I Have a News Flash for Obama...

From Politico...

In a speech Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz., President Obama unveiled his plan to address the home foreclosure crisis, pledging $75 billion in federal aid to homeowners and mortgage lenders and outlining an expanded role for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in renegotiating mortgages on homes at risk of foreclosure.

"This plan will not save every home, but it will give families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild,” Obama said, who described home foreclosures in the context of the broader economic crisis.

“Companies in your community that depend on the housing market – construction companies and home furnishing stores, painters and landscapers – they’re cutting back and laying people off,” Obama said. “In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis.”

The crowd cheered wildly at the first mention of the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which the President signed yesterday in Denver. But Obama’s speech wasn’t a festive occasion, and the president had stern words for Americans who had made reckless or risky choices in their borrowing and lending practices.

The housing crisis, Obama said, was brought about by an “erosion of…common sense.”

“All of us need to learn to live within our means again,” he said.

I hate to break it to Barry, but there are a WHOLE LOT of us out here who are already living WITHIN our means. And how, exactly, will subsidizing those who have NOT learned to live within their means, help solve the problem?

Sounds to me like we are rewarding those who overextended themselves at the expense of those who live 'within their means.'

Call Your Senators Part II...Details of the "Spendulus"

Here is the latest list of pork in the Obama-Reid-Pelosi "Drunken Sailor" Spendulus Bill...from the website of Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. of Oklahoma.

Wasteful and Non-Stimulative Spending in Nelson-Collins Substitute

• $2 billion earmark for FutureGen near zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, IL
• $39 billion slush fund for "state fiscal stabilization" bailout
• $5.5 billion for making federal buildings "green" (including $448 million for DHS HQ)
• $200 million for workplace safety in USDA facilities
• $275 million for flood prevention
• $65 million for watershed rehabilitation
• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
• $650 million for the DTV transition coupon program
• $307 million for constructing NIST office buildings
• $1 billion for administrative costs and construction of NOAA office buildings
• $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings
• $300 million for constructing FBI office buildings
• $800 million for constructing Federal Prison System buildings and facilities
• $10 million to fight Mexican gunrunners
• $1.3 billion for NASA (including $450 million for "science" at NASA)
• $100 million to clean up sites used in early U.S. atomic energy program
• $10 million for urban canals
• $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
• $1.5 billion for carbon capture projects under sec. 703 of P.L. 110-140 (though section only authorizes $1 billion for five years)
• $300 million for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
• $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
• $255 million for "priority procurements" at Coast Guard (polar ice breaker)
• $500 million for State and local fire stations
• $180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities
• $500 million for wildland fire management
• $110 million for construction for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• $650 million for abandoned mine sites
• $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
• $1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth
• $412 million for CDC headquarters
• $500 million earmark for NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
• $160 million for "volunteers" at the Corp. for National and Community Service
• $750 earmark for the National Computer Center in MD
• $224 million for International Boundary and Water Commission – U.S. and Mexico
• $850 million for Amtrak
• $100 million for lead paint hazard reduction

Call 'em again....

Milton Friedman Says it All...

Watch this video as Milton Friedman defends capitalism.

Brilliant.

And I suppose that Phil Donahue did his show for 'free'.....

David Obey - Proof that there should be a minimum IQ test required for House members...

From The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:

Of course, this is the guy that said that deaths in the Iraq war were down because the terrorists were "running out of people to kill". And he is the CHAIRMAN OF THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE!!!!! Yikes. Make us proud, David.

How money is spent should be far from the biggest concern about the stimulus package, its chief author, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.) said Friday.

"So what?" Obey asked in response to a question on NPR's "Morning Edition" about the perceived lack of direction from Congress as to how money in the stimulus should be spent. "This is an emergency. We've got to simply find a way to get this done as fast as possible and as well as possible, and that's what we're doing."

Obey said that Congress is not responsible if money is misspent, but rather, whoever spends the money poorly.

"We simply made a decision, which took about three seconds, not to have earmarks in the bill," Obey told NPR. "And with all due respect, that's the least important question facing us on putting together this package."

As Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Obey had chief oversight in crafting the $825 billion package as passed by the House. The provisions in the bill have been criticized by Republicans and some centrist Democrats for not being as directly related to stimulating the economy as it should be.

