More bad news for Obama

Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia

The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its analog roots. And maybe even some hypocrisy highlights.

WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS HAVE BANISHED ONE OF THE BEST POLITICAL REPORTERS IN THE COUNTRY FROM THE APPROVED POOL OF JOURNALISTS covering presidential visits to the Bay Area for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.

The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci - who, like many contemporary reporters, has a phone with video capabilities on her at all times - PULLED OUT A SMALL VIDEO CAMERA LAST WEEK AND SHOT SOME PROTESTERS INTERRUPTING AN OBAMA FUNDRAISER AT THE ST. REGIS HOTEL.

She was part of a "print pool" - a limited number of journalists at an event who represent their bigger hoard colleagues - which White House press officials still refer to quaintly as "pen and pad" reporting…..

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?entry_id=87978#ixzz1Kty5fGY2

So this is Obama’s definition of transparency? She’s banned and other journalists were threatened if they reported the fact she had been banned.



Obama approval all time low: second straight week

President Barack Obama’s weekly approval rating remained at its all-time low for the second straight week, according to the Gallup poll.

IN THE WEEK OF APRIL 11-17 AND AGAIN IN THE WEEK OF APRIL 18-24, 43 PERCENT OF THE AMERICANS POLLED BY GALLUP SAID THEY APPROVED OF THE JOB OBAMA WAS DOING AS PRESIDENT.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-s-approval-remains-all-time-low-se

There’s still plenty of time until the next election, but do you see anything that demonstrates Obama is growing and getting better? It appears to be just the opposite.



Pennsylvania: Keystone for Democrats

If you're looking for ways to boil the 2012 presidential race down to its simplest form, here's one of the easiest: IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ENVISION ANY WAY BARACK OBAMA CAN WIN RE-ELECTION NEXT YEAR IF HE LOSES PENNSYLVANIA. No Keystone State, no second term. It really is that simple.

As of right now, THINGS ARE LOOKING DICEY FOR THE PRESIDENT IN PENNSYLVANIA. Two weeks ago, the Democratic polling firm PPP released a survey showing the president's job approval rating at just 42% among Pennsylvania voters.

Yesterday, Quinnipiac University confirmed PPP's findings with a survey of their own conducted in Pennsylvania last WEEK SHOWING AN IDENTICAL JOB RATING OF 42% FOR THE PRESIDENT - A NEW LOW FOR OBAMA SINCE TAKING OFFICE.

Worse still for the president, for the first time the Quinnipiac poll found A MAJORITY OF PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS SAYING THAT OBAMA DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE RE-ELECTED.

The numbers show a sharp decline in Obama's standing in the Keystone State over the last nine weeks - particularly among Independents. In the last Quinnpiac survey, taken in mid-February of this year, Independents approved of the job Obama was doing as president by a net 4-point margin, 50 to 46. TODAY THEY DISAPPROVE OF THE JOB HE'S DOING BY A NET 20-POINT MARGIN, 37 TO 57.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/04/29/the_keystone_to_obamas_re-election_109702.html


This is a disaster for the Democrats.



Americans Are Ready to Take On the Deficit


A

reader pointed out these remarkable numbers from a Washington Post/Pew Research Center poll conducted April 21-25. Respondents were asked whether they think the federal budget deficit is a major problem that must be addressed now; a major problem that should be addressed when the economy improves; or not much of a problem:

MAJOR PROBLEM THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED NOW: 81%

Major problem that should be addressed when economy improves: 14%

Not much of a problem: 1%

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/04/028919.php

Again this is not good news if you are a partisan democrat. It appears fear mongering will not work against this as an issue.



Don’t Blame Speculators for Oil Prices

http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=mpg&mpid=174&load=5344


Some interesting stats on how we can bring down oil prices now.



Paul Krugman’s name is mentioned at town hall to hearty laughter

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2011/04/leftwing-drone-cites-nobel-prize.html


What is truly remarkable is the amount of laughter when a liberal uses Krugman’s name to try and discredit a Freshman Republican representative at a town hall meeting.



Paul Ryan receives standing ovation

Paul Ryan received a standing ovation Thursday afternoon during the Q&A part of his meeting with constituents at a high school auditorium in a suburb of Milwaukee.

Ryan faced a larger number of hecklers at this event than previous ones, but they were just a sliver of the max capacity crowd. The vast majority of those present stood and applauded Ryan after one constituent rose to thank the congressman for producing his plan to rein in the federal budget

Paul Ryan received a standing ovation Thursday afternoon during the Q&A part of his meeting with constituents at a high school auditorium in a suburb of Milwaukee.

Ryan faced a larger number of hecklers at this event than previous ones, but they were just a sliver of the max capacity crowd. The vast majority of those present stood and applauded Ryan after one constituent rose to thank the congressman for producing his plan to rein in the federal budget

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/video-paul-ryan-gets-standing-ovation-town-hall-meeting_558453.html




The Birther Networks

...As it turns out, ONE WAS 35 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HEAR ABOUT THE BIRTHER ISSUE ON CNN OR MSNBC THAN ON FOX NEWS DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 11 THROUGH 17, when Obama was touting his budget. The cable network most often railed against as the birther-enabler was least likely - by far - to even mention the issue.....

... the following breakdown of birther stories as a percentage of total coverage for each cable news channel:

- Fox News: 0.4 percent

- MSNBC: 9.2 percent

- CNN: 5 percent

MSNBC devoted 23 times as much airtime as Fox to cover the birther issue. CNN devoted 12.5 times as much. So, as mentioned above, one was 35.5 times more likely to see a birther story on Fox's competition than on FNC itself.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2011/04/28/study-msnbc-and-cnn-covered-birther-issue-far-more-fox-news#ixzz1Ku73Jt1b

Obama claimed that he had to give up his birth certificate because “this was a "distraction" from "real issues" and therefore "silliness.” It’s funny which network(s) fed their partisan viewers a steady diet of this silliness.



The Obama Lie that flamed the birther story

... For the last two years or more, many in THE BIRTHER COMMUNITY KNEW THAT OBAMA'S "MULTICULTURAL IDEAL" WAS BASED ON A LIE. Knowing that Obama was capable of lying about the first two years of his life, they had no reason to believe he was telling the truth about his birth, especially given the lengths he had gone to in order to protect his birth certificate.

FOR THEIR PART, THE MAJOR MEDIA -- ALMOST TO A PERSON -- WERE DOING EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO PROTECT THE LIE. This was unprecedented on the sunny side of the Iron Curtain. The birthers had absolutely no reason to believe the media….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_obama_lie_that_drove_the_b.html

An interesting look at Obama’s childhood compared to the story he told in his 2004 Democratic Convention speech. Sometimes the story isn’t really THE story.



Obama trying to make America Great!

The budget is out of control because of THE THING THAT OBAMA SAYS MAKES AMERICA GREAT: ENTITLEMENTS. Who knew that giving money to the shiftless and lazy is the way we are supposed to measure ourselves?

Apparently America is at the pinnacle of its greatness, because we are giving it all away. According to this report, 50% OF AMERICANS ARE RECEIVING ENTITLEMENTS, AND MORE SHOCKING IS THIS REPORT THAT SHOWS THAT AS MANY AS 62% OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE RECEIVING THEM. I can understand 10% of Americans receiving entitlements, because conservatives are sensitive to the plight of the underprivileged, despite the lies from the lunatic left. But 50% just helps me understand how many lazy leftoids there are -- you know, people who believe that they are entitled to our money

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/obamas_brand_of_greatness_for.html

I was shocked by the fact that 62% of illegals are getting handouts.





















Tornadoes whipped up by wind, not climate: officials

US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south.

"If you look at the past 60 years of data, the number of tornadoes is increasing significantly, but IT'S AGREED UPON BY THE TORNADO COMMUNITY THAT IT'S NOT A REAL INCREASE," said Grady Dixon, assistant professor of meteorology and climatology at Mississippi State University.

"It's having to do with better (weather tracking) technology, more population, the fact that the population is better educated and more aware. So we're seeing them more often," Dixon said.

But he said IT WOULD BE "A TERRIBLE MISTAKE" TO RELATE THE UP-TICK TO CLIMATE CHANGE.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110428-tornadoes-whipped-wind-not-climate-officials

But of course the alarmists will relate this to climate change. You see them on the TV trying to connect tornadoes to climate change to prove a theory that is falling into disrepute.

From sticky notes to Superman

The Road Ahead: Victory in Sight

For reasons that I spelled out in some detail yesterday, it once made sense for conservatives to be disheartened and even defeatist. They have been fighting a rearguard action for nearly one hundred years. But, as I argued, CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY. Barack Obama has brought us to the edge of a precipice, AND A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS NOW RECOGNIZE THAT THINGS CANNOT GO ON AS THEY HAVE IN THE PAST. THE WELFARE STATE IS BANKRUPT. The Social Security trust fund is paying out more than it is taking in. The Medicare entitlement is unsustainable, and Obamacare threatens to hurl us into the abyss.

