Was Obama Looking? Plus More Important Issues

ABC has the video of Obama checking out that girl's behind at the G-8 summit, and it is a less obvious conclusion.  I still think he looked, and I don't blame him.  He didn't know that she's only 16.  This picture seems to be a bit more conclusive; Barack was looking this time.

 

On issues that actually matter, some are predicting that Iran could have a nuclear bomb within a year.  What will Barack do if the Mad Mullahs refuse to talk to him?  Also, Obama became the first President to greet and shake hands with Moammar Qadhafi.

 

Congressman Jack Kingston has introduced an amendment that would require all czars to be confirmed by the Senate.  Congressman Tom Price has introduced the Reducing Barack Obama's Unsustainable Deficit Act.

 

Breather James Hansen called the cap-and-trade bill "less than worthless," which is actually correct according to the EPA.

 

House Democrats have had to delay the socialization of medicine bill, likely because they can't figure out how to pay for it.  Max Baucus had a few ideas, mostly hinging on the idea of punishing the evil, hated rich.  They might have less trouble paying for the bill if they would stop putting so many pork projects in the bill.

 

Reuters gives us a sob story today that illustrates the problem with the current employer-based health care model.

 

Congress is trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the TARP money.  Here's a novel idea:  give it back to taxpayers.

 

Government Motors emerged from bankruptcy this morning, with the federal government owning nearly 61% of the company.

 

Sonia Sotomayor is starting the confirmation process with numbers similar to those of Harriet Miers.  Remember what happened to her?

 

Tax increases are destroying jobs in California.  Democrats elsewhere, are you paying attention?

 

Independents are starting to shift away from President Obama.  They're the idiots who elected him.

 

The Houston County School Board voted yesterday to raise your taxes.  They will have three public hearings in the next few weeks to hear from you, so let them have it.

 

There might be a new state agency created just for the purpose of tracking "stimulus" money.  That will cost us more money, but probably not as much as the $18 million that the federal government will spend to redesign Recovery.gov.

 

Ugly men are more fertile.  This should be good news for me if I ever decide to spawn.

Buffett: "Stimulus" Was Like Viagra

Here's another nugget of brilliance courtesy of Jason Pye's daily quote from Thomas Jefferson.

 

President Obama's approval index was at +30 two days after taking office.  Now he's at a -8.  You think Americans are starting to wake up?  LA Times blogger Andrew Malcolm hopes that old people who don't support Obama die before 2012.

 

This idea of a second "stimulus" just won't go away.  Warren Buffett said that the first "stimulus" was like Viagra and candy, and that we need a second one.  Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says that the second "stimulus" needs to focus on jobs.  After the Obama administration sold the "stimulus" as something that would "create or save" 3.5 million jobs, and work quickly, you can count this as a failure on their part.  Of course, how do you create jobs if the money you're spending is going towards programs for urban outdoorsmen or if you're too busy using political considerations to divvy up the money rather than send it to where it is actually needed?  Apparently Obama isn't thinking about this.  He's too busy thinking about controlling you with cap-and-trade and socialist medicine.

 

When the chief economist at Morgan Stanley talks about an economic "train wreck," what do you think he's referring to?  Here's a hint:  he doesn't blame it on rich people.

 

Democrats have decided that they don't want to tax health care benefits after all, except maybe for the hated rich.  I like this idea that should cut costs on health care:  make members of Congress who vote for socialist medicine be the first customers.  It'll never happen then.  The Wall Street Journal says what I've told you all along:  the "public option" is a Trojan Horse.

 

Breathers have finally picked out the ideal temperature for the world:  two degrees Celsius above what it is now.  Set your personal thermostat accordingly, or they'll do it for you.  One of the things that could kill cap-and-trade is a debate over the effect on international trade.  At least one Democrat, Senator Robert Byrd, has blasted cap-and-trade because of the effect it would have on his home state of West Virginia.  Here are some details on that wonderful "retrofit" stuff that is included in the bill.

 

The United States Department of Agriculture is going to have the power to regulate all food sold in schools, including in vending machines.  Say good-bye to any food that the health Nazis don't like.

 

The AP is finally starting to realize that Obama's plans to raise taxes only on the hated "rich" are unrealistic.

