New York Post on Obama's Tenure . . . "100 Days, 100 Mistakes"

Link to column here.

Tourists running the White House

Have you ever been to a big city, like Paris or New York?  It is very easy to spot the tourists on their first visit.  They're the ones behaving inappropriately, staring with wide-eyed and taking snapshots of everything in sight.

Unfortunately, some folks in Barack Obama's White House Office of Military Affairs decided to act like tourists on Monday, "sending two fighter jets and Air Force One to buzz ground zero and Lady Liberty" for the sake of a snapshot.  (Link to story here.)  Who cares if it would be eerily reminiscent of September 11 and cause widespread panic?

Tourists taking a picture is one thing.  These folks were more like stupid children on Christmas morning.  They've been out of power for years and now have some new "toys" to play with - Air Force One and military jet fighters.  What the heck, take 'em up for a spin.  Money is no object.  Who cares that it costs $60,000 per hour to keep Air Force One in the sky, not to mention the F-16s.  A picture is worth a thousand words and, of course, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Specter the Scoundrel

Always a R.I.N.O. at best, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter today became an ass, well, a donkey anyway.  He switched to the Democrat Party.  (Link to story here.)  The switch comes a little over a month after Specter promised not to switch.  Imagine that, a lying politician.

What's this all about?  

For Specter . . . personal power . . . he wants to keep his Senate seat and faced a serious threat from conservative Pat Toomey in the 2010 primary.  Toomey, without the support of GOP leadership, almost defeated Specter in 2004.  Specter must have seen the writing on the wall.

For the Democrats . . . 59 Senators in their caucus and counting.  Al Franken in Minnesota would make a filibuster-proof majority and effectively give them total control of the federal government.

For the Supreme Court . . . assurance that any liberal appointed by Obama will sail through without a fight.  Conservatives (and Republicans) will have no chance to stop the freight train and whatever slim chance may have existed there is now no chance to overturn Roe v. Wade in our lifetimes.  Someone once said, it is all about abortion.

For the GOP . . . hopefully, a wake-up call.  Specter should not have been coddled in the party in the first place.  He's a liberal and doesn't belong.  Other liberals don't belong either.  And now, without the possibility of a filibuster anyway, why continue to coddle the others.  The Republican Party needs to stand for something . . .  conservatism.  It should be something more than a label.  

Maybe it will be again one day.

Mayor Slay calls for unification of City and County

The City of St. Louis is not in St. Louis County, or any other County, and, therefore, must operate several redundant county-like departments in addition to city departments.  And in doing so, the City wastes resources that it doesn't have.

In addition to preventing efficient operation of government, the City-County separation also prevents the St. Louis region from looking at the big picture . . . what's good for the region instead of what's good for the City or Hazelwood or Wildwood or Florissant or Creve Coeur.

True unification of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County would be good for our community.  Is the time right?  According to this story from the Suburban Journals, City Mayor Francis Slay thinks so, though County Executive Charlie Dooley thinks Slay's all talk.

Let's all hope that it is more than that this time.

Obama's Teleprompter Woes Continue

Check out the video at this link.  It is what happens when the empty suit who Americans elected president gets ahead of his script.

Wouldn't it be nice if we had a president who was able to think on his feet and speak his own words intelligibly instead of Barack Obama.

Babies Killing Babies

Your Federal Government, through the FDA, has determined that it is okay for 17-year-old children to obtain abortion pills without even a parent's consent.  It is now legally permissible for children across this land to kill other children.  (Link to story here.)

Aren't you proud of yourself America?

Remember when $100,000,000 was a lot of money?

Hoping to convince Americans that he's fiscally sound (Ha!), Barack Obama convened his Cabinet and asked them to cut $100 million from the budget.  (Link to story here.)

Obama's hoping that that nice big round number impresses you and me.  Now $100 million used to be impressive.  It is still a little more than a successful blogger makes for his work but compared to the $3.6 TRILLION budget that Obama has proposed for 2010, even he admits that $100 million is no more than a "drop in the bucket."  Frankly, that's even a rosy overestimate . . .

The federal government's deficit for the MONTH of March, 2009, was $192.3 BILLION.  That's one month.  And Obama's "challenge" to his Cabinet is to cut "roughly one-twentieth of 1 percent" from that figure.  

One-twentieth!  

Of 1%!  

