Perhaps you haven’t noticed this important little bit as you have been too distracted with digging your way out of debt, busting your ass at work just to keep up and grateful for your job regardless, or this nonsense about Obama’s choice for Supreme Court Justice. All of this noise is important, of course, because it further exposes Obama’s weaknesses; the poor cabinet choices (unless a crack team of tax cheats was the intended goal), the recklessly destructive attempts at economic repair thanks to his incredibly blind “advisers,” and the tendency to take on far more than “The State” was ever meant to handle.

Obama himself has insisted that though it may appear the opposite, he would prefer that the United States stay out of corporate affairs. Let us keep in mind that he said this just as GM was being led to the lethal injection chamber by Obama’s own team. Let’s face it, being owned by the United States government at this point is akin to a death sentence - just one more tumor devouring the host. What next? We’ve taken on the banks (who are still wandering aimlessly down Wall Street growling for braaaaaiiinnns), the automakers, the auto PARTS makers, the insurance companies; we have, at this point, even taken on ourselves. You did understand that this is what the Federal Reserve decision to buy Treasury bills on a massive scale equates to, right? Just making sure we are on the same page here.

How is that working out, by the way? Badly. The consensus amongst the armchair economists is that the bond market has begun its not-so-delicate unraveling and will shortly implode. Without this, one of the last “safe” investments remaining in a tumultuous and almost hallucinatory global financial market, Obama will have few options left to fund his promises, like the $787 billion Stimulus (no, it hasn’t been paid for).

But let us set aside the financial crisis momentarily and ignore the dollar’s red flags. Obama’s true challenge, disregarding the rest of the noise, is still ahead. Soon, he will have to start considering who he would like to replace Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Fed.

Bernanke’s term expires on January 31, 2010 and Obama’s people have certainly made it clear that the President does not intend to keep him in his post beyond that date. The first sign Obama wasn’t too keen on another term for Helicopter Ben? Sticking Timmy the Two Bit Tax Cheat Geithner in the Treasury, leaving ex Harvard President Larry Summers’ calendar free for “Take Over the Federal Reserve” on February 1st, 2010.

So, you say?

So, Larry Summers is, as one blogger put it, “a walking, talking conflict of interest.” Summers has collected millions in speaking fees from firms like Citigroup (multiple bailouts ring a bell?), Goldman Sachs (NY Fed/Goldman scandal sound familiar?), and Bank of America (CEO Ken Lewis working with ex Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke to possibly mislead investors, anyone?).

The New York Times paints a lovely picture of Summers saying “Mr. Summers, who will be 54 on Nov. 30, is universally described as brilliant, but is also renowned for being arrogant, occasionally rude and sometimes difficult to work with.” The article goes on to discuss Summers’ infamous reputation as a sexist after “girls don’t do economics” comments were, according to him, taken out of context some years ago.

All of this being said, please do not misconstrue my feelings for Ben Bernanke. Though a declared Republican, he does not subscribe to the exuberant idealism his predecessor Alan Greenspan brought to the Fed Chairman position. Someone described Bernanke’s politicism as being “asexually Republican” - the Ken doll with a bump of plastic under his suit and no expressed or obvious political affiliation to be found. Printing the United States into bankruptcy is certainly not a Republican trait I am familiar with.

So it cannot be Ben Bernanke’s politics which would motive President Obama to let his term expire. And even when we get rid of Bernanke, he’ll still stay on at the Fed board through 2020. 2020 until we can get rid of this money-printing manic depressive!

The Fed is failing and hard (see Treasury bills above). Whether or not this burden should rest entirely on Bernanke’s shoulders has not yet been decided. From the eyes of the funny-money-hungry Obama administration, it appears as though that doesn’t matter. Perhaps Bernanke doesn’t print quickly enough to keep up with President Obama’s promises and Summers will be better equipped to implode what remains of the dollar?

This will be interesting to watch. I sincerely hope Mr Obama manages to find a Fed Chairman who at least knows how to pay his taxes; if he picks a 7th tax cheat, and to head the Fed none the less!, I will have officially lost my faith in any chance this administration has at digging us out of this total economic disaster.

Liberals were singing President Obama’s praises last month when he overturned Bush-era restrictions on federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research.  Unfortunately for the left, this move has been post ceded with restrictive regulation on how these cells may be used – a relatively welcome game-changer for most conservatives.