""We have more oversight built into this package than any package in the history of man. If money is spent badly, we want to know about it so we can hold accountable the people who made that choice," the chairman said. "And guess what? Regardless of what we do, there will be some stupid decisions made."

Obama's Remarks to the Democrats on "Retreat"

You have to read this twice to believe it. This is an address given to the Democrats in Williamsburg, VA at the House Caucus retreat.

I am only providing some excerpts of this speech...to read it in full, go to this post on NRO.

Here is our new leader at his best....the emphases are mine.

Thank you. Thank you, Democrats. (Applause.) Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. Everybody have a seat. It is great to be here with so many friends. Thank you for giving me a reason to use Air Force One. (Laughter.) It’s pretty nice. (Laughter.)

No concern, of course, about his 'carbon footprint'. Of course, if we all turn our thermostats down, we can help pay for his consumption, including jacking up the White House thermostat. Per David Axelrod, "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there." Nice.

I’m glad to see the House Democratic Caucus is getting by just fine without my Chief of Staff. (Laughter.) I don’t know how many of you were at the Alfalfa dinner, but I pointed out, you know, this whole myth of Rahm being this tough guy, mean, is just not true. At least once a week he spends time teaching profanity to underprivileged children. (Laughter and applause.) So he’s got a soft spot.

Nice guy. Teaching profanity to underprivileged children? This is funny?

...We can’t embrace the losing formula that says only tax cuts will work for every problem we face; that ignores critical challenges like our addiction to foreign oil, or the soaring cost of health care, or falling schools and crumbling bridges and roads and levees. I don’t care whether you’re driving a hybrid or an SUV if you’re headed for a cliff, you’ve got to change direction. (Applause.) That’s what the American people called for in November, and that’s what we intend to deliver. (Applause.)

He seems to forget that not ALL the American people voted for him....in fact, about 46% of us did NOT vote for him. And, right now, almost half of the American people do NOT support the 'stimulus' package.

By the way, tax cuts have proven to be the best way of increasing federal revenue...but Barack doesn't care about that. Don't confuse him with the facts when he is just warming up the audience.

So the American people are watching. They did not send us here to get bogged down with the same old delay, the same old distractions, the same talking points, the same cable chatter. (Applause.) You know, aren’t you all tired of that stuff?

The same talking points? The same 'cable chatter'? Why does this guy keep going after the minority conservative media? Doesn't he realize that a LOT of Americans watch and TRUST those outlets? More than the Obama-fawning MSM?

Then there’s the argument, well, this is full of pet projects. When was the last time that we saw a bill of this magnitude move out with no earmarks in it? Not one. (Applause.) And when you start asking, well, what is it exactly that is such a problem that you’re seeing, where’s all this waste and spending? Well, you know, you want to replace the federal fleet with hybrid cars. Well, why wouldn’t we want to do that? (Laughter.) That creates jobs for people who make those cars. It saves the federal government energy. It saves the taxpayers energy. (Applause.)

So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill. What do you think a stimulus is? (Laughter and applause.) That’s the whole point. No, seriously. (Laughter.) That’s the point.
(Applause.)

Wait a minute? I thought Obama was going to eliminate earmarks? And now ANY earmarks and spending are good? Spending = stimulus? And his comment about the hybrid cars shows his ignorance. The ROI on most hybrid car models (the point at which you actually SAVE enough money on gasoline to make up for the higher purchase price is SEVEN YEARS. Do we actually keep the federal fleet for SEVEN YEARS? If we don't, then we may be saving the government ENERGY, but we sure as heck ain't saving the taxpayers MONEY. (Note that he does not say we are saving money, just energy.)

As I was listening to his speech when he signed the S-CHIP legislation (and whatever happened to the 'five day cooling off' period he promised during the campaign, when the American people could weigh in on any legislation before he signed it into law?) -- it struck me.

The only thing this guy has been REALLY good at in his career is campaigning. That's why he can't seem to stop it.

I am afraid that this bill is going to pass. And there will be no turning back. Batten down your hatches. We are in for rough times ahead.

Look at the Bright Side - Way to Fund the Stimulus!

I just thought of a way to help fund the 'stimulus' package.

Order an immediate audit of all Democratic elected officials.
Force them to pay all their taxes, including interest & penalties.

The stimulus shouldn't cost the American taxpayers ONE CENT!!!

We might even have enough left over to pay off the coronation ceremony!!!