 

The climate czar told auto industry executives to "put nothing in writing, ever" regarding CAFE standard negotiations.

 

Only in the peaceful, serene, loving, caring religion of Islam would a man be beaten, detained, and ordered to promise not to engage in immoral activities for the crime of walking on the beach with a woman.  This is another reason we should be supporting people who are protesting in Iran again.

 

Fifty black kids attack six white people while yelling "This is our world" and "This is a black world" and police aren't sure whether to call it a hate crime?  If the roles were reversed there would be no question about it.

 

The White House misspelled the President's name in a press release.  Don't you just love how competent this administration is?

 

About 9,300 state employees have taken or are scheduled to take furloughs this fiscal year.  They should have made the day of the Michael Jackson Memorial one of those furlough days, since nothing else got accomplished that day.  Of course, furloughs are the coward's way out.

Campaign Finance Reports

Courtesy of Georgia Legislative Watch.

Republicans

Democrats

And, just FYI, here are the contribution limits.

Obama Blows It In Russia

The Swiss government is protecting Swiss bank UBS and their clients from the Obama Administration's attempts to tax Americans' money that they send overseas.

 

There is a lot of buzz in Washington over the idea of a second "stimulus" package.  This may just be a diversionary tactic as they take up cap-and-tax in the Senate and socialized medicine.

 

Speaking of socialized medicine, the Senate may not tax individual health care benefits to pay for their plan because they don't have the support to do it.  They worry that the CBO might issue another cost estimate of around $1.5 trillion that the American people won't like, and those supposed "cost cutting" deals that the administration is negotiating might only cover up some hidden costs.  Some are also wondering who will say no to patient requests for care after we start rationing, but I think it might be the insurance czar that Obama would name.  Members of the House, of course, won't read this bill either.

 

Republicans are still trying to use the firefighters' case to attack Sonia Sotomayor.  Senate Committee hearings start next week, and this is the best chance Republicans have to keep her off the Supreme Court.

 

President Obama continued the ineptitude of his foreign policy by thanking Russia for Alaska and giving Russia credit for ending the Cold War.

 

Jamie Dupree found more bureaucracy that will be created by the cap-and-trade bill.  Maybe if members of Congress had read the bill they would have seen some of this.  Meanwhile, small businesses are angry over the cap-and-trade bill passing the House because they know it will harm them.

 

Union leaders will meet with Obama next week.  They'll talk about card check, but I have a feeling the fact that the SEIU wouldn't allow a competing union to organize won't be a major topic of conversation.

 

Here's a novel idea:  treat borrowers like adults.

 

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says that time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear situation.

 

Obama's Assistant Attorney General told the Senate that Islamic terrorists captured on the battlefields have Constitutional rights.  Meanwhile, the Obama administration has decided that detainees may not be set free if they are acquitted, but held indefinitely.

 

In response to American policies meant to cut the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, Taliban members now cross-dress to escape American soldiers.

 

I love this line about the Obama administration's response to the Honduran situation:  "Never has the U.S. bent over so far backwards to accommodate a tyrant."  The State Department meddled in the situation by getting the President of Costa Rica to mediate talks between would-be dictator Manuel Zelaya and the legitimate government of Honduras.

 

I hadn't planned on talking about the campaign finance reports from the candidates for Governor, but the numbers that came in were so interesting that I just can't help myself.  On the Republican side, Nathan Deal led, followed by Eric Johnson, with John Oxendine and Karen Handel running a distant third and fourth.  On the Democrat side, Thurbert Baker took a big lead, even beating the bottom four Republicans, but remember that Roy Barnes hasn't officially started his campaign.

 

The Houston County Commission is starting to implement the emergency alert system that we voted for in November.  So far, consider me underwhelmed.

 

Former Warner Robins City Councilman Doug McDowell will run for election again after losing in 2007.

Rich People To Pay For Big Government

Environmentalists are not even trying to hide the fact that they just want to punish "rich" people, and especially the United States, so now they want to force rich countries to pay for lowering carbon emissions.  Al Gore is now comparing the fight against global warming to the battle against the Nazis.  Just like I was pondering yesterday, the cap-and-trade bill will increase regulations on fireworks.

