Obama's entourage of 500 in Europe

Talk about living the high life, taxpayers are funding Obama's traveling party of 500 people.

Certainly everyone understands that the secret service must travel with the President. Of course, some staff members also.

But 500 people?

Imagine how much in tax dollars this one trip is costing us.

What did Governor Sarah Palin mean to the local GOP and McCain campaigns

I am learning. The more stories that I write about Governor Sarah Palin, the higher my hit count. Originally I had thought that people would tire of them, but it has not happened yet.

I have been around conservative politics long enough to see the good and the bad in the Republican party.

Two quotes in particular caught my attention this week. Both were about Sarah Palin and both were made by John McCain.

"Listen, I love and respect Sarah Palin," the 2008 Republican presidential candidate said, speaking softly in an interview Friday with reporters and editors at The Washington Times. "I love her family. I am convinced that her running on the ticket energized the Republican Party in a way that, let's have some straight talk, that I couldn't or didn't."

and

"Over 50 million people voted for me and Sarah Palin - mostly for Sarah Palin," McCain said to an eruption of laughter.

As the chairwoman of our local county GOP, I was well aware of the massive uphill battle we were facing going into the 2008 election. To say that the conservative base was depressed, was an understatement. The reality was the choices we had in the GOP primary did not make GOP base happy.

As a new county GOP chairwoman, I remember actually feeling sorry for myself. My first election to lead the county party was in a year when the entire base was depressed. As the county party moved through the long summer months, things just went from bad to worse.

Trying to get volunteers to help us set up the campaign office was difficult. Sure we had our regular board members that volunteer for everything were doing all the work on their own.

By early August, the offices were open and we had a staff member from the McCain campaign set up in our offices. As a county party we had very little money, but we had devised a plan to bring in donations. We had some party loyalists who donated, still things were very tight.

We also received some McCain yard signs and were phone banking using cell phones. We knew by early September that RPW would be an immense help both with resources and finances if we could just plod along until then.

We did have a few volunteers coming in making calls. We were passing out some yard signs. I was so grateful for the help that we were already getting, but I was still aware of the lack of enthusiasm. I know that I had some county board members that were helping just because I asked them too, not because they were excited.

I am lucky to have some dedicated friends and GOP party members. John McCain just did not get the automatic support of the GOP base. I should know, that base is me!

August 28th, 2008- The night of Obama's coronation and acceptance speech. Our County Party board had a regularly scheduled board meeting. After the depressing meeting, many of us stood around talking. The following week was the GOP convention and we knew that in the next couple of days, McCain would have to choose a running mate. The standard thinking was that it would be Tim Pawlenty, a governor that we know pretty well from our neighboring state, Minnesota. Duller than dirt with the same type of non-conservative credentials as John McCain. But... many of us talked about that Governor from Alaska. We prayed for that Governor from Alaska

August 29th, 2008 Then SHE shows up with all of the smiling and winking and stuff.





The floodgates have opened!

I went straight to our campaign offices after work and was stunned. The place was packed! This was the very same day that she was picked by John McCain.



The very same day she was nominated, we had people demanding yard signs with her name on them. We also had people bringing their McCain signs back in hopes of exchanging it for one with Palin's name on it. This ritual took place for weeks until the McCain/Palin signs came in.



Of course, anyone who walked in the door we signed them up and asked them to volunteer. It was not tough, people were throwing themselves at us.



It is hard to describe the hundreds and hundreds of people walking in. Previously money had been so tight, but now it flowed like crazy.



Yes, I am a fiscal conservative, but I felt that every penny that was donated needed to be thrown back into the campaign somehow. We had it all. From a big screen TV with cable and a lounge area to a giant refrigerator packed with food (and beer too...). Many nights we provided dinners and on the weekends we provided food and drink all day long. Anything we could do make the volunteers as happy as could be, we did.



Our poor county party treasurer and the rest of the board showed an incredibly amount of patience with me when it came to spending money. I tried to spend every dime we had including donating the maximum to our local candidates running for office. We actually ended the campaign with some money in the bank that will be used for next year.



Days before the election we had hundreds and hundreds of people in our offices volunteering. All 24 phone lines were manned non-stop, dozens and dozens of people were out knocking on doors. We had many more out pounding in yard signs.



When we started really tracking the phone calls and door knocks, it was about Sept 20th. We made close to 149,000 phone calls and we knocked on tens of thousands of doors. All of this is about 6 weeks time.



All of the people doing this work were brought to us courtesy of Governor Sarah Palin. Sure, McCain had some support also, but 90% of the people that worked their tails off did it for Governor Palin.



So when I heard after the election that Sarah Palin was to blame for John McCain losing, I had to laugh. The meme being pushed by the liberals, the main stream media and the elitist Republicans that supported Obama is an absolute joke.



Those of us on the ground know better and we have known for months.



58,000,000 cast their vote for Sarah Palin (and John McCain too). These Americans will not quickly forget what Governor Sarah Palin did for conservative principles in 2008.



It is good to see that finally John McCain is admitting what Governor Palin meant to his ticket.



More importantly, the fire that Governor Palin has lit into conservatives will not be extinquished as quickly as the liberals and the mainstream media would like.



If Governor Palin never runs for office again, she will have accomplished something only Ronald Reagan has been able to do. She reignited the fire of conservatism. It is okay to be a Republican. It is okay to be a conservative. It is okay to once again proudly live by your values.



Certainly, as soon as John McCain admitted what the rest of us conservatives have known for months, a new round of attacks were launched this past weekend against Governor Palin.



She will survive and so will the rest of us conservatives. Her poll numbers are still strong. The attacks against the Governor just are not working, no matter how hard the liberals attempt to diminish her. The demand for her remains high in the lower 48.

Just call GM "Government Motors" from this point forward

Well, the taxpayers own GM and Chrysler now, so the government now gets to decide who gets to work there and who does not.

President Obama just forced the CEO of GM to resign. Sounds like something Hugo Chavez would do, right?

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

Yes, I know...Bush started it. That will be Obama's excuse.

By the way, this means that the auto industry is going to be bailed out again. Some of us actually predicted that the auto industry would have to be bailed out again by April. That, of course, is happening right now.

So when do taxpayers actually catch a break in the Obama administration? When does Obama actually start helping main street instead of Wall Street?

President Obama's Faux Town Hall

Where are all the lefties to scream and yell at Obama for staging his own faux town hall meeting?

Oh yeah, the lefties were the ones asking Obama the faux questions.

