25% of Republicans View Rush Unfavorably

No surprise here.  They did nominate John McCain after all.  I guarantee you at least half of those Republicans who view Rush unfavorably have probably never listened to him other than the non-contextual snippets played over and over by the MSM. 

Here’s my favorite part of this story:

One in 10 Democrats and independents said they'd never heard of Limbaugh or didn't have an opinion on him; only 17% of Republicans fell in that category.

Doesn’t it seem like they’re trying to make it sound like less Republicans had never heard of him than Dems and independents, when we all know one in 10 is less than 17%?

Technorati Tags: Poll,Republicans,Rush Limbaugh

Obama Continuing With Office of Faith Based Initiatives

Obama is expanding Bush’s “Faith Based Initiative” program which seems to irk some on the left.

President Obama's newly revamped Office of Faith Based Initiatives is reigniting a contentious debate across the ideological spectrum over whether religious organizations that accept funds from the government should be allowed to discriminate when hiring.

Private organizations should have the right to hire or not hire anyone they want for any reason, whether religion is involved or not.  However, if you’re going to take government money, you’re going to have to play by their rules. 

Do I think that church organizations who are fundamentally opposed to homosexuality should be forced to hire them?  No, but I also don’t think they should be given money by the government.

When the government spends money on charities they are basically telling taxpayers, “You are going to donate your money to this charity, whether you like it or not.” 

I hate the fact that my tax money goes to organizations like Planned Parenthood that encourage abortions.  I can also see how people who think that homosexuality should be a societal norm would be upset that their tax money goes to fund organizations that in their eyes discriminate against gays.  Both of us could have our way if the government would step out of the charity business altogether.  Give us that little bit of tax money back and let us decide how to donate it (or not donate it) ourselves.

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,Faith Based Initiative,Church and State,George W. Bush,Charities,Taxes

Unemployment at 26 Year High

Initial unemployment claims are now the highest they’ve been in 26 years.

Is it any wonder employers are cutting jobs left and right?  They have no idea what’s going to happen next.  We have a government full of people arguing about how to “fix” things when all we really need is for everyone to slow down and take a deep breath so people can do some planning.

Everyone is betting on the economy getting worse, and no wonder. Who knows what abomination might come slouching its way out of Washington next? 

Technorati Tags: Unemployment,Economy,Stimulus

Who Needs the Media Anyway?

So Obama thinks he can use his 13 million email addresses to get around some of the media scrutiny on his latest screw ups.

Because of Obama's reach -- 13 million email addresses is a stunning number -- these sorts of tactics (Daschle? Daschle who?) have the potential to quickly re-focus the American public on the economic stimulus package rather than allow people to linger on the Daschle withdrawal and what it says about Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the president's judgment more broadly.

All of that is not to say the media doesn't have a role to play. But, Obama has a unique ability to end-run the media filter and use technology to make it stick.

First of all, Obama doesn’t need to bypass the “media filter.”  The only filter the media has when it comes to Obama is a thick sheet of rose colored glass. 

Secondly, I’m not all that impressed with 13 million email addresses.  Those people are probably his most hardcore sycophants and weren’t prone to much questioning of The One in the first place.  He’s Preaching to the choir.  It sure doesn’t seem to be helping his stimulus plan, which continues to lose support from the American Public.

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,Media,David Plouffe,Internet

Stimulus Can’t Be Used in Institutions That Allow Religious Worship

While I don’t think formal religious instruction has a place in publicly funded schools, the wording of this seems overly restrictive.

According to the bill, which the Democratic-controlled House passed despite unanimous Republican opposition, funds are prohibited from being used for the "modernization, renovation, or repair" of facilities that allow "sectarian instruction, religious worship or a school or department of divinity."

Having guided prayer and allowing people to pray individually are two different things.  A school has no right to prevent individuals praying on their own, and if that is considered “allowing religious worship,” then that clause would prevent any school from receiving funds.

