This morning (12/24) the United State Senate voted 60-39 in favor of final passage of HR 3590, the so-called "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:
"Today's Christmas Eve vote may signal the end of the debate in the Senate, but it's far from the end of the debate at large. Since Senator Reid's bad bill is substantially different from the House's bad bill, the lower chamber will have to vote on the plan again. The Senate bill's massive funding for elective abortions and the construction of abortion facilities are among the most radical differences. On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitted in an interview that the Senate health care bill will force 'everybody' in the exchange to pay an abortion premium. The so-called Nelson 'compromise' ensures that everyone will pay for abortion--no matter how the funds are divided up.
"According to a new Quinnipiac poll, Americans--by a huge three to one margin--are overwhelmingly opposed to using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. Seventy-two percent of the country is now firmly on the side of Congressman Bart Stupak's (D-Mich.) solution to ban the government's financial involvement in the deadly procedure. House and Senate conferees would do well to heed that warning when they come together to iron out their differences with the final bill, else this bill could collapse because of it.
"Disagreement over abortion funding is one of the many reasons this fight is far from over. Both House and Senate versions of the bill are seriously flawed. Both bills still allow rationing of health care for seniors, raise health costs for families, mandate that families purchase under threat of fines and penalties, offer counsel about assisted suicide in some states, do not offer broad conscience protections for health care workers and seek to insert the federal government into all aspects of citizen's lives. Additionally, the bills would place a crushing debt on both current and future generations."
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
No Jobs, No Housing, No Bull
This is my first post for AOL Real Estate. I am honored to be part of the new AOL.
But if this is AOL Real Estate, why then am I writing about jobs? Because employment growth is key to ending the real estate depression (yes, depression) we have all been suffering through for more than a year. The key to real estate recovery is more jobs, simple as that. And unfortunately, according to my friends who attended this week's White House Jobs Summit, we can expect little to no real help on jobs from the Obama Administration.
This White House event was a sham, a photo op meant solely to influence public opinion without actually doing anything, according to attendees. This can be seen, for example, in the coverage by USA Today, which proudly quoted statements by the President about what had been accomplished in the sessions, yet USA Today said their interview took place two hours before the event even started.
How could Obama know in advance what would be accomplished?
According to people who were there (and spoke to me anonymously because they want to be invited back) the President reportedly made no real connection with people in the room. He knew at least half of them personally, yet addressed them in the small space reading from a teleprompter. In the private breakout sessions he breezed through, Obama said there was no federal money to help jobs, not much anyway. That's hardly what he said in his public remarks, which were much more upbeat.
Which position is the truth?
Nobody I talked to from the meeting came away with a sense of optimism, that anything of substance had been accomplished or even set in motion. They felt used.
This doesn't bode well for a real housing recovery that can be sustained after the first-time home buyer tax credits finally expire next year.
And it may seem a small point, but why did the Administration invite all these leaders to meet for six hours (it was scheduled from 11:30-5:30 and ended on-time) yet offer them no breaks and nothing to eat or drink, not even a bottle of water? Attendees are treated better than that each weekend in the Avoiding Foreclosure seminars down at the Holiday Inn. Couldn't Obama have hired a couple of caterers?
That would have been two jobs down, 10 million to go.
By Robert X. Cringely
Dec 11th 2009 @ 10:00AM
Rec'd via email...
But if this is AOL Real Estate, why then am I writing about jobs? Because employment growth is key to ending the real estate depression (yes, depression) we have all been suffering through for more than a year. The key to real estate recovery is more jobs, simple as that. And unfortunately, according to my friends who attended this week's White House Jobs Summit, we can expect little to no real help on jobs from the Obama Administration.
This White House event was a sham, a photo op meant solely to influence public opinion without actually doing anything, according to attendees. This can be seen, for example, in the coverage by USA Today, which proudly quoted statements by the President about what had been accomplished in the sessions, yet USA Today said their interview took place two hours before the event even started.
How could Obama know in advance what would be accomplished?
According to people who were there (and spoke to me anonymously because they want to be invited back) the President reportedly made no real connection with people in the room. He knew at least half of them personally, yet addressed them in the small space reading from a teleprompter. In the private breakout sessions he breezed through, Obama said there was no federal money to help jobs, not much anyway. That's hardly what he said in his public remarks, which were much more upbeat.