WaPo

President Obama has promised to change the way the government does business, but in at least one respect he is taking a page from the Bush playbook, stocking his town hall Thursday with supporters whose soft -- though far from planted -- questions provided openings to discuss his preferred message of the day.

Yeah, right. The softball questions were not planted!

Do they really expect people to believe that the questions were "far from planted"?

Anyway, Obama supporters one and all.

But while the online question portion of the White House town hall was open to any member of the public with an Internet connection, the five fully identified questioners called on randomly by the president in the East Room were anything but a diverse lot. They included: a member of the pro-Obama Service Employees International Union, a member of the Democratic National Committee who campaigned for Obama among Hispanics during the primary; a former Democratic candidate for Virginia state delegate who endorsed Obama last fall in an op-ed in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star; and a Virginia businessman who was a donor to Obama's campaign in 2008.

Must be nice to have softball questions thrown at you by your supporters, huh?

Oops- My lights are on

In fact, every light I have is turned on. All of my neighbors lights are on too.

I guess we are all evil. Either that or we believe that global warming is a farce brought to us by liberals who do not understand enough about science to recognize that the earth's temperature moves in cycles.

In fact we are in a cold cycle and have been for the last two years.

Bailout benefactors donating to Obama's campaigns

Did you know that Barack Obama is still soliciting campaign donations for his Senate campaign?

Did you know that Barack Obama was soliciting those campaign funds even after he was elected President?

Did you know that one of Obama's biggest donors runs Goldman Sachs, a company bailed out by the tax dollars?

The Washington Times seems to be the only folks reporting on this right now:

President Obama continued collecting money for his 2010 Senate re-election campaign even after he resigned his seat from Illinois, including a maximum $2,300 donation the day after Christmas from a top executive of a Wall Street firm that had received a government bailout.

There appears to be nothing illegal about the donation. Aren't you just a little bit curious why his Senate campaign continues to raise money?

Obama's senate campaign is not in debt. In fact, there is plenty of money in that account. They are actually out there soliciting funds. Why are folks being asked to donate to a Senate campaign fund for a person that will never ever run for the senate again.

It is pretty easy to see why the Goldman Sachs guy donated to Obama's senate campaign in December. If you want to circumvent maximum campaign donation laws, then donate to a different campaign committee. For example, legally the Goldman Sachs guy had already donated the maximum allowed under federal law to Obama's presidential campaign, so if he wants to give more money to Obama, then just donate to a different campaign fund. Which is precisely what this guy appears to have done.

So much for getting the big money out of politics, huh?

So the real questions are why is this account still actively soliciting funds? What do they plan on using the money for? How many people are circumventing the campaign finance laws?

Hat Tip WisGOP

Barack Obama: Modern day Robin Hood?

I don't think so.

I am sitting here at 3:00am wondering what I am doing awake. Flipping through some channels, I caught someone stating that Barack Obama was the new modern day Robin Hood. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

I actually laughed out loud when I heard this.

The Obamabots are so enamored with their dear leader, that they cannot see the reality that continually smacks them in the face every single day.

Barack Obama is stealing from the middle class of America and giving it to the rich. Hello! We are bailing out the banks!

This is our modern day Robin Hood?

Worse yet, our modern day Robin Hood is stealing from our children and their future.

Good grief.

Makes you wonder when the Obamabots will finally wake up and we can end this nightmare.

Here it is, Mr. President

A few weeks ago, we heard from our congressman Paul Ryan that he was currently working on the budget proposal to counter the President's proposal.

Of course, the Democrats, including the President, just wanted to keep calling the Republicans the party of no, even though they had been told time and again that the alternative budget was coming.

It is here, Mr. President.

An alternative to massive increases in government spending, massive tax increases and a massive extension of government power has been proposed.

Will the President and the Democrats listen?

Paul Ryan: Dems' budget worse than what Europe allows

Our Congressman is fighting the good fight. Let us support him. Perhaps it is time to contact the other GOP congressmen and tell them to vote "no" to Obama's budget.

Obama's budget is a disaster and sends us down the road of European socialism, massive debts and deficits and enternal servitude to Obama's government.

DPI Candidate Tony Evers Violates Campaign Laws

Badger Blogger has the scoop.

Where is the outrage from the newspapers on this? I'm waiting for the Kenosha News, Racine Journal Times and Milwaukee Journal to have this on the front page, above the fold.

Remember when it was reported for weeks about Mark Green's alleged campaign violations? When he was cleared of all the allegations, coincidentally after the election, the story was run on page 3B of the papers.

Just more proof of the bias in our media. And newspapers wonder why their readership and advertising is down.

Is President Obama getting embarrassed?

You would think by now the President would be embarrassed, but it does not seem to stop him.

How is it possible to do a press conference and still not be able to break the teleprompter habit?

This time, it was not an actual teleprompter by a flat screen TV.

The great orator is not really great.

President Obama stretching the facts?

You know that President Obama had a pretty bad press conference when the very next morning, even the fawning media is questioning whether or not the President stretched the facts.

Fact Check by the AP:

THE CLAIM: "We will recover from this recession. But it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that when we all work together, when each of us looks beyond our own short-term interests to the wider set of obligations we have to each other, that's when we succeed."

THE FACTS:
No one really knows when the recession will end. But Obama's own budget
forecasts the recession will continue through this year but with a relatively
shallow 1.2 percent decline in the gross domestic product.

Then, the budget predicts solid 3.2 percent growth for 2010, followed by three years of more than 4 percent growth each year.

Christina Romer, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said this week she was "incredibly confident" the U.S. economy will recover within a year.
Congressional Republicans and some Democratic budget hawks have suggested the Obama budget projections are unduly optimistic to make the math to pay for the president's programs work. The higher the GDP growth, the more tax revenues come in.

Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week predicted that the Obama budget would produce deficits averaging nearly $1 trillion over the next decade.

That is not all, follow the link.

Candidate Obama vs. President Obama: Change We Can Believe In?

Over and over again, President Obama has failed to live up to his promise of hope and change
H/T Conservatives 4 Palin

http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/03/new-nrsc-ad-candidate-obama-vs.html

TOTUS

Many of you have seen people talking about TOTUS.





It stands for Teleprompter of the United States. President Barack Obama.





Here is the official seal:



Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Governor Palin and the Stimulus

I am certain that many Americans know by now that Governor Palin has put over $288 million of stimulus money off to the side so that she and the legislators can have a debate on whether or not the money is worth keeping.

