Who is that? President Obama’s former campaign manager…now overseeing the campaigns of every democratic governor, senator, and representative.  The NYTimes is reporting that he will work mainly with the Democratic National Convention in consultation with the White House.  Wait, I thought we were clear in MA: we don’t think our government in DC is doing enough; we don’t think our government is working for us; we don’t like the work they are doing…I could go on. So our president’s response to that is to increase focus on the campaigning? Really? 

Mr. President, no disrespect, but we didn’t like your change. We didn’t like that you didn’t stick to the promises on your campaign trail. And I for one, do not like that one of your first grand plans less than one week status-post huge lost in Mass, is to campaign better! NO. Just do your job.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/us/politics/24union.html?hpWe

Anyway, I’m back. And it is thanks to one Scott Brown. That’s right! Mr. Gas up the Truck! The last 3 weeks have been full of excitement around here.  Stunning both dems and repubs, this self-proclaimed ”independent thinker” rocked out, in Liberal Taxachusetts. I know.  But this was such national news, you all know too.

Calling and texting people, standing outside in the wintry mix at the polls in Charlestown, hearing people’s stories from around the state. Like my sister, voting for the second time in her life, laughing when she told me a guy yelled to my mom, my other sister and her “YEAH! Doskocils for Brown!” as they went in to vote. It was a firestorm. And the liberals (can’t even say the dems here, because many dems went for Brown) are left to view their damaged progressive movement. Hopefully, as is common with forest fires, smaller ones will sprout. We will see…but the sleeping independents, the common-sense voter who has always “hated politics” because of the élite candidates, are now awake. Perhaps bleary-eyed…but awake nonetheless.

Let’s see how Mr. Brown uses his large advance of political capital and star status.  Will he be a Mr. Smith as he goes to Washington? Or is the question will be a Mr. Smith at the beginning or the end of the movie?

Go Scott Go!

First amendment:  Who would speak up against Obama?  Take the Georgia statehouse for example – all state senators against calling Obama an unimpeachable character example are now called racist.  Talk radio is also under the heat…

Second Amendment:  Is this the one that guarantees the right of individuals to possess firearms?

Tenth Amendment:  States rights? Yeup, Mr. Frank is going after that one too… after calling a Supreme Court Judge a “homophobe” … nice.

Well, at least we’re allowing terrorists a fair trial.

It makes me sick.  I think our Founding Fathers would be severely distraught, Mr. Adams would be causing a ruckus, and General Washington would never have gone to fight for freedom for this mess of people.

Pork bill? Seriously? Who the heck came up with this? 4.1 Billion spending. So when you’re in a deficit, do you spend lots of money on stupid stuff?  Like:

10-$1.7 million for a honeybee lab
9- $800,000 to study catfish genetics
8- $8 billion train from Las Vegas to San Francisco
7- $5 million for salaries at the Sugar Beet Lab in Michigan
6- $500,000 for the fruit fly research
5- $200,000 for Tattoo removal in Los Angeles
4- $400,000 to train teachers on bullying

And the top 3:

3- $59 million to study the mating habits of the Pacific salmon
2- $2 million for astronomy awareness in Hawaii!
1- $1.8 million to study the effect of swine odor on the environment

Oh good, those should be useful. When more people know about astronomy in Hawaii there will be more jobs… sure.

And then – this new tax thing?  So people making over $200,000 (if single) or $250,000 (if married) are going to pay most the taxes.  Ironically, a 2007 HSBC Direct Consumer Survey found that people earning between $50,000 and $100,000 save more regularly than people earning between $200,000 and $250,000 per year, and revealed that 49% of respondents earning at least $250,000 a year failed to save more because they “want some spending money.”

On top of their discretionary purchases, these people carry significant mortgages, pay heavy property taxes, make charitable donations and sock money away for their children’s college education.

Under the president’s plan, beginning in 2011, they would see their federal income tax rates rise from 33% to 36% and, in the highest tax bracket, from 35% to 39.6%. More importantly, the president’s plan would reduce the amount of mortgage interest and charitable donations that they could deduct for income tax purposes, from 35% to 28%.

So when they start cutting back, there goes the economy.

Nice.

Oh wait…

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen faster under President Obama than under any new president in at least 90 years!

Since Inauguration Day, the Dow has fallen 20 percent and 31 percent since Election Day. 

Despite a string of government bailout offers and Obama’s advice earlier this week that Americans should be buying stock while shares are low, the Dow has continued to freefall. 

It appears that Obama is at risk of breaking a historical trend — in which the Dow soars an average of close to 10 percent in the first year after a Democrat wins the presidency.

Got this today and it made me laugh… although, if I think about it long enough without the veil of humor, I might cry.  Why can people not see this…how were they blind to it months ago? The answer to that can be found in Mr. Kipling’s poem.

The Gods of the Copybook Headings

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place;
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “Stick to the Devil you know.“

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “The Wages of Sin is Death.”

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four—
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man—
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:—
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will bum,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/02/26/roff_conservatism_gop/

This may be a long rant:

I have to say, the primary reason for my lack of input/output on this thing is how sick and tired I have been of the government spending! Good-NESS!  How much more money does POTUS (yes, the President of the United States) plan to shell out? He says he’ll cut the deficit by spending more? Ok, I am not an economist but I don’t see how that works, at all.  And while Bush will be remembered for his weapons of mass destruction, it appears that Obama’s first hundred days may be marked by taxes, or as Christopher Coffey has called them “weapons of class destruction.”

Where is Charles Dickens when you need him? It was the best of times… it was the worst of times. Thank you Citizen Charles.

I did not see Obama’s speech live, but I took a look at it. To the surprise of no one, CNN, MSNBC and FOX all have different takes. I saw a paper with a headline saying Obama had it in control and a political cartoon telling a whole different story.

Here is a line from that speech. “A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.”

In all honesty though? If anything, the government has been taking an increased income tax share from the wealthy. According to the Tax Foundation, the richest 5% of taxpayers paid close to 60% of all income taxes in 2006, while the bottom half paid only 2.99%. Compare this to 2000, where the richest 5% paid a 56.47% share of income taxes and the bottom half paid 3.91%.

WHAT? Now my blood pressure is rising.

The end.

Back to that stimulus package, although the thought of returning to this growing monstrosity makes me a bit queasy…

The House provided $20 billion for infrastructure improvements in public schools across the country. $6 billion of this is to go to institutions of higher education. Great! Help create jobs, assist schools in modernizing, renovating and repairing facilities so they can keep costs down…nice work!

But wait, there is a catch.

There is a provision, banning money designated for school renovation from being spent on facilities that allow “religious worship.” Yes, funds are prohibited from being used for the “modernization, renovation, or repair” of facilities that allow “sectarian instruction, religious worship or a school or department of divinity.”  This could even include public schools that allow religious groups to meet on campus.

This has creating a bit of a … discussion? between many different groups.  No surprise here, but the ACLU is defending the constitutionality of this provision.  CLU huh? Civil Liberties Union? Is it civil to take away ones liberty to utilize funds from the government if there is a theology class in a building?  Apparently…

“They’re not people, they’re the ACLU.” – An American Carol

Now we have Mr Obama threatening that if this ever swelling $920 billion stim package does not pass, we’re all in biiiig trouble.  What else is the bill hiding? Why are we using tough economic times to push through controversial issues? I thought this was supposed to be a more transparent administration…why so sneaky?