Which position is the truth?
Nobody I talked to from the meeting came away with a sense of optimism, that anything of substance had been accomplished or even set in motion. They felt used.
This doesn't bode well for a real housing recovery that can be sustained after the first-time home buyer tax credits finally expire next year.
And it may seem a small point, but why did the Administration invite all these leaders to meet for six hours (it was scheduled from 11:30-5:30 and ended on-time) yet offer them no breaks and nothing to eat or drink, not even a bottle of water? Attendees are treated better than that each weekend in the Avoiding Foreclosure seminars down at the Holiday Inn. Couldn't Obama have hired a couple of caterers?
That would have been two jobs down, 10 million to go.
By Robert X. Cringely
Dec 11th 2009 @ 10:00AM
Rec'd via email...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Number of Democrats in Nation Declines During March
In March, the number of Democrats in the nation fell two percentage points while the number of Republicans fell by half-a-point. Democrats continue to have a sizable advantage in terms of partisan identification, but the advantage is smaller than it’s been since December 2007...
Click here to read Rasmussen article
Interesting that more Democrats are unwilling to 'fess up to Party affiliation. I'm thinking the Republican half-point decline may be because more and more people are considering themselves Libertarian or trying to leave all government behind. Saw a headline yesterday where Newt Gingrich was talking about current events making third party alternative more attractive (only saw it in passing, didn't read the article).
I took a survey yesterday from the Republican National Committee. I took the opportunity to share my feelings about those in Washington. For the first time in my adult life since deciding I was a Republican, I'm willing to entertain the idea of moving outside the fold. Our Republicans in D.C. had better continue to move in the right direction or there's going to be a mass exodus to a third party.
-amc
Click here to read Rasmussen article
Interesting that more Democrats are unwilling to 'fess up to Party affiliation. I'm thinking the Republican half-point decline may be because more and more people are considering themselves Libertarian or trying to leave all government behind. Saw a headline yesterday where Newt Gingrich was talking about current events making third party alternative more attractive (only saw it in passing, didn't read the article).
I took a survey yesterday from the Republican National Committee. I took the opportunity to share my feelings about those in Washington. For the first time in my adult life since deciding I was a Republican, I'm willing to entertain the idea of moving outside the fold. Our Republicans in D.C. had better continue to move in the right direction or there's going to be a mass exodus to a third party.
-amc
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Heritage Foundation: Another $275 Billion Down the Drain
The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill today that would round out the legislative authority necessary for President Barack Obama to institute his $275 billion mortgage bailout plan. Taken together the plans three main components (enabling some select borrowers to refinance their loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, enabling other select borrowers to modify their loans at the cost of taxpayers and lenders, and changing bankruptcy law to allow mortgage cram downs) will bailout the most irresponsible borrowers, raise the cost of borrowing for honest and prudent home buyers, and do nothing to stop the inevitable and necessary correction in housing prices.
Bailing Out the Most Irresponsible: Obama's mortgage bailout bestows new and costly benefits on those who took on more debt (including credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages) than they could handle. Worse, the value of the benefits vary in direct proportion to the degree borrowers were financially irresponsible. Borrowers with as high a debt service payment to income ration of 55% will be eligible for the taxpayer bailout.
Increasing Costs for Honest Borrowers: There are two ways Obama's mortgage bailout hurts honest home buyers. First, the portion of the plan that makes lenders responsible for half of all mortgage rate reductions will deter private sector investment in all but the best mortgages. Second, the mortgage cram down provisions would create additional risks for lenders who will be forced to compensate for that risk by making new mortgage rates more expensive for future home buyers. First time home buyers and those with moderate incomes would be hardest hit.
Failing to Stop the Housing Price Correction: Our current economic crisis was created by the inevitable popping of a housing bubble. Our financial system and economy will not recover until housing prices correct themselves. The sharp decline in housing prices is largely confined to just five states (Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada). And the drop in housing prices in these localities is so steep that few borrowers will qualify for Obama's bailout. Hence home prices will only keep self-correcting. Also mortgage lenders are already at full capacity refinancing borrowers who do not need government aid. There is simply no way the existing industry has the capacity to refinance another 8 million homeowners in time to stop the market correction. Finally, the re-default rates on mortgages that have already undergone mortgage modifications suggest Obama's mortgage bailout will be, at best, just a temporary band-aid.
