Barackian Economic Theory 101

Class, today's lesson is going to cover the Barackian Theory of Economics, so please try to stay awake. The major cause of the economic problem facing our nation right now is that we (consumers) spent too much money. So consumers are no longer spending as much money because we've over-extended our finances. Because consumers are not spending as much money, businesses aren't spending as much money. There is no incentive for businesses to continue to spend money and produce for a market that is not purchasing, right? Therefore, because neither consumers nor businesses are spending money, the economy is slowing down.

Seems pretty straight forward, right? Now here's where the Barackian Economic Theory kicks in. Please try to keep up, and be sure to wrap your head in duct tape if you feel it starting to explode. In order to "jump-start" (don't you love that term?) the economy, the government needs to tax the consumers (who are over-extended already) and the businesses (who aren't profitable or producing because consumers aren't spending). The government then needs to take that money and give it to the banks in the form of a bailout so that...are you ready for this? Wait for it...wait for it...the banks can then give loans back to people who are over-extended and the businesses who aren't profitable, who will then be charged interest on the money that was theirs to begin with!!!

I'm no economist, but wouldn't it just be easier to let everybody keep their own money?

#@$$!!!@%(*!$^%U(

Please see previous post.

In the Immortal Words of Chevy Chase

So I have been overwhelmed trying to figure out how to express my frustrations the last couple of days. I mean, where do I begin? We have GIVE and SERVE, DREAM (BTW, have you noticed how un-menacing things sound when we give them cute acronyms?), ICE being called un-American (again), etc. My dear friend Lak over at Passing Time has brilliantly found the perfect way to express all that pent-up frustration and anger, a la Chevy Chase. I'm sorry to rip this off of him, but it made me laugh and momentarily made me forget about our $11 Trillion (yes, Trillion with a "T") toilet being used to flush our country and its Constitution down the drain. So that's worth something, right?

WARNING: Parents, you may want to cover your children's ears.

Washington Says Obama's Insane

Thomas Jefferson recounted a conversation he had with President George Washington in August 1793. Jefferson expressed concerns over some elements in government that were pushing for more monarchical-type powers. Washington responded, saying that "the Constitution we have is an excellent one, if we can keep it where it is." Jefferson responded by saying,

There does not pass a week, in which we cannot prove declarations dropping from the monarchical party [the branch of the administration pushing for a central government with massive powers and saying] that our government is good for nothing, is a milk and water thing which cannot support itself, we must knock it down, and set up something of more energy.

President Washington replied that if any were guilty of such nonsense, it would be "proof of their insanity."

Obama's Ulterior Motives

One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists of establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary.

- Ayn Rand, 1975

h/t: The Jawa Report

Daniel Hannan Throws Down the Gauntlet

Hat tip to Lak for posting the video regarding UK MEP Daniel Hannan's verbal beatdown of UK PM Gordon Brown as shown on the Glenn Beck television program last night. You can watch Mr. Hannan's full lambast of el Gordo below. Seriously, we need this guy to emigrate.

UPDATE: If I would have paid attention, I would have seen that Lak already posted that video. Oh, well. The more viral it gets, the better, right?

Kabuki Theater of AIG Outrage

Remember all the fist-pounding hellfire and damnation Congress has been calling upon all those evil AIG employees that received bonuses? Very reminiscent of the Japanese-style Kabuki theater, known for it's dramatic and extravagant style. And just in case there is any doubt over the complete and utter ineptitude of those who call themselves our leaders, this should serve as the proverbial nail in the coffin. The NY Times Op-Ed section ran this story today, and, contrary to most NY Times articles, is exceptionally well presented (probably because the NY Times contributor made no comments about it, other than to give context for the article). The article is a letter from Jake DeSantis, an Executive VP of AIG's Financial Products divisions to AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy. It is a little lengthy, but well worth the read.

It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

You and I have never met or spoken to each other, so I’d like to tell you about myself. I was raised by schoolteachers working multiple jobs in a world of closing steel mills. My hard work earned me acceptance to M.I.T., and the institute’s generous financial aid enabled me to attend. I had fulfilled my American dream.

