Obama Supporting Marxist Leader in Honduras

Obama has made it official - he wants ousted leader Zelaya to return to power. Yup, the man supported by Castro and Chavez; the man who attempted to do away with the Honduran Supreme Court and unilaterally change the country's constitution the way Chavez did. He was banished from Honduras by those who supported democracy. The military was only carrying out the orders of the Supreme Court.

And now Obama wants his Marxist buddy back in power. Amazing.

National Review has the summary details of what happened. (Let's just say the facts aren't exactly what's been reported on the ObamaNews.) Either Obama is completely ignorant of the facts - or he supports Zelaya's attempted self-appointment to dictator.

U.S Tax Burden More Oppressive than Scandanavia?

In a study by the OECD, the U.S. ranks as the 12th most oppressive nation for its tax policy and restrictions on individual rights. The is worse than all of the Scandanavian countries. From TaxProf blog.

Just wait another year or two and we'll probably be in the top five for most oppressive.

*Update*
Meanwhile, Germany is cutting taxes. So is Hungary. Hmmm...I wonder what it is that they know and the U.S. doesn't...

Deval Patrick in Trouble

Long-time Obama buddie, MA governor, Deval Patrick appears to be in trouble. Polls say that he is trailing Republican candidate Christy Mihos. On the surface it looks extremely close, with Mihos at 41%, and Patrick at 40%. But compare this with the last election, where Patrick took 56% and Mihos only 7%. Now we get a better picture of Patrick's rapid decline.

Patrick has decided that raising the MA state sales tax is the answer to his popularity woes, and he will be increasing the sales tax by 25%.

Because MA is a heavily Democratic state, I'm sure the powers that be will try everything possible to get Deval back in, but this time I don't think any of it will work. The people have realized how bad this guy is, and it's just beginning.

My prediction: Patrick done in 2010. Obama done in 2012. The world will be a better place.

ABC News: Stimulus Bill's Moving Goalposts

ABC News' Rick Klein has a good post related to Obama's moving goalposts on the "stimulus" bill - first it was supposed to take weeks to months. Now, it's really going to start kicking in.

But then again, it was just four months ago that they told us that unemployment would top out at 9% without the stimulus bill and 8% with the stimulus bill.

And how does anyone think they have the slightest bit of credibility with regards to any new program they want to socialize?

According to Rasmussen, 3/4 of Americans trust their own judgment on economic matters rather than Congress. If that's the case, why do we keep turning over more of our money to them?

Obama Supporters Laying Groundwork For Tax Increases on Everyone

Anyone with half a brain knew that Obama's promise not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250K was a bold-faced lie. Now his supporters are saying that tax increases are inevitable and none of it is Obama's fault. Take billionaire Roger Altman (a huge Democrat donor) writing in the WSJ:

Why has the deficit outlook changed? Two main reasons: The burst of spending in recent years and the growing likelihood of a weak economic recovery. The latter would mean considerably lower federal revenues, the compiling of more interest on our growing debt, and thus higher deficits.

This is absurd. The growing deficit could easily be restrained - from the useless "stimulus" bill that under any other President would be called a "runaway government pork bill," the carbon tax that will destroy the country's productivity and the health care industry takeover that would further destroy cost containment. And the economy will not rebound quickly unless Obama gets off the backs of businesses. Altman ends his op-ed with the following:

This challenge may be the toughest one Mr. Obama faces in his first term. Fortunately, the new president is enormously gifted. That's important, because it is no longer a matter of whether tax revenues must increase, but how.

If this is the attitude of the Obama crowd, then this country is completely screwed until the next President comes along and stops the destruction. Or if Altman is really that concerned, perhaps he should support a "billionaire" tax, which surely would be the quickest way to raise a lot of revenue - I'm sure Altman, Buffett, Gates, and the like would have no problem with that.

Madoff Gets 150 Years

Crook and giant Democrat donor Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison today for running the second largest ponzi scheme in history (right after the Social Security system).

Pelosi Won't Let Public Read Healthcare Bill Either

Just as the behemoth Carbon Tax bill was kept from the public view before it was voted on, Pelosi says that, so too will the health care bill be kept secret.

Democrats, once again, proven to be a lying dictatorial regime that Stalin would be proud of.

Obama, Clinton Side With Chavez, Castro

In an appalling display of ignorance for freedom and democracy, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both sided with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro in condemning Honduras' coup over the weekend. But as Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the WSJ points out, Hounduran President Mel Zelaya was attempting to rewrite Honduras' constitution and Supreme Court and turn his country into a Marxist state like Venezuela and Cuba. The act of forcefully removing Zelaya by Honduras' top military commander was actually done to save the country's democracy and at the order of the Supreme Court.

While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

Once again, Obama and Clinton are on the wrong side of freedom and democracy in a shockingly ill-conceived display of friendship for their Marxist buddies in dictatorial regimes.

*Update*

It seems that Obama actually tried to prevent the ouster of the Marxist Zelaya.

CBO: Obama Plans and Crushing Debt Load

Even the Washington Post agrees that it's time for Obama and Congress to heed the CBO's warnings: within 30 years, the U.S. debt is projected to be over 200% of U.S. GDP, which would rank far ahead of the worst indebted nations today.

And my guess is that those figures are conservative. Make no mistake - this country will be bankrupt if Obama passes even half of his objectives.

Australia Ready To Kill Its Own Climate Bill

Even the Australians think the idea of spending trillions of dollars to "save the planet from global warming" is absurd. From the WSJ:

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to pass a climate-change bill, the Australian Parliament is preparing to kill its own country's carbon-emissions scheme. Why? A growing number of Australian politicians, scientists and citizens once again doubt the science of human-caused global warming.

Among the many reasons President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority are so intent on quickly jamming a cap-and-trade system through Congress is because the global warming tide is again shifting. It turns out Al Gore and the United Nations (with an assist from the media), did a little too vociferous a job smearing anyone who disagreed with them as "deniers." The backlash has brought the scientific debate roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan and even, if less reported, the U.S.

