First Conservative Blog

Cosnervative Bloggers occasionally send in some interesting questions….  Here is one!

Who was the British guy on Jon Stewarts Political Humor Television show?

He had black hair and a strong british accent, maybe a bit southern Britain. I’m from America and I saw him talking to Jon Stewart in a very funny yet immature way… I remember him comparing the economy to a fire breathing dragon and he mentioned fireballs and Jon counter attacked with a anti fireball wall or something… Also, where can I find this video? It was very funny! N

That would be John Oliver.  He also has some cameo appearances in Demitri Martins new show!  Just search YouTube and I’ll bet you can come up with the video clip.

Conservative Blog post – supplemental for November4.

We get these questions from time to time….  This one came in about what makes good political humor.

————————————-

Woody Allen’s once said that as a humorist “You’re either funny or you’re not”  Is this true?

Response:

Not much is funnier than Woody Allen – particularly when he opines about political or serious social issues.  His reputation as a comedian overrides anything he utters, so even when he tries to be serious, he winds up generating laughs.  

This especially occurs when ‘ol Woody tries to comment about Conservative beliefs about family and social values.   Given his own history of rather intimate relationships with step children, how can he be taken seriously?  In truth, Allen isn’t taken very seriously…

This doesn’t really answer the question, but Woody Allen’s views are seriously funny and worthy of Saturday Night Live. 

Conservative Blog post for October 17.

Mmm, Mmmm, Good!

There is nothing more humorous than the truth. 

Last week’s controversy surrounding the school district that produced a video of impressionable school children singing the praises of Barack Obama hasn’t exactly disappeared.  The incident re-raised the question why our public schools are failing so badly, but that is another matter. 

This little song opened the administration up to ridicule for the hero-worship it has done nothing to tamp down. In the end, the administration will regret not presenting itself with more humility. 

So for your reading pleasure this Saturday, we’ve discovered the original words to the Barack Obama ditty sung by those impressionalble younsters who have just had their inheritance stolen.  The updated and expanded version is also included below.

                                 Original:                                              

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand           
To make this country strong again         

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today               
                        Equal work means equal pay                               
                                                                                
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand           
To make sure everyone gets a chance     

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white         
All are equal in his sight                         
                                                                        
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
                              Yes!                                 

Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama

 Updated:

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must pay the man
To make this country strong again         
Taking your money doesn’t matter
’cause we know He can spend it better

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He spent our kids inheritance
for campaign trips at our expense
He will raise the cost of energy to
keep you cold’til you turn blue

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that each of us should pay
For illegal alien care today
But health care costs, He will save
by sending us to an early grave

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
Red, yellow, black or white,
We’ll beg His government for our rights
Barack Obama is the one who knows..
What is best for American Souls.

Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
                                                   Nope!                                                

Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama

Conservative Blog post for October 7

Washington Box Office Flops

It was reported this week that Hollywood is finally reacting to the economic downturn and is expected to drastically reduce its collective costs and overhead for future releases.  The request for a bailout has not been made public yet.  Maybe Tom Cruise will finally be laid off too.  Although quick to blame the economy for most of the missed revenue expectations, Hollywood would do well to look at the actual product they are producing.  It would seem that Hollywood expected Americans to pay a lot of money for junk. 

Heads are expected to roll out of the So Cal executive suites this week as punishment for decisions such as putting out two horrible films; Funny People with Adam Sandler, and Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell.  These films collectively cost some $170 Million to make and grossed but a small share of that figure in sales.  This must be why Hollywood is so qualified to offer advice to our elected leaders.   If Congress and the President made decisions like these, the nation would soon be headed for bankruptcy.  Of course… the country is headed exactly there.

It is interesting how Hollywood and Washington DC have merged their methodologies.  DC politicians have adopted the Hollywood belief that a good performance makes up for terrible policy.  DC liberals have extended their belief that a dramatic display of concern can override the laws of economics.    In the end the main characters in DC and Hollywood discover that efforts to change others’ behavior always carry unforeseen negative consequences.  In the Democrats’ case, these consequences will be felt in November of 2010.

