Tag: Republicans

Nothing ever changes in Washington D.C.

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Heh.

The Obama administration, siding with former President George W. Bush, is trying to kill a lawsuit that seeks to recover what could be millions of missing White House e-mails.

Two advocacy groups suing the Executive Office of the President say that large amounts of White House e-mail documenting Bush’s eight years in office may still be missing, and that the government must undertake an extensive recovery effort. They expressed disappointment that Obama’s Justice Department is continuing the Bush administration’s bid to get the lawsuits dismissed.

During its first term, the Bush White House failed to install electronic record-keeping for e-mail when it switched to a new system, resulting in millions of messages that could not be found.

The Bush White House discovered the problem in 2005 and rejected a proposed solution.

via Obama administration tries to kill e-mail case – AP.

Hey far lefty liberals! How’s that Hope and Change working out for ya eh? 😆 🙄

Too funny for words. What the Liberals get for putting all thier Faith and trust into a magic moonbat.

Others: Newshoggers.com,  Flopping Aces

The Southern Avenger on “Crisis-Mongering”

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How President Obama’s haste and hysterics in passing his stimulus to alleviate the economic crisis is similar to Bush’s theatrics in addressing the terror “crisis.”

The Southern Avenger’s Blog

The Southern Avanger at Taki’s Magazine

Taki’s Magazine HQ

HELL FREEZES OVER! Andrew Sullivan says something nice about Ron Paul

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Holy Moses ‘n Aaron! I never thought I’d see this day, ever!

I do not know these things. But I do know that a serious engagement with the ideas and principles of a non-Keynesian approach to economics – of the kind Ron Paul talks about – is worth having again. At some point the right will have to govern again; and reminding people of the dangers of excessive government, excessive debt, and printing money will be necessary. The groundwork needs to start now. And it needs to be free of partisan cant and ideological posturing.

via The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (February 20, 2009) – A Conservative Of Doubt.

I agree with Sullivan; for a change. I feel so Odd, and like I need to shower. 😉

Regarding the New York Post’s apology

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Regarding the New York Post’s Apology and the other stupidity.

I dunno, what ya’ll think?

Family Resemblance?

Family Resemblance?

So, like Michelle said; Sue me.

Other likemided people: Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, Pat Dollard and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Yeah, I know what I wrote here. I still feel that way too. But this is not about Racism, this is about the Liberal Democrats controlling Conservatives right to free speech. The, ahem, chimps Liberal Black Democrats want to control what we honkey White Conservatives write, and I think it is a bunch of bullshit.

So, bring it on, there Mr. “Interloper”.  I dare ya.

Chris Muir also weighs in here:

uh-oh – Nearly One-Forth of the House got donations from corrupt firm connected to Murtha

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I suspect there will be some sort of fallout from this here:

More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.

“It shows you how good they were,” said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator at the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “The sheer coordination of that would take an army to finish.”

PMA’s offices have been raided, and the firm closed its political action committee last week amid reports that the FBI is investigating possibly illegal campaign contributions to Murtha and other lawmakers.

No matter what the outcome of the federal investigation, PMA’s earmark success illustrates how a well-connected lobbying firm operates on Capitol Hill. And earmark accountability rules imposed by the Democrats in 2007 make it possible to see how extensively PMA worked the Hill for its clients.

In the spending bill managed by Murtha, the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriation, 104 House members got earmarks for projects sought by PMA clients, according to Congressional Quarterly’s analysis of a database constructed by Ashdown’s group.

Those House members, plus a handful of senators, combined to route nearly $300 million in public money to clients of PMA through that one law (PL 110-116).

And when the lawmakers were in need — as they all are to finance their campaigns — PMA came through for them.

According to CQ MoneyLine, the same House members who took responsibility for PMA’s earmarks in that spending bill have, since 2001, accepted a cumulative $1,815,138 in campaign contributions from PMA’s political action committee and employees of the firm.

via CQ Politics | Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House.

I will simply say this, that ALL of the members of the House and Senate involved with this should resign immediately. This is a disgrace to the political system and should be dealt with harshly; that goes for Democrats AND Republicans.

Update: Here’s the list of people with their hands in the cookie jar:

Bold = Member Did Not Receive PMA Money between 2001 and 2008
* = No Longer Serving in the House
# = Member of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the 110th Congress

