Pelosi Blows it!

Nancy Pelosi demonstrates she is not qualified to be speaker once again. For a bill she calls critical to save the economy, a bill she says she needs republican support to pass, she fails to invite the republicans to a final meeting, then goes to the microphone to denounce them as unpatriotic for not attending. Then just before the vote, she stands up to again denounce the republicans whose votes she needs, costing her at least 12 republican votes according to the minority whip. To top it off, she can't convince 40% of her own party to support her, and the bill goes down in flames. Here's an idea Nancy, when you need someone's support, don't spit in their face before you get it.

Foreign Policy for Dummies

Obama needs to read that book. So far his foreign policy consists of attacking countries that are our allies, and meeting with countries that are our enemies. He announced he would bomb Pakistan, and said he would meet with Ammadinjad and Chavez without preconditions. Truly brilliant! Maybe we should also invade Canada and open relations with Cuba. This is what we should expect from a naive socialist barely out of school.

A Room full of Idiots!

Watching the hearings on the bailout one could only think that the lunatics are finally running the asylum. Sen Dodd said they were not going to be rushed, others said that maybe if they wait it will take less money than the 700 billion proposed. It's a lot like a fire department saying they are not rushing to put out the fire, and anyway, if they wait awhile it might take less water. Good thinking guys. Let's wait until the entire system collapses, and we are in the midst of the second great depression. Banks are already refusing to make loans to each other, and now some are stopping car loans. Soon they will not be loaning any money to anyone. That means your credit cards will not work, you won't be able to buy a car or major appliance (unless you have cash), and forget about a mortgage. People think this is a bailout of 'wall street'. It is not. It is a bailout of the American economy. It's time politicians stop playing for votes criticizing CEO's who were forced to make risky sub prime loans by congressional pressure. It was Congress that changed the rules to allow hedge funds to sell credit default swaps without having the assets to back them up. Congress threatened lawsuits over red lining if banks didn't make more sub prime loans. Congress pushed Fannie and Freddie to buy more sub prime loans and Congress that rebuffed attempts at oversight of them. Warren Buffet said this is the right thing to do. Bernanke said the time is now. So stop the game playing, stop the blame game, and pass this bill, without your stupid additions. Now.

Fix the problem, not the blame

OK, it's time to stop playing the blame game for the financial mess, as there is plenty to go around. Republicans and Democrats both voted for legislation that loosened regulations on selling of credit default swaps, Democrats pushed legislation that pressured banks to make more sub prime loans and blocked legislation that would have prevented Fannie and Freddie from running amok. Dodd, Frank, and Gramm all played roles in the creation of this problem. The important point now is how to fix it before the entire financial system collapses. Paulson's plan to buy up bad debt, to clean up the balance sheets of banks is a good start. The democrats are wrong to insist on getting stock in the banks that get help. If banks are forced to give up stock equal to the assets they sell, they are in effect being asked to give away the assets, and are unlikely to participate in such a scheme. No help be given to hedge funds, who are far more guilty of causing the mess than being victims. In addition to cleaning up the balance sheets of the banks, Congress should lower the capital gains tax to zero to spur an influx of capital. The time to act is now.

Team Obama caught in 'astroturf' smear campaign

Here is a link to an investigation into campaign smears and possible FEC violations by persons connected to the Obama campaign. It documents an attempt to produce 'viral' videos that smear Palin, videos done by a professional PR firm with connections to the Obama campaign. I guess this is the politics of change!

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php

Blame Main Street, not Wall Street!

Wall Street did not cause this financial mess, it was caused by millions of Americans who bought houses they couldn't afford, lied about their income to get loans they couldn't pay back, bought houses and condos just to flip them because they always go up in value. When the market stopped climbing, they began bailing, walking away from loans that they agreed to, sticking the banks with the loss. That is the cause. No one wants to put the blame where it belongs. It's not the evil bankers, or greedy stock holders, it's the borrowers who are to blame. Oh, if you want someone else to blame,  blame the Democrats for pushing laws that forced banks to make these loans, and authorized Fannie and Freddie to buy more sub prime loans. The goal was to increase home ownership, but some people just can't afford a home and pretending otherwise results in this type of mess.

Timeline for Defeat

Obama thinks he has been proven correct in insisting on a timeline to withdraw US troops from Iraq, since now the Iraqi gov't is apparently supporting his position. There is a fundamental difference however. Obama advocated setting a timeline while victory was very much in doubt, the Iraqi's are now seeking a timeline because victory is at hand. It is obvious that once any war has been won, that the troops will begin withdrawing and returning home. It is certain that Eisenhower developed a timeline to withdraw from Europe after the fall of Berlin. It is equally certain that he did not and would not have developed such a schedule 2 years prior to that. Imagine the response from the Third Reich if they were told in 1943 that US forces will withdraw completely in 1945. They would have celebrated this news and modified their strategy to stalemate the war until that time. The result would be that NAZI Germany would rule Europe today. Knowing that they need only hold out for a couple more years would have totally changed the course of the war and of world history. This is what would have happened in Iraq had we listened to Obama. This is what Obama advocated when he insisted on a timeline for withdrawal (a timeline for defeat) before the war had been won, proving he has neither the experience nor the judgment to be a commander in chief.

