “Fusion” information office, it sort of starts to make a pattern….

“Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not really after me!”

National Insecurity

UPDATED: Simple Solution to Piracy Incident!

Ship reaches Kenya; pirate lifeboat drifts toward land

A U.S.-flagged ship that was seized by Somali pirates arrived safely in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on Saturday, as a Somali mediator headed to sea to try to secure the release of the ship’s American captain.“The captain is a hero,” one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama container ship as it docked. “He saved our lives by giving himself up.

The ship, under the command of Richard Phillips, was attacked by gunmen far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the hijackers and regained control of the freighter.

Phillips was taken hostage and is being held captive on a drifting lifeboat by the gang of four pirates who want $2 million ransom for him, as well as safe passage.

B.O. and his ilk continue to play “duck and cover” to avoid doing anything constructive on this…no doubt because of fears it might offend some Islamofascist somewhere if we acted decisively.

UPDATE comment:  Well, well.  B.O. Let the Seals go and do it to ’em!

What COULD we do? This is an easy one!

Situation: Small open boat, drifting in Indian Ocean. Contents of boat: Four (4) Islamoterr pirates, (1) hostage U.S. captain.
Solution: 4 Navy Seal and/or USMC sharpshooters; countdown: “5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – FIRE!” – 4 simultaneous shots.
Result: U.S. captain freed. 4 Islamoterr pirates simultaneously are surprised to meet their maker, and discover that the “72 virgins” situation was WAY exaggerated!

This is even legal under LONG-standing International Law (such as it is).  Pirates fall into a category of hostis humanus generis – common enemies of humanity – said status placing the perps in the category of “take ’em out before they do anything else”.  Historically, pirates were either sent to the bottom, or more or less immediately hung from a yard-arm.

Sounds fair to the Chief!

What WILL happen? Who knows at the rate the B.O. gang is fiddle-farting around. They’ll probably give it the old Ivy League try, and go for a UN resolution. One could HOPE for a CHANGE for something better than this, but, at this point those chances look pretty slim.

I hope I’m wrong, but fear that I’m not.

 UPDATE:  Good for us – I was wrong, and B.O. earns creds by allowing the Navy to do it’s job.  There’s not a whole lot that the Chief has said positive about B.O., but this time “he done good!” and the Seals did what was needed to resolve the situation (as suggested above), and free Captain Phillips.

Now – to avoid treating the captured maritime terrorist as just another “criminal” in the U.S. court system.  Give him to Kenya, and let ’em hang him high.

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B.O. Seeks The Dark Side

Obama climate plan: Blot out the sun

Even for the B.O. administration, at first this looked like a joke…but sadly, it’s not.

President Obama’s science advisor John Holdren has suggested that we consider blotting out sunlight to reduce global warming, according to an Associated Press report.

Holdren would shoot particles into the atmosphere to reflect the sun’s rays back into space– I sure hope plants and people don’t need those rays for say, photosynthesis or vitamin D production, respectively. And what would be the other unintended consequences?

What IF this really was done, and really screwed things up…how would they undo it? Remember all the concern about a possible “nuclear winter”? This is exactly the same thing…(supposedly) without the war. You don’t want to imagine the results….worse than Bismarck, ND in January!

Holdren, of course, is a people-hating population control fanatic, anyway, so perhaps he’s hoping to killing two birds (or half the population) with one stone.

Oh… and what about all those solar power projects Obama keeps talking about? Don’t they need as much sunlight as they can get?

So many questions, so few brain cells for Holdren to work with.

The arrogant hubris here is breathtaking.

Constitution Watch

B.O.’s Poor Situational Awareness, continued.

Video: radicals beat girl, 17, in Islamic stronghold of Swat, Pakistan

As the Chief noted earlier here, B.O. expressed the thought that we should be willing to negotiate with the Taliban. Good idea? NOT!. This illustrates one reason why not.

