Showing posts with label Hillary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hillary. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2009

RED ALERT: Dealergate -- Quantitative Analysis Indicates Clinton Donors Rewarded By Selective Closings


The blogosphere's preeminent quant gurus over at the brilliant Zero Hedge crunched the Chrysler dealership data along with the dealers' political contributions (caution: language warning). For those unfamiliar with quantitative analysis, it revolves around the pure numerical evaluation of the relationships between different types of data.

Preliminary Zero Hedge Findings: Clinton Contributors Rewarded

Using raw donor data from OpenSecrets.org (865 megabytes of 2008 individual contribution records) and the list of Chrysler dealerships (both closed and open lists), their preliminary conclusions align with the anecdotal evidence. After a major data cleansing effort, they matched the information against dealer status (safe or nuked); the party affiliation of the contribution recipient; the presidential candidate to whom the dealer contributed (if applicable); the amount of the contribution; and the ZIP code of the dealership.

Conclusion: "a significant and highly positive correlation between dealer survival and Clinton donors":

...it seems clear that something is going on here. Specifically, the somewhat low probability that the Clinton data showing higher survivability of Clinton donors could result just from pure chance.


But why not better significance with any of the other variables? Why [would] this stand out?

Why indeed.

The Car Czar's Wife: National Finance Chair for Hillary Clinton

Those closely following the Dealergate story might recall this tidbit posted by Glenn Reynolds on May 28th:

A reader notes something about "car czar" Steven Rattner: “Rattner is married to Maureen White, the former National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party.” The comment: “So one of the guys advising SecTreas on this thing is married to someone who used to be one of the people in charge of fundraising for the Democratic Party. This explains so much it’s scary." Well, it bears a close look.

Zero Hedge:

Then we got to thinking. Steven Rattner, the Car Czar, is married to Maureen White, one-time national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. What does Maureen do now? From her website: "Maureen White is currently Chairman of the Board of Overseers of The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a member of the North American Advisory Board for the London School of Economics, and a National Finance Chair of the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. (emphasis ours).

Further analysis is underway, including an in-depth geographic analysis of nuked dealers who are GOP donors. The concentration of these in Detroit is "interesting to say the least".

Affirmative action for me, but not for thee

Thomas Lamb was one of the first bloggers to pick up on this story. He has begun reviewing closings and minority-owned dealerships.

Originally, it was thought that 140 minority owned Chrysler dealers out of the 170 minority owned Chrysler dealers were going to be closed.

But the facts on the closing of the Chrysler dealerships are; out of some 170 minority owned Chrysler dealers, only about 32-38 minority owned Chrysler dealers were closed.

The original reason for the high number was; the minority dealers were smaller in size and offered only one brand. So given that thought process, why did so many stay open? My guess is Obama, Maxine Waters and politics.

...because most minority owned dealerships were single brand, Chrysler had plans to close more than 100 minority owned dealerships, but Chrysler backed off on that.

The reason why? That is the $65,000 question

...[of 19 Hispanic-owned dealerships, 8 were closed or 42%, so if] the trend continues on the closures of African American dealerships versus Hispanic ones, then you are looking at a civil rights lawsuit.

Affirmative action for African American owned dealerships and not for Hispanic owned dealerships does not work out too well.

MIA: Full Transparency

It is incumbent that "Car Czar" Rattner and the Obama administration immediately disclose -- with their vaunted "full transparency" -- the methods used to select dealerships for closure.



Linked by: Michelle Malkin, The Washington Examiner and FiveThirtyEight. Thanks!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Democrat Bundler Hsu Convicted


Subtitle: Another Hsu drops.

C'mon, you know that was a good one!

Norman Hsu -- one of the foremost Democrat donation bundlers in recent years -- was found guilty earlier today of illegal campaign contributions. Hsu raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hillary Clinton and other powerful Democrats.

...a jury convicted Mr. Hsu of four counts of campaign-finance fraud after about 2½ hours of deliberations. Each count carries up to five years in prison...

...In 2007, Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign agreed to return $850,000 in funds raised through Mr. Hsu. During the trial, the government introduced a voice-mail message of support to Mr. Hsu left by Mrs. Clinton...

"What am I going to do with you, Norman? You are working so hard for me," Mrs. Clinton said. "I just don't even know what to say anymore. I've never seen anybody who has been more loyal and more effective and really just having greater success supporting someone than you."

