This'n'That; May 29th[Fluffy-Auto;Maryland;

Didn't Fluffy Fix'em? Fluffy obama has poured billion$ after billion$ into two segments of the auto industry-to what end? Both Gov't Motors and Chrysler are either in bankruptcy or comtemplating entering into it. Without the porkulus payments, they both would have arrived at the same place-only sooner and cheeeeeeeper!! The taxpayers would have "saved" those many billion$!! So, where did the billion$ and billion$ go? They went primarily to shore up the United Auto Workers' retirement and benefits funds-secondarily, 10% of the Gov't Motors' share went to the public bond holders for their 29% share of the company. In any other society, the Fluffy administration would be either guilty of first degree felony theft or first degree fraud!! Tell me the Fluffy plan to control the auto industry ain't 99% political bu!!$hit....!! Increasing numbers of Chrysler dealers are disputing the bankrupt automaker’s claim that it selected dealerships for closure on purely economic grounds, and they have filed a suit against the automaker in U.S. bankruptcy court. "My business is being stolen from me under the guise of the bankruptcy laws [and] given to another dealer down the street," Jim Anderer, owner of Island Jeep in Lindenhurst, N.Y., told Reuters. Like many of the 789 Chrysler dealerships slated for closure, Anderer claims his retail outlet was profitable. Many of the closed dealers were also major donors to Republican candidates and political action committees, a review of campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission shows. This has led to accusations that Fluffy obama's auto task force has been playing political favorites, first by forcing Chrysler into bankruptcy, and then by targeting dealerships for closure that funded Der Fluffmeister's political enemies. On The GM Side: The bankruptcy of General Motors now appears inevitable, after a majority of bondholders refused to convert their loans to shares and the Government pledged up to $30 billion more to the company to help it survive the months it will take to restructure. GM is expected to file within days for a Chapter 11 "surgical bankruptcy", which will lead to it being restructured, perhaps within months. Under the proposed rapid bankruptcy plan, parts of the company deemed viable would be transferred to a new company that would be majority owned by the US Government. The Center for Automotive Research warned last week that once the GM bankruptcy reached the courts, it could take unexpected turns, with unexpected impacts for overseas operations. In a study released this week, the center warned that a protracted and disorderly bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler could have dire consequences, including immediate loss of 90 per cent of jobs in two car companies, bankruptcy of several parts manufacturers, a gradual gain of market share by Ford, but 70 per cent of former GM production being taken up by imports. The result would be the loss of nearly 2 million jobs in the US economy by the end of next year, compared with about 240,000 direct and indirect jobs if the GM bankruptcy was handled swiftly and smoothly within 90 days. Once the latest funds are provided, Fluffy will have up to 70 per cent of the new company, taking his total investment to more than $45 billion, one of the biggest bail-outs in history. The Canadian Government will also provide funds and have a small equity stake. As this outright fraud continues to unfold, the United Auto Workers will emerge with just under 20 per cent — roughly half the holding originally proposed after days of negotiations over cutting benefits, closing plants and the union taking over health fund obligations for retired GM workers. Bondholders will have less than 10 per cent and current common stock shareholders less than 1 per cent—if anything. GM shares fell 29¢ to $1.15. The stock has lost 64 per cent this year. TheFluffy government is bracing for political fallout from the bankruptcy. Not only will it have to deal with job losses in the car industry and throughout the country, as more than 3000 dealerships close, but many state and private pension funds were holders of GM bonds.

Hear The Latest? [Have ya heard the latest in the various states' quest to "soak-the-rich, Fluffy Style?" So much for the socialist "Fluffy-isms!!" Social engineering and class warfare don't work; Taxcuts do!! If Maryland had cut their state rate to say 4%... those high earners would be scrambling to find a worthwhile industry, enterprise to invest in, increasing their taxable income while the rates would remain low and would have still paid more dollars into the state treasury!!] Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy-raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. Because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%!! Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it." One year later, nobody's grinning. Maryland's "million-dollar filers" are down by 33 percent [1,000]. On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. So far, Millionaires have paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year-even at higher rates!! However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult California, New York and New Jersey. It's easier than the redistributionists think for the high earners to leave the state. Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, notes: "Marylanders with high incomes typically own second homes in tax friendlier states like Florida, Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia. So it's easy for them to change their residency." All of this means that the burden of paying for bloated government in Annapolis will fall on the middle class. Thanks to the futility of soaking the rich, these working families will now pay Mr. O'Malley's "fair share."

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 28th[Fluffy;Sotomayor]

ACORN CHOOSES....

Well, ACORN has finally come to a decision and instructed Fluffy obama to announce that Sonya Sotomayor will be the choice to replace Justice David Souter. Justice Souter has announced plans to retire from the bench when the current session ends. As for Ms Sotomayor, everyone knows the hardscrabble upbringing she endoured in the Bronx; but the media mushmouths won't tell you any of the important or derogatory aspects of her rise in status or her less-than-stellar job performance. Please recall the period of her positive and negative accomplishments; the mid-eighties to the current-under two republican and one democRAT president.

That being said, one has to consider Sotomayor's grasp of the law and the successes and failures with that law. Her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees.

It's customary, for example, for Second Circuit judges to circulate their draft opinions to invite a robust exchange of views. Sotomayor rankled her colleagues by sending long memos that didn't distinguish between substantive and trivial points, with petty editing suggestions--fixing typos and the like--rather than focusing on the core analytical issues.

In 2001, for example, a conservative colleague, Ralph Winter, included an unusual footnote in a case suggesting that an earlier opinion by Sotomayor might have inadvertently misstated the law in a way that misled litigants. The most controversial case in which Sotomayor participated is Ricci v. DeStefano, the explosive case involving affirmative action in the New Haven fire department, which is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court. A panel including Sotomayor ruled against the firefighters in a perfunctory unpublished opinion. This provoked Judge Cabranes, a fellow Clinton appointee, to object to the panel's opinion that contained "no reference whatsoever to the constitutional issues at the core of this case." The Ricci case is likely to increase that percentage of reversals as most court watchers expect the Supreme Court to right the terrible wrong Sotomayor did the firefighters.

The case is just one more indication that Sotomayor is not fit to sit on the court where many of her opinions have been tossed aside.

Stephen Dinan, writing in the Washington Times, thinks that the reversal rate may be potent for the opposition: With Judge Sonia Sotomayor already facing questions over her 60 percent reversal rate, the Supreme Court could dump another problem into her lap next month if, as many legal analysts predict, the court overturns one of her rulings upholding a race-based employment decision. Three of the five majority opinions written by Judge Sotomayor for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and reviewed by the Supreme Court were reversed, providing a potent line of attack. "Her high reversal rate alone should be enough for us to pause and take a good look at her record. Frankly, it is the Senates duty to do so," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. The American people should be shown just what our president thinks of the Supreme Court to nominate such a candidate to sit in judgment on the most vital cases involving our principles and rights.

....and Der Fluffmeister REALLY thinks....[an excerpt of a TV interview with a Chicago FM radio station in 2001]: FLUFFY OBAMA: "If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples so that I would now have the right to vote, I would now be able to sit at a lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I'd be okay. But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society."

....and MORE socialist views....: FLUFFY OBAMA: "As radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution at least as its been interpreted and the Warren Court interpreted it in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can't do to you, says what the federal government can't do to you, but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf, and that hasn't shifted. I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change. And in some ways we still suffer from that."