Hollywood invests heavily in films that offer performances by big name stars.   Washington also wants its big name stars to carry the flag for things like the health care takeover.  Big names though don’t necessarily mean success.  And as Obama Himself discovered, even His great oratory cannot repeal the fundamental law of supply and demand.  Hollywood paid Sandler and Ferrell handsome sums prior to making Funny People and Land of the Lost.  The investors lost big money and the execs that made the bad decisions are going to walk the plank.  In Washington, the plank stroll takes place next year. 

Funny People and Land of the Lost do have several similarities to the way Washington is now handling key issues:

Funny People and the health care takeover.  The central storyline of the Hollywood picture surrounds a comic who is diagnosed with an incurable disease of some sort.  This causes him to change his life, take some chances and of course learn some things before bucket time.   No matter how one tries though, death just cannot be made very funny – unless it is Osama Bin Laden bungee jumping with a cord that is greater than the height of the bridge he swan dives off of.

In the Washington storyline, the insensitive reference to death reflects Team Obama’s willingness to restrict or control life extending treatments for Senior citizens in the interest of saving money.  Saving money is in itself a laughable storyline conflict, because government in general and Democrats in particular never, ever are willing to take action to save a dime on anything.  So changing liberal behavior is an irrational and illogical part of the DC storyline.

To save the story, President Obama invests himself in persuading senior citizens – who interestingly have read the proposed legislation that Obama wants.   Seniors, falling back on their wealth of life-experience, have seen snake oil salesmen before and are generally smart enough to have the offender tarred and feathered.  The Washington/Hollywood response has been to roll out the biggest name star in the arsenal – Barack Obama Himself – to bring people to the show and separate them from their money. 

Team Obama insists of course that there will be no rationing of health care – even though it occurs in every nation on earth that has tried this kind of medical delivery system.  Pelosi, Reid and company believe in themselves so much that fundamental economics escapes them.  They appear to be the evil characters in the film and they fully understand what takeover of the health care industry will look like – and they like it.  Pelosi and Reid in fact don’t want to release the story until after the damage is done; they are actively opposing a bill that would require posting the health care legislation on line prior to voting.   

The Obama persuasion methodology has simply been to repeat the same old lines over and over and to appear again and again at press conferences, speeches and a White House remake of Dr. Kildare.  No matter how hard He tries, He just isn’t funny.  The story isn’t logical.  And besides, the public is tired of disaster films – especially when they are in ‘em.

Land of the Lost – Lost in Foreign Policy.  This is almost too easy.  Will Ferrell is a washed up, has-been scientist that somehow gets sucked through a ‘way back’ machine to land in an alternate universe.  Obama thinks He lives in an alternative universe where adoration for Him personally will make all His leftist dreams come true.  While the Hollywood film has Ferrell and company fighting for their lives, Team Obama will be fighting for their political futures soon enough.  They will be looking for their own ‘way back’ machine to take them back to the era when the press never asked any challenging questions and Saturday Night Live only made fun of the GOP VP candidate.

Like Ferrell being unprepared for his trip into prehistory, the Obama administration was completely incapable of reading the mood of the country – even after the election.   An overwhelming Democrat majority in both houses, the reasoning went, should enable Obama to radically transform the country in the first 100 days.   Obama did run up the country’s credit cards far beyond our reasonable ability to pay, but other than that, most other initiatives have thankfully stalled. 

Most of Obama’s troubles can be traced to the fact that He has never had a job where He had to produce any tangible result.  Accordingly He doesn’t know how to manage others to do the same.  The greatest asset that most in Team Obama contribute is the ability to complain and demonize conservatives.  This makes the Chosen One a perfect Hollywood resident.  Most actors couldn’t hold a real job if their lives depended on it.

Obama is just plain lost.  Dithering on Afghanistan – looking for a way to fight the war He promised to competently lead and win and at the same time appeasing His leftist base by pulling out.  This is an impossible storyline and one side or the other is going to lose.  That is why Obama keeps putting off any decision.   Don’t’ look for any decision on Afghanistan until the health care debate is settled.

Compounding the intrigue, it was also reported today that Team Obama is considering firing White House Counsel Greg Craig for botching the closing of Guantanamo Prison.  Even though Obama Himself believed that Guantanamo was the source of distain for America, He was utterly unprepared to actually close it down.   Again, this is where some real job experience would have helped.  The Great Leader would have understood that these decisions have to be executed and that before one makes a drastic decision, it is wise to have some kind of plan.

