Call President Goodwrench

Just when we were getting used to calling him Lord ObamaPrompter he gives himself a new name: President Goodwrench.



"Let me say it as plainly as I can. If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired just like always. Your warranty will be safe. In fact it will be safer than it's ever been. Because starting today the United States will stand behind your warranty!"



Seriously. You really can't make this stuff up. But it did get me wondering, here on the plantation we have a Chevy Tahoe that is out of its warranty period. But, President Goodwrench says the warranty is better than ever before because he's behind it. (The State is Me.) So my question is, is my truck now back in warranty? Because, sir, I had to replace the ignition coil and the plug wires this weekend. We had 'em do an oil change too since it was in the shop anyway. The bill came to $468.09. Now do I send that to you? Or is this part of Slow Joe Biden's area? (Without his hairplugs Joe would look kinda like a mechanic. You, sir, not so much.) Hey, I can delete the oil/filter & lube part I guess. So let's see, you owe me $468.09 less $27.95 I reckon. That's $440.14. Make it an even $440-- close enough for government work! Am I right? Ha ha ha!



Now, in December I had to take a Jeep in to have a window regulator fixed, President Goodwrench. They did an OK job on that but, unfortunately, they broke the door panel putting it back on. They told me they'd call when the new part came in and install it for free but so far we haven't heard anything. It's been a while. Should I call them, Mr. President or will you handle that for me with the new and improved warranty program. Should I wait to hear from you or Joe? Can the Teleprompter handle it? He seems pretty efficient. Let me know, please.

Private Public Partnership?

Last Thursday we asked, "Are we in Cuba yet?"

This morning the first headline seen was: Obama Ousts Head of General Motors

Yep, we're in Cuba. Or Venezuela.

99% of the talk I'm hearing on business TV this AM revolves around GM, Chrysler, and their leadership. The bigger issue, and the main reason the futures plunged across-the-board overnight, is that it's now clear that Lord Obama and his minions believe they are fully in charge of private enterprise in the US. Now you might point out that there is taxpayer money in GM thanks to the "bailout" (which we opposed) and so the administration must look out for our collective interests. I would simply point out that last week in testimony in front of Barney Franks' committee Faithful Finance Elf Timmy asserted that the executive branch should be able to take over any private enterprise if they so choose. When it was pointed out to him by a Republican representative from Illinois that seizing private companies was a "radical proposal" Secretary Geithner interrupted saying that it wasn't radical at all. Holy Hugo, T-Man!

The federal government intends to abrogate contracts and seize private businesses at will. They are telling private businesses who will run their company and the limit of the compensation. This morning we're hearing that the Treasury Department is to be involved in overseeing GM & Chrysler-- in addition to running hundreds of banks and the biggest insurance company in the world. Since most of the senior staff surrounding Timmy over at Treasury currently consists of empty chairs I guess we should be very happy that Geithner wasn't kept from his duties by that pesky tax problem. Clearly he is the indispensable man. We are so blessed to have men of such stature to take over the levers of (formerly) private enterprise in America. How silly to think that there were hundreds and hundreds executives working at these firms when all that was needed was Tim Geithner. With an assist from Joe Biden, no doubt.

As Freedom Fades

In the days right after terrorists brought down the twin towers of the WTC in Manhattan we were a defiant nation. People wrote and talked about re-building them-- but even taller. There were sketches passed around the Internet that showed a design where the buildings were replaced with a series of towers, the middle one higher than the rest, giving the distinct impression that we were flipping off the enemy.

But soon post-modern American reality rolled in like the tide that brings debris to the beach. There were endless delays in getting a plan for a new building. The bureaucracy and red tape of doing business in NYC made it look like the tenth anniversary of the attacks could come and there would still only be a hole in the ground. The one bright spot through all of it seemed to be the name for the building that would go up on that valuable land: FREEDOM TOWER.

Now, in our New Socialist nation full of HOPE and CHANGE freedom is clearly a thing of the past. How fitting then that, quietly, Freedom Tower has become One World Trade Center.