This grainy footage appears to show a 17-year-old girl being beaten by Islamic radicals in Pakistan’s northwestern region of Swat, where Sharia law was introduced after the government reached a truce with the Taleban in February.

A local Taleban commander in the militant stronghold of Matta, 25 miles from the regional capital, Mingora, ordered the girl to be flogged a week ago after accusing her of adultery, according to local reporters.

But some residents of Matta have accused the commander of ordering the beating to get revenge after the girl refused to accept his proposal of marriage, the reporters told The Times.

“Please! Enough! Enough!” the girl is heard crying in Pashtu, the language of the tribes who dominate northwestern Pakistan – now the main hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda activity. At another point, she cries: “I am repenting, my father is repenting what I have done, my grandmother is repenting what I have done…”

You can go to the article (linked above) for the video, complete with the chilling sound track of the victim’s unheeded cries for mercy. Warning: Graphically violent content.

This is Islamic Sharia Law in action. Taliban spokescritters were cited as saying that an error was committed in that the beating was done in public.

In NYT coverage it is noted that this has touched off criticism of the government for negotiating with the Taliban and effectively ceding control of the Swat Valley to these 7th Century visitors to the 21st Center.

This is a classic illustration of the Taliban caught in the act of being the Taliban….and B.O. thinks we can negotiate with these things?

Again, this is Sharia Law…favorably noted by B.O. State Department legal appointee Harold Koh in the context of transnationalist law…where foriegn law is used to establish precedent for US Court decisions.

This is acceptable to B.O….or is he so out of touch with reality that he is totally unaware of the views of those he is appointing.

The issue of negotiating with the Taliban, and favoring of alien legal systems for implementation in the U.S. by appointees both indicate B.O.’s continuing lack of situational awareness at best. At worst, we have a nightmare in the White house.

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Creeping – no, Galloping Fascism

Every picture tells a story…and it ain’t that pretty at all:

Il Duce, Redux?

Trying to handle the crisis, the Fascist government nationalized the holdings of large banks which had accrued significant industrial securities. The government also issued new securities to provide a source of credit for the banks and began enlisting the help of various cartels…. The government offered recognition and support to these organizations in exchange for promises that they would manipulate prices in accordance with government priorities. A number of mixed entities were formed… whose purpose it was to bring together representatives of the government and of the major businesses.… This economic model based on a partnership between government and business was soon extended to the political sphere, in what came to be known as corporatism.… The Fascists began to impose significant tariffs and other trade barriers.… Various banking and industrial companies were financially supported by the state.… [The national leader] created the [New Governmental Entity]….[which soon] controlled 20% of [the nation’s] industry through government-linked companies.… [The national leader] also adopted a Keynesian policy of government spending on public works to stimulate the economy.… Public works spending tripled to overtake defense spending as the largest item of government expenditure.

As much as that description sounds like U.S. government policy begun under George W. Bush and now greatly expanding under Barack Obama, the above passage of course describes the economics of fascist Italy in the 1930s, as summed up by Wikipedia. (A quick Google search produces plenty of similar summaries of “economic fascism.”) Furthermore, “The Fascist conception of life,” Mussolini wrote, “stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with the State. It is opposed to classical liberalism [which] denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual.”

Entered as a case in point about the direction B.O. is taking us:

U.S. Plans Key Role In Naming GM Board

The Obama administration will play a key role in reshaping General Motors’ board of directors over the next six months, potentially giving it even greater control in the management of the storied American manufacturer.

The president’s auto task force plans to consult with the company as it replaces a majority of its board, a White House official said. The board today largely consists of the current and former chiefs of major U.S. corporations such as Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, Pfizer and Eastman Kodak. It is not known which of the 12 board members will leave.

The president said Monday that “the United States government has no interest in running GM.” But in practice it is already exerting tremendous influence over it, a situation that has triggered fierce debate over how much power the government should wield over the companies that it aids.

Is there a connection between the involvement of the Chrysler rescue with a deal with the Italian Fiat? That’s a rich potential source of grist for the mills of the blogosphere. Surely there couldn’t REALLY be anything but coincidence here…could there?

