Waters vs. Bernanke on Monetary Policy

A debate on monetary policy between two heavyweights...kind of like a boxing match between Mike Tyson in his prime vs. Michael Jackson in his prime.

This reminds me of Maxine Waters during the hearings post-Enron blowup. She asked whether the fact that companies keep two sets of books (one for tax purposes and one for GAAP purposes) was the reason that Enron was allowed to create a fraud.

Yup, these geniuses shape our economic policy...

Steve Wynn Slams Obama in Conference Call

Steve Wynn absolutely destroys the Obama administration in response to an analyst question on an earnings call yesterday. A bit lengthy, but a great answer from one of our business leaders who does not pull punches.

There are more questions afoot in this market in America that will impact ’11 than I have hair in my head, I am happy to say, and I still have a full head of hair.

No, you’ll not get any of that from us. I don’t see it. I’ve got more questions than answers. I have more pessimism than I have had before. And it’s based upon the political environment in which we are living today. And it definitely is impacting Las Vegas. The President of the United States hasn’t missed one single opportunity to swelch [ph] Las Vegas. In our particular case it’s cost us millions of dollars from companies affected by the President’s remarks that had no connection whatsoever to federal bailouts. But we get phone calls, and I am not going to mention the names of the companies, from Chairmen, who say we don’t want to appear to be profligate because Barack Obama said this or that about Las Vegas. But it’s had an effect on us. The hospitality industry in the United States of America as a whole has suffered disproportionately during this recession. Maybe automobile workers got a break. But all of the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people that work in the hotels, restaurants, and bars in the United States of America have been totally and completely overlooked in this aborted rescue attempt that has squandered billions of dollars in the United States. And I am being very harsh about it. And I’ve got the data to back it up and so is everybody else in the hospitality industry

Job formation and the kinds of companies that make jobs are under attack in the United States of America. You know, MGM – aside for a moment – in – last year we created almost 5000 jobs. And immediately became the target of the administration. Businesses that created jobs, little own gaming companies have created jobs, had to be no good. I mean, it is preposterous that businesses are under attack in the United States of America.

Anybody that makes over$250,000 in the form of a personal income tax return is now by Washington definition ‘a rich person’ when everybody who has got a college degree knows that the personal income tax rate in the United States of America is the business tax of America. Every subchapter S, every individual proprietorship, and every partnership in the United States of America files tax returns as individuals. And when they do, and they show that they made $2 million, or $3 million or God forbid $4 million, they pay the income tax rate. They deduct their working expenses, their living expenses and then they invest in a new store, a new shop, and most of the time 25% of their “profits” are tied up in accounts receivable or inventory. But all of a sudden, all of those people who make over $250,000 are rich folks to be fleeced. And if that’s job formation stimulation in America, (inaudible) providence. And if I sound angry about it, and disgusted, I am disgusted and angry at the apparent ignorance of the administration and the Congress to recognize the fact that the individual tax rate in the United States of America is in fact the business tax of America. And if you keep banging on that, you will destroy in the incentive for job formation in the United States of America. And that’s simple truth. Simple truth. And whether politicians like it or don’t like it, it means nothing to me.

And that’s why I am pessimistic about Las Vegas, because those are our customers. Those people out there, hustling their businesses, and God forbid, showing that they made a million dollars as a partnership or as an individual, yes, they are the enemy now. They are the rich folks. Well, until we get over this America is in for hard times because what’s going to happen is the people that are going to suffer from what’s going on are the working class of America. My 15 to 20,000 employees they are the ones that are in trouble. The reason they are in trouble is this demolition of the dollar. It’s going to reduce the buying power of the working class of America as sure hell as if we gave them a salary cut of 25%. And that’s another thing that doesn’t seem to be clear to the brilliant people in Washington, D.C. They are not just our customers, they are my employees. And until my employees get the drift of what’s being done to them America is in trouble.

Next question.

Obama Appoints Union Boss to Debt Panel

Obama appointing Andy Stern of the SEIU to the deficit commission is a bit like allowing Bernard Madoff to oversee the financial oversight committee.

Obama to Outlaw All Foreclosures

Obama is considering outlawing all bank foreclosures without a federal review.