Technorati Tags: Church and State,Stimulus

Obama Evidently Still Clueless as to What Caused Our Economic Woes

I find it hard to believe that he can really be this dense:

Apparently referring to Republican foes of the stimulus plan, Obama said recent criticisms of it "echo the very same failed economic theories that led us into this crisis in the first place: the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems, that we can ignore fundamental challenges like energy independence and the high cost of health care, that we can somehow deal with this in a piecemeal fashion and still expect our economy and our country to thrive."

Obama added: "I reject those theories. And so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change."

Tax cuts had nothing to do with it.  The credit markets were freezing up not because companies weren’t paying enough taxes, but because they were holding onto crappy assets.  Assets that were forced on them by Democrats who made them abandon their normal risk assessments under the delusion that it is every American’s “right” to own a house.  I don’t recall seeing a guarantee to property anywhere in the constitution. 

The American people did not reject any theories when they voted for Obama, because he never offered any alternatives.  They voted for “change,” while having no idea exactly what that meant, because he never told anyone!

Technorati Tags: Obama,Stimulus

First Gay Couple to Marry in Massachusetts Now Divorced

For those who oppose gay marriage, it does seem rather ironic that two people who fought so hard to have the government recognize a promise they wished to make to each other, would go on to break that promise a few years later.

While I do think that gay marriage is probably detrimental to society, I wouldn’t be so quick to pounce on this news as if it proved it.  Let’s not forget that most heterosexual marriages end in divorce as well.

Technorati Tags: Gay Marriage,Divorce,Same Sex Marriage

Obama Still Trying to Make Sure Everyone Stays Friendly

Obama is making the mistaken assumption that just because people like him, they’ll go along with his policies.  Yes, you might be able to change the “tone” of Washington, but the disagreements will always be there. 

In the end though, does the tone really matter?  House Republicans gushed about Obama after meeting with him about the stimulus plan, then promptly and unanimously voted against it.  So unless making sure politicians are polite to one another is for some reason extremely important to you, who really cares about the “tone in Washington?”  This is just another example of how naive Obama really is.

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,Stimulus

Democrats “Don’t Have the Votes” to Pass the Stimulus Bill

This means that at least a few Democrats had to join the Republicans in opposition to it.  Congratulations to them all. 

Obama’s not going to let it go that easy though.  Like a lion trying to pick off the young and weak from the herd, he’s meeting one on one with some of the more moderate Republicans.

Also, someone better let Obama know that one percent of a trillion dollars is still a lot of money:

President Obama said, "The overwhelming bulk of the package is sound, is designed to put people back to work. ...Most of the programs that have been criticized, as part of this package amount to less than one percent of the overall package."

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,Stimulus

Obama Set to Cap Exec Pay

Most of us are outraged when we hear about these Wall Street Execs and their bonuses, which are so much more than we little people make, especially when they are the recipients of our tax money.  Tax money that wouldn’t be needed if they hadn’t bungled the running of their company in the first place.

In his latest effort to demonize Wall Street, Obama is expected to announce a plan capping financial compensation to the executives of companies who receive bailout money.

While my first instinct is to agree, something about this nags at me. Now more than ever, these companies are going to need the most talented people they can find to help bring them back from the brink.  This compensation cap drives the truly talented away and ensures that only the mediocre will ever run companies that have received federal funds.

Don’t worry, I have an alternate plan: stop bailing out corporate losers!

Technorati Tags: Wall St.,Barak Obama,Bailout

Sen. Russ Feingold Calls For an Amendment for Senate Appointments

He wants  a special election instead of just having governors appoint them. What prompted this sudden interest in the way replacement senators are picked?  No, not the fact that Blagojevich was still able to appoint a replacement for Obama seat in the Senate, despite being accused of trying to sell it in the first place.  It was because he didn’t like the fact that the Democrat governor of Illinois is going to appoint a Republican to take Judd Gregg’s spot.

To be honest, I agree that the spots should probably be filled by a special election.  I’m just surprised that he has the gall to say something now, after sitting quietly through the Blago fiasco.