"I can't attest to every fund that's being offered the state in the stimulus package will be used to create jobs and stimulate the economy, so I'm requesting only those things that I know will," Palin said at a news conference at the Capitol. "Public discussion will have to ensue on all those other dollars that some will say 'you left on the table.

In a typical unthinking reaction, the ADN, being blinded by their own liberal agenda and liberal support of President Barack, is willing to sell Alaska’s children down the drain.

In yesterday’s editorial called “Our View”, the ADN flies into their typical liberal hysterics because Governor Palin dared to reject some of the stimulus. The editors at the ADN are furious that the governor will not just grab the money for Alaska. Consequences be damned! Just “Grab the Money” is their way of thinking.

I find it quite interesting that the same media liberals, like the editors at the ADN, and Democrats who are railing against “greedy” corporations are exemplifying the same greedy behavior that they accuse the corporations of having.

With absolutely no thought of the future or the consequences, they are demanding the stimulus money now. Grab the money! Grab the money! GRAB THE MONEY NOW!

The editors at the ADN readily admit that the money is only temporary and that the money comes with strings attached.

The ADN editorialists make not one single argument or explanation as to why Governor Palin should just take the money. They offer nothing at all.

So why are the liberals so intent on just grabbing the money? Why would anyone advocate for stimulus funds that do nothing to stimulate?

Stunningly, the liberal ADN editors and the Democrats they support, appear to be so self centered, so greedy and so immoral that they are willing to steal money from Alaska’s children and grandchildren in order to temporarily feel better.

Yes, times are tough right now. Yes, Americans are going to struggle for the next few years. That is still not a good enough reason to sell our children’s future or their freedom. Shouldn't we, the adults, be the ones to make the sacrifices?

If the ADN editorialists want to advocate taking the money, that is fine. Perhaps the responsible and adult thing to do would be to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why they are stealing money and freedom from their children and grandchildren. I do not think that is too much to ask.

The ADN needs to make their argument to the people. Governor Palin has made her argument and so far, a few handfuls of liberals with their hands out are the only ones protesting. These folks do not represent all of Alaska and the media knows it.

PS. As far as the ADN’s argument about Palin being willing to take infrastructure money even though more funds will be needed in the future to maintain the infrastructure, that argument is pretty easy. We need people to actually build and maintain the infrastructure. People with jobs pay taxes. Tada! The continued maintenance is paid.

President Obama laughs while America cries

When even the fawning media challenges your laughter during a serious interview, then you have problems.

Gov. Palin on the Special Olympics

Slight difference in the attitudes toward people with special needs between Palin and Obama.

And this video was recorded before Obama showed his true feelings toward Special Olympians on Leno.

But then again, Obama believes these beautiful children should be aborted, and if able to live through the botched abortion, left alone to die in a closet.

What Economic Crisis?

This is what our Congress is doing? It's good to know they are working hard at fixing the economy.

How does Geithner survive this?

I am actually starting to feel sorry for Timothy Geithner. The guy is in over his head and he is dealing with an inexperienced President that is also in over his head.

The latest is the Obama administration knew about the AIG bonuses on at least March 3rd.

Here is link to the video at Hot Air.

President Bush would have already been called into congressional hearings about this.

Worse yet, clearly some in Congress knew the payouts for bonuses were also going out, and not one person lifted a finger.

The man can not be trusted ...

... without his teleprompter.

It has become obvious why Obama travels with his teleprompter. If he goes "off script" he shows what he really thinks. (Remember the "spread the wealth comment to Joe the Plumber?)

Here's what was said on Jay Leno:

Leno: “I imagine the bowling alley has been just burned and closed down.”

Obama: “No, no, I have been practicing... I bowled a 129.”

Leno: “That’s very good, Mr President.”

Obama: “It’s like - it was like the Special Olympics, or something.”

Watch the video here.

What would have happened if Bush had said something like this?

As someone who works with children with special needs, I know these special children have more class than Obama will ever have.

Tele has his own blog

The machine behind the man.

Barack Obama's Teleprompter has his own blog now.

Check it out.

Another Obama Teleprompter meltdown

Why can you not find out any of this from the American media?

This is major teleprompter meltdown and a complete embarrassment to the President.

President Obama cannot operate without a teleprompter. It is one thing to use a teleprompter for major speeches, however the man cannot accomplish the simplest tasks, like a three sentence introduction, without a teleprompter.

If it were not for Nick Reed filling in for Vicki McKenna, I would not have heard about this either. Here is the podcast link.

I found the newstory at Sky News.

A teleprompt blunder has led to Barack Obama thanking himself in a speech at the White House in a St Patrick's Day celebration.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address in Washington when he realised it all sounded a bit too familiar.

It was. He was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just read from the same teleprompter.

Mr Cowen stopped, turned to the president and said: "That's your speech."

A laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium to take over but it seems the script had finally been switched and the US president ended up thanking himself for inviting everyone to the party.

Mr Obama is an accomplished orator but is becoming known in America as the "teleprompt president" over his reliance on the machine when he gives a speech.

This is getting ridiculous.

An "accomplished orator" should not have to read everything from a teleprompter.

Worse yet, the US media is so intent on protecting the president, that not one word of this has been said about it here in the US. So far, I have not found one US media outlet that has reported on this.

If this were George Bush, imagine the taunting from the media and the lefties!

What are the chances of finding this on You Tube?

Obama's True Love

Obama thrown under the bus

This is funny. After all the people Obama has pointed the finger at and then proceeded to toss him under the bus, it is now happening to him.

You remember that language that was inserted into the stimulus bill that gave corporations like AIG the authority to pay out those huge bonuses with taxpayer dollars?

We knew that Senator Dodd was the one that changed the amendment into the stimulus bill. (Even though Senator Dodd denied it yesterday, he is now admitting today that he was the one that did insert the amendment.)

Anyway, Senator Dodd changed the amendment at the urging of the Obama administration! There goes Obama, thrown right under his own bus.

Dodd acknowledged his role in the change after a Treasury Department official told CNN the administration pushed for the language.

Both Dodd and the official, who asked not to be named, said it was because administration officials were afraid the government would face numerous lawsuits without the new language.

Dodd, a Democrat, told CNN's Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer that Obama administration officials pushed for the language to an amendment designed to limit bonuses and "golden parachutes" at those companies.

Obama was just outraged after finding out about this, or so he said on Monday. Turns out it was the Obama Team that pushed for the bonuses to be paid!

So who is surprised that we were "mislead" by President Obama? Anyone?