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B.O. Administration Continues Power Grab

Beyond AIG: A bill to let Big Government set your salary

It was nearly two weeks ago that the House of Representatives, acting in a near-frenzy after the disclosure of bonuses paid to executives of AIG, passed a bill that would impose a 90 percent retroactive tax on those bonuses. Despite the overwhelming 328-93 vote, support for the measure began to collapse almost immediately. Within days, the Obama White House backed away from it, as did the Senate Democratic leadership. The bill stalled, and the populist storm that spawned it seemed to pass.

But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009,” would impose government controls on the pay of all employees — not just top executives — of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

OK. So let’s see if I get this: After EVEN the Administration and the Senate gave up on the “Let’s pass a bill of attainder against those dastardly AIG zeks.” effort, they turn around and come back with a new attempt to be an even greater power grab. This one grants Treasury Secretary Kommissar Geithner authority to arbitrarily set the wage levels on ANYONE employed by any firm taking government money from the series of porkulus bills. How long before it applies to any federal contractor, vendor, etc? [Not long at all, methinks.]

Why should/would they stop there? What about schools (at all levels) who get federal money? What about state governments? One might guess what their intention is there, as indicated by abortive moves to FORCE states to accept federal money, along with the accompanying mandates, regulations, and (forced) future growth at STATE, not federal, expense.

At this rate it’s not far-fetched at all for a COMECON or something like Wilson’s WW-I era “War Industries Board”, and it’s twin “War Labor Board” to swoop in, and take control in order to save us from ourselves. Hmmm. On further thought, this has already been thoroughly described. For the gory details refer to the “Equalization Boards” as described in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

Who is John Galt, anyway?

Constitution Watch

ObamaCorps: Sieg Heil to the Chief!

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If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…call it for what it is…

Expanded Americorps has an authoritarian feel

With almost no public attention, both chambers of Congress in the past week advanced an alarming expansion of the Americorps national service plan, with the number of federally funded community service job increasing from 75,000 to 250,000 at a cost of $5.7 billion. Lurking behind the feel-good rhetoric spouted by the measure’s advocates is a bill that on closer inspection reveals multiple provisions that together create a strong odor of creepy authoritarianism. The House passed the measure overwhelmingly, while only 14 senators had the sense and courage to vote against it on a key procedural motion. Every legislator who either voted for this bill or didn’t vote at all has some serious explaining to do.

…It anticipates the possibility of requiring “all individuals in the United States” to perform such service – including elementary school students. The bill also summons up unsettling memories of World War II-era paramilitary groups by saying the new program should “combine the best practices of civilian service with the best aspects of military service,” while establishing “campuses” that serve as “operational headquarters,” complete with “superintendents” and “uniforms” for all participants. It allows for the elimination of all age restrictions in order to involve Americans at all stages of life. And it calls for creation of “a permanent cadre” in a “National Community Civilian Corps.”

But that’s not all. The bill also calls for “youth engagement zones” in which “service learning” is “a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.” This updated form of voluntary community service is also to be “integrated into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula” at all levels of schooling. Sounds like a government curriculum for government approved “service learning,” which is nothing less than indoctrination. Now, ask yourself if congressmen who voted for this monstrosity had a clue what they were voting for. If not, they’re guilty of dereliction of duty. If yes, the implications are truly frightening.

Some further analysis of the mark-up and amendments to the bill as it slimed its way through the House was posted at the E3 Gazette, with linkages to the specific changes made as the Donk Congs and others unitedly shat it into existence:

HR 1388…is “Arbeit Macht Frei” too strong?

Check out the links on this one…read and weep!

SOUTH DAKOTA UPDATE NOTE:
Sen. John Thune was one of (sadly) only 14 Republicans who voted against this.
Donkey Party Rep.Stephanie Sandlin, and Senator Tim Johnson supported it.

