Millions, Billions, Trillions....

Well, last night the O-man told us all once again how he is just fixin' to fix all our problems.

You know, the ones he inherited... the ones he had nothing to do with creating.

His solutions are largely government centered.

Because, you see, he believes we're all incapable of doing anything for ourselves.

So, he's tossing miliions or billions or trillions around like they're quarters, and digging our debt hole deeper with every word.

While it's obvious that he has no idea how much any of these numbers really are, many of us do.

You see, we've run businesses and had jobs that depend on profitability.

You know, ones that aren't fireproof because of tenure, or that aren't funded by that never empty pool of tax revenues.

So just for education's sake, let's take a minute and look at just what a billion is.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,

But one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases:

A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending.

Now, as a more contemporary example of this fiduciary foolishness, let's take a look at Louisiana....

because it's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) got bought off for her healthctre vote in Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS, to be used to help rebuild New Orleans .

Interesting number... a quarter of a trillion dollars.

What does it mean?

Well... if you are one of the 484,674 remaining residents of New Orleans, (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

Or... If you have one of the 188,251 homes ever built in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

Or... If you are a family of four... your family gets $2,066,012.

As another example, let's look at U.S. aid to Haiti BEFORE the earthquake.

Haiti is a small half-island in the Caribbean.

 

It has just under 9 million residents counting men, women, and children, or at least it did before the earthquake.

 

Now, the earthquake was a terrible and tragic event.

 

But here's what's  more tragic:.

 

Over the last eight years before the earthquake, the U.S. sent $300 billion in aid there.

 

In 2008 alone we sent $300 million.

 

To a country of 9 million people.

 

That's right, we sent $33,000+ for every man, women, and child --- $132,000+ for every family of four --- and the people were still living in shacks.

 

Habitat for Humanity says they can build new, safe, core housing units for Haitians for a total cost of about $4,000 each, and it appears they have some of the houses built to prove it.

 

Hello O-man: Do you think we could have sent each haitian $20,000 cash so they could have a good house, and saved ourselves a hundred and seventeen billion dollars???

It's amazing how much more frugally things can be done when you get the government out of the way.

 

Just a thought.

 
 
“Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings of frugality” ---- John Tyler
 
“Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor.” ---- Samuel Johnson
 
 
 
 

The State of the Union.

On this day in history, 1862, then-President Lincoln issued War Order One to his Generals prosecuting the Civil War.

In that order, he directed that the entirety of the Union Army move in unison against the Confederates whereever they be found.

To move aggressively in unison against a common enemy.

On this day in history, 2010, in his State of the Union address, President Obama issued directives to his party members in Congress who are prosecuting his agenda for the country.

In those directives, he instructed that Congress move ahead in unison on his agenda, regardless of the difficulty.

To keep on moving forward while denying the realities of his administration's prior actions.

Lincoln's directives were met with apathy and non-compliance by his Generals, in part because they did not have what they needed to execute them.

And, in part, because to do so would have cost the generals some of their prestige, wealth, and position within the local communities where they were bivouacked.

Similarly, the O-man's directives will be met with similar non-compliance, even among those in his own party, again because they don't have what they need to execute them.

And because of the potential cost to his party members at the polls.

A President can do many things in a State of the Union address.

He can use the bully pulpit.

He can inspire the nation.

He can create unity in times of conflict.

He can provide leadership and vision in times requiring clarity.

The O-man did none of these.

Rather, he continued to refer to the things he inherited from his predecessor, even though the problems facing the country now are direct results of actions initiated and implemented by the O-man's administration and his Congress.

He continued to vacillate on exactly how he wants Congress to proceed, giving no specific guidance on healthcare, climate change, or even tax legislation.

Instead, he called for broadbrushed, non-specific appeasements to all corners of his base, leaving the strategic execution and the potential scar tissue to his Congress.

As has been the case since he took office, the O-man chose commentary over leadership, oratory over substance, reaction over pro-action.

History, even his own, has shown this to be highly ineffective, as evidenced by the lack of healthcare reform, the lack of a coherent national energy policy, the lack of true economic recovery.

By pushing the ball to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the O-man continues to try to take credit for the wins, while blaming the prior admnistration, Congress and the opposition for his losses.

Fortunately, the American public is smarter than that, and took their first available opportunity (the Massachusetts Senate election) to repudiate the O-man's tactics.

Apparently, the O-man learned nothing from that event.

By allowing Congress to set the strategic agenda, he continues to position himself as the fall guy for their activities in the minds of the electorate.

He may not acknowledge it or agree, but the economy, the healthcare bill, jobs, and every other issue facing his administration are his now, not George Bush's.

Congress gets it, and they are moving swiftly to distance themselves from the far left agenda that the O-man has pushed upon them.

Especially after every visit to their home districts.

While the O-man has recently said he would prefer to be a good one-term President rather than a mediocre two-term President, most Congressmen have already made plans for their next term, and aren't willing to follow the O-man's directives only at the expense of their own electability.

Apparently, Mr. Lincoln inspired the O-man even more than he realized.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” ---- John C. Maxwell

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” ---- Harold S. Geneen

The best built cars in the world.

As Reported by the Associated Press:

In a stunning and unprecedented move, Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday halted sales of most of its popular models in the U.S. in response to growing concerns that possible defects may cause the vehicles to accelerate unintentionally.