Oh, and that is not the only time President Obama mislead America, besides his entire campaign of misrepresenting himself, Team Obama told us that the President just found out last week about the bonuses. Turns out, Team Obama not only knew but they fought to give execs excessive bonuses with our tax dollars.

Cavuto's Commentary Nails It!

Neil Cavuto's Common Sense today hit the nail on the head. I've been thinking this exact thing, but Neil said it perfectly!

Politicians Have Selective Outrage When it Comes to Spending

Selective rage. Played out before TV cameras capturing it all today. Politicians furious, absolutely furious, over the $165 million in bonuses doled out by AIG that represent less than a percent of the $175 billion taxpayers have spent bailing out AIG.

But not a peep about double that percentage in pork in that $410 billion spending bill. So two percent is nothing. One percent is something. Two percent of our money going to pork is no big deal. One percent of our money going to bonus pork is a big deal. $165 million: big deal; nearly $8 billion: no big deal.

No deal. Makes no sense. Here's why: Pork is pork. Waste is waste. Abuse is abuse. As offensive when bank execs steal it, as when politicians try to hide it. You can't rail against one and ignore the other. Better to ignore both, because you can't have it both ways.

If you say the wasted government spending bill amounts to a rounding error, then the comparatively smaller waste at AIG doesn't even round itself to an error. What is in error is the hypocrisy of jumping on a tiny number to suit your cause and ignoring a bigger number because it doesn’t suit your cause.

Both are cause for concern and denunciation. Both abuse taxpayers' money, and taxpayers' sense of fair play. So quit playing games with taxpayers' good money and good senses. Because the only thing worse than blowing your top about abuses you should have seen coming, is not blowing your top about abuses you keep perpetuating.

So save me your rage. And try saving me something else: My money, all our money... now.

Wirch's Wacky Wisdom

I frequently contact all of my elected officials to find out where they stand on the issues. Being a fiscal conservative, I e-mail them to not only save trees and time, but also money (hence the fiscal conservative thing.) My state senator, and I use that term loosely, ALWAYS takes his good-natured time and writes me a letter back, at, of course, taxpayer expense. I would be much happier with an e-mail, but apparently e-mail is too complicated for Bob Wirch. The most obnoxious thing, aside from Bob-I'm-A-Fiscal-Conservative-(NOT)-Wirch wasting taxpayer dollars on envelopes, letterhead and stamps, when he could e-mail me for FREE, is he NEVER answers the question I pose to him. He also thinks he's pretty smart (which shows how ignorant he really is) when in his letters, he quotes some Republican to back up his uneducated thoughts.

Note to Bob: UNLIKE you, I don't tow the party line. I don't care what letter you have after your name, if you're and idiot, you're and idiot.

Edited to add: After my personal proofreader, Guy Behind the Guy, read through my post, I'd like to note that the above sentence should read: Note to Bob: UNLIKE you, I don't toe the party line. I don't care what letter you have after your name, if you're an idiot, you're an idiot.

Recently, I e-mailed Senator Wirch asking him if he supported increasing the cigarette tax or not. (Sounds like a yes or no answer to me.) I received this letter back:

Huh?????

So, is he for or against raising the tax on cigarettes? I can guess his answer, since he LOVES to raise taxes on anything and everything. Bringing back the gas tax indexing is just one example.

But thanks for that lesson in how a bill becomes a law — I have the School House Rock Videos, also.

I called Wirch's office on Wednesday, March 18th and asked his staffer if he was for or against the tax, she wouldn't give me an answer. She asked for my phone number and said Wirch would call me back. I laughed at her and said that he wouldn't call me back, and I'd like to know if he was for or against the tax (I know she knows the answer.) She assured me he'd call me back.

Well, it's been a week, and no word from my representation (and I use that term loosely) in Madison. So much for that thing we have called a Representative Republic.

As I continue to get letters from Wirch I'll let you see the quality of service my taxpayer dollars pays for in the 22nd District.

Great news! Obama's basketball picks are done!

Whew! I was a little worried there for a moment. God knows that Obama has been so busy keeping and eye on AIG and protecting our tax dollars that there would be no way he would have time to waste on his March Madness picks.

Check this out, he certainly found time to get those important picks in:



H/T Hot Air

Oh by the way, you can catch the President on Jay Leno also.

Seriously? You cannot get a staffer to do this?

I heard someone mention this the other day, I am not sure where, but...

"The house is on fire and Obama is busy watering the lawn."

Could someone get our President's attention and see if he has time to actually start behaving like a President?

Updated: I just love some of the commenters on Hot Air. Very clever and very quick on their feet. Here is one of my favorite:

But remember the “My Pet Goat” controversy manufactured by the Left, where President Bush waited a freakin 5 minutes while his handlers where trying to get information and figuring out where to evacuate the President? 5 MINUTES And that
was supposed to be a sign of his incompetence.

Well, we’ve had 60 straight DAYS of My Pet Goat.

SPCOlympics on March 18, 2009 at 1:47 PM

A letter from Sen. Feingold

I just received this e-mail from Senator Feingold (or at least I think it was him since he didn't show me enough respect to sign his name):

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriatons Act for fiscal year 2009. I appreciate hearing from you, and I voted against this bill

By passing the omnibus spending bill, which included more than 8500 earmarked pet projects costing taxpayers $7.7 billion, Congress failed to show the American people that it is committed to spending their money wisely. When Congress passed the economic recovery bill (also called the stimulus) to create or save millions of American jobs, it did so without including a single earmark. Congress should have done the same thing with this omnibus spending bill and it should do so with all future bills.

One of the main reasons I first ran for the U.S. Senate was to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget. Throughout my career in the Senate, I have worked to bring Wisconsin's historic tradition of fiscal responsibility to Congress, an environment where wasteful spending too often dominates the budget process.

Thank you again for contacting me. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

I was all ready to give him a "way to go" for not voting for the Omnibus, but then he went ahead and lied to me. "it did so without including a single earmark" How stupid does Sen. Feingold (and all the Congressional Democrats for that matter) think the American people are? Just because the Democrats say it, doesn't mean it's true.

To you, Sen. Feingold, I give you the one finger salute for, once again, lying to the American public. Keep toeing that party line.

Change DPI, Vote Rose Fernandez on April 7th

It is time to set our children on a strong path of education. End the status quo!

Vote Rose Fernandez on April 7th

Spare me the outrage

Good grief. Everyone on Capitol Hill is "outraged".

Problem is, they all knew about the bonuses. The White House even gave permission to AIG to pay out the bonuses.