While destruction of human life for scientific benefit is surely reprehensible, the newly minted restrictions are paramount in that they represent Obama’s first attempt to remain somewhat neutral on a domestic issue of importance.

From the relatively unpopular bailout, which was pushed into law despite Republican discontent, to incessant acts of misgovernment, this administration has taken somewhat of an anti-conservative stance on a cornucopia of social and political issues.  And while I still remain opposed to tax-payer funded embryonic stem cell research, the results of the administration’s stance could be playing out in a much more detrimental way.  According to FOX News,

“Draft guidelines released by the National Institutes of Health reflect rules with broad congressional support, excluding more controversial sources such as cells derived from embryos created just for experiments.”

Despite Obama’s overt attempt at leftist appeasement through the overturning of President Bush’s executive order, it appears the president is considering the rally cries of the opposing party on this issue.

Perhaps this newfound openness to issues associated with the right to life movement is reflective of the synergy many conservatives are creating in their attempt to rally together against those who would seek to pursue looser restrictions on abortion (as if the words “restriction” and “abortion” exist conversantly in Obama’s legislative agenda). 

It is also quite possible that Obama recognizes his need to respect a massive portion of the populace’s rejection to his anti-life stances.  Either way, this is somewhat of a step in the right direction.

Some scientists are, no doubt, disappointed.  While many had hoped for no restrictions on taxpayer-funded embryonic research, the National Institutes of Health is requiring that all cells used must come from “…clinic embryos that otherwise would be thrown away.”

Aside from Obama’s first, and thus far only, compromise, the most ironic portion of the new regulatory system is as follows (as per FOX News):

“The guidelines also demand that the woman or couple who donate the original embryo give proper informed consent. There are other options for such donors, such as donating the embryo to another infertile woman, and all must be explained. The donation must be voluntary, without pressure from scientists.”

These regulations are surely a step in the right direction.  With many claiming that embryonic stem cells are a hopeless endeavor, and with scientists finding more useful and less controversial methods of using and extracting stem cells (from amniotic fluid, by adapting adult stem cells, from umbilical chords, and without harming a fetus), one wonders why Democrats are behind the times in their incessant urge to pursue this method.

Still, it is encouraging to note that the government is not deregulating to the point of no return.  While I am hopeful that common sense and logic lead the president and Congressional Democrats toward the realization of more optimal and viable options, I’ll take this compromise and pray for more.

And as ironic as it stands, I must congratulate President Obama for making his first attempt at moderate governance.  Now, let’s hope he does the same in other sociopolitical realms.

Well, it’s been a while since I last wrote; and I am only writing now due to recent developments in the Middle East.

Just yesterday, in an interview with The Atlantic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel could go it alone and attack Iran if the country went nuclear. He said in unusually blunt language (according to the article) of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran” … and dammit, he is absolutely right.  A nuclear Iran would surely wreak havoc not only in the Middle East but the world abroad.

He also said that “The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons … and that Israel would not necessarily need American approval to launch an attack.”  This will prove to be Obama’s first major test in the Middle East.

The issue, in my opinion, is not Israel’s Military capability. Foreign leadership across the globe knows that Israel does not play games when it comes to protecting their land from foreign invasion. Past history is clear that those who attack Israel get dealt with very badly – no holds barred, no protesting from Code Pink, no congressional approval, no remorse.  The question here is simple.  Does Netanyahu have the stomach to launch a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities? I think he does.

Now will someone from Mossad go shut Chavez the hell up? His big mouth rhetoric is sickening to my ears.

Tags: Iran, Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad, Obama, pre-emptive strike, nuclear

We all know what kind of website this is, so there is absolutely no reason for me to point out that this analysis will inevitably have a conservative lean. The haters are more than welcome to throw “Neocon” and “war-mongerer!” my way because that seems to be the natural reaction when fighting the partisan fight - I assure you, the liberals should be just afraid as we are as to the long-term consequences of the passage of Obama’s stimulus, among other “creative” plans by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to kick-start lending in America. It is more like a kick in the teeth to any hope this country had at reasonable economic recovery.