The collapse of the "consensus" has been driven by reality. The inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of C02. Peer-reviewed research has debunked doomsday scenarios about the polar ice caps, hurricanes, malaria, extinctions, rising oceans.

The article goes on to explain the huge increases in scientists who don't think there is such a thing as man-made global warming.

Dems Admit Cap-and-Trade Tax Will Reduce Purchasing Power

Hall of Record has a summary of the Cap-and-Tax bill that the Dems are pushing. I find this section particularly interesting:

Requires: (1) the Administrator to implement the Energy Refund Program to give low-income households a monthly cash energy refund equal to the estimated loss in purchasing power resulting from this Act;

So Democrats admit that this bill will severely reduce purchasing power (read: income) for all Americans. But if you're fortunate enough to be one of Obama's chosen welfare people, you get a check to cover this amount (another income redistribution program).

Disaster - and Obama lovers couldn't care less.

*Update*
Greenpeace is opposed because it will do nothing to curb global warming. Hmm.

Aetna CEO: Hard to Compete Against Person Referring Game

Aenta CEO Ron Williams made one of the few logical statements of Obama's health care infomercial last night:

It is hard to compete against someone who is referring the game. So, I think in the context of thinking about a government plan. Let's work with existing stakeholders to identify problems and solve them and not introduce new problems with government plan.

Obama's response:

I want to make clear. Whatever rules are in place, the public plan would have to follow those same rules. So, we are talking an unlevel playing field.

This is absurd. The "government" can afford any new rules it wants because it's taxpayer money at risk. If Obama lays down a new rule that says insurers will only be reimbursed $X for a procedure, that could bankrupt an insurer but would have no impact on the government - it would just increase the deficit.

Here's the question I would love to hear an answer to: Mr. President, the government runs Medicare and Medicaid and both programs are a disaster and trillions of dollars in the red. How do you expect to run this health care system better?

Kerry Wishes Sarah Palin Disappeared Too

The classy John Kerry on the Mark Sanford situation:

“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’

Perhaps when Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with cancer, we should have told crowds: "too bad the other Massachusetts Senator wasn't diagnosed with the same thing."

Cap and Tax: $6,800 Per Family Annual Tax Increase

The Cap and Tax system that could be voted on in the House as early as tomorrow is a tax tsunami. Within 25 years, it will cost an average family of four an additional $6,800 annually. (And that's on top of all the other tax increases people are going to discover before Obama's first term expires in 2012). From the WSJ:

When the Heritage Foundation did its analysis of Waxman-Markey, it broadly compared the economy with and without the carbon tax. Under this more comprehensive scenario, it found Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill's restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035.

Americans should know that those Members who vote for this climate bill are voting for what is likely to be the biggest tax in American history. Even Democrats can't repeal that reality.

When Obama said last year on the campaign trail that his proposals would "necessarily cause electricity prices to skyrocket," he wasn't joking. I think we should take Obama at his word on this one...

Union Members To Be Exempt From Health Care Taxes?

The unions spent a fortune getting Obama elected - and now the Democrats are prepared to reward them. In a bill proposed by Dem. Sen. Max Baucus, union members will be exempt from new government taxes on health care benefits.

I love it - taxpayers subsidizing the chosen people of Obama. Can the media finally admit that Obama plans on tax increases for everyone (except union members)? Will Democrats finally admit that his guarantee that "anyone making less than $250K will not see their taxes increase" was a bold-faced lie?

The Attempted Media Destruction of Mark Sanford

The media, known for trying to destroy any and all potential conservative leaders, are doing their best to make SC Republican Gov. Mark Sanford out to be a crazy man. Why? Because he took a hike on the Appalachian Trail for a couple of days to unwind. Jonathan Martin of Politico is a perfect example of making a mountain out of nothing, suggesting that he is crazy, a lunatic and a terrible father and husband for leaving his wife and kids for a hike on Father's Day.

This is completely absurd. Many fathers enjoy taking a day to themselves, either to golf, hike or fish - particularly on Father's Day. Sanford's wife did say that he took a couple days to unwind and was not worried about him at all. In other words, his family was aware of the situation the entire time, even if they didn't know his precise location every minute of the day.

Now somehow Mark Sanford, the most prominent conservative governor who has spoken out against Obama's agenda and his idiotic "stimulus" plan, is unfit to hold office. The media succeeded in assassinating Sarah Palin's character and now they're gunning for Mark Sanford.

*Update*
The latest report says that Sanford was indeed in South America - with the woman he's having an affair with. If true, Sanford's career will go the way of John Edwards very quickly.

Roland Burris and Chris Dodd have got to be happy.

Maine Gov. Baldacci an Example For All

I have to give Maine Gov. John Baldacci and the Democrat legislature credit - they just passed a big income tax cut at a time when other governments are talking about raising taxes. As the WSJ explains,

The new law junks the state's graduated income tax structure with a top rate of 8.5% and replaces it with a simple 6.5% flat rate tax on almost everyone. Those with earnings above $250,000 will pay a surtax rate of 0.35%, for a 6.85% rate. Maine's tax rate will fall to 20th from seventh highest among the states. To offset the lower rates and a larger family deduction, the plan cuts the state budget by some $300 million to $5.8 billion, closes tax loopholes and expands the 5% state sales tax to services that have been exempt, such as ski lift tickets.

One question is how Democrats in Augusta were able to withstand the cries by interest groups of "tax cuts for the rich?" Mr. Baldacci's snappy reply: "Without employers, you don't have employees." He adds: "The best social services program is a job."

Amen.

Cap and Trade Will "Skyrocket Electricity Prices"

As Congress takes up the cap and trade tax, the CBO has estimated that the bill would cost taxpayers $175 per year. The problem with that figure, as Heritage points out, is that it assumes the amount collected and spent by the government is essentially rebated to consumers...as if when the government withholds $1000 from your paycheck, they refund the full amount to you.