....and STILL more Fluffy [socialist] views....: FLUFFY OBAMA: I think we can say that the Constitution reflected an enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day and -- and -- and that the framers had that same blind spot. I -- I don't think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day [he is of course, referring to slavery].

....a Limbaugh comment on the interview.... : The Constitution proscribes government on a lot of things that are for the benefit of the American people. But what this means to Obama is, when he says that the Constitution doesn't say what the federal government can do on your behalf, means it doesn't say that it can tax the rich at a higher rate and give the money to the poor. It doesn't say that he can redistribute -- in fact, the Constitution does not have Marxism in it. The Constitution doesn't have socialism in it. And as such, Obama is constrained. The civil rights movement did not get as far as it shoulda gotten because it was so focused on the court rather than community organizing. Well, okay. Now the community organizer's in the Oval Office and the community organizer is going to see to it that the court does his bidding. Hello, Sonia Sotomayor. This isn't worth opposing simply 'cause she's guaranteed? There's going to be other Supreme Court nominations. There are going to be future elections. Are we going to just throw in the towel on those, too? Are we just going to assume that opposing anything Obama does because he's a minority is going to anger voters and we're cooked? Final sound bite. Obama and the Constitution as reflecting America's fundamental flaw.

....and a "Justin Case-ism....": Here is NOT the cool, calm and collected politician the media portrays, but an cold, angry, calculating guy with a chip on his shoulder!! He DID HEAR what Jeremiah Wright said for 20 years while "churching" in Chicago. He did hear what Bill Ayers says about America. So now it's time to change all that, and Fluffy'll be changing it by desecrating the very Constitution he swore to "preserve, protect and defend!!" The Sotomayer assension to "the Supremes" will further advance the socialist, Marxist and statist views of the "Era of Fluff!!"

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That;May 26th[ACORN;HomeDepot;EmpireCollege]

ACORN-Thorough Teacher

[Fluffy obama, as a community agitator for ACORN, learned their lessons well. As does ACORN-reducing the electorate's Constitutionally guaranteed choices of representation, Der Fluffmeister put pressure on Steve Israel not to oppose Senator Gillibrand of New York in her upcoming primary. Apparently "Chuckie-Cheese" Schumer wasn't successful in his pressure of Israel. Being a DINO, I don't give a crap who the democRATs run-or if they run any opposition to Gillibrand, but the Constitution guarantees the voting public the RIGHT TO CHOOSE!! Gillibrand has already proven she's suffering from a depletion of calcium-SHE HAS NO SPINAL COLUMN!! In the House of Representatives, she was infavor of lawful gun possession. About twenty minutes after she was chosen to fill the {very wide} senatorial seat held by Hillary Rob'em Clinton, she mysteriously converted to "Chuckie-Cheese's" way of thinking!!]

If a strongly-worded recommendation from Chuck Schumer wasn't enough to discourage Congressman Steve Israel from challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary for Senate, party brass brought in the big boss to make sure he knew how serious the sentiment was. Israel announced that he had decided not to run yesterday shortly after receiving a call from Fluffy obama. Israel said, "When (the president) asked me to take a leadership role in fighting for his agenda, I wasn't about to say no. He believes that at this critical time...that party unity is important." Carolyn Maloney may be next potential challenger pushed to the side, but it doesn't appear that there is any sign of retreat from Gillibrand's most visible foe since entering the Senate, Carolyn McCarthy. She may also have to face labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who told Politico, "Had the party leadership sought to “clear the field” in 2008 and control a vigorous debate about the direction of our party and our country, Fluffy obama would not be president today."

Home Depot Sucks!

[Long before I had my run-in with Home Depot's version of "customer service," I held that opinion! I was an over-the-road truck driver for years; for several of those years, I was an owner-operator {Owner-operators own their own tractors, many pull the company's trailers}. During that time, I needed some steel to make repairs on my battery box. I {sadly} chose Home Depot, primarily cuz they were the closest. As I approached SEVERAL EMPLOYEES, they all either turned their backs on me or gave me incorrect directions, OR BOTH!! After nearly an hour searching, I found what I needed, paid, and left Home Depot-FOREVER!! Since then I've become a delivery driver for their main competition-Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Lowe's is unique to the entire retail industry in their interpretation of "customer service!!" Lowe's policy is to "never point" but to walk the customer to their desired item. As a delivery driver, I spend very little time in the store, hence I know very little about the placement of the various products in the store-but even so, I walk the customer to the item they're searching for {and bless 'em, they follow me around the store while I'm attempting to help them with my limited knowledge}.]

Home Depot Inc., the largest home-improvement chain in the U.S., is waiting to see if its latest attempt to improve customer service pays off. All 300,000 employees took a mandatory crash course in helping customers earlier this year. The company is also on a two-year push to improve merchandising and modernize distribution. In the University of Michigan’s customer satisfaction survey, Home Depot comes in last place among specialty retailers. Any plan to improve will have to overcome economic challenges, said Laura Champine, an analyst with Cowen & Co. in New York. The recession is in its 17th month and the U.S. housing market is in its worst slump since the Great Depression. Home Depot forecasts a 9 percent sales drop in 2009. Lowe’s reported first-quarter earnings today that topped analysts’ estimates as it curbed discounts and boosted sales of more profitable plants and flowers. Home Depot reports first- quarter results tomorrow.

Empire College-Proposed Move

Empire State College's Genesee Valley Center is planning to move from North Winton Road in Irondequoit to a new, 30,000-square-foot building on the edge of the Monroe Community College campus in Brighton. Two committees of the Monroe County Legislature will review the lease agreement for the two-acre parcel where the new building will be located. Empire State College would build and own the facility; the county holds the land in trust for MCC. The full legislature is expected to vote on the lease at a June meeting. If approved, construction of the $9.5 million, three-story building could start in the spring of 2010 and the new center could be open in the fall of 2011, said Empire State College spokesman Kirk Starczewski. The Genesee Valley Center opened in 1972 on Prince Street in Rochester and relocated to 1475 N. Winton Road in 1999. The State University of New York's Empire State College has 35 locations across the state, including seven regional centers. It was founded in 1971 and focuses on academic programs for working adults.

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 21st[OneWorld;Orman]

Does It Matter? The KoolAid Media is all giddy about the recently proposed stringent auto standards! This seems to replace or is in conjunction with the "global warming" hoax. Both of these can be added to the housing crisis, banking crisis, economic crisis, credit card crisis, cap-and-trade crisis and whatever other crises the Fluffy obama handlers can invent to keep the public on "the edge of their seats" awaiting a government fix to all their problems. BUT, What Does It Matter?? All this consternation is for naught unless the rest of the industrialized world inacts similar legislation, policies and practices. Socialist America can force legislation and policies to eradicate greenhouse gases, give every resident a house, nationalize the banking system, use statist policies to control the economy and personal credit, blah, blah, blah; IT WILL DO NO GOOD unless the rest of the planet acts in concert!! Industrialized Europe has had many of these policies for years.... to what end? The pollution from the rest of the world just drifts around, allegedly causing havoc while the Europeans have altered their lifestyles to not one jot of good!! I can not believe that Fluffy obama thinks he can control the political or social actions of the Chinese or the Indians!! China, India and countries of the former Soviet Union have the largest populations on the planet and they'll continue doing what they've always done-NOTHING with regard to the planet itself! As an example-Ya know all those "high-fallutin' " teas the "high-brows" buy from China? Ya got any idea of how they're dried and crushed? The tea leaves are picked by peasants for slave wages; they're dumped on a warehouse concrete floor; they're DRIVEN OVER by lead and carbon spewing crappy cars-the same cars driven that morning over dirt roads, through cowshit on their way to work!! Makes for some healthy tea, aye? Until the socialist democRATs and the "do-nothing" republicans are driven from the Congress and statehouses nationwide, we'll just have to play along as "Fluffy-America" joins the European Union in their lock-step over the horizon into one-world government!!

