Why Does President Obama Fear People Expressing Their Opinions?

There is a YouTube video going around representing Thomas Payne and his concern about our Republic as he envisioned it. The video was requesting that if you agreed with the concept of the video to send a "Tea Bag" to your representatives and the White House.

Not wanting to create a large problem but to express my concern I sent a picture of a tea bag to both the president and my representative.

Well it looks as if the YouTube video and people sending tea bags might have started something. Bob Basso, the creator of the YouTube, reportedly has been summoned to the White House to discuss the subject matter of the short films. You can read the story and view both his videos at this link.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92999

I am amazed that the most powerful man in this world is concerned about the likes of this YouTube guy and Rush Limbaugh. I would think the President would be more concerned about things like; the economy, Afghanistan, Russian, North Korea, you know, important stuff, not just people expressing their opinions.

Why is he so concerned?

Geithner and Butt-Head

Excuse me for using a little bit of humor today but I just find this funny.

Remember the cartoon from the 90's Beavis and Butt-Head? OK, I never really watched it but it seemed to be on the TV all the time. Have you ever wondered what happened to Beavis? I might have the answer.

Overseas Contingency Operations aka: Global War on Terror

Seems the War on Terror is over but there is a new operation taking over: “Overseas Contingency Operations.” Yeah, that’s much clearer. What did Shakespeare say; “A rose by any other name……”

"The end of the Global War on Terror -- or at least the use of that phrase -- has been codified at the Pentagon. Reports that the phrase was being retired have been circulating for some time amongst senior administration officials, and this morning speechwriters and other staff were notified via this e-mail to use 'Overseas Contingency Operation' instead."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/03/thats_quite_a_contingency.asp

Geithner's Gigantic Gaffe

George Soros no doubt made a lot of money this morning from the latest Geithner gaffe. No wonder Soros, the greatest currency speculator of all time, is such a big Obama supporter.

Here's what happened, according to Bloomberg:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China’s ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world’s reserve currency.

Geithner was initially asked at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York about proposals from People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan for a new international reserve currency. He said “as I understand his proposal, it’s a proposal designed to increase the use of the IMF’s special drawing rights. And we’re actually quite open to that.”

The dollar slid as much as 1.3 percent against the euro within 10 minutes of news accounts of Geithner’s remarks. The U.S. currency was down 0.6 percent at $1.3553 as of 12:31 p.m. in New York.

Roger Altman, who worked with Geithner as deputy Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, later asked Geithner whether he wanted to “clarify” his remarks.

“I’d like to ask one final question, in effect on behalf of the market,” said Altman, founder of Evercore Partners Inc. “Let me ask the question this way. Do you see any change over the foreseeable future in the basic role of the dollar as the world’s key reserve currency?”
. . . .

Geithner responded by saying that “I think the dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve currency.” In an interview with CNBC broadcast after the event, the Treasury chief said that a “strong dollar” is in “America’s interest.”

Those minutes between Geithner's goofy remark and his "clarification" in response to Altman's softball follow-up question cost literally billions of dollars on the currency exchange. More than enough time for the likes of Soros, et al. to reap enough to finance the Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Geithnie, you're doing a heckuva job!

Update: Speaking of George Soros, the MailOnline reports his having pocketed $1.1 billion off the recession in 2008 through his hedge fund management. Soros boasted: "'I'm having a very good crisis." We can't wait to see this year's numbers.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Louisville Tea Party Wednesday April 15th 11:00am to 1:00pm

Just reading about the Lexington, KY Tea Party I thought it appropriate to mention that Louisville KY will also have their "Tea Party".

Louisville, Ky. – Wednesday, April 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jefferson Square (tentative location), 10th and Jefferson St.

If you are interested just e-mail Wendy Caswell at LouisvilleTeaParty@gmail.com

As of right now all you need to do is show up on tax day ready to be heard. Also she has planned a poster making party on April 9th (Thursday) at the JCRP Headquarters at 5pm. If you would like to help with that please contact Wendy and she can give you more information on that. I hope to see you soon. We will be heard.

(The above information has been "borrowed" by me from Wendy Caswell. I do hope she understands the reason for my plagiarism.)