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New Plan, Bad Plan

Geithner rescue package ‘robbery of the American people’

The US government plan to free beleaguered banks of up to $1 trillion (£690bn) of toxic assets will expose American taxpayers to too much risk, leading economist Joseph Stiglitz has cautioned.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist, speaking a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by almost 7pc in support of the novel public-private partnership (PPIP), said that the plan is “very flawed” and “amounts to robbery of the American people.”

Professor Stiglitz on Tuesday led a list of well-known economists and high-profile industry figures who have said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s toxic asset plan may not be as successful as it first seems.

Based on the record, why should anything BUT this be expected?

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Administration Potomac Fever Continues

George Will in the WaPo summarizes a lot that’s going on right now in Baghdad on the Potomac….and, with apology to the late Warren Zevon, “It Ain’t That Pretty at All”!

The Toxic Assets We Elected

With the braying of 328 yahoos — members of the House of Representatives who voted for retroactive and punitive use of the tax code to confiscate the legal earnings of a small, unpopular group — still reverberating, the Obama administration yesterday invited private-sector investors to become business partners with the capricious and increasingly anti-constitutional government. This latest plan to unfreeze the financial system came almost half a year after Congress shoveled $700 billion into the Troubled Assets Relief Program, $325 billion of which has been spent without purchasing any toxic assets.

After listing a number of weirdly reversed situations (like China lecturing us on maintaining a stable capitalistic system!), Will concludes with:

This is but a partial list of recent lawlessness, situational constitutionalism and institutional derangement. Such political malfeasance is pertinent to the financial meltdown as the administration, desperately seeking confidence, tries to stabilize the economy by vastly enlarging government’s role in it. [Emphasis added.]

As noted above, it ain’t that pretty at all.

Constitution Watch

B.O. Moves to Tighten the Ratchet of Power

U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms

The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.

The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president’s Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators, according to the document.[Emphasis added]

B.O. and company are nothing if not consistent. The overarching theme of the administration thus far has been an unrelenting series of policies and edicts aimed at increasing the arbitrary power of the executive at the expense of anyone or anything that could possibly get in their way, and to hell with the trivialities of observing the Constitution.

What adds the true touch of surrealistic quality is the accompaniment of B.O.’s best Alfred E. Neuman “What, me worry?” grin, and giggles while being interviewed on 60 Minutes (among other venues), about the continuing monetary soap opera.

Unfortunately, the joke’s on us, since we’ll get to pay for it all, one way or another.

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Donks Unsure about B.O. Budget

A couple of items suggest that this may be the case:

Sen. Bill Nelson on Obama Budget: Need to ‘Rework This Whole Thing’

Sen. Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said the Obama budget will have to be revised in light of the latest Congressional Budget Office projections.

The Florida Democrat said in an interview on Fox News Channel this morning that “we’re going to have to go back and rework this whole thing, and that’s going to be done this week in the Budget Committee.” He later added that “Kent Conrad, our chairman of the Budget Committee, is definitely going to have to be Merlin.” CBO numbers released Friday show federal deficits over the next decade will exceed President Barack Obama’s projections by $2.3 trillion.

Well, B.O.’s so popular, he can take it directly to the people the way Reagan did, right?

Wrong:

Congress isn’t feeling much heat from Obama’s ‘army’

President Barack Obama’s army of canvassers fanned out across the nation over the weekend to drum up support for his $3.55 trillion budget, but they had no noticeable impact on members of Congress, who on Monday said they were largely unaware of the effort.

“News to me,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a House Budget Committee member, of the canvassing. Later, his staff said that his office had heard from about 100 voters.

So much for B.O.’s vaunted net corps.

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Change to Believe In: Sticking it to Vets

    UPDATE

:
Insurance Change for Veterans Is Scrapped

Under withering criticism from veterans and Congress, President Obama on Wednesday abandoned a proposal that would have required veterans to use their private health insurance to pay for the treatment of combat-related injuries.

