Washington Post Caught Selling Access to Obama and Congress

News leaked that the Washington Post was peddling access to the Obama admin and members of Congress at a dinner hosted by the paper's publisher for $25,000 to $250,000 a pop.

To my knowledge, the Washington Examiner broke the story
Washington Post sells access, White House denies involvement

Link to an editorial on the subject the WSJ published:
When Newspapers Peddle Influence

Video of Congressman William Jefferson (D) Accepting a Suitcase of $100K

The FBI taped former Democrat Louisiana Congressman, William Jefferson, accepting a briefcase stocked with $100,000.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gAhJ_ijKsVNeqkiH39KhnCUNj-fQD999OKUO0

This is the same Congressman who gained some notoriety by requsitioning a military vehicle to take him to his house after Katrina had flooded New Orleans to retrieve $60,000 of cash from his freezer.

Obama's campaign pledge that no family making under $250K will pay higher taxes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aa4ipe4fhU

ABC Hyping Global Warming

Today I was at the gym reading a book while cranking out 100rpms on a stationary bicycle. I looked up at one of the three TV screen I could see and ABC had a big headline about global warming. George Stephanopoulos appeared making very earnest faces and eyebrow movements. I have no idea what he was saying, but I am sure it was worthless. Then ABC shifted to scenes of hurricanes, fires, floods, and then a browning glacier moraine, all apparently caused by global warming. I had a hearty laugh thinking about the fools who are dumb enough to believe this hype. To me, it is interesting how this kind of propaganda is put together and spread. What is truly fascinating his how easy it is and how readily dopes suck it up. Here, ABC takes images of things that have occurred since the dawn of the earth and the dawn of man, things which are disastrous, and then puts the heading of Global Warming over them. Voila, these things are man's fault, and something must be done about them.

Milton Friedman, Colonization, and Leftist Tactics

In this video, a leftist idiot asks Friedman about slavery and colonialism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xeebU8VhmY&feature=related

This video exemplies a couple of the tactics of the left...

Why the Leftist Ideology Works Well in Sound Bytes
This exchange is a perfect example to me of why leftist thinking (if you can call it thinking) works so well in sound bytes and bumper stickers. Leftist critiques of society are ofter very superficial, and thus do not deal with or just plain ignore the underlying facts. Thus, on the surface, they seem to make sense and are appealing. The kid asking the question does not use any facts to make his argument, they are wall wild assertions that appeal to emotion.

Few of us have the grasp of history and economics that Friedman does to effectively counter their claims. Since it takes time to bring up facts and put them in a cogent argument to counter a sentence long sound byte, this leftist garbage often slips by without being countered. Friedman has both the knowledge and the time, since it is his speech, to counter that kook's claims. The time necessary to do this is rarely afforded "conservatives" by the mainstream media, which is one of the problems we have in expressing our message.

Leftist Tactic of Taking up the Speaker's Time
I loved the questioner's strategy of soaking up as much time as possible to ask his question. This is a tactic the left teaches to its foot soldiers to take time away from dissenting voices, in this case Friedman. The more time that idiot babbles, the less time Friedman, who probably was on a travel schedule, has to respond and air his views.

Comment on Comments
Aside from this, one of the comments caught my attention. I see this comment or variants of it all over the web when I am reading. I am willing to bet money that some leftist groups pays people to go into internet discussions and pose as someone on the right and post ractist commments about Obama to make the left look bad. What they are doing is obvious because the comments often have nothing to do with the flow of the rest of the discussion. Here is a screenshot of some of the comments on this video. I have highlighted the comment about which I am writing...



I know many people on the right, and not one of them would make such a comment. It is not constructive and it does nothing to further the argument for a free market. Given that, and knowing who the left is and how they operate, it is easy to discern that this comment was posted by a leftist. This illustrates how the left goes about smearing its opponents and the depths they are willing to plumb to do so. Stepping back, this falls under the broad category of using smears rather than argument to defeat one's opponent, a time tested tactic of the left.