Sorry, but that is not going to help the economy by preventing banks from enforcing their contracts. Getting your idiot party out of the way so companies are willing to start hiring again will...

Obama's Economic View

Daniel Henninger sums up Obama's philosophy on the U.S. economy with a quote from the man at yesterday's Business Roundtable:

"For the better part of three decades (my emphasis), a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth has been accumulated by the wealthy. Technological advances and growing global competition, while transforming whole industries—and birthing new ones—has accentuated the trend toward rising inequality."

For this reason, says Obama, the entire economy has to be taken over and guided by him and his cronies. Hmmm....some people think that growing the U.S. GDP from $2.8 trillion to $14.6 trillion during that 30-year time period was pretty darn good.

Britain's Health Care Disaster

British universal healthcare mess. This is what Obama wants for the U.S. - universally awful healthcare coverage.

John Yoo: I May Have Just Saved Obama's Presidency

Former Justice Department official John Yoo in the WSJ:

Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency. How? By winning a drawn-out fight to protect his powers as commander in chief to wage war and keep Americans safe.

...In my case, he let loose the ethics investigators of the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to smear my reputation and that of Jay Bybee, who now sits as a federal judge on the court of appeals in San Francisco. Our crime? While serving in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the weeks and months after 9/11, we answered in the form of memoranda extremely difficult questions from the leaders of the CIA, the National Security Council and the White House on when interrogation methods crossed the line into prohibited acts of torture.

OPR's investigation was so biased, so flawed, and so beneath the Justice Department's own standards that last week the department's ranking civil servant and senior ethicist, David Margolis, completely rejected its recommendations.

Meet the Chicago Way.

Terrorist KSM's Defender Now in Obama's Justice Dept.

What does one do with her career as an encore after she tries to get terrorist and 9/11 mastermind KSM freed?

Why, she gets a job in Obama's Justice Department, of course.

Democrat Stimulus #3

OK, so we have had Pelosi's $150 billion "rebate check" stimulus in 2007 which was worse than doing nothing. Then we had Obama's $800 billion "stimulus in 2090 that was worse than doing nothing. Now we're going to have a slightly smaller, but likely as ineffective stlimulus of $15 billion, helped along by new GOPer Scott Brown.

So, we've added $1 trillion in debt from these programs that did not do anything.

Harry Reid: Obama Has Caused More Domestic Violence

Harry Reid is basically saying that Obama is responsible for dramatically increasing domestic violence in the U.S.

Et Tu, Glenn Beck?

The American Thinker lays out a very good post explaining that Glenn Beck, who holds some very sound conservative ideas, has lost touch with reality. He has taken the position that Republicans and Democrats are equally bad, which is completely absurd.

While Glenn Beck has some good points, I fear he is becoming just another populist like Bill O'Reilly. Good for his own ratings, but not in touch with reality.

*Update*
Mark Levin and Bill Bennett seem to agree. Incidentally, Mark Levin was invited to be the opening speaker at CPAC and he accepted. However, after learning that the John Birch society was a cosponsor of the event, Levin withdrew. The CPAC organizers really need to do a better job in the future with this stuff.

Obamacare Step 1: Price Controls

Obama is taking the bold step of forcing price controls on health insurers as a way to "control costs."

Because price controls always achieve the intended results...

Nine Obama DOJ Officials Defended Terrorists

Eric Holder confirms that nine officials in Obama's Department of Justice have defended terrorists in the past. That's a little bit bothersome.

Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll

I'll say this for Ron Paul - even though he's a complete kook and does not generally represent conservative views, he has a bunch of loyal followers. He won the CPAC straw poll this weekend with 31 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney placed a strong second with 22 percent. I think Paul supporters (mainly young students) were organized and attended the conference in force this year. Absent the Paul kooks, it seems like Romney was the clear favorite.

Unfortunately, having a bunch of truthers and birthers in what Paul claims to be a "conservative" viewpoint is not helpful to conservatives who base their opinions on fact rather than conspiracy.

Dems: Screw You, Americans! We Want Obamacare!

Democrats and Obama appear to be holding up their middle fingers at the American public, vowing to pass the Obamacare disaster despite the fact that no one wants it.

Long live socialism.

