Category: Obama

Oh To Be King

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November 28, 2010 at 8:27 amCategory:Obama

Many Americans thought Henry Waxman’s Cap and Trade nightmare was dead. While Team Obama may no longer be able to push through another 2000+ page piece of job-destroying legislation, the Administration can use Executive Orders to implement many of the specifics of the legislation via changes in the regulatory policies.

 

The King Speaks

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued partial guidance to increase ethanol content in gasoline to 15%, even though ethanol’s supposed benefits have been solidly debunked. Studies by the EPA have shown that ethanol increases carbon emissions, drives up costs of corn and food products, hinders engine efficiency, and does little to make our nation more energy independent.

In short, the EPA’s ethanol policy is a ploy, designed to prop up a failed industry, with yet another multi-billion dollar bailout from taxpayers.

EPA quietly announced this decision that will result in huge increases in subsidies to the ethanol industry while forcing Americans to buy a product that they don’t want. Nor was there any acknowledgement within the Obama Administration that the unintended consequence of a15% mandate on ethanol will almost certainly drive up food costs on everything from beef to cereal, to tortillas.

Higher food prices represent a new tax on all Americans as we are forced to pay more for corn-based food products, so that Obama can continue to subsidize the ethanol industry.

 

Retaliation

EPA recently issued a strategic plan for the next five years, Fiscal Year 2011-2015 EPA Strategic Plan – that will cost over a trillion dollars to implement. The plan advances retaliatory mandates that allow President Obama to punish organizations that oppose his flawed policies and donate heavily to Republicans.

For example, on page 44, the EPA unveils its new plan to criminalize violations of the agency’s mandates and has targeted 4 industries–cement plants, coal-fired utilities, glass plants and animal feeding operations, all industries that have, traditionally, donated heavily to Republicans.

It is hard not to consider that the Obama Administration’s actions may be politically motivated, since Americans have seen the Democrat party using this same kind of demagoguery with Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce both which have chosen to support GOP candidates and Republican job-creation policies.

Nor is the EPA the only Federal Agency working hard to crank up a slew of new regulations which will soon sprout like crabgrass in the spring. Take for example the new rulings that will give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) broad new powers to require all financial institutions, hedge funds, investment firms, banks to set up hiring quotas for minorities. Forbes

Lurita Doan

 

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Obama Copies Failed Policies of Roosevelt

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November 3, 2010 at 6:02 pmCategory:History | Obama

Guess who said the following: "We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work." Think back several decades — we are repeating history.

It was Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt and one of FDR's closest advisers. He added, "after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. . . And an enormous debt to boot!"

Sound familiar?

This is just one of the remarkable and eye-opening facts in a must-read book titled "New Deal or Raw Deal?" by Professor Burton W. Folsom, Jr., of Hillsdale College.

Instead of learning from the failed policies of the 30s, Obama is hell bent on doing it all over again. The same kinds of policies that were tried– and failed– during the 1930s are being carried out in Washington today, with the advocates of such policies often invoking FDR's New Deal as a model.

Franklin D. Roosevelt blamed the country's woes on the problems he inherited from his predecessor, much as Barack Obama does today. But unemployment was 20 percent in the spring of 1939, six long years after Herbert Hoover had left the White House.

We are told that FDR got us out of the Great Depression, when in reality, he is the one who caused it!

Far from pulling the country out of the Great Depression by following Keynesian policies, FDR created policies that prolonged the depression until it was more than twice as long as any other depression in American history.

President Roosevelt's strong suit was politics, not economics. He played the political game both cleverly and ruthlessly, including using both the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service to harass and intimidate his critics and opponents.

It is not a pretty story. But we need to understand it if we want to avoid the ugly consequences of very similar policies today.

T Sowell

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First Post-Racial Failure

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October 12, 2010 at 6:04 pmCategory:Obama

Barack Obama has become the nation's first post-racial failure.

Indeed, Obama has failed so obviously and on such a grand scale that historians will look back in awe from an exceptionally American future and say that his presidency proved that failure knows no color, and fecklessness transcends all races and religions.

Barack Obama has failed not because he is black, but, as one PajamasMedia reader put it, because "everything he has done or wants to do is a disaster!" For the country, that is — Democrat leadership and the Upper West Side of Manhattan view Obama's governance and our misery as success…but that's another story for another day. The rest of the nation, however, sees a decimated free market, out-of-control regulation, shrinking liberty, and historic deficits fueling a descent into what Thomas Lifson terms "progressive feudalism," in which "even the most mundane tasks" will be regulated by government. And we don't like it.

