House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be endorsing Rep. Michael Capuano in the Massachusetts Senate special election, choosing her House colleague over Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is seeking to become the first female senator in the state.

Pelosi will be heading to Boston tomorrow morning to make the formal endorsement.

In her statement, Pelosi noted Capuano’s support for the historic health care legislation that she shepherded through the House. Coakley said she opposed the legislation that passed through the House because it contained a provision restricting federal funds from going to abortion providers.

“Saturday the House of Representatives passed a historic health care bill that was a great victory for the American people,” Pelosi said. “Mike Capuano not only cast a courageous vote for this historic legislation, but was a constructive force in improving this bill and moving it to the Senate.”

This would be the “historic” bill featured the Stupak amendment which has pro-choice legislators, feminists and organizations like NOW and NARAL furious. And here’s why. According to Planned Parenthood:

“…This amendment would violate the spirit of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for all, by creating a two-tiered system that would punish women, particularly those with low and modest incomes…

“While Rep. Stupak claims that his amendment simply applies the Hyde amendment to health reform, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Stupak/Pitts amendment would result in a new restriction on women’s access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market, undermining the ability of women to purchase private health plans that covers abortion, even if they pay for most of the premium with their own money…

“Rep. Stupak’s amendment would dramatically shift current federal policy related to abortion coverage and would undermine the principle of abortion neutrality in health care reform. A vote for Rep. Stupak’s amendment is a vote to weaken women’s access to comprehensive reproductive care and to take away private benefits that women currently have.”

Once again, women are the first to be asked to make “compromises” so the man can get his “historic” legislation passed. Where have I heard that before?

And let me get this straight – Capuano’s payback for voting for this thing is the endorsement of the Speaker of the House?

Attorney General Martha Coakley is a fierce advocate for women, children and working families. She’s squeaky clean, tough, and principled but that’s not good enough for Ms. Pelosi? Is she so threatened by having another tough woman in a position of power in government? Could this be more payback for the fact that Martha Coakley endorsed Hillary and refused to give up her vote at the Convention? Or that Coakley has her own ideas about health care and refused to endorse Pelosi’s 2,000 page monstrosity because of the Stupak amendment?

Here is AG Coakley’s statement regarding her opposition:

The House’s vote is in many ways a significant step toward the goal of health care reform. However, I am deeply disturbed that the House adopted the Stupak/Pitts amendment, which would deny millions of women access to reproductive services. The inclusion of the Stupak/Pitts amendment violates the very intent of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for everyone. I believe that the Senate has a responsibility to fix this by eliminating the provision in whatever reform legislation moves forward.

Boston Globe weighed in on the issue pointing out that Capuano is mired in the typical Washington wheeling and dealing, supporting the Stupak Amendment but now that Pelosi is taking a great deal of heat for her action, Capuano now looks to be waffling:

…Capuano’s message to voters quickly became mired in inconsistency.

“You deserve leaders that don’t try to thread the needle,’’ he said at his Monday night rally. Yet, in this case, he threaded it, and then blasted Coakley for saying she wouldn’t do the same. Then, instead of sticking with the principle he said he believed in, Capuano shifted. He said he would vote against health care legislation if a final version included the restrictive amendment.

So he was ‘for’ it before he was ‘agin’ it? I prefer Coakley, who did not feel the need to equivocate and stated, “I do not believe we have to take a step back on women’s rights to get health care reform.”

In the Boston Globe, Ellen Goodman stated:

“We now have pro-life Republicans and Democrats — most notably Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan — demanding that any health plan offering abortion be banned from the newly created health-care exchange. And guess what that will mean? More than 80 percent of private insurance plans cover abortions. But any insurance plan that wants to be eligible for the huge wave of new clients would have to drop the abortion coverage it offers.”

Guess Capuano doesn’t care to thread the needle on that one.

