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The Obama Watch
A Short-Running Magic Show
How quickly the magic and arrogance has turned into mismanagement and excuses.
How quickly the magic and arrogance has turned into mismanagement and excuses.
Cinching his party’s nomination on the night of June 3, 2008, a pumped up Barack Obama concluded his triumphal St. Paul, Minn., speech by declaring, “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick…”
It’s as if America didn’t provide care for the sick until that moment, the night Barack racked up enough delegates to beat Hillary for the nomination, as if the nation’s vast array of hospitals, research facilities, pharmaceutical companies, nurses and physicians were dysfunctionally and decadently operating all these decades, just waiting anxiously to be saved from their individualism, greed, and patient abuse by Obama’s ascension to power.
As Obama explained during the campaign: “So if you come in and you’ve got a bad sore throat, or if your child has a bad sore throat, or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.’”
It’s the same with our feet, endangered by the capitalist mentality, according to candidate Obama. A doctor faces the choice of getting “reimbursed a pittance” if he works with patients “to help them lose weight,” he explained, or getting a non-pittance jackpot of “$30,000, $40,000, $50,000” if that “same diabetic ends up getting their foot amputated.”
At the high end, that’s $100,000 for both feet, halfway to the price of a new Bentley convertible, so why talk about donuts and exercise?
Future generations, Obama continued in his St. Paul victory speech, self-proclaiming his historic importance and promising deliverance via seemingly messianic powers, will be able to look back and tell their children that “this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal …”
Reacting to a similar display of exaggerated self-importance, Newsweek’s Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas, being interviewed by Charlie Rose, saw Obama’s Grant Park performance on election night to be somewhat “creepy”:
Meacham: “Have you ever seen a victory speech where there was no one else on stage? No adoring wife, no cute kid. He is the messenger.”
Thomas: “There is a slightly creepy cult of personality about all this. It just makes me a little uneasy that he’s so singular. He’s clearly managing his own spectacle. He’s a deeply manipulative guy.”
Rose: “Watching him last night in that speech … it’s almost like he then ascends to look at the circumstance.”
Meacham: “He watches us watching him.”
Thomas: “He writes about this metaphor being a screen upon which Americans will project. He said, ‘They want a Barack Obama. I’m not sure I am Barack Obama.’ He has the self-awareness to know that this creature he’s designed isn’t necessarily a real person.”
Less than two years later, the magical creature is disappearing.
Sitting around a table in Louisiana with some locals as the BP leak continued to spew tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day into the Gulf, there was no talk from Barack Obama about the rise in the oceans beginning to slow or the earth beginning to heal. “I can’t suck it up with a straw,” he said.
About the Author
Ralph R. Reiland is the B. Kenneth Simon professor of free enterprise and an associate professor of economics at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (84) | Leave a comment
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Don L | 6.22.10 @ 6:48AM
Since abortion is an absolute part of healthcare in the eyes of the left, and Obama's version of "caring for the sick" is to kill them outside of the womb (it's still my body?) if an abortion was "intended" - as a lawyer might argue -he therefore extended healthcare benefits, so he does have a point.
He does stand rather silent on the issue of the Supreme Court granted right to privacy with your doctor, from Roe Vs Wade. Maybe it's because his Obamacare extends a woman's right to privacy to be shared with a few million bureaucrats. The news is just full of woman's groups protesting the theft of their pricvacy. I'm certain there's an article or a statement somewhere....
Ret. Marine| 6.22.10 @ 6:49AM
This fraud talks out both sides of his ass. Can't say it more plainly. What really drives this former Marine nuckn' fut's is the LameStreamliars, they were in on the dole from the start, anything to make G.W. look like the loser he was not.
Now that We the People, or should I say the 52% of this Nations idiots, elected this loser, the lamestreamliars can't do or say enough to justify his presence at our House on 1600 Penn Ave.
Where is the investigations involving this fraud to his connections to the Chicago Climate exchange, his Soro's and Progressive Instit.'s Pedesto brothers playing both sides of this climate bill, the 2-billion loan to the Brazilian Petro at the same time he's shutting down our Gulf area drilling, his lack of interest in National Security matters? and we are suppose to believe he was all that and a chicago two-step con artist, I think not. Those of us who took the time to investigate this fraud from the start have many things to say about this fraud, and yet he is still mucking up everything he comes in contact with, and we did not succumb to the bullshale the lamestreamliars had to say either. My guess is with the recent spat with Sen. Kyle, he has done nothing more than reinforced what most of here already knew, he's not even a good liar, he's worst, he's a liar with a very damaging past if ever let lose on his adoring fans, would make him nothing other than another cell mate of Federal lock-up facility. What goes around will eventually come around and he is on a collission course with the cross-bar motel. Actions such as Honor, duty, God, Country are as alien to him as his citizenship status. Why do we continue to take anything this fraud says as truth, it's not. He's nothing but one big lie after another, he proves it daily.
