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Is it me…
or is the President Obama taking one too many vacations? Just to think that during the Bush Administration, the Democrats were complaining about President Bush’s working vacations, and now, they are mum about Obama’s numerous vacations. While Obama and his family are enjoying their time in Martha’s Vineyard, let’s take a look at the number of people unemployed and wishing for steady income.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, unemployment insurance claims have spiked to their highest number since late 2009. 500,000 Americans filed unemployment claims. Add to that, the national debt continues to spiral out of control. The national debt now sits at $13,310,379,000,000.00.
Meanwhile, Obama continues to enjoy his vacation. Why doesn’t he address this situation before we head into an even greater depression? Worst than the one under President Warren G. Harding. Wait a second…we are already there.
Remember this in 2012, people. The hope and change you placed into office in 2008 has failed you…and looks like it will doom you as well.
Rand Paul to Obama: Stop Forcing Big Government Down Our Throats
It’s about time that someone had the guts to tell President Obama to stop forcing big government on the people and to butt out of state affairs. Thankfully, U.S. Senate Candidate, Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told the President to mind his own business.
Since President Obama has been in power, the Federal deficit has ballooned to an unprecedented high ($14.5 trillion dollars), government spending on wasteful programs has continued at a record rate, and relying on Keynesian hack theories (can anyone say Stimulus?) to solve our economic woes. Additionally, there has been increased regulations on our coal industry and offshore drilling at a time when we are in midst of an energy crisis. If that is not bad enough, unemployment numbers continue to spike as well.
Kentucky needs Rand Paul’s leadership in the U.S. Senate and there is no doubt the nation could rely on it as well.
YouTube/Google Deletes The Obama Deception
Google-owned YouTube.com has deleted the most viewed (over 6.5 million) posting of The Obama Deception at ChangeDaChannel. Here’s the video from another site so you can see it before it is taken down:
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=7886780711843120756&hl=en&fs=true
UPDATE [07/19/2010]: The Obama Deception is back, with 6.5 million+ views, on ChangeDaChannel’s Youtube Channel.
Obama's Gaffe
Just when I thought I heard it all before, President Obama again makes another gaffe about the midterm elections in November. In an interview with NBC, Obama claimed that the midterm elections would come down to “a choice between the policies that got us into this mess and my policies that got us out of this mess.” The mess he was referring to was the already high numbers of those unemployed in this country.
Ironic, don’t you think? Ironic…as Obama’s economic policies are based on Keynesian hack theories. Ironic…as the Stimulus and Omnibus packages have failed, since the jobs created from these acts are merely temporary.
Is it any wonder why Obama’s polling numbers continue to fall? According to a recent Fox News poll, “41 percent of voters will cast their ballots in opposition to Obama’s policies in the November elections.” This could bode well for turning over the House and possibly the Senate.
Maybe, this is why Obama is taking so many vacations or playing 41 rounds of golf…probably to keep his mind off the pending disaster that awaits in November or the already continuing disaster of an even Greater Depression.
The Democrats Continue Mission Self-Destruction
The cards are starting to fall and the Democrats continue to unravel with this year’s elections being less than four months away. When you have the various pollsters and pundits, like James Carville, saying that it will take a prayer for the Dems to win this November.
Polls continue to show low approval ratings for Congress and President Obama, with a high degree of pessimism directed towards the economy and how both handled the health care reform.
However, both Congress and Obama have their heads stuck in the sand when it comes to addressing the budget deficit which tops $1 Trillion. Congress has yet to pass a budget, while the Federal government continues to think that spending will dig their way out of the deficit.
Aside from the budget, the stimulus plan that Congress passed and the President signed into law does not appear to be working as unemployment is near 10 percent. Somehow, the Obama Administration and Congress seem to be under the illusion that it’s working. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden must be under the illusion by making the comments that the economic initiatives taken by the Government have helped the economy.
In releasing a new progress report today on the $862 billion stimulus bill, Vice President Joe Biden echoed a question that he and President Obama like to ask on the campaign trail: “Are we headed in the right direction?”
Biden’s answer, of course, was yes: “The economic initiatives that we took, they are working … they are working.”The new report released by Biden and the Obama economic team said that the stimulus bill — what they call the Recovery Act — has saved or created between 2.5 million to 3.6 million new jobs .
