RIP Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy passed away from brain cancer at age 77. Known for his liberal stance and often picked on for his drinking problem, he served his constituents from MA since 1964. Here are some lesser known facts about Ted Kennedy that many people my generation don't know:

He turned down an opportunity to play for the Green Bay Packers. He chose law school instead. In the 1955 Harvard-Yale game, he caught scored the only touchdown for Harvard.

He was ticketed several times for reckless driving. His driving habits (and failure to notify authorities after killing a passenger in his vehicle) are what hurt his political carreer. The accident, known as the Chappaquiddick incident, is also what gave Kennedy his bad rep for drinking (as he was coming home from a party when he drove his car off a bridge) even though he denied drinking. the incident later haunted him when he ran for President in 1980.

Despite becoming a laughing stock to conservatives in the 1990s and throughout this century, Kennedy was unwaivering in his liberal beliefs and he was a man who stuck to his principles and never strayed from them. Even though I never agreed with his political beliefs, I give him and any other man credit for fighting for what he believed in. This is how I will remember Ted Kennedy.

Lynette Villano's facebook page made me laugh

The former county GOP chairperson has listed as one of her hobbies "working with republican committees and candidates." When did she start doing that - it obviously wasn't when she headed the party from an undisclosed location somewhere in a coalmine deep underground in NEPA.

When she headed the party you couldn't find any contact information for the Luzerne County GOP. No website. No phone numbers. Nada. Zip. Nothing. The party was virtually nonexistent. She was disorganized and uninterested in meeting with anyone. She publicly admitted she didn't want to have anything to do with running the county party and she didn't really care to be so involved with it.

So, is this a new hobby or a stretch of the truth?

Wanna hear a good joke? Doherty for Governor

This moron can't lead the people of Scranton out of a paper bag, let alone a financially distressed Commonwealth. After all, his handling of the city's budget is disgraceful. Can we also talk about his reputation for falsely using a "revitalize Scranton" effort to play the kickback game while ostracizing small businesses (like Buono's Pizza)? The fact that he's considering a run for the highest state office is a joke. Even more funny is how delusional he thinks his reputation in Scranton is - actual quote below with the truth uncovered in [brackets]:

"We're building a better Scranton by creating [no] new jobs, investing in our [buddies to helped me get reelected but we'll call it improvement in our] infrastructure, attracting [absolutely zero] new business and supporting our [pride and joy, the Office, while shitting on] existing ones."

At the present moment, there are 6 people (3 republicans and 3 democrats) who are considering running for governor next year:

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R) - governorship would be a step down for him
Pat Meehan (R) - former Delaware County DA who is trying to run on the Maverick platform, and from a distance without my glasses on he kinda looks like Bob Casey.
Tom Corbett (R) - the most likely GOP candidate.
Jack Wagner (D) - auditor general
Tom Knox (D) - businessman and my favorite democrat candidate so far.

The Commonwealth of PA doesn't need a candidate who has no sense of fiscal responsibility. The citizens of PA need someone who can turn things around. Chris Doherty is not the man for the job. I think the best candidate thus far who stepped up to the plate - hold on to your seat - is Tom Knox. Tom Corbett comes a close second. It would be interesting to see these two have a close race.

Sotomayor in the hot seat

With a liberal President there is no doubt that Sotomayor, the racist bitch from NY who thinks she's better than any white male judge simply because she's Latina, will indeed press the liberals' and her own racist agenda. The clues are all in her own words:

"Congress makes the laws. The job of a judge is to apply the law." Really? the role of a Supreme Court Judge is to uphold the Constitution, not apply the liberal laws that Congress puts in place.

"A wise Latina judge would usually reach better conclusions than a white man." I smell discrimination here, especially when you look at the fact that she was outraged over the Supreme Court's decision that New Haven firefighters were indeed practicing reverse discrimination.

Putting a racist with a skewed political agenda in the position as a Supreme Court Justice is not only dangerous and stupid, it is yet another advancement towards socialism. A liberal President and Congress are already hellbent on destroying the very moral fiber of our country and our national identity while throwing us into a nanny state. Give the third branch of our government the same agenda, and we will give the government complete control over the people. Thank you again for voting for One Big Ass Mistake America.