The Japanese car maker, which long has been viewed as the leader in automotive quality, said it told its dealers to stop selling eight models, including the Camry and Corolla sedans, two of the biggest sellers in the U.S. market. Other models affected by the move include the RAV4 and Highlander sport-utility vehicles and the Tundra pickup truck.

The eight models represented 57% of Toyota's 2009 U.S. sales. Toyota also said it will stop producing the affected vehicles at several North American plants for one week starting Feb. 1.  

Until recently, Toyota had said it believed the problem mainly stemmed from floor mats getting jammed against the gas pedal, but later said its accelerator assembly's electronics could be a factor as well.

Last week, Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. affected by the accelerator assembly problem. That was on top of an earlier recall of 4.2 million vehicles to fix the floor mat issue. About 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both recalls.

Toyota will expand its recall of vehicles with defective gas pedals to Europe, a person close to the matter said Monday. The person said Toyota expects to recall roughly two million vehicles in Europe.

Such a large and public quality problem is a big blow for Toyota, a company that last year passed General Motors Co. to become the world's largest auto maker by sales and for years leveraged its reputation for quality to pull customers from GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

 

How the mighty have fallen.

 

For many years, Toyota's advertising slogan was "The Best Built Cars in the World".

 

And, they backed it up with amazing build quality.

 

There were a lot of reasons for it.

 

Their plants were far newer than US auto plants, having been completely rebuilt following World War II, while U.S. plants had been around since the twenties.

 

Their design engineering was state of the art, helped vastly by the fact that their newer, more precise assembly equipment was able to hold much closer tolerances than their U.S. competitors.

 

And their workers maintained a magnificent work ethic fueled both by Toyota management and the Japanese culture.

 

But ultimately, their American competitors caught up.

 

Newer assembly plants were built, and filled with even newer, even more precise assembly equipment.

 

Computer aided design practices tightened tolerances and improved build quality.

 

And, as Toyota plants began to be built in the US, their labor force became more closely aligned to the American work ethic presented by the United Auto Workers Union.

 

Now, Toyota is suffering the slings and arrows of real world manufacturing of complex assemblies: Quality oriented vehicle recalls.

 

Just as their U.S. competitors have for many years.

 

But, there's a difference.

 

When Chrysler or GM have a recall, as both have had in the past six months, they leave it up to the dealers to fix, and make running changes to the vehicles on the production lines as revised parts become available.

 

That means that while the revised parts are being engineered, prototyped, manufactured and delivered, the assembly lines keep on cranking out cars and trucks with the old pieces.

 

Meaning that they go out to the dealers to be repaired there, either before or after they are delivered to the retail customer.

 

That's the way it's been done for generations.

 

But now, Toyota has changed the game.

 

Again.

 

Instead of keeping the assembly lines running while they figured out a fix, they decided not to build any more incorrect vehicles.

 

They decided to stop producing vehicles with a known problem.

 

That's an unthinkable and unprecedented move in the American automotive business.

 

And while it will have incalculable costs as far as profits, it may well re-establish the company as builders of "the best built cars in the world".

 

That may well turn out to be priceless, once consumers realize that Toyota has placed their well-being and satisfaction ahead of short term corporate profitability.

 

Not to mention the message it sends to workers throughout the company.

 

Well done.

 

 

“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” ---- Ralph Marston

“Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.” ---- Rick Pitino

O-man Speaks to Elementary Students.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaks to the media after a discussion with 6th grade students at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Va., Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010.

Last Tuesday, our fearless Liberal Leader, the O-man, ventured out into the real world to speak to his peeps... a group of sixth graders at a local elementary school in Falls Church, Virgina.

The photo above was actually taken during his talk.

Now I can understand if your reaction is "That MUST be Photoshopped."

I said the same gthing.

But the fact is, the O-man couldn't muster the courage or the ability to speak to this group without his teleprompter.

This is the guy everyone was proclaiming as "The Great Orator" during the campaign??

This is the guy people were saying was the smartest man ever to run for President??

He can't get up and give some "off the cuff" remarks to a group of sixth graders??

He has to use a teleprompter for that??

And he calls George Bush dumb??

Really.

Now, let's put aside for a moment the intellectual insufficiencies that require a teleprompter to speak to sixth graders.

Let's look at the logistics and the costs involved for this little excursion.

Anytime the President travels to a location, it's a big deal, a costly event.

But the use of a teleprompter multiplies that cost and complexity by a bunch.

It requires at least one, and probably two advance trips to set up and test everything.

Not to mention operators, lighting, electrical, etc. etc. etc.

But the silly thing is that somebody actually had to write up his remarks, and then transfer them to the teleprompter.

For a group of sixth graders.

Probably several times, as revisions require new teleprompter copy.

For a group of SIXTH graders.

Now, it's reported that he only used the teleprompter for reference.

But, after his talk with the sixth graders, the O-man spoke with the media.

And for that, he not only use the teleprompter, but a podium as well.

Yep.

They dragged a podium along as well.

But, in a weird way, it all makes sense.

Children are the fallback for democrats.

Children are used to sanction the bleeding heart big government of democrats.

Then children are eaten in abortion, national debt, motivation for education, etc. etc. etc.

