Tuesday, April 28, 2009

In wake of NYC scare, additional photo ops canceled


The panic in Manhattan yesterday was palpable... and utterly preventable:

It wasn't an attack, or even a drill -- it was a government-sponsored photo op.

The Pentagon did tell local authorities about the startling fly-over that sent a Boeing 747 and a F-16 fighter screaming over New York's scarred skyline, but officials said they couldn't share the information with the public. They couldn't even share the information with the mayor...

...An official from the Obama administration said the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty.

My Twitter feed caught wind of several additional Obama administration photo opportunities that were hastily canceled:

* An unannounced overflight of Pearl Harbor by 200 or so unmarked fighter/bombers (source):



* To mark 100 days in office, the White House planned to send unmarked packages of talcum powder to all members of Congress (source):



* A photo op with a rental truck in Oklahoma City (source):



* An unannounced nuclear test off the coast of New York harbor (source):



* The White House had also planned on flooding New Orleans for a picture of the President crossing Canal Street (source):



That's why some commentators -- far less kind-hearted than me -- refer to Obama as "President Training Wheels".


Updates: Jammie asks, "Who was on board?" Amanda Carpenter: "What was the carbon footprint for flying Air Force 1 around for publicity shots?"; Joseph_Gilbert: "CNN reports the cost of the Air Force One photo-op: $328,835". I think a copy of Photoshop can be had for less than $1,000.

Linked by: TigerHawk. Thanks!

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Deliberate Misrepresentation

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

Nation


A real prescription for health care: Goodman
Security before politics: Goss
Obama to teleprompter: "speed up": Politico
Latest from 'Banker Guy': HH
The 401K has failed?: InstaPundit
Rahm's profitable gig at Freddie Mac: ChiTrib
Nadler blocks invesigation into ACORN and its pawns: Moncrief

Politics


100 days, 100 mistakes: Post
Swine Flu: It's the GOP's Fault!: Malkin
Dueling fence bills face off in Congress: Morrissey
The wind in the heights: Vanderleun
Democrats Set To Devour Obama: LegalIns
Providence College Joins Anti-Tancredo PC Police: LegalIns
Peter Orszag's Eureka Moment: Kesler
King County to pay blogger $225K: Clark County

World


Video: Hamas tactics in Gaza: LGF
Geithner Gaffe #309: InstaPundit
Stephanapolous and Ahmadinejad (Hitler unavailable): ABC
Never again, Obama style: PJM (Ledeen)
Interview with Victor Davis Hanson: FP

Sci-Tech


Letter to the New York Times: Deliberate misrepresentation: AT (Viscount Monckton of Brenchley)
Shock: Gore lied to Congress: Gateway
Any questions about the goals of the Enviro-Statists?: C&W
It Pays to Go Green: Gore's net worth jumps $98 million: Gateway
Truth Is The First Victim Of Swine Flu: LegalIns

Media


Newspaper circulation plummets (except for WSJ): E&P
The Trillion-Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities: City Journal (2000)
Mainstream media locksteps into oblivion: Flash (Leonard)
Business Reporters Confess Sins: CO Ind
LA Times omits fact that waterboarding saved a city... LA: NewsBusters
Oh, It's Okay Now: White House Was Just Updating File Photo While Terrorizing New Yorkers : JWF

Monday, April 27, 2009

Barack Obama's First 100 Days


Click for details.


Hat tip: Ace.

New government entitlement program addresses universal health care and immigration


Cub Reporter Biff Spackle secured a draft of the speech President Obama will deliver on Wednesday...

I'm Barack Obama and thank you for watching my forty-second prime time broadcast over the course of my young administration. Tonight I'll be discussing two issues important to all Americans: Universal Health Care and immigration.

I'll be frank: when we say that 47 million Americans don't have health care, we're including a sizable chunk of undocumented immigrants -- you may know them by the term "illegal aliens".

Ever since the era of Lyndon Baines Johnson, we Democrats have promoted open borders, amnesty for illegals, chain migration and a path to citizenship for anyone who enters the country.

And the Reds beat the Braves, 9-3 behind a complete game from -- dammit, Rahm, my teleprompter is picking up ESPN again!

