Sebelius To Thugs, "Continue What You're Doing"

WARNING: This video contains offensive language and physical violence, so consider yourself warned. I post it here because it is important. This is thuggery and it is happening right now in our country, apparently with the approval of government leaders, HHS's Kathleen Sebelius and the White House.



The video contains a vicious attack on a man in St. Louis who was peacefully selling buttons and flags saying, “Don’t Tread on Me.” Kenneth Gladney, an African-American, said he was punched, hit and "roughed up" by another black man wearing an SEIU tee shirt. Gladney said the man yelled at him, demanding to know, "What kind of n***** are you?"

Gladney was treated for his injuries at a hospital and later released. "It just seems there's no freedom of speech without being attacked," he said.


Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a conference call to the SEIU, during which she greeted her union with, “Brothers and Sisters,” and said “keep doing what you’re doing!”

I'm shocked and sickened. Isn't this Chicago-style thuggery?

It's now very clear to me -- if you oppose Obamacare, you’re a bad person. And if you’re a bad person, you can be labeled anything by the left. If you protest this president’s policies and the way he and his minions are attempting to suppress our right to dissent, then you are a racist. And if you suggest that Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy Pelosi are pompom waving cheerleaders for an organized movement you will probably be labeled a sexist! Well, I guess I'm three for three, so far.

My previous post generated a slew of email and I appreciate each one, and I'm almost finished answering them. I'm even grateful for the dissenters -- even from a reader who said I was not a Christian because I don’t like the policies and practices of our president. Okay. That's his opinion and he's certainly entitled to it -- I'll even defend his right to dissent. No problem from me. I definitely know I am a born again Christian, and I don’t mince words about it. I don't trust President Obama and his left-wing liberals and I don't mince my words about them either. Perhaps I lack nuance or something, but that's the way I am and it will take more than ugly words to ruffle this ol' guard dog.

In fact, I can hardly wait for some gay/lesbian/transgendered community organizer, astroturf-participant or member of congress to wade in with an accusation that my opposition to Obamacare is somehow opposition to gender-tolerance, so I can be called a homophobe, too. Maybe I'll win the Racist/Sexist/Homophobe Trifecta of Nasty Name Calling and Libelous Labeling. That should be a trophy worthy of note.

Back to the video. These people are thugs -- creepy and disgusting people who use evil means to accomplish their ends. And if you don’t like that -- if you think I’m a biased Christian for calling a spade a spade and not a shovel, well I feel absolutely no need to confess anything more than my contempt for what is going on in this country under the guise of false hope and nefariously dishonest change by those busy-body progressives who carry their liberal disease in and out of the shadows like a horde of wide-ranging cockroaches.

So, there you have it. You should probably flag me to the government -- rat me out to the White House -- tell them I'm distributing fishy information. Make it personal -- call me fishy, if it makes you happy. And go ahead and wag your finger and tell me how disappointed you are in me.

I confess I will be more than disappointed in you. But you know what? Disagree as much as we may, you'll always be safe with me because I’ll never rat you out or thug you up.

Seniors, AARP is NOT looking out for YOU!

SENIOR CITIZEN ALERT!

SENIOR ALERT! Here is a chilling conversation with Betsy McCaughey and Fred Thompson about Obama's Federal Government Health Care, aka ObamaCare. This is particularly frightening for senior citizens.

In the ObamaCare Bill, on Page 425, it states the Federal Government will require all senior citizens to undergo a Counseling Session at 5 year intervals -- the objective being to explain how seniors can end their own lives. In brief, all seniors will be given SUICIDE COUNSELING.


Listen if you dare. But listen, you must:





Chilling, isn't it?

Listen to Betsy McCaughey's 2nd visit with Fred:




Why does AARP fail to call attention to this? Where are the voices of one of the largest blocks of voters in the country?

I recognize euthanasia, like abortion, as part of the signs of the end times, but I guess I'm still in shock over finding this one actually included in the Bill and no watchdog groups are sounding the alarm.

As one of my dearest former pastors, Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say, "It's getting dark, friend -- gloriously dark."

*******

Now, on to AARP's Townhall with Obama:

I sat in on Obama's townhall meeting with AARP yesterday, and it wasn't easy to stay awake. Boring. Nothing new from Obama and no tough questions from anyone representing AARP. And, not one single question about Page 425. It was the usual stump speech: You can keep your own doctor... you can keep your own insurance... you can keep your own prunes -- whatever. Just lies, more lies and damned lies.

Obama told lies about how the government plans to deliver more for less, to cover most of the 46 million uninsured Americans while lowering premiums, limiting out-of-pocket expenses and requiring insurance companies to cover preventive care. He lied about a lot of people getting more without anyone getting less, and he lied when he said that two-thirds of the cost of covering everyone in America can be paid for “by money that is already in the health-care system.” He lied again when he said he favors a public option to increase competition and keep costs down, and that he “will not sign a health-care bill that is not deficit neutral” and one that doesn’t lower health-care inflation over the long term. Those aren’t just lies, my friends, those are damned lies.

And judging from the articles on their website and their mailouts and calls to members, AARP is supporting Obama and his lies, and by throwing their support to Obama's government-run healthcare plan, AARP is definitely not acting in the best interest of America's seniors. Instead, AARP, with its massive membership rolls (and accompanying membership fees) has become a powerful political action committee (PAC) that brokers all kinds of insurance to seniors nationwide -- bypassing the constraint of state lines. But there's more.

AARP is a business and my guess is they are being cut in on the insurance for the Obama Plan; thus, they will have a vested interest in helping the Government Health Care Plan succeed. Their primary interest is the P&L -- Profit & Loss -- and their share of ObamaCare will supercharge their profits into the stratosphere.

I repeat, AARP is a business. AARP is not looking out for the best interest of senior citizens. Lest we forget, the Eskimos had an efficient way of managing senior healthcare -- they simply sent the elderly out to sea in an old canoe or on an ice floe. It wasn't exactly the Caribbean cruise Gramma and Grampa envisioned for their golden years, but it accomplished its intended purpose "for the greater good."

For all seniors who are confused about who to listen to regarding health issues, it is definitely not AARP. Once again, it's the usual caveat emptor.

Obama Gump

Presidents can be like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get.

