What can we expect from
the Obama administration?

Note:  You might want to start at the Barack Obama Index Page, especially if you arrived here by using a search engine.

Years of dumbing down the public schools have finally paid off for the Democratic Party.  A number of people who knew little or nothing about Barack Obama voted for him anyway, without considering the adverse ramifications.

This is a collection of post-election commentary about the impending Barack H. Obama presidency.  Here's what we can expect from President Obama and the Democrats in Congress in the first half of Mr. Obama's first term:

The Liberal Laundry List

 Democrats' Quiet Changes Pile Up.  While President Barack Obama still faces stiff headwinds on a range of major legislation on his agenda, he has been signing into law a slew of smaller initiatives that had gathered dust on the Democratic wish list for years.  Many of the bills had been blocked by Republicans who considered the measures unnecessary expansions of government or too costly.

Obama and 'First Americans':  Our president is determined to fully implement President Clinton's Executive Order 13175 relating to "Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments."  Clinton's decree coincided with the United Nations' adoption in 1997 of the Declaration of the "Rights of Indigenous Peoples."  The USA and Canada voted against adoption, and this may help explain why President Clinton waited until the very end of his term to quietly issue the Executive Order.

From each group that backed Obama, an agenda.  The flipside of knitting together a winning coalition of techies, anti-war activists, women, labor unions, young voters and the like is:  (a) everybody thinks they were most instrumental in sending Obama and more Democrats to Washington, and (b) they want Obama and the Democrats to make their policy wish lists reality — first.  Or, at least, right after a stimulus bill is passed.

President Obama and family host 'green' Easter fest — and make it gay.  Among the innovations:  The White House rolled out new "green," environmentally friendly souvenir eggs and invited gay parents.  "It's cool," said Norma Johnson, 44, of Silver Spring, Md. ... "The administration really reached out, and there are gay and lesbian people here from all over the country.  It's a really positive first step, and hopefully there are even better things to come," she said.

Quincy Jones Leads Chorus Urging a Cabinet-Level Arts Czar.  A call for President-elect Barack Obama to give the arts and humanities a Cabinet-level post — perhaps even create a secretary of culture — is gaining momentum.

Wish lists piling up for Obama.  Labor unions want President-elect Barack Obama to move quickly on universal healthcare and to make it easier for workers to organize.  Latino advocacy groups want immigration reform.  Even the National Trust for Historic Preservation is urging Obama to seek full federal funding "to protect our heritage."  Interest groups are furiously drawing up wish lists for the incoming Obama administration, many of them hoping to cash in on the investments they made — in volunteers, political support, and campaign contributions — in Obama's commanding win.

Jimmy Carter's Race Problem:  When former president Jimmy Carter accuses the opponents of Barrack Obama's policy of nationalizing broad aspects of our economy and spending us into bankruptcy of being "racists," perhaps he should look in the mirror.  In his 1982 book, Keeping Faith, Carter disingenuously said he "was not directly involved in the early struggles to end racial discrimination."  No kidding — in fact, he directly and unambiguously supported segregation.

After Bush, will MoveOn live up to its name?  After more than a decade spent railing against the Republican machine, MoveOn wants to move on — even if it means leaving some of its high-minded ideals behind.  Last week, the group's members chose their top four priorities for the organization, winnowed down from a top-10 list culled from 50,000 suggestions. ... What they chose:  universal health care; economic recovery and job creation; building a green economy; stopping climate change; and end the war in Iraq.

A Nation Tottering Close To Political Idolatry.  [Scroll down]  Even more frightening are a couple of administrative initiatives being bandied about by Obama's supporters.  One hopes to turn his vast army of volunteers and online minions into a "service" organization existing apart from the government (can anyone say SA or SS).  Another seeks to establish a position within the White House that would basically amount to a secretary of art and culture that would establish an "artists corps" at the beck and control of the government, no doubt to paint massive portraits of Obama himself on the sides of public buildings before it's all over with.

Obama Is No Closet Centrist.  After reviewing many of Obama's personnel decisions, it's clear that Obama intends to be anything but a centrist on social issues.  Many of Obama's social policy advisors are leading figures in the abortion industry and heavy hitters of the homosexual lobby.  White House Communications Director Ellen Moran is a former executive director of Emily's List, the leading abortion-focused political action committee.  And Dawn Johnsen, former legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, recently was appointed to Obama's Justice Department Review Team.

