Barney Frank's Warning to Democrats

Dying ex-Rep. Barney Frank delivers stark warning from hospice about Dems swinging too far left https://t.co/0WmKdGWFCV pic.twitter.com/Ivfu15hW7J

— New York Post (@nypost) May 3, 2026

Barney 'The Body' Frank

What is Barney Frank's problem?

This can't be classified as a wardrobe malfunction. This was an intentional wardrobe selection.

Yikes!

Video.

Dennis Miller: Barney Frank

Dennis Miller bids Barney Frank goodbye.

Video.

Letterman: Top Ten Signs Democratic Party Trouble

TOP TEN SIGNS THERE'S TROUBLE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

10. Obama's slogan 'Yes we can' changed to 'Thought we could'

9. Joe Biden asked to see the president's birth certificate

8. Only running campaign commercials in Mexico

7. Their top advisor - The 'Rent is too damn high' guy

6. They got a 'Hang in there' text from Brett Favre

5. Gave up on campaigning to go see 'Jackass 3-D'

4. Replaced old playbook with 'They Call Me Baba Booey' by Gary Dell'Abate

3. Only cheered up by Barney Frank's hilarious Buddy Hackett impression

2. Nancy Pelosi found in hotel room drunk and naked with Charlie Sheen

1. Even FOX News feels sorry for them

Late Show with David Letterman
October 26, 2010

Video.

Barney Frank and Jay Leno - August 31, 2010

Barney Frank was Jay Leno's guest last night. Leno introduced him as the smartest man in Congress.

Frank, too, was unintentionally hilarious.

He wants to tax online gambling to "raise revenue." Same with pot. Tax it!

Here's the video:

Barney Frank: Ashamed of Israel

Barney Frank is on the bash Israel bandwagon.

From the Boston Herald:

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank had harsh words yesterday for the Israeli Navy after a bloody raid on a pro-Palestinian flotilla outside of Gaza, describing nine activists killed in the conflict as “innocent” and calling for an independent inquiry into the showdown.

Frank, in a wide-ranging interview with the Herald, went on to say that “as a Jew,” Israeli treatment of Arabs around some of the West Bank settlements “makes me ashamed that there would be Jews that would engage in that kind of victimization of a minority.”

The comments rankled some local Jewish leaders, who said activists on the largest vessel of the six-ship-flotilla sparked the deadly confrontation by attacking Israeli Naval commandos as they rappelled onto the ship.

“They weren’t innocent at all, it’s pretty clear,” said Nancy K. Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Boston. “There’s something called self-defense and (Israeli officials) have a right to use it. As usual, everyone’s jumping on Israel and blaming Israel.”

Frank’s criticism comes as Israel faces a blistering worldwide backlash for its part in the early Monday morning raid, receiving only lukewarm U.S. support, in an incident that has underscored deep divides over Israeli-Palestinian issues. Israeli officials said members of the boarding party opened fire to defend themselves from a violent, armed assault, while activists said they were the ones under attack.

Frank said, “Once you have a combat situation and innocent people die, I mean, you know, look at our problems in Afghanistan, and we have an obligation to try and avoid it.” In defense of Israel, Frank added there are people “howling for Israel to pay a price that don’t seem disturbed that North Koreans killed 46 South Koreans by torpedoing a South Korean boat. I think we have a right to ask for some consistency.”

Frank called for a “genuinely impartial” inquiry, while local Jewish leaders questioned whether any international panel will be impartial toward Israel.

"As a Jew," Frank is "ashamed that there would be Jews that would engage in that kind of victimization of a minority."

Frank has many legitimate reasons to be ashamed, but this instance is not one of them.

He should be ashamed for assuming Israel is in the wrong and acted inappropriately. Frank should be ashamed for failing to speak out against the Obama administration and be an advocate for Israel.

Video.

John Conyers: Teabaggers' Rational Abilities Compromised

You would think by now that everyone even remotely aware of the Tea Party movement would know that the term "teabagger" is not a term of endearment to apply when referring to the protesters.

But it's still happening.

At this point, ignorance of the term's meaning is not an excuse.

Video.

JOHN CONYERS: But we're here now to understand the frustration of the teabaggers and the people that are angry, because many times when you're angry, your rational abilities are compromised. And you get mad at the wrong party or the wrong thing or whoever is the president.

...The facts are that many of the teabaggers that were hollering and being profane and screaming and using profanity-- Guess what? They are going to be beneficiaries, but they don't know it.

Conyers not only repeats the slur "teabaggers," but he goes beyond that in his attack on Tea Partiers.

Disgraceful.

Here's a few more examples of Leftists smearing their fellow Americans:

BILL MAHER: I thank the Teabaggers....

Any Teabaggers here tonight? They're the ones who got it passed. And I'm sure they're saying, 'What are you talking about, Bill? I was so against the health care bill I marched on Washington with tea bags hanging from my hat, dressed up in my Founding Fathers costume, with a picture of Hitler, you know, and Obama's face on him, and you know, screaming about his birth certificate.'

And America saw that and said, 'What loons! We're going with the calm black man.' These idiots can't even spell 'go back to Kenya,' you know.

JIM McDERMOTT: On my way to work this morning, I saw a group of teabaggers. And I'm really happy that they'll be in Washington to witness Congress pass the historic health care bill tomorrow. When I got to the office, I did a little research on my own and found the website of a teabagger group called the 9/12 Project....

