Obama Fires GM CEO

Obama the Immaculate fired General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner over the weekend. It was actually termed a 'resignation', but Mr. Wagoner was forced out by direction of the White House.

Think of that - the President of the United States just fired the head of a private company.

Wagoner, who has been with GM since 2000, has fought a losing battle against rising labor costs, diminishing market share, and outrageous government interference while trying to keep the GM ship from sinking. Apparently he didn't come up with a restructuring plan that pleased His Highness, so he's gone. Whether he deserves to be sacked or not is completely irrelevant to my point.

Mr. Wagoner reports to a Board of Directors and the shareholders of GM. If he's doing a poor job, it is their responsibility to remove him. The government has no say, no function in that relationship.

One more big step towards socialism, and they aren't even trying to hide this one. Obama has now told private business that they are answerable to him, and that they all work for and at the pleasure of the government.

Scary .... very scary

Holder Wants Your Guns

Eric Holder, Obama the Immaculate's Attorney General, has stated openly that he believes it is time to ban assault type weapons in the US.

Leftists in this country have been attacking the 2nd Amendment right of US citizens to keep and bear arms for many years. Their excuses have been varied, but it always boils down to the government knows best, and private citizens can't be trusted.

The excuse Holder is using for this latest attempt is the violence in Mexico. According to him, preventing US citizens from owning this type of weapon will keep the weapons out of the hands of Mexican drug trafficers. Huh? Mexican drug cartels are quite possibly the third best armed force in the western hemisphere (behind the US and Canada) - they already have the weapons, and access to all they want from sources outside the US.

As an excuse, this doesn't hold water. Why can't this man be honest with us? Why can't he just come out and tell us what he wants to do and why? Because, if the truth comes out, he will be shouted down so fast and hard that he'll be deaf for a week.

65 Democrat members of Congress have already sent him a letter telling him not to pursue this. From a Republican perspective, Holder pursing this would be golden - few issues energize the voters more than gun control, and gun control advocates lose elections when they run on that platform.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about assault type weapons in public hands. By definition, these are semi-automatic clones of military rifles, such as the AK-47 and M-16. It is fun to fire these things. They are useless for hunting. Many folks buy them for self defense, though there are better weapons for that purpose. I don't own one, but would like to have an M-4, just to go out and plink with it occasionally. For the government to tell me I can't have one, well I object to that considering our founders gave me the right to own one. I don't have a problem going through a background check or waiting period prior to purchase, if the government chooses to implement those checks.

Does that sound wishy washy? I guess it is. I hate to hear that some jackass has used a AK-47 with a 30 round clip to shoot up his workplace and kill a bunch of people. I also hate to hear Democrats telling me I can't own one. What is the perfect answer, I don't know. What I do know is that a complete ban on them is un-Constitutional. What I also know is that if Dems are somehow successful in banning them, that will just be the beginning ...

California to Ban Black Cars

The Fruits, Flakes, and Nuts are at it again ....

The California Air Resource Board (CARB) is a bunch of Eco-Nazis who have absolute control over anything and everything that even remotely can be tied to air quality in California. If they say something can't be sold in California because it affects air quality, it doesn't get sold.

Their latest efforts involve trying to ban the sale of black painted cars. Yes, black painted cars ....

Apparently, they believe that because black paint doesn't reflect sun as much as light colors, that causes the car's air conditioner to work harder, which in turn affects gas mileage, which in turn affects air pollution. Now, granted, there is some logic in that. However, the amount is so miniscule that it can't really make a difference.

California is broke. In fact, it is so far broke that if it were a private company, it would be bankrupt and dissolved by now. The far left lunatics have such a hold on the state that it may never recover. From spending enormous amounts of money supporting illegal immigrants, to bending over backwards for Eco-Nazis, to establishing safe havens for freaks and criminals (the cesspool that San Francisco has become), to making ridiculous rules that make it almost impossible to conduct business in the state, to taxing its legal citizens to the limits of their bank accounts, California seems to be intent on imploding on itself. with all the problems they've got, they can find the time and money to waste on banning black cars?

Fight back Californians! Go out and buy nothing but black cars between now and 2011, when this legislation is likely to be enacted ......

Congress taking over the NCAA

With all of the critical issues facing our country, you would think that Congress would have more than enough to fill their agenda. Apparently not ....

The Senate Judiciary Committee is calling for hearings on why NCAA college football does not have a playoff system to determine the national champ. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is behind the push. Apparently his constituents are not happy that undefeated Utah was bypassed for the national championship game this past season.

A committee spokesman said that Hatch would introduce legislation to 'rectify the situation'.

A similar effort is going on in the House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee is looking into it. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has sponsored legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a specific game a 'national championship game' unless the participants were determined by a playoff system.

Obama the Immaculate and many Dems have also stated their opinions supporting a playoff.

OK ... I agree that a college football playoff is long overdue. However, why in the hell is the Federal government sticking its nose into it? In spite of the fact that two Republicans are sponsoring the legislation (which makes me sick), this is just another example of big government getting bigger, and taking more of our freedoms and choices away from us.

What's next? Obama asking for a law giving him the task of picking the March Madness brackets next year? Sounds silly, but who knows with this bunch of idiots in Washington.