If you doubt Heritage, just take it from Obama's 2008 speech directly:

Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.

Hard to argue with that...and generally when people use the term "skyrocket," they don't just mean it will go up slightly. But I forgot - changing lightbulbs is going to save us all that additional cost.

Obama's Net Approval Negative for First Time

For the first time in his presidency, Obama has seen his net approval rating (strongly approve - strongly disapprove) turn negative at -2. From Rasmussen.

And the damage his policies are creating is only just beginning to be noticed.

Obama: Lenders Must Give Borrowers Affordable Terms

Obama's latest pet project, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, will allow the government to repeat the catalysts for today's financial crisis - to force lenders to give credit to those who don't deserve it. From the Obama AP:

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency would take over oversight of mortgages, requiring that lenders give customers the option of "plain vanilla" plans with clear and affordable terms.

So what will happen if lenders are not giving affordable enough mortgages to people? My guess is that Obama will threaten that institution with government takeover if they don't do as the government asks. It's the Obama way.

Schwarzenegger's Redemption?

Let's face it - Gov. Schwarzenegger has been awful since he was elected to replace Gray Davis. Arnold has done everything that his predecessor did - tax and spend. But now the WSJ says he might be going for a dramatic change.

These reforms include a flat-rate income tax, a spending limitation measure with teeth, and deep cuts in wasteful spending. Yesterday he declared that he won't sign another tax increase and he will no longer allow the state to issue new short-term debt to punt its budget problems down the road. He even told the liberal Democrats who run the legislature that if they're not ready to make cuts, get ready for a long hot summer that may end in "a shutdown of all the funding -- a grind to the halt" in government.

The state's budget problem has two main causes: The first is runaway spending and the second is a tax structure that smothers businesses and entrepreneurs. California's income tax is the most progressive of all 50 states, with the second highest top rate (10.55%) after New York City's 12.62%. The Governor's revenue office calculates that between 50% and 55% of the income tax in the state comes from Kobe Bryant and the rest of the richest 1% of taxpayers. This sounds like a liberal's tax paradise, but the "soak the rich" system has imploded on itself.

If ever there was an example of what happens when the Obama-Pelosi theme of tax and spend gets implemented, it is California. And it's a good warning for the entire country.

Iran Says U.S. Meddling in its Affairs

From the Jerusalem Post:

The White House on Wednesday shrugged off complaints from Iran that the United States was meddling in its affairs.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said that US President Barack Obama had struck the right tone in commenting about Iran's presidential election dispute in Iran. The Iranian government had reportedly summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents US interests in Iran, to complain about American interference.

The White House in fact did not shrug it off. Obama reiterated Iran's hope by saying the U.S. shouldn't be "meddling" in Iran's affairs. At least Obama is on the same page as the mullahs.

Obama Appoints Sister to Presidential Commission

Obama named his members for a presidential commission on fellowships. Among those "non-partisans" like Tom Brokaw and Tom Daschle is Obama's own sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. Why not appoint Michelle Obama to a non-partisan inspector general position?

NY TImes Changes Headline Criticizing Obama

Everyone knows that the media is afraid to be critical of Obama - now we have more proof. The NY Times had a poll headline ""In Poll, Obama seen as ineffective on the economy." A few hours later the Times changed the headline to "Obama poll sees doubt on budget and health care."

It's an absolute no-no for the media to call Obama "ineffective." From the American Thinker.

Obama's Financial Overhaul to Repeat Mortgage Mistakes of Past?

We have still yet to see all the details about Obama's "financial regulatory overhaul," but according to Larry Kudlow, it includes a consumer protection agency that will help enforce the Community Reinvestment Act.

Then there’s the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This provision was apparently written by liberal-left Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, a staunch foe of free markets and an overzealous supporter of consumer-as-victim rights. Among its massive powers, this agency would enforce the Community Reinvestment Act, which has for years forced banks and other lenders to throw mortgage money at borrowers who cannot afford it. And the consumer protection would reach deep into bank supervision as well. What a mess.

In case you've been asleep for the past two years, the Community Reinvestment Act was the single biggest reason why banks were lending to borrowers who had no business owning a home. Thanks to Democrats in Congress, banks were pressured to lend to these subprime borrweres anyway because they had the "right" skin color.

Fired IG Speaks Out - Being Targeted by Obama

Fired inspector general Gerald Walpin responds to his firing by Obama:

"I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country, with an army of aides whose major responsibility today seems to be to attack me and get rid of me," Walpin said.

Hmm...I wonder if Congress will try to subpoena everyone in the White House to Congressional hearings like they did with the firing of certain DOJ attorneys under Bush. The only difference is that those attorneys were fired for not investigating fraud. Walpin was fired for investigating fraud.

1934 Again

Powerline depicts today's government attitude perfectly with a newspaper cartoon from 1934. Incidentally, this cartoon was designed by none other than Harold Ickes, the father of the same Ickes who is a leading Democrat today.

$1.6 Trillion in Next Decade for Healthcare for 5%

The Democrat/Obama health care plan is estimated to cost $1.6 trillion over just the next decade and would only cover an additional 16 million people or 5% of the population.

Ok, so we completely destroy today's health care system, give it to the government and balloon our deficit for decades to come (on top of the already magnificent Obama deficits) - all for 5% of the population. How can anyone be so idiotic?

Obama: No "Meddling in Iranian Elections"

Obama on Iranian elections:

“It's not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be seen as meddling -- the U.S. president meddling in Iranian elections,” President Obama said.

OK, so why "meddle" with North Korea's desire to shoot off nukes? Or Iran's desire to get them? Or with any other provocative act around the world? Why bother with pressing countries for democracy or anything else?

In fairness, Obama at least is not being hypocritical. He has his ACORN cronies stuff ballot boxes, so he can't realize chastise Iran for that.