Investors Be Concerned!!

[Many know Suze Orman as the TV financial guru, following her investment advice over the years. I found this interview at http://www.findadvice.com/ . I've cut it severely-just the basics:] Among her fans is Merriman financial advisor Cheryl Curran, who nevertheless believes Orman’s investment advice should not be followed. In the still heavily-male-dominated financial industry, I have been especially pleased to see a woman’s advice accepted and taken seriously by people of all ages and in all stages of life, regardless of whether they have a lot of wealth or only a little. However, I think investors need to be wary of the information and advice she dispenses – and the example she sets. A plus; when markets are down, Suze encourages people to continue adding to their retirement funds, even when it doesn’t feel comfortable. In easy-to-follow language, she shows how to make a written plan to pay off debts. As virtually everybody in the financial services business knows, people who follow written plans are much more likely to be successful than those who don’t.

Suze has made some bad investment calls, especially in the past 18 months, and I don’t know why. Perhaps she is under pressure to become a guru. Or it’s possible that, like many people, she isn’t always able to muster the wisdom, courage and discipline to stick to her own stated beliefs. Suze used to advocate buying and holding only index funds. Then in June 2008, she was interviewed by Eric Schurenberg, who was then a “Money” magazine editor.

Suze told Schurenberg that even though all the evidence indicated index funds outperform 80 percent of managed funds, “Today I think you have to be more active.” She recommended exchange-traded funds specializing in emerging markets, U.S. oil and metals & mining. And what happened to investors who took those recommendations? From the time of her interview in June 2008, these sectors went down 44 percent, 71 percent and 71 percent respectively, through the end of the year. Vanguard 500 Index and Total Stock Market Index, dropped 28 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in that same time frame.

In the same interview, Suze said: “You should invest in bonds only when interest rates are going down.” Now that is a very interesting piece of advice, on a par with “Invest only in stocks that are making money.” I am surprised that a journalist as supposedly savvy as Schurenberg let that comment slip by without any follow-up, as if it were the most natural point of view in the world. She must mean that the only valid reason to own bonds is to buy them at a low price and sell them at a higher price. (As you probably know, bond prices generally rise when interest rates fall.) Investing this way is legitimate if that’s what you are after and if (this is a very big if) you have some system for knowing when to buy and when to sell. Millions of investors own bonds with an entirely different objective: to stabilize a portfolio that also contains equities. By allocating a portion of your portfolio to short and intermediate term bonds, you have a built-in brake system designed to offset some of the losses experienced in a typical bear market. In fact, with periodic rebalancing, investors should buy more bonds when their prices are relatively low. Suze is way off the mark in her recommended allocations between equities and fixed income (including bonds). Her recommendations are so conservative that I fear they could lead many investors to fall far short of their goals or even run out of money after they retire. Suze has stated publicly that less than 4 percent of her liquid net worth is in the stock market.

Suze has a huge income from being a successful author and entertainer. She can easily obtain plenty of spending money for the rest of her life by investing heavily in zero-coupon municipal bonds. But I have to wonder how closely she is in touch with the needs of real-world investors who have limited resources.

Suze’s investment advice has not been good. It does not seem to be based on a good grasp of some important and fundamental concepts. My advice to her viewers, listeners and readers is twofold. Appreciate and learn from her “plain English” explanations of financial products and subjects. But don’t follow her investment recommendations and advice.

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 20th[Housing;LostDecade;SDCC]

Housing Crisis

[The current housing crisis is still on a downward trend, as indicated by the April, 2009 statistics below. The current housing dilemma was precipitated by members of Congress and the Clinton administration and was several years in the making. The individuals involved insisted that qualifications standards be lowered in order to qualify more individuals and families for mortgages they couldn't possibly afford. It took several years to get here; it'll take several years to get back to normal. With the Fluffy obama handlers now in the mix-mucking up the works-"normal" won't look like it used to.]

NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN APRIL 2009 BUILDING PERMITS Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000. This is 3.3 percent (±2.3%) below the revised March rate of 511,000 and is 50.2 percent (±1.4%) below the revised April 2008 estimate of 991,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 373,000; this is 3.6 percent (±2.2%) above the revised March figure of 360,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 103,000 in April. HOUSING STARTS Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000. This is 12.8 percent (±13.0%)* below the revised March estimate of 525,000 and is 54.2 percent (±6.0%) below the revised April 2008 rate of 1,001,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 368,000; this is 2.8 percent (±16.3%)* above the revised March figure of 358,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 78,000. HOUSING COMPLETIONS Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 874,000. This is 4.9 percent (±16.6%)* above the revised March estimate of 833,000, but is 15.0 percent (±13.6%) below the revised April 2008 rate of 1,028,000.

America-A Lost Decade? [America might well have a "lost decade!" The Japanese population came out of their lost decade relatively unscathed. Americans on the other hand, may well be financially damaged. While American similarities with Japan include relatively easy credit and previously high real estate values, there is no likeness what-so-ever with savings rates! Saving is a habit with the Japanese-with Americans it seems to be a "lost art!" Most Americans are similar to one of my sons-he saved his money only until ticket and transportation expenses were met for the next concert. While alot of Americans have changed their saving and spending habits, it won't last. They will suffer far more than the rest in this recession. With the socialist bent of the current presidential handlers, this country has a foe that the Japanese didn't have-the government going off on unnecessary tangents under the guise of aiding economic recovery. Why save your money? Fluffy obama will just find a way to take it from you-increased taxes and fees; added taxes and fees. As with Japan, America's economic development and expansion has or will soon, come to a screeching halt!]

The Lost Decade - Japan's Economic Crisis The economic miracle ended in Japan abruptly at the very start of the 1990s. A combination of incredibly high land values and incredibly low interest rates led to a position in which credit was both easily available and extremely cheap. This led to massive borrowing, the proceeds of which were invested mostly in domestic and foreign stocks and securities. Recognizing that this bubble was unsustainable, the Finance Ministry sharply raised interest rates, which popped the bubble in spectacular fashion, leading to a massive crash in the stock market. It also led to a debt crisis; a large proportion of the huge debts that had been run up turned bad, which in turn led to a crisis in the banking sector, with many banks having to be bailed out by the government. Eventually many banks become unsustainable, and a wave of consolidation took place leaving only four national banks in Japan. Critically for the long-term economic situation, it meant many Japanese firms were lumbered with massive debts, affecting their ability for capital investment. It also meant credit became very difficult to obtain, due to the beleaguered situation of the banks; even now the official interest rate is at 0% and have been for several years and despite this, credit is still difficult to obtain. Overall it led to the phenomenon known as the "lost decade"; economic expansion came to a total halt in Japan during the 1990s. The impact on everyday life has been rather muted, however. Unemployment runs reasonably high, but not at crisis levels (the official figure is a little under 5%, but this is a considerable underestimate - the real level is probably around twice that). This has combined with the traditional Japanese emphasis on frugality and saving (saving money is a cultural habit in Japan) to produce a quite limited impact on the average Japanese family, which continues much as it did in the period of the miracle.