The inimitable Rush Limbaugh, asked what is "sinking" the Democrats, put it this way: "It's Obama's JackAss Policies." Yup, even an African-American can be every bit of a "jackass" as a dunderhead of the white persuasion. And, extending the logic, ignorance may now also be associated with brown and yellow skin, with females as well as males, with gays and lesbians…why, the possibilities are endless.

"Stupid is as stupid does" is no longer just white and Forest Gump; it is black and Barack Obama (three months into his presidency, the Philadelphia Bulletin, a mainstream newspaper that also doubles as the Democratic house organ in Philadelphia, whined that he is setting "a record for incompetence"), or brown and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (a Latino whose latest achievement is making the "America's Worst Governor" list, having already achieved fame as one of the nation's worst cabinet members during the Clinton era). Washington has shown us the way, colorblind and brain-dead from the top down. What a wonderful country!

Traditional media helped give us the nation's first black president. A recurring theme in elite insider coverage was that the election of Barack Obama would usher in a new era of harmony, a "post-racial" United States. A defeat would be due solely to "the color of his skin," was the way the Washington Post's Slate put it in 2008. But the nation's voters came through, and on Election Day, "the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal" as American entered its post-racial era — or so declared Barack Obama and a worshipful media. This is what you get when God occupies the oval office, crowed Newsweek. Chris Matthews' leg tingled, while New York Times columnists saw a cleaned-up Jesus with a "perfectly creased pant leg." The British press hailed "the rise of a new JFK," signaling the end of racism in its former colonies across the pond.

They were right. Barack Obama has shown that the American dream is both accessible and, depending upon the totality of one's work, inaccessible. In a nation which remains largely free, where competence and savvy are prized and appreciated, Obama has shown that, despite the categories and quotas of a half-century of regressive Democrat policies, a black in a position of responsibility can fail as gloriously and ignominiously as a person of the white or brown persuasion.

Obama has shown that blacks are like everyone else. Arrogance, ignorance of history, inability to reason, lack of savvy, and self-absorption — all are ingredients for post-racial failure. You don't have to be white to exhibit what American Thinker publisher Thomas Lifson calls the "shallowness … of intellect and … lack of rigor" displayed by the current president.

Except for the usual suspects (the New York Times, Washington Post, etc.), few are blaming the dismal record of Obama's Washington on racism. Indeed, this has become an even more wonderful country thanks to the post-racial failures of Barack Obama. Up until now, the greatest presidential failure of the modern age has been Jimmy Carter, who was so spectacularly poor a president that even the reliably leftist San Francisco Chronicle called his years in the White House a "legacy of failure." But a post-racial America has given even respected academics the freedom to ask, "Is Obama the new Carter?" with little fear of the racist label. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal last month noted that "comparisons between the Obama White House and the failed presidency of Jimmy Carter are increasingly being made…by Democrats."

The consensus is growing that the greatest failure of the modern presidency is a self-absorbed, mean-spirited black guy who embraces dictators and tyrants, can't manage his way out of a paper bag, and blames everything from earthquakes in Pakistan to bed bugs at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Israel.

Indeed. Barack Obama has transcended race. He has led America into the post-racial era by failing on his merits — not his skin color. We are, once again, a wonderful country — of which even Michelle Obama can be proud!Barack Obama has become the nation's first post-racial failure.

Indeed, Obama has failed so obviously and on such a grand scale that historians will look back in awe from an exceptionally American future and say that his presidency inarguably established as truism that failure knows no color, and fecklessness transcends all races and religions.

Barack Obama has failed not because he is black, but, as one PajamasMedia reader put it, because "everything he has done or wants to do is a disaster!" For the country, that is — Democrat leadership and the Upper West Side of Manhattan view Obama's governance and our misery as success…but that's another story for another day. The rest of the nation, however, sees a decimated free market, out-of-control regulation, shrinking liberty, and historic deficits fueling a descent into what Thomas Lifson terms "progressive feudalism," in which "even the most mundane tasks" will be regulated by government. And we don't like it.

The inimitable Rush Limbaugh, asked what is "sinking" the Democrats, put it this way: "It's Obama's Jackassian Policies." Yup, even an African-American can be every bit of a "jackass" as a dunderhead of the white persuasion. And, extending the logic, ignorance may now also be associated with brown and yellow skin, with females as well as males, with gays and lesbians…why, the possibilities are endless.

"Stupid is as stupid does" is no longer just white and Forest Gump; it is black and Barack Obama (three months into his presidency, the Philadelphia Bulletin, a mainstream newspaper that also doubles as the Democratic house organ in Philadelphia, whined that he is setting "a record for incompetence"), or brown and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (a Latino whose latest achievement is making the "America's Worst Governor" list, having already achieved fame as one of the nation's worst cabinet members during the Clinton era). Washington has shown us the way, colorblind and brain-dead from the top down. What a wonderful country!

Traditional media helped give us the nation's first black president. A recurring theme in elite insider coverage was that the election of Barack Obama would usher in a new era of harmony, a "post-racial" United States. A defeat would be due solely to "the color of his skin," was the way the Washington Post's Slate put it in 2008. But the nation's voters came through, and on Election Day, "the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal" as American entered its post-racial era — or so declared Barack Obama and a worshipful media. This is what you get when God occupies the oval office, crowed Newsweek. Chris Matthews' leg tingled, while New York Times columnists saw a cleaned-up Jesus with a "perfectly creased pant leg." The British press hailed "the rise of a new JFK," signaling the end of racism in its former colonies across the pond.

They were right. Barack Obama has shown that the American dream is both accessible and, depending upon the totality of one's work, inaccessible. In a nation which remains largely free, where competence and savvy are prized and appreciated, Obama has shown that, despite the categories and quotas of a half-century of regressive Democrat policies, a black in a position of responsibility can fail as gloriously and ignominiously as a person of the white or brown persuasion.

Obama has shown that blacks are like everyone else. Arrogance, ignorance of history, inability to reason, lack of savvy, and self-absorption — all are ingredients for post-racial failure. You don't have to be white to exhibit what American Thinker publisher Thomas Lifson calls the "shallowness … of intellect and … lack of rigor" displayed by the current president.

Except for the usual suspects (the New York Times, Washington Post, etc.), few are blaming the dismal record of Obama's Washington on racism. Indeed, this has become an even more wonderful country thanks to the post-racial failures of Barack Obama. Up until now, the greatest presidential failure of the modern age has been Jimmy Carter, who was so spectacularly poor a president that even the reliably leftist San Francisco Chronicle called his years in the White House a "legacy of failure." But a post-racial America has given even respected academics the freedom to ask, "Is Obama the new Carter?" with little fear of the racist label. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal last month noted that "comparisons between the Obama White House and the failed presidency of Jimmy Carter are increasingly being made…by Democrats."

The consensus is growing that the greatest failure of the modern presidency is a self-absorbed, mean-spirited black guy who embraces dictators and tyrants, can't manage his way out of a paper bag, and blames everything from earthquakes in Pakistan to bed bugs at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Israel.

Indeed. Barack Obama has transcended race. He has led America into the post-racial era by failing on his merits — not his skin color. We are, once again, a wonderful country — of which even Michelle Obama can be proud!

Stuart Schwartz, American Thinker

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Change Yes, Hope No

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October 8, 2010 at 7:42 amCategory:Obama

Dvid Limbaugh

Just in case anyone mistakenly believes Obama has heard (or gives a rip about) the loud voice of the American people rejecting his socialism, appeasement, unconstitutional abuses of power and unpresidential combativeness and divisiveness, let me share a few tidbits.

x–After House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a damning critique of Obama's economic policies, the administration's economic philosopher Joe Biden issued a rebuttal, assuring us it was their predecessor who got us into this mess. That's novel.

x–Obama renewed his war on Fox News, saying it is a "destructive" force in American society, while the White House lauded MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow as providing "an invaluable service" to America. Sure, they are covering his butt all the time… or is that "kissing"?

x–Rep. Paul Ryan reports that Obama's latest "fiscal year ends in fiscal failure." Congress broke for recess, "prioritizing election over stopping looming tax hikes." It failed to complete any of the 12 annual appropriations bills, pass a budget resolution and stop the tax increases.

x–The White House produced a bizarre tax video series, with the first one claiming that "objective economists" all agree that raising taxes in this bad economy would be good for the economy. Surreal.

x–On a conference call, Obama and top administration officials beseeched thousands of faith-based and community organizations to "get out there and spread the word" in favor of Obamacare. You've gotta love the left's consistency on church-state separation.–After House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a damning critique of Obama's economic policies, the administration's economic philosopher Joe Biden issued a rebuttal, assuring us it was their predecessor who got us into this mess. That's novel.

x–Obama renewed his war on Fox News, saying it is a "destructive" force in American society, while the White House lauded MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow as providing "an invaluable service" to America.

x–Rep. Paul Ryan reports that Obama's latest "fiscal year ends in fiscal failure." Congress broke for recess, "prioritizing election over stopping looming tax hikes." It failed to complete any of the 12 annual appropriations bills, pass a budget resolution and stop the tax increases.

x–The White House produced a bizarre tax video series, with the first one claiming that "objective economists" all agree that raising taxes in this bad economy would be good for the economy. Surreal.

x–On a conference call, Obama and top administration officials beseeched thousands of faith-based and community organizations to "get out there and spread the word" in favor of Obamacare. You've gotta love the left's consistency on church-state separation.

x–In Rolling Stone magazine, Obama berated members of his base for their lethargy and "sitting on their hands complaining." One leftist remarked, "I've never seen a politician run an election with the message 'Don't be stupid, quit your bitching and vote for me.'"

x–When a coalition of health care groups recently urged Congress to withhold money from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Obamacare, we were painfully reminded of Obama's corrupt recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the centers. The health care groups are trying to pressure Berwick to answer basic questions about his health policy views. Berwick has advocated rationing and insists that health care funding must be used as a vehicle to redistribute wealth. Think Death Panels.

x–Obama agreed to donate $100 billion to the United Nations. Andrea Lafferty of The Traditional Values Coalition wrote, "The U.S. taxpayer is forced to pay billions to an inefficient organization run by world leaders who hate America and the free market system." Just so.

x–Obama's venerable partner, Vice President Joe Biden, said, "If I hear one more Republican tell me about balancing the budget, I am going to strangle them." Yes, how dare Republicans voice the outrage of the people over the bankrupting of our children!

x–Obama, the man who promised he would bring us together, fired yet another class warfare missile into the political mix, shifting his traditional argument against the Bush tax cuts from budget concerns to the "income gap." In other words, the rich make too much and we ought to use the tax code to punish them. This is what he said to Charlie Gibson: he admitted he favors increases in capital gains tax rates even though such increases reduce revenues — "as a matter of fairness," i.e., punishing the rich even if it hurts everyone else.

x–Obama's Environmental Protection Agency admits its new greenhouse gas regulations could very well "slow construction nationwide for years." For what? We know these green policies won't appreciably reduce global temperature over the next century.

x–With the disastrous consequences of Obamacare already unfolding before our eyes, Obama has already granted 30 exemptions and waivers to insurers, employers and union plans. If you were king, wouldn't you?

x–Rasmussen Reports reveals that just 36 percent of voters believe race relations between blacks and whites are improving — it used to be 62 percent in July 2009. Obama has driven divisions deeper than ever.

x–Democratic Rep. James Clyburn says, "Next year, we may even get the public option." Swell.

x–Under Obama, the number of people receiving food stamps is at an all-time high: 41.8 million people, compared with 32 million when Obama began. He added about 10 million with his grandiose hope and change. I see the change, but there is no hope.

x–The world apologist in chief apologized for experiments that infected Guatemalans with STDs more than 60 years ago.

x–At a time when we need to encourage energy production, Obama's Interior Department is poised to begin a  detailed environmental studies before granting drilling permits, thus making it harder for us to get oil. Yet the very same wells it denies the USA, it does grant to other countries.

x–BP spill investigators say the Obama administration was either lying or incompetent.

x–Oh, yes, and don't forget that Obama expects us to believe that $50 billion more in stimulus money would "jump-start" the economy, when $868 billion hasn't.

Townhall, David Limbaugh
 

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Hopeless in America

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October 7, 2010 at 7:42 amCategory:Health Care | Marxism | Obama

Larry ElderObamalism: a political/social/economic philosophy that combines socialism, collectivism and redistribution of your money wrapped around a killer smile.

Welcome, Mr. President, to your new reality. One, BTW, you did not inherit. One that you created. One that We, The People reject.

Despite Obama's defiant assertion that he would rather be a "really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," he seems to be ready to cave, just like Clinton.

Angry voters are fed up with a left-wing, job-killing, anti-business agenda. In every demographic — racial, gender, age, ideological affiliation — Obama's popularity is down.

Blaming Bush no longer works. Obama indeed inherited a sluggish economy, with a large debt and deficit. His solution? Increase both!

Obama did not inherit the $800 billion-plus "stimulus" plan or various subsequent ones.

Obama did not inherit a "sweeping" financial regulation of Wall Street that leaves in place Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Community Reinvestment Act, the primary cause of the housing meltdown.

Obama did not inherit government takeovers of the automotive companies. He did that.

Obama did not inherit a massive "green jobs" initiative, in which private companies refused to invest. Yet Obama is taking your money and doing exactly that.

Obama did not inherit ObamaCare, a monstrosity that even he no longer claims will "bend the cost curve." Instead he forced this upon us. It adds 30 million Americans to the ranks of the insured, will decrease the number of doctors, and put beaurocrats in charge of your health care to the point of telling you what drugs and procedures you may and may not have. He ignored obvious measures to improve accessibility and affordability, like allowing us to pick from insurers across state lines.

With the arrogance of a community organizer for whom "profit" is a four-letter word, Obama expected merely to wave his hope-and-change wand and — voila! — companies would continue to operate as they did before. They would make no adjustments to reflect the new costs imposed on them.

Large insurers recently announced large premium increases. They are dropping certain policies, like those for children only, because ObamaCare requires the acceptance of those with pre-existing illnesses. When insurance companies announced increased costs and/or reductions in policies, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius summoned her inner Fidel Castro: "There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases." No wonder they kept Gitmo open; health care dissidents have to be "re-educated" somewhere.

Obama said: "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what." But employers are now asking for larger copays or offering more restrictive plans. Some will drop them altogether and pay the fine.

Several states filed lawsuits to declare unconstitutional ObamaCare's mandate that every American man, woman and child have health insurance. With a four-conservative/four-liberal/one-swing-vote Supreme Court, the mandate could be struck down for violating the commerce clause. No mandate, no ObamaCare.

It's been one quite expensive and, to an unknown degree, irreversible teachable moment. As for Obama, he doesn't get it. Leftists seldom do. But for most voters, the fog has lifted.

Obamalism does not work.

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The Obama War on Israel

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September 11, 2010 at 5:50 pmCategory:Islamo-Facism | Obama

Obama at Arab fund raiser
The Obamas at an Arab fund-raiser

 

Today is the 9th anniversary of 9/11. We should clearly see that the Israelis are our only ally in the region and consequently, we must support them here at home.

 

As Israeli and Palestinian peace talks resumed in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Palestinian recognition of Israel as the Jewish homeland is an essential condition for peace. Completely reasonable, but don't hold your breath, especially with the Obama administration's attitude toward Israel.

Can you believe we're even having a discussion about Israel's right to the land six-plus decades and numerous wars after the modern Israeli state was restored to the Jews?

It's bad enough when misfit countries oppose Israel's right to existence and always demonize Israel while downplaying the Palestinians' misdeeds, but it's shocking and disturbing when the president of the United States abuses our greatest ally in the Mideast.

It's mystifying that so many Jewish people in America have been so tolerant of Obama's behavior toward Israel, almost as if in denial, but what more evidence do we need?

Obama is an anti-Semite, anti Jewish. Check this –

Obama's official campaign website, Organizing for America, allowed a post entitled "How the Jewish Lobby Works."  Yup, let's blame it all on the Jews.

The post said: "No lobby is feared more or catered to by politicians than the Jewish Lobby. If a politician does not play ball with the Jewish Lobby, he will not get elected, or re-elected, and he will either be smeared or ignored by the Jewish-owned major media." NewsBusters cited numerous other links to similar anti-Jewish posts on the website, showing this was not an isolated event.

Remember the 20 years with Rev. Wright's anti-Jewish rants.
 
Hillary Clinton denounced Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza while ignoring the many Palestinian sins against Israel.

Obama demands that Israel negotiate with Syria — a primary sponsor of Hezbollah — just two days after Syrian foreign minister Walid Mueller praised a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling Israel "the most cruel and repressive racist regime."

Obama made us return to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which the Bush administration had left nine months before because the council had incessantly condemned Israel while ignoring the abuses of Mideast dictatorships.

Obama snubbed Netanyahu and announced he would discontinue the established practice of hosting Israeli prime ministers when they are in Washington.

Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, adopted the controversial 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which called for Israel to withdraw from east Jerusalem, the entire West Bank and Golan Heights and also for Israel to accept the influx of millions of foreign Arabs as Israeli citizens as part of the "right of return." Mideast expert Caroline Glick says this would mean "Israel would effectively cease to be a Jewish state."

Vice President Biden engaged in a public temper tantrum and harshly "condemned" Israel for not bowing to the administration's demands.

So, how can Senator Obama be pro-Israel and have so many anti-Israel buddies? Well, one prominent Palestinian-American will tell you that Obama is hiding his true feelings toward the Jewish State.

Ali Abunimah is a pro-Arab journalist and founder of the Electronic Intifada website. He will tell you that Senator Obama is full of crap when he says that he is pro-Israel: "If disappointing, given his historically close relations to Palestinian-Americans, Obama's about-face is not surprising. He is merely doing what he thinks is necessary to get elected."

It all boils down to the destruction of Israel, and that is the wagon Obama has hitched his star to.

Everyone, not just American Jews, needs to wake up.

D Limbaugh, Townhall
 

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