Real Costs of Global Cooling Already Hitting Crop Yields

While the Left is still harping over a non-existent global warming crusade, the actual effects of the recent global cooling are starting to hit home in a real way. From the UK Telegraph:

For the second time in little over a year, it looks as though the world may be heading for a serious food crisis, thanks to our old friend "climate change". In many parts of the world recently the weather has not been too brilliant for farmers. After a fearsomely cold winter, June brought heavy snowfall across large parts of western Canada and the northern states of the American Midwest.

...None of this has given much cheer to farmers. In Canada and northern America summer planting of corn and soybeans has been way behind schedule, with the prospect of reduced yields and lower quality. Grain stocks are predicted to be down 15 per cent next year. US reserves of soya – used in animal feed and in many processed foods – are expected to fall to a 32-year low.

It is now more than 200 years since the great astronomer William Herschel observed a correlation between wheat prices and sunspots. When the latter were few in number, he noted, the climate turned colder and drier, crop yields fell and wheat prices rose. In the past two years, sunspot activity has dropped to its lowest point for a century.

The lack of sunspot activity and the resulting cooling temperatures are real and will likely last for 25-30 years if history is a guide. When will the media actually report it?

ABC Turns News Over to Obama

From Drudge Report: ABC News will be broadcasting directly from the White House and will essentially be reporting the White House press releases as its news of the day.

This has been going on for some time now anyway - might as well create some efficiencies and just have the Obama press team do the news broadcast themselves.

Dem Sen. Durbin Trades on Insider Information

If the SEC can indict Martha Stewart and Angelo Mozilo on insider trading charges, there is no question that Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin should also be indicted and sent to jail. A day after meeting with Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson and hearing their closed-door testimony on the economy last fall, Durbin sold $115K worth of stocks.

Par for the course for the Democrat leadership.

Kucinich: Government Shouldn't Pick Winners and Losers

Dennis Kucinich making sense? What's the world coming to? In talking about the forced government sale of National City:

"The government should never, never, never be in position of picking winners and losers. That's what happened here."

It's nice to hear Kucinich finally agree with me - too bad he has a different view when it comes to taxpayers and companies that aren't in his home state.

Majority of Americans Say Cut Everyone's Taxes

In a recent poll, 51% of Americans say that everyone's taxes should be cut to stimulate the economy. I'm guessing that the vast majority of the remaining 49% don't pay taxes today anyway, so couldn't care less.

Obama Auto Task Force: Investors = Terrorists

It's no wonder Obama is willing to give into to Iran, North Korea and Russia - he doesn't seem to understand what a terrorist is. His auto task force believes that Thomas Lauria, a lawyer representing bondholders, was indeed a terrorist and called him such. With presidents like Obama, who needs enemies?

Biden: Everyone Guessed Wrong on Stimulus Funds

VP Joe Biden said that "everyone guessed wrong" on the stimulus funds, which have proven to be a complete and utter failure.

Sorry Joe, but Democrats guessed wrong. Anyone with common sense (read: Republicans) knew it would be a disaster. All it did was make government bigger and more expensive - just like cap and trade, health care, raising taxes and everything else Obama is proposing.

Real Housing Stimulus Seen as Having Little Support

Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson and Democrat Sen. Chris Dodd are proposing a bill that would allow a $15,000 tax credit for all buyers without regard to income limits. The existing law allows only an $8,000 credit for first time buyers and it phases out if you're rich ($75K for singles; $150K for couples).

Finally a decent idea comes from Congress that might actually stimulate demand and there is no support for it.

British Furious Over Bermuda Acceptance of Uighurs

Obama upset the British by sending four Uighurs to Bermuda from Guantanamo. What a diplomat!

Obama Wants to Fire Independent Watchdog for Investigating Corruption

Kevin Johnson, formerly of the Phoenix Suns and a big Obama supporter, is now mayor of Sacramento. He has apparently misused Americorps funds for his own personal errands and is being investigated by an independent Inspector General.

Now Obama wants that inspector general fired. Just like his dropping of the investigation into the Black Panther voter fraud, Obama wants none of his supporters punished for wrongdoing.

Byron York has the summary:

Bottom line: The AmeriCorps IG accuses prominent Obama supporter of misusing AmeriCorps grant money. Prominent Obama supporter has to pay back more than $400,000 of that grant money. Obama fires AmeriCorps IG.

Obama Economic Team Involved in Merrill, B of A Talks

It seems pretty obvious that Obama's chief economic advisers, Tim Geithner and Larry Summers, were involved in the talks between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.

The truth is that Obama essentially took over this economy back in November, well before he was actually inaugurated. And of course, over that time, the economy has been an absolute, unmitigated disaster - only made worse by a budget-wrecking stimulus bill that hasn't created a single job outside of government. And Obama and Pelosi own it.

Unemployment Rates: Dem vs. GOP States

Kevin Hassett analyzes the unemployment rate of Democrat-run states in the U.S. against Republican-run states. The results are astonishing. The longer the state has been run by Democrats, the higher the unemployment rate. The longer the state has been run by Republicans, the lower the unemployment rate. As with tax policy data, I am sure the politicians will simply ignore this data and chalk it up to mere coincidence.

Government to Require Restaurant Calorie Count

The infantilization of American adults continues. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee is proposing a law that would force all restaurant chains with at least 20 locations to print all of the calorie, fat, cholesterol and sodium information on their menus.

I don't think it's a coincidence that this committee's acronym is H.E.L.P. The government apparently thinks Americans are a bunch of idiots who can't think, act or take responsibility for themselves. We need to be told what we can eat, what we can drive, what credit cards we can use, how much we can make, what lightbulbs to buy, and generally how to live our lives every day. Meanwhile, doing business in America is getting more expensive and more regulated under this Democrat regime.

TARP Investment a Great Return for Treasury

People are still using the term "bailout" to apply to the TARP injections into banks. As Jimmy Dunne at investment bank Sandler O'Neil stated, these injections were “more of an income-producing hedge for government … than a bailout.”