WartHogs Down in the Weeds

Scat 27, cleared for the option ...

A pair of videos illustrating the proper use of an A-10 attack aircraft. I believe these were shot at Bagram AB in Afghanistan. In any case, it's a good thing you can't see the unit markings or tail number - if they were visible, these guy's flying days would be over ...

Kodak Drops Film Processing

As an avid aviation photographer, I have gone through thousands of rolls of Kodachrome slide film over the years. Kodak has always been known as one of the best photo/film processors in the world - a sign of quality.

It pains me to say that Kodak, as of this weekend, will stop all film processing, and end that part of its business. The company will concentrate its efforts on digital photography. It will still continue to manufacture film (for the time being), but you'll have to go somewhere else to get it processed.

No more will I be able to shoot a frame of Kodachrome and have it returned to me in Kodak mount, in a yellow Kodak box.

The end of an era, and I'm not happy about it.

Attacks on AIG are Un-American

Congressional Democrats, led by the Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services Barney Frank (D-MA), have whipped up a storm of hatred in America towards the AIG execs getting retention bonuses.

Now I, like most Americans, was outraged to hear that AIG had paid these huge retention bonuses out of the bailout money it received from the Federal government. However, it is instructive to know how this came about, and how the Obama regime and Congressional leaders are using it to expand their power.

Obama and Congress knew all about the bonuses, how much, and when they were to be paid out, before the bailout money was given to AIG. Specific language was added to the bailout bill to exempt these specific bonuses from any oversight. This language was added by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) at the direction of the White House. The contention by anyone in Congress or the White House that they did not know of these bonuses is an outright lie by some, and proof that the others didn't bother reading the bill they voted for. They knew about the bonuses, they protected the bonuses, and now they are trying to capitalize on it.

The frenzy of hatred towards AIG that has been fueled by Congressional leadership has a purpose - to gain more power for the Obama White House and the leadership of Congress to sieze and exercise control over more of the American economy.

Legislation passed through Congress to levy a 90% tax on these bonuses is a dagger pointed towards American business, saying that you better do what we want you to or we will take everything you have. Using the tax code to attack a specific group of people is immoral, and probably un-Constitutional.

Legislation being proposed would give the government contrl over executive bonuses and pay rates for financial institutions. In other words, Congress or the President could decide how much money an individual US citizen can earn.

Frank and others have publicly identified AIG execs who received bonuses, making them targets of protest and worse. ACORN, the voter fraud arm of the Democrat Party, has organized bus tours of AIG executive homes in Connecticut, staging protests in front of private homes. AIG execs have had to abandon their homes, or send their families away for fear of their safety. How long before one of these nut cases attacks or kills one of these AIG people because they have been publicly identified? The AIG people have not committed any crime, yet the government has targeted them for retribution of an unprecedented scale.

Tim Geithner is on Capital Hill today testifying before Frank's committee. Instead of getting grilled, he is being protected. When a Republican member of the committee asked pointed questions of Geithner about when the bonuses were known about, Frank cut him off so that Geithner would not have to incriminate himself.

Geithner is asking for more power to sieze insurance companies, financial investment comapnies, and hedge funds that are in danger of failing, unprecedented power that has never been in the hands of the US government before. He is likely to get it, rubber stamped by the Dems in Congress.

This is not the Soviet Union. It is not Cuba. We are not behind the old Iron Curtain. How can this be happening? Obama and his cronies are pushing this stuff through so fast, and cloaking it in so much worked up frenzy, that most of the American people have no idea what is going on. That is their plan - do it fast, do it undercover, and by the time we realize it, it is too late to do anything about it.

This should scare you to death. Our government is very close to having control over most of your life, and most people don't even know it is happening.

This Man Lied to Congress, and Dems Don't Care

Timothy Geithner, in front of a Congressional Committe on March 11, under oath told them that he did not have any knowledge of the AIG bonus issue until it had surfaced in the news on March 10.

On March 3, before that same Congressional Committee, under oath, Geithner told the committee of the AIG bonuses, how much they were going to be, when they were to be paid, and that Congress itself had made the AIG bonuses exempt from Congressional oversight with language added to the bailout program by Christopher Dodd (D-CT) at the behest of the White House.

Now, isn't that perjury?

Scooter Libby went to jail for two years because a Democrat controlled Congressional Committee decided he had perjured himself in his statements to them about the firing of all those Federal prosecutors. Whether he did or not is subject to a serious debate.

There is no debate about Geithner's sworn testimony contradicting itself - in other words out and out lies.

Why is Geithner not being investigated and persecuted like Scooter Libby? Because Dems control the Congress, and will block any and all attempts to hold anyone in the Obama administration accountable for anything. If Geithner was a Republican and did this, Barney Frank would be screaming for his execution!

These Men Want to Own America

Secretary of the treasury Timothy Geithner will appear before Congress today along with Fed Chief Ben Bernanke about their newest efforts to fix the current economic mess. OK ...

Part of what Geithner will ask Congress for is uprecedented power to sieze insurance companies, investment brokers, or hedge funds that are failing. The government already has the power to sieze failing banks. So, if Obama the Immaculate or this looney tune Geithner decide that they want to grab one or more of these companies, they want Congress to give them the legal right to do so. So, the Federal government, which has done such a splendid job of steering us into this mess, wants to confiscate private companies in order to expand their power over the US economy.

