Lee Shehow and a Fishy Northern Pike

From KARE:

"Drive it like I stole it."

That's how Lee Shehow answered, when organizers of the Somerset Youth Athletic Association Ice Fishing contest asked him what he'd do with his new truck.

Shehow turned in a 2.42 pound northern pike last Saturday to win the annual contest on Bass Lake. But by Sunday, the waters started to get a bit murky amidst allegations the winner cheated.

Organizer John Montpetit says at least two callers allege that Shehow carried the fish in underneath his jacket, and then kept it alive and alert by pouring bottled water on it. A private dectective says after questioning Shehow, the would-be-winner disqualified himself from the contest.

When contacted for his side of the story, Shehow strongly denied the allegations, and insisted he caught the fish fair and square on a tip-up. He also says he didn't disqualify himself, but simply gave the truck back because he didn't want to cause bad publicity for kids who play in the local athletic association.

"They'll get to the bottom of it and find out I didn't (cheat)," he said. "It's just a matter of time."

After today's press conference, the keys to the $27,000 Dodge Dakota pickup were handed to Monica Slimmen of LaCrosse, who finished in second place.

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I don't think Shehow would have given up the truck if he had won it legitimately. Of course, he's going to deny the allegations.

Very slimy.

"Iraqenstein-scale" Problem: How-to Suicide Bombing Video

Obama at Wizards-Bulls Game

Barack Obama is living the good life. Basically, he's Jack Nicholson, only with a lot more security.


President Barack Obama, a Chicago Bulls fan, cheers on his team against the Washington Wizards during an NBA basketball game on Friday, February 27, 2009 in Washington.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)


Chicago Bulls fan President Barack Obama, center, reacts to a Bulls three-pointer against the Washington Wizards during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Video.

Looking at the guy, I don't see any strain of being president at a time when the nation faces incredible challenges and its people are suffering. He doesn't seem burdened by the weight of his responsibilities.

Obama doesn't appear to be making any sacrifices.

No, he's courtside, cheering at the Wizards-Bulls game.

Meanwhile, people are dealing with their finances and futures in ruin.

A late burst of selling sealed a dismal finish for the stock market, which hit a fresh 12-year low on Friday as Citigroup sold a bigger chunk of itself to the government and General Electric slashed its dividend, spooking investors who were already jittery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 119.15 points, or 1.7%, to end at 7062.93. The blue-chip benchmark ended down 937.93 points, or 11.72% on the month -- the worst percentage drop for February since 1933, when it fell 15.62%. The Dow industrials have fallen six months in a row and are now more than 50% off their record highs hit in October of 2007.

The S&P 500 fell 17.74 points, or 2.4%, to 735.09. Its financial sector dropped 6.5% and its health-care sector sank 4% on fears that President Barack Obama's reform plans will carve into the profits of drug makers and insurers. The S&P is off 53% from its October 2007 peak and has now seen its worst six-month drop in percentage terms -- 42.7% -- since 1932, when it dropped 45.44% in the six months ending in June.

Major market yardsticks broke through one long-term low after another this week, but the slide never quite gained intraday momentum akin to that seen during the market's late-2008 plunge. Many market veterans now expect the market to continue such a slog in the days ahead, with both new lows and short-term rallies likely.

Obama's reform plans have made investors more wary, not more confident. His catastrophe talk and fear mongering and promises of tax increases have been absolutely disastrous.

Obama didn't "inherit" these plans and proposals. They're of his making.

This all should be weighing heavily on him.

Does he look troubled to you? Does he look mildly concerned? Does he look like he feels our pain at all?


U.S. President Barack Obama (C) watches as cheerleaders run past onto the court during a break in play during the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls NBA basketball game at the Verizon Center in Washington February 27, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

Obama seems to be having a great time. I think he looks completely out of touch, totally detached from the realities of what he likes to call "Main Street."


U.S. President Barack Obama, sitting next to 5-year-old Nick Aiello (L), sips his beverage while attending the Washington Wizards NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Washington February 27, 2009. REUTERS/Molly Riley (UNITED STATES)

I don't want to hear Obama lecture me about making sacrifices. I just don't want to hear it.

TEA PARTY

It was just last Thursday that Rick Santelli suggested having a Tea Party.

All over the country today, Americans will be participating in events.



Looking to attend a Tea Party?

Michelle Malkin has a list.

If there isn't a Tea Party in your area or you're unable to attend, you can still participate. Take part in the virtual Tea Party.

Details:

Many of us were inspired after Rick Santelli gave his speech on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange calling for a Chicago Tea Party.

There will be many events taking place across the country where people are gathering in protest of all of the spending and taxing that has been occurring lately in government. I wanted to offer an opportunity for those of us who have to work to be able to participate.

I want to encourage all of you to stage your own form of a protest at your work. Don’t do anything against your company policy that would get you disciplined or fired. Here are a few ways that you can participate:

1. Participate in the live tweeting using the #teaparty hashtag.
2. Take part in the Tea Party rally in Second Life.
3. Writing letters to the media, elected officials, etc.
4. Blogging about the Tea Party and the message behind it.
5. Bring bags of tea to work and lay them on your desk. When your co-workers ask you why, explain the reasoning behind the protest and say you are showing your support.
6. Make iced tea for the office and share the message with those you work with.

The last two on that list are things you can do at work to show support, but if you don’t feel comfortable you can still do them, but just not explain your reasoning to your co-workers if you aren’t comfortable or if you don’t work in a really accepting place.

I hope that this offers you a way to participate and I hope to “see” you there!

____________________

UPDATE:



Photos from the DC Tea Party

Photos from the Denver Tea Party

Photos from the Atlanta Tea Party

Photos from the Chicago Tea Party

Photos from the Lansing Tea Party

Photos from the Connecticut Tea Party

Lake Geneva Nurses Behaving Badly

This story really ticks me off.

When a patient goes to a facility seeking medical care, the individual should not be treated like a piece of meat by personnel.

A patient is in need of assistance, not abuse and humiliation.

From WISN:

Nurses accused of photographing a patient and posting the pictures on the Internet have been fired.

The investigation started with an anonymous call from an employee at Mercy Walworth Medical Center in Lake Geneva, with the allegation that a nurse took pictures of a patient with her cell phone and posted them on her Facebook page.

Last week, the nurse told 12 News she never posted the pictures on the Internet. Investigators have since interviewed the nurse and said she offered more details.

"There were two nurses that independently took a picture each of an X-ray of a patient," Walworth County Undersheriff Kurt Picknell said.

The patient was admitted to the emergency room with an object lodged in his rectum. Police said the nurse explained she and a co-worker snapped photos when they learned it was a sex device. Police said discussion about the incident was posted on her Facebook page, but they haven't found anyone who actually saw the pictures.

The nurse removed her Facebook page from the Internet last week. Without more, Picknell said this conduct does not appear to violate any state laws. He has referred the case to the FBI.

Once again, it appears that Facebook has played a role in bringing about someone's downfall. Thank God for Facebook.

The nurses who took those photos are a disgrace to their profession. They're disgraceful human beings.

They may not have broken any state laws, but they certainly behaved unprofessionally and unethically. If photographing a patient's X-ray without permission and then passing it around or posting it on the Internet isn't in violation of Wisconsin law, it damn well should be.

Is this the first time these nurses have done something as reprehensible as this on the job?

Have they entertained themselves in the past by photographing patients?

Even if this is a first for them, it still reveals extreme callousness and a twisted disregard for fellow human beings.

