I don’t want to diminish the loss of three beloved public figures this week by any means, but I’d be lying if I said I thought there was any chance the majority of the American public knows what their government is up to right now.  And that is, according to reports, preparing to vote on what could be a disastrous Cap and Trade bill, and could do so as early as tomorrow.  I’m no alarmist, but this bill combined with the seemingly inevitable “Obamacare” bill coming down the pike will have serious economic implications for many, many years.  I know everyone is sad about the celebrity deaths of the last few days, but in between newscasts, I would highly recommend the following news articles from today’s Wall Street Journal about the Cap and Trade bill:

The Cap and Trade Fiction

Cap and Trade Doesn’t Work

I’ve never been a huge comic book reader.  I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and access to a store that had comic books was pretty rare for me.  But every once in a while my brother and I would be given a a few, from family members, friends, etc.

At some point in the eternal comic universe there was a reoccurring Superman storyline that revolved around his doppelganger, Bizzaro, and the planet he came from.  While the storyline is entirely too long (and nerdy) to get into here, the concept is that a parallel universe/planet exists, which is populated by opposite versions of people in Superman’s world, doing the exact opposite things as their Earthly counterparts do.  As I have spent the last few days reading and hearing about Obama and the infamous 100 Days landmark, I can’t help but think about how similarly and completely backwards the political situation in our country has become.  (Additionally, I have been reading 1984 and have found similar terrifying parallels).  We are living in a complete Bizzaro World, where things would have been embarrassing at best, and politically devastating at worst, have become common, accepted practice.  The media is invested in party lines, and not the truth.  The public is looking for what will quickly and easily solve their present problems, not what will stand the test of time. Our politicians are looking for ways to hold onto power as best they can, not serving the principles and ideals that put our country where it is in the first place.

In the last few days Obama’s staff has been simultaneously downplaying and propping up the 100 Days mark.  Naturally, the main idea from his people has been that it is a worthless marker that should be ignored, except for all the “good” things he has done that we should be praising.  An unnamed Obama advisor has put out the following list as the landmark 100 day issues:

• Passing the “largest” economic stimulus bill in American history.
• Ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay military detention facility and abolishing “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
• Setting a fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq.
• Ordering 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and enlisting, with modest new assistance, European allies in a new multi-layered strategy there and in Pakistan.
• “Returning science to its rightful place” by lifting the Bush restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.
• Signing laws to expand children’s health insurance
• Signing a law meant to improve the ability of women who allege pay discrimination to sue their employer.
• Diminishing the role of lobbyists in the White House
• “Forge a meaningful statement from the United Nations” criticizing North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile.
• Lifting travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban Americans who seek to travel more frequently to the island and send more US currency to their immediate family.
• Engaging world leaders in Europe, Turkey, Latin American and the Caribbean with “strength and humility.”

We really are living in Bizzaro World if these are the standards being given as a successful 100 first days.  Nearly every one of these points is something negative that is being spun as a positive.  Who needs reality anyway, right?  Each can be easily and quickly re-written:

• Passed the “largest” Economic Stimulus Bill in American history.  With this, Obama has accumulated more debt in 100 days than every President previous to him, combined.  This bill was based on a long discredited Keynesian notion that spending is a good way to solve a debt problem.  While it may prove politically expedient in the extreme short run, common sense economics and history show otherwise.
• Ordered Gitmo closed, but has no set time to close it, and currently has no plan for taking care of the prisoners.
• Set a timetable for Iraq, aka, kept Bush’s timetable in place.
• Has sent additional troops to Afghanistan, but has no new strategy (ie the Surge) to win said conflict/quagmire.  Moveon.org is strangely silent.
• Lifted Bush restrictions on stem cells, but brought most of them back a few days later, naturally in a much more quiet fashion.
• Vastly expanded government provided child-health care, paid for by a massive increase in cigarette taxes (keeping in mind that the vast majority of smokers are poor).  Touted as a providing health care for the poor, but in actuality provides health care well into the middle class range- a successful attempt at increasing the likelihood of full national health care.
• Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, (and did not place it on the White House website for multiple days for our viewing pleasure as promised), which changes the statute of limitations on pay discrimination cases.  It is a gross injustice to employers and a blatant payoff to trial lawyers.
• Talked big about cleaning up Washington’s lobbyist problem, but hired various lobbyists within the administration.
• Had the UN, in the words of Team America: World Police, send North Korea “a very angry letter,” which the entire world knows is backed up by nothing.
• Lifted travel embargoes on Cuba, which will end up benefiting the Cuban government and not the Cuban people.
• Engaged World Leaders by talking down America, and talking up himself.  Was so successful on his European Magical Mystery Tour that he was able to get virtually zero help whatsoever for his new campaign in Afghanistan.

