Franklin Frightfest Tea Party Today

Are you Taxed Enough Already? Well, there will be another TEA Party in the Milwaukee area on October 31st, 2009 from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex at 60th & Ryan Rd. And don’t worry about the weather, it’s indoors.

Franklin Fright Fest Haunted Tea Party
• Date October 31st, 2009
• Time 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
• Sponsor Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty
• Location Milwaukee County Sports Complex
  6000 W Ryan Rd
  Franklin
• Notes Confirmed speakers: James T. Harris, Jay Weber, Rep. Jim Ott and Rep. Leah Vukmir. For contact information: Tim Dake (414) 203-0865. The public is encouraged to wear costumes. There will be trick or treating for kids. Topics will include “Scary Things and Scary Times.” Event is indoors.

Hat Tip: Badger Blogger

Why did the stocks crash yesterday?

I am still attempting to figure it out.

Nothing changed in the last two days that would cause the stock market to jump on Thursday and then crash on Friday.

On Thursday, GDP showed growth at 3.5% for the last quarter. All that was government debt spending. The government went out and borrowed a bunch of money and spent freely.

Truth be told, the GDP did not really grow during the last quarter, government debt spending grew. This is not what our economy needs. The economy needs the private sector and individuals to start spending again.

We learned on Friday, that consumer spending dropped last quarter, sending the Dow into another nose dive.

Folks, we are in the same position we were a week ago, a month ago, a year ago.

Until the regular folks have confidence in our economy, no amount of faked job numbers by the Obama administration is going fix this.

I am frustrated with the dancing the same dance for months in a row.

Updated: Can the Obama administration spin anymore than they already have?

Apparently, when it comes to spinning, this administration is breaking records.

The Obama Administration plans on telling America today the 650,000 jobs were created or saved by the stimulus.

I cannot believe that the Obama administration would even be crazy enough to announce this.

About 3 million jobs have been lost since the President and his liberal cohorts through America's future down the drain with a failed $787 billion government spending package.

Does the President and his liberal cohorts think there will be dancing in the streets today when Americans hear Obama tell them that he created or saved 650,000?

The reality is, we are one week away from the October jobs report that will show that tens of thousands of more Americans have lost their jobs.

The idea that the President will run out to the public today and claim that his stimulus created 650,000 is laughable.

Good grief liberals, you would not have tolerated this garbage from President Bush.

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- Obama administration officials expect new reports Friday to show that the government's fiscal stimulus program helped create or save about 650,000 jobs, a figure officials are prepared to tout as a sign of stimulus success.

The number represents stimulus spending through Sept. 30 on projects or activities such as highway repairs and education funding.

The jobs data will be included in reports tens of thousands of state and local governments, private companies, colleges and community groups submitted earlier this month to show how they are making use of stimulus funds. The reports are expected to be available Friday afternoon on the Web site, recovery.gov.

As mandated by Congress, the reports cover only $150 billion of the $339 billion stimulus spending that has occurred through Sept. 30. The reports don't represent tax cuts, direct payments to individuals such as Pell Grants or grants of amounts under $25,000 per recipient, administration officials said.

Given that the documents representing less than half of the stimulus spending through the end of September, the White House sees the data as proof that its $787 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 will meet its goal of creating or saving at least 1 million jobs.

Ummmm? $1 million jobs. I thought the stimulus was going to create 3.5 million jobs???

Clearly the Obama administration is attempting to move the goal posts again.

Updated: My bad, apparently the Obama administration plans on telling America that they created 1 million jobs! Politico

Update II: Peggy Noonan ain't buying it either.

The new economic statistics put growth at a healthy 3.5% for the third quarter. We should be dancing in the streets. No one is, because no one has any faith in these numbers. Waves of money are sloshing through the system, creating a false rising tide that lifts all boats for the moment. The tide will recede. The boats aren't rising, they're bobbing, and will settle. No one believes the bad time is over. No one thinks we're entering a new age of abundance. No one thinks it will ever be the same as before 2008. Economists, statisticians, forecasters and market specialists will argue about what the new numbers mean, but no one believes them, either. Among the things swept away in 2008 was public confidence in the experts. The experts missed the crash. They'll miss the meaning of this moment, too.

The biggest threat to America right now is not government spending, huge deficits, foreign ownership of our debt, world terrorism, two wars, potential epidemics or nuts with nukes. The biggest long-term threat is that people are becoming and have become disheartened, that this condition is reaching critical mass, and that it afflicts most broadly and deeply those members of the American leadership class who are not in Washington, most especially those in business.

It is a story in two parts. The first: "They do not think they can make it better."

continued...

More info on buying your way into Obama administration

It is not just the Washington Times investigating the Obama administration and their penchant for giving big donors cushy jobs; USA Today has begun investigating:

WASHINGTON — More than 40% of President Obama's top-level fundraisers have secured posts in his administration, from key executive branch jobs to diplomatic postings in countries such as France, Spain and the Bahamas, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Twenty of the 47 fundraisers that Obama's campaign identified as collecting more than $500,000 have been named to government positions, the analysis found.

Overall, about 600 individuals and couples raised money from their friends, family members and business associates to help fund Obama's presidential campaign. USA TODAY's analysis found that 54 have been named to government positions, ranging from Cabinet and White House posts to advisory roles, such as serving on the economic recovery board charged with helping guide the country out of recession.

Nearly a year after he was elected on a pledge to change business-as-usual in Washington, Obama also has taken a cue from his predecessors and appointed fundraisers to coveted ambassadorships, drawing protests from groups representing career diplomats. A separate analysis by the American Foreign Service Association, the diplomats' union, found that more than half of the ambassadors named by Obama so far are political appointees, said Susan Johnson, president of the association. An appointment is considered political if it does not go to a career diplomat in the State Department.

That's a rate higher than any president in more than four decades, the group's data show, although that could change as the White House fills more openings. Traditionally about 30% of top diplomatic jobs go to political appointees, and roughly 70% to veteran State Department employees. Ambassadors earn $153,200 to $162,900 annually.

"It is time to end the spoils system and the de facto sale of ambassadorships," Johnson said. "The United States is best served by having experienced, knowledgeable and trained career officers fill all positions in our diplomatic service."

It is not like this type of stuff has not happened in previous administrations, it has. Team Obama is setting records with his political payback machine.

This is precisely the culture Obama promised to change in Washington. Remember hopey and changey?

Not only has Obama not changed the corrupt culture of Washington, but he has put the "culture of corruption" in Washington on steroids. Not only is Obama adding to the culture of corruption, he is adding the to corruption in spades.

Chicago style of politics has gone national.