Once featured on the Hillary for President website, Hsu was quickly tossed down the memory hole once the suspect donations became public.

Clinton, Jefferson, Mollohan, Waters, Murtha, Pelosi, Feinstein, Reid, Rangel, Dodd... now that's what I call a Culture of Corruption.


Tuesday, March 31, 2009

We need a new name for the 'War on Terror'


Don't you feel safer already?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday the Obama administration had dropped "war on terror" from its lexicon, rhetoric former President George W. Bush used to justify many of his actions.

"The (Obama) administration has stopped using the phrase and I think that speaks for itself. Obviously," Clinton told reporters traveling with her to The Hague for a conference on Afghanistan, which Bush called part of his "global war on terror."

The term "war on terror" was coined after the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, which were planned in Afghanistan by the militant group al Qaeda.

The phrase was strongly criticized by human rights groups who said it was used to justify many actions, such as the opening of the Guantanamo Bay prison for detainees held without trial at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba.

Internationally, the phrase was seen by critics as a "with-us-or-against-us" philosophy, overly dependent on military force and what many Muslims decried as an attack on Islam.

In the interest of political correctness, may I suggest some alternatives?

    • Global Conflict Against Exploding Annoyances

    • Man-made Disaster Avoidance Program

    • Operation Please don't kill the Infidels

    • Yee-Had!

    • Global War on George W. Bush

Update: More from IMAO and commenters:

    • The War of Northern American Aggression

    • Negative Reinforcement in a Supportive, Nuturing Environment

    • Operation Sparkly Unicorn

    • Anthropogenic Global Jihadening

    • Operation Teleprompter Messiah

Hat tips: Ben and DebbieKinIL.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Clinton's Words "Go Over Well in Mexico"


Hillary Clinton is on a world pantsuit tour, visiting random countries while insulting the United States. Of course, her disrespect of the U.S. always goes over well in other countries.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers, and civilians," she said.

Gee, I wonder if a frickin' wall would help? A wall might reduce the transfer of firearms, drugs and illegal immigrants, right?

And anyone else find it odd that ACORN will net roughly $3 billion from the "stimulus" package, while no one can locate a damn dime for a fence?

She continued, blathering on to scattered applause, "I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."

Yes, judges and cops are getting beheaded in Mexico. But, strangely enough, not a damn thing is happening in Canada. No beheadings, no drug gangs, no machine guns...

Clinton is mending fences for the United States, at least. Headlines from Mexico's Excelsior and Financiero, and even the anti-yanqui Cuban press, hailed Clinton's admission that the U.S. has a role in the problem. Now what's President Obama going to do about it?

She praised their carbon trading and their efforts in combating "global warming"... but then joked that she wouldn't drink the water.

Yep, it's America's fault that Mexico's drug gangs are whacking city officials, beheading cops, and making life a living hell in Juarez, Tijuana and other Mexican cities.

Now that I think about it... it's always America's fault if you're a Democrat.



Thursday, January 22, 2009

Obama's Posse o' Change


Well, this seems an inauspicious start. No, not the oath of office (that appeared to be a gaffe by the Chief Justice). It's the crew that President Obama assembled to serve as his Cabinet.

A Secretary of State whose personal coffers are overflowing with foreign money. If you look up "conflict of interest", you'll see a picture of Hillary being sworn in as Secretary of State. The Clinton Foundation has raised more than half a billion dollars including more than $40 million from foreign sources including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Taiwan. Put simply, "The Clinton Foundation exists as a temptation for any foreign entity or government that believes it could curry favor." To make matters worse, Hillary has refused to temporarily halt foreign contributions during her service or even to disclose donations in a timely fashion. Change!


A Treasury Secretary who cheats on his taxes doesn't know the tax code worth a damn. And who had a pathetic performance at the New York Fed, not to mention his de-orchestration related to the TARP debacle. And the double standard is appalling: as Tom Blumer points out, "Zoe Baird (Clinton, 1993), Kimba Wood (Clinton, 1993), and Linda Chavez (Bush, 2001) all had relatively minor or potential issues with self-employment taxes on household help... Geithner’s unpaid amounts were exponentially larger. Is there a whiff of male chauvinism in the air?"