neo-libertarian| 6.22.10 @ 9:48AM
The Kyl/Obama narrative really does not need the collaborating evidence of an audio tape to ascertain who is telling the truth. All one has to do is examine the same scenario that occurred with Governor Brewer of Arizona. Here we have POTUS on video telling the nation that he will, in two weeks send staffing to address the immigration issue. It is obvious that not only is Obama a liar, he is a serial liar. It does not bode well for our nation that we have chosen a a Jon Lovitz character of Saturday Night Live to be the leader of the free world. Bear witness what happens to the truely honest men of our nation, the Bartons and the McChrystals when you head to the voting booth in November. The political process we use to select our leaders more often than not produces clinkers with fobials that range from deranged displaced libedos, spendthrifts, to abject cowards, not all can be visionaries with the equally rare attribute of charactor exhibited by Ronald Reagan. Americans are a diverse, unique constituancy but one thread remains consistant, we do not tolorate liars.
Grzmlyk| 6.22.10 @ 2:18PM
He is not just a serial liar; he is a pathological liar with a severe mental illness.
And that's his BEST trait. The fact is, we have a president whose world view is childlike; whose definition of "economics" is "a bunch of greedy republicans hoarding cash in a cave somewhere;" whose sympathies are formed exclusively by whom he perceives to be victims of mainstream white American culture (first among them, himself); whose historical knowledge wouldn't pass muster on an average high school exam; whose emotional well-being is so utterly warped by a sense of alienation and fear that it is completely inaccessible; whose only accomplishments were empty gestures directed to him by opportunistic outsiders leveraging affirmative action and his bottomless vanity to press their own power agendas; whose mind is filled exclusively with visions of retribution against those he perceives as his oppressors; whose capacity for common sense wouldn't fill a thimble even as his ideological delusions dwarf the planet's oceans; who has never known true friendship, true achievement, true loyalty, true patriotism, true appreciation, true spiritual humility or even had the courage to look himself in the mirror in the morning without framing his face within the gossamer bunting of messianism.
And still, that's not what amazes me. What amazes me is that anyone who isn't severely brain damaged still defends him on any front, for any reason, in any way.
Because the truth his, as bad a human being as Obama is, those people are more destructive even than he is.
God save us, if we even deserve saving at this point.
Ken (Old Texican)| 6.22.10 @ 3:44PM
So...........whatcha gonna' do about it, GRZ?
""Ken (Old Texican)| 6.22.10 @ 12:31PM
What worries me.
IF we pull off a sweep of the House of Reps, I am worrying about what the communists, (pardon the shorthand), will do in the lame duck period before next January.
HOUSTON...we have a problem!
I hope each of you will pray earnestly about how we save our country...one of us at a time.
I hope each one of you has been stocking up against the day.
""Dear Father, what am I to do? Is our country salvageable? Are we past the time where ballots mean anything?
Father, we have given them "our cloaks, and our tunics also". We have turned the other cheek, and we have prayed for those who persecute us.
Is "America" worth saving? Are we finally in the ultimate "self defense mode"?
Must we stand idly by and watch the lights of the world go out for a thousand years...or perhaps until Jesus comes again?
Are we truly in those "last days", when Satan is loosed for a time?
Father, please forgive us if we stand up to these demons with our faulty understanding of your will.
In Jesus' name we approach your throne.
Amen ""
Forever Marine| 6.22.10 @ 12:29PM
Just as we are finding out about Teddy and the Soviets now that that the files are open, so we will see someday soon that this "chosin one" was not only purposely killing us as an instrument of his enablers, but laughing all the way. He, indeed, hates America.
Semper Fi!
Alan Brooks| 6.22.10 @ 4:49PM
"anything to make G.W. look like the loser he was not."
But even Bush's enemies secretly respect him-- though they naturally do not like him. Also there is a healthy fear involved: you could say: "neuter Clinton, not his cat" and feel fairly safe-- but say such about a member of the Bush clan (or more accurately, cabal) and you risk retaliation. Valerie Plame and her hubby were utter fools to go on a high horse against the Bushes, the Bushes have pull, they are Connected to the max. You can mess with a Carter, a Clinton, a Nixon, but not a Bush.