Stimulus jobs less than Americans were told

A few weeks ago, liberals cheered when a report came out that about 30,000 jobs had been created or saved by stimulus dollars. Of course, these liberals shut down pretty quickly once they realized that Obama had promised 3.5 Million jobs and that 30,000 job number was a huge disappointment.

The AP has done a check into those 30,000 to see if they were real. Turns out, even the 30,000 job number is inflated:

An early progress report on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, a mistake that White House officials promise will be corrected in future reports.

The government's first accounting of jobs tied to the $787 billion stimulus program claimed more than 30,000 positions paid for with recovery money. But that figure is overstated by least 5,000 jobs, according to an Associated Press review of a sample of stimulus contracts.

The AP review found some counts were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of jobs; some jobs credited to the stimulus program were counted two and sometimes more than four times; and other jobs were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.

continued...

Hey liberals, it is time to man up and admit you were snookered into believing total garbage from the President and the VP on the stimulus dollars!

Rep. Paul Ryan on Increases in Health Insurance Premiums

What is a government option opt-out co-op?

A government option opt-out co-op is the latest version proposed by Senator Harry Reid. It is not really ObamaCare, folks are calling it, HarryCare.

What is a government option opt-out co-op?

Don't know?

Well, apparently no one really knows. Harry Reid has not really explained it either.

Fox News-

HANNITY: All right. Look, Senator, no body would accuse you of not being informed about the workings of Washington and all that goes on in the Senate. So — you're laughing. So you can't tell our audience what a government option opt-out coop is. You can't explain it to me.

MCCAIN: I cannot explain it to you because Republicans have been completely shut out of any conversation or negotiation. And you know that during the campaign — I wish our viewers could see it over and over again.

The president is saying when we take up health care reform, C-SPAN will be in the room, Republicans will be there, and the American people will be able to see who's on the side of the pharmaceutical companies and who's on the side of the American citizens.

Behind closed doors they cut deals with the pharmaceutical companies, with the hospital people. They tried to cut one with the American Medical Association to the tune of $247 billion. That didn't work. And so it's business as usual. There is no change.

Perhaps one of the Dems that reads this page can explain what a government option opt-out co-op actually is...

I am all ears.

WH high ethical standards is the reason for free passes to WH

When a story ran yesterday about the hundreds of big time Obama donors were getting the royal treatment from the WH, the response from the WH was just laughable.

"As part of an effort to open up events at the White House to thousands of Americans, we have at times provided tickets to events to the DNC, among many other organizations. Our understanding is that those tickets have in turn been distributed to grass-roots supporters, contributors and elected officials. Contributing does not guarantee a ticket to the White House, nor does it prohibit the contributor from visiting.

"This Administration has across the board set the toughest ethics standards in history. As a result, we have reduced special-interest influence over the policymaking process to promote merit-based decision-making. We believe that is due in no small part to our insistence on strict adherence to the rules - an approach we intend to continue."

The truth is that this White House has taken the taxpayers wallet and spent freely.

Big parties at the White House every week. Trips all around the country for any number of reasons including taking his wife out to dinner in New York. Golf constantly, lobbyist perks, democrat paybacks, private movie screenings and on and on.

Yes, every President has done it, but this President promised these practices would end.

Clearly they have not ended. Your tax dollars will be used to entertain Obama's friends.

You have got to love this DNC letter.

The National Advisory Board gathers exclusively on several occasions to be recognized by senior Party leadership and to contribute to shaping policy agendas. In addition, members will be invited to attend virtually all events sponsored by the DNC -- weekend retreats, private dinners and receptions, conferences and policy discussions.

The DNC even tells you how much it will cost you to buy your way into the Obama White House.

Barb Lawton out!

Barb Lawton has dropped out of the Governor's race.

Bring on Tom Barrett! At least Lawton has no record to try to defend.

With the financial mess in Milwaukee, Scott's changes just got better!

Updated: Republicans back on top? Thank you President Obama!

It appears to be that way. I still have to admit, Obama and his liberal minions in Congress have gone a long way towards repairing the Republican party's woes than any single Republican can do.

Issue	Democrats	Republicans
Health Care	40%	46%
Education	38%	43%
Social Security	37%	45%
Taxes	35%	50%
Economy	35%	49%
Abortion	35%	47%
Immigration	33%	40%
Nat'l Security	31%	54%
Iraq	31%	50%
Gov't Ethics	29%	33%

Heath Care, Education, Social Security and Immigration???? All of these go straight to the core of the Democrat party and what they say they stand for.

Thank you President Obama and the liberal congress. With each passing day, you are proving to America that you are neither qualified or capable of listening to the people or following the will of the people.

Edited to add: Source...Rasmussen

My fault folks, I should have included the link in the original post. I forgot.

Updated again: Is Gallup a conservative pollster also?

Released today!

Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June.

I was planning on taunting Bears fans, but...

It seems the Chicago media is trashing the Bears players worse than I ever could.

I remember a few weeks back, when the Packers lost to the Bengals the taunting Packers fans got from Bears fans. How could the Packers lose to the lowly Bengals?

At least the Packers played a respectable game! I said then that they are better than people were giving them credit for. Packers did not play well but at least they have some pride!

45-10!

Holy cow!

As I said, I planned on taunting a few Bear fans today, but the media is just destroying the Bears. Even I cannot come up with good enough insults to top Chicago's media today:

If it weren't for postgame handshakes, the Bears defensive linemen never would've gotten close to Carson Palmer.

On the Bengals' second drive, Benson broke a Lance Briggs tackle for 18 yards. Next play, Benson ran out of a Nick Roach tackle for seven yards. The Bears were so lame at tackling that I saw Briggs try to trip a rookie runner from Abilene Christian with his right leg as Briggs was spinning on his butt. That's some textbook tackling by a team that would rather strip the ball than tackle the ballcarrier.

They approached tackling as if it carried a communicable disease. They gave Ochocinco so much cushion, he'll have a sofa endorsement deal by the end of business hours Monday.

You have to admit, that sofa thing is pretty funny.

Ah well, enjoy it today Packer fans, Bret comes back next week and we gotta win!

Stimulus bust

Not really something anyone wanted to hear. The stimulus, meant to create jobs(you remember this three letter word?), has already had its biggest impact in the second and third quarter of this year. From this point forward, things will not be improving as a result of the stimulus. At least this is what the Obama Administration is telling us.

Americans hoping for a big economic boost from President Obama’s economic stimulus programs got a douse of cold water Thursday: The White House’s top forecaster said the largest impact of the stimulus on economic growth is probably in the rear view mirror.

That’s the case even though unemployment continues to rise and many of the stimulus dollars haven’t been spent.

“Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009,” Christina Romer, who chairs the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in testimony prepared for Congress. “By mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to growth.”

This view is shared by many economists, as Ms. Romer noted. But her assessment comes at a difficult time for both policymakers and for Americans in general.