Gary Townsend ran the analysis on the recent $68 billion that the Treasury allowed 10 banks to repay. The result: a 17.8% annual return - not too shabby for anyone's portfolio and about 17% better than Treasury's typical bond investment.

It should be pretty easy to generate these types of returns when you force healthy banks to accept money and then pay it back with high interest rates and warrants. All this because Citigroup needed capital...

Quote of the Day: Mark Haines

Mark Haines of CNBC, certainly no right winger, interviewed Barney Frank today. An agitated Barney Frank tried to misrepresent one of Haines' statements, so Haines tried to correct him.

FRANK: I apologize but this interview is over. I get three different questions, different angles, I try to respond. You want to interrupt because you don't like what I'm saying. Then you can find someone else to interview.

HAINES: Fine, goodbye sir. We'll manage without you.

Touche.

Politico: "New Era of Activism Like Never Before"

Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico sounds excited about Obama's plans for government-run health care:

“President Barack Obama eats his vegetables and exercises every day — and he really wants you to do the same. From the White House garden to his picks for top health jobs, Obama is telling America’s McDonald’s-loving, couch-dwelling, doctor-phobic populace that things are about to change. Don’t be fooled by the presidential burger runs. Obama and Congress are moving across several fronts to give government a central role in making America healthier — raising expectations among public health experts of a new era of activism unlike any before.”

Once government runs health care, they can regulate everything in your life in the name of "saving government money." Drink soda? Eat potato chips? Don't eat veggies? Watch too much tv? Don't exercise? You name an activity and the government can argue it affects your health, and therefore the government bottom line, so they can regulate it. Yes, it's fascist, but to liberals, fascism "for your own good" is not fascism.

*Update*
The AMA says NO to Obamacare. From Gateway Pundit.

Obama Worried About Terrorists' Miranda Rights

It appears that Obama is very worried about terrorists...because they're not getting read their Miranda Rights. What's wrong with this?

Ten-year Note Hits 4.00%

The 10-year treasury is starting to take Obamanomics into account, as the yield just hit 4.00%, the highest level of the year. Here is the year-to-date chart.

And the treasury auctions to pay for all of Obama's spending is only beginning.

Terrorist Passengers on Air France Flight?

Sky News is reporting that two individuals with links to radical Islam and terrorism were on the Air France flight that went down recently. The name similarities could be a coincidence, but with the bizarre circumstances surrounding the crash, I would not be surprised if it was terrorism that brought the plane down.

$12 Million Per Uighur Terrorist

Obama seems to have found a nation (the island of Palau) willing to accept the Uighur terrorists...and at a bargain price of only $12 million per terrorist.

Heck, I'll build a prison and take them all for that price.

Labor Unions Literally in Debt for Obama

The unions spent a ton of money to get Obama elected - and now their near-insolvency requires them getting some payback. From the WSJ:

Alarm is coming even from inside the AFL-CIO -- specifically, from Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who sits on the AFL-CIO's finance committee. Bloomberg News reports that he is circulating a report claiming the AFL-CIO engaged in "creative accounting" to conceal financial difficulties heading into last year's Presidential election. As recently as 2000, the union consortium of 8.5 million members had a $45 million surplus. By June of last year it had $90.6 million in liabilities, or $2.3 million more than its $88.3 million in assets. "If we are not careful, insolvency may be right around the corner," Mr. Buffenbarger warned.

As for the SEIU, as recently as 2002 total SEIU liabilities were about $8 million. According to its 2008 disclosure form, the union owed more than $156 million, a 30% increase over the $120 million it owed in 2007. Its liabilities now equal more than 80% of its $189 million in assets. Net assets fell by nearly half last year, to $34 million, from $64 million in 2007. The debt includes an $80 million loan the SEIU took out in 2003 to purchase a new headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. But the liabilities also stem from political spending, including at least $67 million last year on political and lobbying expenses, twice what it spent in 2007.

Bottom line is that these unions have spent their members' dues irresponsibly and now need to dramatically increase their membership in order to pay off all the debt they incurred by helping Obama get elected.

McAuliffe Goes Down in Virginia

Far left radical candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe has gone down in a big way to Creigh Deeds, 50% to 26% in the democratic primary. This has to considered a big blow to far left democrats like Obama.

Letterman Jokes About Rape of Palin Daughter

This is why I can't watch Letterman. I wonder if anyone would find it offensive if someone joked about raping Obama's daughters. I have a feeling Letterman would have appeared on his last show...

*Update*
Contessa Brewer of MSNBC asked why Palin would be so offended. Amazing.

Joke of the Day: Obama Pushes PayGo

Obama has now turned over a new leaf and is pushing for PayGo rules, or pay-as-you-go, under the ruse of reducing spending.

What PayGo does, of course, if adhered to strictly, is prevent any tax cuts unless "paid for" by other tax increases or spending cuts. It also forces tax increases to pay for new spending. In other words, Obama can raise spending levels by $3 trillion, sign PayGo and then say that we need to raise taxes to comply with PayGo.

And the fraud continues...

GOP Regains Majority in NY Senate

The GOP regained majority control of the New York Senate with the defections of two Democrats to the GOP. While Democrat Governor Paterson was outraged and people are throwing around the word "coup," I don't recall this outrage when Jim Jeffords did the same thing in the U.S. Senate a few years back - or when Arlen Specter switched just this year, for that matter.

Indications Of GM Losing Big Market Share

According to Rasmussen, only 42% of current GM car owners are likely to buy another GM as their next car. I can't imagine that Chrysler owners feel much differently. Hmm...I wonder why that is.

Obama's TARP Overseer: Let's Re-Run Stress Tests

Elizabeth Warren, Obama's overseer of TARP and a woman who never saw a financial institution she didn't believe was crooked, would like to re-do the bank "stress tests" with tougher assumptions.

Just when you didn't think this administration could be any dumber....just as the banks are beginning to regain confidence, Warren wants to introduce more doubt and uncertainty into the markets. Completely absurd. This is just another reminder why the U.S. economy will likely not regain its historic 3%+ growth rate until Obama is out of office. At the instant a silver lining appears, they are ready to either spend more, tax more or regulate more.

