This past week, our new U.S.
Attorney General, Eric Holder,
gave a speech where he said
that when it comes to discuss-
ing racial issues, Americans
are cowards.  Nice blanket
statement if there ever was
one!  Sad truth is that he is
correct, but for the wrong
reasons.

Most Americans are afraid to
discuss racial issues because
they may be accused of being
a racist.  Even when someone
like Bill Cosby, himself an
African-American, who grew up
in a ghetto and has the 'street
cred', comments that the A-A
community needs to accept
more responsibility for their
situations, he is vilified.  So,
what hope do the rest of us
have to speak frankly without
persecution?

I, myself, have been consider-
ing for several weeks now to
write an article about why I
believe President Obama's
policies will turn America into
Detroit.  Until now, I hesitated
writing this since I figured that
the knee-jerk response would
be that I was being a racist
for saying such a thing.  But
after Holder's remarks, I can
no longer hold back my tongue.

My position on why I think that
Obama will turn America into
Detroit has nothing to do with
the fact that he is a black man,
or that Detroit is about 80%
black by population.  No, it
has to do with liberal Democrat
ideology.  But, since who in the
world can possibly argue
against liberal Democrat ide-
ology, the first inclination for
some would be to tag my
opinions as racist.

Detroit is a showplace for
liberal Democrat ideology.
The city has been run by
liberal Democrats for ages.
It doesn't matter what race
they are, or even the race
of the population.  The end
results would be the same.

The city is ripe with cronyism
and corruption.  It's govern-
ment placates to the major
unions, such as the UAW,
AFSCME, and AFT.  The
teachers' union are real
barriers or progress in the
city.  Only one in four children
graduate from high school.
THINK ABOUT THAT!!!
How in the world can Detroit
compete in a global market
with only 25% of it's children
earning high school diplomas?

Overall, the adult illiteracy rate
is over 50%.  Nearly two-thirds
of the city is on some sort of
government assistance.  The
unemployment rate in Detroit
is much higher than the nation-
al average.  Amongst A-A
men under 25 years of age,
it's around 33%!

And yet, all we hear, every
election cycle, is how the only
solution to Detroit's woes are
to throw more money at it.
The city has declined from
a population of over two mil-
lion to barely 900,000 over
the last four decades.  We
are now facing a third gener-
ation of Detroiters whom have
never known prosperity.  Who's
daily routine is dodging crime
in rundown neighborhoods
with half the homes empty or
reduced to empty lots.

Detroit is the legacy of liberal
Democrat ideology.  But to
criticize it's management is
to suffer the wrath of being
called a racist.  Just as when
South Carolina's Governor,
Mark Sanford spoke out
against Obama's spending
pork-a-thon bill, Sanford was
called a racist by Congressman
James Clyburn.  Fiscal respon-
sibility had nothing to do with it
in Clyburn's mind.

In this era of political correct-
ness, we must tip-toe softly
or just remain silent.  Other-
wise, we suffer the slings and
arrows of outrageous misfor-
tune.  Obama's response to
our economic problems is to
merely throw bushels of cash
at it.  Not back-engineer the
problem to see what caused
it in the first place, and then
fix the problem.  We'd be much
better off if the next stimulus
bill were written by members
of the NTSB.  At least they
know how to solve an accident!

Obama's plan is to just keep
pumping cash down the same
rat-holes that we have been
pouring money into since the
Great Society of Lyndon B.
Johnson.  And what has that
gotten us?  I'll tell you what
it has gotten the African-
American community.  Per-
petual poverty, shattered
family structure, and the
genocide of millions of the
unborn.  A-A babies are
aborted at nearly triple the
rate as Caucasian babies.
Where is the outrage from
Clyburn and others about
that I ask you?

But no, we cannot be critical
of such things.  After all, it's
part of liberal Democrat ide-
ology.  They sure mean well,
don't they?  Their intentions
are good and honorable.  
About as honorable as those
of Brutus and Cassius!  LOL!

So yes, Mr. Holder, we are
cowards.  We are afraid to
speak openly of the awful
truth that has plagued the
African-American community.
Of the great evil that the
Socialist agenda of liberal
Democrats has inflicted upon
it.  The same agenda, the
same ideology, which you
and President Obama sub-
scribe to.

It has been difficult to find any
good news about the economy.
One must really dig deep to
locate some.  But there are
some good signs, not many,
but some.

January's numbers for retail
sales was up 1% from last
year.  WOO-HOO!  This is
even before people get there
stimulus checks.  Mostly, folks
took advantage of the post-
Christmas bargains.  But up
is always better than down,
so REJOICE!

Another 'hopeful' sign is that
purchases of new homes in
Florida are up 13% from last
year.  True, sales nationwide
are still anemic.  But the re-
covery HAS to start some-
where and perhaps the Sun-
shine State will lead the way!
Some reports show that the
excess housing inventory in
Florida may be as low as just
six-nine months, half or less
than the national average.  
Until the housing market does
bottom-out, there will be no
sustained growth.  

Perhaps less innocuous are
reports from several travel
agencies which handle ‘spring
break’ packages for students
show a 10+% increase in
vacations being booked.  Top-
ping the list of favorite destina-
tions is Cancun, Mexico.  I’ve
have said before that if you
want to stimulate the economy,
give extra money to those in
the under 21 year old bracket.
They LOVE spending money!
Give everyone between 13 and
21 a quick $10,000 and they’ll
prime the pump quickly.

I would like to say that the
stock market has essentially
bottomed out, but I think the
tale is yet to be told on that
one.  Everytime President
Obama or one of his tax-
dodging lackeys opens his
mouth, the Dow Jones drops
another 300 points.  As it
did today, despite Obama
signing the Porkathon spend-
ing bill into law.

Speaking of which, I am
amused that one report has
the spending package only
giving the average taxpayer
some $13 a week in extra
cash.  Was it not Obama,
during the campaign, who
criticized McCain and Clinton
for their proposals for a gas
tax holiday because it only
saved taxpayers $50 a month?
I suppose Obama thinks his
plan is better since it gives
them $52 a month.  LOL!

The stock market looks to still
be on shaky ground.  While it
has hovered the 8,000 mark
for a while now, recent sell offs
have dropped it to the 7,500
range.  Today’s drop of nearly
300 points is interesting due to
the light volume of trading.  Not
a good sign.  But I won’t push
the PANIC button yet.  Should
the Dow stay above 7,000 till
the end of the 2nd Quarter,
even with the potential demise
of an auto company or two,
then we may have seen the
worst already on Wall Street.

Another GOOD sign is that
oil is still cheap.  Given all that
is happening now, another big
spike in prices like last summer
would be a very bad thing.  
However, a moderate increase,
back to the $50-75 range,
might actually turn out to be a
good sign that demand is up.
The more demand, the more
activity in other sectors. But
for now, cheap oil may be
the cushion we are looking
for in the economy reaching
it’s bottom and begin to grow
again.  Let’s hope the idiots
in Washington do not use it
as an excuse for raising taxes!