In keeping with His Hollywood theme, the President made a big theatrical production out of signing the closure order on day one of His presidency.  One problem – no one had any idea what to do with the trained killers locked up there.  And surprise of surprises – even Nancy Pelosi didn’t want any of them near her district.    So… getting the storyline to reconcile with reality requires the firing of Mr. Craig.   This story isn’t over though.   It is completely unfair to punish the attorney (even if he is an attorney) for the Chosen One’s horrible decision. 

All Hollywood lefties are incredibly egocentric.  Like Obama telling the UN that since He was inaugurated, America is now a good place.  When Obama told the Olympic Selection Committee that holding the Olympics in Chicago would help America rebuild its image abroad – ostensibly because the nation had essentially been evil prior to his election – the Olympic Committee headed for the exit and demanded a refund.  By bouncing Chicago in the first round of the selection process, the Olympic Selection Committee walked out on the film. 

US voters are going to walk out on this disaster picture in 2010. 

California Screaming; The Movie

This film not yet rated

Genre:  Surreal Horror
Theatrical Release:  November 4, 2009
Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Governator, other cast have asked for their names to be withheld
Director:  Rob Reiner
Expected Cost:  untold billions

Summary:
Hollywood announced this week a release date for the newest disaster megafilm starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.   California Screaming is a modern horror story void of heroes and set in the Golden State.  Facing complete economic catastrophe, Schwarzenegger reprises his role as state Governor to face down the litany of problems a citizenry has created for itself, including:

·    Budget shortfall of over $24 billion
·    Revenues falling nearly 18% over the prior year
·    Expected revenues $800M short of expectation

Synopsis:
This film and story redefine ‘disaster.’  Impossible circumstances conspire to deliver the most outrageous set of human-created challenges occurring at precisely the most inopportune moment.  The situation is compounded by Californians’ historical and illogical unwillingness to fork over ever larger chunks of their earnings, while demanding that others pay for prized social programs.  Putting trophy social programs at risk, the many governmental characters insist that population knows not what it is doing.  The Governator and the Legislature wind up pitted against the population as well as against one another. 

Since reaching a compromise disaster pan over the summer, state leaders are out of ideas to avoid the same problems from reoccuring.  And with the disastrous national budget, stimulus and possible health care takeover, the situation from this past summer will look tame compared to what the statehouse and legislature will face this year.

Legislators would be wise to remember that each tax increase proposal from this past session met resounding defeat, leaving the once vaunted, socially responsible leadership without any tools to continue building utopia on the world’s most beautiful coast.  Trying to be the voice of reason, Schwarzenegger fails in his attempts to find a middle ground between new taxation and spending cuts.    A poignant moment occurs when the Governator laments taking the job on the Jay Leno Show.

Although the film is without a clear protagonist, there are multiple bad guys, leaving the audience feeling helpless as the storyline spirals depressingly downward.    State revenues from personal income taxes decline by nearly 40% percent.  Revenues from corporate taxes fall by over 50% percent and revenues from sales taxes sink by over 7 percent in year one alone.  And that was just for the past budget.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass described one reconciliation plan as having “something for everyone to hate.”  The story provides something for every audience member to hate as well.  The film is a tragedy of errors when former adversaries try to come together on a plan to solve the crisis but are confronted with a public unwilling to participate in the reconciliation.

As the state is confronted with difficult choices including scrapping the prized welfare programs or dumping benefits to illegal aliens, a climax is reached as the July 4, 2010 holiday approaches when California faces a drop-dead date.  At that point, CA will be completely out of money- again.   Schwarzenegger, on a last gasp effort, contacts the President for help because he is unwilling to undertake the difficult duty for which he was hired.  The President, well… viewers will have to find that out on release day.

The complexity of the storyline is made difficult to understand because of the extreme simplicity of the solution.  All could have been avoided had sanity prevailed earlier in the decade before spending was allowed to spiral out of control.  Director Rob Reiner fails to insert the responsibility message preferring to develop the tragic leadership characters of those that have found themselves in now unwanted political roles. 