Democrats

Requesting MemberState$ Secured Solo$ Secured w/OthersTotal CreditedPMA campaign $ since 2001
Peter J. Visclosky#Indiana$21,400,000$2,400,000$23,800,000$219,000
John P. Murtha#Pennsylvania$31,705,000$2,400,000$34,105,000$143,600
James P. Moran#Virginia$8,400,000$2,400,000$10,800,000$125,250
Norm Dicks#Washington$11,330,000$800,000$12,130,000$91,600
Bill Pascrell Jr.New Jersey$2,400,000$2,400,000$73,200
Mike DoylePennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$69,400
Loretta SanchezCalifornia$3,200,000$3,200,000$60,118
Tim HoldenPennsylvania$3,200,000$3,200,000$57,275
Tim RyanOhio$1,000,000$1,000,000$54,250
Michael E. CapuanoMassachusetts$2,000,000$800,000$2,800,000$54,000
Chet EdwardsTexas$6,040,000$6,040,000$48,734
Silvestre ReyesTexas$800,000$800,000$42,300
Christopher CarneyPennsylvania$5,900,000$5,900,000$38,500
Paul E. KanjorskiPennsylvania$1,600,000$3,200,000$4,800,000$37,150
Marcy Kaptur#Ohio$1,600,000$1,600,000$34,500
Carolyn McCarthyNew York$1,000,000$1,000,000$31,500
Patrick J. MurphyPennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$29,250
Allyson Y. SchwartzPennsylvania$800,000$800,000$25,000
Jason AltmirePennsylvania$2,600,000$2,600,000$24,500
Brad ShermanCalifornia$1,600,000$1,600,000$15,500
Susan A. DavisCalifornia$800,000$800,000$13,750
Allen Boyd#Florida$6,400,000$2,200,000$8,600,000$12,000
Sanford D. Bishop Jr.#Georgia$1,200,000$2,400,000$3,600,000$10,500
Jane HarmanCalifornia$2,400,000$2,400,000$10,500
Jim MathesonUtah$2,400,000$2,400,000$10,000
Steve IsraelNew York$1,600,000$1,600,000$8,500
Jerrold NadlerNew York$1,600,000$1,600,000$8,500
Joe SestakPennsylvania$1,280,000$1,280,000$8,500
Jim MarshallGeorgia$2,400,000$2,400,000$7,000
Mark Udall*Colorado$2,000,000$2,000,000$6,533
Michael H. MichaudMaine$800,000$800,000$6,500
Tom Allen*Maine$1,800,000$1,800,000$5,750
Danny K. DavisIllinois$295,000$295,000$5,500
Robert E. AndrewsNew Jersey$1,500,000$1,500,000$5,000
Gene TaylorMississippi$800,000$800,000$4,750
Nancy PelosiCalifornia$2,000,000$2,000,000$4,500
David E. PriceNorth Carolina$800,000$800,000$4,000
Steven R. Rothman#New Jersey$800,000$2,400,000$3,200,000$4,000
Brian HigginsNew York$3,400,000$3,400,000$3,000
Brad MillerNorth Carolina$1,000,000$1,000,000$2,250
Brad EllsworthIndiana$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Ed PerlmutterColorado$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Phil HareIllinois$6,800,000$6,800,000$1,500
Martin Meehan*Massachusetts$2,800,000$2,800,000$1,500
Howard L. BermanCalifornia$800,000$800,000$1,000
Carolyn B. MaloneyNew York$3,200,000$3,200,000$1,000
Ben ChandlerKentucky$2,400,000$2,400,000$250
Shelley BerkleyNevada$2,400,000$2,400,000
Dan BorenOklahoma$2,000,000$2,000,000
Leonard L. BoswellIowa$1,650,000$1,650,000
Baron P. HillIndiana$1,600,000$1,600,000
Gwen MooreWisconsin$400,000$400,000
Christopher S. MurphyConnecticut$400,000$400,000
Mike ThompsonCalifornia$1,000,000$1,000,000