The real end to the beginning
will be when the ‘toxic assets’
are finally dealt with.  Thus far,
the first sale of such assets,
namely Lehman Brothers
old credit default swaps, only
earned 9% of ‘face’ value.
We’ll see what happens when
all of those mortgage tranches
from Freddie Mac and Fannie
May start to be sold.

Now I understand what
President Barack Obama
meant when he said he was
going to create "green jobs".
The 'stimulus/spending' bill
working it's way through the
U.S. Congress has funds to
build putting greens, groom
greens, mow fairways and,
of course, hire caddies.  I
have to wonder how does
one caddy at a Frisbee golf
course, like the one proposed
to be built in Austin, Texas?
I can see Bill Murray now,
caddying for the Dalai Lama,
as his Holiness's Frisbee
careens into a 10,000 foot
crevice.  "Gunga, Gagunga!"

Speaking of mowing lawns
as a new Federal-sponsored
career, let us not forget the
$20,000,000 for new sod for
the National Mall, which was
badly torn up by revelers at
Obama's inauguration.  The
plan also calls for new flush
toilets for the Mall, too, plus
improving three golf course
in the District of Columbia.  
Another vital, job-creating
item in Obama's economic
stimulus package is for a
butterfly garden in Boynton
Beach, Florida.  I can see how
that would create many jobs!
NOT!!!

Last night, the U.S. Senate
concluded their negotiations
and reached an agreement on
their version of the spending
package.  It will weigh in at
around $827 Billion dollars,
once items already voted for,
such as $2 Million dollars of
neon lights for Las Vegas,
are added into the package.
The Senate is expected to
vote on their version by
Tuesday, then it will go into
conference with members of
the House as they prepare a
compromise bill.

With this spending bill, we have
been introduced to a new term,
"shovel-ready".  The reason for
all of these bike trails, golf
courses, ATV parks, and even
butterfly gardens, is that they
are projects various local and
state governments already
have a desire and plan to build.
They just need the cash to get
started.  Real, genuine, infra-
structure projects, like roads,
bridges and such, will take
years to plan and build.  Just
look at the last major Federal
infrastructure project...
Boston's 'Big Dig'.

Facing ever more congested
traffic on I-93 through down-
town Boston,  the 'Big Dig'
was projected to relieve the
flow of traffic.  The project was
developed beginning in 1982
and was not completed until
late in 2007.  The 3.5 mile-long
tunnel underneath Boston was
originally projected to cost $2.8
Billion dollars.  It would up
costing nearly $15 Billion, and
once you add the interest to
the bonds which partly funded
the project, the final number
will be closer to $22 Billion.  It
will not be fully paid for until the
year 2038.

This is a classic example of
Federally funded projects in
our modern age.  This isn't
China, where a group of com-
misars decide something
needs being built and organize
gangs of thousands of workers
to build whatever it is in a year
or two.  After, of course, up-
rooting anyone who happened
to be living there, be they
human or beast.  In China,
there is no EPA, no Sierra
Club, PETA, Audubon Society,
etc.  Any protest groups who
stand in the way of a project
in China get run over by tanks.

The 'Big Dig' in Boston was
first conceived in the early
1970s.  Nearly a decade of
haggling took place before
the actual plan was finally
ready.  Another decade passed
before the first shovel hit the
dirt in 1991.  This is how
Federal infrastructure projects
are conducted here.  So if
anyone thinks that this so-
called stimulus package is
going to create a bunch of
real, long-term jobs, they
need to put the crack-pipe
down and get a grip on
reality!

Now we know why Democrats
don't mind raising taxes on the
American people...

Because they don't pay them!
HAW-HAW-HAW!!!

After months of the Media tell-
ing us how smart and amazing
Barack Obama is, how he will
bring change to Washington,
how his will be the most ethical
government, how in-depth his
vetting process will be for his
staff and cabinet, we are now
left with serious questions.

New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson was the first
faux-paux of the Obama
administration when he had
to withdraw his appointment
as Commerce Secretary due
to an on-going pay-to-play
investigation in his state.  Then
we have Tim Guithner who
came under scrutiny after
being appointed as Treasury
Secretary and failed to pay
pay-roll taxes and had issues
with employing an illegal immi-
grant.  Guithner was confirmed
anyway by the U.S. Senate
since they claim that he is the
ONLY MAN in the WHOLE
world who can fix the economy.
This despite overseeing the
collapse of Lehman Brothers
and having no clue how to
use Turbo-Tax.  LOL!

Obama promised no lobbyists
would be hired by his admini-
stration, but sure enough, they
were.  His man tapped to be
Assistant Secretary of Defense
was a lobbyist for Raytheon,
who make a wide range of
products for the military, includ-
ing the Patriot missile.  Others
appointed for secondary slots
are turning out to be lobbyists.
The Number Two man for the
Justice Department has a long
list of associations with the
ACLU defending pornography,
lobbying for Playboy and fight-
ing restrictions at libraries to
prevent access of pornography
to children.  HMMMM!

Then we come to Tom Daschle
who we come to learn is a two-
for.  Not only did he fail to pay
over a $100,000 in taxes for
money and perks earned as a
consultant, he was a consultant
to a health care lobbying group!
Kind of nice to be appointed as
Secretary of Health and Human
Services with those credentials.
We also learned this week that
Nancy Killefer, who was tapped
to be the 'performance officer'
and oversee efficiency in the
government wasn't very effi-
cient about paying her taxes!

All of this comes after a bad
week for Obama where his
massive spending bill, which
he disguises as a stimulus
or jobs package, has come
under fire for too much pork.
Billions of dollars are to be
wasted on projects like in-
suring honey bees and build-
ing Frisbee golf courses.  The
average cost of each job
allegedly to be created by all
of this spending is around
$200,000 a piece.  Most of the
new jobs are short term, how
long can it possibly take to
build a Frisbee golf course, and
much of the real spending on
infrastructure, like roads and
the power grid, won't come
until next year or even later.

Obama keeps pumping the
fear game, stating that his
spending bill MUST be passed
immediately to save the coun-
try!  House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi says that without the
$800+ Billion dollar package,
"500 Million Americans will
lose their jobs!"  Ummm, I
guess she's counting all of
those who live in the 57 states?
LOL!!!

White House mouth-piece,
Robert Gibbs, is absolutely
the worst press secretary in
U.S. history!  His press brief-
ings are ridiculous and he has
no clue about anything.  But
Gibbs does his best to gloss
over all of the errors Team
Obama have made thus far.
The effect of all of this s that
so far, the Obama administra-
tion looks more like "Romper
Room" than even an awful
episode of "West Wing".

