RED HANDED BY CONSERVATIVE

Finally. Obama Admits Iraq Surge Worked.

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 21:31:00 -0500

Why was something that was so obvious to most Americans, politicians & pundits, so difficult for our Commander-in-Chief to admit? What could possibly be the reason for President Barack Obama and many of his Democratic cohorts and skeptics for not acknowledging that the surge in Iraq worked better than they ever thought it would?

I really cannot comprehend for the life of me, what is it that President Obama hopes to accomplish by behaving so childish over this issue. The surge worked. Why can’t our President admit the obvious? Why can’t he hold a press conference and just come out and be upfront to the American public and finally confess, that the surge worked?

Oh, I see. What a terrible thing it would be for our President to be called a flip-flopper. A Bush sympathizer. A war-mongering President. That would be too much to bear. Admit that Bush was actually right? Never in a million years.
Not even on the day of his troop level decision making speech at West Point where half the cadets fell asleep on him, could he muster up one iota of respect for his predecessors’ contributions and success of the surge in Iraq. The best his teleprompter could spit out was:

“Today, after extraordinary costs, we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end.”
“That we are doing so is a testament to the character of our men and women in uniform. Thanks to their courage, grit and perseverance, we have given Iraqis a chance to shape their future, and we are successfully leaving Iraq to its people.”

Never once did he mention the success of the surge or give credit to the Bush administration. Hey, Mr. Obama, the campaign is over. You are President. It’s ok to say that the surge worked. We get it already. We know that you opposed the surge all throughout your campaign and as far back as 2007. You did not believe in our troops then, and as we will see, you don’t’ believe in them now.

But this is December 2009. We all now know that the surge worked. And every soldier’s family that lost a son or a daughter in this conflict should know so as well.
So when you go in front of the American people to try and sell them on escalating the war in Afghanistan and to commit more of their children to the ravages of war, wouldn’t it be an easier sell if you simply told them that because of the valor demonstrated by their brave sons & daughter’s and the success of the surge in Iraq, millions of people there will begin to one day enjoy the same freedoms we take for granted here at home?

Wouldn’t it be easier to say that we kicked-ass and were victorious in Iraq instead of being politically correct and watering down that success? Why is it always about “Hard-earned milestones and markers?” Would it hurt our troop moral to hear from our Commander-in-Chief that Iraq should serve as a warning to any rogue nation looking to do harm to US citizens? One would think they would welcome the compliment.

Having said all of this, we all know that what President Obama says & promises is one thing when he does it publicly, as opposed to when he does in private. We all remember how he characterized small town Pennsylvanians voters at one of his San Francisco fundraisers during his campaign. In the warmth & comfort of fellow elitists whose votes he was trying to secure, he described the growing resentment & frustrations towards elitists by small town Pennsylvanians this way:

“It’s not surprising when they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Yet, while he was in campaign mode back in Pennsylvania, he praised them and explained to them how he was an avid supporter of the Second Amendment.
On another occasion during his campaign, Obama made promises about renegotiating NAFTA and actually agreed with Hillary Clinton on this issue. But as it turned out, behind closed doors in a secret meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, he sang a different tune. The Canadians claimed that Obama had reassured them that all the talk about NAFTA during the campaign was just rhetoric to appease the public. I can go on and on but almost a year into the Obama Presidency, we all know that Obama has not been straight with the American Public.

BREAKING NEWS.

And so we now learn from General David Petraeus that Obama finally came clean and admitted to him that the surge in Iraq worked and that he wanted to model the surge into Afghanistan in the same fashion. On a Fox News Sunday interview, Petraeus opened up about how Obama came to finally realize what most of us had figured out long a go – the surge was a success.

The head of the Central Command, Petraeus spoke about his meetings with Barack Obama and how the game-plan that was used so effectively in Iraq could be implemented in Afghanistan. According to Petraeus, Obama was like a kid in a candy store. He wanted to know how troops in Iraq worked with Iraqi forces to secure the population and gain the confidence of the many different factions in Iraq. They talked about the differences between the two regions and some of elements that of each that were similar.

As we now also know, the delay in coming to a decision as to the troop level, was not about coming up with an exit strategy. Obama knew all along that escalating the war in Afghanistan would mean that our troops would be there for the next 15-20 years. This has just come to light as Afghan President Hamid Karzai told visiting Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates on Tuesday.
For 15 to 20 years, Afghanistan will not be able to sustain a force of that nature and capability with its own resources," Karzai told a news conference.

"We hope that the international community and the United States, as our first ally, will help Afghanistan reach the ability to sustain a force."

To tell the American people that troop withdrawal will begin as early as July 2011 is disingenuous. Once again, in order to placate his base and sell this to the American public,

Obama resorts to what he does best, he goes behind closed doors and says one thing, and then gets in front of the American people and announces something totally opposite.
But at last, he finally admits that the surge in Iraq worked and said it was a success. If only now he would stand in front of Americans and finally announce it to everyone.

Being Led Like Blind Sheep

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:39:00 -0500

For a country that has seen it’s population surpass the 300 million mark and where diversity couldn’t be more evident, it is becoming more evident that minorities & to a large extent our youth or those under the age of 20 – which comprise about 27% of the population, are currently being led like blind sheep by this administration, and for far too long by Democrats in general.

Of the over 100 million people that are self proclaimed minorities in this country, about 97% of them are either Black, Latino or Asian. With a population of about 44 million, Latinos have just surpassed blacks in this country as the largest group of minorities. These numbers are significant.

You would think that with these types of numbers, these groups would have a bigger say in the direction and policy making of this country. But the fact of the matter is that Blacks, Latinos and other minorities have shown no interest in standing up to this administration on critical issues such as the jobless rate, government spending, education or foreign policy.
This inaction, in my opinion is hurting all Americans.

It is the reason that any dissent over big government, healthcare, jobs, the war and taxes is portrayed as “Right-Wing” and racist by many on the left. The fact of the matter is that these are issues that affect everyone. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, the young & poor, women & men.
For some unexplained reason, these groups do not see it as Patriotic to hold their elected leaders accountable even when they are being hit the hardest by these unemployment numbers. For the time being they are content with the “Tea Partiers” and Town Hall Protestors doing their dirty work. A recent jobs report shows that the national unemployment rate for Blacks is at 15.7% & 13.% for Latinos – the highest in 26 years In some sectors and communities, the black male unemployment rate has reached as high as 50%. In contrast, the rate is at 9.5% nationally for whites.
Minorities sit on the Sidelines

Interestingly, it hasn’t been Blacks, Latinos or minorities in general that have complained or raised red flags about this problem. For the most part, they have remained quietly on the sidelines as promises of extended unemployment benefits and other state & government programs to help them with their mortgages or pay the rent keeps them at bay.

Ironically it has been the often criticized cable news programs and conservative talk radio that has continued to monitor and question the validity of how many jobs have or have not been saved or created by this administration. These groups have been toothless and almost ashamed to dare utter a word of criticism at this administration that has made a bad job situation worse. I think the time has come for these groups to start carrying their own weight and sticking their necks out.
Key Sectors of Job Market no longer there

The manufacturing & construction jobs that were once abundant and employed millions of low skill laborers are no longer there. In times of economic downturn and periods of recession, these jobs are usually the first to go. And with a high percentage of minorities employed in these jobs, you will undoubtedly see these high double digit unemployment rates. And while there has been a lot of patience amongst these groups who helped Obama gain power, it makes you wonder why so much trust has been put in this administration that has had close to a year to make some headway in the unemployment rate.

We have all heard the promises that were made claiming that the unemployment rate would never reach eight percent if their $787 billion dollar Stimulus package was passed. Americans once again, dipped into their pockets for the sake of staving off another catastrophe, or so the administration claimed. What was then trumpeted as a noble cause, has now been revealed to be anything but a slush fund to payback political favors and buy influence.
False Data on Jobs Created

For months now we have listened to Joe Biden and this WH proclaim time & time again about how many jobs they have saved or created. They have gone as far as taking credit for jobs created in districts that don’t even exist. This is a lot of egg in the face for this administration and a farce that once again, raises the question – Why would anyone entrust the government to run anything? If they can’t figure out how to track $ 787 billion dollars of your tax dollars, how are they supposed to efficiently run a 2 trillion dollar Healthcare plan? Why would we allow them this responsibility?

There has never been a metric to measure “Jobs Created”. This administration has resorted to these tactics knowing that it is almost impossible for anyone to confirm or verify these claims. They are playing on peoples inability to question this administration. They have shown in the past that they will attack and try to discredit anyone who questions their agenda or motives. What makes it doubly difficult is the fact that they have the media in their back pockets to diffuse most of the stories that question the accuracy of these reports.
Back in June of this year, Obama addressed the issue of the high unemployment rate amongst minorities, by stating:

"The best thing that I can do for the African-American community or the Latino community or the Asian community, whatever community, is to get the economy as a whole moving. If I don't do that then I'm not going to be able to help anybody. So that's priority number one."

Where are the jobs?

Five months have passed since that proclamation and the jobless rate still remains at all time highs reaching the 10% mark. We have seen nothing but a host of Job conferences and ideas thrown around by the CEO’s of some of our biggest companies, but no evidence of job creation. The Green Jobs Czar that was supposed to have led the new wave for a new Green jobs economy, got the boot himself before creating 1 job.

If any sector of the economy has regained some stability it has been the financial sector & Wall Street. Propped up by TARP funds under the direction of Tim Geithner, Larry Summers many of these large Wall Street firms are back making billions and giving themselves huge bonuses while main street continues to suffer. Perhaps the time for Geithner & Summers has come to step aside. It is becoming clearer by the day that these two Northeast types have no idea about job growth across other stretches of this country like the Mid West and the South.

Promises, Promises

All through this period of economic turmoil, minorities have shown no backbone to stand up and demand what was promised to them. During the campaign it was all about kitchen table issues. Jobs,housing, mortgages, college tuition and putting food on the table. The issue of Healthcare was on the fringe but not on the forefront. Somehow, those kitchen table issues have suddenly taken a back seat to the agendas of those on the Far Left of the party. Burning the midnight oil to address these problems head on have been replaced with weekends of golfing, Wednesday nights of partying, and jet setting across the world in search of the best dining places.

It is time for minorities and the youth in this country to stand up to this administration and hold them accountable. It is time to forego the selfishness of many in these groups and fight for something other than, amnesty, abortions, legalization of marijuana, & entitlement programs. It is time for the leadership in these groups to stand up and do their part in holding this administration accountable for their failure to create more jobs at a quicker pace. It is time for Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Sheila Lee Jackson, Jim Clyburn, the NAACP, the Black Caucus, La Raza, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to put their money where their mouths are. It is easy to cry fowl and complain when the victim is clearly a minority and the accused is white.

Why not complain now? Aren’t these minority groups the ones that are being victimized here? Where are the million man marches to Washington D.C. to protest against Obama’s lack of emphasis on job creation? Where are the jobs? Where is the media outcry about the billions of tax payer dollars that were given away to bailout big Wall Street firms so that they could free up the credit market?

Are minorities simply going to be led like blind sheep by a chosen few? What about Hilda Solis? Why isn’t anyone asking about her job performance? She is the Labor Secretary and one of the biggest advocates for worker rights and organized labor. Yet the unemployment numbers amongst Latinos have soared under her watch. She has not spoken on the issue nor has been called out by anyone.

As of this righting, it appears that the NAACP & other organizations are beginning to see the light. This latest quote may be a wake-up call for our President to start doing his job:

“It’s time for us to really stoke this issue up,” said Hilary O. Shelton, the N.A.A.C.P.’s senior vice president for advocacy and policy. “We’re not so much trying to convince him to do something he doesn’t want to do, but urging him to move forward on an issue we have agreement on.”

Sources & references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States

http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-4661191/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mb3huZXdzLmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDA5LzExLzE4L2pv%20Yi1odW50LW1pbm9yaXRpZXMtdXJnZS1vYmFtYS10YWNrbGUtam9ibGVzcy1y%20YXRlLWNvbW11bml0aWVzLw==

Sarah Palin, Right on Energy Policy

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:32:00 -0400

For as much time as the critics spend scrutinizing and bashing Sarah Palin on everything from being too Conservative, Pro-Life, Pro Gun Rights, a hockey mom, too attractive to be smart, the worn out “I can see Russia from my front Porch” comment, they can never fault her for being right on Energy Policy.

In a recent article she wrote for National Review Online, Sarah Palin gives us some insight into where this country needs to take its Energy Policy. Her experience, insights and common sense approach in handling our Energy needs, runs circles around the approach currently being taken by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Obama Energy & Climate Change Czar, Carol Browner.

ENERGY INDEPENCE COMES DOWN TO TWO OPTIONS:

There is no denying the fact that we are still very dependent on foreign oil and are not going to reduce this dependency anytime soon until one of two things happen. We decide to move away from oil and fossil fuels completely and immerse ourselves into alternative sources of energy such as Electricity, Natural gas, Biofuels and other renewable sources as dictated by central planners who desire a one size fits all approach & solution, or we can tap into our own abundant resources right here at home.