Technorati Tags: Senate,Appointment,Russ Feingold

Daschle Withdraws From Nomination

Surprisingly, Tom Daschle withdrew as Obama’s nominee to lead the Health Department.  I hate to be cynical, but my guess is that Obama nudged him into it after realizing Daschle wasn’t worth the flak he would get.  Especially considering he already had two other nominees with tax problems, not to mention all the lobbyists he’s appointed, despite his executive order barring lobbyists from serving in office (it’s ok, they have waivers).

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,Tom Daschle,Health Department,Nominee

Obama Nominates a Republican for Commerce Secretary

The nominee, Judd Gregg, is a Republican senator from New Hampshire.  New Hampshire’s governor is a democrat and would appoint his replacement to the senate. It was speculated at first that this was a shrewd move by Obama to get that coveted 60th Democrat in the senate to overcome GOP filibusters, but supposedly Gregg has said he wouldn’t take the spot unless the governor agreed to appoint another Republican.

Technorati Tags: Judd Gregg,Senate,Secretary of Commerce,Nominee,Barak Obama

It Creates Jobs, So Ignore All That Other Stuff

"The bottom line is this: You've got a piece of legislation that creates jobs," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said after several questions. "The latest statistics based on the economic reports show that 90% of these jobs are private-sector jobs."

Wrong.  That is not the bottom line because the Democrats who wrote the bill decided to fill it with a ridiculous amount of unnecessary spending.

You can justify all this extra junk in the stimulus plan through various circuitous means, but it doesn’t change the fact that they do nothing to immediately stimulate the economy.  Like the Pell Grant expansion for example:

Others say investing in education would be an indirect benefit by helping students compete for better jobs in the future. Indirect benefits will be "fairly widely dispersed through the economy … so all kinds of jobs will be created," says Chad Stone, chief economist for the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

That’s great, but if it’s long term, then it doesn’t belong in an emergency plan to stimulate the economy.  Put in some other bill where that statement can be adequately debated.

Technorati Tags: Stimulus

Note to Obama: You Might Want to Look Up the Word “Protectionism”

Obama vowed to fight protectionism while negotiating a trade deal with South Korea.

Obama was quoted as telling Lee that trading states should fight the temptation to revert to protectionism, in the two leaders' first telephone conversation since Obama took office, Lee's spokesman said.

That sounds great, except that he does exactly the opposite.  He opposes the trade deal with South Korea because it provides too much access to the American market.  Uhh, that’s called protectionism, Mr. President.  Let’s not forgot all the “buy American” stipulations in the stimulus bill as well.

With each passing day of his Presidency, I become more and more convinced that Obama actually has no convictions about anything and just says what people want to hear.  I know, I know, it’s called being a politician.  All politicians have to do that to some extent, but usually you can get a feel for what they truly believe.  Obama… he’s still a mystery.

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,South Korea,Free Trade,Protectionism

The First Bill Obama Signed

If I owned a business, I would negotiate with my employees about their salary on a case-by-case basis.  In each case, it would be my goal to pay them the minimum that they would be satisfied with, just as it would be their goal to get me to pay the maximum I would be able to.  Some people would be better negotiators than others, and have more leverage, therefore would get paid more. 

With this new law, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, it seems like that would be illegal.  If one of the people I had negotiated a lesser salary with happened to be a woman, I would be breaking the law.  So do all companies now have to standardize what they pay their employees? 

Lilly Ledbetter was willing to work for her employer for 19 years at the salary they paid.  It wasn’t a problem until she found out other people were making more.  If a company is willing to pay a certain amount and an employee is willing to take it, how is that not fair? 

