The Freedom Diva

Interesting Take on Economic Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:07:00 +0000

The following story is making the rounds in email and is worth reading---

It is a slow day in the small Minnesota town, and streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A rich tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Farmer's Co-op.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything... However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today.

Who is "Ellie Light?": The Prolific Obama Fan

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:17:00 +0000

An individual named "Ellie Light" has been on massive letter writing campaign to defend our president. "Ellie" has written letters to newspapers all over the country, attacking the MSM for not supporting President Obama enough (yes, I'm serious, not enough). She also must be quite wealthy as she claims to reside in every single paper's readership area. That's quite a few homes to own or rent.

Click here to read the article about "Ellie Light" on Cleveland.com.

Brown's Election: It's the Issues, stupid

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:39:00 +0000

Massachusetts voters voiced their frustration with out-of-control spending and health care cramdown through the voting booth by handing a decisive election victory to Republican Scott Brown. Issues matter. Are the Democratic and Republican leaders paying attention?

Dems Decide to Invoke Nuclear Option

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:23:00 +0000

According to Connie Hair on HumanEvents.com, Charlie Rangel held a committee hearing Thursday to certify the House health care bill (HB 3200) as meeting the requirements to pass as a "budget reconciliation" measure.

States Ms. Hair:

"Under reconciliation, the bill can be passed by a simple majority vote in the Senate -- just 51 votes -- and will be given preferential treatment on the House floor as well. The Dems have apparently invoked the “nuclear option” to shut out Republicans and ensure the bill is passed before the end of the year.

The bill certified for “reconciliation” is the Ways & Means version of H.R. 3200 that was passed out of committee before the August break, and before it was read aloud at town hall meetings across the country and blasted by voters across the country.

It contains all of the horrors previously exposed: federal funding of abortion, coverage for illegal aliens, comparative effectiveness, healthcare rationing, deep cuts to Medicare. Everything the American people overwhelmingly reject.

No amendments were allowed at the hearing and no debate. Rangel told Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the committee, that he would not have preferred to do it this way, but leadership -- i.e., Speaker Pelosi -- forced his hand."

Obama's Peaceful Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:41:00 +0000

The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama has astonished a lot of people, including a lot of his own supporters. For many, it has absolutely sickened them. Quite frankly, my personal view is that this is more of an indictment against the Norwegian parliament than anything. After all, they voted to give him the award.

A link to the following post on HotAir.com was emailed to me by a friend (Thanks Stephen!) and I recommend it t0 everyone to read. It's titled "The Peace of The Grave" by Doctor Zero.

Click here to access the article.

New Bait & Switch Option Mulled by Harry Reid

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:14:00 +0000

I recently posted an article regarding a plan Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders in Washington are contemplating for getting health care with a public option passed. It involved attaching the entire health care bill as an amendment to another bill already passed in the House and pending in the Senate.

Now information is coming out about another option under consideration. Sen. Reid weighing the option of pulling a bait and switch to get the votes he needs for cloture while providing certain moderate Senators their deniability.

States Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent for the Washington Examiner,

"Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is weighing a plan to bring the final health care bill to the floor without a public option -- making it much easier to get the 60 votes needed to prevent a Republican filibuster -- and then adding the provision later as an amendment.

The public option amendment would be there waiting, but the 60-vote test would technically be on a bill without the government plan. Then moderate Democrats could drop out for the vote on the public option, which requires just 51 votes for passage."

So much for more transparency in government.

Click here to reach Ms. Ferrechio's full article titled "New plan might allow Dems to slip public option through Senate."

The Secret Plan to Pass Healthcare Is Out in the Open Now

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:30:00 +0000

The first I heard of Congress' plan to pass Obamacare by next week was on Rush Limbaugh's radio show today. His sources are articles by Brian Darling published on Human Events' web site and by Conn Carroll on the Heritage Foundation's web site.

Having lived in Washington, DC for 10 years, nothing shocks me when it comes to sneaky mechanisms to get around the will of the American people. There is a condition known as Potomac Fever and it infects many who live or work inside the Beltway. Some of the symptoms are warped priorities and forgetfulness as to who works for whom. I was lucky to escape town with some rational brain cells left intact.