"We're doing it for the children" they protest.

That is what children really need now-a-days: an empty suit, charismatic guy reading a teleprompter in front of them with a group of people their own age.

Furthering government education that teaches children WHAT to think, not HOW to think.

Government education that is taking money from the people to enslave the people.

The goal of government education is to raise Democrats to who tell others to pay THEIR taxes while they cheat on their own.

To join unions and support the Democrats rather than to think on their own.

I can't help but think back to President Bush reading to school children on September Eleventh.

Without a teleprompter.

And he even took questions, while at the same time leading the country in a time of crisis.

And they call him stupid.

You can't make this stuff up, folks.

You can't make this stuff up.

“Emperor? You old fake! / You're no Emperor. You're just an onion. / Now then, little Peer, I'm going to peel you.” ---- Henrik Ibsen

“Nothing is so easy to fake as the inner vision.” ---- Robertson Davies

Spectators Always Think It's Easy.

Over the years, I've spent a lot of time around auto racing.

A sport that seems to have universal appeal, not only across this country, but around the world.

Whether it's Formula 1, NASCAR, or Indy, spectators pay good money to bask in the noise, the speed, and the spectacle of racing.

But in addition to the spectacle, there's another appeal.

Very simply, those same spectators drive their own cars in traffic every day, and therefore know in their hearts that they could be just as good as the race drivers, given half the chance.

The same thing occurs, I'm told, at baseball and football games, with guys who have played those sports in high school and college.

It's always easier to watch than to do, to spectate rather than achieve.

After a year in office, the O-man is learning that first hand.

One year ago today,  the O-man announced to the world that he would have the abomination called Guantanimo closed in less than a year.

Back then, he, like most youngsters, had far more answers than questions, far more knowledge than experience, far more certainty than reality.

So, after a year, the O-man is now looking a lot like his antithesis, George Bush, at least as far as Guantanimo policy is concerned.

It seems he's now saying that it will be far more difficult than first thought, that there are serious national security considerations that must be dealt with, and yes, even that there are some prisoners there who should be held indefinitely without being charged.

All things that he claimed as inhumane when George Bush was in charge.

Not to mention the political minefield the O-man is encountering when he tries to find a place to put the people who are now confined to their beachfront prison.

Even the prisoners themselves have become an obstacle, with several filing lawsuits aimed at preventing them from the cruel and inhuman punishment that is Illinois in the winter.

It seems the idea of a real, maximum security prison life isn't as appealing as their indulged confinement in the tropics.

Who woulda thought?

My guess is that the O-man is having a lot of reality forced down his throat these days.

That he's finding out that it's not as easy as it looked when he was a candidate.

See, there's a big difference between running this country and complaining about how it's being run.

If he'd had any experience actually running something, or even governing as a lawmaker, he would have known that.

And, if he had bothered to staff his cabinet and advisers with something besides career politicians and lawyers, they could have told him as much.

More than one-third of Obama's top officials -- 37 percent -- have worked at a think tank or in academia at some point in their careers.

Likewise, more than one-third, 37 percent, boast an undergraduate or graduate degree from an Ivy League school.

Twelve percent are "double Ivy," holding undergraduate and graduate degrees from elite schools.

By itself, that's not a bad thing.

But coupled with their vocational experience, it highlights a significant shortcoming.

One area where the Obama team lacks luster and diversity is in the realm of business.

Few of his key people can point to significant business experience.

In terms of running a for-profit business, the Obama Cabinet member with the most experience is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who was Colorado's attorney general and served one term in the Senate.

Salazar was a partner in a family-run ranch.

He and his wife have also owned and operated small businesses, including a Dairy Queen in Westminster, Colo., as well as radio stations in Pueblo and Denver.

Overall, only 28 percent of Obama's top officials were business executives at some point in their careers, compared with 38 percent of Bush's top officials at the start of his first term.

And, although O-man stresses the importance of public service, only a small fraction of the president's team served in the military.

Overall, just 12 percent were ever in the armed forces.

Of the 82 top appointees, 20 (24 percent) were in the military and 16 of those currently hold jobs in the Pentagon or the Veterans Affairs Department.

Of the 140 Obama officials who are age 48 or younger, only four -- three men and one woman -- have been in the military.

Only one member of Obama's Cabinet has worn a uniform: retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, the VA secretary.

Those are important numbers when considering the degree of experience this administration has in actually doing things.

Single, partial senate terms and brief local community organization efforts can't seriously be seen as experience in getting things done.

And when coupled with minimal business and military experience of those he has surrounded himself with, it makes for a shaky foundation from which to try to run these United States.

Much like any "on the job training program", the O-man's first year of presidential apprenticeship has been painful to watch, and even more painful to endure.

Watching the O-man rebound from his first year will also be painful.

But then, it's always easier to spectate than to actually do it.

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” --- Tom Bodett

“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” --- C.S. Lewis

It's a Bad Week to be a Liberal.

Liberals just ain't havin' a very good week.

First, the Massachusetts Senate seat that had been theirs since 1921 (except for a long-past six year period) slips from their grasp, sinking their 60 vote super majority.

And now, their beloved national radio network, Air America, has declared it will cease operations.

