Timothy Geithner

I promised you the same repackaged garbage that our President has been putting out all along, with some fresh and a little recycled liberal garbage thrown in for garnish… and he delivered in spades. In the second longest speech in the history of state-of-the-union messages, Barack Obama presided over a real yawner, (ask Harry Reid) and managed to unify Republican, Independent and Conservative opposition to his extremist policies, and insult the Supreme Court, an act which he my live to regret and turn the military solidly against him. Once again the entire thrust and focus was on himself.

Noted history professor and PhD, Charlie Self, called Obama’s speech “the most self aggrandizing Presidential address in history”. Obama was hoping to quell incipient unrest and possible defections from Democrat Representatives who, given the debacles in Massachusetts and the deterioration of the UNIVERSALLY despised health care bill, are looking to November with justifiable trepidation.

Some Democrats could not withhold their anger. Representative Stephen Lynch, D-Mass, speaking to Obama Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at hearing about the Wall Street bailout, “It just stinks to the high heaven what happened here”. Whether he knew it or not Representative Lynch hit it right on the national ‘head of the nail’ echoing American taxpayers. Democrats are also angry at the loss of stature that Obama’s failed policy initiatives have caused them.

There has been a marked reluctance amongst Democrats who have been bullied, pushed and pulled by Obama and the Congressional leadership to walk in the usual Democratic ‘lockstep’. Obama also engendered the ire of the members of the Supreme Court. Saying that they had exposed the American body politic to “foreign influences” by their decision to return the FIRST AMENDMENT to the CONSTITUTION and the AMERICAN PEOPLE, Obama made himself no friends among the Supremes, as at one point Justice Samuel Alito mouthed to him, “YOU’RE WRONG”.

The best thing that could be said for his touted ‘boost for the middle class and small business’ is that it won’t work, will probably lead to massive inflation and a ‘double-dip recession. Business is so confident in Obama’s policies that Home Depot announced layoffs and Sam’s Club is laying off ELEVEN THOUSAND PEOPLE.

In proof of Einstein’s posit that the surest sign of insanity was repeating the same failed action over and over, Obama is seeking to add ANOTHER stimulus to the money that has been literally flushed down the toilet with little or no accountability, and no jobs other than government and temporary jobs that will go away as soon as the money is gone. It’s the exact same failed policies and assaults on the private sector and the middle class that got us here. As far as the President’s ‘freeze on discretionary spending’ goes Charles Krauthammer put it most succinctly, “it’s like using a Q-tip” on the problem.

Obama has also tripped the third rail fuse on the “don’t ask don’t tell” issue as his payoff to the gay lobby. Almost universally condemned by the military and service members, this is just plain stupid policy to inflict on a military committed to combat worldwide in a war of extermination with a fanatical foe that is sworn to the destruction of this country.

Conservative Republicans have their work cut out for them to see that Obama’s socialist agenda never comes to fruition. It is, after all, only “the end of the beginning”.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2010

I was discussing the recent financial crisis with a friend tonight.  He said: "The Problem with the GOP is that they deregulated until the banks became too big to fail." BULLSHIT!!! Had our political leaders had a pair of brass balls last year, they would have realized letting the banks fail would benefit America.  We could have re-built a solid banking system instead of the politicized BS we have now.

Unfortunately, the Republican President and Treasury Secretary didn't have the courage of their alleged free market convictions.  Thus, we're stuck with a politicized banking system for the next decade.

And some people are trying to say the GOP has moved too far to the right...ha!

by Lance Thompson

It’s impossible to know whether hindsight will assess the current administration as the most corrupt, the most inept, or the most dangerous in history, but there is certainly an opportunity for Obama to rate highest in all three categories and claim the Triple Crown.

In the corruption column, Obama moved quickly to fill his cabinet and administration with tax cheats (Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner) and terrorist sympathizers (Attorney General Eric Holder and National Intelligence Council chief Charles Freeman).  The only reason there aren’t more criminals in the administration is that several nominees withdrew their names when their questionable pasts were exposed–Governor Bill Richardson (under federal investigation for trading state contracts for campaign contributions) and one-time Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and private consultant Nancy Killefer (tax troubles for both).  Harold Koh, Obama’s pick for the State Department’s legal advisor, finds nothing wrong with applying Muslim Sharia law in “appropriate” cases.   Obama has brought the 2010 Census under the control of the White House, and is enlisting the vote-manufacturing experts at ACORN to recruit census takers.  And let’s not forget that Obama campaigned for and signed a stimulus bill that neither he nor many Democrats nor any Republicans in Congress ever read--the most costly single piece of legislation in history.