Don't Forget Those Who Do Good Things Remember, most charities have the same financial needs no matter what the economy looks like; many have increased needs in a down economy. Our personal favorite-"Slam" Duncan's Children's Charities-does most of it's work in the summer and at Christmastime. I confess, I'm a bit behind the eight-ball this year; I haven't sent my contribution to aid the summer's activities. Our checks ["The Young Miss Lovely" and I donate separately] will go out with the morning's mail. If you don't have a favorite, consider Mister Duncan's efforts-his organization does many great things on a shoe-string budget [over 99% of donations benefit the kids]!!

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 19th[NotreDame;Fluffy;Auto;Fluffy]

Notre Dame "Fluff"

I just finished reading the text of the "Fluffy Address" to the graduating class at Notre Dame. As I surmised through news reports, nothing new-just the "same ol' fluff." Limp jokes aside, what did he actually say?

"...do not discriminate. They do not recognize borders. They do not see color. They do not target specific ethnic groups."

Wait-a-minute, Fluff'.... of course they won't recognize borders, especially our southern border!! You won't enhance it's protection so it just looks like another patch of desert. How would they recognize it?

Oh yes-they do see color-they target the white folks who, through diligence and hard work, have more than they do; it's nothing more than a fluke that their actions destroy those of other colors/nationalities.

I'll give ya that one; the one where "they do not target specific ethnic groups." Their specificity is toward their own; the radical muslim... you know the sect-you bowed to them on your "2009 Apology Tour-Part 1" to Europe and the Middle East.

It seems to me this Notre Dame "blather" was a loosely veiled recruitment tour for your advancement of socialism. "....the size and scope of the challenges before us require that we remake out world to renew its promise; that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of a new age." This "new age" you refer to is of your own making-one of a socialist mindset and country controlled by both socialists and statists! Why are you trying to obliterate the graduates' hopes for "the American Dream?" Wait, don't answer that!! Ya can't recruit socialists and statists from a crowd of capitalists, now can ya??

...The strong too often dominate the weak, and too many of those with wealth and with power find all manner of justification for their own privilege in the face of poverty and injustice." Fluffer.... Rather than lower the U.S.' standard of living to that of the Third-World Ratholes you promote-why not try to raise the 'Ratholes to a higher level...... [I'll voice what you refuse to....] because your administration and it's handlers are all about apologizing for America and it's wealth and prosperity! You intend to "return America's wealth to it's rightful owners....." NOT those who actually worked hard and earned it-but those you pay to sit on their nasty-asses and collect from the taxpayers' largess! The Fluffy Auto Empire

Well, Der Fluffmeister obama fixed Chrysler by robbing those investors who's only "crime" was to expect a return on their investment. The stolen funds were given to both the government and the United Auto Workers. The union had NO FINANCIAL INVESTMENT in the company [now they own 55%!!].

The Fluffer obama also fixed General Motors with three [really,REALLY cleaver] measures; renaming the company "Government Motors;" loaning them gobs of taxpayer money rather than just letting them follow "the path of poor management" into bankruptcy; firing their [former] CEO and installing one who's gonna follow your orders-even tho' you're yet to build your first car....Hell, ya ain't never held a job than waddn't funded by the taxpayer largess!!

Now, Fluffy obama proposes the first-ever national emission limits for cars and trucks as well as average mileage requirements of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 -- all costing consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle. Fluffy's plan couples for the first time pollution reduction from vehicle tailpipes with increased efficiency on the road. It would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil through 2016 [in a country that consumes 9.3Mln barrels of oil DAILY{=3.4Bln bbl/yr} WOW!!] and would be the environmental equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road, senior administration officials said Monday night. The plan also would effectively end a feud between automakers and statehouses over emission standards -- with the states coming out on top but the automakers getting a single national standard and more time to make the changes [There he goes again.... ignoring the very Constitution he swore to support, protect and defend!!]. New vehicles would be 30 percent cleaner and more fuel efficient by the end of the program, according to officials familiar with the administration's discussions. The officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement had not been made [and cuz Fluffy's handlers'll "hand 'em their asses" on a platter!]. Administration officials said consumers were going to pay an extra $700 for mileage standards that had already been approved. The comprehensive Fluffmeister plan would add another $600 to the price of a vehicle, a senior administration official said. The extra miles would come at roughly a 5 percent increase each year. By the time the plan takes full effect, at the end of 2016, new vehicles would cost an extra $1,300. Fluffer.... Do you really think that the State of California will let you determine the auto emmisions standards for their state? Really?-You're THAT naive?

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 17th[Golisano;JuryDuty;Corning;Guns]

Now He's Done It!

Guvner "double-dealin' " Dave has managed to drive one of New York State's most prominent citizens {and taxpayers!} out of the state! By changing his residence to Florida, Paychex Founder Tom Golisano will save $13,800 a day in NYS income taxes...... a day.......A DAY!!!!! By comparison-the "young miss lovely" and I would save "a whoopin' " $4.84 a day, A DAY!! Our total NYS tax bill was $1,767, compared to Mister Golisano's $5,037,000. Mr Golisano's "donation" equates to nearly FIVE PERCENT of the total NYS budget-an' "double-dealin' " Dave drove him out!!!

Local "Whines"

The local rag is whinning about a color disparity in those serving on local juries. They're opining about juries being mostly white folks and very few black or brown folks. I suggest that jury member selection be tied to welfare eligibility and illegal drug sales. Bare with me here......!! No matter the color or gender, ya gotta admit that the welfare rats DO NOTHING to earn their benefits; their "income" is only due to the federal and state largess. The drug dealers do even less, if that's possible-not only do they not work and don't pay taxes-they're purveyors of substances that cause illness, addiction and death!! The state should require anyone who receives more than one d0llar per month in 'rat benefits must register for local and county jury duty. The city and county can gain income by issuing licenses for the drug dealers with added fees for additional street corners or suburbs. Buying from unlicensed dealers would subject the public to a mandatory jail sentence, say 5 years-minimum!! To qualify for those licenses, the dealers must submit to selection for jury duty. There-problem solved!!

Corning, Inc's Got It Figured Out!

Corning, Inc., is a specialty glass manufacturer for everything from medical equipment to electronics to cars. They watched their revenue drop from $7Bln to $3Bln in eighteen months. In light of this financial dilemma and WITHOUT Fluffy's bailout funds, they instituted an "early-detection" system to identify possible areas of fiscal problems as well as setting up a defensive crisis management system. The four areas the company concentrated on are:

[1] Market Research- They've created their own system to measure demand for the products they help to create such as LCD TVs.

[2] Accumulate Cash- The company stockpiled enough to enable it to absorb a $400Mln loss in 2008's fourth quarter. An additional help was that the company had modeled several "worst-case" scenarios and a response to each.

[3] Reasonable Economic Responses- As the recent downturn worsened, the company instituted discretionalry spending cuts, reduced production, hiring limits, shorter work weeks in Europe and Asia, limiting it's use of contractors and temps, as a last resort-layoffs.