Obama Recovery Logo Analysis

I have not seen a good analysis of Obama's recovery logo, so I thought I would post mine.

Analysis of the Parts and Meaning of the Logo
The red, lower right part represents socialized medicine and the green lower left part obviously represents the green agenda.

The red color and the cross make it apparent that this part of the logo has to do with health care and thus with Obama's vision of socialized medicine. I do not know why gears were used, maybe to evoke the idea of efficiency.

The lower left quadrant with the plant and green color obviously represents the left's green or radical environmentalist agenda. There is not much more to analyze here.

The upper part that is blue with the stars is used to evoke feelings of patriotism. This article quotes someone's interpretation that 8 stars are on the logo because Obama hopes to hold power for that long. I find this extremely interesting and I cannot think of a better explanation.

Commentary on the Use of the Logo
Socialized medicine and the radical green agenda have nothing to do with economic recovery, but Obama is pitching them that way because it is his best chance of slipping them by the American people.

Obama's use of government logos disgusts me. Such propaganda is a favorite of autocrats and it saddens me to see it in the United States. I cannot recall another president in my lifetime doing this. Hitler and Constantine come to mind as other autocrats who plastered logos and self serving propaganda all over their countries. What would the mainstream media and the left have done if Bush plastered logos all over the country? I see this logo showing up on highway signs on the interstate in California. I will stop at some point and get a picture of one. At best it is a colossal waste of money to plaster a logo all over the country. In reality, it is a cynical ploy by the Obama administration to use government money to plaster its propaganda all over the United States.

Obama Asks Moms to Return to School

I took a screenshot of this ad because I found it so weird. This ad popped up a few times on my Yahoo email in early 2009. I consider it a result of the post election Obamania.

Devils Tower

Devils Tower - El Matador

Sandra and I spent six days climbing at Devils Tower in the last week of May 2009. Below are photos from the trip.


Standing on the belay ledge at the bottom of the second pitch of El Matador (10d). Here, we are 80 feet of the deck, which is the length of the first pitch.


Climbing above my second piece on El Matador. The first half of this pitch is mostly hand jams and finger jams with a little liebacking.






Shaking out the forearms which are starting to feel pumped.


Choosing a piece of pro to plug into the crack.


Unbeknownst to me, a small herd of tourists had gathered to watch me battle with El Matador.


About 2/3 of the way up this 130 foot pitch the crack becomes discontinuous, but the chimney narrows enough that you can start stemming between the sides. This is brutal on the calves and mine were howling.


More stemming...


More stemming...


More stemming...


More stemming

Obama Designed Socialist Cars

I drove past this spoof of Obama's auto policy and intentions for the government owned automakers. I found this so terribly amusing that I turned around to stop at take a picture. This person had set this up at the end of their driveway on a country road in rural Indiana. I guess those red state hicks are not a dumb as the mainstream media makes them out to be. This person see exactly where Obama is going with his policy to cram Americans into tiny green mobiles.

Analysis of 5/19/09 California Proposition Results

Link to county by county map of returns for each proposition
http://projects.latimes.com/elections/2009-05-19/california-propositions/results/map/

My not so scientific analysis of the country by county votes. I did this my analyzing the county by county map in the link above. I was curious about how different areas of the state tend to vote.

Prop1A – Rainy Day Fund(34% Yes, 66% No)
Counties that voted more than 40% Yes: Sonoma, Yolo, Marin, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Imperial (south eastern most)

Purpose: in addition to creating a so called rainy day fund, the measure would have extended billions of dollars of tax increases on sales, income, and vehicle taxes for up to two years.

Prop1B – Education Funding (38% Yes, 62% No)
Santa Clara was the only county to vote Yes. Many counties were very close to a Yes on this measure.

Purpose: To claw back recent cuts in funding for education. Obviously, this was supported by the California Teachers Assn.

