A Letter from Michelle Obama

I'm honored to have received this letter from the First Lady, a couple of weeks ago:

Dear Chris,

For only the second time in my adult life, I am not ashamed of my country. I want to thank the hard working American people for paying $242 thousand dollars for my vacation in Spain . My daughter Sasha, several long-time family friends, my personal staff and various guests had a wonderful time. Honestly, you just haven't lived until you have stayed in a $2,500.00 per night suite at a 5-Star luxury hotel. Thank you also for the use of Air Force 2 and the 70 Secret Service personnel who tagged along to be sure we were safe and cared for at all times.

Air Force 2 only used 47,500 gallons of jet fuel for this trip and carbon emissions were a mere 1,031 tons of CO2. These are only rough estimates, but they are close. That's quite a carbon footprint as my good friend Al Gore would say, so we must ask the American citizens to drive smaller, more fuel efficient cars and drive less too, so we can lessen our combined carbon footprint.

I know times are hard and millions of you are struggling to put food on the table and trying to make ends meet. I do appreciate your sacrifice and do hope you find work soon. I was really exhausted after Barrack took our family on a luxury vacation in Maine a few weeks ago. I just had to get away for a few days.

Cordially,
Michelle Obama

P.S. Thank you as well for the $2 Billion trip to India we are currently on! Love ya, mean it.

Is a Severe Recession Obama's Plan for 2012?

If you thought we barely passed through a bad recession, then wait for 2011. The huge tax increases that will occur when the tax cuts of 2002-2004 expire will deal a severe blow to our economy, which could send us into a much severe recession that the one we didn't even recover from.

Despite all the lies that come out of Obama's mouth (and I'm shocked at how he can keep a straight face while telling them), small businesses will suffer a deadly hit after January 1st. As you can read in today's Wall Street Journal, 48% of small business income will see a tax rate increase from 35% to 40.8%. That's a 5.8 tax rate increase, or more precisely, a 16% increase in the tax liability. At the end of 2011, as a small business owner, you should be happy to still be in business.

Now consider the fact that the GOP will take over the House (according to a study published by the Huffington Post, there's a 79% chance of that happening). Also, the GOP is very close to also getting the Senate. According to the RCP averages, Republicans will win 8 seats. That leaves them to win 2 of the other 3 competitive races (Wisconsin, California and Nevada), which is very probable.

So what's gonna happen? Republicans will control the full Congress, Obama will prevent them from passing any relief measures, and will blame the recession that he engineered on an inept GOP Congress. Then he will run on this in 2012. It seems like the only thing that could still save him, given the total support from the media.

Oil Drilling - What's Next?

The BP oil spill has already been covered by every possible media outlet, but there's still debate over what's next. First of all, the moratorium on new drilling is idiotic. It's like banning all commercial flights after a plane crash. Yes, BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and created all this disaster, but that doesn't mean that all BP rigs will explode, or that all the other oil companies (as well as their employees and mutual funds that own their stocks) should be punished. Today, a federal judge rightfully struck down the drilling moratorium.

We keep hearing about how we must stop our dependence on foreign oil - you can only reduce reliance on foreign oil by extracting domestic oil! Which brings us to the question that a lot of people are asking - why are we drilling a mile deep under the sea in the first place? The answer is very obvious - because of environmentalist and clueless politicians. It's much easier and more economically efficient to drill in shallow waters or on land (like in Alaska), plus there were no major accidents and no environmental disasters EVER resulting from shallow water or land drilling. But our federal Government has put all obstacles against that kind of oil exploration, so we can only drill where anyone is legally allowed to (including the Chinese and Russians) - a few miles farther off-shore in deep waters.

As blogger Art Gallagher found out, one of the reasons we're drilling at a mile deep is the Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (DWRRA) of 1995. And this is where our local "shore" Congressman Frank Pallone comes into play. He voted for DWRRA in 1995. Also, it's known by now that BP reported cracks in the sea floor as far back as February (2 months before the explosion), and the administration was informed. Among the responsible parties that were informed is the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, that Frank Pallone is a member of! Now Pallone is bragging about how much he cares about the Gulf, after he was part of the reason BP had to drill so dangerously, and he ignored all warnings because he was too busy with PalloneCare (aka ObamaCare, but he's an author of that bill too!)