The Al Gore founded and funded liberal radio network, started with great fanfare in 2004, aired its last new programming today.

Charlie Kireker, one of Air America's principal owners and its chairman, said in a memo to employees Thursday that the company was done in by "a perfect storm" of plunging ad revenues, intense competition, high debt and poor prospects for new financing.

A search for new investors, he said, has been fruitless.

(Apparently, those elements haven't affected other radio networks.)

Now some might see these two occurrences as unrelated.

Especially liberals who are desperately seeking any excuse for their Massachusetts loss.

But the fact is, the cause for both is exactly the same: Not enough people cared for the message of the new progressives to support the program.

The left has long been putting forth the idea that their ideas and programs are superior to any one elses, and that if you disagree, you're just too stupid, uneducated, or prejudiced to understand.

That elite superior attitude has finally come back and bitten them in the ass.

Two coastal pockets of liberalism, the California / Washington corridor, and the Boston Washington corridor, do not a nation make.

Because, the bulk of the country, commonnly called "Flyover Country", continues to lean strongly conservative.

Conservative in issues involving the economy, education, national security, and entitlements.

Those "Flyover" folks in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Idaho, and the other states, still believe in, and practice, the values that have made America great.

The folks in those two coastal pockets of liberalism simply don't respect the "great unwashed" citizenry of the center of the country.

And now, the bulk of the country is rejecting the liberal message with vigor.

The liberals are already blaming everything but their message for Air America's failure: the bad economy, the lack of a "fairness docctrine", etc.

If those excuses are valid, then we should quickly expect to see Rush Limbaugh and his "Excellence in Broadcasting" network fail as well, along with Sean Hannity and Michael Savage, et al.

Not bloody likely.

In comparison to the staunch, multimillion followings of those commentators, Air America didn't hit the mark or even come close.

The fact is that Air America was pretty much in trouble from the start.

The company had difficulty lining up affiliates and attracting a sizable audience.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection just 30 months after its inception and was resold to an investor group in early 2007 for $4.25 million.

Even now, the network has only 100 stations, its largest distribution system since inception.

It's Washington, D.C. flagship, WZAA (1050 AM), has long struggled for listeners, even in a predominantly left leaning town.

Even after the O-man's election, people in Washington didn't listen.

The liberal audience has been so small that Arbitron, which compiles radio ratings, was unable to detect any listeners for WZAA during several weeks in December.

As is the case in most of the liberal endeavors, it came down to a simple "do as I say, not as I do" equation.

They apply it to legislation, exempting themselves from laws teh rest of us have to follow.

They apply it to taxation, exempting their cronies from taxes the rest of us are expected to pay.

And, they obviously applied the same logic to supporting their radio network.

Apparently, even the liberals couldn't stomach the message on a sustained basis.

“Sometimes I need what only you can provide -- your absence.” --- Ashleigh Brilliant

“The absent are always in the wrong.” --- English Proverb

Report Card

Well, the O-man has been in office for about a year now, so it's time to ask how he's doing.

Regardless of what the results of Tuesday's Massachusetts election showed, or what the polls are showing about America's opinion.

Let's deal just with hard facts, statistics easily verifiable by anyone with a little time and an internet connection.

Dow Jones Industrial Average:

January 20, 2009 close: 7,949.09

January 15, 2010 close: 10,6093.65

Unemployment (total number, 16 and older)

January 2009: 13 million

January 2010: 14.7 million

Unemployment rate:

January 2009: 7.7%

January 2010: 10.1%

Cost of economic stimulus approved by Congress: $787 Billion

Cost per job saved or created by economic stimulus, as of January 2010: $366,840

Outstanding Public Debt as of January 20, 2009: $10.6 Trillion

Outstanding Public Debt as of January 14, 2010: $12.3 Trillion

Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund before January 20, 2009: $296.4 Billion

Federal spending from the financial crisis bailout fund after January 20, 2009: $173 Billion

Amount of bailout funds repaid by banks and automakers as of January 15, 2010: $165 Billion

Bank failures between January 20, 2009 and January 14, 2010: 139

Number of properties that received foreclosure related notices in January 2009: 274,399

Number of properties that received foreclosure related notices in December 2009: 349,519

US Troops in Afghanistan in January 2009: 34,300

US Troops in Afghanistan as of January 12, 2010: 70,000+

US Military deaths in Afghanistan from January 2009 through January 15, 2010: 319

US Troops in iraq in January 2009: 139,500

US Troops in Iraq as of January 12, 2010: 111,000

US Military deaths in Iraq from January 2009 through January 15, 2010: 152

Appointments to top policy positions submitted to the Senate: 539

Appointments to top policy positions confirmed by the Senate: 352

Appointments in top policy positions carried over from the Bush Administration: 180

Formal news conferences: 12

Foreign countries visited: 21

States visited: 29

Visits to Camp David: 10

Vacations: 2

Draw your own conclusions.

“Leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable.” --- Ordway Tead

“There is nothing so terrible as activity without insight.” --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Revolution Began in Massachusetts

.

Almost 230 years ago, a government learned what happens when the will of the people is ignored, subverted, and disrespected.

That lesson ignited itself in the colony of Massachusetts, and led to the founding of the greatest, most free, nation in the world.

