Oakland Police Dept. LOD

In Valor There is Hope

(UPDATE) On Saturday, March 22nd, 2009, four members of the Oakland California Police Department were killed in the line of duty by a parole violator.

These officers, like every other, put on their uniforms every day in this country and put their lives on the line for each and every one of us. Like our much under-appreciated military, these brave men and women put themselves into harms way to protect us.

The slain officers were identified as Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, who was killed at the first shooting. The officers killed at the second location were Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35 and Officer John Hege, 41.

Please keep them & their families in your prayers.

Apparently, the madness continues

Well folks, it seems this little toxic tidal wave just won't lose steam.

Despite the outrage at the AIG bonuses being expressed by the citizens of this country, it is still unclear what is going to be done about them.

The nice folks over in Congress were kind enough to scream bloody murder, after their screw up in the "it's too important to read it all" Stimulus Bill became public. It's your typical Capitol Hill ploy; feign righteous indignation to divert attention from your culpability.

So, just to appear that they are doing enough for YOU. They came up with a colossal knee jerk reaction. They proposed taxing the bonuses at 90%!!! Now, after you get off you're endorphin induced rush, you have to take a step back and say "whoa....... how the heck can you guys do that?" After your initial question, ask yourself the even more important question "if they can do that now, could they do that in the future to whomever they choose?" Now that’s scary!!

However, it might be a moot point. The word is out that maybe the "bonus tax" is not going to be the path they go down anyway. Despite the fact that President Obama was "outraged" about the bonuses, it seems that maybe that was just a little late night "exaggeration." Word is now that the administration wants to soften the impact of bills speeding through Congress that would impose these new taxes on Wall Street bonuses.

Capitol Hill is now in Panic Overload............... They are committed to their indignation over the bonuses, but now our fearless leader is calling for them to take a step back and exercise a little restraint. It is so bad that Senators and staffers are refusing meetings and turning away phone calls lest they appear to be supporting the industry.

Disappoint the People, or Disappoint the President.......Ah the conundrum.

Remember this folks: You bailed out a company that committed fraud, your Congress folded to Treasury (administration) pressure and cut them a sweetheart deal in the Stimulus Bill which allowed them their play money, and your President seems to want to just let the whole mess slip quietly away.

Congressional Elections - 2010!!!!!

"Torches and Pitchforks - Protecting Americans from Politicians since 1791."

When does the madness end ? (AIG Update)

UPDATE: (AP) Connecticut's attorney general says documents turned over to his office by American International Group Inc. shows the company paid out $218 million in bonuses, higher than the $165 million previously disclosed.

The documents show that 73 people received at least $1 million apiece, and five of those got bonuses of more than $4 million.

When does this madness end folks ?

It's early Saturday morning, I don't have the stomach for this nonsense. However, I will close with this.

Lately there has been a tremendous amount of anger and animosity directed at AIG and their employees. Some of it is well founded, but let's not overlook another group which shares it's own measure of culpability. That's right, your friendly folks at the Congress and the White House (Bush & Obama).

While AIG screwed the pooch big time, it was your self serving reps who failed to take proper action. AIG may have been "too big to let fail" but "parents" don't let their "kids" dictate the rules, or the punishment, to them. At least not effective ones. The issue of bonuses has been known for at least 5 months. If the bonuses were contractual there is nothing you can do, if congress allowed YOUR money to pay this, then maybe CONGRESS should pay YOU back out of their pockets.

Let's not forget that the stimulus bill, where this wording appears, was so important, was so incredibly time sensitive, that it HAD to be approved without reading it. We need to remember that. Which one of you would have been forced into signing anything, let alone a $787 BILLION dollar stimulus package WITHOUT READING IT !!!!!!!!

OK, enough........... I am disgusted over the collective action of these friggen Weasels.

Actually, I apologize for insulting the entire Weasel population.

"Torches and Pitchforks - Protecting Americans from Politicians since 1791."

Who the hell are they working for?

Oh, the saga of AIG & the $165 million in bonuses just keeps getting better. The other day I filled you in on the outright lie being told by Senator Dodd (D. - Ct.). Now here’s a little more sunshine & happiness for you.