[4]Research and Development- Thusfar, Corning has avoided using it's last line of defense: R&D. R and D is Corning's lifeblood, developing new products the company depends on to stay competitive. Their $630Mln R&D budget is the last to be considered and sofar, has survived any cuts.

This company learned during the telecom crash earlier this decade, WHAT NOT TO DO!! Their stock came off the historic bottom of $1.78/share [May, 1982] to a current $13.88/share.

Dave, Remember the Second Amendment?

Hey, Dave..... Should I call you Dave?....or.....Double-Dealin'? ....or....DD? ....or....DDD? How'bout DDD?.... if ya don' like it, lemme know, k?

"DDD," do you consider yourself a representative of the people of New York, or are you just "parking in Albany" until the next lucrative [or, in your case-ludicrous!!]book or speaking contract comes along?

If you're just parking-before you leave, try not to screw us any more than you have already!!

If you consider yourself as representing the best interests of the entire State of New York, then you must veto the following bills as they come up for your signature!! These bills unfairly lump the law-abiding citizens outside the NYC metro area with the street thugs that populate downstate. Many of us use guns to provide food for the table and income for necessities.

Those bills which should be...no, MUST BE vetoed, are:

Ass'y Bill #801A: Five year renewal on pistol permits [Senate #1598].

Ass'y Bill #1093: [Boy DDD, this one is REALLY LUDICROUS!!] Requires retailers have liability insurance in case anyone commits a crime anywhere, any time, after the weapon is sold; also imposes new restrictions on licensed dealers. [Senate #1715].

Ass'y Bill #1326: Outlaw handguns "capable" of being fired by anyone UNDER 5; would virtually eliminate handguns in NYS [I believe the ultimate goal!].

Ass'y Bill #2881: Bans frangible ammuniton [Senate #2379].

Ass'y Bill #2882: Expand ballistic imaging program.

Ass'y Bill #3076A: Require training for pistol permit issuance.

Ass'y Bill #3211A: Would outlaw .50cal weapons.

Ass'y Bill #5844: Require mandatory storage of firearms [Senate #3098].

Ass'y Bill #6157: Expand the ban on "so-called" Assault Weapons.

Ass'y Bill #6468: Ban sale of all semi-automatic weapons not equipped with so-called micro-stamping techology; ban the sale of ALL USED semi-auromatic handguns.

I've called my alleged senator-Joe Robach [{518}455-2909] to urge him to vote against all these bills!! As a rhetorical question I asked his staffer what the state legislature did when it wasn't destroying the Federal Constitution?? It was purely rhetorical; I expected no answer.... the staffer depends on this destruction for his paycheck!!

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 16th[democRATs;Murtha;ACORN;Beck;ACORN]