Gitmo is being closed, even
though no plans have yet to
be made for what to do with
the dozens of bad apples
detained there.  65 released
by Bush returned to a life of
terrorism.  Obama has also
rescinded Bush's executive
order banning the use of
Federal money to fund abor-
tions and birth control.  Again,
that brilliant woman, Nancy
Pelosi, defended the change
since we all know that babies
are bad for the economy.
LOL!  Hope the Democrats
can still sing that tune when
Social Security tanks out due
to a lack of people paying
taxes.

All in all. our country is going
deeper into debt with the eco-
nomy stalled.  Other nations
are taking advantage of the
weak leadership we now have.
Russia announced this week
that they will no longer allow
us to use bases in Krygyzstan
to supply our troops fighting in
Afghanistan.  So much for
Obama's plans to reinforce
our efforts there.  China has
stated they will no longer buy
Treasury bonds which fund
our national Debt.  Other
world leaders are talking about
ending the use of U.S. dollars
for trade, such as for oil.

When you strip away all the
politics and ambiance, the
President of the United States
has really only two functions.
Defend the nation and sell T-
bills.  Obama does not appear
to be up to doing either of
these.  His solution to our
economic woes are to spend
billions of dollars will-nilly on
useless projects that will not
create any real jobs.  If you
think things are bad now, you
ain't see nothing yet!

The Obama-rama -Pork-A-
Thon passed the House of
Representatives by a vote
of 244 to 188.  All 177 Repub-
licans and 11 Democrats
voted against the pork-filled,
$819 Billion dollar boon-dog-
gle stimulus plan.  Despite all
of the lobbying by Obama to
members of the GOP, the
Republicans unified in the
House and opposed Obama's
legislation.

The stimulus package, which
includes funding contraceptives
and gives money to the left-
wing, voter registering group,
ACORN, has become contro-
versial.  An estimated 12% of
the money will be spent in the
next year.  Around 70% won't
be spent until after 2010. This
calls into question just how
stimulating the plan is?

Mind you, never before has any
spending bill corrected a rec-
cession.  Last year's Bush
stimulus package had little ef-
fect despite it's $150 Billion
dollar price tag.  All it did was
give tax refunds a year in ad-
vance.  In 1993, President Bill
Clinton, faced with 7% unem-
ployment (as we have now),
had Congress pass a $16
Billion dollar spending spree
to 'stimulate' the economy.

Many point to FDR's "New
Deal" as the framework for
Obama's plan.  But despite
all of the money, regulations
and new government agencies
which FDR created to fight
the Depression, his efforts
only prolonged the economy's
troubles, and set the stage for
long-term government largess.

Obama's plan is similar in that
sense.  It's objectives are not
narrowly focused on solving
the immediate issues of the
lack of credit and declining con-
sumption of goods.  His plan's
true intent is to use the current
economic downturn to shove
every pork-barrel project and
crazy left-wing scheme down
our throats in the name of
creating jobs, Jobs, JOBS!

If Obama does create 4 million
new jobs (which is highly
doubtful), the cost to future
generations of taxpayers will
be some $200,000 per job.
How good will an Obama Job
to build a new bicycle path
be once the path is built?  Will
it cause a sudden spike in the
need for more bike paths?  So
most of these new jobs which
the stimulus package MAY
create will be very short-termed
ones, indeed!

The Republicans offered an al-
ternative plan, costing only half
as much, which would have re-
duced the tax rates on the two
lowest income-earning brac-
kets down to 5% and 10%. The
effect would have been to put
money into people's hand di-
rectly and quickly.  Needless
to say, this went nowhere.

Now attention turns to the U.S.
Senate, which has a pending
bill valued at nearly $900
Billion dollars on the table!
Once the Senate passes it's
version, which may prove dif-
ficult as many Democrats have
issues with it, a compromise
bill will have to be negotiated.
But most agree that a spending
bill will pass and be signed by
Obama within the next few
weeks.

There is already talk of a TARP
Two being prepared to fund the
removal of 'toxic assets' from
the ledgers of financial institu-
tions.  One scheme is to create
a national super-bank which
will buy up all of the bad mort-
gages and other toxic paper.
The real issue, however, is how
best to get credit flowing again
in the system?  Some recent
signs that the housing market
may be getting closer to a solid
bottom by this summer are
emerging.  In some key regions
of the country, excess inventory
has declined from a full year
down to 6 to 9 months.

So, The Great Pretender has
taken an oath (not quite sure
if it was legal) and apparently
is now the president (though
not quite sure he's a naturally
born citizen, LOL!).  And we
are all expected to be gracious
and roll over and play dead
as he and his minions take
our nation down the path of
Socialism.  Rrrrright!

Nope, not I.  Am I mean-
spirited?  A member of the
disloyal opposition?  You
betcha!  We've just had 8
years of nonstop Bush-bash-
ing.  Even yesterday, crowds
boo'd him.  A pair of rappers
at some post-inaugural shin-
ding ranted and raved against
Bush.  So if the Left can do it,
so can I.

Am I descending to their level?
Perhaps, but them thar be
fighting werds.  I was greatly
amused watching Chris Mat-
thews on "Hardball" today com-
plain about how Rush Lim-
baugh had only four words to
sum up his feelings towards
Obama, "I HOPE HE FAILS".
LOL!

Matthews ranted on about how
mean-spirited Limbaugh's sen-
timents were.  He acted so in-
nocently to the notion that a
president could be treated so
harshly, even on his 1st day in
office.  He apparently has for-
gotten the last 8 years.  How
his buddy, Keith Olbermann
would trash Bush nightly. How
some even attacked Bush as
being an illegitimate president.
At least we know Bush was
born here and said the oath
correctly.

The Great Pretender, Obama,
has already started off on the
wrong foot.  He still clings to
his nominee for Treasury Sec-
retary, despite the fact that the
man doesn't understand our
tax codes and was responsi-
ble for the collapse of Lehman
Brothers.  Well, partly responsi-
ble, anyway.  He certainly let
it go down the tubes at the
same time we had bailed out
other less deserving or impor-
tant to our financial system.

Obama's stimulus package is
a worse joke than Bush's was.
Only a third of the proposed
money will be spent during the
next two years, the rest right
before Obama runs for his 2nd
term.  Even if his package is
successful, the average cost to
the taxpayers will be $220,000
for each job Obama optimis-
tically hopes to create.  I have
a better idea.  Just randomly
draw the Social Security num-
bers of four times more unem-
ployed workers and just hand
them all a check for $55,000.
Now THAT'S spreadin' the
wealth around!  LOL!

The Era of Big Government
is now officially back.  Yes,
GW expanded government
quite a bit, too.  But now we'll
have whole sectors of our
economy nationalized, begin-
ning with the banks.  On ener-
gy, Obama seems to have
forgotten last summer's pro-
mise of domestic drilling.  He
does not plan to develop any
new oil or even natural gas
deposits.  He favors wind and
sunshine, or, in other words,
a whole lot of hot air!