WE MUST EITHER ROLL BACK ENTITLEMENTS AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE OR RAISE TAXES TO A LEVEL THAT IS BOUND TO EXTINGUISH GROWTH AND KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS – and Americans now recognize the fact. The speech that Barack Obama delivered at George Washington University on 13 April was a reprise of his performance when he accepted the necessity of extending the Bush tax regime in December. He was angry, petulant, and rude to the guests whom he had invited to attend, as is his wont on such occasions. But he caved.

http://ricochet.com/main-feed/The-Road-Ahead-Victory-in-Sight

Later in this piece we have this statement which I think summarizes it well: Abraham Lincoln once observed, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.” Obama’s greatest problem is that he has lost the debate.

Reading this blog led me to his previous day’s blog which had an excellent look at progressivism in the USA. I’m running a small portion of it and recommend both to you.

Wilson’s Progressivism: The Constitution as a living thing

WILSON WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THE OLD FREEDOM – constituted by the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” – articulated in the second sentence of the Declaration. He wanted what he termed, in giving a name to his administration and to the book fashioned from his campaign speeches, THE NEW FREEDOM, AND HE ARTICULATED HIS VISION OF THAT FREEDOM IN OPPOSITION TO THE THINKING OF THOMAS JEFFERSON WITH HIS THEORY OF THE NATURAL RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL, his commitment to limited government, and his conviction, most fully expressed in his First Inaugural, that “THE SUM OF GOOD GOVERNMENT” IS “A WISE AND FRUGAL GOVERNMENT, WHICH SHALL RESTRAIN MEN FROM INJURING ONE ANOTHER, SHALL LEAVE THEM OTHERWISE FREE TO REGULATE THEIR OWN PURSUIT OF INDUSTRY AND IMPROVEMENT, AND SHALL NOT TAKE FROM THE MOUTH OF LABOR THE BREAD IT HAS EARNED.” In his campaign, he issued a “call for emancipation of the energies of a generous people” – by which he mean regulating everyone’s pursuit of industry and improvement, and taking from the mouths of select laborers the bread they have earned.

IN WILSON’S OPINION, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES WAS THE GREAT OBSTACLE STANDING IN THE WAY OF HIS “NEW FREEDOM.” Thanks to the baron de Montesquieu – the only opponent, apart from Jefferson, whom he mentioned by name in his speeches – the American constitution “was founded on the law of gravitation” and “was to exist and move by virtue of the efficacy of ‘checks and balances.” The “trouble,” Wilson asserted, with “the theory” underpinning federalism, the separation of powers, and the system of checks and balances is that GOVERNMENT IS NOT A MACHINE, BUT A LIVING THING. IT FALLS NOT UNDER THE THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT UNDER THE THEORY OF ORGANIC LIFE. IT IS ACCOUNTABLE TO DARWIN, NOT TO NEWTON. …

….“ALL THAT PROGRESSIVES ASK OR DESIRE,” WILSON CONCLUDED, “IS PERMISSION – IN AN ERA WHEN ‘DEVELOPMENT,’ ‘EVOLUTION,’ IS THE SCIENTIFIC WORD – TO INTERPRET THE CONSTITUTION ACCORDING TO THE DARWINIAN PRINCIPLE; ALL THEY ASK IS RECOGNITION OF THE FACT THAT A NATION IS A LIVING THING AND NOT A MACHINE….”

http://ricochet.com/main-feed/The-Road-Behind-Conservative-Defeatism-and-Beyond


This set up what progressives believe in and it goes on to demonstrate how for almost 100 years they’ve been in charge. The fly in the ointment as Margaret Thatcher one observed is, “the trouble with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money.” That is where we are today.

The Sticky Note Campaign

THE STICKY NOTE CAMPAIGN IS MAKING DELIVERIES IN GEORGIA SUPERMARKETS NOW. Super-Charged with Conservative ideals REAL Americans all over the country and EVEN AN AWAKENED DEMOCRAT OR TWO ARE NOW PARTICIPATING in this grass roots initiative. It’s not a partisan issue either, no one can afford these rising prices at the gas pump or the grocery store.

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2011/04/gas-pump-sticky-note-campaign-makes-its.html

Grass roots. Sounds like a TEA Party thing and sounds like something simple we all can do.



Superman the racists

SUPERMAN RENOUNCES HIS U.S. CITIZENSHIP IN ACTION COMICS‘ RECORD-BREAKING 900TH ISSUE. But that’s not all the benevolent alien refugee does in the sprawling special issue, which hits stores Wednesday.

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/04/action-comics-900/

If you are a liberal you realize this shows that Superman is racists. He never did this when the President was a white man.



High Energy Prices hurts Obama

Evidence of motorists’ hardships is littering the roads. AAA says the number of motorists running out of gas has been surging. John Townsend, a spokesman for the automobile association, said that cash-strapped members “are pushing the envelope” and that emergency gas deliveries to stranded members jumped nationwide, including by 40 percent in the District.

That sort of hardship could slow Obama’s reelection campaign. The Post-ABC poll shows that 60 percent of independents who say they’ve been hit hard by surging gas prices also say they definitely won’t support Obama in his bid for reelection.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/high-gas-prices-curb-driving-habits--and-obamas-approval-rating/2011/04/25/AF9kdpkE_story.html

What’s even more interesting is Obama’s solution. Raise taxes on oil companies. Now that should lower the cost (sarcasm).



Oh how the Mighty have fallen

….The President looks like a man who is ridden by events; at just the moment when the nation craves a strong leader, THE PRESIDENT LOOKS WEAK, DODGY, UNCERTAIN. The contrast with the inflated hopes that an untested and inexperienced Senator Obama did so much to build up is crippling. OBAMA HAS FALLEN SO FAR PRECISELY BECAUSE HE AND HIS SUPPORTERS SO HUGELY OVERSOLD HIM.

HE ONCE DESPISED BILL CLINTON FOR THE COMPRISING AND TRIANGULATING that got him through his eight years. PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS GOING TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY: HE WAS GOING TO FIGHT AND WIN.

Perhaps he will; politics is full of surprises and it is still almost a year and a half until the election. But AT THE MOMENT THE PRESIDENT SEEMS TO BE ENVYING CLINTON’S TALENTS AND ATTEMPTING TO EMULATE RATHER THAN SCORN THEM. From anti-Clinton to aspiring Clinton is a long fall and it can’t be much fun….

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/04/27/falling-between-two-stools/

The mighty O is no longer mighty and looks to be heading to the one term presidential graveyard.



Danger signs for Obama

As President Obama gears up for his 2012 re-election bid, a new poll of voters in Pennsylvania presents some ominous warning signs for the president. A QUINNIPAC UNIVERSITY POLL OF 1,366 REGISTERED PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS CONDUCTED LAST WEEK SHOWS OBAMA'S JOB APPROVAL RATING SLIPPING TO JUST 42 PERCENT, AN ALL TIME LOW, WHILE 53 PERCENT DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY THE PRESIDENT IS HANDLING HIS JOB.

The finding represents a sharp decline in the president's standing in the Keystone State. Quinnipiac's last poll in Pennsylvania, taken just nine weeks ago in mid-February, showed 51 percent of voters approved of the job the President Obama is doing, while 44 percent disapproved.

Perhaps even more concerning to Obama's campaign team is that for the first time a majority of Pennsylvania voters say President Obama does not deserve another term in the White House. FIFTY TWO PERCENT OF VOTERS -- INCLUDING 56 PERCENT OF INDEPENDENTS -- SAY OBAMA DOES NOT DESERVE RE-ELECTION, WHILE JUST 42 PERCENT BELIEVE HE DOES.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/04/28/obama_job_rating_hits_new_low_in_pennsylvania_109689.html

I think it is beginning to sink in among the majority of Americans, that President Obama has a very small toolbox and what he’s doing isn’t working. Pennsylvania is a must win state for a Democrat to win the presidency.



Dueling Ads

Here’s the Democrats ad and they are selling fear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z7FiBsR8OQ


And here’s the Republican response

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/265868/how-will-our-kids-pay-andrew-stiles


I personally prefer the Republican ad, it’s more fun and at the end you feel that you can do something good for the country.



“Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

It would be bad enough to compare the Obama White House to the New York Mets of today -- but right now, the Obama White House would be lucky to be merely that bad. WHAT IT RESEMBLES MOST CLOSELY IS THE FABLED ROOKIE TEAM THAT WENT 40-120 IN 1962, THE GAGGLE ABOUT WHOM CASEY STENGEL FAMOUSLY CRIED, "CAN'T ANYBODY HERE PLAY THIS GAME?"

I'm not talking about the wisdom or lack thereof Obama has shown on the ludicrous issue of his long-form birth certificate. One can assume that for a long time, the White House thought the issue wasn't really a problem, or even that the obsession over it in certain quarters was actually helping the president….

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/lack_of_birth_control_shows_how_XjqvmE9Xis2rf9bATobKGI#ixzz1KpzD20x6

An interesting look at Obama’s birth certificate controversy and how it played out yesterday. Podhoretz feels Obama stepped on his story about the new appointments at DOD and the CIA while elevating Trump’s status (or lowering his own) while Trump was visiting New Hampshire. Podhoretz final comment is “Those who hope for Obama's re-election have good reason to be alarmed at the way the sure-footed political instincts he showed in 2008 have so profoundly deserted him in the course of his presidency.” Amen.