The plan is to take the 2 Senate health care bills, cherry-pick the provisions best liked by the White House and Harry Reid, and combine them into one bill. It will be attached to the Tarp bill as an amendment and passed. The reason for using the Tarp bill is that it has already passed the House and therefore provides the basis for some fun procedural maneuvering. The Tarp bill being used is the one passed by the House during the AIG bonus debacle in which certain people are being singled out and having the living daylights taxed out of them for having the audacity to accept bonuses that certain members of Congress and the White House knew about and blessed in advance. Only in Washington can you exhibit this kind of chutzpah and the media just yawns.

Now that the secret plan is not so secret, maybe Democratic leaders will slink back into their dark little holes to hatch another dastardly plot to circumvent the will of the people; but maybe not. It is up to us now to keep a close watch on our elected officials and remind them that they will be held accountable for their actions.

Connecting the Dots Between ACORN and the SEIU

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000

I may be preaching to the choir as many already know or suspect the deep ties between the Acorn and the service employees' union. Kathleen Parker at the Washington Post published an article titled "Not Far From the Tree" on Sunday that does an excellent job of detailing the ties. It's worth reading.

Our Border Troubles to Increase

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Welcome to Obamaland, where everything is backwards, and rational thought is outlawed.

The escalating crime along our border with Mexico is a real concern to those unfortunate to live there, and should be a concern to the rest of us. Phoenix has the 2nd highest kidnapping rate in the world, 2nd only to Mexico City. Law enforcement personnel in our border towns are targets for murder. It is also a logical crossing point for terrorists into our country.

So what does our federal government do? They've decided to reduce the number of agents protecting our border. That's only logical in Obamaland, where rational thought about what's in the best interest of Americans is forbidden.

States Terence P. Jeffrey, editor-in-chief of CNSnews.com:

"Even though the Border Patrol now reports that almost 1,300 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border is not under effective control, and the Department of Justice says that vast stretches of the border are “easily breached,” and the Government accountability Office has revealed that three persons “linked to terrorism” and 530 aliens from “special interest countries” were intercepted at Border Patrol checkpoints last year, the administration is nonetheless now planning to decrease the number of Border Patrol agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Border Patrol Director of Media Relations Lloyd Easterling confirmed this week--as I first reported in my column yesterday--that his agency is planning for a net decrease of 384 agents on the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2010, which begins on October 1."

It troubles me that our leaders in Washington appear intent on creating and permitting more chaos, not less. It begs the question of whether that is actually the plan. After all, in a crisis, people, out of fear, turn to their government and leaders for safety and are more prone to relinquish freedoms in exchange for that safety. As the President's chief of staff , Rahm Emanuel, stated on the record to the Wall Street Journal, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste, and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you didn't think you could do before." What you can do is consolidate more power in the hands of a few.

What's going on with our southern border is a crisis in the making, from the increased trafficking, kidnappings, other violent crimes and terrorist infiltration. Our country needs prayer and may God protect those unfortunate to live or work along our Mexican border.

To read Mr. Jeffrey's full article, click here.

Forget Where's Waldo; Where is the MSM?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:25:00 +0000

The news of several ACORN storefronts advising a 20 year old 'prostitute' and 25 year old 'pimp' on how to cheat the system, borrow money under false pretenses, import underage girls for prostitution and evade taxes is no where to be found. ACORN has fired the employees. The Census Bureau has formally severed ties with ACORN with respect to the 2010 census (we'll see if this is legit) and the Senate has voted to defund ACORN. Have we heard about this from the main stream media outlets? Of course not. All of this is big news and should be important to report to the American people. After all, our tax dollars helps support this corrupt organization. Where or where is the MSM? Can you find them? I certainly can't.

Thanks to Andrew Breitbart and biggovernment.com for doing the job that our MSM should be doing.

For information on the scandal that the MSM is attempting to keep quiet, go to biggovernment.com.

Why Worry About Filling Appointments When You Have Czars?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:28:00 +0000

Obama has been in the White House 7 1/2 months and still has only 46% of his presidential appointments filled. In approximately 40% of his appointments, he has not even identified and announced anyone to fill the opening. (Click here to access the interactive chart maintained by the Washington Post tracking all of the appointments.)

You certainly get the impression that filling these positions are not a high priority to our President; particularly when he has hired over 30 'czars' into the White House which usurp much of the authority that should properly go to the presidential appointees.

We've been hearing a lot about the czars that Obama has surrounded himself with since taking office in January. The most recent to grab news headlines is Van Jones, whose resignation yesterday was the result of intense scrutiny by Glenn Beck, Fox News and many others outside the main stream media.