Obama said Professor Gates is a close friend. A little research on Gates turns up a history of repeated shilling while lecturing students and others. So I have to wonder, does Obama have any close friends who are not race-baiting, anti-white, America-haters?

At least Obama knows "stupidly," even though he obviously doesn't recognize it in himself or in his friend. And obviously, he doesn't exercise good judgment in fielding unscripted questions or he wouldn't have embroiled himself into this mess of pottage. Telling, isn't it?

The President does not owe Sargent Crowley a beer, he owes him a full public apology. Will Obama man-up and do the right thing? Hmmm... My bet is NO. He isn't man enough to apologize to a white policeman. In spite of the rhetoric, the arrogant chip on the president's shoulder is showing.

Victor David Hanson wrote in The National Review, "In the jargon of postmodernism, the president asserted one racial narrative as truth, while most of multiracial America accepted quite another: that Professor’s Gates’s contacts and friendships gave him privileged treatment not accorded to others who scream and blow up at policemen, and that minority males are indeed tragically disproportionately stopped by police because they also, tragically, are more likely to commit felonies. The president’s ossified remark ignored real efforts on the part of police departments to hire African-American officers and chiefs, engage community leaders, and train police in racial sensitivity — all the while dealing with the fact that African-American males commit violent felonies in numbers that vastly exceed their presence in the general population.

None of us gets a pass once we evoke racial identity, not even the president of the United States, not even one of mixed racial heritage. Once we go down that road of racial self-aggrandizement, of seeing each other not by the content of our characters, but by the color of our skins, we invite nemesis — and there will be retribution. Because Barack Obama has consistently emphasized racial identity to further his own advantage, I fear others, both black and white, will be emboldened to follow his polarizing lead — in ways both novel and far more pernicious. We once trusted our uniquely qualified president to help lead us out of our racial morass, but so far he has only pushed us far deeper into it."

I AM AMERICA -- UPDATED

UPDATED. ... I am America. Yes, I am the land you stand on. I am the beautiful amber fields of grain. I am the purple mountain majesty you sing about from sea to shining sea. I am the country to which you pledge your allegiance and for which you fought in battle. I am the way of life for which so many of my citizens have laid down their lives in battlefields near and far.

Since my founding, I have always been the land of the free and the home of the brave, but I am changing and my freedoms are fading fast. Once again, as your forefathers did in 1776, Americans will have to choose between freedom and oppression. I tell you truthfully that tyranny is not far from overtaking us all.

I have a magnificent history, for I was thoughtfully and wisely founded upon three fundamental documents: The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Taken together, these documents form the basis of all my principles, my laws and my heritage.

To destroy these is to destroy all the greatness that I posses, but that is exactly what has been happening.

The destruction of my founding principles can be directly traced to my people’s willful rejection of the Bible as their only source of divine authority. They have expelled God and the Bible from my schools, from my political process, my commerce, from the public square, and from the very way of life I have always provided.

The Declaration of Independence states, "All [men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It further states that these rights are "self evident" and that they constitute the "Laws of Nature." Did you know these principles are taken directly from the Bible?

The Law of Nature can be found in Romans 2:14-16. That our Creator is the Author of life can be found in Genesis 2:7. That God, not government, is the grantor of liberty can be found in Galatians 5:1. Pursuit of happiness can be found in Ecclesiastes 3:13.

Beyond that, virtually every one of the ten Articles contained in the Bill of Rights has Biblical foundation. The First Amendment recognizes and guarantees the natural right of freedom of speech, the freedom of religion and assembly. Christians are clearly given divine instruction regarding each of these responsibilities. Our founding documents properly established a government designed to "secure these rights." Therefore, under the First Amendment, Christians are free to preach the Gospel and to assemble for worship – any religion of their choice, or none at all. It is the freedom to do so that is a protected Right.

Likewise, the Second Amendment has Biblical foundation. Our Lord said in Luke 11:21, "When a strong man armed his palace, his goods are in peace." In Luke 22:35, 36, He said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

The Fourth Amendment comes from Deuteronomy 24:10, 11, and the Eighth Amendment originates in Deuteronomy 15: 2, 3. Again, these principles are self evident truths which come from "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God."

Even America's constitutional form of government of three co-equal branches – the legislative, the executive and the judicial come from Isaiah 33:22. Therefore, when my citizens, especially Christian citizens, allow their elected representatives to ignore or violate these founding documents, they are, in essence, allowing them to destroy the very basic underpinnings of my once-great country.

I, as the United States of America, have my roots solidly founded in Protestant Christianity. This is indisputable. But that is not to say that all of my original founders were born-again believers, for some were not. However, all of them, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, held the Christian faith to be superior to all others and they understood and agreed that I am a distinctively Christian nation.

Biblical laws and principles formed the cornerstone of my entire system of government and I can never lose my liberty and independence as long as my citizens hold an allegiance to Christian ideology. One does not have to be a practicing Christian to appreciate the primacy and importance of my deeply rooted Christian heritage.

James Madison understood this when he wrote in A Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785, "It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only as he believes to be acceptable to him. This duty is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society. Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe."

My Christian citizens must demand that their elected leaders actually govern like Christians. They must hold their political leaders accountable to the laws and principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Those who would lead must be held accountable for knowing the application as well as the spirit of these documents, for their original intent was never to protect and grow the size or the power of government, but rather, to protect the citizens from their government. Are you beginning to see where things are getting turned upside down?

Many of my elected leaders are flagrantly violating these principles and destroying my republic. Many of my citizens have never read or studied these documents. They do not know what they say or what they are really about. My citizens have been dumbed down through a politicized and substandard educational system based on revisionist history, pop culture, secular humanism, and political correctness, rather than on truth. They know more about their favorite celebrities than they do about the real life drama playing out daily in D.C. that directly affects each of their lives.

Ronald Reagan, in his Farewell Address wisely warned, “If we forget what we have done, we will forget who we are.” Sadly, many of my people have no understanding of who they are.

To compound their ignorance into apathy, my citizen’s once strong faith in God is being destroyed by their own churches and religious leaders. Multiple denominations are, for a large part, little more than houses of entertainment -- Sunday circuses to entertain and make the people feel better about themselves. In many churches today, there is no right or wrong; there is no more sin -- only mistakes of the mind or heart. Rare it is to find a preacher who stands uncompromisingly on the infallibility of the Bible as God’s Holy Word and boldly proclaims, “Thus saith the Lord...” to a lost and dying world.