I would think that their behavior would be in violation of HIPPA. They showed no regard for the patient's privacy. Certainly, a patient has the right to not have a nurse photograph his X-ray without his knowledge and then slap the image on the Internet.

The nurses showed no compassion for the individual. I don't get it. I don't get how some people in the medical field -- technicians, nurses, and doctors -- can be so cold and dehumanize people the way they do. Why would such cold-hearted people like that choose a career that at its heart is about caring for others?

These nurses are in the wrong profession. Since they're so fascinated with sex devices, let them work at an adult toy shop.

They deserved to be fired and they don't deserve to be rehired elsewhere. I would never trust them to carry out their duties with competence and professionalism.

They exploited and abused a patient. They violated a trust.

Inexcusable.

Lake Delton Refilled by Memorial Day

Lake Delton is making its return in time for the 2009 summer tourism season.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Gov. Jim Doyle said Lake Delton will be refilled by Memorial Day and stocking to restore the fishery will begin this spring.

The lake began to be refilled in December after repairs were made along County Highway A after flooding during the summer of 2008 washed away land separating the lake from the Wisconsin River.

The Department of Natural Resources will begin stocking in early spring and will continue through 2011. Fish will include walleye, smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, channel catfish and fathead minnows.

Gov. Jim Doyle's statement

“I am pleased to announce we are confident that Lake Delton will be refilled in time for families throughout the country to enjoy Lake Delton this summer,” said Governor Doyle. “Lake Delton is a Wisconsin treasure and a critical component of the area’s tourism industry. Finishing this project has been a top priority since last year’s flooding. Within a few years fishing on Lake Delton will be better than it has been in generations and a great place to land a trophy walleye and bass.”

This is good news.



Memorial Day can't come soon enough for me.

Courtny Gerrish, TMJ4 Dirty Dining, Brookfield Perkins

Time for my weekly TMJ4 "Dirty Dining" update.

(These weeks really fly by.)

Courtny Gerrish's February 26, 2009, "Dirty Dining" installment spared restaurants bad publicity this week.

It was a Blue Ribbon Award day.

Owners and staff of restaurants with problem reports could breathe a sigh of relief this week.

From the February 26 "Dirty Dining" installment:

Milwaukee: One restaurant sent us a letter, with its clean report. The other Blue Ribbon winner hasn't had a bad inspection since it opened.

Contemporary American cuisine is served up at Tess one block west of Oakland on Bartlett. "People describe the atmosphere was bistro. A small restaurant. Something you might find in the San Francisco area," owner Mitchell Wakefield tells me.

Wakefield sent me a copy of his clean health inspection to recognize his employees' hard work.

Tess gets our first Blue Ribbon Award.

Courtny Gerrish reads her mail and answers it?

Really?

Blue Ribbon winner number two went to The Bay Street Pub on Milwaukee's south side.

[It] hasn't had a bad inspection since it opened five years ago. "Patrons notice it, and we just keep it clean," said owner Mark Paschal.

At this place you drink a majority of the menu, but they do serve up pizza's, Black Angus cheeseburgers and regular bar fare. Paschal and Bay Street Pub get our second Blue Ribbon Award. "We'll put it up on the wall. Thank you very much."

Very nice.

The Brookfield Perkins didn't get a Blue Ribbon Award. No, it was featured as a dirty "Dirty Dining" establishment. Gerrish did a story on that restaurant in December. The written report and the video were posted on the TMJ4 web page, then quickly and inexplicably removed.

Perkins didn't suffer the degree of bad publicity that other TMJ4 targets have because someone involved with the "Dirty Dining" feature scrubbed the TMJ4 website of all traces of the Perkins story.

When asked for an explanation, Gerrish and others at TMJ4 and the Journal Broadcast Group refused to respond. Well, there was one response, from Brenda Serio, but it contained utterly false information.

It's funny. At the end of Gerrish's report on Thursday night, she concluded with this:

Have a restaurant you want me to check out? You can send me an e-mail by going to our website.

I have a restaurant I'd like Gerrish to check out.

She should do a return visit to the Perkins in Brookfield, 585 N. Barker Rd., to see if the place has cleaned up its act since her December 11, 2008 report revealed this:

An employee was cracking eggs and then touching customer's food, all without changing gloves. A cross contamination risk. When we stopped by the manager wasn't talking. "You don't want to comment?" "Not really."

Inspectors had issues with food temperature. Meatloaf and sausage were at 45 degrees. Rice was kept at 47 degrees. The safe cold temperature is 41. Also, inspectors found a cooler as warm as 47 degrees, and Hash browns were sitting out at room temperature.

Children's drink cups used as scoops, sitting in food. Perkins was ordered to use a scoop with a handle, so employees don't put their hands in the food. Also, there were open bags of flour stored on the floor. Dry goods must be sealed in a container and kept off the floor.

For some unknown reason, TMJ4 doesn't want the public to have access to this report that aired at 10:00 PM on December 11, 2008. TMJ4 doesn't want the public to have access to this report, posted on its website for a few short days before being taken down.

For some bizarre reason, Gerrish and others in positions of responsibility at TMJ4 will not discuss why the story was pulled. It's weird beyond words.

Apparently, they feel they aren't obligated to answer legitimate questions from viewers. They're above that I guess. They aren't willing to explain their actions or take responsibility. No one is holding them accountable for their actions.

They just want to be the ones to ask the questions and do exposés.

When it comes to giving answers, they follow a different standard. It's unfortunate.

Photos of Returning War Dead

Barack Obama is making good on his promise to bring change. We get to see photos of the flag-draped coffins of the returning war dead.

Woo hoo! Get your cameras ready!


From FOX News:

News organizations will be allowed to photograph the homecomings of America's war dead under a new Pentagon policy, defense and congressional officials said Thursday.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Thursday that the Pentagon has changed its policy to allow media coverage of fallen soldiers arriving at Dover Air Base in Delaware, but only when the family approves. The current ban was put in place in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.

"The president is supportive of the secretary's decision," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday.

Since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, media has been forbidden access to images of flag-draped coffins returning to U.S. soil. Critics of the policy accused the Bush administration of hiding the "true cost of war."

...Obama asked Secretary Gates for a review of the policy earlier this month. Gates said he initially asked for the ban to be reviewed a year ago, and was advised then that family members might feel uncomfortable with opening the ceremonies to media for privacy reasons or that the relatives might feel pressure to attend the services despite financial stresses. Now families will be able decide if they want the public to witness the returning war dead.

"I think that the thing we always have to keep at the forefront of our minds...should be the families and giving them choices," Gates said.

At least two Democratic senators have called on Obama to let news photographers attend ceremonies at the air base and other military facilities when military remains are returned to the United States. The Dover base is where casualties are brought before they are transferred on to the hometowns of their families.

Shortly after Obama took office, Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey also asked the White House to roll back the 1991 ban.

Finally, we get to see the images of our fallen military members returning home.

Isn't this great?

Don't you love all this Obama transparency?

Never mind that family members of the fallen might be hurt by this policy change.

Very quickly after the announcement was made, Gates was backtracking, or at least clarifying.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Families of America's war dead will decide whether the flag-draped caskets of their loved ones can be photographed by news organizations when the fallen return to U.S. soil, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. Gates said he decided to permit the photos at Dover Air Force Base, Del., if the families agree. A working group will come up with details and logistics.

The new policy reverses a ban put in place in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. Some critics contended the government was trying to hide the human cost of war.

"We should not presume to make the decision for the families — we should actually let them make it," Gates said at a Pentagon news conference.