I know you have to serve your rightwing subscribers as well as your conservatives, yet when you write babytalk you only waste your time, or your gullible-rightists' time. Everyone else knows how important it is for people like the Kennedys and the Bushes to claw their way up the food chain as high as possible.
And as far as subscribing to AS, the check is in the mail, 4th class postage.
Darin| 6.22.10 @ 7:03AM
Given the stellar performance in dealing with the economy and managing the oil spill clean-up, isn't a comforting thought that these are the same people who will be responsible for your health care?
On the plus side, the FCC is now looking to give the government control of the Internet, so sites like TAS will likely find themselves found guilty of "promoting hate or misinformation" and shut down.
Doesn't this give you a nice, warm feeling inside? Kind of like the feeling of bile rising in your throat just before you throw up?
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 2:06PM
"Given the stellar performance in dealing with the economy and managing the oil spill clean-up, isn't a comforting thought that these are the same people who will be responsible for your health care? " - well, yes.
Since Obama helped us avoid another Great Depression, with Bush's help before him, of course. And, yes, since he stopped other oil drilling until they can figure out what the oil industry should have done to protect their own industry.
Can you imagine if Grandpa McCain that knew nothing about the economy had been elected... OMG. Katie bar the door... Have a nice day!
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 3:18PM
On the contrary, he, nanny botoxic and hairy red are destroying OUR economy. Numbers do not lie. Yesterday at 4:45 PM ET the National debt was $13,096,546,461,308 which was 90.8358348% of GDP. The 90% mark is a threshold which economists view as the point at which a nation’s debt becomes unsustainable due to service on that debt such as interest. I do not have daily numbers older than 11/30/1 YO but on 12/31/1 YO this number was 85.6169625%. The increase cannot be blamed on THE EVIL BUSH. We are on track to reach 100% Debt/GDP next spring. Since June 4, the National Debt Clock website has tracked a steady decline in jobs from 140,658,480 to 139,394,727, a loss of 1,263,753 of those in the work force. Awful hard to save an economy if this trend continues. However, the good news is that over the same time frame, the number of federal employees has increased by 1,956 from 4,259,152 to 4,261,108 and the number of people receiving food stamps has jumped from 40,604,900 to 41,445,662 a gain of 840,762. These jobs and benefits only compound the problem since to pay for them requires taxpayer victimization. The sad truth is that the sham economy obummer voted for while THE EVIL BUSH was president and put on steroids at first opportunity is built almost entirely from stimulus type funds. This money is simply stolen from one area of the economy and given to his cronies and contributors. At best it is a zero sum game and without additional stimulus is unsustainable. There are too many problems with OUR economy to list here. I recommend you read a book or two by Walter E. Williams or Thomas Sowell. Those truly intelligent Americans will open your mind. If anyone would like copies of the screenshots I took on June 4 and June 22 simply send me a request at the below email. They are in *.doc format.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 10:45PM
Deficits don't matter, Ronald Reagan and Dick Cheney told us so... just because you have a Democrat in the Whitehouse now doesn't change that.
Sorry, arguments ring hollow, now is NOT the time for serious deficit reduction.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 11:29PM
Well then, you and they can tell that to the 1,264,921 people who have lost jobs since June 4. Plus, I don’t think Cheney was talking about economic policy so much as he was election policy since in spite of running a deficit the Republicans won the next round. Clearly, voters such as yourself prove his point. However, there is a new awakening in OUR land of voters who are truly frightened by the staggering, unsustainable debt which will impact OUR economy for generations shackling OUR children’s grandchildren with a burden they will be unable to bear.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Purpleguy| 6.23.10 @ 12:04PM
Deficits do matter over the long run, really. But, deficits didn't cause the economic downturn, it was poor free market decision-making hastened by poor oversight and lack of regulation in the last 30 years allowed to occur during Republican Presidents & Congresses in 20 of those 30 yrs, especially in the last decade.