Easier to market "One WTC" than "Freedom", it's said.

Meanwhile firearms and ammunition manufacturers are setting sales records.

Chain of Fools

Thank goodness!

The leading funder of far left causes in America, George Soros, is making money hand over fist in this recession. By the way, there are no coincidences in life.

"(Soros's) decision to come out of retirement in 2007 to manage the fund made him $US2.9 billion.
And while the financial crisis continued to deepen across the globe, the 78-year-old still managed to make $1.1 billion last year. 'It is, in a way, the culminating point of my life’s work,' he told national newspaper The Australian. 'I'm having a very good crisis.'"

But, what's this? Lord ObamaPrompter and his faithful finance elf Timmy want to regulate hedge funds like George's? Not exactly. They want to be able to declare businesses as a danger to the economy and seize them. George has nothing to fear, although his competitors might.

Are we in Cuba yet?

Budget DOA?

Better things to do than watch Lord ObamaPrompter last night so we checked in with Byron York this AM to find out how it went.

At his news conference Tuesday night, President Obama stressed the four most important goals he hopes to accomplish this year: health care reform, energy legislation, education reform, and deficit reduction. But by the end of the hour-long session with the White House press corps, Obama had retreated on three of the four.

Well. That sounds good. No wonder the market futures were higher this AM if the general impression is that the Obama Budget is DOA. Here's the rest of what Mr. York had to say.

Mighty Suspicious

The market has its best one day gain since October 28th of last year and there is suspiciously little volume. Is that an ominous sign? It usually is.

The leaders on the two week move up are all the beaten down issues from the crash. Is this an ominous sign? It usually is-- new rallies that last have new leadership, not the tired names from the last bull market.

Hmmmm.

Frankly, I'm getting punch-drunk.

Steyn

With our morning coffee...

Steyn sez:

Frank James of the Chicago Tribune criticized the president’s bon mot (re: Special Olympians)more in sorrow than in anger: “Obama seems to be a fairly sensitive and compassionate man who wouldn’t purposely set out to offend the disabled . . . ”Are you sure about that? He might be “a fairly sensitive and compassionate man.” Alternatively, he could be a mean, self-absorbed s.o.b. who regards anyone other than himself as intellectually disabled. The truth is we don’t know, because in the course of the presidential campaign the press declined to do even the most elementary due diligence on him. And, like Congress with the stimulus, the electorate didn’t bother to find out what’s in there before they voted for it.

The Outrage Kabuki, must read, as usual.

And The Answer Is... PPIF???

Futures are up this morning and market watchers are assuming this is a vote of confidence for the latest plan out of the administration- Geithner's PPIF, otherwise known as PIFFLE.

Stephen A. Myrow says it won't work. I know this, if they suspend mark-to-market accounting rules many of the so-called toxic assets will be items that the holders won't want to part with-- and then PIFFLE will be in conflict with the market for those assets.

Headline To Frame

Obama asks Americans not to expect too much from him
By Charles Babington
Associated Press




No problem, President ObamaPrompter

This Fad Is So Over

Our closest associate told us during a commercial break while watching NCIS that the local book and gift emporium was beginning to markdown all of its Obama merchandise. They had tons of the stuff and up until a couple of weeks post-inauguration it sold pretty well. But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.

It's always sad when you see the latest product from a pop star hit the remainder bin, but there you have it. Another fad is over. Lord ObamaPrompter has followed the hula hoop, super ball, and pet rock into the realm of pop fads officially declared to be passe.

Meanwhile, for collectors, there's this guide to Obama Kitsch. Buyer beware, however. So much of this crap was pumped out that the collectible value is suspect.

There's a Difference

While Lord ObamaPrompter is going on late night talk shows to make fun of special needs children Governor Sarah Palin is sending a video to the Boise, Idaho Special Olympics.

There are wise-ass punks and then there are good-hearted people in this world. Unfortunately being a smartass got this guy a long way in the world and now we are all paying for him being in way over his head.