So, no, I will not jump on the
'Give Him A Chance' band-
wagon.  Why should I?  The
flowing rhetoric did not mes-
merize me.  And his playing
fast and loose with his party's
caucus system appalled me.
As far as I'm concerned, the
only legitimate leader our
nation has right now, in order
of succession, is Nancy Pelosi.
God help us all!

Well, I guess I should really
call this piece "Ann Coulter
VS The Media".  The high
priestess of Conservatism
has a new book out, "GUILTY",
and for the past week has been
making the rounds on TV.  Ann
was supposed to be on NBC's
"Today Show" last Tuesday
when she was 'bumped' for
Tony Blair.  Matt Drudge then
posted that according to one of
his sources inside NBC, she
had been banned for life on
the Peacock Network.

But, NBC then scrambled and
had her on the next day for two
segments.  She's also made
the rounds on Fox News, of
course, as well as the CBS
Morning Show and "The View".
Everywhere Ann goes, she
was attacked for some of her
statements in "GUILTY".

Of course, everything she says
is TRUE!  Which is why they
beat up on her.  Kill the mes-
senger is a timeless practice.
The Media, which is predomi-
nately Liberal, does not like
The Truth, especially when it
indicts them, which is the basis
of Coulter's new book.

"GUILTY" deals with a wide
range of cause-and-effect is-
sues.  Mainly, how those who
claim 'victimization' are the
ones who are creating real
victims.  Coulters cites 40+
years of statistical proof that
the policies of the Liberals
and their minions are at the
root of much of the societal
ills we face today.

One of the more shocking
truths is that single-mother-
hood is the cause for much
of the crime in America.  Some
70% of all incarcerated crimi-
nals come from homes of
single-mothers.  Equal percen-
tages of juvenile deliquents,
runaways and other troubled
children all share this common
thread in the social fabric.  Yet,
despite the cold-hard facts,
The Media, especially Holly-
wood, our courts and schools
all embrace single motherhood
as a positive role model. Ann
responds to her critics that she
is only reporting what the raw
data shows and believes it
needs to be discussed.

But those in The Media quickly
dismiss her on grounds that
Ann's "tone" is too harsh, too
flip, too mean-spirited.  Even
some who claim to be Conser-
vatives or even Objective, will
cite these points about her
statements.  My favorite line
of hers' from last week's tour
of talk shows was when she
appeared with Lou Dobbs.  Ann
proclaimed herself as the only
"MAN" in the Republican Party!
LOL!!!  Sad, but nearly true!
There are actually two MEN in
the G.O.P., the other being
Governor Sarah Palin.  LOL!

Now, I don't mean that in a bad
way.  These two ladies have
proven themselves to have the
'cajones' to take on the bad
guys, namely, the Liberal
Media.  Coulter even points to
this past election cycle in her
book, "GUILTY", on how the
MSM attacked Palin while
giving Barack Obama a com-
plete pass on being vetted.
How squads of reporters went
to Alaska to investigate Palin
and talk with anyone who knew
her name for the purpose of
getting some dirt on her.  No
such effort was even contem-
plated by the MSM on looking
into Obama's past.

So kudos to Ann Coulter for
fighting the good fight and not
caving in nor selling out.  Un-
like so many others we have
seen who have done so, Ann
has not softened her stance
on the issues or on her phi-
losophy.  The world has
enough Mike Huckabees
and Bill O'Reillys.  And far
too many John McCains!
LOL!!!  Ann Coulter, I
salute you!

The 111th U.S. Congress has
returned to work this week.
It was an interesting return at
that!  We began with the high
drama of Roland Burris, newly
appointed to the Senate by IL
Gov. Rod Blagojevich, being
denied entrance to the Senate.
His admittance was blocked
by Majority Leader Senator
Harry Reid of NV, over the
issue that Burris' certification
as senator was not signed by
the IL Secretary of State, Jesse
White.

Wednesday, Burris met with
Reid to discuss conditions for
his admittance.  Burris then
returned to IL where he had
appeared before the state legi-
slature to undergo questioning
by the committee deciding if
Gov Blagojevich would be sub-
ject to an impeachment.  We
learned this week that Burris
has had long ties to 'Blago',
including Blago's wife getting
a cushy $80,000 a year job
in September with the Chicago
Christian Industrial League,
where the partner of Burris'
lobbying/consulting firm is a
board member.  HMMMM!
Good timing on that job!

Meanwhile, back in Washing-
ton, President-Elect Barack
Obama faced new hurdles
as his appointee for Secretary
of Commerce, NM Gov Bill
Richardson, was forced to
decline the appointment as
he is also facing a grand jury
investigation over 'pay-to-play'
corruption in his state!  This
story had been around a long
time in New Mexico, but only
now surfaced in the national
media.  Despite the 65-page
questionnaire that all future
staffers for Obama were to
give complete details of their
public life, etc, somehow this
little tidbit got lost in the shuffle.

Obama had other problems
as his appointee for the CIA,
Leon Panetta, former Clinton-
ista, came under some hubris
as he has absolutely ZERO
experience on intelligence
matters!  So the quest for the
'best and the brightest' in this
21st Century edition of Camelot
has fallen short.  Panetta did
serve as Clinton's Chief of Staff
from 1994 till 1997, where his
focus was more centered on
budget issues.  You'd think that
maybe Obama would have
been wiser to tap Panetta as
Richardson's replacement for
Commerce?

Obama was laid down strict
rules to Congress about his
plans for a stimulus package
projected to exceed $800 Bil-
lion dollars!  He wants no pork
in it, except his own, of course!
Already, mayors of some 500
cities have issued a lengthy
text of public projects they want
included in the package.  Some
items include such job stimula-
tors as bicycle paths and rail-
road museums.  LOL!  The
states will weigh in with their
requests as well, OINK OINK!
Obama intends to create some
600,000 new government jobs
as part of his plan for stimula-
ting the economy.

Speaking of stimulation, it now
seems that in addition to bail-
outs for the banks, investment
firms, insurance and auto com-
panies, the U.S. porn industry
now also wants $5 Billion dol-
lars!  Larry Flint of "Hustler"
and Joe Francis of "Girls Gone
Wild" fame say that the econo-
mic downturn has cost the U.S.
adult entertainment industry
some $13 Billion dollars so far.
They intend to petition our
Congress for a slice of the bail-
out pie.  LOL!

2008 will go down in my book
as the Year of the Stupid!

It was a stupid year for many
reasons.  Initially, for the pre-
sidential campaigns.  A field
of candidates that included
some very experienced
people, like Rudy Guiliani,
Mitt Romney, or even Hillary
Clinton, devolved into a race
between a young upstart and
the seasoned compromiser.

