With all the scandal surrounding Illinois politicians the past few months, it is great to see one displaying character and standing up for what is right. Below is a link to a YouTube video of Illinois Representative Dan Manzulo (R) taking Interim Assistant Treasury Secretary Neel Kashkari to task on the bailout plan. In the video he questions why a failed company that was bailed out with taxpayer dollars -- AIG -- was allowed to give a $3 million bonus to an executive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP73cK3GXdo

Rush Limbaugh has written an open letter to the President regarding possible attempts to censor talk radio. Democrats have been pushing for the reinstatement of the fairness doctrine to silence opposition on the airwaves. President Obama has recently indicated that he will not reinstate the fairness doctrine. Rush, however, details in his letter the numerous ways the Obama administration can achieve the same goal without calling it the fairness doctrine. Here is an excerpt of the open letter that appeared in the Opinion Journal:

                Dear President Obama:

I have a straightforward question, which I hope you will answer in a straightforward way: Is it your intention to censor talk radio through a variety of contrivances, such as "local content," "diversity of ownership," and "public interest" rules -- all of which are designed to appeal to populist sentiments but, as you know, are the death knell of talk radio and the AM band? Read the entire letter at the Opinion Journal.

With the pending threat of the thought police assaulting talk radio and internet bloggers, some of the leading conservative voice are being proactive in their defense of the first amendment. Conservative talk show host Michael Savage has joined forces with the Thomas More Law Center to meet the coming challenge head on:

"A regulation of speech motivated by nothing more than a desire to silence political opposition on controversial issues of public interest is the purest example of a law abridging the freedom of speech," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.

"Such action is the hallmark of totalitarian governments, not a free society," he said. World Net Daily

Michael Savage is one of the leading conservative voices on the radio and a best selling author. He has taken on the Left in court at different times over the years and has pledged to fight the censorship attempt by the Obama administration. Once they silence conservative talk radio, the internet is next. One of the hallmarks of a totalitarian regime is to silence the opposition. The battles that are being fought by Savage, Limbaugh, and other conservative talkers will determine the course of free speech in the United States.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the Rome this week and met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Wednesday. Speaker Pelosi has publicly stated that she is a Catholic and, just as publicly, supported abortion rights. The sanctity of life is one of the pillars of the Catholic faith and is not open to interpretation. If you are a Catholic you must be pro-life. While she had the opportunity to meet with the Pope, they both issued very different statements regarding the 15 minute conversation. Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement:

"It is with great joy that my husband, Paul, and I met with his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI today," Pelosi said in a statement released hours after the meeting. "In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father's dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel. I was proud to show his Holiness a photograph of my family's papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren." Fox News

The stance of Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church on the sanctity of life leaves no grey area. The definition of the sanctity of life is from conception to natural death (Catholic.org). There is no discussion of stages of life in the various trimesters, or whether or not the abortion pill taken the day after sexual activity impacts a life. It starts at conception, plain and simple, so whether it is terminated seconds or months after conception it is still the taking of a life. Just in case Speaker Pelosi did not understand this when the Pontiff met with her in person, the Vatican released the following statement:

"VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development," the Vatican said. Catholic.org

It has long been a point of contention between democrats who claim to be Catholic yet support abortion and the Catholic Church. It is amazing that even after meeting with his Holiness; Speaker Pelosi mentions nothing about the discussion on the sanctity of life. Perhaps a little soul searching will take place as she reflects on the visit, but given her track record, I doubt it.

Despite the fact that this Nation just elected its first black President; despite the fact that the two Secretaries of State before Hillary Clinton were black, despite the fact that we have a sitting Supreme Court Justice who is black, and despite the fact that our new Attorney General is black, the Left insists on stoking the fires of racial tension on a daily basis. In essence, we are not to question the Obama  administration’s questionable policies because, no matter how misguided they may be, we must accept them because the black community is entitled to their turn to run the country and get their pound of flesh for al the years the white community has kept them down. These are inflammatory words, to be sure, but are they any more inflammatory than the race baiting that is going by people in the Obama administration?