Hope and Change for Peace and Love

From the "we're so September 10th now" file comes these two stories this week:


The Obama administration quietly is doing away with the arming of commercial pilots.



The Obama administration considers releasing terrorist detainees in America.




That Eric Holder is workin' overtime, baby. It's good to see that the domestic policy of Lord Obamaprompter is dovetailing with the foreign policy. Across the world we're pissing off our allies and playing kissy-face with Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Domestically we're making travel more dangerous and setting terrorists free on the streets.


It's real comfortable in that hammock, Lord O, until something blows up again. Oh, and the little joke about AIG and bailed-out banks being like suicide bombers shows you just don't really get it, pal.

Inflate

I've seen some stunning moves by the federal reserve over the years but none more shocking than yesterday afternoon's actions. Since interest rates are already targeted at the 0 to 0.25% range everybody expected no change there. But few expected that the fed would announce the creation of another $1,200,000,000,000.00 out of thin air. This $1.2Trillion would go to buy up treasuries, bad mortgages, and assorted odds and ends. This fed move is calculated to drive people into risk while dropping mortgage rates to 4% or so. It's an announcement that deflation is dead so hanging onto your money waiting for prices to drop is no longer a smart option. Of course, with interest rates collapsing you can't get a decent return on "safe" options like certificates of deposit. So, the fed gave some fresh wind to the equities market which has rallied close to 20% over the recnt lows already-- a rally that looked tired.

Another immediate reaction was a drop in the value of the dollar by a greater amount than in any trading day in about 24 years. How else to play it? Well, inflation is coming so you sell the dollar and buy commodities like gold and oil. We've been through climax runs (AKA: bubbles) in stocks, houses, and oil in just the past decade. The next climax run? I'd say GOLD.

Politics In Baseball

As a Detroit Tigers fan since about 1958 we would like to be spending this week considering the pitching staff. Will they bring young phenom Porcello up to the bigs as the 5th starter? Or will one of the trio of Miner, Robertson, or Dontrelle Willis secure that spot behind Verlander, Bonderman, Galarraga, and Jackson? What happens to Willis if he doesn't make the rotation? Or Robertson for that matter. And in the bullpen another young phenom, Ryan Perry seems determined to pitch his way to Detroit.

Or we would like to talk about the non-pitchers. The every day lineup is set but there's a good battle going for the bench jobs. Clevlen, Larish, Thomas? And, does Thames get traded?

Unfortunately geopolitics has crept into the game and it casts a shadow over the Detroit Tigers. Several Tigers are Venezuelan. In fact, four Venezuelans from the Tigers organization are on the national team for their country in the ongoing World Baseball Classic: Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Guillen, and Armando Galarraga.

Venezuela has been playing this past week in Miami and a large contingent in the crowds there have been booing and hooting Magglio endlessly. Most of the folks booing are Venezuelan ex-patriots and Cuban ex-pats who (correctly) despise Hugo Chavez, the Castros, and their thugs.

But why does Magglio get the fan abuse?

Because of this. And this. And this.

So far Ordonez has gotten the brunt of the booing although Carlos Guillen is seen here having fun with the dictator. And, by the way, Ozzie Guillen, manager of the White Sox is, apparently, a Chavista.

This troubles many Tigers fans. We just want to watch ballgames and not have politics creep into it but, thanks to the WBC, it's there now. Will it carry over into the regular season?

One sure way to make any controversy go away is more of this.

It's important to realize something. These guys all go back to Venezuela in the off-season. They have family there year-round too. As wealthy, high-visibility, baseball stars they all are in contact with Chavez or his minions. None of us knows the kind of pressure on them to be supportive of the regime. Certainly if they were outspoken opponents of Hugo there would be problems for them. So, we don't really know how much they are Chavista and how much they are going along to get along. Still, in the case of Magglio, it looks like more than the bare minimum of support. And he does say the best of the revolution is still to come...

