Questioning Obama...............WHEN??

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America ’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government can not pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.  Increasing America ’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.

Americans deserve better.”

SENATOR BARACK H. OBAMA, MARCH, 2006

Don't bother to Google...he did say this.    I'm wondering if anybody in the media missed it, or is that they just can't admit he said it?   Or don't want YOU to know he said it.  sad.

z

Germans are sending these around.......

A friend in Germany just sent these and more photos with captions on them so I asked him if Germany's losing its fervor for Obama; His response was "yes, of course. The enthusiastic behavior is over. All my contacts and business partners have been more than critical. same as I, from the beginning of his presidency."  Something we don't hear too often from any media....

Geithner's cell phone!? You'll enjoy Rich's column today...please take the time to read it, it's also pretty funny, as usual!

Check out the part in RED...I thought that exact thing but thought "Corruption can't run THAT deep"...apparently, I'm wrong if someone like Rich Galen writes this.




®
An American Cyber-Column
We're Taking Advice from Whom?

Rich Galen Friday July 15, 2011

Let me start by saying American should pay its debts. If the debts are really, really large - that's too bad. We owe the money and we have to pay it. We're the richest, most blessed nation in the history of the world and we have to pay what we owe.

Period.

If I had any clue as to how to come to an agreement between what President Obama can live with and what the Republican freshmen in the House will swallow, I'd be packing for a fun-filled weekend at Camp David.

I don't, so I'm not.

On Wednesday a company known as a ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, weighed in on this debt limit business by putting the whole U.S. of A. on what it calls a "credit watch."

If we slip into the Wayback Machine we will see that S&P along with its partner in crime, Moody's Investor Services, were two of the major players in pretending that all those securitized mortgage instruments that were being bought and sold up until the whole world went broke had "AAA" ratings even though they turned out to have the accumulated value of a bucket of beach sand.

Standard & Poor's either lied about the value of all those mortgages, or it didn't understand how to value them, or it did understand that they were worthless but it (and Moody's) collected fees from the geniuses who almost made our ATM cards as useful as baseball cards in our bicycle spokes.

I think they knew what they were looking at but chose not to share that information with their high-paying clients so those clients - the executives at the big investment banks - could sell those worthless instruments to their pals in London, Frankfort, Paris, and Beijing, collecting enormous fees and buying larger and larger houses in the Hamptons.

If I were in a position to do so, I would haul the heads of Moody's and S&P in front of Congress, make them swear to tell the truth, and ask them if they had any conversations with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner or any of his people prior to issuing this warning.

My strong suspicion is that the White House, looking for leverage, told Geithner to call his buds at Moody's and S&P and get them to issue a warning hoping it would weaken the resolve of Congressional Republicans.

Timothy Geithner, remember, was the Chairman of the New York Fed when everything was collapsing back in 2008. He apparently didn't have any idea that Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and all the others were selling tissue paper and calling it gold bullion based on the ratings of Moody's and S&P.

Naturally, we made him Secretary of the Treasury.

Another actor on the stage this week has been JP Morgan Chase, which also warned about the dire consequences of missing the debt ceiling deadline of August 2.

JP Morgan Chase, bought the investment bank Bear Stearns for about $2 per share after the Federal Reserve (remember that Geithner was New York Fed Chairman) agreed to finance the deal to the tune of $300 billion during the Wall Street panic in the Spring of 2008.

By the way, JP Morgan reported its quarterly earnings this week and - what's this? - its profits rose 13 percent to $5.4 billion up from a paltry $4.8 billion a year ago.

That, in spite of the fact that JP Morgan's chairman, Jamie Dimon warned that the company has"already incurred significant costs, charged-off substantial amounts, and established significant reserves for mortgage-related issues."

I wonder if he means the "mortgage-related issues" that Moody's and Standard & Poor's rated as high-quality, take-them-to-the, er bank, can't-go-wrong "mortgage-related issues."

Nevertheless, with those results JP Morgan's executives, managers, limo drivers, and corporate pilots will all get brand spanking new bonuses. Did I hear President Obama put them in the same list as oil companies and successful authors as organizations which should have their tax loopholes closed?

No? Maybe I was out sick that day.

I say we tax the hell out of anyone who has Timothy Geithner's personal cell phone number. (Z's favorite line in this piece)

I don't think we need Moody's, Standard & Poor's and their masters on Wall Street telling us what is good for us.

We already know that they have been very, very bad for us.

Z:  Rich is smart and watches things closely.........I found particularly interesting the JP Morgan Chase situation and absolutely agree that anybody with Geithner's cell phone should be taxed BIG TIME!
z

Put ME in charge............

Ticker sent this email to me and I wondered what you all thought:

Put me in charge...

Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for
Ding Dongs or Ho Hos, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks
of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and
frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine, and document all tattoos and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo
and speakers and put that money toward the "common good.."

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before  you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem,"
consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for

doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.


AND While you are on Gov't subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Government welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Z: It's a little extreme in some cases, but the thrust of this makes some sense, no?  We all know that not all people can be self reliant and that jobs are tough to find these days, but wasn't part of the problem for some people started years back with complacency and dependence on the Nanny State?
(thanks, Ticker)

Guns in Mexico.....the real story? Another Priscilla's Post

Operation Fast and Furious

If you were in  a position of power, and you wanted to have an aggressive approach towards gun control, how would you attempt to convince the public that, for the benefit of national security, it is essential to have more control over gun ownership?

It is highly probable you would have to have a crisis of weapons availability to foreign criminals who buy these weapons from citizen gun owners or gun shops, and gun shows. Several months ago, that is exactly what we were told by Hillary Clinton, Janet Napolitano and others within, and politicians outside of,  the administration. We were told American guns were finding their way into Mexico and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels and criminals. Something had to be done, given drug running, and increasing criminal gang activity by illegal aliens affects our national security. The “something” was stricter regulations on gun availability here at home.

Now, jump ahead to today. We’re hearing about "Operation Fast and Furious",  "Gunwalker", or "Operation Gunrunner". It has come out that over 1700 hundred weapons were sold by ATF agents to Mexican buyers called straw men, then they went on to drug cartel criminals in Mexico.

Acting ATF Director Melson has come under fire for this project and has testified that he was kept in the dark about the FBI and DEA involvement. It should be noted that Melson was pressured by the DOJ not to testify.

Here’s an excerpt from a letter to AG Eric Holder from Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley regarding an attempt by the DOJ to prohibit Director Melson's cooperation by giving testimony:

“Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress. This is yet another example of why direct communications with Congress are so important and are protected by law as follows; “Specifically, no officer or employee may attempt to prohibit or prevent any other officer or employee of the Federal Government from having direct oral or written communication or contact with any Member, committee, or subcommittee of the Congress”.

In the past, a program like Project Gunrunner required surveillance of said buyers, tracking of these weapons, and resulted in interdiction and retrieval of the weapons. It was a smaller operation, as well. But not this time.

This time, agents were told to, “let them go”. Agents were stunned and some went to their superiors,  with  complaints reporting this should not be done now and had not been done in the past. Essentially, they were told to be quiet and do what they were told.
Melson said ATF agents had witnessed the transfer of weapons from straw purchasers to others "without following the guns any further," contradicting statements by the Justice Department.  The link below is for the Issa, Grassley staff report on Operation Fast and Furious regarding the operation and testimony of ATF agents:

http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2011-06/62372429.pdf   

Ultimately, a border patrol agent was murdered with one of these weapons, as was an ICE special agent. This, I believe, began the unraveling of the project. It ultimately provided the necessity for the DOJ and ATF to indict what is called the “straw” buyers who it turned out were paid informants for the FBI and DEA and had been monitored for months. After agents later testified to Congress, the DOJ issued a directive that prohibited Gunwalking.

What in the past was procedure to interdict the transfer of weapons was given a blind eye, and agents were told not to do that but to let them go. One has to wonder why.  Interestingly, $10,000,000 for ATF Project Gunrunner, was in the stimulus package. One can only wonder what else was funded through the stimulus.

Now we have to ask ourselves why this was done. Why were weapons allowed to remain with Mexican criminals? I believe the administration wanted the weapons sales to be believed as US citizens engaging in illegal gunrunning and that this was a national security issue. This would be presented as a crisis, and "the availability of guns to American citizens must be curtailed".  I’m sure we will hear more of this scandal before it’s over; how high up did this plan and cover-up go?
By Priscilla

Z: Thanks to Pris for this succinct overview of a complicated situation and to Mr. Pris Jr. for his contribution of information.  GeeeZ and its readers really appreciate this.

I want to add here that I saw Leftwinger Bob Beckel on FOX today trying to evade this discussion and he did so with "Why would you ever believe Darryl Issa?"   This was a total ad hominem that makes no sense and has no grounds but got him out of answering a pertinent question that could have damned his hero Obama.   This is what we can expect regarding any subject that exposes Mr. Obama's dealings like the one above;  "kill the messenger, protect THE ONE".    Please, everybody, we may never get this whole story from America's media of today, but ask yourself why when we don't.

Z

BIG win in spite of a sad loss?

Los Angeles - Democratic Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn (Z: Father was a very long  time City Supervisor with huge name recognition, brother is a mayor) today savored her victory over Republican businessman Craig Huey in a special election in the 36th Congressional District.
With all 261 precincts reporting, Hahn had 41,585 votes, 54.56 percent, and Huey 34,636 votes, or 45.44 percent, according to results released by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Tuesday's special election was necessitated by the Feb. 28 resignation of Rep. Jane Harman to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. (Z:  for the record, please note that I have never heard any Democrat criticism of Jane Harman leaving her office early)
Hahn's victory prompted Pat McOsker, the president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles, the union that represents the city's firefighters, to declare his candidacy for Hahn's council seat. It's his first run for public office.
Hahn had represented a council district that stretches from the Port of Los Angeles to Watts since 2001.  Huey owns a direct-mail advertising business and publishes online voter guides for Christians.
Both candidates campaigned heavily on job creation but disagreed about how to stimulate job growth. Hahn said she would push for expanded federal funding to support the clean energy industry and for job training for laid-off workers. Huey argued for lower taxes and reducing federal regulations on
businesses.
Even though Huey spent nearly $800,000 of his own money on the campaign and rallied Tea Party activists and other conservatives to work on his behalf, Hahn had been widely expected to win the race in the predominantly Democratic district.

Democrats in the 36th District -- which includes Marina del Rey, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, El Segundo and portions of West Los Angeles -- hold an 18-point registration advantage over Republicans.

"Voters supported Janice in this election because she is going to fight for California's working families and protect critical initiatives like Medicare," Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement issued in Washington, D.C.

Z: THAT LAST PARAGRAPH IS PURE B.S. (BULL SPIN);  Huey's count of almost 46% in an incredibly Democrat area, a really very liberal district, is astonishing and could bode well for the 2012 national election, particularly considering what Huey ran on.   This is a terrible loss for California, but it's a very, very good sign in the long run.

(now please read the joke below, you'll love it, I promise!)

z

Marine ROCKS :-)

If you can't read any of these small letters, click on each image....you will not be sorry!!  (thanks to Robert for sending me this!)    Fabulous!

Think he ought to have done it?    I DO!! :-)

z

Michelle Obama's splurge

So, Mrs. Obama had a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate malt and it was 1,700 calories.

Do you begrudge her this meal and accuse her of hypocrisy, as some are doing now, or do you think it's good to eat sensibly (as she lectures) and splurge once in a while?
I'm for the latter and think she's taking undeserved heat........YOU?

geeez

Tuck in your shirt...it's the law

What do you think?

I know what too many might say:

It's their RIGHT to keep their shirttails out!

It's insulting and maybe even racist to suspect gang membership!

It's not allowing the kids to show their creativity!

Is all of that "open minded", "superior thinking" worth the safety of our kids?  Got any thoughts?
While most Conservatives don't feel we need a law for every single thing that might go bad, and I'm one of them, that's for sure (no "Nanny State Lover" here), does this seem to fall into that "Nanny State" category or is it a no-brainer that it's not much to ask to keep our kids safe? 
z

Hitler stays, Coulter goes...choice of banned books?

Very interesting video here....kind of sad because I know that those who signed the poster didn't say "No thanks, I believe in free speech, I wouldn't participate in this if my life depended on it." Although, to update my original post here, after having read the blogger who produced this video's site (and you should, too) a few did come back and say they were sorry they signed anything that promoted censorship!  His site's called Rebelpundit...and it's a Chicago Conservative exposing the Chicago media's lack of fairness and balance...you'll like it, I'm sure.

Any thoughts?

z