Timothy Geithner- Mr. TARPman originally lead the charge last year. Tell me he did not know about these bonuses! This is the same man that just a few weeks ago worked feverishly to sell another $30 billion for AIG on the Hill. Mr. TARPman now says that he knew nothing about these bonuses until last week. Rumor has it that he actually gave permission to AIG for the bonuses. One congressman even said that he sent a letter to Geithner a few weeks ago, because he knew those bonuses were coming.

Congress- They knew. They knew back in November during testimony on the Hill. They all knew these bonuses were coming and they did nothing about it. There were a couple of Congressmen that actually put a block in the stimulus plan that would have kept this from happening. Democrats removed the legislation from the stimulus package.

Christopher Dodd- Mr. "I am in charge of this country's finances", was the goofball that gave the AIG leaders the authority to pay out the bonuses.

Politico

The final version of the amendment includes an “exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009” — a provision that exempts the AIG bonuses Congress is now trying to recoup.

Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sponsored the amendment, but his office said Tuesday that his original proposal did not include special treatment for AIG.

As far as taxing the bonuses, which Congress is trying to do right now... Well, that too was in the stimulus and promptly removed by the Democrats.

Republican aides also complained that a provision that would have taxed bonuses for firms accepting government rescue funds was stripped from the stimulus by Democrats. The amendment would have forced AIG to pay nearly $58 million in taxes on top executive bonuses.

Democrats did everything in their power to allow these bonuses and now they are just "outraged".

President Obama- the President was too busy lining his campaign coffers to even worry about the bonuses. Of course, the smartest man in the world knew nothing about nothing. I guess the $100,000 plus in campaign contributions helps a man forget about the bonuses that the taxpayers are footing. Open Secrets.

Michelle Malkin has a great piece on this same subject today.

Instead of worrying about the massive debt and these bonuses, the Democrats and the White House felt it necessary to focus on Rush and Steele.

Add up all the hours staffers spent discussing Rush Limbaugh in the last two weeks and compare that to the number of hours spent discussing AIG's bonuses and tell me what the answer is.

MSM: Do the same thing.

This is ridiculous.

Hey, hope and change, huh?

AIG and Team Obama have more than one problem

Yes, I think it is appalling that AIG paid out $165 million is bonuses to the people that have put the United States taxpayer in the position of bailing them out.

But even more appalling...

The majority of money divvied up by AIG and paid out, has not even gone to American banks. In fact, we not only are paying out tax dollars to bail out American banks, but we are bailing out France and Germany...

I added up the various lists provided by AIG by country (see below), and the results were quite revealing. About $44 billion went to counterparties headquartered in the U.S., such as Goldman Sachs and states such as California and Virginia.

But as I expected, the majority of the funds—$58 billion—went to banks headquartered outside the U.S. The big winners were French and German
banks, which pulled in $19 billion and $17 billion respectively.

To put these numbers in perspective, remember that the U.S. fiscal stimulus bill passed in February provided only $27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction.

Where is President Obama? Where is the outrage?

The american taxpayer is footing billions of dollars for foreign banks. Somehow I get the distinct impression that the "outrage" over $168 million is actually a distraction to a real outrage.

I

The attack on Rush did not work, next up?

Obama's continuous campaign continues on. Team Obama is getting whooped up on in the polls and now it is time to change strategies. Is this the change you guys voted for? Ooops, beating up on Rush is not working, time to move on to something else.

Beginning Sunday, the White House will harness every part of the Democratic Party’s machinery to defend President Obama’s budget and portray Republicans as reflexively political, according to party strategists.

A participant in the planning meetings described the push as a successor to Democrats’ message that Rush Limbaugh is the Republican Party leader. “We have exhausted the use of Rush as an attention-getter,” the official said.

Now Team Obama has decided to move on to calling Republicans the party of "no".

And officials throughout the party plan to hammer the idea that Republicans are just saying “no” to the president’s budget plans without offering their own alternative.

Problem is, the Republicans did offer their own alternative plan for the stimulus and after seeing the ridiculous budget, the Republicans are working on their own plan right now. (On a side note, I saw Congressman Ryan this morning at the First Congressional District Caucus and he was telling us about the alternate plan for the budget and then I come home an read this tonight)

House Republicans, who released an alternative to the stimulus bill, say they’ll issue their own budget proposal in the next few weeks.

They actually released their stimulus plan just 3 days after Obama became President:

Smith said both Boehner and the No. 2 House Republican—Whip Eric Cantor (Va.)—“presented alternative economic stimulus ideas at the White House directly to the President on the third day of his presidency.”

For some odd reason, Sarah Palin is once again targeted by the left and featured in one of the ads.

In an ad called “Crickets” that begins Sunday, Americans United for Change, a labor-funded ally of the White House, says: “President Obama has proposed a budget plan to turn the page on the failed economic policies of the past – creating jobs and changing the way things are done in Washington. The Republican response?”

Then the viewer sees Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) each saying, “No!”

Seriously? I know that Sarah Palin is still the governor of Alaska and it really is not her job to offer alternative plans to the FEDERAL stimulus or the FEDERAL budget.

Clearly, the Republicans are getting to the Democrats and the Dems are in constant campaign mode attempting to deflect criticism.

Instead of leading this country out of its financial crisis, the Dems and Barack Obama are just trying to get re-elected. It is going to be a long three and half years, if the Democrats are already in spin mode trying to protect the "ONE".

Bumper Sticker

The 1st Congressional District Republican Party of Wisconsin is selling this bumper sticker for $1. We stole the idea from the Tennessee GOP. If the ladies on "The View" don't like it, we know it's a good one. (Maybe Whoopi wants one after her rant.)

The Fundamentals of the Economy are Sound

Didn't John McCain get ridiculed for that same comment during the election?

Let's see if the MSM goes after Obama about this the same way they went after McCain. I'm not holding my breath ...

More Bumper Stickers

A New Hope?

H/T: GOC

My liberal friends were right.

From a friend:

I have to admit it. My liberal friends were right. They told me if I voted for McCain, the nation's Hope would deteriorate, and sure enough there has been a 20 point drop in the Consumer Confidence Index since the election, reaching a lower point than any time during the Bush administration.

They told me if I voted for McCain, the US would become more deeply embroiled in the Middle East, and sure enough tens of thousands of additional troops are scheduled to be deployed into Afghanistan.

They told me if I voted for McCain, that the economy would get worse and sure enough unemployment is approaching 8.8% and the new stimulus packages implemented recently have sent the stock market lower than at any time since 9-11.

