How do you think conservative talk radio has affected the Legislature’s work?
The Republicans were essentially threatened and terrorized against voting for revenue. Now [some] are facing recalls. They operate under a terrorist threat: “You vote for revenue and your career is over.” I don’t know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist. I guess it’s about free speech, but it’s extremely unfair.
The person being interviewed is California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. Now, obviously she missed a couple of civics lessons in school, as she thinks voters holding a politician accountable for his votes is equal to terrorism. In fact, voting politicians out of office is how we the people are supposed to keep our government in line.
What Speaker Bass is complaining about is voters telling their representatives that if they increase taxes (”vote for revenue”) they’ll be voted out of office. As far as I know, this is how the American system of government has functioned for over 200 hundred years. George H.W. Bush raised taxes, against the will of his political base, and he was voted out.
Ms. Bass is using the most inflamatory language she can to attempt to shock people into agreeing with her. Unfortunately, by doing this all she really does is belittle the actual ugliness of true terrorism (you know, suicide bombers flying planes into buildings) while looking like a moron. It is the same reason a lot of people look at claims of racism very skeptically.
The Obama Administration, with the President out front and talking into every microphone he can find, is pushing two of the worst pieces of legislation ever conceived. I would have said “written,” but neither bill has been written yet; only promoted in the vaguest ways possible.
President Obama pushed urgently Thursday for passage of legislation to confront global warming, billing it as a job-creating machine rather than the costly “job killer” Republicans denounced and telephoning wavering Democrats on the eve of what could be a historic House vote.
Speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House, Obama said Washington must not miss the opportunity to work on cleaning the air and at the same time creating new “green” energy jobs. He called the measure “a jobs bill” and said the country for far too long has been too reliant on energy from fossil fuels.
Speaking in the Rose Garden at the White House, Obama said Washington must not miss the opportunity to work on cleaning the air, creating new “green” energy jobs and moving the nation away from its reliance on fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas.
The White House appeared concerned that momentum for the bill was slipping, though White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that when it came time for a House showdown, “I’d bet on the president.”
Democratic leaders scurried to line up enough votes to get the bill passed. They enlisted former Vice President Al Gore, the most prominent U.S. voice on the urgency of addressing climate change, to make phone calls to wary lawmakers — including some who believe the House bill was too weak rather than too strong.
House Republicans for weeks have maintained a drumbeat against the legislation, calling it a massive energy tax on every American and a “job killer” because it will force higher prices on electricity, gasoline and other energy sources as the economy shifts from cheaper fossil fuels, or as companies and utilities are forced to buy pollution allowances.
The Republicans are right. Hell, even Obama admits that the cost of electricity, under this plan, will skyrocket:
Cap and Trade, more appropriately called Cap and Tax, will increase the cost of energy for every person in the country, regardless of income. This means, of course, that when Obama says he is going to cut taxes for 95% of the population, he is lying; He’s just replacing the tax increase with a “fee.” The result is the same: Your family will be worse off if this bill passes.
Also, those great new “green” energy jobs Obama keeps talking about? None of them will materialize in a sufficient number until one of these types of alternative energy becomes practical to use. That isn’t solar, that isn’t wind, that isn’t Ethanol, that isn’t anything you can name right now or for the next generation. Oil, gas, coal and nuclear are the proven and safe ways to produce energy in America right now, and to discard them just because you want to use the shiny, new technology is foolish and stupid. Yes, continue to develop the new energy technologies, but for God’s sake don’t tie the country’s economic health to them until they’re developed enough to be practical.
Health Care Bill: With this one piece of legislation, the Obama Administration will not only destroy the number one health care system in the world today, it will also drive the world’s richest economy into bankruptcy.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A bipartisan group of senators at work on health care reported progress Thursday in holding the cost of legislation to their $1 trillion target, but Republicans quickly added there was no agreement on even the outlines of a bill. “We have options that would enable us to write a $1 trillion bill, fully paid for,” Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters.
His comments came one week after analysts set the cost of earlier proposals at $1.6 trillion over 10 years.