For over a year, first the Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration, have been throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at a problem that does not have a big, invasive, government solution. The road back to economic prosperity lies in an honest assessment of our future spending liabilities, cutting spending, and not raising the tax burden on the American entrepreneurs who have always been the true source of our economic growth.
Bailing Out the Most Irresponsible: Obama's mortgage bailout bestows new and costly benefits on those who took on more debt (including credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages) than they could handle. Worse, the value of the benefits vary in direct proportion to the degree borrowers were financially irresponsible. Borrowers with as high a debt service payment to income ration of 55% will be eligible for the taxpayer bailout.
Increasing Costs for Honest Borrowers: There are two ways Obama's mortgage bailout hurts honest home buyers. First, the portion of the plan that makes lenders responsible for half of all mortgage rate reductions will deter private sector investment in all but the best mortgages. Second, the mortgage cram down provisions would create additional risks for lenders who will be forced to compensate for that risk by making new mortgage rates more expensive for future home buyers. First time home buyers and those with moderate incomes would be hardest hit.
Failing to Stop the Housing Price Correction: Our current economic crisis was created by the inevitable popping of a housing bubble. Our financial system and economy will not recover until housing prices correct themselves. The sharp decline in housing prices is largely confined to just five states (Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada). And the drop in housing prices in these localities is so steep that few borrowers will qualify for Obama's bailout. Hence home prices will only keep self-correcting. Also mortgage lenders are already at full capacity refinancing borrowers who do not need government aid. There is simply no way the existing industry has the capacity to refinance another 8 million homeowners in time to stop the market correction. Finally, the re-default rates on mortgages that have already undergone mortgage modifications suggest Obama's mortgage bailout will be, at best, just a temporary band-aid.
For over a year, first the Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration, have been throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at a problem that does not have a big, invasive, government solution. The road back to economic prosperity lies in an honest assessment of our future spending liabilities, cutting spending, and not raising the tax burden on the American entrepreneurs who have always been the true source of our economic growth.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
W.A.M. Keeps Pressue On Washington and Media
With your help, W.A.M. intends to keep the pressure on cleaning up Washington & Media corruption!
WATCH WASHINGTON SPECIAL TeleEvent
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 at 8:30 PM/ET
Join this Thursday night TeleEvent to Get Informed on updates of what's really happening Capitol Hill and What's Worse to Come!
Your referrals are also welcome to participate in this eye-opening Watch Washington TeleEvent, so let them know!
THIS TELEVENT WILL INCREASE EXPOSURE WHAT OBAMA IS REALLY UP TO AND WHY - AND WHAT MORE is TO COME!
W.A.M. STRATEGIST WILL GIVE INFORMATION ON KEY ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO TURN THE TIDE OF THIS TAKEOVER OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND OUR CULTURE - and WHY It is Critical that We the People ACT NOW!
TO GET INVOLVED with W.A.M. & REFORM CORRUPTION on CAPITOL HILL & in the MAINSTREAM MEDIA, Sign in NOW:
I WANT TO HELP WAKE UP AMERICA!
TO RECEIVE CONFIDENTIAL CALL-IN INFORMATION FOR this THURSDAY WATCH WASHINGTON TeleEvent, send reply email. Be sure to include your full name and your state on the face of this email to receive reply with confidential Call In # for tomorrow's event.
Your participation in W.A.M. ACTIONS WILL CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE for the FUTURE of ALL of US!
BE SURE to REPLY for # to JOIN US for WAM WATCH WASHINGTON TELEVENT: this THURSDAY 8:30 PM/ET 2/26/09
Get on the inside track of what our "leadership" is up to - and get in on the ground floor of URGENT new ACTIONS to stem the tide of even more dangerous legislation! Remember, the Future is up to US!
WATCH WASHINGTON SPECIAL TeleEvent
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 at 8:30 PM/ET
Join this Thursday night TeleEvent to Get Informed on updates of what's really happening Capitol Hill and What's Worse to Come!
Your referrals are also welcome to participate in this eye-opening Watch Washington TeleEvent, so let them know!
THIS TELEVENT WILL INCREASE EXPOSURE WHAT OBAMA IS REALLY UP TO AND WHY - AND WHAT MORE is TO COME!