*******

Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

It’s time to face facts, my dear citizens -- freedom, as envisioned by my Founding Fathers, is dying. I am fast becoming a land of evil hybrids born of atheism, ecumenical Christianity, fascism, socialism, secular progressivism and international capitalism. For 233 years I have stood tall as the world’s greatest bastion of freedom but now I’m speeding toward socialism at a frightening pace.

Obama is moving too fast -- consider the damage he has done in only six months in office. The multiple high-profile bailouts show the walls between government and the private sector are crumbling. Federal government intervention now extends into our financial markets, real estate, private businesses, public corporations, and education. The issue of health care is in the works now, and its outcome is certain to be a disaster for my people. And furthermore, as out-of-control government spending and massive debt increase accordingly, I am rapidly being drained of the economic and political strength my people have worked so hard to achieve and preserve for future generations. Simply stated, Obama is bankrupting America. If this is allowed to continue, it will be the end of me – the end of a bountiful land of plenty, the end of a land of limitless prosperity, the end of freedom.

The current obsession with multiculturalism will bring the end of America's future independence. While I am proud that people of all races and faiths are afforded asylum and freedom here, my people cannot lose their distinctively Christian faith without sacrificing their very existence, for that is the cornerstone upon which America was built.

An example of this truth is Barack Obama, the man who now rules my citizens as their president. He came out from me but he is not of me. He did not spend the majority of his youth growing up in any of my cities or small towns. Though he was born in Hawaii, he moved frequently throughout Indonesia and Asia. He did not learn of my ways because he was never a part of me in his formative years. While he was taught a liberal version of my history, he knows nothing of my innermost heart and my character or of the true spirit of Americana – that indefinable quality that makes my people unique. No, Barack Obama is a stranger to the American way of life – an interloper who returned to my shores to receive his higher education in one of my prestigious, liberal universities. He is a charismatic and charming young man but he has no deep-seated love for me. He is a social reformer with an agenda, and a shallow one at that. In his heart, I am not his country.

He has no pride in being an American. As president, he's traveled the world making apologies for what I am and for the actions I’ve taken. Not once did he speak publicly of any of the great good I have done for the world. Obama loathes all that I stand for and he is out to bring me to my knees, all the while, claiming it's not about him; rather, he claims he is fixing all that's wrong with the American way of life. And, he is not prone to let truth get in the way of making a persuasive argument. Behold, the snake oil salesman with his lies and corruption!

Behind his facade of cool, Obama is an angry American. He spent twenty years as an active member of a church where black liberation theology was routinely preached, yet he claimed he did not hear it. He speaks well, my citizens, but he does not speak truth. As a young man, his friends were American dissidents and radical malcontents of the Marxist-Leninist variety and their influence is obvious in his life today.

And, my dear citizens, the saddest part of all is that he was elected by you – those of you who call yourselves Americans and yet you hate the very things I have always stood for; those of you who voted for change but did not properly inform yourselves as to what that change would be; those of you who voted for Obama because he is a black man -- you voted for race and color of skin rather than for the content of character to which Martin Luther King taught us all to aspire.

As in 1776, Americans must once again choose between liberty and tyranny. Please pray for your country as you’ve never prayed before. Inform yourself of the issues that concern all citizens and then demand that your representatives return to my founding principles.

You may have to fight for me once again and the price may be high. It’s been high before and there were always brave men and women who stepped forward to pay it. The big question now is, will you? Will you fight -- will you pay any price to preserve American freedom for yourselves, your children and your grandchildren?

To those who do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the future is certainly dark; however, to those who know Him, He said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Can You See the Difference?

One Of These Things Is Not Like the Others.

My discerning readers will quickly see far beyond the tasks being performed. They will see directly into the differing personal ideologies, strength of character and the moral and visceral fortitude of the three men in these photos. Telling, isn't it?

This is not to say that real men don't hang curtains -- they certainly do when they are needed. But real men do so much more -- they are physical, they work and sweat for the sheer satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile. They don't mind getting their hands dirty, or their clothes -- or their faces, for that matter. It's a manly thing and they take it all in stride.

Perhaps Obama has gotten a little sweaty on a basketball court. Great, I hope he has. Now, let's see him cut down a tree. cut it into manageable lengths, carry it to its destination, split and arrange it into usable stacks of firewood.

That would be an episode of genuine Americana I would gladly pay to watch.

HT -- Picture liberated from Mark Alexander at patriotpost.us

The Truth of the Iranian Massacre of 1979

Watch this video only if you really want to know the TRUTH about how Iran got to be where it is today. (History only in part, of course):



The Shah may have been a bum, but he was OUR bum and it was in OUR best interests to support his government and not let it fall; thereby preventing the take-over by the evil theocracy that has ruled the people with such an iron fist all these years since.

This present crisis in Iran began with an election between two primary candidates who are evil, murderous men with innocent blood on their hands. Both of whom are under the dictates of the Supreme Leader. But has the crisis now evolved into something more, much more? Is this now about freedom versus tyranny?

America must provide strong verbal and moral support for the efforts of the Iranian people who are fighting in the streets for their freedom. To do anything less would be equivalent to supporting the tyranny that most surely will continue to hold them captive.

ObamaCare Draft Leaked

Keith Hennessey, former senior economic advisor to President George W. Bush, walks us through the first draft of Obama’s health care bill.

After reading Hennessey’s piece about the 15 things to know about the bill, my first reaction is OMG! Is this the economic environment in which we want to impose new taxes on both consumers and employers? WHAT are these people thinking? And make no mistake; any government mandate requiring people to either buy insurance or pay a penalty is nothing less than a tax.

It seems that a draft of Senator Kennedy’s (D-MA) health care bill leaked over the week-end and Hennessey was able to get a copy of the draft as a text file (173 K), and as a single Acrobat file (3.4 MB). Both files are searchable.

Hennessey writes:

“Calling it the “Kennedy” bill is something of an overstatement.
Senator Kennedy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
committee, and his staff wrote the draft. By all reports, however,
Chairman Kennedy’s health is preventing him from being heavily involved
in the drafting.

Senator Reid has designated Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) to supervise the
process, but as best I can tell, it’s really the Kennedy committee
staff who are making most of the key decisions. For now I will call it the
Kennedy-Dodd bill.