Barack Obama came out of
the most corrupt political ma-
chine in the country and with
only a mere 143 days of ex-
perience on the floor of the
U.S. Senate, became the dar-
ling of the Main Stream Media
and the George Soros cyber-
machine.  He cheated his way
through the caucus system
and may possibly not even be
eligible under our Constitution
to a presidential candidate, but
managed to win anyway.  The
MSM and Internet organs like
MoveOn.org and Huffington
Post bolstered his campaign
to new heights of political star-
dom.  Despite Obama's lack
of experience, and his past
associations and whatever
other mysteries behind his
mask, we're now stuck with
him for the next four years.

The American people had a
choice between Obama and
John McCain.  A difference
between too young and too old.
McCain's message was soft
and often confused.  He had
a lot of help during the primary
season from the MSM who set
out to destroy Guiliani before
Iowa and New Hampshire.
They also helped in casting
doubts about Romney.  The
only wise move McCain made
all year was selecting Sarah
Palin to be his running mate.

But the impact of Palin was
short-changed by the MSM
and by McCain's staffers, who
mishandled her media appear-
ances.  Instead of being shown
to be an effective reformer and
competent executive, which
she proved herself to be, Palin
quickly devolved into the image
of a hick by much of the popu-
lation.  Once again, the people
chose poorly.

On another front, 2008 saw the
decades of foolish executed by
our political and corporate insti-
tutions come full circle.  Big
Banks, Big Government and
the Big 3 all came tumbling
down as the housing and finan-
cial markets imploded.  Years
of market bubbles and golden
parachutes took their toll.

Programs to encourage folks
to buy homes they could never
afford helped start the chaos.
Government-sponsored entities
like Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac, stocked with political
hacks added fuel to the fire. I
won't leave out the foolishness
of our larger corporations who
have a habit of rewarding fail-
ure, either.

Chrysler is a good example.
Purchased by Cerebus, an
investment group, they placed
at Chrysler's head a guy who
helped ruin Home Depot and
still got a $200 Million dollar
parachute when he was given
the boot from there.  The corp-
orate climate at GM is no bet-
ter, promoting financial wonks
instead of people who actually
understand the automotive
industry.  GM is now worth less
than $2.5 Billion dollars, and
is under Bed & Baths on the
scale of corporate value.

The response to the financial
meltdown was also very fool-
ish.  Hank Paulson and Ben
Bernanke had all the signs of
trouble a-coming long ago yet
failed to act.  Others had tried
to reign in Freddie and Fannie
years ago, but to no avail.  The
Congress shares blame in this,
especially the way they rail-
roaded a recovery bill giving
Paulson and Bernanke unpre-
cedented powers and tons of
taxpayers money to waste.

"It's been a very bad year,"
said Sean Connery in the film,
"The Wind and the Lion", "and
I fear next year will be even
worse."  LOL!  I want to be
optimistic about 2009.  I
REALLY DO!!!  I want to hope
that Obama's actions as our
next president will make the
recession a short one, or at
least prevent it from becoming
an outright Depression.  I even
hope that the Detroit Lions may
actually win a game next sea-
son, too!

But as the song says, "What
Christmas we get we deserve."
We've been making a lot of
bad choices for many years.
In 2008, we made more than
usual.  We've behaved very
stupidly and now must pay the
price.  Will we learn from our
mistakes?  We shall see!

Today, after a week's delay,
the Obama transistion team
released an 'in-house' review
of contact between his team
and Gov. Balgojevich's office
over the appointment of a re-
placement Senator.  The
review was conducted led
by Greg Craig, former White
House counsel to President
Bill Clinton.  The report claims
that Barack Obama had no
direct contact with Blagojevich
himself over his replacement
for the U.S. Senate.

However, the report confirms
that Obama's Chief of Staff,
Rahm Emanuel, did have four
conversations with the gover-
nor's chief of staff, John Harris.
Emanuel also had "one or two
telephone calls" with Gov. Rod
Blagojevich himself on the sub-
ject of the appointment of a
new Senator.  The review also
indicates that Emanuel had
suggested Valerie Jarrett, a
long-time friend and associate
of the Obamas, to the Senate
seat without Obama's know-
ledge.

The review also claims that
Jarrett had no direct contact
with anyone from the gover-
nor's office concerning the
Senate seat, but that she did
discuss the position with
Tom Balanoff, head of the
Illinois chapter of the SEIU,
the Service Employees In-
ternational Union.  This is
the same union that accord-
ing to Federal wiretaps, the
Governor had sought a nice
cushy job with if he appointed
a friend of Obama's to the
U.S. Senate seat.

Naturally, the in-house review
absolves any members of the
Obama transistion team from
any wrong-doing, citing that
none had engaged in any
discussions of a quid-pro-quo
arrangement with Blagojevich.
However, it should be noted,
that those conducting the re-
view did not have access to
any recordings or even the
transcripts of such made by
Federal investigators during
their wiretaps on Blagojevich's
home and office.  The informa-
tion of the review only comes
from those interviewed by
Craig and his assistants.

Transcripts of those wiretaps
may become public soon, as
the Illinois legislature has re-
quested them for their up-
coming impeachment hearings.
So the precise nature of any
and all phone conversations
between Emanuel, Blagojevich
and others will be known, pos-
sibly before the Federal prose-
cutor takes his case to trial.
Today's release of the Craig
report may not have the full
effect desired.

In other news concerning full
disclosure, calls for Caroline
Kennedy to make public her
financial records have come
up short.  In a statement issued
today by her staff, she will only
release her documents IF she
is appointed to replace the
Senate seat, not yet vacated
by Hillary Clinton.  So why is
she being so secretive?

Had she actually been running
for public office, she would
have had to release them prior
to an election.  Should not the
same be true prior to a SELEC-
TION???  Maybe she hadn't
considered this point before
becoming interested in the job?
It would seem to me that she
should make all financial re-
cords available as 'part of the
process' of being considered
for the appointment.

Had MIZZ Kennedy applied
for any position on the Obama
staff, she would have had to
release that and much more
before being considered.  The
New York Times and other
NY media organs are applying
pressure on her to be more
forth coming with information,
such as what her qualifications
are for being a U.S. Senator.
I suspect that at some point
in time, she'll either start co-
operating or decide to bail out
of the selection process.

This morning, the Bush Admini-
stration performed, perhaps,
it's last major act in office.  The
President has authorized the
Treasury Department to use
money from TARP to provide a
'bridge loan' of some $17.4 Bil-
lion dollars to Detroit's 'Big 3'
automobile manufacturers. The
loan is to help the companies
stay in business at least till
March of next year.