I started at this company in 1998 as an equity trader, became the head of equity and commodity trading and, a couple of years before A.I.G.’s meltdown last September, was named the head of business development for commodities. Over this period the equity and commodity units were consistently profitable — in most years generating net profits of well over $100 million. Most recently, during the dismantling of A.I.G.-F.P., I was an integral player in the pending sale of its well-regarded commodity index business to UBS. As you know, business unit sales like this are crucial to A.I.G.’s effort to repay the American taxpayer.

The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation. I never received any pay resulting from the credit default swaps that are now losing so much money. I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers.

I have the utmost respect for the civic duty that you are now performing at A.I.G. You are as blameless for these credit default swap losses as I am. You answered your country’s call and you are taking a tremendous beating for it.

But you also are aware that most of the employees of your financial products unit had nothing to do with the large losses. And I am disappointed and frustrated over your lack of support for us. I and many others in the unit feel betrayed that you failed to stand up for us in the face of untrue and unfair accusations from certain members of Congress last Wednesday and from the press over our retention payments, and that you didn’t defend us against the baseless and reckless comments made by the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut.

My guess is that in October, when you learned of these retention contracts, you realized that the employees of the financial products unit needed some incentive to stay and that the contracts, being both ethical and useful, should be left to stand. That’s probably why A.I.G. management assured us on three occasions during that month that the company would “live up to its commitment” to honor the contract guarantees.

That may be why you decided to accelerate by three months more than a quarter of the amounts due under the contracts. That action signified to us your support, and was hardly something that one would do if he truly found the contracts “distasteful.”

That may also be why you authorized the balance of the payments on March 13.

At no time during the past six months that you have been leading A.I.G. did you ask us to revise, renegotiate or break these contracts — until several hours before your appearance last week before Congress.

I think your initial decision to honor the contracts was both ethical and financially astute, but it seems to have been politically unwise. It’s now apparent that you either misunderstood the agreements that you had made — tacit or otherwise — with the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, various members of Congress and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York, or were not strong enough to withstand the shifting political winds.

You’ve now asked the current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. to repay these earnings. As you can imagine, there has been a tremendous amount of serious thought and heated discussion about how we should respond to this breach of trust.

As most of us have done nothing wrong, guilt is not a motivation to surrender our earnings. We have worked 12 long months under these contracts and now deserve to be paid as promised. None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house.

Many of the employees have, in the past six months, turned down job offers from more stable employers, based on A.I.G.’s assurances that the contracts would be honored. They are now angry about having been misled by A.I.G.’s promises and are not inclined to return the money as a favor to you.

The only real motivation that anyone at A.I.G.-F.P. now has is fear. Mr. Cuomo has threatened to “name and shame,” and his counterpart in Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, has made similar threats — even though attorneys general are supposed to stand for due process, to conduct trials in courts and not the press.

So what am I to do? There’s no easy answer. I know that because of hard work I have benefited more than most during the economic boom and have saved enough that my family is unlikely to suffer devastating losses during the current bust. Some might argue that members of my profession have been overpaid, and I wouldn’t disagree.

That is why I have decided to donate 100 percent of the effective after-tax proceeds of my retention payment directly to organizations that are helping people who are suffering from the global downturn. This is not a tax-deduction gimmick; I simply believe that I at least deserve to dictate how my earnings are spent, and do not want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of A.I.G.’s or the federal government’s budget. Our earnings have caused such a distraction for so many from the more pressing issues our country faces, and I would like to see my share of it benefit those truly in need.

On March 16 I received a payment from A.I.G. amounting to $742,006.40, after taxes. In light of the uncertainty over the ultimate taxation and legal status of this payment, the actual amount I donate may be less — in fact, it may end up being far less if the recent House bill raising the tax on the retention payments to 90 percent stands. Once all the money is donated, you will immediately receive a list of all recipients.

This choice is right for me. I wish others at A.I.G.-F.P. luck finding peace with their difficult decision, and only hope their judgment is not clouded by fear.

Mr. Liddy, I wish you success in your commitment to return the money extended by the American government, and luck with the continued unwinding of the company’s diverse businesses — especially those remaining credit default swaps. I’ll continue over the short term to help make sure no balls are dropped, but after what’s happened this past week I can’t remain much longer — there is too much bad blood. I’m not sure how you will greet my resignation, but at least Attorney General Blumenthal should be relieved that I’ll leave under my own power and will not need to be “shoved out the door.”