As the committee staff emphasized to the press after the leak, this is
an interim draft. I assume things will move around over the next several
weeks as discussions among Senators and their staffs continue. This is
therefore far from a final product, but it provides a useful insight into
current thinking among some key Senate Democrats.

Here are 15 things to know about the draft Kennedy-Dodd health bill.”

Continue reading "Understanding the Kennedy health care bill"…

Memorial Day

Never in the history of the world has anyone sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than has the American Soldier. Our Soldiers don’t just provide freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home.

"It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag; it is that Soldier who gives the protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”

~~ Zell Miller in a speech to the Republican National Convention

*****

I stood up.
I stepped forward.
I raised my right hand.
I stood in the gap.
I walked in the fire.
I did not run.
I did not hide.
I did not evade.

Consequently...

I have nothing to prove.
I have no one to convince.
Those who matter, already know.
Those who don't, never will.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

*****

This video is not only for those buried in Arlington, but for those whose earthly resting place is anywhere in the world; in cemeteries or in lone graves, marked and unmarked, in places that once were battlefields and war zones. It is especially for those who rest in unmarked places known only to God.

An American veteran, whether active duty, reserve, retired or deceased, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount of "up to and including my life." There is no way to properly honor that kind of duty but in my own humble way, I salute you. Thank you, American Soldier. You have always been my hero.

Words of Warning from Ronald Reagan

"There are those in America today who have come to depend absolutely on government for their security. And when government fails, they seek to rectify that failure in the form of granting government more power. So, as government has failed to control crime and violence with the means given it by the Constitution, they seek to give it more power at the expense of the Constitution. But in doing so, in their willingness to give up their arms in the name of safety, they are really giving up their protection from what has always been the chief source of despotism — government.

Lord Acton said power corrupts. Surely then, if this is true, the more power we give the government the more corrupt it will become. And if we give it the power to confiscate our arms we also give up the ultimate means to combat that corrupt power. In doing so, we can only assure that we will eventually be totally subject to it. When dictators come to power, the first thing they do is take away the people’s weapons. It makes it so much easier for the secret police to operate, it makes it so much easier to force the will of the ruler upon the ruled."

~~ RONALD REAGAN ~~

NOTE: Ronald Reagan can never be defined by a mere collection of one-liners but here is a random selection of a few of my favorites -- as timely today as they were when he said them:

“Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.”

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”

“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.”

“I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

“The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.”

“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”

“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”

“Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.”

“No arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”

“If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

"Those who have never broken free from the mentality of tax-and-tax and spend-and-spend still think increasing taxes is the best way to solve America's problems. ... We need a tax policy that offers incentives for people to work, save, and invest -- all the things that will keep our economy growing and improve our well being. We need a basic tax reform that will permit us to bring everybody's tax rates down. ... Our country needs leadership that can see beyond the demands of the special interest groups and prepare America for a better tomorrow."

~~ Random Quotes of Ronald Reagan ~~

The Second American Revolution

Founding Father, Thomas Paine, author of "Common Sense," returns to modern times to plead for a Second American Revolution to take back America.

Original video by Bob Basso:



If not now, when? If not us, who?

Shep Smith Blasts Congress Over AIG Hypocrisy

Shepard Smith eviscerates the congressional clown hearings today:

"Well, well, well. Wasn't that a quite a little show. Ladies and gentlemen, just facts now. No opinions."

[...]

"And furthermore... Barney Frank asking the CEOs to 'name names'? Remember Joe McCarthy?"


This is going to get messy, folks, and very divisive. And we must not let them get away with it.

Good for you, Shep! It was great to hear you state the facts in a day that was filled with political hypocrisy.

Behind the Scenes at the Obama Show

The White House is in role-playing mode again and the featured act is the second scene of the original play we saw six weeks ago. President Obama is outraged that AIG, after taking billions in taxpayer bailout dollars, is now going to pay out bonuses to the very folks who helped put the insurance conglomerate – the one that was too big to fail -- into the financial abyss in the first place. And they want us to believe the government is just now finding out about this.

Remember the humongous stimulus package, the one that no one had time to read before voting on its passage? Is it possible that the huge rush to spend taxpayer dollars was an itty bitty mistake? AIG was an un-savable mega-mess and for the government to rush in and perform a huge cash infusion into its miserable business practices and then to expect a different outcome from what it got is absolutely ludicrous.

Like Claude Raines’ character in Casablanca, Obama is outraged – outraged that gambling is going on in this establishment. We didn't hear any outrage from Obama when AIG contributed over $100,000 to his political campaign. And no outrage from Chris Dodd for AIG's very generous contribution toward his political aspirations. And the list goes on.

Taxpayer dollars were thrown at the financial giant without any accounting oversight whatsoever. The bonuses were part of AIG's prior contractual arrangements – legally binding business contracts that must be honored. But did our government’s financial gurus bother to find out about such contracts? Why, no. There was no time, remember? There was only enough time to throw money in the AIG coffers.

Wasn’t it a mere three weeks ago when we were reading that the biggest banks were going to fail? And then a couple of weeks ago we were told that Nancy Pelosi wanted another stimulus package and the banks might need still more bailout money.

But that was then and this is now.

Now, Bank of America posts a profits for 2009! And Citibank won’t be begging for more money after all – at least, not yet.

Those terrible retail numbers that spelled The Great Recession and had over half of the nation saying we were headed for The Great Depression II. Well, as it turns out they were not so bad after all.

Pssssst! Retail sales were up in January, but that didn’t get much attention from the MSM because the narrative from Washington back then was DOOM! DOOOM! DOOOOOOOM!

Now, suddenly everything is beautiful!

So, what happened?

Could it possibly be that Obama’s inside polling numbers were not quite so warm and rosy with all that disaster talk running rampant? I’ve got my own opinion. I’ll let you decide for yourself.

But, if you’re like me, and you’re feeling somewhat manipulated and more than a little like Dr. Doolittle’s Push-Me-Pull-You, then welcome to the Obama Nation. It doesn’t look much like our America of old, does it?

There is a method to the Obama madness and it’s heads, Obama wins -- or tails, Obama wins. First, Obama declared “a catastrophe that we might never recover from.” That drove an already shaky stock market right through the basement floor, wiping out nearly half of every workers' 401K, seriously damaging investors and scaring the citizens into agreeing to a monumental porkulous stimulus bill that will cost our children and grandchildren much of their American dream.