Technorati Tags: Lilly Ledbetter,Fair Pay Act,Barak Obama

Obama Admits His Actions Might Result in Another Terrorist Attack on the US

In an interview with Matt Lauer, Obama admits the possibility that his closure of Gitmo could cause the release of a terrorist who would later participate in another attack on America:

MATT LAUER: — to be less of a threat. But if one of those people that's released goes back and takes part in the planning of or carrying out of an attack against U.S. interests, you're gonna have a Willie Horton times 100 situation on your hands. How are you gonna deal with that?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Of course I'm worried about it. Look, the — you know, I have to make the very best judgments I can make in terms of what's gonna keep the American people safe and is what — what's gonna uphold our Constitution and our traditions of due process ... If we don't uphold our Constitution and our values, that over time that will make us less safe. And that will be a recruitment tool for organizations like al-Qaida. That's what I've gotta keep my eye on.

If Obama was really that worried about it, why didn’t he figure out what to do with the detainees before closing Gitmo?  Probably because he was more worried about appeasing the left than the security of our country.

Technorati Tags: Barak Obama,GITMO,Matt Lauer

A Math Lesson for James Carville

James Carville snidely tries to insinuate that Rush Limbaugh is the moral and intellectual leader of the Republican Party (as if that would be so horrible) in his piece at CNN, “A History Lesson for Rush Limbaugh.”

Last week Rush proposed taking the money going to be spent in the stimulus bill and allocate it according to the popular vote in the 2008 presidential election: 54% to the Dems for government spending and the rest to be spent on tax cuts.  Carville takes this tongue-in-cheek proposal seriously and makes this ridiculous statement while wondering what if that had been applied to the the 2000 election:

Heck, had Democrats been able to control 50 percent of the government from 2000 to 2004, we wouldn't have even gone into Iraq in the first place.

I don’t know how he comes up with that, but I did my own math and I have to disagree.  When the authorization to invade Iraq passed, Democrats already did control 50% of the Senate.  29 of 50 Democratic senators voted for the authorization. 

In the house 39% of democrats voted for it.  Let’s imagine that the Dems controlled 50% of the house and give them 217 members instead of the 209 they had.  That would have given them 132 votes no (85 votes yea) instead of 126.  97% of Republicans voted yea.  If we give them 216 members instead of 221, that gives them 209 votes yea and 7 no.

So the totals would have been Yea: 294, No: 139, the invasion would have still been authorized. 

Technorati Tags: James Carville,Stimulus,Iraq,Rush Limbaugh

Gillibrand Appointment Just Gets Better and Better

Not only did Governor Patterson appoint a relatively conservative Democrat to take Hillary Clinton’s spot in the Senate, her seat in the house may be picked up by the GOP.

Paterson boosted the Democrat from the House to the Senate to fill Secretary of State Clinton's seat, triggering an uphill special election battle for Democrats in a district where the GOP has a 70,632 voter enrollment edge.

There is some bad news, though: she might be caving on illegal immigration.

Seeking to mollify Hispanic lawmakers wary of her stance on immigration, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand yesterday told a group of 16 New York City politicians that she will use the group as a sounding board to help form her immigration policy, Assemb. Peter Rivera said.

Technorati Tags: Kirsten Gillibrand,Immigration,Senate,Patterson

Some GOP Governors Sell Out for Stimulus Money

Way to drop the ball, Republican governors.  While our stalwart members in the house united in opposition and with even John McCain saying not to expect GOP support for it in the Senate, some Republican governors seem to just want to make sure they get their piece of the pie. 

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, scheduled meetings in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state's share of the package.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones last week with members of his state's congressional delegation, including House Republicans. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the Republican vice chairman of the National Governors Association, planned to be in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate to approve the plan.

Not all of them are selling out though.  My two favorite governors are still standing strong:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he wasn't sure whether he would accept the approximately $3 billion his state would be in line for.

Technorati Tags: Sarah Palin,Charlie Crist,Bobby Jindal,Haley Barbour,Stimulus,Governor,GOP,Republicans

Obama Administration Welcomes Union Bosses Back to the White House

No really, I mean literally.

“Appearing with Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. drew applause when he flung another dart at former President George W. Bush, telling labor officials among those in the audience, “Welcome back to the White House.”