There are strings attached to
the loan.  Issues such as
executive pay/bonuses, any
deals of $100 Million dollars or
more, as well as wages and
benefits for the 'rank and file'
unionized employees are part
of the loan's terms.  Also, a
guarantee that once the auto
makers (GM, Chrysler and
Ford) MUST pay the govern-
ment back first once they be-
come profitable again.

The conditions are similar to
an agreement that had failed
to pass in the U.S. Senate
after being approved of by the
House of Representatives. In
the Senate, conditions to make
the unions accept wages and
benefits to be reduced were
a stumbling block.  In today's
announcement by President
Bush, he made it clear that
the unions will have to fall in
line and accept parity with the
wages and benefits which the
domestic 'transplant' compan-
ies, such as Honda, Toyota
and Kia Motors.  These firms
typically pay their employees
25-40% less than those of the
Big 3.

As late as Thursday evening,
the White House was still
weighing the options of having
the Big 3 file for Chapter 11
protection as a means to reor-
ganize.  Both GM and Chrysler
were in danger of going bank-
rupt by the end of the year.
Chrysler announced yesterday
that they would be closing 30
plants and delaying the reopen-
ing of the rest by a month after
the holidays.  GM and Ford
are also closing plants and
likewise delaying restarts well
into January.

At risk are some 750,000
hourly employees of the auto
makers, as well as more than
double that of their suppliers.
GM, which is some $60 million
dollars in debt, was the most
in danger of failing. Chrysler
is also teetering on the brink.
Ford is in some what better
shape.  They have not asked
for any loan money, but have
asked for a line of credit from
the government.

Today's bailout will give the
three companies time to put
together a more detailed plan
for restructuring.  They may
still be forced into Chapter 11
later, but under better terms
which could allow them to
eventually become profitable
again.  Without today's loan,
not only would two of the Big
3 gone under, but perhaps the
entire domestic auto industry.
Even the 'transplants' would
have suffered, as they share
many of the same suppliers
for parts.

Far from out of the woods,
today's action by the White
House is in effect, a punt.
The loan is not a solution,
only a delay.  The Big 3's
major problem are two-fold.
Their 'legacy' costs for the
workers who retired are
huge, adding between $1500
to $2000 per automobile, a
cost that the more recent
transplant companies do not
share.

The second problem they face
is the same problem nearly
every industry currently is
facing... the credit crunch!
Very few cars are being sold
as very few banks are financing
auto loans.  The Big 3, and the
transplants, were all showing
profitable 1st Quarters until
the mortgage/housing crisis
spilled over and overwhelmed
the entire banking industry.
The failings of Bear Sterns and
IndyMac rippled into the rest
of the financial institutions.
When giants like AIG, Lehman
Brothers, and the Federally
supported Freddie Mac and
Fannie May imploded, the
entire financial system came
to a screeching halt!

So, even with today's loans,
the big question is, will any
one start buying cars (or
homes or boats, etc...) come
next year?  Will the banks
start making loans again?
The Big 3, and the transplants,
are already planning that the
next year or longer may see
drastic reductions in consumer
demand for new cars.  Some
analysts are predicting total
car sales of only 10 million
vehicles for the next few years.
Down considerably from record
setting 17 million cars sold just
a few years ago.  Even 10 mil-
lion car sales may be overly
optimistic.  If the credit market
does not recover, next year
may see only a fraction of
such predicted sales.

Back when TARP was still
being debated in Congress,
I had written about alternative
proposals to fixing the credit
crunch.  One such method
would be for the Treasury and
Federal Reserve to dole out
the cash in smaller bundles,
say $100 million dollars, and
spread the cash around to the
thousands of 'Mainstreet'
retail banks, under conditions
to loan the money out to
consumers and small busi-
nesses within 30-90 days.
Such low or zero interest cash
under that condition would put
liquidity into the system and
economic activity going.

Until the credit market is
functional again, any amount
of money bailing out any
industry may prove to be just
a waste of time and taxpayer
funds.  The Congress may be
do more good just to declare
a 'tax holiday' for the first six
months of 2009 to help fuel
economic activity again. Just
bailing out companies 'too
large to fail' has yet to provide
any true relief.

The Chicago Tribune reported
Friday, Dec. 12, that the FBI
wire tapped conversations
between the staff of the Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich
and Rahm Emanuel, Obama's
chief of staff.  This adds to the
growing evidence that many
high-ranking Democrats did
in fact discuss 'pay-to-play'
deals for the U.S. Senate seat
vacated by Obama.  Obviously,
the questions now are who
knew what and when?  As well
as what they actions they took
when they learned that Rod
Blagojevich was attempted to
sell the Senate seat?

Did Emanuel tell his boss,
Barack Obama, what Rod
Blagojevich was doing?  Was
Rahm's conversations with
Blagojevich's staff the reason
why Obama adviser, Valerie
Jarrett withdrew her name
from consideration for the
Senate seat?  Did Emanuel
contact Federal authorities?
Or did Emanuel, and Obama,
just view Blagojevich's actions
as 'politics as usual'?

According to the Tribune
article, Rahm Emanuel had
contact with Blagojevich's
office the Saturday before
the Nov. 4th election.  He
had called John Harris,
the governor's chief of staff
(who was also arrested by
the FBI Tuesday, Dec. 9).
At some point after this
telephone conversation,
Emanuel delivered a list
of candidates who were
considered "acceptable" to
Obama as replacements
for his Senate seat.  The
list comprised of Valerie
Jarrett, Tammy Duckworth
(director of IL Veterans
Affairs), Dan Hynes (IL
state comptroller) and
Congresswoman Jan
Schakowsky.  Sometime
later, Emanuel called on
Harris again to add the
name of IL Attorney General,
Lisa Madigan to the list.

Emanuel, who is still a member
of the U.S. Congress, may
have also discussed who
would replace him when a
special election would be
held with Blagojevich staff
members.  Under Illinois
state law, a special election
must be held to fill Congres-
sional seats, whereas the
Senate seat is filled by an
appointee of the governor.
But given the nature of the
political machine in Chicago,
and Illinois, it would seem
very likely that whoever would
run for Emanuel's seat would
need the 'blessing' of the
governor.  After all, Emanuel's
seat used to be held by none
other than Blagojevich!  How
cozy is that???

It has also surfaced that the
governor had met with the
brother of Congressman
Jesse Jackson Jr just days
before Blagojevich was arrest-
ed during a fundraiser held by
an Indian-American group.
The two men were even photo-
graphed together during the
gala affair.  At another fund-
raisers held on Oct 31st by
another Indian-American
group, two Chicago business-
men, of Indian decent, Nayak
Raghueveer and Rajinder
Bedi, both supporters of
Jesse Jackson Jr, may have
begun discussions with Rod
Blagojevich at that time on
raising $1 Million dollars for
the governor's campaign
funds if he appointed Jesse
Jackson Jr as Obama's re-
placement.