But just like this is not the time for tax increases, it is not the time for deficit reduction - but i have to say that Obama is pursuing deficit reduction in any case, having appointed a commission to provide options.
carnot| 6.23.10 @ 2:06PM
yea. right on! you nailed it brotha! the voice of truth!
it had nothing to do with out of control entitlement spending at the local, State and Federal levels. It had nothing to do with government propped Enterprises (e.g., Freddie/Fannie) and legal threats subverting normal market processes. It had nothting to do with ideological dispositions on the part of senior House and Senate leaders to continue enabling debilitating policies EVEN WHEN THE EVIDENCE WAS IN PLACE OF IMPENDING DISASTER.
once again. you sure nailed it!
but that is why you are here: comic relief!
carnot| 6.23.10 @ 2:06PM
yea. right on! you nailed it brotha! the voice of truth!
it had nothing to do with out of control entitlement spending at the local, State and Federal levels. It had nothing to do with government propped Enterprises (e.g., Freddie/Fannie) and legal threats subverting normal market processes. It had nothting to do with ideological dispositions on the part of senior House and Senate leaders to continue enabling debilitating policies EVEN WHEN THE EVIDENCE WAS IN PLACE OF IMPENDING DISASTER.
once again. you sure nailed it!
but that is why you are here: comic relief!
Ted| 6.24.10 @ 7:33AM
Your understanding of basic economic theory is faulty.
Nancy| 6.22.10 @ 5:18PM
You must be on a different planet than the rest of us...of course, why else would you be purple, or is that your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid?
Rebecca| 6.22.10 @ 7:40AM
I think there may be another moment coming up that our children will be talking about, when Obama jumped the shark. Instead of a Deep Throat, he's got his Deepwater.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 2:01PM
Interesting how all you "free marketeers" are quick to jump on Obama and the government for not intervening enough in the oil spill caused by the very industry you think should " Drill, baby Drill" ... What a bunch of hypocrites. Either you want government intervention or you don't. Make up your stupid mind.
Emma| 6.22.10 @ 3:07PM
You apparently are not aware that in the deep water where this incident occurred, the Federal government is specifically charged with the responsibility for dealing with the situation, Unlike, for example, the Katrina situation (which occurred on land) and for which state government(s) were specifically responsible. It certainly can be confusing if you don't have the basic facts straight.
Tim*| 6.22.10 @ 9:38PM
More interesting !
BP & Enron created Cap & Trade in the mid 90's and Obama is sneaky backdoor attempting to reward BP by passing Cap & Trade.
Day 64 !
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
133 Days to November 2nd.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 10:42PM
Tea Party? Crazy, upper middle class whites that don't want to pay taxes... Rand Paul, Sharron Angle? Those are your warriors? ... what a joke. Where are they? No interviews, no exposure, silence - why is that? Even if those bozos were to win in November, what entertainment they will provide ... oh, yes, I can't wait... 11/02/2010!
Convet| 6.24.10 @ 10:59PM
More slack-jawing of the purple jerk. Ate any good books lately?
RCV| 6.23.10 @ 12:00PM
The tea-baggers will end up like their philosophical ancestors, the Know-Nothings: a sorry footnote in political history. What they've managed to accomplish so far is the election of a Democrat to the House in upstate NY, the likely election of an independent, Charlie Crist in Florida in what should have been a slam-dunk for the GOP, and the fracturing of the Republican Party in Utah. If Rand Paul and Sharon Angle are to be the new face of the GOP, I say, bring them on! Palin/Paul in 2012!
Convet| 6.24.10 @ 11:00PM
Fine words from a FISTER!!!
carnot| 6.23.10 @ 2:20PM
Earth to dimwit: no one is arguing for the strawman laissez-faire intrepretation you implicitly have for free markets.
the argument is over how much regulation, what should should be regulated, where it should be applied, how capable the government is at deciding and administrating, AND THE OPPORTUNITY COSTS. oh yea...and the liberties potentially lost in the process.
you have been reading too many bumper stickers.
Mattled | 6.22.10 @ 8:15AM
Where is Rezko?
Let's offer the guy a multiple million book deal to be out by November to spill the goods.
Odingo is so dirty he reeks. It's starting to ooze out of his pores.
davelnaf| 6.22.10 @ 8:51AM
From day one Obama has governed well outside the tried and proven parameters of what constitutes a successful presidency. Because he is so far left he might not be able to head toward the center, much less get there.
Ken (Old Texican)| 6.22.10 @ 8:51AM
Folks,
A must see video from National Review online
http://tv.nationalreview.com/u.....QwODJjZWY=
Humphrey Dumfries| 6.22.10 @ 11:48AM
Ken,
Great link. Here's a full version of the Reagan LP, "Ronald Reagan Speaks Out on Socialized Medicine" at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYrlDlrLDSQ
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 1:58PM
Yeah, he lost that battle against Medicare too.
JmsA| 6.22.10 @ 9:05AM
Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be surprised things have turned out as they have-if not worse.
Matt Morehouse| 6.22.10 @ 9:58AM
Problem was that too many people with "half a brain" voted for him. Problem is that there are too many people "with half a brain" that will vote for him again.