MARK KNOLLER: Obama's motorcade arrives at Capitol Hill. Boos and jeers passing tea bagger protests.

MIKE MALLOY: The latest from the crazy people in the tea bag movement is, uh, a story about, um, Virginia Thomas, she is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; and she's setting up a teabagger nonprofit group. Now this will be interesting because the teabaggers are essentially racist; and how are they're going to deal with a very dark Clarence Thomas and a very white Virginia Thomas setting up subdivision of their crazed tea bagger party; how they're going to deal with that will be great fun to watch.

...[Virginia's] in for a big surprise, when the inherently racist nature of the teabagger movement slams her in the face. She's a very, very, very, very, very white Omaha, Nebraska woman married to a very, very, very, very black South Georgia man. And when the pictures of the two of them together get out, you can almost hear the squealing right now from the real teabaggers.

ROGER EBERT: TeaBagger crowd: polite. The nutjobs who were bussed to Town Halls didn't get their way paid to Sarah [Palin]'s $100,000 speech.

JOHN KERRY: We also see how revved up the teabaggers are at the thought of hijacking health care reform and every chance we have at making progress in Washington.

BARNEY FRANK: I, like you, am skeptical. They haven't shown the willingness to stand up to this intense Right-wing pressure and the fear of losing to the teabaggers in primaries.

KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL: The idea of a responsibility tax on these banks which have cost people jobs, homes. I think it's a test for the Teabaggers moving forward, too. Which side are they on? Are they on the side of the people as they claim?

CHUCK SCHUMER: Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy's term, and her opponent is a far-right teabagger Republican.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Every single teabagger in America is white.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: So who will lead the teabaggers? Will it be Rick Perry down in Texas? Will it be Michele Bachman out in Minnesota? Will it be Sarah Palin? You first Mark [McKinnon] it's your idea. The teabaggers are an interesting group to watch. They're not far right. They're probably center-right, in fact some centrists. But they're generally, I think, Republican voters. Right? Is that fair to say? They vote Republican?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX: Do we expect to see the kinds of big rallies and the kind of- some of the theatrics, the circus atmosphere that we saw the last go-round over the summer when you were talking about controversial policy... Teabaggers and all that other thing?

CANDY CROWLEY: And by way of marquee races, it's hard to beat the soap opera of New York's 23rd congressional district, where the Republican moderate dropped out over the weekend, leaving the race to a conservative, Doug Hoffman, the choice of many on the right, including Sarah Palin, former House leader Dick Armey and tea bag partiers.

DAVID SHUSTER: For most Americans, Wednesday, April 15, will be Tax Day, but... it's going to be Teabagging Day for the right wing, and they're going nuts for it. Thousands of them whipped out the festivities early this past weekend, and while the parties are officially toothless, the teabaggers are full-throated about their goals. They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending.

GWEN IFILL: So whether it's Jeremiah Wright or Henry Louis Gates, Jr., or what Jimmy Carter said about this, the Tea Baggers or whoever, it's always going to be with us?

PAUL KRUGMAN: But the teabaggers have come and gone, as have the cries of 'death panels' and the demonstrations by Medicare recipients demanding that the government stay out of health care.

BILL CLINTON: The reason the teabaggers are so inflamed is because we are winning.

MAXINE WATERS: I want journalists to be all over those rallies and the marches with the birthers and the teabaggers.

OBAMA: Does anybody think that the teabag, anti-government people are going to support them if they bring down health care?

E.J. DIONNE: The conservative party in New York state put up a Right-wing candidate supported by the teabaggers.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: This hardcore part of the base is in a world unto its own right now. The Teabag Movement and the others are sort of driven by the idea that President Obama and the Democrats have a secret plan to impose socialism.

KEITH OLBERMANN: Well, the teabagging is all over, except for the cleanup.

...Congratulations, Pensacola teabaggers. You got spunked. And despite the hatred on display, a few of you actually violated the penal code. But teabagging is now petered out, taint what it used to be. And when you co-opt the next holiday, Fourth of July, try to adopt a holiday food that does not invite the double entendres like, you know, franks and beans.

KEITH OLBERMANN: I wanted to apologize for calling Senator-elect Scott Brown an 'irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging, supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees.' I'm sorry, I left out the word 'sexist.'

JANEANE GAROFALO: This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. And there is no way around that. And you know, you can tell these type of right wingers anything and they'll believe it, except the truth.

JANEANE GAROFALO: If there's any teabaggers here, welcome, and as always, white power.

ANA MARIE COX: Who wouldn't want to tea bag John McCain? This is all part of the midterm strategy. You know it's going to be teabagging 24/7 when it comes to the midterms.

RACHEL MADDOW: The GOP, in other words, is clearly in exile. But the conservative movement has found a reason to live, have found something about which they feel very positive about, something they are ready to rally around. I speak, of course, of teabagging.

...They don't want to teabag alone, if that's even possible. They want you to start teabagging, too.

ANDERSON COOPER: Teabagging. They've got teabagging.... It's hard to talk when you're teabagging.

Disgraceful.

Gwen Ifill claimed to use the term without knowing its meaning. She apologized. I've heard no apologies from any of the others.

Their silence speaks volumes.

Bart Stupak: 'Baby Killer' (Video)

UPDATE: Rep. Randy Neugebauer claims responsibility for the comment.
__________________

From Politico:

A health care debate marked by episodes of ugly rhetoric took another turn for the worse late Sunday night when a voice on the Republican side of the House shouted “baby killer” at Rep. Bart Stupak.