Another recent Tribune article
on Rahm Emanuel, who has
begun lying low the past two
days, by reporter John Kass
points a finger at Emanuel's
long-time political ally, James
DeLeo.  "Jimmy" as he is
known, is an IL state senator
who is extremely powerful.
He is also the Democratic
state committee man for the
5th Congressional District
which Emanuel represents.
Some say the DeLeo is in
fact the real governor of
Illinois.  

DeLeo was once a traffic
court bailiff, earning only
$20,000 a year, yet he had
owned several cars, including
brand new Cadillacs, Jaguars
and Mercedes.  In 1989, he
was charged by Federal agents
for taking bribes to fix tickets
during a judicial corruption
probe called "Operation
Greylord".  During grand jury
testimony, a former roommate
of DeLeo testified that once he
had found some $35,000 in
cold hard cash in the freezer
of their refrigerator!  It was
wrapped in butcher paper to
prevent freezer burn!  LOL!!!

During Jimmy's trial, former
mobster Ken 'Tokyo Joe' Eto
emerged from a witness pro-
tection program to testify that
he routinely passed cash to
DeLeo.  Amazingly, the jury
did not buy the Feds case
against DeLeo.  Acquitted,
Jimmy ran for public office
and has been a player ever
since.  Tribune reporter John
Kass made several attempts
to contact DeLeo concerning
the Emanuel-Blagojevich
connection over Obama's
Senate seat.  DeLeo's lawyer
finally called Kass and denied
that his client had anything to
do with the current scandal.

But the moral of this story is
that Chicago politics is any-
thing but moral.  Whether it's
the current 'pay-to-play' bribe
schemes of the current gover-
nor and his cronies, or the
classic 'cash-in-the-freezer'
of the past, Chicago is a very
corrupt political machine to
be groomed in.  And groomed
there was Rahm Emanuel,
David Axlerod, Valerie Jarrett
and a whole host of other
Obama advisers, as well as
the big guy himself, Barack
Obama.

What is truly sad is that our
gallant members of the Main
Stream Media completely failed
to vet Obama before the this
last election cycle.  Had any
true reporting been done on
Obama's background before
the primary season began, any
of a number of his past asso-
ciations, whether Blagojevich,
Rev Wright, Bill Ayers or
Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, would
have sealed his fate and we
would now be calling Hillary
Clinton the 'President-Elect'.
Bill Clinton was absolutely
right when he said that the
whole Obama campaign was
just one huge fantasy.  LOL!

Early this morning at 6AM, the
FBI arrested Rod Blagojevich,
Governor of Illinois, as well as
his chief of staff, John Harris.
This is just the latest arrest as
a result of the Federal probe
known as "Operation Board
Games", which I have written
about before.  Since 2003,
U.S. Prosecuting Attorney,
Patrick Fitzgerald, has tried
and convicted 27 in the most
shameless example of wide
spread political corruption.
He has yet to lose a case.

In a 76 page complaint filed
today, Blagojevich and Harris
are charged with numerous
cases of bribery plus wire
and mail fraud.  These all
involve "Pay-to-Play" schemes
to get people to fork over
money and favors before get-
ting government contracts or
positions.

Several highlighted in today's
arrest include denying a
children's hospital $8 Million
dollars in state funding unless
the hospital's chief executive
donated $50,000 to the gover-
nor's campaign fund, holding
up stated assistance in a deal
for the Chicago Tribune to sell
Wrigley Field and the Chicago
Cubs baseball team until a
group of editors on the Tribune
were fired, and, most notably,
the auctioning of the U.S.
Senate seat vacated by the
President-Elect, Barack
Obama.

Wire-taps which Fitzgerald had
authorized by a Federal court
on Blagojevich's phones and
his conference room provided
shocking details.  The arrests
were conducted today as a
result of these wire-taps, which
indicated a frenzy of actions by
Blagojevich to accumulate as
much as he could before a new
ethics law comes into effect
next year.  In the particular
case of the Senate seat, which
under Illinois law, Blagojevich
has sole authority to appoint
a replacement, even from jail,
the clock was ticking.  Since
November 5th, the day after
Obama won the election, dis-
cussions on the replacement
were underway.

In edited transcripts of the
taped conversations released
by Fitzgerald, there is clear
evidence of Blagojevich's
attempts to secure bribes in
exchange for his appointing
a new U.S. Senator.  He was
unhappy with discussions he
and his staff had with Obama
and his staff, as they were not
going to give Blagojevich any-
thing of substance.  He had
wanted either a juicy position
as an ambassador or cabinet
member, or a cushy job for his
wife on the board of a corpora-
tion in exchange for appointing
Obama confidant, Valerie
Jarrett to the U.S. Senate.

Failing in this, Blagojevich then
sought bribes from others. One
potential replacement was
allegedly going to raise be-
tween $500,000 to $1 Million
dollars for Blagojevich's cam-
paign funds.  Knowing that he
was under investigation, he
also plotted to arrange a pre-
payment to lawyers to defend
him in the event of a Federal
indictment, under condition that
should there be none, he would
get the money back as a dona-
tion.

Already, calls for Blagojevich to
resign are being made, as well
as calls for a special election to
be held quickly to fill the Senate
seat.  Blagojevich had been
lying low since the conviction of
Antoin 'Tony' Rezko by Federal
Prosecutor, Fitzgerald, last
spring.  Rezko, who was to be
sentenced on October 23rd,
had his court appearance
delayed by Fitzgerald.  The
story was broke by the Tribune
that Rezko was singing to the
prosecutors.  Since July, the
rumor mill in Chicago was ripe
with stories that Blagojevich
would soon be indicted.

"Operation Board Games"
began in 2003 when the CEO
of another hospital went to the
FBI about being threatened by
Blagojevich-insider, Stuart
Levine.  Levine was putting
pressure on the CEO to hire
a particular construction com-
pany to carry out a major
expansion project for the
hospital.  Some $200 Million
dollars of state funds were
allocated for the project.
Levine was arrested and in
April of 2004, became the first
of many to be convicted by
the investigation into political
corruption.

While there is no direct allega-
tion against Obama, yet, when
asked by reporters, Fitzgerald
choose his words carefully,
saying that Obama was not
implicated in "the complaint
filed today".  However, if one
delves deeper into the whole
scandal, as Evelyn Pringle
does in her 5-part series on
www.opednews.com, one sees
many connections.  Most of
those already convicted, as
well as other minor players in
the 'Pa-to-Play' scheme, had
dealings with Obama and many
had made campaign contribu-
tions to his various office runs.

Obama is currently distancing
himself from Blagojevich, but
in the past, Obama served on
the governor's campaign com-
mittees and approved many
appointees to various state
offices that Blagojevich wanted.
Most notably was when Obama
acted as head of the state's
Health and Human Resource
Committee, where Obama
helped passed legislation
which restructured a panel
that was responsible for health
care projects, like building new
or expanding hospitals. Obama
then approved all of those who
Blagojevich submitted to sit on
the panel, including Stuart
Levine and Valerie Jarrett.