Pelosi led the charge last year saying Republicans would overturn Roe v. Wade if elected, thereby threatening Hillary’s Democratic holdouts if they failed to fall in line and support Barack Obama. The DNC made a big show of how they were the only party to protect women. Yet in order to pass this health care behemoth that most in Congress did not have the time to read, Pelosi’s first act was to throw pro-choice women under the bus. Here’s hoping Pelosi’s endorsement will not help Capuano’s sagging primary bid.

Capuano is lagging behind in the four-way Democratic primary against Coakley, according to public polling. A Suffolk University poll released today showed Coakley leading with 44 percent of the vote, Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca in second with 17 percent, and Capuano in third with 16 percent.

The special election primary will be held December 8 and the winner will be the favorite to fill the Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy. Sen. Paul Kirk (D-Mass.) is holding the seat on an interim basis.

Ultra liberal Massachusetts has never had a woman Senator. Now that we have a chance at someone who would really stand up for the working voter and for women, Pelosi says no deal?

What say you?

So – for your enjoyment, I have the following photographs, sent to me by my cousin, who got them heaven-only-knows-where (somewhere on the internet). The headline of the emails was, “When Farm Kids Get Bored,” and who happen to be a bit creative (who knows if these were even done by kids?). Anyway, for your Halloween Viewing Pleasure, here they are:

I hope you have a good, safe, day. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Yesterday I was appalled to watch the Speaker of the House comment on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ assertion that the anger at these town halls over health care reform is “manufactured”. The reporter asked, “Do you think there is legitimate grassroots opposition going on out there?”

Nancy Pelosi made the following statement:

“I think they’re Astroturf…you be the judge. They are carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care.”

How dare she? I have heard of bullying tactics but this is beyond the pale. She is cherrypicking a couple of extreme protesters, if indeed they exist, in order to deride the whole as an angry mob. My husband and I were Democrats for thirty years and we have questions and concerns about this overhaul as well. Here’s a hot flash, Ms. Pelosi, my Dad was used as slave labor by people who wore swastikas so I don’t appreciate being grouped in with them.

Average citizens who daily watch our leadership trade places in the clown car have a reason to be worried. Until Ms. Pelosi and every other elitist in Congress, on both sides of the aisle, is willing to be subject to the exact same health care plan, and use it on their own mother, their children and themselves, they have no business sticking it to the rest of us. “Okay for thee but not for me” is not going to cut it.

There is no doubt that both sides “astroturf.” President Obama’s svengali, David Axelrod, is known for this behavior. There will always be groups left or right who will try to bank on to a legitimate protest for their own ends. Yet I have no doubt that the majority of these protesters are legitimate. We are talking about a 1,000 page monstrosity that no one can explain.

Pelosi is talking about overhauling one sixth of our nation’s economy when they have just laid an egg with the stimulus package and $60 billion dollar car bailouts.

Last year I watched the DNC insult anyone who did not buy the “cool” candidate they chose to put on their spaghetti jar. Their bullying tactics drove me away. As brilliant WaPo columnist Marie Cocco put it, their “deafening silence” on what looked to be the media lynching of Hillary Clinton didn’t help either.

People get mad when you question them for one of two reasons. Either they don’t have the answer and don’t want be made to look bad, or they know they are trying to pull a fast one and don’t want you to get a peek behind the curtain. Which is it? If the policy cannot be explained coherently and simply, that means they don’t have it working yet. Pardon my dust, but I thought the ultimate goal was to craft a policy that is better than what we have now.

I do not appreciate being bullied or blown off. People are angry and they are scared. Unemployment is in double digits in my state. My Congressman has been ensconced in his position for 25 years. He runs unopposed so I assure you, he isn’t bothering to have a town hall meeting on health care otherwise I’d be there shouting, too.

We pay their salaries. I do not wish to be told to shut up and sit down by the likes of Ms. Pelosi, who sees fit to negatively classify the opposition because she does not feel like being countermanded.

I can appreciate the President wishes to put forth an ambitious agenda, but this White House is tone deaf. We have moved beyond ego here. I am not concerned with someone racking up “accomplishments” just so they can say they did. We have severe problems in our economy and trying to do all this at once without first making sure you’ve got the right formula is like trying to paint a house in a hurricane.