A sleazebag Attorney General who appears to be the worst breed of political hack. In 1995 U.S. Attorney Eric Holder declined to prosecute a top aide of President Clinton. Shortly thereafter, he was named Deputy Attorney General. In that role, Holder sanctioned two of the most outrageous pardons in Presidential history. When Holder blessed the pardon of fugitive Marc Rich, at least one congressional report alleged that Holder was seeking an endorsement by Rich’s attorney for the role of “attorney general in a potential (Al) Gore administration.” And Holder's blessing of Clinton's pardon of the FALN terrorists has been criticized by scores of law enforcement officials. The COO of the LEAA stated that Holder's "involvement with FALN terrorists is not so much political as a significant sign of disregard for law enforcement." Gee, that's precisely what we need in an AG!


A proposed Commerce Secretary forced to withdraw because of an ongoing federal "pay-to-play" investigation. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson withrew from consideration for the Cabinet post when the investigation was disclosed. The probe centers on whether a campaign donor, CDR Financial Products, received millions in state contracts in exchange for the contributions. The word is that federal investigators "are zeroing in on two of his close advisers."


For the love of... Is it really that tough to find qualified Democrats who don't live full-time under an ethical cloud?

It gets worse. Consider those Democrats who currently occupy positions of significant power in Washington. On the other hand, maybe Obama was trying to level the ethical playing field between branches of government.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), head of the Senate Banking Committee, played a major role in the mortgage meltdown that precipitated our current financial crisis. Not only did he take more money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other politician, but NBC News reports that Dodd received a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial. To this day, Dodd refuses to release the HUD statement for the mortgage, despite promising to do so months ago.


A Democratic Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel (D-NY), who is currently the subject of four separate ethics investigations. Rangel is alleged to have: violated rent-control laws; preserved a tax break for an oil company in exchange for a $1 million contribution; failed to pay taxes on $75,000 in unreported income; and solicited donations on his office letterhead.


House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) also played a significant role in the mortgage meltdown. Not only did he take numerous contributions from those affiliated with the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), but he repeatedly fought oversight and audit controls that could have saved the country from their catastrophic meltdown. Best quote? "I think it is clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sufficiently secure so they are in no great danger... I don't think we face a crisis; I don't think that we have an impending disaster. ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do very good work, and they are not endangering the fiscal health of this country.." That was Frank defending the GSEs' loose accounting standards in 2004 and he continued to do so through the summer of 2008.


Disgraced ex-Congressman William "Freezer-burn" Jefferson (D-LA) was found with $90,000 in marked bills stuck in his freezer at home. Federal agents told a judge the money was part of a $100,000 payoff delivered to Jefferson by an informant in a bribery probe. That probe has already led to guilty pleas by a Kentucky businessman and a former Jefferson aide. The Justice Department is investigating Jefferson's relationship to various international telecommunications agreements.


Allan "Jed Clampett" Mollohan (D-WV), who is a former chair of the House Ethics Committee under federal investigation after the National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the department regarding a bizarre increase in Mollohan's net worth. For 2005, Mollohan and his wife reported assets worth $6.8 million to $25.7 million, up from $116,000 to $315,000 in 1999. His financial disclosure restatements came only after the group's complaint.


John "Porky" Murtha (D-PA), the famed chair of the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee; a charity founded by a longtime Murtha aide has become a "funnel for money" to his campaigns from defense contractors and lobbyists who directly benefit from his decisions. A Taxpayers for Common Sense spokesman noted, "It's a real tangled web between the congressman, the nonprofit, the defense contractors and the lobbyists." Oh, as an added bonus, Porky's one of the infamous unindicted co-conspirators caught during the Abscam round-up.


Harry "Land Deal" Reid (D-NV), the Senate Democratic Leader who collected a $1.1 million windfall profit on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't owned the property for at least three years. Reid also did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company. The AP learned of the land deal from a former Reid aide concerned that the deal had been "hidden from Congress."


And, lest we forget, let's not omit Caroline Kennedy, who dropped out of contention for the New York Senate seat amidst reports of tax and nanny problems.


This is a world-class collection of losers, punks and crooks.

Culture of corruption? This isn't just a culture, it's an influenza-like epidemic.

But that's today's Democratic Party. They are among the sleaziest group assembled in Washington since the Teapot Dome.

Linked by: Vocal Minority and Curmudgeonisms. Thanks!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Six Easy Steps to President Hillary in 2012


Step 1: Hillary accepts the Secretary of State position offered by President-Elect Obama.

Step 2: New York Governor David A. Paterson names Bill Clinton as Senator from New York, filling Hillary's seat. This keeps the Governorship safe for Paterson as those infighting for the position can't assert that they are more qualified or more experienced than the former President.