Last year, under the Bush Administration, AIG got bailed out to the tune of $170 Billion dollars. The U.S. government (actually, you the Taxpayer) now has an 80 percent stake in the company. AIG was hit hard by the downturn in the housing sector and by the failure of complex securities based on risky mortgages. At the time it was said that AIG was just too big to let fail.

In November 2008, Treasury officials proposed limiting annual bonuses for all employees of American International Group in November, as they were negotiating the government’s first investment in the troubled firm.

In a November 2008 e-mail to Treasury officials an outside attorney working on the transaction wrote, “We indicated that UST (United States Treasury) ... wants to put in place a limitation on annual bonuses that assure that (AIG) executives/employees will not be enriched out of TARP funds.” In response to that he went on to say that “They (AIG) were slack jawed at the idea of imposing the restriction throughout the entire population, especially worldwide.” AIG proposed that Treasury apply such limits “to a class of partners and senior partners (700).”

Segue to the present day. It’s a new administration and the issue of the stimulus bill comes up. Somehow a provision gets submitted that allows for the bonuses to go through. The provision added to the stimulus bill was a broad measure that applied to all companies receiving bailout money.

Senator Chris Dodd says his original bill did not have the language in it and that it was the administration that must have added it. Two days later, he is forced to recant that (read: admitted he lied) and says he in fact did add the wording, but he was under pressure from Treasury. Hmmmmm the executive branch bullying the legislative branch.

Now President Obama says that he was “stunned” to hear about the $165 million in bonuses that were paid to employees of troubled insurer AIG, promising to do everything he could to “get these bonuses back.” He then went on to defend Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been sharply criticized for his handling of the AIG controversy.

I’m not a career politician folks, I don’t speak “D.C. Double Talk”……….. As I read this my blood is boiling. Our government is being dictated the rules of a bailout by the failure, our representatives are lying to our face, and the President claims to be “stunned”, yet the same Treasury he defends is the one who supposedly added the language. I assume that since he is “stunned” we are to be convinced he knew nothing of it. This really scares the crap out of me, because HE is supposed to be in charge!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sorry, I’m calling BS………. All those who were counting on “Hope and Change” here’s a newsflash, YOU GOT HOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!

But hey folks, it’s only $165 million of YOUR money we are talking about, right……..

Oh just for the record, the top two recipients of 2008 AIG Campaign donations: Senator Dodd (1) and then Senator Obama (2). How's that for Sunshine & Happiness ?

"Torches and Pitchforks - Protecting Americans from Politicians since 1791."

Gas Prices.......... WTF?

OK, here is a pet peeve of mine.............. yeah, stop snickering I have a lot of them

Maybe someone more intelligent than I can explain this to me.

On Tuesday (3/17), I drove by my local gas station and was amazed to see gas selling for $1.64. I made a mental note to fill up, but since I have so much on my mind (namely the friggen mess this country is in) I forgot. And no, my forgetting had nothing to do with it being St. Patrick's Day.

Today (3/19), while I went to the post office I looked down and thought, "Oh crap, gas.." So I pulled into the gas station and screamed liked a girl. $1.99............... WTF ? Seriously we are talking 48 hours to the hour.

Now, you all know me, I can't let this pass without trying to find out what the hell happened. Was there a catastrophic refinery fire in Texas, did a deep sea earthquake knock-out an oil platform or two, did the middle east implode (again) ?

Well, here's what I can tell you.

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices slumped Wednesday on a government report showing that crude and gasoline inventories are bulging with surplus supply. Benchmark crude for April delivery fell $1.02 to settle at $48.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Yes you read that correctly, bulging surplus & oil prices fell............... so can someone explain what triggered a $.35 INCREASE at the pump ?

I guess it's Just another day of getting hosed in the United States.

Liar? Liar!

Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), is no stranger to the murky abyss that has become Washington, D.C. Many of you might remember his name being mentioned in an earlier blog. Seems he was ensnared with the whole Fannie Mae debacle and was the #1 reciepeant of campaign contributions from that train wreck. Well Senator Dodd is once again back in the news.

In a dramatic reversal, Senator Dodd., has now confessed to adding language to the stimulus bill last month that exempted all bonuses that bailed-out companies had promised to employees before Feb. 11, 2009.

WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Yes, you heard it here, this alleged representative of the people, added wording that allowed almost 200 million of YOU’RE money to be doled out to those incompetent nit-wits at AIG.

Now, if you are as morally outraged at that as I am, I suggest you sit down, grab a beer, grey goose, jack & coke, or a Costco size bottle of Advil…….. It gets better.

You see, Senator Dodd stated just one day earlier that he didn't add the exemption. He went so far as to state that "When the language went to the conference and came back, there was different language," he then said "I can tell you this much, when my language left the Senate, it did not include it. When it came back, it did."

Wait a minute…………… Tuesday the man says he didn’t write the language, Wednesday he admits he did. Are you people (especially in Connecticut) following me here? This man who was elected to represent the people of this country has admitted to lying to you.

I guess the heat in the AIG Bailout / Bonus Fiasco Kitchen was getting a little too warm.

Want to know the excuse he used? It seems Treasury officials forced him to make the change.

I guess “the dog ate the original draft” seemed too unbelievable.

Senator Dodd tried to explain that "As many know, the administration was, among others, not happy with the language. They wanted some modifications to it," he said. "They came to us, our staff, and asked for changes, and the changes at the time did not seem that obnoxious or onerous."

Just for the record, CONGRESS, which is comprised of the Senate & House of Representatives, is there to SERVE THE PEOPLE. They are the LEGISLATIVE BRANCH while the Administration is the EXECUTIVE BRANCH.

When this pompous buffoon was questioned as to how administration officials have this kind of leverage over members of Congress, Dodd said, "The administration has veto power. ... No one suggested a veto to me, I don't want to imply that to you. But certainly that's not an insignificant tool."

Oh, OK……………. So rather than risk a potential showdown with the agents of the Messiah, erh…... excuse me, The administration, you sold out the people of this country to the tune of almost 200 hundred million dollars and then had the cajones to lie to them about it. Then again, when you are blowing trillions of dollars of our money, what’s a few hundred million, right Chris?

Ladies & Gentlemen, I present you’re government……….. May you remember their lies and deceit come the next Election.

Patriotic Illegal Immigrants

In the classic movie, the Wizard of Oz, the character of Dorothy turns to her little dog and says “Gee Toto, I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.”

This morning, as I sit here watching “Dear Speaker” Pelosi I am sitting in disbelief. I am simultaneously enraged and dumbfounded. The only thing that comes to mind is “Gee Citizens, I don’t believe we are in America anymore.”

Last night, Pelosi told a gathering of legal and illegal immigrants at St. Anthony's Church in San Francisco that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced, are "un-American."

Excuse Me? The enforcement of laws is Un-American?

Welcome to the New United States folks.

Pelosi was invited to the church by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. (Chicago), who is on a 17-city, cross-country tour called United Families. Apparently, when Rep. Gutierrez is not trying to outlaw firearms legally possessed by the citizens of the United States, he is trying to STOP the enforcement of immigration laws against NON-citizens of the United States. Now Dear Speaker has loaned her massive ego to this great cause.

Making sense to anyone yet?

Here are some of the highlights, just in case you think I had a horrible dream and I am somehow making this up:

In speaking of work site enforcement actions by ICE agents:

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

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

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

I love that last quote “………to take responsibility for our country's future.”

Note to Dear Speaker, you need to be a citizen of the country first.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I have absolutely no problem with people wanting to immigrate to this country. We are a nation of immigrants. The fact that so many want to come here, I think, is a testament to how great this country is. They come for the possibilities that exist here and no place else. But we have, and have had for a very long time, a system in place to allow for the legal immigration.

What I have a problem with is those who choose to come here illegally and then find comfort and support from the politicians we elect. When our politicians are decrying the enforcement of laws (which they enacted by the way) by a duly authorized enforcement agency of the United States Government, we are in a truly bad place.

Recently the Attorney General, Eric (Nation of Cowards) Holder, stated that the U.S. needs to enact a new, more restrictive, assault weapons ban because Mexico (a sovereign country) is having too many problems.