Take the uproar about the cartoon drawn by Sean Delonas that appeared in the New York Post earlier this week:

 

I would say anyone who looks at the cartoon can see that it is not a reference to President Obama, but, as evidenced by the protests, there are those that have perceived it that way. The use of the chimpis clearly a reference to the chimp killed earlier this week in Stamford, Connecticut, but it is not so clearly a reference to President Obama. After all, he did not write the stimulus bill. Just ask yourself who did write the stimulus bill? Was it President Obama, or was it Speaker Pelosi and Congress who wrote the bill? This political cartoon is more likely to be intended to make a monkey out of the Speaker of the House, is it not? Let’s not let the facts get in the way of twisting political satire to fit the agenda of the race baiters. 

Just weeks into President Obama’s administration and days after his stimulus package was signed into law, palpable backlash to the economic ramifications of the tremendous welfare state he is creating are being seen, heard, and felt. The question is how this backlash will manifest itself; thus far it has been with the continued fall of the stock market, and now we are seeing public displays against the damage he is doing to the United States. 

The entitlement mentality is driving the economic changes the President is pushing through, and this mentality may well fuel a response far from what he expects. It could, in fact, be the spark that ignites a renewed conservative movement and drive momentum in a push to win back congressional control in 2010; not unlike what took place during the Clinton Administration when Newt Gingrich led a conservative resurgence with the Contract for America.

Wednesday morning, students from an advanced placement government class at MesaDobsonHigh School watched President Barack Obama’s speech on closed circuit television. Even at their young age the students questioned the President’s plan:  

"If businesses can't afford to hire people, then people won't be able to work and pay off their mortgages," he said. "It's kind of like putting money into20a funnel." Albach, who is also a Republican, said Obama's plan sounds good but questioned how Obama can want to rely on "people's responsibility" when that is "what got us in this economic crisis in the first place." Story

Yesterday, CNBC reporter Rick Santelli was on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade where he reported on the mortgage bail out:

SANTELLI:  The government is promoting bad behavior!  How this, president and new administration, why didn't you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give 'em to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.  This is America!  How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills?  Raise their hand.  (boos) President Obama, are you listening? CNBC: Video

Mr. Santelli is a reporter for CNBC, part of the media, I truly wonder if his bosses will let him keep his job and how long the video will be available online.

Additionally, it seems that even the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg has realized that raising taxes on top earners could drive them from his city, creating a net loss of revenue. This from the Walstreet Journal’s : Opinion Journal.

But late last week Mayor Bloomberg was channelling these columns when he said that raising taxes on high earners could drive them from the city. "One percent of the households that file in this city pay something like 50% of the taxes," explained the Mayor. "In the city, that's something like 40,000 people. If a handful left, any raise would make it revenue neutral. The question is what's fair. If 1% are paying 50% of the taxes, you want to make it even more?"Opinion Journal.  

Finally, the unlikeliest of people stepped out and weighed in on the Rapid move toward Socialism by the Obama administration. Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin, of all people, cautioned us to learn from the Russian experience and not take the path of excessive government involvement in economic activity:

“In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute,” Putin said during a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.” Story

The Russian leader’s cautions against repeating the mistakes they made shows that even they do not want to feel the negative impact to the world economy that the Obama plan is likely to cause. All of this is taking place just days after the implementation of the wealth redistribution plan and people begin to grasp the potential economic impact of it. There is a growing school of thought that the days of American prosperity are over.

  

The Heritage foundation has been involved in and played a part in national policy debates for the past 35 years. On February 13, 2009 Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.,  President of the foundation authored an open letter to Congress and the President of the United States in response to the then pending economic stimulus bill. (Text of the letter) As we know, the bill was passed in Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

On February 11, 2009, Robert E. Rector and Katherine Bradley published an analysis of the effect of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on welfare reform.  In it they detail how, in 1996, the welfare reform act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. This act led to a dramatic reduction in welfare dependency and child poverty. In effect the states received a flat amount of funding for welfare programs and, in effect, created an environment that encouraged people to find work and learn to support themselves and their families. All of the gains made over the course of the last 13 years has been effectively erased by a stroke of the pen of President Obama. Read their analysis at Heritage.org.