Despite the massive $787 billion price tag, polls show that many Americans are skeptical about whether the stimulus is accomplishing much. Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the nation’s jobless rate has climbed higher than the White House and others had predicted.

Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have sagged in recent weeks. Meanwhile, policymakers who back the stimulus have sent mixed signals. Some say not to judge the programs too soon, since most of the stimulus money hasn’t been spent yet. But now Americans have been reminded that, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), the impact of stimulus next year will be modest.

continued...

Public Option?

Okay, now I am confused.

Yesterday, Pelosi was claiming that she had the votes to pass a public option.

House Democrats "definitely" have a health reform bill right now that could win 218 votes in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday.

Today...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi counted votes Thursday night and determined she could not pass a “robust public option” — the most aggressive of the three forms of a public option House Democrats have been considering as part of a national overhaul of health care.

Okay- so what is the truth?

Congrats Anthony Nudo

Congratulations to Anthony Nudo. Last night Anthony was sworn in as the President of the Kenosha Realtors Association



Bare with me. I know the quality was not the best, but it was my first time to try it on my cell phone.

Wisconsin Right to Life presents Sarah Palin

It has just been announced that former Governor Sarah Palin is coming to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Right to Life has announced it.

Wisconsin Right to Life Presents Sarah Palin

Yes, it’s true! Sarah Palin is coming to Milwaukee to appear at a benefit for the educational efforts of Wisconsin Right to Life. The event is Friday, November 6 at 7:30pm at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park, Hall B. You won’t want to miss this exciting opportunity to hear Sarah Palin!

You can find ticket purchase and other information here.

Barbara Lyons

I hope it is not a farce, I just bought tickets. I did not want to chance it.

No cameras or recording devices are allowed.

Charges against Heene parents are coming

I guess someone finally figured out that the runaway balloon hoax was actually a hoax.

Charges are pending against balloon parents.

We do not know what the charges will be, but a lot of people are speculating.

Face it America, we were punked

No one likes to admit that they have been had, but sometimes it is the best thing to do so everyone can move on.

There are so many questions now about this whole incident, how can anyone NOT believe that it was a hoax?

Little Falcon seems to be the key to this entire hoax.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We have been told numerous times that little Falcon was scared and was in hiding for hours because he was the one that untethered the balloon. Clearly, from this video Dad untethered the balloon, complete with his own countdown.

Now that story has changed, little Falcon was scared because Dad yelled at him???

Falcon's comment about doing this for "a show" does not really helps the case.

But probably the most important point to note is that the family called the media before calling authorities.

That is the one that no one can seem to explain.

I was shocked when I heard the Sheriff say that his people were "savvy" enough to be able to tell if this was a hoax on day one and closed the investigation. Under normal situations, that is probably true, but this was a highly emotionally charged situation. Based on the Dad's reaction in the video taken at the moment the balloon was released, this is clearly an emotionally charged family. I am certain that during the time the balloon was in flight, authorities were privy to the video. Dad's reaction was one of anger, not panic.

What would have been the harm in letting things settle down first before closing anything?

Taxpayers have the right to demand this family pay back the charges they incurred, if this thing turnes out to be a hoax or even if it was serious negligence by the family. The family jumped to a bad conclusion quickly, with little evidence that the child just was not hiding.

Tax Levy Increases for Westosha Central High School

From WestoftheI.com

Last month Central High School district administrator Scott Pierce introduced the possibility of the district applying for a one-year energy exemption that would allow the school to increase its tax levy by almost $500,000. The idea suggested at the time, but not concretely connected, would be the additional money might plug the funding hole created by the expense of building a state required roundabout intersection at the school’s new exit/entrance on Highway 83.

Read more at WestoftheI.com

Shhhh: Sneaky Dems create Obamacare reconciliation loophole

From Michele Malkin:

While few were watching, the Democrats were at work today paving a short cut to passing Obamacare through the reconciliation process. From CBS News via Political Wire:

Ways and Means approves procedural motion to send health reform legislation to the house budget committee

Pelosi & Rangle are sneaking the groundwork to reconciliation into HR3200.

Apparently the voices at the town hall meetings in August & September fell on deaf ears.

Updated:

If you go to the "Ways & Means approves procedural motion" link and click on "Please click here to view the letter approved by the Committee" the letter from Rangle will download. In that letter is this quote:

"... you as fulfillment of the Committee on Ways and Means budget reconciliation instructions."

Gold Medal for best parks system in the US

I just get the giggles sometimes watching the liberals flounder around. For the last couple of years, the liberals have been beating and bashing Scott Walker over the County Parks in Milwaukee. The liberal theme of badly deteriorated parks during Scott's re-election in 2008 was pushed constantly.

I was even told by local and state Democrats that the liberals planned on using the same line of attack against Scott during the 2010 elections to prove that all of the "massive" cuts Scott insists on in Milwaukee have severely damaged the parks systems.

Errrr.

Scott just tweeted:

Sue Black, our Parks Dir, just called me. We won the Gold Medal for the BEST park system in the USA!

Hah! That is funny.

Congrats Sue Black, Scott Walker, and Milwaukee County!

Snowe will support ObamaCare

I know the libs are in heaven, they say Snowe's support for ObamaCare proves that this is bi-partisan.

Oh really... Does anyone in this country believe that the $787 billion stimulus was bi-partisan?

Of course they do not.

Sure, some in the media attempted to call it bi-partisan for a little while, but the regular folks out there in America are simply not stupid enough to believe this.

Now, of course, those with any conservative leanings are well aware that Senator Snowe is just a yellow bellied chicken that is terrified of standing up to liberals. Absolutely terrified.

Lesson learned...Beware of yellow Snowe!

Stop ObamaCare- Call now!

Fight back against wishy washy Republicans and Democrats supporting ObamaCare.

Call the Senators that are dead set stealing your freedoms and handing your life and placing it in the hands of the federal government!

Here is the list of Senate finance players.

http://www.rallycongress.com/freedomworks/2435/call-congress-urge-no-vote-on-obamacare/

You need to call right now!

President Obama...You are not going to do this to my mom and dad

I DON"T THINK SO!

If you were re-thinking your position on Obama's health care reform, check out this story coming out of the UK today. If you read the comments, this kind of stuff is happening way too often all over the world on a daily basis. Somewhere in the world today, some government bureaucrat is pulling the plug on grandma.

Times Online

AN 80-year-old grandmother who doctors identified as terminally ill and left to starve to death has recovered after her outraged daughter intervened.

Hazel Fenton, from East Sussex, is alive nine months after medics ruled she had only days to live, withdrew her antibiotics and denied her artificial feeding. The former school matron had been placed on a controversial care plan intended to ease the last days of dying patients.