Obama turns WH site into Gay Clearinghouse.  As thousands waited along the parade route, the official White House website became the Obama Gay Rights Channel.  Within an hour of his swearing-in, the following was posted on the official White House website, as Obama's immediate "civil rights" goals.  Protect cross-dressing and transgenderism in workplace (including schools) through federal law:  Pass "Employment non-discrimination Act" [EDNA] to prohibit "discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression".

White House Invites Gay Families to Easter Event.  The White House is allocating tickets for the upcoming Easter Egg Roll to gay and lesbian families as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.

Gay families to join White House egg roll.  The White House is allocating tickets for the upcoming Easter Egg Roll to gay and lesbian parents as part of the Obama administration's outreach to diverse communities.  Families say the gesture shows that the new Democratic administration values them as equal to other families.

Heterosexual Pride Month.  Obama came through on his campaign theme of 'equality' Monday [6/1/2009] by proclaiming June as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month".

POTUS to LGBT: "Welcome to Your White House".  ABBA's "Dancing Queen" filled the East Room, as more than 200 prominent gays and lesbians gathered for the first ever celebration of Pride month at the White House.  The President and First Lady entered to thunderous applause.  President Obama told the group he is committed to equality for their community.

Obama holds gay pride reception, vows to overturn 'unjust laws'.  President Obama honored Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month with a White House reception Monday [6/29/2009] where he likened the struggle for gay rights with the struggle of African-Americans for civil rights.

Obama tells gay activists:  Trust me.  President Barack Obama's unprecedented White House celebration of the four-decades-long struggle of gay Americans for full equality hit all the right notes, including the host's acknowledgement that politicians' pretty words are no substitute for getting rid of discriminatory laws.  Standing beside a beaming first lady in the ornate East Room on Monday, Obama warmly welcomed more 250 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans "to your White House."

The Obama presidency begins to emerge.  Social revolution is what the true believers, Obama's core, were voting for.  The middle class was voting for some vague sense of security, but the core — the sandal-wearers, the ACORN staffers, the Jeremiah Wright congregation, and every last student of Ayers and Dohrn over the past twenty years — are looking forward to some unimaginable combination of Woodstock, the October Revolution, the Book of Revelation, and the Barnum & Bailey Circus.  A new world in which there are no Republicans, guns, Bibles, or Israelis, in which planning and collectivization work, in which there is such a thing as cheap, effective, and universal health care, in which Al Queda simply want to be good neighbors, in which their own varicose veins, incipient arthritis, and extra ten pounds around the middle have simply gone away, and in which Jerry Garcia never died.

Minorities, women, gays lobby for Obama jobs.  As the United States awaits the inauguration of its first nonwhite president, organizations representing women, gays and lesbians and people of color are working overtime to encourage President-elect Barack Obama to make good on his remark that he would nominate "one of the most diverse Cabinets and White House staffs of all time."

Promises, Promises.  According to the Washington Post, Barack Obama sent letters to workers at seven federal agencies, telling them he would, among other things:  scale back private contracting, allow paid family leave, impose tougher industry regulation, add staff to the Social Security Administration, and expand bargaining rights to Transportation Security Administration officers.

The Sector Formerly Known as Private.  We're beginning to get a sense of what the next four years will look like.  It won't be a conservative era, that's for sure.  Nor will it, despite appearances to the contrary, be a reprise of the Clinton era. ... Obama's liberalism will be different.  The center of political gravity has moved to the left since the 1990s.  The president-elect does not share his recent predecessors' enthusiasm for free trade.  He also won't face a Republican Congress.  Instead he'll be dealing with, and from time to time confronting, a Democratic Congress eager to enact a kilometers-long liberal wish list.

Liberal Groups Roll Out Their Wish Lists.  Gays serving openly in the military.  Voting rights for more ex-convicts.  Paid sick days and family leave for most workers.  Those are part of a long wish list that liberal advocacy groups hope will become reality as Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats take control.