Republicans

Requesting MemberState$ Secured Solo$ Secured w/OthersTotal CreditedPMA campaign $ since 2001
David L. Hobson*#Ohio$3,500,000$3,500,000$70,050
Jerry LewisCalifornia$4,000,000$4,000,000$8,000,000$34,649
Rodney Frelinghuysen#New Jersey$2,500,000$4,800,000$7,300,000$29,129
Ander CrenshawFlorida$1,000,000$1,000,000$27,300
Zach WampTennessee$2,800,000$2,800,000$23,900
Todd Tiahrt#Kansas$5,000,000$2,000,000$7,000,000$21,250
Tom Reynolds*New York$1,000,000$1,000,000$12,000
Jack Kingston#Georgia$4,000,000$2,400,000$6,400,000$11,500
H. James Saxton*New Jersey$2,000,000$1,500,000$3,500,000$11,500
Jo Ann EmersonMissouri$1,000,000$1,000,000$11,000
C.W. Bill Young#Florida$16,000,000$4,400,000$20,400,000$10,750
Howard P. “Buck” McKeonCalifornia$1,000,000$4,000,000$5,000,000$9,500
Heather Wilson*New Mexico$6,500,000$6,500,000$9,000
Jim Walsh*New York$2,400,000$2,400,000$8,500
Mark Steven KirkIllinois$390,000$390,000$7,750
Todd AkinMissouri$1,000,000$1,000,000$7,500
Ray LaHood*Illinois$7,800,000$7,800,000$7,450
Jeff MillerFlorida$1,600,000$2,200,000$3,800,000$7,000
Duncan Hunter*California$15,200,000$15,200,000$6,500
Chris Cannon*Utah$1,600,000$1,600,000$6,000
Kay GrangerTexas$3,600,000$3,600,000$6,000
Joe Knollenberg*Michigan$2,800,000$2,800,000$6,000
David DreierCalifornia$3,000,000$3,000,000$5,000
Jim GerlachPennsylvania$1,000,000$1,000,000$4,500
Tom LathamIowa$5,150,000$5,150,000$4,500
Joe L. BartonTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$4,000
J. Dennis Hastert*Illinois$1,600,000$1,600,000$3,500
Roscoe G. BartlettMaryland$400,000$400,000$3,000
Peter HoekstraMichigan$3,700,000$3,700,000$2,500
Howard CobleNorth Carolina$1,000,000$1,000,000$2,000
John T. Doolittle*California$2,400,000$2,400,000$2,000
Kenny Hulshof*Missouri$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Steve Pearce*New Mexico$6,500,000$6,500,000$2,000
Bill ShusterPennsylvania$1,600,000$1,600,000$2,000
Frank A. LoBiondoNew Jersey$1,500,000$1,500,000$1,500
Rob BishopUtah$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Geoff DavisKentucky$6,800,000$6,800,000$1,000
Virgil H. Goode Jr.*Virginia$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Doug LambornColorado$1,000,000$1,000,000$1,000
Kenny MarchantTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$1,000
Christopher Shays*Connecticut$1,600,000$1,600,000$1,000
John SullivanOklahoma$2,000,000$2,000,000$1,000
Tom Tancredo*Colorado$1,600,000$1,600,000$1,000
Michael C. BurgessTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000$500
Ralph M. HallTexas$2,400,000$2,400,000
Doc HastingsWashington$1,600,000$1,600,000
Sam JohnsonTexas$1,200,000$1,200,000
Todd R. PlattsPennsylvania$4,400,000$4,400,000
Rick Renzi*Arizona$2,400,000$2,400,000
Pete SessionsTexas$1,600,000$4,800,000$6,400,000

Wow. Can’t wait for the fallout.

Others: The Swamp, NPR, Outside The Beltway, The Washington Independent, Liberty Street, Right Wing Nut House, Betsy’s Page, Hot Air, Wizbang, Taegan Goddard’s …, Riehl World View,  Sister Toldjah, Michelle Malkin and QandO

Chuck Baldwin on Abraham Lincoln

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In order to “preserve the Union,” Lincoln destroyed the very principles upon which the Union was created. His audacity is without equal. For example, to prevent a possible vote of secession by the Maryland legislature, Lincoln ordered federal troops to seize and arrest the Maryland congressional delegation. And of course, he was more than willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of America’s finest and best to destroy Jefferson’s declaration that the states of our Union are “Free and Independent States.”

I invite all those pro-Lincoln apologists out there to seriously answer this question: Does an abusive husband who beats and batters his wife have the right to force her (at the point of gun) to remain married to him? (Even the God of the Bible, Who cast marriage in the most sacred terms, recognizes the right of lawful separation.) If you answer no, how can you continue to justify Abraham Lincoln’s actions? In a political and governmental sense, that is exactly what Lincoln did. Forced union, of any kind, is slavery. In the name of emancipating slaves, Lincoln enslaved an entire nation.

It was Abraham Lincoln who, for all intents and purposes, destroyed federalism and limited government in America. In fact, on December 15, 1866, renowned British historian, Lord Acton, wrote a letter to General Robert E. Lee. In the letter, Acton said, “I deemed that you were fighting the battles of our liberty, our progress, and our civilization; and I mourn for the stake which was lost at Richmond more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at Waterloo.” – Chuck Baldwin on Abraham Lincoln

Republicans now supporting nationalization of banks

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It looks like the party of Freedom is selling the American people up the river:

Nationalization, long regarded in Washington as a folly of Europeans, is gaining rapid ground among US opinion-formers. Stranger still, many of those talking about federal ownership of banks are Republicans.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for North Carolina, said that many of his selloutcolleagues, including John McCain, the defeated presidential candidate, agreed with his view that nationalisation of some banks should be “on the table”.

Mr Graham said that people across the US accepted his argument that it was untenable to keep throwing good money after bad into institutions such as Citigroup and Bank of America, which now have a lower net value than the amount of public funds they have received.

“You should not get caught up on a word [nationalisation],” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “I would argue that we cannot be ideologically a little bit pregnant. It doesn’t matter what you call it, but we can’t keep on funding these zombie banks [without gaining public control]. That’s what the Japanese did.”