Ned| 6.22.10 @ 10:48AM
All you have to do to understand how we got here is read TAS - yesterday for example:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....-cant-read
Your Government In Action... or is that "Inaction"?
Al Adab| 6.22.10 @ 12:02PM
Lets see, we elect a guy based on his glib tongue and race who has no executive or management experience and then are surprised when he turns out to be incapable of handling the job of Chief Executive.
Shame on us. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Don't apologize, set it right.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 12:29PM
"Campaign in poetry, and govern in prose" is always he dichotomy. In military campaigns, the best battle plan is only good until the battle begins. In the business world, it is the same, a project plan is a starting point.
What you should be looking at for success is looking at the baseline (the starting point left by the previous administration) and how far down the road Obama has been able to move the ball for the particular campaign issue he mentioned.
Unfortunately, that's too analytical for most people - the emotion of the moment, reflected in polling rules the day.
So, we get politicians we like, not necessarily that are good. And the "like" is a perception, not necessarily the truth. That is where the media has it's biggest effect - the perception rather than reality. Fixed News is a master at that.
Al Adab| 6.22.10 @ 12:47PM
Purp:
We don't agree often, but you are on to something here. All too often perception IS reality to our disservice. We judge on popularity while we all recognize that the best sellers are not always the best books.
Tom| 6.22.10 @ 1:19PM
"What you should be looking at for success is looking at the baseline (the starting point left by the previous administration) and how far down the road Obama has been able to move the ball for the particular campaign issue he mentioned. "
No, what I should be looking at is whether the campaign promises he fulfills do what he said they would. He passed the stimulus, by most accounts it has been worthless. Should I count that as a success because he fulfilled a campaign promise or a failure because his strategy was inherently flawed?
Nate| 6.22.10 @ 1:37PM
Most accounts?
By most accounts on the terminally looney right maybe.
Most accounts by actual economists agree that the stimulus measures taken by Obama prevented a catastrophic depression.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 1:53PM
You have two-fer here ... All economists, that aren't pushing an agenda, agree that the Stimulus package passed under Obama, and the TARP program passed under Bush have averted another Great Depression. We are stuck with the Great Recession, which on some accounts is because the stimulus wasn't large enough.
In addition, saving GM and Chrysler is a bipartisan achievement as well. Bush started and Obama finished what Bush started before him.
The Media labels these rescue pgms "bailouts", but in fact they have saved millions of jobs and thousands of businesses from going under.
Now for his campaign promises -
He promised to provide:
0) More jobs - and so he has, with the trend of 750,000 loses/month reversed to positive gains each month
1) End torture, and he has
2) Rescind the ban on Stem Cell Research, and he has
2) provide Healthcare Reform, and he has
3) set timelines for leaving Iraq
4) Continue and strengthen our forces in the "Good War" = Afghanistan, and he has
5) Reform MMS - which is in process
6) Provide the much needed Financial Reform, which is almost completed
7) Small Business assistance, and he has
8) Mortgage assistance, and he has
9) Comp. Immigration Reform - on the docket now
10) Comp. Energy policy and reform - on the docket now
11) Change the makeup of the Supreme Court, given the chance - and so he is
12) Nuclear arms reduction treaty - and so, he has
13) Change the perception of World leaders that the US is a bully - and so he has
14) Hold negotiations and meetings on CPAN in the interest of transparency- and so he has
15) Means to attack the deficit - and so he has by appointing the deficit commission.
16) End Dont ask, dont tell - and that is in process.
Now, nothing is perfect, and you may not agree with the substance or the issues tackled, but you can hardly say he's done nothing or nothing of what he promised. And, this is just what I remember off the top of my head. There are many, many more.
Ken (Old Texican)| 6.22.10 @ 3:51PM
Ken (Old Texican)| 6.22.10 @ 12:31PM
What worries me.
IF we pull off a sweep of the House of Reps, I am worrying about what the communists, (pardon the shorthand), will do in the lame duck period before next January.
HOUSTON...we have a problem!
I hope each of you will pray earnestly about how we save our country...one of us at a time.
I hope each one of you has been stocking up against the day.
""Dear Father, what am I to do? Is our country salvageable? Are we past the time where ballots mean anything?
Father, we have given them "our cloaks, and our tunics also". We have turned the other cheek, and we have prayed for those who persecute us.
Is "America" worth saving? Are we finally in the ultimate "self defense mode"?
Must we stand idly by and watch the lights of the world go out for a thousand years...or perhaps until Jesus comes again?
Are we truly in those "last days", when Satan is loosed for a time?