Of one-month's overspending!

Andrew Taylor and Calvin Woodward at the Associated Press pointed out that what Obama asked his Cabinet to do is equivalent to cutting a cup of coffee or two out of your household's annual budget.  It is like trying to save $6 from a family's $60,000 budget.  The cuts would be only 1/10,000 of the Cabinet secretaries' collective annual operating budgets (excluding war costs, the so-called stimulus, various bailouts, and entitlement programs).  And the interest on the "stimulus" alone with cost almost $100 million a day, every day, for the next 10 years!  (Link to their story here.)

Time to dump some more tea?

Peas in a Pod

Barack Obama has a new-found friend in Socialist Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.

How long will it be before Hugo introduces his pal to old buddy Fidel Castro?

Or to fellow crazy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

After all, don't they all want the same thing?

Et tu, FBI?

Not only is the Department of Homeland Security warning that veterans must be watched, the FBI is watching them too.  (Link to story here.)  The Bureau's "Operation Vigilant Eagle" was coordinated with the Department of Defense and aimed to "share information regarding Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans whose involvement in white supremacy and/or militia sovereign citizen extremist terrorism threat."

Welcome home vet's.  Thanks for your sacrifice.  We'll be watching.

Cue the music . . .

Barack Obama . . . covering up Christianity

President Obama gave a speech in Gaston Hall at Georgetown University (a Catholic institution, by the way).  

Here's a photo of what Gaston Hall normally looks like:

And here it is, "decorated" for Obama:

Notice anything missing?  Or should I say covered up with black-painted plywood?

That's right.  The cross and the "IHS" monogram, symbolic of the name of Jesus.  They were covered at the request of the White House.  (Link to story here.)

The president wouldn't want to be photographed around too much evidence of Christianity, I suppose.  

Who knows, doing that might have gotten his name on a watch list at the Department of Homeland Security.

(Credit where credit is due.  The photos used here were found at this link.)

Political Profiling - Local and National

We live in weird and threatening times.  Americans elected a new president in November and Missourians elected a new governor.  Both Barack Obama and Jay Nixon are liberal Democrats and since they've taken their respective offices, two law enforcement bulletins have come to light.  Each suggesting that conservatives - because of their beliefs - are potential threats to law and order and eyes must be kept on them.

The first of these political profiles came from the Missouri Information Analysis Center and the Missouri Highway Patrol.  The "Strategic Report" on the "Modern Militia Movement" reads like a college term paper on the subject of domestic terrorism linked with "militia movements" from the 1980's (when "Tom Clancy novels, Soldier of Fortune Magazine, and movies such as Rambo glorified combat") to the present.  The report goes on to describe the present state of America as a "lush environment for militia activity" and describes some "motivators" for that activity.  So far, who cares?  No big deal.

Unfortunately, the report didn't end there.  It went on to analyze the ideologies of militia members stating that they "often subscribe to the ideology of other right-wing extremist movements such as:  . . . Anti Abortionists" and folks described as "Anti- Immigration."  And, furthermore, "Militia members most commonly associate with 3rd party political groups.  It is not uncommon for militia members to display Constitutional Party, Campaign for Liberty, or Libertarian material.  These members are usually supporters of former Presidential Candidate:  Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr."  Even better, the historic Gadsden Flag, shown here, is described as the militia movement's "most common symbol."

The Missouri report has, thankfully, been pulled.  (Link to story here.)

But political profiling has gone national, thanks to Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security, which issued a threat assessment on "Rightwing Extremism."  What is "rightwing extremism," you ask?  According to our government, "Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely.  It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."  (Emphasis added.)  Missouri Right to Life anyone?  The report also seems to suggest that veterans are likely to become rightwing extremists and are a greater threat because of their military skills.

The DHS report is drawing heaps of criticism from several directions.  Even Democrats are "dumbfounded" by its issuance.  But Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano is standing by the report.  (Link to Washington Times story here.)

It is appalling and alarming that state or federal government officials would warning law enforcement to keep an eye individuals because of their political beliefs, especially when those beliefs are as mainstream as the Libertarian Party or Pro-Life causes.

Last time I checked, we still had a Constitution.  If Janet Napolitano doesn't realize that, it is time for her to find another job.

SLC goes Lone Star

Though I risk being branded a right-wing extremist by the Department of Homeland Security, I'll proudly fly the flag of Texas today.