This is the same Mexican government that is corrupt, that has been wholly ineffective in addressing drug issues, a country that has become a kidnapping and sex trade Mecca, which takes no action to curtail illegal immigration, and then has the audacity to complain about the Citizens of the United States being upset about illegal immigration.

Now, all along it seems that it is the legally possessed guns of the American Citizen that are causing the Mexican government to de-stabilize. If we could just take away those pesky legally owned guns, all the worlds’ problems with be solved.

Yeah and once that’s done then we can simply nullify the existing immigration laws, tear down the border crossings, reassign all the ICE agents to our airports to intercept illegal shipments of “Shamrock Seeds” (yes, apparently it is illegal to bring in Shamrock seeds into the country) and provide a safe haven for these very patriotic criminals.

Maybe someone in our beloved Dear Speaker’s office should look at the annual report listing the assaults against members of the Border Patrol. These assaults increase every year. On the southwest border, there were 384 total assaults recorded during fiscal year 2004. In fiscal year 2005, there were 687 attacks. During fiscal year 2006 there were 752 assaults and in fiscal year 2007 there were 987.

Better yet, maybe they would love to get a first hand look at those very patriotic potential immigrants shooting at CBP helicopters, assaulting our agents with softball-size rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails, and leaving agents with burns, bruises and head wounds.

Recently, March 2009, an agent noticed a breach in the International Border Fence. When the agent went to get a closer look, an unidentified person on the Mexican side dropped a large piece of cinder block onto his head.

Oh yeah, about the Mexican government? Their really not too interested in doing much on their side. According to the Border Patrol, each time an assault occurs in the border environment, local Border Patrol authorities notify their counterparts in Mexico. Many times, though, there is little or no response.

Yet here we arrest and imprison OUR decorated border agents and provide immunity in exchange for testimony against them from a DRUG DEALER. Anyone who has not heard the story of Agent’s Compean and Ramos, owe it to yourself to learn what your government does.

Or maybe, our Dear Speaker should visit the widow and children of Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar who was killed by a drug smuggler who ran him over and then fled back into Mexico.

As for me I wish this was Oz……………. so I could at least look forward to the house falling on this witch !

Campaign Promises – Politics As Usual

During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama fought vigorously over who would be toughest on congressional earmarks. During the debate in Oxford, Mississippi he stated that "We need earmark reform, and when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."

To all of you who once again believed in the “Hope and Change” mantra, I give you the reality of March 2009. After signing a massive funding bill with almost 8,000 earmarks, he then went on to say that they are not all bad and that’s why he won’t call for their outright elimination.

During the campaign, Obama promised to force Congress to curb its pork-barrel-spending ways. Yet the bill sent from the Democratic-controlled Congress to the White House on Tuesday contained earmarks totaling $5.5 billion.

I guess since the total bill was over $400 Billion dollars, it wasn’t really pork, more like bacon bits. But seriously, in this day and age when YOU and I are having to watch OUR spending, do you really think it is appropriate for our elected officials to piss away OUR tax dollars on this:

$713,625 Woody Biomass at SUNY-ESF. Walsh and Schumer sponsors

$951,500 Sustainable Las Vegas. Berkeley and Reid sponsors.

$24,000 A+ for Abstinence. Specter is sponsor.

$300,000 Montana World Trade Center. Rehberg sponsor.

$950,000 Myrtle Beach International Trade and Convention Center. Graham sponsor.

$200,000 Oil Region Alliance. Peterson sponsor.

$190,000 Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY for digitizing and editing the Cody collection. Barbara Cubin is the sponsor

$143,000 Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Las Vegas, NV, to expand natural history education programs. Sponsored by Harry Reid

$238,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Honolulu, HI, for educational programs. Sen. Daniel Inouye is the sponsor.

$381,000 for Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, NY for music education programs. Jerrold Nadler is the sponsor.
Oh, and for those of you who might have missed it. Remember when candidate John McCain said that “The fundamentals of our economy are strong." Remember how the Obama campaign, every democratic pundit, and the media wrung their hands in outright indignation and said how out of touch he was. Remember that one?