The Worst Case Scenario:  Many items on [Obama's] wish list don't require the direct expenditure of government money.  A more-than-willing Congress will enable him to redeem his pledge to the trade unions to push through legislation to eliminate the secret ballot in union-recognition elections.  The Environmental Protection Agency probably does not need new legislation to change the rules on carbon emissions so that Obama can achieve his goal of making new coal-fired generation plants totally uneconomic.  The Federal Communications Commission can impose so-called "fairness" rules that make it more difficult for the largely conservative talk radio stations to challenge his government's policies.

The Emerging Threat to Conservative Talk Radio.  Despite President-elect Obama's claim that he will not seek a new "Fairness Doctrine" to silence conservative voices in the media, commentators are bracing for a battle over their free speech rights under the First Amendment.  Indeed, the battle is already underway and the enemies of free speech have made it clear that their censorship campaign will initially be based on claims that conservatives do not reflect "local" and "diverse" viewpoints.  The so-called Fairness Doctrine may come later.

The Obama Fairness Doctrine:  Just three days after the election, a Brookings Institution leader issued a memo to President-elect Barack Obama asking him to restore the Fairness Doctrine.  The Vice-president of Governance Studies at Brookings, Darrell West argues that the Fairness Doctrine would help restore journalistic ethics and fulfill the media's mission to educate the populace.

Will Obama Revive the Fairness Doctrine?  [Eric] Holder's evasive responses represent the first hint that the new Administration may re-open what has been "settled doctrine" within the Department of Justice and in the courts for over two decades; namely, that the old Fairness Doctrine is an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.  Not to mention that the original argument used to justify these restrictions — that the scarcity of media outlets required the government to intervene in order to guarantee a "diversity" of political opinion — has long since been overwhelmed by the proliferation of cable channels, web sites, blogs, and so on.

The Culture War and Barack Obama.  [Obama] says he personally opposes gay marriage, but I can't imagine him working against it.  He's also fine with abortion in cases where the health of the mother is an issue.  Of course, the health of the mother could be a panic attack or a headache.  Based on his voting record in the past, I expect Obama to be extremely liberal when social legislation is presented to him.  I also expect Ruth Bader Ginsburg to have a new best friend if a Supreme Court opening occurs.

'Change' We Never Imagined.  On issues involving marriage, family and sexual morality, Obama's been even more brazen than some of his most ardent detractors could have expected.  Literally within minutes after he took the oath of office, the official White House webpage was updated — under the heading of "The Agenda: Civil Rights" — to detail his wholesale "support for the LGBT (homosexual activist) community."  His stated plans include the following:  Defeating all state and federal constitutional efforts to defend the millennia-old definition of natural marriage from attacks by "gay marriage" activists.

He won't attend the National Day of Prayer, but...
 Obama to Speak at LGBT Rights Dinner.  President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C.  "We are honored to share this night with President Obama, who has called upon our nation to embrace LGBT people as brothers and sisters," The Human Rights Campaign President, Joel Solmonese, said in an announcement today [10/5/2009].

The Privatization of the First Amendment.  President Obama's nomination of Chai Feldblum to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) represents one of the most serious threats to religious freedom we have seen in a long time. ... Feldblum is a radical homosexual activist whose views on "homosexual rights" are among the most extreme.  Although our right to religious freedom is expressly guaranteed by the Constitution, Feldblum argues that the "homosexual rights" judges have read into the Constitution should be held higher.

Soros-influenced groups make inroads in Obama Administration.  You may say what you want about the man, but he knows a good investment when he sees one.  Washington works by access.  How is this access gained?  By showing support during campaigns.  This Soros has done for Barack Obama.

The Liberal Dream Agenda.  The liberal onslaught comes in four parts:  government-run health care, a cap-and-trade carbon tax, a vast array of personal and business tax increases, and government authority to seize financial institutions in addition to banks.  This is the liberal dream agenda.  If passed, it would do what conservatives fear most.  It would make America more like Europe, with growing nanny statism and more reliance on government, considerably less on individuals.

Obama's liberal arrogance will be his undoing.  The most remarkable, or certainly the least remarked on, aspect of Barack Obama's first 100 days has been the infectious arrogance of his presidency.  There's no denying that this is liberalism's greatest opportunity for wish fulfillment since at least 1964.  But to listen to Democrats, the only check on their ambition is the limits of their imaginations.

Obama's next push is amnesty.  It is no surprise that, after passing health care "reform," President Obama plans to move on to his next big domestic initiative:  granting citizenship to more than 12 million illegal immigrants.  For decades, Beltway and business elites have championed a policy of open borders and unlimited Third World immigration.  Amnesty is simply its logical culmination:  the triumph of political and corporate interests over patriotism.