Persistence does indeed pay off

Ron Paul (R, Texas) is gaining sudden popularity in Congress. Why?

The libertarian/constitutionalist who was for the longest time disregarded as a crackpot by fellow party members not has "the GOP House leadership on his side -- backing a measure that generated paltry support when he first introduced it 26 years ago. Paul, as of Tuesday, has won 245 co-sponsors to a bill that would require a full-fledged audit of the Federal Reserve by the end of 2010" (FOXNews.com) due to fears of overspending, the exercise of poor monetary policy, and Obama's federalization of the financial industry.

Simply put, Obama and Capitol Hill democrats in the last 5 months spent trillions of dollars, increased regulation, and gave more authority to federal agencies which would make Lennin and Marx smile in their graves. Republicans are seeking transparency - an ideal stressed by Obama while running for office but has thus far become a false campaign promise. "If they give them a lot more power and there's no more transparency, that'll be a disaster," Paul said.

The bill (The Federal Reserve Transparency Act) would call for the comptroller general in the Government Accountability Office to audit the Fed and report those findings to Congress. The GAO's ability to conduct such audits now is severely restricted.

The current status of the bill is that it is sitting, collecting dust on the desk of the House Financial Services Committee. If you need to ask why it's just collecting dust, take a look at the two most powerful members of this committee who are stalling this bill from moving it forward: Osama Bin Kanjorski (Paul Kajorski, D, PA-11) and Barney (Barney Frank, D, Mass). Both are responsible for destroying the economy.

Premature withdrawal may save face, but leads to a big mess

BAGHDAD — Iraq officially took control of its fate Tuesday as the U.S. pulled its combat troops out of Baghdad and other cities and towns, handing over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.

The withdrawal completed the Status of Forces agreement signed last November, and touched off celebrations in Baghdad and other cities.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Tuesday to be "National Sovereignty Day," complete with a military parade to display to Iraqis — and a still stubborn insurgency — its ability to maintain order in a nation ravaged by six years of war.

"This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis," al-Maliki said in a televised speech.

"Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake," he said.

But the dangers facing Iraq were brought into stark focus Monday as U.S. military officials reported that four American soldiers were killed in combat on the eve of the withdrawal.

Officials said the four soldiers served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad, but did not provide further details pending notification of their families. The soldiers died as a "result of combat related injuries," officials said.

The withdrawal that was completed late Monday is part of a U.S.-Iraqi security pact and marks the first major step toward withdrawing all American forces from the country by Dec. 31, 2011. President Barack Obama has said all combat troops will be gone by the end of August 2010.

President Jalal Talabani said the day could not have happened without the help of the United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 with the aim of ousting Saddam Hussein — who was later convicted by an Iraqi court and executed in Dec. 2006.

"While we celebrate this day, we express our thanks and gratitude to our friends in the coalition forces who faced risks and responsibilities and sustained casualties and damage while helping Iraq to get rid from the ugliest dictatorship and during the joint effort to impose security and stability," Talabani said.

Describing June 30 as a "glorious page" in Iraq's history, Talabani warned that "security will not be achieved completely without proper political environment and without a real national unity and reconciliation."

Iraq marked the day with an overnight display of fireworks, while thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs.

The midnight handover to Iraqi forces filled many citizens with pride but also trepidation that government forces are not ready and that violence will rise. Shiites fear more bombings by Sunni militants; Sunnis fear that the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security forces will give them little protection.

If the Iraqis can hold down violence in the coming months, it will show the country is finally on the road to stability. If they fail, it will pose a challenge to Obama's pledge to end a war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 U.S. troops and thousands of Iraqis.

Despite Tuesday's formal pullback, some U.S. troops will remain in the cities to train and advise Iraqi forces. U.S. troops will return to the cities only if asked. The U.S. military will continue combat operations in rural areas and near the border, but only with the Iraqi government's permission.