Credibility? WHAT Credibility?? [Lack of credibility seems a part of the democRAT definition. Most of them by observation, "wouldn't know the truth if it hitt'em over the head!" Mr Murtha is THE WORST OFFENDER of the truth, but they're all "guilty as sin!!"] The Democrats' Credibility Problem by Armstrong Williams The Washington Post has yet another story this morning on the travails of Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his seeming cavalier attitude regarding how he spends other people's money. The story today reports his nephew, 49-year old Robert Murtha, collected over $4 million in Pentagon contracts. And what does he offer for this princely sum? A new emerging defense platform? Some high-tech radar guidance system? Nope — warehouses. Yes, storage space designated as “engineering services.” Rep. Murtha remains defiant as ever. His they-won't-take-me-alive attitude mocks every working American and betrays a central piece of the Democrats' platform when they vowed to end eight years of tyrannical Republican reign — end the corruption. I've used many a pen lamenting the foolish dealings of Republicans and their spending ways, but what Democrats like Murtha are doing goes beyond the pale. Why? They have no shame in their dealings. In fact, they almost seem proud of tossing millions in contracts to their friends and cohorts. Just yesterday, The Washington Times ran a front-page story on how Democrats are secretly drafting climate protection bills with the environmental lobby. I've heard of political payback, but does it have to be so public and defiant? What should concern every American is the ease with which the majority party controls the levers of power and spending. Have an idea? Democrats will fund it. No sense if it will work or advance the country? No problem, we'll just blame Republicans and say our four years of this spending mess can't possibly be worse than the eight they dragged us through. What's most troubling is the personal credibility of Democrats like John Murtha and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). When you can ignore the public record that states you were told a torture technique would be used on terrorists to glean information, only later to state repeatedly you had no knowledge of the instance, “period,” then you have a credibility problem that doesn't end there. It permeates all facets of public policy, and poisons those around you. Now, I know I'll get the usual token ribbing about my own wrong choices and bad judgment made in the past. I've atoned for those decisions. And unless folks like John Murtha start owning up to the mistakes they have made, their credibility problem will fester and infest until the public no longer has the stomach for such abuses. More ACORN Fraud [Now the State of Nevada is getting into the act!! This has to be the dirtiest organization on the planet.... pretty easy to tell-Fluffy obama is funding it though the porkulus plan!!] Criminal charges have been filed against the corrupt taxpayer-funded "community group" best known for its fraudulent voter registration drives and its close ties to president barack obama. Nevada's attorney general has charged the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which strives to register low-income citizens, with more than two dozen felonies for operating a fraud-infested voter registration drive in the state during the 2008 presidential campaign. ACORN illegally compensated workers to register voters based on a corporate mandated quote system, according to Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. Because canvassers were illegally required to meet quotas to keep their jobs, thousands of registrations with fake names and addresses were submitted throughout the state. In fact, during its 2008 drive authorities raided ACORN's Nevada offices after the group submitted multiple forms with bogus names, including pro football players from another state. It turns out that ACORN hired convicted felons to register voters in Las Vegas and in fact got many from a transitional housing facility operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections. In a search warrant affidavit one ACORN employee said many of the canvassers were "lazy crack-heads" who were not interested in working and just wanted the money. The Nevada raid marked the third time in weeks that the Chicago-based group got busted for falsifying voter registration forms during the 2008 presidential campaign. Weeks earlier ACORN submitted fraudulent voter registration cards in the key battleground state of Florida and in New Mexico's most populous county (Bernalillo). In its complaint made public this week Nevada authorities reveal that ACORN illegally offered canvassers a bonus program known as "blackjack" or "21 plus" if they brought in more than the required 20 voter registrations a day to keep their jobs. The bonuses offered extra money per shift, according to the complaint. ACORN has been in trouble for falsifying information to register new voters in numerous other states, including Milwaukee, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina and Colorado to name a few. In 2007 the group settled the largest case of voter fraud in the history of Washington State after seven workers were caught submitting about 2,000 fake registration forms. Incredibly, the radical leftist group continues to receive massive amounts of U.S. taxpayer dollars for its various community programs. Earlier this year ACORN got a multi billion-dollar infusion for "neighborhood stabilization activities"-from the monstrous economic recovery bill that was supposed to create new jobs and offer an immediate tax relief to stimulate the ailing economy. Glenn Beck On ACORN [Don'cha just wonder how Glenn Beck has time "for a life?!?!" He does three hours-five days a week on radio and one hour a day-six days a week on TV. All this 'face-time' on radio and TV has to involve incredible amounts of research into each area he presents. I for one, applaud him for presenting a listening and viewing alternative for the "non-KoolAid drinker." The piece below is quite revealing in that is shows how crooked the ACORN organization is and Fluffy obama's employment with and dependence on; the included crooks!!] The easy thing to do and the right thing to do are rarely the same. Easy and right almost never walk hand-in hand. Last summer and fall, even some in the mainstream media (yes, if one can believe they’re capable of taking a break from hard hitting stories about “American Idol” and Madonna’s boyfriends) began looking into their voter registration practices. Here are some highlights from a recent piece from John Fund, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal Online: “ Nevada officials charged ACORN, its regional director and its Las Vegas field director with submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration forms last year. Larry Lomax, the registrar of voters in Las Vegas, says he believes 48% of ACORN’s forms “are clearly fraudulent.” Prosecutors in Pittsburgh, Pa., also charged seven Acorn employees with filing hundreds of fraudulent voter registrations before last year’s general election. ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson calls the Nevada criminal complaint “political grandstanding” and says that any problems were the actions of an unnamed “bad employee.” But Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General, told the Las Vegas Sun that ACORN itself is named in the criminal complaint. She says that ACORN’s training manuals “clearly detail, condone and . . . require illegal acts,” such as requiring its workers to meet strict voter-registration targets to keep their jobs. Elsewhere, Washington state prosecutors fined Acorn $25,000 after several employees were convicted of voter registration fraud in 2007. The group signed a consent decree with King County (Seattle), requiring it to beef up its oversight or face criminal prosecution. In the 2008 election, ACORN’s practices led to investigations, some ongoing, in 14 other states. ACORN’s relationship to the obama campaign is a matter of public record. Last year, Citizens Consulting Inc., the umbrella group controlling ACORN, was paid $832,000 by the Obama campaign for get-out-the-vote efforts in key primary states. Fluffy obama distanced himself from the group’s scandals last year, saying “We don’t need ACORN’s help.” Nevertheless, Fluffy got his start as a community organizer at ACORN’s side. In 1992, he headed a registration effort for Project Vote, an ACORN partner at the time. In 1995, the Fluffer represented ACORN in a key case upholding the new Motor Voter Act — the very law whose mandated postcard registration system ACORN workers use to flood election offices with bogus registrations. As for the Nevada indictment, ACORN isn’t worried. “We’ve had bad publicity before, and all it does is inform the community that we’re here working for the community,” Bonnie Greathouse, ACORN’s head organizer in Nevada, assured the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week. “People always come forward to our defense. We’re just community organizers, just like the president used to be.” Granted, I’m not a publicist, but I am a thinker, and I have to say that these charges go a bit beyond “bad publicity.” This whole thing stinks, and the stench just gets worse as the days roll by and more facts come out. There are plenty of basically good organizations that have done bad things, but ACORN is that shameless exception that has gone all bad. But here’s the thing—some people from inside the organization have done the right thing by coming forward and speaking out—they’re blowing the whistle and we need to make sure we’re listening. I recently had two separate conversations with former ACORN board members—they’re part of a larger group that’s been dubbed the “ACORN 8,” and they want two things—those who broke the law to be held accountable, and quite simply, they just want their organization back. They agree that ACORN used to operate with the best of intentions, but satisfying greed and making money—and in this case we’re talking about millions of dollars—became the easy rather than the right thing to do. Here’s a bit of those conversations: GLENN BECK: So, what is it? I said to Marcel, I think I said to you earlier, that this is all about votes, and you said, “No, this is all about the money.” Explain that. MARCEL REID, ACORN CHAIR, WASHINGTON, D.C.: This is all about the money. This isn’t — well, you can do it, Karen. KAREN INMAN, FIRED ACORN BOARD MEMBER: Right. Basically, what happens is the organization, I think, had a good message to begin with, and then they looked to see how much money they generated and how much power they got. And so, instead of having it trickle down — trickle up from the membership, which is what it is supposed to be, they’ve looked and said, “Hmm, we can get X amount of dollars here. We’ll convince our membership that this is what we should be working on.” BECK: It seems to me that they are using me, and people like me, by calling racists and everything else, to generate outrage to help raise money. And then, also, they are using the lowest of our society, using them, and then throwing them to the lions and saying, “You know, well, it was a rogue employee,” which also helps them, too, doesn’t it? How? REID: Of course. Because it gives them cover, you know? It says consistently that the very same people they were supposed to be enabling are the same people that we sacrificed. But wait—there’s more! GLENN BECK: OK. Now, tell me where I’ve gotten it wrong — because I don’t see this really at all about politics, what’s going on in ACORN right now is just about money. MICHAEL MCCRAY, FORMER ACORN BOARD MEMBER: Well, what I would say about that, Glenn, is that really what you need to look at in terms of ACORN is governance. I mean, what we have is an organization, a venerable organization that had a very beautiful mission and a lot of committed supporters. What’s happened over time, though, is that there are certain leaders and senior staff members that have kind of, for the most part, hijacked the organization, and they’re using it for their own personal games. BECK: Can you tell me about Dale Rathke and his brother? MCCRAY: Well, Dale Rathke is the founder of — I mean, Wade Rathke is the founder of the organization, and he is an incredible organizer. And it was his vision that allowed ACORN to progress to kind of where it is today. Unfortunately, with, you know, absolute power comes some corruption, and the board members found out about eight or nine months ago that there had been $1 million embezzlement by his brother. BECK: But there hasn’t been any prosecution. There hasn’t really been — nobody has really investigated this mission dollar – this missing million dollars. Nobody has paid for this, criminally speaking? MCCRAY: That is correct, Glenn. And don’t you find it very interesting that even when after word that $1 million embezzlement came out and the fact that board members and executive committee members covered up the embezzlement, that the only people that had been punished were the people that were trying to get to the bottom of where the money go? So there you have it—when news of corruption and embezzlement arose, those in the right were fired by those in the wrong. And perhaps worst of all, the weakest and poorest of our neighbors have been abused, neglected and exploited in the process. Those whom ACORN was designed to serve the most have been victimized the most. That’s quite a one-two punch. I’ve been saying all along that we’ve got to stop thinking of cases like this in terms of “right and left.” Lies, deception, and the clawing for money and power are non-partisan. No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, this is a simple matter of RIGHT and WRONG. We’ve got to stop thinking about it as Politics and start thinking about it as CRIME. We need more people like Marcell, Michael and Karen…those who’ll put their personal principles ahead of their professional goals. (And tragically, by coming forward these men and women have had their safety threatened—I urge you to pray for them as I am.) Look, I live in the real world…I know that life is a full contact sport, especially when there are millions of dollars at stake. But if we don’t keep a firm grasp on our moral center and a keen eye on those who say their acting and spending for the public good, we stand to lose a whole lot more than money. Politics gets people crazy, and sometimes the simple truths can be obscured by a lot of fancy talking. At the end of the day, it’s really quite simple: There are good guys and there are bad guys, but they don’t always wear hats so we know who’s who. But at least this time…when it comes to ACORN…I’m seeing those in the black hats pretty clearly. And after being lucky enough to talk to some of those in the white hats, I hope you see them, too. Til Nex-Time....