Barack Obama, the president, who has tried to avoid panicking lawmakers and markets by entertaining the idea, has recently moved more towards what he calls the “Swedish model” – an approach backed strongly by Mr Graham.

via FT.com – Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans.

Nationalization is nothing more than Communism. We are being sold up the river. Remember this come 2010.

(H/T Drudge)

Obama signs the Generational Theft Act and Promises Another, Markets Tank…

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I figured this was coming:

The Story:

President Obama has not ruled out a second stimulus package, his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said on Tuesday, just before Mr. Obama signed his $787 billion recovery package into law with a statement that it would “set our economy on a firmer foundation.”

The president said he would not pretend “that today marks the end of our economic problems.”

“Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around,” Mr. Obama said at the signing ceremony in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. “But today does mark the beginning of the end, the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the way of playoffs.”

Mr. Gibbs, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Denver, said, “I think the president is going to do what’s necessary to grow this economy.” While “there are no particular plans at this point for a second stimulus package,” he added, “I wouldn’t foreclose it.”

Mr. Obama began the first leg of a two-day trip, using the museum ceremony to spotlight the bill’s clean-energy provisions. The president will also visit Phoenix, where he will unveil his new housing plan on Wednesday.

After a bruising legislative battle on the stimulus bill, which drew only three supporting votes from Republicans in the Senate and none in the House, the White House is trying to recapture the debate over the economy. Mr. Obama’s message is that the bill will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.

While the bill has been criticized by conservatives as bloated with pork-barrel spending, it has also been criticized by the left as too tepid and not bold enough to jumpstart the economy. Mr. Gibbs’s remarks on the plane seemed to echo that concern.

In describing the package, the press secretary called it “a strong start towards economic viability” and “the beginning of getting our economy back on track.”

via Signing Stimulus Bill, Obama Does Not Rule Out Another – NYTimes.com.

I figured Obama would do this, sign one porkus bill into law and say, “This is not the end, but just the beginning of the pork!”

Meanwhile, the markets basically tanked, even more so than last week: (Via the New York Times)

From Hong Kong to eastern Europe to Wall Street, financial gloom was everywhere on Tuesday.

Stock markets around the world staggered lower. In New York, the Dow fell more than 3 percent, coming within sight of its worst levels since the credit crisis erupted. Financial shares were battered. And rattled investors clamored to buy rainy-day investments like gold and Treasury debt.

It was a global wave of selling spurred by rising worries about how banks, automakers — entire countries — would fare in a deepening global downturn.

“Nobody believes it’s going get better yet,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s. “Do you see that light at the end of the tunnel? Any kind of light? Right now, it’s not there yet.”

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 297.81 points or 3.7 percent to 7,552.29 points as losses in General Motors, Bank of America and American Express dragged the blue chips lower. The only Dow stock in positive territory was Wal-Mart, which rose after reporting better-than-expected profits.

“If we get substantially below 800 then look out below,” said Marc Groz, chief investment officer at Topos, a risk-advisory firm in Greenwich, Conn.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index slid 3.7 percent to drop below 800, which analysts said was an important trading threshold.

Investors know what this is, it is basically nationalization of our Economy, our banks, everything. They are just not going to invest money in a Government owned banking system. I believe this drop is just the beginning. Wait till it totally collapses and the world is thrust into chaos. It will be an interesting time, indeed.

Stupid: H-S Precision hires former FBI sniper who shot and killed Randy Weaver’s Wife and Son in Standoff

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This is absolutely sick and disgusting…. 😡

An American gun manufacturer has hired a professional killer to tout the merits of its weapons. What better spokesman could a company have than one who has shot and killed a young mother with her baby in her arms?

The South Dakota company’s Internet website has proudly published a letter attesting the greatness of its new sniper weapon.

“Pound-for-pound, component-for-component, dollar- for-dollar, you will not find a better rifle,” says the new spokesman for H-S Precision in Rapid City. His name is Lon Horiuchi, a government assassin who retired from the FBI in 2006. AFP called to ask him if this was also the weapon he used to blow away the face of Vicki Weaver at the remote area of Ruby Ridge in Idaho in 1992, but he did not return the calls.

On Aug. 21, 1992, U.S. marshals perpetrated a sneak attack on the mountain cabin of the Randy Weaver family in northern Idaho. When the family dog, Striker, a docile and loving golden retriever, began to bark at the agents, they shot him dead “because he was giving away our position,” one said later. Sammy Weaver, 14, saw the incident and screamed, and the agents nearly blew his arm off (the impact of which spun him around), and then zippered him through the back with a three-round blast from automatic weapons. The boy was dead before he hit the ground. His father, Randy, later told this writer that when he got to him, “his chest was blown out and his heart was like raw hamburger.”

The marshal directing the raid, Bill Degan, was also killed, maybe by his own men.