I think it’s important for workers to have the right to organize and try to get as much as they can from their employers, but we have way too many laws that tilt the balance unfairly towards the unions.  Obama evidently disagrees, despite the fact that the government recently had to bail out two major automakers in large part because of ridiculous union demands they had to pay for.

Technorati Tags: Union,UAW,Barak Obama

Obama Fires AIDS Chief

One of the things that Bush did that doesn’t get a lot of media attention is his work to combat HIV.  You don’t hear much about it, probably because it doesn’t fit into the lefty media’s narrative that Bush is a soulless monster. 

For some reason, the day after taking office, Obama fired Dr. Mark Dybul, the guy Bush put in charge of his 48 billion dollar plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR).  This wasn’t some political hack that got fired either, he’s an openly gay physician.  My guess is that either Obama has some crony he has in mind for the position or is simply going to scrap the program, or at least significantly downgrade its role so he can come up with his own plan.

Technorati Tags: Mark Dybul,HIV,AIDS,Barak Obama

We Don’t Care How, Just Spend It!

The Democrats evidently don’t care what the 800 billion dollar stimulus money ends up being spent on, they just want it spent.

"If the house is burning, you're not going to worry about which hose you grab, so long as you get water on the fire," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., one of the chief authors of the House package as chairman of its appropriations committee.

What happens when the hose you grab ends up spewing gasoline all over the fire?  They really buy into this Keynesian nonsense that if you just spend enough government money, all our economic woes will just disappear. 

Technorati Tags: Democrat,Stimulus,David Obey

Congratulations Michael Steele

Michael Steele is now the RNC chair.  He’s seemed rather moderate to me so I did some research on his positions.  The only thing I adamantly disagree with him on is Affirmative Action (he’s for it).  Other than that he’s pro-gun, pro-life, and anti-taxes.  Here’s a rundown of his positions on most issues.

Technorati Tags: Michael Steele,RNC

McCain Working on Alternative Stimulus Package

Hopefully this means the Republicans plan on voting against the Stimulus bill currently being pushed by the Democrats.  If they have an alternative, they can vote against it without looking like they just don’t want to do anything.

Technorati Tags: McCain,Stimulus,Senate,Republicans

Obama Administration Starting “Middle Class Tax Force”

The irony is palpable.  We have an administration whose every action so far has been to try and eliminate the middle class in this country now forming a task force to try and stop what they themselves are responsible for.  If it keeps going, it won’t be long until we have only two classes of people in this country: the government, and those dependent on it.

The large and robust middle class of this country were not created by any government policy other than one of general economic freedom.  As the dems take away that economic freedom you’ll see the middle class go with it.

Technorati Tags: Obama,Biden,Middle Class,Economy

SCHIP Expansion Passes

So the infamous SCHIP expansion will finally make it through now that Bush isn’t there to veto it.  Now children in families making up to 40k a year will be eligible.

How much did it cost?  Only 33 billion dollars.  Don’t worry though, it’s going to be funded through increased taxes on tobacco products.

Sec. 701) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase excise tax rates on cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers and tubes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco. Imposes a tax on floor stocks of tobacco products (other than certain cigars and cigarette papers and tubes), reduced by a $500 tax credit. Requires payment of such floor stock taxes on or before August 1, 2009. Extends the floor stock tax to articles located in a foreign trade zone on any tax increase date.

Damn, I feel guilty now for quitting smoking.  The message from the government is crystal clear: it’s now our patriotic duty to smoke.  Come on, do it for the kids!

Technorati Tags: SCHIP,Tobacco,Taxes

Dems Mad About Wall Street Bonuses

What planet do these people live on? Wherever it is I want to go, because evidently there you can throw money at people with no oversight about how it’s spent and they automatically do the right thing with it.

That’s the problem with just about every liberal plan ever devised: they assume that human beings are going to suddenly stop behaving in the way that human beings always do. Newsflash: people are greedy. Instead of trying to change that, why not just come up with policies that harness it?

