Transparency

"My motives, as ever, are entirely transparent."
Hughnon reflected that 'entirely transparent' meant either that you could see right through them or that you couldn't see them at all. - The Truth, by Terry Pratchett

From The CATO institute:

President Obama promised to make his administration the most open and transparent in history, and taking questions from the public kind of looks like that. But it also kind of looks like a gimmicky, canned publicity stunt, rather than true openness in government.

Real transparency would include fulfilling his campaign promise to post bills online for five days before signing them. The president has now signed 10 bills into law and not subjected any of them to that five-day public review.

h/t to QandO

From the ethics page of President Obama's campaign website: As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.

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The frustrating part is this, really, is an easy fix. Post 'em for 5 days. This isn't like convincing the Unions to make concessions, or trying to get Hollywood liberals to follow a proposal to its logical conclusion.

Why doesn't the Administration do this? I don't know. I can only assume that there are a whole lot of people working in the White House who don't expect that the watchdogs in the media hold them accountable (why should they start now?). This little thing just isn't that important to them.

Fascism (with an update!)

Fascism. The word has been thrown around a lot, by both side of the political spectrum. In many ways, it has lost its original meaning. One of the guys I work with, one of President Obama’s True Believers, assures me that President Bush was/is a Fascist, because he was shredding the Constitution, suspending Habeus Corpus for non-citizens, making special deals for his Oil buddies in Iraq, and of course, HALIBURTON!!

As a Political Junkie ( I actually have a PolSci degree, which explains why, after getting a lot of after-college training, I am now working in the IT world…), I prefer the original definition.

From The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics , Here are a few highlights of what Fascism truly, originally meant;

As an economic system, fascism is socialism with a capitalist veneer.

In its day (the 1920s and 1930s), fascism was seen as the happy medium between boom-and-bust-prone liberal capitalism, with its alleged class conflict, wasteful competition, and profit-oriented egoism, and revolutionary Marxism, with its violent and socially divisive persecution of the bourgeoisie. Fascism substituted the particularity of nationalism and racialism—“blood and soil”—for the internationalism of both classical liberalism and Marxism.

fascism sought that control (of economic processes) indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners.

requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it.

fascism left the appearance of market relations while planning all economic activities.

fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically.

State ministries, rather than consumers, determined what was produced and under what conditions.

So, with that in mind, lets take a look at the news.

GM CEO resigns at Obama’s request

Geithner Asks Congress for Expansive Power to Seize Non-Banks

Bank chiefs hold peace talks with Obama

Treasury Maps New Era of Regulation

"The days of 'light touch' regulation are over," said Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Thanks, Rep. Frank, I can now rest easy, knowing you are on the case. I just threw up in my mouth a little.



So lets go down the checklist.


• fascism sought that control (of economic processes) indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners

Check, the government has now established the precedent for directing the hiring/ firing process at the very top of these “independent” corporations

• requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it.

True or false, as part of the bailout, the government has sought to impose “green” measures into both the manufacturing process and the end product of the auto industry.
True , oh so true.

• fascism left the appearance of market relations while planning all economic activities.

Wagoner ...considered responsible for increasing GM's focus on trucks and SUVs—at the expense of the hybrids and fuel efficient cars that have become more popular in the last couple of years.

• fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-857


It’s a heck of a checklist.

And so, my liberal friends, I think it may behoove you that in the future, you be careful about throwing the term Fascism around to freely, lest you offend some of your heroes.

UPDATE:

Jonah Goldberg of National Review fame comments on the Fascist Bargain

Well... (Updated 2 April)

Been a long couple of weeks, but what the heck, lets put out an update...


Tea Party II, Tax Day Tea Party...That is, after all the original purpose of the blog.

UPDATED!! Apparently, the data has changed! As of today (2 April, 2009) this is the plan for the Tulsa Tax Day Tea Party!

City: Tulsa
When: April 15, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Where: Tulsa County Courthouse Plaza in Downtown Tulsa


Here's the link, to this one and many more....


Now for some outrages...where to start... It is unfortunate that the Administration gives me SO much to work with here. I hope that someday the adults will be back in charge at the White House, but it would be pointless to hold one's breath.

Example the First:

Lets start with class, or the lack of it. The President goes on the Tonight Show. OK. I get it. The President is Young, Hip and With It. He heads the First Family of Cool. Lets take a cheap, classless shot at the Special Olympics. I mean, why not.

Well, I'll let some dippy mom, lacking an Ivy League education, address this one:

Sarah Palin:

“I was shocked to learn of the comment made by President Obama about Special Olympics,” Governor Palin said. “This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world.

“These athletes overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will. By the way, these athletes can outperform many of us and we should be proud of them. I hope President Obama’s comments do not reflect how he truly feels about the special needs community.”

Example the Second:

Foreign Policy (I think we have one)
Here is the list.

1. Poland and the Czeck Republic: missile shield "misunderstanding".
2. UK: Churchhill bust return.
3. Russia: "overcharge" button.
4. UK: insulting gifts to the Browns.

I’ve talked about the first four, but here are two new ones!