Sincerely,

Jake DeSantis

You Might be a Militia Member if...

Glenn Beck had this on his radio program the other morning, and I've been meaning to post it here. Apparently I'm well on my way to becoming a militia member, according to a Missouri Information Analysis Center strategic report on the modern militia movement.

Want to know if you're a militia member? Just answer the questions below...you might be surprised!

Do you, or have you ever expressed concern over the Ammunition Accountability Act?

Are you concerned about the possible economic collapse of the US Government?

Are you opposed to the possibility of a new Constitutional Convention in light of the current socio-political climate?

Are you concerned about the possibility of a North American Union (NAU)?

Are you concerned about the creation of the Civilian National Security Force?

Are you concerned about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)?

Do you believe that the government has gotten away from the intent of the Constitution?

Do you believe in strong state rights?

Are you, or have you ever been opposed to the collection of federal income taxes based on constitutional principles?

Do you currently, or have you ever displayed the Gadsden flag?

Do you currently, or have you ever supported Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, or Bob Barr?

Do you support gun rights and/or believe that the 2nd amendment is under assault?

There you go! If you answered yes or maybe to 2 or more of these questions, you just might be a militia member! I guess I better start stockpiling weapons and ammunition...

Mmm...Obama-Fingers!

With a long history of racial justice and equality in Germany, I'm surprised that German frozen food company Sprehe's choice of product branding is even being questioned.


In an effort to move more product, Sprehe has branded it's new line of frozen chicken tenders as "Obama-Fingers" in an effort to capitalize on the Hopey/Changey's optimistic message for our future.

"We noticed that American products and the American way of eating are trendy at the moment," Judith Witting, sales manager for Sprehe, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "Americans are more relaxed. Not like us stiff Germans, like (Chancellor Angela) Merkel."

The idea, she claimed, was to get in on the Obama-mania which is continuing to grip Germany. The word "fingers" in the name refers to the fact that it is a finger food. "It's like hotdogs," Witting said. "No one would ever think they are actually from dogs."

Nope. No possible racial objections about blacks and fried chicken here.

Toxic Assets No More!

HOORAY! The government's done it! They've cleared the books of all toxic assets! We don't need to worry any more! The economy will bounce back! Taxes will decline! Wages will increase! Universal health care will work and we'll all live in that creepy paradise displayed in the Watchtower pamphlets!

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that toxic assets no longer exist because we are now calling them legacy assets. The PC pixies strike again.

Bailed Out Companies Owe Back Taxes

I've been behind for the last couple of days. I changed the template of the blog (and believe me, I'm DEFINITELY a newbie at this), and I screwed some of the editing features up. But I'm back up and running. And in case you're wondering, I'm still flabbergasted by our federal government.

This was released over the weekend, but I've been meaning to post it here. It turns out that 13 firms that are receiving bailout funds from the porkulus packages actually OWE back taxes to the federal government to the tune of over $220 million (which admittedly seems minuscule when compared to the billions and trillions we're spending now).

At least 13 companies receiving billions of dollars in bailout money owe a total of more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes, a key lawmaker said Thursday.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., chairman of a House subcommittee overseeing the federal bailout, said two companies owe more than $100 million apiece.

The House Ways and Means subcommittee on oversight discovered the unpaid taxes in a review of tax records from 23 companies receiving the most money, Lewis said as he opened a hearing on the issue.

The absolute hilarity of it all would be sidesplitting if it weren't so nauseating. But never fear. Democrats are on the case! '"This is shameful. It is a disgrace," said Lewis. "We are going to get to the bottom of what is going on here."'

Of course you are. So you're going to review all 470 institutions that received money, right? "Lewis said the panel plans to review tax records from other firms receiving federal money, but he was unsure if it would look at every one of them."

But why, Mr. Lewis? Shouldn't we review all the bailout recipients to make sure that there isn't money owed elsewhere? No, apparently we operate on the honor system. "Banks and other companies receiving federal money were required to sign contracts stating they had no unpaid taxes, Lewis said. But he said the Treasury Department did not ask them to turn over their tax records." How's that working out for ya'?