Obama's mocking of the Sarah Palin's death panels just took another hit.

How can President Obama or any other Democrat believe that this way of thinking is okay.

Obama likes to talk about his grandmother and the heartwrenching decisions the family made on her behalf, and they are tough decisions. But it was a decision made by the family, not be government bureaucrats.

The idea that I am going to allow President Obama or any other Democrat to decide what choice is best for my mom or dad is ludicrous.

Fight the Democrats "health care reform"! Do not place your life and death decisions into the hands of the government!

Hat Tip Vicki McKenna on Facebook

Get your Obama Flag today

This is pathetic.

Perhaps an explanation from liberals might be nice.



You guys think this is photoshopped? Think again.

You can purchase the flag on E-bay.




After winning a Nobel Peace Prize for doing nothing, accomplishing nothing his entire career (except getting elected), refusal to lead on any piece of legislation, and refusal to lead in Afghanistan or Iraq, now is the time to ask the inevitable question...

When does the hero worship end?

brings us to the second question

When does this President start acting like a President and get about the business of doing presidential work?

Hat Tip- Facebook Kate Wagner

Hat Tip- Atlas Shrugs

Hat Tip- Free Republic

Uh Oh- I agree with Thomas Friedman

It is not often that I agree with any New York Times op ed writer, but I found myself agreeing with Thomas Friedman on his Op-Ed this morning. The speech that we should have heard from the President yesterday, was not the speech we heard at all.

The President did seem to recognize that he had not earned the Nobel Peace Prize, but the President did nothing at all to recognize America's real peacekeepers.

The men and women of our US military forces spread out all over the world attempting to keep peace in a hostile world. These men and woman die for the sole honor of defending their country from enemies both foreign and domestic. They have given their lives so their children and children's children can live in a peaceful world where their freedoms will not be taken from them.

To the men and woman of the United States military, the real peacekeepers, you should have been thanked and honored yesterday, but you were not.

Friedman recognized this in his Op-Ed and believes the President has one more chance to say "thank-you" to our men and woman in December at Oslo.

Friedman writes:

All that said, I hope Mr. Obama will take this instinct a step further when he travels to Oslo on Dec. 10 for the peace prize ceremony. Here is the speech I hope he will give:

“Let me begin by thanking the Nobel committee for awarding me this prize, the highest award to which any statesman can aspire. As I said on the day it was announced, ‘I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize.’ Therefore, upon reflection, I cannot accept this award on my behalf at all.

“But I will accept it on behalf of the most important peacekeepers in the world for the last century — the men and women of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, to liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi fascism. I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers and sailors who fought on the high seas and forlorn islands in the Pacific to free East Asia from Japanese tyranny in the Second World War.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American airmen who in June 1948 broke the Soviet blockade of Berlin with an airlift of food and fuel so that West Berliners could continue to live free. I will accept this award on behalf of the tens of thousands of American soldiers who protected Europe from Communist dictatorship throughout the 50 years of the cold war.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American soldiers who stand guard today at outposts in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan to give that country, and particularly its women and girls, a chance to live a decent life free from the Taliban’s religious totalitarianism.

“I will accept this award on behalf of the American men and women who are still on patrol today in Iraq, helping to protect Baghdad’s fledgling government as it tries to organize the rarest of things in that country and that region — another free and fair election.

Continued...

Fun for the whole conservative family

List Obama's top ten backlash moments. Click on the links for a complete explanation of each backlash moment.

Time Magazine: Full list Top 10 Obama Backlash moments

You do not have to wait for family game night for this game. Play the latest game that has conservatives going nuts.

It is not just Republicans questioning the Nobel Peace Prize

It is not just Republicans questioning the reasoning behind the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Washington Post:

Obama is the third sitting U.S. president -- and the first in 90 years -- to win the coveted peace prize. His predecessors won during their second White House terms, however, and after significant diplomatic achievements. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919, after helping to found the League of Nations and shaping the Treaty of Versailles; and Theodore Roosevelt was the recipient in 1906 for his work to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war.

In contrast, Obama is struggling with two wars -- weighing whether to increase the number of U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan and overseeing the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq. He is mired in domestic struggles over health-care reform and economic recovery efforts, and searching for ways to build momentum to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and to assemble an international effort to stop Iran's nuclear program.

The WP then went on to slam Republicans.

The New York Times:

President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” a stunning honor that came less than nine months after he made United States history by becoming the country’s first African-American president.

The New York Times then proceeded to slam Republicans.

Associated Press

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Price to President Barack Obama landed with a shock on darkened, still-asleep Washington. He won! For what?

Fox News

Giving President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is a "premature canonization" and an "embarrassment" to the process of designating a laureate, a presidential historian says.

"The jury is still out as to what his presidency is going to add up to," Fred Greenstein, author and professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, told FOXNews.com.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As much as people want to slam the Republicans for this... it is nearly impossible to do.

No Republican alive could have castrated this President as fast as the Nobel Prize has castrated him.

How is the President supposed to proceed forward with his Afghanistan agenda. The President is currently fighting two wars. His hands are tied. He will lose face somewhere in the world.

How is the President supposed to confront Iran now?

How is the President supposed to confront North Korea?

Yep- this is not the Republicans doing, but it definitely a political move.

Either the President loses face in Europe as a peacemaker or he loses face with the American people by not putting the safety of Americans first.

Updated:

Reuters:

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision that honored the first-year U.S. president more for promise than achievement and drew both praise and skepticism around the world.

CBS:

The sound you could hear this morning was of heads being scratched around the world.

Very quickly, the Nobel Committee found itself having not just to explain its choice of President Barack Obama for the Peace Prize, but to defend it.

There have been controversial selections before, but rarely one that caused this much puzzlement.

Bob Schieffer

Watch CBS News Videos Online

USA Today

President Obama received congratulatory messages and some political barbs Friday after learning he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize. But many people said they were simply perplexed that a man who has been in office less than a year could have won one of the world's most prestigious prizes.

Hat Tip to Hot Air

President Obama awarded Nobel Prize

Seriously. I am not surprised.

President Obama won the award based on :

"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"

I went looking for an explanation from somewhere as where exactly President Obama has strengthened international diplomacy and cooperation.

I found this Bloomberg article:

“The Nobel Committee has in particular looked at Obama’s vision and work toward a world without atomic weapons,” Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel committee said in an interview broadcast on Norway’s TV2 today. “Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics.”

Okay, do we have fewer nuclear weapons because of President Obama's work?

Nope.

You liberals are going to have to help us out here. Why was President Obama awarded the Nobel Prize for peace after escalating the war in Afghanistan? Currently the President has not held any talks with any nation in an attempt to make this a more peaceful world.

So really, why was the President given a Nobel prize?