So did anyone call Pallone on all this stuff? Of course, and that was his opponent Anna Little who said:

"The recent news that our federal government knew of serious problems with BP’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico as early as February, two months before the explosion that killed 11 people, caused billions of dollars in economic turmoil and unimaginable environmental damage is appalling. As a senior member of the congressional committee with oversight jurisdiction of these operations, Frank Pallone is culpable. It is appalling that our government, through the Minerals and Mining Service and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce could have and should have prevented this disaster, yet did nothing."

Little also said today at a campaign meeting that "All this happened on Pallone's watch, and now we need someone new in Congress to fix it." Let's hope there will be some change in Congress this November, before we go further down the Slippery Slope To Tyranny, as Thomas Sowell has called the Obama's administration's recent actions.

My Thoughts on the State of the Union

By now I bet you've probably read everything you wanted to hear about the State of the Union speech, but if you want my take on it, here it goes. Personally, I was a bit confused, because the TOTUS (Teleprompter Of The United States) kept switching between being an ignorant idiot, and an outright liar. So here's my play-by-play of just the SOTU's highlights:

I hear about them in the letters that I read each night. The toughest to read are those written by children, asking why they have to move from their home, asking when their mom or dad will be able to go back to work.
You can just answer that it's your Administration's economic policies that discourage businesses from hiring their parents.

They don't understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded, but hard work on Main Street isn't.
It's because the Administration was more interested in bailing out Wall Street than in giving tax cuts for Main Street.

It's time the American people get a government that matches their decency, that embodies their strength.
Yes, we'll start doing this in November 2010, and finish in 2012.

And if there's one thing that has unified Democrats and Republicans -- and everybody in between -- it's that we all hated the bank bailout. I hated it.
But you voted for it.

And if we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today.
No, mister President, you said that if you don't bail them out, unemployment would go over 8%. Well, you had your way, and unemployment is still at 10.2%. So much for your labor market forecasts...

Now, I know Wall Street isn't keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.
They already paid back, with confiscatory interests rates and fines, which almost bankrupted some smaller banks.

...and passed 25 different tax cuts. Now, let me repeat: We cut taxes. We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families. We cut taxes for small businesses.
WHAT???? Are you mocking us, Mr. President? Is the teleprompter playing a prank on you??

Now, because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed.
Really? Which ones? Last time I checked, there were about 2 million more American out of work since you took office.

And we're on track to add another 1.5 million jobs to this total by the end of the year.
And probably 1.5 million others will lose your jobs because of your policies.

But government can create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and hire more workers.
Hint: The only thing Government can do to help businesses expand and hire more people is by reducing regulations and cutting taxes.

... and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient
You mean, if my neighbor wants an energy efficient appliance, I should pay for it??

And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas
What?? Is there a tax break if I outsource a job off-shore? How do I get it? Can you give me some specifics?

We can't afford another so-called economic "expansion" like the one from last decade, what some call the "lost decade," where jobs grew more slowly than during any prior expansion, where the income of the average American household declined.
First of all, in the last decade we had the longest period of jobs growth in our entire history. Second, stop using "household"-related statistics, because household sizes is decreasing. Why don't you use simple reference points like "per capita"? Oh, because that income is growing and it doesn't help your populist tirade?

You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China's not waiting to revamp its economy; Germany's not waiting; India's not waiting.
Yes, you're right, they're lowering business and corporate taxes. China is drilling for oil 90 miles from Florida, while you don't let us do it.

You can see the results of last year's investments in clean energy in the [...] California business that will put 1,000 people to work making solar panels.
...Which no one is buying, because if there would be a demand for that, you'll have a lot of businesses building them without any help from the Government.

But to create more of these clean-energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives, and that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.
Now he's joking again, right? Democrats have been opposing nuclear and oil refineries for DECADES. Do you have any idea when the last nuclear plant or oil refinery was built in the United States??

And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.
Now back to the previous affirmation, will you be fair and provide the exact same incentives to clean energy AND to nuclear and oil drilling businesses?

I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.
Yes, for example yourself, Mr. President, seem to disagree with the overwhelming evidence that global warming is a hoax.

So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support 2 million jobs in America.
Oh man, did I just hear that? It reminds me of communist Romania, when the Great Leader would decide that we'll double production over 5 years, and then tell us it happened after only 4 years, although there was no factual support for that?

