Is He Kidding, Or Unclear On The Concept?
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on February 12, 2009 at 12:20 PM in ACORN, Arrogance, Bamboozling, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Current Affairs, Earmarks, Economic Stimulus, Emil Jones, Illinois senate, Indiana, US Senate
You don’t have to be a Yankees fan (which I am) to have heard the recent brouhaha over Alex Rodriquez (I’m a Derek Jeter fan myself), and his acknowledgment that he used steroids back in 2001 - 2003. It is disturbing, of course - I deplore the use of steroids in baseball (though at the time A-Rod used, there was no penalty for testing positive).
It cheapens the game, is horrible on the bodies of these athletes, and sets a BAD example for our youth. I hope he is telling the truth that his use was limited to those two years, and that his apology is sincere.
I bring this up because this issue was raised to Obama the other night at the big White House press conference. His response:
The president’s strongest answer was in response to the evening’s fluffiest question, about Alex Rodriguez’s confession that he had taken steroids.After an honest baseball fan’s lament (”it tarnishes an entire era”), Obama jumped to a larger point that transcends sports–the lesson in A-Rod’s downfall for the young: “There are no shortcuts; that when you try to take shortcuts you may end up tarnishing your whole career.” (Emphasis mine.)
I about fell out of my chair laughing. Obama claims there are “no shortcuts”??? His ENTIRE political career has been one of “shortcuts”! He gets everyone else thrown off the ballot so he can run unopposed for the IL Senate. While in the IL Senate, the primary legislation that passed with HIS name on it was thrown on there by “kingmaker,” Emil Jones. Obama did little, if any, of the work for the legislation passed in his name. His handlers exposed SEALED information on his Republican opponent in his run for US Senate, thus ending up with Alan Keyes thrown on the ballot at the last minute. And, he did not even complete his first term as US Senator! (All of the above information, and more, can be found HERE.) Could Obama BE any more duplicitous?
Well, it turns out the answer is yes! It seems that Obama is claiming there is NO pork in this humongous stimulus package he is traipsing around the country trying to sell. Perhaps he is unclear on the definition of “pork.” Given how much pork Obama tried to get for IL while a US Senator, $740 MILLION, you would think he would know what it was. And he’s supposed to be so smart and everything. But he claims that there is NO pork in this stimulus package. None. That’s what he said. And right after he said that while in IN, he gave examples of some pork that would benefit IN! I’m not kidding:
OBAMA: “Not a single pet project,” he told the news conference. “Not a single earmark.”THE FACTS: There are no “earmarks,” as they are usually defined, inserted by lawmakers in the bill. Still, some of the projects bear the prime characteristics of pork — tailored to benefit specific interests or to have thinly disguised links to local projects.
For example, the latest version contains $2 billion for a clean-coal power plant with specifications matching one in Mattoon, Ill.*, $10 million for urban canals, $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars, and $255 million for a polar icebreaker and other “priority procurements” by the Coast Guard.
Obama told his Elkhart audience that Indiana will benefit from work on “roads like U.S. 31 here in Indiana that Hoosiers count on.” He added, “And I know that a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart.”
U.S. 31 is a north-south highway serving South Bend, 15 miles from Elkhart in the northern part of the state.
* Remember, that coal plant was shut down for being “inefficient,” and they want to throw $2 BILLION at it.
There are numerous examples of the pork stuffed into this stimulus package, and I have detailed some in previous posts. But you can click HERE for a reminder. But there most definitely IS pork in this package, despite Obama’s nonsensical claims to the contrary.
And speaking of pork, how about this little payback for ACORN? Ah, yes. ACORN - the organization under federal investigation for voter fraud. But hey - they did their job, and accomplished their goal, so no doubt, Obama has to “show them the money” (and this isn’t the first time ACORN has found its way into one of these bills spending OUR money):
Bear in mind, your taxpaying dollars have already been shelled out to ACORN, despite the numerous investigations into its wrong doing over voter fraud/voter registration fraud. Yes, just as a reminder, back in April, ACORN and La Raza were the beneficiaries of $100 MILLION of your dollars in another Housing bailout. I’m sure ACORN and La Raza thank you. I’m CERTAIN Obama thanks you, since he most definitely benefited from the work of ACORN this past year. I’m going to bet Obama wouldn’t consider this pork, either…
I realize I should have offered this warning earlier, but if you have high blood pressure, you may want to skip the following video of Senator Chuck Schumer, a senator I USED to like, but how can you respect someone who says this:
You know what is surprising about this? That Senator Schumer seemed to have no qualms about insulting American citizens who actually do care how our taxpaying dollars are being squandered on pet projects and paybacks. His arrogance is staggering, referring to us as “the chattering class” simply because we do not want to have our great-grandchildren paying for some 36 hole Frisbee golf course, or billions to an organization under federal investigation, or inefficient power plants, or any other of the numerous pet projects tucked into what is SUPPOSED to be a JOB stimulus package. “Chattering class” indeed.