Updated: Even the lefties seem to be shocked by this one. In order to be nominated, someone sends you a letter in September of the previous year. Obama was nominated last September, he had not won the election yet. Final paperwork was sent in by Feb 1st...Obama had been President for 10 Days!


http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/process.html

You thought President Obama and his team were full of themselves before? Just wait... With this latest award, imagine the heights this man's ego will travel.

Stole this photo from Jammie Wearing Fool.



Update II: The Web is going nuts on this. The international community seems to be as shocked at this award.

From CNN:

Ahlheid from Germany wrote: "Ridiculous! Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize. I am wondering what for? Replacing Bush? So far he has accomplished virtually nothing!"

While Michael Lipkin in Tehran, Iran, wrote: "If Obama deserves the Noble Peace Prize then so does every Miss America contestant who babbles about world peace."

Boston-based Marcela_Elisa wrote: "Can someone explain? I thought award was for accomplishments, not intentions."

Others like Mohammed, from Johannesburg, South Africa, point to the irony of awarding the peace prize to someone who is presiding over two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wrote: "So Barack Obama wins Nobel prize for literature for his books and not peace - cos last I heard Afghanistan is still a war zone."

While Poipoi91, from Paris, wondered if "they couldn't find anyone else for the title."

Some like markknoller from Washington DC, said the title is "worth nothing," because "Obama took office less than 10 days before the Feb. 1 deadline for Nobel Prize nominations."

Some users, such as nurdfighter joked that the prize is "a pathetic way of getting Obama to visit Norway."

Meanwhile kzamri writing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said: "How can Obama get the Nobel Peace Prize hours before the U.S. is supposed to bomb the Moon?!" in reference to NASA's attempt to crash a probe into the lunar surface a few hours after Obama's win.

The bomb the moon comment was pretty funny.

Update III: As I said, the web is alive this morning.

The TimesOnline UK are not happy campers. They believe the Nobel prize is now a joke.

Some folks on the web think that they must be giving an award to everybody, like a kid's baseball game. This is the new symbol of the Nobel Prize Award:


I cannot remember where I read it, but rumor has it that Obama also won "Playmate of the Year" award also.

This is fun!

Another stimulus?

Oh my, say it ain't so, Joe!

WASHINGTON (AP) - Confronted with big job losses and no sign the U.S. economy is ready to stand on its own, Democrats are working on a growing list of relief efforts, leaving for later how to pay for them, or whether even to bother.

Proposals include extending and perhaps expanding a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers, and creating a new credit for companies that add jobs. Taken together, the proposals look a lot like another economic stimulus package, though congressional leaders don't want to call it that.

Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House say they have no appetite for another big spending package that adds to the federal budget deficit, which hit a record $1.4 trillion for the budget year that ended last week.

But with unemployment reaching nearly 10 percent, many lawmakers are feeling pressure to act. Some of the proposals come from the Republicans' playbook and focus on tax cuts, even though they, too, would swell the deficit.

"We have to do something for the unemployed, politically and economically," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Continued...

Being a Republican is not a crime

I know some people believe this to be true...

Being a Republican is not a crime, no more than being a Democrat is a crime.

I have had several discussion this past week with different people. I know that I am personally attacked because I am a Republican. Some people's idea of political discourse is to get Kathy Carpenter, because she is a Republican, nothing more.

That is life. I am more than willing to defend my beliefs that every American deserves their individual freedoms without government taking those freedoms. In fact, I am happy to discuss politics with anyone.

That being said, I have no intention of attacking Democrats, just because they are Democrats. Never have. I am friends with plenty of Democrats, including people I work on the city council and some of the Kenosha County employees.

I do not dislike anyone on the city council. I know some are Democrats, but that is no reason to dislike them or to vote against all of their proposals. You don't run for a job on the Kenosha City Council without caring about the people of Kenosha and the future of Kenosha. We all do. Sure we disagree on the methods of getting where Kenosha needs to go, but that is life.

Since I am the chair of the Kenosha GOP, I often hear rumors or from people that want to run for one elected office or another. The first question I ask is "why are you running?" If their answer includes a missive about their prospective opponent being a Democrat, I get upset. Running against a person just because they are a Democrat is not good enough in my book. Come to me with a plan, an idea of what it is that you are interested in doing if you win that office.

I was asked the question about County Executive Jim Kreuser. Do the Republicans have someone to run against Jim Kreuser? Not really. Plenty of Republicans like Jim Kreuser and think he is doing a pretty good job. I like Jim Kreuser. Sure, he has made some decisions that I would not have made, but he is still a good man doing the best job he can.

I am not going to out and active seek someone to run against Jim Kreuser just because he is a known Democrat. That is just not good enough in my book.

A few months ago, I supported Chad Kerkman for Judge and he is also a known Democrat. I caught quite of bit of heat for that. Why would the chairwoman of the Kenosha GOP support a known Democrat? I think I have already explained that.

I am also aware that there are plenty of Democrats that believe the same way I do. Sure, there are hyper partisans on both sides, but hopefully they do not rule their respective parties.

Congressman Paul Ryan has regularly preached the idea that "Democrats are not the enemy, they are our opponents". He is right. Now if he can just convince some of those Democrats that faithfully vote for him that the "Republicans are not the enemy", that would be really cool too.

Don't get me wrong, I disagree with a majority of President Obama's policies and I will continue to speak out. My heavens folks, why would anyone want to give the government control over their health care? Government is not the answer and I have no intention of lying down quietly and letting it happen.

Governor Doyle's budget? I do not believe that any budget in the history of this great state has been as awful as the one Doyle produced this year. He raised taxes and fees on everything in site, spent taxpayer dollars to his heart's content and placed the future of this state in dire jeopardy. I was just a repulsed by the Democrats following along behind their leader and not standing up for the people that elected them. Why would anyone, Democrat or not, go along with a budget that hurts the people in their districts? Why? Why? Why?

Great News!

Thank goodness.

From the Kenosha News

Owners of General Binding Corp. in Pleasant Prairie have decided to keep the facility open, meaning staffing could reach 115 by the end of the year.

Work at General Binding, 10303 80th Ave., owned by Acco Brands, was to be transferred to two Illinois plants by mid-year. Instead, Acco officials changed their minds, moved the Illinois equipment and some jobs here and will close those sites by December.

At a “grand re-opening” on Thursday at the local plant, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Richard Leinenkugel said the company is receiving a $750,000 low interest loan from the state for working capital.