On Sunday, Obama economic adviser Christina Romer was asked during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" if the fundamentals of the economy were sound. "Of course they are sound," she replied. "The fundamentals are sound in the sense that the American workers are sound, we have a good capital stock, we have good technology."

Wow, does it really sound better when a democrat says it? Just about every media talk head tried to verbally eviscerate McCain, claiming he was out of touch. So where is the outcry now?

So much for Hope and Change. As I predicated, you all fell for the smoke and mirrors and now your going to realize it’s all still just politics as usual.

“Bull Shit” – Part Deux

Remember a while back I talked about the game “Bull Shit.” Well friends, I think we need to revisit that topic.

With just a several weeks into this new administration, I can’t help this feeling once again that we were all fed a nice big stack of election campaign lies. Just because the liar is charming and charismatic, doesn’t mean that the lies are no less real.

OK, so what do I mean when I say lies. If I promise you one thing during the campaign, and after the election I can’t do it, is that a lie? Some might argue that circumstances alter things, but I think they are just trying for an “out” to a situation they honestly don’t want to admit to.

There is an old saying “how do you know a politicians lying ? his lips are moving!” As funny as it might seem, I think it is a sad condemnation of our current political mess. What happened to the virtues of honesty, or integrity, or character ? Have we sold these traits out for some false sense of hope and change ? Will we continue to believe the lies just because someone flashes that trademark smile and the media swoons and continues to feed us the same old worn out campaign propaganda that just won’t pan out ?

The media has sold out. If you turn to them for your opinion you are hopelessly lost. Journalistic integrity has gone the way of the dinosaur. There was a time when journalists and news reporters where the pitbulls of the people. They asked tough questions, they showed no mercy, demanded accountability and answers and yet they did it in a professional manner with out sarcasm, personal opinion, or bias. Think this exists today ?

I am not talking about the broadcasters on your local news. No the ones I am talking about are the talking heads on the cable networks. The ones who are so obsessed with self, that they can hardly pry themselves away from their mirrors in order to read the drivel being spoon-fed through teleprompters.

When reporters take up the political mantra of any group, they cease to be journalists and become a media extension of that group. If you take umbrage to the actions of any particular political personage, that’s fine. Keep it on point, factual and honest. When you become pedantic in your whining and you words only come in two tones: venomous or sarcastic, then you need to find new work.

We are one month in to a marathon game of Bull Shit and the American public is losing. It’s not as if the Obama Administration is stupid. They aren’t, they’re just politicians. The funny thing is that was the one thing they claimed they weren’t.

They touted themselves as being “different” than what was in Washington. They campaigned on being the alternate to four more years of the same old politics as usual. But it’s no real change at all. They lied about Iraq. They lied about guns. They lied about the economy. They lied about the size of government. Basically, they lied to you to get you to vote for them and now your stuck. Actually, after you read the part about the economy your more likely to believe your gonna be screwed, and rightfully so.

On the Campaign trail Obama proposed pulling our troops out of Iraq by the end of 2008. “The days of our open-ended commitment must come to a close.” Washington Post,Jan. 31, 2007 . Now, according to the Associated Press, the open-ended commitment has been replaced with “as many as 50,000 troops to remain behind to train Iraqi forces and protect U.S. interests.”

On the Campaign trail Obama supported gun rights. At an Idaho rally on Feb. 02, 2008 he stated ‘I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns.’ Not long after he followed up with a seemingly different take “We can have a reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respects the Second Amendment and people’s traditions.”

Yeah, has anyone heard what the new Attorney General Eric Holder considers “a reasonable, thoughtful gun control”? Holder already has tried to link the Mexican narco-wars to U.S. gun sales and go after supposed “assault weapons.” Now mind you, Mexico is a land out of control. They can’t control anything, illegal immigration, corruption, kidnappings, gangs, drugs…….. but you know, we need to lend them a hand. So you in Idaho, yeah Joe Citizen, kiss your legally owned semi-automatic rifle goodbye. But you know, it’s just “reasonable, thoughtful gun control.”

The sad thing is that the whole “assault weapons” concept is a sham. It is a PR stunt that actually allows politicians to claim they are doing something, when in fact they aren’t. FBI statistics showed the original AWB had no impact on crime. An 2004 study commissioned by the Department of Justice noted that should the ban be renewed it’s effects on gun violence were likely to be small at best, and perhaps too small for reliable measurement, due to assault weapons rarely being used in gun crimes even before the ban.