Now my second point is a shameless promotion for the Voice Tribune.

In Louisville there is an alternative for news called the Voice Tribune. I highly recommend this publication in as it gives a different perspective than we are use to seeing in the Courier-Journal. The Voice Tribune offers columns by Michelle Malkin and Dennis Prager. They also feature a column by two locals under the name of Adam and McCall. In reading the article by Adam and McCall, they speak of the new Republican Party leader here in Louisville KY. Seems he is doing a great job in the fund raising aspect. But I digress. Here is the nut of the information I took away from the article. Guess how many republicans are in the Louisville area. No really take a guess then scroll down
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The number of registered republicans is around 160,000. Can you imagine this? The town of Mitch McConnell, Anne Northup and the list goes on, all supported by 160,000 Republicans! Something is wrong here. Metro Louisville is about one million in population and we only have 160,000 registered republican. What is that about 20% or under????? Come on this is crazy.

Now, I bet a lot of people that are reading this are members of the other party that Andrew Jackson so proudly used the Jack Ass as its party symbol.

Now, I also bet a lot of you were told that if you wanted your vote to count in Louisville or Kentucky than you better register democratic since we are a democrat area. Well if you are registered as a Dem but are thinking more to the right, how do you find out about the goings on in the RNC? You won’t be asked for a donation or to help on fund raisers or events. You’re just not on the mailing list or in their sights.

I too use to be a Democrat but a few years of being a “businessman” convinced me that the Dems were not really helping me. Against my parent’s judgment I converted to the Republican Party. I have been happy ever since. Proud is a better word.

So my second offer is this. If you feel the same way I do and you want to convert then I have a link for you.

http://www.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/voter-info/registrationcard.pdf

How can a republican ever be a contender in this state if we all hide behind the Democrat Party? There is strength in numbers.

I have had enough, how about you.

Tea, Anyone?

"Tea parties" patterned after the Boston Tea Party are springing up across the nation as voters manifest their disgust with the Obama Administration's profligate spending of our tax dollars.

Last weekend, four thousand people protested federal spending at the Cincinatti tea party. (Check out the Instapundit's pictures.) This Saturday, Lexington gets its own tea party, hosted by WLAP, the Club For Growth and the Bluegrass Institute. The fun starts at noon at the Fayette County Courthouse.

It's a decentralized movement that has caught on by virtue of the power of its message rather than any organizational force, as David Vickers writes:

The American tea party movement bears more resemblance to a rolling block party than a unified organized movement or cause. And that’s precisely why I love it. These people are nice. They’re smart. They come from all walks of life. And they’re sincere. I’ve met hard-hat wearing construction managers, accountants, school teachers, the unemployed, retirees, even the nicest anarchist couple who are worried about their kids’ futures.

And the numbers of protests and protesters continue to stagger, from the consistent low hundreds to the thousands — in all types of political and meteorological climates.

This broad spread outrage with the Obama Administration's spending contrasts with the fake grassroots support that Team Obama is trying to impose from the top down by reactivating its campaign apparatus. So desperate is Obama to gin up support for his budget that he even has called upon Moveon.org to help.

Millions of campaign supporters are receiving e-mails urging them to call members of Congress. Groups allied with the White House are running ads scorning the president's foes. States that were closely contested in the 2008 election are again getting visits from Obama.

While he's in road-trip mode, Obama should take the time to visit one of the tea parties. He'd realize that Rush Limbaugh is not the leader of the Republican Party; John Galt is. And all those women swooning --it's not over Barry's abs, but rather the size of the deficit.

A Not So Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is what the Louisville Metro Government did yesterday to vehicles not wearing enough green.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

McConnell Writes in NYT on Judges

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell exposes hypocrisy on the part of the New York Times when it comes to judicial confirmations.

No surprise there. Still, it has to be said, and McConnell has done more to uphold the rule of law than anyone by insisting that judicial nominees receive an up or down vote.

Here's McConnell's letter.

