Saturday, April 4, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Obama Bows To Saudi King
Around the 50 second mark of this video you can see President Obama's bow to the King of Saudia Arabia.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Largest Federal Tobacco Tax Increase Today
This is the largest increase in tobacco taxes. This takes effect despite Obama's promise not to raise any taxes on families earning under $250,000. The poor are more likely to smoke than the rich so this tax disproportionately affects the poor. The Associated Press described this tax hike as saying "Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday."
Neil Cavuto Vs. Rep. Alan Grayson On Proposal To Control Any "Unreasonable And Excessive Compensation" For Any Worker At A Bailed Out Company
Neal Cavuto rips apart Democrat Congressman Alan Grayson on his proposed "Pay For Performance Act."
Obama Gives Queen Of England An Ipod As A Gift
Earlier this year Obama gave British PM Gordon Brown 25 DVDs as a gift. They were actually the wrong format for England.
Now the Telegraph reports that "Barack Obama met the Queen at Buckingham Palace today and gave her a gift of an iPod loaded with video footage and photographs of her 2007 visit to the United States. In return, the Queen gave the President a silver framed photograph of herself - apparently a standard present for visiting dignitaries. The Queen already has an iPod, a 6GB silver Mini version she bought in 2005 at the suggestion of Prince Andrew."
So much for "smart power."
Now the Telegraph reports that "Barack Obama met the Queen at Buckingham Palace today and gave her a gift of an iPod loaded with video footage and photographs of her 2007 visit to the United States. In return, the Queen gave the President a silver framed photograph of herself - apparently a standard present for visiting dignitaries. The Queen already has an iPod, a 6GB silver Mini version she bought in 2005 at the suggestion of Prince Andrew."
So much for "smart power."
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu: Obama Must Prevent "Iran From Gaining Nuclear Weapons" Or Israel Might Have To
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Atlantic that “the Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons." The Iranian drive for a nuclear weapon was a “hinge of history,” he said, emphasizing that all of “Western civilization” was responsible for preventing an Iranian bomb.
The Jerusalem Post reports that "Netanyahu suggested that Israeli preemptive strikes against perceived threats were the result of the Jewish people learning from a long history of grappling against those who threatened their collective existence. He cited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated calls to 'wipe Israel off the map,' as well as a recent remark by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to the effect that Israel was a 'cancerous tumor.'"
The Jerusalem Post reports that "Netanyahu suggested that Israeli preemptive strikes against perceived threats were the result of the Jewish people learning from a long history of grappling against those who threatened their collective existence. He cited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated calls to 'wipe Israel off the map,' as well as a recent remark by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to the effect that Israel was a 'cancerous tumor.'"
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
New Arab Member Of Israeli Knesset Declares Her Support For Iran's Nuclear Quest
The Jerusalem Post reports on some of the comments that the new fifth-column Balad party MK Haneen Zuabi made. Zuabi is the first woman to be elected to the Knesset as a representative of an Arab party. The Jpost reports that she said "Iran's role in Palestinian affairs was 'more useful' than that of regimes like Jordan and Egypt... Queried regarding Iran's quest to manufacture nuclear weapons, Zuabi stated that having Israel as the region's sole nuclear power was disadvantageous. 'It would be more supporting me to have a counter-power to Israel,' she said. 'I need something to balance [Israel's] power.'... Indeed, she said she was 'more afraid from the Israeli nuclear [weapons].'"
