Day: January 23, 2009

2009 Anal-Ocity

The hits just keep coming and coming…..this anal statement is from radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh.  He was asked by a print media group to write a 400 word piece on what he hopes for the new president and his term.

This was all he could say:

“I hope he fails”

I will give props where props are due….Rush said nothing that most conservs are thinking but are too cowardly to say it out loud.  Rush’s words are addressed to his base and will benefit him while he is out selling myself and his stuff.  That said, I still think that Rush as the IQ of a dirty sponge, but at least he has ‘nads.

An update:  Rush has lost 4 markets because of his comment and more may be coming.

Itsa Bird–Itsa Plane

No Itsa car!

The aptly named Transition takes a stab at bridging the gap between automobiles and airplanes. Some people call it a flying car. The company designing and selling the vehicle prefers the term “roadable aircraft.”

Either way, it boils down to this: You sit down behind the steering wheel, drive to the runway, unfold two wings and take off. You can fly 500 miles on a tank of gas — regular unleaded — and when you land, you simply fold up the wings and drive where you want to go. At the end of the day, you fly back, drive home and park inside your garage.

A company called Aerocar of Longview, Wash., debuted one of the first flying cars in 1949. The company built six prototypes, one of which is sitting in the EAA’s museum, but never went into production.

Terrafugia, founded in 2006 by a group of MIT students, has taken deposits for more than 40 Transitions and plans to begin deliveries in 2010, said Richard Gersh, vice president of business development.

The vehicles sell for $194,000.

Advances in materials and propulsion technologies are among the reasons why Terrafugia is in position for commercial success. But equally important, says Knapinski, is an easing of government regulations on private aircraft and pilot licensing.

The Jetsons come to mind……

It Was A Do-Over!

The oath heard around the world!

The oath that the Chief Justice gave to the president-elect was heard around the world, but wait!

After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday’s much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too.

Don’t worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day.

Nevertheless, Obama and Roberts went through the drill again out of what White House counsel Greg Craig called “an abundance of caution.”

But wait again!

Does that mean that Joe Biden was president for one day?  If so, he can say that America was safe on his watch.  I bet the ultra right blogosphere was smoking hot with all the constitutionally BS after the mistake..

Guess what?  Obama was president then and he is president now…live with it.

Sweet Caroline

Was it James Taylor?  Nope!  It was Caroline Kennedy.  After almost a month of trashing and bashing Kennedy for wanting to be the senator from the state of New York, she has withdrawn her name from consideration.

Kennedy made the announcement in a terse statement released early Thursday, ending hours of uncertainty surrounding her intentions as she appeared to waver in her decision to seek the office.

“I informed Governor Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” she said in the one-sentence statement.

Now all the media is a buzz trying to find out why she is stepping down.  Why?  Just a week ago she was painted as inexperienced or an elitist or prolonging a political dynasty and now they are concern about her motives.  They got what they wanted!  She is not gonna be in the senator’s seat in Washington.  Why is it important that they know why now?

What a pathetic pack of dipshits!  She is out now move the f*ck on!

No Bailout From The House

In a symbolic vote, the House of Representatives voted Thursday against releasing the second half of the financial rescue money Congress allocated last fall.

The Senate already approved the release of the $350 billion before President Obama was sworn into office, making a House vote unnecessary.

But the House voted 270-to-155 to withhold the funding.

Many lawmakers had raised objections to freeing the second half of the $700 billion fund because the Treasury Department was unable to explain how it decided to use the first half or document how it was spent.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., offered a “motion of disapproval” to prevent the government from spending the money. Members had to vote in favor of Foxx’s motion in order to oppose putting the funds in the pipeline.

Though the House had no power to withhold the money following the Senate vote, holding the debate gave skeptical lawmakers an opportunity to register their votes against an unpopular program.

Those who voted for withholding the money Thursday can use their vote as political cover to show they opposed spending an additional $350 billion.

Political theater is always good for the news media and it is always good for the resume.  Does nothing for the bailout but they can strut around and say that they voted against the bailout, just thast their vote was worthless and meant NOTHING.

Gitmo To Close

President Barack Obama began overhauling U.S. treatment of terror suspects Thursday, signing orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, shut down secret overseas CIA prisons, review military war crimes trials and ban the harshest interrogation methods.

With his action, Obama started changing how the United States prosecutes and questions al-Qaida, Taliban or other foreign fighters who pose a threat to Americans — and overhauling America’s image abroad, battered by accusations of the use of torture and the indefinite detention of suspects at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba.

The centerpiece order would close the much-maligned Guantanamo facility within a year, a complicated process with many unanswered questions that was nonetheless a key campaign promise of Obama’s. The administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

In the other actions, Obama:

_Created a task force to recommend policies on handling terror suspects who are detained in the future. Specifically, the group would look at where those detainees should be housed since Guantanamo is closing.

_Required all U.S. personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual while interrogating detainees. The manual explicitly prohibits threats, coercion, physical abuse and waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed a form of torture by critics. However, a Capitol Hill aide says that the administration also is planning a study of more aggressive interrogation methods that could be added to the Army manual — which would create a significant loophole to Obama’s action Thursday.

A task force will study whether other interrogation guidelines — beyond what’s spelled out in the Army manual — are necessary for intelligence professionals in dealing with terror suspects.

To Reform Entitlements–Social Programs Part 2

Recently I posted a piece entitled, “Will Obama Cut Social Programs” and my conclusion was….yes he will.  I listened to his speech and re-read it to be sure I think there is a disturbing part of that message.

It has been said that the Obama Admin is looking at reform entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.  That usually means that the people who receive these entitlements will  most likely mean they will get less in benefits and pay higher taxes.

This reform will effect the very people that cannot live with austere reforms.  These are those on fixed incomes and a limited amount of services received.

I ask why start with the elderly and the poor for such reforms?  Why not make it mandatory that ALL people paying Social Security, pay on the entire amount and not limit it to the first $250,000.  That would be a more impressive reform and would make everyone part of the solution.

Obama made his speech and for the most part an excellent speech, but as usual there was a part that stuck in my brain and I found it to be a bit disturbing.  The part that all Americans most take responsibility.

This formulation holds tens of millions of workers facing the loss of their jobs and homes through no fault of their own equally responsible for the present crisis as Wall Street executives and hedge fund managers whose financial parasitism and criminality helped drag their own institutions and the world economy into ruin.

Now Obama is telling working people that they must take “responsibility” for the crisis that is destroying their livelihoods by accepting deeper attacks on jobs, wages and social benefits, even as trillions of dollars in public funds are used to bail out Wall Street while its CEOs continue to draw down their seven- and eight-figure compensation packages.

I am all for taking responsibility for something that is my fault, but I refuse to take responsibility for something that was none of my doing.  Obama is asking me to do just that and I am not thrilled about it.  I do not think this is a place to begin with when trying to solve an economic crisis.