The bottom line is that politicians are loathe to actually do something constructive and address the real issues, like how to incarcerate people for breaking the law. So the whole AWB is a typical political smoke and mirrors op.

Now what about Obama and the economy. OK, let me be the first to say I am not a math whiz by an stretch of the imagination. But according to him, and his minions, his budget won’t hurt the 95 percent of Americans who will get a tax cut.

OK, so can someone explain why an editorial in the Wall Street Journal (February 27, 2008) showed (Using 2006 tax records) how a tax hike won’t begin to pay the 2010 budget of $4 trillion. Even if the government took every penny made by those who earn $250,000 and above, it would only meet one-third of the goal.

To pay for that whole $4 trillion budget, the government would have to take “every taxable ‘dime’ of everyone earning more than $75,000.” That would just barely meet the goal. But remember, those are 2006 numbers when the economy was good.

A tax cut for 95 percent? That’s not very likely. The government will give money with one hand and will then take it back with interest with the other.

But don’t worry, the media will continue to praise the lies and tell you how finally “Hope & Change” has come to Washington. All the while keeping one eye on the mirror.

Oh, and of course if it doesn’t quite pan out the way it is supposed to, it’s obviously someone else’s fault (hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge…….. Bush)

Obama Picks & Tax Problems

I wrote not to long ago about the “vetting” process in regards to Obama’s “Aunti Zeituni” Onyango. Remember her? Yeah, she had a few “issues.” Anyway, I thought surely this was a “rare” slip and would certainly cause those in the administration to “tighten things up”.

Yeah, no……………….

Ron Kirk. He’s the former mayor of Dallas and potential White House Chief Trade Representative. Seems Ron didn't pay taxes on some speaking fees and he tried to write off the full $17,000 costs of his Dallas Mavericks season tickets. It’s okay; he only owes $10,000.00 in back taxes.

Timothy Geithner. He’s the new Treasury Secretary in charge of the IRS. He was touted as the “best & the brightest” and essential to the fight the economic downturn we were in. That’s worked out real well, just look at how fabulous the markets are doing.

Only problem is Geithner didn't pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for several years while he worked for the International Monetary Fund. He paid $34,000.00 in late taxes. But it really wasn’t his problem. It seems the best & the brightest had issues using TurboTax.

Tom Daschle. He was fast tracked to Health and Human Services Secretary and was another “essential” person who would reform the nation's health care system. He owed $145,000.00 with interest and penalties because he got a free car and driver and other things from a guy who paid him $1 million a year for advice. Poor Tom just forgot to mention it for a few years.

Nancy Killefer. She was slated to be the Chief Performance Officer. Nancy fell on the sword and pulled out when she turned out to have had a past tax problem. She had a Tax lien for non-payment of unemployment compensation taxes. Ironically, she owed the least out of everyone. About $1,000.00 from what I heard.

Rep. Hilda Solis. She’s the new Labor Secretary. Ok, so the problems not really hers, but her husband who has some tax liens going back 16 years. These were cleared up the day before her committee vote as Labor secretary. Kind of convenient, right? Surely no one would hold a wife responsible for her husband's financial problems. Anyway, Solis' husband paid $6,400.00 in outstanding state and local tax liens for his auto repair business going back to 1993.

No wonder the administration is looking for tax reform. The only bright side is as they continue to fill slots; they are reaping in tons of back taxes. Maybe that’s how they plan on funding the stimulus package!!

Oh, and then there is good old Bill Richardson. He also had to withdraw from the Commerce Secretary slot. Well, ok technically it wasn’t a tax issue. No, he just has some issues with a “pay for play” investigation into how his political donors landed a lucrative transportation contract.

To all those who vilified the Bush Administration, wake-up people, there is monkey business going on, on both sides of the aisle.

Obama / Biden Campaign Promises

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

1. 
   Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.
2. 
   Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

Hmmmmmmmm so how's this working out for YOU ?