Obama Motors' CEO To Get $9 Million Package

So...the executives at banks who were forced to accept TARP funds get their salaries capped, but the CEOs of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and now General Motors get unlimited paychecks.

Incidentally, the U.S. government made a significant amount of money from banks, but will lose hundreds of billions on Fannie, Freddie and GM.

Alan Simpson, Obama's Republican Tax Collector

Imagine this: a president calls upon a retired senator to help head a commission that by design, will give Obama the excuse he needs to dramatically raise taxes (all while he continues his taxpayer shopping spree).

Meet reality and Alan Simpson, hater of all tax cuts, who by accepting this sham of a "bipartisan commission" (where Democrats outnumber Republicans), has given Obama his fait accompli.

Within a few months, the commission will issue its report - and the result will be that we are headed for an apocalypse unless Obama raises taxes. Don't be surprised it they also talk about how President Bush was irresponsible for cutting taxes in 2003...

Stephen Moore has a good summary here.

Iraq Below 100,000 U.S. Troops

Joe Biden was right. The fact that U.S. troop involvement in Iraq is now below 100,000 shows that a democratic, representative and safe Iraq (well, at least compared to inner city Chicago, Detroit and Washington DC) will truly be the Obama administration's crowning achievement.

South Korean Sports Fans: We Could Do Without Them

Seems like they might be the least sportsman-like fans of all time, especially in their hatred of US skater, Apolo Ohno. Read it. Because Apolo Ohno has beaten South Koreans in the beloved speed skating, the whole country hates him, and not only that, but they've made death threats to him. Sound crazy? Maybe anywhere outside of Korea, where these grudges can seemingly last a lifetime. I also seem to remember a World Cup in 2002 where South Korea scored a goal against the US, and the scorer taunted the US team with a speed skating ritual (which very few people understood outside of Korea). I just think they take themselves a little too seriously.

On the other side of things, I also remember an incident in the 1988 olympics in Seoul where Roy Jones pummelled his South Korean opponent - about 375 punches to 6, and the gold was awarded to the South Korean thanks to a partisan Korean judge. Don't remember any death threats to Koreans. I'm not sure what exactly is behind the attitude of many South Koreans. The article says that perhaps racism against Japanese is a factor. Could be.

Great that Koreans support their team. Just hate to see what would happen if Ohno beats them again tonight.

Obama's Commission on National Debt

Who is Obama trying to fool by creating a commission to study the national deficit and debt problem?

This should be the commission's conclusion: Resign, Mr. President.

Teachers Union Head Admits: It's Not About the Kids

This is pretty revealing. From John Stossel:

When The Washington Post asked George Parker, head of the Washington, D.C., teachers union, about the voucher program there, he said: "Parents are voting with their feet. ... As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in D.C. schools so we'll have teachers to represent."

ince 1980, government spending on education, adjusted for inflation, has nearly doubled. But test scores have been flat for decades. Today we spend a stunning $11,000 a year per student — more than $200,000 per classroom. It's not working.

The article is quite informative and worth the read.

Obama's Latest Muslim Envoy: Al Arian Supporter

Obama sure does love anti-Americans representing the U.S. This time, Rashad Hussain, nominated to be the next envoy to the Organization of Islamic Countries, said in a magazine article in 2004 that the prosecution of terrorist supporter Sami Al Arian was "politically motivated" designed to "squash dissent."

But just last month, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs removed those quotes. Interestingly, the author of the story said that those quotes are indeed accurate and he stands by them.

So who exactly doctored this story because they knew that Hussain is a radical supporter of Muslim terrorists? Stay tuned - another one going under the bus...?

Bayh: Congress Hasn't Create One Job in Past 6 Months

I'm not sure if Evan Bayh meant to be this honest, but it is a terrible indictment of Democrats:

"But if I could create one job in the private sector by helping to grow a business, that would be one more than Congress has created in the last six months."

Better not tell this to Obama...

Public School Teachers Lose Standoff with RI Town

In a town where the median income is $22K and public school teachers make $70-78K, Central Falls, Rhode Island tried to get its teachers to help improve the education system by working an extra 25 minutes a day. The teacher union refused. All the teachers got fired.

Good for them. Now if we could only get that attitude at the federal level...