Obama's 2012 campaign strategy and tactics

Panetta to Pentagon, Petraeus to CIA

ADMINISTRATION SOURCES SAY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA PLANS THIS WEEK TO NAME CIA DIRECTOR LEON PANETTA TO REPLACE DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES, AND GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, NOW RUNNING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, WOULD TAKE THE CIA CHIEF'S JOB.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because the changes are not final.

The changes would probably take effect this summer. Gates has already said he will leave this year….

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7539013.html

Neither will have any problem with confirmation, but I do remember Moveon.org’s General Betray us campaign.


Obama’s 2012 campaign strategy

Jim Messina, who is running Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, told supporters in an Internet video released yesterday that they will have to “scratch and claw” to get the U.S. president re-elected.

“We have to act like an insurgent campaign that wakes up every single day trying to get every single vote we can,” Messina said in the video, which was described as a “sneak peek at 2012 strategy.”

Messina, who earlier this year resigned his position as deputy White House chief of staff to manage the campaign, LAID OUT TACTICS THAT HE SAID HAD WORKED IN 2008, including expanding the electorate to register more voters than Republicans. He said CAMPAIGN WORKERS SHOULD RECONNECT WITH PAST SUPPORTERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, ALONG WITH USING MORE TRADITIONAL METHODS SUCH AS CALLING VOTERS ON THE TELEPHONE AND KNOCKING ON THEIR DOORS.

“We’ve got to assume every single day that we need to build something new, better, faster and sleeker,” he said in the video message e-mailed to supporters and posted on Obama’s campaign website. “Republicans are going to be fired up to take on President Obama…..”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-26/messina-gives-sneak-peek-at-obama-s-2012-re-election-strategy.html

This sounds less like a campaign strategy than a pep talk before a football game. “We are going to have to act like the underdog. We’ve got to be better, faster and sleeker than team X. We have to scratch and claw to win this game. They are fired up for us.” Hope and change and vague promises aren’t going to cut it this time.



Now here is a campaign tactic

We have an election coming up. We also have $5/gallon gasoline and $5/loaf bread coming up. I DO NOT EXPECT THE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TO FALL, ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE FRANTIC ATTEMPTS TO MAKE IT LOOK LOWER, LARGELY THROUGH STATISTICAL MANIPULATIONS based on the definition of unemployment: if you’re not looking for work, you aren’t unemployed even if you have no job and never again expect to find one. As more give up looking, the unemployment rate goes down. And since the unions do not intend to lower their wages and perks, and the states are out of money, there will be “furloughs” among public employees including teachers. YOU CAN MANIPULATE THOSE NUMBERS SO THE “FURLOUGHED” ARE NOT UNEMPLOYED. It promises to be an interesting summer, but it will end with $5/gallon gasoline and $5/loaf bread. Look for the price of a can of beans to get higher….

http://jerrypournelle.com/view/2011/Q2/view672.html#Monday

What?  Politicians lying? Who could ever have seen that coming.


Campaign tactic number two: FEAR

Faced with a fork in the road, President Obama and the Democrats have decided to take it, trying to do two things at once: REKINDLE THE GLOW OF THE 2008 RAPTURE, AND RECAPTURE THE RAGE OF THE TOWN HALLS A YEAR LATER, AND UNLEASH IT, THIS TIME FOR THEIR SIDE.

Phase one is not going brilliantly, as one can run on Hope and Change only once in one's lifetime, and AFTER THAT CHANGE MEANS VOTING ONESELF OUT OF OFFICE.

Phase two -- the hope that the MEDICARE-CUTTING PLAN ADVANCED BY HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN PAUL RYAN WILL KINDLE THE RAGE-IN-REVERSE THAT OBAMACARE ONCE DID -- may also be problematic.

It worked before, but, as Jonah Goldberg points out, ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT WORKED BEFORE HAVE CEASED DOING SO SINCE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE. There have been mutterings, but, so far, few signs of mass outrage. Why not?

First of all, there's NO SENSE OF AN IMMINENT THREAT. In 2009, people correctly saw that Democrats were going to ram health care through regardless of anything, which only increased the frustration.

Today, there is NO CHANCE OF RYAN'S PLAN PASSING BEFORE 2013 AT THE EARLIEST, and it would not pass in its present form in any case. It is stage one of what will be a long conversation, with many adjustments and alternative theories. Plenty of time to weigh in before then.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/04/ryan-being-boosted-obamas-opposition#ixzz1Kj3tCUJX

My own personal opinion is that while the “experts” see Obama as the favorite for reelection, they seem to think the American public has no short term memory. If the election were held today, Obama would lose it and I don’t see anything coming up that will change that.



Gallup: Seniors Most Favorable To Ryan Budget

A NEW GALLUP/USA TODAY POLL CONTAINS A COUNTERINTUITIVE FINDING: THE AGE GROUP MOST RECEPTIVE TO HOUSE BUDGET CHAIR PAUL RYAN'S PLAN TO DEAL WITH THE BUDGET - SENIORS..

The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) support Ryan's plan over President Obama's plan, while 42 percent back the president.

That's the highest total among the age groups tested - a 47 percent plurality between the ages of 50 and 64 backed Ryan, and a 45 percent plurality of those between 30-49 backed Ryan. But young voters overwhelmingly sided with Obama by a 23-point margin, 53 to 30 percent.

OVERALL, 44 PERCENT BACK OBAMA'S PLAN, WHILE 43 PERCENT SUPPORT RYAN.

Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats in public perception of which party would do a better job dealing with the federal budget, according to the survey. 48 percent prefer Republicans, while 36 percent prefer Democrats in Congress.

The poll, conducted between April 20-23, surveyed 1,013 adults and has a four percent margin of error.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2011/04/gallup-seniors.php


I remember a song from the sixties with the line, “The old rules are rapidly changing…” I think the Democrats are suffering from Future Shock.



Stump rhetoric may hamper compromise

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FIERY CAMPAIGN RHETORIC COULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO NEGOTIATE AND COMPROMISE WITH REPUBLICANS BACK IN WASHINGTON.

As Obama travels to New York City on Wednesday for another round of fundraisers and red meat, Republicans are blasting the “campaigner in chief” for blurring the lines between campaigning and governing.

After fighting with a liberal base Obama needs to turn out in 2012, the balance between governing and firing up Democratic supporters adds another challenge — especially when Obama needs to work with House Republicans to get anything done.

Since announcing his reelection campaign, OBAMA HAS SHIFTED BETWEEN OFFICIAL EVENTS AND FUNDRAISERS, ALTERNATELY EXPRESSING HIS HOPES FOR BIPARTISAN COOPERATION ON REDUCING THE DEFICIT AND BLASTING REP. PAUL RYAN’S (R-WIS.) BUDGET PLAN AS “FAIRLY RADICAL….”

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/157893-obamas-rhetoric-could-make-compromise-tough


This may not work out for Obama. He came into office by claiming he would change the tone in Washington. This however looks like it is business as usual. It may attracted his base but it is bound to turn off a lot of independents.



The Problem with high priced Oil

It's about time the administration began taking on the ogres of the left's imagination seriously. ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER HAS FORMED THE "OIL AND GAS PRICE FRAUD WORKING GROUP TO FOCUS ON ENERGY MARKETS" TO EXPOSE THE SPECULATORS, THE GOUGERS AND THOSE FAT CAT MILLIONAIRES. And if we can't confront make-believe distractions with "working groups," well, we are surely a nation in decline.


But of course, Holder will find the biggest frauds right in his administration, which -- as a matter of policy, as a matter of faith -- BELIEVES THE PRICE OF FOSSIL FUELS OUGHT TO BE EXTORTIONATE AND HAS DONE ALL IT CAN TO ENSURE IT.


The left's "energy" initiatives of the past decade -- the entire purpose of energy policy, in fact -- have been aimed at ARTIFICIALLY DRIVING FOSSIL FUEL PRICES UP TO INCENTIVIZE THE BITTER CLINGERS TO EMBRACE THE GOVERNMENT'S UTOPIAN ENERGY SCHEMES. No secret has been made of it. In 2008, candidate Barack Obama was asked by CNBC's John Harwood, "So could the (high) oil prices help us?" Obama: "I THINK THAT I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED A GRADUAL ADJUSTMENT." SUDDEN SPIKES ARE BAD (POLITICALLY SPEAKING), BUT GRADUAL PRICE SPIKES? HELPFUL. That same year, current U.S. "Energy" Secretary (then just a zany professor) STEVEN CHU CLARIFIED THAT "SOMEHOW WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BOOST THE PRICE OF GASOLINE TO THE LEVELS IN EUROPE."

http://townhall.com/columnists/davidharsanyi/2011/04/27/why_isnt_obama_celebrating_high_oil_prices


The real problem with high priced oil is the extra money is going to the suppliers rather than the government. Expect Obama to propose a gas tax hike to help balance the budget.



Oil and Obama

Take a look at this chart:

http://www.metalprices.com/pubcharts/PublicCharts.aspx?metal=cl%20nymex&type=C&weight=&days=60&size=s&bg=EDF2F8

It’s the price of a barrel of crude oil over the past 5 years.