Step 3: After several Obama policy blunders and disputes, Hillary publicly and vociferously disagrees with the President. Hillary proves her point and reinforces her strong ethical backbone by resigning her "powerful" Cabinet position.

Step 4: While Bill Clinton retains his Senate seat and does his best to undermine Obama's agenda, Hillary takes a very visible role with a think-tank and is a regular guest on every network and cable news outlet (including Fox News). She spends all of her time picking Obama and his Congressional supporters to pieces. A few Clintonistas resign in solidarity but most remain to continue undermining the Lightworker from the inside.

Step 5: As the economy continues to melt down, Obama's ties to ACORN, subprime mortgages, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the like are exposed by Hillary's friends in the mainstream media. Obama is, quite publicly, blamed for much of the mess and his ineffectual stewardship of the economy (card check, mass unionization, carbon caps, lack of drilling) is pilloried by the Clintonistas, the Blue Dogs and the GOP.

Step 6: All of this occurs before the Midterm elections. In 2010, the GOP enjoys big gains in the Senate, swinging six seats, and regaining control. Hillary announces that she must run to save the party in 2011. After ripping the DNC to shreds over the much-abused Caucus process, the Clinton machine is able to methodically dismantle the Obama camp piece by piece.

Voila! Hillary Clinton is sworn in as the 45th President of the United States in January 2013! Oh, and Bill is back in power, too!

Original Idea: Larwyn (interesting thought process, eh?). Linked by: American Digest and Dustbury ("Machiavelli was seen taking notes"). Thanks!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Where's WalJoe (Biden)?


Joe! What are you doing here?

Dammit, I'm p***ed off, Barack! You sent me on a snipe hunt! Interviewing Bill Clinton and his advisers about the miraculous "Clinton economy"! I should've known better.

Well? What did you find out?

I found out if the GOP-controlled Congress hadn't restrained government spending... and if Tim Bernard Lee hadn't invented the Internets and the Web Browser, there'd have been no "economic miracle".

(Clapping slowly) Braaaaaavo. Well done, Joe.

But that's not all! Now I hear that the wicked witch of the east is gonna get named Secretary of State! Because of her "foreign policy expertise", no less. What's Hillary's foreign policy background -- getting shot at by snipers when deplaning in Bosnia?

Why don't we ask her? Hillary! Can you come into the office, please?

At your service, Barack America!

Hey, hey -- that was a simple misstatement, Mizz Rodham. You found those Rose Law Firm files yet?

Joe, it's time to be patriotic... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut... and that means shutting your big, fat trap for the good of the president!

Speaking of big and fat, whatever happened to your brother Hugh... you know, the one who got $400 grand for Glenn Braswell's ticket to the Clinton Parade o' Pardons?

I think Hugh and Tony have been building a bunker so that they'll survive the international crisis you promised in the first six months of the Obama administration.

I was thinking Hugh and Tony were helping Mahatma Gandhi run that gas station down in St. Louis!

Why you blithering blowhard with a bad comb-over, I'll jump over this coffee table and go all Matrix on your ass...

Bring it, biznatch! I'll go outside and smoke a cigarette while waiting for your thighs to get airborne --

Now, guys, stop it! Can't we all just get along?

Guys, let me explain. Joe, Hillary brings a certain gravitas and decades of experience.

And Hillary, Joe helped me win this election with his entertaining diversions.

Some call them gaffes.

Whatever. The fact is, Joe, we have big plans. Big plans for you.

Joe, you're going to star in the first reality show based in the halls of power.

What???

It's the first Beltway-based reality show. Think Amazing Race combined with Where's Waldo.

We've worked out a deal with NBC and MSNBC for a simulcast that will track you as you travel around the world...

Wait! You're saying a prime-time network show?

Yep. And you're guaranteed at least 20 minutes of face time on each show.

Wow! When do I start?

Immediately! There's a limo waiting outside to take you to your first makeup session. Filming begins later today! Now get going and don't let the door hit you... I mean, do us proud!

Awright! See you guys later!

(***Slam!***)

You're a freaking genius, Barack. We get the human gaffe machine out of the country for at least an entire season of network TV.

And Olberloon and Tingleboy will make sure any incriminating soundbites end up on the cutting-room floor!

Like I said, you're a frickin' genius.

I know. Care for a glass of chablis?