Stealing people's identity

It appears that Jennifer Jackson, a county board supervisor, has had her identity stolen. She states:

This site. It is pretending to be an Obama support site for non-whites. It is not . It is a hate site. They stold my picture off the Kenosha county wesite and planted something on their site I would never say. As another public official,if I were you I would not give this site a thumbs up.
Stealing a persons idenity and using it to disparage our President and make me look like a racist is criminal.
I have reported the site to the Sheriff and the FBI. I hope you will take a closer look at it and remove it from your list of "likables' or I will have to deminish my estimation of your political intentions from, not my cup of tea, todown right wacko.

Obviously the site is not on my list of "likeables". Why would I support a site that supports Obama and writes all kinds of hateful things? Never has been, not sure where that is coming from, but seems to be a simple misunderstanding. I was repulsed by this website, which is why I posted it. The folks actually posting on this site are people filled with hate. These folks on this site obviously hate and they say they support Obama .

I do not blame Ms. Jackson for being upset. She has ever right to be

Careful now, all anyone needs is your email address and they can sign on as you and make whatever horrifying comments they feel like making by using your name.

There are tens of thousands of people that do this for no apparent reason other than to have fun. Tell me how this is fun for some people? Destroying someone else's reputation?

I was recently signed up by someone else for a website that bashes Mark Neumann. I have never bashed Mark Neumann and am repulsed that anyone would do this especially using my name and email.

This website is repulsive and meant to cause damage.

What was done here is not fair Jennifer Jackson and her family. Everything I hear about Jennifer Jackson is good. We may not share the same political stance on most things, but we both love this city and this county and love the people that live here.

I have no doubt that the perpetrators of this identity theft will be found out. Websites can be tracked and IP address can be found. The police will get to the bottom of this.

Every single website can be tracked. There is even tracking on my website that I have set up for the purpose of tracking these kinds of idiots. I know many of you do not actually use your name, but that info can be easily found. So these guys will be caught. Hopefully the police can charge the idiots whole have stolen Jackson's identity and do something about it.

WP: Obama leadership lacking or "Gap in understanding"

I am not sure why the Washington Post wrote this article. It appears to do nothing more than highlight the President has not really lead on the Afghan issue and it appears that the President still does not know which direction to head.

US Military leaders are confused as to what the mission is and how to implement the plan. US civilian leaders in the Afghan debate are also confused.

The the credit of the WP, they do manage to talk about the mass confusion in the Afghan debate without blaming Obama for a lack of leadership.

Instead the WP is calling Obama's lack of leadership, "a gap in understanding".

The meetings now underway in Washington are rooted in part in the gap in understanding that became evident in March. This account of how it opened up is based on interviews with several senior civilian members of the administration and military officers directly involved in Afghanistan issues.

Military leaders are confused and frustrated:

To the military, however, the only way to do counterinsurgency is by protecting the population.

"We were operating under the assumption that when they said COIN, that's what they meant," said a senior U.S. military official in Afghanistan, "and they were serious about committing the necessary resources."

COIN means counter insurgency.

Civilian leaders are confused and frustrated:

To some civilians who participated in the strategic review, that conclusion was much less clear. Some took it as inevitable that more troops would be needed, but others thought the thrust of the new approach was to send over scores more diplomats and reconstruction experts. They figured a counterinsurgency mission could be accomplished with the forces already in the country, plus the 17,000 new troops Obama had authorized in February.

Back in March, media goons praised the wisdom of President Obama and his great leadership skills based on a White Paper released by the White House.

Everybody, including the military and the civilian leaders, are now looking at that White Paper trying to figure out which direction they are to go to implement the mission in Afghanistan. Nobody appears to have any clue as to which direction to go.

Even the President himself is going back and rereading the White Paper to figure out what he is supposed to do.

Last Tuesday evening, to prepare for a meeting the next day to discuss Afghanistan strategy with his national security team -- the first of several sessions to determine whether more troops will be sent -- Obama reread the white paper.

People are dying and our President is going back and rereading his own paper trying to figure out what direction he plans on going.

My advice to the President...you need to start by fixing that "gap in understanding". It is called leadership, Mr. President. Either find the courage to lead or get the hell out of the way and let the generals on the ground handle this.

People wonder why McChrystal is breaking the chain of command on this issue. Here is your answer. He is attempting to step into the leadership void this country currently has on this issue. Without leadership, McChrystal is well aware of what will happen to US troops under his command. Our US troops die for no apparent reason other than lack of leadership.

As Obama dawdles, Afghanistan is burning

Seriously Mr. President...

American soldiers are dying, troops from all over the world are dying, innocent Afghans are dying as Afghanistan spins out of control.

We are in the middle of a war that is spinning out of control and President is dawdling with the idea of sending more troops, changing the mission or whatever it is running through his handsome little head.

Another bombing in Kabul kills claims more innocent victims.

At least 17 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in a suicide car bomb blast in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Afghan officials say the explosion occurred near the Indian embassy and the Afghan interior ministry.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack, identifying the Indian embassy as the target.

Kabul has been attacked regularly in recent months. Most strikes target foreign forces or government offices - but civilians are also often killed.

We have idiots leading us

I cannot tell if the media are just idiots, the leaders in the House and Senate are idiots or if these idiots are hoping that rest of America are idiots.

Currently the media and the Democrats are rejoicing because the Baucus bill will not raise deficit.

WELL, DUH!!!!

You cut Medicare by $500 billion and you raise taxes and fees against middle income Americans by $400 billion, of course it is budget neutral!

DUH! DUH! DUH!

If you ration care on senior citizens and raise the taxes and fees on regular middle income earners, of course you can pay for insurance for low income earners.

The $829 billion price tag would be more than offset by reducing spending on Medicare and other federal health programs by about $400 billion over the next decade, and by imposing a series of fees on insurance companies, drugmakers, medical device manufacturers and other sectors of the health industry that stand to gain millions of new customers under the legislation.

The problem is the rationing of care for seniors, who need that care more than anyone else. The next problem is that middle Americans will have their taxes raised.

You have got to love the idiots in Congress that have given us these two choices here:

The Senate plan raises taxes and fees on every single American with health care insurance already and cuts the care our seniors get, but does not raise the deficit.

The House plan raises taxes and fees on every single American and forces them onto a government plan, also cuts care to our seniors and raise the deficit.

There is not such thing as free. This is so simple folks.

In order to insure the uninsured in this country, you either raise taxes and fees on regular Americans in order to pay for the uninsured, or you borrow the money, which we pay later, in order to pay for the uninsured.

Either way...WE PAY!

Yes, Americans want health care reform, so that insurance is cheaper for US and OUR FAMILIES. Making Americans pay for someone else's insurance does not make insurance cheaper for us!

Duh!

Yet, there are still plenty of ignorant Americans that call this health care reform. Me paying for someone else's health care is not health care reform.

IDIOTS!

City Budget

Not exactly sure who I should contact this early in the morning. In today's Kenosha News, next year's city budget proposal was announced by the Mayor. It was actually announced at Monday's City Council meeting, but everyone was watching the Packer game instead.