Call Your Senators NOW!!! (and then call 'em again)

I called my Senators' Washington offices (Kohl & Feingold) on Friday to weigh in on the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Drunken Sailor Spending Spree (oops-I mean, of course the 'stimlus package').

I got a busy signal the first time and had to keep re-dialing.

When I asked Feingold's office how the calls were running, the young man on the end of the line hesitated and then told me that they were overwhelmingly against the current bill.

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE call them (or your own senators) NOW and make your voice be heard.

I also emailed Senator Mitch McConnell and told him that he was the only thing standing between us & disaster.

The madness HAS TO STOP!

You can reach our senators at the following numbers. I put them on my speed dial (heh). Call early & call often!!!

Senator Herb Kohl: 202-224-5653
Senator Russ Feingold: 202-224-5323

Or call the general number for your own personal Senator: 202-224-3121

Victor Davis Hanson Predicts Obama Meltdown

Interesting post by VDH on The Corner on The Impending Obama Meltdown. I am including it in its entirety.

The Impending Obama Meltdown [Victor Davis Hanson]

Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary. And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.We are quite literally after two weeks teetering on an Obama implosion—and with no Dick Morris to bail him out—brought on by messianic delusions of grandeur, hubris, and a strange naivete that soaring rhetoric and a multiracial profile can add requisite cover to good old-fashioned Chicago politicking.First, there were the sermons on ethics, belied by the appointments of tax dodgers, crass lobbyists, and wheeler-dealers like Richardson—with the relish of the Blago tapes still to come. (And why does Richardson/Daschle go, but not Geithner?).

Second, was the "stimulus" (the euphemism for "borrow/print money") that was simply a way to go into debt for a generation to shower Democratic constituencies with cash.

Then third, there were the inflated lectures on historic foreign policy to be made by the clumsy political novice who trashed his own country and his predecessor in the most ungracious manner overseas to a censored Saudi-run press organ (e.g., Bush is
dictatorial, the Saudi king is courageous; Obama can mend bridges that America broke to aggrieved Muslims—apparently Tehran hostages, Rushdie, serial attacks in the 1990s, 9/11, Madrid, London never apparently occurred; and neither did feeding Somalis, saving Kuwait, protesting Chechnya, Bosnia/Kosovo, billions to Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinians, help in two Afghan wars, and on and on).

Fourth, there was the campaign rhetoric of Bush shredding the Constitution—FISA, Guantánamo, the Patriot Act, Iraq, renditions, etc.—followed by "all that for now stays the same" inasmuch as we haven't ben hit in over seven years and can't risk another attack.

Fifth, Gibbs as press secretary is a Scott McClellan nightmare that won't go away, given his long McClellan-like relationship with Obama (McClellan should have been fired on day hour one on the job). Blaming Fox News for Obama's calamities is McClellan to the core and doesn't work. He already reminds me of Reverend Wright's undoing at the National Press Club—and he will get worse.

Six, Biden is being Biden. Already, he's ridiculed the chief justice, trashed the former VP, bragged on himself ad nauseam in Bidenesque weird ways, and it's only been two weeks.

And the result of all this?At home, Obama is becoming laughable and laying the groundwork for the greatest conservative populist reaction since the Reagan Revolution.Abroad, some really creepy people are lining up to test Obama's world view of "Bush did it/but I am the world": The North Koreans are readying their missiles; the Iranians are calling us passive, bragging on nukes and satellites; Russia is declaring missile defense is over and the Euros in real need of iffy Russian gas; Pakistanis say no more drone attacks (and then our friends the Indians say "shut up" about Kashmir and the Euros order no more "buy American").

This is quite serious. I can't recall a similarly disastrous start in a half-century (far worse than Bill Clinton's initial slips). Obama immediately must lower the hope-and-change rhetoric, ignore Reid/Pelosi, drop the therapy, and accept the tragic view that the world abroad is not misunderstood but quite dangerous. And he must listen on foreign policy to his National Security Advisor, Billary, and the Secretary of Defense. If he doesn't quit the messianic style and perpetual campaign mode, and begin humbly governing, then he will devolve into Carterism—angry that the once-fawning press betrayed him while we the people, due to our American malaise, are to blame.
02/04
07:15 AM

Is this just a case of "the bigger they are, the harder they fall?" If so, expect a crash of gargantuan proportions....