[Source: USA Today]
Comments such as this and the one from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi only goes to show why the Democrats will lose in November
Obama Plays Dirty During Recess, Appoints Berwick to Head CMS
President Obama used his powers and appointed Dr. Don Berwick to head the Center of Medicaid and Medicare Services. Berwick has never faced confirmation hearings by the Senate, which makes his appointment unusual. Since Berwick’s appointment, there seems to be no lack of controversy. Berwick’s background raises some eyebrows, as he is in favor of rationing health care, believes health care is a right (not a privilege), and believes Britain’s health care system should be the role model for America’s health care system.
Listen to his comments:
Why would Obama do a recess appointment of someone to lead one of the most important agencies in health care? Is there some reason why he is afraid of a Senate committee holding confirmation hearings for Berwick? Evidently, this video might be one of the skeletons in the closet that Obama feared would stand in the way of Berwick’s nomination or one of his other stances. Hopefully, the U.S. Senate will address this recess appointment and challenge it. Berwick is dangerous to Americans who benefit from Medicare and Medicaid.
Attention: Open Senate Seat–Challengers need NOT apply
Guest Post by Vermelia
Who says the Obama administration doesn’t have a plan for jobs? If you’re Joe Sestak or Andrew Romanoff, looks like you have plenty of “options” for government employment. Oh sorry. These are unpaid, voluntary positions. But by all means, please feel free to resign your seat as a US Congressman (in Sestak’s case) for another job–as a pencil pushing bureacrat in some agency that no one outside the Beltway has heard of. To paraphrase my cousin, “sounds like a plan”! Seriously, how stupid does the White House think we are?
In the Obama jobs plan, a young man in Colorado begins a campaign for the US Senate (one of 100 such positions in the country), then comes to his senses and says “nah, I’ll take the USAID position please”. Why run for the US Senate when you’re a decided underdog in your party’s primary? If the pundits think you have no shot to win your party’s nomination, then it’s better to drop out and quit
Wait……you mean that’s EXACTLY what one Barack Hussein Obama, did back in 2004? Back in 2004, the Illinois Democrat party approached Barack Obama and politely suggested that he didn’t have a chance to win his party’s nomination for the open Senate seat, vacated by Peter Fitzgerald’s retirement. Obama was in 4th place in a seven way primary. The only other time he ran a federal race, he lost his challenge to the incumbent, Bobby Rush.
And that’s what makes this whole “Job Gate” reek of hypocrisy. Throughout his whole career in politics, Barack Obama has been an underdog, an insurgent running against “establishment candidates”. He was an underdog in the 2000 primary challenge against Rep. Rush. He was initially an underdog in that 7 way primary in 2004. He was probably the biggest underdog in modern political history when he ran against Hillary Clinton for the Democrat nomination. You think party leaders wanted insurgent Obama to challenge the “establishment candidate” Hillary? Back then, Obama was all for contested primaries. Almost overnight, this President has gone from being the symbol of change to the symbol of the establishment. It’s as if Obama is basically George W Obama. Replace the Presidents and the party, but get the same frustrations Americans have with Washington.
Now that Barry is essentially in charge of the Democrat party? Now, we’re told by his press secretary Robert Gibbs, that “the President, as leader of his party, has an interest in making sure that two supporters don’t run against each other”. For any other White House, this would be a fair point. But for this President, given the nature of his 2004 Senate and 2008 Presidential campaigns? For this President, it reeks of pure hypocrisy.
Politics as usual for the Obama Administration
There have been a lot of references within the blogosphere and mainstream media recently comparing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as President Barack Obama’s “Hurricane Katrina.” Why would such an analogy be posed? Well, take a look at today’s editorial in The Washington Examiner (reminder: the language in the editorial is a little salty) into why this crisis is being mismanaged by the Obama Administration.
An angry, frustrated President Obama reportedly exhorted aides to just “plug the damn hole” a week after the crude oil and natural gas began blowing out of BP’s Deepwater Horizon well a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s a better piece of advice for Obama, his aides, and everybody else in Washington dealing with what is rapidly becoming the worst environmental disaster in American history: Stop the damn politics, quit pointing fingers, and focus on finding a solution. Nothing else matters until the well is capped. What has been desperately needed from the beginning of this tragedy is leadership. What we’ve gotten instead from the White House has been blame shifting, bureaucratic gamesmanship, and political opportunism.