During the afternoon and night, all sorts of deceptive information was being transmitted from the scene to the FBI headquarters in Washington. The marshals, desperate after being caught in the act of breaking the law, had made up all kinds of cover-up stories—the most outrageous being that the Weaver family had them pinned down for eight hours in an all-day shootout in which Randy’s 16- and 10-year-old daughters had been holding them off with high-powered weapon fire from the windows of the cabin.

via americanfreepress.net – Gun Company Hires Mother’s Assassin. (Yes, I know what kid of books they sell, but that doesn’t take away from this story at all.)

No matter one’s opinions of what happen during the Ruby Ridge stand off or of Randy Weaver, this has to be one of the worst P.R. Disasters in modern history. Hiring a man as a spokesman for a company, who basically murdered a child and a man’s wife. Someone somewhere made a huge bad marketing decision.

Please, keep in mind, that I do know the full history behind the “American Free Press”, and sometimes the Anti-Government and Anti-Zionist tone of much of their news, but this does shine through that, very much so. I think someone needs to rethink a marketing strategy, and fast!

(H/T Freedom’s Phoenix)



Allan Keyes still whoring for attention

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Allan Keyes still does not get it, after all these years. After he was basically chased out of the Republican Party because of his outlandish behavior, he is still trying to garner some sort of spotlight.


Alan Keyes, a 2008 presidential candidate who now is a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits seeking to verify whether Barack Obama qualifies under the U.S. Constitution’s requirements to occupy the Oval Office, says the tactics adopted by lawyers for the president confirm there is an issue for the courts to investigate.

Keyes, who was the candidate of the American Independent Party, cited a recent exchange with lawyers representing Obama in which they warned they might seek monetary penalties against those raising the question of Obama’s eligibility under the Constitution’s requirement that the president be a “natural born” citizen.

“It confirms the common sense suspicion that he won’t act forthrightly in this matter because he has something to hide,” Keyes wrote on his blog after WND reported the warning about “sanctions” was raised by Obama’s defense lawyers.

The onetime U.S. ambassador explained on his posting that those raising questions over Obama’s eligibility so far have simply been ignored by courts.

“In effect, the courts are refusing to admit plaintiffs on this matter into the courtroom, thereby denying them justice,” he wrote. “Madison wrote, ‘Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It will be pursued either until it be obtained or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.'”

via Keyes: President ‘has something to hide’ on eligibility.

From what sources tell me, the only reason Alan Keyes was ever offered a position in Reagan’s Cabinet is because Ronald Reagan felt sorry for the man. Also because Reagan wanted to make points with the Black Republicans at the time. Ever since then, Keyes has tried to garner the spotlight and has tried to make himself a so-called rightful heir to Reagan’s legacy; All the while being laughed at, by the rest of the Republican Party. One would think that this uppity fool would get the message that nobody, and I mean nobody wants this religious zealot in politics, but still he keeps on trying to get the spotlight. It is truly one of the tragic legacies of the Reagon era.

Heh: Grandpa McSame is Bitter

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This is a bit funny.

Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated with the brash political attacks Sen. John McCain has launched against Barack Obama in the weeks since the new president took office. No one expected the Arizona Republican to be a legislative ally for this administration. But it was widely assumed that Obama’s overtures to McCain in the weeks after the election would dull some of the hard feelings between the two. Now, they are realizing, it has not.

“He is bitter and really angry,” Bob Shrum said of McCain in an interview on Friday. “He is angry at the press, which he thinks is unfair. He is angry at Obama and angry at the voters. He has gone from being an angry old candidate to being an angry old defeated candidate.”

Indeed, during the debate over the economic stimulus package it was McCain, as often as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spearheaded the opposition. The Arizona Republican denounced the proposal as pure pork on the Senate floor and introduced an alternative measure comprised nearly entirely of tax cuts.

On Sunday, McCain wouldn’t let the fight die, even with the legislation through Congress. Appearing on CNN, he described the $787 billion measure as “generational theft” and said that the bill’s authors should “start over now and sit down together.”

Meanwhile, appearing on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham — McCain’s chief ally in the Senate — said of the process by which the stimulus was forged: “If this is going to be bipartisanship, the country is screwed.”

via huffingtonpost.com — Dems Fed Up With McCain: “Angry Old Defeated Candidate”.

Humph… I don’t feel a bit sorry for the old bastard. When you run a terrible campaign and basically whore yourself  and your running mate out to the far right, and then try and pimp yourself to the left; what do you expect? The old codger just needs to retire or preferably just drop dead, so Cindy can collect.

Faux Conservative Arlan Spector “Republicans Support Stimulus, Don’t Want ‘Fingerprints’ On It”

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Oh Please, this is about the lamest damn thing ever….

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who broke with his party to support President Obama’s stimulus package last week, said before the final vote Friday that more of his colleagues would have joined were they not afraid of the political consequences.