Feel free to contact Senator Schumer and tell him how you, one of the “chattering class,” feel about his contention that we do not care about the pork in this bill HERE. We, the “chattering class,” actually care about the course our nation is on, and the path down which it is currently being steered. It’s about damn time our representatives act like they care, too, especially when they are spending OUR money. We the “chattering class” care, all right - a lot. And we care when a US Senator dismisses our concerns about a tremendously flawed bill as if we should have nothing to say about it. That is not just hubris, that is condescension and arrogance toward the very people who gave this man a job. Senator Schumer has sure shown HIS true colors, and they are not pretty…Let him hear about it.
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By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
and let me say this to all of the Chattering Class that so much focuses on those little tiny yes porky amendments
worth billions for you and your friends, the American people really don’t carewhat your lame excuses are for stealing our money and freedoms, we won’t forget your condescension, you m#therf^cking pricks. You won’t like the day your bills come due..Nom LMAO! Classic!
Absolutely - completely cracked me up. And you nailed it on the head, too, Nom!
Why is anyone surprised by this? The fish stinks from its head. Obama has made his contempt for America and the little people very clear. He speaks to us with anger, contempt, outrage, condescension, arrogance and disdain all the time. That ridiculous speech he gave had my mother dying over how arrogant he was and how angry he seemed. Like, “hey morons STFU you idiots and let me pass my Bacon Bill and pay off all my friends for electing me.” ROFLMAO this is what our taxpaying dollars are going to. Being called the “chattering class” because we object to working and having our money stolen by these pricks. WTF?
Here’s hoping Barky truly finds out how badly your career can be ruined if you cheat.
wrongdoing brings pain….count on it.
Hitler’s wrongdoing brought plenty of pain to the Jews, the gypsies, the Russians, the German people who were firebombed, et al. But the people who put him in power, like Prescott Bush, cruised along fairly well.
Bush never minded telling lies either in front of God and Country. Obama and Bush have this in common (among other things): absolutely NO shame.
As for Schumer et al, I don’t even recognize the Democratic Party anymore.
Republicans have long been hijacked and destroyed by the various right-wing factions - and the Dems are mostly weak (today’s liberal) and bamboozled.
A few exceptions of course like SoS Clinton.
LBJ, Nixon and Pinochet all passed quietly, among friends and family.
Not a one walked to the gallows.
“Where’s the OUTRAGE?” - SEN Bob Dole
Who comprises this “chattering class?” Is he talking about bloggers? Apparently, he doesn’t think the “chattering class” are Americans because he says, “the American people really don’t care.”
Well, Chuckie, if you’re talking about me, I am an American and let me assure you that I most definitely DO care.
At first I dismissed as hyperbole the claims that Obama was trying to take over and establish some sort of Third Reich, but the more he does, the more it begins to look like the end of democracy.
What democracy? From the beginning of this Obama mess our votes didn’t count. That was the end of democracy right there and Obama is finishing it off.
Sen Schumer’s DC Phone # 202-224-6542. DC Fax # 202-228-3027. I also have numbers to his district offices. Let’s show Chuckie some love, shall we?
Well done, Candymarl! By all means - let Chuckie hear from the “Chattering Class!”
The most efficient way to address an issues to our congresspeople is a letter by snail mail. Send it to their home office near you. Mail to D.C. gets screened for anthrax, et al. And they pay no attention to e-mails and phone calls just get filed in some convenient basket, probably counted as
‘yeahs and nays’ like a popularity poll.
Don’t be surprised if any written response is a form
letter explaining how concerned the representative
is but he/she is awfully busy with the business of governing but thanks for your interest and please continue to contact him/her any time you have a question or comment.
How many congresspeople does it take to screw up a country? About 535.
hmmmmmmm
LOL–Good one. I laughed when I heard him also, remembering that he used worse than steroids and it has apperantly not tarnished the presidency.
Oh go take a flying leap, you bitter old man.
In truth, I don’t have much of a problem with most of the items in the stim bill, but making a big deal out of not having “earmarks” is disingenuous at best. While there were no earmarks inserted as amendments (as typically done) they were just inserted into the original bill. That blatant dishonesty is the exact same type of doublespeak that Bush used all the time.
Obama didn’t have to lie about this or mislead everyone–they would have probably supported much of it–but he lied anyway. Lying when there is no reason to lie is very troubling.
Make believe computer based asset valuation…
We don’t care.
Wall Street Fat Cat few destroy the working class and society in their manic pursuit of personal wealth and egocentric power.
We don’t care.
Bush SEC holdovers cite executive privilege, refuse to answer questions at Madoff hearing
We don’t care.
Hearings instead of investigations
We don’t care.
European financial institutions bankrupt with $24 trillion in failed OTC derivatives, and US Federal Reserve bailing them out via swaps with the European Central Bank
We don’t care.