Prop1C – Modernize Lottery (35% Yes, 65% No)
All counties voted No. Voting against this was more widespread, although states that voted agiast it most strongly tended to be away from the coast and non-greater Bay Area. Imperial County in south eastern California was an outlier again. It voted 47% Yes 53% No.

Purpose: To allow state officials to borrow $5 billion against future lottery earnings.

Prop1D – Child Services Funding (34% Yes, 66% No)
All counties voted No. Voting pattern similar to Prop1C

Purpose: To shift about $1.7B away from early childhood development programs to balance the state’s budget. I have no idea what “childhood development” is.

Prop1E – Mental Health Budget (34% Yes, 66% No)
All counties voted No. Voting pattern similar to Prop1C

Purpose: To temporarily shift money away from a mental health program established by voters in 2004, paid for with a 1% tax on personal income above $1 million.

Prop1F – Elected Official Salaries (74% Yes, 26% No)
All counties voted Yes. This prop differed from the other props in that a Yes vote was a vote agaist the government and against higher taxes. Interestingly, Imperial county, which tented to have a very strong Yes vote on all of the other props, voted 75% Yes for 1F. Contrary to what I expected, many of the Bay Area counties with had the strongest Yes votes for the other props, had very strong Yes votes for this proposition.

Purpose: To prevent pay raises for legislators and statewide officeholders in deficit years.

I did not vote in the recent proposition contest in California as I am leaving the state soon and I could care less. Part of the reason I am leaving the state is that I cannot stand the high tax rates, from the sales tax, to the income tax, to parking tickets, to speeding tickets, to the cost of living out here. However, I do find the results interesting.

New York Tax Receipts

New York state reported an astounding 44% year over year decline in tax revenues in April versus a national average decline of 13%.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=aePqq4foFyxE&refer=munibonds

Bastiat and The Law

I read The Law by Frederick Bastiat after hearing Walter Williams, an economist at George Mason University, quote from it while guest hosting the Limbaugh Program. The thesis of this panthlet sized treatise is that socialism perverts law from its proper purpose of protecting the rights of man to plundering wealth. The Law is well written and easy to comprehend. It is fairly unique in that it attacks socialism from that standpoint that it is a perversion of the law. It traces how laws are used to rob citizens of their rightful income. What I find particularly effective about the book is Bastiat's talent of extrapolating the logical consequences of socialist policies and following them to their absurd conclusions, thus bending them back on themselves.

Below, I have typed out passages that I underlined because I found they succictly illustrated an important point.

On Legal Plunder...

But how is legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it away to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime

The present day delusion is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else; to make plunder universal under the pretense of organizing it.

I like the phrase that points out that socialism is an attempt to enrich everyone at the expense of everyone else. It illustrates the absurdity of the socialist claim. I like to joke, that here in California where I currently live, that the state is going to tax us into prosperity.

Socialism is legal plunder...

Socialists desire to practice legal plunder, not illegal plunder. Socialists, like all other monopolists, desire to make the law their own weapon.

The humanitarian in thought is the terrorist in action...

It must be admitted that the tendency of the human race toward liberty is largely thwarted...This is greatly due to a fatal desire - learned from the teachings of antiquity - that our writers on public affairs have in common: They desire to set themselves above mankind in order to arrange, organize, and regulate it according to their fancy...

They think only of subjecting mankind to the philanthropic tyranny of their own social inventions. Like Rousseau, they desire to force mankind docilely to bear this yoke of the public welfare that they have dreamed up in their own imaginations.

This bit makes me think of the Green movement, and how the members of it want to impose on the rest of us a lifestyle and set of ethics they have arbitrarily made up. Cars a bad. Hybrids cars are good. Organic is good. Cheap is bad. Higher priced gasoline is good. Higher priced energy is good. Eating cold food is good because it uses less energy. It goes on and on and on. The commonality of all of this is that it flies in the face of what most human beings want, which is goods that are more affordable that make lives easier and more pleasant.

This next quote may not make a lot of sense taken out of the lead in to it, but it makes sense to me...