 

The House is planning on including a surtax on the rich to pay for socialist medicine.  Liberal think-tanks have also been doing focus group studies to figure out how to sell socialized medicine to the American people.  After the buzzwords "hope" and "change you can believe in" won the Presidential election last year, the left has figured out that they need to talk about "stability."  Hospitals are already working on making you pay even more for the poor people in their attempt to not be crippled by the Obama administration plans.

 

The Obama Administration now officially has more czars than Russia did.

 

An Obama advisor says that the United States should consider a second "stimulus" package.  The first one is working so well, after all…

 

Here is your clueless politician quote of the day.

 

The United States is warning about new plans from al-Qaida.  Of course, they won't waterboard anybody to make sure that we don't get attacked, so gird your loins.

 

President Obama said today in Russia that "The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground."  Just a few hours later, American missiles were used to let some Islamic terrorists claim their virgins.  I like the latter much more.

 

In a direct rebuke of Clown Prince Vice President Joe Biden, Obama said that the United States has not given Israel approval to strike Iran's nuclear facilities.  He also explained his support for the would-be dictator of Honduras and almost referred to "President Putin."  Foreign policy is now a train wreck.

 

The Republicans on the House Oversight Committee issued a report explaining how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributed to the housing meltdown.  It's a shame that this won't be read by enough people to make a difference.

 

Check out President Obama's record of sacrifice while he asks you to sacrifice for the greater good.

 

Little people want the FCC to ban the use of the word "midget" on broadcast television and probably radio as well.

 

Prepare for another rise in the unemployment rate, as the minimum wage will rise in a couple of weeks.

 

The Houston County Tax Digest is in, and the County Commission and Board of Education will be raising taxes.

 

The NAACP managed to blackmail the ACC out of holding their baseball tournament in South Carolina over the Confederate Flag.

 

The Warner Robins City Council met last night, to discuss higher pay for the Mayor and members of Council, a stricter gaming ordinance, and to suspend another liquor license for 30 days.

Debt the Next National Crisis

Honduras continues to slide towards instability, thanks to support for would-be dictator Manuel Zelaya from people like Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Barack Obama, the United Nations and the Organization of American states.

 

Israel got some support over the weekend for the idea of a bombing run on Iran's nuclear facilities from Saudi Arabia and even Clown Prince Vice President Joe Biden.

 

Biden also told Iraq that it's not too late for the United States to give up on their country.

 

North Korea test-fired seven missiles on Saturday, and now President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are talking about reducing the size of our nuclear stockpiles.

 

As the cap-and-tax bill heads to the Senate, people are still finding interesting little tidbits in the bill, like the fact that they take 14 pages to detail the plans for planting trees.  It turns out that the bill would only decrease global temperatures by a tenth of a degree over the next 100 years.  Already in Missouri people are going to be charged more for using less energy.  All of this as New York City has its coolest June since 1958.  The United Kingdom is creating something that will be coming to the United States soon:  the "green police."

 

The next crisis may be the rising national debt.  This would be a much more difficult crisis to grow government to respond to.  The results could be doubling long-term interest rates and another recession.  Somebody break out the Misery Index again; Obama really is becoming the second Carter administration.  Hopefully the problems in California will derail any of Obama's other ideas for growing government.

 

Colin Powell says that Obama is trying to do too much and defended Sonia Sotomayor for ruling against the white firefighters.  Why does this guy have even a shred of credibility left after endorsing Obama for the color of his skin?

 

In response to questions on the effectiveness of the "stimulus" the Clown Prince said that everybody "misread the economy."  At least they're now admitting incompetence.

 

Fred Barnes says that Obama has brought about "crony capitalism," in which the businesses that get ahead are the ones with the best political connections.

 

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) called Michael Jackson a "pervert," a "child molester," and a "pedophile."  It's about time somebody did.

 

The University of Georgia is going to pay two fraternities $2.4 million to move to off-campus houses.  That's your tax dollars at work, in a year when the state has to cut back.

Here's a shocker:  members of the General Assembly don't want to be seen as making cuts to the budget.  Remember, every dollar spent has a constituency that some member doesn't want to anger.

