Seven Stories Obama Doesn't Want Told

From Yahoo News.

"The pro-Obama narrative featured an almost mystically talented young idealist who stood for change in a disciplined and thoughtful way. This easily outpowered the anti-Obama narrative, featuring an opportunistic Chicago pol with dubious relationships who was more liberal than he was letting on.

A year into his presidency, however, Obama’s gift for controlling his image shows signs of faltering. As Washington returns to work from the Thanksgiving holiday, there are several anti-Obama storylines gaining momentum."

The 7 stories:

1. He thinks he’s playing with Monopoly money

2. Too much Leonard Nimoy

3. That’s the Chicago Way

4. He’s a pushover (stereotypical for Democrats)

5. He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe

6. President Pelosi

7. He’s in love with the man in the mirror

Administration Plans New Effort on Foreclosures

From Yahoo News. Our taxpayer dollars at work AGAIN!

"Under the $75 billion Treasury program, companies that agree to lower payments for troubled borrowers collect $1,000 initially from the government for each loan, followed by $1,000 annually for up to three years.

The government support, which is provided from the $700 billion financial bailout program, is aimed at providing cash incentives for mortgage providers to accept smaller mortgage payments rather than foreclosing on homes."

Obama's paying them to take a loss--as if they couldn't write it off on their taxes! He's vote-fishing.

Why Obama Isn't Changing Washington

From the Wall St. Journal.

"Why has the president's publicly expressed vision of a kinder, gentler Washington failed to materialize? I think Mr. Obama—while hardly the only person at fault—is chiefly responsible.

He might have spawned a different Washington, a less divided town with Democrats firmly in charge but Republicans actively involved. The bonus for Mr. Obama and Democrats would be higher popularity and better prospects in 2010 midterm elections. Instead, the president made three strategic mistakes—or, really, misreadings of the political landscape—and they've come back to haunt him and his party."

...

"Second, Mr. Obama misread his own ability to sway the public. He is a glib, cool, likeable speaker whose sentences have subjects and verbs. During the campaign, he gave dazzling speeches about hope and change that excited voters. His late-night speech at a Democratic dinner in Des Moines on Nov. 10, 2007, prior to the Iowa caucuses, convinced me he'd win the presidential nomination.

But campaign speeches don't have to be specific, and candidates aren't accountable. Presidential speeches are different. The object is to persuade voters to back a certain policy, and it turns out Mr. Obama is not good at this. He failed to stop the steady decline in support for any of his policies, most notably health care."

...

"Third, Mr. Obama misread Republicans. They felt weak and vulnerable after losing two straight congressional elections and watching John McCain's presidential bid fall flat. They were afraid to criticize the newly elected president. If he had offered them minimal concessions, many of them would have jumped aboard his policies. If that had happened, the president could have boasted of achieving bipartisan compromise on the stimulus and other policies. He let the chance slip away."

The Former British Police Officer Who Wants to Bring Down Barack Obama

From the U.K. Guardian. I'd like to help him.

"Sankey says his fascination began with the realisation "that this man wasn't what he said he was. He wasn't an ordinary Democrat — he was far more extreme than that." So about a year ago he began reading blogs and websites that claimed to expose Obama's foreign roots, his spurious Hawaiian birth certificate and the $2m White House cover-up that has prevented the public finding out about the plot."

Unfortunately, the Birthers corralled him.

"Sankey contends that his police experience in England now informs his fight against Obama. "It's quite obvious to me — America is heading towards a socialised state just as has happened in Europe. Socialised medicine, everyone on the dole, and when everything collapses you tip the scales into Marxism."

He also believes his training in Scotland Yard is now reaping benefits for the Birthers. The same techniques he used to analyse the IRA's associations he is now applying to Obama. Most recently, he carried out an exhaustive search of databases that he claims threw up 140 different identification numbers and addresses for "Barack Obama". He admits the findings prove nothing — there is nothing to link the entries to the president — but he believes it raises further doubts that need investigating."

These are some of the same people who said John McCain wasn't an eligible citizen to run for office because he was born in Panama. Back then, we OWNED Panama, and had military bases there for years afterward. Anyone born on a military installation is a U.S. citizen--I'm surprised how many people didn't know this...it's called Citizenship 101 in civics class.