The strange phenomenon of our times - one, which will probably astound out descendants - is the doctrine based on this triple hypothesis: the total inertness of mankind, the omnipotence of the law, and the infallibility of the legislator. These three ideas form the sacred symbol of those who proclaim themselves totally democratic.

Here, he is attacking the idea that mankind does not have an inherent nature, that it is like soft clay in the hands of a sculptor. The fact of the matter is that humans do have an inherent nature that cannot be changed. Every individual has his own thoughts, wishes, goals, likes, and dislikes, and we are not particles waiting to be organized by some enlightened ruler. Related to this is that socialists implicitly assume that the government, or those who run it are infallible. Obviously, this is not the case, but socialism does rest on this tenant.

Chart of Consumer Credit Since 1950

This is a chart of consumer credit excluding loans backed by real estate since 1950. Source is Federal Reserve and Bloomberg. Debt can be reduced in two ways: paying it down and defaulting on it. I think we have some more delevering of the economy to go coupled with a longer recession than what I see being predicted in the news on average.

Unions Foster Fraud in California Program for Elderly

I saw a link to this gem of a story in an article on another subject by George Will. The gist of this story is that the California “In Home Supportive Services” program for the elderly is rife with fraud. The program is designed to provide care for 440,000 Californians who are not able to take care of themselves. The state thinks it is cheaper for these people to stay in their homes rather than in nursing homes, so it allows these people to hire a person of their choice to care for them. The article says people tend to hire relatives.

Here is the kicker: attempts to detect and prevent fraud are resisted by political forces because employees of the program are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Domestic Workers of America which benefits from the fraud. All workers hired by the program are required to pay monthly union dues. The article draws this key connection: “The unions donate heavily to the campaigns of Democrats who control the Legislature and organize get-out-the-vote efforts on their behalf.”

Essentially, two unions and the Democratic Party benefit from fraud in this program, and thus they resist efforts to prevent the fraud. I have always wondered what percent of the California budget is siphoned off by the corrupt. I do not see how California can be totally broke given the extremely high rate of taxes we pay here.

Obama and Biden Get Burgers

On May 5, 2009 a reporter, Kelley O'Donnell at MSNBC reported on Obama and Biden eating at a burger joint. She actually said, "One of the things that we have been talking about, of course, does deal with Ben Bernake who indicates that consumer spending is picking up a bit and perhaps the President pulling out a few dollars of his own pocket is another indication of that."

So, according to this ditz, Obama and Biden going to a burger joint for a PR stunt and buying a burger is an indication of improving consumer sentiment. Amazing! They should buy a Chrysler and some S&P 500 SPDRs so we know the economy is really booming.

Rush members can find the clip here

Here is the AP story.

How this rises to the level of being news is just beyond me. Worse yet, portraying it as a sign the economy is improving is just laughable. This is a perfect example of how far in the tank the mainstream media is for the Obama administration. Any serious news outlet would poke fun at such obvious propaganda.

Whitehouse threatens investment fund

The Obama administration has threatened to destroy the reputation of an investment firm if it does not toe the line on the admin's Chrysler debt cram down plan.

White House Denies Charge By Attorney that Administration Threatened to Destroy Investment Firm's Reputation*

One has to wonder what this will do to the long term prospects for Chrysler or GM to access the capital markets. In the future, who will want to lend to a private company that could at some point become a political football, to later have the government abrogate the investment terms at will?

Milton Friedman Videos

Milton Friedman, The Great, lays out the economic and philosophical underpinnings of free market capitalism in a series of steaming videos. The series is called Free to Choose. The tone is friendly and non-combative and the content is a blend of easy to understand theory and examples. The videos are well done and interesting.

http://www.ideachannel.tv/

This is a great link to send to knee jerk liberals who do not know why they are liberal, but are open to reason. Also good to send to friends who believe in the free market, but are unable to delineate why. We have to get on the ball and start educating people about liberty and the free market. We are losing this debate by default because no one on the national stage defends liberty.