Forbes on Gov. Mark Sanford

At Forbes we find this article about the governor. It's interesting that the author sees Sanford as more Goldwater than Reagan. Shorthand for the difference is that Goldwaterism is rigorous and tough budget cutting while Reaganism is lower taxes and no budget cuts. For my money I would say that the dichotomy is Goldwater/George W. Bush, at least in practice. In any event, Governor Sanford certainly is frugal on spending. But the article gives the impression that nothing has been done on the tax front during his time as governor. Forbes writes:

But the real test is whether Sanford is willing to put shrinking government ahead of cutting taxes. The evidence suggests that the answer is yes. Earlier on in his tenure as governor, Sanford made a serious effort to gradually eliminate the state income tax. Yet he ultimately came to terms with the fact that he'd have to raise another tax, like the much-despised property tax, to make up for the lost revenue, and so he ultimately abandoned his plan.

There are a couple of problems with this. First, the idea of cutting the state income tax isn't off the table while Sanford is still governor. And, there is also a proposal for elimination of the state corporate tax rolling around Columbia. But, more importantly, Governor Sanford oversaw the near elimination of the property tax on homeowner real estate.

The last tax year we lived in California we paid about $7,000 in real estate taxes. We fled CA and in SC we bought the same amount of house on three times as much property for one third of the price. With that good move also came a drop in real estate taxes of 68%. We thought that was pretty nice since our local schools are immeasurably better than what we left in CA too. But, it would get even better. The part of homeowner real property taxes used for education was eliminated and offset by a 1 point rise in the state sales tax. We live near the NC border and the increased sales tax just put us at the level already charged in that state. So now our HOA fees are more than our property taxes for real estate. We pay 85% less per year than we did in CA for more. The idea that Mark Sanford wasn't interested in cutting tax rates just isn't accurate but you could get that impression if you only looked at income tax rates.

If we are using the Goldwater scale used by the Forbes author I would put Mark Sanford between Goldwater and GWB on economics, which means he's sitting pretty close to, you guessed it, Ronald Reagan. Less spending, lower tax rates, and balanced budgets.

Back At Ya

Our Governor was informed that he couldn't use a quarter of the "stimulus" coming to the state to pay down state debt. The Obama administration essentially told him their hands were tied by the legislation, so the Governor looked at the legislation and found a way to proceed and replied to Lord O as follows:

March 17, 2009
The Honorable Barack Obama
PresidentUnited States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I'd first thank you and Director Orszag for your response of March 16 to my letter of the previous week. Likewise, I have to express my disappointment that our substantive dialogue about the best way to adapt this stimulus to the unique situations of states across this country was interrupted by the Democratic National Committee's launching of a petty attack ad against us even before we had received your response.

I've made clear my opposition to using debt to solve a problem created in the first place by too much debt - and I don't believe this to be an unreasonable position. What I find less reasonable is the way this DNC attack ad returns a nation indeed yearning for change back to the same old politics-as-usual. Because I believe you and I share a common desire to escape this worn-out "attack first" mentality, I'd respectfully ask you to immediately condemn and put an end to this unnecessary politicization of a truly important policy discussion.

In the spirit of moving forward, I'd offer the following as a clarification to our using a portion of the stimulus funds to paying down our state's sizable debt. With regard to the Education Stabilization Fund monies (ARRA § 14002(a)(1)) that must be used "for the support of * education," we think it would be consistent with statutory requirements to use this $577 million to pay down the roughly $579 million of principal for State School Facilities Bonds and Research University Infrastructure Bonds over two years. This would immediately free up over $162 million in debt service in the first two years and save roughly $125 million in interest payments over the next 13 years, which could then be directed towards other educational purposes - just as paying off a mortgage early frees up the typical monthly payment for other uses.

Regarding the $125 million in the Fiscal Stabilization Fund (ARRA § 14002(b)(1)) headed to South Carolina, we'd lay out a few options for your consideration: first, paying down debt related to the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund that currently exceeds $200 million and would directly impact those currently out of work in this struggling economy; second, paying down debt related to state retirees, since that would seem to satisfy the statutory requirement that these funds be used for "other government services"; or third, paying down other bonded indebtedness at the state level.