The Montana Democrat provided no details, but others have said the changes made in recent days would lower the cost of government subsidies for those who cannot afford insurance, as well as pare back a planned 10-year series of rate increases for doctors serving Medicare patients.
Only $1 Trillion dollars! Of course, he says this without providing any details on just how they have “fully paid for” the cost. You and I both know that the way they will pay the cost will be to ration health care to the very sick and the elderly, as well as tell doctors what they are allowed to charge and earn. Also, since this new “public option” will not have to generate a profit, the private insurance companies will be forced out of business and every single American will be forced to get their insurance through the government. Oh yeah, don’t forget that this bill contains a specific provision that exempts members of Congress and the President from having to participate in this program. That’s right; they’re saying it is the best plan out there, but it isn’t good enough for them. Not only that, but they also want to tax your health benefits to help pay for this boondoggle — unless you’re a union member.
It could very well be that by the end of the summer the United States of America you find yourself living in will bear little, if any, resemblance to the country you grew up in. Buck up, Comrade! You can do it!
I have never known a Middle East that wasn’t at war. It seems that every new President for the past hundred years has always had to devise a strategy to “deal” with the Middle East, and for the past 50 years or so they’ve also had to have some type of peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. Not that anyone in the Middle East pays heed to these strategies or plans; most of them are dead on arrival.
The Jews and the Arabs have been at each others’ throats for what seems like forever. In 1948, the State of Israel was established and the Palestinians have had their noses out of joint ever since. The Palestinians show their displeasure over the situation by sending suicide bombers into Israel and killing innocent civilians in market places, night clubs, and buses. Israel usually responds by firing a couple of missiles into the West Bank or Gaza Strip. If Israel is really mad, they send troops and tanks into the West Bank and destroy settlements. Each points their finger at the other and blames them for every wrong thing under the sun.
In the later portion of the 20th Century, many Western leaders have advocated a two state solution to put an end to the fighting. Bill Clinton came the closest to making this solution a reality, but Yasser Arafat, then the leader of the Palestinians, rejected a proposal which gave the Palestinians practically everything they were asking for. Frankly, ever since this rejection I have always thought that the Palestinians, rather than wanting an end to the violence and bloodshed, have simply played games with the Israel and the West in order to keep the hate going. It is no secret that the Palestinians who are in charge of the government want to eliminate Israel completely, as do many Middle Eastern nations. I guess Israel finds it hard to make peace with nations who desire their destruction.
In my opinion, the Palestinians and the Israelis have been killing each other for so long that it no longer matters why they started fighting in the first place. The fight has become personal and inbred among the people in that region; it is simply what they do every day, just like eating, sleeping, or getting dressed. Palestinian children are taught from birth that Israelis and Jews are beyond contemptible, and that it is their duty to kill them. Death has simply become one more fact of life for the people who live in the region; so much so that it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore.
I am no great scholar of the Middle East and its conflicts. Most of what I know comes from cable news reports and internet news reports. However, I do find myself siding with Israel in this fight. It seems to me Israel, despite having hundreds of its innocent citizens killed by Palestinian suicide bombers every year, at least tries to conduct their fighting as a military campaign, targeting mostly those elements who are doing the bombing. They’re not perfect, of course, but when you’re fighting an enemy who hides behind women and children there isn’t much that can be done about collateral damage.
Will there ever be peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians? I think not. I don’t think there is anything Israel can offer the Palestinians which would convince them to stop the violence. I think the only thing which would cause the Palestinians to stop killing the Israelis would be for Israel to cease to exist. Neither side is rational anymore when it comes to discussing terms to end the conflict. As long as one side (or both) wants the violence to continue, it will continue unless or until one side ceases to exist.
Well, for the second time in recent memory the Democrats are trying to foist government-run healthcare on the American public. When the Clintons tried, it died a horrible death in the press and in the Congress due to its prohibitive costs and attempts to ration healthcare to control costs. Now, the Obama Administration is pushing a similar proposal which promises healthcare rationing to an even greater extent than the Clinton plan, and will cost many trillions of dollars more than they’re telling us.