Uh, ehm, with Mexico's government crumbling under the twin weights of a global economic meltdown and brutal drug cartels, the President of Mexico -- Vicente Fox -- and I have come up with a simple, but effective, plan.

It combines universal health care, an open border with Mexico and a "superhighway to citizenship" for anyone entering the country.

Because of this policy, there will be no need for politically incorrect designations like "illegal aliens", because anyone entering the country can automatically become a citizen of the United States and Mexico.

So instead of the loaded term "illegal aliens", we'll simply call them "Democrats".

Chew on that, Karl Rove!

Best of all, everyone in the United States and Mexico will get the same free, high quality health care. Partying in Cancun and catch the Swine Flu? No problemo, mi amigo!

Visiting your relatives in San Antonio and sprain your ankle? Simply walk into any convenient Social Security Office or Bureau of Motor Vehicles location, take a number, and enjoy the free Muzak and complimentary General Motors Magazines while you wait.

We call this tremendous new program: Mexicare.

Mexicare combines all of the benefits of open borders with a multi-country health care system second to none.

Now to pay for this, I am sorry to report that the massive tax cut for 95% of Americans that we recently implemented will have to be dismantled. Along with that, we will be making a few, minor changes to the tax code. So minor, in fact, you will hardly notice them.

* Under the new tax code, your refund check goes directly to ACORN.

* For a vacation to Mexico to count as a business trip, you must return with 100 or more pounds of government-grade marijuana.

* Attorney General Eric Holder gets to write off the entire United States Constitution.

* I can claim my teleprompter as a dependent.

* Finally, all registered Democrats will get a deduction for mortgaging our entire future.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions about this tremendous new program. So we've set up a website to explain your benefits at mexicare.gov and, in español, mexicare.mx. Happily, both sites accept donations for my 2012 campaign.

We'll soon be enjoying the same wonderful care that our veterans receive at the VA thanks to the leadership of Congress. I'd like to personally thank Nancy Pelos, Harry Reid, Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel and Diane Feinstein who rammed this through using an arcane procedural loophole without debate, transparency or discussion!

Best of all, Mexicare will have the same firm economic foundation enjoyed by Medicare and Medicaid!

So bless you my friends, and may the Lord keep you safe from harm. You'll need it.


Medicare in a nutshell


The phone rings and the lady of the house answers, 'Hello.'

'Mrs. Sanders, please.'

'Speaking.'

'Mrs. Sanders, this is Doctor Jones at Saint Agnes Laboratory. When your husband's doctor sent his biopsy to the lab last week, a biopsy from another Mr. Sanders arrived as well. We are now uncertain which one belongs to your husband. Frankly, either way the results are not too good.'

'What do you mean?' Mrs. Sanders asks nervously.

'Well, one of the specimens tested positive for Alzheimer's and the other one tested positive for HIV. We can't tell which is which.'

'That's dreadful! Can you do the test again?' questioned Mrs. Sanders.

'Normally we can, but Medicare will only pay for these expensive tests one time.'

'Well, what am I supposed to do now?'

'The folks at Medicare recommend that you drop your husband off somewhere in the middle of town. If he finds his way home, don't sleep with him.


Via: Dave W..

Smart Power: White House caused NYC flyover panic


A jumbo jet braced by F-16 fighter jets buzzed Manhattan earlier today, setting off a city-wide panic. Many workers were evacuated from their office buildings as rumors of a 9/11-style terrorist attack raced through the city.

Hot Air has the video collection from which these stills were culled.




In the final video, be sure and note the panic as people sprint for cover ("Oh my God," one woman screams). I'm surprised no one had a heart attack.

It turns out that the White House wanted an updated file photo of Air Force One. Seriously.

The White House later issued an apology for the "confusion".

I guess that's why someone coined the term "Obamateur Hour".


Follow the apocalypse in real-time


Google Maps has the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu map, which is updated in near real-time.


I guess it's too late to seal the border with Mexico. Horse. Barn. Door.


Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Hey, the campaign's over!


Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email!