DISCLOSURE: The Chief is a 26-year veteran of the Navy and Naval Reserve, without any service-incurred medical problems, so PERSONALLY I have no dog in this fight, except for very strong feelings on what’s fitting and proper for the government when dealing with those who have put their lives and blood on the line in the service of the country.

When the government is dominated by the left both in the White House and on The Hill, one supposes that this sort of thing is what has to be expected, given the gut-level enmity that the hard left traditionally carries for virtually all things military.

What makes this idea even more diagnostic of this attitude is that the Workmen’s Compensation laws extend medical coverage for civilian employment related injuries, but here’s B.O. and his henchmen acting to limit coverage for service-incurred medical problems. Any employer that tried to pull something like this would have severe legal repercussions (at the least!), but apparently this is just fine coming from the Olympian heights of the B.O. administration.

At the same time this is happening, there continues unrelenting opposition from the left side to any form of means testing Ponzi-scheme government “entitlements” like Social (In)Security and Medicare.

(And save the empty rhetoric…any claim that the Obamanation Abomination is anything but hard left is laughable.)

Obama mulls making vets foot bill for service injuries

The Obama administration is considering making veterans use private insurance to pay for treatment of combat and service-related injuries. The plan would be an about-face on what veterans believe is a long-standing pledge to pay for health care costs that result from their military service.

But in a White House meeting Monday, veterans groups apparently failed to persuade President Obama to take the plan off the table.

“Veterans of all generations agree that this proposal is bad for the country and bad for veterans,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “If the president and the OMB [Office of Management and Budget] want to cut costs, they can start at AIG, not the VA.”

American Legion Strongly Opposed to President’s Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment

The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, “This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ‘ to care for him who shall have borne the battle’ given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm’s way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America’s veterans!”

When the B.O. is unwilling to give veterans the same priority in coverage that civilian employees get, clearly the B.O. administration is showing it’s true colors and the level of (dis)respect that it has for the military, and by extension, those who have and do serve in it.

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Another B.O. Appointee with Problem?

Obama appointee on leave after FBI raid, arrests

An employee of the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer and a private contractor were charged with corruption Thursday after an FBI raid at the former office of one of President Obama’s appointees, Vivek Kundra.

Kundra is on leave from his White House job until further details of the case become known, a White House source tells the Associated Press.

Kundra has not been linked to Thursday’s raid.

…yet.

As the raid took place, Kundra was giving a speech at FOSE – an annual government technology expo – about changing the way the government purchases materials from vendors.

You couldn’t make this stuff up!

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Got a health plan? You’re rich!

Under this scheme, apparently the Donks think that anyone who has a medical plan is (voila!) rich!

Didn’t B.O. himself promise to only increase taxes on the rich? If this tax scheme is put in place, then lots more of us MUST be richer than we thought, otherwise we wouldn’t be getting a tax increase, right?

(HA HA! Joke’s on us!)

Workers’ Health Benefits Eyed for Taxation

With President Obama’s plan to tax the rich to pay for health care facing deep skepticism on Capitol Hill, key lawmakers are pressing a different way to raise money: taxing the health benefits workers receive from their employers.

Since companies began offering group health insurance on a large scale during World War II, the value of that benefit has never been counted as income, reducing workers’ taxable earnings by an average of $9,000 a year for family coverage.

In recent weeks, however, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, has repeatedly advocated changing tax laws to include employer benefits, arguing that it makes sense to fund the health-care changes by sucking cash out of the existing system. Meanwhile, 13 other senators — from both sides of the aisle — have signed on to a plan for universal coverage that includes a tax on employer-provided benefits.

They’ll never stop. F.E.T.E.

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Channelling JFK, Lincoln, or not?

Barack Obama rejects accusation that he is taking on too much too soon

Barack Obama has rejected the charge that he is taking on too much too soon, by comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy. The new president’s response ran the risk of reviving the criticism sometimes heard during his campaign and inauguration that he was prematurely ranking himself among the great American politicians.

Who is the real B.O.?  Backers are starting to wonder, too.