The Best Union Investment Ever

NJ Chris Christie is shedding light on a subject that public employee unions would rather have gone unnoticed - their pension deals.

Christie provided examples of employees paying $124K over the course of their lifetime into a pension fund - while receiving well over $3 million in pension benefits during retirement. Not a good deal for taxpayers.

Bye Bye Bayh!

Shocker.

It was at least 50/50 he would have lost anyway though.

Biden to Iraq: You Weren't Worth It

Joe Biden believes Iraq wasn't worth it. This, exactly a week after he said that a democratic, stable Iraq would be the crowning achievement of the Obama Administration. Yes, he really said that...

*Update*
Gateway Pundit reminds us that Joe Biden had quite a different view of the need to dispose of Saddam back in 2002. Now who's rewriting history, Joe?

Global Warming Scientist: No Global Warming Since 1995

Professor Phil Jones, a noted global warming scientist, says that there hasn't been global warming since 1995.

So just to summarize: the planet is ___ years old (take your pick, whether you believe the Biblical explanation or the Big Bang explanation) and has gone through both cold cycles and warmer cycles every few hundred years. Between 1900 and 1995 the earth apparently warmed by 0.7 degrees and then cooled by the same amount between 1995 and 2008. And this is the best they've got as proof?

Tracking Cellphones: Who's the Fascist Now?

Libs were upset when President Bush's Justice Department OK'd wiretapping terrorist phone calls without warrants. Obama has taken that one step further - he wants to track every cell phone in the country - no exceptions. Apparently, privacy is no longer a right.

NJ Gov. Christie to Halt Spending; Dems Angry

Democrats are showing their true colors in New Jersey, as GOP Gov. Christie announced a spending freeze, making the Dems furious. They are going to pull out the usual stops, like students are going to have to walk to school or policemen will be laid off, etc.

The truth is that today politicians need to be willing to be hated by the media to fix the economic problems at every level of government - federal, state and local. Gov. Christie is off to a good start.

HuffPo: Palin is Brilliant Strategist

Joan Williams at Huffington Post argues that Sarah Palin is outfoxing the White House and is in fact, a brilliant strategist. With the simple notes on her hand of "taxes," "energy" and "lift American spirits," Williams argues that Palin knew this would be picked up in the media and would be derided by liberal elites. This pits regular Americans (including Palin) against the career politicians in Washington.

I don't put a ton of faith in HuffPo, but I have to admit it is a very convincing argument.

Obama "Agnostic" on Raising Taxes on Everyone

Obama is well known for voting "present" on items both in the Illinois Senate and the U.S. Senate.

Now, after saying repeatedly that he would not raise taxes on families making less than $250K by "a single dime," Obama now says he is "agnostic" (afraid to offer an opinion) to raising taxes on anyone and everyone and that he prefers to vote "present." That's leadership for you.

Red Eye Beats Larry King!

Watch out, but more 25-54 year-old people are watching Fox News's Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld than watch CNN primetime (whoever that is), Larry King, or Anderson Cooper.

CNN had better hope that Fox doesn't move Red Eye to 11pm.

Does Snow Really Cost Taxpayers $100 Million Per Day?

According to government reports, the shutdown of Washington DC costs taxpayers $100 million per day due to the lack of productivity of all those paid federal workers.

My feeling is that every day that the federal government doesn't do anything is a huge net gain for taxpayers. I say we should keep 'em at home all year long. Will anyone really miss them?

USA Today: Obama's Amateur Hour on Terrorism

Even the USA Today, a beacon of left-wing media, says that the Obama administration has completely botched the fight against terrorists, particularly with regard to the Christmas bomber.

Gibbs Mocks Palin By Writing Notes on Palm

Most administrations go out of their way to be dignified and presidential. The Obama White House is the exact opposite - petty, sophomoric and obnoxious. How else to explain Gibbs' joke to mock Palin by writing notes on his hand? Can you think of any other press secretary in history who would do something so petty as to pick a fight with a woman who does not even currently hold office?

There's something deeply disturbing about this White House - reminiscent of third world dictators.

White House: Critics "Serving Goals of Al Qaeda"

In the most ridiculous irony of ironies, the White House claims that Obama's critics are helping to further the goals of Al Qaeda.