Since it was announced in this morning's paper, I already received a phone call at 7:00am this morning by a gentleman alarmed at the 3.5% tax levy increase. I have not yet walked out my front door and picked up the paper yet, but I assume that the announcement is on the front page.

The gentleman was not happy that his state taxes have gone up, his county taxes may be going up by 3% and his city taxes may go up by 3.5%. Oh yeah, school levy is going up by at least 2% also.

All I could really tell the gentleman is that we are working on it.

BTW, if you see the governor or any of those state legislators that voted for that God awful state budget bill a few months ago, tell them "thanks" for screwing the local governments and taxpayers!

Homeland Security still doling out much needed fire department money to ACORN

You think I am kidding?

Nearly $1 million in Homeland Security funding typically earmarked for fire departments has been awarded to ACORN, despite a clear signal from Congress that it intends to cut off federal funding to the embattled group.

The grant to ACORN's Louisiana office became public on Oct. 2, less than three weeks after the House and Senate voted to cut off ACORN funding after employees were caught on video advising a fake prostitute and pimp on scams.

It was one of only three such grants issued to the state and made up almost 80 percent of the firefighting money earmarked for Louisiana, prompting one of the U.S. senators from the state to demand that the funds be taken back.

"I request that you rescind this grant based on a history of abuse of federal dollars by ACORN and their clear lack of expertise in this area," said Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican.

The group has headquarters in Louisiana.

When asked how the money would be spent, ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring issued a statement criticizing the senator, who confessed in the past to having used an escort service.

"Senator Vitter knows a lot more about prostitution rings than anyone here does, so we'll defer to him on any matters pertaining to the videos attacking ACORN," the statement read. It did not explain how the group plans to spend the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.

continued...

Typical ACORN reaction. Don't address the problem, just lash out.

If you read on in the article...Fire departments in Louisiana got $254,000 and ACORN received over $997,000. Basically of the $1.251 million set aside in grants for the safety of the general public in Louisiana, ACORN received almost 80% of the funds with absolutely no explanation to the general public.

This is pretty typical. This kind of stuff has been going on for years. Last year in Louisiana, ACORN received over half of the funds set aside for grants to fire departments in LA.

ACORN has been operating unchecked for 40 years. For 40 years, when they have been challenged, ACORN big wigs screech racism and get folks to back down.

Even though many in the main stream media refuse to actually investigate this, at least some attention in finally being brought to America's attention.

This is repulsive to me. The idea that many American lives are being jeopardized in order to toss money at ACORN is a horrifying notion.

Trick-or-Treat Date Changed in Kenosha

You wanted it, you got it. Trick or Treat date has changed from Oct. 25th 3pm to 6pm has NOW BEEN CHANGED!

Trick or Treat in Kenosha is now Oct 31st 3pm to 6pm.

I heard from numerous constituents on this issue. You wanted Trick or Treat on Oct 31st, not the planned date of Oct. 25th.

The City Council chose to listen to their continuents and voted unanimously to have the mayor change the date.

The Mayor listened to the city council and the city council listened to you.

Have fun, stay safe.

What is wrong with Lee Holloway?

Isn't the race baiting shtick getting a little old?

For no apparent reason, Holloway lashed out at County Exec Scott Walker again.

Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway unleashed a biting critique of County Executive Scott Walker on Monday, referring to him as a "Howdy Doody" puppet and a David Duke-style politician.

Walker "reminds me of a David Duke - he's good looking, he's smooth talking. (Walker) says he's not part of any race baiting; David Duke says the same thing," Holloway said.

Howdy Doody was a 1950s-era children's TV show character. Duke is a former Ku Klux Klan leader and former member of the Louisiana Legislature.

Holloway, who is black, said later he wasn't accusing Walker of racism. But the County Board chairman said Citizens for Responsible Government had engaged in race baiting with advertisements that used a photo of Holloway. Citizens for Responsible Government played host to a rally Sunday in support of Walker's 2010 budget with Walker as the featured speaker.

CRG sponsored radio ads, fliers and automated phone calls in support of Walker's latest budget and the rally. The CRG flier said "politicians like Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway want to raise our property taxes to fuel their out-of-control spending."

What part of the CRG flier was racist?

Saying that "politicians like Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway want to raise our property taxes to fuel their out-of-control spending" is now racist?

Good grief.

For that, Lee Holloway calls Scott Walker "howdy doody and David Duke"?

Obama press conference with AMA, faked photo op

Remember that serious press conference yesterday with the AMA doctors?

All of those white coats surrounding their dear leader, in support of his lovely health care reform stunt...

Apparently some of those doctors forgot to where their white jackets for the President's photo, so the President's team faked it and passed out white jackets to many of them:


For all we know, these folks could have been members of the White House staff.

In fact, it may have just been cheaper to bring in White House staff to fake it for the President instead of flying in doctors from around the US.

New York Post

But some docs apparently forgot, failing to meet the White House dress code by showing up in business suits or dresses.

So the White House rustled up white coats for them and handed them to the suited physicians who had taken seats in the sun-splashed lawn area.

All this to provide a visual counter to complaints from other doctors that pending legislation is bad news for the medical profession.

"Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do," Obama told his guests.

The president was flanked by four white-coated doctors at a podium as he delivered his pep talk.

"When you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health-care system best," the president said.

"I want to thank every single doctor who is here," Obama said. "And I especially want to thank you for agreeing to fan out across the country and make the case about why this reform effort is so desperately needed."

Underlying the strictly photo-op nature of the event, The Associated Press noted that Obama broke no new ground in his remarks.

Truly a "doctored" photo op.

Updated:

This video is kind of funny. Apparently this fellow was one of the guys invited to go to the Obama event. He did not actually go, because he was not a supporter. If he had chosen to go after being invited, he could have had some real fun at the President's expense. Apparently, the White House is not vetting the people they are inviting to the White House either.

Wow, that would have been really funny. All of the white coats standing around with chanting "No ObamaCare". There could have been a TEA party right there in the Rose Garden.



Hat tip Patterico

Medicare #1 insurer to deny medical claims

To the absolute surprise and shock of no one, except the liberal loving media...

Who is #1 in the United States for denying payment of health care claims? According to the AMA...you guess it, the Federal Government.




H/T Newsbusters

King Obama

Perhaps Americans do not recognize it, but the British do and they see President Obama setting himself up to be a King, a ruler, not necessarily a President:

In the United Kingdom and many other countries with a parliamentary system there is a distinction between the head of state and the head of the government. In some countries such as Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom the monarch either a King or Queen is considered the head of state and with that office goes all the trappings of royalty. The mundane responsibility of running the government falls to the elected Parliament and their chosen Prime Minister.