Hoping to make history, the Senate set off on its major overhaul of the nation’s health care system Wednesday, but its first steps were quickly overtaken by fresh cost concerns and partisan anger.
An ambitious timetable that called for completing committee action in early summer seemed in danger of slipping away.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee began work on a bill encompassing President Barack Obama’s top legislative priority. It marked the first time since President Bill Clinton’s ill-starred attempt in the early 1990s that Congress was tackling such a broad overhaul.
But the more important Senate Finance Committee announced it would delay action, as senators sought to retool their proposals to slash the cost by more than one-third, from an intial $1.6 trillion over 10 years, to less than $1 trillion. Of the five major panels working on health care, Finance has the best odds of coming up with a bipartisan proposal that could overcome gathering opposition.
Lobbyists representing every nook and cranny of the economy were on high alert – even if they were on their best behavior.
Majority Democrats running the Finance Committee have told lobbyists that their views will be taken into account as long as their groups don’t mount public campaigns against the legislation, numerous lobbyists say. So far, health industry groups have not launched aggressive attacks against Democrats’ emerging plans.
The costs of this whole proposal are staggering, but that’s not the worst part:
The measure before Kennedy’s committee would cost about $1 trillion over 10 years, but leave 37 million people uninsured, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Parts of the draft bill have yet to be finalized, so its true costs and benefits are not fully understood.
So, $1 Trillion dollars will still leave 37 million people without coverage under the current proposal. Obama has promised to cover absolutely everybody, so you can do the math to estimate the costs.
Then, there is this: One cost that the Administration is not factoring into all of this is the cost of insuring all of the people who will lose their healthcare benefits once companies and corporations drop their benefits and the associated costs. Companies and corporations are in business to make a profit, and if the government is going to offer healthcare benefits employers will no longer feel that they will have to offer them. Thus, Obama’s mantra of, “If you want to keep your current healthcare plan, you can” is a false promise. You can’t keep something which is no longer available.
Click for source
Also being discussed is whether or not to tax your healthcare benefits as if they were income. Seems like Obama can’t do anything without reaching into the taxpayer’s wallet first.
Finally, let’s look at how the US Government does when it runs something really big and that costs a whole lot of cash; healthcare for our Veterans and military personnel. Veterans have been complaining about almost every facet of the healthcare they receive from the Veteran’s Administration for as long as I can remember. Hospitals in disrepair, massive delays in getting doctor’s appointments and routine diagnostic procedures,and cost overruns have been the norm for years. What makes Obama think that he’s going to be able to do any better when we’re talking about many millions more people and many trillions more dollars? He can’t do any better, and chances are he would do a lot worse.
Click for source
Even with all of its flaws, the American healthcare system is the envy of the world. People fly here from around the world to get care that they cannot get anywhere else. People who live in countrys which have government run healthcare come here to get treatment which is either denied them by their government or is not available in a reasonable time frame. Now, Obama wants to scrap the whole thing, spend trillions and trillions of dollars, and set up a government-run system which shows all of the promise of a world-class disaster in the making. All of this, and we have not even touched on what this proposal will do to the doctors and nurses out there. Suffice to say, most of them are not happy with this proposal.
This proposal must fail in order for America to survive and prosper. As proposed, this whole thing is going to destroy what little is left of the economy, while dragging the healthcare and insurance indistries down at the same time. If you do nothing else, please do whatever you can to defeat this.
Rene and I have decided that it is time to welcome a new family member into our home. Please meet Vinnie:
Vinnie came to us from the Humane Society of Bexar County after being rescued from the streets. He had been at the shelter only two days when we found him and decided to adopt. So far, he has passed all of his health checkups, but to be safe we are taking him to our regular veterinarian at the Alamo Feline Health Center.
Of course, he is already running us ragged. As I figure it, he sleeps for 3 minute periods every two or three hours, while bouncing off of the walls the rest of the time. One nice thing is that he appears to be box trained already. Also, he has started to take a real liking to both of us.