Nancy Pelosi needs to apologize to the American people for the disrespect she has shown them. We are dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and we have every right to have all our questions answered.

We can do without the name calling and disrespect from our elected representatives. That is not the way to earn anyone’s trust.

It’s time to have some fun at the Speaker’s expense. I’ll go first.

Nancy was caught in a web of her lies.
The CIA hopes that she fries.
President Obama we trust
Will toss her under the bus.
And Steny can try on speaker for size.

Ok…one more from me…

For Obama she fixed the great race,
but then her fibs were so out of place.
She was hung out to dry
But we won’t see her cry.
Because her botox locked solid her face.

That’s enough from me. Feel free to add your own.

I think we all deserve a break, don’t you? For your viewing and listening pleasure, I have three selections from Loreena McKennitt, the Canadian singer. The videos below were shot a the Alhambra. Sit back, relax, and prepare to be transported to a different time…

The Mystic’s Dream:

The Lady of Shalott:

The Mummer’s Dance:

And may you be well this day, and the days to follow.

First, you said you that the intelligence sources didn’t state clearly that they were actually waterboarding, only that they were mentioning the methods theoretically. Over the weekend, you claimed that your aide who attended the meeting didn’t give you the full story. And now you’re saying, according to Politico, that you held back on criticism out of deference for “appropriate legislative channels” — whatever in the hell that means:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi learned in early 2003 that the Bush administration was waterboarding terror detainees but didn’t protest directly out of respect for “appropriate” legislative channels, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.

The Pelosi camp’s version of events is intended to answer two key questions posed by her critics: When, precisely, did she first learn about waterboarding? And why didn’t she do more to stop it? …

As Larry Johnson would say, if the hole is getting deeper, QUIT DIGGING! Perhaps you should have done what your “bitter rival,” Rep. Jane Harman had the guts to do:

Pelosi has disputed a CIA document, released last week, that shows she was briefed in September 2002 on the “particular” interrogation techniques the United States had used on Al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah. Pelosi has said she was told then only that the Bush administration was considering using certain techniques in the future — and that it had the legal authority to do so.

But there’s no dispute that on Feb. 4, 2003 — five months after Pelosi’s September meeting — CIA officials briefed Pelosi aide Michael Sheehy and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), then the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, on the specific techniques that had been used on Zubaydah — including waterboarding.

Harman was so alarmed by what she had heard, she drafted a short letter to the CIA’s general counsel to express “profound” concerns with the tactic — going so far as to ask if waterboarding had been personally “approved by the president.”

According to the Pelosi confidant, Sheehy told Pelosi about the briefing — and later informed Pelosi, the newly elected minority leader, that Harman was drafting a protest letter. Pelosi told Sheehy to tell Harman that she agreed with the letter, the Pelosi insider said. But she did not ask to be listed as a signatory on the letter, the source said, and there is no reference to her in it. …

In other words, you had a great opportunity to TAKE A STAND against torture, but — for you — going along to get along always takes precedence over taking a moral stand.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra hits the nail on the head, per usual:

Republicans aren’t buying it.

“If Nancy was so concerned about the waterboarding, why did she let someone else write the letter?” asked Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the ranking Republican on the intelligence committee. “If she was so upset, why did she let someone else raise objections?”

Read all: “Pelosi: Torture protest improper in ‘03.”

VIDEO UPDATE: In the last half of his commentary, Brit Hume picks up the Nancy Pelosi story and hits it out of the park:

And, about Wanda Sykes: You’re right, Brit. Please consider also that, if a conservative had said that about a black politician, Janeane Garofalo would call him a “racist.”

It’s time to crown a new National Champion. The battle for the 2009 No Quarter Trophy is down to final round. The tournament’s top seed Barack Obama will try and keep his perfect season alive in a showdown against the little engine make that the big caboose that could, Donna Brazile.