McConnell Op-Ed in WaPo on Gitmo

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has a pieces in today's Washington Post. In the Post, McConnell criticizes the Obama administration's plan to close Guantanamo Bay's detention facility and send the enemy combatants (a term Obama refuses to use) to mainland American prisons in Colorado and Kansas.

McConnell accurately frames the issue as safety vs. popularity:

"While some have raised the concern that holding enemy combatants at Guantanamo damages our prestige, any plan to transfer or release them must meet a simple test: Will it keep Americans as safe as Guantanamo has? If the answer is no, the administration must explain why fulfilling a campaign promise or pleasing European critics is a more important consideration."

There are no good alternatives to Gitmo that can keep Americans safe, McConnell notes:

First, not a single detainee has ever escaped to maim or kill innocents. Guantanamo Bay is, above all else, secure and safely distant from civilian populations.

That is, Gitmo actually works. It incarcerates the worst of the worst terrorists and prevents them from achieving their life objective: killing our citizens and destroying our country.

Getting To Yes

Republicans really do want to work with Democrats. That was the message conveyed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, as reported by AOLNews.com. The notable quote:

"No one wants him to fail," McConnell told Bloomberg, referring to Obama, and taking an indirect swipe at Rush Limbaugh. "But saying 'no' to bad policy is not saying 'no' to everything."

In its report, Bloomberg noted that McConnell outlined areas of potential agreement between the President and the Republicans:

In the interview, McConnell said one issue he and Obama might work together on is a possible move to recast at least one of the three major entitlement programs -- Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. At a White House health-care forum last week, he told Obama an accord would be easier to reach if a bipartisan task force of lawmakers made recommendations.

They also may find common cause on foreign policy, he said. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top-ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee agreed, saying the two might be allies if the U.S. and Russia begin to forge a new nuclear arms-reduction agreement.

For Republicans to say yes, however, Obama, Reid, Pelosi and company need to practice true bipartisanship: that is, meeting the Republicans somewhere in the middle, as opposed to requiring Republicans to toe the Democrat line completely.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

McConnell: Budget Spends Too Much, Taxes Too Much and Borrows Too Much

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has a piece on National Review Online:

“In the midst of an economic crisis, government has an obligation to show some restraint. But looking at the final omnibus bill, Americans are likely to conclude that congressional leaders think government operates in a different realm of reality than the rest of the country. It seems some still believe members of Congress aren’t obliged to make any of the tough decisions that most other people do.”

McConnell notes that Republican amendments to the budget could have saved taxpayers billions of dollars. Yet Democrats defeated every single Republican amendment, including:

• Sen. John McCain's amendment to freeze spending at last year's level;
• an amendment to cut the duplicate spending that allows programs to double-dip in in the stimulus package and budget;
• a proposal to cut money going to a lobbying firm under investigation.

In addition to the waste, the Democrats rejected a Republican amendment to prohibit bringing back the Fairness Doctrine.

Democrats rejected a Republican proposal to allow the D.C. school voucher program to continue, even though it is wildly successful and saves money; this will force some classmates at Sasha and Malia Obama's private school to drop out.

Democrats would not even agree to a requirement, proposed by Republicans, that the Secretary of State certify that any funds spent for reconstruction in Gaza would not go to Hamas.

These are common sense amendments that most Americans support. Democrats voted down each and every one.

So much for the Age of Obamian Post-Partisanship.

Is Obama Another Tricky Dicky?

Camille Paglia hits the nail (i.e., the White House) on the head in her commentary today on, among other things, the Obama administration's sophomoric taunts of Rush Limbaugh:

The orchestrated attack on radio host Rush Limbaugh, which has made the White House look like an oafish bunch of drunken frat boys. I returned from carnival in Brazil (more on that shortly) to find the Limbaugh affair in full flower. Has the administration gone mad? This entire fracas was set off by the president himself, who lowered his office by targeting a private citizen by name. Limbaugh had every right to counterattack, which he did with gusto. Why have so many Democrats abandoned the hallowed principle of free speech? Limbaugh, like our own liberal culture hero Lenny Bruce, is a professional commentator who can be as rude and crude as he wants.