We trust these alternative proposals fit both the statutory requirements and spirit of the stimulus legislation. Thank you again for your response, and we would again appreciate your opinion as soon as possible given that we believe this course of action will do more to ensure South Carolina's long-term economic strength than would other contemplated uses of the funds.

I also await your response on pulling down the attack ads. A good part of your candidacy was fueled by the hope for change in the way political debate is conducted in our country. On this, actions will speak louder than words - words you have been so gifted in delivering - in determining where you really stand, not as a candidate promising to deliver on change, but as a leader now capable of bringing this change.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Mark Sanford

At The Opening Bell

This is, after all, a place where semi-trained monkeys fling darts at the wall to pick stocks so every now and then people ask us if it's time to buy or time to sell. We don't believe in giving or taking stock tips, but we do believe that it doesn't hurt to talk about general market conditions.

Much was made of last week's abrupt rise in the equity markets. Technically speaking, the markets confirmed a new rally during last Thursday's trading. But be careful with that information-- the last few confirmed rallies have died quick deaths this quarter. A year-end rally ended January 8th. A month-end rally lasted exactly two days in January. Another confirmation came on February 9th and was over two days later. From February 11th on we've been in a nasty correction within the bear market. After a month of almost constant selling, some of it quite heavy, there is a psychological desire to have it all be over. But, in markets, unlike politics, HOPE is not a strategy.

What's happened since the Thursday confirmation? First, a tepid Friday followed by a Monday distribution day, distribution meaning a down market (NASDAQ) in higher volume. That's a sign that the managers of big portfolios were taking some profits from last week's quick gains. Will the selling continue or will buyers take over? Hard to tell, but a distribution day in the first couple days of a rally isn't a positive sign. No matter what one must be nimble. It's a bear market and any rallies will likely be quick.

Another Step Closer

James Lileks points out something we missed last week: Tony West is the President’s nominee to head the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

So what? Well, Tony West was the defense attorney for John Walker Lindh-- AKA: The American Taliban.

If you ever doubted that we are now reclined in blissful September 10th repose this simple fact should dispel the notion.

Lileks tells you about it here.

John Stossel

Last Friday night Bailouts and Bull aired.
Many of us were busy in other pursuits so here's the 1st part of the show dealing with the recent government "bailouts" and "stimulus."

The ABC link is here.

The 6th of the 6 parts on the Youtube links is good as well.

Rain Falls

There are still people who don't believe Lord Obama is a Socialist... an ANTI-CAPITALIST.

There are still people who get upset when you matter-of-factly say that he's an Ivy League academic Marxist. Frankly, there are dozens of these guys on every major college campus in the United States. This one just happens to be President of the United States with a willing, radical House of Representatives.

Listen to this radio interview from 2001, as 2 and a half million people have since last fall, and explain to me that Obama is NOT a radical, anti-Capitalist, Marxist.

Thanks to Wizbang for the heads up.

My Carbon Footprints Are Tired

It's pouring down rain and I have to spend the next five hours making a roundtrip drive. Thankfully there's this guy to make me feel better about my carbon footprint.

H/T- Maggie's Farm

Have a great weekend.

Attention Paid

A few people around the country have been paying attention to our governor since the transition from Bush to Obama began. Yesterday The Drudge Report even put Gov. Sanford's picture on the site where it remains this morning being seen by millions. All this attention comes from Mark just being Mark. He isn't changing somehow to oppose Obama and his New Socialism. Gov. Sanford is elected quite easily as a Republican when he runs here in South Carolina but his heart is libertarian-- small "l" intended. Back in September Mark spoke at a retreat for The Cato Institute and his opening was:

Back home in Columbia, South Carolina, when people get exasperated with me they throw out what they think of as a terrible pejorative, "You're not a Republican," they say. "You're a libertarian!" Of course, I always take it as a compliment. "I'm guilty," I respond. "I love liberty."