Well, we should at least get the Treasury Department involved, since this kinda sorta concerns them, right?

No one from the Treasury Department appeared at Thursday’s hearing. Lewis said he asked Treasury officials for a private briefing on their efforts to uncover unpaid taxes, as well as someone to testify at Thursday’s hearing.

“They said no one was available,” Lewis said in an interview.

They're probably just too busy.

But don't worry, dear readers. The IRS is aware of the situation and will handle it.

The Internal Revenue Service “has every expectation that these amounts will be paid and is committed to collect every dollar of taxes that are owed,” IRS spokesman Frank Keith said in a statement. “The IRS recognizes that those entities that receive taxpayer support have a special obligation to pay their taxes, and these taxpayer accounts will remain closely monitored by the IRS to ensure that the full amount of taxes due are paid.”

Border Protection is Un-American

Someone needs to punch Nancy Pelosi in her smug, little face. Did you know that enforcing our immigration laws to protect our borders is un-American, and that in doing so we are terrorizing families? And it's not just Pelosi. Obama has stated the same thing. Here's a video that will make you want to scream. You only really need to see the first 45 seconds of the video. Her arrogance and self-righteousness simply oozes from our alien-sized eyeballs.

And this certainly isn't the first time she's called protection of our borders and enforcement of our laws un-American.

Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) issued this verbal beat-down:

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Speaker Pelosi called worksite arrests and deportation of illegal workers 'un-American.' That’s quite a powerful word – 'un-American.' And it’s quite a spectacle to have the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives call the actions of our law enforcement men and women 'un-American.'

We should praise them, not insult them, for enforcing our immigration laws.

Twelve million Americans are out of work. Seven million illegal workers hold jobs that should go to citizens and legal immigrant workers. Let's let the American people decide what is 'un-American.' We should not criticize law enforcement personnel; instead, we should be grateful for the job they do.

Obama to Veterans: Thanks for your service. Could you please bend over?

The merry-go-round of insanity and stupidity over in O-land continues to accelerate at alarming speed. In fact, it's spinning so fast and out of control that it feels a little like those guys that undergo high-g training in the centrifuge.

The latest debacle? The Obamanation is considering a bill that will force veterans to use private insurance to cover the cost of treating injuries sustained in combat. Yeah, that makes sense. You know it's really bad when even Jon Stewart calls out the liberal agenda.

Census + White House + ACORN = Recipe for Success!

I really wanted to title this post WTF!?!?, but that expression has kind of lost it's meaning due to my continuous usage of the word regarding anything that comes out of the Obamanation.

So Der Fuhrer has been working to transfer control and reporting of the U.S. Census to the White House on the grounds of improving "efficiency." When I first heard that, I thought it reeked vaguely of a power grab. Now it just downright smells like a landfill. So who is responsible for collecting the data in the census? The government hires temporary workers to scour the countryside, diligently recording the vital information that will help determine congressional districts, representatives, and electoral votes. The astute reader would understandably raise the question, "Aren't our Dear Leader and his administration too busy miring our economy in a depression, revoking our individual rights, and destroying our Constitution to find qualified, intelligent individuals to take the census?" Never fear, ACORN is here!

That's right, folks! ACORN is going to help recruit workers to take the 2010 census!

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now signed on as a national partner with the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2009 to assist with the recruitment of the 1.4 million temporary workers needed to go door-to-door to count every person in the United States -- currently believed to be more than 306 million people.

A U.S. Census "sell sheet," an advertisement used to recruit national partners, says partnerships with groups like ACORN "play an important role in making the 2010 Census successful," including by "help[ing] recruit census workers."

Wow. Does anyone else find this positively terrifying? Does anyone remember the voter fraud questions during Obama's presidential campaign? ANYONE!?!? ACORN has been implicated in voter-fraud schemes in 15 states!!!

But maybe I'm just being irrational. After all, an ACORN representative has stated that "fears that the organization will unfairly influence the census are unfounded. It will be the Census Bureau that determines the role and scope of its 300 national partners. ACORN is committed to a fair and accurate count." Well, if ACORN says it is committed to fairness, that's good enough for me.