This is great advice. Instead of playing politics and ahem…attending political fundraisers or vacationing in Chicago.
Now, the ramifications are being passed down to other offshore drilling sites. Recently, President Obama canceling the sale of the coast line off Virginia. This decision has been met with unfavorable reactions. Governor Bob McDonnell released this statement regarding the cancellation of the sale.
It is my hope that the President’s action does not signal the end of offshore energy exploration and production off Virginia in the years ahead. Once we have learned the lessons from this tragic accident, and made the necessary changes and improvements in the offshore industry and government oversight, we should move forward with environmentally responsible domestic offshore energy production for oil and natural gas. This nation needs more domestic energy production. If we decrease the amount of energy produced here in the United States, we will only increase the amount of energy we must import from overseas. We must have the foresight and objectivity to not let this tragic accident cripple our ability to increase energy production in the United States. That would be a tragedy in its own right.
Just as Americans did not quit or retreat from innovation after tragedies in space exploration, so must we learn, change and persevere in advancing energy independence by using all our natural resources. The spirit of American progress is to overcome adversity and conquer obstacles, not quit and accept failure. Our nation needs domestic energy production and the jobs and security that come with it. I am a strong proponent of a comprehensive energy policy for Virginia and America. We should greatly increase our domestic production and utilization of all energy sources. That includes offshore and onshore wind, coal, solar, nuclear, biofuels, waste to energy, natural gas and, with the appropriate improvements in the industry incorporated moving forward, offshore oil and gas. I have great confidence in American ingenuity, intelligence and innovation, and our ability to properly and reasonably move forward following this major setback.”
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling also released a statement saying:
“I am extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to cancel the Virginia lease sale for offshore energy exploration that was scheduled for 2012. While I certainly agree that we need to learn from the accident that recently occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and take additional steps to minimize the chance of an incident of this nature occurring again, I remain convinced that offshore energy development can occur safely and I do not believe that we should abandon or postpone responsible efforts to develop our offshore energy resources.
“Proceeding with this lease sale would enable our country to achieve a greater degree of energy security, while enabling Virginia to achieve a greater degree of economic security. The President’s decision will deprive Virginia of the economic resources and jobs that could be created as a result of offshore energy development, resources that are needed to help address critical needs like transportation; and it will keep our country dependent on foreign nations for large amounts of our energy resources. I do not believe that this is the right policy for our country, and I will continue to work to advance the exploration and development of Virginia’s offshore energy resources at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Perhaps, it is time for President Obama to quit playing the politics card and actually display true leadership.
Baseball Season Commences
Finally, the baseball season has kicked off with much fanfare. The New York Yankees (my favorite team) lost to Boston yesterday. However, baseball in Washington takes on a different meaning come opening day. President Barack Obama was greeted by cheers and boos as he went up to deliver the opening pitch. Let’s just say, Obama should stick to governing, not pitching.
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/19407224001?isVid=1&publisherID=1155968404
Obama Allows Offshore Drilling in Virginia
President Obama cleared the way for offshore drilling off America’s coastlines today. This will also allow for the sales two years from now. According to The Washington Post, Obama said:
“Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our businesses competitive, we’re going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy,” Obama said. “So today we’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration — but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America’s natural resources.”
We can thank the hard work of Governor Bob McDonnell, both of Virginia’s U.S. Senators, and some members of Virginia’s Congressional Delegation for taking leadership on this issue.
McDonnell released the following statement upon learning of Obama’s decision.
“I thank the President and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for ensuring Virginia will be the first state on the East Coast to explore for and produce energy offshore. The President’s decision to allow energy exploration off Virginia’s coast will mean thousands of new jobs, hundreds of millions in new state revenue and tens of billions of dollars in economic impact for the Commonwealth. It will also help our nation take a further step towards energy independence. Environmentally-safe offshore energy exploration and production is good for Virginia workers, the Virginia economy and national security. Just this session the General Assembly passed, with bipartisan support, legislation I requested to authorize offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling and to allocate 80% of revenues to transportation and 20% to green energy research and development.