Nation


The West Coast Plot: An "Inconvenient Truth": Corner
The campaign's over, Obama; it's time to lead: ChiTrib (Kass)
Returning to original GOP principles: PJM (Florack)
Throwing those who guard us to the wolves: WklyStd (Kristol)
Murder charges for our SEALs?: DPGI
Madim Albright gets it all wrong: Sheik

Law


State vs. Federal Power: WSJ
Obama wages war against the CIA: Thompson
Change: dismantling Union transparency: Times

World


Forget Nukes -- watch out for Economic War: Fox (Egan)
'No body, no proof, no problem': Real Torture: IIA
Now the Democrats want the border sealed: Hill
Averting the Caucasus Jihad: Moscow Times (Hahn)

Economy


Is TARP a criminal enterprise?: Luskin

Media


Liz Cheney pummels MSNBC hack: Power Line
Civility and tolerance in the age of Obama: Malkin
Here's why Jon Stewart is a hack: PolClass

SciTech


Report: First Android Netbook to cost $250: Crave
Real World Passwords: Schneier

Fun


Vee Haff Vays of Making You Talk: Parkway


Sunday, April 26, 2009

RED ALERT: Feinstein's husband hits the jackpot again!

Put simply, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) appears to have hit the taxpayer lotto three times now, all surely by pure happenstance.

Days ago, The Washington Times discovered that Feinstein intervened with the FDIC in 2008. At its face, it appears to be a blatant quid pro quo steering millions of dollars of foreclosure business to her husband's company.


Click to zoom

After her intervention, the FDIC awarded a contract termed "highly unusual", both because of the margins CBRE could earn and the fact that the company did not have significant foreclosure experience. Less than sixty days after the award, the FDIC received $25 billion in TARP funds.

And despite an obvious conflict-of-interest as "a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms." The value of various defense contracts awarded to a company controlled by Feinstein's husband totalled $3.7 billion. In 2007, Feinstein resigned from the subcommittee after increasing scrutiny instigated on both sides of the aisle.

The Presidio Trust appears to be yet another of Feinstein's family bonanzas, in what I am sure is simply another happy coincidence.

The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of land in a highly desirable area, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1989, as part of a military reduction program, Congress closed the Presidio as an active military installation. And in 1996, Bill Clinton signed into law a bill creating an "innovative" public-private partnership that would control and manage development. That organization is called the Presidio Trust.

A press release on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's site describes the federal Presidio Trust Bill of 1996. The bill was introduced by Pelosi and Senators Boxer and Feinstein in the Senate.

The Philadelphia Independent Media Center's coverage was typical, expressing the left's outrage at the creation of the nation's "first privatized national park".

In 1999's "Plundering the National Parks", Diana Scott pegs the amount of federal tax dollars sent to the privately controlled Presidio Trust at $300 million.

According to the official Presidio Trust Act, all commercial lease management for the Presidio Trust is managed through CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the commercial real estate firm that Feinstein's husband Richard Blum heads as chairman. That's right, despite an obvious conflict of interest, Feinstein's husband's company is managing all commercial development for this plum piece of real estate.

That's not all. In addition, The Sedway Group -- a subsidiary of CBRE -- was retained as a consultant by the Presidio Trust, though no mention was made in the official meeting minutes of Sedway's connections to Blum and Feinstein.

This looks like a beautiful gig: Sedway comes in and makes recommendations and CBRE gets to implement them.

In a nutshell, Senator Diane Feinstein's family keeps hitting the lotto, the taxpayer lotto, that is.

Washington is certainly a sleazy place, but Feinstein doesn't even appear to be trying to rise above the stench.

But today's Democrats are above the law anyhow, what with dozens of current ethical violations swirling about and an utterly disinterested mainstream media. So I suppose Feinstein doesn't have to even keep appearances up. Only a couple of bloggers will report on this egregious behavior, so it's like a tree fell in a forest and only a few idiot taxpayers were around to hear it.


Hat tip: Biggest Crime. Linked by: Jawa Report. Thanks!

R.I.P.: The American Health Care System. Died: this week.


The Democrats' War on Poverty is nearly 50 years old, yet we're told there's too much poverty despite trillions in wealth transfers of every type.