Even supporters are questioning whether or not the president would be better advised to concentrate all or most of his fire on reviving the economy, and in particular, finalising the details of saving the banking sector.

Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and an early of support of Mr Obama, has criticised the government for a “muddled message”. David Brooks, a sympathetic if conservative columnist for the New York Times said that “Democrats apparently think that dealing with the crisis is a part-time job, which leaves the afternoons free to work on long-range plans to reform education, health care, energy and a dozen smaller things”.

The Chief submits that the pattern forming here is clear…B.O. has become a legend in his own mind.

Constitution Watch

Democrat Senator: B.O. Power Grab Underway

Byrd: Obama in power grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

While it’s rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House.

This is interesting in several respects. It proves that at least SOMEBODY still knows how to read, and understand the Constitution.

It’s also different finding a leading Democrat warning about ANYTHING that B.O. does.

Also, not only is the Constitutional issue noted, there is the issue of the much-promised “transparency” taking it in the neck again:

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

Hear, hear!

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Chicago School Problems: The Heritage of the New Ed. Secretary!

‘Painful Lessons': Abuse At Chicago Schools
Hundreds Of Kids Beaten, Whipped, Even Choked By Teachers, Coaches

A couple of weeks ago there was news of $67,000 being spent on a no-bid deal for cappucino machines for Chicago schools, most of which hadn’t requested them, and weren’t even using them once they were delivered.

Now, comes another installment showing how the Chicago school system has been in the habit of operating.

Treveon Martin, 10, is afraid of a teacher at his school. “I’ve seen him hit five of them in the classroom,” Martin said.

Martin says he and others have been hit, grabbed and even struck with a belt. “He’s threatened almost all the kids in his classroom,” Martin said.

He says it happened at Robert Emmet Academy in November but a Chicago Public School investigator didn’t talk to him until last week – 70 days after the case was reported, and not until after we started asking questions.

“He holded my arms and he picked my body up, and then he just slammed me on the desk,” Martin said.

An exclusive CBS 2 investigation discovered Treveon Martin is one of at least 818 Chicago Public School students, since 2003, to allege being battered by a teacher or an aide, coach, security guard, or even a principal. In most of those cases – 568 of them – Chicago Public School investigators determined the children were telling the truth.

So, just another local issue? It shouldn’t be.

These sorts of incidents don’t spontaneously appear in a large organization. They won’t appear at all where competent, engaged, hands-on management is not afraid to set and enforce rigorous standards of professional conduct at all levels.  In order for this pattern of mismanagement to have arisen, those in charge are prima facie guilty of failure to exercise due diligence in the performance of their responsibilities.

The REAL question at this point is where is the media’s questioning of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about his prior and  apparently poor performance as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, under which the above noted financial, (and even more seriously) physical abuses occurred.

From the Department of Education website we find the following:

Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. (emphasis added)

Seems to the Chief that Duncan SHOULD have some ‘splainen’ to do!

DOE’s bio blurb goes on:

As CEO, Duncan’s mandate was to raise education standards and performance, improve teacher and principal quality…

If that was Duncan’s mandate, based on the evidence, he failed to live up to expectations…and now he’s the man that B.O. (The Exalted One) himself has picked to lead the rest of the country’s educational establishment ever onward and upwards beyond the realm of “no child left behind”.

(Eeeeeuuuu!)

Better the Department of Education was eliminated than to turn it over to Duncan’s apparently incompetent management.

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Obamanation Abomination

Agreement Reached on Economic Stimulus, Senators Say

Senators agreed on an economic stimulus plan of at least $780 billion to rescue the U.S. economy from sinking into what President Barack Obama warns would be an even deeper recession if Congress doesn’t act.

Three Republicans agreed to join Democrats who control the chamber in supporting the measure. A Senate vote, possibly this weekend, would move Congress closer to Obama’s deadline of sending a bill to him by mid-February.