Getting over Ernie’s passing was never going to be easy; however Vinnie is making it easier just by being here and being himself.
Rene and I are heart-broken today due to the passing of Ernie.
So much more than just a cat or family pet, Ernie was a family member and trusted friend. For over 19 years, he was a loving companion who was always ready to give you attention and ignore you to his heart’s content.
I met Ernie when he was about to turn five years old. This was about the time that Rene and I were starting to get serious about one another, and there is no doubt in my mind that I was being brought before him for approval. I don’t remember if I was more nervous about meeting Ernie or my soon-to-be-wife’s family. Ernie was a little timid with me at first, if only because he was looking out for Rene. Rene had nursed Ernie from just a couple weeks after birth, and I do not believe it to be any exageration to say that Ernie treated Rene like his mother.
After a few years, Ernie warmed up to me enough that if he wanted to take a nap, he would seek me out and then do anything he could to get me to sit down in my recliner. Once seated, he stretched out across my upper chest and placed his head next to my left ear and fell asleep. This almost always led to me falling asleep, and I used call Ernie my “furry, gray sleeping pill.”
These past few years were rough on Ernie. He had numerous gastrointestinal problems, which put him on the surgeon’s table a few times. He always seemed to come right back after a procedure, but after his last procedure he just didn’t seem to recover like he used to. He didn’t seem to have any fight left in him; he just looked tired and each and every time he looked at me it broke my heart. I knew it was time to let him go, and that letting him go was unquestionably the right thing to do, but that sure didn’t make it any easier. I fear that Rene may not recover for a long, long time.
So, my friend and late-night TV buddy has gone on to a better place, and Rene and I are left to deal with an afterimage of his life. We are undoubtedly better off for having known and loved him, which makes this all-the-more difficult to cope and deal with. If you have a feline family member, please take the time to pick them up and let them know that you love them. Spend a little time Sunday morning in bed with them, play with them or simply take a nap with them. Rene and I did this often with Ernie, and our lives are the richer for it.
Today I went to MK Prosthetics and had the final fitting for my prosthetic leg. This, of course, involved walking on the prosthetic to make sure it fit properly and was height-adjusted correctly. So, for about 20 minutes or so today, I got to walk for the first time since the end of September.
Words are just not able to convey how great I felt taking these few steps! Its like, in a few minutes’ time, I got my self-reliance and self-confidence back. I was practically giddy while I was walking between the bars so the prosthetisist could watch and make adjustments for better fit and less irritation. I also found that keeping myself balanced was a little easier than I thought it would be (this was probably due to the bars).
Final delivery of my prosthetic is scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon, after which I will have further therapy to learn all of the ins-and-outs of caring for it and my residual limb. At first, I’ll only be wearing the prosthetic a few hours a day until my residual limb gets accustomed to it and toughens-up a bit. Also, during this time the size and shape of my residual limb will change so I’ll need to go back to the shop for adjustments now and again.
This has been a real good day for me today, and I would never have gotten here without the love and support of my family, friends, and co-workers. There really isn’t anything I could say which would adequately thank them for all they have done, so instead I’ll just promise to work as hard as I can to make this work and to make them proud.
I first became aware of Star Trek (the TV series) around 1970, and became a huge fan of it shortly thereafter. Now, when I say huge fan, I don’t mean still-living-in-my-parents’-basement huge fan; just that I would go to my TV every Saturday night at 10:30 pm and watch the reruns religiously. My parents thought it was safe enough, so they never gave me any hassle about it. My dad even drove me and a friend to one of the first Star Trek conventions they ever had here in town, and it was great! They screened episodes and showed 2001: A Space Odessy before having Nichele Nichols come out and give a talk about her days on the set and answer questions. Ah, childhood memories…
Well, fast-forward to the present and many, many changes have ocurred to both me and Star Trek. Though still a fan of the original series and Star Trek:TNG, I never really latched onto the other series in the franchise (Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise) and I felt that the last few movies were terrible. In short, I had about given up on the franchise. I especially didn’t like the fact that Deep Space Nine didn’t even involve a starship which was traveling through the galaxy. So, when it was announced that the next film would be a “pre-quel” to the original TV series, I was interested.