The Democrats have run the education system for nearly 100 years -- with monopolies like the NEA and the AFT teacher's unions, yet we consistently hear that education is broken and that schools need more money.

Government was responsible for securing the southern border since the era of LBJ and have intentionally failed; this has led to the presence of as many as 20 million illegal aliens in the country thanks to Johnson's policies including "chain migration".

Democrats were responsible for implementing Medicare and Medicaid, which along with Social Security, are in ruins with approximately $55 trillion in debt. That's nearly a half million dollars for every household in America.

I could go down a long list of things the government said it would do, but hasn't done. Because the Statist Democrats are liars.

And now the Statist Democrats are launching the most massive attack on the American people in the history of government.

They promise health care for everyone, but they will not -- and they can't possibly -- deliver it.

While our health care system is certainly imperfect -- because all humans are imperfect, including doctors, nurses, hospitals and insurance companies -- they are more perfect, more competent, more informed, more capable than all of the bureaucrats to whom they'll be forced to report: a bureaucracy that will make all decisions about your health care.

And it is easy to confirm the havoc that socialized medicine will wreak on American society. All you need to do is to look at how Democrats are trying to ram home socialized medicine: they're doing it as fast as possible with as little debate as possible, using a loophole to slip it through without amendments or consideration.

Democrats claim it will be more cost-effective and efficient. That's bulls***. The man who's had the least experience at running anything is going to unleash the most massive federal leviathan in history.

This has been the dream of the Statist Democrats since FDR: to force each and every one of you, whether you like it or not, into a strait-jacket form of health care. It controls you; the actual being, the person.

Nameless, faceless bureaucrats substituting their decisions for those of your doctor.

Deciding whether you will have an operation or not. Whether you will have an MRI or not. Whether you will receive a life-saving, life-extending drug or not.

And we know this, because this is what occurs in Canada and Britain and other centralized bureaucracies, where you simply can not have access to advanced health care, period.

Where will the new drugs come from, since we produce half of them? Where will the new medical technologies come from, since we invent roughly three-fourths of them?

Who will run the hospitals and what will they look like when the government unions run them?

Who will be responsive in a massive federal bureaucracy, where no one takes responsibility for anything, and yet they're all-powerful decision-makers for your family's well-being?

Where will Barack Obama be in ten years, when the rest of us are struggling with a massive, out-of-control, federalized medical system that doesn't give a damn about individuals and is busy rationing?

He will be retired as a very young man; a very wealthy young man, who will have imposed his Marxist ideology upon this society and then walked away from it.

The politicians don't last. But their policies live forever.

And in every successive election cycle, the Statist Democrats will use the health care system to bludgeon their opponents. They will use health care as a weapon, rewarding you by offering more benefits for your votes and punishing you with less benefits if you dare to vote against them.

So much power for a faceless set of bureaucrats who can't possibly have the best interests of your family in mind. And yet they're going to take those decisions away from you and your doctor. And they've been lying every day to justify what they're doing.

They've been lying about the number of people without health care. They've been lying about whether the public is satisfied with health care. They've been lying about every aspect of health care.

They unleashed the slip-and-fall lawyers on the medical system, causing untold higher costs for medical practitioners. They've attacked the health care system relentlessly, driving up costs just like they've attacked the energy industry and the automakers.

And even when they have complete monopolistic control of a system, like the educational system in America, they want more control. It's never enough. They want more money, more regulations. More. They need to "invest". They need to raise taxes. They need to repress. They need to compel.

Because the Statist cannot make the imperfect perfect, even though he says he can. The Statist is more imperfect than anyone else.

I ask you to consider something: what kind of persons can Obama and the Democrat leadership be, to think they can do these things when history tells them they can not?

What kind of a mind refuses to look at the evidence? What kind of person would refuse to look at Britain and Canada? Or engage in arm-twisting secretly, behind the scenes? And use brownshirts like ACORN and the SEIU to intimidate organizations and legislators alike?

They're going to rush socialized medicine through the system, without any debate or transparency... and it's going to be a complete disaster on multiple levels.

Call the so-called conservative Blue Dog Democrats now. Make your voice heard. Help us stop this rush to disaster.


Based upon: Mark Levin 4/24/09.