Meanwhile, Rush is laughing all the way to the bank. For Obama to get so defensive about a radio show host suggests an insecurity in the Oval Office not seen since the days of Richard Nixon's enemies list.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Bunning Loses It Again -- This Time, Over Poll Results

TheHill.com reports today's outburst from Senator Bunning:

Amid the soap opera-like drama that has become Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-Ky.) political future, the lawmaker has commissioned the first poll of his bid for a third term — and he's not releasing the results."It's none of your godd---ed business," Bunning told reporters on a morning conference call, when asked about the poll's results. "If you paid the 20 grand for the poll, you can get some information out of it."

Needless to say, that is not a comment inspiring much confidence in Bunning's poll numbers.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Dems Backpedalling on Card Check

President Barack Obama is being outflanked on the right -- by members of his own party -- on the issue of taking away the secret ballot in union elections and replacing it with a "card" that workers can "check" while everyone watches.

Proposed card check legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act, appears to be well short of 60 votes in the Senate now that Democrats Ben Nelson(D-NE); N. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR):Mark Pryor (D-AR); Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have expressed deep reservations about card check.

As Sen. Landrieu noted, card check is the last thing our economy needs right now. "I do have a concern about the impact on the economy."

Looks like that $100 million that labor spent electing Democrats last year is not going to bring the expected return.

Warren Buffett Flatly Opposes Card Check

No equivocation here: Warren Buffett opposes card check, the proposed legislation that would get rid of secret ballots in union elections.

Buffett's opposition is significant because throughout the presidential campaign, Barack Obama touted Buffett's support. Apparently, support of a successful businessman is supposed to lull voters into ignoring those doubts about whether Obama actually believes in capitalism.

Too bad Buffett didn't make his statement last meet, in time for the AFL-CIO's winter meeting, to which Obama sent a video reiterating his support for card check.

H/t Hot Air

In God The Mint Has Shrinking Trust

Note: This is a guest post by Eric Bush (age 11).

If you've seen a new presidential dollar coin, you may have noticed, only if you have good eyes, that "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" have been placed in millimeter sized font on the side of the coin instead of in a larger font on the face of the dollar like other coins. For many, including me, this is outrage. This may have been a response to complaints about 1st amendment violations even though making "In God We Trust" visible is not preventing people from practicing their religion (or non-religion), nor does it establish any religion. I wonder what the presidents whose faces are on these coins would think of this matter. But because I can't ask them, I am encouraging you to comment on this post and tell me what you think.

Did Reagan Save Gorbachev's Soul?

The Wall Street Journal has a piece that documents President Ronald Reagan's secret attempts to proselytize former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

At a 1988 summit in the former U.S.S.R., Reagan brought up the human rights issue of freedom of religion. The converstation then became more personal.

He told Gorbachev that what he was about to say would be considered entirely secret. According to the notetakers, Reagan told Gorbachev that "if word got out that this was even being discussed, the President would deny he had said anything about it." To emphasize this point, Reagan said again a few minutes later that "if there was anyone in the room who said he had given such advice [to Gorbachev about religion], he would say that person was lying, that he had never said it."

. . .

The president said he had a letter from the widow of a young World War II soldier. He was lying in a shell hole at midnight, awaiting an order to attack. He had never been a believer, because he had been told God did not exist. But as he looked up at the stars he voiced a prayer hoping that, if he died in battle, God would accept him. That piece of paper was found on the body of a young Russian soldier who was killed in that battle.

Gorbachev tried to switch the subject. Perhaps the United States and the Soviet Union might open the way for greater cooperation in space, he told the president. But the president wasn't to be diverted. According to the transcript, Reagan told Gorbachev that space was in the direction of heaven, but not as close to heaven as some other things that they had been discussing.

As the meeting ended, Reagan became even more direct and personal. He noted that his own son Ron did not believe in God either. "The President concluded that there was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook."

A member of the clergy told me a few years ago that Gorbachev was a Christian, a fact Gorbachev revealed at considerable personal peril. I don't know the date of that profession (and will try to find out).

We don't know if when Reagan took the Great Commission to Russia, he was preaching to the choir, so to speak; Reagan had long suspected that Gorbachev believed in Christ. If so, how much comfort that fellowship must have brought Gorbachev, who for all his vast power could not worship freely.

