I'm very seriously contemplating a letter to Al Gore at this moment, asking for his advice on what products available to consumers are the worst emitters of greenhouse gases . . . so I can go buy them. Seriously, we are seeing places in the U.S. hitting lows not seen since the 1930's (maybe the weather is also getting nostalgic for FDR and the New Deal!). Seriously, I think we can kill two birds with one stone here - why don't we provide vouchers to people to go buy more SUV's to pump more carbon into the atmosphere. In doing that, we will get global warming back on track from its decade vacation, thus restoring some credibility to the climate change lobby and validating Al Gore's Nobel "Peace" prize, and we can also make our beloved American automakers solvent again. Win-win.
Seems like the only area in the nation currently experiencing warming is Washington, D.C., where the extensive hot air emanating from committee chambers - where supposed "confirmation hearings" - are being held, should warm the cold hearts of our elected betters - I mean leaders. It is amusing to watch Democrats pretend to be giving tough hearings to these nominees. Today it is Eric Holder. He wants to be the Attorney General. There is much talk about how this office should be an independent body, not subject to political machinations. Keep in mind that this is the same Eric Holder who, while the number 2 at the Justice Department during the closing days of the Clinton administration - helped to push through the pardons of Marc Rich and the FALN terrorists. The FALN terrorist pardon, as is widely believed, helped to secure Puerto Rican votes in New York for Hillary Clinton's Senate election. The Marc Rich pardon followed closely on the heels of a very sizable donation from Rich's wife to President Clinton. Both pardons were a huge shock to pretty much everybody - completely sidestepping the usual practice of conferring with other justice department officials over pardons. This guy practically has "political hack" tattooed across his forehead.
Soon we will also have hearings regarding Geithner for Treasury Secretary. I discussed him in my last post. Surprisingly little is made of his delinquency in paying taxes for 4 years of income. Many explain it away as an honest mistake. Excuse me? Nearly $40,000 over 4 years? An honest mistake? No, an honest mistake is not knowing whether a particular purchase is qualified as an exemption. An honest mistake is forgetting to attach your W2 to your 1040. Forgetting that the U.S. government taxes the income of its citizens making over a certain amount of money each year? That is hardly a mistake. This guy has a large enough income to hire illegals to clean his house - I doubt there was any confusion as to whether he made enough money to have to pay taxes. I also seriously doubt that 2001 was the first year he made enough to pay taxes, so it would not have been a new thing for him. Surely his accountant brought it to his attention that he needed to write a big check in April. Give me a break. And this guy should be put in charge of the Treasury and the IRS? Isn't this what they nabbed Capone for? Where is Elliot Ness when you need him? Oh yeah, this guy would be his boss!
One more bit of hypocrisy for the day. Think back to 2005, and the second Bush inauguration. The price tag for that event was in the $40-50 million range - lower than that of his predecessor, Bill Clinton. Yet, at the time, reporters, particularly from Reuters and the AP, were heavy with their criticism of the high price tag. How much armor for Humvees could that money buy? How many homeless could be housed? How many uninsured could receive healthcare? On and on. How could the president spend that much money at a time of war? Fast forward to today - the current price tag for the Obama coronation is estimate at around $150 million, or 3 times that of the 2005 event. Obama has increased the maximum donation by almost double that which was allowed by Bush (up to $500,000). A state of emergency is being declared for the D.C. area for this thing - the city is being shut down. Fighting is still going on in the Middle East - I can only assume Humvees can still use some more armor. Obama continue to talk about the dire situation that our economy faces - the worst since the Great Depression! What do the media say? We need to have a world class celebration! It is a time for rejoicing! Let them eat cake!
Seriously, how quickly would Obama be sainted were he to come out and say that, in light of the financial crisis facing our nation, and the huge burden he is seeking to add to our national debt, he will forego the spectacle of the inauguration and instead use the $150 million for something actually useful - buying healthcare for uninsured children, paying for infrastructure he wants to update, bail out imperiled homeowners from mortgages they can't pay off, shore up failing financial institutions! Seriously, $150 million would provide almost 5 times the amount of the last chunk of money Citigroup got in this bailout - which has resulted in them on the verge of collapsing with shares trading at $4, down from $54 not too long ago. Were he to do that, the combined Democratic party would trudge through the hell-freezing-over temperatures to the Dakotas and collectively remake Mt. Rushmore with only one likeness - the Chosen One, His Holiness, Saint Barack Obama, the healer of planets and savior of nations.
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