The U.S. has not said how many troops will be in the cities in advisory roles, but the vast majority of the more than 130,000 U.S. forces remaining in the country will be in large bases scattered outside cities.

There have been some worries that the 650,000-member Iraqi military is not ready to maintain stability and deal with a stubborn insurgency.

Privately, many U.S. officers worry the Iraqis will be overwhelmed if violence surges, having relied for years on the Americans for nearly everything.

Madoff gets the MAX!!!

NEW YORK — Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives "in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I've created."

Chin rejected a request by Madoff's lawyer for leniency and said he disagreed that victims of the Ponzi scheme were seeking mob vengeance.

"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said.

The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13 billion was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds.

"Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering," he said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard warns online media

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's opposition announced a third day of street demonstrations Wednesday as the country's most powerful military force warned of a crackdown against online media in its first pronouncement on the deepening election crisis.

Blogs and Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been vital conduits for Iranians to inform the world about protests over Friday's disputed election. Pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters accuse the government of rigging the election to declare hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner.

The Web became more essential after the government barred foreign media Tuesday from leaving their offices to report on demonstrations on the streets of Tehran.

The Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force answering to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , said through the state news service that Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that "create tension" or face legal action.

Fortunately, I'm not Iranian so I guess I can keep this post up ;)

Nuclear War Imminent?

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's communist regime has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic bomb-making program in defiance of new U.N. sanctions.

The North's defiance presents a growing diplomatic headache for President Barack Obama as he prepares for talks Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North's missile and nuclear programs.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told security-related ministers during an unscheduled meeting Sunday to "resolutely and squarely" cope with the North's latest threat, his office said. Lee is to leave for the U.S. on Monday morning.

A commentary Sunday in the North's main state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, claimed the U.S. has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. Another commentary published Saturday in the state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. has been deploying a vast amount of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.

North Korea "is completely within the range of U.S. nuclear attack and the Korean peninsula is becoming an area where the chances of a nuclear war are the highest in the world," the Tongil Sinbo commentary said.

Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. military command in Seoul, called the latest accusation "baseless," saying Washington has no nuclear bombs in South Korea. U.S. tactical nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea in 1991 as part of arms reductions following the Cold War.

South Korea's Unification Ministry issued a statement Sunday demanding the North stop stoking tension, abandon its nuclear weapons and return to dialogue with the South.

On Saturday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened war on any country that dared to stop its ships on the high seas under the new sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council on Friday as punishment for the North's latest nuclear test.

It is not clear if the statements are simply rhetorical. Still, they are a huge setback for international attempts to rein in North Korea's nuclear ambitions following its second nuclear test on May 25. It first tested a nuclear device in 2006.

In Saturday's statement, North Korea said it has been enriching uranium to provide fuel for its light-water reactor. It was the first public acknowledgment the North is running a uranium enrichment program in addition to its known plutonium-based program. The two radioactive materials are key ingredients in making atomic bombs.

On Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported South Korea and the U.S. have mobilized spy satellites, reconnaissance aircraft and human intelligence networks to obtain evidence that the North has been running a uranium enrichment program.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said it could not confirm the report. The National Intelligence Service — South Korea's main spy agency — was not available for comment.

North Korea said more than one-third of 8,000 spent fuel rods in its possession has been reprocessed and all the plutonium extracted would be used to make atomic bombs. The country could harvest 13-18 pounds (6-8 kilograms) of plutonium — enough to make at least one nuclear bomb — if all the rods are reprocessed.

In addition, North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs.

North Korea says its nuclear program is a deterrent against the U.S., which it routinely accuses of plotting to topple its regime. Washington, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, has repeatedly said it has no such intention.

The new U.N. sanctions are aimed at depriving the North of the financing used to build its rogue nuclear program. The resolution also authorized searches of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the new U.N. penalties provide the necessary tools to help check North Korea's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The sanctions show that "North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going to be accepted by the neighbors as well as the greater international community," Clinton said Saturday at a news conference in Canada.