See that big peak in the middle? That was the last oil spike, in the summer of 2008. Notice how the price hit a high point, then fell off a cliff afterward?

THE DAY CORRESPONDING TO THAT PEAK, AN ALL-TIME HIGH OF $145.16/BARREL, WAS JULY 14, 2008. BY SOME STRANGE COINCIDENCE, THAT WAS THE VERY SAME DAY THEN-PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH LIFTED, BY EXECUTIVE ORDER, A FEDERAL BAN ON OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING…..

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/thanks-to-obama-gas-jumps-in-a-flash/


Funny how that works. Speculators go away when you start to actually try to find oil.



What Professor Obama Doesn't Understand

President Obama's self-congratulatory "economic recovery" is way too little, way too late. BY HISTORICAL STANDARDS FOR THE AMERICAN ECONOMY, WE SHOULD BE IN THE SECOND YEAR NOW OF A BOOMING ECONOMIC RECOVERY. Instead the economy is still struggling to get off the ground, and WHAT IS BOOMING INSTEAD IS PRICES AND INFLATION.

If you listen to what President Obama is saying in his reelection campaign, which is already underway in his town hall tour across America, the reason for this is clear. PRESIDENT OBAMA DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF ECONOMICS. What he says repeatedly is that increased government spending is the foundation of economic recovery and growth. But the economic reality is that incentives for increased production are the foundation for recovery and booming growth.

As a result, what we are witnessing is a historical reenactment of the 1970s, if not the 1930s, with the same throwback economic policies that caused the dismal economic downward spiral of those years. But this is not all that President Obama doesn't understand. HE ALSO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET, TAXES, BUSINESS, THE ENERGY AND OIL MARKETS, AND EVEN HEALTH CARE…..

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/27/what-professor-obama-doesnt-un

Ideology trumps IQ in Obama’s mind. Welcome back to the Carter years.



The sensitive left

Those smarmy elitists at Gawker.com have outdone themselves in an article belittling a bill just passed by the Texas state legislature. IT SEEMS THAT TEXANS, THROUGH THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, HAVE DECIDED THAT ANY STATE-FUNDED UNIVERSITY THAT HAS A STUDENT CENTER PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE SEXUAL LIFESTYLES MUST ALSO HAVE A CENTER DEVOTED TO PROMOTE "TRADITIONAL VALUES." That would seem pretty even-handed to most observers.

But not to the sneering leftists at Gawker! To Hamilton Nolan and the editorial staff there, THE PASSAGE OF THIS BILL IS AN OUTRAGE TO THEIR DELICATE SENSIBILITIES. Mr. Nolan's parenthetical description of what might constitute traditional values in Texas: (beer, barbecue, date-rape,(and) cow-f***ing) is as insensitive and bigoted as one could imagine from the dark underbelly of our media elite.

Why is it anymore absurd to establish a student center for traditional American values than it is to have publicly funded centers for lifestyles most Americans consider to be immoral? Especially with reports indicating that homosexuals really only constitute somewhere between 2 and 3% of the American population….

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/gawker_shouldnt_mess_with_texa.html

What you have to understand is that according to the left you can’t have men only clubs, white’s only clubs, scholarships for whites only, etc because that would be bigotry. But you can have women only organizations, black, Hispanic, etc clubs and scholarships because that would be fair. You can have affirmative action where one minority group is given special consideration while another (Asians) are systematically discriminated against because too many of them are good students. Welcome to what the left describes as a “just society.”



Worldwide Communist movement

While CLAIMING THE AMERICAN FLAG REPRESENTS RACISM AND DISCUSSING TODAY’S PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT’S EFFORTS TO DEFEAT AMERICA BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD, including on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to help their international “comrades,” Communist Tony Pecinovsky pulls the mask off today’s Progressive Movement in two new exclusive Big Government videos of a University of Missouri course offering, already much in the news….

http://biggovernment.com/driehl/2011/04/26/college-course-us-flag-is-racist-how-to-defeat-america-in-iraq-and-afghanistan/


You can skip the music (first 41 seconds). Kind of reminds me of the “Flat Earth Society.”



Electric cars and reality

....When it comes to electric cars, that age-old saying — "YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY" — NEVER RANG TRUER.

"It's almost a game to see what you can do to get the best mileage out of it," Wojtanek said of his Volt.

Wojtanek told me he's changed his driving style to boost the Volt's efficiency. QUICK STARTS OR STOPS ARE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. IT ALSO HELPS THAT MOST OF HIS TRIPS ARE SHORT JAUNTS AROUND BOCA RATON, which provides plenty of opportunities for charging up between drives. Pretty much THE ONLY TIME THE GAS ENGINE TURNS ON IS when the 55-year-old commercial actor (and retired airline pilot) TAKES A TRIP TO FORT LAUDERDALE OR MIAMI. THE ROUND TRIP TO MIAMI IS 98 MILES, and generally the GAS KICKS IN AFTER ABOUT 40 MILES OF ALL-ELECTRIC DRIVING. "Forty-three miles is about the best I get on the battery," he said....

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/25/6530514-electric-cars-meet-the-real-world


If you don’t have a lot of long trips and you have a lot of money, this could be the car for you.



Massachusetts House votes to restrict Public Employee Unions bargaining rights

HOUSE LAWMAKERS VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY LAST NIGHT TO STRIP POLICE OFFICERS, TEACHERS, AND OTHER MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES OF MOST OF THEIR RIGHTS TO BARGAIN OVER HEALTH CARE, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns.

THE 111-TO-42 VOTE FOLLOWED TOUGHER MEASURES TO BROADLY ELIMINATE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES IN OHIO, WISCONSIN, AND OTHER STATES. But unlike those efforts, the push in Massachusetts was LED BY DEMOCRATS who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights....

“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are THE SAME DEMOCRATS THAT ALL THESE LABOR UNIONS ELECTED. THE SAME DEMOCRATS WHO WE CONTRIBUTED TO IN THEIR CAMPAIGNS. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’

“We are going to fight this thing to the bitter end,’’ he added. “Massachusetts is not the place that takes collective bargaining away from public employees.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/04/27/house_votes_to_limit_bargaining_on_health_care/


Perhaps now the hard core leftist who think this is a plot by the Republicans and that a crisis doesn’t exist will realize it does.

Special addition to today's posting

The coming train wreck

At the national level, we read of numbers that tend to numb the minds of even the most public-spirited citizens: THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE RECENTLY FORECAST THAT THE PATH CHARTED IN PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 2012 BUDGET WOULD REQUIRE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BORROW $9.5 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS. Federal government debt held by the public equaled 36% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2007, before the recession began, and 62% of GDP in 2010. BY 2021 (JUST TEN YEARS FROM NOW), ACCORDING TO THE CBO’S SCENARIO, IT WILL EQUAL 87% OF GDP, $20.8 TRILLION, A LEVEL MOST ECONOMISTS BELIEVE WOULD BE DEBILITATING, especially since the forces increasing federal deficits are likely to be even stronger in the third decade of this century than in the second. To cite just one problem, CBO PROJECTS INTEREST PAYMENTS ON THE NATIONAL DEBT WILL RISE FROM 1.7% OF GDP IN 2012 TO 3.9% IN 2021, BY WHICH TIME THEY WILL EXCEED $900 BILLION PER YEAR. That’s just the interest, as the President reminded us.

It will not be easy for Americans to be constitutionalists in theory and Progressives in practice if our elected government cannot pay its bills. If the lenders it depends on grow deeply skeptical about its ability to raise taxes or control spending, they will refuse to buy government bonds. (The manager of the world’s largest bond fund recently reduced the percentage of its holdings in U.S. government-issued debt to zero.) Less drastically, lenders will demand a costly interest premium to offset the risk of default by state and local governments, or of inflation sponsored by a federal government to reduce its debt by devaluing the currency. AT SOME POINT, THE QUESTION BECOMES, NOT WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE IT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT GIVES THINGS TO US AND DOES THINGS FOR US—AS THE PRESIDENT KNOWS, BOTH LOGIC AND EXPERIENCE DEMONSTRATE CONCLUSIVELY THAT WE DO—THE CRUCIAL QUESTION BECOMES WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE PROGRESSIVE GOVERNMENT’S ENDEAVORS ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THEM.

If we don’t, if it becomes democratically impossible either to raise the taxes necessary to fund the government’s operations, or to reduce the scope of its activities to a level that can be accommodated by the taxes the people are willing to pay, then THE PROGRESSIVE PROJECT COLLAPSES. The people will no longer mediate the disparity between what they demand from government and what they surrender to it. Instead, DECISIVE POWER OVER GOVERNANCE WILL PASS TO THE LENDERS WHO KEEP PUBLIC-SECTOR OPERATIONS AFLOAT.

Such a result would be a financial debacle…

http://www.ohiofarmer.org/

The funny part here is the left who distrusts the private sector in general and the financial sector in particular is steering us on a course where they will be putting those people in charge.