(And, by the way, who am I kidding.  I'm sure they've already branded me.)

The fix was in

State Senator Jeff Smith, a St. Louis Democrat, was charged with a misdemeanor for using false identification to enter a Missouri casino.  He, reportedly, used the I.D. of State Representative Joe Aull, a Marshall Democrat, who was also charged.

All charges have been dropped against both men reports the Associated Press and Tony Messenger's blog at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which, in this case, is appropriately named . . . "Political Fix."

Happy Easter!

While these Easter greetings are coming a day late, they are no less sincere.

My best wishes to all my readers, your families, and friends.  Praise God for the gift and resurrection of our Savior.

Christ the Lord is risen today!  (Just like yesterday.)

Good Friday

"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God."  -Mark 15:37-39 (NIV).

Even Missouri is becoming a nanny state

Today the Missouri House of Representatives, by an overwhelming majority vote of 135-19, passed a bill that would ban junk food and soft drinks from public schools.  (Link to story here.)

Unbelievably, the majority Republican House, which ought to know better - and which gets my support most of the time, has decided that it knows better than kids, parents, schools, school districts, and elected school boards what children should be allowed to eat or not eat.  And, giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they do.  Kids probably shouldn't be eating Twinkies for lunch and guzzling Dr. Pepper in the halls.

But the appalling part of this story is that the folks in Jefferson City believe that it is the state's business to decide what's in the vending machines from Raytown South to Parkway South.

Shouldn't that decision be made by local communities, i.e. school boards?  Of course!

Let's hope that the Missouri Senate has a better understanding of the role of state government and this bill dies a slow death.

Senator Claire McCaskill flip-flops on illegal immigration

Back in 2007, I gave Missouri's junior senator props for voting against the Washington elite's bipartisan, anti-American, amnesty bill for illegal immigrants.  But now Claire McCaskill is seems to have turned in her independence, and her respect for the law, by flip-flopping on the so-called "DREAM Act."  (Link to story here.)

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, this measure "would allow millions of illegal aliens who meet a very loose definition of 'student' to qualify for green cards" and in-state tuition.  Then, those students receiving green cards could "petition the government to grant their parents and relatives legal status too."

I believe in immigration.  After all, it is more than a cliche, it is the truth to say that this nation is a nation of immigrants.  However, it was a nation of legal immigrants.  And it must remain so.

Individuals who fail to follow the law should not receive a benefit.  Individuals who enter the United States illegally or overstay their legal welcome should not be rewarded with green cards, or anything but a plane, bus, or boat ticket home.

In 2007, Claire McCaskill listened to Missourians and voted to defend American law.  If we scream loud enough again, maybe she'll listen again, snap out of it, and remember that she should be working for you and me, not Barack Obama.  If she doesn't, let me be the first to congratulate Sarah Steelman on her defeat of McCaskill in 2012.

Financial Irregularities at Missouri Democratic Party?

In tomorrow's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tony Messenger reports on the apparent inability of the Missouri Democratic Party to follow federal election law.  It seems our state's Dems "have been audited, fined or questioned by the FEC [Federal Election Commission] in six consecutive election cycles."  (Link to story here.)

Brace yourself

In the midst of a recession, job cuts, and rising unemployment in America, President Obama plans to renew efforts to "reform" immigration, including amnesty for illegal immigrants.  (Link to story here.)  Look for efforts to begin next month.

Americans were outraged, rightly so, when President Bush pushed such a plan in 2007, and, eventually, defeated it.  But victory could be fleeting.  Defeat would be devastating.  Get ready to put up a fight.

What should we be worried about?

Barack Obama . . . the clueless head of state

The United States of America has no king.  In world affairs, our president serves as head of state in addition to heading our government.  But when it comes to conducting himself as a head of state, Barack Obama is without a clue.  He's a fish out of water and an embarrassment on the international stage.  

If it wasn't for Obama's empty rhetoric about "hope" and "change" and its sway over sycophants in Europe (as in the U.S.), or his seeming embrace of all things Muslim, America would already be the world's laughingstock.  So far, only our nation's rivals are laughing.  But the line is forming up behind them as we speak.