Think about it - you want to give Geithner, Obama, Frank, Dodd, Pelosi, and Reid the power to sieze and control whatever Wall St. assets they feel like grabbing? This is one more huge step towards the socialization of our economy, which is exactly what most of the Democrat Party desperately wants. They want their government to control investment, to control Wall St., to control how much money you make, to control your standard of living, to take as much of your freeedom to choose away from you - because they 'know better'.

Hugo Chavez, that idiot in Venezuela, has just siezed all ports and airports, placing them under his government's control - in order to solidify his grip on absolute power in his country. What this Democrat administration is doing falls right in line with what Chavez is doing.

Folks, Obama and his cronies are forming the USSA - United Socialist States of America - and there doesn't appear to be any way to stop them.

Dems Block Wind/Solar Energy Projects In Their Area

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has come out against a solar power collector project that is planned to be built in the Mojave Desert.

Comon sense would seem to say that the desert would be a great place to put solar panels - plenty of sun, no interference with local population, minimal weather issues. However, the same environmental kooks that are going nuts because we aren't using enough renewable energy sources, want to block the project because it would harm the aestetics of the desert, and because it would have an impact on a type of tortise.

"It would destroy the entire Mojave Desert ecosystem." - David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy.

"This is unacceptable. I urge you to direct the BLM to suspend any further consideration of leases to develop former railroad lands for renewable energy or for any other purpose." - Dianne Feinstein to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

"If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it." - CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Thank you Governor, I don't know how more clearly the issue can be stated. If you can't put solar panels in uninhabited desert areas, just where in the hell are you supposed to put them? Environmentalist wackos are going to object to solar collectors or wind farms no matter where they are put. Seems that renewable energy is great, as long as it's in someone else's back yard.

What hypocrits .....

Does anyone remember the proposal to place a wind farm offshore off Nantucket, one that would provide 75% of electricity needed for Cape Cod and it's islands? You remember who killed it, and why? Ted Kennedy (D-MA) killed it before it was started, because he didn't want to have wind turbines anywhere near his favorite sailing area.

New Jersey Dems Want to Outlaw Bikini Waxing

Sorry folks, I am not going to illustrate this one with a photo ....

New Jersey Democrats want to make it illegal for salons in their state to offer bikini wax jobs for women. This after two women experienced infections after undergoing the procedure.

Unbelievable.....

Democrats, who think that a woman has a Constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy any time she wants to, for any reason she wants to, whether she is of age or not, now believe that a woman does not have a right to choose how she grooms herself.

New Jersey ???? I can see this happening in San Francisco, or Berkeley, where some kooks don't believe in personal grooming at all, but New Jersey ?????

OCC is Back

The gang at Orange County Choppers is back for another season of American Chopper, beginning with new episodes April 9.

Frankly, I thought that this show had run its course. The first couple of years were highly entertaining, and once Outlaw13 clued me it to it, I never missed an episode. However, by year three, it was getting old. These guys got entirely too full of themselves, and watching the same old plot show after show was tiring.

OCC is a real American success story, their popularity has been phenomenal. I just hope that this new season gets back to what made them popular in the first place, and away from the self indulgent patting themselves on the back we've seen from their later efforts. I really do want to enjoy watching this show again. C'mon guys, give me a reason!

Pelosi Panders to Illegals

In a recent address to a group of mostly Hispanic legal and illegal immigrant workers in a San Francisco church, Nancy Pelosi told them that enforcement of US immigration laws was un-American.

"Who in this country would not want to change a policy of kicking in doors in the middle of the night and sending a parent away from their families?"

"It must be stopped....What value system is that? I think it's un-American. I think it's un-American."

"We have to have a change in policy and practice and again ... I can't say enough, the raids must end. The raids must end.

"You are special people. You're here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country's future. That makes you very, very patriotic."

So, according to the 3rd person in line of succession to the office of President it is un_American to enforce our laws. The ICE raids, to which she is referring, which round up illegal workers at businesses and deport them, must be stopped. The midnight raids on homes to round up parents and haul them off to jail (which does not happen, by the way) are terrible and must be stopped.

She believes that illegal immigrants are patriotic, and the future of our country. This is certainly the Democrat outlook on immigration. They believe that the 12-15 million illegals in this country are all Democrats, and guaranteed to vote a straight party ticket, if the Dems can just keep voter fraud legislation from happening. Dems want more illegals from south of our border - the more the better - more guaranteed votes to keep them in power.

The Speaker of the House is openly calling for our immigration laws to be broken. This woman is an embarrassment to our country, and she needs to be kicked out of office as soon as possible.

And oh, by the way ... Does anyone else notice how Democrats love to use churches, particularly minority churches, to deliver their messages? As soon as a Republican does it, however, they start screaming about the violation of separation of church and state .....

This Man Hates Our Military, Part Deaux

Obama's consideration of pulling VA health benefits from wounded/injured service personnel has created such an uproar across the country that the White House has announced it will no longer be under consideration.

It's good that it is off the table.

It's bad that it was ever on the table.

It is beyond belief that this man and his council of egghead advisors ever considered such a vile insult to people who have served in the uniforms of this country. America, remember this. Remember that this is who this man and his supporters are - it is a perfect example of what they believe in, and the contempt they have for the United States military.