Global Cooling?

I was just listening to a week old Jason Lewis show and I heard him mention the University of Wisconsin had released a study predicting a slowing and reversal of Global Warming. I did a Google search for it and came up with an article published by WorldNetDaily on March 22, 2009 titled "Shocker: 'Global warming' simply no longer happening."

Here are a couple of key passages from the article:

A new study by Florida State University researcher Ryan Maue shows worldwide cyclone activity – typhoons, as well as hurricanes – has reached at least a 30-year low.

Two more studies – one by the Leibniz Institute of Marine Science and the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology in Germany and another by the University of Wisconsin – predict a slowing, or even a reversal of warming, for at least the next 10 to 20 years.

Don't expect to hear about this on CNN or NPR.

Obama and Clinton at Picnic Table

This picture is so apropos considering what is going on right now, it is just unbelievable. Currently, four Somali pirates/terrorists are holding an American ship captain, who gave himself up to save his crew. In this picture, we see Hillary and Obama, sitting in a child's playground. The juxtaposition of this hostage crisis with this picture, makes me think this is what happens when children are sent in to do a adult's job. This incident with the Somali pirates should be over by now. We had a chance to kill these pirates when the captain jumped off the ship and swam for his freedom. That the United States navy did not take that opportunity to unleash a wall of lead on the pirates indicates to me that the administration has ordered the Navy not to use force. Thus, we had a golden opportunity and lost it. Because of that, this brave captain, a hero, is still a hostage. This administration is incompetnat and discgraceful.

FOMC Minutes from March 17-18, 2009 Meeting

Passages I found interesting from the FOMC Minutes from March 17-18, 2009 meeting:

As of March 12, the System's total assets and liabilities were about $2 trillion, close to the level of that just before the January 27-28 meeting (p2).

Both headline and core consumer prices edged up in January and February (p3).

The civilian unemployment rate climbed 1/2 percentage point in February to 8.1 percent (p4).

Industrial production fell in January and February, with cutbacks again widespread, and capacity utilization in manufacturing declined to a very low level(p4).

The financial strain on households intensified over the previous several months; by the end of the fourth quarter, household net worth of for the first time since 1995 had fallen to less than five times disposable income, and substantial declines in equity and house prices continued early this year(p4).

In January, nominal shipments of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft declined, and new orders fell significantly further. The fundamental determinants of equipment and software spending worsened appreciably: Business output dropped, and rising corporate bond yields boosted the user cost of capital in the fourth quarter(p4).

All major categories of exports decreased, especially sales of industrial supplies, machinery, and automotive products(p4).

In the United States, overall consumer prices increased in January and February, led by an increase in energy prices, after posting sizable declines late last year. Excluding the categories of food and energy, consumer prices edged higher in January and February after three months of no change(p5).

Measures of l onger-term expectations remained close to their averages over the past couple of years. Hourly eanring continued to increse at a moderate rate in February(p5).

Stock prices of insurance companies dropped sharply over the period, reflecting concerns about the adequacy of their capital positions(p5).

Gross bond issuance by non-financial firms was very stong in january and February, as investment-grade issuance more than doubled from its already solid pace in the foruth quarter; speculative grade issuance, however, remained sluggish. Trading conditions in the leveraged syndicated loan market improved slightly, but issuance continued to be very weak. Indexes of CDS spreads on AAA-rated CMBS widened to record levels, as Moody's downgraded a large portion of the 2006 and 2007 vintages after a reevaluation of its rating criteria(p6).

The Bank of England announced its intention to purchase substantial quantities of government and corporate bonds through its Asset Purchase Facility, after which yields on long-term British gilts fell significantly(p6).

The Swiss National Bank announced that it woudl purchase both dimestic corproate debt and foreign currency to increase liquidity(p6).

In the forecast prepared for the meeting, the staff revised down its outlook for economic activity(p6).