Biden thinks "jobs" is a 3 letter word

Yeah, this is freakin' wonderful. Let's kiss the ass of those who want to destroy us, especially from a President who knows so much about Islam, but fails to admit that he himself is a muslim. He did a wonderful job quoting from the koran, like any other scholar of the islam religion. Yet, this man claims to be a Christian under the guidance of Reverend (AKA, white men must die) Wright.

He also speaks very highly of innovation from muslim communities. He's right about the mathematic principles, but so deadly wrong about the art of printing. Yay! let's erase Gutthenberg's press and rewrite history why don't we? If Bush said anything this stupid, the media would be all over this - how come they're not all over the Obamessiah??? Ooops, I forgot: the media wants us to rewrite history. A few examples:
All white people (regardless of when they came over to the United States) are responsible for slavery and racial oppression; the Jews were the only ones sitting in and exterminated in concentration camps in Europe; UFOs exist and carried away Elvis, etc.

Another falacy: the muslim world supported the American Revolutioin. Less than .05% of people living on this continent were of muslim decent. No muslim country helped us in our cause. The two nations that deserve any credit were Poland and France.

Oh and a stretch of the truth: Jefferson kept a koran in his personal library and used it to guide his life. While it may be true that Thomas Jefferson did have a koran in his personal library, it was mainly because the koran, the torah, and the bible were used to formulate what we know now as common law. It was a requirement of law schools, such as the College of William and Mary, to apply religious law to legal thinking in the 1700s. Jefferson and Adams also used various religious sources in their memoirs to formulate their stance against slavery. Both were devout Anglicans.

Folks, this bullshit is only in the first 8 minutes of his 55 minute speech!!!

Let's fast forward to my favorite part of this speech where he talks about "one world order" - yeah, that's just what we want: one world order. Uhmm... Hitler, Alexander the Not-So-Great, and others have tried that. They all failed. What maked the Obammasiah to f*cking special?

Some political cartoons related to today's economy :)

Obama's PR stunt terrorizes NYC

One Big Ass Mistake America decided to have Air Force One fly low over NYC, but denies having anything to do with it, but now decides not to release the pics? Hmmm... seems like a government cover-up - and this is a guy who ran on McCain's coattails about wanting a more transparent government.

And people were dumb enough to vote for him *shrug*

Scranton School for the Deaf

Despite 51,000 signatures being thrown at the governor's office, Ed Rendell ignored the petition to keep the Scranton School for the Deaf open. According to Rep. Kevin Murphy, there is no justifiable cause to close the school. The underlying premise is that the state doesn't want to fund special education in the commonwealth. This is a slap in the face to special education in general, not just to deaf people.

As a side note, my fiance and her son are deaf. Needless to say that this issue hits home with me. She - via the help of a relay phone call - was able to get the attention of Steve Corbett and voice her opinion on the issue. Knowing that the school was about to be closed and unhappy with the transition plan, Kristiana indicated that she was disgusted with the government, Rendell and Bob Mellow.

Hopefully, within the next few days, we will be able to meet with the administration of the school to find out how much money they need to raise. Contingent upon this meeting, we will put together a non-profit organization to raise the money needed to keep this school open.

Comments? questions?

WTF? Corey O'Brien for Congress

It has been brought to my attention by Gort that Corey O'Brien, current Lackawanna County Commissioner and former local radio/television talk show host, may be considering a run for Congress against Osama Bin Kanjo on the democratic ticket in 2010. He made a quick name for himself among the local public but hasn't really had any major milestones in his political career to run on except for the fact that he took the dealings with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees out of the Lackawanna County Commissioners' hands. If he does decide to run, I wish him a lot of luck but do believe that this move may be a bit premature.

What do President Obama and Natalie Maines have in common?