Let’s not forget also that within his first 100 days he was also able to get 800+ grassroots organized protests in every state of the country.  Even Bush couldn’t do that.  Maybe Obama is Bizarro-Bush?  Now that’s a scary thought.  I’ll take neither please.

Sources:

100 Days: What Obama Wants You To Read

100 Days: How Obama Changed DC

Advisor: Obama’s First 100 Days Most Productive Since FDR

Happy Debt Day

The AIG bonus “outrage” of the last week is a complete joke, put forth by the same people who voted to give these people our tax money in the first place.  For excellent commentary, please refer to the following articles:

Minority View, from Powerlineblog.  A good sum up of the facts behind the whole thing.

Dodd Changes His Story, from Powerlineblog.

Bill Of Attainder, from Wikipedia.  The 90% tax bill passed by the House is completely unconstitutional.  Not that they care about that sort of thing.  Apparently even the Obama Administration is starting to think so.

In the last 24 hours or so I have seen this story in various places, and honestly, I don’t get it.  I’ve been confused all week, from Obama’s big “not a State Of The Union,” State Of The Union address, to his $3.5 trillion budget, which comes with a pretty blue cover and the words “The era of responsibility” stamped on the front.  I really can’t say it better than how Powerline put it in response to Obma’s claim to be ready to fight lobbyists, when they said yesterday, “As Obama well knows, lobbyists all over Washington are lighting cigars with $50 bills at the prospect of having $3.7 trillion worth of spoils to divvy up. Obama must think the American people–his supporters, anyway–are complete idiots.”

In the context of the Tuesday’s speech and the budget, I really can’t decide how he actually views the American people.  I described the speech to a few friends as “a bunch of statements that sound inspiring and plausible to everyone except those who get their news from somewhere other than MTV.”  He keeps throwing this “era of responsibility” tag around, and yet in reality it’s more accurate to describe it as “the era of insurmountable deficits.”  (just look at the graph here) How is that responsible?  And as often as he can Obama throws in the “I inherited this deficit from Bush” line.  Right.  So the best response is to make it 10 times worse?  And don’t forget, he actually said in his speech that he was not a fan of big government.  With a straight face, no less.

Additionally, we are now on the cusp of subsidizing mortgages.  Just think about that one- some of our neighbors aren’t able to make adequate payments on their houses, and rather than letting them deal with the ramifications of making unwise decisions, we are going to take money out of people’s pockets who were responsible, in order to help those that aren’t.  Any citizen in the country would agree that stealing and slavery are morally wrong, but a high percentage are apparently willing to look the other way when it benefits themselves.

So I ask, how does Obama see the American people?  He clearly knows that talking about responsibility is something the public wants to hear.  And he apparently knows that the majority of Americans will turn a blind eye to the fact that his actions are not coming even close to lining up with his rhetoric, pre and post campaign.  So does he think we are, as Powerline sarcastically put it, idiots?  Does he know, as J. Norman and I often say to each other, that he is the MTV President for the MTV Generation?  Has he rightly identified that the vast majority of the public is completely ignorant of basic economics and history, and is then exploiting it?

He can’t have it both ways.  He can’t talk about responsibility and do the polar opposite, all while self proclaiming his own moral authority.  If he really believes what he is saying, his actions would at least be on the same planet as his words, which they’re not.  Is a little change from business as usual too much to ask?  Apparently so this time around.

In case you’ve somehow missed it, Rick Santelli of CNBC went on a (beautiful) tirade a few days ago on the floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange, decrying Obama’s new Mortgage Bailout.  In it, he calls for a Chicago Tea Party, to ask if Obama is listening.  Check out the video here and the new Facebook group here to get more information.