They are holding their heads up high at CNN tonight as their contributor Brazile finished off an MSNBC two-step that will go down in the history books. The #4 seed in the At Large Bracket knocked off top seeded Chris Matthews in the regional finals and then pulled off a shocking upset of the Media Bracket #1 Seed Keith Olbermann in the National Semi-Finals. Olbermann hung in there, but at the end of the day, Brazile was the one that came out of the back room 54-46. She opened the lead early and kept it. Olbermann tried to get inside, but just couldn’t get around her as Brazile’s size, strength and determination were far too much for the soft and puffy Ivy Leaguer.

YOUR CHANCE TO VOTE IN THE FINAL IS BELOW THE FOLD.

While Big Donna has run together an impressive string of wins to reach the final, her task is formidable. Barack Obama has been destroying the competition from the opening tip of the first round. The Messiah walked on water and healed the infirm enroute to dispatching the Capitol Hill top seed Nancy Pelosi 76-24. Give Pelosi credit, that’s the closest score Obama has had all tournament long. Pelosi often does Obama’s work for him in Congress and paved the way for his presidency, but there was just no way he was going to let her have the glory of winning a National Championship. It’s the second year in a row, Pelosi was ousted in the Semi-Finals. Last year she was eliminated by the eventual winner George W. Bush.

So now, we have a grudge match. Brazile helped make Obama what he is today. Using her influence on the DNC and CNN to push his agenda at every turn. Expressing her “disappointment” in the Clintons whenever possible despite claiming to be an uncommitted Super Delegate. Yet today, she rides under the Obama bus. No cabinet position, not even head of the DNC. It turns out Barack just doesn’t need her anymore. He’s busy bowing to Saudi Kings and she is busy telling us that she never imagined a woman president until she saw Barack Obama taking the oath. What a match. What a pair of gigantic asses. How do you a pick a winner?

Just vote below

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH

The polls will be open until midnight Saturday. When you wake up Sunday Morning, we will have a new National Champion. Please post your comments below as to how you reached your decision. Have fun.

March Madness turned into April Fools in the battle for the No Quarter Trophy. The Trophy is awarded annually to the person you decide is the Biggest Ass on The American Political Landscape. While exciting play and buzzer beaters are usually the norm this time of the year, the Elite Eight was blow-out city (which is also the name of one of Barney Frank’s favorite watering holes.) Not only were none of the national quarterfinal match-ups close, but the winners had these contests wrapped up moments after the opening tap. VOTE BELOW!.

It certainly seemed like the tournament selection committee knew their business as three number one seeds have made it to the semi-finals. The only non-number 1 to crash the party is the red hot Donna Brazile. The number four seed in the At Large Bracket humiliated the second seeded Oprah Winfrey 75-25. That was the closest of the Regional Finals.

Oprah’s size and weight advantage were just no match for the feisty Brazile who showed during the primary season that she knows how to play and win dirty. Donna now gets a crack at Keith Olbermann who had his way with Andrew Sullivan (and Andrew loved it) in the Media Bracket final. Olbermann was the leading vote getter in the entire round and racked up an 85-15 win. Keith was a huge favorite to make it into the championship game when this tournament started, but no one should be betting against Brazile at this point.

Over on the side of the brackets. Barack Obama easily disposed of the First Lady in the White House Regional Final. The Messiah was an 80-20 winner. It was a disappointing performance for Michelle, whose makeover as “Mom in Chief” seems to be softening the hard as nails image that propelled her through the election season to a number two seed. Barack showed his sharp elbows, when despite the fact he was winning this one going away, he bowed to a Saudi Prince just to run the score up and remind everyone why he was the overall top seed in the tournament. Barry has yet to be tested in this tournament, but may have his hands full with Nancy Pelosi. The number one seed in the Capitol Hill bracket destroyed number three seed Barney Frank 85-15. After the game, Frank immediately made himself eligible for federal bailout funds. Pelosi has faced the stiffest competition so far, already beating Christopher Dodd, Claire McCaskill and Barney. If anyone can take a piece out of the Community Organizer in Chief, it’s Madam Speaker.