US Seeks To Join UN Human Rights Council
All should express outrage at news reports that the United States will seek to join the United Nations Human Rights Council. Obama has decided to change the Bush administration's policy of boycotting the U. N. Human Rights Council. The Director of the Republican Jewish coalition had this to say in explaining why this is deserving of outrage:
The Human Rights Council is an arena in which undemocratic regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Angola, have equal standing with truly free countries such as Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. The Council's record of upholding human rights is abysmal. The Council has failed to address some of the most serious human rights abuses of our time, including those taking place in Darfur. It is especially blind to human rights abuses by its own member countries. On the other hand, the Council is a central venue for the most virulent Israel-bashing. Anne Bayefsky has reported that the Council, "has adopted more condemnations of Israel than all the other 191 U.N. states combined, while terminating human rights investigations on the likes of Iran, Cuba and Belarus. Much of the Council's agenda is at the behest of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the resolutions it submits to the General Assembly are unremittingly anti-Israel and anti-Western. The Bush administration, and other Western governments, have strongly opposed attempts in the Human Council to pass resolutions that would limit the right of free speech in democracies. President Bush understood that there could be no positive result from American participation in an international body so inherently hostile to Israel and so fundamentally incapable of acting in defense of human rights. That President Obama has chosen to reverse American policy on this question is a blow to the U.S.-Israel relationship and a cause for deep concern among American Jews.
The Human Rights Council is an arena in which undemocratic regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Angola, have equal standing with truly free countries such as Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. The Council's record of upholding human rights is abysmal. The Council has failed to address some of the most serious human rights abuses of our time, including those taking place in Darfur. It is especially blind to human rights abuses by its own member countries. On the other hand, the Council is a central venue for the most virulent Israel-bashing. Anne Bayefsky has reported that the Council, "has adopted more condemnations of Israel than all the other 191 U.N. states combined, while terminating human rights investigations on the likes of Iran, Cuba and Belarus. Much of the Council's agenda is at the behest of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the resolutions it submits to the General Assembly are unremittingly anti-Israel and anti-Western. The Bush administration, and other Western governments, have strongly opposed attempts in the Human Council to pass resolutions that would limit the right of free speech in democracies. President Bush understood that there could be no positive result from American participation in an international body so inherently hostile to Israel and so fundamentally incapable of acting in defense of human rights. That President Obama has chosen to reverse American policy on this question is a blow to the U.S.-Israel relationship and a cause for deep concern among American Jews.
Obama's New HHS Secretary Nominee Has Tax Problems
Kathleen Sebelius is President Obama's nominee to become Health and Human Services secretary. Obama's first choice was Tom Daschle who had to withdraw his nomination because of massive tax fraud. CBS now reports that in a letter sent to senators that was obtained by the Associated Press "Sebelius wrote that she had made changes related to charitable contributions, business expenses and the sale of a home... The wire service reports that she and her husband paid just over $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest, for the years 2005-2007... On the charitable contributions front, she writes that she could not locate three acknowledgment letters out of her 49 charitable contributions in excess of $250, and thus eliminated those three deductions. She also writes that she had 'insufficient documentation' for some of her tax dedications for business expenses, though because of the Alternative Minimum Tax they did not affect the amount owed. She also said she mistakenly paid off a home loan that included deductable mortgage interest."So far that is a count of six people Obama has nominated who have had tax issues: Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer, Timothy Geithner, Ron Kirk, Hilda Solis, and now Kathleen Sebelius.
After Spending Billions In Bailouts, Bankruptcy Leads Possible Plans For GM, Chrysler
The Wall Street Journal reports "the Obama's administration's leading plan to fix General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC would use bankruptcy filings to purge the ailing companies of their biggest problems, including bondholder debt and retiree health-care costs, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would in essence split both companies into their 'good' and 'bad' components. The government would like to see the 'good' GM to be a standalone company, according to an administration official. The 'good' Chrysler would be sold to Fiat SpA, assuming that deal is completed, this person said. GM and Chrysler have had bankruptcy attorneys devising plans for such a move in recent months."
So after the government spends billions on bailouts for the auto industry that have no effect, the plan the government comes up with now for the auto companies is declaring bankruptcy. If so much taxpayer money had not been wasted this would be laughable.
So after the government spends billions on bailouts for the auto industry that have no effect, the plan the government comes up with now for the auto companies is declaring bankruptcy. If so much taxpayer money had not been wasted this would be laughable.
Monday, March 30, 2009
European Parliament Daniel Hannan On MSNBC's "Morning Joe"
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