U.S. Wants European Banks "Stress-Tested"

Since the plan was so popular here in the U.S., Obama now wants to force Europe to perform their own "stress tests" on their banks.

But of course, we don't "impose our values on others."

Obama Still Pushing the "Saving Jobs" Mantra

Obama continues with the ridiculous assertion that "he" will "create or save" 600,000 jobs over the next 100 days. It's funny because when he originally passed his $800 billion anti-stimulus bill, the claim was 2-3 million "created or saved" jobs. But at the same time, his projections should unemployment topping out at 9-9.5% - which, of course, means that everything he says is a complete fabrication.

And just for good measure, Obama said that all this is Bush's fault anyway. I don't know how long he's going to make these silly arguments, but I think most Americans are getting fed up with his b.s.

CNN Ratings "Down the Drain"

According to CNN co-founder Reese Schonfeld, CNN's ratings have been a disaster since Obama's election. MSNBC's ratings have done less poor, but their advertising revenue is right there in the toilet with CNN. Fox News, of course, has done remarkable.

It's funny - when George W. Bush was elected, Fox News did better because conservatives were fired up about the election victory. Now conservatives are angry about the election loss. It seems to me that Fox does best when the GOP loses or wins. Wouldn't it make sense if the other cable news stations asked why? Are Shep Smith and Greta van Susteren really right-wing hate spewing lunatics or is fair reporting a preferred service by the public? As a fair and balanced source myself, I have to assume it's the latter.

The Look of a Madwoman

I think a picture tells 1000 words in the case of Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni.

Dealergate Raising Congressional Ire

Both Democrat and Republican congressmen are starting to ask questions about what criteria were used by Obama's auto task force to determine which dealerships were closed. It looks like a case of political favortism and cronyism. From Red State.

Jeff Immelt Forcing Boycott on Companies Asking Tough Questions

It appears that Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, is taking revenge on companies that dare ask tough questions or even report on tough questions related to Immelt's management of GE. From Newsbusters:

That's when, sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media tell me, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt ordered a GE company-wide ban on all of THR's parent company: advertising, editorial, the works. After a few days, the ban was reduced to GE's NBC Universal against Nielsen Business Media's The Hollywood Reporter and lasted six weeks. (My NBC Universal sources believe the ban was lifted yesterday.) My reporting is the first about the ban or what led to it. "People need to know that GE is using its media arm to stifle coverage about its company, and this is coming from Immelt and Zucker," a Nielsen Business Media insider said.

Since taking over from Jack Welch, Immelt has destroyed massive shareholder value for the iconic GE. He has also turned the NBC brand name into a laughingstock for its parody-type coverage of Obama and his policies. And his answer is to blame companies that report on tough qeustions from shareholders? Immelt needs to be fired.

1-Year Bond Yield Climbing Quickly

Don't look now, but the 10-year bond is now at 3.86% - a huge jump from the beginning of the year. I will admit that the yield in January was unsustainably low, but if we continue marching upwards above 4%, I think our struggling Obama economy is in some serious trouble.

Rasmussen: Obama Approval Down

According to Rasmussen, Obama's net approval rating (strongly approve minus strongly disapprove) is now at 0 - the lowest point in his presidency.

Just wait until people start blaming Obama for all of the policies he has either recently or in the process of implementing.

Quote of the Day

From Andy McCarthy on Obama's speech in Cairo:

Yesterday, President Obama said the foundation of his engagement policy with Iran is that "we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect." Does there ever come a point, say, after about 30 years of hostage-taking, terror-mongering, bombing American Air Force personnel, killing American troops in Iraq, harboring al-Qaeda, abetting the Taliban, underwriting Hezbollah and Hamas, threatening to wipe Israel off the map, and chanting "Death to America," when we entertain the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there's a teensy-weensy chance that the "respect" here isn't exactly "mutual"?

Unemployment Hits 26-Year High 9.4%

Unemployment clocked in at 9.4% today, its highest level in 26 years. The silver lining, which I have no doubt the Obama media will seize upon, is that job losses of 345,000 were below expectations.

I don't think we should be too euphoric just yet. It's true that all business downturns come to an end (and with this being longer than most, we are hopefully near the end), but keep in mind what CEOs of the major companies in the U.S. (Microsoft, P&G, ...) have just recently said: more jobs are moving overseas if Obama's new tax proposal is passed.

Obama and the Stimulus: You Can't Make this Stuff Up

There are all sorts of silly anecdotal stories about what Obama is doing with his stimulus money. I'm talking about the process, and in particular, the process of being eligible for stimulus money. If a city/state/project wants stimulus money, they need to fill out dozens and dozens of pages indicating what the project is for. Fair enough. A big part of this process is that companies must provide in detail, the number of jobs they will be saving by accepting the money. If a project would not have cut heads before, they likely will not be eligible for the money because, by definition, there wouldn't be any jobs to save. So in a sense, the government is holding the money ransom unless they save jobs. Of course the lawyers who create and affirm these documents are the jobs that are first saved.

The crazy thing about this is that it's all hypothetical of course. How can anyone ever prove that they would have laid off workers if they did not get the money? But if a company really wants the money, they'll tell the government whatever they want to hear. It's an insane thing to measure, but that's what Obama is doing. The fact that Obama has never held a real private sector job before really shows here.

The reason Obama is doing this is so he can come back to the American public with concrete numbers of how many jobs he has saved, and he'll have it in writing. Pretty self-serving if you ask me.

Imagine if GW asked the general public to sign a document saying the tax cuts would help them beforehand?

No links to this story. Just stories I've heard first and second hand and I hesitate to use company names.

Air France: Officials Not Ruling Out Terrorism

There has been a surprisingly scant amount of speculation that a terrorist bomb brought down the Air France flight. But according to the Telegraph, officials have not ruled it out.