As if that weren't enough, Team Obama has worked overtime to dumb us down, to numb our senses in hopes of causing us to accept a government takeover of other parts of the private sector. Frightened people easily become followers and much of America is frightened.

Here’s my take on the crisis strategy -- the behind-the-scenes deception -- exactly why Obama talked down the economy and talked up each crisis in magnanimous proportions:

1. He needed to create an atmosphere that would allow passage of the stimulus bill.
2. He wanted to bring the crisis to a fever pitch so that he could further advance his effort to pass other big government legislation – health care, for starters, and green energy.
3. He needed to give the impression that the economy is absolutely, positively as bad as it could ever get so that any progress would be viewed as a recovery, and any recovery would be credited to Obama and hailed as nothing short of a miracle.

In my opinion, Obama’s strategy was calculated. It was deceitful. It was manipulative. It was opportunistic. And unless taxpaying Americans shake off our fear and make our voices heard, it will be effective.

Loosely stated, Obama, the intellectual, was getting hammered. Even his own party was starting to revolt from his grandiose spending. His administration is making foreign policy gaffes left and right and he personally insulted our best ally. Some wonder if he is malicious or simply inept. He cannot seat his cabinet or treasury staff. His priorities seem disordered. He’s been picking fights with private citizens – Rush Limbaugh comes to mind, to create a nemesis. His nominations are giving him fits. He’s backtracking on campaign promises and he’s moving left – hard left, and he’s moving swiftly.

The Tea Parties are starting to organize to a point where the MSM might actually be forced to cover them.

We’ve got warships heading to China while Russia has bombers going to Venezuela for alleged maneuvers. Obama wants to raise taxes, but you can’t do that in a Great Recession. He wants Universal Health Care yet he wants to charge vets for their battle wounds. He must change the subject and give the appearance that he’s doing very well in order to move toward nationalization. And he can’t do that unless -- Ta-Da! -- things aren’t so bad, after all!

He’s hitting the reset button – again -- on his entire presidency.

Well, I hate to be cynical. But I’ll sleep better tonight knowing it’s really not all that bad, after all. You’ll sleep better too, won’t you? No point in feeling like a fool just because the president needs us to be fools in order for his plans to succeed. Let ‘im eat cake!

He Says He's Very Good At It

Never underestimate Obama -- he’s one smooth salesman. He’s deceiving the American people about his liberal revolution. His air of confidence is disturbing in its arrogance. For all of his failure to project optimism about the economy, he has tremendous confidence in one thing: his ability to ram his liberal agenda through Congress before the American people even know what hit them.

One of the most chilling quotes from Obama that I’ve ever read is this, reported by Fred Barnes recently:

When Barack Obama met with TV anchors at a White House luncheon last week, he assured them he likes being president. “And it turns out I’m very good at it,” he stated.

Let that sink in for a moment. Obama had been the president for 44 days and already he was saying he’s “very good at it.”

The stock market is falling every day and he’s “very good at it.” Today the Dow is set to close at 6594.44 and Obama's “very good at it.”

Confidence is one thing. Unashamed hubris is another.

Come to think of it, he’s very good at that too.

Rush Limbaugh, American Patriot

Rush Limbaugh is everywhere in the news, especially since Politico has uncovered a little White House plumbing action in which Rush has been systematically targeted by the Obama White House.

As a frequent listener, I naturally had to tune in today to hear his opening monologue. Rush did not disappoint. It was fascinating radio -- Rush was both amusing and amazing.

In a move that can only be called brilliant, Limbaugh cordially invited President Obama to come on his show and spend three hours in a debate with him. Limbaugh is offering the POTUS fully paid transportation and overnight accommodations – not one cent of it on the taxpayer’s dime -- for a debate.

Limbaugh seems utterly, supremely confident – in other words, his normal self. He suggests that if President Obama can debate without notes or teleprompter and defeat Limbaugh in the eyes of the audience (paraphrasing), “You will own America. You will have no opposition standing. Santelli is being silenced; Cramer will be gone soon, though not without a fight. You already have the press, you have Hollywood. The only thing standing between you and complete ownership of the United States is me and my little radio show.”

Obama once wrote of audacity, but today Rush hit him squarely with the reality of the word -- an audacious offer. Rush is calling Obama’s bluff. Limbaugh understands what so few in America seem to grasp: there has been a coup -- a bloodless, painless coup. The Obama presidency is only about six weeks old and America may never again be the same.

Of course, the White House won’t do the debate. Obama could never begin to go toe to toe, without notes, against Limbaugh – certainly not on the serious issues that concern this country. As a frequent listener, I believe that Rush Limbaugh could go toe to toe with the devil himself and in the end, the devil would wonder what happened.

In spite of the way he's portrayed in the mainstream media, Limbaugh is hardly a radical wingnut. He has never been that. He's magnificently informed, direct, compelling, uncompromising, down-to-earth, and incontrovertibly genuine. What lines he may cross via hyperbole, are backtracked by the man's genuine and admirable self-deprecation -- something of a lost art these days.

The over calculated and totally teleprompted Obama hasn't got half of Limbaugh's ability or certainty, which may not be saying much because, basically, Limbaugh is light years ahead in terms of conviction: he is a wise, sensible, potent, incomparable voice for conservative American politics.

Obama has a way of getting out of things. The White House canceled a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister yesterday, ostensibly because of snow. Many Brits viewed it as a snub.

Unfortunately for the country, this debate will never happen -- never in an uncontrolled environment where Obama would be publicly exposed in such a manner. But this Reagan conservative can dream, can’t I? I would pay good money to hear such a debate -- but I digress.

Obama’s supporters are furious, but why should they be so angry? Obama is an ivy-league educated orator with excellent skills; and besides, he’s the President of the United States. He should be able to out-talk college-dropout Limbaugh hands down, shouldn’t he? The callers want to re-negotiate the terms for Obama’s sake. It’s pretty funny radio.

Limbaugh replies, (paraphrasing) “Hey, Obama wants more diversity on the radio -- I’m offering time for the Democrats' view to be fully exposed and explained…”

It’s absolutely brilliant. The White House will send Press Secretary Gibbs out to chuckle about Limbaugh’s offer and try to dismiss all this as political theater.