If this guy is truly successful in finding something HONEST and TRUTHFUL about Obama's past that can be used to impeach him, I'm all for it. Otherwise, if he's just another susceptible Brit falling for Orly Tait's charms and marketing plan, he gets what he deserves--a media death in obscurity.

Couple Crashes Obama's State Dinner

From CNN Politics. So where was the security? Next, we'll have the Taliban showing up at the annual Easter Egg Roll.

This Just in: Obama, China, and Wishful Thinking About American Jobs

From Yahoo Opinion.

"The dirty little secret on both sides of the Pacific is that both America and China are capable of producing far more than their own consumers are capable of buying. In the US, the root of the problem is a growing share of total income going to the richest Americans, leaving the middle class with relatively less purchasing power unless they go deep into debt.

Inequality is also widening in China, but the problem there is a declining share of the fruits of economic growth going to average Chinese and an increasing share going to capital investment.

Both societies are threatened by the disconnect between production and consumption. In China, the threat is civil unrest. In the US, it's a prolonged jobs and earnings recession that, when combined with widening inequality, could create political backlash."

This Just In: Over $98 Billion Wasted in Improper Payments

From Yahoo News.

"More than $98 billion in taxpayer dollars spent by government agencies was wasted, much of it on questionable claims for tax credits and Medicare benefits, representing an increase of $26 billion from the previous year."

How many people could've gotten health care coverage with that money? Perhaps the 12 million who really NEED it?

This Just In: Obama, Hu Vow Cooperation, But Produce Little at Climate Change Summit

From Yahoo news.

"Stung by new U.S. levies on imports of Chinese-made tires and steel pipes, Hu said he told Obama that given a still struggling global economy both countries "need to oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations in an even stronger stand."

Obama later called on China to relax controls that keep the Chinese currency relatively weak and thus help fuel exports — something Beijing officials have rejected in recent days. Obama also pointedly raised human rights, saying they are fundamental to all.

"We do not believe these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities," Obama said in his only nationally televised remarks on the sensitive issue."

Ahhhhh...the Socialist in him comes out. You'd think he'd know how a Communist country worked--to retain utmost power and control, you must restrict rights and freedoms. This is what he himself wants in our country, so why does he deny it for others?

Doesn't he realize the yuan is pegged to the dollar, and one drags down the other? If he wants a strong yuan, he should aim for a strong dollar. China plays chess just as well as Iran.

Why Won't Obama Give You a Job?

From the Washington Post.

"The White House thinks the stimulus is working, and it doesn't want you on its payroll."

You have to be tied to him politically, be from Harvard, Chicago, a Socialist/Communist at large, or tied to a union.

"Since taking office, the Obama administration has studiously avoided paying people to go to work, which could be accomplished by subsidizing workers' private-sector employment or by creating new government-paid jobs. There are programs in a handful of states that financially compensate employees who cut their hours to prevent broader layoffs at their companies -- an approach that costs relatively little, since it results in lower payouts of unemployment benefits, and that has helped Germany keep unemployment under 8 percent despite the deep slowdown there. But the Obama administration has so far opted not to expand this initiative. And aside from a small summer employment program for young people, it has not sought to create jobs on the public payroll, something the country did in the 1930s and 1970s. "

This Just In: Avoid Foreclosure--Rent Your Own Home

From CNN Money. Oh boy, do I have problems with THIS!

"Fannie Mae implements deed-for-lease program that allows troubled borrowers who don't qualify for loan modifications to stay in their homes."

My questions:

1. Who gets the equity when the housing market comes back?

2. What if the new owners want to sell the property while the "home owner" is still living there?

3. While the home is in government possession, will it get folded into other government housing programs, such as Section 8?

4. Will the new owners (the government) be installing a "smart meter" that will allow third party control over all electricity functions, including the thermostat?

This is nothing more than another revenue-making scheme to fund future government spending: how to make public housing pay. Welcome to Obamaland, or more specifically, Valerie Jarrett land! She, the Slum Lord in residence, figured out how to make a buck off Chicago public housing.

UPDATE: Later, found the reason for this program.