As the days go by we see that the political ignorance, sense of self entitlement, willingness to put himself ahead of the Country, and overall lack of diplomatic etiquette of our new President seems to know no bounds. His “forced down the people’s throat” handling of the Stimulus (also referred to by many as Porkulus) bill has been widely discussed, and yesterday I touched on the looming cuts to our nuclear deterrent arsenal. This post will discuss the insult of one of our greatest allies in the world, Great Britain.

The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure.

But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks." Telegraph.co.uk

Now the Left will undoubtedly justify the action because it was during Prime Minister Churchill’s tenure that the British suppressed a rebellion in Kenya by the Mau Mau tribe. Allegedly the President’s grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama was tortured by the British at that time. Granted, this personal connection is a basis for the President to not be a Churchill devotee, but Sir Winston Churhill’s contribution to saving Western Europe from the evil that was Hitler and the Nazi party should far outweigh the alleged torture of one man, the actions of whom during the rebellion have not been put forth by the President. 

Diplomatically this is a faux pax that only an unseasoned politician could make. The British have stood by our side as strong allies for decades and we need to maintain that relationship, especially in a world that is becoming increasingly dangerous (See Is Nuclear Weakness on the Horizon) If he did not want to look at it in the oval office he could have displayed it elsewhere in the White House and not slapped the British in the face in such a blatant disregard of political etiquette.

Presumably President Obama is an educated man, but perhaps the effects of liberalism on our educational system is responsible for not presenting him with a clear picture on one of the greatest figures of World War II and the closest ally Democrat icon President FDR had at that time. While I do not expect that President Obama reads this blog, perhaps one of his staffers will and can direct him to the following link so that he can read about the man he disrespected in such an overt fashion: Sir Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill Biography (1874 - 1965) here is an excerpt of the biography:

Faced with the swift collapse of France, Churchill made repeated personal visits to the French government in an attempt to keep France in the war, culminating in the celebrated offer of Anglo-French union on June 16, 1940. When all this failed, the Battle of Britain began. Here Churchill was in his element, in the firing line—at fighter headquarters, inspecting coast defenses or antiaircraft batteries, visiting scenes of bomb damage or victims of the “blitz,” smoking his cigar, giving his V sign, or broadcasting frank reports to the nation, laced with touches of grim Churchillian humour and splashed with Churchillian rhetoric. The nation took him to its heart; he and they were one in “their finest hour.” Sir Winston (Leonard Spencer) Churchill Biography (1874 - 1965)

 

The words and actions of the President of the United States carry with them a great deal of responsibility. Off the cuff remarks and knee jerk reactions can damage political relationships with other countries; relationships that are essential to the safety and security of this Nation. I doubt the British people will ask for it because they have a well developed sense diplomatic etiquette, but they are definitely owed an apology for this insult to one of the greatest men of the 20^th century.

While President Obama has been busy ramming through the most impotent and pork laden bill to exponentially grow government in the history of this Nation, the nuclear clock is ticking and nobody knows if he is paying attention. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) is due to expire at the end of this year. At a time when Russia is actively rebuilding itself as a military power, many fear the Obama administration will show weakness in the face of the growing Bear and yield nuclear supremacy without so much as a whimper.

Ronald Regan broke the back of the Soviet Union by building the American arsenal at a pace that devastated the USSR financially. This, in turn, led to the collapse of the Evil Empire. In recent years Vladamir Putin has been consolidating power in an apparent move to re-establish Russian strength. In a show of strength in 2002, former President Bush withdrew from the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty and put forth the missile shield program that he proposed be stationed in Poland. Naturally the Russians strenuously objected to this and the result was Russian President Medvedev overseeing the test of its TOPOL intercontinental ballistic missile last year. These were the opening moves in a chess game that now falls on the desk of President Obama.

The question before us is whether or not the most liberal President in American history will pander to the extreme left and show weakness by cutting our defense systems and nuclear arsenal, effectively leaving Poland and all of Eastern Europe sitting high and dry on the Russian border; or whether he will show the backbone that is required to stand up against a new Russian threat. Sadly, the odds seem to be on a tremendous show of weakness from a President who attempts daily to satisfy the Left in this Country.

