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Monday, January 5, 2009 - 10:19pm Another Clinton Appointment Welcome to the new administration, same as the old. President-elect Obama has selected Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, Leon Panetta, to serve as CIA director. So much for change.
I don't know what Barack Obama was thinking with this choice. Perhaps he has a quota of former Clinton staffers that he must select. I have already lost track of the number of Clinton people he has appointed. It would help if the future President could settle on someone with actual intelligence experience to run the Central Intelligence Agency. Otherwise, the agency will start to resemble FEMA under George Bush. Sunday, January 4, 2009 - 5:47pm What's He Hiding? New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson abruptly withdrew his name from consideration as Commerce Secretary. A grand jury is investigating one of his major political donors that was subsequently awarded a large state contract. Richardson claims no wrongdoing, but if that were the case there would be no reason to withdraw. Methinks there is a lot more to this story and that Richardson will not come out clean. Sunday, January 4, 2009 - 1:02am Franken Increases Lead Democrat Al Franken has opened up a wider lead on Republican Norm Coleman in the never-ending Minnesota Senate race. Previously sealed absentee ballots were finally counted, which increased Franken's lead from 49 votes to 225 votes. The recount is just about finished. If Franken does pull out the victory, the Democrats will hold a commanding 59 seats in the Senate. Friday, January 2, 2009 - 9:49pm A Very Bad Idea Do politicians live to invent new ways to tax the public?!?! The States of Oregon, Idaho, and Rhode Island are interested in taxing drivers based on the number of miles they drive!
Here is a concept for lawmakers; stop spending our money!!! It's really not that difficult. Another problem with this idea is privacy. The test group in Oregon all had GPS devices installed in their cars. Can you say big brother is watching??? Like we need the government to monitor our lives any more than they already do. This is what happens when you give the left too much control...and it's only going to get worse. Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 6:55pm Former Senator Pell Dies Claiborne Pell, the Rhode Island Senator responsible for the Pell Grants that give college students government assistance, has passed away. The 90-year old man died at his Newport home with family members by his side.
Pell's focus was largely on education. The grants that bear his name were established in 1973 and have helped hundreds of thousands of young men and women receive a college education. If all our United States Senators and Congressman were more like Claiborne Pell, we'd be a lot better off. He will be missed. Thursday, January 1, 2009 - 12:15am Happy New Year!!! Times Square in NYC rings in 2009.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - 11:42pm Shame on Bobby Rush Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed former Attorney General Roland Burris, who is African-American, to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat in Illinois.. Senate Democrats vowed not to seat the pick as they had previously stated that they would not seat anyone selected by the embattled Blagojevich.
Congressman Rush knew full well that the selection would be immediately met with resistance simply because Governor Blagojevich is under indictment and had tried to sell the seat to the highest bidder. Playing the race card is not the way to get African-Americans in the U.S. Senate. Bobby Rush should be ashamed of himself. Monday, December 29, 2008 - 10:30pm Treasury Bails Out GMAC Another day, another bailout for incompetent Detroit automakers. This time, the Treasury Department handed $6 billion to the financing division of General Motors, GMAC. If a Republican President and his Treasury Secretary are willing to give this much money to hopeless, union-controlled companies, just imagine how many taxpayer dollars the Democrats will bestow upon them. Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 7:45pm Israeli Government Continues Bombing Why is it that when Hamas kills innocent people it's called terrorism, but when the Israeli government kills innocent Palestinians, it's called collateral damage? In two days of attacks by Israel on the Gaza Strip, 298 Palestinians have been killed.
Clearly the Israeli government is well within their rights to return fire. However, the level of response is not only disproportionate, it is also sloppy and reckless. If they really want to kill Hamas members, they need to go in on the ground. Dropping bombs on densely populated areas is equivalent to terrorism. Friday, December 26, 2008 - 7:15pm Pakistan Moving Troops to Border Tensions are rising between India and Pakistan after thousands of Pakistani troops were moved to their border with India. The government in Islamabad defended the move as they fear a potential cross-border attack by the Indian military.