The film opened last weekend to huge box office numbers, and I went to see it with muted expectations. I was hoping for the best, while preparing for the worst. As it turns out, I didn’t have much to worry about. While the script does change some pretty basic foundations of the Star Trek myth, it does so in a way which will allow the future stories to go beyond the original TV Series stories. Spoilers appear starting now, so if you have not seen the movie yet, you may want to stop here.
WHAT I LIKED:
I like the fact that they didn’t go crazy with the re-design of the Enterprise. They did change a couple of things, but it really looks like the TV series starship (on the outside), just done with better special effects.
I liked the new design of the Star Fleet docking station orbiting Earth.
The view screen on the Enterprise bridge, with its integrated HUD displays, was a welcome dose of reality. Heck, 21st century fighter jets have HUD displays; surly 23rd century starships would have them.
I really liked the new dynamic between Spock and his father. It was easier for me to relate to Sarek in this movie than in the past.
I really enjoyed the parts with Captain Pike. He was portrayed exactly how I would expect a senior line officer to be.
The “space jump” scene was a blast!
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
The entire premise of the movie is a bit shaky. The planet Romulus is destroyed by a super-nova before Spock can prevent it. However, the device Spock used to try and save Romulus creates a black hole, sending both Nero (the Romulan bad guy) and Spock back in time 25 years. Nero then plots revenge on Spock. Excuse me? Uh, if what Nero wants is to save his beloved Romulus, and he has been transported back in time, why not just try again, this time having twenty-five years to get the timing right?
The whole romantic angle between Spock and Uhura was unsettling. Plus, it didn’t really serve any purpose for the plot. What was the point?
Scotty’s entire purpose for being was comedy relief. I think he should have been portrayed a little more seriously.
The Enterprise was and always will be too big to be capable of planet-fall. When constructed, it will be built in space, not in an Iowa cornfield as depicted in this movie.
Finally, Kirk got his ass handed to him entirely too much in this movie. No, I don’t expect him to win every fight, but I don’t think he won a single one in this movie. If he is going to become the resident Starfleet BadAss Captain, he needs to start building that reputation now.
All in all, I really liked the movie and hope they do another one just as good. Have you seen it? What did you like or dislike? Tell me in the comments.
On April 26, 2009 I had a heart attack. What is scary about this is that I didn’t feel any pain whatsoever. In fact, the only symptom I had was constant vomiting. I thought my gastro problems had returned, however when I got to the emergency room and they got the blood tests back, they told me I had had a heart attack. My cardiologist ended up placing a stent into one of my arteries to clear a blockage, and I went home a few days later. When I spoke to the cardiologist about the lack of pain, he told me that in people who have had diabetes as long as I have it is not unusual for them to develop neuropathy in their chest. Oh boy, the good news just keeps on coming!
The next event is actually a good thing. I went to the orthopedic surgeon who worked on my broken femur on Tuesday, and he said that the bone was well on the way to healing completely and that I could now put weight on my right leg as tolerated. This, all by itself, is good news, however this will also now allow me to obtain my prosthetic limb for my amputated left foot/ankle. These items are custom built to order, so before I could get fitted for one I had to be able to stand and walk. Well, today I went to MK Prosthetics and they took a mold of my residual limb so they could start building my prosthetic. In a few weeks I’ll be able to walk and drive again! You never know how much you miss these everyday activities until you can’t do them.
Finally, I also went to see my endocrinologist today. We talked about my blood sugar readings and ways to stabilize them better than I am now. We decided to go ahead and put me on an insulin pump. I will soon be on the Medtronic Paradigm Real-Time Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. The nice thing about this system is the continuous glucose monitoring sensor which will tell me my blood sugar reading every 5 minutes, and sound an audible warning if the readings go either too high or low. I have a feeling I am going to wonder why I didn’t do this a long time ago.