Words seem to fall short at describing this quivering gelatinous legislative toxic blob, that will surely draw us along the path of B.O.’s National Socialist Democrat American Party (N.S.D.A.P.)

Unfortunately the Senate apparently can always be counted on to find at least a few Republocrats (also known as RINOS) to join with the party of the jackass and give them cover from bearing the full responsibility for their constitutional malpractice. In this case the Republocratic caucus is made up of the Maineiac senators, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe(-job), and the Pennsylvania RINO spook Arlen Spectre Spector, may their names live forever in the annals of political infamy.

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B.O. Bailout Bill in Senate Trouble?

1 Comment

GOP leaders doubt stimulus bill will pass Senate

THIS is truly encouraging!

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday the massive stimulus bill backed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could go down to defeat if it’s not stripped of unnecessary spending and focused more on housing issues and tax cut.

The Senate version of the bill, which topped out at nearly $900 billion, is headed to the floor for debate. The House bill totaled about $819 billion and earned no Republican votes, even though it easily passed the Democratic-controlled House. At some point lawmakers will need to compromise on the competing versions.

Remember! These amounts don’t include the interest on the money to be spent. We’re well into the trillion + range with that!

McConnell and other Republicans suggested that the bill needed an overhaul because it doesn’t pump enough into the private sector through tax cuts and allows Democrats to go on a spending spree unlikely to jolt the economy. The Republican leader also complained that Democrats had not been as bipartisan in writing the bill as Obama had said he wanted.

“I think it may be time … for the president to kind of get a hold of these Democrats in the Senate and the House, who have rather significant majorities, and shake them a little bit and say, ‘Look, let’s do this the right way,'” McConnell said. “I can’t believe that the president isn’t embarrassed about the products that have been produced so far.”

Well, the Chief is a native of Missouri. B.O. needs to “Show me” before I’ll bellieve that will happen.

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More Government? Ready or not!

Federal jobs still growing amid layoffs

Companies are cutting jobs by the tens of thousands. State and local governments are penny-pinching, too. So what about Uncle Sam? Tough times for him as well?

Not exactly. In fact the number of federal workers is on the rise.

That might seem strange to the 11 million people in the U.S. who are out of work, and the millions more who fear they soon will be. Shouldn’t Washington pare down too?

NAH! Just ask your favorite neighborhood Donk: The bureaucracy must expand to meet the needs of an expanding bureaucracy!

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B.O. Supporters With Some Disappointment

Obama’s new rules have loopholes

President Obama’s first moves earned him triumphant headlines: “Obama Freezes Pay, Toughens Ethics and Lobbying Rules,” and “Obama sets new course.”

But some of his biggest accomplishments are twinned with the word “but”: Lobbyists are banned, but exceptions can and will be made; orders on ending torture and secret prisons contain loopholes and provisos.

Call it the fine print, an exception, a waiver, but there have been caveats to many of Mr. Obama’s first actions.

Well, that’s what you get by believing someone who believes in…what? (Still to be determined, apparently.)

“Change we can believe in, as long as we pay attention to the disappointing asterisk on the word ‘change,’ ” complained Rachel Maddow, a liberal talk-show host for MSNBC.

Hmmmm. There’s a word that comes to mind…oh yeah: S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E. :)

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Appoointee Tax Dodge Redux

GOP senators scrutinize Daschle nomination

Former South Dakota fired Senator Tom Daschle back in the spotlight…or is it on the spot…whatever.

Hmmm. A SECOND B.O. appointee with tax…er…”issues”.

Senate Republicans piled on Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle for failing to pay more than $128,000 in taxes, though they stopped short of saying they would reject the South Dakota Democrat’s confirmation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said Mr. Daschle’s tax woes, as well as those of new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, do “raise some questions about the [Obama administration’s] vetting process.”

One of the best comments the Chief ran across was also in this article:

Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, a staunch conservative who rarely holds back criticism of Democrats, called Mr. Daschle’s tax woes “disheartening.”