The White House may regret targeting this college drop-out. Rush Limbaugh is a seriously courageous man. He loves this country unquestionably, and he sincerely believes in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He believes in the First Amendment and places himself right beside it and says, “Go ahead, take your best shot.”

Rush is an American patriot.

Bravo, Rush, Bravo!

~~~~~

You can read Rush’s monologue here.

He's Barack -- We're Broke

So, here we are, going into month two of the Obama presidency and the Dow has now fallen below 7,000. It’s at 6809.17 as I type this. We haven’t seen these numbers since 1997. But at the White House, it's black tie and white wine, steak dinners and cocktail parties.

A week ago, Chris Matthews (the MSNBC liberal loon with the tingling leg for Obama), wondered aloud in a rare moment of Obama-doubt: “I thought 8,000 was the floor, and it looks like 6,000 is the floor. People are angry, I’m getting angry.”

And, there’s Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner – the so-called indispensible man who was presented to the public as the only one equipped to handle our economic crisis in spite of his "minor" problem with TurboTax. His performance has been less than reassuring. To the contrary, Geithner looks like a deer in the headlights -- the antithesis of confidence in a time when confidence and leadership are desperately needed. So much for the choices of our newly elected Community-Organizer-in-Chief.

How low will the Dow go? No one knows. I don’t know. But I do know that the market does not like the policies of this new president – no way, no how – and without confidence to give it direction, the market will continue to spiral downward. Personally, I can easily see Dow 5000. Whether it crashes there or reins itself in is anyone’s guess, but I can say with certainty that the U.S. economy is in shambles and the market sees no recovery on the horizon.

The president – the Anointed One -- seems wholly untroubled by any of this and is happily continuing on toward the creation of one world with a global “new deal” on his mind. The swiftness with which he is accruing and consolidating power is breathtaking, and sadly, most people don’t even realize what is happening. Impoverishing the people is only part of it. The underlying agenda is about power and change -- changing America into something freedom-loving people will not recognize and we most certainly will not like.

Some reporters are beginning to think it might be time to panic. Why now? It's not as if they weren't warned long ago by all of us lowly conservatives.

Obama is going to make the Carter years look like the best of times.

~~~~~~~~~~

The MUST READ: Larry Kudlow spells it out in no uncertain terms:

Obama Declares War on Investors, Entrepreneurs, Businesses, and More

Let me be very clear on the economics of President Obama’s State of the Union speech and his budget. He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equity and venture-capital funds.

[...]

Study after study over the past several decades has shown how countries that spend more produce less, while nations that tax less produce more. Obama is doing it wrong on both counts.

And as far as middle-class tax cuts are concerned, Obama’s cap-and-trade program will be a huge across-the-board tax increase on blue-collar workers, including unionized workers. Industrial production is plunging, but new carbon taxes will prevent production from ever recovering. While the country wants more fuel and power, cap-and-trade will deliver less.

Read it all here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Will YOU Do When Freedom Dies?

I Am Dying -- Will You Help Me?

Beware of Scammers

I like the classifieds on Craigslist. I’ve used the service several times and each transaction has been smooth and uneventful. I made good deals with no hassles and no fees. But such is not always the case. Craigslist provides a good service and I will continue to use it, but, as in all things, I use abundant caution. I never know what type of individual I may be dealing with -- and scammers are everywhere.

Recently a friend advertised a car for sale on Craigslist. He listed all the pertinent information about the vehicle, including photos, the price, etc. He got several responses to his ad, but one response in particular caught his attention:

I will buy your car. I am okay with the price and the conditions. I would have come to check it out, but it's just that I am very busy and I am out of state.

I will make payment to you via Certified Cashier’s Check and I understand it must clear your bank before you release the item to me. I will also be responsible for the pick-up and shipping. So, all you will do as soon as you get the payment check is to get it cashed, deduct your money for the item and send the rest to my shipper whose name and address will be enclosed in the envelope of the check, so that they can come for the pick up at your residence.

Hope I can trust you with my money cos I’ve been scammed before and I don’t want to be scammed again. If this is okay with you, please get back to me with your.... Name, full contact address(city,state and zip code,) and your phone number.Do get back to me ASAP so that I can issue the payment check to you via UPS Next Day delivery. Kindly remove the item from site so that no one will contact you for it.

Regards,

XYZ

Being the cool sort that my friend is, he responded with the following cryptic email:

Hey XYZ,

There's a problem. See, I'm on the run from the law, so I have to keep a low profile. I can't go into banks or anyplace with cameras where the FBI might see me. This would have to be an in person deal, I'm very familiar with dealing with large sums of money and contraband and am always well armed so as to insure a deal goes off without a hitch -- well except for that last one, but he drew first. Anyhow, I'm really anxious to unload this car. The upholstery is freshly cleaned and there's also a new passenger window, so I hope you’re not just yanking my chain.

Rick Santelli, A Free Speech American

I strongly believe that a man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom, does not deserve his freedom. This was never better illustrated than this morning while CNBC’s Rick Santelli was doing his usual early morning live report from Chicago on the CBOE. He had no script – his many years as a trader are all he needed to do his reporting from the trading pits.

And then it happened – the moment of truth. Listen and watch Santelli (see below). And listen to the spontaneous reaction of the traders around him.

There was nothing staged about this moment -- no punches pulled and no dutiful mouthing of scripted talking points. Santelli was honestly speaking his mind and the reaction from the traders was the same. This is free speech.

It is uncontrolled speech. It is free. It's American.

Free speech cannot be controlled or it is not free at all. We in America have for too long engaged in self-censorship as a form of political correctness and it is enslaving us. I'm not talking about yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, but rather, I'm referring to speaking one's opinions honestly and openly.

Sometimes, you have to let go and let the words fly. And if you cannot do that, you are not free. And if you are not free, why be an American at all?

God bless Rick Santelli.