On a side note, I decided today that my endocrinologist was the coolest doctor in the world! While waiting for her in the exam room, I looked at the magazine rack and there was Guitar Player magazine. In a doctor’s office. Now, Bass Player would have been better, but this was a great first step!
A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation.
…
Thomas Lauria, Global Practice Head of the Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Group at White & Case, told ABC News that Rattner suggested to an official of the boutique investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners that officials of the Obama White House would embarrass the firm for opposing the Obama administration plan, which President Obama announced Thursday, and which requires creditors to accept roughly 29 cents on the dollar for an estimated $6.8 billion owed by Chrysler.
Lauria first told the story, without naming Rattner, to Frank Beckmann on Detroit’s WJR-AM radio.
Perella Weinberg Partners, Lauria said, “was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under the threat that the full force of the White House press corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That’s how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence.”
Although the focus has so been on allegations that the White House threatened Perella Weinberg, sources familiar with the matter say that other firms felt they were threatened as well. None of the sources would agree to speak except on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of political repercussions.
The sources, who represent creditors to Chrysler, say they were taken aback by the hardball tactics that the Obama administration employed to cajole them into acquiescing to plans to restructure Chrysler. One person described the administration as the most shocking “end justifies the means” group they have ever encountered. Another characterized Obama was “the most dangerous smooth talker on the planet- and I knew Kissinger.” Both were voters for Obama in the last election.
One participant in negotiations said that the administration’s tactic was to present what one described as a “madman theory of the presidency” in which the President is someone to be feared because he was willing to do anything to get his way. The person said this threat was taken very seriously by his firm.
After all of the campaign promises of a new way of working in Washington and “Change” from this guy, it turns out that none of his promises were made with sincerity. Instead, he conducts his administration like an old-time Chicago gangster, using threats and intimidation to force American businesses to conform to his “plan.” Just imagine what he’ll do to ordinary citizens if they decide not to participate in his socialization of the health care industry.
In less than four months, the Obama Administration has completely trashed the principles and values that the US Government was founded on, and instead is slowly replacing them with policies and “values” which will destroy the very freedoms which were the basis for the founding of this country over 200 years ago. He is spending taxpayer money which won’t even be collected for another generation or two, tripling the national debt, taking over businesses on behalf of the government which used to be a part of a free market economy, all the while going around the world denigrating the United States to any foreigner who will listen.
Just exactly how are these actions upholding, protecting, or defending the Constitution of the United States? Hint: They aren’t
If the politicians in Washington, DC, both Democrat and Republican, take nothing else from the nationwide Tax-DayTea Party protests, they need to understand this: THE ANGER IS REAL.
Contrary to what the MSM would have you believe, Republicans were not the only people who attended these protests yesterday. While I’m sure that Conservatives were the majority, many Liberals and Democrats also attended. The Tea Party here in San Antonio drew a crowd of about 5,000 from all around the state and country. In Atlanta, the crowd was between 15,000 and 20,000. Nationwide estimates put the total attendance at about 250,000 people.
For thousands of Americans, Tax Day was a moment to protest what they see as bloated budgets and a pile of debt being passed on to their children.
For CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the word “teabagging” in a sentence.
Teabagging, for those who don’t live in a frat house, refers to a sexual act involving part of the male genitalia and a second person’s face or mouth.
So when the anti-tax “tea party” protests were held Wednesday across the country, cable anchors and guests — who for weeks had all but ignored the story — covered the protests by cracking a litany of barely concealed sexual references.
The MSM, when they could be bothered to cover the story at all, treated it like nothing more than a joke. This is probably on of the best examples of why the MSM outlets like MSNBC, CNN, NBC and the rest are losing viewers by the thousands while Fox News keeps beating the pants off of them, usually outdrawing them by more than 2 to 1. It is one thing to have a bias and to govern your news coverage according to that bias, but it is quite another to openly mock groups of American citizens exercising the free speech rights.
Of course, this attitude is coming straight from the Obamassiah himself. The president’s arrogant treatment of Republican Senator John Kyl during a supposed “bipartisan” meeting regarding the administration’s stimulus plan has certainly influenced those on the left. With their declining viewership and ratings, one wonders why it is that they are so arrogant.