Those last three words are the most important thing to know about Mark Sanford. He loves liberty and he works hard to block government intrusion into that liberty.

So when the federal government tells the state that we must accept billions in federal money and the strings, thick as bridge cables, attached to that money he balks. Congressman Clyburn, a creature of pork who is in Pelosi's leadership cabal, saw this coming and made sure that much of the porkulus bill could bypass the state governors and go straight to the legislatures and agencies. That in itself is a gross assault on the rights of the states, but it's the way this little game is being played. Of the $2.8 Billion going to South Carolina much is for the phony "tax cut." It isn't a tax cut at all of course but rather a transfer payment from 5% of the population to 95% of the population. Obama promised this redistribution scheme during the campaign and the complicit press never asked him why welfare payments were called "tax cuts."

Of the remaining money to SC in the porkulus plan most of it will bypass Sanford but it looks like $700Million, about 25%, could still be directed by him. His plan is to apply it to state debt, much of which has come from prior federal mandates that don't have funds attached.

From today's issue of The State (the Columbia, SC daily):

Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday that using federal money to balance the state budget come July could “destabilize” the S.C. economy over time.
The governor said he will not accept $700 million in federal aid for state budgets unless South Carolina can use the money to pay off retirement, health care costs and other debts — making him the nations’ first governor to specifically reject portions of the federal aid.
....

Sanford said the long-term benefits of paying down debt outweigh the short-term gains from staving off budget cuts and job losses if the money is used in the state budget beginning July 1. Sanford has written a letter to Obama requesting permission to spend the money on debt.
“We don’t think it’s a good idea to spend money that you don’t have,” Sanford said, adding that there is no “immediate solution” to the state’s jobless rate.
“We need to look longer term and much more holistically at the notion of economic stimulus.”
Sanford argued that cutting $350 million from the state budget — which lawmakers said would mean layoffs of state workers — could force restructuring that could save money in the long run.
.....

“I’ve got a 15-year pattern of doing exactly this kind of thing,” Sanford said of his request.
Clyburn urged state legislators to bypass Sanford and request the money, which lawmakers in both chambers said they intend to do.
The House gave final approval Wednesday to a $6.6 billion spending plan that includes $1 billion in federal aid. House lawmakers voted 108-8 to include the disputed money.
Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said Wednesday he intends to use the federal money when drafting the Senate budget.

Now that last segment tells you something else important. The legislature in SC is in the hands of Republicans and their pal in this is Porky Clyburn, not Mark "Liberty" Sanford. They want that money and Mark Sanford and his principles be damned.

Of course his sudden visibility causes people to wonder if Mark will run for President in 2012. My guess is yes. By the end of President Bush's second term many Republicans were thoroughly disgusted by runaway spending in DC with R's at the helm. 50 days into ObamaNation that level of spending looks like the good old days already. The times might be right in 2012 for a return to Liberty. Now if we could just get him to stop quoting Tom Friedman.

50 Days of the Obama Disaster

Gateway Pundit put together the list. It's amazing.
What happened in the 50 Days That Changed The World.

A Long List of Enemies

Being someone who tries to make a living in the markets every day I don't pay any attention to Jim Cramer. In fact, I think his approach is destructive as it appeals to young people and treats the equity markets like a crazy game show at best, and a wild casino at worst. If you work at the circus every day as an elephant trainer you don't sit in the front row at the show every night laughing at the clowns and wondering how they all got into that little car. So, I don't pay any attention to Cramer.