Technorati Tags: Bailout,Wall St.,Bonuses

Blago’s Finally Gone

While it certainly comes as no surprise, it feels good to see someone so damn annoying get the boot.  They should probably put him on suicide watch.  He’s so far detached from reality, I don’t think he’ll be able to take it as his fantasy world falls apart.

Technorati Tags: Blagojevich,Impeachment

One Out of Four People Got Teary-eyed During Obama’s Inauguration

I believe it.  I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of them, but mine weren’t tears of joy…

Technorati Tags: Inauguration,Obama

Stimulus Bill Goes to the Senate

I have to say, I don’t have much hope that the Republican senators will stand as strong against the stimulus bill as the House Republicans did.  My prediction is that there will be some minor changes made to it to make them feel better; afterwards it will still be crap and they will still vote for it.

Technorati Tags: Senate,Republicans,Stimulus

Fun With Numbers!

This is why I rarely give any credence to polls presented by the media.  The headline for this story states: “Most NYers say gov did weak job choosing senator.” 

The actual numbers were Excellent: 6%, Good: 27%, Fair: 33%, Poor: 29%.  So in reality most New Yorkers think the choice was Fair.  In order to make it look bad they chose to invent their own category, “Weak,” by combining Fair and Poor.  No one polled was asked if they thought the choice was “Weak,” just Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. 

So yes, technically most New Yorkers thought the choice was either Fair or Poor (62%) compared to Good (27%) or Excellent (6%), but let’s look at some other ways the same results could be stated. 

“Most New Yorkers say gov did fairly good job picking senator.”  See, I invented my own category, Fairly Good by combining Fair and Good (60%) which is more than Poor (29%) or Excellent (6%).  I could invent yet another category, Great, by combining Fair, Good, and Excellent (66%) compared to Poor (29%).

Technorati Tags: Poll,Gillibrand,Patterson,Senator,Governor

Thanks Ford!

Ford is still refusing to take federal bailout money.  Not only is it admirable that they’re not using the public’s tax money to keep themselves afloat, it’s also a good business decision.  If they really want to sell more Fords, they should start making commercials right now stressing the fact that they decided to tough it out while their competitor’s took the easy way out.  It fits right into the Ford tough thing.  I’ve always bought Fords, mainly because my father-in-law sells them, but now I’d buy one even if he didn’t.

Technorati Tags: Ford,Bailout

Congratulations House Republicans!

Technorati Tags: Stimulus,House of Representatives,GOP,Republicans

Amazingly, not a single Republican voted for the so called Stimulus bill.  To have voted for this abomination with all the extra unnecessary crap it contains would have been downright idiotic.  Of course it passed anyway, but at least the Republicans held their ground; good job guys.  Let’s see if the GOP senators can keep up the good work (I wouldn’t bet on it).

Big Whoop

Technorati Tags: Obama,Republicans

There’s a lot being made about how Obama has been meeting with House Republicans.  Wow, Obama has been meeting with Republicans!  He really is setting a new tone of non-partisanship.  George Bush never did that!  Oh wait, yeah he did.

Russia Successfully Intimidates Obama

Russia has decided not to deploy its missiles on the Polish border and point them at NATO allies.  Why this sudden turnaround you might ask?  I’d imagine it had something to do with a phone call Obama had with Medvedev after which this statement was made:

"The implementation of these plans has been halted in connection with the fact that the new U.S. administration is not rushing through plans to deploy" elements of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe, Interfax quoted an unnamed official in the Russian military's general staff as saying.

Yet in the very first paragraph of the same news story containing that quote, this ridiculous conclusion is drawn:

Russia has halted plans to deploy missiles near the Polish border, a Russian news agency quoted the military as saying on Wednesday, in the clearest sign yet Moscow is seeking better ties with the new U.S. administration.

It has nothing to do with the new administration other than the fact that they backed down where Bush wouldn’t.  If Bush had made those assurances to Russia, the result would have been the same.