 

Local businessman Mike Daley announced Saturday that he will run for Warner Robins City Council.

Happy Independence Day!

Finally somebody says that the United States is ready to stop a North Korean missile.  It's just too bad that it didn't come from Washington, but from the commander of the U.S. Northern Command.  Meanwhile, North Korea appears to be preparing for another nuclear test.  Fortunately, it appears that they are using technology that is over 20 years old, which means there is a higher chance of equipment failure.

 

Tales from government education:  only 3.5% of government high school students in Arizona can pass the citizenship test.

 

Warner Todd Huston discusses the history of Independence Day.

 

Good news:  the White House staff is safe from President Obama's tax increases.

 

The weak employment numbers were actually worse news than most people thought, because the leading indicators are all pointing to the economy continuing to drop.

 

Some liberals are trying to take Ronald Reagan's name off of the airport in Washington, DC.

 

When is it bad news for more sheep to survive rather than freeze to death?

 

Colin Powell is now "concerned" about President Obama's agenda.

 

The State Department has temporarily stopped sending aid to Honduras over the alleged coup.

 

Eugene Volokh says that burning the American flag is protected Constitutional speech.  I agree, but I think fist-meeting-flag-burner's-face should also be protected Constitutional speech.

 

A plurality of Americans says that our nation's best days are behind her.

 

Americans still claim to support the ideas of the Declaration of Independence.  The real question should be whether they know what they actually mean, and what those ideas mean to modern politics.

 

The Sears Tower has new glass box balconies sticking out from its 103^rd floor.  Would you go out in this?

 

The Weather Channel has updated their "local on the 8s" music.  It's about time.

 

A formerly blind British man can see again thanks to a tooth.

 

Yes, I have seen the nude in-flight safety video.  It's not as exciting as it sounds.

 

There will be an online lottery for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service in Los Angeles.  Can we take away the privilege of voting to anybody who enters the lottery?

 

Chuck Shaheen will run for Mayor this year.  I've known this was coming for months, and so have quite a few others in town.

 

Some bubble-headed liberal with a sob story had an op-ed in the Macon Telegraph today trying to claim that it is immoral to not have socialist medicine.

 

Bill Ferguson puts out the call for somebody to run for Congress against Jim Marshall.

If They Actually Read Cap-and-Trade...

The official unemployment numbers are out, and the Obama Administration's policies continue to destroy jobs as the unemployment rate is 9.5%, but when you count the statistic that the media loved to use during the Bush Administration of "discouraged workers" the unemployment rate is over 10%.

 

North Korea has fired four short-range missiles today.  Will Obama respond by announcing further cuts to missile defense, or will he just wait for the United Nations to do nothing?

 

Forty-five percent of American voters believe that one-party rule is bad for the country.  Given recent trends, they're right, but plenty of them will only say that when it's not their party in charge.

 

The more people actually read the cap-and-tax monstrosity, the worse the bill looks.  Jamie Dupree found three interesting items, Brian Sussman found a few more, and Michelle Malkin found that the bill isn't even finished yet.  You'll have to either click or listen today to find out what they are, but the Democrats know that this thing will destroy jobs.  They also had to hide their plans because a majority of Americans don't want to pay more to fight the phony problem of "global warming."

 

While the Democrats in Congress are obsessing over "global warming" and alternative energies, the free market is moving back towards energy technologies that actually work, unlike government university scientists who are trying to power cars with chicken feathers.

 

Details on health care reform, like a tax on employers who do not provide health insurance for their employees, are starting to emerge, but you won't hear them from the Obama administration because he's too busy trying to play your heartstrings like a fiddle.  Wal-Mart has jumped on board with Obamacare because they're trying to put their competition out of business.  Only 20% of Americans think that they will be better off if Obamacare passes, which seems about right considering the lessons we should be learning from Europe.

 

Congress spent $13 million last year on overseas travel.

 

The Washington Post was caught trying to sell interest groups access to its reporters for a minimum of $25,000.  They're just desperate to pay the bills at this point.

 

California is paying its bills with IOUs now.  This is what happens when you let liberals run things.  Things are so bad that the federal government is considering seizing a few of California's state parks if they have to close as a cost-cutting measure.