W.A.M. STRATEGIST WILL GIVE INFORMATION ON KEY ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO TURN THE TIDE OF THIS TAKEOVER OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND OUR CULTURE - and WHY It is Critical that We the People ACT NOW!
TO GET INVOLVED with W.A.M. & REFORM CORRUPTION on CAPITOL HILL & in the MAINSTREAM MEDIA, Sign in NOW:
I WANT TO HELP WAKE UP AMERICA!
TO RECEIVE CONFIDENTIAL CALL-IN INFORMATION FOR this THURSDAY WATCH WASHINGTON TeleEvent, send reply email. Be sure to include your full name and your state on the face of this email to receive reply with confidential Call In # for tomorrow's event.
Your participation in W.A.M. ACTIONS WILL CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE for the FUTURE of ALL of US!
BE SURE to REPLY for # to JOIN US for WAM WATCH WASHINGTON TELEVENT: this THURSDAY 8:30 PM/ET 2/26/09
Get on the inside track of what our "leadership" is up to - and get in on the ground floor of URGENT new ACTIONS to stem the tide of even more dangerous legislation! Remember, the Future is up to US!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Rep. Tom Price Outside of Pelosi's Office
Rep. Tom Price Outside of Pelosi's Office: This is a great video from Rep. Tom Price shot outside of Nancy Pelosi's office earlier today. He shows you how the GOP was locked out of the Stimulus deal.
"We will make mistakes.": Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has most certainly made his share of mistakes. And his latest one’s a doozy.
(I've been trying to figure out who Geithner reminds me of... is it Wally from Leave it to Beaver maybe? His face isn't as round, but he has that same dopey earnest look... )
Both of the above are from NetRight Daily. Be sure to sign up for updates if you like what you see when you click the links above.
"We will make mistakes.": Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has most certainly made his share of mistakes. And his latest one’s a doozy.
(I've been trying to figure out who Geithner reminds me of... is it Wally from Leave it to Beaver maybe? His face isn't as round, but he has that same dopey earnest look... )
Both of the above are from NetRight Daily. Be sure to sign up for updates if you like what you see when you click the links above.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
What Is the Spending Multiplier on a Pack of Condoms?
Morning Bell, Heritage Foundation:
This Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) created quite a stir when she attempted to defend Section 5004, of the House's economic stimulus plan which allows the Medicaid bailout portion of the spending plan to be spent on family planning clinics. The leftist organization Media Matters came to Pelosi's defense claiming "The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association says such policies are extremely popular."
But Media Matters and their leftist allies completely miss the policy point underscored by highlighting the stimulus plan's family planning loophole. The Associated Press explains why this issue goes way beyond family planning:
While the debate surrounding the overall impact of the measure pits economists and their statistics against one another, Republicans quickly seized on the family planning money as evidence that the Democrats were advancing an agenda that went beyond the economy.
The entire intellectual underpinning of President Barack Obama's spending plan rests on the belief that certain types of government spending creates a "multiplier effect" which raises national income beyond the size of government's initial spending increase. So, for example, Mark Zandi has concocted a table which purports to show that for every one dollar the government spends building "Infrastructure" GDP will grow by $1.59. There is also an entry on Zandi's table for "General Aid to State Government" which Zandi knows for an absolute fact has a 1.36 spending multiplier.
So if Obama's stimulus plan bails out California's spendthrift government, and Sacramento then spends that money buying condoms for Nancy Pelosi's constituents, Mark Zandi wants us to believe that this entire transaction will increase GDP by $1.36 for every $1 in condoms Sacramento buys. Does anybody really believe this?
Again, the family planning issue is just one example of how the left is using the cover of the stimulus to advance their long-term goals of increasing the size of the federal government. The stimulus plan increases Washington's control over spending on education, spending on health care, spending on the environment, and even spending on local law enforcement.
As the Washington Post editorialized this weekend: "All of those ideas may have merit, but why do they belong in an emergency measure aimed to kick-start the economy?"
They don't. Before he had to toe the official administration line, National Economic Council director Larry Summers said that in order to be effective, any stimulus bill must be “timely... targeted ... and credibly temporary.”
As we have already proven, there is nothing temporary about this stimulus spending.