So without, further ado. Lets get to the voting. Just pick the person you think is the Bigger Ass in each match.

NATIONAL SEMI FINAL NUMBER 1
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NATIONAL SEMI FINAL NUMBER 2
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The Polls are open until Tuesday Night at 8:00 PM EDT. Join us live on No Quarter Radio, Tuesday night at 9:00 PM for the Nocturnal Warrior Show. We will review the Final Four contests and handicap the National Championship game. Feel free to post your comments as to why you voted as you did below. Have fun!!!!!

Vote by midnight tonight! The Sweet 16 is in the books and we are down to just 8 contestants left vying for the No Quarter Trophy which is annually awarded to the person you decide is the Biggest Ass on the American Political Landscape. March Madness is always full of surprises and this year is no different. The Number One Seed in the At Large Bracket, MSNBC Hard Ball host Chris Matthews turned out to a softball player. He was no match for the cajones of Donna Brazile. While she appeared to be fading as the tournament started, the DNC terror upped her game and sent Tweety packing 56-44. This sets up a dream matchup in the At Large Regional Final between Brazile and the Number Two Seed Oprah Winfrey. Oprah humiliated Bill “Judas” Richardson 66-34. This bracket final redefines At Large due to the girth of the contestants who can both claim to have the biggest asses in the field.

And what a battle in the Media Bracket. The claws came out and Andrew Sullivan held off a furious charge from Maureen Dowd. The final score 52-48 (just 14 votes). Sullivan now gets to go head-to-head with top seed Keith Olbermann.

For all the Elite Eight Matchups and your chance to vote. Read BELOW.

Just pick from the matchups below. You determine who you think is the Bigger Ass in each contest. It won’t be easy.

White House Regional Final. It doesn’t get any better than this!
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Capitol Hill Regional Final. This one re-defines tight man to man defense.
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Media Bracket Regional Final. Who will be the one that comes out of the room at the end?
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At Large Bracket Regional Final. This one is exactly what it says it is. AT LARGE! Big Asses battling to be the Biggest Ass.
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Vote now. The polls close at midnight on Friday. On Saturday we will post the Final Four! And then join us on the Nocturnal Warrior show Tuesday night at 9:00 PM EDT when we do our National Championship Show and handicap the battle between our final two contestants. Feel free to post comments below as to how you arrived at your picks. Have fun with this.

The cream certainly rose to the top in the second round in the battle for the No Quarter Trophy. The second round of our March Madness tournament had few suprises and almost every match was a blowout. With the field narrowed to 16, we are down to the best of the best. To become our National Champion and wear the title of Biggest Ass on the American Political Landscape, someone will have to rise to the top over some of the most reprehensible people of our time.

BELOW, the scoop on the most suspenseful race last week (Michelle Obama vs. David Axelrod) and your virtual voting booth:

It was a surprising second round as three former National Champions were eliminated in matches that were not even close. Dick Cheney, Ann Coulter and Ted Kennedy (in a likely farewell performance) were all sent packing. The 12th seed in the Capitol Hill Bracket, Senator Claire McCaskill is the lone long shot left in the field as she easily disposed of the 4th seed John Boehner. The most exciting match occurred in the White House Bracket where number two seed Michelle Obama had her hands full with the 7th seed, David Axelrod.

Mrs. Obama pulled it out 54-46.

Your chance to vote in our Sweet 16 starts now. The polls will be open until 8:00 PM EDT on Tuesday. Here are the matchups.

White House Bracket
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Capitol Hill Bracket
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Media Bracket
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At Large Bracket
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Just vote for who you think is the biggest ass in each matchup. Feel free to post additional comments below. Have fun with this. Don’t forget to join us on the Nocturnal Warrior Show on No Quarter Radio this Tuesday night at 9:00 PM EDT for the Sweet 16 results and Elite Eight preview.