Father, please forgive us if we stand up to these demons with our faulty understanding of your will.
In Jesus' name we approach your throne.
Amen ""
purpleguy, you got your talking points down pat. Freeze in the dark, knothead.
RCV| 6.22.10 @ 5:38PM
Take a deep breath and get a grip on yourself.
Vollowitz lives| 6.22.10 @ 8:12PM
Too many people in Greece took deep breaths and got a grip when they needed to be cutting their bloated government. RCV seems to be selling the "don't worry be happy" nonsense and it is a ridiculous sell to those of us who can do simple addition.
LiveFreeOrDie| 6.22.10 @ 4:20PM
"All economists, that aren't pushing an agenda, agree that the Stimulus package passed under Obama, and the TARP program passed under Bush have averted another Great Depression."
BS, name three.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 10:34PM
Name three who don't ... if you can.
Liberal Reader| 6.22.10 @ 11:38PM
This is typical troll behavior. He can't even answer a simple question. Not only do they believe that Obama is doing some good they believe they are as well. Purpleguy needs troll rehab right away. He can no longer discern the real world.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 11:44PM
Typical alinskyite tactic. When unable to respond to a question, simply ask its negation. Try Walter E. Williams, Thomas Sowell, Eric Rasmussen and the late Milton Friedman. Oops! That's four.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Purpleguy| 6.23.10 @ 12:12PM
Okay - Paul Krugman, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, Mark Zandi --- oops that's 4 too - but THEY are all alive ... just as Greenspan changed his mind, Friedman might have as well, given the chance. But being dead is kind of a buzz-kill ain't it. Just curious - can you name 1 more?
Nancy| 6.22.10 @ 5:26PM
I particularly liked #14, purple...all that transparency. Yeah, like passing laws so we can find our what's in them. And we're still finding out. The problem is tha we have so many idiots that are so disengaged with life and/or thinking, that we elect such a sorry bag of crap. At least, purple does think...even if it's all wrong, IMHO.
Purpleguy| 6.22.10 @ 10:38PM
Completely meaningless response. One comment by Nancy Pelosi means everything to you? You can find out more and see more about how and what this administration is doing, and Congress as well, than any before. But you don't care about that, not really, do you?
Liberal Reader| 6.22.10 @ 11:46PM
More troll behavior. The Speaker of the House rammed this legislation through and comes up with a response like this. This is an indication of a movement that doesn't have the faintest idea what they are doing. Democrats are unsustainable on all fronts.
Purpleguy| 6.23.10 @ 12:07PM
As I said, you don't really care...
Sam Vaughn| 6.22.10 @ 6:28PM
You really are clueless. As for Afganhistan-
Walking through the Charlotte Airport today I was drawn to a silent crowd. They were silent in their greeting of a returning soldier. I've never seen a solider return this way. I've greeted quite a few and bought them meals. Amazing stories, you can tell the ones that were in harm's way, they're changed, quiet, understated. I don't know but I suspect because they are the ones that return. I admire their courage and self-effacing bravery.
This soldier came down a sunny ramp in a flag-draped coffin. The sadness was palpable. Six rangers and their squad leader formed up and gently carried his coffin to a waiting hearse. The Delta ground crew stood silently and saluted. A tearful father stood his ground. Crisp salutes by the honor guard and the hearse drove away.
I don't know who this kid might have been young man or woman. I could only picture the North Carolina barbecues he'd never see and perhaps the kids or fiance he/she left behind.
I've heard liberals make fun of soldiers, too dumb ot get a real job. Never do they speak of honor, courage, valir. I nearly cried.
And I say to myself I'm sure the Commander in Chief doesn't have a clue which of the 57 states this young person came from......
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 7:51PM
“(obummer) promised to provide:
0) More jobs - and so he has, with the trend of 750,000 loses/month reversed to positive gains each month
2) Rescind the ban on Stem Cell Research, and he has”
As to 0, by now you should have read the numbers I provided in response to your 2:06PM post at 3:18PM. I would like to add that today the job numbers dropped another 1,168 to 139,393,559. Keep in mind that the population has been increasing steadily throughout. From June 4 through today, the number of counted people increased by 142,043 from 309,422,558 to 309,564,601. So let’s contemplate the impact of a growing population offset by a declining job market. Just because vee pee joke bite’em is impressed does not mean anyone with a clue should be.