As I mentioned previously, transocean airplanes have long been the favorite target of terrorists. Turbulence is also a possibility, but according to pilots, this total system failure is extremely rare due to weather.

Michelle Obama, Sotomayor Still Have Chips on Shoulders

Michelle gave a speech at a Washington area charter school and showed that she and Sotomayor still have serious chips on their shoulders.

When she arrived at Princeton as a freshman -- and this was nine years before I would even think about going -- she said when she stepped on that campus, she said -- and this is a quote -- she said she felt like 'a visitor landing in an alien country.' (Laughter.) And she said she never raised her hand her first year because -- and this is a quote -- she 'was too embarrassed and too intimidated to ask questions.'

So despite all of her success at Princeton -- and then she went on to Yale Law School where she was at the top of her class, in both schools -- and despite all of her professional accomplishments, Judge Sotomayor says she still looks over her shoulder and wonders if she measures up. And when

I read her story, I understood exactly how she feels.

Excuse me, but if you went to Harvard, Princeton and are now the first lady of the U.S. and you still have this festering anger toward your country, there is something wrong with you. Perhaps if she felt that others believed her to be less qualified, it's because of affirmative action in the country, which does indeed provide entitlements to people solely on the basis of race or sex.

Obama Gives Green Light to Iranian Nuclear Weapons

This says it all:

In an apparent reference to Israel, believed to be only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, Obama said he understood protests "that some countries have weapons that others do not." He added that this was why he reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no country has nuclear weapons.

"No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons," he said.

Obama certainly does not want the U.S. to be a superpower any longer.

Holder Gives Democrats Early 2010 Election Lead

When Georgia tried to pass a law to ensure that only eligible (and living) citizens of the U.S. voted, Obama's AG Eric Holder shot it down, claiming that it might affect minorities (never mind if they are legal or not). From Andy McCarthy:

Quite apart from the fact that the VRA is an anachronism in modern America, is there not something perverse about cancelling out the votes of eligible citizens — the inevitable result of permitting ineligible citizens and non-citizens to vote, as DOJ is effectively forcing Georgia to do here — under the auspices of something called the "Voting Rights Act"?

Georgia's Secretary of State Karen Handel describes this DOJ interference well:

“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting, instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.

It's a shame. ACORN, MoveOn and other thug criminal organizations can start registering dead people and illegals right now and Georgia can do nothing to stop them, thanks to the Obama administration. There are likely already a few hundred thousand Democrat votes already mailed in for 2010.

Microsoft to Move Jobs Offshore if Obama Tax Plan Passes

Microsoft's CEO Steven Ballmer joined the chorus of major companies' executives that said his company would move jobs to foreign countries if Obama's plan to tax earnings earned overseas passes Congress.

“It makes U.S. jobs more expensive,” Ballmer said in an interview. “We’re better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S.”

I wonder how the Job-Killer-in-Chief is going to take credit for saving these jobs...

Saudis Set Groundrules for Obama Media

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann write that while Obama may or may not have bowed to the Saudi king last visit, he and his State Department are rolling over for them this time.

First, he is bypassing Israel. Visiting the Middle East and not going to Israel would be like touring North America and omitted a stop in the United States. It only makes sense if you interpret it as a deliberate slap in the f ace of Jerusalem and a statement to the Arab world that America’s pro-Israeli policy is changing.

But as he goes to Saudi Arabia, the United States State Department, head by Mrs. Hillary Clinton, has announced that it has accepted the ground rules for media coverage of the Obama visit to the royal family and its domain. Reporters will only be allowed to cover the actual meetings between the Saudis and Obama and will not be permitted to visit the rest of the country or report on anything else they see during the trip. Those reporters who violate these terms are subject to arrest and imprisonment by the Saudi government!!!

The media would like to be known as supporting their express right to cover stories they deem important. But alas, they are now simply lapdogs of Obama, who himself is bending over backward and forward for his Muslim brethren.

Classified Nuclear Information Mistakenly Placed on Internet

The government mistakenly uploaded classified nuclear site information to the Internet.

I'm ready to hand them the keys to our health care system...

Obama Willing to Tax Health Care Benefits

You knew it was just a matter of time. Obama is no longer pretending to be the tax cutter that he was while campaigning. Obama is in full-fledged, "tax and screw" all Americans mode. And yes, it includes taxing all employer health care plans that Americans receive.

Yippee. How's that change working now?

Barnanke Warns Against Obama Deficits

Ben Bernanke, the last serious adult in Washington on economic matters, warned Obama and the Congress against their proposed deficits.

Bernanke cautioned: "Unless we demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal sustainability in the longer term, we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth."

This was just two days after Tim Geithner was laughed at by his Chinese audience after he said the U.S. treasury bonds were a safe investment.

Was Air France Flight Act of Terrorism?

Drudge has a link to this article about a bomb threat to an Air France flight from Argentina on May 27. It's difficult at this point to know what caused the crash, but we do know that transocean flights have long been a terrorist target.

We have this meteorological analysis that suggests turbulence or even lightning could have caused the airplane to lose power, but nothing is definitive and there are still a lot of questions about whether the backup power supplies would have been destroyed, which they seem to have been.

Unfortunately, hopes are dim for finding the black box.

What Muslim Attack on Army Recruiter?

If the media and the president don't mention it, maybe it never happened...the attack on the Army recruiter in Arkansas by a Muslim extremist, of course. From Michelle Malkin.

Maybe they had too much on their plate with the killing of the abortion doctor.

One Thing Obama and Terrorists Agree On

Before you read this, let me say there's probably not a ton of things that Obama and terrorists do agree on. But there is one thing: closing Gitmo. Byron York did some digging and here are his conclusions:

Overall, 65 percent of those surveyed oppose shutting Gitmo, versus 32 percent who say it should be closed. According to the poll's internal numbers, large majorities of men oppose closing the prison, large majorities of women oppose it, large majorities of white people oppose it, large majorities of non-white people oppose it, people with graduate degrees oppose it, and people who didn't finish high school oppose it. Pretty much everybody.