In qualifying for the ineptitude crown, Obama has demonstrated a supreme lack of diplomatic grace, despite campaigning on the promise to improve America’s image in the world.  He presented the British Prime Minister with movie DVD’s unviewable on European video systems, and the Queen with a video i-pod that included video coverage of his own speeches.  His state department denied the existence of a special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.   Obama’s recent speeches abroad, besides denigrating American commitment and sacrifice to a free Europe, also demonstrates such a dismal knowledge of 20th Century history and geopolitics that no one could ever doubt his Ivy League education. Obama has also suggested that Americans in uniform provide their own health insurance; subsidized GM, fired its CEO, and then indicated the company may be better off declaring bankruptcy; spent the first few weeks of his presidency declaring the “worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” then switched to rosy outlooks and predictions once his cripplingly massive spending bills were passed.

But Obama scores highest in the “most dangerous” category:

He vows to rid the American arsenal of nuclear weapons while more rogue regimes than ever before are racing to perfect them.

His answer to a record national debt is to treble and quadruple that debt with mindless spending and unprecedented waste.

He slapped key ally Israel in the face by sending a billion dollars of aid to the terrorist government of Gaza to repair damage inflicted in the recent conflict.

He cravenly offered to bargain away our missile defense of Eastern European states while begging the Russians to cease their military aid to Iran.

He met the defiant launch of a North Korean ICBM with anguished hand-wringing and a complaint to the permanently ineffectual United Nations.

His Defense Secretary strips major military programs from the budget even as every other government program enjoys unprecedented largesse.

Most corrupt, most inept, most dangerous–certainly Obama has competition for any one of these honors from administrations past.  But we have never had a president who scored so highly so quickly in all three categories.  Of course, Obama could jeopardize his chance at the Triple Crown if he were to suddenly demonstrate competence, judgment and integrity.  But personally, I think his lock on the title is unassailable.

Given his pathos; it seems safe to start the Timothy Geithner Death Watch.

Moving forward, after the disastrous duo of Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner, this country desperately needs a top notch Secretary of it's Treasury.  On that note, I would nominate former General Electric (GE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Welch.

Why is Jack Welch the Strongest Potential Candidate for Treasury Secretary?

1) His Record Inspires Confidence -- Jack Welch is, along with Andrew Carnegie, one of the best Corporate Executives in American History.  During his tenure as CEO, GE became the most valuble company in the world.  While the skillset of a wildly successful CEO doesn't translate perfectly to a Treasury Secretary, Jack Welch, on his laziest day, sure as heck knows a lot more about the Global Economy than Timothy Geithner on his most perfect day.

Furthermore, Jack Welch knows how to make other people want to follow when he leads.

2) GE's Business Stretches Across Many Business Sectors -- From Financial Services, to Manufacturing, to Defense, to the Media Jack Welch's business experience stretches across many different sectors of the American Economy.  While Jack Welch understands financial markets better than almost anyone, he's not just a Wall Street guy.  Jack Welch understands, and can explain, the relationship between financial markets and the so-called "real" economy.

3) The Obama Administration DESPERATELY Needs Business Leaders -- Right Now, the Obama Administration has exactly ZERO business leaders serving it.  That needs to change if they want any credibility.  Who fits the credibility bill better than Jack Welch?

The biggest question, of course, is why Jack Welch would accept such a thankless task?  I can't come up with a good reason.  Maybe an appeal to patriotism?

I hope this helps.

That is all.

Cahnman out.

Dear Senators Dodd and Schumer and Congressman Frank,

First things first, let me congratulate you for reaching a level of hypocritical grandstanding I thought impossible even for the United States' Congress.

Congressman Frank, you blocked oversight at Fannie and Freddie while you were dating a high ranking Fannie official.

Senator Dodd, you took a bribe from Angelo Mozillo to filibuster George W. Bush's attempts to reign in criminal excesses at Fannie and Freddie.

Senator Schumer, the 100% tax rate you propose on Wall Street bonuses violates the ex post facto clause in the United States Constitution.  Not that you care when you're up for re-election this cycle....

Furthermore, all three of you were crucial players in the decision to bailout Wall Street.  While you may personally disagree with some of the decisions those firms have made, the fact remains you had an oppotunity to let said firms fail six months ago.  Instead of letting Wall Street fail; you failed.