 

Judge Sonia Sotomayor helped Bork Bork.  Can we Bork her back?

 

Health Nazis are trying to get a warning label put on hot dogs served at ball parks.

 

Cato Institute Vice President Gene Healy has a nice column about Barack Obama's big-government statist dreams.

 

This writer thinks that the Republicans need to change the way they communicate if they are going to stop being beaten by the Obama administration in public debates.

 

Watch an Islamic terrorist get blown into the sky by an American Apache helicopter.

 

I wonder what Hondurans think about President Obama supporting the wannabe tyrant Manuel Zelaya?

 

Nearly two out of every three Americans say that they are tired of the news coverage of Michael Jackson.

 

Some people are complaining that their cities are not having fireworks shows on Saturday.  If they had a clue about what Independence Day is about then they wouldn't be complaining.

 

Macon continues to shrink as Warner Robins continues to grow.

Cap-and-Trade Payoffs Emerge

Federal agents are going door-to-door looking for guns because the Mexican drug cartels are paying people to buy them guns.  They do that on this end because they're not willing to stop the illegals from getting into the United States to begin with, although the Obama administration is looking to send National Guard volunteers to the border to stop drugs.

 

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) says that cap-and-trade is "dead in the water" in the Senate.  They managed to pass it in the House by giving payoffs to members in exchange for their votes, including a $3.5 billion earmark for one member from Ohio.  Since members never actually read the bill, they probably have no idea about the "central procurement states" that are mentioned repeatedly in the 300-plus page amendment introduced just 16 hours before the vote.  They also might not know that buildings would have to be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency in order to sell them.

 

The White House continues to stand on the side of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and Fidel Castro in supporting deposed attempted despot Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.

 

Al Franken was named the Senator from Minnesota yesterday.  Learning the lessons from Franken, here's your guide to how to steal a Senate election.

 

A plurality of Americans thinks that the Democrat party is too liberal.

 

Social Security sends checks to dead people.  This is the same government that we want to have control over our health care?  Speaking of health care, Canada is seeing a boom in the private health care market because people are sick of waiting for care in the government system.  The Wall Street Journal has a nice piece today about the fallacies behind the arguments for Obamacare.

 

Government Motors admits that they're not sure that they will pay the government back for the so-called "loans" that they have received.

 

The private sector has shed another 473,000 jobs.  Nobody seems to be blaming the Obama administration.

 

An advocacy group that Sonia Sotomayor worked for sent over 350 pages of documents to the Senate yesterday, just 10 days before the start of committee hearings.  Sotomayor's approval ratings dropped after being overruled by the Supreme Court Monday.  Race pimp Jesse Jackson isn't happy about the Supreme Court's decision.

 

The United States has the 12^th most oppressive tax burden among developed countries.

 

Another politician managed to get a bailout for a bank in their state thanks to the TARP program.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried to get President Obama to be tough on Iran.

 

Here's another of these stories about the possibility of taxing people by the number of miles driven rather than with fuel taxes.

 

Here's a really cool picture of an F-22 jet breaking the sound barrier.

 

Grieving fans of Michael Jackson are committing suicide.  I can't say I'm all that upset by this.

 

Community health centers across the state will get $16.4 million in stimulus money.  How does that create jobs?

 

An 87-year-old man in Henry County used a gun to fight back against a robber.  Yet another crime stopped by a lawful gun owner.

 

Here is a page with a bunch of pictures from the Tea Party yesterday.  Thanks to Lynne for this!

Tea Party Day!

This morning the White House announced new standards for light bulbs.  Every little step means more government control over your life.  Meanwhile, Republicans see an opportunity to perhaps take back the House after the cap-and-trade bill passed.  They have to come up with a real alternative first.

 

The FDA is looking to place new restrictions on Tylenol to protect us from ourselves.

 

A majority of the members of the House of Representatives are cosponsoring a bill from Ron Paul to audit the Federal Reserve, but Barney Frank has stalled it in committee.

 

The Obama administration has now named the domestic violence czar.

 

The celebrity President depended on Ashton Kutcher to tweet something that they wanted to get out to a large audience.