Newsmax has an interesting story on this and it includes the following picture of Russian President Medvedev:

The story details the timeline for the expiration of the  START II treaty and President Obamas plans to reduce the nuclear arsenal. The increase in strength on the Russian side would seem to indicate that they anticipate President Obama to fulfill his campaign promises and take the United States down the path of disarmament; effectively yielding nuclear supremacy to the Russians.

During the campaign, Obama pledged: “As president, I will set a new direction in nuclear weapons policy and show the world that America believes in its existing commitment under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to work to ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons.” Newsmax

A look at the world news should send the message to President Obama that now is not the time to back down; Korea has renewed its missile development despite stern warnings from Hillary Clinton, Iran is clearly pursuing its nuclear ambitions now that it has nothing to fear from the United States other than pointless negotiations that will accomplish nothing. Throw into the mix the Islamic law imposed in Pakistan, a nuclear nation, and the always present Chinese menace and, yet, the Left wants us to disarm, hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and live in harmony. Too bad the other nuclear nations don’t have the same touchy feely aspirations.

As someone who blogs on the goings on in the American political arena I avail myself of the right to free speech on a regular basis. Therefore, I find it unsettling when I hear the increased volume of the push for the so called “Fairness Doctrine” from the Left. They are using the momentum of Omaba’s election as a vehicle to try and silence the voices of talk radio giants like Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, Hewitt, and Savage. The battle lines have been drawn and it is just a matter of time before the fight for the airwaves ensues.

As a regular listener of talk radio I believe that these people have the right to fight for air space in the free market. The Left has had ample opportunity via Air America and NPR to draw audiences to Liberal radio with little or no success. It is apparent that liberals are not attracted to talk radio; perhaps it is because they have the mainstream media, Hollywood movie makers, and assorted bath houses in which to express their views.

I have no doubts that the giants of conservative talk radio will have the ammunition to fight for their right to speak should it come to that and satellite radio has been a viable option for people looking to escape the FCC, just ask Howard Stern. Wouldn’t it be ironic to see Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage seek refuge in the same venue as a Howard Stern?

The question I have hits a little closer to home. As president Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Reid mold this nation into their vision of a socialist utopia, where will conservative bloggers fit in; if they are allowed to fit in at all? Blogging has grown to become a major sector in the political arena and as the Left seeks to silence conservative talk radio, is it not logical to fear that they will also seek to silence conservative blogs as well? Is the Left’s interpretation of the constitution as a living, breathing document that evolves with society not a platform from which they can launch a campaign to re-define free speech?

The double standard is nothing new to the Left, it is a part of the very fabric of their being. Most of us can recall the shrill voice of Hillary Clinton proclaiming that it is this people’s right to question the Bush administration; will the same hold true for those who feel compelled to question the Obama administration? These are the questions that conservatives should be asking themselves. As the Left moves at warp speed to impose socialized medicine, socialized banking, socialized business and restrain conservative talk radio, it is just a matter of time until they try to shut down conservative blogs. Just look at the history of socialist and Marxist governments, suppressing free speech is one of the foundations of controlling dissent.

Those of us unfortunate enough to live in the state of Illinois are well aware of the under the table/ you scratch my back – I’ll scratch yours way of doing business that has defined doing business here for decades. While the phrase {Pay to Play” has recently gained national infamy, it has been a way of life in Illinois for generations. Now, this culture of corruption may have extended all the way to the Nation’s Capitol.

The exploits of impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich and his alleged attempt to sell President Obama’s vacant senate seat are a matter of public record. The former Governor has been through the impeachment process and removed from office in the state of Illinois. Before that took place, however, he appointed Roland Burris to fill President Obama’s vacant seat. Questions surrounded this appointment at the time, and with the prevailing winds of corruption blowing through the windy city , it was no surprise. Anyone living here was apt to think that there was some maneuvering involved to get Burris appointed to this seat. However, when Senator Burris testified under oath at the former governor’s impeachment hearing, he omitted details of contact he had with the former Governor’s brother regarding assistance in raising funds for the Governor’s campaign.