Who says the French are all Stuck Up Jerks?

According to the info, this was shot about two years ago on a French Air Force deployment to North Africa. Very cool ....

Hopefully these guys didn't get busted for doing this, it is certainly the most creative use for a four engined tanker aircraft I've ever seen .....

An Explanation is in Order

OK, since there might be two people in the world who might read this now and then, a couple of explanations, hopefully to convince you I am not an egotistical nut.

67Cougar refers to my very first car, a maroon 1967 Mercury Cougar. I hot rodded the car through high school, sold it halfway through college. I found it about a dozen years ago, bought it back, and it's been in the garage undergoing a very slow restoration ever since. Environmental nut jobs would love it - 351 cubic inches of Ford muscle, putting out about 425hp, and gets a wonderful 4 miles per gallon (premium, thank you very much). Take that, Algore ....

Voodoo Warrior - isn't a rip of the almost not known at all musical group. It isn't a reference to some mystical Caribbean power. It is a tribute to my father. He flew the F-101 Voodoo in USAF service during the height of the Cold War. Loaded down with a nuclear weapon, his mission was to fly across Europe at 50 feet, going 600mph, to deliver his weapon on a still classified target behind the Iron Curtain. I am astounded to this day that he survived 3 years of doing that, and he will forever be my hero.

By the way, that's his aircraft (56-0006) in the title photo, seen in 1961.

This Man Hates Our Military

Obama the Immaculate has professed his admiration and thanks to our troops many times. This man and his liberal friends are FULL OF SHIT.

Obama's administration and the Congressional OMB are considering a plan that would require our military vererans wounded in action, or injured while in service, to pay for their own treatment through private insurance, rather than government provided VA benefits. This is apparently part of his new Health Care initiative, and a way to cut spending on our military.

The convenant between the US Government and its wounded/injured service people regarding their care and recovery is sacred and unbreakable. The idea that this man would consider breaking it for the sake of partisan politics is repulsive.

This will never happen, of course. Even Congressional Democrats have pronounced this idea DOA if it ever does come up as legislation. Anyone in Congress would be committing political suicide by signing on to it. But, that's not the point. The fact that the Commander in Chief is considering doing this is a real window into his soul.

Way To Go Rick, Part Deaux

Texas Governor Rick Perry sent this OpEd out to major newspapers in Texas concerning his intention of refusing Obama's welfare bribe:

"During these tough economic times, Texas employers are working harder than ever to move products to market, make payroll and create jobs. The last thing they need right now is the burden of higher taxes and expanded obligations from the federal government that would limit their ability to weather these tough times and hinder job creation in our state.

That is the primary reason I chose to stand with Texas employers and reject the unemployment insurance portion of the federal stimulus package.

Our current unemployment system has been helping Texans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own as they look for full-time employment and will continue to do so. The scare tactics and misinformation that some critics have employed to confuse Texans about my decision are not only wrong-headed, but also harmful.

If anything, Texans should be offended at the federal government's coercive approach to micromanaging state business with no consideration of our future economic health. I cannot allow the strings attached to those federal dollars to strangle the folks who create Texas jobs: Texas employers."

Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, Austin

Stand tall, Mr. Perry. With Democrats and some Republicans in the state pushing you to go ahead and accept this welfare sham, please do not give in. If the Obama administration was serious about helping, there would be no strings attached to this money. But they aren't serious about enything except increasing their voter roles and solidifying their hold on power by hooking as many people as possible onto the welfare spigot.

Iraqis take their Football Seriously

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!

A striker from the Buhairat amateur soccer team was streaking towards the opponent's goal, putting on his best moves to beat the goalie, when one of the opposing Sinjar team's fans shot him in the head. Killer defense!

In a later incident, the same Sinjar team was celebrating a 2-1 victory over rival Enana. At the celebration, an off-duty policeman pulled his pistol and starting shooting into the air to add to the revelry. He lost control of the gun, and shot the winning Sinjar goaltender in the head.

A good friend, Outlaw13, is headed back to Iraq soon, for his third tour. I implore him to stay away from the local sports venues - they are the most dangerous parts of the country!

How Stupid Does Hollywood Think We Are?

Seeing all the DVDs constantly appearing on our store shelves, I am amazed at the number of movie titles appearing on the New Releases shelf, movies I've not heard of. Now, I don't spend a lot of time keeping up with Hollywood's products ... pretty much ignore any movie that doesn't grab my attention (and those are few and far between). However, seeing movies that never appeared in the theater, or had a run so short it was measured in hours rather than weeks on the shelf for 'sale' prices of $16.99 is really puzzling. If a movie isn't worth the time to see in the theater, why is it worth blowing almost 20 bucks on to watch on your TV at home? Why spend this money to 'own' the movie, when you can rent if for a buck or two.

We are inundated with special 'two disk collector editions', or 'unrated, not seen in the threater editions', at slightly higher prices, say $24.99. If it is good I should pay a premium price, why wasn't it shown in the theater?

This is Hollywood's cash cow now. Cheap to produce movies with cheap distribution going for big bucks, and the American public is falling for it. How do I know they're falling for it - if these DVDs weren't selling, they wouldn't be given the shelf space by retailers.