“When I came back to the cloak room after coming to the agreement a week ago today,” said Specter, “one of my colleagues said, ‘Arlen, I’m proud of you.’ My Republican colleague said, ‘Arlen, I’m proud of you.’ I said, ‘Are you going to vote with me?’ And he said, ‘No, I might have a primary.’ And I said, ‘Well, you know very well I’m going to have a primary.'”

Specter, along with centrist Maine Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, joined with Democrats last week to move the stimulus bill forward. Specter said he doubted there would be any more Republican votes than those three Friday night.

“I think there are a lot of people in the Republican caucus who are glad to see this action taken without their fingerprints, without their participation,” he said.

Specter was asked, How many of your colleagues?

“I think a sizable number,” he said. “I think a good part of the caucus agrees with the person I quoted, but I wouldn’t want to begin to speculate on numbers.”

via HuffPo Says: Republicans Support Stimulus, Don’t Want ‘Fingerprints’ On It.

Name one, Arlan, name just one. I dare you. Truth is, there were no other supporters, nobody self-loving Republican, Conservative or Libertarian would ever vote for a bill of this sort. This bill is nothing more than watered down, and in some places; not-so-watered down communism!

I find it absolutely amazing that Sen. Arlan Specter would stoop to outright lying about something as paramount as this bill.

Others: Gateway Pundit

Senator Judd Gregg withdraws his nomination for Commerce Secretary, White House Shocked

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Now this is a shock 😮

President Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary, Senator Judd Gregg, withdrew his nomination on Thursday. He said there were “irresolvable conflicts” between him and the administration.

“It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census, there are irresolvable conflicts for me,” Mr. Gregg said in a statement. “Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.”

The withdrawal comes one week after Mr. Gregg was named to become the third Republican member of the Obama Cabinet. It is the second time that the Commerce Secretary position has been vacant within the last month.

Mr. Gregg, a Republican of New Hampshire, had not resigned his seat in the Senate. He has been away from the Senate floor this week, presumably preparing for his confirmation, and did not vote on the administration’s economic stimulus plan.

via Gregg Withdraws as Commerce Secretary Nominee – The Caucus Blog – NYTimes.com.

Unreal. I believe that Obama’s idea of Bipartisanship is going down in flames. Obviously, the White House was caught off guard.

Update: Yup, the White House was caught off guard.

More via Memeornadum

Free Speech Attack: Grand Rapids TV Station pulls American Family Association’s Program on Radical Gay Agenda

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This is disgraceful and a bit local to me here. This comes via the Detroit Free Press:

WOOD-TV 8 has decided not to air a controversial, one-hour paid program sponsored by the American Family Association due to criticism from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

“Speechless: Silencing Christians” targets the “radical homosexual agenda” and has garnered enough criticism to cause the Grand Rapids television station to pull the program.

After proposing that the program be moved from the Monday slot prior to President Barack Obama’s 8 p.m. news conference to a Saturday afternoon spot, the station made the decision to pull the program altogether.

“We made a gesture of the 2-3 p.m. Saturday time period. It’s been 24 hours and we had no response,” station General Manager Diane Kniowski told the Grand Rapids Press in a statement Wednesday.

“Our station is being bombarded with calls and messages, and we find ourselves in the middle of someone else’s fight. Ours was a fair offer and we are removing ourselves from this matter,” Kniowski said.

According to the Grand Rapids Press, “In a letter promoting the program, the American Family Association asserts that most Americans get their ‘information about the homosexual movement from the secular news media and Hollywood, which not only support but promote the gay agenda. What people know is tainted by pro-homosexual propaganda.'”

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, initiated a national action alert in response, urging people to call the television station and ask that the program be canceled.

“At a time when America is striving to come together, the AFA continues to use LGBT Americans as a wedge issue to divide us from reaching our basic equality,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

This is just another attack on the freedoms that Americans enjoy; freedom of speech, and for that matter, who says that gay people should be equal? I don’t care what they do behind closed doors, but when they try and rewrite the Constitution, I got a problem with it. I believe that the AFA has just as much of a right to say what they wish, as does the HRC. This attempt to intimidate a TV station into not broadcasting something like this, is just another case of Liberal fascism. Plain and simple.

I will be e-mailing this Blog entry to FOX NEWS and to Rush Limbaugh.

Members of the Black Press not Happy with President Obama

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I have some very different feelings than you think about this story, I will explain below…:

After the first black president completed his first prime-time press conference, the black press was red hot.

“We were window dressing,” said Hazel Edney, a reporter with the National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press of America. “We were nothing more than window dressing.”

As the media filed into the stately White House East Room on Monday night, the reporter was shocked to find herself in the front row. Alongside her were the top news agencies, Associated Press, Reuters; also up front, 86-year-old Helen Thomas, who started covering presidents 50 years ago.