Executive orders -- where are the checks and balances?

 The Change You'll Get:  Who says you can't have it all?  The Democrats — the Left — now have the White House, control of both houses of Congress, a majority of governors' mansions, a majority of state legislatures, the entertainment media, the elite news media, the unions, the educational establishment, the lion's share of the philanthropic community, and increasing power over the courts.

Dealing with terrorists

 Will Obama Let bin Laden's Driver Go Free?  He has been tried, convicted and sentenced.  But when Salim Hamdan finishes his time at Guantanamo this December, he may not immediately walk free.  The Bush administration has made clear it believes it could hold this Yemeni detainee past his sentence as an enemy combatant.  The question now is what will President Barack Obama do?

No We Can't.  Barack Obama's emphasis on diplomacy and internationalism will do nothing to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.  The mullahs in Tehran are not open to compromise, and cannot be made any more pliable by the impositions of a stricter sanctions regime.  Any attempts at diplomacy or institution of sanctions are, from here on out, aimed at building an evidentiary case that every non-military option will have been exhausted.  Once that case can be made, Obama will either give the order to bomb Iran or let the Khomeinist regime in Tehran assert complete regional hegemony.  There will not be, nor has there ever been, a third option.

The Presidency Is Not An Entry-Level Position.  Obama has four positions related to the war which, in my view, disqualify him for the presidency.  First, how can a serious candidate for President of the United States have a long-standing goal to end the war rather than win it?  Great presidents don't end wars — they win them.  The only way the American military can be defeated is when American leaders forfeit the fight for them.  And that's exactly what Obama has wanted to do for years.

No War on Terror under Obama.  Lost in the dramatic disaster unfolding on Wall Street and the brazen hypocrisy of the Hillary Clinton nomination is President-elect Obama's double signal that the war on terror is now over.  His appointment of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security signals that the Department will once again focus on southern border immigration issues rather than on fighting terrorism.

Many Homeland Security Programs Can Be Ended Under Obama, ACLU Says.  Many of the programs created under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after 9/11 can be dispensed with, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.  And the incoming Obama administration will make major renovations in the DHS that will strengthen privacy rights for individuals, civil rights activists said at a conference on Wednesday.

Obama's Muslim Speech:  Barack Obama is toying with the idea of making a speech from an Islamic capital within his first 100 days in office.  The scuttlebutt is all about finding the right one.  (The consensus is Cairo — which is a terrible idea.  An Obama speech there would be read as a shameful acceptance of Mubarak's oppressive rule.)  But my question is:  what would he say?

Obama says he wants to 'reboot' America's battered image among Muslims.  President-elect Barack Obama says he will try to "reboot America's image" among the world's Muslims and will follow tradition by using his entire name — Barack Hussein Obama — in his swearing-in ceremony.

What's in a Middle Name?  In an exclusive interview with the Chicago Tribune, Obama said he'll use his full name in the [swearing-in] ceremony like every other president.  I have no problem with that, as far as it goes.  But Obama went further.  He's not using his middle name simply because it's his middle name, but as part of a deliberate strategy to "reboot America's image" among the world's Muslims.  He also plans to deliver a major speech in an Islamic capital, possibly within the first 100 days of his presidency.  Why, you might ask, is all this necessary?  Simple:  because of President Bush's myriad sins against Muslims since 9/11.

See more discussion under Can Obama handle the threat of Islamic terrorism?

More influence for the UN

 Global agenda?  When candidate Barack Obama declared himself a "citizen of the world" before thousands of cheering German socialists, and later pledged to "rejoin the world community," those weren't just his usual platitudes about "change."  Those words sounded the trumpet for his specific and far-reaching globalist agenda.  Mr. Obama plans to use his presidential power to get the Democratic-majority Senate to ratify a series of treaties that would take us a long way toward global rule over our money, our laws, our military, our courts, our customs, our trade, and even our use of energy.

U.S. Expected to Reverse Course on United Nations.  The United States' relationship with the United Nations faces a major change under the next administration.  Those advocating greater U.S. engagement with the world body are lining up with advice for President-elect Barack Obama.