After the terrorist attack in Mumbai, diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have completely deteriorated. It seems only a matter of time before these two countries go to war. Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - 11:12pm Inside the Obama Vacation Home Not a bad place to spend your Christmas vacation. The Hawaii home costs only $3,000 per night. Life is good for the President-elect.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 7:55pm Still Undecided in Minnesota We'll have to wait until at least December 30th to determine the winner of the Minnesota Senate race between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). The canvassing board decided to take a week off rather than make a decision about an election that took place six weeks ago. The latest tally has Franken ahead by 46 votes out of 2.4 million. The new Congress is set to get together on January 6th, so it would help if Minnesota could learn how to count between now and then. Monday, December 21, 2008 - 12:30am Canada Follow U.S. into Bailout Nation The little known fact about the auto industry bailout in America is that it also triggered an additional $4 billion from Canada. The Canadian government decided to kick in the money provided the Americans gave Detroit the initial bailout.
The Big 3 automakers in the U.S. have subsidiaries in Canada that account for 20 percent of production in North America. As a result, the government in Ontario felt compelled to throw good taxpayer dollars after bad....just like Bush did. Like their American counterparts, autoworkers in Canada for U.S. firms are overpaid relative to their competitors. Unfortunately, the Canadian bailout package didn't address that major issue. They didn't attach any strings to the money. Sunday, December 21, 2008 - 11:10am Big Labor Owns America I have seen it all. A Republican president just bailed out the auto industry to the tune of $13.4 billion. We already know that Democrats are owned by the unions, but if the GOP is too, we're all in trouble. Friday, December 19, 2008 - 7:35pm Al Franken Takes the Lead According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Democrat Al Franken has pulled ahead of Republican Norm Coleman in the Minnesota Senate Race. Franken had been losing since the recount began, but is now in the lead by about 250 votes. This race is effectively a tie, but it will be awarded to the guy with the best lawyer. Right now, that appears to be Al Franken. Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 10:05pm Throw a Shoe at Bush The Bush shoe-throwing incident has already spawned an online, interactive video game. Just click on the picture to play the game.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 11:39pm Obama Finally Picks Another Republican The guy who claims there is not a blue-state America and a red-state America has not been living up to his rhetoric. His Cabinet appointments have been almost entirely Democrats.
Unfortunately, LaHood is yet another politician from Illinois. He will join a growing legion of Illinois pols in Washington. If you've been paying attention, politics in Chicago and the surrounding area is wrought with corruption and shady dealings. Thus far, Barack Obama's selections have been a disappointment. If he takes another politician from his crooked home state, it won't be long before sleaze, bribery, and dishonesty dominate his Presidency. Tuesday, December 16, 2008 - 11:05pm Rahm Emanuel Taped By Feds President-elect Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been taped by the FBI in conversations with disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Emanuel was recorded a whopping 21 times discussing Obama's Senate seat with Blagojevich. It remains to be seen what these recordings will uncover, but it is not a good sign for Team Obama, especially considering Blagojevich was trying to sell the seat to the highest bidder. Expect the future president to have constant problems with Rahm Emanuel for the next four years. He is the Democrats' equivalent of Tom Delay. Monday, December 15, 2008 - 11:19pm Not Another Kennedy As much as I like Caroline Kennedy, I am starting to get sick of the "royalty" in this country. Since when are you qualified for a job on the basis of your last name? Have we really become a nation of Kennedy, Bush, and Clinton? Collectively, the Kennedy's are among the most unscrupulous and immoral politicians. The current Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has a long history of unethical behavior. His nephew, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is even worse. The good Congressman is an admitted drug addict who pushes female security guards at airports. Caroline is probably the best Kennedy left, but that's hardly the point. You should not be able to walk into the United States Senate without earning it. Governor Patterson needs to appoint an individual with actual experience who is at least somewhat reflective of our society. Sunday, December 14, 2008 - 12:25pm Palin's Church Gets Torched Sarah Palin's controversial church in Wasilla, Alaska has been damaged by a fire. Arson is expected. Nobody was injured at the Wasilla Bible Church, but the Governor apologized if the fire was caused by "undeserved negative attention" during the recent Presidential election. If you recall, this is the church that preaches the end of the world. The Wasilla Assembly of God believe Americans will seek refuge in the State of Alaska when the lower 48 states are destroyed. They believe their members speak in tongues...that God suddenly comes down to speak gibberish through individual churchgoers. The church has also invited anti-gay, anti-Jewish, and witch hunting preachers to speak before their people. This "religion" apparently angered other Alaskans when their bizarre philosophy came to light during Sarah Palin's campaign. Gee, I can't imagine why anyone would be upset. Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 10:22am Saturday Morning Humor And to think the late-night comedians were worried that Barack Obama wouldn't provide them any good material. They forgot that politicians will always steal and philander.
Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 10:49pm Bank of America to Cut 35,000 Jobs President-elect Obama was dead-on when he said the economy will get worse before it gets better. Every day in December has seen a handful of firms announce layoffs, but today's news was one of the most severe. Although it will be over three years, Bank of America will slash a staggering 35,000 jobs from their payrolls.
I hope our future President knows what he's doing. We're going to need some leadership. Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 10:58pm Scandal Comes to the Democrats If you were misled these last eight years into believing Republicans were the only crooks in politics, think again. First comes the Governor of Illinois and then comes Jesse Jackson Jr.
Who else will Governor Blagojevich bring down with him? His office has been bugged for a couple of months now. The FBI has every conversation he's had with every politician. Today, it's Jesse Jackson Jr. Tomorrow could bring another name. Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 7:15pm For Sale: U.S. Senate Typical American politics. The media may act like what the Illinois Governor did was unusual, but if the FBI wiretapped all the politicians in America, you'd find lots of corruption and many things for sale. The scary part is that Governor Blagojevich still has the power to appoint anyone he wants to the U.S. Senate, including himself. He is currently out of prison on bail. Monday, December 8, 2008 - 8:55pm Should We Bail Them Out Too? The Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. The media giant owns the Chicago Tribune, the L.A. Times, and dozens of other newspapers and television stations. The firm employs 20,000 people. They also decided to halt severance payments to all of their previously laid off workers.
The premise is basically the same. A mismanaged company headed into bankruptcy with thousands of soon to be unemployed people. Why isn't anyone screaming and yelling to give money to the Tribune Company and the rest of the newspaper industry? If anything, the news business is in worse economic shape than the auto business. If we bail out Detroit, don't we have to rescue everybody else? What's the difference? Sunday, December 7, 2008 - 8:28pm Weekend Humor Just when we thought we'd gotten rid of Hillary, she's back. Even Bill makes an appearance.
Saturday, December 6, 2008 - 9:58am Employment Report Scares Lawmakers The November jobs report came out yesterday and it was not pretty. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it was one of the worst reports they had ever released. A total of 533,000 jobs were lost in November. In addition, the September and October employment figures were revised downward, resulting in an additional 196,000 jobs lost. The unemployment rate increased to 6.7%.
Fortunately, Nancy Pelosi caved to George Bush on an important point. Previously, $25 billion was slated to go to the carmakers for green, environmental targets. Rather than allocate additional funds, $15 billion of the $25 billion would go directly to help the Big Three from collapsing. We still shouldn't bail out these idiots in Detroit. These funds can be better utilized by our government. Handing it over to GM, Ford, and Chrysler is just throwing it away. Thursday, December 4, 2008 - 11:25pm Lost Ballots in Minnesota I'm not sure the Minnesota Senate Race will ever end. Now there are reports of 130 lost ballots. It has caused a further extension of the marathon recount. With a race that is arguably closer than 130 votes, losing that many is a big deal. We may need a run-off like election in Minnesota to resolve this problem. The race is too close to determine whether the winner is really Norm Coleman (R) or Al Franken (D). Another election may be the best alternative. Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - 11:15pm When I Grow Up This ad is nine years old, but just as true today as it was in 1999. With all the layoffs in financial services and elsewhere, I figured it was appropriate. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - 6:59pm Union Agrees to Suspend Job Banks The Big Three automakers all have programs in which workers are laid off but are still paid. Yes, you read that correctly. These so-called "job-banks" pay former employees 95% of their regular pay to literally do nothing. GM, Ford, and Chrysler pay thousands and thousands of people that don't work for their firm.