First and foremost, we’ve been hearing for weeks now that plans must be supported, reactions must be quick, and trust must be established between the government and the taxpayer through “transparency and accountability” - Tim Geithner, ever the revolutionary, announced his financial stability program and was even kind enough to provide a website for Americans to keep an eye on his little project. How cute. They grow up so fast, don’t they?

But the reality is that the American economy needs sound, well-thought-out, creative solutions to our financial malaise. Some crackpot scheme pulled out of thin air that involves an insurmountable pile of debt on top of existing American obligations is NOT that sound solution. Forcing a bill bloated with pork and questionable earmarks ($80 million for a new Health and Social Services building? Seriously? How does this help us?!) through Congress, threats from the wicked witch of the far left, and a mysterious midnight release of said unsound “solution” just hours before the final vote leads me to believe that these guys simply have no clue. They are scrambling here. And worse, the world already realizes that America may not be able to keep its promise of economic stability to its citizens without drastic measures that will certainly compromise our already instable currency.

Where will this money come from?

Thin air. Just like the rest of it. And the pressure on the bond market will most certainly push Treasurys off their already precarious position.

The Federal Reserve cannot possibly support any percentage of this beast of a plan, let alone the entire $1 trillion shebang, without making some dangerous adjustments in money supply and policy. The money supply has seen a 30% increase in the last four months and bond markets are testing the Fed to see just how far they can be pushed. These are all ominous signs of what is to come.

Time to turn things around and introduce a truly intelligent solution may be running out, and who do you think will be left holding the bag when the ship sinks?

Talk about failing to learn life lessons.  After battling for governmental control, Obama is making lofty decisions that stand firmly against the will of the American people.  While he has experienced extremely high approval ratings for his performance these past three weeks, digging somewhat deeper into the polls showcases a substantive shift in public opinion.  From climate change to corruption — to funding for overseas abortions — Obama and the Democrats are paving the way for future electoral defeat.

In an era when millions of Americans are suffering job losses and struggling to meet their most basic needs due to corruption and greed, Obama has pursued individuals who have defaulted on their taxes and evaded general responsibilities to serve in his cabinet.  In no particular order there was Tom Daschle (”was” because he has now officially bowed out of consideration as a nominee for the position of Health and Human Services Secretary), who failed to pay over $130,000 in taxes.  Obama had this to say in response to the outcry surrounding the potential cabinetee (as per FOX News):

“Tom made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged. He has not excused it, nor do I,” Obama said. He added that the “mistake” should not diminish the “many contributions” Daschle has made to the country.

Then comes Nancy Killefer, who also withdrew her name for consideration for the position of “chief performance officer.”  Killefer would have been the first to take this position, but tax problems also hampered her ability to accept it.  And then there is Bill Richardson, who — according to FOX News — withdrew his name over an alleged kickback investigation:

“Obama’s first choice for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, took his name out of consideration when his confirmation appeared headed toward complications because of a grand jury investigation over how state contracts were issued to political donors.”

The confusing part of the nomination conundrum centers upon Obama’s promise to root out corruption.  So far the only rooting that’s been done is for earmarks and fiscal irresponsibility (i.e. a stimulus plan that calls for $600 million for government vehicles and funding for overseas abortions).

Aside from these shining examples of hypocrisy stands America’s new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, who belatedly paid $34,000 in income taxes.  The irony behind this clearly centers upon the fact that Geithner, a man who did not pay his own taxes in a timely manner, is going to advise President Obama on all things economy: government fiscal policy, and domestic tax policy, amongst other responsibilities.  And I thought Gregory B. Craig’s (Obama’s White House counsel) defense of a presidential assassin was an embarrassment to the Obama Administration.  Talk about one-upping one’s self.

Clearly, the American people should have some concerns.  One could argue that the aforementioned examples simply result from human error.  But, upon examination there is a pattern building here that is disturbing at best.  Even when one looks beyond the drama surrounding nominees and confirmations, the Democrats are making decisions that rail against the will of the people.

Unfortunately, Democrats have a habit of complaining about Republicans so fervently that they eventually convince the people, through the liberal media, that Republicans are ill-equipped to lead (and some are, but it’s nowhere near the proportion of Democrats).  Then, when they finally convince their way into office, they spend the majority of their time undoing every conservative regulation they can get their hands on, while failing to take the time to formulate their own policies. It’s the ultimate na-na-na-na-boo-boo, only the Democrats are willing to throw money at any problem that their undoing of well-meaning conservative policies doesn’t immediately solve.