As far as 2, there never was a ban on stem cell research. What was not allowed was using taxpayer money to fund embryonic stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells, as the name suggests, are from human embryos which must be killed in order to be used in, or maybe as a byproduct of, such research. Those of us who are pro-life are greatly scandalized that we are forced to contribute against our will to those killing babies for profit. There are other sources for stem cells such as umbilical cords or bone marrow which do not cost children their lives. The ban applied to taxpayer funding only. There was nothing to prevent a generous guy such as you or your komrades from donating your own money to the baby butchers of the world. However, your ilk tend to only be generous with other people’s money.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 8:00PM
Purpleguy, I just heard from Sheb Wooley that a purple people eater was spotted in his neck of the woods in a tree. Sheb reports that the creature appeared famished and thinks eating purple people “sure is fine”. So be careful out there.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Zionisticamerican | 6.22.10 @ 9:57PM
A depression would have been preferable to a drawn out recession ending in a depression. We reap what we sow and we (all of US) sowed a lot of bad karma, but to exacerbate the dues by pushing the day of reckoning further down the road does nobody any good at all.
Tim*| 6.22.10 @ 10:16PM
The Dow Tanks Again.
" The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell 2.2 percent in May. The report surprised analysts who thought sales would get a lift from a homebuyer tax credit. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million from a revised 5.79 million in April."
RCV| 6.23.10 @ 5:52PM
The Dow ended up 4+ points today, Tim. Since Obama took office til today, it has risen from 8200 to around 10,200, an increase of around 25%. You don't want to go there.
Tim*| 6.22.10 @ 9:45PM
" As reported Friday by Bloomberg, the total United States debt under President Barack Obama is poised to explode past its statistical post-war norms to a point where it “exceeds the value of the nation’s annual economic
output.” Total federal government debt rose past $13 trillion for the first time in June 2010 and is on track to surpass U.S. Gross Domestic Product by the year 2012, according to projections just issued by the International Monetary Fund"
.
carnot| 6.23.10 @ 2:21PM
pot. kettle. black.
Convet| 6.24.10 @ 11:01PM
Pontification from the prince of trolls. Your mother have any kids that lived?
Shamus| 6.22.10 @ 3:34PM
Can someone please help? The spell has worn off my Magic Negro.
RCV| 6.22.10 @ 5:37PM
Do you have any idea how offensive you are?
Tim*| 6.22.10 @ 9:51PM
Yes , one must be restrained and respectful of President Obama.
Please refer to Mr.President as President Tarballs from now on.
Thank You !
Day 64 !
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
133 Days to November 2nd.
RCV| 6.24.10 @ 10:47PM
As long as you and other tea baggers keep up the racist rhetoric, the American electorate will recognize you for the Nativist Know-Nothings the movement represents.
Kipling| 6.23.10 @ 12:06AM
Sorry, Shamus, I can't help. I'm not sure anyone can. But Rudyard Kipling offered an explanation, in a poem titled "A Servant When He Reigneth":
Three things make earth unquiet
And four she cannot brook
The godly Agur counted them
And put them in a book --
Those Four Tremendous Curses
With which mankind is cursed;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Old Agur entered first.
An Handmaid that is Mistress
We need not call upon.
A Fool when he is full of Meat
Will fall asleep anon.
An Odious Woman Married
May bear a babe and mend;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Is Confusion to the end.
His feet are swift to tumult,
His hands are slow to toil,
His ears are deaf to reason,
His lips are loud in broil.
He knows no use for power
Except to show his might.
He gives no heed to judgment
Unless it prove him right.
Because he served a master
Before his Kingship came,
And hid in all disaster
Behind his master's name,
So, when his Folly opens
The unnecessary hells,
A Servant when He Reigneth
Throws the blame on some one else.
His vows are lightly spoken,
His faith is hard to bind,
His trust is easy boken,
He fears his fellow-kind.
The nearest mob will move him
To break the pledge he gave --
Oh, a Servant when he Reigneth
Is more than ever slave!
Does it sound as though the poet was referring to anyone you know?
Louis Jenkins| 6.22.10 @ 5:18PM
The new wore off the Pretender n Chief in a hurry. "I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick…"
What have we been doing? Chopping liver? The sick and injuried keep coming regardless of whether or not something is done. Working closely in the healthcare business I cannot help but wonder were in the dickens children need to be told about healthcare? But then again, health care and children have a touch of finality about it doesn't it? If we have to tell someone about healthcare our children are the always the first to be told.
Sam Vaughn| 6.22.10 @ 6:12PM
Walking through the Charlotte Airport today I was drawn to a silent crowd. They were silent in their greeting of a returning soldier. I've never seen a solider return this way. I've greeted quite a few and bought them meals. Amazing stories, you can tell the ones that were in harm's way, they're changed, quiet, understated. I don't know but I suspect because they are the ones that return. I admire their courage and self-effacing bravery.