There are over 30 czars in the White House, holding significant authority, commanding high pay, not subject to any Senate confirmation and answerable to no one but the President. Nice work when you can get it.

Not surprisingly, those holding positions as czars frequently have backgrounds that would never survive the Senate confirmation process nor would permit them to obtain security clearances. That Obama wants to surround himself with such advisers speaks volumes about who he really is.

Several web sites are tracking all the czars and can provide useful information on who these people are. Links to these sites are below. It's time we started informing ourselves about these people. The resignation of Van Jones is a start, but there are more that need to go.

Taxpayers for Common Sense: Dancing with the Czars
Wikipedia: List of U.S. executive branch czars
Teresa Monroe-Hamilton: Obama's Czars Listing Update

Health Care Reform = IRS Power Grab?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:43:00 +0000

There was an interesting article published in the Washington Examiner by Byron York titled "Health care reform means more power for the IRS". The article was linked on the Drudge Report Thursday.

States Mr. York:

"There's been a lot of discussion about the new and powerful federal agencies that would be created by the passage of a national health care bill. The Health Choices Administration, the Health Benefits Advisory Committee, the Health Insurance Exchange — there are dozens in all.

But if the plan envisioned by President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats is enacted, the primary federal bureaucracy responsible for implementing and enforcing national health care will be an old and familiar one: the Internal Revenue Service....Under the various proposals now on the table, the IRS would become the main agency for determining who has an "acceptable" health insurance plan; for finding and punishing those who don't have such a plan; for subsidizing individual health insurance costs through the issuance of a tax credits; and for enforcing the rules on those who attempt to opt out, abuse, or game the system. A substantial portion of H.R. 3200, the House health care bill, is devoted to amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in order to give the IRS the authority to perform these new duties."

People haven't focused to much on this aspect yet. But under current law it is a felony for our tax info to be shared by the IRS with anyone other than law enforcement. The bills pending in Congress would turn that upside down. Our private information would be shared throughout the healthcare bureaucracy. Can anyone spell "abuse?"

According to Mr. York, people who are closely involved with the process are deeply concerned about what they view as a massive, and in many ways unprecedented, expansion of the Internal Revenue Service. They have 3 big concerns:

1. Can the IRS handle the new demands." The IRS isn't all that great at its current mission. Anyone going to take odds on how well it handles tracking insurance coverage on 300+ million people?

2. There is likely to be considerable abuse of the system. Plan on there being lots of fraud, with people claiming tax credits or other affordability credits that they aren't really entitled to receive. The resources and competency aren't going to be there to adequately police this. End result will be budget-busting cost overruns which will lead to more intrusive policies in a misguided attempt to contain the fraud. It will be a vicious downward cycle with all Americans suffering the results

3. What business does the IRS have being involved in health care enforcement at all? As we've seen in the town halls being held across the country last month, many Americans are troubled over the coercive nature of the national health care system being proposed. Handing the IRS the power to monitor all of us regarding our health insurance should worry them even more.

Click here to reach Byron York's article.

Revised Bill Still Gives President Emergency Powers Over Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:41:00 +0000

When US Senate bill was introduced this spring that proposed to hand the White House power to disconnect our computers from the Internet, the Internet companies and civil liberties groups were more than a little alarmed.

No one is going to be much happier with the revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency. In this revised version, it would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. The takeover of our health care sector is not the only threat to our liberty.

States Cnet news in an article by Declan McCullagh,

"Other sections of the proposed bill include a federal certification program for 'cybersecurity professionals,' and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

'I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,' said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet SecurityAlliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. 'It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.' "

The Latest on Charlie "I Wasn't Aware of Such Details" Rangel

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:12:00 +0000

If only we could get away with such forgetfulness as Congressman Charlie Rangel. How many of you have "forgotten" $3 million in income? I personally would have a hard time overlooking that much money.

In an article in the New York Post Friday, it was reported that Congressman Rangel failed to report significantly more income than previously admitted:

Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income -- including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale -- on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records.

The documents also show the embattled chairman of the Ways and Means Committee -- who is being probed by the House Ethics Committee -- failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period.

We should be referring to him as EX-Congressman Rangel. This man has no business remaining in Congress and helping to write the tax bills that the rest of us have to obey.

Marine Vet Speaks Out on Cong. Baird's Town Hall Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Click here for the link to the YouTube video of the town hall meeting with U.S. Congressman Brian Baird. It is worth watching to see and hear the Marine veteran speak out.

Two thumbs up!!