The staff's projections for real GDP in the second half of 2009 and in 2010 were revised down, with real GDP expected to flatten out gradually over the second half of this year and then to expand slowly next year as the stresses in financial markets ease, the effects of fiscal stimulus thank hold, inventory adjustements are worked through,a nd the correction in the housing activity comes to an end. The weaker trajectory of real output resulted in the projected path of the unemployment rate rising more steeply into early next year before flattening out at a high level over the rest of the year(p7).

Of particular note was the apparent sharp fall in foreign economic activity, which was having a negative effect on U.S. exports(p7).

Expenditures were being cut substantially for a wide range of captial equipment, and spending on nonresidential structures had recently turned down. Inventory liquidiatino was continuing, but inventory-sales ratios remained elevated as sales slowed(p7).

Some (members) believed that the natural resilience of market forces would become evident later this year(p8).

Some participants also cautioned that, becaus eof the poor functioning of the financial system, capital and labor were not beng allocated to their most productive uses, and this failure threatened to damp the recovery and reduce the potential growth of the economy over the medium term(p8).

To further its long run objectives, the Committee seeks conditions in reserve markets consistent with federal funds tradign in a range from 0 to 1/4 percent(p9).

The Desk is expected to purchase up to $200 billion in housing-related GSE debt by the end of this year. The Desk is expected to purchase at least $500 billion in GSE-guaranteed MBS by the end of the second quarter of this year and is expected to purchase up to $1.25 trillion of these securities by the end of the year. The Committee also directs th eDesk to purchase longer-term Treasury securities during the intermeeting period. Over the next six months, the Desk is expected to purchase up to $300 billion of longer-term Treasury securities(p9).

Did Obama Bow to the Saudi King?

Video of Obama bowing to the Saudi King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEUif1--r38

The Politico reported:

The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scent that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets (link to story).

Clearly the Obama administration is lying. The lie is so blantant, I am left wondering why they bothered to lie about in the first place. Nevertheless, this is sold evidence that the Obama administration has no problem with lying to the American public.

Obama to Look at Climate Engineering
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123920773503201665.html

"The president's new science adviser said that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air."

I would like to suggest that administration should mandate that all Americans wear caps with propellers on their heads. These could transfer electricity into a rechargeable, locally built and bought, battery packs on a hip belt. This stored energy could then be used to charge cell phones and such, thus saving the world.

We would also do well to invent a device that reclaims static electricity from hair and add the electricity to the national grid. Then, if you are one who is truly disturbed by the inevitable Apocalypse, you could spend a lot of time rubbing your head on the carpet to do your part in averting total disaster. If you are truly concerned, you can go into government and mandate that everyone else do the same.

Biden lies and credits stimulus for fire station that was funded under Bush...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/254/story/65314.html

Other than Biden lying, why is the Federal government funding a fire station? The local residents should be responsible for funding it if they want one.

Multimedia Conservatism

Democrats and Subprime Lending Video
Great Youtube video with footage of Democrats defending Freddie and Fannie. This exposes their connection to the subprime mess, which they have tried to obscure and blame on others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&NR=1

Rush Limbaugh Speech
Here are two links to the speech Rush delivered in front of the CPAC convention on 2/28/09. As usual Rush was simply outstanding. The video feed from c-span's web site is higher quality, but I found it a little jumpy. The feed on Rush's website is lower quality, but the connection is solid.
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_030209/content/01125106.guest.html
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-15919

Newt Gingrich Speech
Newt Gingrich also spoke to the CPAC convention. I almost did not watch this because I the last couple of times I have seen Newt speak he was crooning about how the government can help to fix health care, which reeks of liberalism to me. However, he was all libertery, freedom, and limited government in the speech he delivered to CPAC. He also challenged Attorney General Holder to a debate on cowardice, anytime, anywhere, which was just fantastic.
http://newt.org/tabid/102/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4021/Video-Newt-addresses-CPAC-2009.aspx

Eric Holder Coward Speech
If you have not seen it, here is the video in which Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, implies all American are racists and cowards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RtzGraUV9c

Here is the video of Henrietta Hughes and Obama at his 2/10/09 rally down in Florida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_EyEPnQvy4

My initial thought upon seeing this staged event was that it looked like some kind of cross between a freak show, a game show, and religious revival. Obama heals the freaks and gives away cash and prizes. Bizarre. There is no doubt in my mind she was a plant as were the others he called upon. Politics is not reality. Those were my first thoughts.