Just look at Obama’s major decisions thus far.  According to polls released this week, the majority of Americans stand against Obama’s first two executive orders.  As for the first of these orders — the president’s decision to provide funding to family planning organizations overseas that provide abortions –58% of Americans disagree with Obama; only 35% support the decision.

And when it comes to the closure of Guantanamo Bay, 50% of the American public opposes, with 44% supporting his decision to close Guantanamo’s doors within a year.  While his approval rating is currently high, the American people are already making it known that they disagree with his far-left agenda (these two orders are precipitating facets of his worldview).

Understanding ultraliberals is a daunting task.  They will protest in the streets when Americans go overseas to defend inherent freedoms, but when it comes to international infanticide, they sit on the sidelines and stand idle.  At the least, you’d think they’d at least spout off about the need to support the domestic abortions they support so fervently before shipping funding off to other countries.  Apparently funding clinics that provide abortions in Zimbabwe is more important than funding our crumbling educational system.

Obama needs to get with the program.  Instead of holding press conferences to tell us how he’d never have a lobbyist serve in his administration right before backtracking and hiring a lobbyist, he should spend his time making meaningful and well-planned policy.  We need him to succeed, but with uncollected decision-making at the helm, success isn’t on the horizon.

Read more from journalist and commentator Billy Hallowell at www.williamhallowell.com.

Obama’s planned “economic stimulus” passed in the House today by a 244-188 vote. There is, as with all political and economic news these days, a good and a bad to this announcement.

Above all else, if you have not reviewed the actual appropriations of Obama’s plan, I absolutely recommend doing so. After all, this set of economic shock treatments will likely cost each American taxpayer around $6700 in the long run - this number is, of course, in 2009 money, which will shortly be devalued if Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have their say, running the presses non-stop to cover endless government and private bailouts.

Full disclosure of the stimulus in actual dollar figures suggested by the committee may be found here and here. Warning: the contents of this bill are not pretty. Reading of this bill may cause nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and vertigo. The pork is overwhelming and feels an awful lot like a giant government bailout. We have been down this road before (Citigroup, anyone?) and the scenery is certainly not entirely unfamiliar.

It is disgusting that this bill passed at all. Beyond that, it is sickening that our new President and Congress chose this as the hallmark of the new administration. Way to kick things off with this bloated joke of a bill, passing a government makeover at the taxpayers’ expense off as a stimulus to rebuild the broken economy which has damaged so many of those selfsame taxpayers.

The good? Not a single Republican in the House voted yea. It shows a strength and unity that the party has been desperate to formulate in recent years; could it be that Conservatives have once and for all learned that we are greater than the sum of our parts?

The bad? The Democrats still got their way.

It is a frightening reflection of the divide we now have to fight against; even when every single one of our conservative representatives in D.C. stand against a self-indulgent joke of a bill such as Obama’s stimulus, we are still defeated by the Spendmores on the other side of the aisle. That is a more frightening realization than the bill itself.

There is a healthy way to stimulate our floundering economy. This, my friends, is not it.

Hearing of Timothy Geithner’s confirmation today as U.S. Treasury Secretary despite his tax drama while with the IMF, I couldn’t help but feel as if Obama’s team (and his equally transfixed-by-fake-rockstarism Senate) very clearly intended to send a message to America: We are going to do whatever we want and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

There are still ignorant Americans bumbling along too distracted by their iPods and smartphones to realize that something insidious is at work in our country; Geithner’s confirmation only serves to clarify that point.

Who exactly is our new Treasury Secretary?

He is Dartmouth educated in government and Asian studies, pulled from the ranks of the Federal Reserve, and worst of all trained in the Robert Rubin school of economics. In case you are not aware (yes, I’m talking to you, stupid hipster bumbling around San Francisco too zoned out to realize you’re being ripped off by current Federal Reserve monetary policy), Rubin believes in greasing the dirtiest hands in corporate America; so long as he somehow makes off with part of the loot.

You may or may not know, then, that Geithner worked closely with Rubin to engineer the Citigroup fiasco. Remember? I’m glad that paid off so well.