The effort to ensure that Virginia stayed on track to hold an offshore lease sale as expeditiously as possible has been a bipartisan one at the federal level as well. I want to specifically thank Senator Mark Warner, Senator Jim Webb and Congressman Eric Cantor for their leadership and advocacy on the issue. I also want to thank all the Republicans and Democrats in our Congressional delegation who have strongly advocated for offshore energy production.
With today’s announcement, oil and gas can be produced in an environmentally-safe manner 50 miles off Virginia’s coast. Virginians will benefit from the thousands of jobs that will be created and the economic activity and development that will accompany this vital industry’s arrival in the state. However, to fully participate in the positive impact of offshore energy development, the Commonwealth must be included in all royalty and revenue sharing arrangements, in a manner equivalent to what the Gulf Coast states currently receive. Congressman Bob Goodlatte has already introduced legislation, with bipartisan support, to ensure revenue sharing. I urge our federal representatives to immediately move forward in ensuring Virginia receives our fair share of the revenues derived from our natural resources. I am confident that the United States Congress will act appropriately and expeditiously to ensure this occurs.
Offshore energy production is one part of an “all of the above” approach to ensuring energy security. It is an important component of the comprehensive energy policy that we must enact to move towards greater domestic energy security. We will also do more in Virginia to promote and produce other sources of energy in our borders, including wind, solar, biomass, coal and nuclear. Today’s announcement means future new jobs for Virginians and much-needed revenue for our Commonwealth. Again, I applaud the President for his decision, and thank all the Virginia leaders from both parties who have worked together to make this announcement possible.”
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling also made a statement regarding the decision saying:
“Today’s decision is a significant next step in making Virginia the ‘Energy Capital of the East Coast’ and will help spur our economic recovery. It will also help Virginia address the need for improved transportation infrastructure, create thousands of new jobs and bring in hundreds of millions in desperately needed revenue for Virginia. I am confident that our offshore energy resources will become a critical economic development tool for Virginia as we move forward.
“I would like to thank President Barack Obama and Secretary Ken Salazar for allowing Virginia to move forward with the 2012 lease sale and become the first state on the East Coast to explore for and ultimately produce offshore oil and natural resources. This decision will help bring the nation closer to energy independence and provide a significant economic development and job creation boost to Virginia.
“I want to congratulate Governor McDonnell and our federal partners in the Senate and House of Representatives on their successful and tireless efforts to encourage the Obama Administration to allow the lease sale to move forward. While I am a long-time supporter of developing our offshore energy resources and active advocate to the Obama Administration to keep Virginia in the 2012 lease sale, Virginia was ultimately successful because of broad bi-partisan support from our elected officials, businesses and citizens.
“Lastly, I would like to thank Governor McDonnell, the General Assembly and other stakeholder groups for working to pass legislation in support of Virginia’s offshore energy exploration. The legislative authorizations passed this session set the stage for the development of these resources and will help Virginia address a number of critical challenges in the future.”
RPV Chairman Pat Mullins said:
“President Obama’s announcement on offshore drilling is a victory for the Commonwealth and the entire country,” Mullins said.
“For the first time in decades, we will be able to tap the massive reserves of energy just over the horizon, lessening our dependence of foreign oil,” he said. “Exploration will also bring new, high-paying jobs to our economy, and will eventually bolster our transportation system with royalties from drilling.”
“Today’s announcement wouldn’t have happened without the leadership of Governor Bob McDonnell and a bipartisan majority in the Virginia General Assembly. While past governors have opposed drilling, Governor McDonnell pushed forward, letting Washington, D.C., know in no uncertain terms that Virginia was ready to become the Energy Capital of the East Coast,” Mullins said.
“Earlier this year, while some opponents in the Virginia Senate said offshore drilling was a ‘fantasy’ and ‘a train going nowhere,’ Governor McDonnell and a bipartisan team of legislators pressed on, working with Democrats and Republicans in Washington to make this new opportunity a reality,” he said. “The Governor’s team fought hard for this, and now we will all reap the benefits.”
“I congratulate Governor McDonnell and the bipartisan group that made this day possible for their foresight and persistence. This is truly a momentous day for the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said.
Offshore drilling will bring more employment opportunities to Virginia and help boost the economy with new incentives, etc.