And let's tell another 1 million students that, when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years, and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.
Did the Obamination really say that? So taxpayers are supposed to subsidize people who want to work for the Government? As if we don't support a bureaucracy that's already way too big and expensive? Listen Obozo. People shouldn't go bankrupt because they went to college. They should go to college because they expect better opportunities (which doesn't include a dead-end do-nothing Government job). And if they think it's not worth it, then nobody's forcing them to go to college, if not going to college will make you better off financially.

And by the way, I want to acknowledge our first lady, Michelle Obama, who this year is creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make kids healthier. Thank you, honey. She gets embarrassed.
Obesity is not a disease, therefore it's not an epidemic, and taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for other people's bad choices. And by the way, is it me, or did Michelle have the same look on her face that Hillary used to have when Bill was cheating on her?

And according to the Congressional Budget Office, the independent organization that both parties have cited as the official scorekeeper for Congress, our approach would bring down the deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades.
So this will cost us $1 trillion per year, but will save us $50 billions every year? Is that what you're saying?

Still, this is a complex issue. And the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became. I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people.
Now he's telling us we're stupid.

As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we've proposed. What??? Did global warming just stop??

But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.
OK, there you go:
- bring down premiums: allow competition across state lines
- bring down the deficit: the deficit is a Government thing, so just jeep the Government out of this altogether
- cover the uninsured: which ones? Poor people: they're covered by Medicaid; Illegals: send them home; People who choose not to get insurance: well, I thought you're pro-choice
- stop insurance company abuses: Reduce regulations so companies don't need to find ways to go around them

So let me start the discussion of government spending by setting the record straight. At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion.
Oh my... Here it goes again. THERE WAS NO BUDGET SURPLUS. THAT WAS AN ACCOUNTING GIMMICK. THE DEBT STILL WENT UP DURING THOSE YEARS.

By -- by the time I took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program.
So why $8 trillions over 10 years? Meaning $800 billions per year? With two wars, two tax cuts and the expensive prescription drug program, Bush kept the deficit around $3-400 billions. I understand you'll stop the wars, increase taxes and kill the elderly, so why is your deficit doubling or even tripling?

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will not be affected, but all other discretionary government programs will. We will continue to go through the budget line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.
Now he's mocking us again. So he'll keep spending trillion after trillion on his pet projects but thank God he's saving us $20 billions! Can you believe him?? It's like ordering 2 supersize double cheeseburgers with large fries - and a diet coke.

That's what I came to Washington to do. That's why, for the first time in history, my administration posts our White House visitors online.
Yes, I've seen those two visitors online - on YouTube mocking your White House security.

That's why we've excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions.
Are you lying in our face? Your Administration is filled with lobbyists! From the Attorney General to almost everybody in the Treasury Department, the Secretary of Agriculture, and tons of czars and other jobs!

Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single Web site before there's a vote so that the American people can see how their money is being spent.
Would it be the same website which showed thousands of jobs created in districts that don't exist?

But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day.
You're dam' right! So please stop acting like you're still campaigning! Mr. President, you gave 400 speeches in your first year, don't you think it's a tad too much??

The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn't be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators.
Are you referring to months of filibustering of Judge Sam Alito? Or to the dozen federal judgeships that were open for 8 years because they couldn't get to an up-or-down vote in the Senate?

I'd like to begin monthly meetings with both Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can't wait.
Ah! Now you have to do it! For one year you never had at least ONE meeting with the Republican leadership, because you didn't think it necessary, with a large majority in the House and supermajority in the Senate. But now that Scott Brown won, you'll have to do it!

I know that all of us love this country.
No kidding. "Us"? YOU really love this country? Then why do you keep apologizing for it everywhere you go. It's like saying you love your wife, but everytime you'd meet a stranger you'd say sorry that she's fat, sorry that she speaks too much, sorry that she doesn't clean the house. That's not love, Mr. President!

As a candidate, I promised that I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as president.
What exactly do you mean by "end this war"? In my view, you "win" a war, or "lose" a war, that's how it ends. So, can you clarify? Because sorry, but I don't understand this concept of "ending a war".

I've embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan [...]
Hahahahahahahahahohohohohohohohihihihihihi

And at April's Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring 44 nations together here in Washington, D.C., behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists.
So let's hear, what's the plan on getting Iran ad North Korea on this deal?