He cited a difference of opinion inside the Pentagon about whether to change the policy, based on concerns about what would be in the grieving families' best interests. He said he was "never comfortable" with the ban.

"We've seen so many families go through so much," added Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said the goal is to meet family needs in the most dignified way possible.

It seems that there was a swift outcry from military families on this.

Perhaps they don't want the dead, the ones who gave all, to be exploited and used as props by the liberal media, liberal extremist politicans like John Kerry, and others hostile toward the military.

The fallen heroes and their families should be honored. They should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity.

I wonder how families will be allowed to decide if the media organizations can take their photos of the coffins.

Will there be a vote? Majority rules on such an emotional matter?

That shows a disturbing lack of sensitivity.

Rick Santelli and Matt Lauer, February 26

Matt Lauer was very aggressive in questioning Rick Santelli on Today this morning.

CNBC's Dylan Ratigan was also part of the discussion. He tried to temper Lauer's hostility, but he failed. Lauer was foaming-at-the-mouth angry at Santelli.

Video.

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Transcript

MATT LAUER: Let me take this a step further. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, commented, called you out, in the briefing room. And after you heard his comments, you said that he was threatening you. Are you serious about that?

RICK SANTELLI: Listen, let's put it this way. Matt, you're married, are you not?

LAUER: Yeah, I am.

SANTELLI: OK. This is more about the feelings my wife had when she watched the body language and listened to what he was saying.

LAUER: But this is the White House Press Secretary. You think he's gonna threaten you on national television?

SANTELLI: Well, let's rephrase the question. Do we think it's normal to be named by name as opposed to the general media at large, say the cable guy, or some of the comments? I find and my wife finds and many of my friends find that the direct confrontation and pointing me out by name just is not ordinary. And I'll leave it at that, and let people make their own judgment.

DYLAN RATIGAN: Let me say one thing on Rick's behalf. Rick is channeling an emotion everybody in America is feeling, that people were able to cheat the system, whether it's on Wall Street, whether it was politicians, or whether it was homeowners. Rick has been aggressive in criticizing the treatment of the bankers, the behavior of the politicians. He's gotten a lot of attention now for the homeowners, but that is not a unique issue. He hits a Behavioral Economics 101 issue which is people will not engage a system that they do not believe is fair.

LAUER: And I completely understand your supporting Rick. And Rick, I'm sure your wife is a lovely person. However, what Robert Gibbs said was basically, and I'm paraphrasing here, he was saying he's not sure that as a former trader and current television personality you're living in the same kind of neighborhoods where people are struggling to pay their mortgages. He wasn't threatening you.

SANTELLI: Well, listen, I'm not saying threatening. It's just to be pin-pointed specifically, I find very unusual. And I think that it's more of a decision for you as the press, or all the people on the lawn that giggled at the joke about caffeine, and it was funny, but how would they like to be pin-pointed specifically? I think that's the issue at hand. I don't want to make more out of this. You know, here I am, and I want to continue to do what I've always done, and that is question motivation. Whether it's the fed chairman...

LAUER: Right. But the only thing I would say, Rick, is if you go out of your way to call-out the president of the United States, you have to expect that his representative may go out of his way to call you out. Isn't that... doesn't that go with the territory?

Lauer seems to consider himself a representative of the president of the United States. He's certainly calling out Santelli and defending Obama.

SANTELLI: Well, what we're really saying is calling out... As a member of the press, do I not get to ask a question or questions?

LAUER: And as the press secretary, doesn't he have the right to ask you a question?

Good grief. Lauer doesn't get it. Rick Santelli does not have the power of the U.S. government behind him. It's not a level playing field at all.

SANTELLI: He certainly does. It would be nice if he did it face to face, but I don't know that he needs to throw out my name. I just have an issue with that personally.

RATIGAN: I think the emotion here is a real emotion that everybody in this country feels, and we would be well served by this administration, Republicans and Democrats, making it clear that they are going to make sure that the cheaters on Wall Street, and in the housing market, and in Congress, will be caught. I think that if you back up and look at the emotion, I think that's Rick's point, your point, and my point.

LAUER: Clearly, it's touched a nerve. We will all agree on that.

SANTELLI: One thing, Matt. Let's get this out, Matt. Everybody that's talking right now, we want all of this to succeed. We just want to make sure that as we spend the money we don't have we're getting a return, and people have a chance to look at it and understand where it's going, and what type of return we're getting.

RATIGAN: And you can't restart a system that's riddled with cheaters.

Lauer needs to get his Obama love in check. He's embarrassing himself. Lauer needs to work on trying to at least appear objective. If he can't do it, send him to join the loons at the Siberia of cable news, MSNBC.

Endalyn Adams Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud

In September 2008, Endalyn Adams of Milwaukee was charged with election fraud.

Today, Adams pleaded guilty.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A Milwaukee woman has pleaded guilty to election fraud for submitting dozens of fake names and addresses to city election officials during a voter registration drive.

Endalyn Adams, 22, is to be sentenced by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Thomas Donegan on March 31. She could face up to 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on the felony count, but Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf is seeking three years of probation under a plea agreement.

Adams was one of three voter registration workers charged with fraud in connection with the 2008 presidential election, and the first to plead guilty. Another worker, Adam Mucklin, is due in court March 23, and a third, Frank Walton, remains at large. Other cases remain under investigation.

All of those charged were paid by the Community Voters Project to sign up voters; some of those under investigation were also paid by the voters project or by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

I predict that Adams won't spend a day in prison for this.

I doubt that she'll be fined a dime.

I don't think she'll even get a slap on the wrist.

Three years of probation?

Wow. That will deter others from defrauding elections. Sure it will.

Obama Carnival Float, Germany

UPDATE, February 15, 2010: Obama Carnival Floats 2010
_____________________

Drudge posted this photo:


A carnival float depicting a flying U.S. President Obama with Europe being dragged along is seen during the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. Rose-Monday-Parades in the carnival strongholds of Duesseldorf, Mainz and Cologne are watched by hundreds of thousands of revelers and mark the highlights of Germany's carnival season. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The Germans should not be allowed to get away with this. Their float is a disgrace. It's offensive on a number of fronts.

1. I think it's weird to have Obama depicted as an angel. The man is alive. Are the Germans suggesting he should be dead?

Alert the NAACP!

Will Julian Bond say, "This was an invitation to assassination of the president of the United States and anyone who was not offended by it doesn't have any sensibilities"?

2. Obama's head is so large. Are Germans mocking Obama for having a big head, for having an inflated ego? Is the float a symbol of American arrogance on the world stage, as personified by Obama?

3. Obama has a giant, goofy smile. Is that an offensive stereotypical racist depiction? Does the big toothy smile signify subservience and servility?

4. Obama is wearing a dress made out of the American flag. Using the flag in that fashion is an affront to every American.

5. Why is the Obama dress or gown so short? Why are his spindly legs exposed? Is this meant to humiliate Obama? That's insulting. The Germans are being disrespectful.

6. Why is there a little girl, symbolizing Europe, behind the Obama figure with her hands reaching up under his gown? What does that suggest? It's an inappropriate image to say the least. And what does she see under there? Does it play into the racial stereotype of the black male being portrayed as sexually threatening and hypersexual?

7. The float is blasphemous. It mocks our messiah, our savior.

I hope Al Sharpton will speak out against this travesty.

I hope he's organizing boycotts against all things German. I hope he's organizing protests at Volkswagen dealers.

I hope Hillary Clinton is shuttling to Germany at once to discuss this abomination. This Obama float is worthy of a full-blown international incident.

Is this the crisis that Joe Biden warned would hit?

JOE BIDEN: Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

I think the Germans are testing Obama's mettle, not to mention the mettle of the American people.

We shouldn't stand for this attack against our president.

Gird your loins!
__________________

Here's another float from a German carnival parade. This one made its way down the streets of Cologne in 2008. Thank God Obama was depicted as a dog and not a chimp. Al Sharpton would be demanding that Der Spiegel be shut down.



Those Germans sure know how to have a good time!

Stevie Wonder, Barack and Michelle Obama

It was party time at the White House -- again.

Are we in a recession? Are we in dire economic straits?

In spite of all the economic turmoil and the misery of the American people, Barack Obama is managing to find plenty of time to have a good time.

Wednesday night's event: Stevie Wonder Celebration

From FOX News:

The East Room of the White House, normally a place for staid presidential news conferences and other stuffy Washington happenings, was transformed into a nightclub Wednesday night as musical genius Stevie Wonder stepped onto the stage and rocked the house.

Wonder is the winner of The Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize, which was bestowed on him by President Obama.

In a celebration to be broadcast on PBS Thursday night, Wonder kicked things off with a flawless version of Sir Duke and later, classics like Isn't She Lovely and Superstition. However, the night was also a tribute to Wonder. Stars as varied in musical style as Tony Bennett and Paul Simon to Will.i.am and Martina McBride paraded though; each with their own rendition of Wonder's unmistakable hits.

The first couple -- Michelle looking stunning in an emerald gown -- along with Vice President Biden and his wife Jill, took in the show from the front row. But it was Wonder's performances that were the stars of the night; something that neither Obama let slip by.

The first lady recalled listening to Wonder's music as a little girl with her grandfather; something that she took with her into her relationship with her now-husband Barack Obama, "Years later, when I discovered what Stevie meant when he sang about love, Barack and I chose the song, 'You and I' as our wedding song."

When President Obama stepped up to the mic, he echoed the influence Wonder's music had on the couple. In only a half-joking manner he noted, "I think it's fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me. We might not have married. And the fact that we agreed on Stevie was a part of the essence of our courtship."

So Stevie Wonder played a pivotal role in bringing Barack and Michelle together. If not for Wonder, they may not have married. Wow!

Did Obama include that important fact in his autobiographical writings?

Anyway, it sounds like it was quite a lavish party. Michelle Obama looked "stunning in an emerald gown."

How much does she spend on her clothes? Is excess and material extravagance really appropriate now?

Who pays for the stars to converge on the White House? Was the bill for Wednesday night's bash picked up by the taxpayers?

Good grief! Are the Obamas cutting back at all?

Transcript excerpt from Obama's address to Congress:

OBAMA: Here in Washington, we've all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.

And that's why I've asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort, because nobody messes with Joe.

(APPLAUSE)

I...

(APPLAUSE)

I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the country, that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend.

I've appointed a proven and aggressive inspector general to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud.

And we have created a new Web site called recovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent.

I propose that Obama bring transparency to spending on White House social events. I think we should be able to track the tax dollars that are going to fund parties.

But I don't want Joe Biden in charge of the oversight effort.

Biden's Internet Blunder

Another day, another Joe Biden blunder...



From FOX News:

Vice President Joe Biden, tasked with overseeing the $787 billion stimulus package, has been having a little trouble with his "numbers."

During an interview on CBS' "Early Show" on Wednesday, Biden told viewers to check out a government-run Web site tracking stimulus spending, but admitted he was embarrassed because he couldn't remember the site's "number."

"You know, I'm embarrassed. Do you know the Web site number?" he asked an aide standing out of view. "I should have it in front of me and I don't. I'm actually embarrassed."

Biden, who seemed to indicate that he thought the Internet worked like a giant telephone, sounded an unusually Luddite note inside an administration often heralded for its mastery of the Web.

Web sites, as much of the "Early Show" audience may have been aware, are generally referred to by their URLs or addresses. The one Biden was searching for was Recovery.gov, which he announced moments later when reminded of the proper address.

It was weird for Biden to call the website's address its "number."

It's worse that Biden didn't know something as simple as Recovery.gov. I could have told him the "number" of the website. He should have known it.

He said he was embarrassed. I can see why.

Remember how the Dems mercilessly mocked John McCain during the campaign for his lack of Internet prowess?

In effect, the AP called McCain a dumb, old coot, belittling the senior citizen McCain for being less than Web-savvy.

From July 20, 2008:

If Sen. John McCain is really serious about becoming a Web-savvy citizen, perhaps Kathryn Robinson can help.

Robinson is now 106—that's 35 years older than McCain—and she began using the Internet at 98, at the Barclay Friends home in West Chester, Pa., where she lives. "I started to learn because I wanted to e-mail my family," she says—in an e-mail message, naturally.

Blogs have been buzzing recently over McCain's admission that when it comes to the Internet, "I'm an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get." And the 71-year-old presumptive Republican nominee, asked about his Web use last week by the New York Times, said that aides "go on for me. I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself."

How unusual is it for a 71-year-old American to be unplugged?

That depends how you look at the statistics. Only 35 percent of Americans over age 65 are online, according to data from April and May compiled by the Pew Internet Project at the Pew Research Center.

But when you account for factors like race, wealth and education, the picture changes dramatically. "About three-quarters of white, college-educated men age over 65 use the Internet," says Susannah Fox, director of the project.

"John McCain is an outlier when you compare him to his peers," Fox says. "On one hand, a U.S. senator has access to information sources and staff assistance that most people do not. On the other, the Internet has become such a go-to resource that it's a curiosity to hear that someone doesn't rely on it the way most Americans do."

The article goes on to talk about American seniors and the Internet.

It's so condescending, meant to depict McCain as incapable and out of touch, old and decrepit.

Well, Biden didn't exactly come off as being very Web-savvy when he couldn't come up with a simple name of a website or its "number" without the help of an aide.

Is he really the guy who should be in charge of overseeing OUR stimulus dollars?

From U.S. News and World Report:

As part of his effort to guide the spending of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package, President Obama has established a Web page, www.recovery.gov, to let Americans see where their tax dollars are going. And today he announced he's put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

I assume Biden being in charge of the stimulus is really just an honorary position. If not, we're in even bigger trouble than the big trouble we're already in.

Herb Kohl and Roman Numerals

Before the Senate voted to pass the so-called stimulus bill, I e-mailed nobody's senator but mine -- the distinguished Herb Kohl.

I encouraged him not to vote for it. I knew it was a complete waste of time, but I e-mailed anyway.

I got exactly what I expected from Kohl -- a "yes" vote for the stimulus bill and a canned response.

The e-mail is a very boring and generally annoying read, so I've highlighted the relevant portion in red.

Our sinking economy has dominated news coverage for months, and Americans everywhere are struggling to make ends meet. The facts and figures are staggering. We now have a 7.2% unemployment rate and 791,000 good paying manufacturing jobs were lost last year. Consumer confidence is at or near an all time low. In the last quarter of 2008 the economy shrank by the most in 26 years.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act combines tax relief, investments in infrastructure, and assistance to state and local governments - putting people back to work and jump-starting our stalled economy. The average Wisconsin family would receive a $900 tax cut this year from the legislation. The bill also saves jobs and stimulates growth through important tax incentives and benefits for businesses.

Targeted investments in the American economy and the American workforce are a critical component of the recovery package. The goal is not to create temporary "make-work" jobs that do not contribute value to the economy. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act builds a foundation for long-term economic growth and prosperity through investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education, health care, and small business. These investments will create millions of 21st Century jobs across the country. Our goal is to ensure that the American economy remains the strongest in the world for decades to come.

I support the economic recovery package, but I do have reservations. The price tag on this bill is enormous, and I understand the opposition to this legislation by those who feel it costs too much money. To address these concerns, the Senate voted to reduce the cost of the legislation by over $100 billion through cuts in education, modernization of federal buildings, health information technology, and other areas. While I believe many of these programs are valuable initiatives worthy of funding, I supported this compromise to help keep spending under control and to ensure passage of this vitally needed legislation.

On February XXth, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. This plan is not perfect, but it is a bold and responsible action that will help our economy get back on its feet, put people to work and put more money in their pockets. I heard from thousands of Wisconsinites with many different views on this legislation, and this input was very helpful to me as I considered this issue. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, and please feel free to contact me again in the future if I can be of assistance to you in any other matters.



Sincerely,

Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator

Blah, blah, blah.

"On February XXth, 2009...."

What?

I didn't know Kohl was a fan of Roman numerals. Very impressive way to say "February 20th." It's so dramatic and manly. It's so Super Bowl.

One problem: Obama signed the bill on February 17th.

Either Kohl is confused about the date of the signing or someone on Kohl's staff failed to replace the "XX" with the proper date before sending off the canned e-mail.

I'm not sure. It's a tossup.

FactCheck.org and Obama's Speech

FactCheck.org points out some problems with Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday.

President Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress was stuffed with signals about the new direction his budget will take and meant-to-be reassuring words about the economy. But it was also peppered with exaggerations and factual misstatements.

---He said "we import more oil today than ever before." That's untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today.


---He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help "responsible" buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair concede foolish borrowers will be aided, too.


---He said the high cost of health care "causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." That's at least double the true figure.


---He flubbed two facts about American history. The U.S. did not invent the automobile, and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it.


---He claimed that his stimulus plan "prevented the layoffs" of 57 police officers in Minneapolis. In fact, it's far more complicated than that, and other factors are also helping to save police jobs.

The president also repeated some strained claims we've critiqued before.

Read the complete analysis here.

Was Obama just sloppy with the facts or did he intentionally set out to deceive the American people?

Both?

Joe Biden's Forehead: Ashes

UPDATE, February 17, 2010: Joe Biden's forehead
_________________


Vice President Joe Biden, right, listens to Budget Director Peter Orszag, left, during the first Recovery Plan Implementation meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

About Joe Biden's forehead--

See that blackened spot at the center of his forehead?

Of course you do.

Don't be alarmed. Biden isn't bruised. He's Catholic. He obviously attended an Ash Wednesday service and he received ashes.



(Getty Images/Win McNamee)

Bobby Jindal and Chris Matthews: "Oh God"

On MSNBC, as Gov. Bobby Jindal was walking out to deliver the Republican response to Barack Obama's speech, Democrat hack Chris Matthews muttered, "Oh God."

Surely, it wasn't said in a moment of ecstasy. He had no "thrill going up [his] leg" as Gov. Jindal was about to speak.



I say "Oh God" to Matthews' "Oh God."

TV Newser reports that Matthews has responded, offering some of what Matthews will say when addressing the matter on Hardball later today.

MATTHEWS: I was taken aback by that peculiar stagecraft, the walking from somewhere in the back of this narrow hall, this winding staircase looming there, the odd anti-bellum look of the scene. Was this some mimicking of a president walking along the state floor to the East Room?

That is SO lame.

"Peculiar stagecraft"?

Obama's Invesco Field temple was beyond peculiar.

It's hilarious that Matthews would accuse Jindal of mimicking a president when Obama used a mock presidential seal when he was just a candidate. Obama trotted around the globe pretending to be president back in July 2008 BEFORE he was officially declared the Democrat Party's nominee.

"Oh God," indeed.

Matthews continues to marginalize himself as a journalist. The man is incapable of doing hard news.

Here's video of Matthews' "Oh God" response:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

________________

TV Newser also points out that Matthews is being criticized for using "outsource" when discussing Jindal being chosen to deliver the response.

Jindal is an Indian-American whose parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1970.

In every area that was touched on, they had to get an outside guy. They had to outsource the response tonight, the Republican party. They had to outsource it to someone who had nothing to do with Congress because the Republicans in Congress had nothing to do with the programs he was talking about tonight or the record he referred to.

It's nothing new for Chris Matthews to employ ethnic slurs and stereotypes.

Remember how Matthews mocked Joe Lieberman during his 2006 run for the Senate?

Comparing Lieberman and Ned Lamont, Matthews said:

The body language of the two is so different. You have this very wasp-y fellow, Lamont, very calm, very casual, very St. Paul's almost in the prep school sense, Lieberman of course is the schmaltzy ethnic guy, the Uncle Tonoose, you know, the guy that's very much kind of lachrymose in his almost postnasal drip voice of his, but he doesn't look happy.

I don't know why MSNBC sticks with Matthews. He's such an embarrassment.

I guess that does make him a perfect fit for the low-rated, audience-challenged MSNBC.

Leonard Abess Jr.

Leonard Abess Jr. was recognized by President Obama during Tuesday's State of the Nation speech.

Barack Obama recognized a banker in his speech Tuesday night. This comes at a time when bankers haven't been getting a lot of good press lately.

From CNN:

More than two dozen guests joined first lady Michelle Obama at the president's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.

One person on the first lady's guest list was Leonard Abess Jr., a Miami banker who received a $60 million bonus from the proceeds from the sale of shares of City National Bank in Florida and gave it out to his 399 workers and 72 former workers.

During his speech, President Obama said Abess didn't tell anyone about his generosity, but when the local newspaper found out, Abess simply said, "I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn't feel right getting the money myself."

Abess demonstrates the kind of "responsibility" the president has called for from high-profile financial CEOs, the White House said.

Obama contrasted Abess' story with the greed that he said got the country into the problems it faces now.

"CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over," Obama said.

What Abess did was very generous. He deserves to be commended for his generosity.

No doubt, Abess is extremely well off financially. Still, his personal wealth doesn't diminish the generosity of his decision to give the $60 million bonus to his workers, current and past.

Abess shows that while the very rich can be very greedy, they can also be very thoughtful, giving, caring individuals.

I think Abess deserved the recognition he received from Obama. He's a good man and he did a very good thing. He sets an excellent example for other CEOs to follow. The same goes for rich people in any industry or profession.

What I like about what Abess did is that he CHOSE to share the $60 million bonus. Abess wasn't coerced into "spreading the wealth around." The government didn't confiscate the money and redistribute the wealth as bureaucrats saw fit. There was no middle man, no tax collector. Abess CHOSE to reward his employess with his bonus money.

That stands in contrast to Obama's "tax the rich" policies. Abess didn't do it because Obama's government stepped in and set rules telling him how the bonus would be used.

So what was the point of Obama telling Abess' story?

That there's no need for government to intrude? That people are capable of doing good for others without being forced?

By acknowledging Abess, Obama may have been suggesting that other wealthy Americans should be generous like him, that it's a good thing to do. But Obama wasn't just throwing a suggestion out there. He put wealthy CEOs on notice.

"CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over," Obama said.

Obama is saying that government is going to control the CEOs. Receiving taxpayer money means they must relinquish their independence. No more fancy drapes for you!

It should be noted that Abess didn't give taxpayer money to his workers. It was his own money that he decided to share.

I think Abess' story illustrates that the free market works. In the case of Abess, nothing was broken. No reform or regulation or oversight was necessary for workers to benefit.

Government intervention had nothing to do with Abess spreading the wealth around. He did it by choice, not be force.

______________

More on Leonard Abess Jr.

Abess didn't publicize what he had done. He didn't even show up at the bank to bask in his employees' gratitude on the day the bonus envelopes were distributed. He was inundated with letters soon afterward.

Asked later what motivated him, Abess said he had long dreamed of a way to reward employees. He had been thinking of creating an employee stock option plan before he decided to sell the bank.

"Those people who joined me and stayed with me at the bank with no promise of equity -- I always thought some day I'm going to surprise them," he said. "I sure as heck don't need [the money]."

Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and the Presidential Address

I think next to his American flag lapel pin Barack Obama should wear a pin that says "trainee."

He's still learning. Obama flubbed up when he began to deliver his first address to a Joint Session of Congress.

He didn't wait for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to introduce him.

Video.

Potus intro
by luvnews

Obama isn't as cool as people make him out to be. He makes mistakes. He flubs up. That's part of being human. I hope people, especially the Dem hacks in the media, start acknowledging the fact that he isn't perfect. Let the poor guy be human.

Obama definitely has to grow into his position as the president. He's not at ease yet. He's self-conscious. There's an awkwardness right now that I'm sure he'll get over.

Obama is so lucky to have such an enthusiastic cheerleading squad backing him up.

Were you watching Nancy Pelosi during the speech?

She couldn't stay seated. She couldn't stop jumping to her feet and wildly applauding. The woman could not contain herself. She was euphoric. It was creepy.

Speaking of creepy, in terms of physical attributes, it really worked in Obama's favor to have Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi sitting (and standing) behind him. The BOTOX-ridden freakish looking forehead of Biden and the surgically stretched face of Pelosi helped to highlight Obama's natural human appearance.

Fact Checking Obama's Speech

I guess you could say that the Associated Press made an effort to be sort of fair and balanced in its coverage of the presidential address on Tuesday.

In this article, AP fact checks Barack Obama's quasi-State of the Unionish address.

Fact check: Obama glosses over some realities

In delivering his to-do list, the president's assertions deserve scrutiny

President Barack Obama glossed over some complex realities Tuesday in delivering his to-do list to Congress and a nation hungry for economic salvation.
AP takes a passage from Obama's speech and then dissects it. The analysis shows that Obama was misleading on a number of counts.

I'm always caught off-guard when the lib media expose a bit of the truth when it comes to Obama. It's so rare.

But I must give credit where credit is due. AP does show some journalistic, albeit uncharacteristic, spine here.

Another AP offering, however, is pure Obama propaganda. This article is not passed off as a hard news report. It's billed as analysis. I think it should be labeled as an editorial, but "analysis" will have to do.

Ron Fournier, AP's Washington bureau chief, gives his spin on Obama's speech.

Analysis: Obama address renews audacity to hope

President Barack Obama gave America the audacity to hope again.

After describing the U.S. economy in nearly apocalyptic terms for weeks, pushing his $787 billion stimulus plan through Congress, the president used his address to Congress on Tuesday night to tap the deep well of American optimism—the never-say-die spirit that every president tries to capture in words. And great presidents embody.

"We will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," Obama said, echoing Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.

"The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach," Obama said. "What is required now for this country is to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more."

The themes of responsibility, accountability and, above all, national community rang throughout an address carefully balanced by the gravity of its times. Job losses. Home foreclosures. Credit crisis. Rising health care costs. Declining trust in government. Obama touched all those bases.

"The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere," he said.

..."You should also know," Obama told millions of viewers Tuesday night, "that the money you've deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system."

He sounded like Roosevelt who, after closing banks briefly in the first days of his presidency, stoked the embers of American optimism. "Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan," Roosevelt said. "Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system. It is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail."

Like Roosevelt, Obama asked Americans to unite against pessimism. "We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity from ordeal," Obama said. "Now we must be that nation again."

Like Roosevelt, Obama said his government had already provided the machinery to create jobs, improve access to health care, free up credit and help struggling homeowners.

And, like Roosevelt, he challenged Americans to help fix the nation's woes. Obama even challenged his fellow citizens to recognize their role in creating the problem. "People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford," Obama said, "from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway."

He was blunt but bullish on America.

...In short, he reminded people that America has always seen itself as a "shining city upon a hill," as one of its earliest leaders, John Winthrop, put it—a metaphor that Ronald Reagan reintroduced effectively in the 1980s.

When he addressed Congress, Reagan liked to pepper the audience with average people who did extraordinary things and epitomized the American spirit. Obama borrowed that device, inviting Ty'Sheoma Bethea to join first lady Michelle Obama in the crowd.

Bethea is an eighth-grade student who wrote Congress for help in repairing her dilapidated school, telling lawmakers that she and her fellow students will rise above their conditions because, "We are not quitters."

And that was Obama's bottom-line message to a shaken nation. We are not quitters.

Oh, my God. I can hope again! I can hope again!

Obama has given us the audacity to hope. Everything has turned around with this speech. He's lifted me out of the gloom and doom he's been heaping on the country.

Forget what you see when you read your monthly 401(k) statement. Don't let it get you down. Happy days are here again!

More layoffs are on the way? Forget about it. The time for hope is now.

According to Fournier, Obama is FDR. Maybe he is. I hope not, because if Obama is going to act like FDR, then we're in for nearly a decade of despair and double-digit unemployment. Even scarier, based on the so-called stimulus bill, Obama intends to out-FDR FDR on spending.

I object to Fournier asserting that Obama is like Ronald Reagan. The practice of inviting ordinary Americans who've done extraordinary things and recognizing them during his speech is not something that Obama just resurrected. For decades, that's been SOP for these addresses. Anyway, it's a very superficial comparison.

More important than that, I object to Fournier drawing parallels between Obama's rhetoric and Reagan's "shining city upon a hill" vision of America. Obama delivered some lines tonight. So what? I can't forget what he said throughout his campaign and all his recent "sky is falling," panic-inducing talk.

Obama doesn't see America as a "shining city upon a hill." He sees it as a dump that needs to be seized and transformed with sweeping, massive government programs. He wants people be dependent on government. Government knows best. No, Obama doesn't share Reagan's vision at all.

Obama might be like FDR, but he's not like Reagan.

A question: Why doesn't the Associated Press have an "analysis" that gives the other view?
_______________

Comparing FDR, Reagan, and Obama, Lou Cannon of the New York Times declares that Obama's accomplishments after just a month in office are more impressive than what FDR and Reagan managed to do in a short period of time.

President Barack Obama, the toast of the world before he took the oath of office, is off to a better start than either his detractors or his supporters seem to realize. He’s getting a particularly bad rap on his commitment to bipartisanship — while 74 percent of respondents to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll said he was “trying to work with Republicans,” only 37 percent felt bipartisanship was the right approach, while 56 percent said he should “stick to the policies” he promised in the campaign.

However, it was President Omama’s efforts to reach out to Republican moderates that enabled him to win a crucial victory in the Senate on the most gigantic financial stimulus in the nation’s history. In fact, in terms of what he has accomplished in a short time, Mr. Obama is ahead of two other presidential over-achievers: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.

1. I don't think passing the "most gigantic financial stimulus in the nation’s history" is an accomplishment. It's a disgrace because it's not financial stimulus. It's spending and slapping future generations of Americans with insurmountable debt. That gigantic financial so-called stimulus may turn out to be the most gigantic stimulus disaster in the nation's history. Cannon is getting ahead of himself.