Considering that CNBC is owned by NBC, I pray he still has a job next week.

~~~~~~~~

Edited to add the video:

The Reagan - Obama Debate

In their own words:

The Insult and the Outrage!

The Porkulous Package -- the largest stimulus-spending bill in the history of the United States -- passed in the House a short time ago. The vote was 246 – 183. Thankfully, there was not one single Republican on board.

The Senate is scheduled to vote later this afternoon -- about 5:30 PM -- and I would suggest that the 3 blind mice -- Specter, Collins and Snowe -- the RINO's of the Republican Senate rethink their positions carefully. Before the Senate votes, you still have time to MELT THE PHONES. Call one -- call all. The American people cannot afford to lose this round.

Republican Ladies and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, I thank you for your desire to serve the wishes of the American people who sent you to Washington. We will not forget you for today you served your country well.

This bill was supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, but it quickly became Pelosi’s pulled pork of spend, spend, spend. Can anyone tell me how we are supposed to pay for this beast of a bill? Can anyone who voted today on the bill, say with all honesty that they have read it? Not possible -- the 1100 page bill was not made available until very late last night. Our elected officials voted on an $800 billion (yes, that's billion with a b) spending bill that they have not even read! And what about the American people's right to read it? What happened to Obama's campaign promise of putting bills on the Internet before a vote? Another campaign promise bites the dust.

I'm insulted and I'm outraged.

The American President, Madam Speaker and the rest of the Dems cannot stop the fear mongering and urgent yapping, and every time they yap, more jobs disappear as they reveal that they are driven less by a desire to serve than to control. They are more interested in backroom connivance than transparency. Back rooms with only one party allowed in does not equal transparency even in Obamaland. Transparency, it seems, is just another word.

Barack Obama must be giving fits to those backroom supporters who never meant for the nation to so clearly recognize his hyper-partisan purposes - and his limitations. And we’re only a mere three weeks into his presidency.

And Obama promised there would be no federal sprawl. What about those construction jobs in the new stimulus package? They are mostly FEDERAL construction jobs meant to construct or shore up FEDERAL buildings and agencies in and around Washington, DC, where FEDERAL SPRAWL will be allowed. Bigger government needs bigger buildings -- and you can be sure Obama is going to have bigger government. Of course, some construction companies in Bethesda, Maryland may see boom times, but what about the rest of the country? Is that Obama's idea of sharing the wealth?

So, what is the message here? Obama is telling the country to find something else to do, something other than growing, working, producing, creating, innovating, building. He wants energy independence but does not want drilling, refining, and the jobs that go with them to take place in America. He wants everyone to have a house, but apparently we’re not supposed to build any new ones. He wants Americans to become less materialistic, more personally responsible for our mistakes, and he wants the government to grow larger and to spend our way out of debt.

One thing is painfully clear -- Obama’s rhetoric is empty, and what is not empty is evasive. He is, increasingly, the “just words” president. He speaks of American dreams, but he works to limit them. And he is not alone.

Where does Barney Frank, a wealthy public official (I find it impossible to refer to him as a public servant), get off telling free Americans what their salary caps should be?

Where does the extremely wealthy John Kerry get off slobbering on the floor of the United States Senate that Americans are too “free to invest their money where ever they want!”?

How dare the set-for-life Chuck Schumer show such contempt for the “little” people, who simply want to know what we’re being put on the hook for?

Corrupt and singular, many of these little kings and godlings serve themselves alone. They are merely playing Lego's with the rest of us. And you can be sure they will not cap their own salaries.

Where do any of these public officials who have either grown wealthy on the public purse, or used their wealth to purchase their office, or have used their office to protect their wealth, get off telling us, the can-do Americans, how much we can earn?

How dare they begin to shred the Constitution and dismantle The American Dream? How dare they discourage the sort of dreaming that made America into Ronald Reagan's shining city on a hill, an exceptional nation of limitless possibilities?

How dare they -- those who aspire not to serve but to rule, create destructive, historic and transformational 1100-page bills behind closed doors and show them to lobbyists before they show them to legislators or to the American public they are supposed to be serving?

But it's done.

It's scandalous.

And no one is calling it treason.

Lest We Forget...

The One who is always in ultimate control of all things.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

~~ Matthew 10:29 (NASB) ~~

Keep Your Kool-Aid, Mr. President

How quickly we fall victim to scare tactics and fear mongering. Have we all forgotten that for almost a third of all the months during the 1970’s, 1980’s, and the 1990’s, America had an unemployment rate as high or higher than it is now? True. And does anyone remember the economic crisis Reagan inherited from Carter? It was much worse than what we have now and Reagan didn’t plunge the country into massive debt nor did he nationalize one single thing.

The economy goes through cycles, it always has, and the sky has not yet fallen so why are we so quick to believe it will this time? Unless, of course, Obama, Pelosi and Reid are successful in choking off the country’s future by shoving the largest spending spree in history down our throats.

We, as free Americans cannot afford to allow the good ol’ boys to do our thinking for us. Their thinking is not rational. Well, that’s not quite true. Their thinking is rational in that they are frantically pushing to achieve their own agenda of socialism and they lack the intestinal fortitude to call it what it is. Instead they are using fear and urgency to scare us into their way of thinking.

This bill is not – NOT -- a stimulus for the economy. It is a liberal domestic spending binge to the tune of $800 billion dollars, masquerading under the guise of a "stimulus bill" that they want to pass without going through the normal legislative processes.

In order to do this quickly -- and they know if it's not done quickly, much of it won't get done -- they, especially Obama, are screaming that the sky is falling in order to scare us into acquiescing. They are playing us for fools. I will not drink the Kool-Aid, Mr. President.

They are shredding our Constitution and every American should rise up and take decisive action and contact all our Senators and Congressmen. Make the calls, write the emails, ever mindful that a man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom, does not deserve his freedom.

The American Dream is in our hands. Our children and grandchildren’s future depend on us. We cannot – we must not let them down.

New site to check out: Stimulus Watch.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.” ~~ C.S. Lewis ~~

President or Dictator?

Today would have been Ronald Reagan's 98th birthday. If the Gipper knew what was going on in Washington over the stimulus package, he would be spinning. And he would never approve of the scare tactics being used by Obama and the Dems.

Such great memories from the past -- such unbelievable insanity in the present.

There's insanity and then there's the insanity of the Democrats -- and I must say, Democrat insanity is in a league of its own. It's no longer a question of a stimulus, but of what should be included in the package. And the Dems have it all wrong, again. You don't spend your way out of a financial crisis. You cut taxes, you cut spending and you put people to work. You don't mortgage the future of your children and grandchildren on an asinine spending bill, especially one using100 percent borrowed money.

If you're so inclined, MELT THE PHONES. More numbers can be found here.

I hope the Republicans stick to their guns and hold the line against the current bill. I hope you've let your representative and your senators know how you feel. I'm on the verge of being on first name bassis with mine. And if you haven't contacted yours, shame on you. After all, it's your money, and your children's money, and their children's money. What's being done to their future is nothing short of criminal. Their chances for achieving the American Dream are rapidly diminishing. I pray that sanity will somehow prevail.