This soldier came down a sunny ramp in a flag-draped coffin. The sadness was palpable. Six rangers and their squad leader formed up and gently carried his coffin to a waiting hearse. The Delta ground crew stood silently and saluted. A tearful father stood his ground. Crisp salutes by the honor guard and the hearse drove away.
I don't know who this kid might have been young man or woman. I could only picture the North Carolina barbecues he'd never see and perhaps the kids or fiance he/she left behind.
I've heard liberals make fun of soldiers, too dumb ot get a real job. Never do they speak of honor, courage, valir. I nearly cried.
Sam Vaughn| 6.22.10 @ 6:19PM
And I say to myself I'm sure the Commander in Chief doesn't have a clue which of the 57 states this young person came from......
Michael L. Hauschild| 6.22.10 @ 8:15PM
I returned and was picked up by my family in one of those airports in 1971. I was wearing my "A's" and was taunted by some teenagers while moving through the concourse. My father who had been disabled since the Battle of the Bulge had to be restrained. I was more shocked than mad; when I left in 1969 there really weren’t any hippies. (very red state) Seeing as that crowd seems to be occupying the White House today I think back and wish that I had turned old Louie loose on them. He is gone now but while in his late seventies I saw him kick the crap out of someone half his age, a fight he did not start. To this day, and starting back then, every service man I encounter in uniform I greet them with "thank you for your service" some seem shocked but if I have not rendered them speechless with that small dose of patriotism they invariably thank me.
Do the same, they deserve it.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡| 6.22.10 @ 8:26PM
Thank you and your Father for your service!
Gill O’Teen ✝✡
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
Go Galt!
Only 943 days to go.
Michael L. Hauschild| 6.22.10 @ 9:00PM
You are welcome.
Tim| 6.22.10 @ 10:02PM
This is exactly what happens in work site elections
regarding union representation.
The Union Sales people come in and promise great wages and security and then if the Union wins which is very rare in private industry you never see the union folks again until officer election time every three years.
The Union Leaders and their corporate counterparts cut a sweet deal with themselves to insure dues but no pain for the employer the workers get hosed because so called trouble makers get fired and the Union and Company leaders spend days on end on lavish golf Courses and in 5 star hotels getting stroked by gorgeous blonds at pool side or in their rooms.
It's the Chicago way! It's the Union Way!
It's the Obama way!
Next time think before you vote!
WAKE UP| 6.22.10 @ 11:11PM
I can't suck it up with a straw," he said.
Can you imagine (for example) Harry Truman EVER saying something as pathetic as that?
Next time| 6.22.10 @ 11:19PM
White Guilt just took Affirmative Action to its extreme and this is what we got. O-boy had the Seal of Approval from Demo-duds Joe Biden and Harry Reid - - what was it, "articulate negro", clean, dresses well?
So do a lot of Chicago pimps probably.
Read carefully, now. I didn't say O-boy was a Chicago pimp. We all know he is a cut above. He is a community organizer. Or is that cut below?
Interesting to see how he handles being insulted by Mc Chrystal - on the record - in Rolling Stone. Will he descend from Mt. Ego and keep General McC. in place - because, after all, he chose him? Or will he push his pointy chin higher and lose more of our men in battle, probably even the war before being "dissed" and taking it?
Answers1| 6.23.10 @ 12:12AM
This column ends pretty abruptly, too.
Next time| 6.23.10 @ 5:29PM
Regarding Tim's "It's the Chicago way - the Union way. . ."
Obama's not waiving the Jones Act, leaving at bay,all the ships that came from other countries to assist - - This being part of O-boy's continuing indebtedness to the unions that gave him and other Dems $400 million in 2008. The Maritime Union is part of that generous group - although many individuals who pay their union dues did not vote for Obama.
There is a racket that really needs busting up! Hard working union members get the union dues donated to the Democrat Party, even though they do not, in many cases support that cause. Want to protest? Refuse to pay your dues. Lose your job!
Tim| 6.23.10 @ 5:35PM
Bottom line: Republicans are STILL sore losers.
Cry babys :)
rbblum| 6.24.10 @ 1:22PM
Nothing new and nothing learned. When will 'the people' hold politicians accountable for implementing short-sighted refundable credit programs through the Internal Revenue Service . . . because there is not only insufficient time to devise and implement safeguards preventing fraudulent claims in being paid out but the likelihood that a large portion of the fraudulent claims paid will not be recouped.