Some question why Fitzgerald
arrested Blagojevich now, be-
fore the actual appointment to
the Senate was made.  Some
believe he should have waited
until after wards, when an even
greater crime could be prose-
cuted.  My belief is that the
arrests were made now, before
Obama takes office and control
of the Federal government. I
have stated several times my
belief that the primary reason
Obama was prompted to run
for president in 2008 was solely
to shut down "Operation Board
Games".

In Pringle's articles, she details
how Blagojevich had intended
to run for president in 2008.
But, as he became under more
scrutiny as his inner circle were
arrested and convicted, a sub-
stitute was needed.  One who
was essentially clean of any
allegations of corruption.  Enter
Obama, who had the added
benefit of being free of any
paper-trail of controversial
legislation.  Or at least freer
than other Illinois Democrats.
LOL!!!

Thus, the die was cast and the
way paved for Obama to first
be elected to the U.S. Senate,
and then run for the White
House.  Already, there are calls
for an independent Federal
prosecutor to be appointed, as
many of the Obama inner-circle
will undoubtedly be questioned
as the Blagojevich case heads
to trial.  Time Magazine is al-
ready predicting that Obama's
administration may get bogged
down during it's first year due
to his staffers and advisers,
and perhaps himself, will be
deposed as the case against
Blagojevich is built.

The CEOs of Detroit's Big 3,
GM, Ford and Chrysler, re-
turned to Washington DC for
two more days of facing the
Congress.  Today it was the
Senate as they now increased
the amount they need to sur-
vive from $25 to $34 Billion
dollars.  One economist from
Moody's said the number may
wind up being between $75 to
$125 Billion dollars in the long
run.

On Wednesday, all three had
submitted their reorganizing
plans to the Congress, as in-
structed by Nancy Pelosi.  GM
is asking for the most money,
$4 Billion right away and $18
Billion altogether, mostly in
government-backed credit.
Ford only wants $9 Billion in
credit and Chrysler wants
$7 Billion in cash.  All three
also want TARP money to
unfreeze their financing wings
which provide consumers
with car loans.

The Big Three's plans include
reducing work force and the
number of car models they will
manufacture.  They also will
cut back on suppliers and the
number of dealerships they
support.  The UAW also joined
them at the Senate hearing and
are agreeable to making some
concessions in order to help
out, including a Jobs Bank
which pays unemployed auto
workers 95% of their salary
while finding another job.

The six-hour long hearing had
one major interruption when a
group of protestors disrupted
the proceedings.  They began
chanting, "The bailout is a
sellout!"  Some of the senators
were concerned about the auto
companies still being viable
even with the loans. They were
particularly interested if
Chrysler was just using the
loan money to make them
more attractive to a possible
merger with GM or sale to
another group of investors.

Senator Chris Dodd, who was
the chairman of today's hear-
ing, spoke after wards that he
intends to try once again to get
the Federal Reserve and the
Treasury Department to handle
the auto bailout under the exist-
ing TARP plan.  So far, they
have been reluctant to do so.
Despite most polls showing
that the majority of Americans
are against the auto bailout,
it would seem unlikely that the
Democratic controlled Con-
gress would not approve the
bailout.  However, there is a
war brewing between the
East and West over this issue.

The California delegates are
opposed to the bailout, seeing
this as an opportunity to once
and for all eliminate the auto
companies which dominate in
states east of the Mississippi.
They want more money and
legislation geared to develop-
ing the new Silicon Valley car
companies which are making
electric and other alternative
fueled cars.  California has
long since been the main
source of strict pollution and
fuel economy laws which have
hampered the Big Three.

Recently, Representative
Henry Waxman replaced John
Dingell as head of the power-
ful House Energy and Com-
merce Committee.  Dingell has
been a chief defender of the
Big 3 for his long career in
Congress, since being first
elected in 1955.  Waxman is
a major opponent against the
auto and oil industries.  He is
in favor of the new breed of
small, high-tech car companies
like those that make the Tesla
and the Aptera.

Despite these conflicts, the Big
3 will get their money.  There is
too much at stake, especially
given the other economic bad
news which appears daily.  To
throw away such a huge block
of workers and an entire indus-
trial sector would be a disaster.
President-Elect Obama seems
to be on board with the bailout
also.  The last thing her wants
is to start his administration
with the Big 3 and their thou-
sands of supply companies
closing down and millions
becoming unemployed.  But
just how much goodwill the
Big 3 will get remains the to
be seen.  Obama may also
help fund the emerging new
auto companies under his
"green infrastructure" plan.

...Or Why I Learned To Stop
Worrying And Love Obama.
No, I have not drunk any
funny-flavored Kool-Aid.  Nor
have I become mesmerized
by Obama's use Neural Lin-
guistic Programming.

Obama's cabinet appointments
are why I have decided that I
can stop worrying.  No, I do not
think that they are 'centrists' as
many say.  I believe that most
of them are MORONS!  That's
why I've stopped worrying!

It is one thing to run a highly
organized, effective political
campaign.  Running a govern-
ment, with a world full of trou-
ble popping up everyday is
a whole other kettle of fish.
Obama's cabinet picks are
less than impressive.  Some
say that he is following the
Lincoln strategy of a cabinet
of rivals.  Given how poorly
Lincoln governed during the
War Between the States,
especially the first three
years, this strategy is one
that should be avoided, not
repeated!

So I do not see Obama being
very effective in his ability to
get his agenda initiated, even
with a Democratic majority in
Congress.  Given that his
agenda is ripe with bad ideas,
executing bad ideas badly is
something we all should look
forward to.  Oh, I'm sure that
a whole lot of funny money
will get spread around.  But
it won't result in any real
change to the status quo.

This is another reason why
I have stopped worrying.  The
Far Left Liberals are already
beginning to see that the status
quo will be upheld, and they
are none to pleased about it!
Today, on Chris Matthew's
"Hardball", two of his guests,
Christopher Hutchins of Vanity
Fair and Joan Walsh of Salon
got very nasty with each other
over Obama's cabinet picks.
These two Liberals even got
personal in their arguing, which
shows just how divided the Left
is.  Whatever unity there was
on November 4th has passed
into the shadows of time.

There are still some things to
worry about.  Watch for a policy
shift from focusing on the Mid-
dle East and a return to an anti-
Russia one.  With Zbigniew
Bzrezinski as a major adviser
to Obama, we can look for a
deal cut with Iran and Al
Qaeda to turn their attention
against Russia.  Sound crazy?
Who helped arm and organize
the Mujihadeen and trained
Usama Bin Laden in the first
place?  Talk about cowboy
diplomacy!  No wonder old
Christopher Hutchinson is
worried!  LOL!