Once you decided to bail these firms out, you implicitly accepted responsibility for any unpopular business decisions said firms made.

Against that backdrop, I find your grandstanding over the compensation paid by the American International Group (AIG) utterly nauseating.  Said compensation, while perhaps unwise from a narrowly defined business perspective, is standard practice in the financial services industry.  Gentlemen, if you didn't want AIG engaging in standard business practices; THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BAILED THEM OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

Don't get me wrong: AIG screwed up and THEY SHOULD FAIL as a result (the fact that their screw up is a direct result of Elliot Spitzer's bullying is a topic for another day).  That said, Gentlemen, you are standing in the way of AIG's creative destruction.  Until you are willing to let AIG fail, your whines about executive compensation ring hollow.

Sincerely,

Adam Cahn

Austin, TX

Timothy Geithner and Tony Goldwyn, who played the evil investment banker who killed Patrick Swayze's character in the movie Ghost.

John McCain and Richard Shelby come to their senses:

John McCain and Richard Shelby, two high-profile Republican senators, said Sunday that the government should allow a number of the biggest U.S. banks to fail.

"Close them down, get them out of business," Shelby, the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said on the ABC television program "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." "If they're dead, they ought to be buried."

While the Alabama senator did not say which banks should shut down, he suggested that Citigroup might be on that list, saying the bank has "always been a problem child."

McCain, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," echoed that sentiment without identifying banks. McCain, who lost the U.S. presidential election in November, accused the Treasury Department of avoiding the "hard decision" to let "these banks fail."

All I have to say is, what in sand hill took you people sooooooo long?  Senator McCain, had you said this last September you'd currently be President and Barack Obama would still be some random Senator.

And yes, before the peddlers of haterade chime in, it's called CREATIVE DESTRUCTION.

Obama Adminstration Negotiates Nuclear Bailout Deal with Iran

by. Irving Peter Freely

WASHINGTON -- Declaring the World's Largest Sponsor of Terrorism "too big to fail," U.S. President Barack Obama today announced the Iranian Nuclear Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The controversal deal, opposed by Republicans, will commit the U.S. Government to funding the Iranian nuclear program through the end of 2010.  The Iranian Nuclear program had become a causalty of the global credit crisis and lower oil prices.

"In this time of global economic crisis," President Obama announced today, "when we stand on the edge of catastrophe, Vice President Biden, Secretary Geithner and Iranian president [Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad have negotiated a deal that should allow us to create or save over 400 jobs in the Iranian Nuclear Sector.  Given the unprecedented nature of the pressures Iran faces, not acting is simply not an option."

The deal is expected to meet resistance on Capitol Hill.

"Is the President serious?"  Asked Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), a member of House Republican Leadership.

"The American People do not want us to send billions of dollars to prop up the nuclear program of a country that regularly declares it's intention to destroy the United States of America," said Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN).

Not all members of Congress feel this way.

"I find it appaling that Herbert Hoover Repubilcans would follow Rush Limbaugh's marching orders to obstruct this crucial economic and national security measure in order to justify their own failed policies," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

"Who do these Republicans think they are?" asked Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), "When the administration negotiates a bailout deal in secret with our enemies, they expect a certain amount of support from the United States Congress.  These Herbert Hoover Republicans seem to think that the Iranian nuclear program will survive if we do nothing.  These Republicans don't understand that real people work in the Iranian nuclear program."

While Republicans are anticpated to largely oppose the deal, Democrats expect the measure to pass largely along party lines, although moderate Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) is expected to support the administration.

"I just think that, given the size of the current crisis, we have to do something even if this approach isn't my first choice", Specter said this week on the Sean Hannity Radio show.  "I gave my word to the Senate Leadership and I intend to keep it."

Timothy Geithner has the ability to lie, cheat, and steal from America’s Tax Payers.  He has, or will be, approved by Socialist, Liberals, Democrats, and by some You Are What You Eat and the Company You Keep Republicans to head the Treasury Department.  The rich will be allowed to follow in his steps while the American Tax Payer will foot the bills for all the Geithnerizers that will be given a legal right to lie, cheat, and steal from people who work for a living.

As Judge Judy would say. “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it is raining.”

Rather than scoring cheap political points, I think this would be a great lead in to a discussion of tax simplicication.

I discussed tax simplification last night.