Have these guys listened to Bin Laden (or Kim Jong Il, Ahmedinejad, Castro, or Shavez) recently? They all repeat Democrats ad nauseam, never mind Democrat efforts over the past eight years to undermine everything George Bush was doing.

Sen. Menendez Tried to Save Bank of Political Contributors

Dem Senator Robert Menendez of NJ wrote a letter to Ben Bernanke last year in an attempt to save JJR Bank Holding Co., whose Chairman and Vice Chairman were both huge political contributors to the senator. Of course, he neglected to mention this fact in his letter. From the WSJ:

In his letter to the Fed July 21, Mr. Menendez said there was a strong likelihood that First BankAmericano, of Elizabeth, N.J., would fail in three days, which would "send yet another negative message to consumers and investors and further impact our fragile economy."

While lawmakers routinely forward requests from constituents to government agencies, it is rare for them to make specific requests along the lines of this letter asking specific actions, bank attorneys and congressional aides said. One reason is to avoid any appearance of trying to influence the regulatory process for political ends.

Media Bias: Palin vs Obama

The media is up in arms about Palin's latest speech where she jots 4 words down on her hand to use as notes for a speech. People in the media, like Andrea Mitchell are calling it cheating, and hypocritical because Palin has often criticized Obama's use of the teleprompter.

I don't understand the comparison. To equate one with the other is either bad judgement or bad journalism, or both and it's difficult to see the comparison between the two. One is just reading, pure and simple, nothing more; whereas the other one is a real speech, with just a few words to help someone remember key points. One can argue about the content of what one is reading (or was written for them) compared to what the other is speaking (in their own words). One might also find it funny that she wrote it on her hand rather than put it on a cue card - this can certainly be debated. But in my humble opinion, there really is no comparison between reading, which most 7 year-olds can do, and actually delivering a speech.

Now, I don't know Andrea Mitchell very well. Maybe Mitchell holds Obama to a lower standard and so for him, reading a speech in it's entirety is the same as using a couple of words on a note card. Does Mitchell hold some people to a higher standard than others? Maybe she holds conservatives, or even people of different genders, or races to different standards. I'm not sure what her personal biases are, but the comparison is ridiculous and I can't see any other reason how she could equate one with the other.

Everyone knows that a few notes are acceptable in the course of a speech, but reading the entire speech is usually only considered acceptable for beginners, and probably not for a President of the United States, and certainly not for someone labelled by the left as THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR.

Libs Want New Agency to Study Climate Change

I thought it was only a bad joke when Lisa Simpson declared on the Simpsons last night that climate change is creating both extreme hot and cold temperatures.

Unfortunately, it appears that Obama administration officials are using the snow storm to declare that climate change is happening now and it represents a "real threat."

Harry Reid Troubles

According to Rasmussen polls, Reid is losing to all four of his Republican challengers.

Obama "Invests" $2.5 MM in Superbowl Ad

Watching the game last night, did anyone else wonder why Obama blew $2.5 million on a commercial for the U.S. census? I thought that ACORN already had the census covered.

Obama to Challenge Republicans on Televised Healthcare

This was pretty predictable. While I didn't see Obama's Q&A at the recent republican meeting, I heard that he performed well and without a teleprompter no less. From this, one could guess that Obama is newly confident and might even try another talk without a teleprompter. Historically, this is when the man's arrogance usually kicks in and he gets himself into trouble. Nonetheless, it's healthy to do this, and I applaud the move.

What I expect from Obama will be more of the same. He'll try to "sound" centrist. This worked on the campaign trail where he swayed independent voters. Will people believe him again? We'll see. I suspect he'll talk about a 10 year plan, where he can say almost anything about the cost, because who the heck really knows over 10 years. He'll also seek to demonize republicans over universal healthcare. These points are givens. But his grand plan is that once healthcare passes, no matter how moderate it sounds, he knows that he can change it in any way he wants. This has always been his plan.