Technorati Tags: Russia,Obama,Missile Defense

Israel Bombs Palestinian Tunnels

Israel seems serious about keeping the pressure up this time. That’s the beauty of a unilaterally declared cease fire: they haven’t violated any kind of deal forced on them by other countries.

Obama Gives Interview on Muslim TV

News Flash for Obama: the Middle East didn't like us very much even before we liberated Iraq and Afghanistan.  All of the terrorist attacks came before that, remember?  He can kiss their asses all he wants, but unless we all suddenly convert, or at the very least shut down Hollywood and stop being tolerant of homosexuals, I don't think it's going to do much good.

Blagojevich Trying To Prove His Innocence on Talk Shows

Blagojevich thinks that he can go over the heads of the state legislators and sway public opinion of himself so much that they wouldn't dare remove him from office.  Good luck with that.  From what I've seen, I don't think it's going to work.

 

He just won't shut up about not being able to call witness at the impeachment trial.  How stupid does he think people are?  An impeachment hearing is not a criminal trial.  Don't worry Rod, that will come soon enough and you can call all the witnesses you want.

Gillibrand Anti-Amnesty

Of course this piece from the Daily News tries to make that somehow a bad thing.

 

Isn't it racist to say that anyone who is against illegal immigration is not a friend to Hispanic people?  Wouldn't that statement imply that all Hispanics are illegal aliens?  It never ceases to amaze how the left can get away with the most blatant stereotypes. 

Hamas and Fatah Meet

The mere fact that it's a major news story that the two major Palestinian political factions actually met and had talks says a lot about the hopes for peace talks between Hamas/Fatah and Israel. 

Obama Wants to Allow States to Set Stricter Emissions Standards

Wait a minute, I thought keeping the car companies from going out of business was important to the economy?  Didn't we just dump a bunch of money in their laps for that very purpose?  Now Obama is going to let states set higher emissions standards then even the EPA recommends, possibly costing car companies billions of dollars.

 

Let me just say, I have no problem with states deciding things on their own.  I just wish Obama would be more consistent.  He's trying to get waivers for states that want to set stricter emission standards than the EPA recommends.  Great, next should be waivers to states who want to set stricter limits on protecting human life than Roe v. Wade recommends.

McCain Opposes New "Stimulus" Plan

For those of you who thought that McCain would have been no better than Obama, here's your first proof otherwise.  Granted, he doesn't oppose the stimulus per se, just that it doesn't emphasize tax cuts enough and is full of pork.  That's probably the most opposition you can ask from anyone at this point.  No one wants to be the guy who opposed the stimulus while the economy tanks. 

So China Manipulates Its Currency, Don't We?

I'm not an economist, so I'm a little confused about this.  Obama's pick for Treasury secretary said that China manipulates its currency to keep it low and ensure that it has cheap exports and generate trade surpluses.  Do we not also pursue policies to ensure the value of our own currency is where we want it?  Is the fact that China has a state run economy a surprise to anyone?  This guy really sounds like he's trying to blame China for our own inability to climb out of the recession we're in. 

 

That seems like a cop out to me.  Anything China did to us, we allowed to happen and have only ourselves to blame.

FDA Approves First Stem Cell Research Trial

Hopefully this clears up the myth that George W. Bush banned stem cell research.  He didn't, he just didn't force people who are morally opposed to it to indirectly support it by using their tax money to federally fund it.  This also proves that private enterprise can successfully make scientific breakthroughs even without forcing tax payers to subsidize them. 

Patterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand is going to take Hillary's place in the Senate.  Don't know much about her but from what I've read, I already like her. 

 

She's a Blue Dog so of course the lefty Dems don't like her.  She voted against the 700 billion dollar bailout.  She also supports gun ownership rights.  She's probably the best democrat conservatives could have dared to hope for to be appointed.