In the face of an administration and a Congress that has once again ignored, subverted, and disrespected the will of the people, today a new revolution has been ignited with the election of a conservative to a seat that has been dependably liberal for over six decades.

Count on the fact that Scott Brown is the leading candidate to deliver the Republican response to the O-man's state of the union address.

And hopefully to ignite a new sense of independence, not entitlement, in the Republican Party.

“For one to expect or ask things of others that he himself, if asked, would not be willing to do or give, is the worst kind of arrogance.” --- Anthony Beal.

“Arrogance diminishes wisdom” --- Arabian Proverb.

Since you own a car company.....

You should know that Chrysler, that perennial loser of the former "Big 3" is gonna spend a boatload of your taxpayer bailout bucks on something really, really stupid.

And their government overseers and their union board members think it's just a great thing.

It was announced last Thursday that Chrysler will make its return to the Super Bowl this year, after a five year absence as an advertsiser.

That will make it the only domestic auto company to advertise in the big game.

The other domestics feel the price is too high for the return it generates.

GM feels it needs to spend the money elsewhere in its rebuilding process, and Ford doesn't think it's a good value.

Chrysler spending their money on Superbowl ads is a baffling decision.

 Especially since their ad will feature the Dodge Charger, a five-year-old muscle car that's completely out of step with current automotive trends.

It's big, fast, powerful, and a throwback to those days of sporty gas guzzlers tha the O-man says nobody wants to buy.

What the hell are they thinking?

The Super Bowl is an amazingly powerful advertising venue.

With over 100 million viewers, it's the one true major event left on television.

And even better, it's probably the only show where people actually look forward to watching the ads.

It's the perfect place to launch a campaign when you have something important to say and a way to follow it up throughout the year.

So what does the braintrust at Chrysler do?

They spend six million of your dollars on superbowl ads featuring a product with dated styling, lousy fuel economy, and that sold just 54,000 units last year.

Is this really the statement they want to make right now?

Really?

Granted, they have no new products in the showroom, and nothing in the pipeline for at least three years.

 

But still.

 

If you're going to blow six large on an ego driven event ad, then for God's sake tell me why you're relevant and why anyone should care that you are still wallowing in the muck that is your second bankruptcy.

 

It's appalling that any Chrysler executive would even consider such an expenditure, especially when they are in desperate need of six million dollars of things like dealer support, new product development, floorplan assistance, and the like.

 

It's even more amazing that any advertising agency could be so out of touch with their client's reality to conceive such an activity.

 

The O-man has told us how he has been careful to put union bosses and government representatives in oversight positions at Chrysler until they have repaid their bailout monies.

 

Obviously they are more interested in getting tickets to the big game than in getting Chrysler back in the game of selling cars.

 

You can't make this stuff up.

UPDATE:

Nevadan says Super Bowl commercial 'extravagant'

By STEVE TETREAULT  STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU AS SEEN IN THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dean Heller registered a complaint with the Treasury secretary on Monday over Chrysler's decision to spend millions of dollars to air a commercial during the Super Bowl.

Heller, R-Nev., said the move seems "extravagant" in light of Chrysler's acceptance of federal bailout funds. He asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to get the company to reconsider.
Chrysler is the only U.S. auto company to buy airtime during the Feb. 7 game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, although how much it is spending has not been made clear.

The company has said it plans to air a 60-second ad to showcase the Dodge Charger. The more common 30-second spots are selling for between $2.5 million and $2.8 million, Heller told Geithner.

Chrysler was rescued by $12.5 billion in government infusions in 2008 and 2009, according to ProPublica, an independent nonprofit investigative journalism site that monitors the bailout.

As part of the deal, the Treasury Department took an 8 percent stake in the company as it worked its way through bankruptcy. Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection in June, after allying itself with Fiat.

About $280 million of Chrysler funding has been returned to the government, according to ProPublica.

Officials for Chrysler could not be reached Monday. A spokeswoman told CNN earlier this month the company saw the Super Bowl as a good opportunity.

The Treasury Department had no immediate comment.

  

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” ---- Will Rogers

“You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough.” --- Joseph E. Levine

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident....

That All Men Are Created Equal." --- the first line of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.

The Citizens of each state shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. ---  Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution.
Every student in the country learns early on that one of the fundamental principles of this republic is that of equality of its citizens.

Whether you're white, brown, black, yellow...

Whether you're male or female...

Whether you're gay, bi, or straight...

Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddist, or agnostic...

Whether you're of Irish, Italian, Arab, German, or any other extraction...

All men are created equal.

Except if you're from Louisiana.

Or Nebraska.

Or if you're a member of a union.

Because, you see, the O-man, Whiney Harry, and "Madame" Pelosi have now created a few very special groups that are very different from the rest of us.

Now, I recognize that politicians have long considered themselves different from us common folk... more entitled, less constricted, more deserving.

But until recently, those of us who are merely citizens, and not of the ruling class, have pretty much been treated equally under the law.

Until the great healthcare buyoff.

Until federalized bribery became the norm.

In order to get enough votes to pass a widely unpopular heathcare package, the O-man and his lieutenants have been buying votes with special favors and treatment.

The $300 million bribe to Mary Landrieu, now well-known as the latest "Louisiana Purchase", was among the first.