Maybe you're reading this and thinking that I'm too partisan and being too rough on this guy.  Well, don't take it from me.  Take it from Camille Paglia posting at Salon.com.  She suggests that Obama has "what appears to be a total vacuum where a chief of protocol should be.  There has been one needless gaffe after another -- from the president's tacky appearance on a late-night comedy show to the kitsch gifts given to the British prime minister, followed by a sweater-clad first lady's over-familiarity with the queen and culminating with the jaw-dropping spectacle of a president of the United States bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia."

America elected a dope.  A guy who has no idea how to conduct himself in office and, worse yet, hasn't thought to hire someone to help him through this stuff.

Either that's true or Obama is intentionally trying to undermine America's position in the world.  I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he's just that ignorant.

A side note from Paglia.  She wonders "why was protest about the latter indignity [bowing to King Abdullah] confined to conservatives?"  Surely, that's rhetorical.  "The silence of the major media was a disgrace."  On that point Camille, we're agreed.  But I, for one, am not surprised.

4/8/09 Update:  For another similar viewpoint, check out Ralph Peters' piece at the New York Post.

Oink!

Citizens Against Government Waste has released the 2008 Pig Book.

$17.2 billion in earmarks.  That's a heck of a lot of waste.  But, unfortunately, that massive amount of money seems like a drop in the bucket these days.

Nonetheless, earmarks must end.  The old saying goes . . . pigs get fat but hogs get slaughtered.  It is time to slaughter the hogs in the 2010 elections.

A big win for the conscience (and the children) in Illinois . . . at least temporarily

A Circuit Judge in Sangamon County, Illinois, has issued a ruling prohibiting the State from forcing pharmacists to dispense abortion pills (so called "morning-after" pills).  (Link to story here.)

That's fabulous news for both individuals who want to work as pharmacists yet not become accessories to the murder of innocent children and, of course, to those children too.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story.  It is only a circuit court ruling.  It is certain to be appealed.  

Stuart Varney - right on the money!

Banks wanting to pay back bailout loans from the government are being refused.  They want to pay off the loans to get the Feds out of their business.  But the Feds won't go quietly.  In fact, they won't go at all.  They're forcing the banks to keep the money and the uneasy "partnership" with the government.

This news should be sending shock waves around the country but, unfortunately, it is hardly a blip . . . 

Why won't the government take the money back?  Stuart Varney posted this answer on the Wall Street Journal's website over the weekend:

"The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future.  Keeping them TARP [that it bailout]-stuffed is the key to control.  And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough.  The White House wants to tell 'em what to do.  Control.  Direct.  Command."

Unfortunately, Varney is absolutely right.  Don't believe it?  Check out this piece from Bloomberg.com today.  Its lead, "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he's prepared to oust executives and directors at banks that require 'exceptional' assistance from the U.S. government."

Barack Obama has already led a socialist takeover of the U.S. government.  Now he's got his sights set on American industry.  The banks, manufacturing, healthcare.  What's next?  Insurance?  Energy?  Agriculture?

So, what's the big deal about government's involvement in or control of the banks?  Varney offers that answer as well:  

"If Rick Wagoner [former GM boss] can be fired and compact cars can be mandated, why can't a bank with a vault full of TARP money be told where to lend?  And since politics drives this administration, why can't special loans and terms be offered to favored constituents, favored industries, or even favored regions?"

This is bad.  And getting worse day by day.

Meet the new boss . . .

the United States government.

Yesterday, Barack Obama showed who is running General - er, Government Motors.  (Link to story here.)

Today comes news that if the Democrats get their way, government will have the power to set the wages of EVERY employee of any company that receives federal bailout funds.  (Link to story here.)

Were all the bailouts and stimulus bills simply stupid, misguided, tax-and-spend liberalism running amuck?  Or is this a coordinated effort by the socialists running our government to nationalize American industry?

Either way, this trend must end.  Freedom depends on it.

Tell Senator McCaskill what you think

I recently received this e-mail from Missouri's junior senator:

Dear [Saint Louis Conservative]:

Right now, as our nation faces its most serious economic crisis in decades, Congress and the President worked together in order to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This recovery package will energize and uplift our state’s economy, and I want to talk to you about the many exciting opportunities for Missourians: thousands of jobs for our state, improvements to our infrastructure, much needed aid for small businesses, help for our schools and neighborhoods, and assistance for homeowners, to name a few.