The protests were a good beginning, but will ultimately mean nothing if the anger is not channeled into action at the ballot box. The protesters who showed up yesterday must also show up on election day 2010 and 2012. The protesters must support those candidates who understand that the tax burden that the current administration is creating is not sustainable and will cost our kids and grand kids hundreds of thousands of tax dollars they haven’t even earned yet.
Prior to his coronation election, Conservatives were worried about Obamaa’s lack of experience with Foreign Policy matters, and the President’s actions recently are a perfect illustration of why they were worried:
North Korea broke U.N. rules once more by testing a rocket that could be used for a long range missile.
“This provocation underscores the need for action — not just this afternoon at the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons. Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished,” Obama said in a speech calling for the long-term abolition of all nuclear weapons delivered at Prague’s historic Hradcany Square.
“Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now is the time for a strong international response. North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons,” he said.
That’s right — Obama has threatened to go to the UN to get another resolution which tells North Korea to stop developing missiles. After all, the first one was sooooo effective.
The UN is the most impotent organization on the planet, with the exception of the French military. Kim Jong Il will ignore any new UN resolution just like he did the old one. Apparently, the only people intimidated by the UN are its female employees.
So, North Korea launches a communications satellite long-range ballistic missile, thus proving that they steadily making progress towards becoming a threat to other countries, including the US, and what does Obama do? He cuts the missile defense budget:
There has always been an air of absurdity about the opposition to missile-defense systems. No one argues that missiles aren’t a threat, but somehow defending ourselves against it is illegitimate unless one stumbles on a complete, perfect defense immediately. That we have never found a perfect defense against any weapon on the first throw doesn’t appear to faze people at all.
You see, Obama is worried that developing a ballistic missile shield isn’t “cost-effective.” Instead of investing in technology which has the potential to save millions of American lives, he would rather spend trillions to bail out failing businesses and control America’s banks. The development of the atomic bomb was nowhere near “cost-effective” in the 1940’s, but its development lead to the end of World War II and saved hundreds of thousands of American lives by negating the need to invade Japan.
So far, Obama has failed to do anything positive with regards to Foreign Policy besides nurture his personal popularity by apologizing for America everywhere he visits. Apparently, Obama’s top Foreign Policy goal is to be popular with the Europeans and grovel for forgiveness for America’s past sins. This strategy, if you can call it that, will lead to the loss of American life, perhaps on a large scale. Leaders like Kim Jong Il no longer fear reprisals from America; Obama has made it clear that he intends to make America the UN’s bitch as long as he is in office. Unfortunately, I don’t think Obama will come to his senses until it is too late and we’re all mourning more of our fellow citizens.
Well, the whole world is in a tizzy about the Obamas’ gift of an iPod for the Queen of England. Compared to his last attempt to get a gift for the British Prime Minister (a set of DVDs in the wrong format for British DVD players), this is obviously a step in the right direction. However, Barry loses points for loading the iPod with recordings of his own speeches.
President and First Lady Obama gave Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II a video iPod with inscription, songs uploaded and accessories, plus a rare musical songbook signed by Richard Rodgers.
Uploaded onto the iPod:
Photos from the Queen’s 2007 White House State Visit
Photos from the Queen’s 2007 Jamestown, Va., Visit
Photos from the Queen’s 2007 Richmond, Va., Visit
Video from the Queen’s 1957 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen’s 2007 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen’s 2007 Richmond Visit
Photos from President Obama’s Inauguration
Audio of then-state senator Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and
Audio of President Obama 2009 Inauguration Address
Britain’s Press Association reports that the Royal couple gave the Obamas “a silver-framed, signed photograph of themselves.”
Isn’t this the equivalent of handing the Queen a framed picture of himself? Tacky at best. He would have hit a home run if he had left his speeches off of the iPod and left everything else.
The opinions and views expressed on this web log belong to the person who has expressed them, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, family, cat, or anyone else.
You never know how much you miss these everyday activities until you can’t do them.