This'n'That; May 5th[10thAmend;05/05;ListeningTour]

Fluffy.... How Dare They...? [Fluffy obama ain't gonna take kindly to you Montanans trying to circumvent his highness' royal authority!! How dare you think in this modern era that the Tenth Amendment-or the Constitution as a whole-carries any weight in the Era of Fluff?!?! Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.] Montana Poised to Buck Federal Gun Control By Kahrin Deines, Associated Press HELENA -The proposed law aims to exempt firearms, weapons components and ammunition made in Montana and kept in Montana from federal gun laws. Since the state has few gun laws of its own, the legislation would allow some gunowners and sellers in the state to skirt registration, licensing requirements and background checks entirely. "We'd like to just be able to make our own guns here in Montana and have the feds stay out of it," said Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, which helped draft the bill. The real target, though, is the U.S. Supreme Court. Marbut and others believe they can hit that mark with a simple Montana-made youth-model single-shot bolt-action .22 rifle. In particular, they plan to find a "squeaky clean" Montanan who wants to send a note to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives threatening to build and sell about 20 such rifles without federal dealership licensing. If the ATF tells them it's illegal, they will then file a lawsuit in federal court — with any luck triggering a legal battle that lands in the nation's highest court. House Bill 246 sailed through the Montana Legislature, but Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has not yet offered a position on the measure, which awaits his action. The federal enforcement agency for gun laws has also not taken a firm stand. "ATF is not going to take a position on this because we don't make any of the laws, we just enforce the laws that Congress makes," said Carrie DiPirro, spokeswoman for the Denver field division, which oversees Montana. Through the Constitution, Congress has authority to regulate interstate commerce, which serves as the legal basis for gun regulation in the United States. Efforts to bypass that authority have been heard before by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2005, the court upheld federal regulation of marijuana in California, even if its use is limited to noncommercial purposes — such as medical reasons — and it is grown and used within a state's borders.However, Randy Barnett, the lawyer and constitutional scholar who represented the plaintiff in the California case, said the introduction of a "Made in Montana' stamp — and stay in Montana guideline — might give some mettle to Montana's latest pitch for sovereignty. In the Gonzalez v. Raich case argued by Barnett, the court said that because marijuana produced within and outside of California is essentially indistinguishable, the government must regulate both to enforce national drug laws. Montana, though, could potentially argue that its guns are sufficiently unique and segregated as to lie outside of overarching federal regulatory schemes, Barnett said. The Montana effort follows fears here and elsewhere that the election of Barack Obama as president would trigger more gun regulation, sparking a rush to stock up on firearms in the months following the inauguration.But supporters insist House Bill 246 has been tailored to hit a different bull's eye than gun freedoms. "Firearms are inextricably linked to the history and culture of Montana, and I'd like to support that," said bill sponsor Rep. Joel Boniek, R-Livingston, during its House debate. "But I want to point out that the issue here is not about firearms. It's about states' rights." Cinco de Mayo Don'cha just hate those advertising stickers the newspaper puts on it's masthead? Recently the paper in this area put one on advertising a Mexican Restaurant. To celebrate 05/05, one could two meals for one with the coupon incorporated in the sticker. The only problem I saw was: the coupon was only valid 5/12 thru 5/14/009. Must be a "KoolAid Drinker".... they're really deep thinkers!! GOP Listening Tour?....They Need A History Lesson! [This "listening tour" is just more political bullshit, in the same vein as the "Campaign of Fluff!!" Listening? Whatta Hell for? Didn't these smiling faces see the nearly 1,000 Tax Day TEA-Parties all across the country? America is fed up with the continuous federal "boot on their necks" in the form of more and increased taxes, coupled with less and less freedoms!! Their ranks have fallen off because folks like me, my family and my neighbors have been left behind in the republican attempts to remodel itself after the democRATs to corner more of the voting public. I left the party to become a DINO because I could "do more damage" to the democRAT party as one!! If this is to truely be a "listening tour," the participants should assemble before the huddled masses and wait silently. Instead of an opening monologue elucidating their collective positions, they should patiently wait for questions; truthfully and insightly answer any and all put forth. What they really, really need is a history lesson; a good professor for that would be Newt Gingrich, a truely objective historian. The "tourists" decry both Ronald Reagan and the "Reagan Era;" as nostalgia and a bygone era to be forgotten. The Reagan Era was one of the greatest economic booms of the twentieth-century!! Mister Reagan knew the value-both political and economic-of tax cuts. During his two terms, the top marginal tax-rate dropped from 70% to 28%! One only has to look at the IRS and Treasury Department stastics to see that every time taxes are cut--the revenues to the IRS INCREASE, there's a steady increase in economic activity and more businesses are started; those in place, flourished !! The tourists must revisit the 1994 "Contract With America;" promote re-implementation of those items that were successful; promote implementation of those items that failed or were ignored AFTER correction.] With the party at its lowest standing in several decades, Republicans on Saturday launched a listening tour in the heart of the Democratic suburbs, where several of the party’s leading voices steered clear of hot-button issues and instead emphasized the need to advance new policy ideas to revive the party’s prospects. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and former Republican Govs. Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney — both frequently mentioned as potential 2012 GOP presidential candidates — spoke to about 100 attendees at a pizzeria in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Va. The event was the first held by the newly launched National Council for a New America. The common thread at the forum was that the Republican Party’s struggles are rooted in its nostalgia for a more successful past and its inability to offer a policy agenda suited for the 21st century. To make a political comeback, the GOP leaders argued, the party needs to modernize its ideas and agenda. “Our party has taken its licks over the last couple of cycles,” Cantor acknowledged. “But that’s why we’re here.” At the forum, there was little talk about the president’s recently passed budget and stimulus proposals, which were vigorously opposed by Republicans. Instead, the GOP trio talked about bread-and-butter issues that directly affect voters — the rising cost of health care, merit pay for teachers and the price of college tuition. “From the conservatives, it’s time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit and to not be nostalgic about the past,” Bush said. “You can’t beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don’t like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that.” Bush added: “We have principles and values that are shared by the majority of Americans, but we have to now take those principles and apply them to these challenges our country faces today.” The former Florida governor offered a panoply of proposals on education reform, citing a study showing the United States lags well behind other developed countries in math and science. Romney touted his work in Massachusetts to implement a universal health care system that he said incorporated the private sector, not the government, in the process. And he warned that rising spending under the Democrats threatens to stagnate long-term economic growth.“When the capital disappears, the current view of the administration is that we ought to raise taxes on capital; we ought to raise taxes on investment. The right thing to do is to lower taxes, or at least hold them down ... that’s one thing we do a little different,” said Romney. “There are ways to solve problems if we look beyond Washington.” Romney and Bush both downplayed their own political ambitions. Bush, who earlier this year declined to run for Florida’s open Senate seat, said he was glad to be out of the political arena and is now focused on brainstorming policy ideas — and he expressed his frustration that most politics in Washington are “defined by a food fight.”“It’s time for others to embrace good ideas and to implement them,” he told POLITICO on his way out of the event.Romney similarly begged off questions about a potential 2012 White House bid after the event, but he was careful to not rule out the prospect.“I haven’t shut the door, but I haven’t walked through the door, either,” said Romney, who was taping an interview with CNN. Asked earlier if the three Republicans were the face of their party, Romney joked that he and Bush were “two has-beens already.” While the party focuses on the future, the public faces have hardly changed — a Bush, a 2008 candidate for the party’s nomination and a longtime member of the House GOP leadership — with no women or minorities on center stage. One of the expected attendees, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), couldn’t make it because her child got sick. Questions from the Republican-friendly crowd ranged from conservative softballs, like one about the economic impact of the Employee Free Choice Act, to more open-ended policy questions about what Republicans can do to improve education or health care coverage. “We’ve got to give Americans something to say yes to,” said Brian Summers, a volunteer for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign, eliciting applause from the crowd. The party leaders notably avoided any discussion of issues that have motivated the GOP base — gay marriage, immigration and abortion. Indeed, several protesters from an anti-illegal-immigration group stood outside the pizzeria holding signs complaining that the party was sidestepping crucial social issues.“The reason that immigration, same-sex marriage and abortion were left off the agenda is because they feel it will turn people off to the Republican Party,” said Michael McLaughlin, a member of the American Council for Immigration Reform. “To me, you can’t discuss energy independence and health care without talking about immigration. It’s all related.”As they embark on this experiment, the assembled Republicans were reluctant to offer timelines or set specific expectations for the party’s future.“We don’t have to come up with all the answers today,” Romney told the crowd before offering that, “Certainly, by 2010 we should.” Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 2nd [MUST READ Letter!!!]