But it has been interesting to see the loud liberal getting clobbered by the Obama administration for daring to speak out about the attack on capital Lord O and The D's are conducting. He follows other private citizens like Rick Santelli, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh in being the target for personal destruction by The Democrat Political Media Machine. At least all of those fellows have a pulpit and microphone from which to strike back. A plumber in Holland, Ohio during the campaign had no such support network when he elicited the only interesting economic statement by Obama during his two year campaign for the presidency. The handmaiden media, complicit in the attack on that plumber, is now assisting their guy Obama in going after Santelli, Cramer et al. This is a shock for Jim who is used to being on the ins with big time Democrats and their friendly media. He has written an article (here) that reveals how shocking it is to find yourself being treated like a Republican when you've supported all the left's causes , voted "correctly", and attended the right parties. In that piece he talks about how his criticism of the prior administration was ignored-- unlike what he faces today.

excerpt->
President Obama's team, unlike Bush's team, demonstrates a thinness of skin that shocks me. When I somewhat obviously and empirically judged that the populist Obama administration is exacerbating the crisis with its budget and policies, as evidenced by the incredible decline in the averages since his inauguration, I was met immediately with condescension and ridicule rather than constructive debate or even just benign dismissal. I said to myself, "What the heck? Are they really that blind to the Great Wealth Destruction they are causing with their decisions to demonize the bankers, raise taxes for the wealthy, advocate draconian cap-and-trade policies and upend the health care system? Do they really believe that only the rich own stocks? What do they think we have our retirement accounts in, CDs? Where did they think that the money saved for college went, our mattresses? Do they think the great middle class banks at the First National Bank of Sealy and only the wealthiest traffic in the Standard & Poor's 500?"


Much was (rightly) made back in the 70's of Nixon's enemy list. Back then it seemed shocking to most Americans that a president would think dissenters were his enemies. Opponents, yes-- Enemies? That seemed extreme to us in our naivete.

Luckily, for the last eight years we were assured daily that Dissent Is Patriotic! Maybe Rick, Jim, Sean, Rush and others were paying attention and agree but probably they all just think free speech hasn't been outlawed yet. Frankly, I can't recall a time when the official spokesman for the President of the United States used his podium to denounce private citizens of our country day after day. It's kind of sickening to hear O's press secretary talk about my fellow citizens as if they're enemies of the state. It makes me think that they aren't very confident in their own ideas if they continually attack dissenters personally. Maybe worse though is that when they do engage in an argument on these issues they never address the actual points-- rather they load a speech in Lord O's teleprompter with yet another Straw Man for him to knock down.

The markets are watching all of this quite closely. This first month and a half is already one for the history books.

That's A Lot of Change

Rasmussen Reports tells us this afternoon that Lord Obama's Approval Index has dropped 24 points since right after the inauguration.

24 points!

Approval number has never been lower and disapproval has never been higher.

T.G.I. Slow Joe Friday!

Another week and another make-work project for Slow Joe Biden. Lord Obama tries to keep the old guy busy so he doesn't say anything stupid to the press. They're so worried about Joe's inane bloviating that when he addressed the AFL-CIO's big pow wow at a ritzy Florida spa (Big Labor is still allowed to have fancy meetings unlike Capitalists per The Lord's edicts) they banned microphones and cameras.

This makes it tough for those of us who live for more Slow Joe buffoonery. But, hold on, we found some for a Friday anyway. Seems like Lordy O gave Joey the chore of running a panel that will produce a huge unread document about the dire plight of the Middle Class in America.

Yep, it's The Middle Class Task Force, chaired by Joe Biden. Joe and 7 cabinet officials make up the force and you can just imagine how diverse they are. One glaring problem though. There's nobody on "The Task Force" who is actually "Middle Class." Oops.

Last Friday they had their first meeting. They met in Philadelphia, not DC, because by going out there amongst We The People the Task Force Crew can get in touch with the Middle Class, see.

Well, that's a nice theory Darwin, but it didn't work out so well. They actually met with: Pennsylvania's Democrat governor Edward Rendell, Philadelphia's Democrat mayor Michael Nutter, and United Steelworkers of America president Leo Gerard. Unfortunately none of those men of the Left are, um, Middle Class.

But, have no fear, The Middle Class Task Force will tour the country having meetings like this for some time. I suppose they plan on having meetings until all of the problems facing The Middle Class are solved, or something. Given what the Obama Administration has been up to since January 20th there won't be a Middle Class left by this time next year so Slow Joe will be able to declare victory and move on to other pressing duties by the end of 2009.