Obama sinks to new lows

New Low for Obama on Afghanistan

A RECORD 49 PERCENT OF AMERICANS NOW DISAPPROVE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HANDLING OF THE SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN, UP 8 POINTS SINCE JANUARY. And those who disapprove “strongly” outnumber strong approvers by nearly a 2-1 margin.

With Obama holding his monthly national security meeting on Afghanistan today, the results show a significant drop in the president’s approval rating on handling the issue, down 12 points in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll from a year ago.

The change follows an ABC/Post poll last month in which a new low, 31 percent, said the war in Afghanistan has been worth fighting. Sixty-four percent said it is not worth fighting, with 49 percent feeling that way “strongly,” both record highs in ABC/Post polls.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2011/04/new-low-for-obama-on-afghanistan.html



Where are the anti-war protestors?Where Did All the Anti-War Protestors Go?

The anti-war movement was all over the news before President Obama was elected. But apparently THEY WEREN’T REALLY ANTI-WAR ... THEY WERE JUST ANTI-PRESIDENT BUSH. Two college professors just released a study of national protests between 2007 and 2009. What did they find?

… After January 2007, the attendance at antiwar rallies [measured in] roughly the tens of thousands, or thousands, through the end of 2008.

… After the election of Barack Obama as president, the order of magnitude of antiwar protests dropped [...] Organizers were hard pressed to stage a rally with participation in the thousands, or even in the hundreds. For example, we counted exactly 107 participants at a Chicago rally on October 7, 2009.

Amazing. Especially because the war in Afghanistan ramped up after Obama was elected. American fatalities shot up in 2009 and 2010.

THE PROTESTERS HAVE REMAINED SILENT OVER LIBYA.

http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2011/04/25/where-did-all-the-anti-war-protestors-go/#ixzz1Kd7LJfcL


A lot of people will scream hypocrisy when they see things like this. I find it to be a bit more logical. Most partisans find the opposite party policy objectionable not necessarily because of the policy, but because they don’t trust the other party. It’s a matter of trust, not hypocrisy.



Are gas prices hurting Obama?

When did everyone decide that it’s high gas prices that are hurting Obama? Seems crazy to me. HE’S LOSING TWO OUT OF THREE WARS, THE ECONOMY IS FLAGGING, AND HIS SIGNATURE DOMESTIC ACHIEVEMENT IS UNPOPULAR. SO IT MUST BE THE GAS!

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/25/who-decided-its-all-about-gas/#ixzz1KdAkmGqD

Here’s another observation: he’s losing two out of three wars and the one he’s winning is the one he ran against.



Obama the Campaigner

…. But looking more closely at this persona, we realize that Obama the campaigner is not a better man after all. If anything, when he is out there belittling his opponents in front of liberal supporters, OBAMA IS EVEN MORE UNCIVIL THAN HE IS IN WASHINGTON. On the campaign trail, he seems to actually believe he is the transformative figure he claims to be. Escaping the constraints of practical politics, he becomes a truly frightening figure: A SELF-DELUDED UTOPIAN WHO SEEMS TO THINK HE IS MOSES, CHRIST, GANDHI, AND JFK COMBINED. …

….The Obama that one sees on the campaign trail, in other words, IS MORE PARTISAN, MORE TONE-DEAF, MORE SIMPLISTIC, AND, YES, MORE DELUSIONAL THAN ANYTHING WE HAVE SEEN IN WASHINGTON itself. Does the President have any sense that his policies are not working? That they are driving up the cost of food and fuel? That the economic recovery has been slower than that of any previous recession? That job growth has been anemic and wage growth non-existent?


None of these facts appear to have registered, and as he takes to the campaign trail, Obama is finding ways to dodge them entirely. SPEAKING IN FRONT OF FRIENDLY AND INTELLECTUALLY LAME AUDIENCES, HE DOESN'T NEED TO ADDRESS ANYTHING….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/conan_the_campaigner.html


Last night on Jay Leno, Leno told this joke. “Donald Trump says he is President Obama’s worst nightmare. Do you really think that Donald Trump is President Obama’s worst nightmare? Or is his worst nightmare having to make a decision.” This was greeted with cheers and clapping. Obama is toast.



Getting the Budget into balance

In this exercise, we have saved $925 billion, or 6.2% off of 2011's budget and brought spending down to $2,900 billion, or 19.2% of GDP. NOTE THAT WITH ALL THE RAPINE AND PILLAGE IMPLIED BY THESE CUTS, WE HAVE "ONLY" CUT THE $1,645 BILLION DEFICIT FOR 2011 BY $925 BILLION TO $720 BILLION. To net out the deficit entirely, we would have to bring tax receipts up to 19% of GDP, whereas they are expected to be 14.4% of GDP for 2011.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/cutting_the_federal_budget.html

This shows you the size of the task. I don’t agree with everything, but you will never find a plan that everyone will agree with everything (for instance, defense needs bigger cuts). I think it also shows that we need to grow our way out of the deficit. This is well worth your time to read. Read it!



Mediscare: Coming soon from a democrat to you

Some conservatives are getting nervous about the polls on Medicare. APPARENTLY ABOUT 80 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ARE OPPOSED TO CUTS IN MEDICARE. MONA CHAREN, FOR ONE, IS STEELING HERSELF FOR THE INEVITABLE MEDISCARE CAMPAIGN FROM THE DEMOCRATS. …

…So it's now possible to scare the pants off granny if we don't fix Medicare.

And this time, WE HAVE THE PRESIDENT ON OUR SIDE. PRESIDENT OBAMA OBLIGINGLY BROUGHT UP THE INDEPENDENT PAYMENT ADVISORY BOARD -- THE "DEATH PANEL" THAT EXERCISED SARAH PALIN A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO -- for praise in his George Washington University speech April 13. Said the president:

“And we will slow the growth of Medicare costs by strengthening an independent commission of doctors, nurses, MEDICAL EXPERTS AND CONSUMERS WHO WILL LOOK AT ALL THE EVIDENCE AND RECOMMEND THE BEST WAYS TO REDUCE UNNECESSARY SPENDING while protecting access to the services that seniors need.”

The IPAB is not in the business of lowering health costs, the Wall Street Journal writes. Its mandate has nothing to do with "bending the cost curve." ITS JOB IS TO LOWER MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENTS.

Since the board is not allowed by law to restrict treatments, ask seniors to pay more, or raise taxes or the retirement age, IT CAN MEAN ONLY ONE THING: ARBITRARILY PAYING LESS FOR THE SERVICES SENIORS RECEIVE, VIA FIAT PRICING.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/who_will_mediscare_the_dems.html

This is truly scary. It has the power of the purse over Medicare reimbursement. Say it doesn’t want to pay for an expensive heart bypass procedure (for arguments sake costing $125,000). It simply makes reimbursement $50,000. How many of these procedures do you think will happen? Ryan’s plan is actually much better.



Pressure from Left causes law firm to abdicate responsibility

Legal insiders knew there would be controversy when Paul Clement, the former solicitor general, signed on to defend the Defense of Marriage Act against constitutional challenge. But few could have predicted a controversy so intense that CLEMENT'S LAW FIRM, UNDER FIRE FROM GAY ACTIVISTS, WOULD ABRUPTLY ABANDON THE DEFENSE, FORCING CLEMENT TO RESIGN IN PROTEST. And yet that is what happened on Monday.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/04/pressure-left-causes-law-firm-abdicate-responsibility#ixzz1KdEhARYw

I guess all this nonsense about everyone deserving a defense is just an excuse for defending Gitmo detainees, cold blooded murderers, etc.



Koran-Burning Pastor Jailed for Thought crime

On Good Friday in Dearborn, Mich., the notorious Koran-burning pastor Terry Jones was jailed and fined for the crime of refusing to pay a so-called “peace bond” to cover the costs of extra police protection for Jones’ planned demonstration outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. JUDGE MARK SOMERS ALSO ORDERED JONES TO STAY AWAY FROM THE MASSIVE DEARBORN MOSQUE FOR THREE YEARS.

This is a restriction on the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression that Islamic supremacists are certainly going to try to use in the future to press for even more.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43147

While I find Terry Jones to be an idiot, I find the Judge Mark Somers to be a greater threat. America was founded on the principles of freedom and democracy. Somers ruling is a direct assault on that.



Another Financial Bubble?

YES, ANOTHER CRASH IS COMING, UNAVOIDABLE, JUST LIKE 2008. Not because our totally dysfunctional government is collapsing into anarchy, thanks to the 261,000 Super-Rich Lobbyists. Not just because our monetary system is run by the Bernanke Printing Press Company. And not just because a soulless conspiracy of Wall Street CEOs cares nothing for democracy and the public interest, only for their stockholders and their year-end bonuses.

Another crash is coming soon because WE’RE BACK PLAYING THE SAME SPECULATIVE GAMES AS WE DID FOR YEARS PRIOR TO THE 2008 CRASH. When we collapse, it will be because America’s leaders never learn the lessons of history….

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/2008-crash-deja-vu-well-relive-it-and-soon-2011-04-26?link=home_carousel

This is a frightening column.



Will China overtake the US?

This just in from the International Monetary Fund: China could pass the United States as the world's largest economy as early as 2016. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THE IMF HAS IT WRONG AGAIN.