Both don't have the balls to diss their own country on their own soil

Protesters denounce Obama worldwide

Wow! The rest of the world realizes what kind of fucking joke of a President the people elected, as evidenced by protests in civilized countries like China, France and Great Britain. Why? because the failure of our banking industry resulted in a global economic crisis - all because some morons like Barney Frank believe that everyone (i.e., lazy people on welfare) "deserves" the same damn things that other "normal" (i.e., hard working middle class people) people "earned" - the key word here is earned - but the libs mislabel this as "opportunity"

Folks, opportunity in the United States of American doesn't mean you get things handed to you on a silver platter. Our nation was created to provide the means and resources with limited government intervention for people to earn those things that are desired - that is opportunity. If you want a home or health insurance for your family, you should never rely on the government to provide these things for you. You're supposed to get a job that provides the means necessary to satisfy your needs. If your job doesn't pay well enough, then you can go to school to earn a higher degree which will enable you to accomplish your goals. The opportunity to better yourself and/or accomplish your objectives is available - seize that opportunity.

Don't wait for the government to provide the solution. Haven't we already learned that lesson from events like Katrina? Rely on the government, and you're up for a big disappointment.

NEPA economic crumble cake recipe - just add water

I posted this blog entry in another one of my blogs, here's the link

How to ruin your Presidency in less than 100 days:

1. Hire a guy to run the IRS who doesn't pay his own taxes
2. Rely on trust fund kids to provide economic advice
3. Ask fledgling entrepreneurs with no startup capital how they would solve the credit crisis
4. Give billions of dollars away to people and companies that don't need it
5. Tell people 2 weeks after you get in office that you "screwed up"
6. When you make the same mistake twice, quote Britney Spears: oops I did it again
7. When in doubt, paint a bleak, hopeless picture of the future
8. Compare your athletic skills with participants in the special Olympics
9. Spend, spend, spend your way out of every problem
10. Blow the international value of the dollar by borrowing $93B from China, the country that sees no ethical problem with putting lead in children's toys, practicing technological elitism, and adding a little poison to puppy food.
    

Don't trust a man who stole his campaign sloga from Bob the Builder

Obama on Mount Rushmore

Obama is running the risk of being a 1-term President

21 days in office, and the guy definitely shows he has no clue how to solve the country's problems - folks, that's what you get when you vote for someone who ran for President of the United States as part of his personal journey.

Campaigning to pitch your ideals in destitute areas is just another illustration of cult of personality. Stalin, Hitler and Napoleon did the same - and I ask you, where did their policies end up? The people they were supposed to protect lost their freedom for the sake of personal gain of tolitarian leadership. I warned you about this before. I also warned you about how the Obama Administration, Pelosi, Reed, and others will pervert our governing document.

Our founding fathers drafted a document that our current lack of representatives are wiping their asses with. Osama-Bin-Kanjorski and Chris Carnival are wasting our tax dollars dealing with issues like investigating steroid use on baseball players when they should be trying to properly legislate the issues that are most important to us. In the meantime, Arlen Sphincter votes for the largest spending bill in history. These actions have nothing to do with resolving Osama-Bin Kanjo's and Barney Frank's blunders!!! Someone please tell me how their actions on the Hill are 100% Constitutional!!!! The fact is that they are not!!! Therefore, our lack-of-representatives on the Hill have polluted Jefferson's (et al) ideals.

I believe that sticking to the Constitution as it was originally intended is the best solution to our economy. Let's allow the free market to correct itself while Capitol Hill re-alligns its policies with the original intent of the founding fathers. Let's stop bickering over the translation of the Constitution as it applies today, but rather as it was intended on being translated ealrier (we already have a process to adapt it to today's standards and it's called ratification). Government interviention should be limited (as originally intended), and growing the federal government has only proven itself to be detrimental over the long run. The New Deal still has some lingering problems, which is one of the reasons why Detroit is doing poorly. LBJs policies have lead to welfare fraud and abuse.