But new Congressional Budget Office numbers show there is nothing timely about it either. According to the CBO cost estimate of the stimulus plan, only 52% of the spending in the bill will occur by the end of FY 2010. This is well short of President Obama's own standard of 75% of the spending taking effect over the next year and a half. The CBO details the reason for the untimeliness of the spending:
Frequently in the past, in all types of federal programs, a noticeable lag has occurred between sharp increases in funding and resulting increases in outlays. Based on such experiences, CBO expects that federal agencies, states, and other recipients of funding would find it difficult to properly manage and oversee a rapid expansion of existing programs so as to spend added funds quickly as they expend their normal resources.
Defending all the left wing spending in the stimulus bill, Speaker Pelosi told Politico last week: “Yes, we wrote the bill. Yes, we won the election.” T
his statement perfectly reflects the attitude of those in power on Capitol Hill. They are driven to use the current economic emergency to advance their long held partisan interests. There is nothing "timely, targeted, and temporary" about the left's agenda.
By Larry Summers own criteria, this stimulus bill is guaranteed to fail.
Note: I would much prefer to just link to the article so you'll all end up on the Heritage website, but I can never find the article on the site (granted, I just go to the front page and scan, don't have time to dig around). I highly recommend the free Morning Bell from Heritage (www.heritage.org). - AMc
This Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) created quite a stir when she attempted to defend Section 5004, of the House's economic stimulus plan which allows the Medicaid bailout portion of the spending plan to be spent on family planning clinics. The leftist organization Media Matters came to Pelosi's defense claiming "The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association says such policies are extremely popular."
But Media Matters and their leftist allies completely miss the policy point underscored by highlighting the stimulus plan's family planning loophole. The Associated Press explains why this issue goes way beyond family planning:
While the debate surrounding the overall impact of the measure pits economists and their statistics against one another, Republicans quickly seized on the family planning money as evidence that the Democrats were advancing an agenda that went beyond the economy.
The entire intellectual underpinning of President Barack Obama's spending plan rests on the belief that certain types of government spending creates a "multiplier effect" which raises national income beyond the size of government's initial spending increase. So, for example, Mark Zandi has concocted a table which purports to show that for every one dollar the government spends building "Infrastructure" GDP will grow by $1.59. There is also an entry on Zandi's table for "General Aid to State Government" which Zandi knows for an absolute fact has a 1.36 spending multiplier.
So if Obama's stimulus plan bails out California's spendthrift government, and Sacramento then spends that money buying condoms for Nancy Pelosi's constituents, Mark Zandi wants us to believe that this entire transaction will increase GDP by $1.36 for every $1 in condoms Sacramento buys. Does anybody really believe this?
Again, the family planning issue is just one example of how the left is using the cover of the stimulus to advance their long-term goals of increasing the size of the federal government. The stimulus plan increases Washington's control over spending on education, spending on health care, spending on the environment, and even spending on local law enforcement.
As the Washington Post editorialized this weekend: "All of those ideas may have merit, but why do they belong in an emergency measure aimed to kick-start the economy?"
They don't. Before he had to toe the official administration line, National Economic Council director Larry Summers said that in order to be effective, any stimulus bill must be “timely... targeted ... and credibly temporary.”
As we have already proven, there is nothing temporary about this stimulus spending.
But new Congressional Budget Office numbers show there is nothing timely about it either. According to the CBO cost estimate of the stimulus plan, only 52% of the spending in the bill will occur by the end of FY 2010. This is well short of President Obama's own standard of 75% of the spending taking effect over the next year and a half. The CBO details the reason for the untimeliness of the spending:
Frequently in the past, in all types of federal programs, a noticeable lag has occurred between sharp increases in funding and resulting increases in outlays. Based on such experiences, CBO expects that federal agencies, states, and other recipients of funding would find it difficult to properly manage and oversee a rapid expansion of existing programs so as to spend added funds quickly as they expend their normal resources.
Defending all the left wing spending in the stimulus bill, Speaker Pelosi told Politico last week: “Yes, we wrote the bill. Yes, we won the election.” T
his statement perfectly reflects the attitude of those in power on Capitol Hill. They are driven to use the current economic emergency to advance their long held partisan interests. There is nothing "timely, targeted, and temporary" about the left's agenda.
By Larry Summers own criteria, this stimulus bill is guaranteed to fail.