And Republicans will have an uphill battle. First of all, does anyone know what is their position, other than not wanting the plan? Hard to tell, since Obama had shut them out until now. But now that they can speak, what will they say and who will speak for them? Until now, it's been easy for Republicans. They've had a bumbling president and a horrible economy. Just keep your mouth shut and you gain. That's fine, but Obama is calling them on their bluff, and they now have to come up with something. If I were them, I'd challenge the president to name one government-run entity that operates efficiently, and I'd let Canada and Britain do the talking. Maybe invite Daniel Hannan as their special guest? I'd talk about how we can cut costs without a government takeover - namely just cut the darn reimbursement rates! Lastly, I'd tie any change in healthcare reform at all, to a large-scale change in tort reform. I suspect Obama might break Usain Bolt's 100m record out of the building if he ever hears the words "tort reform" but we'll see.

But it's up to Republicans to state what they want. They could really lose big here if they don't come up with a plan of their own or also if they try to sound to nicey-nice. Americans are angry and afraid, and if Republicans just bow down to the man, I think Republicans could lose big time. On the other hand, they will also lose if they are obstructionist without a good reason, which is what Obama is counting on.

Big test for both. Obama's arrogance vs. Republicans trying to appear too gentile. We'll see what happens.

Global Warming Anyone?

Where's Al Gore during this biggest snowfall in the DC area on record? We better solve this global warming problem or we're all going to melt.

Majority of Democrats Love Socialism

According to Gallup, a majority of Democrats have a positive view of socialism.

That's really all that needs to be said about our economy today, since the Democrats have been in charge of Congress since 2007 and our entire government since 2009.

Obama Unemployment: Rate Down, Job Creation Non-existent

The good news about today's unemployment numbers is that, at 9.7%, the headline at least looks good. The bad news is that the economy still cannot create jobs (I know, hard to believe, despite what Obama tells us). January has many seasonal factors which likely impacted the rate to appear better - and at least companies seem largely done with huge layoffs, but unfortunately, this Obamaconomy is still going nowhere fast.

Obama Store Shuts Down

The Obama Store, a shop that sold various Obama products at Union Station in Washington, DC, has closed its doors due to lack of business. That's a good sign for America.

Jobless Claims Higher Than Expected

Jobless claims came in higher than expected, to a level not seen since mid-December. How's Obamanomics working now?

Only 1 in 9 Americans Think Obama Stimulus Helped

One out of nine people believe that Obama's much heralded $787 billion "stimulus" package actually helped the economy.

I think more than that believes in life on other planets.

Largest Ever Federal Payroll

The largest federal payroll ever...at 2.15 million.

And keep in mind, they make 76% more than private workers on average.

Obama's Budget Disaster

The Heritage Foundation has a pretty good summary of Obama's budget.

Obama is going to solve the housing problem....by eliminating the mortgage interest deduction for those making over $200K...

If this proposed budget passes as is, you might as well count on a Depression.

Chicago Mayor Daley Talks Common Sense on Taxes

It's hard to believe, but Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is talking sense on taxes after Oregon decided to raise taxes on companies there (I hope Obama is listening):

The tax hike in Oregon "will help our economic development immediately. You'd better believe it," Hizzoner told the Chicago Sun Times late last week. "We'll be out in Oregon enticing corporations to relocate to Chicago."

Oregon raised its top income tax rate to 11% from 9% and its corporate rate to 7.9% from 6.6%, while doubling many small business tax charges and fees. "What happened in Oregon is not good news for Oregon," explains Mr. Daley. "They believe that anybody who makes $125,000 or more [annually] or businesses or anyone who makes $250,000—they're gonna start taxing them. They call them 'rich people.'"

Mr. Daley isn't buying that. "I've always thought America stands for [rewarding success]. You finish high school. You work hard, go to college and you hope to succeed in life. I never knew it's a class war—that those who succeed in life are the ones that have to bear all the burden. I never realized that. It will be a whole change in America that those who succeed and work hard, we're gonna tax 'em more than anyone else."

Common sense - from a Democrat Mayor of Chicago...

Canadian Premier Coming to U.S. For Healthcare

Canadians have a universal health care system. So why would Premier Danny Williams be coming to the U.S. for heart surgery?

Hmm...

Pelosi Enjoys $100,000 Tab on Plane Rides

This is a great use of taxpayer dollars - subsidizing Nancy Pelosi's food and alcohol tabs on airplane rides to the tune of over $100,000.