 

Cell phone companies have finally agreed to have a one-size-fits-all phone charger.

 

At Wimbledon the tournament organizers arrange it so that more attractive women end up playing in the biggest arena at Centre Court rather than the best players.

 

Warner Robins City Councilman John Havrilla won't seek re-election this year.  That means there will be at least two new members of City Council.

Freedom Moves Everywhere Except United States

Yes, we lost the vote on cap-and-trade on Friday.  Locally, Jim Marshall voted against it, while Sanford Bishop voted for cap-and-trade.  The most infuriating part is the fact that 8 Republicans voted for the bill, which at the very least gave cover to the Democrats.  President Obama used his weekly address to push the Senate to pass the bill as well, even though it is widely believed that it will die in the Senate.  The best quote on cap-and-trade came from House Minority Leader John Boehner, who called it a "pile of s--t."

 

The Supreme Court issued their last batch of rulings today, including overturning a decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor that backed New Haven, Connecticut in throwing out the results of a firefighter promotion test because not enough minorities passed the test.  They also decided to have more hearings on a federal campaign finance case in September.

 

Around the world, people are overthrowing leftist and totalitarian governments in favor of freedom, while here in the United States our people not only accept, but support the march of leftism and slavery in the name of security.  In Honduras, the people stood with the military as they removed the President from office after he tried to change the Honduran Constitution to let him serve as many terms as he would like.  In Argentina, the people voted out allies of their leftist President in midterm Congressional elections.  In Iran, even though the rallies and protests seem to have quieted down, Iranians would be more likely to pick those back up if the United States supported them more strongly.  Instead, as the Iranian government arrests the staff at the British embassy, President Obama is too busy worrying about the "dialogue" that we have with Iran.  It also looks as though the electoral power of radical Islam is decreasing across the Muslim world.

 

The White House won't rule out the idea of taxing health insurance benefits, which would amount to a huge tax increase on the middle class, except for unions, which would be exempt from the tax.  Half of Americans favor the Obama health reform plan.  For a look at what the Obama health care plan will mean, look at Massachusetts.  Some states are already making plans to opt out of the federal system if it passes.  While we move more towards a single-payer, socialist medicine system, the British government is paying people to go to the private sector for cancer treatment.  The mainstream media is even trying to use Jon and Kate Gosselin to push for socialist medicine.

 

Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for stealing the business model of Social Security.

 

As the Obama administration cracks down on Americans taking their money overseas, Swiss banks are closing Americans' accounts because they don't want to be hassled by the IRS either.

 

The EPA suppressed a report skeptical of global warming, and the media ignored it.  Also, a polar bear expert was asked not to come to a global warming meeting in Denmark because his evidence did not support the warmers' agenda.

 

The speaker of the California State Assembly called conservative talk show hosts terrorists.  I'll add that to the list of labels I attach to myself.

 

Lynndie England, the female soldier in the Abu Ghraib pictures, can't seem to find a job.  Would you hire her?

 

To crack down on underage drinking, the state is going to change driver's licenses for those under 21.

 

Governor Perdue's "stimulus" plan is not helping.  This is what happens when government spending is used in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

 

Eric Von Haessler will not run for the Senate because he would be forced off the air to do so.

 

Warner Robins is going to crack down on gaming machines.

Cap-and-Trade Vote Expected at 5PM

Iranian authorities have declared jihad on the protestors.

 

The amount of stimulus spending slowed down last week, despite the Obama administration promising to speed up the spending.

 

Apparently they're having trouble getting the votes, so the vote on cap-and-trade is expected at 5pm, later than originally planned.  We'll be watching it.  Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports that the bill will go after things like hot tubs and light bulbs, and Bloomberg tells us what oil companies' response will be to this if it becomes law.  Remember when then-Senator Obama promised that cap-and-trade will harm consumers?

 

The House of Representatives took a moment in the midst of cap-and-trade debate to have a moment of silence for Michael Jackson.

 

George Will points out what "green jobs" mean:  unemployment.

 

The number of global warming skeptics around the world is increasing.  It's a shame that the United States is trailing, not leading, this trend.