C'mon folks, smarten up. If you are curious about an obscure movie, or you want to view the latest release in the American Pie collection, rent it. You probaby will not want to see it more than once, why throw the money away and have it taking up shelf space in your living room?

Way to go Rick!

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) has turned down the Obama regime's offer of $555,000,000 dollars to extend welfare benefits. Thank you Rick!

On the outside, turning down this money in this economy sounds stupid. But, like everything from the government, it comes with big strings attached. By accepting the money, Texas would permanently have to expand welfare coverage to many more unemployed and poor people. The money requires changes to state law to ensure that more people become dependent upon welfare. In addition, Texas would be responsible for funding that expanded coverage beginning in three years, when the federal money runs out. At that point, unemployment taxes on Texas based business woud have to be increased dramatically to cover the increased expenditures.

Not surprisingly, Democrats in the Texas Legislature are plotting to find a way to overturn Gov. Perry's decision. Expanding welfare roles and making more people dependent upon government are sure fire ways to increase their vote totals. Give people free money, and they tend to want to vote for you - tried and true Democrat politics.

Several Southern Republican Governors are contemplating refusal of the money - they see through the facade into the real reason it is being offered by the Obama administration.

France Wants Back in NATO

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has submitted plans for his country to rejoin NATO after a 43 year absence. His reasons are not to benefit NATO, not to add to the common defence of its members, not to aid NATO in its worldwide commitments, but to make sure that France has a platform to exert its proper influence over world events. This isn't a guess on my part, he's flat out stated it in public and to his own government.

Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO in 1966, for two main reasons. First, he was upset by foreign powers (the US) basing nuclear weapons on French soil with no French control over them. Second, he was upset that France was not the dominant force behind NATO decision making. His decision mandated the removal of all US military forces from France and its possessions, causing a large effort to move and rebase forces in the middle of the Cold War.

France has cooperated (more or less) with NATO in the years since, but has not had forces under NATO military control. Sometimes cooperation has been good, sometimes not ( i.e. French denial of overflight rights for US military aircraft, interference with US action against Libya, outright sabotage of US efforts in Iraq).

Discussions for the rejoin have been going on for a couple of years, and have been endorsed by NATO's leadership, several NATO countries, and the US.

France has participated somewhat in NATO's operations in Afghanistan.

Sarkozy faces stiff opposition from the opposing French Socialist party, which had been in power until Sarkozy's election. France's wish to join must also be ratified by the member NATO countries, though that seems to be a certainty.

Iraqi Shoe Thrower Going to Jail

Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi's brazen act of throwing his shoes at President Bush at a news conference will cost him three years in jail, an Iraqi court has decided. The clog chucker was facing up to 15 years in prison for assault. The court cited his lack of any criminal record as a factor in deciding on imposing the minimum sentence allowed under Iraqi law.

This A-hole hurled a supreme insult at the very person who gave him the ability to do so.

I have two questions. First, what would have happened if this guy had done this to Saddam, or one of his underlings? He wouldn't have made it out of the building alive. Second, what would have happened to him had this happened on American soil, where the Secret Service was free to act? He'd be in jail for many more years for threatening the life of the President.

Third question (OK, I'll take a little liberty here) - what if this had been Obama the Immaculate rather than President Bush. Would world reaction, and US reaction be different? Would this guy still be a hero to left wingers, kooks, Pelosi, Reid, et al ...

This guy got off incredibly light. He and his family will be set for life, book and TV deals from all over the world will be coming in. Hell, Al Qaeda may even elect him Grand Poobah. All because President Bush had the guts to free his country

What the hell, it's only money

Today marks the 51st day of the reign of Obama the Immaculate.

In the first 50 days, he and his Democrat cronies in Congress have managed to spend over $1,500,000,000,000 dollars. That is an average of ONE BILLION DOLLARS PER HOUR.

The government doesn't have a single one of those dollars. A portion will be gained by raising taxes on the 'rich' (although that will be offset by tax 'rebates' to people who don't pay any taxes). The rest will be debt financed by China or other foreign countries. If those countries won't foot the bill, then the treasury will just have to print it, creating high inflation.

Don't worry, though. It's just money. Figures as high as this are just abstracts - they don't mean anything to the average American, because they are too large to comprehend.

Comprehend this -

• Current world population figures show about 6 billion folks on this planet. Obama's spending in this 50 day period equals $250 for every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth.
• With about 300 million people in the US, that equals $5000 for every man, woman, and child inside our borders.
• Using Congressional estimates that about 45% of Americans pay payroll taxes, that equals $11,111 for every tax payer.

All of this in only 50 days!!!!!!!!!

Cheer up, we've only got 46 more months of this ....

Obama's Spending Bill is Full of Pork

Obama's $410,000,000,000 spending bill going through Congress right now is so full of pork that it is obscene. (For the politically naieve, pork is defined as pet projects, also known as earmarks, attached to a piece of legislation by Senators or Representatives. This practice allows spending without debate, giving the elected official a way of 'bringing home the bacon'. In other words, securing government funding for local projects outside of the normal budget process, without oversight, and without debate.)