And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: They, too, will face growing consequences. That is a promise.
Yo yo yo. What did you say? Is that a threat? Whatchu gonna do, huh? Will you post something on their Facebook? Will you throw Michelle's purse at Ahmadinejad next time you see him at the UN?

Every day, Americans meet their responsibilities to their families and their employers. Time and again, they lend a hand to their neighbors and give back to their country.
Harry Reid is yawning. Janet Napolitano is dozing off.

I campaigned on the promise of change, change we can believe in, the slogan went.
I was playing Modern Warfare 2 the other day and I was imagining a secret operation with a commando unit that would infiltrate the White House basement and neutralize the teleprompter' power generator. Can you imagine that? I can see the President remaining limp like a zombie... or like those drones from Attack of the Clones.

Unfortunately, too many of our citizens have lost faith that our biggest institutions -- our corporations, our media
Oh, that's how you explain the tanking ratings of CNN, or the fact that MSNBC has fewer viewers than the fishing shows on Versus?

We don't quit. I don't quit.
No worries. We'll vote you out.

Obama Encouraging More Irresponsible Behaviour

In a meeting with bankers today, Obama implored top bankers to increase lending.

So after a recession caused by a credit crisis created by easy money, foreclosures and other loan defaults, how can this ignorant idiot keep a straight face while telling banks: "You gotta lower your lending standards even more, guys".

Stimulus is Working in NJ

The Obama administration set up a website, Recovery.gov, to track stimulus spending throughout the country, and its results, especially the numbers of jobs saved. It's an extensive operation, financed with about $84 millions, and it's almost a real-time aggregation of various data, sortable by zip codes, congressional districts, industries, etc.

I looked at the New Jersey page, and the data is very encouraging. 384 jobs were saved in the 40th congressional district! 3 millions spent in the 17th district! That's great news!! There's only one problem. New Jersey only has 13 congressional districts. So what's going on here? Is it a programming error, or a way to hide spending?? Obama's website shows that $5,637,012 has been spent in the 15th district, and $7,095,859 more in the 0th district. Wouldn't that be called "money laundering"??

Despite this data being publicized in recent days (it applies to almost every state), there was no official explanation from the White House, and no attempts to fix it.

Meet DeMaurice Smith, the New Football Czar

I think not too many people are aware that the director of the NFL Players Association is for the first time not a player, but DC attorney and Obama friend DeMaurice Smith. So indeed we now have an NFL Czar. The players union, last led by Gene Upshaw, has always been directed by players, until this political appointment. DeMaurice Smith worked for Washington lobbyists, for Eric Holder's DOJ, and was a part of Obama's transition team. Last year, he contributed $3,300 to Obama's campaign.

FYI, he was the one who opposed Rush Limbaugh's involvement with the St Louis Rams. The players contract expires next year, and DeMaurice Smith threatened with a strike in case Limbaugh is allowed to invest in the Rams.

Protesting Obama and Corzine at FDU

Yesterday, on Oct 21st, Obama made his second visit to NJ to endorse Jon Corzine for Governor... A national failure coming to endorse a local failure. Like last time, at the PNC Arts Center, a few groups came to protest both guys, although now it was more focused on Corzine.

I hooked up with a few College Republicans coming from all over the state and we met at BCRO, which was impressive, a huge HQ with dozens of phones, lots of space for meetings, and tons of volunteers working. After we got about 15 people, we drove as close to FDU as we could - which was right across the road. Our "mascot" was George dressed up as a chicken. The Chicken had two meanings... one was that he was representing Corzine, who chickened out of disclosing his campaign contributions, one was that he was holding up a sign saying "Cluck-U Corzine!"

Me and the one, the only, the Chicken!

As we were looking for a place for our protest, we first passed by a group of people with "Support our Troops" signs. I insisted there's something fishy, but we ended up stopping to talk to them. First of all, they told us not to take their pictures. Why? Because we are fascists. Actually, they called me fascist about 4-5 times (or was it 7?). I asked why and they couldn't say, they just told me I'm a fascist, that's all. One lady pointed to my sign, and said "that's why". My sign read "Obama, welcome to Corzine's retirement party". I tried to find out what was fascist about it, but still no answer. We suggested that support for the troops is a bipartisan issue, but they said it's not, because we are fascists. They asked us to take OUR picture, so they can show the press what kind of fascists Chris Christie is sending. To make things clear, I was aware of that group, it's some kind of far-left communists, the kind that think Obama is a right-wing nut. And they all looked like the hippies protesting the war in the 60s, only that they haven't shaved, bathed or changed clothes ever since. The next group we saw were the ubiquitous Lyndon La Rouch freaks. What can be weirder than a group of black guys holding up a big poster of Obama as Hitler?