I guess since he sounded the clarion call that this current pork laden stimulus bill is an Uber-emergency, then he hasn't "technically" violated his own promises........ Sort of, kind of, reminds me of "It depends on what the meaning of the words 'is' is."

Remember all that Hope & Change you were counting on ? Yeah, now, not so much.........

Clinton vs. Bush vs. Obama

Now, let me be the first to say that I think the people of the United States have been the victims of some outrageous spending by their elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Anyone who truly believes that one party bears more blame then the other has been drinking way too much kool-aid.

Look at the flat out pork in all of these budgets and stimulus bills and you will see R’s and D’s all over the place. So let’s stop with the political nonsense. It’s our wallets they are stealing from.

But I have also heard a lot of comments being made about life under President Clinton and that Administration running a “surplus,” while President Bush has been vilified for getting us into the current mess by engaging in out of control “spending.” This is simply disingenuous.

Under President Clinton, we had a surplus in the yearly budget, however that does not constitute a surplus in our actually "bank account." Basically it is like mom and pop sitting at the table. They have their income, their needs, their debt and their savings. So they come up with a yearly budget and be as thrifty as they can. They actually do well and don't spend as much as they bring in. They even make payments to their outstanding credit cards (debit). However, that does not have a bottom line affect on their savings.

Some people hear the word surplus and fail to realize that we are talking two different animals. We still had trillions in debt, it's just that we were now making payments against that debt because we were spending less than we took in. While that was fiscally prudent and something we all need to do, it’s far different then painting a picture of us being a nation with a surplus in our savings under the Clinton Administration.

Also remember that when Clinton took office in 1993 after Bush Sr. had taken a huge hit based on the economy. However, the Democratic party held majority in both the Congress and the Senate since 1987 (starting with the 100th Congress). He came in with a full majority. Then in 1995 the people threw up their hands over some less than stellar ideas by the Dem's and gave the Republicans control in both houses for the first time since the 1950’s.

So, if Clinton gets credit for a surplus, where is the credit for the Republicans who passed The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and was signed into law on August 5, 1997. This was an omnibus legislative package designed to balance the federal budget by 2002.

If memory serves me correctly, our national debt was at 5 ½ trillion when President Bush took office. During President Bush’s tenure the Debt increased by about 4 Trillion dollars. Many scream about such outlandish and wasteful spending, but is it real ? In reality, Bush only added about $2 trillion to the debt in 6 years while Republicans were in control through the end of 2005. This while recovering from the attacks of September 11th and also engaged in two wars.

From 2006 through 2008 the Democrats were in full control and the debt went from $7.6 trillion in 2006 to over $10.5 trillion at the end of 2008.

Now we are a little over a month and a half into the new Obama administration with a Democratic controlled majority and we are now faced with adding another $3.6 trillion to the debt.

I don't want this to come off sounding like a rah rah post for the Republicans. Personally I think both parties are piss poor administrators of OUR money. What bothers me is the political sniping that seems to muddy the waters and cause people to think along party lines instead of in black & white truths.

Since 1938 the Democrats have held the White house for 35 years, the Republicans for 36. Over that time the national debt has increased at an average annual rate of 8.5%. In years Democrats were in the White House there was an average increase of 8.3%. In years the Republicans ran the White House the debt increased an average 9.2% per year. If you want to squabble over .7%, you need to find someone else.

But I believe it is time for us to tell out elected officials enough is enough. It's our money they are wasting !!!!!!

Legislating Wealth

Hopefully this quote will make sense to most of you.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005

What is a Trillion Dollars ?

For many, the “idea” of spending a trillion dollar is pretty much nothing more than an idea……… there is nothing tangible to hold onto. So I thought I would put this in perspective for all of you who need visuals.

Now remember as you read this simple concept, the President is talking about spending 3.5 Trillion Dollars.

If I gave you $1.00 every second, in 11 days you would have One Million Dollars in your bank account.

If I gave you $1.00 every second, in 32 years you would have One Billion Dollars in your bank account.

If I gave you $1.00 every second, in 32 thousand years you would have One Trillion Dollars in your bank account.

Although, with the way financial institutions are being run these days, I'm not sure I'd count on them to be around !!!!!!!!!!!