In short, Geithner is exactly what this economy does not need. Money that has not even been created yet has been earmarked by both Geithner and Obama - with America continuously calling for stimulus. What don’t you get about inflation at this point?

Geithner, with his intimate knowledge of the inner-workings of the Federal Reserve (and more specifically, its ability to produce debt out of thin air), doesn’t care about your home or your job or your life.

Geithner’s confirmation as Treasury Secretary passed in the Senate today 60-34.

I’m black and I didn’t vote for Obama. I disagree with is politics and think that some his past acquaintances are shady, but whatever.  I give the man credit though, especially for his decision to have Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Now he is getting heat from the gay community.  The president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote to Obama Wednesday:

Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination.

And so it begins folks. Over the next 6 months, more and more Obamamaniacs will soon realize that Obama is not as liberal as they want him to be (crossing my fingers and praying right now). I just don’t get why the gay mafia is so outraged. From the beginning, Obama has said that he “believes marriage is between a man and woman”. Did you really think that he would have selected Jeremiah Wright or better yet, a transsexual preacher wearing camouflage pants and a Code Pink sweater to appease both sides?

I really can’t wait for the protesting to begin so I can laugh, point fingers and think how stupid they are. Are they going to call for his resignation like they did for those who voted for Proposition 8? Are they going to set fire to the White House?  Or maybe declare a Jihad against all Christians and the so called “anti-gay”, intolerant, right wing nut cases? This is insanity at it’s best but it sure is fun to watch.

One love to Urban for allowing me to post! Thanks kid.

Okay, seriously.  Obama’s campaign team did a phenomenal job of positioning his administration as the “agents of change”.  They almost had me believing it for a second.  I don’t know, maybe it’s me but does this really look like change to you?

• Tom Daschle – Health Secretary
• Hillary Clinton – Secretary of State
• Eric Holder – Attorney General
• Rahm Emanuel - Obama’s chief of staff
• Nancy Pelosi - Secretary of Defense (i made this one up!) : )

Tags: obama’s cabinet, tom daschle, hillary clinton, eric holder, rahm emanuel, secretary of state, attorney general, chief of staff

It’s been a week since Obama won the election and I have been silent. I have been listening, wondering, contemplating, analyzing and thinking. I have been completely silent from any and all election news, both on television and online. The guy I voted for lost and I can live with that.  But I am ready to speak my mind and get back in the mix.

Most everyone knows that I did not vote for Obama. In fact, for the last year and a half, I have been on the offensive in this blog and Obama was in my cross hairs. I was so vocal that Obama’s internet team even infiltrated the comments and tried to refute everything I or my team wrote about.

What I am going to say next will not go down well for some conservatives; and I have thought long and hard about this. But I have decided to support Obama as the President. That doesn’t mean that I am going to worship the ground he walks on or even register as a democrat. What it does mean is that I will respect him as the Commander in Chief and I will be as objective as I can when he makes Presidential decisions. I will no longer judge Obama for his past relationships or any other accusations, even though most of them were never really addressed in my opinion. And no, I am not moving to Canada. I am not going to call Obama names or let this blog turn into a hate mongering site. I am not going to blame him for everything that doesn’t go my way.

But I will be watching every move he makes and I will be critical and vocal with my opinions, when I need to be; and as we move into 2009, I will be most concerned about the following:

• Redistribution of wealth, including any and all tax increases and big-government welfare programs where people who don’t pay taxes are getting tax refunds
• Silencing people like me through the Fairness Doctrine and other efforts that restrict free speech
• Open border anarchy including amnesty for illegal aliens and promotion of multi-nation “unions”.
• Government-run health care that weakens our system and imposes more tax burdens on citizens
• Weakening of our military through rapid deployment out from Iraq, defunding our troops and overall disarmament
• Extreme liberalism including the radical pro-abortion agenda and the attack on traditional marriage
• Liberal court activism that undermines faith, family and liberties while expanding government control.
• Post-American globalism that diminishes our global role and threatens our national sovereignty

Don’t get me wrong, please. I am a conservative. I hold strong to traditional family values and that will never change. I believe in capitalism and know that anyone in the country who works hard can achieve success. I am a Marine and I love this country and all of our civil rights that so many have died to protect.

Urban out.