Painfully missing is the usual assignment of responsibility for the troubles.  Political leaders are reluctant to confront voters with the fact that demand for excessive services and benefits combined with an unwillingness to pay has lead their state to the brink.  Voters believe they were hoodwinked into believing they could have these services and benefits and compel someone else to bear the cost.  Deceit and mistrust runs through every on-screen relationship.  California Screaming wants for a single adult role; an adult to just say ‘no’ to the clowns that are more interested in re-election than in problem resolution.  But maybe this is just California in microcosm.

The film attempts to reconcile combatants.  Moments of introspection appear as the Governator confronts state congressional leaders with proof of their past misdeeds while admitting his own faults.  These fail to provide any direction to the story.  Sadly, the Governator’s efforts turn up some good will but no results and both sides slip back into posturing that originally contributed to the problem. 

Ultimately, the film takes a circular route back to its starting point – no resolution, just characters campaigning  for support from a public that has long since given up.  Completing the tragedy, the public ultimately rejects its own role in the disaster.  Breaking the cycle requires a brave hero (restate the need for a truly adult character) to throw himself or herself on the sword of electoral defeat to do the right thing and lead the charge to severely cut programs.   

‘California Screaming’ at least is an apt title.  The circular storyline is predictable and awaits a hero from outside to bail the state and its people out of the trouble.  The film leaves hanging the childish dream that the President or some benevolent force will recognize the people’s agony and intervene with money from heaven and an admonition to work together in the future. 

Conservative Blog Post for October 1

The Obama Homecoming

In what looked at the beginning of the week like a complete boondoggle, the President took off for Copenhagen aboard Air Force One – complete with Oprah Winfrey – to pitch the International Olympic Committee on awarding the 2016 Summer Games to Chicago.  Although it is a bit of a mystery why Chicago’s focus is on landing the Olympics and not on stopping vicious thugs from killing honor students with sticks and boards, Obama forged ahead to Denmark, creating a bit of a PR stink at home.

This PR stink would be washed away by an announcement on Friday that the games had indeed been awarded to the Windy City.  Ergo, one can easily reason that Obama has some inside knowledge that this will indeed be the case.  Never one to miss an opportunity to splash Himself all over the front page, President Obama is obviously looking for something to take the country’s mind off:

• His proposed takeover of American health care,
• His refusal to make any kind of a decision on Afghanistan,
• His willingness to appease the nut jobs running Iran
• And on and on and on

Riding home from Denmark with an Olympic agreement would be just the ticket. 

Such a triumphant homecoming would also salve the badly bruised Obama PR machine.  From day one, when the administration announced the closing of Guantanamo Prison without any clue what to do with the trained killers held there, the Obama PR Team despite a solid election win, has been living a nightmare.  Falling back on the annual autumn tradition of ‘homecoming,’ Team Obama came up with the idea of staging its own “Obama Homecoming.”

High Schools and Colleges usually frame their Homecoming celebrations around a weekend football game.   Founded on the grand American tradition of a team returning from a long road campaign, the bit of history holds that the community and team will come together for a grand home game.  Historically, this constituted an excuse for an even grander campus celebration.  Over the years though, many of these celebrations have degenerated into all manner of liquor inspired, socially deviant behaviors.  President Obama, in his effort to have his own Homecoming, needs to have his guard up.  Colleges tend to carefully script their homecoming events to avoid embarrassment to the institution or any participants.  It will be interesting to see if Team Obama is blessed with any of this foresight. 

Homecoming events generally fall into five categories:

• Pre Events
• Parade
• Game
• Dance
• After-Dance

Obama’s PR team is wildly crafting its own Homecoming of sorts for the President’s return.  However, they are having a bit of trouble.

Pre-events – Pie eating, cheerleading and other common if immature fraternity behavior typically mark this part of homecoming weekend.  (Alright, the cheerleading isn’t so bad – just as long as Pelosi isn’t one of them.)  This part is usually kicked off with a 6:00 am kegger at the Beta house.  With no Beta house party to crash, Geithner will be opening up the keg at Treasury for an invitation only blowout.  Anyone with a clue as to how to get the economy to recover without cutting Obama’s spending gets a free tour of the Treasury Dept.  The Obama Cabinet has just discovered that the old grand federal buildings they occupy work great doing double duty as fraternity houses. (This isn’t completely original as Clinton tried this, too.)