Alongside the most prominent journalists in America was Tiffany Cross from Black Entertainment Television. Like Miss Edney, she didn’t know why she was in first-class while all the television networks – every single one – was exiled to the steerage compartment.

“I really don’t know why I’m up here,” Miss Cross said with a shy smile.

While most on the front row got to pose a question to President Obama, the two reporters from the black press did not. Nor did any other black-press reporter, for that matter.

“This was like Reagan, when he’d put all the blacks up front,” said another prominent but visibly peeved black-press reporter who asked to remain anonymous. “He oughta’ be ashamed.”

via Washington Times – CURL: Obama snubs black press.

As I said above, I have mixed feelings about this report; I tend to believe that this report is one those “Let’s stir the pot and see what happens,” kind of reports. President Obama, to his credit, did not run a “Black Power” Presidential campaign, if he had done so, the American people would have been turn off and President Obama would not have made it out of the Primary.

As much as I respect the reporting of the Washington Times and their Conservative stance, I believe that this story is nothing more of the rattling of the race baiting sabers that the Far Right Wing bunch are known for. Yes, that is correct, I am a moderate Conservative and I am admitting that there is a certain bit of reverse race baiting that goes on in those circles. It is a sad fact, but it is the truth.

The Road to European Socialism just got a bit shorter

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Via the New York Times, it seems that the economic socialist stimulus plan has passed a procedural vote:

Senate Democrats on Monday advanced the $838 billion economic stimulus bill, clearing a major procedural hurdle by a razor thin margin with the help of just three Republicans. A vote on final passage of the bill is expected on Tuesday.

The Senate vote, by 61 to 36, to close debate on the stimulus, symbolized the partisanship that still grips Congress despite President Obama’s call for new cooperation. It also highlighted the rising power of the centrist Republicans who cast the critical votes. Under Senate rules, it takes 60 votes to invoke cloture and usher a bill to a vote.

Those votes, by Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, along with the 56 Democrats and two Independents who regularly vote with them, followed a succession of floor speeches by Republicans criticizing the stimulus as a bloated, wasteful spending bill.

But supporters of the measure said that a good, bipartisan effort had been made at drafting a compromise bill.

“I am proud of the bipartisan work that we have done during the last 10 days,” said Ms. Collins, who supplied one of the three crucial Republican votes. “As with any major legislation, this bill is not perfect, but it can go a long way toward creating jobs and addressing the dire economic crisis facing our nation.”

The majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said: “The United States senators from both parties met the seriousness of the economic crisis with an earnest approach to solving this emergency.”

Well, as you can see, the Republican Party, the part that is supposed to be the party of small Government and low taxes, has once again capitulated to “The One.” Remember this come election time.

Funny News: Ann Coulter is being Probed

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This is a bit interesting….:

Ann Coulter is being probed. Following our Jan. 11 column, Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission is making a “thorough investigation” of whether the conservative pundit broke the law by voting in the Nutmeg State while living in New York City, according to a commission spokeswoman.

Officials are responding to a formal complaint filed by Coulterwatch.com blogger Dan Borchers. “For over 10 years, Ann Coulter has gotten away with illegal, immoral and unethical behavior, ranging from plagiarism to defamation, perjury to voter fraud,” claims the conservative Borchers. Coulter declined to comment, but in the past has branded Borchers a stalker. He says the FBI has determined he poses no threat.

Meanwhile, private eye Joe Culligan, whose WebofDeception.com brought Coulter’s Connecticut voting record to light, has been poking into Rahm Emanuel’s living arrangements.

via New York Daily News: Ann Coulter under investigation.

Ann Coulter, being um, Probed?!?! Ha! Wishful thinking on her part, I’m sure. 😛 😉 😀 😆

I’d rather oink a goat! 😮

The only woman in the world that is so totally unfuckable. (Did I just say that?)

Colorado McCain Staffer picked up on Child Molestor Charges, Liberal Blogs fawn over story

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Here’s the new Meme for the Liberal Blogsphere for the weekend or this day at least.

Via the Colorado Liberal Independent:

Police arrested the former manager of Sen. John McCain’s Pueblo presidential campaign office Wednesday on charges he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old boy left in his care so the boy’s mother could attend a rally for McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, The Denver Post’s Howard Pankratz reported Thursday afternoon.

It’s the second arrest on charges of sexual assault on a child by a person in position of trust in a week for Jeffrey Claude Bartleson, 52, who has faced similar allegations at least five times since 1982 without being convicted of a crime, according to the Pueblo Chieftain’s Nick Bonham.

Two detectives have been assigned full-time to the investigation and are looking into allegations Bartleson lured victims through church groups, his work as a sponsor at a hospital drug rehab unit, and during involvement in political work.

I just have to ask, do you think that if President Barack Hussein Obama’s Campaign Manager had been picked up for oinking some kid, that the media would be all over it, like this?