U.N. looks for better times when Obama takes over.  Standing in the line of those hoping for a better deal from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama than they got from outgoing President George W. Bush is a body representing the entire world:  the United Nations.  Despite public protestations of neutrality in the November 4 presidential election, there has been thinly disguised glee at U.N. headquarters that Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain.

U.N.American Agenda.  Nobody is happier about the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States than the folks at the United Nations. ... The U.N. is an uncomplicated place.  Every sick, unsatiated tyrant, European has-been, or miserable wretch brainwashed about the Great Satan wants to take America down — unless they are able to immigrate of course.

Former top U.S. officials urge stronger ties to the United Nations.  A wide array of former top U.S. officials have urged President-elect Barack Obama to make the United Nations a close partner in confronting global threats and environmental challenges.  Former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher and former Defence Secretaries Harold Brown and William Perry were among the signers of the statement.

Obama Nominees Signal Radical Pro-U.N. Agenda.  [Scroll down]  [Ed] Rollins replied, in part:  "I think that's one of the greatest compliments to him, is that he's not afraid of smart, strong people around him."  This is what passes for media scrutiny of Obama's foreign policy picks.  In fact, there is much to question.  Two nominees in particular — Senator Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice — were close associates of Brookings Institution president Strobe Talbott, an advocate of world government who was named as a trusted contact of the Russian Intelligence service while he was in the Clinton Administration.

Arctic-Seabed Oil Claims May Quicken Under New Senate.  Democratic party gains in the U.S. Senate may speed approval of a maritime treaty that allows signatories to stake claims to Arctic seabed containing oil and gas deposits.  With President-elect Barack Obama supporting ratification of the Law of the Sea and Democrats unseating seven Republican senators in this month's elections, the U.S. moved a step closer to joining 157 nations including Russia that have endorsed the treaty, political analysts including the Century Foundation's Jeff Laurenti said.

Did someone mention the Law of the Sea Treaty?

If you don't know anything bad about the United Nations, you should visit this page.

Censoring conservative radio

 Is Obama's New FCC Transition Head Talk Radio's 'Executioner'?  Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer warns that Barack Obama is signaling his designs on conservative talk radio with the rumored appointment of former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera as the head of his FCC transition team.

Liberal Censorship and Its Roots:  Democrats fully intend to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine, a euphemistically named regulation aimed at shutting down conservative talk radio, which Sen. Chuck Schumer has compared to pornography.  Remember that conservatives have never advocated government action to suppress or censor the liberal media monopoly, which has existed for decades and still dominates mainstream media today.  Their answer was the alternative media.

Broadcast Blackout of Left's 'Fairness' Doctrine Push.  Barack Obama's transition team has tapped former FCC Commissioner Henry Rivera, a longtime proponent of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," to head the team looking for the man or woman who will soon give Democrats a 3-to-2 advantage on the Federal Communications Commission.  It's another troubling sign that Democrats are serious about trying to reinstate the long-defunct FCC regulation, which can more aptly be described as the "Censorship Doctrine" because of its chilling effect on free speech.

The Unfairness Doctrine.  Broadcasters should act before they're forced to react if Congress brings the so-called Fairness Doctrine back from the dead.  The Fairness Doctrine, which should be called The Gag Rule, will effectively silence talk shows on broadcast stations and the millions of Americans who tune in and talk about what was talked about.

If you don't know much about the so-called Fairness Doctrine, you should visit this page.

Paying back the unions

 ObamaCare's Longshoremen Rules.  The Senate Majority Leader's new version specifically exempts "individuals whose primary work is longshore work."  That would be the longshoremen's union, which has negotiated very costly insurance benefits.  The well-connected dock workers join other union interests such as miners, electrical linemen, EMTs, construction workers, some farmers, fishermen, foresters, early retirees and others who are absolved from this tax.

Unions Calling in Their Chits.  "That's not the change America voted for."  The implied criticism of President Obama comes not from Rush Limbaugh or Fox News but from the AFL-CIO in a newspaper ad this week letting the president and congressional Dems know unions' "bottom line for health care reform."  The unions are calling in their chits.  If health care legislation doesn't include a public option, they won't support it.  And if it does include a tax on so-called gold-plated plans, they'll oppose it.