After the myriad of press conferences and speeches to Congress, getting anyone to watch Obama pre-homecoming events will be tricky.  Pie eating contests – pitching various fraternity brothers against one another might have some merit for the Obama PR Team.  In the Obama instance, though Crow eating might be tried.   Another thing that might be cooked into a pie would be the several hundred thousand words that Obama has used in an effort to reassure seniors that some act of Obama magic will keep health care from being rationed under His health care takeover plan.   Team Obama is just about to surrender the Pre-event planning on this one and head for the nearest bar to watch reruns of the Redskins loss to the Lions.

Parade – The President loves a parade – especially when He is the reason for it.   The PR gurus are trying to figure out how to do a parade in Chicago to celebrate the big win without making those in Rio feel bad.  The trick here is to remain a hometown hero but still be first citizen of the world.  However, folks in Rio can’t vote in the US – at least not yet – and Obama knows that 2012 is looking really bad right now. Accordingly, he is going to start the campaign early by throwing Brazil under the proverbial bus.  Look out Lakeshore, the Obamas are coming home! 

Game – No real thought has been given to the possibility that Obama might lose or that the Games will be awarded to someone else.  No one has ever turned down Oprah before.  In fact, no one has even summoned the courage to tell the President that His health care takeover is essentially dead.  But then again, Obama got this job without ever having another real one, so stranger things have happened.  Rio could still get the games.

Dance – The inaugural was quite a while ago and Michelle must be dying to attend another dance.   After the flak the Prez took for jetting off to Manhattan for a date, this could solve two problems.   The dance after all is just a place to be seen so that would send the Chosen One to a positive publicity event.  The Obamas would also re-establish their leadership credentials over evil Republicans by being declared the de-facto Homecoming King and Queen.  The President would prefer that we drop the “Homecoming” in that last phrase – as well as “de-facto.”  This will be the only way to pass the health care takeover.

After-Dance events – Alumni, if they are still halfway sober after their college homecoming football game and dance, always try to figure out a way to hang on to the experience – particularly the experience of hanging around young, tipsy college co-eds.  Obama would no doubt like to re-capture the adoration that followed His election and coronation/inauguration.   If an Obama Homecoming won’t do it, these next three years could be very long. 

News Flash! – Earth’s Temperature Directly Influenced by the Sun!

Leading Environmental activists as well as the Federal EPA this morning reversed course on global warming policy, to encourage the Chinese and other major world polluters to step up their emission of greenhouse gasses.  “This is a direct response to global cooling that results from reduced sun spot activity” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.    “Researchers this week announced the surprising discovery of a direct relationship between the amount of energy produced at the surface of the sun and the mean daily temperature here on earth,” continued Jackson,   “the more sun spots, the warmer our planet becomes and vice versa.”  

The lack of sunspot activity this year has apparently caused the earth’s surface temperature to cool, threatening agricultural produce levels in northern nations such as Canada and Russia.  “Another drop of a degree or two in average temperatures in Canada could spell the end of Canadian wheat production – leaving Canadians with nothing to eat but fish, lobster and steak,” said Jackson.  “Russians would be compelled to import their food from Iran and no one wants that.”  Accordingly, the EPA will recommend that coal power plant construction in the United States be accelerated to keep word temperatures elevated and to keep citizens from freezing and starving.   

“The sun and the earth have a special relationship and a responsibility to one another,” said Jackson, who also indicated that she would be taking the matter up with President Obama at her usual Monday afternoon meeting.   “When the sun fails to meet its obligation to properly warm the earth, we have a right to seek redress at the United Nations,” said Jackson, adding that the President has been advised of the situation and is planning a major speech to Congress on the importance of maintaining good interstellar relations. 

This is a real study!  (see it here).  The surprising part of this announcement was not the discovery of the relationship between the sun and temperatures on earth, but that the EPA seemed to be previously unaware of it.

Conservative Blog - Top Ten Obama Policy Boomerangs

Author’s Note:  Irony and Humor are frequently exchanged for one another in the Political Humor world.  Humor is generally considered the ‘laugh out loud’ type of prose and Irony is a more pensive expression.   It is difficult to make inflation and unemployment truly ‘funny’ so the following piece falls more into the political irony category.