Finally, the biggest group were our tea party friends, mostly from the Hackensack area, about 30-40 of them, with the usual anti-socialist, pro-freedom signs and the yellow flags. We joined forces with them for the rest of the day, and more and more people joined us on the corner of the access road into FDU. The College Republicans put up a fun protest, with music and dancing (by the Chicken, of course). They had bullhorns, so we could chant pretty loud, favorite chants being "Two more weeks", "Bye Bye Corzine", "Goldman Sachs / Take him back", and of course the "Na-na-na-nah, hey-hey-hey good bye!".

The Chicken Dance

Most of the cars apssing by were honking, and waving at us in support. There were about 3 cars that shouted obscenities at us and interestingly enough, all 3 of them were Priuses. But we had fun, and many others, young and old joined us for about 2 hours. Even some EMT guys who were standing nearby came to us to take pictures. At one point, a Hackensack police officer came to us and told us city ordinances prohibit the use of bullhorns, and asked us not to use them anymore. We asked if being dressed as a chicken is against any ordinance, and he said that no, it's hysterical, and he would take a picture with us if he weren't in uniform.




Around 5:30, all traffic was stopped and it became eerily quiet (good occasions for us to chant our slogans). After a few minutes, we realized that the POTUS would take another access road into FDU, and we all marched to the next corner. Lot more people joined us, mostly workers from the nearby stores. The motorcade showed up, and from his limo I'm sure Obama saw us and heard us, since we were shouting as loud as we could. And then he went in, and he addressed the bused-in union members telling them how great Corzine is, and that if we want him to continue his failed policies, we should vote him again.

Tea partiers lined up to wait for the President

Lyndon LaRouche freaks

I didn't go to many anti-Obama protests, but this was definitely the best. The College Republicans (the best party on campus) put up a good show, and although I know this doesn't accomplish anything, it's a way of showing people and the media that not everybody is in awe of the Messiah, and more and more Americans disagree with him.

Lord Monckton's Warning on the New Climate Treaty

Last week, Lord Christopher Monckton gave a very dire warning about the new upcoming climate treaty. Lord Monckton is a British scientist, former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, who unsuccessfully challenged Al Gore to a debate on global warming, and got a British court to acknowledge 9 factual errors in Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth.

This is the full speech Lord Monckton gave in St Paul, MN, on Oct. 14th:

At Copenhagen, this December, weeks away, a treaty will be signed — Your president will sign it. Most of the third-world countries will sign it because they think they’re going to get money out of it. Most of the left-wing regimes around the world, like the European Union, will rubber-stamp it. Virtually nobody won’t sign it.

I have read that treaty and what it says is this: That a world government is going to be created. The word, government, actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity.

The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to third-world countries in satisfaction of what is called, coyly, a ‘climate debt,’ because we’ve been burning CO2 and they haven’t and we’ve been screwing up the climate. We haven’t been screwing up the climate, but that’s the line.

And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement.

How many of you think that the word election or democracy or vote or ballot occurs anywhere in the 200 pages of that treaty? Quite right. It doesn’t appear once.

So, at last, the communists who piled out of the Berlin Wall and into the environmental movement and took over Greenpeace so that my friends who founded it left within a year because they’d captured it. Now the apotheosis is at hand.

They are about to impose a communist world government on the world. You have a president who has very strong sympathies with that point of view. He’s going to sign. He’ll sign anything. He’s a Nobel Peace Laureate. Of course, he’ll sign it.

And the trouble is this: If that treaty is signed, your Constitution says that it takes precedence over your Constitution. And you can’t resile from that treaty unless you get the agreement from all the other states, parties. And because you’ll be the biggest paying country, they’re not going to let you out.”

So thank you America. You were the beacon of freedom to the world. It is a privilege merely to stand on this soil of freedom while it is still free. But, in the next few weeks, unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy and your prosperity away forever and neither you nor any subsequent government you may elect will have any power whatsoever to take it back again.

That is how serious it is. I have read the treaty. I have seen the stuff about government and climate debt and enforcement. They are going to do this to you whether you like it or no.