This is gerrymandering on steroids. *sigh* Does anyone have some duct tape? My head's about to explode.

The Scorpion and the Frog

Anyone remember this fable? How very appropriate...

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature..."

Want more evidence of hypocrisy? Click here...

Torture at Club Gitmo

Thanks to our friends at the Jawa Report for posting this hilarious video. I figured we could all use some levity since the Obamanation is dragging our country to Hell in a handbasket.

WTF, Part Deux!?!?

I have no words to express my anger/confusion/hatred over Der Fuehrer's policies and actions. Now this. Remember John Walker Lindh? For those of you with short-term memories (read: Democrats), he was our own home-grown terrorist who was actually CAUGHT in Afghanistan. Fighting with the Taliban. Against Americans. Call me crazy, but that sounds borderline TREASONOUS!!! Don't believe me? Article III of the Constitution (note to Democrats: That's the document with which you're wiping your asses) states, "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." Let's see...levying war against the US...Check. Adhering to her Enemies...Check. Aiding and abetting her enemies...Check. You can see the charges levied against him here.

Sounds fairly cut and dried, right? Not so fast, dear reader (all 1 of you out there). In swoops defence attorney Tony West. He throws around the notion of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, being too scared to quit, he never MEANT to fight the US, etc. Typical litigious BS. You've got to wonder about the moral aptitude of a guy who's conscience can allow him to defend someone like that. Yeah, I know his firm was contracted by the State Department. But it kind of makes you wonder, right? Want to know the best part? He's now O's nominee for the head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. You know, because there aren't enough people in this administration or in Congress with no moral compass.

So how did he get nominated? This might shed some light on the subject.

He also, conveniently enough, helped raise $65 million for Obama in California as a state finance co-chair during the campaign.

Not a bad down payment.

Indeed. Plutocracy, anyone?

Fascism, Segunda Parte

This follow-up to my previous post on fascism is a little overdue, but deal with it. :) I want to talk a little about traditional fascist policies and compare them to the Obamanation's.

As a rule, fascist movements promote social interventionism with the intent of manipulating society to promote the interests of the state. Social interventionism occurs when a government or organization interferes with social affairs. Social interventionist policies can include mandatory charitable contributions or welfare as a means to alleviate social and economic problems of people facing financial difficulties. It can also include provisions for, or nationalization of health care and reformation of education systems.

Some social interventionist policies have been labeled by critics as social authoritarianism due to views that the policies violate individual freedom or human rights.

Fascist movements speak of the need to create a "new man" and a "new civilization" as part of their intention to transform society to fit the ideology and agenda of the movement. (Compare Mussolini's promise of a “social revolution” for “remaking” the Italian people to Obama's promise to "remake America").

Fascist states pursue policies of societal indoctrination to their policies and movements through propaganda. This is deliberately spread through education and media by way of regulation of the production of education and media material. (I'm not even going to link the media one...there are too many good examples. See Michelle Malkin for some great articles).

Fascism staunchly opposes many capitalist tenets, such as minimal government intervention, support of free trade, free international movement of capital, and individualism.

Fascists offer "protection" to the petite bourgeoisie (lower middle-class) and to small businesses and the proletariat from the evil upper-class bourgeoisie and big business. Fascism blames capitalist liberal democracies for creating class conflict and social inequalities.

Unlike laissez-faire capitalist systems, fascist economies rely on significant government intervention such as regulations, objectives, and nationalization of certain enterprises. Fascist governments nationalize key industries, manage their currencies and make massive state investments. Fascist governments introduce price controls, wage controls and other types of economic interventionist measures.

The people who benefited from Mussolini's Italian fascist social policies were members of the middle and lower-middle classes, who filled jobs in the vastly expanding government workforce, which grew from about 500,000 to a million jobs in 1930. Health and welfare spending grew dramatically under Italian fascism, with welfare rising from 7% of the budget in 1930 to 20% in 1940.

Is this really what we want? Do we really want to increase our dependency on government for our very survival? This is where we are heading! Everything that is being enacted in Washington right now is being done to keep Americans under the boot-heel of big government. They WANT us to become so dependent that we will have no choice but to keep them in power!