Meanwhile, I doubt if they'll ever hear from a normal citizen throughout the year. You know, a guy who might stand up and say, "Hey, Joe, when my power bills go up by 40 frickin' percent because of this huge carbon tax y'all are slapping on us, how will that help me and my family exactly?"

No Trophy For You

Maybe Bailout Nation is just the logical extension of the "there are no losers" philosophy that made its way into public education in the last couple of decades. You know that philosophy, we don't keep score at youth soccer games 'cause losing feels so bad. An adjunct to that is grade inflation. Seeing a big red "F" at the top of the page will make Janey cry. Everyone gets a trophy.

People who have never been allowed to lose might just think they can buy a home they can't afford, not make the payments, and other people (AKA: the taxpayers) will cover the tab for them. Certainly Lord Obama and his minions want a "no responsibility society"-- it's written pretty clearly in their insane budget proposal. It's so clearly radical that as many as 14 Democrat Senators are getting cold feet. The best thing about the soak-the-rich to redistribute their hard labor's returns to the hammock-bound is the title: A NEW ERA OF RESPONSIBILITY.

Hilarious.

Of course the only ones really responsible are the Top 5% of earners in America. They're responsible for making sure the other 95% don't have to do much. Everyone gets a trophy.

There's only one problem with that scheme, Lord O.

The top 5% can just quit.

Capital is already on strike and it will get worse. Far worse. You won't be able to afford the shiny trophies, pal.

Porkulus Has Its Own Logo

Good news! Lord Obama's Porkulus catastrophe has its own logo!

Jake Tapper has the story about said logo here. True to form, the gears on the logo don't mesh properly-- although the stylized pot plant is pretty charming. I guess the logo means that if you get high enough you'll see stars and won't care that The Man's gears don't mesh. Kewl.

You know, throughout history every successful socialist movement has had marketing and a key element of a good marketing plan is a memorable logo. In Germany the National Socialist Party had a sharp logo. Of course, it's kind of out of favor these days, but hey that doesn't mean it wasn't pretty spiffy in its time.

Of course as FDR muddled and bungled through the 1930's turning a bad market correction into a long drawn-out depression ending in a worldwide armed conflict he used lots of cool logos too!

He also got Hollywood to promote his Enormous Government Schemes. Watch this hilarious video to see how bad it really was in the age of Franklin.

Of course, there's no way that Hollywood would promote the New Socialist agenda for Lord Obama! Right?

What's 10 G's Among Friends?

Another tax cheat in the Obama administration. Lucky for Ron Kirk (who?) he is indispensable to the nation.

Remember when we were all supposed to be concerned about the "culture of corruption" in DC? Nothing to see here according to the Democrat handmaiden media.

Drink Up Lads, For Tomorrow We Shall...

Our President, Lord Obama, likes to site the dire economic conditions as reason for his enormous tax-and-spend schemes. Apparently on his planet the way to get an economy really booming is by confiscating private money and spending all of that plus astronomically more in borrowed money on, er, um, "shovel-ready projects" or some such.

Most sane people are on to his scam by now. However, O continues to say that right now we are in the worst economic *crisis* since The Great Depression.

Hardly. When Reagan took office the prime interest rate was 20.5%. Now? 3.25% How about inflation. Reagan inherited from Nixon/Ford/Carter bungling an inflation rate of 14.8%. Obama took on, let's see, oh yeah. 0%

Unemployment? 1982 saw 10.8% and Obama has 7.6% to worry him. Although with his confiscation of employers' wealth I'm confident he'll break Carter's numbers soon enough.

Mortgage interest rates when Reagan took over? 18.5% (My first home loan was at 17% interest!) Now? About 5%.

Really, Lord O., grow a pair and quit whining. I know you got through Columbia and Harvard without having to learn much non-leftist history, but you might want to take a look at what Ronald Reagan inherited and how he put an end to it and started us on the longest peacetime boom since Harding/Coolidge.

Oops, too late. We're doomed to repeat the Hoover/FDR debacle.