2. Ramming the stimulus bill through Congress was not an exercise in bipartisanship. Swaying three Republicans isn't exactly establishing a bipartisan alliance. Cannon notes:

In “The Audacity of Hope,” [Obama] wrote that “genuine bipartisanship assumes an honest process of give-and-take.”

The stimulus bill was not the product of an honest bipartisan process. For example, Republicans were shut out of negotiations. Democrats did not post the bill online for 48 hours before voting, as promised. Senators didn't have time to read the bill. There was no "sunlight before signing." This was no honest process of give-and-take.

3. It's more than premature to be making the case that Obama is on course to join the ranks of presidents like FDR and Reagan. It's ridiculous. Obama has to earn his place in history.

Obama and the Invention of the Automobile

Watching Barack Obama's address, one line brought an immediate reaction.

Transcript

As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re- imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.

The response was dramatic.

This nation didn't invent the automobile. It was Benz.

Of course. Everybody knows that, right?

Oops! Obama doesn't know it.

WASHINGTON -- It was clear from President Obama's address to Congress on Tuesday that he's a believer in the American automobile industry, but his grasp of automotive history suggests he could use a refresher course.

Obama said his administration won't protect auto makers from their own bad practices but is committed to a retooled auto industry, saying, "I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it."

The problem: The credit for internal combustion engines generally is given to German engineer, Karl Benz, who designed and built the world's first practical automobile in 1885. A steam-powered car was invented in 1769 by French inventor Nicolas Cugnot. Americans, on the other hand, are given credit for the mass production of cars.

He delivered the line about inventing the automobile with such conviction. It seemed like it must be true. He couldn't have slipped up on something so basic.

Well, he did.

This is a perfect example of that double standard in the media's reporting on Democrats and Republicans.

If President Bush had declared that we INVENTED the automobile, he would have been mocked as a buffoon.

Obama says it and no one cares.

Go figure.

O-BINGO

I want to watch American Idol tonight. Alas, I cannot. Idol is being preempted by Barack Obama.

Yippee!

Are you planning on watching Obama's speech?

If you are, you might want to play "O-BINGO" as you watch. I heard Mark Levin talking about this. Sounds like fun!

From The American Spectator, Brian Johnson writes:

If you're like me, you wish there was something to do while listening to the Obama-ganda tonight.

Well now there is. From the people who brought you the Taxpayer Protection Pledge (which almost saved California from higher taxes), and the famous "Wednesday Meeting", comes a new play-at-home game that is fun for the whole family.

Americans for Tax Reform, providing wholesome family fun since 1984, has created "O-BINGO". Played just like regular bingo, "O-BINGO" allows you and your family to follow along with Obama's speech and see who can get the most squares covered in one line.

This soon to be timeless game includes such memorable Obama phrases like "let me be clear", "vulnerable Americans", and who can forget the classic "toxic assets".

Here's an example of an "O-BINGO" card:



From Americans for Tax Reform, John Kartch writes:

On Tuesday at 9:00 PM Eastern, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress. To help get you through the 50-minute speech, use our handy Bingo card to check off terms and phrases likely to be used. As a bonus, print out the different versions of the card and watch the speech with your friends or family.

In addition to 4 different versions of the "O-BINGO" card, Kartch provides a useful key explaining the terms Obama will be using in his speech.

KEY:

“Since the Great Depression” – The economic one, not the feeling you’ve had since he signed the “stimulus” bill.

“Save or create” jobs – Obama’s new metric whereby he can claim credit for the outcome no matter what happens (how exactly does one determine the number of "saved" jobs?)

“Crisis” - Excuse to hike taxes and grow the government per Rahm Emanuel’s theory: “Never let a crisis go to waste."

“Stimulus” – The 1,000 page Pelosi-Reid-Obama pork bill rushed through in the dead of night with no transparency and that not a single member of Congress who voted for it actually read.

“Hope” – The optimistic expectation, against all evidence that this government will be the first in the history of time to succeed in spending its way out of economic problems.

“Change” – Take-home pay of future generations due to massive spending increases and government expansion.

“Bipartisan” – "Pelosi and Reid get to decide what we'll do, but I'll have you over for tea first."

“Children and grandchildren” – The people picking up the tab.

“Shovel-ready” – Vital projects that somehow are not important enough to receive funding through the regular appropriations process at the local, state, or federal level.

“Toxic assets”- Now the responsibility of those who followed the rules and made wise decisions.

“Failed policies of the past” – An overspending problem by George W. Bush to be expanded by Obama.

The list goes on. Very funny.

I think it's fitting that Obama is delivering his economic speech on Fat Tuesday. It's the perfect day to focus on out of control government spending -- excess and indulgence.
___________________

Here are excerpts from Obama's speech.

Northern Trust and its Multi-Million Dollar Bash

QUESTION: Hey, Northern Trust! You just received $1.6 billion in bailout money! What are you going to do now?

ANSWER: Blow millions of dollars hosting extravagant parties and concerts in LA to entertain hundreds of clients and employees.

TMZ exposes all the fun.

Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank, sponsored the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in L.A. We're told Northern Trust paid millions to sponsor the PGA event which ended Sunday, but what happened off the golf course is even more shocking.

Highlights:

- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by a performance by the group Chicago.

- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.

- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood shut down for its private party. We got the menu -- guests dined on seared salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by none other than Sheryl Crow.

There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how's this for a nice touch: Female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets from ... TIFFANY AND CO.

...Now how's this for outrage? Northern Trust laid off 450 workers in December, 4% of its workforce.

And here's what's absolutely amazing: The United States Government flat out gave Northern Trust the $1.6 billion in bailout money, and the bank didn't even request it!

Northern Trust gave us a statement yesterday before going total radio silence. A rep for the bank acknowledges they paid for the events, but that the bailout money did not pay for the events. He claims it was paid out of the bank's operating expenses. Here's Northern Trust's full statement to us.

Perhaps we're missing something, but money is money. How can they spend like this when they're using taxpayer's money, whether they asked for it or not? And where the hell is Congress in all of this? Is there any oversight or accountability?

TMZ takes the stand that Congress should be regulating the spending of Northern Trust. Should Congress regulate how ALL taxpayer money is spent after it is doled out to private parties? A lot of people receive government benefits. That would be tough to do.

And to think that people were so outraged over that Puerto Rico trip planned by Associated Bank.

Extremely small potatoes compared to Northern Trust's spending spree.

TMZ writes:

As for what all that costs: Well, the company isn't talking. We spoke with a rep from the band Chicago who said Northern Trust paid them around $100,000. A House of Blues source told us it cost more than $50,000 to close the joint down last Saturday night. As for Sheryl Crow's fee, her rep didn't get back to us. Earth, Wind & Fire acknowledges payment but won't say how much.

Will Northern Trust suffer the sort of bad press that Associated Bank did?

The Associated Bank employees cheated out of the trip they earned must be pretty ticked off when they hear about this stuff. And Associated Bank is pulling a profit!

I wonder why liberal queen, "one square of toilet paper per visit" Sheryl Crow would agree to perform at an event like this. Doesn't accepting money from Northern Trust go against her values? Guess not.
______________

UPDATE: Multi-millionaire John Kerry, husband of billionaire Teresa Heinz Kerry, will introduce a bill to end the spending spree by banks.

A senior Democratic senator said Tuesday he will introduce a bill to end "the extravagant spending practices of U.S. banks" after reports that Northern Trust Corp, which got taxpayer bailout money, last week threw lavish parties around a California golf tournament.

"I'm sick and tired of picking up the newspaper and reading about another idiotic abuse of taxpayer money, while our country is on the brink," Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement released to Reuters.

Kerry plans to introduce legislation targeting banks that received taxpayer assistance under the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Kerry is tired of the "idiotic abuse of taxpayer money"?

Really?

Then why did he support the so-called economic stimulus bill? Kerry has made a career out of engaging in the"idiotic abuse of taxpayer money."

Hypocrite.

What do the Democrats want? Do they want people to stop spending money? How much income was generated by the Northern Trust events? Didn't that stimulate the economy?

Aren't the Dems bragging about handing out free money to people? Aren't they erasing debt and stopping foreclosures?

They call that stuff stimulating the economy.

What's the difference?

Although her rep wouldn't say how much she earned, we do know that Sheryl Crow was stimulated.

Binyam Mohamed Released

Barack Obama promised change.

Here's some change.

An executive order from Obama allowed for the release of Binyam Mohamed -- a terrorist, an enemy of the United States, a threat to the American people.

Statement Concerning Unprecedented Release Of GITMO Terrorist

Washington, DC – February 23, 2008 – This morning, Military Families United learned that Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed landed in England at 8:30 EST as a free man. This marks the first time an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ has been released from Gitmo back into society. Mohamed was captured in Pakistan in April, 2002, and has admitted to training at various Al-Qaeda training camps, where he specialized in firearms and explosives. He is accused of plotting a series of attacks on the United States with Jose Padilla and Khalid Sheik Mohammed. According to a British police upon Mohamed’s arrival it is “unlikely Mr. Mohamed would be arrested.”

Former USS Commander Cole Commander Kirk S. Lippold and Senior Military Fellow for Military Families United released the following statement:

“Actions speak stronger than words in the war on terror. In the Executive Order, signed by the President on January 22, the Attorney General was directed to conduct a 180 day review of Guantanamo Detentions. The Attorney General had not even arrived in Guantanamo Bay to start the review before the Administration released a terrorist designated an unlawful enemy combatant.

Despite direct assurances to the families of USS Cole and 9/11 victims that his first priority is the protection of the United States and its citizens, the President is clearly taking actions that may endanger the United States and our national interests. Americans must now be very watchful of every action the Obama Administration takes in war on terror. Vigilance is the eternal price of freedom and it is does not bode well that Americans must now exercise such watchful oversight of our own government to ensure our safety.”

*Note – This is an unprecedented release because it is the first time that a GITMO detainee, who is classified as an “Unlawful Enemy Combatant” has been released - meaning that he still poses a threat to our national security and the security of our allies. All of the previous released GITMO detainees were declassified and determined to no longer be of intelligence value or pose a threat to our country.

Military Families United launched this ad:

The ad features no spoken words, but rather very spooky music and images of court documents as these words are typed on the screen: "Binyam Mohamed. Enemy Combatant #1458. Alias: Talba al Kini, Fouad Zouaoui, Binyam Ahmed Mohammad, John Samuels.

"Trained in Al-Qaeda camps to use weapons and create explosives. Given money by Al-Qaeda leaders to fly to the United States. Arrested trying to leave Pakistan.

"In February 2009: Enemy Combatant #1458, RELEASED."

The screen goes black.

Then: "Tell the White House: Don't release terrorists. Sign the petition today. www.DontFreeTerrorists.com. Paid for by Military Families United. "

What with the economic disaster that Obama and his administration are inciting, the War on Terror is pretty much off the radar screen.

It shouldn't be.

Americans should be aware of what Obama is doing in terms of protecting and defending the United States.

One of the easiest things for Obama to do would be NOT TO RELEASE TERRORISTS back into society.

Kristoffer Walker

From the Appleton Post-Cresent:

A Green Bay soldier told the Army on Friday that he won't go back to Iraq because he believes the war is immoral.

Spc. Kristoffer Walker, 28, was scheduled to board a flight Friday morning at Austin Straubel International Airport in Ashwaubenon to return to Atlanta, where he was scheduled to rejoin the 353rd Transportation Unit deployed to Iraq in October. Walker has been home on leave the past two weeks.

Lt. Col. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon, said Walker did not follow military procedure by filling out paperwork to list himself as a conscientious objector.

"His unit is counting on him," Banks said. "He's actually turning his back on his battle buddies. By just not reporting, you're letting down your teammates. When you raise your right hand to defend the country, you knew there was a time you could possibly be deployed."

Walker said he hasn't pursued conscientious objector status because it would be futile.

Walker said he has been seeking a transfer for several months, contacting elected officials and military personnel.

"Everyone drags their feet," Walker said. "The Army's definition is a little different than mine," Walker said. "The Army's definition is that you have to be opposed to war and all its forms. That's not me. I absolutely support using military force to respond or retaliate to attack. By their standards, you're not allowed to object to one conflict over another."

That's correct. If you sign up, "you're not allowed to object to one conflict over another."

No kidding.

Walker knew what the expectations were. He knew the Army's "definitions" when he VOLUNTEERED to serve. Now he's just decided to not show up.

If Walker doesn't want to fight in Iraq, he could be sent to fight Obama's war in Afghanistan; but he has to go through the proper channels. Being a no-show isn't an option.

Walker freely agreed to make a commitment to the Army. Apparently, he's not a man of his word.

What does Walker really want out of this stunt? A book deal? Does he want to sell the movie rights to his story? Does he want Bill Ayers to consider him a hero?

...Banks said the matter still is in the early stages, but Walker's fate is in the hands of his active duty unit.

"He's put himself in serious danger of being a deserter," Banks said. "He's taking the wrong way to handle it and will probably face judicial punishment. But it takes 30 days for him to be declared AWOL. The Army says he's not violating any rules yet."

Banks is being very reasonable.

Walker is not handling this the right way. Maybe he thinks media attention will help speed a transfer. He may be right, but at what price? What is one's honor worth?

At the moment, Walker is not serving the country honorably.
________________

Video.

Murdoch Apologizes for NY Post Cartoon

STATEMENT FROM RUPERT MURDOCH

As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me.

Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.

Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you - without a doubt - that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.

We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.

In his apology, Rupert Murdoch doesn't throw the Post editors and the cartoonist under the bus. He defends them as having no racist agenda. Murdoch stands by the fact that the cartoon is not meant to be a racist depiction.

Nonetheless, he clearly apologizes for offending the people who interpreted it as racist.

That's good. Even if that interpretation is misguided, there's certainly no harm in apologizing for publishing something that offended people.

I'm not really comfortable with the groveling by Murdoch. Sure, given the outrage, publishing the cartoon can be seen as a mistake. True enough. It's been an enormous headache and, thus, a mistake to those at the Post.

But was it a mistake to run a cartoon that directly blended two big news stories -- the stimulus bill and Travis the chimp run amok?

There was nothing racist about it. The cartoonist did not draw Obama as a chimp nor did he encourage the assassination of Obama.

So where's the mistake? Must the editorial page be an ape-free zone now? I guess that's the new standard.

I think anyone who was offended by the cartoon and still refuses to accept Murdoch's very clear apology really has a problem.

I don't know that his apology will be enough to satisfy the race baiters. I doubt that Al Sharpton and Julian Bond will go out and encourage people to buy the New York Post. I'd be surprised if they had the decency to accept Murdoch's apology.

What we have learned:

---No apes are allowed in political cartoons about the U.S. government as long as Obama is in office.

---It doesn't matter what the ape would represent. That's irrelevant.

---If an ape is used in a political cartoon, it's a racist, offensive, and terribly insensitive act.