Democrats and Republicans are guilty of this. The earmark process has been around for a long time, and is widely seen by our elected representatives as a way to help their local consitituents get federal money. Most reps take advantage of this, and some of the earmarks make perfect sense. Other reps abuse the process in order to buy votes at home.

In this time of financial crisis, you would think that Congress and the President would hold off on earmarks. Quite the opposite - Obama's budget has more pork projects in it than any other budget in history. There are 8570 disclosed earmarks in the bill, costing the taxpayer $7,700,000,000 dollars. There is another set of undisclosed earmarks in the bill, though the number and amount is hard to define, since the reps have carefully hidden them in language that is difficult to interpret.

Obama, during his campaign, said that earmarks had to be reformed, and that he would not allow the process to continue to bleed the taxpayer. However, the Democrat Congressional leadership has laid down the law to him, and he has backed off. He will do nothing to block earmarks in this spending bill - his staff is stating that it is left over pork from the Bush Administration, and he is not responsible for cleaning it up. Bullshit! Another blocking force is a few Republicans who misuse the earmark process. They've told Obama if he lays off the earmarks, he can expect their cooperation passing legislation through Congress.

Here is a list, composed by Taxpayers for Common Sense, of the 20 biggest offenders of the earmark process in the US Senate, along with the amount of money they are personally responsible for wasting in this spending bill:

1) Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. -- $122,804,900
2) Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. -- $114,484,250
3) Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. -- $85,691,491
4) Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. -- $76,899,425
5) Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss. -- $75,908,475
6) Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska -- $74,000,750
7) Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa -- $66,860,000
8) Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. -- $53,133,500
9) Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. -- $51,186,000
10) Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii -- $46,380,205
11) Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. -- $39,228,250
12) Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. -- $36,547,100
13) Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt. -- $36,161,125
14) Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. -- $35,577,250
15) Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. -- $27,169,750
16) Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. -- $26,628,613
17) Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. -- $25,320,000
18) Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. -- $23,832,000
19) Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. -- $21,952,250
20) Former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. -- $19,588,625

And this doesn't even touch the immense figures coming from the House of Representatives.

Among the ridiculous things they are wasting your money on:

$713,625 Woody Biomass. Walsh and Schumer sponsors
$951,500 Sustainable Las Vegas. Berkeley and Reid sponsors.
$24,000 A+ for Abstinence. Specter is sponsor.
$300,000 Montana World Trade Center. Rehberg sponsor.
$950,000 Myrtle Beach International Trade and Convention Center. Graham sponsor.
$200,000 Oil Region Alliance. Peterson sponsor.
$190,000 Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY for digitizing the Cody collection. Barbara Cubin is the sponsor
$143,000 Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Las Vegas, NV, to expand natural history education. Sponsored by Harry Reid
$238,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, HI, for educational programs. Sen. Daniel Inouye is the sponsor.
$381,000 for Jazz at Lincoln Center, NY for music education. Jerrold Nadler is the sponsor.

These people are stealing your money, and throwing it away on crap like this. They aren't even trying to hide it. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, has been so blatant as to say that the American people don't care about earmarks.

Congress tries to demonize Wall St. and corporate America, for being greedy and making money off the American worker. What hypocrites! Congress, run by Democrats, are the biggest thieves the world has ever known!

Dems Block Voter Fraud Legislation

The Texas State Senate is holding hearings today on whether Texas voters should be required to present a government issued photo ID along with their voter registration card in order to cast a ballot. Republicans, who are pushing the initiative, argue that this places no extra burden on the voter, and cuts down significantly on the possibility of voter fraud. Democrats, who see this as an attempt to cut down on their favorite tactic of vote manufacturing (using illegal immigrants and others who are not legally qualified voters to cast ballots) call this an attack on the civil rights of minorities, the elderly, and the disabled.

I can't imagine a scenario where a person can legitimately not have a government issued photo ID. It doesn't have to be a driver's license. How does someone function in today's society without one? How does it infringe on someone's rights to ask that they show it prior to voting?

The answer is, it doesn't.

Democrats all over the country loudly proclaim that all votes should be counted. They routinely bash Republicans for voter fraud, voter intimidation, and other tactics meant to keep Democrat voters from casting ballots. This is a tried and true smoke screen for shifting focus away from their vote manufacturing methods.

To cast a ballot, all citizens should be required to produce a voter registration card or be listed on the voter registration roles, and be required to produce proof that you are actually the voter you say you are. That's fair, that's right, there is nothing discriminatory about it.

This is the Face of America?

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. This is the face of the United States to the rest of the world. This shrill, bitter, vindictive woman is widely associated with the foreign policy blunders of the '90s - stupid policies instituted by her and her husband and forwarded to the world by the completely incompetent Madeline Albright.

Policies that led to:

• North Korea building a stockpile of nuclear weapons, with funding from the US taxpayer.


• The loss of American servicemen in Somalia (Blackhawk Down)


• Sadam Hussein slaughtering his fellow countrymen with WMDs


• The handcuffing of US Intelligence efforts that led to the success of Bin Laden's attack on 9/11/01.


• The largest drawdown of US military forces since the end of the Vietnam War.

Now, as part of the Obama The Immaculate's regime, she is out touring the world showing everyone how the 'evils' of the Bush administration are being corrected. She is feeding our enemies exactly what they want to hear, and exactly what they were hoping for when they begged for Obama's election.