A new IMF report blithely forecasts that the "Age of America" will end as the U.S. economy is overtaken by China. And on the surface, it's tough to argue the point.

Officially, CHINA'S GDP IS GROWING AT 10% WHILE OURS IS EXPANDING AT ABOUT 3%. AT THOSE RATES, CHINA'S ECONOMY DOUBLES EVERY SEVEN YEARS, AMERICA'S ABOUT EVERY 24.

But such forecasts are based on a straight-line extrapolation from current trends: So if China's growing at 10% now, it'll always grow that fast.

One has to wonder, too, about a politically motivated IMF "report" that predicts U.S. decline. Our troubles are many, but we've heard all this before.

The fact is, CHINA ITSELF FACES FORMIDABLE HURDLES THAT WILL MAKE IT TOUGH TO KEEP GROWING AT CURRENT RATES.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/570140/201104251858/China-As-No-1-Give-Us-A-Break.htm


This column makes a lot of sense. People who extrapolate current trends forever, aren’t thinking straight.



Telemprompter Inventor "Hub" Schlafly Dies

You’ve never heard of Hubert J. “Hub” Schlafly Jr., but if you’ve seen a major political speech in the past generation, you know his work. Schlafly invented the TelePrompTer and changed public address in America. He died April 20th in Connecticut.

President Barack Obama, is hailed by supporters as a gifted orator. But he has been lambasted by critics for his reliance on the teleprompter. In truth, every President since Dwight D. Eisenhower, excepting Nixon, has used one for major speeches in Congress.

Schlafly, a TV engineer, developed the device in the 1950’s to help soap opera actors remember their lines, according to the Washington Post. For more on Schlafly, read the Post's obituary.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/04/telemprompter-inventor-hub-schlaflly-dies-device-changed-public-address-in-america.html


President Obama is in mourning and could not be reached for a comment. That’s nonsense, but I just wanted to say it.



Whatever happened to global warming?

CLIMATE CHANGE IS DEAD AS A MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUE for the foreseeable future. Don't believe me? Check out Obama's remarks in his weekly radio address last weekend. It was all about energy policy, and yet NOT ONCE DID HE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.

In one sense, that's odd, given that without global warming, his energy policy goes from merely misguided to outright bonkers. After all, if you wanted to create non-exportable jobs, wean America off foreign oil or pursue energy independence from the Middle East, absent any concerns about climate change or releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, YOU WOULD UNLEASH AMERICA'S MASSIVE ENERGY RESERVES IN COAL, GAS AND OIL. ACCORDING TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE, HARDLY A MOUTHPIECE FOR BIG OIL, THE U.S. HAS THE LARGEST ENERGY RESOURCES OF ANY COUNTRY, SAUDI ARABIA AND RUSSIA INCLUDED.

But in another sense it's not odd, because telling voters that they have to pay high gas prices in order to ineffectually fight climate change would be honest but incalculably dumb, politically. Recent polling shows that AMERICANS CARE ABOUT THE ECONOMY MORE — A LOT MORE — THAN GLOBAL WARMING. Skepticism about the existence of a problem or its scope has been rising in the U.S. and Europe. When a Pew poll in January asked voters what their biggest priorities were, CLIMATE CHANGED RANKED SECOND TO LAST. Only obesity was deemed less of a priority. (Don't tell Michelle Obama.)

Even Madison Avenue has noticed. The New York Times reports that increasingly budget-conscious consumers are no longer willing to shell out extra for self-described "green products." As a result, THE NUMBER OF NEW EARTH-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS HAS PLUMMETED.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg-climate-change-20110426,0,3346901.column


There was always two sides to the global warming issue, the scientific and the political. Despite what you heard, the scientific side was not settled or if it was it was settled against the idea of global disaster due to CO2. What you heard was the political side and now that is pretty well dead as well.

Obama and the budget

Obama abdicates on the budget

....The president keeps promoting an “adult conversation” about the budget, but THAT CAN’T HAPPEN IF THE FIRST ADULT DOESN’T PLAY HIS PART. Obama is eager to be all things to all people. HE’S AGAINST THE DEBT AND ITS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES, BUT HE’S FOR PRESERVING SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITHOUT MAJOR CHANGES. HE’S FOR “TOUGH CUTS,” BUT HE’S AGAINST SAYING WHAT THEY ARE AND DEFENDING THEM. He pronounces ambitious goals without saying how they’d be reached. MAINLY, HE’S FOR SCORING POLITICAL POINTS AGAINST REPUBLICANS....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-budget-conversation-we-should-be-having/2011/04/22/AFvhu4dE_story.html


This is a column by Robert Samuelson, a liberal pundit. It’s actually quite good and demonstrates to me that people are realizing we have to do something about the budget. It’s a major problem for Obama and the Democrats and even his allies in the press are starting to call him on it.



They think you’re stupid

It is with great interest that I read this past week about the President's initial response to rising gas prices. What or who was to blame? ACCORDING TO THE PRESIDENT...SPECULATORS. NAMELESS, FACELESS SPECULATORS. THEY ARE TO BLAME FOR THE RISING PRICE OF CRUDE OIL UP AND THE ACCOMPANYING PRICE AT THE PUMP!

"The problem is...speculators and people make various bets, and they say, you know what, we think that maybe there's a 20 percent chance that something might happen in the Middle East that might disrupt oil supply, so we're going to bet that oil is going to go up real high. And that spikes up prices significantly…."

….No, the main culprit here isn't the nameless, faceless "speculators" that are now the object of the President's scorn, BUT GOVERNMENT POLICY ITSELF, BOTH WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE (MONETARY) AND THE BUDGET DEFICITS ACCRUED IN RECENT YEARS (FISCAL). What is going on is that THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO DEFLECT BLAME to these nameless, faceless speculators for their own disastrous fiscal and monetary policies.

IN OTHER WORDS, THEY THINK YOU ARE STUPID.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/gasoline_prices_and_speculator.html

Actually the title may be a bit harsh. They HOPE your are stupid.

‘I will get into trouble’

It seems Tom Friedman’s awesome China is still practicing too much central planning, and appears headed for a hard fall. See this terrific broadcast report from Australian television about China’s ghost towns, which follows on the heels of several good print-media reports about this phenomenon, such as this one from the Daily Mail and this one in Time magazine.

Most revealing is a comment at the 11:35 mark of the video by a Chinese worker in the property sector: “I can’t tell you my views. Because I work in the property sector, I know a lot about it, I will get into trouble.”

http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601007/n/China-s-Ghost-Cities


China has a lot going for it, but it also has a lot of problems. We shouldn’t overestimate what China will do in the future.

Guantanamo Bay

The sputtering end of the Obama administration’s plans to prosecute Khalid Sheik Mohammed in federal court came one day late last month in a conversation between the president and one of his top Cabinet members.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC H. HOLDER JR. HAD CALLED PRESIDENT OBAMA TO INFORM HIM THAT HE WOULD BE RETURNING THE CASE TO THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, A DECISION THAT WOULD MARK THE EFFECTIVE ABANDONMENT OF THE PRESIDENT’S PROMISE TO CLOSE THE MILITARY DETENTION CENTER AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA.

During the call, Obama did not press Holder to find a way to resurrect the federal prosecution of Mohammed and four co-defendants, according to senior administration officials familiar with the conversation. He DID NOT OBJECT. INSTEAD, HE CALLED IT A PRAGMATIC DECISION.

It was a fittingly quiet coda to the effort to close the military detention center. For more than two years, THE WHITE HOUSE’S PLANS HAD BEEN UNDERMINED BY POLITICAL MISCALCULATIONS, CONFUSION AND TIMIDITY IN THE FACE OF MOUNTING CONGRESSIONAL OPPOSITION, according to some inside the administration as well as on Capitol Hill. Indeed, the failed effort to close Guantanamo was reflective of the aspects of Obama’s leadership style that continue to distress his liberal base — a willingness to allow room for compromise and a passivity that at times permits opponents to set the agenda….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/guantanamo-bay-how-the-white-house-lost-the-fight-to-close-it/2011/04/14/AFea3TZE_print.html

If you want to read what happened and confirm why Obama should not be re-elected, read this article.



Why Do So Many People Believe in Political Conspiracy Theories?

Belief in political conspiracy theories is widespread on both sides of the political spectrum. SOME 45% OF REPUBLICANS BELIEVE THAT OBAMA IS NOT A NATIVE-BORN CITIZEN and (presumably) that the Democrats have gotten away with covering up that fact. Similarly, 35% OF DEMOCRATS BELIEVE THAT GEORGE W. BUSH KNEW ABOUT THE 9/11 ATTACK IN ADVANCE, BUT LET IT HAPPEN ANYWAY. About a quarter of all Americans, including 32% OF DEMOCRATS AND 18% OF REPUBLICANS, BELIEVE THAT “THE JEWS” ARE TO BLAME FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008.

Other widely-endorsed conspiracy theories include claims that THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING UP EVIDENCE OF ALIEN LANDINGS ON EARTH, and that THE AIDS VIRUS WAS CREATED IN A GOVERNMENT LAB FOR THE PURPOSE OF INFECTING BLACKS. In a recent interview with CNN, Professor Robert Blaskiewicz of the Georgia Institute of Technology tried to explain the prevalence of such beliefs:

People are extremely social critters, and part of what makes that possible is the ability to perceive others as deliberately acting in the world, in other words to detect agency.