“I can see now why liberals don’t mind if the tax rate goes up, because they’re not going to pay it anyway,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Zing!

Sorry, the claims that these are “minor oversight errors”… of 6 figures (!) just doesn’t compute. I guess you CAN accept that excuse, if you want to.

If you do believe the offered explanations, please e-mail the Chief about a great deal on tropical beachfront property in Moody County, South Dakota.

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B.O.’s Bailout Rides Out of House on Donkey-back

House OKs $819B stimulus bill in win for Obama

In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young adminstration’s revival plan for the desperately ailing economy. The vote was 244-188.

Note: solid Donk support, NO GOP backing.

There is so much crapola in this mess, that it is beyond description. Stimulus? most of the money won’t be spent for a year or more…so much for worrying about the immediate economy.

So what’s relly going on here? The Chief recalls an old African proverb: “Any stick will do if you want to beat a snake.” In this case, the recession stick does a great job of beatin gthe Donk’s snake…an ever expanding government with the bureaucracy expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.

Although Queen Nancy got her way…it may just come back to bite her in the butt…with NO support from ANY GOP, the Donks will end up with this Albatross firmly and finally lashed around their neck, which also happens to reflect the view of this OpEd from across the pond:

Hollow victory: Republicans deliver slap in the face to Barack Obama

President Barack Obama got the $825 (or $1.2 trillion over a decade) stimulus package through the House of Representatives but the 244 to 188 vote is a hollow victory indeed. Without a single Republican voting for the bill, his high-profile visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday came to exactly naught – at least on the House side.Obama vowed to change Washington and usher in a new post-partisan era. The the mood music and optics were pitch perfect as he trekked up to the Hill. Republicans praised his gesture, welcomed his sincere demeanour and appreciated his willingness to listen.

SOUNDS good…but wait…the typical liberal formula…symbolism over substance, especially when it comes to what looks more and more like a pattern of faux-bipartisanship:

Problem was, he wanted only to listen and did not want to act on what Republicans said.

It’s going to be a long 4 years.

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Obamanation Shaping Up?

PREZ ZINGS GOP FOE IN A $TIMULATING TALK

President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

“You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done,” he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

What is described here is tantamount to political shunning. So much for the one the ‘Bamster told about being President for everybody…including conservatives.

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First “Five Year Plan”

Obama Bets Big on Big Government

President-elect Barack Obama enunciated his vision for an activist — and expansive — government as the best way to address the economic crisis in a speech this morning, and in the process placed a major bet that the majority of Americans’ attitude toward government has changed drastically in recent years.

“Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy — where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending,” said Obama during his economic address at George Mason University — a stunning rejection of then President Bill Clinton’s 1996 declaration in his State of the Union address that “the era of big government is over.”

This is BIG government, at its biggest. And since it is a long term program…beyond the length of a Presidential term…it’s not a far reach to label his concept as the U.S.’s First Five Year Plan.

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Who REALLY owns B.O. (or at least his house)?

Rezko attorney ‘owns’ Obama mansion

An attorney for convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko is listed as the owner and taxpayer for Barack Obama’s Chicago mansion, according to records obtained by WND.

William Miceli is a lawyer at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, which also formerly employed Obama.

The controversy began when a website called News and Commentary for Thinking People published a 48-page document that lists Miceli as the owner of the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood.

Miner, Barnhill & Galland was Obama’s employer when he did extensive legal work for Rezko, who awaits sentencing after he was convicted in June of fraud, money laundering and bribery-related counts.

“The Chief is figuring out finally what is meant by “Change you can believe in”.

Every time you think you know something about B.O., it changes to something altogether different.

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“…we all scream for ice cream!”?

The chief received the following from an e-mail correspondent who is a fellow educator:

Subj: Excellent analogy from a teacher in the Nashville area…

We are worried about “the cow” when it is all about the “Ice Cream”

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president.

We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. Heended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.

Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”

She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the  ice cream? She wasn’t sure.

Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and fifty-two percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other forty-eight percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.