The Morality of Biden

On Meet the Press, Obama's VP pick Sen. Biden explained his views on abortion. As a Catholic, he confirmed he believes that life begins at conception, yet he supports abortion because he doesn't want to impose his moral views on others. Of course, society often imposes the moral views of the majority on all it's citizens. Slavery was a moral issue that was finally decided by force of arms.  Would Biden  want individuals to decide for themselves if slavery was right or wrong? Prostitution and Drug use are also moral issues that we do not let individuals decide for themselves, and they affect only the person making the choice, unlike slavery or abortion. For people that support abortion and believe that life does not begin at conception, there is no moral conflict. But Biden's position is that abortion is killing a human child, and he supports it. Now this position is not just logically inconsistent, but is simply immoral. He openly supports what he believes to be infanticide because it helps him get elected. That's not a courageous position, just a coldly calculated evil one.

Biden: Out of touch !

OK media, here's your chance to demonstrate fairness. Biden on 'Meet the Press' today stated that 'We need to get Syria and Iran to stop arming the Shia'. Now, when McCain stated that Iran was arming Sunni insurgents, the media went into a frenzy, labeling him 'out of touch', since everyone knows that Iran is a Shiite government and that they are arming the Shia militias and that the Sunnis are their enemies. So where is the shock at Biden's statement, since the Syrian gov't is a Sunni gov't, they are a Baath party gov't like Sadaam's, and they support the Sunni insurgents. I expect that there will soon be a media frenzy questioning Biden's knowledge, his ability, even his mental health, like they did to McCain for essentially the exact same statement. But I won't hold my breath waiting.

Vote for a Hero or Vote for a Zero!

That's the choice in this election. John McCain is a proven quantity, a hero who has put his life on the line for his country. He has served in the military for 22 years, in the Senate for 26. He has worked with both sides to craft legislation, and worked against both sides to fight waste. His opponent? The 'community activist' who spent only 3 years in the Senate, devoting most of his time there to running for President. A man with no military experience, no business experience, no executive experience. His biggest accomplishments are writing books about himself and running for office. To call him an empty suit is to insult empty suits worldwide. Change can be in either direction, and Hope is not a plan. In this election, the choice is simple.

'The One' can't measure up by his own standards!

Obama has declared that he is more qualified than Palin, based on his campign staff having 2500 personnel and a 36 million dollar monthly budget,  as compared to Palin's experience as mayor where she had, as Obama claimed,  "50 employees and a 10 million dollar annual budget." This of course ignores her current job, which she has held for as long as Obama has headed his campaign.
As a governor she oversees 24,000 state employees, 14 statewide cabinet agencies and a 10 billion dollar budget. Once again Obama comes up short, using the criteria he himself specified. And let's not forget, she is running for the number 2 spot, unlike the woefully unprepared junior senator.

Truth: the first casualty of war and also politics

Truth is just one option for the Obama camp. If a lie works for their purpose, then they clearly have no problem using one. In a continuing, pathetic attempt to discredit Sarah Palin, the Obamabots have questioned her party affiliation, claiming she was a member of the Independence Party and also a supporter of Pat Buchanan. The Miami Herald this week quoted an e-mail from Obama Florida spokesman Mark Bubriski that stated: "Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan, a right-winger or as many Jews call him: a Nazi sympathizer." So, what is the truth?  Voter registration records and past news reports show Palin never registered as a member of the Independence Party, and backed Steve Forbes' presidential campaign in 2000, not Buchanan. In fact, the Associated Press reported that Palin served as a co-chair of Forbes' campaign. Now, this is all documented, and the Obama campaign knows it, but they made the decision to lie to boost Obama's support among Florida's Jewish community. That's change we can believe in! 

Two peas in a pod

Q: What's the difference between Hillary and Obama?
A: One has a set of balls, the other is black!

I am my brother's keeper. My half brother, now that's another story!

In 'The Speech', Obama chided us all to be our brother's keeper, but as usual with liberals it's do as I say not as I do. Obama happens to have a half brother, struggling to survive in Kenya on less than $1 per month. For the price of a pair of shoes, Obama could provide his brother with several lifetimes of income. Yet Obama, 'The One', the great compassionate liberal who made over $5 million on his book deals and tells us we need to do more to help others, can't spare a few dollars to significantly improve the quality of life for his own relative. No, that is a job for someone else. Obama is too busy making speeches and telling the rest of us what to do, and after all, he never said he was his half brother's keeper!