More recently, Ben Nelson received a $100 million bribe in the form of the "Cornhusker Kickback".

And now, the O-man has paid the biggest bribe of all: the more than $600 million payoff to the unions, exempting them from the special excise tax on "Cadillac health insurance" coverages.

That means that each and every union member in the US, the very people who hold most of the "Cadillac Plans", are now exempt from paying any tax on those plans.

But the balance of people with those plans, mostly small business owners and top executives of non-union businesses, they will pay a 40% penalty tax for having the same plans.

Now, it could be presumed that since most unions as a group supported the election of the O-man, and that most small business owners did not, Obama is merely instituting some sort of politically motivated plan to provide better, cheaper healthcare for those who voted for him than for those who did not.

A sort of political euthanasia, if you will.

And, in fact, it might actually work out that way, even though it probably wasn't his primary intent.

The fact is that the healthcare plan is a legislative disaster.

Because it was widely unpopular to start with, it was poorly written at onset in both houses.

It's become ever more unwieldly as amendments, changes, exemptions, exceptions, special provisions, and outright buyoffs have been included.

That went on in both the House and the Senate, each with their own separate bills and wording.

Now, they're trying to put them together in a single, cohesive, piece of combined legislation.

That process isn't easy even on a popular, well written bill.

The House and the Senate have their own agendae, and their own institutional egos, and those conflict on a regular basis.

But never before has the legislative process gone as far as creating separate beneficial classes of Americans, purely to buy votes from elected legislators.

A situation where two people, with the same conditions and health coverages, would be specifically treated differently based solely on the basis of union membership.

Apperently elevating union membership to a discrimination criteria not enjoyed by membership in any other group.

Imagine the outcry, the uproar, if instead of exempting union members from this punative tax, the exemption went to country club members.

Or church members.

The fascinating thing about all of this is that the structure of our republic, its Constitution and Bill of Rights as well as its elected representative form of government, is specifically designed to prevent this type of malfeasance by a single majority operating against the will of the electorate.

And, the midterm elections will most certainly reflect the will of the majority by moving the balance of power away from the Democrats slim 60 vote majority.

Depending on the results of the special election being held in Massachusetts next Tuesday, it may happen even sooner.

Barney Frank has been quoted today as saying that if the Senate seat previously held by Ted Kennedy is won by a Republican, the healthcare bill is dead.

It's fittingly ironic that a Senate seat once held by the strongest advocate of universal, single payer healthcare, may in fact be the one that stops this atrocity.

One can only hope.

"Opinion is like a pendulum and obeys the same law. If it goes past the centre of gravity on one side, it must go a like distance on the other; and it is only after a certain time that it finds the true point at which it can remain at rest. " --- Arthur Schopenhauer

"Politics swings like a pendulum" --- Ed Gillespie

Theater of the Absurd

It's finally happened.

I've been sucked into some kind of giant celestial gopher hole to a parallel universe where all sense, logic, and reason are suspended.

Where black is white and up is down and left is right and sweet is sour and nothing / everything is exactly what it seems.

And our tour guide for this trip through the looking glass isn't Alice, but Mr. Malaprop himself, Joe Biden.

You may remember during the campaign rhetoric that the O-man and Ol' Joe said they were going to restore transparency to government, to rid the process of secrecy and backroom deals by having the "most transparent administration in history".

Even Madame Pelosi said she had the most transparent government in history, that everything would be fully transparent, for the voters to see.

We were even going to be able to see it all on C-SPAN and the internet, remember?

(Side note: It's somehow fitting that Madame Pelosi, head of the House, should share title and duties with the senior women of the world's oldest profession. After all, her House is full of whores as well!)

But I digress.

Back to Ol' Joe.

He's meeting again today with Earl DeVaney.

You may not know the name, but he certainly isn't insignificant.

In fact, he may be the most significant influencer of your financial future if the Administration gets its way.

See, DeVaney is the Chairman of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board.

The Recovery Act TRANSPARENCY and Accountability Board.

That's the group who is supposed to be making sure that all the TARP and stimulus money is being spent wisely, and that you, the taxpayer, isn't being ripped off.

DeVaney's job is to "insure that the government stimulus programs are operated in an ethical and transparent manner, open to the scrutiny of the American people."

Remember that the O-man said that "Nobody gets anything past Ol' Joe" when he put Biden in charge of the program oversights.

Maybe not.

But the Administration keeps on trying to put things past us, the constituents.

See, their transparency approaches that of steel.

Not only isn't it transparent, but it seems to be impervious to attacks like questions and challenges from reporters and the folks at home.

So, it should come as no surprise that Ol' Joe's meeting with Earl DeVaney. the Chairman of the Recovery Act TRANSPARENCY and Accountability Board, is CLOSED to the press and the public.

Ol' Joe has promised transparency.

DeVaney is in charge of transparency, at least in his area of responsibility.

One of them isn't doing their job.

"Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense." --- The Mock Turtle in Through the Looking Glass

"It would be so nice if something made sense for a change." --- Alice in Through the Looking Glass

Coin Toss

Well, our new Pres has been holdin' the reins now fer just about a year.

Traditionally, that's when all the big media types and those who fashion themselves as pundits start calculatin' and figurin' as to how he's doin'.