There are many reasons why I, if I were somehow to attend, would not be handed the microphone during a campaign-style Town Hall meeting.  And no, I don’t know why Obama is still doing them.  I am sure he is quite aware that the campaign is over, though you wouldn’t know that from his frequent, vague, accountability-free promises he makes nearly every day.  But I digress.  A few of those reasons are:

1) I would not sound like an ignorant idiot like this guy.  (Though at the same time I find myself thankful for Julio, as he succinctly demonstrates a great many things that are so hideously wrong in America today.  Briefly, they are: 1) rampant celebrity worship, now turned politician worship, 2) unbelievable ignorance of basic economics/business/capitalism, 3) lack of shame in asking for or receiving handouts, 4) ignorance as to exactly where those handouts come from.)

2) I probably can’t read from cue cards as well as Obama.

3) I would ask actual questions.  Like, for example: “Mr. President, can you please tell me where then constitution gives the federal government the right to intervene into the economic affairs of our country?” Or, “Mr. President, can you explain the concept of enumerated powers to your pathetic, historically and constitutionally ignorant electorate please?” Or, “Mr. President, can you please tell me how equal protection applies to members of your administration who are known tax cheats?  Does that mean that I am exempt from penalties or interest as well?  Or does this constitute what John Adams warned of, a ‘rule of men’ instead of a ‘rule of law’?  I thought we were living in an era of responsibility.”  Or, perhaps, “Mr. President, can you explain how your administration, the most ethical and and transparent government in the history of humanity, has hired numerous lobbyists, sought or hired three known tax evaders, even appointing one member who had to resign due to being under criminal investigation.  Additionally you have not required Congress to post your stimulus bill online so everyone could read it, have held closed door meetings with corporate CEOs, and are already a notorious press conference question dodger.  Please reconcile these.”

Maybe someday I’ll get up there and have my 15 minutes of talking head fame.  I’m not holding my breath though.

With all due respect Mr. President…

Perhaps the most important reading you could do would be to read the Stimulus Bill for yourself at ReadTheStimulus.org.

The Action Americans Need by Barack Obama.  From the Washington Post.  So now he’s writing Op-Eds?  Smacks a bit of desperation if you ask me.  Maybe it should have been titled, “The Crushing Debt Future Americans Don’t Want, But Will Get Anyway.”  Also see his speech to House Democrats from the other night.

The New Great Communicator… Isn’t, by Joan Walsh.  From Salon.com.  So basically, rich people are evil and horde all the money, so all we need to do is take their money and get it to poor people who will spend it, thus saving everyone.  And all Obama needs to do is sell that point better, and he’s in the clear.  You think I’m joking, but I’m not.  Keynesian, demand side economics hard at work.  Until she runs into, you know, facts, reality, truth, history, etc.  Also see this refutation of her original (bad) premise.

A guy goes undercover into the pit of all evil, Wal Mart.  And finds?  It’s not so bad.  (via Powerlineblog.com)

Twelve Thoughts on the Election Contest Order, from Powerlineblog.com  Update on the Franken/Coleman case/election.

Republicans as Democrats, Part 1 and Part 2, by Thomas Sowell.  From Townhall.com

We Can’t Spend Our Way to Prosperity, by John Stossel.  From Townhall.com

The National Ponzi Scheme, by Walter E. Williams.  From Townhall.com.  Great article about Social Security, by one of my current favorite thinkers.

Venezuela’s Chaves says Obama has “stench” of Bush.  But I thought the world would love us now?  Also, the French are smarter than us.

Tom Daschle: Symbol of All That’s Wrong in DC, from Powerlineblog.com.

What Are They Buying? by Thomas Sowell, from Townhall.com.

Legislating the Lillie Ledbetter Lie, from Powerlineblog.com.

Fan and Fred’s Lunch Tab, from the Wall Street Journal.

The Entitlement Stimulus, from the Wall Street Journal.  Here comes socialized health care…

My Bipartisan Stimulus, by Rush Limbaugh.  From the Wall Street Journal.  Makes more sense than anything I’ve heard out of DC.

Get Over It: New Deal Didn’t Do The Job.  From the Heritage Foundation.