I am not saying that government intervention is a bad thing. Sometimes it's needed. Fair wages via labor unions, workfare, and food stamps are great temporary programs, but they have been overused, abused and exploited. It's time to think about the balance between federal intervention and the free market to get this economy on track. However, the Obama economic stifling plan is nothing more than a crap shoot mixed in with a lot of pork. If he's successful, which probably won't happen, Obama will go down in history as one of the greaest Presidents of the 21st Century. Most likely, his plan will fail miserably and he will make Jimmy Carter look like Mother Theresa. In 3 weeks, this man has done nothing honorable, except throw an olive branch to Iran while allowing our military to focus its efforts on Afghanistan. He has completely ignored Putin while Kim-Sung-Mentally-Ill and the future PM of Isreal (election still going on) are just sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right moment to carry forth their agenda. In the meantime, Obama's picking people who can't pay their taxes while expecting the dwindling middle class to pay their fair share. Might as well bend over and lube your rear ends with KY, because we're all going to get screwed.

Arlen Specter needs to go

Thank you, Senator Specter for voting on the Senate version of the Obama economic stifling plan. You, sir, once again prove yourself to be a socialist and out of touch with reality as your colleagues on the other side of the floor and shamefully drag the once great reputation of the republican party to one that equates itself with fiscal irresponsibility. This is neither something that the GOP members nor the American people need. Our economy does not need pork projects that only support those who fund your campaign. Our economy needs real stimulus - something our lack of representatives actually will never get done. As Pennsylvania's longest serving senator, you have proven yourself to be in DC too long. I hope that the middle class taxpayers of Pennsylvania decide to vote for whomever runs against you when you're up for re-election next year.

OMFG, unleash the red herons; hammers and sickles too!

Obama in the news for three things today: Tom Daschle; S-CHIP; and bailout stipulations.

It's bad enough that Obama is trying to push for his version of the economic stifling plan spending more money than a drunk at a titty bar (and with the same end result), but his latest antics are so far left, we might as well call him Barack Bolshevik, and his socialist buddies, like Reed, Rangell and Pelosi, are treating him like a puppy. Aside from his charisma, Barack Bolshevik has proven himself to be a poor leader - maybe a good organizer for the democrat communisty, but a piss poor leader nonetheless.

The only incling of leadership skills Barack Bolshevik demonstrated was with the handling of Tom Daschle. The minute word leaked out that Daschle didn't pay his taxes (the second pick by Obama who fails to pay his taxes by the way), Barack Bolshevik got up and took the heat and said it was all his fault. In his own words that the organized community can understand, "I goofed" - for the San Fransisco crowd Obama held a separate press conference where he danced and sang the Brittney Spears hit "Oops I Did it Again." I don't care what anyone says, I think Obama did a good job clearing the air, taking the blame, and trying to regain the public's trust. the whole dancing around in the speedo thing was totally unecessary though.

Barack Bolshevik signed into law a new SCHIP bill that got killed in the previous Congress with a few minor modifications - including giving illegal alien children health coverage. Yeah, that will stop them from coming over our borders! Please understand: I am not very concerned with Jose who denounces his alliegence to Mexico, forfeits all his documentation at the Mexico embassy, opens up a taco stand, gets an ITIN, and pays his taxes. What I am concerned with it Fattah Muhammed the Jihadist from Iran crossing over the border with his family, using our tax dollars to give his kids health care, and blowing up our buildings afterwards - this is the real threat with illegal immigration. I am also concerned with those who will come over to this country illegally (I'm not talking about undocumented aliens) just to take advantage of the quality of our health care at the expense of our tax dollars while they pay none. Folks, the new SCHIP amendment is going to cheat us of our tax dollars worse than a blind woman playing scrabble with gypsies.

Finally, there's the new set of mandates for bailout applicants: no salaries over $500,000 and you can only accrue stock options and cash them in when the loan has been paid in full. You will also be disallowed the opportunity to buy key assets that can save you on tax dollars. On the one hand, you can say that if you're a corporate executive applying for a loan on behalf of the company - no matter who the lender is - you will be subject to stipulations with respect to the use of the loan proceeds. The new government stipulations will also prevent big business from applying for these bailout loans and asking for more welfare money. On the other, such mandates are unconstitutional, result in a transfer of wealth, and socialize commerce. I think it would simply be better to tell businesses that you're not offering any bailout loans in your administration. At that time, the free market will have to make some adjustments - if a company is really hurting it will make the necessary changes to survive. I have said it time and time again: if the government really wants to stimulate the economy, let them invest in small businesses that want to grow and hire people. Instead, our socialist friends on the Hill are letting people lose their homes and live off the hand of the government.