[This is a MUST-READ letter from Andrew McCarthy declining an invitation to eric holder's "round-table" to assign blame for terrorism in general but specifically on detention policy. This was sent to Rush Limbaugh by one of Rush's friends who obtained a copy. This McCarthy guy demonstrates he has "hangy-down things" and ain't afraid to exercise 'em!!! Certainly without mincing words, Mr McCarthy gives voice to the millions of non-KoolAid drinkers!! This is "it" in it's unedited entirety; I didn't even replace "obama" with my usual: Fluffy, Fluffer or The Fluffmeister!!]

By email (to the Counterterrorism Division) and by regular mail: The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General of the United States United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 Dear Attorney General Holder: This letter is respectfully submitted to inform you that I must decline the invitation to participate in the May 4 roundtable meeting the President’s Task Force on Detention Policy is convening with current and former prosecutors involved in international terrorism cases. An invitation was extended to me by trial lawyers from the Counterterrorism Section, who are members of the Task Force, which you are leading. The invitation email (of April 14) indicates that the meeting is part of an ongoing effort to identify lawful policies on the detention and disposition of alien enemy combatants -- or what the Department now calls “individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.” I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear -- most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany -- that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop. Moreover, in light of public statements by both you and the President, it is dismayingly clear that, under your leadership, the Justice Department takes the position that a lawyer who in good faith offers legal advice to government policy makers—like the government lawyers who offered good faith advice on interrogation policy—may be subject to investigation and prosecution for the content of that advice, in addition to empty but professionally damaging accusations of ethical misconduct. Given that stance, any prudent lawyer would have to hesitate before offering advice to the government. Beyond that, as elucidated in my writing (including my proposal for a new national security court, which I understand the Task Force has perused), I believe alien enemy combatants should be detained at Guantanamo Bay (or a facility like it) until the conclusion of hostilities. This national defense measure is deeply rooted in the venerable laws of war and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 2004 Hamdi case. Yet, as recently as Wednesday, you asserted that, in your considered judgment, such notions violate America’s “commitment to the rule of law.” Indeed, you elaborated, “Nothing symbolizes our [administration’s] new course more than our decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay…. President Obama believes, and I strongly agree, that Guantanamo has come to represent a time and an approach that we want to put behind us: a disregard for our centuries-long respect for the rule of law[.]” (Emphasis added.) Given your policy of conducting ruinous criminal and ethics investigations of lawyers over the advice they offer the government, and your specific position that the wartime detention I would endorse is tantamount to a violation of law, it makes little sense for me to attend the Task Force meeting. After all, my choice would be to remain silent or risk jeopardizing myself. For what it may be worth, I will say this much. For eight years, we have had a robust debate in the United States about how to handle alien terrorists captured during a defensive war authorized by Congress after nearly 3000 of our fellow Americans were annihilated. Essentially, there have been two camps. One calls for prosecution in the civilian criminal justice system, the strategy used throughout the 1990s. The other calls for a military justice approach of combatant detention and war-crimes prosecutions by military commission. Because each theory has its downsides, many commentators, myself included, have proposed a third way: a hybrid system, designed for the realities of modern international terrorism—a new system that would address the needs to protect our classified defense secrets and to assure Americans, as well as our allies, that we are detaining the right people. There are differences in these various proposals. But their proponents, and adherents to both the military and civilian justice approaches, have all agreed on at least one thing: Foreign terrorists trained to execute mass-murder attacks cannot simply be released while the war ensues and Americans are still being targeted. We have already released too many jihadists who, as night follows day, have resumed plotting to kill Americans. Indeed, according to recent reports, a released Guantanamo detainee is now leading Taliban combat operations in Afghanistan, where President Obama has just sent additional American forces. The Obama campaign smeared Guantanamo Bay as a human rights blight. Consistent with that hyperbolic rhetoric, the President began his administration by promising to close the detention camp within a year. The President did this even though he and you (a) agree Gitmo is a top-flight prison facility, (b) acknowledge that our nation is still at war, and (c) concede that many Gitmo detainees are extremely dangerous terrorists who cannot be tried under civilian court rules. Patently, the commitment to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was made without a plan for what to do with these detainees who cannot be tried. Consequently, the Detention Policy Task Force is not an effort to arrive at the best policy. It is an effort to justify a bad policy that has already been adopted: to wit, the Obama administration policy to release trained terrorists outright if that’s what it takes to close Gitmo by January. Obviously, I am powerless to stop the administration from releasing top al Qaeda operatives who planned mass-murder attacks against American cities—like Binyam Mohammed (the accomplice of “Dirty Bomber” Jose Padilla) whom the administration recently transferred to Britain, where he is now at liberty and living on public assistance. I am similarly powerless to stop the administration from admitting into the United States such alien jihadists as the 17 remaining Uighur detainees. According to National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair, the Uighurs will apparently live freely, on American taxpayer assistance, despite the facts that they are affiliated with a terrorist organization and have received terrorist paramilitary training. Under federal immigration law (the 2005 REAL ID Act), those facts render them excludable from theUnited States. The Uighurs’ impending release is thus a remarkable development given the Obama administration’s propensity to deride its predecessor’s purported insensitivity to the rule of law. I am, in addition, powerless to stop the President, as he takes these reckless steps, from touting his Detention Policy Task Force as a demonstration of his national security seriousness. But I can decline to participate in the charade. Finally, let me repeat that I respect and admire the dedication of Justice Department lawyers, whom I have tirelessly defended since I retired in 2003 as a chief assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. It was a unique honor to serve for nearly twenty years as a federal prosecutor, under administrations of both parties. It was as proud a day as I have ever had when the trial team I led was awarded the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award in 1996, after we secured the convictions of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and his underlings for waging a terrorist war against the United States. I particularly appreciated receiving the award from Attorney General Reno—as I recounted in Willful Blindness, my book about the case, without her steadfastness against opposition from short-sighted government officials who wanted to release him, the “blind sheikh” would never have been indicted, much less convicted and so deservedly sentenced to life-imprisonment. In any event, I’ve always believed defending our nation is a duty of citizenship, not ideology. Thus, my conservative political views aside, I’ve made myself available to liberal and conservative groups, to Democrats and Republicans, who’ve thought tapping my experience would be beneficial. It pains me to decline your invitation, but the attendant circumstances leave no other option. Very truly yours, /S/ Andrew C. McCarthy

Til Nex'Time....