Note: I would much prefer to just link to the article so you'll all end up on the Heritage website, but I can never find the article on the site (granted, I just go to the front page and scan, don't have time to dig around). I highly recommend the free Morning Bell from Heritage (www.heritage.org). - AMc
Saturday, January 24, 2009
What's up with Anderson Cooper?
This is one of about five or six similar videos I saw on YouTube. Some in the commentary after the videos are saying this is doctored and is fake. They're not giving any proof, so who knows. If it's fake, it's funny. If it's real, it's something that would get most commentators fired. I don't have anything against him, although I've heard he's another one who gets chills when he thinks and talks about Obama. Quite truthfully, I never watch CNN so I don't know if he's good, bad or mediocre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-UiJbPN4fM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-UiJbPN4fM
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Senator blasts Obama's OMB director for 'mumbo jumbo'
By Alexander Bolton
A Democratic senator on Tuesday accused President-elect Obama's incoming director of the Office of Management and Budget of talking “mumbo jumbo” instead of offering hard details on the economy. > Read More
A Democratic senator on Tuesday accused President-elect Obama's incoming director of the Office of Management and Budget of talking “mumbo jumbo” instead of offering hard details on the economy. > Read More
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Obama and his Congressional Children
There's a lot of info packed into this article by Murray and Kane in today's Washington Post:
Democratic Congress Shows Signs It Will Not Bow to Obama
By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 11, 2009; Page A05
Even before taking office, President-elect Barack Obama has endured a baptism by friendly fire. Last week, an expanded and emboldened group of congressional Democrats greeted his tax proposals with disdain, dragged him into a political squabble over his Senate successor and chafed at key appointments to his administration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011001992.html?hpid=topnews
I have a feeling the Editor had to cut some of it as it didn't quite flow for me, but then again, I haven't had my first cup of caffeine this morning so maybe my brain isn't jumping properly! There's a good chance what I write is going to jump in so many directions you'll need a pogo stick.
One thing that came through loud and clear to me when reading the article is that our Washington political "elite" sound like a bunch of immature children trying to be king of the Hill. "Obama better not ignore me." "You didn't tell me and now I'm mad and I'm not going to play."
Obama is trying to play nice and make everything go smoothly. He's the big brother, placating the youngsters, trying to get those selfish little kiddies to work together... and do what HE wants them to do. He wants harmony on the Hill. However, I can't see that happening for any length of time. While I likened our elected officials to children, they're more like children in the me-me-me stages on power steroids.
Washington is all about power. Congress wants to be the one in control. They say they want to get along, but what I hear when they're commenting and acting is they want the President to listen to them and do what they want. Like him or not, Obama doesn't appear to be a wimp by any means and it's not going to be long before he flexes his stuff and then the real squabbles will probably begin. Thus far he seems to be just going about his business despite all the distracting side shows that have cropped up.
I've been hearing two streams of thought from the Left since Obama won in November.
The Pelosi, Reid, Barney and friends faction has an agenda that doesn't seem to be meshing with the one that Obama is espousing by his choices and comments. He SEEMS to be trying to find the middle ground - at times. He SEEMS to be trying to be a bit more moderate in SOME areas than they'd like - at times. He's making some radical choices, too, so don't think I'm saying he's become a moderate by any means.
He SEEMS to have a calculated plan, one that is keeping everyone wondering. He's giving each faction something they can like...
I don't think any of us know exactly where he's headed yet and that's keeping many of the hounds at bay.
No matter where he's heading, his openly stated hope that everyone will play nice isn't going to happen. Unless he takes us in the direction many fear he's taking us... into some form of socialism. That's when Congress will have their wings clipped (ah, another early morning over-used metaphor... I have to go get some caffeine in my system!). Unfortunately, we'll all have ours clipped and America will no longer be America the free.
OK, OK, I'm going to get my first cup of the day... Read the Washington Post article if you haven't, it'll make mine look like grade school meanderings
Democratic Congress Shows Signs It Will Not Bow to Obama
By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 11, 2009; Page A05
Even before taking office, President-elect Barack Obama has endured a baptism by friendly fire. Last week, an expanded and emboldened group of congressional Democrats greeted his tax proposals with disdain, dragged him into a political squabble over his Senate successor and chafed at key appointments to his administration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011001992.html?hpid=topnews
I have a feeling the Editor had to cut some of it as it didn't quite flow for me, but then again, I haven't had my first cup of caffeine this morning so maybe my brain isn't jumping properly! There's a good chance what I write is going to jump in so many directions you'll need a pogo stick.
One thing that came through loud and clear to me when reading the article is that our Washington political "elite" sound like a bunch of immature children trying to be king of the Hill. "Obama better not ignore me." "You didn't tell me and now I'm mad and I'm not going to play."
Obama is trying to play nice and make everything go smoothly. He's the big brother, placating the youngsters, trying to get those selfish little kiddies to work together... and do what HE wants them to do. He wants harmony on the Hill. However, I can't see that happening for any length of time. While I likened our elected officials to children, they're more like children in the me-me-me stages on power steroids.
Washington is all about power. Congress wants to be the one in control. They say they want to get along, but what I hear when they're commenting and acting is they want the President to listen to them and do what they want. Like him or not, Obama doesn't appear to be a wimp by any means and it's not going to be long before he flexes his stuff and then the real squabbles will probably begin. Thus far he seems to be just going about his business despite all the distracting side shows that have cropped up.
I've been hearing two streams of thought from the Left since Obama won in November.
The Pelosi, Reid, Barney and friends faction has an agenda that doesn't seem to be meshing with the one that Obama is espousing by his choices and comments. He SEEMS to be trying to find the middle ground - at times. He SEEMS to be trying to be a bit more moderate in SOME areas than they'd like - at times. He's making some radical choices, too, so don't think I'm saying he's become a moderate by any means.
He SEEMS to have a calculated plan, one that is keeping everyone wondering. He's giving each faction something they can like...
I don't think any of us know exactly where he's headed yet and that's keeping many of the hounds at bay.
No matter where he's heading, his openly stated hope that everyone will play nice isn't going to happen. Unless he takes us in the direction many fear he's taking us... into some form of socialism. That's when Congress will have their wings clipped (ah, another early morning over-used metaphor... I have to go get some caffeine in my system!). Unfortunately, we'll all have ours clipped and America will no longer be America the free.
OK, OK, I'm going to get my first cup of the day... Read the Washington Post article if you haven't, it'll make mine look like grade school meanderings
Friday, January 9, 2009
Comedian Blacklisted
We all know that it's not the Republicans and conservatives trying to stop free speech. We all know that every effort is being made to shut down free speech by the current group in political power. From the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to the blacklisting of anyone who doesn't walk the walk and talk the talk in Hollywood, the Arts, the school system and other industries, the "progressives" show us they don't want free speech, they want drone speech. Our way or the highway as the saying goes.
Here's an interesting article from Big Hollywood that caught my attention. It highlights the problems those who aren't in lock-step have in Hollywood.
Blacklisted Again: Three Times Not The Charm
by Orson Bean
What is it with me? I seem to be an incorrigible black-listee.
Back in the fifties I was the hot, young comic on CBS and a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show. I was also starring in shows on Broadway and acting in dramatic programs on television. Those were the glory days of television. It was like theater. It was live. If an actor forgot a line, he improvised. There was an immediacy to it. Even mediocre programs had the excitement of being live
I was all over the place. A show called Broadway TV Theater put on plays five times a week, live — the same play, Monday through Friday at eight o’clock . Wonderful old chestnuts like Three Men on a Horse and The Cat and the Canary (I played the part that Bob Hope had originated).
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/obean/2009/01/09/fred/
Here's an interesting article from Big Hollywood that caught my attention. It highlights the problems those who aren't in lock-step have in Hollywood.
Blacklisted Again: Three Times Not The Charm
by Orson Bean
What is it with me? I seem to be an incorrigible black-listee.
Back in the fifties I was the hot, young comic on CBS and a regular on The Ed Sullivan Show. I was also starring in shows on Broadway and acting in dramatic programs on television. Those were the glory days of television. It was like theater. It was live. If an actor forgot a line, he improvised. There was an immediacy to it. Even mediocre programs had the excitement of being live
I was all over the place. A show called Broadway TV Theater put on plays five times a week, live — the same play, Monday through Friday at eight o’clock . Wonderful old chestnuts like Three Men on a Horse and The Cat and the Canary (I played the part that Bob Hope had originated).
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/obean/2009/01/09/fred/
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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