One of the most rewarding things about Political Humor is observing the well-intended program and policy initiatives that boomerang to politically decapitate the one who threw it.   Several issues arose this week as a result of Obama administration initiatives that may do more to damage to each situation it was intended to help.  Even though much of the country believes that Obama is God, some in the administration are no longer quite so confident. 

Policy boomerangs aren’t things that just go badly on their own.  These are ill-conceived proposals and actions that produce an obviously negative result – obvious at least to those that think before they act.  Once voters discover the dark side of the initiative –such as the actual cost or the ultimate impact, they frequently throw the policy back in the face of the originator.

Like Chicago Cubs fans that throw home-run balls from opposing teams back onto the field, voters eventually figure out what policies have hurt them or – in the case of Universal Health Care – are about to really hurt them.  Even CNN can’t cover for a Cubs pitcher serving up a hanging curve that winds up in the right field seats at Wrigley.

As we kick off another week of Obama “Hope and Change,” we should be mindful of the top ten  ‘boomerang’ policies that have some in the administration quietly looking for a foxhole.

10.  General Motors – Following the Cash for Clunkers program where there were plenty of Clunkers but little Cash, it should be noted that GM’s potential for future success is inversely related to the degree of federal government involvement in its business.  It has dawned on some in the administration that by spending billions on GM and on Cash for Clunkers, it is the government participation in the auto market that is killing the business.  Customers won’t voluntarily buy an Obamacar without huge subsidies and investors won’t put money into a government company.  So after committing to another $50 billion in taxpayer funding, General Motors may well wind up unsalvageable.  Had Obama stayed out and let bankruptcy work the way it was intended, the company would have had a fighting chance.  This boomerang not only cost a great deal of money, but threatens to ultimately kill the company it was intended to rescue.

9.  Guantanamo – Efforts to close the prison resulted in a really nice Bermuda vacation for a few ‘battlefield detainees.’  The administration has agreed to ship a couple others off to Portugal, but in the end, if Obama is to close Guantanamo, He has to come up with a place to put these killers.  In showing that the administration convinced other nations to take these murderers, Obama paid off Bermuda some months ago to take a few of them.  The prisoners wound up in a fully furnished guest house.  Northeastern workers who have been unemployed since November are now wondering why they don’t get a Bermuda vacation at taxpayer expense.  (Because they probably voted for Obama, they don’t deserve one, but still…)  Local Bermuda islanders are also upset at their own government for participating in the deal.  Bermuda residents don’t want trained killers in their neighborhoods any more than Nancy Pelosi does.  This boomerang broke into two pieces and is coming right back at both sets of governments.

8.   Interest Rates – The cost of borrowing money for business growth is greatly influenced by the government competition for funds.  As Obama competes on world markets for capital to support Stimulus spending, interest rates will increase while the dollar value decreases.  Borrowing becomes more difficult and the increased cost of capital will shut off much of the jobs recovery.  The Stimulus spending that was supposed to “get business moving again” now threatens to choke off the flow of capital business needs to get moving again. 
 

7.  Iran – Obama’s early initiative to reach out to the human freak-show running Iran’s government may also backfire.  Obama attempted to engage Ahmadinejad and achieved nothing.  The lunatic Iranian leader gained ground with hard liners by ‘standing up against America.’  Obama’s overture gave the Iranian something specific to reject and thus improved his position with Muslim radicals.  The Mullahs owe Obama a thank you card.  And despite the protests following Ahmadinejad’s re-appointment to the Iranian Presidency, Obama has made zero progress in convincing one of the biggest state sponsors of terrorism to cease constructing the ultimate terrorist weapon. 

6.  Czars - Intended to be an end run around Congressional oversight, the appointment of Czar’s concerns even Democrat Robert Byrd.  In appointing a pay Czar, Obama served notice to successful workers that they are under surveillance by the federal government – which will hold their salaries up for public scrutiny.   The constitution provides the President exacty zero authority to enforce any salary policy except by holding ‘overpaid’ execs up for public ridicule.  This irony becomes more interesting as many of these northeast execs gave money to Democrat and to the Obama campaigns.   Obama will no doubt double check his donor lists before making an individual’s salary public.  (He may use the same team that chose which Chrysler dealerships to close.)  Remember the outrage over the AIG executive bonuses?  Obama dropped objections to paying these bonusus – essentially using taxpayer dollars – because the exec types in question turned out to be Democrat donors.