But I think it is here, here in your great nation which I so love and I so admire. It is here that, perhaps — at this 11th hour, at the 59th minute and 59th second — you will rise up and you will stop your president from signing that dreadful treaty. That purposeless treaty for there is no trouble with the climate — and even if there were, economically speaking, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

So I end by saying to you the words that Winston Churchill addressed to your president in the darkest hour before the dawn of freedom in the Second World War. He quoted from your great poet, Longfellow: “Sail on, oh Ship of State. Sail on, oh Union, strong and great. Humanity, with all it’s fears, with all the hopes of future years, is hanging, breathless, on thy fate.” Thank you.

Obama's Czars

This guy compiled a comprehensive list of Obama's czars, with salaries, biographies, responsibilities, etc. A great reference tool.

I gotta get back to my history book and refresh my memory on what happened to the last dynasty of Czars.

Obama Chose the Blue Pill

So Obama said we should choose the blue pill instead of the red pill. For people who haven't seen The Matrix, the red pill makes you see the reality, while the blue pill keeps you living in a world of illusions. Neo picked the red pill. Cypher chose the blue pill, like Obama, stating that "ignorance is bliss"

Here's a video that explains the symbolism:

Stimulus at Work: Best of Pork

I'm not even sure if unbelievable is an appropriate word. Just look at this list, from Obama's website, of stimulus contracts recently awarded:

$2,531,600 FOR 'HAM, WATER ADDED, COOKED, FROZEN, SLICED, 2-LB'
$1,191,200 FOR '2 POUND FROZEN HAM SLICED'
$351,807 FOR 'REPLACE AND UPGRADE THE DUMBWAITER'
$1,562,568 FOR 'MOZZARELLA CHEESE'
$5,708,260 FOR 'PROCESS CHEESE'
$16,784,272 FOR 'CANNED PORK'
$1,444,100 FOR 'REPAIR DOOR BLDG 5112'

The Obama/Corzine Protest

Hah, this is my first protest since the early 90's in Romania. It was a fun day at the park, and probably the first political event I went to this year where I actually felt old. 90% of the protesters were college kids, so it was a cool atmosphere. We met at the Holmdel Park, and right when we were ready to start marching, someone brought us some passes and we drove to the official parking lot. There we "commandeered" about 3 shuttle buses, so we got bused in on Corzine's expense. It was funny how on our bus also go 3 Obamaniacs, and otherwise it was all College Republicans, so they might've felt quite awkward.



We regrouped on the big lawn in fron of the entrance, and the Dems were very polite, they didn't shoul at us, actually they all seemed mostly surprised and confused. As if they couldn't concieve that there are people who don't like their chosen one, and they even dared come on their turf. After spending some time there, the state troopers starting gathering around, and told us the Obama rally is a "no-free-speech" zone (they used different words, actually), so we started walking slowly through the stunned crowds. There were different groups of protesters moving around, with anti-Corzine, anti-socialism signs, or with the yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flags, when we were together I'd say we were almost 100 people.





Next stop was by the VIP entrance, but after a while the state troopers came again and told us we're blocking the walkway. Even better, apparently they had set up a "designated protest area", which was way back in the woods, a mile from the ArtsCenter. They wer enever physically violent, but they were verbally agressive, up until the Asbury Park Press came and started taking pictures of them, so they offered a compromise: we can stay there, but we can't block the walkway. Actually, we spent the next half hour talking to various reporters from all the local news outlets and posing for their cameras.




After the 5 (five) "Marine One" helicopters flew over, we moved back to the main road, waiting for the Big O, but he never came, so once we heard commotion inside the arena we figured he sneaked through. On my way back through the back roads, I actually figured out the secret access way, we went around on Holland and Telegraph Hill road, and used the back entrance behind the big satelite dishes.




It was a very peaceful protest, nothing spectacular, and it's great we showed his irrational fans that there still are people in this country who don't like him and who believe in "free speech".

UPDATE 2: Obama/Corzine Protest, July 16

Well, since the Holmdel HS idea is off, we go to than G (or is it H?)

Meet at Holmdel Park at 1pm, and then march the 1.5mi to the PNC ArtsCenter. They won't close Holmdel Park, unless they move to closing the entire Monmouth County.