That’s why I will be hosting a Kitchen Table Talk in your area on Tuesday, April 7, 2009:

St. Charles County (9:00 AM – 10:00 AM)
Saint Charles County Community College
Gymnasium
4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive
Cottleville, MO 63376

Franklin County (12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)
East Central College
Theater
1964 Prairie Dell Road
Union, MO 63084

Please join me for this important discussion. These events are free and open to everyone. You can RSVP from my website: http://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/kitchentable, as well as get more information. The attached press release explains additional details. If you have questions or concerns, please contact my Saint Louis Office at (314) 367-1364. 

I look forward to seeing you there.

All best,
Senator Claire McCaskill

Please, if you are conservative, in the neighborhood, and have the time (I don't) go to one of these events and ask Senator McCaskill just how we're going to pay for this so-called stimulus package.  There are only four possible answers . . . 1) we'll just borrow it from the Chinese government (or somebody else with gobs of money) . . . 2) we're going to raise your taxes through the roof . . . 3) we'll just print more and more money, we've got lots of paper and ink . . . or 4) all of the above.

If she gives you any other answer, it is just a politician's song and dance, which isn't something I would put up with around my kitchen table.

Just for laughs, I'd also like to hear someone ask Claire actually read the stimulus bill before she voted for it.  

Serious and Credible Threats to National Sovereignty

Some claim that the writing has been on the wall for years and that efforts have been underway to do away with the nation-state and replace it with a single world government.  I don't believe that there's sufficient evidence to support many of the conspiracy theories but threats to national sovereignty are now coming out in the open.

Fox News is reporting . . . "A United Nations document on 'climate change' that will be distributed to a major environmental conclave next week envisions a huge reordering of the world economy, likely involving trillions of dollars of wealth transfer, millions of job losses and gains, new taxes, industrial relocations, new tariffs and subsidies, and complicated payments for greenhouse gas abatement schemes and carbon taxes - all under the supervision of the world body."  (Link to story here.)

Who can blame the U.N. for making a power grab now?  With the weak and probably sympathetic Barack Obama heading the government of the world's largest economy, which happens to be struggling, and which happens to be the likely target of "wealth transfer . . . job losses . . . taxes . . . [and] tariffs" there's no time like the present.  And, in fact, they had better act quickly before the cover is fully blown on non-existent global warming.

I've said it before - recently - sovereign nations must draw the line or they will cease to exist.  America cannot allow the U.N. to transfer what's left of our wealth to other nations of their choosing.  We cannot allow our jobs or industries to be involuntarily moved to locations deemed "better" for the planet.  We cannot allow our citizens to be taxed or "supervised" by the U.N.

And, by the way, we cannot succumb to a one-world currency either.  Sorry for the casual treatment, SLC doesn't have time at the moment to write on that subject.

Liberal Democrat pleads guilty to vote fraud in St. Louis

In a "shocking" development, someone who worked for the liberal, pro-Democrat, Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition pleaded guilty to submitting false voter registration cards before last years elections.  (Link to St. Louis Post-Dispatch story here.) 

Are these folks our own local version of ACORN?

Concealed carry prevents armed robbery in Miami

Link to story here.

A sign of things to come?

Governments borrow money by selling bonds.  The United Kingdom tried to sell enough bonds to raise 1.75 billion pounds ($2.55 billion) and failed.  There weren't enough investors.  (Link to story here.)

The United States is planning on going deeper and deeper into debt with repeated stimulus plans and bailouts, not to mention Barack Obama's big government programs.  What is going to happen when our government tries to borrow billions or trillions and investors can't be found?

I can think of only three possible answers . . . massive cutbacks on government spending, enormous tax increases, and/or printing piles of new money.

Cutting government spending could be a good thing, but probably won't be when you see who would get to decide what to cut and what not to cut.  Big tax increases would be unbearable and send our economy spiraling even further downward.  And printing money would, of course, make the money that we have accumulated so far worth a heck of a lot less.

The time has come for the United States of America to discover responsibility again.  We have to stop - right now - spending what we don't have.  We've got to stop paying to send our troops around the world to act as a police force or a tripwire.  We've got to stop sending money we don't have as financial aid to other countries.  We don't have the luxury to pay for every program or idea, domestic or international, that sounds like it might be beneficial.  

It is time, actually it is far past time, to tighten the government's belt.  If the folks in D.C. won't do it, we should toss them out on their collective ears as soon as possible and replace them with someone who knows what it means to say no.

Absence makes the readership grow fonder? Again?

Fortunately for the blogger, I still have a real job.  I also have a family and, believe it or not, I enjoy spending time with my family more than I enjoy blogging.  No comment about the job.

In any event, I've been too busy or too tired to write anything since last week.  I had planned on getting to this last night but the few minutes of President Obama's press conference that I caught lulled me to sleep.  I saw repeated boring delivery of long-winded nonsense.  Did my random sample give me a good sense of the whole?  Or was anyone awake long enough to know?

Who is responsible for AIG bonuses?

Check out this story and decide for yourself.

Go Duke!

I've never rooted for Duke University's basketball team in my life, but if Mizzou doesn't win the NCAA tournament this year, I hope that the Blue Devils do.

Why?

The reaction of Duke's legendary coach, Mike Krzyzewski, to news that Barack Obama "spent part of Tuesday making his tournament picks for ESPN, which posted his completed bracket online Wednesday and showed the First Fan [I didn't know that was an official title] filling it out with Andy Katz on the noon edition of "Sportscenter."

Coach K said, "the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than brackets."  (Link to story here.)

True enough Coach.  But you have to give Obama credit for working on something about which he might have a clue for a change.

U.N. Taxation = Global Government . . . Just Say No!

Some friends have called me naive because I've discounted the conspiracy theories claiming that this policy or that policy is a purposeful step by some shady international cabal toward their ultimate goal of a single world government.  But today even I am worried about national sovereignty . . .

The United Nations Environment Program ("UNEP") will be presenting a report to world leaders in London on April 2 calling for a $750 billion "Global Green New Deal."  (Link to story here.)  The program itself, though massive in scale, is just more of the typical environmentalist gibberish about energy efficient buildings, renewable energy, and the like.  

But the scary part is the suggestion by UNEP's Executive Director that the U.N. levy a tax on oil to pay for the program.  

An international organization with the power to levy taxes on citizens of "independent" nations?  Is one-world government really that far away?

The sovereign nations of the world must draw the line . . . just say no to U.N. taxes.

Obama's $2,000,000,000,000 tax increase

Liberal Democrats, including our president, are so blinded by environmental extremism that they are willing to destroy American industry and our economy along with it.  

How?  By implementing a "cap-and-trade" plan that sets "caps" on carbon emissions and allows companies to buy (apparently from the government) and "trade" allowances for additional emissions.  The Obama administration estimates that this will cost industry "close to $2 trillion" over eight years.  That's "nearly three times the White House's initial estimate."  (Link to Washington Times story here.)

Brilliant, don't you think, to add $2 trillion in costs to industry at a time when the economy is already slow and jobs harder to come by?

And, oh yeah, who will pay that $2 trillion?  You, me, and everybody who buys a product - if you'll be able to find any - that is made in the United States.  In the words of a prominent Republican staffer . . . "Since this energy tax won't affect manufacturers in Mexico, India and China, it will do nothing but drive American jobs overseas."

All this in the name of saving the planet from non-existent global warming.

Anybody who voted for Obama having buyer's remorse yet?  Or, is the better question . . . is anybody not?

Have you ever wondered how and why everything you hear from Big Media sounds exactly the same?

If so, today is your lucky day.  Michael Calderone at Politico has exposed the existence of JournoList, "an 0ff-the-record online meeting space" for "several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics."  (Link to story here.)

No wonder the "news" seems cloned.

Global Warming Roundup

I've been very busy lately and, frankly, haven't had time to scour the world for news.  So, today's items come to you from The Drudge Report.  I was interested to see three story's listed involving global warming.

First, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee scientists have published a study showing, get this Al Gore, climate change over the past 100 years is "all natural."  Temperature shifts have been caused by natural synchronization of forces over global climate systems.  The reasoning too theoretical and mathematical for me but the conclusion is clear . . . human beings aren't causing global warming.  Rather, the earth is complex and we have no idea why it was warming and is cooling.  

Second, a researcher at Florida State University has published a report showing that hurricane and cyclone activity "has completely and utterly collapsed during the past 2 to 3 years."  Storm "energy levels" have dropped to where they were in the 1970s.  "This should not be a surprise to scientists since the natural variability in climate dominates any detectible or perceived global warming impact."  Take note all you global warming nuts.