5.  North Korea – Just talking makes Obama appear weak and foolish.  When He sends Hillary Clinton to do the talking, the hilarity continues.   Calling upon North Korea to stop its ‘provocative actions,’ Obama’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confronted a despotic regime by taking up air time.  The United Nations went along with another in a long string of “strongly worded condemnations” following the DPRK’s latest missile test.  The UN then agreed to allow stopping North Korean vessels on the high seas, but of course China warned against the use of any force.  The President actually has to take action if his words are to mean anything in the future.  Had Obama pursued a stronger effort with China by threatening to arm Japan and South Korea with more – shall we say – effective weaponry, the Chinese may have been more willing to assist.  Too late for that now.  The DPRK sent Obama’s foreign policy spinning right back at the Chosen One’s noggin.

4.  Unemployment – The only possible way to speed jobs growth is to decrease government competition for capital.  This lowers the costs of borrowing money for growth.  By committing the nation to an outrageous spending and borrowing plan, American companies are reluctant to hire.   The economy is still throwing off hundreds of thousands of jobs each week – even though the recession is well passed its 18 month point.  (18 months is the average length of a recession.) Obama’s spending has already extended the recession and those that are looking for work may fill some time by volunteering a few hours for local Republican candidates.  Obama’s efforts at solving unemployment have caused the GOP’s volunteer ranks to significantly increase.

3.  Health Care – This is a huge issue at the moment.  Like the federal intervention in General Motors, government participation in health care will ruin the industry.  The well-documented physician shortage will be compounded – perhaps catastrophically – by administration attempts to take over the industry via its public insurance system.  When all physicians are dependent on the federal government for insurance claim payment, few young and bright students will enter the profession.  Remaining docs will be fully dependent on the government for payment. What ambitious young person would put her or his career in the hands of Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats?  By attempting to provide health care for the uninsured, Obama will ensure that good health care is much less available to all.

2.  Taxes – Of course Obama’s big lie to the country is that the middle classes received a tax cut.  While the IRS may have issued a tax rate cut to certain middle income taxpayers, Team Obama increased costs elsewhere.  Increasing taxes on medical benefits will drive down the paycheck of each American worker and slow future job growth.  The public school teachers unions ensured that the current population of voters is relatively economically ignorant, but each worker does have a solid ability to understand that a tax on medical benefits is a tax on him.  Taxing workers more is a bad for job security – particularly for keeping one’s job as President.  The latest CBO deficit figures indicates that Geithner, Obama and the rest of the economic idiots running the country are going to have to do something to close the gap between spending and government revenue.  Look for the Chosen One to reverse course on his middle class tax cut – no doubt blaming it on George W. Bush.

1.  Inflation – Corresponding with Stimulus spending, inflation is Obama’s huge tax increase on the middle class.   By printing the Stimulus money He cannot borrow from China, Obama makes each dollar worth less tomorrow than the one earned today.  Middle classes, who thought they were getting a tax cut, will be paying more and more for common goods.   Obama would do well to study a little history; the inflation boomerang took the political head of Jimmy Carter.

ABC NEWS Special:   The Kennedy Health Care Act – we decide what is good for you

It was released yesterday that ABC won’t air the Anti-Obama health care advertisement produced by the League of American Voters.  The simple reason given was, well…actually a reason wasn’t given other than to say that the ad was “partisan.”  Most free speech is in fact “partisan” as a particular point of view is advocated.   It seems that Obama and the network intend that ABC’s is the only opinion allowed to be partisan as the network gave free airtime last month to a one hour infomercial delivered directly from Obama’s White House. 

Apparently the network felt that the discussion of health care issues was only relevant when done from the White House during an exclusive ABC News presentation.  After all, liberal propaganda must be protected.  And, when the Obama White House starts regulating program content, ABC wants to be on Obama’s Facebook ‘Friends’ list.

In the end, this could signal a positive change in the network.  If ABC is giving critical thought to the advertisements it runs, it may be that they are considering pulling the plug on other network gems.   If so here are the top ten shows we wish ABC would yank from their portion of the airwaves.