Senator Burris has recently amended his testimony to reflect that he was contacted a number of times by the former Governor’s brother regarding fund raising. Why did Senator Burris amend his testimony? Fox News is reporting that Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross has the following thought on the matter:

“I think somebody in the Burris camp finally realized that these conversations were probably on tape,” Cross said explaining why he thinks the information became public. Fox News

This affidavit is the second time Senator Burris has amended himself to the impeachment panel leading Illinois Congressional leaders to ask for his resignation and suggest that perjury has been committed.  The appointment by Governor Rod Blagojevich has been the subject of speculation since the day it was made, and speculation is likely to continue. The next few weeks will decide the fate of the junior Senator from Illinois. The question that the media has failed to ask is “With such a prevalent culture of corruption present in Illinois politics, how clean can President Barack Obama’s political career really be?” 

The events of the past week are evidence that the Country is going through substantial changes at break neck speeds. I have never seen the very foundations of the United States be impacted and changed with such efficient yet devastating speed. One day we are the center piece for free market capitalism and in 3 short weeks we have seen a socialist revolution take place without a shot being fired. The Obama political machine and the radical Left have so exaggerated the state of the economy that the populace truly believes that we are in a state akin to the Great Depression when we haven’t yet approached the economic misery of the Carter years.

There are just so many lemmings willing to follow the ridiculous storyline that Obama and the Left’s spin machine are selling that their warped ideas get more and more traction. . There are so many people like that Julio, from the town hall meeting, who practically threw himself at Obama and thanking God for Obama etc.; that make this unlike any presidency we have seen in our lifetime. It is this type of blind, passionate, almost religious reverence and following that leads to a hard fall in the best case scenario, and radical movements in the worse case scenario. How far is the Left willing to whip the people up? Do they not realize that the more they get the populace whipped up the greater the chance it can snow ball and take on a life of its own? Where would we be then?

Watching the way these people fall all over Obama brings to mind pictures of the radical religious zealots that are all over the Middle East. As long as he can keep the gullible masses whipped into a frenzy this country will suffer. A President has never had the exposure, and staged events that this one has thrown our way over the past few weeks. Thankfully the Republicans, with the exception of the three RINOs found their backbone and washed their hands of the stimulus bill. With any luck it will be a complete disaster from the get go and it will allow cooler heads and calm reasoning to figure into the equation. At the moment bad decisions are being made and those bad decisions are a result of the hysteria created by President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. Lets just hope that the masses they incite don’t get out of hand.

It comes as no surprise that the Senate followed the House in passing the pork laden stimulus bill tonight. They could not have done it without the help of three RINOs, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Despite the outstanding example set by their Republican colleagues in the House today who stood strong and together, (not even one Republican Representative voted for the bill) the gang of three threw their lot in with the spend crazed Democrats to pass a bill that will likely do more to prolong the recession than stimulate the economy back to expansion.

This entire debacle has exposed our young President’s lack of honesty at a very early stage in his Presidency. He has made grandiose statements about his administration being transparent so the people can see what is being done. This was clearly a slap at the Bush administration which played many matters closer to the vest. He also made statements to the effect that the public would have a few days to look through the bill before it is voted on and signed by the President. The truth is that the conference ended and the final proposal was finished late last night and the house was already voting on it late this morning. Reports are that not a single member of Congress had the time to read the bill which was over 1000 pages in length.

What kind of person promises transparency and then pushes a bill obscenely loaded with pork and lacking any measures of substance designed to boost the economy at such a pace that the lawmakers who have to vote on it don’t have the time to read it? A President and his chief of staff who are products of the Chicago Democrat political machine, that’s who. These are street thug tactics, the kind that have made Chicago lore over the years. 