Obama on Al Jaziera

Some of my conservative friends are pissed off that Obama decided to hold his first televised interview on Al Jaziera Network being buddy-buddy with the Muslims. Personally, I think that this was a bold, yet smart, move by our new President. His decision to speak with the Islamic world in a manner that hasn't been done before may end up being effective in opening up new lines of communications and easing tensions between us and the Middle East. Rather than mentioning the key phrase "spreading democracy" his messaage was much more on the lines of "let's try something new: learn to understand and respect us; we'll learn to understand and respect you." He sent the message that his administration does not want to perceive itself as tyrranical in the eyes of those living in the Middle East, but rather one that would try to establish some kind of diplomatic bond. I wonder if his olive branch waving will work. don't get me wrong - it's not going to stop radical Islamists from blowing up our buildings and killing our people, but it may help quash the spreading of Anti-American sentiment and propoganda in the Middle East.

Obama's Economic Plan

After hearing both sides of the fence on Obama's plan to rescue the country, I am finding myself to have even less faith in our government. While I don't know every detail of the plan, I can honestly say that the proposals within the plan do very little for the private sector (unless, of course you're a government contractor). I fail to see how the following will have a significant long-term impact on the economy as a whole (All I see is a bunch of projects that provide a pinhole sized ding in the short-run):

$44 million for repairs at the Agriculture Department headquarters in Washington.

$200 million to rehabilitate the National Mall.

$360 million for new child care centers at military bases.

$1.8 billion to repair National Park Service facilities.

$276 million to update technology at the State Department.

$500 million for the Transportation Security Administration to install bomb detectors at airports.

$600 million for General Services Administration to replace older vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles.

$2.5 billion to upgrade low-income housing.

$400 million for NASA scientists to conduct climate change research.

$426 million to construct facilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

$800 million to clean up Superfund sites.

$150 million for the Coast Guard to repair or remove bridges deemed a hazard to navigation.

$6.7 billion to renovate and improve energy efficiency at federal buildings.

$400 million to replace the Social Security Administration's 30-year-old National Computer Center.

Once these projects are wrapped up, Congress is going to have to say "now what"?

Strike 2 for Obama

Abortion is a very touchy subject and, while I am personally against abortion, except in the cases of rape/incest, potential health problems to the mother, or after watching Idiocracy preventing stupid people from breeding, I recognize and respect the woman's right to do whatever she wants to with her body - besides, the making abortion illegal in the US realistically is a mute point.

Before I get off track, I read that Obama signed an executive order to provide funding for abortions in foreign countries. Good Job, Barack! Just keep wasting our tax dollars on bullshit like that!!! In these economic times, I am sooooo fucking happy that our new President is wasting our tax dollars meddling in other countries' affairs rather than focusing on reinvesting our tax dollars wisely on regenerating job growth, small business development, and protecting American jobs.

Strike 1 for Obama

According to the Associated Press:

"Hours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases. Military judges were expected to rule on the request on Wednesday at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official involved in the trials said. The request would halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people."

It looks like Obama is using his Commander in Chief authority to play humanitarian for terrorists. These 21 people who are currently on trial have a vendetta against the USA and want us DEAD!!! ...and Obama wants to give these assholes amnesty?

A new President is sworn in

Thankfully, the bumbling idiot we had in office the last 8 years (yes, I'm a republican, but an anti-Bush republican) is finally out of office, and a new administration steps in today. I'm not buying into the "hope" and "change" speak that got Obama elected, but can honsetly say that I am not afraid of an Obama Presidency. His cabinet picks were well thought out and appears as though his policies will not be as far liberal as I originally anticipated while he was running for office. We have many problems facing this country, and this guy definitely has his work cut out for him. Will he deliver? Who knows... but I'll be watching his first 100 days closely.