10.  Good Morning America – Obama propaganda tool #1, Charlie Gibson continues to embarrass himself.  In the latest episode, while glorifying poor Cindy Sheehan during the Bush presidency, Gibson recently admonished her to “go away” when Sheehan showed up to protest outside the Obama vacation home.  Most journalists are more careful to hide their liberal bias.  Gibson should be ashamed for letting his become so transparent.

9.  The View – Now that Elizabeth Hasselbeck (why are the conservative women always far and away the prettiest?) is a ‘mom-to-be’ program producers are trying to figure out how to keep the show’s leftists from just ranting.  That is about all the lefties are capable of anyway; that and slamming conservative women for being beautiful as well as intelligent.

8.  America’s Funniest Home Videos – Americans have a knack for doing stupid things while having trusted friends film them.  Obama is highly sensitive to this tendency and is trying to limit the ability of news organizations to film him doing his stupid things.  Unfortunately, the health care bills now being considered have been released to the public.  The public didn’t like it one bit.  So… a few critics have started showing up and making fools of key allies such as Arlen Specter and Kathleen Sebelius.   It is bad enough that the public reads bills its representatives are to vote on, but it is even worse that the key supporters – including the President – have no idea what the proposal will do.    AFV has gotten so predicable in recent years that one can tell exactly what the toddler is going to smack with dad’s golf club.    Interestingly, that is exactly where health care consumers are going to get whacked if this thing becomes law.

7.  Cougar Town (new) Courtney Cox – Please Dear God – may someone pull the plug on this utter embarrassment before it starts.   The show is so conceptually bad that the network will undoubtedly be embarrassed that it even put up a pilot episode.  Cougar Town is about a forty-ish, freshly divorced Mom trying to learn to chase younger guys.  Why, we don’t know.  Courtney Cox is being paid to portray the divorcee as well as to act as if she has very little brain matter in her pursuit of younger male companionship.    The Obama administration in trying to hang onto the women’s vote, will certainly object to portraying newly single women in this fashion.  Newly single women should also object to being portrayed in this fashion.

6.  Dating in the Dark – Who in the world comes up with these ideas.  Although getting to know someone before dating them is certainly a good idea, understanding that one’s date might have a face full of comic book tattoos would be good to know before heading out to Chez Maurice’s for an elegant dinner.    Incidentally, this is the same philosophy Obama is using to sell his health care proposals.  Keep the details from view for as long as possible.  Before long, you will be having dinner at a fancy French restaurant with a zombie; a zombie who will stick you with the check.

5.  Lost – Is this thing still on the air?  Is there no one at ABC that can come up with an interesting story that can hold viewer’s attention?  Well.. maybe not.  With the public education system firmly in the hands of Obama’s teacher union allies, this may be all that future generations of viewers will be able to handle.  In fact, “Lost” is exactly where voters were last November.
 
4.  Dirty Sexy Money – The network should just be straight about its programming.  Sex and money sells air time.  So… why not have a show about sex and money?  Because after Obama finishes with the economy, Americans will only have a limited shot at half of what sells air time.

3.  The Bachelorette – Always looking for a way to take normal people to inflict severe emotional pain, ABC has extended the run of the Bachelorette.  The sex and money theme is alive and well here, too.  Viewers all seem to like the hot tub and bedroom scenes as well as the deeply personal feelings that are shared with the entire world.  Team Obama has tried to build this level of intimacy with voters but is having trouble with the ‘trust’ part of the relationship.  It would help if they read the bills they advocate.  The Bachelorette would be wise to read up on her suitors as well.

 2.  I Survived a Japanese Game Show – This is the most unbelievably stupid idea to ever threaten to occupy air time.  Mama San runs things for a group of young participants who are to do some – as yet undefined tasks.  They are of course ‘hooking up’ with one another.  This appears to be a silly version of Dirty Sexy Money in Japanese game show format.  What was the research that ABC commissioned to determine that this show might be successful?  Probably the same research group that is telling Obama that the public really does want the government to take over the health care delivery system.

1.  ABC NEWS Special:   The Edward Kennedy Health Care Act – Driving Health Care off a Bridge.   Team Obama will never permit this show to leave the air. The public may never watch.