It’s extremely useful in building respectful communities. Sometimes that faculty doesn’t turn off when it should, and you associate “agency” with events and ideas that are unrelated.

WHEN A RESPONSIBLE AGENT IS NOT EASILY DISCERNIBLE, THAT SENSE THAT SOMETHING IS STILL DELIBERATE ENDURES, AND YOU ARE LEFT WONDERING, “WELL, WHO CAUSED IT, THEN?” You fill in the blanks…

http://volokh.com/2011/04/23/why-so-many-people-believe-in-political-conspiracy-theories/

The nuts come in all sizes, all colors and all political beliefs.



Higher education at the lowest possible level

If you are wondering why some folks are starting to question whether a college education is worth the cost, the video below goes a long way towards explaining it. Recently, the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) sponsored two college courses: INTRODUCTION TO LABOR STUDIES AND LABOR POLITICS AND SOCIETY, TO BE TAUGHT SIMULTANEOUSLY THROUGH A VIDEO CONFERENCE BETWEEN TO TWO CAMPUSES.

The Professors are Judy Ancel, Director of Labor Studies at UMKC and Don Giljum, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers at Ameren UE in St. Louis. (Bonus: he is a member of the Communist Party.)

In the class, THE PROFESSORS NOT ONLY ADVOCATE THE OCCASIONAL NEED FOR VIOLENCE AND INDUSTRIAL SABOTAGE, THEY OUTLINE SPECIFIC TACTICS THAT CAN BE USED. As one of our colleagues pointed out, it’s the matter-of-factness of it all that is so disturbing.

http://biggovernment.com/publius/2011/04/25/union-official-professor-teach-college-course-in-violent-union-tactics/


About 45 seconds into this video they start talking about violence and say it is sometimes necessary as is industrial sabotage. And wonder why we call them Union thugs?



Brit Hume: If the election were today

“I think it’s upside down,” Hume said. “IF THE ELECTION WERE HELD TODAY, IN MY VIEW, BARACK OBAMA WOULD LOSE. HE MIGHT LOSE BIG. Obviously, he’s got some time. Events change. HE WOULD LOSE TO ANY REASONABLE NOMINEE FROM THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. The Republican Party might be able to lose the election if they nominate some extremely colorful freakish candidate, but my view of this is this election, Juan [Williams] – as you may have heard me say before, IS UNLIKELY TO BE ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE. IT WILL BE ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS RECORD and if the public decides it wants to make a change, and it would do that if the election were held today, they will elect a Republican.”

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/24/hume-if-the-election-were-held-today-in-my-view-barack-obama-would-lose-he-might-lose-big/#ixzz1KY8qPpou


Left begins to realize their welfare state is unsustainable

Today’s WASHINGTON POST CLAIMS THAT MANY EUROPEANS ARE BEGINNING TO QUESTION THEIR WELL ESTABLISHED SYSTEM OF “REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH through taxes and welfare programs.” Specifically, the Post reports:

Manuel Valls, a presidential hopeful in France’s Socialist Party, challenged party doctrine recently by DECLARING THAT IT SHOULD NOT MAKE AN ISSUE OF PRESERVING THE 35-HOUR WORKWEEK if French factories have to compete with Chinese factories where the workweek starts at 60 hours and goes up from there. In Denmark, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen rattled many in that icon of Scandinavian cradle-to-grave welfare by SUGGESTING DANES SHOULD WORK LONGER BEFORE RETIRING, TO PEEL BACK THE DEFICIT BY $2.8 BILLION.

Europeans are not the only ones that are beginning to notice that liberal social welfare states are unsustainable. The citizens of the bluest state in the union, California, are also beginning to question the size and scope of their government. The Los Angeles Times released a poll today showing 70% OF CALIFORNIANS SAID THEY SUPPORTED A CAP ON PENSIONS FOR FUTURE GOVERNMENT WORKERS, 68% APPROVED INCREASING GOVERNMENT WORKER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR PENSIONS, AND 52% SUPPORT RAISING THE RETIREMENT AGE FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/04/left-begins-realize-their-welfare-state-unsustainable#ixzz1KYQeFHzr

I believe that when Obama expanded the spending he was counting on the Bush tax cuts to end and a tax on carbon to greatly increase revenues. When neither happened, his prolific spending instead led to a crisis in leadership and a revival of the Republican Party. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.



Most Ridiculous Lawsuit of the Month – The ‘Deep Pockets’ Edition

....In 2008, a teenager grabbed a tip jar from the counter of a Starbucks and took off running. One of the customers, Roger Kreutz, chased the kid out into the parking lot and caught up to him as he was getting into a car. The two scuffled a bit until the teen was able to get into his car drive off, but as he did so his car knocked Kreutz over, who hit his head on the pavement and died two days later. The thief pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to a year in jail.

One life lost, another ruined over a tip jar containing less than $5. But out of this tragic story comes a redeeming twist. Kreutz’s family has forgiven the teen, and even invited him to participate in a memorial service where they all planted a tree in Kreutz’s honor. The family members say they knew the teen meant no harm.

HOWEVER, THE FAMILY’S COMPASSION DOESN’T EXTEND FURTHER TO THE STORE THE TEEN WAS ROBBING – THEY ARE TAKING STARBUCKS TO COURT ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE TIP JAR “INVITED THE ACT” OF THE CRIME, and that Starbucks was negligent in not employing a security guard. The teen was not named in the suit....

http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/today-in-legal-reform/37-ilr-spotlight/275-most-ridiculous-lawsuit-of-the-month--the-deep-pockets-edition.html

This is a tragedy, but Starbuck was not to blame.

Diversion and other Democrat tactics



Happy Easter

Harry Reid’s high-stakes China gamble

Details are slowly trickling out about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s secret, week-long trip to China with nine other senators. THE LAWMAKERS HAVE GIVEN OUT MINIMAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR ITINERARY BECAUSE OF SUPPOSED “SECURITY CONCERNS.”
Last checked in, the intrepid congressional delegation (or codel) had paused in Hong Kong over the weekend, likely morphing into a shopping delegation (or shopdel).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/harry-reids-high-stakes-china-gamble/2011/04/21/AFGH8cKE_story.html?hpid=z2

If it is so dangerous why are wives going along? Actually it appears the “security concerns” may have more to do with the next election.



More bad news for Obama

THE COMBINATION OF RISING GASOLINE PRICES AND THE STEEPEST INCREASE IN THE COST OF FOOD IN A GENERATION IS THREATENING TO PUSH THE US ECONOMY INTO A RECESSION, according to Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners.

Johnson looks at the percentage of income consumers are spending on gasoline and food as a way of gauging how consumers will fare when energy prices spike.

With gas prices now standing at about $3.90 a gallon, energy costs have now passed 6 percent of spending—a level that Johnson says is a "tipping point" for consumers.

"Energy is not quite as essential as food and water, but is a necessity in today's economy, and when gasoline costs more than bottled water—like now—then it takes a huge bite out of disposable spending," he said, in a research note.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42704213

Just another sample of how BHO is more and more resembling Jimmy Carter.



Politics liberal style

CONFUSED VISITORS WILL BE FORGIVEN FOR THINKING OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY IS A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF CONGRESSMAN PETE DEFAZIO AND THE “PROGRESSIVE-SOCIALIST” WING OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. Or for likening what’s going on there to political retribution as practiced in Third World thugocracies.

The idea THAT THREE OUTSTANDING STUDENTS – PHD CANDIDATES AT OSU – COULD FACE DISMISSAL, AND WORSE, SHORTLY BEFORE RECEIVING THEIR DEGREES, is simply shocking. That this could be happening because THEIR FATHER HAD THE TEMERITY TO CHALLENGE AN ENTRENCHED 12-TERM DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN (and OSU earmark purveyor) could make people think the university is in Zimbabwe, not America.

http://townhall.com/columnists/pauldriessen/2011/04/23/political_payback_%e2%80%93_oregon_style/page/full/


This is the point where we will shortly hear it was all a misunderstanding. That happens when you shine a light on a cesspool.

The Angry Left

Nation’s Mood at Lowest Level in Two Years, Poll Shows

AMERICANS ARE MORE PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE NATION’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK AND OVERALL DIRECTION THAN THEY HAVE BEEN AT ANY TIME SINCE PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FIRST TWO MONTHS IN OFFICE, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Amid rising gas prices, stubborn unemployment and a cacophonous debate in Washington over the federal government’s ability to meet its future obligations, THE POLL PRESENTS STARK EVIDENCE THAT THE SLOW, IF UNSTEADY, GAINS IN PUBLIC CONFIDENCE EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT A RECOVERY WAS UNDER WAY ARE NOW ALL BUT GONE

.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/us/22poll.html?_r=1


If you are looking for Obama to be reelected, this is not good news.



Where are the angry Liberals?