I somehow very highly doubt it. 🙄

…besides that, why wasn’t this kids Mother watching her son more closely?

Japan could serve as a lesson to the United States

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Barack Obama could learn a lesson from Japan. There’s a very good article in the New York Times today, on the mistakes made by the country of Japan in the 1990’s to fix their failing economy:

The Hamada Marine Bridge soars majestically over this small fishing harbor, so much larger than the squid boats anchored below that it seems out of place.

And it is not just the bridge. Two decades of generous public works spending have showered this city of 61,000 mostly graying residents with a highway, a two-lane bypass, a university, a prison, a children’s art museum, the Sun Village Hamada sports center, a bright red welcome center, a ski resort and an aquarium featuring three ring-blowing Beluga whales.

Nor is this remote port in western Japan unusual. Japan’s rural areas have been paved over and filled in with roads, dams and other big infrastructure projects, the legacy of trillions of dollars spent to lift the economy from a severe downturn caused by the bursting of a real estate bubble in the late 1980s. During those nearly two decades, Japan accumulated the largest public debt in the developed world — totaling 180 percent of its $5.5 trillion economy — while failing to generate a convincing recovery.

Now, as the Obama administration embarks on a similar path, proposing to spend more than $820 billion to stimulate the sagging American economy, many economists are taking a fresh look at Japan’s troubled experience. While Japan is not exactly comparable to the United States — especially as a late developer with a history of heavy state investment in infrastructure — economists say it can still offer important lessons about the pitfalls, and chances for success, of a stimulus package in an advanced economy.

The Lesson to be learned here is:

“It is not enough just to hire workers to dig holes and then fill them in again,” said Toshihiro Ihori, an economics professor at the University of Tokyo. “One lesson from Japan is that public works get the best results when they create something useful for the future.

But the real lesson to be learned here is the follow and pay special close attention to what is said here:

In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close to Japan’s Lost Decade. This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations.

Gee, is that not what Ron Paul said ALL ALONG, while he was running for President of the United States? For Ron Paul’s troubles and hard work he was slandered, maligned  and marginalized by the Neo-Conservatives who hated him and the Liberal Democrats who were sacred to death of him.

I highly suggest that you read the rest of this article. The United States could learn much from this lesson that Japan had to learn. We could very well end up causing more harm than good to our economy.

Others: Glenn Thrush’s Blogs, Hot Air, A Blog For All, Cafe Hayek, Weekly Standard and QandO

Senate seeks to Revise Stimulus Bill

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This is an encouraging sign:

Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy.

The legislation represents the first major test for President Obama and an expanded Democratic Congress, both of which have made economic recovery the cornerstone of their new political mandate. The stimulus package has now tripled from its post-election estimate of about $300 billion, and in recent days lawmakers in both parties have grown wary of the swelling cost.

Moderate Republicans are trying to trim the bill by as much as $200 billion, although Democrats working with those GOP senators have not agreed to a specific figure.

The Senate’s first vote on a stimulus amendment, a failed effort yesterday to add more infrastructure spending to the package, signaled the change in course. For weeks, the measure has grown to meet a worsening economic crisis with the largest possible infusion of government cash. Despite warnings of dire consequences if Congress does not act boldly, Republicans have become resolute in their opposition to what they view as runaway and unnecessary spending in the legislation. And as the total in the Senate version climbs to $900 billion, unease also is stirring among moderate Democrats.

via Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus – washingtonpost.com.

I am glad to see that the Republicans and some of the more saner elements of the Democratic Party are ridding this Economic Stimulus Bill of unnecessary pork. I think that it is a shame that the Far left wing of the Democratic Party would use this economic downturn to try and further their socialist agenda.  I think the voters should remember this when they go to the polls in 2010.

Others: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, Megan McArdle, Marginal Revolution, Balance of Power, Free exchange, LiberalOasis, The Washington Independent, The Plum Line, Associated Press, Reason, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, The Caucus, The Corner, The Plank, D-Day, Gawker, Wonk Room, Outside The Beltway, AMERICAblog News, Wizbang and Shopfloor

(via Memeorandum)

Dick Cheney Warns of New Attacks

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I should have named this “The mad rantings of the Eternal Neo-Con”, But I figured I’d try to be fair.

Video:

The Story:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

In an interview Tuesday with Politico, Cheney unyieldingly defended the Bush administration’s support for the Guantanamo Bay prison and coercive interrogation of terrorism suspects.

And he asserted that President Obama will either backtrack on his stated intentions to end those policies or put the country at risk in ways more severe than most Americans — and, he charged, many members of Obama’s own team — understand.

“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” Cheney said.

via Cheney warns of new attacks — Politico.com.

For the record, I believe that he does have a point about the Gitmo detainees. However, I believe that the mentality that they will attack us right away is wishful thinking on his part.