• The US is giving $900 million to the Palestinian Authority, supposedly for the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. Who in their right mind does not believe that this money will end up in the hands of Hamas, used to rearm their terrorists?


• Obama has reportedly offered to Russia that we will scrap plans to deploy a missile defense shield in eastern Eurpoe, if Russia aids us in our discussions with Iran. Iran is more or less a Russian client state - what in the hell does he expect Russia to do, other than to continue to re-arm them?


• Obama has offered to meet directly with Iran's leaders. This wiill give them the international recognition they crave - putting themselves on the same level as the President of the United States.


• The US is apparently happy with letting the UN handle the issue of Iran's nuclear program. Admittedly, there is no good solution to this problem - there is no way to trust what the leaders of Iran say. However, letting the UN take care of it is a disaster. No good has come from anything the UN has done in the past 30 years. All of their sanctions against Saddam really made him behave, didn't they?


• We're 'restarting' our relationship with Russia. This relationship, which started with Reagan, ended the Cold War (we won!), led to many former Warsaw Pact countries becoming democratic states - and some of our greatest current allies, set Russia onto an admittedly painful path to democracy, and made the world much safer from nuclear holocaust. Mr. Obama, Ms. Clinton - what exactly was wrong with that relationship, and what is your 'restarting' it supposed to do?


• Obama insults the leader of our greatest ally, England, by treating him like a second rate tourist during a recent state visit.


• Obama has announced a 25% cut in defense spending, and unilateal cuts in our nuclear aresenal.


• Clinton and Obama have stuck a stick in the eye of another important ally, Isreal. Apparently, Obama is using Jimmy Carter's Middle East policy of promoting the terrorist Palestinians at the expense of Isreal.
• Obama wants to involve the Taliban in Afghanistan in talks meant to stablilize the country.
• Obama wants to open direct talks with the leadership of Syria, a country that is one of the biggest supporters of terroism it he world.

Look at what has transpired in the few weeks since Obama took office:

• North Korea is testing new missiles, launching satellites, and announcing it is preparing for war (with pretty much everyone).


• Iran is defiantly pursuing its nuclear program, and is testing long range missiles that could deliver nuclear or chemical payloads to Israel.


• China is flexing its naval and military muscle, to a degree not seen since the very early '80s.


• Venezeula has ramped up its socialism push in South America, with Chavez openly challenging the US, nationalizing US company assets, and whipping up anti-American sentiment in the southern hemisphere.


• Russia is openly challenging the US efforts in Afghanistan, by forcing the closure of an important air bridge needed to move supplies into the country.

These countries know that the pacifist, appeasing nature of the Obama regime will mean they can rattle their sabres to their heart's content. The situation very much reminds me of Neville Chamberlain's efforts in the mid 1930s - appeasement that led to the start of WWII.

Our allies are concerned, if not downright scared of Obama, Clinton, and their policies.

Our enemies are ecstatic, and looking forward to a brighter future.

A Local Example of the Global Warming/Eco Friendly/Green Scam

I frequently shop Half Price Books. A great place to get cheap reading material, and sometimes a real gem of a book.

Anyone who patronizes this company knows how 'Eco Friendly' the store protrays itself. Recyle, reuse, green this, green that ... they even sell green colored tote bags that have the tag line "it's good to b(eco)me carried away", with a web site "becomegreen.info". The premise is for you to purchase these bags and use them instead of using plastic throw away bags (which they provide free of charge).

I was in one of their local stores yesterday, browsing the Sci-Fi section. I noticed one of the workers wheeling out a couple of large trash cans full of books from the buying area. He took them out of the store, wheeled them across the parking lot, and proceeded to throw the contents into a normal trash dumpster. Curious, I asked him what he was doing. His explanation was that books they can't sell they throw away. Don't you recycle them? No, there is no profit in going to the trouble of recycling, the dumpster is just easier.

Amazing ... an eco-friendly store, trying to make money off its customers on the premise of being eco-friendly, and they can't be troubled to recycle one of the easiest items there is to recycle? How many tons of paper do each of these stores deposit into landfills each year, instead of saving trees by recycling?

A great example of the green hoaxing of America and the rest of the world. Green is apparently great, but only if there is profit in it.

This Man Wants Your Money, Part Deaux

Timothy Geithner's pick to be his top deputy pulled out of consideration. No official reason was given, but some internet sources cite finiancial 'irregularities', though not necessarily tax related.

The top 17 posts in the Treasury underneath Mr. Geithner are vacant. There are no nominees for those posts, much less anyone confirmed. In the midst of the biggest financial crisis this country has known, this guy is trying to do it all on his own. I see internet reports that departments in the Treasury are paralyzed because they are receiving no direction from the empty offices they report to.

This is so pathetic that even Democrats in Congress are complaining that no one from the Treasury is available to appear in front of their useless comittee show trials.

It's Time for GM to go Under

General Motors' auditors announced that they have severe doubts the company can remain viable. I say ... let it go under ...

The government gave GM billions of dollars to bail them out. It turns out that the money was only a temporary patch to get the company through 3 months. GM is burning through cash so fast that there is no way it can remain solvent, certainly not in this economy.

GM's problems are many, but two stick out like sore thumbs ....