Please write or call your Senator and encourage them to vote NO on the stimulus (porkulous) bill.  You can find contanct information here.  I sent this to mine:

Dear Senator,

You have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.  May I remind you of the words delivered by James Madison to Congress in 1794: “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”  The current stimulus package is nothing more than an exercise in government charity, passing out its citizen’s money to innumerable earmarked benefactors.  It is unconstitutional, not to mention immoral, to extend financial favors to one group and not another.  It is reprehensible to do so in the name of economic stimulus.  Spending billions on STD awareness, DC area landscaping, off-road vehicle courses, Amtrak, and digital TV coupons, will not by even the most lucid imagination, make the tiniest dent in the current recession.  Please consider the American people first and the free market principles on which our nation was founded above that of Democratic campaign contributors.  Set the business owner and the entrepreneur free from the economic shackles our bloated government has constrained them in.  Let us keep the money we have rightfully earned, and the economy will flourish, as history has shown.  If we are truly in an “era of responsibility,” as President Obama has deemed it, allow businesses and citizens to be held responsible for their own actions.  If we are truly a free society, then failure must be a possible result of risk.  Corporate and individual bailouts are not the answer, but a sad symptom of a society obsessed with entitlement, refusing to acknowledge personal responsibility.  Please do not saddle our grandchildren with the consequences of yet another in a series of never ending government mistakes.

Please vote NO on the stimulus package.

Thank you.

I am constantly amazed at the shameless level of denial the mainstream media resides in.  I know, I shouldn’t be surprised.  Call it the idealist in me, but from time to time I forget that what should happen (objectively reporting facts and/or events) is not what actually happens (obviously interjecting your bias regarding those facts and events, or not reporting them in the first place), especially now that most major media outlets have become little more than the PR wing of the Democratic Party.  And since none of them have any idea who I’m talking about, I’m talking to you, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, AP, NPR, PBS, NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Sun Tribune, Newsweek, Time… you know, the usuals.  Take for example, this lovely article from The AP, entitled “Obama Breaks From Bush, Avoids Divisive Stands.” Witness the objective, fact-filled unbiased reporting, like these selections, (followed by my comments):

He largely avoided cultural issues; the exception was reversing one abortion-related policy, a predictable move done in a very low-profile way. The flurry of activity was intended to show that Obama was making good on his promise to bring change.

How can anything he does in the first few days of office be low profile?  He’s only done two or three things to begin with!  How can any of those issues/orders be low profile?  And how is he making good on his promise for change?  He hasn’t been in office for even a week!  So anything he does counts as “making good on his promise to bring change?”  This just in: Obama had a burrito in the White House yesterday, something that hasn’t been done for 10 years… change has come!

Obama long has emphasized solutions over partisanship, and he doesn’t seem eager to address issues — at least for now — that create great ideological divides.

Again, it’s difficult to decide if this is an example of blatant bias or just old fashioned laziness.  An objective reporter might point out that while Obama most defintely placed a high emphasis on “bipartisanship,” he certainly has not employed it in the post-campaign reality thus far.  Exhibit A would be this article from the NY Post, which reported that Obama told Republican leaders “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done,” and later told Rep. Eric Cantor “I won.  I will trump you on that.”  What he means by these comments is A. Don’t stand for your principles, and B. Actually, on second though, I don’t care what you stand for.  I won, so it doesn’t matter.”  Sounds like reaching across the aisle to me.

Obama was sworn in Tuesday with huge support — 68 percent in a Gallup poll released Saturday — and incredible optimism from the public; Bush left Washington with record-low job approval ratings.

…A picture of poise, Obama didn’t get rattled when Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the oath of office, an exercise repeated a day later to ensure constitutionality. He breezed through his speech — which repudiated Bush’s tenure though never personally attacked him — without a misstep. Even with the weight of the country’s troubles now on his shoulders, he was relaxed as he twirled his wife, Michelle, at celebratory balls.

…He even halted a few times to ask for clarification from his White House counsel. That sort of deferral to someone else in a public setting and admission of a less-than-perfect command of the facts was never Bush’s style.

Again, where is the objective reporting?  Why do we need to know that he had 68% approval ratings when he came into office?  For what?  Good job holding press conferences and posing for pictures in the last month?  The only point can be to remind us of how popular and wonderful Obama is, and how evil and horrible Bush is.  Obama was a picture of poise during the swearing in?  What innaguration was this reporter watching?  Even that detail gets twisted to make Obama look good, and Roberts bad.  Obama was the first one to mess up.  We all saw it.  And he didn’t make it any better as it went along.  In the entire acticle about his first week, mot even a mention of Obama’s little hissy fit he threw in the press room.  Apparently not even that will get this reporter’s attention.

The fact is that the media is supposed to be the group watching over the Government, calling out problems and informing the public of what is going on.  Apparently that charge has fallen on willfully deaf ears.