Finally, third, some good news from the U.S. Senate . . . eight Democrats have joined 25 Republicans and indicated their opposition to White House plans to ram through a "cap and trade" bill as part of the budget process (which, by Senate rules, is a process immune to filibuster).  Kudos to these 33 Senators for realizing that, in the words of their joint letter, "legislation so far-reaching should be fully vetted and given appropriate time for debate."  But, here's a question . . . where were the other 31 Republicans?

Senator Charles Grassley - a class act?

Rightfully outraged at AIG executive bonuses following a massive government bailout, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) suggested that he would "feel a little bit better" if those executives would "follow the Japanese model and take that deep bow and say I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things - resign or go commit suicide."  (Link to Politico story here.)

Classy, don't you think?

Now, I don't pretend to be politically correct.  I'm all for free speech and rhetoric, but Grassley's comments are vaguely racist, insensitive, and downright stupid.

3/17/09 update:  Grassley explains his statement.  Associated Press story here.

Missouri Economic Stimulus may be in the works . . . thanks to Illinois

The ouster of Rod Blagojevich from the Illinois governor's office may have big benefits for Missouri (and Indiana and every other state bordering Illinois).  How?  His replacement, fellow Democrat Pat Quinn plans a 50% income tax increase on Illinois families making over $56,000 per year.  (Link to story here.)

If the Illinois legislature is dumb enough to go along with the plan, it won't take long for businesses and residents to flee the state.

As a Missourian, I have to say, "Thanks Pat!  Good luck!"

Democrats in Congress trying to intimidate Arizona Sheriff for enforcing immigration laws

The Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, Joe Arpaio, has "dozens of officers under his command" who have been trained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency and partnered with them to enforce immigration laws.  And, seemingly unlike the federal government, the Maricopa County has actually been enforcing those laws.  As of last August, in the course of 18 months "nearly 2,300" undocumented aliens had been arrested as the result of specific programs directed at illegal immigration and human smuggling on the county's roads.  In addition, 16,000 -- 16,000! -- prisoners in Maricopa County jails "were determined to be illegal aliens."  Now, they'll be deported after serving their time, thanks to the Sheriff's efforts.

But is Maricopa County getting the big pat on the back that they deserve?  Nope.  The sheriff and his deputies are being investigated by the Justice Department at the urging of liberal Democrats John Conyers, Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, and Robert Scott.  ACORN is lending its support to the investigation with a petition drive and rallies.  (Link to story here.)

The investigation centers on "patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures conducted by the MCSO [Maricopa County Sheriff's Office], and on the allegations of national origin discrimination."

Now, don't get me wrong.  The Sheriff's Department should follow the law and the constitution.  If they're failing to do so, they should be stopped.  

But, this sure smells like intimidation to me.  It is a signal to law enforcement officials everywhere, including those in the Missouri Highway Patrol, to turn the other way to illegal immigration or face investigation yourself.

Haven't we turned the other way for too long?

Lessons in economics . . . from China

I was intrigued by this story about car sales in China.  Despite global economic woes, they "surged" 25% last month.  Why?  The government cut taxes on auto sales.

Even Red China knows that tax cuts stimulate the economy.  Maybe our president and the Democrats leading Congress will learn a lesson.

What is $765,000,000,000?

The difference between the amount of money that the federal government took in and the amount it has spent since the current fiscal year began on October 1.  That's a record deficit - for a whole year - in just five months!  The prior record was "only" $454.8 billion.  And President Obama is projecting a $1.75 TRILLION deficit this year.  That's more than double - DOUBLE - the prior record.  (Link to story here.)

Yet what do we hear out of Washington?  Tighten the government's belt?  Cut back on unnecessary spending?

Not a chance.  Instead, Congress passed and Obama is ready to sign a $410 billion spending bill even though it contains 7,991 earmarks representing $5.5 billion in spending and, no doubt, tens of billions of dollars in additional pork.  (Link to story here.)

Enough already.  I know that it is silly to expect our government to spend within its means but wouldn't it be nice to see them try to cut back a little bit?