Even more remarkable, Reagan may have helped bring Gorbachev to Christ. Winning the Cold War, restoring American supremacy after the disastrous Carter administration, saving our economy -- Reagan could take credit for all these feats. But none of these accomplishments compares to the value of one man's soul.

Obama's New New Deal Rolls Out The Barrel . . . Moving Downhill Fast!

President Obama's tax and spend assault on capitalism continues to have a devastating toll on the stock markets. Today, stocks resumed their slide. Drudge Report calls it "The Hemorrhaging". When we last checked, the Dow was down over 200 points -- easily erasing the gains from yesterday.

In their zeal to "stimulate" the economy, the Democrats ignore the first cardinal rule of tending to a sick patient -- do no harm. The Chinese government leadership seems to get it, having announced there will be no new "stimulus" package in their country.

It's a scary day when the Communist government in Red China is more conservative than Democrats running things in Washington, D.C.

Update: Here is the reality of the "change" brought about by Obama's economic policies, as reported by Yahoo! Finance:

The Dow is now down 24% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 has fallen slightly less since the start of the year. The Nasdaq is down almost 17% for the year.

Meanwhile, the S&P 400 Mid-cap Index and Russell 2000 Small-cap Index are showing year-to-date losses of 23% and 29%, respectively.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

A Chance for Fiscal Sanity in Frankfort

Given Kentucky's budget crisis -- and how desperately our schools need upgrading -- one piece of legislation is like a breath of fresh air in Frankfort. It's SB 145, an Act Relating to School Construction, filed by Senator Damon Thayer. This legislation would exempt school's from the prevailing wage requirement of KRS 337.010.

That exemption would save schools approximately 21 percent on the labor costs of construction, which means that more schools could be built, repaired or upgraded for the same amount of money, according to the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition.

The Kentucky Department of Education Facilities Management Division found in 2004 that subjecting Kentucky schools to the prevailing wage requirement inflated construction costs by more than $480 million. That money could have done alot of good for our children, had it not been wasted.

Kentucky does not have that kind of money to squander -- particularly given that 90,000 of our children attend sub-par schools. For some districts, the problem is overcrowding. Other schools are in such bad shape that they should be condemned. Few schools offer the state of the art technology (like "smart classrooms") that can best help teachers teach and children learn.

So it is very refreshing to see someone introduce legislation that reflects good stewardship of our tax dollars and a practical way to help our schools. SB 145 deserves quick enactment. Tell your elected officials that Kentucky cannot afford to artificially inflate the cost of school construction by 21 percent.

Spend, Baby, Spend!

The Obama administration is spending our money so fast that it cannot even keep track of it all. Consequently, 122 federal programs get to double dip by receiving money from both the Stimulus package and the Omnibus appropriation legislation.

This is exactly what Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned of at his press conference last month, when he said. “Back in January, I suggested to the Democratic leadership that we take up the omnibus appropriation bill first. And I did that because I wanted to make sure that we were not engaged in duplicate spending when we finally went to the stimulus.”

For example the National Endowment of the Arts received $50 million in the Stimulus bill and $155 million in the Omnibus. Now that Obama wants to kill charitable giving by taking the deduction away from the people who do all the giving, he will make the arts completely dependant on the government; these millions are the first (and second) installment.

There's also duplicate spending for grants for community organizations like ACORN -- $1 billion in the Stimulus and $3.9 billion in the Omnibus.

Likewise, the National Institute for Standards and Technology gets to double dip -- $220 million in Stimulus and $472 million in the Omnibus. Maybe they'll finally get us switched to the metric system.

Fish and Wildlife are suffering from the recession, as more Americans are forced to eat what they kill. So the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gets $165 million in Stimulus and $1.14 billion in the Omnibus.

Note the pattern. The Omnibus bill not only duplicates the Stimulus package, it magnifies it. The Omnibus appropriation bill is the Stimulus package on steroids.

Seventies Sitcom Redux

If you are too young to understand the pun, you must have voted for Obama. Buy the tee shirt here.
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.