 

President Obama is betting his economy on the same set of policies that have been used in three large failed states already.  This is not what the Founders meant when they called the states the "laboratories of democracy."

 

GM (read:  the Obama administration) is going to build their glorified golf cart in Michigan.  You shouldn't be surprised by this.

 

Some doctors are saying that they will stop practicing if we get government-run health care.  Reason TV also has a nice new spot on what would happen if government ran health care, which is inevitable if the "public option" exists.

 

Only 17% of Americans say that government spends money more wisely than a private business.

 

The state is going to get $50 million from the "stimulus" bill to expand the state's weatherization program.  In other news, I just found something that the state can cut from the budget.

 

The Houston County School Board passed a budget last night that will likely require an increase in taxes.

 

Here's a question the Republicans need to answer:  is anyone willing to run against Jim Marshall?  I think it sounds like fun.

 

Check it out, the Macon Telegraph published my op-ed about the Tea Party!

Obama Filibusters on Infomercial

Yes, I did watch the ABC-Obama socialized medicine infomercial last night.  If you follow me on Twitter, you would already know that, because I live-tweeted the infomercial.  It was, as expected, fluff, but I don't think it helped his case for socialized medicine, especially since even ABC said that Obama "struggled to explain" his plan.  The infomercial turned into an Obama filibuster, with 60% of the broadcast time being taken by the Comrade in Chief.  It also doesn't help his case that the infomercial was the lowest rated network program in the 10:00 hour.

 

President Obama also didn't tell the American people (and he won't) that government will always ration health care.  In fact, rationing never came up last night.  Rationing will inevitably mean the same thing:  sorry, old folks.  To try and sell his plan, Obama is going to tour the country with every health care sob story he can find.  Despite Obama's best efforts, Karl Rove still says that Obamacare isn't inevitable.

 

Even if the Democrats don't get their socialized medicine wish, they'll throw a health care bone to the unions.

 

The cap-and-tax bill will be up for a vote tomorrow, and Democrats are unsure that they will be able to pass it, especially since the bill will harm farmers.  At least they won't have to deal with Al Gore coming to town.  The Wall Street Journal points out that this is probably going to be the biggest tax increase in history, and the Washington Times found out that it includes billions of dollars to save trees in other countries around the world.  Meanwhile, global warming is being blamed for Tiger Woods losing the US Open, but not for the fact that temperatures in extreme northern Canada are so cold that birds and other species of wildlife are not even breeding.  (H/t to Ace of Spades)

 

The Democrats are starting to see their agenda slipping, and Americans are growing increasingly skeptical of Obama's promises of fiscal discipline.  I am as optimistic as I have been since Obama took office.

 

Republicans take note:  74% of Americans trust their own economic judgment more than they trust Congress'.

 

Unfortunately, it looks like the government of Iran is starting to stop the protests, as the opposition party postponed a rally they had scheduled for today without a rescheduled date.

 

The Supreme Court ruled today that strip-searching a middle school girl over an ibuprofen was unconstitutional.

 

Cal Thomas points out what many of us already know:  more education spending doesn't necessarily mean that students will learn more.

 

The state of California could run out of money by July 28.  This is what happens when you let liberals run things.

 

A few members of Congress are trying to take the politics out of redistricting.  Don't count on this going anywhere.

 

President Obama has announced that he will veto a defense spending bill if the F-22 is included.

ABC's Obama Love-Fest Tonight

North Korea is threatening to wipe the United States off the map.  I don't think they have accurate maps in North Korea.

 

President Obama says that government health coverage will not hurt private insurers, directly contradicting what he said yesterday.  Despite the fact that some Democrats are now opposing the public option, Obama says that his health care reform plan will get finished this year.  Meanwhile, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) proposed a government-funded "voucher" health care system as the Republicans' response to the Obama plan.  Republicans are proving themselves to be worthless once again.

 

With a vote on cap-and-trade coming later this week, the Congressional Budget Office issued a vast underestimate of the cost of the bill.  The latest "green" fad is nudism.

Even though the force being used by the government there has slowed down some of the protests in Iran, there reportedly are more protests around their parliament today, with some Iranians shouting "death to the dictator!"  President Obama still has not expressed support for the protestors, but last month he did send a letter to the Ayatollah hoping for "cooperation in regional and bilateral relations."