And, as usual in these kind of mudslings, who says what depends largely on what party they're affilliated with.

Obama, and his administration of course, claim to be doin' just fine, thank you very much.

More conservative types are claimin' he's pretty much screwed the pooch from the git go.

But there's another, more important group to be heard from.

One that is rarely listened to by the politicians they employ.

And that's the constituents.

You know, the folks what voted all them political types into their jobs in the first place.

Well,  a  bunch of groups who make their money by checkin' with folks about what they're thinkin' have just finished up some polls with some pretty revealin' results.

These folks have actually gone out and asked you, the voter, how you think the O-man is doin.

Not just one polling group, but a whole passel of 'em.

With pretty much the same result:  All this "change" ain't settin' too well with the populace in general.

CBS, never to be confused with a conservative polling group, has found that Barack's approval rating has fallen to 48%.

That's right, less than half of the country approves of what he's done and how he's done it.

That same poll says that over 53% of Americans think we should keep Guantanamo open.

And only 41% approve of his handling of the economy.

Another polling group, Rasmussen, finds that 53% disapprove of the job Obama's doing, with the traditionally more liberal Gallup poll showing only a 50% approval rating.

Every poll shows Obama at his lowest approval ratings since taking office.

Now, it's pretty common that Presidential approval ratings drop some from inauguration day.

Voters get a lot less euphoric as time goes by, as their victory joy gets tempered by reality.

But Obama's ratings have fallen like a stone.

And worse for him, the disapproval numbers are similar across a wide range of topics, including the economy, national security, healthcare, jobs, cap & trade, and others.

It's not just one or two areas of his presidency, but a wide ranging array of areas where improvement must be focused.

And so, Obama's vaunted popularity is slipping fast.

It's now a coin toss as to whther he's doing a good job or not, according to the polls.

Now, a lot of this Obama probably brought on himself.

When you try to do as much as he has in such a short time ... when you try to make so many significant, fundamental changes to this country ... when you try to force it down the electorate's throats ... people ain't gonna be happy.

And, they're gonna let you know it at some considerable volume, too.

But the real message here is that the people of this country ain't buying what Obama's selling.

They're not liking what their elected representatives are doing, especially when it comes to ignoring the wishes of the voters.

Obama gives lip service to doing things "for the people".

Verbal camouflage for what's really happening.

You can start calling horsehit manure, but that doesn't make it taste any better.

“Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing.” --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential" ---  Chinese Proverb

Paging Mr. Gore......

Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle

“There comes a time when deceit and defiance must be seen for what they are. At that point, a gathering danger must be directly confronted. At that point, we must show that beyond our resolutions is actual resolve.” --- Dick Cheney

“The most deceitful persons spend their lives in blaming deceit, so as to use it on some great occasion to promote some great interest.” --- François de la Rochefoucauld

Harry's Gettin' a Raw Deal

Whoa.

Did I just say that?

Yep.

Though it pains me greatly, I have to say ol' Whiney Harry is gettin' a bum rap on this deal about the  Negro comment.

Seems Nevada's national embarrassment made some somments about then-candidate Obama that included references to his "light skin" and optional "Negro dialect".

Obviously, those comments are now the center of a media and political firestorm.

One that has many calling on Reid to resign, or worse.

Now, I'm sure no fan of Whiney Harry.

I can think of a coupla hundred reasons why he should step down and return to Searchlight to count rocks.

But this ain't one of 'em.

The big issue for his critics seems to be the term "Negro".

I don't buy it.

Whiney Harry was making that comment in an endorsement of Obama, not in any kinda desparaging way.

Harry's been on this rock for over 70 years.

He's seen the American experiment evolve, change, grow, and reverse itself on many issues in his time.

He's seen African-Americans called everything from tar babies and Negroes to blacks and African Americans.

And that includes some even less acceptable terms.

But the fact is that there is still a large number of older blacks who refer to themselves as Negroes even today.

And, there are numerous black organizations who openly call themselves "Negro" organizations, including The United Negro College Fund, The National Council of Negro Women, The Council of Affilliated Negro Organizations, and others.

Now the media is screaming hypocrisy about Harry's comments, comparing them to those of Trent Lott and others.

But that's not where the hypocrisy lies.

The hypocrisy lies with the African American community.

Those who openly call themselves black, colored, nigger, negro, as well as African American.

And use those terms in official titles of their organizations as well as in everyday colloquial conversations with other blacks.

When you have (and openly promote) the United Negro College Fund, the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People --- organizations you named and continue to maintain as so named --- those can't be considered racist terms.

When you and your youth openly refer to other blacks as "niggers" in open conversations, in films, and in the media, you don't get to claim it as a racist term.

I personally find many of these terms for blacks offensive.

Some more than others.

As an American, I especially find the term African-American offensive.

If you are an American, you're an American.

Without regard to race, creed, or color.

Whiney Harry knows that, and has the record to support that contention.

Harry's a lot of things, but racist he's not.

"Black reporters are as capable of racism as anyone else." --- Julian Bond

“At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being." --- Friedrich Otto Hertz

Unintended Consequences?

After months of equivocation, Obama finally reached a serious conclusion about our position on terrorism on Thursday.

After calling terrorists everything from "bad actors" to "isolated extremists", the President finally sucked it up and called terrorists terrorists.