They told me if I voted for McCain, we would see more "crooks" in high ranking positions in Federal government and sure enough, several recent cabinet nominees and Senate appointments revealed resumes of bribery and tax fraud.

Well I ignored my Democrat friends in November and voted for McCain. And they were right ... all of their predictions have come true.

Rose's Rise in the Race

The Fernandez-Evers Race is a dead heat.

That's right. A toss up.

With four weeks until the election, the citizen-powered campaign to bring a fresh perspective and a sense of urgency to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has tied the establishment candidate.

"The results from the Primary and recent polling prove that our message of reform is resonating," said Rose in a media release issued earlier today. "President Obama agrees with me and supports merit pay for teachers. His education secretary agrees with me on the need for higher academic standards. Yet my opponent continues to resist the reforms. I can only assume his support for the status quo is related to his support from the special interest groups who also resist these common sense reforms."

On Wednesday the MacIver Institute for Public Policy released a poll today that indicated Tony Evers, despite the immense spending on his behalf, has a minuscule lead near the margin of error, making the race a dead heat with four weeks left until the April 7th election.

On Tuesday President Obama outlined his support for merit pay for teachers, a policy Fernandez has been advocating throughout the campaign.

"The great teachers deserve raises, the good teachers deserve incentives to improve and any bad teachers need to be let go," said Rose. "I understand this. President Obama understands this. It is a shame Tony Evers does not get it."

From merit pay, to MPS reform to raising our academic standards, Rose Fernandez has taken the lead in discussing the issues that matter. She is effectively using the Internet as part of her cost-effective campaign to become the state's most vocal and successful advocate for school children. Rose Fernandez has updated and redesigned her campaign website: www.ChangeDPI.com

Her appeal is statewide and crosses party lines. She is supported by Independents, Republicans and Democrats. In the Primary, she won Democratic strongholds like the cities of Milwaukee and Superior; and she won in Republican areas like Waukesha and Washington Counties. All while spending less than 10 percent of what her opponent and his special interest supporters spent.

"The supporters of the status quo merely want to discuss raising taxes to throw more money at schools; however, I believe we need to focus on getting a better return for the money we already spend," said Fernandez. "I am going to continue to bring a fresh perspective and a sense of urgency to deal with these important issues. We can make Wisconsin's good schools great and fix MPS and other trouble spots if we break free from the special interests and work together."

Rose can win this race.

Rose has defied the odds and defeated the special interests and the education establishment before.

Obama's first 50 days- How much is he spending?

After the $410 billion omnibus bill passed in the Senate last night, I got to wondering exactly how much Team Obama has managed to spend or plans on spending in Obama's first 50 days as President.

$350 billion TARP funds- this is the balance original $700 billion bank bailout.

$1.2 trillion Stimulus plan- this is the total with interest for Obama's $787 billion stimulus package

$410 billion Omnibus- this is the package Obama will sign in the next few days (yes, he is blaming Bush, but President Bush promised a veto, which is why Obama's name will be on the dotted line at the end of this boondoggle)

$33 billion SCHIP expansion- tax increase on smokers

(still, I feel like I am missing something from the above list, email or comment if you see something I have missed)

Obama's total spending after his first 50 days in office- $2,290,000,000,000 ($2.29 trillion)

That equals out to be:

$45,800,000,000($45.8 billion a day) for every single day Obama has been in office

$1,908,333,333 ($1.908 billion an hour) for every single hour Obama has been in office

$3,180,555 ($3.18 million per minute) for every single minute Obama has been in office

$530,092 for every single second Obama has been in office.

That is right. Obama has spent $530,092 for every second he has been in office.

Democrats you must be so proud.

That has got to be some kind of record. We already know that Obama is spending more taxpayer dollars than any President in the history of this country.

I wonder how many seconds are left before we can toss Obama out of office?

All of this and I have not included President Obama's budget yet.

Stimulus- Round 2

Well, that did not take long. Even though the Democrats did not exactly admit that the $800 billion stimulus could not or would not work, they might as well have admitted it.

Now we move on to the stimulus, round 2.

"We are going to need more taxpayer money upfront. I think another stimulus package is a reasonable probability the way things are going," Zandi told reporters after the meeting.

Boy- that statement sure takes the wind out of you, huh?

The lies!

Oh by the way, the 4 million jobs promised to be saved or created by the end of 2010, that is not going to happen either.

President Obama has repeatedly said the $787 billion stimulus plan passed by Congress last month would save or create at least 3.5 million jobs. But today House Democrats heard a sharply downsized prediction: 1 million fewer jobs.

Truth be told, Obama was actually promising 4 million jobs, just two months ago. Did you think we would forget. For heaven's sake, he made the statement only two months ago!

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama said his two-year plan to boost the U.S. economy will generate as many as 4 million jobs, higher than his previous estimates, the biggest portion of them in construction, manufacturing and retail.

Of course, as recently as last Friday, Obama was promising 3.5 million jobs:

"Altogether, this recovery plan will save and create more than 3½ million American jobs over the next two years," Obama said in a speech in Ohio Friday.

So, okay- we will go with the 3.5 million jobs saved or created. So the figure was only downsized Obama's prediction last Friday by about 28%.

Okay- so where are we at since our new leader was elected:

1. The automakers received a bailout in December of about $14 billion dollars. It is only early March and they have already been back up on Capitol Hill asking for another $17 billion or so.

2. Barack Obama has already called for and received the remaining $350 billion of the $700 billion bailout of the Bush bailout of banks(TARP). The man Obama handed it to, Timothy Geithner is confused. I mean, really really confused. The Fed did manage to give another $30 billion to AIG. How much more have they been promised? We do not know, it is a secret. Shhhh!

3. Obama's budget for 2009 to 2010 calls for another $755 bailout of the banks. TARP II here we come!

4. 4 million jobs would be created, revised down to 3.5 million jobs that would be created, revised down to 2.5 million jobs created.


5. Stimulus package- about $1.2 trillion after interest. Yes folks that is $1,200,000,000,000. We find out today, much like I predicted, that this will not be nearly enough, more money is needed.

6. $410 billion Omnibus bill that passed this evening, chock full of the earmarks(pork) that Obama promised to veto during his whirlwind campaign. The $410 billion only gets us through the month of September!

7. The one year budget starting on October 1st? That is another $3.55 trillion. Yep, that is $3,550,000,000,000.

Who is going to pay for all of this? Why, the rich people, of course! (Even if we take every dime the rich people have, that is not nearly enough to pay for all of this stuff).