These job-banks are yet another example of union stupidity. It is just more proof that the UAW has single-handedly destroyed the American auto industry. They have succeeded in driving GM, Ford, and Chrysler into the ground with exorbitant wages, benefits, and guaranteed pay for ex-employees. Now these companies want our taxpayer dollars to cover their incompetence. We need to put an end to this and let them go bankrupt! Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - 9:12pm Chambliss Wins Big in Georgia! So much for a close race. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) has won the run-off election in the State of Georgia. With 78% of the precincts reporting, Chambliss has 60.4% of the vote and Jim Martin (D) has only 39.6%. The Democrats will not get a sixty seat majority in the Senate. This is a good thing as we don't need either party to have complete power. Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - 7:58pm A Tight Race in Georgia??? The polls have closed in the Georgia Senate run-off election. No winner has been determined yet, which could be a good early sign for Democrat Jim Martin. You can follow the results here. Saxby Chambliss is expected to win and remove any hope the Democrats have of getting to sixty seats. Turnout is light, but steady thus far. We'll have the results here when they come in. Monday, December 1, 2008 - 6:24pm Lawyered-Up in Minnesota The recount in the Minnesota Senate race is getting ugly. With 89% of the precincts reporting, Norm Coleman (R) is ahead of Al Franken (D) by only a few thousand votes out of 2.9 million cast. The close race could get even closer as the counties left to report slightly favor Franken.
This election could decide the fate of a filibuster-proof majority for Democrats in the Senate. Unfortunately, it will probably come down to whichever side has the best legal team. I would expect Coleman to win, but Franken will not go down quietly. Expect Al to fight every step of the way.
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This pick doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Panetta has zero
experience in the intelligence game. He does have a great resume
as a politician, but to select a him as the top spook is absurd.
This ridiculous concept was thought up by...drumroll please...Democrats!
Shocking, I know. However, before you profess your love for Republicans,
many of them are on-board with the idea as well. Even Congress is
talking about taxing mileage.
As
soon as the selection was announced, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) told the
press that Senate Democrats should not "hang and lynch the appointee".
The incendiary language by Rush was purposely designed to play the race
card, even though race has nothing to do with denying this candidate a
Senate seat.
The government was responding to almost daily rocket and mortar fire by
Hamas after a cease-fire ended last week. The attacks by Hamas
have yet to kill anyone.
Both countries are nuclear powers, so an armed conflict between them
could have devastating consequences. India is believed to have
100-140
Prime
Minister Stephen Harper is seen here with Ontario Premier Dalton
McGuinty on Saturday as they announce the "short-term loans" for the
incompetent companies in Detroit.
He
did keep Robert Gates from the Bush Administration as the Defense Secretary,
but Obama had not selected another Republican until now. Today, he
picked Congressman
The November unemployment report was one of the worst on record, but
December figures to be even worse. By the time January 20th rolls
around, Barack Obama will likely inherit an economy that lost 2.5
million jobs in 2008 and an unemployment rate north of 7.0%.
Although
Jackson maintains his innocence, he's not looking so good considering
his role as
Are
the employees of the Tribune Company any less important than auto
industry workers? They work just as hard as their counterparts.
Shouldn't we also bail out this company if we're going to give GM, Ford,
and Chysler
tens of billions of dollars?
At
the same time, auto executives were in Washington begging for money to
stave off bankruptcy. Considering how many more jobs will be lost
if GM goes under, it now appears very likely they will get the
money. The employment report literally
The
United Auto Workers (UAW) union has finally agreed to "suspend" this
insane program at General Motors. They are also open to suspending
the job-bank at Ford and Chrysler. Mind you, they are not
eliminating the program; they are merely suspending it until some later
date. The UAW believes this is a major concession on their part.
Both
Franken and Coleman have