Since then, I have spent some quality time reflecting on old Henrietta...she should be praised for living in her car and not having job. This woman has reduced her carbon footprint! She does not just talk the talk like Al Gore, she is walking the walk.

Homes use up a lot of energy, and the rest of the world is tired of people in the United States using energy. Because she does not have a job, she does not produce carbon driving to work. This saves the planet. So good so far.

My main worry is if she is living in an SUV. If she lives in an SUV then Obama needs to give her a Prius. She could be causing oil wars by driving an SUV. Sure, the Prius is a smaller than an SUV. The living quarters for her and her family may be a little tighter in a Prius, but hey, we all need to sacrifice.

Tom Daschle apologized for neglecting to pay $150K of taxes.
http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=D963R1OG0&show_article=1

"President Barack Obama said he was "absolutely" sticking with his choice for health secretary"
- From this I conclude Obama favors bringing another proven crook into his administration.

On 1/30/09The Wall Street Journal Reported:

Mr. Daschle made the payments to cover a luxury car and driver provided to him by an investment firm where he was an adviser after leaving the U.S. Senate in 2005, but which he didn't report as income, people familiar with the report said. The payments also covered unreported consulting income and unwarranted charitable deductions. The tax period covered 2005 through 2007. Mr. Daschle told committee staff that he had grown used to having a car and driver as Senate majority leader and didn't think to report the perquisite on his taxes, according to staff members.

This is made to order. On a lighthearted level this man's hypocrisy is amusing, but on a serious level it is disgusting. Daschle is nothing short of a discgrace. That Tom Daschle, a tireless advocate of socializing health care, cheats on his taxes is another example of the liberal creed: Do as I say, not as I do. If wealthy people like Mr. Daschle, the $150K tax cheat, do not want to pay their high taxes, who is going to pay for Mr. Daschles expensive socialist schemes? It is tough to stomach these people. Would an ordinary citizen face stiff penalties and possible prison time for evading taxes?

Obama has now continued to support the nomination of two men who cheated on their taxes: Daschle and Geithner. From this it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that Obama is comfortable surrounding himself with crooks. I think this says something about his judgement and who he is as a person. Birds of a feather flock together. If Obama is comfortable hiring known crooks under the spotlight with which the media covers the president, lord only knows what kind of peopl he associated with when he was not in the spotlight. Naturally, Blago comes to mind. I think Obama is going to run into some problems down the line when the honeymoon with the deranged and duped who voted for him is over and enterprising reporters dig up more of his past.

An editorial by George Soros was published in the Financial Times on Jan 28, 2009
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/49b1654a-ed60-11dd-bd60-0000779fd2ac.html

This is a political piece under the guise of economic analysis. Soros is out of his mind. Lehman and AIG would have blown up regardless of what their stock prices were. "Bear raids did it." Give me a break. They were insolvent.

Not once does he mention housing as one of the root causes of this whole crisis/recession. How could you purport to analyze the meltdown of Lehman and AIG without mentioning housing?

He wants the derivatives market regulated. If regulation is the key to the gates of heaven then how on earth did Freddie and Fannie blow up? They were regulated, in theory.

The overt political riff at the end would be a good laugh if it was not the plan that will be hoist upon us by DC. "Fiscal stimulus will save us." That is laughable. His energy plan is a joke too. Let's see here: using more expensive sources of energy, which will lead to a higher cost of energy, and higher input costs for production is going to help the economy how? Lower prices, not higher prices lead to overall increases in well being. The law of supply and demand will not change.