Bailouts, stimulus packages exacerbating the problems
We don’t care.
Purchase/guarantee plans moving worthless paper from one set of books to another—cheap accounting trick
We don’t care.
Money is not wealth. Just because we can it out and buy something, doesn’t mean that the money itself has value. It has value only because we believe that it has value; a shopkeeper will take my dollar because he knows the bank or others will accept it. Without that, it would be a mere piece of paper.
The value comes from the ability of the physical economy to produce wealth through the transformation of matter, from a lower state to a higher state. For example, take the case of iron ore which, sitting in the ground, is little more than common dirt. Extracted and smelted, it produces iron, which is far more valuable than the ore, then turned into steel, which, in turn, can be machined into tools, and the tools used to build products such as bridges, trains, and power generators. Those products are not only worth more than the materials from which they are created, but also increase the productive power of society as a whole, amplifying dynamically the benefits.
Consider how those transformations depend upon human creativity. Ore in the ground was just dirt, until we discovered the existence of the ore and its special qualities. Then, we discovered that the ore could be mixed with other materials, and heated to produce iron; then discovered that the iron could be processed to make steel, then formed into tools with which to build more complex products, again because of human discoveries.
What is of value then, is neither the money, nor the raw materials, nor the products produced, but the ability of mankind to figure out the nature of the universe, and to intervene to create what had not existed previously. Human creativity is the source of wealth.
Was any money in the stimulus or any other package geared towards funding mechanical engineers garage research projects? No. Why? Because mechanical engineers’ work is simply to comply with the ASME codes. Capisce?
We prefer to be dependent on the great Chinese entrepreneurial culture.
Chairman Mao’s “back to the land” revolution?
or
“Globalization”?
Same thing, ultimately, I reckon.
CookieModeration Monster is chewing on my comment!Oops - I’ll go take a look…
Love you! Now it’s just above. Apparently they retain their timestamps throughout the chewing process. Gracias, kob khun, merci…
One way I found to speed up the uploading process is to engineer a bottom to top highlight of my posting immediately after hitting the ‘add comment’ button. The hit the control C to make a copy of it. Whatever that does, it speeds up uploading. Go figure.
Our spam filter is INCREDIBLY sensitive. Apparently, if anyone uses the word, “idiot,” it throws it into spam!
If you do not see your comment in a timely fashion, please email SusanUnPC at gmail dot com to get it released, if the author of the post isn’t around at the time…
Small price to pay for raising the level of discussion. (But then, it’s not me who has to go trrough it fishing out the gems…)
Obama has a lot of nerve condemning anyone for illicit drug use. How the hell do we as parents teach are children that roids and coke are bad when you’ve got athletes like Bonds and Rodriguez that juice up and presidents like Bush and Obama who snort up? Morality is only for the middle class.
Um that should be ‘our kids’.
The last Emperor I remember was Erich Hoeneker so I am a little out of practice, but its pretty easy actually. You simply must understand the new paradigm.
Everything flows from The Emperor to you. Your job. Your house. Your healthcare. Your condoms and electric golf carts. Everything. Its all from him to you, at his whim. You dont really own anything and your accomplishments are not your own. They belong to everybody and nobody and mostly The One.
At first complaints from the “chattering class” will be tolerated, but over time they are expected to stop, or else, if you get my meaning.
But dont be discouraged, these systems only last for 50-80 years before they completely collapse under their own weight. So our great grandkids will most likely be just fine.
I say that since Bonds, Rodriguez, etc are such money makers important to the economy of their cities, they should get along with any sports superstar 25 million each for rehabilitation expenses including traveling expenses around the world to see specialist like acupuncturist in Pekin and yoga trainers in Bombay, with special provision for detoxification in Dubai.
Lower echelon economy movers like actors and political figures should each get at least 10 million towards the same treatment.
Everyone else that do drugs should go to jail and barred from employment for life.
Great post.
I hope America realizes the similarities of the two men being discussed in this post. They both are FOS and LIARS.
Alex Rodriguez is ALWAY motivated by cash. He wanted to raise the fee for my lawn by $40/month, but, when I offered to pay him in GringoBuck$ instead of a check, he hit that bait like a fat old bass in a creek.
Does a nicer job than Jesus did, too… I don’t care WHAT drugs he does, so long as my fescue isn’t cut too short and he edges the walks every time.
In the General election Obama said he would shut down coal plants as a non-green form of energy. Was he lying then or is he lying now?
Who is the person who keeps warning us to look at what he DOES not what he SAYS? But the media never calls Obama a liar. Goodness, no.
He’s always lying.
“(I’m a Derek Jeter fan myself)”
LOL, no way! How is that possible? I don’t what it is, but I can hardly stand to watch him.
Whaaaa? He works hard, plays when injured, and hustles like crazy. Oh, and he can hit, too. He’s the Captain, for cryin’ out loud!!!
But I appreciate your freedom to disagree, of course!
A-roid. Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.