Of the world's major democracies only the United States merges both functions into the office of President.

It appears that Barack Obama views himself as the head of state only. As such he cannot be bothered with the day to day responsibility of governance. He is, in his narcissistic world, above all that; thus he delegates the writing of the Stimulus, health care and other major bills to Nancy Pelosi, puts off any decisions on Iran and Afghanistan, appoints czars with power to spend and set policy and prefers to spend his time on television speaking to the huddled masses.

His responsibilities as the head of government have been assigned to others, who in many cases are not answerable to the American people. This has created untold chaos in Congress and apprehension among the citizenry. Yet the President appears not to care, as his interests lie elsewhere.

continued...

How much?

When I made the snide comment about how much the jaunt to Copenhagen and back was for taxpayers, I honestly did not think that it cost us this much:

A 2006 congressional study pegged the cost of flying Air Force One at $56,518 an hour. The Pentagon recently said it cost $100,219 an hour to fly the huge, reconfigured Boeing 747 without Obama aboard. The Pentagon estimate included more costs for support needs, such as maintenance.

At those rates, the president's 14-hour trip to Copenhagen and back cost about $790,000 to $1.4 million.

However, presidential travel requires additional spending, especially for security personnel and equipment. Also, first lady Michelle Obama and some administration officials traveled to Copenhagen at public expense ahead of the president.

The Copenhagen trip was not devoted entirely to the Olympics bid. Obama spent 25 minutes conferring with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his top Afghan war commander. McChrystal had been in London for a speech, and he made the relatively short trip to Denmark to meet with Obama.

That is base costs to fly an empty plane. How much for the staff? How much for security personal? Of course, the President should travel with security, we do want to keep him safe. We still would be paying for security personal, even if he were sitting in the White House. But to pack up hundreds of people and send them to Copenhagen was horrifyingly expensive.

Of course, that is just a start.

We also paid to send the First Lady and her entourage to Copenhagen. All of the security, hotel and food costs for herself and however many people she chose to travel with is staggering.

Minimally, this little jaunt had to have at least cost taxpayers at $2.5 million. I am not sure it is possible to have done it cheaper than that.

I do understand the Obama actually met with McChrystal, but that was just the President trying to save face after the total embarrassment of the world finding out that he had held only one meeting with his commander in months and months.

Another Republican Event, Another packed house

I have got to tell you, these events are more and more fun each time. Had another great turnout at the 1st Distict GOP Fall Fest.

There is an energy that I have just not seen in years with the GOP. Fired up and ready to rock. 2010 cannot come fast enough!

As Democrats sit around waiting for their President to lead, the GOP is marching full steam ahead. It is not any single movement or leader that is pushing forward...there are tons of leaders.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele is pulling in the new supporters. From the young to the elderly, no matter their skin color.

Congressman Paul Ryan is leading the new charge for fiscal responsibility at the federal level of government. He is exposing the health care bill and the cap and trade bills as financially irresponsible and the boondoggles they really are.

Jay Weber and Vicki McKenna are exposing the faux media and their love affair with President Obama. The fourth estate has become Obama's own liberal pansies doing his bidding with zero evidence on what is best for the country. The media just kind of takes the President's word for it.

Sarah Palin is charging ahead keeping the country focused on the President's failures. Such as, health care reform; heads are still spinning from her "death panels" reference. Yes, there are still idiots out there attempting to say that rationing will not take place, but smarter Americans know better.

Senior citizens, from both sides of the political aisle are leading their own charge to stop the liberals from damaging their health care.

Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck are forcing Americans to take a look at the people the President has surrounded himself with. The President has hired extremists and they are secretly making decisions that the American public cannot undo.

Every direction you turn conservatives are fired up and fighting to protect the America we all love.

We are not Europe. We do not want Europe's socialist agenda. We do not want their taxes or heaven forbid, their awful health care plan.

Here is the write-ups on the event yesterday:

Kenosha News

Racine Journal Times

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Kenosha News number of over 500 people was closer to right. The 300 people announced by the Journal Times and the JS is just typical liberal numbers rounding.

Walworth County GOP has tons of pictures on their Facebook page.

Chicago eliminated

Is it just me or is this an embarassment for the President?

The President and his wife spent a lot of taxpayer money and Chicago was eliminated first.

Chicago has been eliminated from Olympic balloting in the early rounds of voting by the International Olympic Committee, a stunningly swift defeat for the U.S. bid personally pitched by President Barack Obama.

Minutes later, Tokyo also was eliminated.

Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are now left seeking approval to host the 2016 Summer Games. The host city is to be announced around noon Chicago time.

Wisconsin: Battleground state again

If you had asked me 6 months ago, whether or not Wisconsin would be again be a battleground state, I would have been very doubtful. Today, the throttlehold the Democrats had in the 2008 elections is gone. The Obama love affair by Wisconsinites has officially ended.

Survey USA

It is all tied up again:


Double click to enlarge

Especially telling, the Independents no longer overwhelmingly support Obama

Independents

Approve: 39%
Disapprove: 54%
Not Sure: 7%

You will see some changes over the next few days

Switching my Haloscan account over to Echo, which is their new version for commenting. It is very simple to use Echo, just be patient. Just type in your name or fake name under "from" and you are good to go. If you want an account so you do not have to type it in each time, just click on that little "admin" button and follow the log on procedure for an account.

Be patient!

!

Stole the photo from Conservatives 4 Palin.

Could someone please explain what is happening in Afghanistan?

I am not looking for an exit strategy or troop withdrawals, nor do I think more troops need to be denied or handed over. I am also not interested in cutting and running.

Just looking for a simple explanation of what the mission is in Afghanistan. Are we there to bring stability to the region? Are we there to keep the Taliban from moving back in? Are we there to educate? Are we there to build infrastructure? Are we there to prop up the government? Are we there to kill Al queda? Are we there because of Iran? Are we there because of Pakistan? Are we there to get Bin Laden?

Give me any kind of explanation. I am pretty willing to except even a simple explanation..."we are there until the government is able to rise up".

Shortly after taking over as President, Obama ordered tens of thousands of troops into Afghanistan for a specific reason. What is there mission?

I have stayed out of this battle, and not insulted the President over his lack of interest. But how long should any American have to tolerate this? The President has sent our soldiers off to fight and die without leading or even explaining the mission.

Can you imagine if at anytime during the Bush Presidency, it was discovered that President Bush had not personally spoken with the folks leading the President's mission for months...the media heads would have been popping off.

In fact, personally, I and many conservatives across this nation, might have been out there with Cindy Sheehan demanding Bush be impeached.

I have never seen this type of "leadership" before. Sitting back and hoping someone else will handle the problem is not the type of leadership anyone in America believes in.