UPDATE: Obama/Corzine Protest on July 16

So tomorrow Obama and Corzine are coming here and we have to give them a warm Monmouth County welcome! The previous protest plans have been foiled by road restrictions and fences, so here is the current plan (should be already Plan D or E):

We will meet in the parking lot of the Holmdel HS.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=40.388005,-74.176254&spn=0.015723,0.038581&t=h&z=15

It's at the bottom where the football/baseball fields are. We get on that E W Road, past that parking lot where the Obamaniacs will park anyway, and go to the main area... keeping quiet until we get there. It's about 0.7mi.

Obama will arrive at 3:15pm, they advise people to come at 1:00pm so let's meet around 1pm and prepare to march to the ArtsCenter. Directions to the HS are:
- Exit 114N, left on Red Hill Rd / 114S, right on Red Hill Rd
- Right on Crawford Corner Rd
- 2nd light, right into the HS parking lot. We should meet as far in the back as possible (closest to the access road)

Classroom Explanation of Obama's Socialist Plans

I received this story today, it's a fable, but a great explanation of Obama's socialism plans would never work (besides the fact that over a dozen countries have tried it for 50+ years, and they all failed).

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

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That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D!
No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Obama/Corzine Show Coming to Monmouth County

For fear of massive protests at Rutgers, the organizers moved the Obama/Corzine rally to the PNC ArtsCenter in Holmdel. It will happen on July 16th, around noon time. Compared to the open spaces at Rutgers, the arena is gated, and traffic from the highway is very easy to control.

But I still hope the protest organizers will come out with some idea. As Politicker stated:

The relocation places the president, governor and their minions squarely in the auspices of the very Republican 13th District for a few hours.

Ann Coulter on Obama, Iran and the Middle East

This has to be one of Ann Coulter's best recent articles: Welcome Back, Carter!
A few excerpts:

Obama bravely told the Cairo audience that 9/11 was a very nasty thing for Muslims to do to us, but on the other hand, they are victims of colonization. Except we didn't colonize them. The French and the British did.

In another sharks-to-kittens comparison, Obama said, "Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam." No, he said, "the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life." So on one hand, 12-year-old girls are stoned to death for the crime of being raped in Muslim countries. But on the other hand, we still don't have enough female firefighters here in America.

Obama also said that it was unfair that "some countries have weapons that others do not" and proclaimed that "any nation -- including Iran -- should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." Wait -- how about us? If a fanatical holocaust denier with messianic delusions can have nuclear power, can't the U.S. at least build one nuclear power plant every 30 years?

But back to Iran, what precisely do Iranians need nuclear power for, again? They're not exactly a manufacturing powerhouse. Iran is a primitive nation in the middle of a desert that happens to sit on top of a large percentage of the world's oil and gas reserves. That's not enough oil and gas to run household fans?

Walter Williams: Empathy vs Law (on Justice in Court and in Football)

Walter Williams' editorial on delivering justice on the football field and in the Supreme Court is right on point, and may clarify the situation for those who still don't understand why Obama's choice is outrageous. Williams says:

President Obama's articulated criteria for his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court is: "We need somebody who's got the heart to recognize -- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, seven AFC championships and hosted 10 conference games. No other AFC or NFC team can match this record. By contrast, the Arizona Cardinals' last championship victory was in 1947 when they were based in Chicago. In anyone's book, this is a gross disparity. Should the referees have the empathy to understand what it's like to be a perennial loser and what would you think of a referee whose decisions were guided by his empathy? Suppose a referee, in the name of compensatory justice, stringently applied pass interference or roughing the passer violations against the Steelers and less stringently against the Cardinals. Or, would you support a referee who refused to make offensive pass interference calls because he thought it was a silly rule? You'd probably remind him that the league makes the rules, not referees.

I'm betting that most people would agree that football justice requires that referees apply the rules blindly and independent of the records or any other characteristic of the two teams. Moreover, I believe that most people would agree that referees should evenly apply the rules of the games even if they personally disagreed with some of the rules.

The relationship between Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Constitution should be identical to that of referees and football rules. The status of a person appearing before the court should have absolutely nothing to do with the rendering of decisions. That's why Lady Justice, often appearing on court buildings, is shown wearing a blindfold. It is to indicate that justice should be meted out impartially, regardless of identity, power or weakness.

Great Speeches of Our Enlightened Leader, BH Obama

Everybody knows by now that Obama is the best speaker of our lifetime. His words always inspire us, even if nobody can remember what he said.

Here is a selection of some of his best speeches, 100 days into his glorious Presidency: