Our representatives in Washington were in an uproar when they discovered that American Insurance Group (AIG) was awarding executives with large bonuses and holding elaborate conferences and reward trips after receiving bailout funds from the government. Rep. Barney Frank practically lost his flubbering tongue. And the governmental outrage lead to the implementation of new laws and power for the government particularly in the person of the Pay Czar who has oversight over what executives of bailed out companies are paid and whether they can receive bonuses. All this outrage seems fabricated and ironic when considering that the Social Security Administration (SSA) will be following the AIG model this week.
The SSA is spending taxpayer dollars to fly in 700 managers from places as far away as Guam and American Samoa to Arizona for a training seminar. This is no ordinary seminar being held at a conference center. No, this training is being conducted at the five star Biltmore Hotel in Arizona – a hotel that has been dubbed the “Jewell of the Desert”. The Biltmore features:
740 guest accommodations
78 one-and two-bedroom villas
Eight swimming pools
Seven tennis courts
A full-service resort spa, salon and fitness center
Five dining options
All of the rooms have been reserved by the SSA and Peter Spenser who is representing the SSA defended the training saying that this was strictly for training -yeah right, then why are we not using a traditional conference center and hotel – and he claimed that this was not like the seminars conducted recently by AIG because the SSA has not received bailout dollars. That would be correct, but obviously Mr. Spenser seems to have forgotten that the SSA is COMPLETELY FUNDED BY TAXPAYER DOLLARS! That makes this little training exercise all the more outrageous. And when one contemplates that fact that the SSA has almost bankrupted Social Security and wastes billions of dollars every year in overpayments and payments to unqualified people like dead people, the thought that they are wasting more tax dollars living it up on our dime makes one more than outraged.
But wait, the SSA got a great deal and is only paying $100.00 per room a night, so we should be grateful. Look at how well they are doing at saving us money. Really makes me pleased to send them more of my tax dollars.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was interviewed by the New York Times Magazine this weekend and made a comment about Roe v. Wade that has me thinking this woman embraces Progressivism all the way to its eugenics core. Ginsburg claimed that the decision was made in Roe v. Wade because the Supreme Court’s majority had a desire to stall “populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” The question that Ginsburg was asked when she made this unbelievable comment was, “Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?”
Justice Ginsburg’s full response to the question was: ”Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. Frankly, I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have to many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into abortions when they didn’t really want them. But when the Court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong.” The McRae case was a decision that prohibited the use of Medicaid or any federal funds for abortions. The reasoning of Ginsburg seems to be that she thinks the government would want to fund abortions so that poor women could have access to them – not just because she thinks a woman has a right to choose – but because the government thinks babies born to the poor are of a population we do not desire to have grow.
Eugenics is “the study of, or belief in, the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics).” This was a science embraced by the Progressive Movement that started around the time of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. The idea that Wilson and his administration would fund abortions for the poor is very plausible. But would the government at the time that Roe v. Wade was decided embrace eugenics? That would be 1973 and Richard Nixon was president. I hardly think that Nixon would have supported such a notion. So what exactly was Ginsburg trying to say with her comment? Is this possibly something that she would support if it were brought before the Court? Would she support it just so that poor women would have access to abortions or would she have other reasons as well? Keep in mind that Ginsburg during her confirmation hearings supported a stance on abortion that would allow for no state restrictions on abortion. Currently, Roe v. Wade restricts abortion on babies that would be viable outside the womb. Sounds like Ginsburg and Obama share opinions about abortion.
Ginsburg also stated her support of Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court Justice during the interview. A Justice has never before endorsed a nominee to the court. It would seem that this interview puts into question the judgement of Ginsburg – a Supreme Court Justice! If Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed to the Court – which I have no doubt will happen – we can expect much of the same from her as well since she will have the loftier judgement of a latina woman.
The President experienced a very poor reception in Russia from both the leadership and the people of Russia. His speech at a Russian University received a tepid response. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin managed Obama as the foreign policy novice that he is and agreed to none of the provisions that Obama hoped to get agreement on, save for allowing some military and supplies to pass through Russia to Afghanistan. The missile defense shield is still an issue that Russia will not allow and, in fact, has threatened Poland and the United States with retaliation if we proceed with construction. This is enemy talk, not the speech of an alli. Russia still maintains their position on Georgia and would like to take back that “territory” and not allow it to stand as its own country. The President responded by not visiting Georgia on this trip. An obvious act of subservience to Putin.
Then it was off to the G8 Summit which revealed our President to be even more inept than we already knew him to be and proved to be a complete waste of time for the world and our country. How much money did this waste? There was no agreement on climate change which was the President’s main objective. He proceeded this trip by cramming down the throats of the American people the Crap and Tax Bill, which passed the House before he left for Russia. He must know this will hurt America if he has any sense at all and the fact that he is forcing us to agree to these limits while the rest of the world resists is illustrative of exactly what this bill will do to an economy. Emerging and developing economies like India, New Zealand and even China, want nothing to do with this global warming legislation or agreements. None of our allies supported Obama in his climate change efforts. This means that even if this global warming crap was real and not a farce, no matter what America does, there will be no change in greenhouse gases.
So there was no reset of the relationship with Russia as President Medvedev ended the G8 threatening us and acting just as authoritarian. There was no agreement on Iran that would have any substantive effect. No agreement on climate change except a 2050 plan. So despite the fact that our President would like to meddle around the world, oh wait, he does not want to meddle, the world will not let him. He is proving to be an impotent leader and an international joke. The adulation is fading throughout the world. And polls are indicating that his approval in America is dwindling fast. And this trip equaled out to a big zero!
If you are going to be the president of a country, you should at least take some pride in that country. And if you cannot do that, at least educate yourself on history. While our illustrious leader was apologizing for America in Russia, he sat for an interview with Major Garrett of Fox News. I covered some of the comments in an earlier post, but I missed a very important comment that I had not heard previously.
Apparently, Obama did not give America and Ronald Reagan in particular, credit for bringing the Cold War to an end. When Garrett questioned the President on why he did not do this during his speech, the President had this to say (DUCT TAPE ALERT!): “There were a whole bunch of people throughout Eastern Europe who showed enormous courage and I think that it is very important in this part of the world to acknowledge the degree to which people struggled for their own freedom. We don’t have to diminish other people in order to recognize our role in that history.” WHAT!? How about you bother to recognize America at all Barack? I’m done with giving this man the respect of the title he most obviously does not deserve. If these people had fought for their own freedom, Ronald Reagan would not have had to point his finger at a wall in Germany and tell Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”.
Is this man for real? It is so obvious the contempt he holds for our great country. How could the sheeple have put him in charge? Of course, they do not want to believe that he would purposely take down our country, but it seems rather obvious to me every time he leaves this country and reports to the rest of the world how evil and empirical America is and that we have changed with him at the helm and we can all be one happy global utopia.
I could have sworn that a couple of months ago Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State who seems to be more of a figure head with all of Obama’s diplomacy czars, had presented the President of Russia with a gift that was suppose to be a “reset” button on relations. The error of having chosen the wrong Russian word meaning “overcharged” instead of “reset” to engrave on the gift is still the source of a parody I made for the radio show. So the question becomes upon hearing that the President made a speech in Moscow about resetting relations – was this Hillary’s job or his and is he not just repeating a process that supposedly was already started?
The President gave a graduation speech for the New Economic School in Moscow and said, “Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful, and prosperous Russia. That is why I have called for a ‘reset’ in relations between the United States and Russia. This must be more than a fresh start between the Kremlin and the White House, though that is important, it must be a sustained effort among the American and Russian people to identify mutual interests and expand dialogue and cooperation that can pave the way to progress.” Can somebody tell me what in the hell is he talking about? We have to expand our dialogue with the Russian people?! Since when did we have issues with the people of that country or did he miss the part about the Cold War being over? Should I pick up my phone and dial the nearest Russian and discuss our mutual interests? This empty suit is a laughing stock in the international community and the Kool-Aid drinkers cannot see it. If this was George Bush making these diplomatic blunders all over the world, the media would be crucifying him.
The only good thing to come from the meeting is Russia agreeing to allow the U.S. to move troops and supplies through Russia. I wonder what we offered for that agreement? Better check the money supply in Washington because I have a feeling it is a few billion short somewhere. The President had this nugget of wisdom to add as well when he spoke: “In 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonizing other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over.” So exactly what is he saying about that evil empire America again? How much more obvious can he make it that he reads Saul Alinksky’s “Rules for Radicals” every night and calls Bill Ayers for diplomacy advise?
The two issues that have kept tensions between Russia and America are still issues today and so the thought that Obama can make a fresh start with Russia is hilarious. Russia still will not allow us to build any kind of missile defense shield in Poland and Georgia is still a country that Russia would like to take back again. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin does indeed have one foot still in the Cold War, as the President claimed a few weeks ago, and will not change. Although the President’s assessment changed. In an interview with Major Garrett of Fox News, the President would not answer the question of whether he still believed that assertion which indicates to me that Putin let him know he better keep his mouth shut on that opinion.
Somebody please stop this man and his ideas of diplomacy before America becomes just an annoying little bug that any country could squish.
There were two tea party events held in Orlando on Independence Day. I chose to head north to Eustis, Florida for a small town gathering to get a different feel and perspective since I had already attended two previous Orlando tea parties in the morning, so I missed the early event held at Amway Arena. A friend of mine attended that event and said that the crowd was fairly small with only about 500 in attendence. If someone has a different report, I would like to hear it, so please leave a comment. The event in Eustis hosted by the North Lake Tea Party group had the same number of people by my estimate. It was a wonderful gathering with a hot air balloon set up for rides, a tribute to our military complete with the playing of Taps on a trumpet and booths representing groups like American Solutions and FairTax.org.
I attended Orlando’s second event which was hard to find since there were two different addresses given on different websites. This was a really small gathering – maybe 150 people by the time I found the place. This was a more intimate gathering which did make it nice because people were able to take the microphone and voice their grievances at will. But 150 people at an Orlando tea party?! A huge gathering had formed down the road at Lake Eola where people were partaking in the beer garden and music and setting up chairs to watch fireworks. All the radio stations and news stations were in attendance. It was a stark reminder that the people of this country are still asleep.
Several people who took the microphone complained about the party being held on Independence Day because they were unable to get friends and family who were curious to come. I do not know numbers around the country, but I imagine attendance was low everywhere for this very reason. How pathetic! People obviously have no idea why they even celebrate July 4th. They obviously have no idea that the Declaration of Independence is in shreds.
And this will piss off more than a few, but shame on anybody who did not attend an event in their area and chose instead to do the BBQ and fireworks thing instead. Because I did the BBQ and fireworks thing as well after I managed to attend two tea party events, both of which were 40 minutes from where I live. The government has to see us out in numbers if we are to make a difference.
Governor Sarah Palin announced this afternoon that she is stepping down from her position as Alaskan Governor later this month. I truly am shocked for a number of reasons and cannot comprehend what could be behind this move and what it bodes for the future. She did claim that she was not going to seek re-election and felt it would be best to hand everything over to the Lt. Governor. She could be possibly seeking election to the Senate, but this would be early to resign. And she would be unseating a fellow Republican. She does plan to go on a book tour and has a seven million dollar book deal so perhaps she wants to build up some capital for a presidential run. But is there something behind the scenes that we do not know about? Governor Mark Sanford has me jaded after the last week of scandalous revelations.
I am also concerned about the timing of the announcement. Palin announced her resignation on a Friday afternoon right before a holiday weekend – an Obama adminstration move when they want to hide something from the news cycle. There are many allegations surrounding money and I find myself wondering if some of the allegations may be true. I voted for Palin in 2008 and want to see her on a ballot in 2012, but I find myself stunned and wondering what is going on behind the scenes. I pray that there is no scandal here because the Republican Party cannot take another blow like this. Conservatives were looking to the Republican Governors as our hopes for leadership in 2012. With Mark Sanford’s fall and then this bizarre move from Palin, I find myself stepping back.
I have claimed for a while that we do not need a leader in the Republican Party and this is one of the reasons why because I do not want to put my eggs in any basket right now. We are the leader right now. And that is just fine with me.
The thought of Al Franken strolling the halls of Congress is nauseating enough without having to listen to supposed journalists fawn all over the former Saturday Night Live “comedy” writer. I put “comedy” in quotes because SNL has never been a funny show and this most certainly was true with Franken’s bits. Franken appeared on NBC’s Today show yesterday morning and Meredith Viera could hardly contain herself. Here is the transcript with my commentary in blue:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: Now to politics and the man who will give the Democratic Party a super majority(I’m sure she was giddy inside with the thought of the left having complete power.) in the U.S. Senate. Following 239 days of legal wrangling, Minnesota’s Supreme Court now declared former SNL cast member Al Franken the state’s junior senator. We spoke on Wednesday and I began by asking him how it feels to be senator-elect.
SENATOR-ELECT AL FRANKEN: It sounds good. Senator is going to sound just a little bit better. (It makes me nauseous.)