Awww, Terrorists Think Guantanamo Violated Human Rights

I don't understand how anyone can print this drivel without feeling like a complete and utter tool. So the Taliban feels as though Guantanamo was an affront to human rights? The same Taliban that refuses to let women attend school? The same Taliban that arranges the marriages of prepubescent girls? The same Taliban that stones prostitutes and homosexuals to death?

I really don't give a damn what the Taliban thinks is a violation of human rights and no one else who actually cared about human rights would either. Was Guantanamo a bad idea? Probably so, but please let's not lose perspective here. Are we really going to give credence to the complaints of people responsible for the repression of an entire society and try and equivocate that with what went on at Guantanamo?

TV Media Pissed They Weren't Allowed to Televise Obama's Second Swearing In

First a little background: In case you missed it, Chief Justice John Roberts misspoke when he was reading the oath that Obama had to repeat to become president. Later Roberts came to the White House to apologize and do it again. Some print media were allowed to observe, but no cameras. Now I guess some say this raises even more controversy.

Give me a break. Not having a video of Obama's swearing in is a controversy? So... I'm going to go ahead and ask the obvious: what about all the presidents who took the oath before video even existed? Are their oaths now under question as well? If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court isn't a good enough witness, who is? This is just another case of the media acting like a bunch of crybabies when they don't get what they want.

Wow! Evidently No One in China Opposes the Death Penalty

BBC News decided to run a story with some reactions to the recent sentencing of three men to death in China for being involved in a company that sold tainted milk that resulted in the death of six babies. They have reactions from five people (including a British expat), not a single one is opposed to the death penalty. So the notoriously left bent BBC couldn't find a single reaction that offered an opposing viewpoint? This makes me wonder if perhaps they are capitulating to the Chinese government in some way. Especially after reading that the Chinese government has a team of propagandists that flood blogs and news sites to post pro-government comments.

For the record, I do believe the death penalty is justified in some cases and this may have even been one of them, but this is just as bad as if they published only opnions against the death penalty. At best it shows they were too lazy to find an opposing viewpoint, at worst it means they were too scared to to risk their business interests in China by publishing something against the government.

Good Riddance to COPA

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal yesterday on the Child Online Protection Act, basically ending the law.  COPA provided penalties to online companies who allowed a child access to pornographic material without some kind of age verification. 

 

I'm glad to see it go.  Of course kids shouldn't be looking at pornography, but we shouldn't trade our free and (almost) unregulated access to information to absolve parents of their supervisory duties.  By all means, put all the blockers in the world on publicly owned computers to limit whatever access you want, but please don't start limiting what type of information people can offer.

 

Personally, I think pornography is unhealthy even for adults, but I certainly don't think that means the government should make it illegal anymore than they should outlaw tobacco or trans fats.  Of course this law had nothing to do with totally outlawing pornography, but once the precedent is set that the government has the right to limit what's offered on the internet, it's only a matter of time before they start moving in on other areas.  "Hate speech" would probably be next on their list.

Great Pro-Life Video

Very coy pro-lifers. They're probably hoping that since Obama is virtually uncriticisable at the moment, maybe that will extend to this video as well.

So He's Really Going Through With It

I honestly thought this would be another case of Obama paying lip service to the left, then backing down when faced with the reality of the situation, but it looks as though he really is going to close Gitmo within the year.

A draft prepared for Obama's signature states that the closing "would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice."

To state that it furthers the interests of national security is laughable. Someone please explain how setting terrorists free or shipping them to holding centers in the U.S. does anything but the exact opposite of furthering national security.

This has always been a tough issue. The U.S. attempted to use Guantanamo to get around providing the detainees basic judicial rights. While some would argue that they shouldn't be afforded the same rights as U.S. citizens because they aren't citizens, I disagree. I believe our founders came up with a Bill of Rights not because we deserved some kind of special treatment for being Americans, but because they believed that all human beings deserved those basic rights.

That being said, I think setting these terrorists free is too dangerous an option and I hope Obama takes his time and figures out something better to do with them.