Even with all of this crisis stuff happening around us, what was Obama doing today? Pandering to educators. Promising more money, of course.

Okay, then...How about yesterday?

Expanding Stem cell spending, even though it is totally unnecessary.

Today officially marks President Obama's first 50 days in office!!!!

50 days! Can you imagine what the next 50 days will bring us?

Oh boy, I am getting dizzy.

Congressional Sponsors

I received this in an email I got from one of my Demcrat friends:


BEST IDEA I HAVE HEARD IN LONG, LONG TIME!!!

Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like
NASCAR drivers, so we could identify their corporate sponsors.

PSALM 2008:2012

This is funny:

Our first reading today is from the Testament of the New Messiah

PSALM 2008:2012

OBAMA IS MY SHEPHERD,

I SHALL NOT WANT.

HE LEADETH ME BESIDE STILL FACTORIES.

HE RESTORETH MY FAITH IN THE GOP.

HE GUIDETH ME IN THE PATH OF UNEMPLOYMENT.

YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE BREAD LINE,
I SHALL NOT GO HUNGRY.

OBAMA HAS ANOINTED MY INCOME WITH TAXES, MY EXPENSES RUNNETH OVER MY INCOME,

SURELY, POVERTY AND HARD LIVING WILL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE.

THE DEMOCRATS AND I WILL LIVE FOREVER IN A RENTED HOME.

BUT I AM GLAD I AM AN AMERICAN, I AM GLAD THAT I AM FREE.

I WISH I WERE A DOG AND OBAMA WAS A TREE.

Our Immature President

In this very rough economic times, we needed a grown up to lead this country, what we got is a petty immature man who is behaving like a 12 year old.

Let's start with the gift gaffe that has got our strongest ally, the Brits, into a uproar.

First, the White House returned a bronze bust of Winston Churchhill given to President Bush by PM Tony Blair. The bronze bust symbolized the very beginning of our relationship with our strongest ally recognizing the strong relationship between Churchhill and Roosevelt.

Obama returned it, after all, it was given to President Bush. That started the Brits off to the races a few weeks ago.

Then the PM from Great Britian shows up and Obama hands him a Walmart door prize of 25 DVDs.

The Brits are really in an uproar over this. They are ticked that Obama not only handed their PM the Walmart CDs, but then cancelled a press conference because of snow. Obama also refused standard protocol of photos with the alternating flags.

This is not just a little joke to the Brits:

The president's "exceptionally rude treatment" of the prime minister will have consequences, predicted British journalist Iain Martin. "We get the point, sunshine. We're just one of many allies and you want fancy new friends. Well, the next time you need something doing, something which impinges on your national security, then try calling the French, the Japanese, or best of all the Germans."

Oh boy.

You are going to love the excuse the White House gave for slighting our most precious ally in the world:

Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown

Oh that is good...Our President needs a nap.

If you really want to see an example of our new president's immaturity, look no further than Rush Limbaugh. Yes, our new president and his staff are trading insults with Rush.

Of course, not only has the White House targeted Rush Limbaugh but add CNBC's Rick Santelli and CNBC's Jim Cramer. Mr. Cramer was a supporter of President Obama, but even he has had enough.

Jim Cramer stated: "It is amatuer hour at our darkest moment".

These people have offended the president, so they must be dealt with.

Seriously, is this what the most powerful office in the world feels is a priority? Slamming political pundits because they hurt your feelings? Good grief!

I am beginning to believe the real reason Obama sent the bronze bust back to the Brits is to clear himself some room for future spitball fights with Limbaugh.

Still not convinced that we have a twelve year old running the country, perhaps Obama will take you on his "spiffy" new ride, Air Force One, just to convince you!

"Hey guys, what do you think of my -- this spiffy ride here?" the president asked the group of reporters traveling with him on the presidential plane.

Vote Early! Vote Often!

MSNBC has a live poll where you can vote on Obama's performance.

As of right now 56% have given him a well-deserved "F."

Who are the 23% giving him an "A"? They must not own a 401(k), IRA, mutual fund or any stocks. Maybe they are the ones lining up for their mortgage bailout and free cars.

Thank you Al Gore!

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of then Vice President Al Gore's famous statement about inventing the internet.

In a March 9, 1999 interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition", Gore said that "during my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the internet."

Thank you Mr. Gore for inventing the internet. Thank you, also, for inventing global warming.

Updated by KC: You kill me, GOP Gal! This was a good one!

Thank you, also, for inventing global warming.

Perhaps Obama should reconsider cloning

Whew- this is a relief:

President Obama said Monday that he will ensure the government never "opens the
door" for human cloning, before signing an order to lift restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Some critics say the stem cell research can lead to human cloning, but Obama said his administration would develop "strict guidelines" to avoid such experimentation.

Perhaps Obama should reconsider going ahead with cloning. After all, liberals have no problems getting "rid" of their "fetuses" and conservatives are leaderless and as a result too depressed to be doing the "wild mambo" that actually creates these babies, soooooooo..... maybe he should reconsider cloning.

After all, who is going to pay all of the taxes on Obama's continuous bailouts and stimulus plans? Since we are already spending our children's money, our grandchildren's money and our great grandchildren's money, we might need to start cloning folks.

Oh...Could my clone be skinny and taller?

Rep. Charlie Rangel swears at Jason Mattera over scandal questions

I love this guy from Hot Air. How many times has Jason nailed one of these guys like John Kerry and Charlie Rangel?

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/09/hot-air-tv-rangel-vs-mattera/

Kerkman Earns Law Enforcement Endorsement

Kerkman Earns the Support of Law Enforcement

Kenosha… Attorney Chad Kerkman, who is a candidate for circuit court judge, is honored to have received the endorsement of the Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. The association is made up of more than 75 detectives and deputies in Kenosha County.
“I’m proud to have earned the respect, trust, and endorsement of the Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff's Association. I’m dedicated to making our community safe and strong for many years,” said Kerkman.

Over the years Chad has worked closely with law enforcement on matters of criminal and family law. Chad started his law career as an Assistant District Attorney in Kenosha after he completed his law degree at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Chad also possesses a degree in engineering from Purdue University.

Chad is also endorsed by more than 35 local elected officials including three municipal judges and more than 50 attorneys. Visit his website at www.kerkmanforjudge.com for more information about his campaign.

Remember to vote April 7th.

I am AFP!