Stupak – a leader among anti-abortion Democrats – was speaking at the time in opposition to a Republican motion to recommit that would have added the text of the so-called Stupak Amendment to the Democrats’ reconciliation bill.

Reporters in the House chamber said the “baby killer” shout seemed to come from a group of lawmakers that included Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), but he said it wasn’t him. “I don't think it’s appropriate at all," Campbell told POLITICO.

Campbell said the voice came from the floor – from someone who was behind him and to the left. "Some people know who it is but won't say,” he added.

Later, he told reporters that he thought the voice belonged to one of the Texas Republicans seated behind him. "The people who know won't give it up," he told reporters. "I'm not casting dispersions on that state."

...House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), who was in the chair at the time, said he saw a Republican lawmaker shout out “baby killer” – but he wouldn’t say who it was, either.

"I think members have a right to make an idiot of themselves once without being exposed," he said.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who was subjected to an anti-gay epithet from a protestor Saturday, said the "baby killer" shout showed the close alignment between the GOP and some of its most extreme allies in the health care fight.

"The difference between some of the Republicans and some of their raucous followers appears to be, unfortunately, diminishing," Frank said. "Obviously, that's not the whole party, but there's a disturbing tendency to forget about civility."

Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann and Tom Price said they believed the voice came from the gallery and not from a lawmaker. Price declined to say whether the comment was inappropriate.

Without a doubt, it was inappropriate for the nameless individual to shout "baby killer" at Stupak.

There's no question that Stupak sold out the unborn though he claimed to be defending them. I wonder what deal he made. What did Obama and the Dems do to buy his vote? It wasn't the toothless executive order. There must have been something else. What was Stupak's price? We'll find out soon enough.

Whatever, there should be civility in the House. That means no shouts of "baby killer" at colleagues.

Anyway, when I hear that term, I think of it being applied by the Leftists to Vietnam War veterans. It wasn't right when anti-war activists spat on our troops and tortured them.

It's also not right for a pro-life hypocrite like Stupak to endure such an outburst.

Video.

Impeach Obama Billboard

YES WE CAN!

We can buy space on a billboard and put out a message.

It's a great country.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A company represented by a Menasha lawyer has rented a billboard calling for President Barack Obama's impeachment.

The billboard along Highway 41 in Oshkosh reads, "Impeach Obama." The tagline says: "America's small businesses are failing; help us spread the message."

It was paid for by an unnamed company represented by Tom Wroblewski. He said the sentiment is that Washington politics are bad for small businesses.

The sign went up Thursday and will remain up for at least six months, at a cost of $1,000 a month.

Jef Hall, chairman of the Winnebago County Democratic Party, said having a bad opinion of the president doesn't mean there's been an impeachable offense. Wroblewski said that, despite the billboard's language, he was not suggesting that Obama committed an impeachable offense.

That's the difference between the George W. Bush haters and the anti-Obama proponents.

There was a legitimate movement to impeach Bush, led by Democrat lawmakers, elected officials.

Read about Bush impeachment suggestions here and here.

Speaking from the floor of the Senate in April 2006, Senator Robert Byrd said:

You better believe it, Mr. President. The Senate can send you home. You better believe that. If the House impeaches you, the Senate will try you. The Senate, don't forget it, serves as a court of impeachment.

Remember when Democrats held a mock impeachment hearing in the basement of the Capitol?

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (DEMOCRAT-Michigan) led the proceedings. Barney Frank and Maxine Waters were among the many Dems taking part.

Another example of Bush impeachment fever: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin's booth at the 2007 Wisconsin State Fair actually promoted the impeachment of President Bush.







How loony!

And, of course, there was H. Res 635.

From Atlanta Progressive News:

32 US House Representatives have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush’s impeachment, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

...“There has been massive support for House Resolution 635 from a very vigorous network of grassroots activists and people committed to holding the Bush Administration accountable for its widespread abuses of power,” US Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) said in a statement prepared for Atlanta Progressive News.

...Meanwhile, at least eight (8) US cities, including Arcata, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco, each in California; and Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane, and Putney, each in Vermont, have passed resolutions calling for Bush’s impeachment.

Almost 16% of US House Democrats now support the impeachment probe; over 7% of all US House Representatives now support the probe. In December 2005, there were 231 Republicans in the US House, 202 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 1 vacancy, a clerk for the US House of Representatives told Atlanta Progressive News.

The best represented states on H. Res 635 are California (7), New York (6), Massachusetts (3), Minnesota (3), Georgia (2), and Wisconsin (2).

The current 30 total co-sponsors are Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Rep. John Olver (D-MA), Rep. Major Owens (D-NY), Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN), Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Rep. David Wu (D-OR).

Wisconsin's Gwen Moore and Tammy Baldwin were on board with Conyers' wacky impeachment bill.

These members of Congress were actually interested in impeaching Bush.

Back to the billboard in Oshkosh--

Tom Wroblewski isn't really recommending impeachment for Obama. The billboard is meant to be an attention-getter, and it is getting attention.

The message is clear: Obama's policies are bad for business.

For six months, the billboard will remind Wisconsinites, and others driving in the state, that Obama and the Democrats aren't helping the economy. They're hurting it.

That's bad news for Democrat candidates in Wisconsin.
________________

Video from Green Bay's WLUK.

Barney Frank, the Boyfriend, and the Pot Bust

This is priceless.

Alison Bologna of FOX 25 in Boston questioned Barney Frank about his boyfriend, James Ready, and the pot bust.

FOX 25 REPORTER ALISON BOLOGNA: You know, you're pushing a bill to legalize medical marijuana, so you really didn't recognize it when you saw it?

BARNEY FRANK: I'm offended by the question because you're suggesting that you don't believe me. I don't think there's any basis for that.

BOLOGNA: I'm just asking you to clarify.

FRANK: No, but you're asking me in a tone of voice that suggests you don't believe me. There's no basis for that. [Inaudible] I am not a great outdoorsman. I am not, I do not smoke marijuana myself. I have never smoked marijuana. I don't know what the plants look like. Uh, I couldn't identify most plants.

It's hilarious that Frank related his alleged inability to recognize marijuana plants with not being a "great outdoorsman."

Yes, when I think of the skills of a "great outdoorsman," spotting pot plants comes to mind immediately.

I don't believe Frank is so plant-challenged that he can't identify pot. However, I do believe his assertion that he's not a great outdoorsman.

Barney Frank: 'Increase the Role of Government'

MSNBC's Ed Schultz gave Barney Frank a forum to bloviate about how the Republicans screwed up government. Ralph Nader also participated in the discussion.

Frank blames Republican incompetence for why the American public opposes government intrusion into their lives.

Frank does make one truthful revelation: "We (the Dems) are trying in every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area."

Video here.

Transcript

RALPH NADER: But the important thing is-and this is where I think Barney the weakest. In 2000, he voted for a bill that continued the deregulation of the burgeoning derivative racket. And now he's supporting a bill that has a huge loophole in terms of exempting trillions of dollars of certain categories of derivatives.

BARNEY FRANK: Let me respond.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHULTZ: Let him respond.

Go ahead.

NADER: And he hasn't-don't interrupt so much, Barney.

SCHULTZ: All right, Mr. Nader. Let him respond to that.

NADER: And the other is he didn't support a categorical ban on abuse of derivatives.

SCHULTZ: All right.

Quickly respond to that, Barney.

FRANK: Well, first of all, I think Ralph gets to luxuriate in the impurity of his irrelevance.

We're in there fighting these things. I had overwhelming Republican opposition to any regulation derivatives, and some Democrats. And we fought hard for it.

We are establishing a great framework for the regulation of derivatives. We are moving forward in that. And we've done as much as we can politically.

But the fact is that we have a political situation. And I'll tell you, here's the real irony of this, Ed. The right wing took control of government and ruined it. They gave it a bad reputation.

Now that we are trying in every front to increase the role of government in the regulatory area, we run into this public opinion that says, hey, those are the guys who screwed up Katrina. So- the frustration is, they're benefiting from their own incompetence.

SCHULTZ: All right, Gentlemen.

"Ralph gets to luxuriate in the impurity of his irrelevance"?

I think Frank gets away with saying some angry and off-the-wall stuff because he's often so difficult to understand.

His assertion that the public doesn't trust the government because of the Republicans is ridiculous.

In general, the Democrats are running into opposition because when Americans are informed about their radical plans, they reject them.

Obama - 'Help' for Small Businesses

Obama the Generous wants to the government to offer "assistance" to small businesses.

My advice to small businesses: DON'T ACCEPT. RUN! RUN!!!

You don't want Obama's Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg meddling in your business.

From the Washington Times:

President Obama asked Congress on Wednesday to help community banks lend money to small businesses -- pillars of the U.S. economy hit hard by the recession.

"Major banks need no new assistance," Mr. Obama said while visiting a small business in suburban Washington. "Make more money available so banks can watch [small businesses] grow from down the street, not Wall Street."

...Mr. Obama wants Congress to increase the cap to $5 million on two major small-business loans -- the 7A and 504.

The most common loan, the 7A, provides money for inventory, land and buildings.

Mr. Obama also asked Congress to make more money available for smaller loans, known as "micro loans," and said Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will lead an upcoming conference on "what steps we can take to get more credit for small business."

He said the owners of Metropolitan Archives used a Small Business Administration loan to buy their building.

Mr. Obama said smaller banks must put together a plan to lend to small businesses to become eligible for the additional, lower-interest credit.

The president said small businesses continue to struggle with such problems as not meeting payrolls and no credit to expand, as other sectors of the U.S. economy recover.

He said that small businesses account for 65 percent of all new jobs and that 50 percent of U.S. workers either are employed by or own a small business. However, 2.4 million small-business jobs were lost in the recession.

All small business owners have to do is look at what's happening to the large businesses that accepted government "assistance."

That should be enough to make them not even consider getting in bed with Obama.

From Bloomberg:

The Obama administration slammed Wall Street by ordering pay cuts of an average of 50 percent and caps on benefits for top executives at companies owing the government billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded bailouts.

The news triggered debate about the government’s reach into private industry, whether pay reductions would spread to other companies and if a talent drain from U.S. firms would ensue. Others cheered the move.

“I don’t think there will be any charity cases on Wall Street,” said Representative Barney Frank, 69, a Democrat from Massachusetts and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in a telephone interview. “This is a very good thing.”

...The administration, mindful of popular anger over Wall Street bonuses and risk-taking that sparked the worst financial crisis in seven decades, responded favorably to Feinberg’s work.

“The president put Ken Feinberg in place in order to be an advocate for taxpayers and it appears that Feinberg is doing what the president put him in place to do,” said Bill Burton, a White House spokesman.

Some compensation experts said that the moves would drive talent out of U.S. financial institutions when their expertise was most needed.

“The government is acting like the owner they are, and they’re a pretty ticked-off owner,” said Steven Hall, managing director of New York-based compensation consultant Steven Hall & Partners LLC. “The fear is, will this make people throw up their hands and say, ‘I have to leave’?”

I don't see this as sticking it to Wall Street execs.

I see this as Obama reaching into private business, taking over, extending government control.

It's not a good thing.

Moral of the story: DON'T TAKE GOVERNMENT MONEY, SMALL BUSINESSES. YOU'LL BE SORRY.

Leno: Barney Frank, 10@10 (Video)

On Monday, Barney Frank participated in a segment called "10@10" on The Jay Leno Show.

Leno has guests answer ten questions.

Frank answered the questions remotely. He videotaped outside in Washington, DC, with the Capitol as the backdrop.

As usual, Frank was snarky and offensive and mean-spirited.
Transcript

JAY LENO: Question number one - What is your favorite show on TV?

BARNEY FRANK: The Sopranos because I grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and it makes me very nostalgic.

LENO: Oh, well, well, you're working in Congress. I can see, yeah, OK. All right. Question number two - Do your best celebrity impression.

FRANK: Henny Youngman. And my favorite line, and it guides me in my work in Congress, 'How's your wife?' 'Compared to what?'

LENO: Well, there you go. Well.

FRANK: Now that's a good one to be able to do 'cuz he's been dead...

For the third question, Frank had to name all the presidents back to FDR in a limited amount of time. There was a clock ticking off the seconds. Frank completed the task.

(Applause)

LENO: Yes, very good. Very impressive. Here's a tricky one, question number four - If you had to have dinner with one of the following political conservatives, which one would you choose: Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter?

FRANK: I couldn't do Yom Kippur on this one, huh?

LENO: No.

FRANK: I guess of the three I would take Rush Limbaugh because it would be very painful, and he would come with the painkillers, which he always has.

(Applause, some groans)

LENO: (Makes the sounds of a cat) All right. Question number five - Have you ever asked a celebrity for an autograph and explain who and why?

FRANK: Yeah, I did actually about, I think it's been about forty, no about, almost, uh, forty-five years ago, I asked Bill Russell, the Celtics great, for an autograph. I didn't realize he didn't like to sign them. I have a much younger brother and I wanted to get him Bill Russell's autograph. But Bill Russell didn't sign autographs so, uh, I didn't get it.

LENO: And that was it. That was the last one.

FRANK: That was the last one. I was scarred by that, and I'm not one of these guys who says, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' I don't succeed, boom, I'm outta there.

(Applause)

LENO: Wow, wow, that's a... Yeah, that's a...

FRANK: I have a low tolerance for failure.

LENO: ...a good lesson for our young people. All right.

FRANK: Absolutely. It's late. They should be in bed now.

LENO: Question number six - Last thing you said to a president, any president, you wish you could take back.

FRANK: This is true. 'Don't worry, Mr. Clinton, they don't have the guts to impeach you.'

(Groans, Applause)

LENO: Wow.

FRANK: Wait. In fairness to me, I told him after, not before.

LENO: Question number seven - If you could have a super power, any power, what would it be and why?

FRANK: Oh, easy. It would be the ability to eat as much as I want and not gain weight.

LENO: Wow.

FRANK: Diet Man.

(Applause)

LENO: Diet Man. All right, number eight - If you could kick one politician out of office, who would it be?

FRANK: The guy who's now the governor of Alaska, 'cuz I miss Sarah Palin.

(Laughter, applause)

LENO: Number nine - If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

FRANK: It would, the tattoo would say, 'Your Name,' and I would have it on my tongue. So, when I ran into someone who was angry that I didn't remember them, I could say, 'Oh, but your name is on the tip of my tongue.'

(Applause)

LENO: Oh, all right. All right, back to Henny Youngman, last question, the most telling question of all, number ten - The last time you went skinny-dipping.

FRANK: Well, I was in Palm Springs in a very private pool. My boyfriend and I were out there doing a fundraiser, and it was a very secluded spot, and we didn't see any helicopters so we went into the pool.

LENO: And hopefully there were no photos?

FRANK: I... well... no. I hope there weren't. Maybe of him it wouldn't be so bad, of me not until I become [unintelligble].

I really hope there were no photos.

I don't think it's appropriate for a U.S. congressman to be on national TV talking about romping around, skinny-dipping with his significant other in a "very secluded spot."

Good grief. Way, WAY too much information.

It's not as if Frank told a story of skinny-dipping when he was a little kid. This was creepy.

Frank's shot at Rush Limbaugh was absolutely inexcusable. Talk about vitriol and incivility!

His shot at Sarah Palin was also uncalled for.

I think Leno's "10@10" segment is awkward and a waste of time.

Who's idea was it to book Barney Frank?

One thing about Leno being on in prime time and potentially reaching a broader audience, more people will be exposed to all the Leftist cheerleading that makes up so much of the monologues and other comedy bits.

When Rush Limbaugh is Leno's guest later this week, I wonder how it would go over if Limbaugh joked about Frank paying Steve Gobie for sex, and a prostitution service being operated out of Frank's home in DC.

Why should it be considered funny that Limbaugh struggled with drug addiction, but Frank's illegal activities aren't used as fodder for laughs?

Conan O'Brien: Nancy Pelosi - Celebrity Survey

On Tuesday night, Conan O'Brien did a familiar comedy segment called "Celebrity Survey."

The premise is O'Brien mails out questionnaires to celebrities and they respond.

O'Brien shares the celebrities' responses in groups of three, the third always intended to be the joke payoff.

The material is usually pretty predictable and only mildly amusing if at all, but I thought this series was funny.

ObamaCare: ELIMINATE PRIVATE INSURANCE (Video)

Obama has been lying to the American people about health care reform.

Obama and his comrades say that Republicans and others opposed to his system are fearmongering when they speak out against it.

Very sleazy.

Obama keeps insisting that for Americans happy with their doctors and their health plans, nothing will change under his system.

"If you like your plan and you like your doctor, you won't have to do a thing," Obama said on June 23. "You keep your plan; you keep your doctor."

That is a promise Obama cannot make. Nonetheless, he repeats it over and over again, and it's a flat-out lie.

At the very least, it's a statement in the style of the great denier, Bill Clinton.

The proposed legislation would not require people to drop their doctor or insurer. But some tax provisions, depending on how they are written, might make it cheaper for some employers to pay a fee to end their health coverage. Their workers presumably would move to a public insurance plan that might not include their current doctors.

In fact, the passage of ObamaCare would mean that millions of Americans happy with their plans and their doctors will NOT be allowed to keep their plans and doctors.

It's an intentional consequence of the plan. Even Obama himself has said so. It's one of the goals of "reform."

Of course, the president and members of Congress don't have to worry about being stuck in the nightmare of government-run health care. They're specifically exempt from it.

They refuse to subject themselves to the sort of rationed health care that they are forcing on other Americans.

If ObamaCare is so great, why aren't they jumping at the chance to take part in the "public option" that they're pushing on million of Americans?

From The Heritage Foundation:

---Approximately 103 million people would be covered under the new public plan and as a consequence about 83.4 million people would lose their private insurance. This would represent a 48.4 percent reduction in the number of people with private coverage.

---About 88.1 million workers would see their current private, employer-sponsored health plan go away and would be shifted to the public plan.

---Yearly premiums for the typical American with private coverage could go up by as much as $460 per privately insured person, as a result of increased cost-shifting stemming from a public plan modeled on Medicare.

Simply put, Obama is lying about the consequences of his plan.

Millions of Americans WILL LOSE their current plans and doctors.

What's particularly troubling about these lies is that Obama is on the record saying that the goal of his reform is to eliminate private insurance coverage and force Americans into the government-run system.

Where are the media? Why aren't they challenging Obama on his lies. They are so in the tank for Obama that it's sickening. They back his socialist agenda.

Watch this video.

It's all so clear.

OBAMA (June 15, 2009): The public option is not your enemy. It is your friend, I believe.

OBAMA (June 15, 2009): Let me also address an illegitimate concern that is being put forward by those who are claiming that a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system.

OBAMA (MARCH 24, 2007): My commitment is to make sure that we've got universal health care for all Americans by the end of my first term as president.

OBAMA (March 24, 2007): I would hope that we set up a system that allows those who can't go through their employer to access a federal system or a state pool of some sort.

OBAMA (March 24, 2007): But I don't think we're going to be able to eliminate employer coverage immediately. There's going to be potentially some transition process. I can envision a decade out or 15 years out or 20 years out.

OBAMA (2003): I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan,... a single-payer health care plan, universal health care plan, and that's what I'd like to see.

Democrat Senator Barney Frank is very clear about eliminating private insurance, too.

FRANK (July 27, 2009): I think if we get a good public option, it could lead to single payer, and that's the best way to reach single payer.

Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky also understands the game plan and she's not afraid to be honest about it.

SCHAKOWSKY (April 18, 2009): And next to me was a guy from the insurance company who then argued against the public health insurance option, saying it wouldn't let private insurance compete, that a public option will put the private insurance industry out of business and lead to single payer. My single payer friends, he was right. The man was right.

The Dems' message is loud and clear. The proposed plan is intended to put the private insurance industry out of business. That's what the Dems want. That's what they intend to achieve through this "reform."

But Obama keeps tyring to sell his lies to the American people.

OBAMA: Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care.

That's a lie.

Frank is talking about. Schakowsky is talking about.

OBAMA IS TALKING ABOUT A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE.

I suppose he has to lie about it for now, to get Americans to go along with socialized medicine in the U.S.

If a government-run system is so great, I don't get why Obama and the Dems are lying about it.

Why won't Dem lawmakers support H.R. 615?

Chicago Tribune, Bonuses, and AIG

UPDATE, May 21, 2009: Setting the record straight

On May 19, the Washington Times published a correction regarding its claims about the Chicago Tribune and bonuses for executives.

Here is the Washington Times correction:

• Correction: A story in May 14 editions of the Washington Times stated incorrectly that a Chicago Tribune editorial had berated the American International Group for paying huge bonuses to employees. In fact, the editorial said that the public has an economic stake in the survival of AIG, and that if bonuses were paid to employees who are key to the company's future, they can be justified. The Times story also quoted an unnamed blogger as saying: "Using the employees' pension money to pay stockholders and executive bonuses - priceless." In fact, the Tribune is a private company and does not have stockholders. No pension money was used to pay bonuses.

Read the March 17 Tribune editorial on AIG here.

Based on what was the factually incorrect reporting of the Washington Times, I charged the Tribune with hypocrisy. In light of the correction, that charge of hypocrisy on the part of the Tribune when it comes to the AIG bonuses is unwarranted.
__________________

Oh, the hypocrisy!

Jennifer Harper writes: "Bankrupt Tribune gives bonuses after berating AIG"

Two months after denouncing a troubled financial company for doling out hefty management bonuses, a bankrupt news media company is doing the same thing.

"Money for nothing?" blared a Chicago Tribune editorial in mid-March, responding to news that American International Group Inc. planned to give $450 million in bonuses to its top executives during a very public federal bailout.

But this week, the Tribune Co. - which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Hartford Courant and other dailies, along with 23 TV stations - received permission from a Delaware bankruptcy judge to pay out $13.3 million in bonuses to some 700 local and corporate managers.

The payouts come as $2.7 million in severance pay to 68 employees who lost their jobs last year remains frozen.

Tribune Chief Financial Officer Chandler Bigelow III explained the rationale for the bonuses during an appearance in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday, using an argument reminiscent of that used by AIG.

"We need to motivate and incentivize the key people who will implement change. These are really good people we're talking about. They're the best and the brightest in the company," Mr. Bigelow told Judge Kevin Carey.

The Chicago Tribune didn't see it quite that way in March, when it editorialized about the bonuses to the same company executives responsible for the insurance giant's $40.5 billion in losses last year. "Shouldn't that kind of 'performance' require those employees to return some of their salaries, if not be fired altogether?" it wrote.

The Tribune Co. by comparison was $13 billion in debt because of dwindling advertising revenues and heavy operating costs when it filed for bankruptcy in December.

...At the same Tuesday hearing where he approved the Tribune bonuses, Judge Carey refused to approve the severance payments to the Tribune employees who were laid off before the Tribune filed for Chapter 11 protection in December.

While the judge said he "sympathized" with the plight of the unemployed journalists, he cited legal constraints. Two employees who had been laid off before the bankruptcy were granted approval for the payments, however.

I suspect similar scenarios are playing out all over the country.

Those operations quick to condemn AIG for its bonuses and harsh in their criticism have probably dished out bonuses of their own.

Of course, if John Kerry had it his way, he'd bail out the newspapers.

From Politico:

Last week, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), threatened with the loss of the Boston Globe’s automatic endorsement and generally fawning coverage, held a meeting of his Senate media subcommittee. During the hearings and afterward, Kerry declared newspapers an “endangered species,” argued for something like a bailout and denied that repeal of restrictive media ownership rules would help solve the problem.

Speaking of denial, the Obama administration tried to put the kibosh on rumors that a bailout is in the works. The language it has employed does not inspire confidence. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that there was “a certain concern and a certain sadness” that some newspapers are closing but explained that he didn’t “know what, in all honesty, government can do about it.”

...Right now, a variety of proposals for what government can do about it are floating around. These range from direct bailouts to tweaks of existing philanthropy and anticompetitive laws. Government could fund newspapers directly or make it easier for foundations to do so or remove roadblocks to newspapers getting together and making people pay for content.

If the government does anything to prop up the newspapers, they'll need to guard themselves from the likes of Chuck Schumer and Barney Frank if they attempt to give out bonuses.

The recipients may have to beware of the people wielding pitchforks.

Remember what Schumer said during the AIG bonus mess?

"We intend to do everything in our power to prevent those payments from being paid and recoup the money that has already been paid."

Schumer said he wrote a letter to AIG chief Edward Liddy urging him to tell his employees to voluntarily return the bonus money. Otherwise, Schumer said, Congress will pass legislation that would tax the bonus money at such a high rate that the AIG employees will be forced to pay it back through taxes.

"If you don't return it on your own we will do it for you," Schumer said.

..."If Mr. Liddy does nothing we will act and we will take this money back and return it to its rightful owners the taxpayers," Schumer warned. "So for those of you who are getting these bonuses, be forewarned -- you will not be getting to keep them."

Remember what Barney Frank had to say about the AIG bonus recipients?

“We will be asking for the names,” Frank said at the beginning of a hearing at which AIG Chairman Edward Liddy was called to testify. “If Mr. Liddy declines to give us the names, then I will convene the committee to vote a subpoena for the names. So we do intend to use our power to get the names of the people here.”

Be forewarned, newspaper execs. Be careful what you wish for in terms of government assistance.

It's one thing to suffer the slings and arrows of angry people pointing out your blatant hypocrisy. It's another thing to have the government pass legislation to strip you of your bonuses. That really hurts.

Barney Frank: GOP's Psychological Disorder

I think Barney Frank is drunk on power.

He doesn't bother to conduct himself with any semblance of civility. He's acting like a bully.

Frank has been making on-the-record personal attacks.

He insulted Justice Antonin Scalia.

I wouldn't want [gay marriage] to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court.

Disgraceful.

Yesterday, Frank slammed the GOP.

From Politico:

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank was in quite a mood on the floor of the House today -- questioning the sanity of Texas Republican John Culberson and other conservatives over their opposition to the new AIG bonus bill.

Frank grabbed the floor when Culberson blasted Democrats for passing the stimulus, which permitted AIG to lavish billions on executives after the de facto federal takeover.

Frank accused the GOP of attacking him for trying to fix the flawed stimulus, saying their attacks were part "of a psychological disorder I am not equipped to diagnose."

When Culberson coaxed another Democrat to admit he hadn't actually read the original 1,000-plus page stimulus -- Frank jumped in to point out that the new bill was much shorter -- while questioning Culberson's literacy skills.

"The bill is five-and-a-half pages -- even the gentlemen for Texas could have read it by now."

Video of Frank's hissy fit.



I am so sick of hearing Leftists complain about how mean conservatives are. It's the pot calling the kettle black.

Xytex: Sperm Bank's Stimulus Deal

The banking crisis has touched us all in one way or another. It's aroused outrage in some and fear in others.

One bank is trying to help people through these tough times by offering a stimulus deal.

From AFP:

One of the oldest banks of its kind in the United States, Xytex International, on Tuesday rolled out a stimulus package for customers who are hurting in these tough economic times.

Xytex is a sperm bank, and it's offering up to 200 dollars off a vial of sperm to clients wishing to start or add to their family, but need a little help.

"We're all feeling the effects of the economy and, especially for families seeking reproductive options, every dollar counts," Xytex spokeswoman Danielle Moores told AFP.

So, Xytex is offering deals on vials from "select" donors, who come a bit cheaper than the usual "standard" donor.

"Select donors are a new level of donor which we introduced to try to help our clients who are interested in third-party reproduction but, with the tough economy, are having a little bit of trouble purchasing a regular donor," Moores told AFP.

Select donors, explained Moores, are men from whom Xytex has "many, many vials because they're very successful donors or able to stop in several times a week or -- for whatever reason, we have a huge inventory," and it is being made available in a sort of clearance sale.

If you were looking for a sperm donor, would you want a deposit from a "select" donor?

Who are the "select"? They're either "very successful donors" or they're "able to stop in several times a week," providing a "huge inventory." Well, I guess some people do have a lot of time on their hands.

I suppose some clearance deals are in order.

Assuming you're in the market for the stuff, is sperm really something that you want to buy on sale?

Xytex prefers to call it the balancing effect of supply and demand.

"Select donors haven't reached the end of their shelf-life, they're just over-produced," Moores said.

Select donor units run between 250 and 350 dollars, representing a savings of between 135 and 235 dollars on comparable vials from a standard Xytex donor, which start at 385 dollars and go up to 585 dollars.

When you've "overproduced," what can you do?

I hope the clearance sale is successful. I don't want Xytex looking for a government bailout. Xytex, like any business in the private sector, would be wise not to accept money from the government. It gets too messy when the government gets involved, as we've seen with AIG.

If Xytex pays out bonuses, Barney Frank might demand names of the recipients.

I hope someone is watching the back of Xytex. Tim Geithner might want to seize the operation and then unwind what doesn't work.

I picture Geithner saying in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee: " . . . We must create a new resolution authority so that the federal government has the tools it needs to unwind an institution of the size and complexity of Xytex."

Government should stay out of the sperm bank business, in my opinion.

Barney Frank and "Homophobe" Antonin Scalia

Tell us how you really feel about Justice Scalia, Barney Frank.

From the Associated Press:

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe" in a recent interview with the gay news Web site 365gay.com. The Democratic lawmaker, who is gay, was discussing gay marriage and his expectation that the high court would some day be called upon to decide whether the Constitution allows the federal government to deny recognition to same-sex marriages.

"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank. The video of the interview is available online.

Attempts to obtain a comment from Frank were not immediately successful Monday. Scalia had no comment.

Scalia dissented from the court's ruling in 2003 that struck down state laws banning consensual sodomy. He has complained about judges, rather than elected officials, deciding questions of morality about which the Constitution is silent.

Controversial topics like gay rights and abortion should not be in the hands of judges, he has said, calling on people to persuade their legislatures or amend the Constitution.

Frank is a disgrace.

Scalia is interpreting the Constitution. He understands the limits of his position. Scalia knows that he's not a legislator.

As a Supreme Court justice, he's not serving as an advocate for or against gay rights.

For Frank to label Scalia a homophobe is utterly unfair and irresponsible. Frank owes Scalia an apology, but I am certain that Frank won't express regret for his ugly, hate-filled comments.

Video.

Barney Frank: Naming Names

Barney Frank wants names and he wants them now.

From CNSNews:

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says he wants a list of all AIG employees who received retention bonuses.

The firm has received $170 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts, and it is under fire for the $220 million in retention bonuses paid to employees in its financial products division. The most recent payment of $165 million was awarded last Friday.

“We will be asking for the names,” Frank said at the beginning of a hearing at which AIG Chairman Edward Liddy was called to testify. “If Mr. Liddy declines to give us the names, then I will convene the committee to vote a subpoena for the names. So we do intend to use our power to get the names of the people here.”

...Frank on Wedneday complained that the AIG contract “appears to have been signed in contemplation of serious losses.” He noted that the bonuses were to be awarded whether the firm made money or lost money.

“As for retention – no I do not think these are the people you want to retain.” Frank said. It would be better for people who did not make the mistakes undo them.

Frank told the hearing he has urged Treasury Secretary Geithner, “Let’s exercise our ownership rights, and let’s bring a lawsuit as the owners against people who in fact did damage to the company.” The federal government now owns 80 percent of the company.

Do you feel a chill wind blowing?

A-witch hunting we will go
a witch hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a-witch hunting we will go

This is Barack Obama's America.

I hope Frank will be as aggressive in demanding the names of the Fannie Mae executives set to get bonuses.

Awkward.
_______________

Video of Frank and Liddy discussing Frank's demand that Liddy release the names of bonus recipients.

Liddy pushes back out of concern for the employees' safety, citing threats made against the employees and their family, even their children.

Absolutely sick.