And finally, after calling our efforts at national security "overseas contingency operations" against "man-caused disasters" all these months, he stated the obvisous:

"We are at war with al Qaeda."

What an amazing epiphany.

Now, this comment wasnt some "off-the-teleprompter" slip.

It was a carefully scripted, advance prepared, reviewed and vetted statement that changes the basic tenor of Obama's approach.

Historically, Democratic presidents have tended to overcompensate when confronted with threats to U.S. security.

That, after all, is how we got the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam and, arguably, a 30,000-troop surge in Afghanistan.

Obama, who went so far as to ban the term "War on Terror" in his administration, who has gone out of his way to extend the hand of friendship to enemies who have sworn to exterminate us as infidels, now has a bigger problem.

If we are at war (as George Bush accurately portrayed), then terrorists must be treated as enemy combatants, not civilian criminals.

That means no civil trials, no Miranda rights, no showboating media circus hearings in New York.

It means military tribunals, Geneva Conference rules, and serious problems in closing Guantanamo.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani highlighted just one element of these implications in an interview earlier today:

“This isn’t about whether you convict him or not, this is about whether you get information or not. If you put someone in a civilian court, within a short time a lawyer is appointed and the person shuts up.

If you have a person in the military system you can question him endlessly for as long as you have to, make sure you’ve gotten the full scope of information, and here’s the most important point, you get it timely,” Giuliani said.

One of the most major and immediate issues Mr. Obama will have to deal with is the change his new "at war" status makes in his plans to close Guantanamo.

Moving civilian criminals from a military facility to a Federal Prison is simple stuff.

But moving enemy combatants from Guantanamo to a maximum security prison is a whole different matter.

Combatants get far more favorable conditions than our own, home grown maximum risk criminals.

Guantanamo "detainees", as the administration used to call them, are held in tropical weather with full protection of the Geneva Convention, including the opportunity to socialize, exercise, etc.

The strident left-wing critiques of the Guantanamo facility have all centered around the fact that detainees there are horribly mistreated and unbearable conditions.

Unberable?

Most of the roughly 210 detainees still held at Guantánamo are not in supermax-type facilities at all.

At least 70 percent live in communal settings like Camp 4, where they can play soccer, basketball, or foosball; exercise on elliptical equipment; and consort with their fellow detainees for up to 20 hours per day in the outdoor recreation area.

They can take art classes or learn English.

Detainees that cooperate with interrogations — done on a volunteer basis alone, there are no forced interrogations — are given extra treats, like candy bars.

The detainees even have a liaison from Jordan to make sure that their complaints are heard and that the balance between security and respect for Islam is maintained.

(The liaison said he has never seen a guard destroy or defile a Koran, for example, but the detainees do it on a regular basis.)

Detainees who go on hunger strikes are force-fed… but they are fed through tubes that go through their nose slightly larger than a spaghetti noodle and are even allowed to choose their own flavor.

The detainees have access to several satellite television channels and, as one DoD handout notes, a library consisting of “more than 14,000 books, magazines, and DVDs in 18 languages.”

And, the climate is a tropical paradise.

Moving them to a maximum security prison in Illinois?

Inmates in supermax prisons are allowed one hour out of their cells a day and are usually kept in solitary confinement.

They get their meals in their cells as well.

The cells are usually windowless with furniture made out of poured concrete or metal, so comfort is obviously out of the question.

And then there are the Illinois winters, known to be far from tropical.

Compare the lives Gitmo detainees will have at Guantanamo Bay to the lives they’ll have at their new supermax prison in Thomson, Illinois.

Which sounds more inhuman and cruel?

The treatment of jihadists at the supermax prison doesn’t bother me a bit, but how long will it be before liberals start crying over the inhuman treatment of terrorists in supermax prisons?

When push comes to shove, the concerns about Guantanamo are overblown, and the prisoners there know that being held under the Geneva conventions outside the U.S. is much preferable to a maximum security prison in the U.S.

Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff suggests the Gitmo detainees may sue to stay right where they’re at:

"But the fact is that many of the detainees may not even want to be transferred to Thomson and could conceivably even raise their own legal roadblocks to allow them to stay at Gitmo.

Attorney Falkoff notes that many of his clients, while they clearly want to go home, are at least being held under Geneva Convention conditions in Guantánamo.

At Thomson, he notes, the plans call for them to be thrown into the equivalent of a “supermax” security prison under near-full lockdown conditions.

“As far as our clients are concerned, it’s probably preferable for them to remain at Guantánamo,” he says.

The strident left-wing critiques of the Guantanamo facility have all centered around the fact that detainees there are horribly mistreated and conditions unbearable.

But when push comes to shove, it would seem concerns about Guantanamo are overblown, and the prisoners there know that being held under the Geneva conventions outside the U.S. is much preferable to a maximum security prison in the U.S."


In a wonderful irony, Obama's doing the right thing by declaring war on terrorism may also force him to do the right thing and keep Guantanamo open.

We can only hope.


"The challenge of leading the struggle against violent extremists is more than just hunting down bad guys; it’s distinguishing between what’s real and what’s not, tracking down where threats begin, figuring out the right response and finding a balance between acknowledging danger and projecting confidence." ---  PETER BAKER