~~~~~~~~

Lately, we've seen flashes of anger from "the One who would bring us together." The message is beginning to come through -- "It's my way or the highway." Tough talk from one who would unite.

Are we witnessing the leopard changing his spots; the President morphing into the Dictator? Or are we watching the Socialist letting his guard down and being the Socialist that he has always been? I've been warning readers about Obama the Socialist since the inception of The Shepherd Report but I take no joy in being proven correct.

We're in for a world of hurt, my conservative friends.

May God help us.

~~~~~~~~~~

The must-read of the day: Charles Krauthammer

"So much for the president, who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill."

Read Mitt Romney's Sound Advice

And this interesting piece from DeRussy at Pajamas Media.

And then there's this:

Mr. Obama's "Non-Negotiables" For the Stimulus Is Really His Domestic Agenda That He Intends to Cram Down Our Throats Without Going Through the Normal Legislative Process:

Infrastructure, weatherizing homes, health IT spending, (liberal) education spending, investments in science/technology (alternative energy) research, health insurance for the unemployed, relief to states and aid to families."

The fact is that much of this is Obama's effort to get his domestic agenda enacted under the guise of stimulus that has lawmakers -- on both sides -- increasingly agitated.

"And make no mistake, a significant portion of the stimulus spending comes right out of the agenda Obama announced last summer -- long before the need for a massive stimulus bill emerged."

IBD Editorials, February 5, 2009

~~~~~~~~

“If this is the change we all can believe in, then Americans’ best days are behind them.”
~~~ Senator Lindsey Graham, SC, on the so-called stimulus package ~~~

The Shocking Facts About the New Bailout Bill

Do you know the shocking facts about what THEY want to do with OUR tax dollars, all in the name of a bailout bill? Read the info and then let your congressman and senators know how you feel as soon as possible.

From the new AskHeritage site:

AS PRESIDENT OBAMA settles into his new office, it is imperative that we encourage him and Congress to exercise prudence when attempting to rescue the economy. Massive deficit spending will only throw our country further into economic shambles, as the current stimulus and SCHIP bills do little more than increase our debt and healthcare costs. Consider the following issues with the "stimulus" bill:

1) The $825 billion bill would dump $10,520 of new debt per household into the laps of our children and grandchildren. The interest on this debt ($347 billion) will dump even more.

2) Under the stimulus, new groups of children and adults would be eligible for Medicaid, the welfare program for the poor which is already going broke. These expansions are on top of spending $89 billion to bailout the failing state Medicaid programs.

3) The current "stimulus" bill will be the largest spending bill ever enacted by Congress, making the New Deal look small, accounting for inflation.

4) President Obama anticipates that spending over $800 billion will create 3.7 million new jobs. That means each job will cost more than $200,000, which is roughly equivalent to 5 times what the average American worker earns!

5) The bill is full of wasteful spending, including $21 million on new sod for the National Mall in Washington, $600 million on cars for government bureaucrats, and $650 million for digital television converters.

Read more, if you dare. And be sure to take ACTION by letting your representatives in Washington know how you feel about their use of our tax dollars.

Oh, and by the way, do you know that the defense budget is going to get cut? All those billions of dollars being thrown around and there’s nothing for defense spending? The Pentagon has been told to cut their 2010 budget by 10 percent – and that's for starters.

I’m amazed at how one single election could let loose such a scandalous swarm of insanity in Washington – but on the other hand, look at the politics of the people who were elected. Are these people connected with reality?

I guess the War on Terror is over. Is it now time for us all to join hands and sing Kumbaya?

More later.

Farewell, President Bush

I sent my personal letter of appreciation to President Bush several weeks ago, but Eric over at Tygrrr Express penned an admiring letter of appreciation on the occasion of Bush's last day in office, appropriately Martin Luther King Day.

A few highlights worth noting:

"Dr. King was a much better speaker than you... Despite attempts by some who try to rewrite history for their own gain, I want to thank you for your many accomplishments, beginning with everything you have done to secure Dr. King's vision of a truly colorblind society.

"Nobody has hired as many black Americans to as many prominent positions as you have. You made Colin Powell your Secretary of State. You appointed Dr. Condoleeza Rice to be your next Secretary of State after a stint as your National Security Advisor. You hired Larry Thompson to be your Deputy Attorney General under John Ashcroft. Rod Paige was your Secretary of Education.

"These people were not hired because they were black. They were hired because they deserved the jobs based on merit. You did not make token appointments. You hired good people who happened to be black. That is colorblindness."

Read it all. And thanks, Eric.

**********

Several days ago, Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard wrote ten things that Bush got right. It's well worth reading, if you haven't already.

And, if you missed Charles Krauthammer’s excellent column of January 16th, I highly recommend you read it here.

Thanks, Fred Barnes for reminding us what the left-wing myth-makers want us to forget. And Charles Krauthammer, I couldn't agree more with your perspective on Bush’s Imminent Rehab.

STUNNING: Another Bush supporter.

History, no doubt, will treat Bush far better than his contemporaries have done, for history has a way of seeing all things from a panorama where little is left of sacred secrets. President Bush has been crucified in the public square in spite of his decency, his goodness, his Christian faith -- that strong internal moral compass that guides him -- and, in spite of his remarkable success in winning two most difficult wars to protect this nation from those who would kill us.

All wars are hard; all wars involve mistakes and corrections. All wars, if they are to be won, come at a perilous cost. George W. Bush understood that and he did not shrink from it.

I cannot think of a more difficult job than being the 9/11 President, but that most terrible of jobs fell on Bush's watch and will forever rest on his shoulders.

George W. Bush had a charge to keep and he kept it. Thank you, President Bush, and may God bless you. My family and I will be forever grateful.

Uncle Jay Explains 2008 -- The Year That Was!