Small Business Owner's Message to MSM: we want liberty not tyranny

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:26:00 +0000

The following letter was sent by Dave Zupan, a small business owner in Northern Ohio, to the Cleveland Plain Dealer regarding health care reform and the articles written by Connie Schultz that the paper has published in recent months. For those who are unaware, Connie Schultz is the wife of Senator Sherrod Brown. It will be interesting to see if the Plain Dealer published Dave's letter:

I have been reading connie schultz articles the past few months in the sunday paper - the only day I buy the paper (and that is coming to and end soon I feel) and have this comment for her and her socialist ideas.

We all declare for Liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word may mean for some to do as they please with other men, and the product of other mens labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatable things, called by the same name - liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatable names - liberty and tyranny.

That was written 145 years ago by the most devisive president America has had.... until Barack Hussian Obama was elected.....

A lot of Americans have lost ALL confidence in their government. They are no longer represented by those they have elected and all those elected are now doing as THEY please and not as the people will have them do. Our congress and their president have and propose to continue to bankrupt our Country. The government selectively enforces the laws it makes to best suit congress not the people.(immigration laws as an example).

The president would prefer an America much like most european countries where government spending not private industry makes up the largest part of the economy.

The President wants people who do not agree with him to "quiet your voices". I don't think so.

We will do as HE suggested his supporters do on September 25th 2008 - "I want you to talk to your neighbors - I want you to argue with them, I want you to get in their faces and tell them...."

Well, here we are, talking to our neighbors, arguing with them and getting in their faces, only now he wants us to shut up.... because we oppose his socialist ideas and his run away spending of OUR tax dollars and his unwillingness to enforce our laws.......I don't think so....

I will not pay for healthcare for illegal aliens. I will not pay for healthcare for anybody other than MY family with MY money unless I chose to do so.

If congress choses to do as they think is right and not what the people think is right then civil disobedience will be the first action Americans should take.

What you think is liberty I know as tyranny....

david zupan
small business owner
avon lake ohio 44012

DNC doing what it has accused the RNC of doing

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

The DNC and Democrat leaders have been perplexed by the strong emotions against Obamacare that have been evident at townhalls held by them in recent weeks. It doesn't occur to them that people really are troubled by and strongly against a government takeover of our health care system. In their mind, because they (often through ACORN and the SEIU) really do stage protests that are very well scripted with accomodating news crews in tow, they assume everyone else it acts the same.

Posted Wednesday on Redstate.com was information regarding numerous calls by the DNC to the district offices of Republican congressmen asking for their office hours and when the congressmen would be in the office. I would guess they are planning 'protests' with a TV crew in tow, I'm sure.

How do we know it's the DNC? A little thing called "Caller ID".

Click here to read the Redstate.com posting.

White House Wants Informants on Health Care Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Posted on RedState.com Tuesday was a quote from the White House web site asking to be informed of anyone that publicly opposes Obama's plans to overhaul the health care system.

On the White House blog is a post about health care reform attacking the Drudge Report among others who are getting the facts out about the health care legislation in Congress. Yes, facts. My emphasis. People are printing out the 1,000+ pages. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the disaster that awaits the average citizen if the plan is passed into law. Rationing is the inevitable result (We have numerous other countries that serve as examples we will be headed.) Quality of care will decline.

The White House's response?

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

In other words, please be a good little brown noser and snitch on your friends, family and colleagues.

Click here for the RedState article.

Russian Sub Off the East Coast--shades of the cold war

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

As reported in the New York Times Tuesday, a couple of Russian attack submarines have been patrolling off of our East Coast in the past few days. During the cold war it was common for the United States and the USSR to park subs near each other's coast line. The purpose for such tactic was military espionage, taking the movements of the other's underwater fleets and to be at readiness for war.

Norman Polmar, a naval historian and submarine warfare expert, was quoted in the NYT article as saying:

“I don’t think they’ve put two first-line nuclear subs off the U.S. coast in about 15 years."

Click here to read the full article.

It's now "Health INSURANCE Reform"

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:20:00 +0000

Just heard Frank Luntz, a pollster, on Sean Hannity tonight. As was suspected by some, the sudden switch by Obama and others from referring to "health care reform" to instead calling it "health insurance reform" was poll driven. Apparently the American public will be more easily lulled into a government takeover of their health care if you tie it health insurance. I don't think people are that easily taken in. Most can still figure out that the legislation, if passed, will interfere with and harm the quality of care we enjoy today.

The Truth About Pre-Existing Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

In the attempt to scare people into accepting the health care reform being proposed in Congress, President Obama is telling us that people will be spared coverage denials due to pre-existing conditions is these reforms are passed. The dirty little secret is that since the passage of HIPAA in 1996, coverage for pre-existing conditions is not a real problem any more.

HIPAA protects anyone who signs onto a group policy, which is 90% of all insured. The maximum waiting period for a preexisting condition is one year and the waiting period is reduced by the number of months in the previous calendar year the person had coverage. For example, if a person worked for a company and had insurance there, he or she can change jobs, go to a different company, and every preexisting condition he or she has would be covered with a certificate of credible coverage from his or her previous insurance company.

The bogeyman about pre-existing conditions is a lie.

Conyers Sees No Point in Reading the Health Care Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

You have to see this to believe it.

Click here for the CNSNews.com story and video.

Health Care Reform - the corruption of medical ethics

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Physician assisted suicide is legal in Oregon. As a result the medical bureaucracy in that state has used it as a way to battle medical costs. Some terminally-ill patients in Oregon that turn to the state for assistance in their medical care have received letters informing them that the state would not help pay for chemotherapy or other potentially life sustaining treatments, but it would be willing to pay for physician assisted suicide if the patient would elect to kill him or herself instead for fighting for life.

When you consider statements made by Tom Daschle, Rep. Tonko and others pushing Obamacare in the above context they make more sense -- such as, seniors to know when it is time to accept their fate, and there is need to fund more hospice expenses to address life-ending challenges. The goal will not be to save lives, which is why most doctors went to medical school, it will be making calculated decisions by non-physician bureaucrats in which a growing percentage of people with debilitating illnesses will be offered hospice to make them comfortable while they accept their 'fate."

Welcome to Obamacare.

The Continued Persecution of Sarah Palin

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

AP recently published an article the cites a leaked preliminary report (improperly leaked) alleging that Sarah Palin violated ethics rules by accepting donations to help with her legal defense. A legal defense fund was established by her supporters to help with all the legal bills she is incurred in her defense of numerous frivolous charges. I'm not aware that Palin has actually accepted any of the funds, and even if she did, I'm not convinced it violated any ethics rules.

Regardless, when reporting a story such as this, one would think the AP would want to conduct a little fact checking and also check out is source, the investigator Thomas Daniel. Also, they teach you in journalism school (or they did when I studied journalism) that you should always try to corroborate information you receive from a source from 2 other independent sources. Since many sources have an ax to grind or other hidden motive, it helps to weed out such biases that might color the facts you are given.

The investigator, Thomas Daniel, happens to be an attorney. . . a very active Democrat attorney that is a partner in the very Democratic firm of Perkins Coie.

A simple Internet search will result in the discovery that the firm serves as counsel of record for the Democratic Party and its candidates; it represented John Kerry's presidential campaign and recently represented the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama. The firm also represented Christine Gregoire in the litigation surrounding her 2004 Washington State gubernatorial election, and Al Franken in his legal battle over the 2008 Senatorial election in Minnesota. Perkins Coie also represents the Democratic Leadership Council, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Just how independent and impartial does anyone think this Thomas Daniel is?

For more information, check out:

"Will someone please teach AP how to Google!" by Clarice Feldman on AmericanThinker.com
"Rules for Being Sarah Palin" by James Taranto on wsj.com
"AP: Palin implicated in ethics probe" on www.msnbc.com

$23 Trillion for TARP?

noreply@blogger.com (Connie) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000

According to the special inspector general, Neil Barofsky, in testimony prepared for the House of Representives, the financial bailouts, along with the bank and other economic rescues, could end up costing the federal goverment (that means you and me) as much as $23 trillion. [UPDATE: The $23 trillion figure is based on the amount of money that has been guaranteed by the federal government, aka the taxpayers, as part of the bailouts. Under a worst-case scenario, if everything tanked and we had to make good on all of the guarantees, then approximately $23 trillion is the total exposure.]

This number is staggering. For the government to be on the hook for this total amount, several worst-case scenarios would have to occur. While the odds of literally everything going wrong is unlikely, given the idiotic economic decisions being made by our elected leaders, it's not out of the realm of possibility that some worst-case scenarios could occur.

This amount is nearly double the nation's entire economic output for a year and is more than the total costs of all the wars the United States has ever fought, put together.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25164.html#ixzz0Lr4Ad3TR