9/11 Terrorists Speak Out - time to finish their trial

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants in the Guantanamo Bay war crimes trial relating to the attacks of September 11, 2001, have issued a six-page statement, in the words of the Associated Press, "to try to justify the killing of nearly 3,000 people."  (Link to story here.)  In the statement, all five men admit that they are terrorists ("terrorists to the bone" even), admit to preparing the attack plans of 9/11/01, and describe that operation as "blessed."

The trial against these terrorists was proceeding under the Bush administration but was stopped when Barack Obama took office.  Obama has ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo and, according to AP, his administration is "consider[ing] new strategies for prosecuting terrorists."

Here's a new strategy . . . finish the trial that was started.  Let these guys, again, admit their guilt.  Sentence them for their crimes.  And carry out the sentences.  

Doesn't seem to require much strategizing to me.

Anybody else getting the sense that this administration is in over its head?

The CONSTANTLY Scripted President

On February 12, SLC noted that Barack Obama couldn't handle a press conference without a teleprompter.  (Link here.)

Yesterday, Carol Lee at Politico, pointed out that "Obama doesn't go anywhere without his TelePrompter . . . Obama has relied on a teleprompter through even the shortest announcements and when repeating the same lines on his economic stimulus plan that he's been saying for months."

Has America elected a pretty face in an empty suit?  It sure seems that way.

And if the man isn't smart enough to speak without reading a script, doesn't it beg the question . . . who is writing the script?

Another slice of bologna . . . Obama lying about healthcare bankruptcies

When President Barack Obama delivered his speech last week, I didn't think that I could stomach any more baloney.  But, no surprise, he's still serving it up.  Today, he kicked "off his health care reform today in the worst possible way:  with a mischaracterization of data."  So says Gary Langer, director of polling at ABC News in this piece.

Specifically, Obama overstated the effects of rising health care costs by claiming that those costs "now cause a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds."  That claim paints quite a picture.  But it isn't true.  It is a claim based on old and discredited data.

Langer cites a more recent study that shows "about eight-tenths of one percent of Americans lived in families that filed for bankruptcy as a result of medical costs."  Now, don't get me wrong, that's bad for every one of those families but the truth doesn't paint quite the picture that Obama's made-up-fact did . . . does it?

Blunt v. Steelman

SLC has been VERY busy lately and has missed several items in the news.  But one story (at least) deserves mention . . . Sarah Steelman's single-handed effort to destroy the Missouri Republican Party.  Thanks to a regular reader who e-mailed me this story from The Politico back on February 19.  Steelman is already taking pot-shots at Roy Blunt and setting the stage for a bloody primary race for the GOP senate nomination in 2010.  

Steelman - who will lose that race - seems unfazed by history and unabashedly selfish.  Last year she destroyed whatever chance Kenny Hulshof had of upsetting Jay Nixon in the race for governor.  Now she's primed to go negative on Blunt and save Robin Carnahan the effort - and the money - while forcing Blunt to spend money on the primary battle instead of the general election.

Sarah, at the risk of sounding like Dr. Phil, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!  Get over yourself already and think about what's best for the Republican Party and for the country.  Back off and wait your turn.  In 2012, you might just be the ideal choice to challenge Claire McCaskill.  

Attempted murder

St. Louis is appalled at the reported actions of Elyse Mamino, an Illinois woman accused of giving birth to a baby girl and trying to drown her in a toilet.  (Link to Post-Dispatch story here.)

But shouldn't we be just as appalled that if she had tried to kill her baby just a few hours earlier it would have been her legally sanctioned "choice"?

What happens when you place a "community organizer" in charge of U.S. foreign policy?

A "secret" letter that Barack Obama sent to Russian president Dmitri Medvedev has been "exposed."  (Link to story here.)  In it, Obama offered to stop deployment of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Russia influenced Iran to drop its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.  

Medvedev's response . . . laughter.  Drudge is reporting that in a press conference today, Medvedev "welcomed 'positive signals' coming from the Obama administration" but also state that "haggling" was not "productive."  (Link here.)

Allow me to translate (please assume Russian accent when reading):  "Thank you, Mr. Obama, for expressing your willingness to sell Poland and your other 'friends' and 'allies' in Eastern Europe down the Volga.  But asking Russia to do you a favor and respond in kind, well, that's not an option.  Silly American."

Maybe Obama believed the campaign hype . . . if Americans simply elected him, the rest of the world would love us, fall in line, and do what we wanted, simply because of the "greatness" of Obama.

Silly American.