 

Citi is going to raise employee salaries to offset the fact that they can't award bonuses.  They're trying to stop the "brain drain."

 

Teenage girls are being paid $1 per day to not get pregnant.  Babies cost a lot more than $1 a day; how about just educating them about that?

 

Massachusetts is spending $2 million per month to house homeless people in motels, and "homeless advocates" still don't think that's enough.

 

Barney Frank is at it again, asking Fannie and Freddie to loosen lending standards on condos.  He won't stop until the whole economy is nationalized, and Holman Jenkins says that nationalization of banks will be on the agenda if the economy doesn't recover soon.

 

The United Auto Workers aren't the only union with a jobs bank.  About 700 New York City teachers are paid over $70,000 to do nothing all day, every day.

 

The Customs and Border Protection agency is considering expanding a ban on knives that could include pocket knives.

 

Democrats are working on pushing amnesty for illegals this year.  I knew this would come up this year.

 

Other wastes of your money that have been dug up are $100,000 for the Wyoming Toad Recovery Program and $10 million for education in Cambodia.

 

The anti-smoking health Nazis have officially cost 500 cigar jobs in the Tampa area.  There are some jobs destroyed by government.

 

President Obama wants the United States to sign onto a treaty that says that children have "basic rights" to education, health care, and protection from abuse.

 

A Frito-Lay employee in Oklahoma City hired a prostitute by offering her a $30 case of chips.

 

Governor Perdue has told state agency heads to cut spending by 3% in July to deal with continuing drops in revenue.

Obama's Big Presser

President Obama had a press conference earlier this afternoon, including Iran, healthcare, cap-and-trade, and his smoking habit.  We'll have some sound bytes from the presser on the show this afternoon; otherwise, I have the stuff mixed below.  One thing I would like to note is his collusion with the Huffington Post for a question on Iran.  Clearly both sides knew what was going on.

 

Ford, Nissan, and Tesla are all getting federal loans to develop fuel-efficient vehicles.  Why is it the government's job to do this?

 

The Obama Administration has announced how they plan to count the jobs that are "created or saved' by the stimulus money.  Meanwhile, support for the "stimulus" has dropped.

 

Thanks to wealth envy, CEOs don't want to be seen playing golf.  If the wealth envy crowd understood how economics works, they would be encouraging the CEOs to play.

 

Obama has brought back his campaign slogan of "Yes we can" to push his socialist medicine scheme.  During his press conference today, Obama admitted what we've already known all along:  a "public option" will push people to the government system and away from private insurance.  Fox Business Network's Elizabeth MacDonald dissects the myths behind health care that the left is using to push their plan, and finally Republicans are showing some opposition, although they're still thinking in very small terms rather than in the grandiose plans of the Democrats.  There is also some bad news for the liberals on the cost of their public option, based on the cost of Medicare.

 

A new poll shows that Americans prefer smaller government.  If this was really true then Obama wouldn't be President.

 

Maybe we spoke too soon yesterday:  the House is going to force a vote on cap-and-trade this week, which President Obama pushed during his press conference today.

 

President Obama has been "moved" by the protests in Iran and says that the world is "appalled and outraged" by the violence being used by the government in that country.  Is that the best he can do, especially considering that now the government is requiring a "bullet fee" for people to receive the bodies of their loved ones who are killed in protests?  Don't worry, though, because Iranian diplomats are still invited to the July 4 celebrations at our embassies.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the burqa a symbol of "servitude and humiliation."  I never thought I'd be saying this, but I wish others had the cojones of the French President.

 

It is fairly widely believed that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act will not stand up to a second challenge.

 

Democrats across the country are trying to force employers to pay their employees to do less work.

 

Rasmussen has a new poll showing that—surprise!—Barnes and Oxendine are leading in the race for Governor.  Other candidates have name recognition problems.

 

I told you yesterday that the transportation bill coming up before Congress will be chock full of pork.  Fortunately, Jim Marshall didn't make us wait long or work very hard to find some of his requests; he's using them as justification for his re-election.

 

In Atlanta they're worrying about whether underage strippers will drink.