It’s that time of year. If you are one of the lucky Americans still working in an office atmosphere, you probably have been inundated with bracket contests tied to the NCAA Tournament. I love the tournament and watch those games religiously, but here at No Quarter we deal with more serious fare and not everyone is a sports fan. So on Tuesday night’s edition of the Nocturnal Warrior Show on No Quarter Radio, we created a tournament of our own. You can listen to the show here (I highly recommend it; it was one of our better efforts.)

We revealed a field of 64 participants vying for the No Quarter Trophy. Our National Champion will be the person you pick as the Biggest Ass on the American Political Landscape.

We’ve broken the field in four brackets seeded 1 through 16 and have determined the matchups accordingly. All you have to do is tell us who you think is the winner of each matchup.

This will be a round by round affair. You can list your winners in the comment sections here or e-mail them to me at nocturnalwarriorshow@gmail.com. First-round winners will be announced on next Tuesday night’s Nocturnal Warrior Show. Feel free to submit all of your logic for making your picks.

So without further ado, here are the matchups.

White House Bracket
1st Seed Barack Obama vs. 16th Seed Bill Clinton
8th Seed Joe Biden vs. 9th Seed Robert Gibbs
5th Seed George W. Bush vs. 12th Seed Lawrence Summers
4th Seed Timothy Geithner vs. 13th Seed Susan Rice
6th Seed Rahm Emanuel vs. 11th Seed Jimmy Carter
3rd Seed Dick Cheney vs. 14th Seed Colin Powell
7th Seed David Axelrod vs. 10th Seed Eric Holder
2nd Seed Michelle Obama vs. 15th Seed Condoleeza Rice

Capitol Hill Bracket
1st Seed Nancy Pelosi vs. 16th Seed Christopher Dodd
8th Seed Charles Rangel vs. 9th Seed Mitch McConnel
5th Seed Chuck Schumer vs. 12th Seed Claire McCaskill
4th Seed John Boehner vs. 13th Seed Norm Coleman
6th Seed Edward Kennedy vs. 11th Seed Rolan Burris
3rd Seed Barney Frank vs. 14th Seed Eric Cantor
7th Seed Joe Lieberman vs. 10th Seed John Kerry
2nd Seed Harry Reid vs. 15th Seed Larry Craig

Media Bracket
1st Seed Keith Olbermann vs. 16th Seed Katie Couric
8th Seed William Kristol vs. 9th Seed Dick Morris
5th Seed Ann Coulter vs. 12th Laura Ingraham
4th Seed Rachael Maddow vs. 13th Seed Markos Moulitsos
6th Seed David Shuster vs. 11th Seed Ariana Huffington
3rd Seed Maureen Dowd vs. 14th Seed Rush Limbaugh
7th Seed Joe Klein vs. 10th Seed David Broder
2nd Seed Andrew Sullivan vs. 15th Jamal Simmons

At Large Bracket
1st Seed Chris Matthews vs. 16th Eliott Spitzer
8th Seed Rod Blagoevich vs. 9th Seed William Ayers
5th Seed Caroline Kennedy vs. 12th Seed John Edwards
4th Seed Donna Brazile vs. 13th Jeremiah Wright
6th Seed Bill Richardson vs. 11th Seed Michael Steele
3rd Seed Tom Daschle vs. 14th Seed Bobby Jindal
7th Seed Howard Dean vs. 10th Seed Alan Greenspan
2nd Seed Oprah Winfrey vs. 15th Seed Tim Kaine

There, you have it.. Just post up or e-mail us your first round picks and we will pare the field down. Have fun with this!!!

I have previously stated that firms that were truly bailed out by the government should be subject to strict government compensation controls. A number of firms – such as Northern Trust, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs – were compelled to take government funds. If employees of these firms are subject to this tax, it will be a travesty and injustice of unprecedented proportions. I believe that Congress is unknowingly escalating class warfare amidst a facade and charade of protecting the public. I believe we will see public outrage from employees at these firms (JP Morgan, Northern Trust, Goldman, Wells Fargo) that can only be rivaled by our forefathers back in the 1770s. This tax is another means of promoting the income redistribution upon which Obama ran his campaign. Taxation without representation is tyranny!!!