Too many brands - even after dumping Oldsmobile, they still have divisions producing cars and trucks that compete with each other. Pontiac and Chevrolet compete. Chevy and GMC compete on trucks. Saturn is pretty much useless. Hummer is a dead horse in this economy, and with the strength of the 'green' movement. Cadillac stands above, but has suffered from poor quality for years now.

Labor costs - the UAW's strangle hold on the Big Three is killing the companies. Bloated retirement and health care costs for current and especially former employees make their per hour labor costs twice that of foreign manufacturers who build cars here in the US (Nissan, Toyota, etc.). The UAW owns the Democrat Party - no one in the Obama Administration or in Congressional leadership dares hint that the union has to go, or be diminshed, or that benefits gained under threat and execution of strike have to be relenquished.

Stop dumping taxpayer money into GM right now. Let it go into bankruptcy for reorganization. Cancel the union contracts. Drop the brands down to Chevy and Cadillac. It will succeed if organized correctly.

I'm a Ford man through and through. However, the contribution of GM to America's auto heritage is undeniable, and who doesn't like the looks of a restored '69 Camaro tooling down the road? GM is simply not viable in its current form in today's market. Stop wasting our money on a hopeless cause. Let it die, to be reborn.

P.S. - I sure feel sorry for all those lined up for the 2010 Camaro - if something isn't done pretty quick, it will be stillborn .....

This Man Wants Your Money

Timothy Geithner, Obama's Secretary of the Treasury, announced that the IRS, under his direction, will vigorously pursue tax cheats in order to recover revenue due to the government.

This statement comes from the man who was caught cheating on his income taxes over a period of three years to the tune of $34,000, a sum he only paid after it came to light during his confirmation process (all penalties and interest were forgiven by the IRS - you think they'd do that for an ordinary citizen?). Think of that - the boss of the IRS admitted cheating on his taxes.

This man will oversee the largest increase in taxes in the history of the world. Legislation buried in the porkulus bill and the bloated budget will see the following:

• - President Bush's tax cuts will be allowed to lapse in 2010.
• - Social Security taxes will be based on all income, rather than the current cap, meaing that anyone earing over $100K will see an additional 7% tax levied on all income over that level.
• - Top bracket income tax rates will increase to 42%. Anyone making over $250K will see an additional 3% of their income taken away above what they would lose, even after the Bush cuts expire.
• - Lower wage earners will receive 'tax refunds', even though they have not paid any income tax.
• - Capital gains taxes will be increased over their post Bush tax cut levels, though by how much depends upon who you talk to. Figures I've heard vary from 30-45%.

And much, much more .....

Obama The Immaculate has decried that the top 2% of wage earners in this country will be responsible for funding all of his liberal iniatives, and that those 2% are responsible for supporting and paying for the benefits to be given to lower wage earners.

Geithner is the chief finiancial officer of this country. His policies, statements, and willingness to drink the Obama koolaid shows he has a second grader's understanding of economics. He is overseeing and directing not only the largest tax increase in the world's history, but he's also overseeing the largest destruction of personal and corporate wealth in the world's history.

Gee, I really feel good about my money under his control .....

Apologies to Outlaw13

I wish to apologize to a good friend, known in the blogging world as Outlaw13. He's been running "Guidons, Guidons, Guidons" for quite a while now, letting us into his world of Army rotorheads.

Reading "Guidons, Guidons, Guidons" was my introduction to the world of blogging. I watched him mature his site over the months (and years) into a format I very much like - that's why I borrowed it (or stole, if you prefer).

If you haven't had the opportunity to visit "Guidons, Guidons, Guidons", you ought to - it's good, cheap entertainment!

Obama - My God, where do I begin?

We're a little over two months into the reign of Obama The Immaculate. The changes being forced onto our country by Obama and his koolaid crowd are frightening. The fact that 51% of Americans like what he is doing is downright scary.

I've got a lot to say about Obama, Reid, Peolsi, et al ....

But for this post, I'll just say this. The political ignorance of the majority of our population is allowing these idiots to get away with murdering our country. People who do not follow politics, who don't have any education in the government of the United States except what is force fed them by liberal teachers, are taken advantage of by the Democrat party. Those people, who for the most part are minorities, the poor, illegal immigrants, and the far left kook fringe, take for gospel whatever the Democrats tell them. Lemmings ... Obama could tell them to walk into a volcano, and they'd do it.

How many of you have seen the Alec Baldwin TV commercial for hudu (or something like that)? How Freudian ... one of the country's most outspoken far left liberals hawking a media content company - but how many of you see how it perfectly fits the Democrat Party? "We're turning your brains into jelly ... Mmmm, jelly ...." ... I can't see anyone more perfect for delivering that line than maybe Howard Dean.

A pliable, politically ignorant population is a perfect platform for their plan to socialize this country. Historical precedent ... Germany in the early '30s, during Hitler's rise to power. A charismatic, well spoken leader whipping a pliable populace into a frenzy, allowing him to curtail freedoms, institute government control over more and more of everyday life, nationalizing business and commerce, and cowering those who oppose him. Hitler ... or Obama?

Americans need to wake up and see what is happening. Educate yourselves as to what is being force fed to you, and the historical precedents. If you still like it, then so be it - but PLEASE make informed decisions - not blind obedience.