This Just In: In Eurpoe, Swine Flu Shots Available By Invitation Only

From Yahoo Health. What is this--a frikkin' GOLF tournament or something? People are dying!

Imagine this coming to OUR country--and it will if the Public Option is passed. Obama's world will have you clamoring for invitations.

"Here, and across most of Europe, vaccine to protect against the pandemic flu is mostly given by invitation only to those at highest risk for flu complications.

"That is one of the great advantages of the British health system," said Dr. Steve Field, president of the Royal College of General Physicians. "We have a list of all the names of patients who qualify to be vaccinated."

You have to QUALIFY? This isn't a Food Stamp program, buddy! So, if I have the correct FICO score, I can get a shot? Is that how Goldman-Sachs and Citibank got shots before everyone else did?

Why not just announce a PRIORITY LIST like we did here in America--children under a certain age and pregnant women first, followed by immune-compromised people and seniors and health care workers, then the general population?

Unfortunately, the REAL priority is "green"--the more of it you have, the more likely you're going to get a flu shot.

As for me, I've never had a flu shot of any kind, and never had the flu. I'm using the "optimal nutrition" method for keeping my blood at a pH level where germs, viruses, and cancers don't grow. You all can have MY shot!

This Just In: 10% Unemployment is Obama's New World

From Yahoo Politics.

"For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent.

A year after his election Obama finds it increasingly difficult to blame the sour economy on George W. Bush or offer reassurances that jobless Americans will soon find work."

...

"Many economists predict the jobless rate will rise again, peaking at 10.5 percent sometime next year before employment makes a turnaround in the spring. That still means unemployment will remain high for some time. The administration's own projections still see unemployment at 8 percent by the end of 2011.

Such lingering discomfort can have economic and political consequences."

This Just In: Big GOP Sweep in Governor Races in VA, NJ

From Yahoo news.

I did MY part and voted against every Dem and incumbent on the ballot! :)

"Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year."

Hehehehe...I helped take this country back from the Socialist plague that threatened it. Glenn Beck would be proud.

This Just In: The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy Services Paradigm

From City Journal.

"One out of every five Americans is either a Californian or a Texan. California became the nation’s most populous state in 1962; Texas climbed into second place in 1994. They are broadly similar: populous Sunbelt states with large metropolitan areas, diverse economies, and borders with Mexico producing comparable demographic mixes. Both are “majority-minority” states, where non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of the population and Latinos just over a third.

According to the most recent data available from the Census Bureau, for the fiscal year ending in 2006, Americans paid an average of $4,001 per person in state and local taxes. But Californians paid $4,517 per person, well above that national average, while Texans paid $3,235. It’s worth noting, by the way, that while state and local governments in both California and Texas get most of their revenue from taxes, the revenue is augmented by subsidies from the federal government and by fees charged for governmental services and facilities, such as trash collection, airports, public university tuition, and mass transit. California had total revenues of $11,160 per capita, more than every state but Alaska, Wyoming, and New York, while Texas placed a distant 44th on this scale, with revenues of all governmental entities totaling $7,558 per person.

What might interest Tiebout is that while California and Texas are comparable in terms of sheer numbers, their demographic paths are diverging. Before 1990, both states grew much faster than the rest of the country. Since then, only Texas has continued to do so. While its share of the nation’s population has steadily increased, from 6.8 percent in 1990 to 7.9 percent in 2007, California’s has barely budged, from 12 percent to 12.1 percent.

Unpacking the numbers is even more revealing—and, for California, disturbing. The biggest contrast between the two states shows up in “net internal migration,” the demographer’s term for the difference between the number of Americans who move into a state from another and the number who move out of it to another. Between April 1, 2000, and June 30, 2007, an average of 3,247 more Americans moved out of California than into it every week, according to the Census Bureau. Over the same period, Texas saw a net gain, in an average week, of 1,544 people. Aside from Louisiana and Mississippi, which lost population to other states because of Hurricane Katrina, California is the only Sunbelt state that had negative net internal migration after 2000. All the other states that lost population to internal migration were Rust Belt basket cases, including New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan, and Ohio."

What does this have to do with Obama, you ask? California is a microcosm of what he intends to do with the rest of the country. As goes California, so goes the rest of the country...right into another one with lower taxes and less rigorous regulation.