VIEIRA: Just a little bit better. Well, this has been a long time coming. (Long time coming according to who – the man has stolen the election. She acts like Minnesota was dying to have him and that he truly deserves this Senate seat.) You are a guy known for your great sense of humor. (Are you kidding me?! More like his bizarre behavior and angry outbursts.) You kind of shoot from the hip a lot. Was it hard to keep your mouth shut and just let this thing, sort of, play out over the past seven-plus months? (What the hell kind of qestion is this?)
FRANKEN: Well, fortunately I lost my sense of humor right away. (You never had one.) So, I didn’t have a problem.
VIEIRA: It did get a little contentious, didn’t it?
FRANKEN: Well, I tried not to make it about that, and it, you know. Minnesota has a real process here. Minnesotans should be proud of our process. It’s thorough. We can say that. And it’s transparent, and our election officials acted with incredible integrity. So Minnesotans should be very proud. (What a farce! Votes turning up in the backseats of cars and ballots that had more than one vote were counted. Some votes counted and some not based on whatever random person made the random decisison.)
VIEIRA: You talk about a close election. 2.9 million votes were cast. You won by just 312 votes.
FRANKEN: Yep.
VIEIRA: Are you conscious of that as you head to Washington D.C. next week? (Meredith, what does he care – he’s in?)
FRANKEN: I’m very conscious of it. I know that there are a lot of Minnesotans who didn’t vote for me and it’s up to me to show that I’m going to be working for them. You know, there’s going to be a lot of talk and you brought it up, the talk of super majority. I don’t see myself as the 60th Democrat in the Senate. I see myself as the second Minnesota senator. (That is plainly a lie. This guy is so left he practically falls off the charts. He is a for sure vote for any Marxist agenda Obama presents.)
VIEIRA: And finally, are you more worried about becoming a target for the GOP or a target for Saturday Night Live, your old stomping ground?
FRANKEN: I’m not worried about either. I’m most concerned about hitting the ground running, and getting the job done.
Well, one thing is for sure, he will give us plenty of material for months and years to come. If it was not for the fact that these ignorant sycophants were not destroying our country, I would be having a great time. Between the President’s Teleprompter handicap and Gibb’s ums and ahs and Joe Biden’s diarrhea of the mouth and Barney Frank as himself, I have had more material to aim my irreverence towards than ever before.
I made up this video to honor our country this Independence Day and to highlight the tea parties that have been taking place across the country. If you need to find a tea party in your area, go to http://teapartypatriots.org.
Despite blood running in the streets of Iran for over two weeks now, our President has been very weak and tardy on condemnation of the leadership in the country of Iran where young people have been protesting in the streets about voting fraud and their desire for freedom. The President waited six days before he said anything more than that he was “deeply troubled” about the events in Iran. The military coup in Honduras received immediate attention from the President as he joined with his Marxist buddies in condemning the military for ousting Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.
This was the first military coup in Central America in decades and was triggered by Zelaya’s desire to overturn the constitutional law in Honduras allowing a president to serve for only one term. Mr. Zelaya was voted in as president in 2006 and would have his term end in 2010. The military made a pre-dawn raid on the President’s residence and sent Zelaya to Costa Rica. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez put his own troops on notice to help his buddy Zelaya in any way that he could. My bet is that Zelaya got the idea to push for more terms than allowed by the actions of Chavez in Venezuela who a few months ago bucked the system and put to a vote the ability for him to run again for a third term. Venezuela law only allows for two terms. Chavez was successful in a heated decision.
Despite the fact that Honduras has known relative calm from an earlier era of dictatorships, Zelaya has moved the country far to the left. President Obama was quick to join the EU in condemning the coup and said, “Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference.” And yet Obama pledged the U.S. to “stand on the side of democracy” and to work with other nations to resolve this matter peacefully. The President also declared that the coup was “not legal”.
Congressional President Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as the new President and has said if Zelaya returns to Honduras, he will be arrested. Whether the ousting of Zelaya is right or wrong, the reaction of our President to the coup have been very enlightening.
"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." -Morpheus, The Matrix
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Freedom's Wings Tuesday Conservative Libertarian perspective of the current events in the news and politics. In the second hour, I will be joined by Richard Hilts of the Logical Choice Action Group, an exciting new conservative activist group and we'll discuss the blog he created, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Make sure to get your fix now because I'm on vacation for a week and a half. Join me for some patriotic resistance and irreverent commentary! If you miss a show, you miss out! Listen in archives, just scroll down my blog to find. Call in to join the discussion or email your thoughts to be read on air at dsgawrsh@yahoo.com.
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