The answer is obvious except to environmentalists who still insist on protecting our shores and remote stretches of desolate land in Alaska (ANWR) from being drilled for billions of barrels of oil & trillions of cubic ft. of Natural Gas. Gas & oil that is still going to be needed even if every single car on the road today were converted to run on something other than gas.

NO MATTER WHAT, WE WILL ALSO NEED OIL

Of the 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd) that we consume daily, we produce only about 4.95 bpd or 25% of it. 66% is used for motor & diesel fuels which means that we still require about 6.5 bpd to use on non automotive necessities such as jet fuel, plastics, petrochemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Oil that we will still depend on from foreign countries - some being of our enemies.

According to Sarah Palin, “We’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent”.

So with this in mind, how is Obama’s hand picked triumvirate of Energy Gurus tackling this problem? What have their collective minds laid out as sound & sensible Energy Policy during the past 10 months? Let’s examine their records a little closer.

On transitioning to cleaner fuels and electric vehicles, here is the game plan:

Ken Salazar, Obama’s Interior Secretary would like to see gas prices skyrocket to the $8-$10 per gallon level and would oppose lifting the offshore drilling moratorium even if gas prices were to reach these prices. In other words, instead of implementing a sure fire approach like Sarah Palin’s idea of drilling now to build up our reserves and create millions of jobs in the process, our Interior Secretary would prefer to see you pay $10 for a gallon of gasoline as a way to force you to perhaps purchase one of those Greener more fuel efficient Lawn Mowers with two seats called cars made by GM.

The fact that we are no where near in the development of Electric cars and alternative sources of energy, makes you wonder about the mindset behind such a reckless approach.
Salazar is also a strong opponent of developing oil shale on public lands where it is most abundant and would reap the most benefits in terms of building up our reserves and creating jobs. Salazar has voted yes on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies. He has also voted to remove the establishment of an oil and gas leasing program in the Alaskan Coastal Plain. So, as you see, Mr. Salazar’s has taken many measures along the way with the intention on making good on his wish of creating a $10 gallon of gasoline.

Steven Chu - your Energy Secretary, is also on record as saying that “We have to find a way to boost the price levels of gasoline to European levels”. Steven Chu who scolded you and all Americans on embracing his Green Jobs & Global Warming Agenda during a a smart grid conference in Washington, said the following:

“The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act. The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.”

In other words, Steven Chu doesn’t think you are mature enough to see how adding one job at the expense of three results in a net positive. He doesn’t think you have the know to figure out that Cap & Trade is simply a wealth redistribution scheme that takes money away from the middle & poor class and gives it to the elites. A scheme that will add thousands of dollars to your electricity rates and destroy 3 jobs for each one it creates.

Another part of his brilliance on transitioning to a green world, is by painting your roofs white. Paint .Paint is the Answer.

"If you look at all the buildings and if you make the roofs white and if you make the pavement more of a concrete type of colour rather than a black type of colour and if you do that uniformally, that would be the equivalent of... reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years – just taking them off the road for 11 years," he said.

According to the administration, this is part of the best & the brightest that has been chosen to lead our country towards Energy Independence. You can’t make this stuff up.
Finally, our climate czarina, Carol Browner. The neon green radical who headed the Environmental Protection Agency from 1993-2000, was ex-commissioner of Socialist International, a worldwide organization of Democratic Socialists and a rethread from the Clinton administration, has been touted by some as the most powerful official in the Obama administration to determine the fate of America. Scary.

With that said, one of the most underhanded things she tried to do was undermine & kill an effort between the coal industry & a number of green groups to jointly support government aid in developing technology that would have significantly reduced the environmental toll of coal use. A move made for strictly ideological reasons without regard or concern for the cost or availability of electricity for our citizens.

Browner's White House position is newly created. It did not require Senate confirmation. Congress has little or no power over her decisions. Congress cannot limit outside influences on Browner, since Presidential executive privilege covers her actions. Much in the same fashion that it did for Van Jones, our former Green Jobs Czar.

Sarah Palin if given the opportunity, could have done the job that is now taking three people to try and do. She smartly points out that while a shift towards electric powered vehicles by the government may work in areas like Los Angeles, it may not be such a good idea in Alaska where you may drive long stretches without coming across people let alone many electrical sockets.
She points out that that you still need a clean energy source to produce the electricity that powers these cars.

That is why in Alaska, they are developing the largest private-sector energy project in history — a 3,000-mile, $40 billion pipeline to transport hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas to markets across the United States. Natural gas is abundant throughout the US and it is very easy to collect and process.

She also talks about the need to build more refineries and protect ourselves from the potential of natural catastrophies like hurricane Katrina which caused the price of oil & gas to skyrocket as a result of knocking a few refineries.Continued environmental regulations has decreased the number of refineries in the US from a high of 300 in the 1970’s to a current low of 150.

She points out how become energy independent using our own resources will create millions of permanent jobs that can never be shipped overseas. We transfer billions of dollars a year to foreign countries that could be invested in our struggling economy. As long as we are headed down the path laid out by our current Energy triumvirate, we will continue to be weakened and held hostage by repressive regimes that know we need their oil.

So we can listen to smart and solution based ideas which will ultimately lead us to energy independence and freedom, or we can join lock and step with the extreme views and desires we are being force fed. The choice is simple.As Sarah Palin likes to say, “Drill, Baby Drill”.

Species-First, People-Last Statute Destroying Millions of Acres of California Farming Land

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:29:00 -0400

Once again, the ESA (Endangered Species Act) has decided to put the interests of the people below that of a threatened species – this time the Delta Smelt. The Delta Smelt a tiny fish no longer than 3”, was placed on the ESA’s list of Endangered Species back in 1973 and has remained on the list ever since. Despite many years of studies by numerous Federal & State Wildlife agencies, to determine the causes and reverse its decline, they have failed to make any progress. Should anyone be surprised?

In a 20 year period from 1973 to 1993 the population of the Smelt dropped tenfold and has remained at similar levels ever since. For 20 Years the ESA has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars studying the life expectancy of a three inch fish which by all accounts will become extinct from several causes no matter how much effort or funds are expended to preserve it.
In a 2005 biological opinion, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found several contributing factors in the Delta smelt's long decline, including the projects' pumps near Tracy that transport Delta water south. But the opinion also found that the pumps, while taking some smelt, were not killing so many as to cause the smelt's extinction.

Despite these findings & constant pressure from environmentalists or “Hardcore Greens”, a challenge was brought to Federal Court and the findings of the study were basically thrown out. The new ruling charged that the pumps were indeed the cause of the Smelt’s decline.

Impact of Court’s Ruling

Bowing to the ESA's mandate to preserve listed species at "whatever the costs,” a ruling at the federal district level, has ordered the state and federal pumps shut off whenever young smelt are in the vicinity. In 2008, water exports to the Delta were reduced by 30% causing an estimated hit of $300 million to the state's economy. The cut in water supply, the biggest in California has been a major contributor to the 40% unemployment in some of the Central Valley towns where farming is the only means to earn a living.

Much of the 30% of the water that is being shut-off to the valley, continues to flow to the ocean to comply with the ESA Delta Smelt ruling. Water that in many cases could be used to irrigate thousands of acres of farmland or ease the constraints of water rationing in other nearby towns.

Opponents of these mandates which are aimed at withholding water to more than 23 million people for drinking, household and business purposes, for irrigating much of California's annual $32 billion agricultural industry and the estimated loss of 80,000 Central Valley agriculture-related livelihoods - believe will lead to very harsh health, economic and social consequences.

It is a sad commentary on the priorities of this administration that they would allow such a disaster to occur right here at home. It is a joke that politics rules the day when it comes to deciding between a species and a people. People that are hurting economically and seeing their livelihoods ruined by heartless bureaucrats who are out of touch with the problems of working class Americans.

What is being done?

Witnessing firsthand the devastation to the state’s farm economy, 50 mayors from the San Joaquin Valley signed a letter asking President Obama to come down and see for himself the impact of these antiquated water rules firsthand..

The Obama administration should bear a lot of the responsibility for this species-first, people-second ideology. As a result of their reversal of a George W. Bush ruling that would allowed agencies to move ahead with projects and programs without seeking an independent review by either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a lot of the decision making and the power has been put back in the hands of the ESA and made environmentalists happy.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for reasons unknown, failed to request intervention from the Department of Interior. Under a provision added to the Endangered Species Act in 1978 after the snail darter fiasco, a panel of seven cabinet officials known as a "God Squad" is able to intercede in economic emergencies, such as the one now parching California farmers. Despite a petition with more than 12,000 signers, Mr. Schwarzenegger has refused that remedy.
Other politicians including Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, has signaled an interest in pressing the issue with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

As usual, the story has gone unreported by the State Run media and if not for the unfairly maligned Fox News, the story would not have gotten the attention it is starting to receive.
President George Bush took a beating for not reacting as quickly as possible to the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Katrina and the chaos that ensued.

Here we have a situation where again people are in dire straits and in peril of losing everything they have. Shouldn’t it be the President’s responsibility to step in turn the water on so that people can back to the business of working and farming their land? After all, hasn’t he meddled in the business of the Mass. Police dept., the Governors race in New York the resignation of 2 of his Inspector Generals? It would be refreshing if he meddled on behalf of the people for once instead of taking his marching orders form the Eco-Friendly Wing of the Party.

Sources:

Sacramento Bee - http://www.sacbee.com/740/v-print/story/1942919.html
WSJ : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574384731898375624.html

Ted Kennedy-The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:52:00 -0400

The Good

For a man that was born into wealth, fame & status, Ted Kennedy worked as indefatigably in the Senate to earn his stripes, as he did for the many causes of the poor & downtrodden in this country. He made his mark not by seeking protections for the well to do of his own economic and social class, but rather by fighting for Universal Healthcare for all Americans whatever their economic status. He worked hard to extend broader civil rights protections to racial, ethnic and gender minorities. His M.O. was to work tirelessly not for those born into privilege, as he was, but for anyone who aspired toward decent lives and achieving the American dream. Despite all of his well documented personal troubles, most stemming from his self indulgence into the trappings that are part of an iconic and powerful political family, Ted Kennedy steadied his political ship and when it was all said and done upon his death, he had become the third longest serving Senator in US history. He was as partisan on the issues he believed in as he was competitive when it came to Sail boating.

THE BAD

While it has not been talked about a lot or highlighted enough, perhaps the single most controversial contribution that Sen. Ted Kennedy may have made,was the 1965 Immigration Act that has literally changed the face of America. Picking up on the seminal work of his older brother John F. Kennedy, A Nation of Immigrants, Ted Kennedy embraced the idea and forged legislation to eliminate quotas for the entire Eastern Hemisphere which included countries such as India, China & Asia.The heart of the legislation was the elimination of the National Origin System under which up until 1965, we had huge quotas for northern Europe and virtually no quotas at all for the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere except for the minimum quota provided by law of 100.

Thus, up until the 1965 Act, there was an annual quota in excess of 65,000 per year for citizens of Great Britain and 100 per year for India and 100 per year for China and so forth. The 1965 Act completely eliminated the National Origins Test and provided immigration based upon the principles of family reunification and the needs of the U.S. economy where U.S. employers could prove the unavailability of qualified U.S. workers. Ironically, the 1965 Act also imposed for the first time quotas that went into effect for the Western Hemisphere, which ultimately resulted in the situation we find ourselves in today of having large numbers of undocumented workers.

Destructive Part of His Legacy?

In my opinion this has been Ted's worst and most destructive part of his legacy. Although, the act started out with good intentions, it has been left unchecked by too many Progressive Libs and moderate Conservatives in the process adding the bulk of our additional 100 million people into America within 40 years Illegal immigration has increased from 170,000 annually to over 1.1 million today. His actions and this act, promulgated a complete ethnic change of our once stable society into a fractured civilization. In essence, the 1965 Immigration Act has provided for the entrance of immigrants into our country at a pace that will most likely do away with our culture as we know it within the next 30 years The act has watered down citizenship by not enforcing our laws or maintaining educational standards. We have deliberately changed our ethnic makeup to placate and reward those that come into our country illegally and break our laws. And as much as those on the Left exalt the benefits of diversity, there have been very few examples of ‘diversity’ creating a stable society.

For forty four years, Ted Kennedy watched as millions of immigrants poured into this country. He helped facilitate and languished as millions of illegal aliens marched across our borders and wreaked havoc on our schools, communities, jobs, hospitals, language and prisons, while placing an unnecessary on many of our states budgets. He remained silent as over 20,000 members of MS-13 gangs distributed over $130 billion in drugs yearly. Taxpayers help pay for 400,000 babies born to illegal alien mothers annually. Now we know why Ted always talked about Universal Healthcare for everyone. We provide food stamps for about 25 million Americans as a result of illegal immigrants accepting lower wages and taking jobs away from our working poor..

Teddy Roosevelt once said,

“The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, or preventing
all possibility of its continuing as a nation at all, would be to permit it to
become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.”

In 1986 after 21 years of steady and increasing numbers of illegal immigrants coming into this country, he proposed, wrote and encouraged Ronald Reagan to sign the 1986 Immigration Amnesty that allowed what he said were only 1.3 million illegal immigrants. The true number of immigrants that gained instant citizenship became 4.3 million. Later, Reagan said signing that amnesty was the worse mistake of his presidency. Last June, 2007, as another 20 million illegal aliens broke over U.S. borders since 1986, Kennedy tried to facilitate more amnesty by forcing S.B. 1639 into law. He voted to double legal immigration to 2.2 million annually. For this, Ted Kennedy should hold a lot of responsibility for the $346 billion in annual taxpayer dollars to defray the cost of supporting illegal immigrants & their families.

THE UGLY – SECRET MEETING WITH SOVIETS TO UNDERMINE PRESIDENT REAGAN

With all of the downside of the suffocating numbers of illegal immigrants coming into this country today, thanks in large part to Ted Kennedy, the one thing that I find really troubling and may be his biggest black mark, is how Ted Kennedy tried to undermine two of our Presidents, Jimmy Carter & Ronald Reagan for personal political gain It bothers me to no end when I have to listen to people like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the mainstream media carry on and complain about how the American people are idiots & uninformed and are trying to undermine & sabotage the President’s Healthcare Reform Bill. It is so disingenuous. Yet, no one has the guile to report on the complete Ted Kennedy story. This my friends, is also part of his legacy. Report it!!
Kennedy very Impressed with Andropov

Text of KGB letter sent on Ted Kennedy

In this May 14, 1983, letter written by underling Viktor Chebrikov to Andropov, he relayed Kennedy’s offer to meet, Chebrikov explaining that Kennedy blamed poor American-Soviet relations not on the Communist country, but on President Reagan. According to Chebrikov’s letter, Kennedy said he wanted to stop Reagan’s re-election effort in 1984. These revelations reported in 1992 suggest insight into a man so obsessed with the acquisition of personal political power that he would reach out to the communist Soviet Union for help in undermining not one but two American presidents, one from his own political party. So as always, there are 2 sides to every person & story. I hope that in looking at Ted Kennedy’s long life of achievement, you do not turn the page on this chapter.

BEWARE: GOLDMAN SACHS GETTING READY TO RIP YOU OFF AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:21:00 -0400

While a lot of the focus has been centered around Cap & Trade and the need to reform our energy policies and clean up our environment, Goldman Sachs the worlds largest & most powerful investment bank is quietly laying the groundwork for the next swindling of trillions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. As I will try to point out in this article, Cap & Trade is not about saving our planet or changing our energy policy in an attempt to lead us toward energy independence. The players who have been pushing for this bill to pass have their eyes set on what could be a windfall of trillions of dollars for those who will be investing heavily in the stock of these emerging energy markets. Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and a host of her cronies from Congress and the Senate, are foaming at the mouth for millions of dollars that will come their way once this Bill is passed by Congress and the Senate.
For anyone who may still be on the fence about whether Cap & Trade is a good idea and how it will impact them in the future, I suggest that you do yourself and your family a big favor and take a few minutes to read what in my opinion could turn out to be the biggest warning to Americans since Paul Revere announced, “The British are coming”. The piece tilted “The Great American Bubble Machine” by Matt Taibi and published in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, chronicles the history of the 5 biggest market bubbles and how Goldman Sachs essentially orchestrated each and every one of them and how it is now getting ready to do it again using Cap & Trade as their vehicle. As we get ready to celebrate the 4th of July and 233 years of Independence, this may be the last year as we know it that we get to enjoy such freedoms. Once Goldman Sachs wraps its tentacles around this newly created Carbon-credit market, it will once again take a huge chunk of out of the wealth created by many honest, hardworking and unsuspecting individuals and hand it over as pure profit to rich individuals.

WHAT IS THE CON GAME?

With all of Goldman Sachs unprecedented power & reach, they still need to have key people infiltrate the government ranks on a local, state & federal level in order to rewrite the rules which allows them to suck in huge amounts money from unsuspecting investors in the lower and middle classes. It has been a tried and tested formula that has rewarded this behemoth, trillions of dollars since it was first founded in 1869.The scheme is simple enough. At some point during an emerging speculative bubble, Goldman Sachs positions itself for huge payoffs by selling investments they know are shit. When the bubble finally bursts, they begin the process again while millions of mainstreeters are left penniless and broke. They then spin the ensuing financial crisis in their favor by lending back to us some of the millions they swindled at high interest rates and somehow portray themselves as do gooders and “men above greed’.

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?

As I pointed out, in order to make this work you need major players infiltrating the ranks of government. No one player has served their role better than former Goldman CEO & former George Bush Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson.
Henry Paulson was the engineer of one of the worst pieces of legislation ever, TARP. At best a suspicious & self-serving plan that would eventually siphon trillions of taxpayer dollars to some of his Wall St. buddies.
First on that list of buddies was Robert Rubin. Currently one of Obama admin’s economic strategist, a former Treasury Sec. under Clinton administration, former Goldman Sachs alum & former Chairman of Citigroup. Robert Rubin no doubt played a major role in ensuring that Citigroup got a 300 billion taxpayer bailout from his dear friend Henry Paulson. There was John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch and another former Goldman Sachs Banker, who received a multi-billion dollar payout from Henry Paulson to aid Bank of America bailout his sorry ass company, Merrill Lynch.
Goldman Sachs has positioned players as heads of both the Canadian & Italian national banks, the World Bank & the head of the New York Stock Exchange. The list of influential ex Goldman Sachs employees in key positions is endless and it is not by accident that they succeeded in doing this.

BUYING INFLUENCE:

Goldman Sachs and its employees paid the sum of $981,000 to the campaign of the man that currently sits in the White House, Barack Obama. A major proponent of Cap & Trade who has the wind at his back and a fillibuster proof Senate vote. So when Barack Obama stands in front of his teleprompter to condemn Wall street greed and extol the virtues of a cleaner planet and energy independence, do not take him at his word. He is being disingenuous. So are the many of Democrats currently sitting in the Senate & Congress that received over $4.4 million dollars in campaign funds last year. This is the type of frontal assault that may manage to strong arm into existence Cap & Trade. It has always been about the money. It has always been about buying influence and lobbying and no one has been able to excel at it more than Goldman Sachs. Gone are the Henry Paulsons’ and Neel Kashkari’s and in are the new class of Goldman alumn that will take their place. Already positioned and occupying key government jobs, they will be ushering in a new wave of commodities bubble. And with big brother keeping a closer eye on the manipulation of prices, it is the very same government that will mandate higher prices for these carbon credits. So it is a win win situation for Goldman Sachs. The government will create the bubble and Goldman will be there waiting to cash-in when the bubble bursts.

Goldman Sachs knew long ago that at some point climate issues were going to become front and certain and so it began their lobbying efforts to try and get in on the ground floor of this by pumping over 3.5 million dollars to the cause. So it stands to reason that Mark Patterson on of the lobbyists is now Chief of Staff for the Treasury Secretary. They have invested in wind power, solar power and renewable diesel. They own a 10% stake in the Chicago Climate Exchange where the Carbon Credits will be traded. As Henry Paulson sated, “we’re not making any of these investments to lose money”.

THE 5 BIGGEST BUBBLES THAT GOLDMAN HAS CAUSED :

1. The Great Depression – Goldman Sachs made millions utilizing Commercial Paper or short IOU’s to small-time vendors in downtown Manhatan.These Investment Trusts basically took the money from small & larger investors & invested in a mix of Wall Street Securities. A lot of these investors who were regular guys, were made to feel like big players even though they may have invested as little as $10 dollars. These securities and amounts were often kept hidden from the public to give little guy a sense of power. These Trusts were as history points out, a major cause in the Great Crash of 1929.
2. TECH STOCKS: - The basic scam in the Internet Age was pretty simple. Anyone with a half-assed idea for a new start-up dot com company, had the potential to be taken public via IPO’s , which were talked up and sold to unsuspecting investors for megamillions. Goldman was able to facilitate this by once again changing the rules of the game to make the deals look better than they actually were. Goldman Sachs was in essence pumping up these shit Tech Stocks and telling their analysts that Anybullshitcompany.com was worth hundreds a share.Only insiders at Goldman new the real price of these stocks which was in reality a lot lower than what they were trading for.
3. THE HOUSING CRASH : In the housing bubble disaster, Goldman Sachs once again took advantage of loose underwriting standards. For decades, those in the mortgage industry insisted that buyers have the the ability to come up with at least a 10% downpayment or more, have a steady job, good credit and a valid Social Security number and verifiable first & last name. That shit all changed beginning in 2000 when Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, ACORN and a host of Liberal activists insisted that more people have the opportunity to own a home. That meant that any part-time hamburger flipper or ex-criminal with nothing but a pack of cigarettes and a $20 bill in their pocket could potentially be eligible to apply for a mortgage and own a home. Once again, Goldman was able to create investment vehicles and packaged these shit filled mortgages, and eventually sell them them to unwary insurance companies and pension funds. This flooded the market with Toxic debt that in years past would have never been allowed. The banks knowing how likely these mortgages were to fail, wrote them anyway because they knew they could get rid of them by selling them to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. With the help of Barney Frank and his minions, the government bought billions of bad assets and as you know, the rest is history.
4. The OIL & GASOLINE BUBBLE: With the Presidential campaigns in full mode and an economy in shambles, Wall street was bearing the brunt and being made the scapegoat for many of the ills the average Joe was experiencing, Wall street greed and decades of corruption scandals had left many investors leery and suspicious about investing in any form of that felt like a paper investment. In the midsts of all of this, Goldman Sachs was discreetly setting up it’s tent to once again swoop down and pick up the pieces that would be left behind by the aftermath of the oil and commodities market. With a declining dollar, a credit crunch a housing market left in shambles many investors began throwing their dollars into the commodities market. For many the choice was oil futures. As the price of a single barrel of oil skyrocketed from around $60 in mid 2007 to a high of $147 in the summer of 2008, once again, Goldman Sachs would be the beneficiary of billions of dollars in profits. They did this by persuading pension funds and a host of institutional investors to throw their money into oil futures and agreeing to to buy at a cetain price on a fixed date.Couple this with the fact that Goldman Sachs was rooting for an increase in the price of oil and predicting that the price of a barrel of oil would spike to over $200 a barrel in the not too distant future and you can clearly see the cause and effect . The Presidential candidates jumped on this opportunity to put blame on those owning gas guzzling vehicles as the primary cause of the spike in gas prices when in fact it wasn’t the consumption of of real oil that was driving up the prices- it was all the trading in paper oil that was causing the spike in price. When the oil bubble finally burst in 2008 and the price went from a high of $147 to $33 dollars a barrel, once again it was the little guy and pensioners who had invested in this load of shit that got hammered. The after shocks of this bubble had world wide repercussions including the forcing of 100 million people into hunger as a result of soaring food prices that were driven by the commodities bubble.
5. THE BAILOUTS: With no new money to feed upon, Goldman Sachs set it’s sights on the one remaining unguarded pool of capital; tax-payer money. It began with Henry Paulson making the calculated decision to let the only remaining competitor to Goldman Sachs; Lehman Bros; go under without any intervention.
That move was followed by a granting AIG $85 billion in Bailout money. With that money in hand, AIG then repaid $13 billion it owed to Goldman. In essence, this saved Goldman’s ass form all of the bad bets made in the past year. Immediately thereafter, Henry Paulson announced his $700 billion dollar bailout of the financial industry. The plan was then placed in the hands of Neel Kashkari, a Goldman banker to administer. In a move that went under the radar, Goldman immediately changed it’s status from an investment bank to a bank-holding company in order to gain access to billions in TARP funds and a host of other publicly backed funding. The most notable being lending from the discount window of the Federal Reserve. Under a new series of bailout programs, the Fed will have guaranteed at least $8.7 trillion dollars – and thanks to an obscure law allowing the Fed to block most congressional audits, both the amounts and the recipients of the monies remain almost entirely secret. Once all of the bailouts were in place and the dust had settled, Goldman Sachs was back at it again concocting the next scheme to clean up any remaining loose change. It pushed forward the calendar it uses to report it’s earnings, essentially wiping a $1.3 billion 4th quarter 2008 loss off the books. It then announced a somewhat suspicious first quarter of 2009 profit of $1.8 billion dollars which included a chunk of taxpayer money that was funneled to it via the AIG bailout. After all was said and done, Goldman Sachs got away with paying the effective tax rate of 1% on the $2 billion profit it made in 2008. That works out to fourteen million dollars or one third of the $42.9 salary to paid to CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
If that wasn’t bad enough, it then paid out an incredible $4.7 billion in bonuses and salaries, an 18% increase over last year. If this does not raise any questions, then nothing will.

This begs the question, why hasn’t the government allowed Goldman Sachs to fall under any circumstance? Not one word was said from anyone for given the scale and nature of this abuse. It goes to show to show how much influence money can buy. Goldman has been able to play the game and survive while millions have been put in the poor house. There is no reason to doubt that they will pull off one more heist before all is said and done and the carbon market will be their meal ticket.

Illegal Immigration: Eating away at the fabric of America.

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:19:00 -0400

Yesterday, President Barack Obama addressed a group of Hispanics at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference to renew talks about Immigration Reform, but stopped short of giving a definitive timetable to get it done.
While the argument on how to best fix the problem seems to be the biggest obstacle, there is no doubt that the problem has played a major role in the economic downturn, increase in crime and prison overpopulation that many states are facing today in particular California, Arizona and other border states.
I want to point out the story that for the most part goes under reported or ignored by the Lame Street Media. We all have heard of the stories and have been constantly bombarded with reports of an individual illegal alien that has done what most legal immigrants do: work hard and succeed. However, what they intentionally leave out are the negative aspects of illegal immigration. I feel that it is crucial that Americans become more aware of the negative impact of illegal aliens on your daily lives that you might not be aware of.
One of the biggest impacts of illegal immigration has been on our economy and the massive social costs to our society. Some reports conducted on the dollar cost to American taxpayers, have the total at over half a Trillon dollars annually with no end in sight. The National Academy of Sciences estimated that each immigrant will result in a $100,000 net annual cost to taxpayers.
Some of the other strains on our economy include the following:
· The loss of over $190 million annually per year for uncompensated health care from illegal immigrants
· Housing of 19% of Federal inmate population .
· Millions of High School Drop outs causing unsustainable increases in Education Spending & welfare costs.
· 12% of 10 million or so Los Angeles County residents are illegal immigrants which tap the system for billions in Social Services each year.
· 30% of public health care patients in the US are immigrants. No doubt adding to increase in Health insurance premiums.
The impact of this massive drain on our economy is potentially catastrophic and as Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich said "illegal immigration tears at the moral and economic fabric of the country." One point to remember also is that once illegal immigrants become citizens they can bring family members into the country, straining education and health care budgets even more. Granting Amnesty to the more than 12 million or more illegal immigrants in this country amounts to nothing more than the largest expansion of the welfare system in over 30 years. And if this isn’t enough, the Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration (Jo Anne Barnhart) and her Mexican counterpart concluded the U.S.-Mexican Totalization Agreement would allow illegal aliens working in the U.S. to qualify for Social Security benefits with as few as six coverage credits, as opposed to the 40 now required of American workers. Estimates of the SSA are that by 2050 only 300,000 Mexican workers in the U.S. would be in the system at a cost projection of $650 million annually.
Steven Camarota notes in a Judicial Watch Special Report, New Fronts in the Immigration Battle:
"All the research suggests that the reason illegal aliens create large fiscal [deficits] for the country is not their legal status, but rather their educational attainment. Sixty percent of illegals are thought not to have even a high school education, another twenty percent, a high school education only. All the research suggests that people with relatively little education make relatively little money in the modern American economy ...[As] a consequence, they tend to pay relatively little in taxes, even if they are legal and on the books.
At the same time, [these individuals] tend to use a fair amount in public services, reflecting their lower incomes. I estimate illegals pay about $16 billion a year to the Federal Government in taxes ... the difference between what they pay in taxes and use in services is about $10 billion. So right now the net drain on the Federal Government alone from illegal families is about $10 billion. If we began to legalize [these individuals] and they began to pay taxes and use services like legal immigrants with the same level of education, the net fiscal drain would roughly triple to nearly $30 billion."
In any case, when you add up all the direct and indirect costs it would not surprise me if the amount exceeded $100 billion, per year. If the data for the costs of crime is correct, and the traffic accidents participation turns out to be as great as some indicators point to, then the number could easily exceed $200 billion. Using the $200 billion figure and 300,000,000 million people in the US, that would be $667 for every person in the United States. However only 136,000,000 file taxes, and of those about 44,000,000 pay no taxes leaving about 92,000,000 actual taxpayers. For them, illegal immigration could be costing each taxpayer about $2,174 each. In states with high percentages orconcentrations of illegal aliens the amount is even higher.At $2,174, that amount would buy a head of $5.96 per head of lettuce every day of the year. What could you do with an extra $2,174? So much for a "victimless crime."
However, regardless of the economic costs, how can you put a cost on the Americans being molested, raped, killed, and murdered by illegal aliens?

WHY COME TO THE UNITED STATES?

One can understand why Mexicans, the largest component of illegal aliens, come to the U.S. In Mexico, they are typically paid only $5.00 per day or less for their labor. When wages for Mexican workers rise, the peso is conveniently devalued to keep Mexico competitive with foreign countries like China and India. The owners of Mexican businesses often keep their money in dollars in American banks and escape the devaluation of their currency. Between that and the thoroughly incompetent government, the common people are forever doomed to poverty. Without a revolution in Mexico, America is their only hope. Unfortunately, the results of revolutions in countries to our south generally are not good.
At this point it is worth noting that Mexico is not a resource-poor country. Mile for mile, it has natural resources that are among the richest in the world and it is a net exporter of oil. It is, however, a corrupt country which is one of the main reasons why there are so many poor people wanting to flee to the USA for economic opportunities. However, just being poor or wanting to come here is not a valid reason to violate the national sovereignty of the United States. If so, most of the world would be here. While we already devote considerable resources to our resident poor, the USA does not have the resources for all the world's poor.An article in the San Francisco Chronicle stated that Mexicans living in the U.S. send between $6 and $8 billion back to their families every year, making them the third-biggest legitimate force in the Mexican economy, after oil and tourism. Additionally, US taxpayers pay for all the direct and indirect costs of "housing" the Mexican illegal aliens. In essence, it's an unofficial form of foreign aide. Mexico isn't about to control its borders, since Mexicans fleeing their country for work in the U.S. send plenty of money back to their own country.
Should Americans be asked to dole out more of their tax dollars to support illegal immigration? Should America shut it’s borders. Should other countries contribute and provide aid to support those coming across our borders illegally?

SOLUTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

A real temporary worker program should be used as a helpful tool for improving the legal means by which foreigners can fill important niches in the national workforce. A program is necessary that does not exacerbate illegal entry, and should include enforcement of the temporary nature of the program.
Immigration reform will require a sustained, incremental effort to secure the border, improvements in the legal worker programs, and support for economic development in Latin America. Internal enforcement is the only mechanism that can discourage illegal immigration and persuade future migrants and employers to use the available legal avenues. This will not be feasible without methodical enforcement that brings legitimacy back to U.S. immigration law, a quota that meets employer needs, and a fast-track system for applications.
Improved border security should be a priority and will definitely help stem the flow until either border fence is constructed or the Mexican government takes more responsibility for illegal immigration on their end. It is critical to ensure that the Border Patrol receives the resources it needs for training and recruiting. President Obama's initial actions on border security are largely consistent with those of President Bush. The challenges for Obama will come when the economy improves and the industries that hire large numbers of illegal immigrants increase the incentives for illegal immigrants to cross the border
Congress established the VWP to strengthen America's relationship with key allies around the globe. Recent reforms have made the program a better tool for thwarting terrorist and criminal travel as well as for combating violations of U.S. immigration laws. Congress should transfer permanent waiver authority to DHS and decouple VWP from the biometric air-exit mandate.
Ultimately, the US will no doubt bear the brunt of this exodus from Mexico into and across our borders. We have to take strong measures and put more of the burden on Mexico to alleviate this problem. They have to do a better job of uplifting their economy by creating more jobs and educating their populace. At this pace, the potential for another 25-30 million illegal immigrants coming onto this country will undoubtedly have a negative and catastrophic impact on our way of life which may be irreversible.
Again, you will not hear about any of this from the Lame Street Media. Anyone that is a law abiding citizen of this country and plays by the rules, should be aware of the many that are not and sucking the blood out of this great country of ours.

A Tribute To Our Fallen Heroes

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 7 Jun 2009 19:32:00 -0400

I want to acknowledge and remind all of us of the heroism and courage that our brave men & woman have demonstrated throughout the history of this great nation of ours.

I want to thank them for all of the greatness and achievements that this nation has accomplished if not for their acts of bravery. Lincoln's letter to the Bixby family in Nov of 1864 summarizes the grieve and loss many of our fallen heroes have evoked over the years.

I dedicate this to all of the mothers & fathers & their sons that died gloriously on the field of battle.

"I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln.

Reagan's 40th Anniversary D-Day Speech at Point Du Hoc, Normany, France

Introducing your next Supreme Court Justice: Sonia "Chainsaw" Sotomayor

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:37:00 -0400

As compelling & improbable a story that of Sonia Sotomayor’s may seem, it may not be enough to fend off what is likely to be an extended and intense scrutinization of her beliefs and judicial style from Conservatives and Democrats alike.
As was expected, President Barrack Obama elected to go with the frontrunner as his choice to replace retiring Justice Souter. On the surface, the Obama administration and many of her supporters are going to try and sell her as someone who overcame tremendous adversity as a Latin woman raised alone by her mom in the South Bronx. They are going to sell her as the most experienced amongst all of the current sitting Judges, they are going to sell you on her intellect, her empathy and background.
If you are of Puerto Rican heritage, this is a proud moment. Sonia Sotomayor may become the first Latin woman to sit on the highest court in the land. But this nomination should not be about one group of people or a culture. This is not about rich or poor nor black or white, well to do or weak. This nominee should be about being able to rule based on the law of the land. It should not be about being fair & empathetic to the needs of certain groups or classes.
With this pick, Obama has in essence chosen someone who in his own words, should show empathy. In other words, Obama is expecting this nominee to be an activist judge who will help move along his left leaning agenda. And with Sonia Sotomayor’s pick, he will definitely not be disappointed. And with a Democratic majority in the Senate &, barring any major setback during confirmation hearings, she will be appointed. Yes, even if she owes back taxes...
In essence, with this pick, the Obama administration is also daring the Republican Party to go ahead and discredit Sonia Sotomayor. They are daring the Republicans to risk losing more of the Latino & woman vote by going against and demonizing Sonia Sotomayor.With this pick, the Obama administration will also temporarily soothe the hurt feelings of the Immigration Reform wing of the party who have taken a back seat to HealthCare & the Economic recovery. The Democrats know that this is a slam dunk. Yet despite all the praises that she has been given by the administration and colleagues, there are many who have expressed concerns about her temperament & intellect.

Jeffrey Rosen, editor of the New Republic expresses these concerns in his column:

“They expressed questions about her temperament, her judicial craftsmanship, and most of all, her ability to provide an intellectual counterweight to the conservative justices, as well as a clear liberal alternative. “
The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer was "not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench," as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it. "She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren't penetrating and don't get to the heart of the issue." (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, "Will you please stop talking and let them talk?") Second Circuit judge Jose Cabranes, who would later become her colleague, put this point more charitably in a 1995 interview with The New York Times: "She is not intimidated or overwhelmed by the eminence or power or prestige of any party, or indeed of the media."

But none of these flaws matter. What matters is her predisposition to being an activist judge and being empathetic to those who in her eyes are underprivileged, poor, of color, and disadvantaged in other ways. She has gone on record as saying that she believes that a wise Latina woman might make better judicial decisions than a white man. A troubling statement to many Conservatives that say that this goes against the idea of Color blind justice. Some have called this reverse racism. She is sure to get grilled on this and other comments where she has openly stated that the Court of Appeals is where policy is made….
No doubt, she will have to explain many of these opinions and comments. The American people need to be assured that Sonia Sotomayor will rule & judge based on the Constitution and not in some political or activist fashion. Conservatives and Democrats alike must ask probing questions and get satisfactory explanations and guarantees that she will indeed follow and interpret the law of the land and not the law of Obama.. This is a very critical appointment and one that will be a lifetime appointment. It is imperative that now more than ever our elected leaders in Congress & the Senate perform due diligence and in their questioning of Sonia Sotomayor. The mainstream media as usual, will not do their homework on this nomination and once again fail to educate and inform the public . It is therefore up to each and everyone one of us to call our representatives in Washington and insist that they ensure that this Supreme Court nominee goes under oath and promise to interpret the Constitution and avoid any semblance of activism. This is not a time to be intimidated by Liberals or a fawning media of consequences that the grilling of the first Latin woman nominated to the Supreme Court will bring about in the Hispanic community. This is a time to stand up & challenge this nominee on her moral values, beliefs, judging style and personal agenda. I don't want to hear from Al Sharpton, Chuck Schumer, La Raza, Telemundo, Jesse Jackson or any one peddling racial discrimination. Ms. Sotomayor should be held to the same level of scrutiny that previous nominees have endured. This nomination should not be rubber-stamped and in my opinion should be questioned to the highest level.

Beware of Lame Street Media

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:51:00 -0400

Let’s face it, you are going to find many people amongst those that voted for Obama that are going to believe everything reported by the Lame street media. These outlets, in particular NBC, MSNBC, CBS ABC, Newsweek, Time and a host of others, are taking advantage of this and have in a lot of instances been derelict in reporting and educating the American people. After all, shouldn’t it be their job to report the news? Shouldn’t it be their job to keep the electorate and all citizens well informed about the goings on with our government leaders and to ask probing questions when necessary?
I cannot recall another time in our history when the media has been in the tank for an administration and have been so blatant about it. They have gone out of their way to give more passes to this Presidency than Peyton Manning throwing 15 yard outs to Plaxico Burris. It is akin to a 16 year old high school girl with an infatuation with the nerdiest guy in the school. No matter how many of her friends point out all the flaws the poor guy has, she will make the case that he is Mr. Right
The shame of it all is that most Americans who tune in are being misled and misguided by these media imposters. Everyone from Keith “My greatest claim to fame was that my mother was hit in the head by a throw from Derek Jeter” Olberman to Rachel “The Tea bagger” Maddow and Chris “I hate Woman” Matthews is in the tank and obviously covering and putting a positive spin on every goof & gaffe that comes out of the mouth of Nancy Pelosi, Joe ‘Plugs” Biden or anyone else in Obama land.
Take the host of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olberman, who stood silently as his guest Jeanine Garafolo called everyone who attended Tea Parties on April 15th a racist. Not a word from little Keith about her choice of words or facts to support her claim.
These actions and attitudes expressed by the Left Leaning Lame Media are just part of a Major cover-up and propagandist campaign to enable and put a positive spin on Obama Care & Cap & Trade. Two of the costliest proposals to an already massive budget that has many economists and members of Congress scratching their heads to try and understand how can it be possible to ask Americans once again to fund something that may not benefit them. While these massive spending proposals will ensure that many Americans remain below the poverty line, it will also guarantee that at least one giant corporation cashes in with Billions of dollars worth of government contracts.
Well, you may ask yourself, why would MSNBC or NBC care about who winds up with your tax dollars? The reason is simple. MSNBC & NBC are owned by General Electric. General Electric is salivating and foaming at the mouth at the potential windfall that will be created if Obama Care & Global Warming legislation passes. General Electric is looking to get in on the Solar and Wind power markets if and when Cap & Trade is passed. They will also stand to benefit from the automation of medical records once Obama care is passed. They have invested heavily in these technologies and are ready to cash in. So it is no surprise that when hosts on any one of CNBC ‘s Financial shows criticize Obama’s agenda, they are quickly excoriated or scolded by top brass at NBC. Jeffrey Imelt being the Tony Soprano of GE delivering the fish heads. It is unscrupulous, corrupt and in my opinion as big a cover-up as Watergate.
Therefore, what are we as honest and hard working Americans supposed to do while the biggest transfer of wealth and heist of American tax dollars is taking place right before our eyes?
If you care about this country and the future it holds for your kids and grandkids & if you prefer to keep more of your hard earned money instead of having it go towards lining the pockets of people like Al Gore and all his Global Warming cronies – then get on the phone and contact your state representatives and Senators and let them know that you want clear answers about Health care reform & Cap & Trade before it is passed.
You should not place all your trust on the Lame street media when looking to cull probing information on these initiatives. It is up to every one of us to hold the media and our government responsible for providing accurate and unbiased information.

Nancy Insults our Intelligence

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:26:00 -0400

It is no secret that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been in full cover-up mode ever since the Water boarding controversy became headline news. As has been reported by many Media outlets including the left leaning NY Times and corroborated by many of her colleagues, Nancy the ranking Democrat on the House Intellingence Committee at the time, was briefed by the Bush administration and was well aware of Waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques as far back as September 2002. For almost seven years not once did she cry foul to anyone about these so called torture tactics. Not once did she say,” I do not approve of this and I want to go on record with this stand”. For seven years following the 9/11 terror attacks on NYC, she did not have a reason to complain because the very same so called torture tactics used to counter subsequent attacks and cull useful information that deterred future attacks, kept her, her constituents and millions of Americans safe. By keeping silent about her Water boarding briefings, she in essence created a rift with the far Left wing of her party who staunchly & unapologetically oppose any type of torture under any circumstance. She cannot seem to reconcile this faux pas and is therefore in full denial mode. The same type of denial that led our President Barrack Obama to deny ever hearing Reverend Wright bad mouth the US from his pulpit even though he attended and sat in his church for 20 years. As incredulous as this seems, these are the types of outright lies that makes us dislike Politicians so much. It is an insult to our intelligence.
Instead, we have another self centered Politician scrambling to save their hide and political career. We have a biased media who for the most part has not pressed her on this issue. Instead, they have left her to dictate to them what gets reported and who should be painted as the bad guy in all of this. Why can’t Nancy Pelosi just woman up and say, “you know what, for the sake of keeping us safe in a time of war, I thought we needed to use all sources and methods of information gathering. I felt it was my duty as an American to keep this information secret until the appropriate time”. I’d probably respected her a great deal for taking on that stance and sticking it to the far left for once. Unfortunately, she has decided to take the same stance that our President has wrongly supported - and that is to lay the blame on those who at the time provided opinions which stated that Waterboarding was within the legal confines of Interrogation techniques. She has chosen to diminish all the good faith and morale built up over the last 7 years from the CIA. She is now on board with the idea of parading around all the lawyers for the CIA & DOJ that gave opinions and provided legal standing for the use of Water boarding and other advanced interrogation techniques and turning this into some big dog and pony show. In the best of interest of our national security, she should just have shut her mouth or simply stated the truth. Predictably, she has chosen to lie.
I would suggest that if she is so adamant about her recollection of the briefings she received in 2002, that she submit herself to and be Water boarded in an attempt to extract any additional information. If it is true what she is saying, then Water boarding should not provide any additional information. Maybe this can be televised on MSNBC. We can have Keith Olberman on one side, Chris Matthews on the other, and Rachel Maddow applying the Water. Now this may be something that many Americans would not mind tuning in to MSNBC for..

Health Care Reform = Lower quality service for millions.

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 3 May 2009 20:53:00 -0400

Now that all the hoopla and excitement over another President reaching the 100 day milestone in the White House is over, Americans better brace themselves for the seismic shifts in Domestic & Foreign Policy that will transform this country from a vibrant Free Market Based economy into a European Style Socialistic Nanny State. One of the first orders of business will be to reform Health Care and give Washington the upper hand in providing low quality health care to millions of Americans. While on the surface the Social & Humanitarian aspect t of providing Health care to those that are currently uninsured (estimated 46 million) is commendable, even if you are here illegally - the truth is that only about half of those 46 million uninsured will be covered under some version of Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or the new National Health Insurance Plan. Millions of Americans who now have Private Health Insurance will also find themselves in these programs whether they want to be in them or not.. Yet while Barrack Obama may insist that any New Government run Health plan will compete with Private Plans, the insistence on increasing Medicaid enrollment is just not going to make this possible.In other words, don’t expect high quality care from any of these Government run Health care plans whether it be Medicaid or National Health Care.

INCREASED ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE WILL MEAN LOW QUALITY..

Pushing more people into the Medicaid rolls will not translate into Doctors incorporating the overflow of Medicaid recipients into their practices..For years Doctors have been accepting fewer & fewer of these patients because of the low reimbursement rates and all the red-tape that is inherent in these government run programs…Medicaid pays on average only 56% of the cost of medical services provided by these physicians. Waiting to receive their reimbursements can mean waiting anywhere from 37 days to as high as 115 days if you practice medicine in Pennsylvania. Stands to reason then that if Doctors are accepting fewer Medicaid patients but yet the Government insists on increasing enrollment in Medicaid, that this will lead to reduced care for all Medicaid Beneficiaries..

CANCER & CARDIAC CARE

Another reason for concern is the fact that Medicaid Patients commonly receive substandard care as opposed to those covered by Private Health Insurance. This is particularly evident in the areas of Cancer & Cardiac care. Researchers found that Medicaid patients who suffered a heart attack were significantly less likely than patients with other forms of insurance to receive a number of important clinical interventions including cardiac catheterization, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and revascularization procedures. The authors of the study strongly suggested that the financial disincentives of caring for Medicaid patients contributed to the gap in the quality of treatment. Other studies have found a similar disparity in the use of invasive procedures between cardiac patients in Medicaid and those with other types of insurance.
According to a recent study in the Journal Cancer, researchers found that Medicaid patients who were diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer had a two-to-three-times greater risk of dying from their disease than patients with other types of insurance. This disparity in outcomes was apparent whether the patients were enrolled in Medicaid before or after their diagnosis of cancer and held up even after controlling for other factors, such as site and stage of the cancer and the gender of the patient.
While some of these failures within the program are ignored by Washington, it is also a fact that Medicaid patients are less likely to be treated by Board certified doctors than those with private insurance. Overall, it is safe to say that while an expansion of health coverage for millions will be portrayed as a noble and just cause by the Biased Mainstream Media, it will in no way guarantee any improvement in the level of service or health status as indicated by a study conducted of low-income Medicaid recipients from 1989-1995..
At a time when this economy is shedding jobs at the rate of 600K a month and Americans are losing their employer based health insurance coverage , this will only add to the uninsured number and will continue to increase the Medicaid & SCHIP rolls. For every 1 point increase in the unemployment rate, it is estimated that 1 million Americans will receive Medicaid for their coverage and an additional 1.1 million will become uninsured. While I agree that Federal and state policymakers need to get serious and address not only the problem of the uninsured, but also how to extend access to quality health care to all Americans. President Obama's proposal would rely on a Medicaid expansion, as well as the creation of a new, as yet unspecified, "government-run health care plan" that would compete with private health plans. This policy prescription is both insufficient and counterproductive.

PLAN WILL REQUIRE MASSIVE & INCREASED GVT. SPENDING

For the amount of money that taxpayers will have to dish out over the next 10 years to run this program, I would think that Washington should be offering a stout health plan similar to the ones that our Senators & Congressman receive. Estimates have the government spending about 450 billion a year and about 6 trillion dollars from 2010-2019. The Obama administration will argue that this plan will in fact realize a savings during this same 10 year period if certain events occur. Events such as physicians' being willing to adopt health IT, consumers being willing to accept changes in diet and exercise. … Obama discounts that there is little evidence that there are known methods to cause the "if only' behavior to occur, and to occur quickly on a large enough scale to matter.
This monstrous & massive overhaul of our health care system will inevitably just become another gift from President Obama to Washington Insiders and in the end leave most Americans with even less control of their health care dollars than they do today. Don't take it from me, listen to this report on Canada's National Health care system which is similiar to the model that the US will implement once legislation is passed.

Thanks to Jeet Guram & John S. O'shea M.D. & The Heritage Foundation for some of the contributions and research used in this report.

THE NEXT 1,360 DAYS

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:35:00 -0400

April 29, 2009 will mark President Barrack Obama’s 100th day in office. A milestone that was reached and filled with a multitude of mistakes and gaffe’s - the likes which no modern Presidency has experienced before.
If the next 1,360 are any indication of how the President will perform, I think that Saturday Night Live may have enough comedy material to last them for another decade….
Those big puffy clouds of euphoria that hovered over millions of Americans across the country and a host of News Networks shortly after 11PM on that Nov 8th election night are starting to turn into huge Nimbostratus that will shower Americans with Bigger Government, massive debt and put us on a path to Socialism Lite.
The soaring rhetoric and messages filled with hope & promise that were a staple of Barrack Obama’s campaign speeches, have abandoned the Messiah’s Teleprompter and been replaced with lies, cover-ups & apologetic speeches for the way that America has in his view, treated the rest of the world…Basically we are all getting 25 DVD’s that don’t work instead of the carved ornamental penholder from the timbers of the anti-slavery ship HMS Gannet..
It was said that all of those that voted for change, unity & bipartisanship instead of 4 more years of Bush, would see the dawning of a new day and everything that was wrong would be right and ohhh.. Halleluja!!!!
“Under my careful watch there will be no more Earmarks or Pork Barrel Spending” he said… I will go line by line and eliminate any wasteful spending and programs that don’t work. This of course will apply to any Pork Barrel projects after the first 9,000…After all, what’s a little pork between friends… Under my watch there will be no lobbyists allowed in my administration. I mean with the exception of 17 of my closest cronies…
He repeated continuously how hope will overcome fear, yet he rushed & warned members of Congress & the Senate to pass the massive $787 billion dollar Stimulus package or the US economy will forever be destroyed. So much so that he decided to take a three day getaway immediately afterwards…
I know we have all been living beyond our means and that will entail some changes in the way things will be done going forward said the Messiah in a campaign speech…A few months later while running up a 1.5 trillion dollar deficit he has the audacity to ask his Cabinet members to cut 100 million in department costs….a mere .0027% of the total deficit he ran up in less than 3 months…That’s like asking Donald Trump to get one less haircut a year…
His promise of transparency and being honest with the American people took a quick exit left right after a string of his choices for Cabinet positions turned out to be Tax cheats.Everyone from Bill Richardson to Tim Geithner.Yet, not once did he publicly denounce or ask that any of these tax cheats step down…..So much for honesty and transparency.. The list of goofs, gaffes and lies that began 100 minutes into his Presidency is endless. The handshaking and cajoling with dictators such as Hugo Chavez, Ortega & Castro..Bowing to Kings, The Apology tours, allowing AIG to live off Bailout money even after knowing for months that they were ready to pay out 165 million dollars in Bonuses to its executives…
He has all but completely dismissed his promise of Bipartisanship and working across both aisles to include Republican input on key bills & legislation...Not receiving a single Republican vote on the Stimulus bill is not my idea of trying to create real dialogue...This is arrogance as evidenced by his “I won” comment to Republicans leaders after the Stimulus Bill had passed.
He has at times acted like a 14 year old looking to get payback after being bullied by his classmates..evidence the reversal of long standing Republican policies on abortion and embryonic stem cell research...He has put Americans at risk in a time War by releasing CIA Memos detailing Enhanced Interrogation techniques used to extract key information that has led to and captured know terrorists plotting against the US. This despite polls that indicate that approximately 60% of Americans feel releasing these memos endanger the National Security of the US. He has chosen to close down Gitmo and release many of the terrorists now being held there without a plan on how and where they will be transferred to.
He has blamed America for the violence that is spilling into our country as a result of Mexican Drug traffickers. Yet he continuous to be soft on controlling our borders or admonishing their President, Felipe Calderon. And inspite of a possible Swine Flu Pandemic originating in Mexico, he has insisted that he will ensure that the Mexican border remains open…
He has shown indifference, callousness and at times been out of touch by failing to recognize the panic that flying his personal private jet, Air Force one 1500 feet over midtown Manhattan may cause New Yorkers given the events of 9/11.. These have been 100 days of stumbling, fumbling & bumbling…These have been 100 days of goofs, gaffes, good grief’s…
Unfortunately, there are still another 1360 days still to go..

The Enemy Within

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:15:00 -0400

The Constitution of the United States, Art. III, defines treason against the United States to consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort. This offense is punishable by death. By the same article of the Constitution, no person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
On the surface, the punishment for committing such an offense against your country may seem somewhat harsh & barbaric…But it brings into focus the huge personal sacrifices, bloodletting and loss of life that our forefathers endured to allow for the freedoms and opportunities that each and everyone one of us enjoys today. It crystallizes the importance placed on preserving the rights of every American citizen to have personal security, personal liberty, and the right to acquire and enjoy property. Rights that are declared to be natural, inherent, and unalienable. Rights that if breached with the intent to harm and and aid the enemy in any manner as defined by the Constitution, will lead to death.
Yet it seems that we have a Commander in Chief that is displaying an underlying hatred for his country along with all his cronies at the White House and will stop at no end to tear it to shreds. How else can you perceive his recent actions on his “Apology Tour Part II” and his decision to ban enhanced interrogation techniques including Water boarding? Does he know that the enemy is watching and listening when his White House Press Secretary Robert Bubba Gibbs insinuates that those who permitted & practiced these techniques may be prosecuted? To me, this type of rhetoric is bordering on treason….This is irresponsible and is putting every American at risk of another potential terrorist attack
These actions in my opinion not only embolden the enemy - they insult millions of War veterans who have worn a uniform and served proudly & sacrificed so much to make this the greatest & safest nation in the world. The very act of shaking the hands of dictators and rogue leaders and bowing before the Kings is a slap in the face. A slap in the face to other countries that look to US for leadership. We don’t need a Commander in Chief that feels the need to continuously apologize for our past actions. We need a President that will remind people of and praise all the greatness that this country has to offer. Corrupt dictators that intimidate, oppress and keep their people down should not be treated in the same light as those that are interested in and upholding democracies in their countries.
It seems that the President is more concerned about image than establishing a strong Foreign Policy that clearly outlines our commitment to defending this country from all enemies. Our President seems more concerned about anti-terrorism security assessments put out by the DHS that targets manistream & patriotic Americans as dangerous extremists. This is what our Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano suggested to law-enforcement officials in her report. This I think is repulsive and unamerican. This is the same Janet Napolitano that was quoted as saying that "Horrendous & unspeakable acts committed by actual terrorists, dead set on destroying our country and killing Americans should be called Man-caused disasters"

We cannot worry about being perceived as the bad-guy because this will not deter the enemy from causing harm. It has not stopped Iran or North Korea from producing nuclear weapons, it has not stopped Al-Quaeda from all out Jihad against us, it has not stopped Hugo Chavez from berating or threatening the US, it has not prevented Mexicans from coming across our borders and kidnapping innocent Americans..The point is that there will always be an enemy of the US. Just because our President shakes hands and smiles with a couple of these thugs does not mean that world peace will finally be realized.
We must stand ready at all times to protect our interests and defend American lives at no cost. If water boarding a suspected terrorist leads to foiling plots to kill Americans, then by all means we must continue to utilize these techniques. This is child’s play compared to what some terrorists have done to our men & woman over the years. This is nothing compared to what some Mexican Drug Lords are doing to innocent Americans right in our own backyards.
These enhanced interrogation techniques including Water boarding have now been maligned and trashed by the Obama administration. These Classified Memos have now been released and made public for everyone to see, including our enemies. Made public to show how we go about extracting critical information in our fight against terrorism. Made public to placate to those on the far left who insist that the US is the bad guy and that we should prosecute everyone involved in these terrible acts.The time to release such Top Secret information is not when your country is still at war and there are young men & woman at risk.
So you must ask yourself, what good could releasing these memos provide? You have to ask yourself, is any of this working? Could it be possible that Janet Napolitano, Barrack Obama and some in his administration believe that Islamic terrorists are the good guys and that you & I are the bad guys? Will shaking hands with the likes of Chavez & Castro and sweet talking to Iranian Radicals change their ideologies? Is this type of diplomacy merely showing weakness that will continue to embolden the enemy? Safe to say that should there be another 9/11 type attack in this country and loss of life as a result, every single drop of blood shed will be on the President’s hands.It is no coincidence that there hasn’t been another domestic terrorist on this country since 9/11.It has been the result of of a vigilant and strong military presence coupled with these very same enhanced interrogation techniques now being released and banned by President Obama that has kept us safe for the past 7yrs & 7 months. Thank you George Bush.
With this being said, this country should not be apologizing to any one period. Revisionist history will tell you that America has freed and brought Democracy to more people in this world than all other Nations combined. We have aided & defended many nations. Americans have shed their blood and millions of lives have been lost defending many nations from oppressive forms of government for the past 65 years. So how can this be described as arrogance? How can our President stand in front of rogue dictators and bash America for being too arrogant? Is this all in the name of being part of the new World Citizenry?
I don’t want to be a citizen of the world; I want to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world, the USA. I could care less about how Europe, France, Germany, South America, Iran, Cuba, China or any other country perceives us. I live in the US.
I would suggest that if this country is such a bad place, why do people still insist on coming here and crossing our borders illegally? If this is such a bad place, why don’t these critics just pack up and move out to one of their favorite rogue nations?
I think it is time for people to start appreciating and defending this great country of ours. It is time to take ownership of your country. This is your country. This is not the Presidents country, this is the not the Secretary of State’s country or the Congress’ country, this is your country.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

GET TEA'D UP!!

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:27:00 -0400

On April 15th 2009, millions of Americans across all communities and 50 fifty states will be organizing to say they are TEA"D - Taxed Enough Already. This grassroots movement is a good sign for Americans who are fed up with a Congress and a President that are hell bent on an unprecedented spending spree that will keep you and your grandkids in debt for as long as the sun shines. It is a way for Americans from all corners of this great nation to let President Obama know they are not happy with his planned Federal spending spree.

This spending spree will simply mean more money being mismanaged by your federal government, more power for politicians & more debt. This spending spree will mean more bureaucrats using your hard earned tax dollars to spend as they wish. A spending spree that will not lead to real job growth or prosperity. This is a spending spree that rewards special interest groups with Billions of your tax dollars to get themselves re-elected. Ever hear of ACORN?
This is a spending spree that simply wants to take your hard earned money and redistribute it to others who have not practiced responsible financial behavior. In other words, your hard earned money will most likely help pay the mortage of your next door neighbor who though it was a better idea to own 3 cars and 2 big screen T.Vs. than to save money for a rainy day.

A SPENDING SPREE TO CHANGE YOUR WAY OF LIFE.

This is a spending spree that will pour trillions of tax dollars into programs that will forever alter your lifestyle without any chance of your grandkids ever coming close to a similiar way of life.
You will be imposed a tax for carbon emissions on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels.
You will be forced to pay increased taxes for a government run Health Care system. Scary just thinking about it. Your tax dollars will help fund legislation that will continue to allow the flow of illegal immigrants into our country and then pay for their Health Insurance and fund their SS Benefits...
This spending spree will have every American indebted to countries like China for decades to come....
A spending spree that will have you writing more checks to go towards paying off the Federal deficit instead of paying for family vacations and other personal items.

If you are fed up & tired of your government mismanaging your hard earned tax dollars,
I urge you to participate in any one of hundreds of TAX Day TEA party rallies around the country.
While you are there, call Congress and the president (Representative and Senators, 202-224-3121; President, 202-456-1414). Tell Every American about this effort by forwarding this invitation to your friends. Together we can make a difference.

THE NEW SLAVERY

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:02:00 -0400

Slavery as we know it, began sometime in 1607 soon after the first English Colonists settled in Virginia and lasted over 250 years until the passage of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865.
In its simplest terms Slavery can be defined as a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be, or treated as, the property of others. Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation (such as wages).
While formally outlawed in nearly all countries, the practice continues in various forms around the world. You can now add the United States to that list of countries engaged in this practice again. No,we are not talking about the kind of Chattel Slavery or indentured servitude practiced in those 250 years between 1607 & 1865. This is Slavery 2009 version. The Slave holders of today reside primarily in the Washington D.C. area unlike their predecessors who practiced their trade in all 15 states where it was legal. They are your President, your Congressmen & women and Senators who have shackled each and every one of you and your family members with the chains of debt for generations to come.
These 536 Slave Holders have decided to hold 300 million people against their will to freely decide how to spend their hard earned money. As property of the US government they will decide for you as they see fit. As property of the US government, you will labor without compensation from January 1st till April 20 every year from the time you are able to work till you die, to ensure that they continue to exist. Exist to live the life of the well to do and Stately. You are merely obedient servants who must bow to your Masters and cater to their thirst for power. As property of the US government, you will also labor painstakingly against your wills to support entitlement programs that the Slave Masters deem necessary to continue reaping their huge profits. So unless there are any Nate Turner Rebellions in the making or any Civil Wars to overturn these 536 Slave Holders, you may be in for another 250 years of Slavery let alone just 4.
Just as in the 1850’s when the Pro Slavery Party of Democrats had control of 2 thirds of the Federal Branches of Government, Democrats hold similar power today.
But that did not stop a few who overcame great odds to correct an injustice. In this vast sea of Political figures, there will rise a another Abraham Lincoln. There will be a voice that will be heard that will echo the angst of the Slave of today. Is the next Harriet Tubman or Harriet Beecher Stowe hiding behind the walls of Congress or the Senate? I sure hope so… When is the next great rebellion or insurrection coming? This may be the only thing that stands between freedom & another 250 years of chains & shackles…

Liberals, Act like you think....

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sat, 4 Apr 2009 11:04:00 -0400

As I go thru countless news articles and blogs, I have been intrigued by how many of these so called Progressive Democrats; Limosine Liberals & Elitist types have championed the idea of a European style Socialist Agenda so blindly. It's sort of like an infatuation akin to a 40 year old virgin falling in love with a transvestite.

The interesting thing here is that the vast majority of these Latte Libs that envision Utopian communities & decry individualism & Capitalism have never taken the time to reside in any of these very same communities that practice Socialism, Communism, Fascism or Marxism. Yet somehow they can vividly describe and extol all the virtues and fairness of a Socialist way of life. They enjoy tearing down & criticizing the traditional norms & Social conservatism that has made this the greatest nation in the world. But more often than not, their blind desire to create the perfect world lies in stark confutation with the Capitalistic lives they live. Lives which in many instances allows them to make more money than they could ever dream of. Then there are those like Sean Penn, Samuel L Jackson & Naomi Campbell to name a few, that have a need to hold hands with and smooch with known dictators or leaders of Socialist countries. They praise the works of these Marxists abroad and think the world is a better place for having them around. They hobnob around with these Pinheads, and avail themselves for the photo ops that in a word say, “Screw you America”. They then retreat to their secret lives as Hollywood actors and attempt to sell you on why you should spend your hard earned $10 dollars to watch their latest movies. Movies for which they command salaries of $15-25 million dollars.

When you look at these astronomical salaries, it is obvious that Hollywood is not your typical community where everyone shares equally in Labor & Profit.

You also have Politicians being coerced and strong armed into passing legislation to reform Health Care and Nationalize Medicine at a time when they & their families benefit from the best Health Plans and Medicine in this country.Yet you never read about or hear any 60 Minute Reports on these politicians going abroad and making doctors appointment to treat their wife’s breast cancer or get a hip replacement for their mothers. You never see Katie Couric report on the many woman in Europe & other Socialist countries who are being denied cancer treatment because their government thinks it is too expensive. Maybe these woman can tell you how wonderful nationalized health care really is instead of some Geeky Lib hiding behind a laptop.

So before you go around abdicating and promoting the fairness & equitableness of a European Style Utopian Society -I have a few suggestions that you might want to consider before the other 59 million or so who want no part of this experiment, come on board.
If you believe in Nationalized Health Care, Climate Control, & Education reform so much – Write to your leaders and Representatives in Congress & the Senate & let them know to enact this legislation only for the 69 million who voted for Obama. Tell them that in the name of fairness and your desire to make this a better country for everyone, including people that are here illegally, you and another 69 million people- including the likes of Sean Penn, Samuel L Jackson, Naomi Campbell, David Brooks, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, Pamela Anderson,Theresa Heinz, John Kerry, Larry King, Al Gore, Colin Powell & George Soros are willing to accept & pay for the cost of running these programs. Tell them that you & they are ashamed of making so much money that you are willing to share it with those that want National Health Care, Climate Control and an Educational overhaul. Tell them that you will be more than welcome to pick up the tab of $800 billion or so that it would cost taxpayers a year to provide for these great programs. Tell your Representatives & Senators that they can save half the money on their proposed budget because there are about 59 million other people or so that want no part of these programs. Tell them that for the next 10 years you and 69 million of your closest friends all will share in and equally divide all of the fruits of your collective laboring. All for one and one for all. Just one big happy commune spread across 27 or States.
The other 59 million of us will just sit back and await for all of your wonderful success stories. We will be waiting anxiously for those heartwarming exclusives on Lifestyles of the Equally Poor.

In the meantime, we will settle for individualism, capitalism, lower taxes, Free markets, less government intrusion & a better vision for the country.
I trust you all will do a fine job. The experience of actually living thru a period of Socialist Utopia may do a world of good to your already wild imaginations.

THE WELFARE STATES OF AMERICA

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Wed, 1 Apr 2009 21:36:00 -0400

Now that the historic nature of the 2008 elections is over, culminating in the first African American President, we are starting to see the results of what happens when there is a major portion of the electorate that basically has no clue as to why they voted the way they did. As many are beginning to realize, it is one thing to get out and vote, and another to understand the consequences of that vote.
To his credit, Barrack Obama did what a politician does; he did what the suave smooth talking jock would do to get the unpretentious high school girl. He exploited the vulnerabilities of every voting class with his savvy rhetoric and lofty promises. He played on people’s fear and their inability to rise up and fight for their dreams and promised them that if elected he would do it for them. He sweet talked the girl into giving him a date.

The sweet nothings whispered into every availible & desperate ear, even caused tingly sensations to run up grown men's legs. The flattery was intoxicating. If you can’t afford to pay for college I will pay it for you. You can go to college but just make sure you don’t make a lot of money after graduating. If you are here illegally I will keep you here, that is unless you are related to me. There is plenty of room here in the White House, just make sure to turn off the lights before you go to bed. I’ll make sure you get driver licenses, a free education and free health insurance. If you are old I will make you young & strong. I may cut out your Medicare and your electric bill may go up 10 times what it is now, but I will make sure your pensions are protected becasue you will need them to pay for the candles you will go through once your Energy Tax Bill goes through your wallets. If you are sick I will give you free Health coverage. If you can’t afford to pay your mortgage, I will pay it for you, If you don’t have a car I will order GM to make one for you. Need a sink in the kitchen not a problem. If you need bowling lessons, I can’t help you with that but I can promise to make you a better 3 point shooter.

As you can see, there are enough of these voting blocks across all states that really have no interest in the well being of this nation other than to see what their country will do for them. The transformation of the United States of America from a Capitalistic & Free Market world power to a European style Socialist Nanny State has begun. You have just traded in your children’s & grandchildren’s future in for a bunch of outdated Liberal Spending ideas & entitlement & payback programs that you will pay for till eternity.
This is a sad & sobering commentary on many parents, spineless politicians & our higher education institutions and what are children are being taught about this country. In many instances, a lot of these institutions which tend to have a predominantly Liberal tilt in their philosophical approach, have influenced & championed the negative views that many of this younger electorate has. And that is that America somehow is a bad country & a bully and that in some way it has let them down and not been fair to everyone. America somehow owes you something when in fact it is the other way around.
It is a view that has been voiced as recently as last years presidential election by Mr. Obama’s wife Michelle Obama, who said that she was” feeling proud of her country for the first time” . This said in reference to her husband running for the Presidency. This coming from a woman that was blessed with all the trappings of success any person could ask for in this great nation of ours. She was afforded the opportunity of a great Ivy League School education & a 6 figure paying job.What else can you ask for from a nation that has helped so many.

Still there many people classes of people in this very country, some being parents & politicians that complain about what a horrible country this is. Nonetheless, these are the same people that keep their mouths shut and get brain lock & allow their kids to watch endless hours of TV and surf the internet for hours at a time. These are the same people that do not hold their kids accountable for underperforming in school, but instead reward bad behavior and somehow surmise that by buying them the latest electronic gadgets, that this is showing love. These are the same people that allow their 16 year old sons & daughters to get their bodies pierced and tattooed in return for passing their English class with a C grade. These are the same people that will bend over backwards to make sure their kids learn how to drive so that they can go out and party with their friends instead of looking for a Part time job to help pay for the insurance on it. We are creating nanny households where we are now supporting our kids into their late 20’s & 30’s. This has become a nation of Wimps & lazy bums. If this country had to depend on the men of today to defend herself against the British, we’d all be Englishmen today. Thank God for brave men like George Washinton.

It is no wonder that so many have succumbed to the shamelessness of having their country bail them out of every hardship that comes their way. It is no surprise then that when these blocks of suffering & reliant stooges are asked to cast a vote, they vote for the person who will promise the most freebies.
If you cast a vote one way because you did not want your friends and neighbors to think you are a racist, try to explain that to your Kid’s Kids’ when they have to wait 6 months to see a doctor when they may be dying. If you cast a vote in favor of the Rock Star like guy in favor of the poker faced short baldy chap to try and cultivate a moments worth of linkage with your rebellious voting age child then you can try and explain to them why their kids will never be able to afford the same standard of living you enjoy now.

President Barack Obama’s “hope” rhetoric and quick-fix ideology are doomed to fail because they are based on Socialism, requiring government to become the “provider.”
These Socialist policies always require more hardworking citizens to pay more taxes to support others who contribute nothing. If you eliminate the incentive for people to work hard and open up new businesses, then you end up driving that society basically into poverty. Socialism does not work. It has been tried in many other countries and when socialists attempt to make everybody equal they will meddle in every aspect of your life and snuff out any hope or motivation of getting ahead.

So if you are as angry and upset as many are, stand up and call your Representatives in government and let them know that you want no part of this way of life. If you are a Politician still on the fence and are worried about your upcoming re-elections instead of preserving the greatness of this country, then you need to find another line of work. We need principled politicians who will stand by their values and not count votes.

High Crimes & Misdemeanors

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:27:00 -0400

High crimes and misdemeanors is a phrase found in Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution:
"The President, Vice President and all civil
officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."
While it may be too soon into this administration to throw around the 'I" word, there are certainly a host of candidates that seem to be testing the hands of fate often & early.

Impeachment in it of itself cannot remove a Government Official from office. Although if you listen to Dennis Kucinich, he would have you believe otherwise. Impeachment is merely one of two steps that will lead to a Legislative vote which will determine conviction or failure to convict. A resolution to authorize an investigation regarding impeachable conduct is referred to the House Committee on Rules, and then referred to the Judiciary Committee. The House Committee on the Judiciary, by majority vote & determine whether grounds or impeachment exist. Clarifying who is subject to Impeachment, may be an issue that could very well come into play sooner than later. While Section 4 of Article II clearly states that the President, Vice President & all Civil Officers are subject to impeachment, some think that Congressional Members are not "Officers" of the United States. So if you were hoping for a Pelosi Impeachment, don't hold your breath.This may be the only saving grace for the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Talks about abuse of power, in my opinion she is guilty as sin. Yet the Daniel Hannan's of the world are no where to be seen or heard enough in these Chambers to call for her impeachment.

If not Pelosi, then why not Tim Geithner? Throughout history, many Federal Judges have been removed & impeached for Tax Evasion. I take it then that Tax Evasion is at a minimum a misdemeanor.What about the way he has handled the AIG mess? So, why not fire Tim? Or better yet, why not impeachment under the grounds of "maladministration" or "incompetence"? This is what George Mason had favoured all along hundreds of years ago during the infancy of this great country. That is until James Madison stated his case. Impeachment only for criminal behavior. Tim, you can now thank two presidents for saving your job. Contrary to the argument that many are using, "why fire Tim Geithner when there is no one better to replace him", I say that this is laughable. When the national unemployment rate is at 8%, believe me, there are plenty of people looking for work.
Finally, is President Barrack Obama impeachable? Is he impeachable? Realistically, probably not. No Democratically lead Senate & Congress would even entertain the thought, but is there cause to think about it. I think so.Under the broad terms and interpretation of High Crimes & misdemeanors, the description below may give you cause for further scrutiny..

"High" in the legal parlance of the 18th century meant "against the State". A high crime is one which seeks the overthrow of the country, which gives aid or comfort to its enemies, or which injures the country to the profit of an individual or group. In democracies and similar societies it also includes crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections."

Does talking down the Markets and economy intentionally, make you culpable of High Crimes & Misdemeanors? Who has been benefiting from all of the meltdown in the markets recently? Who is the one person making billions at the expense of this market? Mr. George Soros The same George Soros that backed MoveOn.Org and poured millions into Obamas Presidential run. The same George Soros that basically ruined the European dollar. What about " Crimes which attempt to alter the outcome of elections" How did that work out? Remember all the outcry during the campaign about ACORN and all of their voter registration problems in about 15 different states? All states coincidentally where Obama was running tied or behind at the time in many election polls. Where was the follow up investigation into all of these incidents of voter fraud? To make matters worse, and to ensure the practice continues to sway election results in the future, ACORN and other similar organizations will be the recipients of about 5 Billion dollars of your hard earned tax dollars as a payback for doing such a great job. Now, we do know that the President had his hands all over this.He contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars and enabled ACORN to impose it's will on the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election. Yet for the sake of the historic nature of this Presidential election, no one will be allowed to question it.

On the other hand, you & I are being asked to sit idly by and reign in our spending as we watch the government spend Trillions of our hard earned tax dollars on Entitlement programs & interest on the debt that we will never pay back to China. If this is what you expect from your government, then I suppose that High Crimes & Misdemeanors should not be a concern to you.

101 IN HOLDING YOUR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:44:00 -0400

Daniel Hannan a Conservative Member of the European Parliament did something that many of our leaders & members of the Mainstream Media here in the US have failed to do recently. He took to task Prime Minister Gordon Brown and lambasted him for basically running his country into the ground.
This is the sort of speech that has the Obama administration shaking in their boots. The sort of speech that has Pelosi & Friends pushing for the elimination of Conservative Talk Radio. This is the sort of straightforward no nonsense tongue lashing that Liberals would soon like to forget and Conservatives should embrace & practice more of.

Here is complete speech for your edification:

OBAMA'S DEPRESSED CONFERENCE

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:54:00 -0400

After a week of yukking it up on the Jay Leno show and and laughing off the economic situation on 60 Minutes, President Barrack Obama delivered his second Prime Time News conference in a somewhat more subdued manner. Whether this was by design or not, there were no one-liners aimed at the Special Olympics , Republicans or any one opposed to his Massive $3.6 Trillion Budget Proposal.

If the primary goal of this Press Love fest was to try to sell & convince the American people that his proposed $3.6 Trillion dollar Budget is part and parcel with the Economic recovery, than in Standup Comedy parlance, he bombed. We, the American people are not dumb. We are not all Pamela Andersons or Obama Girls or guys that get tingly feelings running up our legs everytime Mr. Obama speaks. Many of us are starting to understand & realize that in order to build trust and credibility there has to be a certain level of transparency and truthfulness when the government is asking each & everyone one of us to pay $36,000 of the current $11 Trillion dollar deficit that is mounting by the second. Debt that not only will smother the dreams our children’s children but will also undoubtedly bankrupt this nation right before our very own eyes. Taking with it the dreams of millions whose future is now.

We are all being asked to blindly jump on board with what amounts to a massive, radical spending, borrowing & tax plan. A plan that after all is said and done will amass more debt than the previous 43 Presidents combined. A plan that is asking the American people to sacrifice more of their hard earned dollars for the sake of saving the Polar Bear, Green cars and long lines at the doctors office.
While most Americans understand the need to explore alternative sources of energy, and at some point reform health care, these items will not do anything to create jobs today, tomorrow or next year.
The concern is from many. Democrats & Republicans alike have expressed concerns about the scale of this unprecedented spending spree. There is so much money being printed that it would make the staunchest tree hugging Liberal cringe.

Even the president of the European Union has been quoted as saying that "Obama’s plans to spend his way out of recession are a road to hell”

China as well has voiced her worries about the ability of the US to repay back the Trillions in debt owed to them. Debt that eats up about 8% of our Budget every year.

When President Obama stands in front of the cameras and reads from his teleprompter, his words come across as hollow. When he says that he will go line by line and cut wasteful spending, he never mentions which domestic or entitlement programs he is targeting. Yet he wants you to believe that spending Trillions is necessary and fiscally prudent. It just doesn’t jive.
There is never any mention form the administration or the Mainstream Media of the actual cost of the Cap & Trade program. There is never any mention of the fact that for every $8 dollars Americans pay into this program they will only get back $1 in tax relief. They do not mention the costs that will be incurred by businesses and passed on to consumers in the form of higher electric and gas prices. They do not mention that this program will impose a bigger burden on & hurt the poor and middle class more than the rich & well to do. Even the President’s own OMB Director, Peter Orzag is on record of stating this very same concern. There is never any mention by the media that this Cap & Trade program will have no effect on the climate or any benefit to taxpayers. The Wall Street Journal has stated that "Cap & Trade is a scheme to redistribute wealth. Redistribute wealth from the working Class to the wealthy. People who know how to leverage the political class” The Mainstream Media will not tell you that this is simply another money grab to deliver money and power to the government.
When the President talks about Health care reform, he does not mention the Medical review Boards that will decide what is treatable and what is not, he does not mention that millions of illegal immigrants will benefit from this program as well. The Mainstream Media will never report on the failures of National Health care in foreign countries of for that matter of the failures of States here in the US that have tried to implement Health Care reform.
We are no where near getting this economy back up on its feet and yet the President feels the to continue to burden Americans with record breaking spending proposals at a pace that will make FDR look like a Fiscal Conservative..
We as Americans demand & deserve real solutions to our economic problems as long as the spending is short term.The idea that we should continue to throw more money at all our problems cannot be sustained over the long haul without doing irreversible damage.
It is going to take less than 100 days for this President to undo the work of our founding fathers and the millions thereafter who have shaped this great country of ours over the last 300 years.
We are in a perilous & dangerous point in time where the foundation of this country may be altered for ever. If you are concerned about the direction this administration is taking this country in, if you care about the greatness of this country and want your children & grandchildren to recognize & remeber it as you did and your grandfather did and every great American has since her birth, then I suggest you contact your Representatives & Senators & let them know you care and are Taxed Enough Already.

Tell your President to stop complaining about how he inherited a Trillion dollar deficit & remind himself that the Honeymoon is over. Time to put the blame game to bed and begin to to do job he was elected to do. LEAD.

Reference: Obama Warns about Raising Your Energy Bill

I Smell A Rat

noreply@blogger.com (SuperWoman) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:32:00 -0400

I must say, I find it quite disheartening to learn that now, after the public has learned of the loop holes in the bail out and the public has shown it's disgust, that now a committee is being put together to monitor the spending of these companies that received our tax monies. Again, why wait until the bridge has fallen to pieces before taking action? Why is Obama still supporting Geithner when he was well aware of the happenings? Why is it that we are still hearing all about how AIG needs to give these bonuses and not hearing a solid finanical plan to keep companies like AIG and Citicorp from needing future monies? Citicorp who has received multiple handouts is still building their own town full of condos for their executives. I ask, is this a reasonable endeavor to be followed through on if you are receiving money from the government to keep from going under?

Now they are unveiling a new plan that will allow the government to seize toxic assets (just what the government needs - toxic assets) and hand over the decision making of these insurance and financial giants to Geithner? The same man that managed to let the loop hole slide? This is like repairing that bridge with it's failed pieces. I fear that this is not the wisest plan. Are we sure we are not living in the 1800's when the cabinet was filled with those that worked the campaign for the President instead of those most qualified? What hold does Geithner have on Obama?

It is time that we come together as citizens of this great country, we need to be aware, to read, to learn to feel the outrage and know we can make a difference. For a country founded on patriotism and the desire to have a say in what happens in this country, we have fallen horribly short and failed ourselves. What happened to the turn out of 80% at the polls, of citizens who truly cared? Instead we follow baseball and watch as these teams dole out $45million dollars for a two year contract to a player and not blink an eye. Yet we fail to follow the leaders of our country so that we can make an informed decision. We need to stand as one and scream out that we will take no more, that we demand an answer, we demand justice.

Together, we can make a difference.

BIG PHONY BARNEY RECEIVES PORKER OF THE MONTH AWARD

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:09:00 -0400

The one thing that irks & irritates me the most about this ongoing AIG bonus fiasco isn't whether it was in the best interest of the company to issue these big bonuses to its employees after accepting TARP money or the fact that AIG had filed suit 3 weeks ago against the the very same Government that bailed them out to try and recoup over $300 million dollars in back taxes. We all have a sense that something is not right with all of this. Who would not sign up for a $1 million dollar bonus? I think all of us under similar circumstances would have accepted these bonus contracts. But when Congressman Barney Frank stands in front of the American people and feigns outrage and starts to point fingers in every direction but his, it just shows that Frank always puts his job ahead of country. He goes around beating the morally wrong drum without ever noticing the hypocrisy drooling out of both sides of his mouth. This is the same Congressman that Chairs the Financial Services Committee and was front and center in support of enactment of TARP, which at the time had no restrictions or strings attached to executive pay or bonuses.
This is the same Barney Frank that made sure OneUnited Bank in Boston received a $12 million dollar infusion of federal cash- a bank that had already been accused of ‘unsafe and unsound banking practices.’ A bank whose CEO was sharply criticized by regulators for excessive pay that included a Porsche. Frank knew that this bank was under scrutiny and yet he included specific provisions in TARP aimed at bailing out OneUnited and spoke directly to Treasury officials about it. This is the same Barney Frank that irresponsibly defended the activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the years, even when it became clear that executives at the two giant government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) had manipulated earnings statements and gifted themselves with huge bonuses based on the bogus numbers, misled regulators, and steered the companies into such shoddy condition that they posed a systemic risk to the entire financial system. Chairman Frank must regret his September 11, 2003 statement to The New York Times that Fannie and Freddie “are not facing any kind of financial crisis…[t]he more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.” During a 2003 committee hearing related to establishing oversight over the GSEs, he casually announced that he didn’t want “the same kind of focus on safety and soundness that we have in Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.” We know how that worked out: the GSEs are now almost entirely owned by the taxpayers; Freddie Mac tapped the Treasury for $13.8 billion in 2008; and Fannie Mae is on deck to get $15.2 billion this year. Yet is advocating to cut our Military spending by 25%.
I can go on and and cite all the instances where Frank has been wrong and irresponsible. We all should know more about Congressman Franks morally correct take on all of this because he has been the Poster Boy for morals. Allowing your apartment to be used as a call boy headquarters by a male prostitute definitely pads that resume.
Well now Mr Frank can add one more nugget to his already undistinguished resume, Porker of the month. At a time when all Americans are being asked to be thrifty and spend wisely, Mr Frank has gone the opposite way again.Thus garnering the Porker of the Month award given by Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog. Just one more trophy to add to his already extensive collection of incompetency awards.

If you are fed up with Phony Barney Frank, contact him and tell him to be a real leader and stop insulting the people's intelligence. We are unto you Barney.

Thanks to Leslie Paige for providing information related to this story.

You can contact Leslie @ 202-467-5334 or lpaige@cagw.org

Will the real Andrew Cuomo please stand up.

noreply@blogger.com (AMB) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:54:00 -0400

If you had never heard of NY State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo before this weeks AIG big Bonus blow-up, you would think that he was an iron fisted AG in the mold of Rudy Guiliani.

Unfortunately, Andrew Cuomo has been around the block for quite a long time. He has been involved in the New York State political scene for well over 20 years and if it were not for the name Cuomo, not too many people would care.

This week, AG Andy Cuomo decided to put on his Superman cape and go after a bunch of suit clad 9-5'ers who happen to ply their trade in the Wall St. District for AIG. These greedy Capitalists must be stopped. How dare they have the nerve to earn bonuses. This is morally wrong..Obama says it is.. The world as we know it will change for the worse if these crooks are not stopped.
You see, this is what a typical bully would do. He targets a victim that has been ostracized or ridiculed by his peers and then unsuspectingly moves in and lands a blow to the gut knowing that they will not fight back. This is what Andy does, he picks on easy targets. He sees Wall Street as the bad guy, the culprit in this financial crisis, Obama said so. He is playing right into President Obama's rhetoric that wants to paint Capitalism and Wall Street as the primary transgressors in the current state of the economy.So when it came time for Super Andy to catch the bad guys at Fannie & Freddie, there apparently was either a shortage of phone booths or a cape malfunction .

As Secretary of HUD from 1997-2001, he did everything in his power to run the agency into the ground. Here is what the GAO had to say about the condition Cuomo left HUD in,"Significant weaknesses (internal controls, information and financial-management systems, organizational deficiencies and staffing programs) still persist in two of HUD's major program areas which remain at high-risk -- Single-Family Insurance and Rental Housing Assistance."
Under his same watch, there was the Audit catastophre in 1999 where billions of dollars went unaccounted for and the agency's financial system was declared to be defective. These lapses no doubt led to the ability of Franklin Raines and his cronies at Fannie & Freddie to manipulate earnings, cook the books and in the process earn himself, Jamie Gorelick and others millions of dollars in bonuses.So for Andy Cuomo to stand in front of America and state that he wants to come down hard on these suits from Wall St. is a laugh.

Why not call out Franklin Raines or Jamie Gorelick Mr. tough guy. You think they could return half of their $100 million in bonuses? The reason may lie in the fact that he has played a bigger part in this mess than most people would know . He is covering his tracks. He wants to be the Knight in shining armor. He wants you to believe that capitalism is the enemy. He wants you to believe that goverment will save the day. He is a just another bully picking on an easy target.

AIG Bonuses - The Truth Be Known

noreply@blogger.com (SuperWoman) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:00:00 -0400

My question is not necessarily directed at the media but those in Congress, those who we have put there to look out for us little citizens with small voices. Did anyone list within this sacred bail out document conditions that nullified any bonus packages? The chant that had gone out when this bail out was decided upon was no more executive bonuses! But did those who voted realize that Federal Reserve did not and was not going to monitor bonuses made by the company? “…The Fed had "limited rights" in its oversight of AIG, Bernanke wrote Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and was "not in a position to review or approve all of the specific compensation or other expenditures" at the insurance company.”

I am outraged at these loathsome amounts. Yes Liddy inherited this problem, (he has been quoted that the bonuses were not his idea and he thinks they are distasteful– yet he allowed them) but he was aware of these contractual bonuses from the beginning, as was the government. Why was this not dealt with when they handed over our money to bail these companies out? Why wait until the deed has been done to state their outrage and demand these individuals return the money? Are we not supposed to plan and be proactive instead of reactive? Is this how our government does business? Wait until the problem is here and the bridge has been crossed before deciding to take action? That is not how a business or a government can be run and survive.

I feel that these individuals receiving these bonuses should not have expected the money when the financial problems were fully realized. We do not give raises and bonuses to employees when there is not profit to do so, that is just bad business.

These actions leave me with many questions. Such as, do we continue to hand AIG bail out money as was the original plan? Will they disqualify bonuses in the future that are still listed in the contracts of their “exceptional employees” (aren’t these the same employees who put them in their financial straights to begin with – yes let’s reward children for bad behavior)?What happens if the government does not give them future monies? Will AIG fail and throw us into more of an economic upheaval? Has anyone looked closer at the connection of Goldman Sachs, Hank Paulson and Liddy? That is a connection that concerns me –and why is no one bringing their connections to light?

If not for us little citizens with little voices – where would this country be? It is time for someone to start listening and for all of us with little voices, speak as one to ensure we are heard.