The formula for this is easy to decipher:

• First, create an environment of panic and hysteria where the public looks for some shining kight to save them. Just look at the way people are star struck, babble incoherently with glee as they bask in Obama’s presence. 
• Then put together a bill that contains enough pork to satisfy the needs of your political allies; one that overreaches just enough that it will be pared down during the vetting process.
• Next get the initial votes passed so that the bill goes to conference for final adjustments. 
• During the conference more deals are made and many of the items that had been cut out during the vetting process are put back in. 
• Then push for a vote as quickly as possible without letting the public have enough time to read the gigantic bill and form an opinion on its content. 
• Finally, get it to the President to sign into law. 

This is the way things have been done in Chicago for decades; put together a deal that benefits all the conspirators, get it passed and signed, all before the public knows what hit them. All you need to do is look at the history of the state of Illinois for the past 20 years and you will see the training ground for President Obama and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. They have now successfully rammed this bill through in record speed. The only good to come of this is that House Republicans refused to support the bill; on the Senate side only 3 Senators joined the Democrats in passing the stimulus bill, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. When this stimulus bill is revealed for what it is, the Democrats will be hanging themselves with their own pork project. The 3 RINOs will have a tough time when they come up for election again.

The stimulus bill has been released and is available to be read in all of its pork filled glory. What has been billed as a job creation and economic stimulus bill turns out to be a vehicle for pet projects of the politicians who will vote on it. The final version of the bill exceeds 1000 pages in length; are we to assume that all of the members of Congress have read this enormous bill and understand every provision of it so that they are able to vote intelligently on it? It is highly unlikely since it was posted late yesterday and is being rushed to vote today. Here are links to the two PDF files that contain this enormous bill. I have also included a link to the House Appropriations Committee website so that readers will be able to look at any related documents.

American Recovery and  Reinvestment bill from the House Appropriations Committee website:
 
 Bill Text - Division A
 Bill Text - Division B
 
In an effort to find out some of the details of the bill I checked in with Rush Limbaugh and found a breakdown of some of the items in the bill:

Now, I've got a list of things that are in the bill.  I really don't even feel like wasting time going through it. (interruption) You want to hear some of them?  Okay.  Snerdley wants to hear some.  Folks, it's pathetic.  It is a disaster. There are "Billions of dollars in spending exclusively devoted to benefit federal employees,  $5.5 billion for making federal buildings "green" ...,  $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters,  $200 million for workplace safety in Department of Agriculture facilities,  $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution,  $300 million more for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees." That's on top of the $600 million that was previously authorized. "$180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities,  $500 million for wildland fire management,  $110 million for construction for the US Fish and Wildlife Service,  $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs,  $412 million for Centers for Disease Control headquarters,  $500 million earmark for National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland,  $100 million for constructing US Marshalls office buildings.” The complete text and today’s run down on the status of the vote can be found at the Rush Limbaugh website.

This freight train has been barreling down the tracks fed by the hysteria created by the Obama administration and the main stream media. The hysteria has hit a fever pitch and made the American public feel like “something has to be done” and kept them from asking what it is that “should be done”. At times like this it is so very important that cooler heads prevail and that the hysteria be cooled so that rational decisions can be made. The way the Obama administration has pushed to get this done by today, they have all but guaranteed that there will be no time for rational thought. Knee jerk reactions and bad policy seem to be the pre-destined order of the day and those of us who actually care enough to read the document and understand that it is wrong on so many levels will have to take the medicine no matter how wrong it is.

If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that only 3 Republicans have stepped forward to support this pork barrel spending gone wild stimulus bill. Collins, Specter, and Snowe are the three Republicans who voted for the bill prior to its going to conference. It will be on their shoulders again now that the bill is out of conference to take a stand on the final vote. Their three votes will make it a lock and the bill will pass. As the stimulus program moves forward, it will be a Democrat boondoggle with three RINOs (Republican In Name Only) tagging along like puppies looking for praise from a new master.

Former Speaker of the House and author of the Contract with America, Newt Gingrich, that brought congressional control to the Republican party during the Clinton administration has started American Solutions; a website devoted to supporting the values and interests of conservative Americans. It provides information on the pressing issues that face Americans as well as links to the stimulus bill as well. On Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday the former Speaker said that they would, over the next 30 days, take a point a day and analyze it and its impact on the Nation. It will be interesting to follow this process and see his take on it. At the end of the day, the Democrats and President Obama OWN this stimulus package. Therefore, as this ridiculous bill drives the Nation further into economic decline while paying for all the Democrat pork projects, it will open the door for a Republican resurgence in 2010.