5. Brazil: Misspelling the Brazilian President’s name

6. Ireland : Teleprompter Errors

Example the Third

Let's charge back Veterans who have been injured on duty for their Health care!

h/t to Rachel Lucas

As a Veteran, I am deeply disturbed. This as a Really Bad Idea(tm). I really don't know where people get the idea that large numbers of Democrats loath the military. Sure, President Obama withdrew the plan, but come on, doesn't anybody up there have clue one?

Well, I just got back from Vacation, hopefully I'll be able to keep up a little better in the weeks ahead as we get ready for another Tea Party. Heck, I've not even mentioned the Administrations plan to tax Health Insurance or the whole expended brass fiasco (in fairness, I'm not sure that the Obama administration had anything to do with the Brass thing).

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Update!

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Lets add France to our list of Foriegn Policy List!

7. France: The Letter to the Former President of France. (Imagine how it would be interpreted if Sarcozy wrote a simular letter to President Bush today.

h/t to Ann Althouse

And the Hits just keep coming!

I was REALLY trying to avoid the kerfuffle about all this...but man!

Today's Foreign Policy Statement reads as Follows:

"There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Winston Churchill described the "Special Relationship" that existed between the US and Great Britain, both during and after World War II, as well as during the onset of the Cold War. The term, however, predated that considerably.

The first use of the term that I could find was actually in 1897, when the Times of London, referencing the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty, saw an "advantage to England and America in their special relationship". 112 years of Special Relationship. Way to go, Guys.

Now, lets put this little statement into the context of recent history, like the last two months...

1. From the New York Times: US would slow Missile Shield Plan for Russian help with Iran

I'm sure that the Czechs and Poles are overjoyed that their security is now a bargaining chip. Although I can see the Russian's point here. I'm sure that it is only the threat of Nuclear Annihilation that is keeping the military might of those marauding Czechs in their place!

2. From the Daily Mail (UK): To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies. Let's hope he likes the Wizard of Oz

Nothing says classy like a gift of DVDs. Now admittedly, It isn't the worst gift ever, but come on, Obama said he is a Citizen of the World! He is now, arguably, the single most powerful man on the planet, he has a staff of thousands, and he is about to receive a state visit from the Prime Minister of England, and this was the best he could do?

3. From Breitbart: Russian media teases Clinton over 'reset' button

Are you telling me the Obama administration doesn't have one person fluent in Russian that could have looked this thing over?

This is why some one who ran such a crappy campaign could still manage to get 48% of the vote. There are whole swaths of people in this country who simply cannot believe that the Democrats have any competence in Foreign policy whatsoever. And quite frankly, what have you seen in the last 48 days or so that would lead you to believe anything else?

Heh, So I'm not the only one noticing...

Cruising around today and I caught this on Politico, of all places.

Obama's Safety Net: The TelePrompter

Now I think we can safely say that the Politico is not a great friend to Conservatives everywhere, so while I had no doubt that they had picked up on the teleprompter issues, it is surprising that they mentioned it, let alone made a whole story of the issue.

Honor Thy Father...

My father passed away four years ago, quite suddenly. He left one morning for work, in good health, looking forward to another active day (He managed to come out from behind his desk quite a bit, and keep up in a physically demanding job, with men much younger than him). He suffered a Heart Attack, and was gone before my mother could get to the hospital.

That is why this story is so touching and wonderful at the same time.

Go here and read a wonderful tribute to a dying breed

"My Father asks for Nothing"

Sippican Cottage

Treasure your parents, folks. You won't always have them around, and I certainly didn't realize what I had, until he was gone.

Random Thoughts

Well, after the last week, I've been trying to get a post together, but the Real World has seen fit to try to keep me busy. With that in mind, here are some quick thoughts....


1. NO ONE on the television is your friend. If someone asks you to do an interview, and you happen to be the newly elected head of the RNC, assume that it is going to be a hostile interview. Be polite, be pleasant, but assume that the person is out to get you. This may sound paranoid, but now all your surprises will be pleasant. Won't that be nice.

2. In conjunction with the above statement...Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES let anyone get away with comparing things that you (or your party) do with Hitler's Germany. There is a Godwin Law on the Internet, we need one for Cable, as well. If someone says it looked like a Nuremberg Rally, yank that chain up short and hard and do it right now. There is, of course, one exception to this. If you are in fact loading up undesirable people into boxcars, and making lampshades out of their skin, then it is OK to be compared to Hitler at that point.

3. I saw the President making the HHS announcement on CSPAN. As painful as this is, you might watch it yourself and see if you see what I see. I see a guy who can't speak without cue cards.

CSPAN VIDEO

I picked a few time hacks....
Watch the first 20 seconds or so, and the camera placement puts the teleprompter right over the Presidents face. It cuts to a front view fairly quickly, but goes back to the other camera at 3:23, at 4:09, at 7:49 and as he closes at 9:35.

When you see it like this, it is obvious that he never looks away from the teleprompter, He goes back and forth between the two screens, and never looks out at his audience. You would think, if he is even half as good a communicator as some of the supporters think he is, he'd be able to look away for longer than the amount of time it takes to switch from one to another. Its kinda like that kid in speech class that never looked up from his notes while he gave a speech. Oh well.