These are good days to be a member of Congress. Your job is not popular, per se, and neither is the institution you work for. But AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT GETTING YELLED AT. A controversial Republican budget just passed the House, you're home in your district, and THE ANGER THAT CURDLED TOWN HALL MEETINGS FOR MEMBERS OF THE LAST CONGRESS IS REALLY NOWHERE TO BE SEEN….

http://www.slate.com/id/2291844/

An interesting observation here. Where are the angry liberals protesting?



Here are the angry liberals

A crowd of half a dozen protesters concerned with the Wikileaks story disrupted the Obama event at the St. Regis Hotel, with Oakland activist Naomi Pitcairn organizing the event for the GROUP WHICH CALLS ITSELF FRESHJUICEPARTY.COM; SHE PERSONALLY PAID $76,000 TOTAL FOR TICKETS FOR THE GROUP TO GAIN ENTRY TO THE HIGH PRICED FUNDRAISER, SHE TOLD US.

THE PROGRESSIVE GROUP PROTESTED what they called the inhumane treatment of Pvt. Bradley Manning in the Wikileaks case. Their protest song — which included lyrics: “WE PAID OUR DUES..WHERE’S OUR CHANGE?” — was sung in its entirety for Obama, who thanked them at the end of the a capella performance

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/A-76000-Obama-Protest-Song-120376699.html


This is another problem for Obama. Those who should be protesting the Republicans instead are protesting him. From the sound of who wasn’t there, that billion dollar fund raising goal may not be realistic.



The Unhappy President

ONE CAN UNDERSTAND HIS FRUSTRATION. The guy who once said to a reporter during the 2008 campaign, “You know, I actually believe my own bulls***” about fundamentally transforming America, is now forced to run as a reactionary, defending “Medicare as we know it” from “radicals” who — gasp! — want to change America. The overrated and inexperienced politician, accustomed to nothing but adulation, who was swept into office thanks to discontent with the incumbent, IS NOW HIMSELF THE INCUMBENT DESPERATELY TRYING TO EXPLAIN HOW HE’S DONE NOTHING WRONG.


He demonized George W. Bush as an evil fool, but Obama has been forced to adopt many of the very policies he derided as evil and foolish. THE “CHANGE” CANDIDATE IS NOW THE “MORE OF THE SAME” GUY….

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/265430/unhappy-president-jonah-goldberg

I enjoy Jonah Goldberg’s writing. Here’s another good one.



And more protests on Earth Day

It probably won't get much press coverage, but today President Barack Obama will be met at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City WITH A PROTEST (FEATURING KIM KARDASHIAN!) THAT SPECIFICALLY–AND ACCURATELY–ACCUSES HIM OF BREAKING AN EXPLICIT CAMPAIGN PROMISE: TO OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE AS PRESIDENT THE TURKISH GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS nearly a century ago.

http://reason.com/blog/2011/04/21/kim-kardashian-others-protest


Hey, wait a minute, these folks are protesting a Nobel Prize winner!!



Medicare: Here’s the truth

….Reforming Medicare is a comparative issue. It is (or ought to be - if the Republicans are minimally competent) a choice and not a referendum on one particular approach. WE AREN'T REALLY ARGUING ABOUT MEDICARE CUTS. WE AREN'T EVEN ARGUING ABOUT MEDICARE CUTS VS. TAX CUTS. PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS ALREADY CUT MEDICARE BY HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS. HE HAS NOW PROPOSED TO CUT MEDICARE BY OVER A TRILLION MORE. He has proposed to give a panel of unelected bureaucrats the power to impose service cuts. So our choice is a market-oriented reform in which seniors would have more options (and maybe more disposable income) and a centralized government system in which the government slams the door in your face when and how the government decides. Even so, the Republicans could still lose this argument because...

http://nlt.ashbrook.org/2011/04/a-better-strategery-and-better-chosen-ground.php

We are arguing about saving medicare.

IPAB Is an Acronym for 'Death Panel'

Contemplating the 2012 election that can already be seen looming on the distant horizon, the President's advisors were no doubt hoping that the "death panel" debate was… well… dead. But OBAMA HIMSELF INADVERTENTLY RESURRECTED IT WHEN, IN RESPONSE TO REPUBLICAN BUDGET PROPOSALS, HE CLAIMED THAT MEDICARE COSTS WILL BE KEPT UNDER CONTROL BY THE INDEPENDENT PAYMENT ADVISORY BOARD (IPAB). Obamacare opponents have been screaming about this committee since it was first added to the "reform" bill. And, since that time, anyone with the temerity to call it by its proper name -- death panel -- has been vilified by the Democrats and the "news" media. Nonetheless, that's precisely what IPAB will be. ITS SOLE PURPOSE IS TO CUT FUNDING FOR SOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES SENIORS NOW TAKE FOR GRANTED. AND THOSE CUTS WILL KILL PEOPLE.

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/04/22/ipab-is-an-acronym-for-death-p

This is a big deal. You’ll be hearing a lot more about the IPAB in the future. Obama has already decided to have a fixed Medicare budget and these folks will be able to ratchet down the budget even further. What this means is rationing and this rationing will kill older Americans. Death Panels is the correct term for what they will do.



What do Light Bulbs Have to do with the Commerce Clause?

Rand Paul, freshman US Senator from Kentucky, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last month, summed up in a few choice sentences the Democratic Party progressive agenda:

You're really anti-choice on every consumer item that you've listed here, including light bulbs, refrigerators, toilets -- you name it, YOU CAN'T GO AROUND YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT BEING TOLD WHAT TO BUY... You raise the cost of all the items with your rules, all your notions that you know what's best for me….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/what_do_light_bulbs_have_to_do.html

This is well worth reading. The Commerce Clause will be redefined one way or another when Obamacare is decided by SCOTUS.



Earth Day: A secular religion

….As all this suggests, environmentalism has become our newest religion. According to Joel Garreau, professor of law, culture and values at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, A RELIGION IS CHARACTERIZED BY “A DISTINCTION BETWEEN SACRED AND PROFANE OBJECTS; A MORAL CODE; FEELINGS OF AWE, MYSTERY AND GUILT; ADORATION IN THE PRESENCE OF SACRED OBJECTS AND DURING RITUALS; A WORLDVIEW THAT INCLUDES A NOTION OF WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL FITS; AND A COHESIVE SOCIAL GROUP OF THE LIKEMINDED.” Environmentalism, Garreau concluded in an article last year, fits this definition of religion very well.

Environmental historian William Cronon of the University of Wisconsin, Madison — president-elect of the American Historical Association — writes of environmentalism that it has “certain landscapes — usually the wildest and most natural ones — [that] are celebrated as sacred”; it is “openly prophetic”; it develops frequent “parallels to biblical prophecy in the Hebrew and Christian traditions”; AND IT OFFERS “PRACTICAL MORAL GUIDANCE ABOUT VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF DAILY LIFE….FROM THE APOCALYPTIC TO THE MUNDANE…..”

http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/21/earth-day-a-national-establishment-of-religion/#ixzz1KFLBrRwS

And this religion is not simply allowed in our schools, it is celebrated there.



Global Warming: Earth Day’s secular sacred belief

Our government is in the process of imposing strict controls to reduce greenhouse gases in hopes of staving off global warming even though earth's atmosphere is cooling.

Monday's Washington Post included an op-ed piece by Fred Hiatt titled On climate change, the GOP is lost in never-never land. IT WASN'T A PARTICULARLY GOOD ARTICLE BECAUSE IT WAS UNFOCUSED AND DISJOINTED, BUT ITS THEME WAS CLEAR. HIATT THINKS REPUBLICANS LIVE IN A FANTASY WORLD AND THAT CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THEIR GRAND DELUSION.

I'm not a Republican or a Republican Party apologist. I'm an ordinary citizen who's interested in the facts, AND THE FACTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE TELL A TALE THAT MR. HIATT AND PEOPLE OF HIS ILK CAN'T OR WON'T ACCEPT. THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING ALRIGHT, BUT IT'S GETTING COOLER - NOT WARMER. At this point, the only way to have missed that fact is to have bought into the liberal progressive lie that global warming is destroying the planet so completely that you refuse to even consider evidence calling it into question.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_climate_is_changing_alrigh.html


Climate change from a political viewpoint is dead. People are worried about the economy, about the deficit, about their children’s future. Here’s a face saving idea for the left. Declare that the Kyoto Accord worked and the climate is actually getting cooler. Declare victory.




SEC off the hook for Madoff

In Molchatsky v. U.S. (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 19, 2011), the federal district court held that two Madoff victims could not sue the U.S. government under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the SEC's "gross negligence" in failing to discover the fraud. The opinion recounts at some length the allegations of the agency's ineptitude, largely taken from the SEC Office of Inspector General's Report, but nevertheless ultimately agrees with the government that the agency's conduct is protected under the Discretionary Function Exception (DFE) of the Federal Tort Claims Act. Because the SEC's decision regarding whom to investigate and how to conduct an investigation are discretionary, any negligence or even abuse of that discretion is shielded from suit by sovereign immunity.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/securities/2011/04/madoff-victims-cant-sue-government-for-secs-incompetence.html/


Sovereign immunity is something that lets the government skate where a private concern would find itself sued and frequently criminally liable. And yet the left keeps looking to turn more over to the government