The Obama Presidency is more like a rock star on tour than the leader of the greatest Nation in the free world. People flock to see him and practically drool in his presence; I am waiting for him to lay hands on someone and heal them. Sure, that is an overstatement but everything about our newly elected President is an overstated publicity stunt; hardly befitting of the office he now holds.

During the campaign for the Presidency many conservatives questioned his experience and ability to effectively govern the United States of America. His lack of seasoning and political savvy is clearly on display every time he speaks. An Obama speech is filled with lavish promises and utopian pipe dreams coupled with back handed slaps at the very people who PRODUCE for the economy. He is clearly unaware of the consequences of the words that he slings around like a never ending campaign speech.

Take his off the cuff comment regarding corporate trips to Las Vegas for example:

In the past two weeks, two financial institutions that received a combined $35 billion in federal bailout money pulled out of large events in Las Vegas at the last minute. Obama, who has been mustering public support for economic stimulus legislation, said during a town hall meeting this week in Indiana that companies shouldn't hold such events at taxpayers' expense.

"You can't get corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime," Obama said. Newsmax

Simple minds undoubtedly cheered at this jab at perceived corporate excess and basked in the messianic glow of our new President. A closer look at the potential ramifications of this simple statement reveals the many ways that real working people could be hurt by his rhetoric. 

The first item in President Obama’s statement referred to “corporate jets”. Surely a corporate jet is a sign of excess, isn’t it? When one thinks about the people who could be adversely affected by a significant drop in the purchase and use of corporate jets it seems like a less appealing target of Presidential wrath:

§         factory workers who, are most likely dues paying union labor, rely on the purchase of corporate jets for their livelihood

§         the mechanics who work to keep the corporate jets safe and compliant with government regulations

§         the laborers in the parts industry, who depend on the use of corporate jets as a market for the fruits of their labors

§         and the pilots and flight crews that rely on these jobs to support their families

Secondly let’s look President Obama’s reference to Las Vegas as a destination. Surely it must be OK to take a jab at “sin city” right? Not when you think of all the regular working people who rely on the Las Vegas appeal for conventions, conferences, and corporate parties to survive:

• The hotel workers who toil behind the scenes to make the stay of visitors to Las Vegas wonderful.
• Concierges
• Bell hops
• Maids
• Laundry service employees
• Chefs, cooks, and room service workers
• The transportation industry
• Las Vegas airport workers
• taxi and limo drivers and mechanics
• tour bus drivers, staff, and mechanics
• Gas station employees
• The restaurants
• Cooks
• Waitresses
• Busboys
• Dishwashers
• The entertainment industry
• Performers
• Stage hands
• Food and beverage supply industry

I can go on and on enumerating the jobs that can be impacted by the President’s simple comment regarding trips to Las Vegas, but I think you get the point. It is no surprise that the Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, has asked for an apology from president Obama for the lack of perspective he has shown:

Goodman said Obama's remarks at the town hall meeting were unwarranted.

"That's outrageous, and he owes us an apology," he said. "He owes us a retraction."

Las Vegas tourism officials worry that increased scrutiny on business travel will discourage meetings and conventions—business that would be crucial for the city already suffering economically. The number of visitors to Las Vegas was down 4.4 percent in 2008 compared with a year earlier, and visits in December alone declined nearly 11 percent. Associated Press

When you are the leader of the United States, the statements that you make have very real consequences. The media shows us images of people flocking in reverence to any opportunity to be close to President Obama; people fawning in his presence and portraying him as some sort of savior of the working class. I wonder how many of the working class people who will be impacted by cancelled trips to Las Vegas on corporate jets voted for President Obama? According to the Associated Press Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo have already cancelled events in Las Vegas in the wake of the President’s comments. Only time will tell what the real economic impact of this one statement will be. How many more reckless statements by our rock star President will cost regular working class people financially, maybe even cost them their jobs?