I know it is easy to become enamored by talk of equality and social equity, but as John Adams said regarding Jean Jacques Rousseau's declaration that all men were designed to be equal in every way,

That all men are born to equal rights is true. Every being has a right to his own, as clear, as moral, as sacred, as any other being has...But to teach that all men are born with equal powers and faculties, to equal influence in society, to equal property and advantages through life, is as gross a fraud, as glaring an imposition on the credulity of the people, as ever was practiced by monks, by Druids, by Brahmins, by priests of the immortal Lama, or by the self-styled philosophers of the French Revolution.

WTF?!?!

Seriously? WTF?! Moderate Taliban? Isn't that like moderate Nazi, moderate Al Qaeda, or moderate terrorist in general? Aren't Talibs, by definition of belonging to the Taliban, RADICAL EXTREMISTS??? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO DOESN'T GET THIS??? It's pathetic when the Taliban themselves make more sense than our fearless leader.

"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, told Reuters when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Obama's proposal.

"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means?"

"If it means those who are not fighting and are sitting in their homes, then talking to them is meaningless. This really is surprising the Taliban."

And then there's this. Chalk another great national security decision up to the D'Ohbama Administration while they "consider new strategies for prosecuting terrorists." Really? Because having them admit and glorify their participation isn't good enough, right?

Five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks mock U.S. authorities and proclaim themselves "terrorists to the bone" in a war crimes court filing released Tuesday.

The five Guantanamo prisoners use the six-page document to try to justify the killing of nearly 3,000 people.

The five had previously said they wanted to plead guilty to the charges against them, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind, had expressed pride in the attacks.

The charges, which carry a potential death sentence, "are badges of honor, which we carry with pride," they write.

The charge of conspiracy is "laughable," they write, because the planning was intended to be secret.

*sigh* I need a hug.

Obama = The new Mohammad

I know that some thin-skinned Muslims got all testy when that Danish cartoonist published the 12 cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammad a couple of years ago. But only a radical, fringe group would be so enamored by an individual that they would prop him up on a pedestal in some twisted form of deification, positively prohibiting any critical or analytical discussion about his character or behavior, right? Right? So what do we call the Detroit city council?

Nowhere is Michigan's brain drain on greater display than in the Detroit City Council chambers.

My hopes for Detroit's future faded as I watched the tape of last Tuesday's council meeting, the one that considered the Cobo Center expansion deal.

It was a tragic circus, a festival of ignorance that confirmed the No. 1 obstacle to Detroit's progress is the bargain basement leaders that city voters elect. The black nationalism that is now the dominant ideology of the council was on proud display, both at the table and in the audience.

Speakers advocating for the deal were taunted by the crowd and cut short by Council President Monica Conyers, who presided over the hearing like an angry bulldog; whites were advised by the citizens to, "Go home."

Opponents were allowed to rant and ramble on uninterrupted about "those people" who want to steal Detroit's assets and profit from the city's labors.

A pitiful Teamster official who practically crawled to the table on his knees expressing profuse respect for this disrespectful body was battered by both the crowd and the council.

When he dared suggest that an improved Cobo Center would create more good-paying jobs for union workers, Conyers reminded him, "Those workers look like you; they don't look like me."

Desperate, he invoked President Barack Obama's message of unity and was angrily warned, "Don't you say his name here."

How about we call them RACISTS. Where's Al Sharpton when you really need him?

The most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history...

Really?
Cadillac DeVille: $774/mo (taxpayer money, btw). "It’s one of the bigger Cadillacs. I’ve got a desk in it. It’s like an airplane."
4 Upper Manhattan apartments: less than 50% of the regular cost.
Catching Charlie Rangel with this pants around his ankles: priceless.

Very Reaganesque, Mr. Obama

I wonder if the Messiah and the MSM are talking about the same Reagan...This is a little lengthy, but please take the time to watch it all. It is clear that Reagan considered his presidency more as a stewardship over the nation, whereas Obama considers it as an opportunity to consolidate power.

Bread and Circuses

Long ago, from the time that we [sold] our suffrages to no man, the populace hath rid itself of cares; for it, which formerly bestowed power, the rods of office, legions and all things, now refraineth itself, and wisheth with anxiety for only two things; bread and [circuses]. [Juvenal, Satire X]