I am currently sitting here at the Defending the American dream summit. I will be updating from time to time, but will not be posting all day long.

Mark Block is currently speaking.

Check out the webpage http://fightbackwisconsin.com/


You can sign up for the Taxpayer Tea Party in Madison on April 15th with AFP and Vicki McKenna

Currently Tim Philips, head of AFP, is speaking on pork barrel spending:

1. $1.7 m for pig odor research in Iowa

2. $2.1 m for grape research in NY

3. $900,000 forSustainable Las Vegas

4. $200,000 for tatoo removal

5. $2 Million for astronomy study in Hawaii

The best way to keep track today, is to keep an eye on the websites:

Real Debate Wisconsin

Badger Blogger

No Runny Eggs

There are more, hang tight...

Perhaps now is a good time to start to worry...

I know that nobody will blame Obama, but lets be honest, the stock market looks into the future and our future is scary.

I am not sure how much longer Americans will look at this economy and just blame Bush. The reality is, Obama promised to fix this problem. He has only been President for about 6 weeks, and there seems to be no end in sight on the collapse.

The stock market has fallen 20% in just the few weeks.

This is after the wonderful "stimulus" package was announced. If the stock market looks into the future by 6-12 months, that means that no one really believes the stimulus will stimulate.

Unemployment at 8.1%, which is higher than the experts expected.

The Dow has fallen 20.4% since Inauguration Day, the biggest post-inaugural
drop for any administration in at least 90 years, according to Bloomberg.

"It's the Obama bear market," Dan Veru, money manager at Palisade
Capital Management, told Bloomberg News. "We don't know what the rules are in so
many different areas the government is touching."

The question is, "Who will lead us out of this?"

So far, the Obama team seems to have no clue. We are trillions of dollars in debt, and Obama has promised to take us trillions of dollars further in debt.

Even with the promised increased spending, the stock market is still diving.

I think most Americans are like me, we know that it is not Obama's fault, but he told us he would fix the problem and we expect him to fix it.

Rose Fernandez: Wisconsin Schools, Setting Higher Standards

The leader of the GOP

Try as they may, the Obama team is working to prove that Rush Limbaugh is the leader of the GOP.

The only people buying this drivel out of the Obama camp are Democrats and even a majority of them do not really agree.

Despite efforts by the Obama political team and its surrogates to link Rush Limbaugh to the Republican Party, just 11% of GOP voters say the conservative radio commentator is the party’s leader.

Apparently worrying about our economy and the millions of Americans out of work is not our President's priority...Rush Limbaugh is.

How Now, Dow?

Is this "change" many were "hoping" for?

Pints & Politics

This month's Pints & Politics is on Thursday, March 5th.

Special Guest Speaker is DPI Superintendent Candidate Rose Fernandez.

See you there!

Another day, another AIG bailout

Timothy Geithner continues to blow smoke about having to bail out AIG again.

Another $30 billion has been given to AIG. Everybody keeps wondering why AIG continues to be bailed out.

The truth of the matter. Many government employees retirement accounts and insurance is tied up in AIG. If AIG collapses so will the retirements and insurance programs of these government employees.

So, just like Freddie and Fannie, the government will continue to bail themselves out over and over again to protect their own hides.

Every once in a while, someone in the media actually slips and tells the truth about AIG.

This time, it was the Baltimore Sun barely recognizing the truth:

The Treasury Department noted that AIG, which has operations in more than 130
countries, provides insurance to more than 100,000 companies and institutions,
including municipalities and 401(k) retirement plans.

If the media is not telling you this little tidbit of info, that means they are lying to you.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...

Congressman Paul Ryan: Calling out Obama

IMO, President Obama's budget is a criminal act against hardworking Americans. Those of us Americans that still have a job are headed for crisis levels based on the budget Obama just proposed. The idea that any Democrat in the House or the Assembly that might actually step forward and challenge Obama is a joke. They will take his budget and expand on it, just like they did the stimulus.

Anyway- it is good to see another Republican calling out the President on his budget. My congressman, Paul Ryan, is featured again in the Wall Street Journal:

Inheriting countless challenges, Congress and the Obama administration have moved quickly on many fronts to implement their economic agenda. After two months of drastic interventions, has hope replaced fear, and confidence pushed aside uncertainty? Hardly.

The budget the president released last week, however, does provide some certainty about where we are headed: higher taxes on small businesses, work and capital investment.

Add to this the costly burdens of a cap-and-trade carbon emissions scheme and an effective nationalization of health care, and it is clear that the government is going to grow while the economy will shrink. In a nutshell, the president's budget seemingly seeks to replace the American political idea of equalizing opportunity with the European notion of equalizing results.

A constructive opposition party should be willing to call out the majority when it falls short. More important, Republicans must offer alternatives. In this spirit, here is what I would do differently:

- A pro-growth tax policy . Rather than raise the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, it should be dropped to 25%. The lower tax brackets should be collapsed to one 10% rate on the first $100,000 for couples. And the top corporate tax rate should be lowered to 25%. This modest reform would put American companies' tax liability more in line with the prevailing rates of our competitors.

We've seen 10 years of growth in our equity markets wiped out in recent months, while 401(k)s, IRAs and college savings plans are down by an average of 40%. The administration and congressional Democrats want to raise capital gains tax rates by a third. Instead, we should eliminate the capital gains tax. It supplies about 4% of federal revenues, yet it places a substantial drag on economic growth. Individuals already pay taxes on income when they earn it. They should not be socked again when they are saving and investing for their retirement and their children's education.

continued...

You know what else is criminal? The media and the part they are playing in portraying Obama's policies as good economics.

The media is literally letting Obama get away with saying that he is saving America $2 trillion. Not only is it a lie, but the media are not even making Obama explain himself on this.

Global warming protester: A job I do not want to have!

This must totally stink.

Imagine packing your bags and heading off to what is being billed as the "largest public protest of global warming ever in the United States ".

There is only one main obstacle in your way that may affect your travel plans and your protest plans.

What is that main obstacle?

SNOW!

And lots of it.

The protest is supposed to be held tomorrow morning in Washington DC. By tomorrow morning the protesters should be facing blizzard conditions with winds up to 40mph and knee deep snow.

Best of luck to the global warming protesters. Try to stay warm and dry. We do not want anyone to get frostbite. That would really clobber the global warming cause.

And oh, one more public service announcement:

Attention global warming protesters: Please kindly step aside so the snow plows can get through! Thanks!

Remember, we are not laughing at you, we are laughing with you.