Amidst the smoke and mirrors emanating from Washington, make no mistake this legislation passed today is an attempt to cover the incompetence and ineptitude of these legislators. This smokescreen is further displayed as Nancy Pelosi Blames Bernanke Over AIG Bonus Fiasco.

In my opinion, public outrage would be mollified to a much larger extent by payments from our politicians in addition to the AIG employees and others. I am referring to the grotesque sums paid by Wall Street firms (banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, accounting firms) in the form of campaign contributions and lobbyist dollars to curry favor with Washington.

I called on the return of these payments from politicians on March 9th in How Wall Street Bought Washington. Well, the WSJ has picked up on this theme and is making the same point in highlighting Critics Got Donations from Insurer. If the government plans to take employee bonuses, let’s have the political crowd exposed for their greed and incompetence as well. At that point, perhaps we may really start to make some progress.

Yesterday, as President Obama informed the press that the buck stops at his desk, a reporter asked him whether he would return the $104k his campaign received from AIG in 2008.

He ducked the question.

Change? Sounds like more of the same to me!!

LD

***Cross-posted from my blog, Sense on Cents. Come by and visit!

Now let me hasten to add that, by all means, the Speaker of the House, third in line of succession to the White House, needs to be able to fly to and from her/his district securely, especially in these dangerous times. BUT – it is the manner in which Speaker Pelosi is treating the Air Force as her personal valet service. And we are paying for it.

I’ll let the Judicial Watch president, Tom Fitton, lay it all out for you (if you don’t have time to watch the video, the link above contains the same information):

Everyone else is cutting back in these difficult times. Speaker Pelosi just makes excuses for her wastefulness. Again, she is entitled to this service, but it is the sense of entitlement with which she uses it that’s the problem: having it on standby and canceling at the last minute (unnecessarily); demanding a certain (most expensive) type of plane; and using it for her family as if it’s the family station wagon, to name a few.

Between this and the Pork House Omnibus Bill Obama is going to sign into law today (and then lecture us on earmarks – spare me already), it is kind of hard to take their “cinch up your belt” rhetoric seriously. Yes, Obama is going to sign the Omnibus Bill with over 8,000 earmarks in it, which he claims he just can’t change because it was written last year. Huh??? He calls it “imperfect,” but he’s signing it anyway!! Um, NEWSFLASH – you can VETO it, Obama!! Just more talking the talk but not getting close to walking the walk from Obama. Big surprise. Hahhaha! Oh, he said in that article that earmarks should receive more scrutiny, but given his wife benefited handsomely from some of HIS earmarks while in IL, there is no way he’s gonna call to abolish them altogether. Anyone who thought he would was just denying reality. Look at his record on it.

So, yeah – all the rest of us need to tighten up our belts, and make some changes. Our elected officials? Not so much. Oh, and Speaker Pelosi? We’re not buying your excuses, either. Stop treating the Air Force like your personal travel service and wasting our money. Obama, do you think you could keep ONE campaign promise?? Like on earmarks? Stop wasting our money already!!

Sheesh. Is it possible that all this time the Republicans have been calling the Democrats “tax and spend” Democrats, they were RIGHT??

The eruption of street protests around the country against the “stimulus bill”, as depicted in this video, certainly took me by surprise. I never expected anything like this so soon, if at all.

So what happens next? Is this the start of something that is likely to snowball? Will others take to the streets and join in to swell the voice of protest? Or will it all fizzle out as suddenly as it has begun?

Will the unions be next to protest against the new Administration’s policies, as predicted in this video?

In the past I have seen many protests by people from the left of the political spectrum, but how often do we see scenes like this from… I think it would be wrong to call it the political right, because it is obviously not only Republicans who are protesting against such massive expenditure in a bill that was voted for by people who had no time to read it, let alone digest it. Am I wrong in thinking these street protests are something new?

It will be interesting, to say the least, to see where we go from here. It will also be interesting to see if Youtube allows this video to remain where it is.