Everybody, except terrorists and Obama. I can understand why terrorists feel this way. What's Obama's angle?

How Naive is this President?

According to the Washington Post,

President Barack Obama suggested that Iran may have some right to nuclear energy, provided it proves by the end of the year that its aspirations are peaceful.

I have called Obama the second-coming of Carter. I now think Carter would be a big upgrade.

Katie Couric's Hypocritical Speech at Princeton

Katie Couric gave a speech at Princeton where she advised students to "really guard against the cynicism and nastiness that are so pervasive today."

That was right after she mocked Limbaugh, Palin, Rumsfeld and Miss California (but of course, she's an objective newscaster).

On Rush Limbaugh: "There may be some opportunities in the Republican Party. They're still looking for an effective spokesman, and the only person they can find so far is Rush Limbaugh....and he won't take the job because he doesn't want to give up his prescription plan."

On Donald Rumsfeld: "And I understand Class of 54's Donald Rumsfeld has been charged with guarding the Big Cannon. I don't want to say he's taking his job too far, but he's reportedly been telling President Obama there are Weapons of Mass Destruction hidden at Rutgers."

On Gov. Palin: "Coming here was a real no brainer! After all, I can see New Jersey from my house!"

I don't think any of these people mind being mocked by Couric. As Republican politicians/commentators, I'm sure they are used to it (except for Miss California, who simply answered a question she was asked by a PC policeman). But doesn't Couric have at least a partial brain to understand she just contradicted the key point of her speech?

Durbin and Blogo

It appears that Dem. Senator Dick Durbin was pretty familiar with Rod Blagojevich's desire to sell off Obama's Senate seat in return for political favors. Doesn't that make Durbin an accomplice?

31 Year-old Responsible for GM Bankruptcy

This is downright scary - and shows just how clueless the Obama administration is about the economy.

It is not every 31-year-old who, in a first government job, finds himself dismantling General Motors and rewriting the rules of American capitalism.

But that, in short, is the job description for Brian Deese, a not-quite graduate of Yale Law School who had never set foot in an automotive assembly plant until he took on his nearly unseen role in remaking the American automotive industry.

...“There was a time between Nov. 4 and mid-February when I was the only full-time member of the auto task force,” Mr. Deese, a special assistant to the president for economic policy, acknowledged recently as he hurried between his desk at the White House and the Treasury building next door. “It was a little scary.”

Uggh. No wonder the Chinese are laughing at Geithner and the Pravda is talking about the U.S. falling quickly into Marxism.

Chinese Audience Laughs At Geithner's Assurances

Tim Geithner said that the Chinese holdings in U.S. dollars are "very safe." At which point, the audience broke out in laughter.

You can't fool people who understand communism and state-run economics.

Gitmo is Tough!

Language classes, laptops, computer classes, fast food take-out. Are these guys in college or in prison?

Krugman: It's Not Obama's Fault. It's Reagan's!

Why am I not surprised? When there is a Republican president and the economy goes sour, it's his fault. When there is a democrat, again it's a previous republican who's to blame.

Paul Krugman in his article, talks about his reasons for blaming Reagan. But also keep in mind that Krugman makes various allusions to different Democratic presidents and surprise - they're all positive. Here are a few examples:

Krugman mentions that federal debt as a percentage of G.D.P. fell steadily from the end of World War II until 1980. But he forgot to mention where debt started from in 1932. I wonder why?

He then adds:

Reagan-era legislative changes essentially ended New Deal restrictions on mortgage lending.

No mention of the larger deregulation done under Clinton (Glass-Stegall). He also says:

We weren’t always a nation of big debts and low savings: in the 1970s Americans saved almost 10 percent of their income, slightly more than in the 1960s.

Aaaah yes - those glorious 1970's! Most people forgot about how great the economy was then! One more:

...indebtedness began rising under Reagan; it fell again in the Clinton years, but resumed its rise under the Bush administration, leaving us ill prepared for the emergency now upon us.

You can read the article if you want. Just know where he stands politically before you do. Glad to see our Nobel prize winning economist is as post-partisan as our commander in chief.

Former Car Czar Speaks Out Against Government Intervention

In today's WSJ, Ion Mhai Pacepa, a former top government official in Romania under Ceausescu, knows first hand that government-run car companies do not work. He was the former "car czar" in Romania to help build cars for both internal use and for export to other countries. (The companies were not successful.) The experiment works neither in communist or capitalist countries, he rightly argues.

Automobile manufacturing and government do not mix in capitalist countries either. In the spring of 1978 Ceausescu appointed me chief of his Presidential House, a new position supposed to be similar to that of the White House chief of staff. To go with it he gave me a big Jaguar car. That Jaguar, which at the time had been produced in a government-run British factory, was so bad that it spent more time in the garage being repaired than it did on the road.

"Apart from some Russian factories in Gorky, Jaguars were the worst," Ford executive Bill Hayden stated when Ford bought the nationalized British car maker in 1988. How did the famous Jaguar, one of the most prestigious cars in the world, become a joke?

In 1945, the British voters, tired of four years of war, kicked out Winston Churchill and elected a leftist parliament led by Labour's Clement Attlee. Attlee nationalized the automobile, trucking and coal industries, as well as communication facilities, civil aviation, electricity and steel. Britain was already saddled by crushing war debts. Now it was sapped of economic vigor. The old empire quickly passed into history. It would take decades until Margaret Thatcher's privatization reforms restored Britain's place among the world's top-tier economies.

The question is whether only GM and Chrysler will fail or whether the government will use its heavy subsidy hand to help make it difficult for Ford to succeed as well.

Dollar Falls Some More, Obama Still Spending

The US dollar now has dropped 19% against the pound in the last 3 months and 14% against the euro. Could it be because the Chinese don't believe Obama when he's said he's concerned with the deficit?