Unions Look for New Life in World of Obama.  Unions are looking to Barack Obama and rising economic anxiety to reverse organized labor's long slide.  Through three decades of decline, union leaders have been predicting a renaissance that has not come.  But labor invested more than $300 million to help elect Mr. Obama and enlarge the Democratic majority in Congress, and it expects both to enact legislation that will make it easier for millions of workers to unionize.

The New Beast Of Big Labor.  Barack Obama's election has Big Labor strutting with confidence.  But what union bosses such as Andy Stern want should give any president pause.  Can Obama stand up to them?

Big Labor's Bill to End Secret Ballots Gains Momentum.  In April, then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said in Philadelphia, "I've fought to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate.  And I will make it the law of the land when I'm president of the United States of America."  President-elect Obama will move into the White House with increased Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate, which also support legislation designed to stem the tide of declining union membership.

Unions' Creepy Push Against Secret Ballot.  The first campaign promise Barack Obama should break is to push through the Employee Free Choice Act.  That harmless sounding piece of legislation would let union organizers do an end run around secret-ballot elections:  Companies would have to recognize a union if most workers signed cards in support of it.  We're not children here.  We know how those majorities can be reached.  There's repeated harassment, bullying and more inventive tactics, such as getting workers drunk, then sliding sign-up cards under their noses.  Meanwhile, any strong-armed tactics by employers can be dealt with.

After Push for Obama, Unions Seek New Rules.  After making millions of phone calls and knocking on millions of doors to elect Barack Obama, the nation's labor unions have begun a new campaign: to get the new president and Congress to pass legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize.  Unions, delighted that they will have a friend in the White House after eight years of fighting President Bush, also plan to push for universal health coverage and a huge stimulus program to create jobs and counter the downturn.

Meet the union organizers.  One of the Obama administration's first legislative priorities will be the passage of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).  Once EFCA becomes law, unionization will no longer be a concern primarily for employers in the industrial Midwest.  Instead, unionization will be thrust upon right-to-work states such as Texas.  EFCA is not just bad policy.  It will end this state's competitive advantage as a low-tax, union-free environment that encourages businesses to locate here and provide jobs for Texans.

A labor-union problem looms for Obama:  Two months before Barack Obama is to be sworn in as president, opening salvos are being launched over what could become one of the thorniest issues his administration will face next year.  Organized labor, which spent more than $80 million to put Democrats in the White House and Congress, wants Obama to deliver on its priority:  new rules to make it easier to unionize workplaces.

The New Beast Of Big Labor:  Barack Obama's election has Big Labor strutting with confidence.  But what union bosses such as Andy Stern want should give any president pause.  Can Obama stand up to them?

Let's 'Share the Wealth'.  "We just won an election.  It's no secret."  By "we," Andy Stern means "American workers."  He also means Big Labor.  Speaking on behalf of the fastest growing trade group in America, the Service Employees International Union — and as one of labor's most powerful figures today — Mr. Stern sets this simple bar for the Obama presidency:  "I expect nothing less than what he said he was going to do, and we should hold him accountable." ... The bit about accountability is no idle warning.  Organized labor put up some $450 million to get Democrats elected.

The Editor says...
 Wow -- $450 million in union dues going to the Democratic Party.  If you are a member of a labor union but you're not a Democrat, I hope you find that offensive.  More information about labor unions can be found here.

What we don't know about Obama:  Obama, for the entire campaign, said all the right things when it comes to keeping peace with Big Labor.  He praised the power and fairness of unions.  He expressed skepticism about free trade agreements like NAFTA.  Most of all, he proudly sponsored legislation to make it much easier for workers to unionize.  Lately, he sounds like a man rethinking his enthusiasm.

Unions see better days ahead under Obama's leadership.  Happier days are here for the labor movement in the United States.  The AFL-CIO spent $53 million and its trade union affiliates $250 million to help Barack Obama win the White House, relying mostly on "field mobilization" campaigns to turn out a favorable vote.  The excitement level already has risen at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington.  "The most pro-working-family president in years," noted one staffer.

Obama acts for unions.  President Barack Obama issued a series of executive orders today [1/30/2009] that he said should "level the playing field" for labor unions in their struggles with management.  Obama also used the occasion at the White House to announce formally a new White House task force on the problems of middle-class Americans, and installed Vice President Joe Biden as its chairman.  Union officials say the new orders by Obama will undo Bush administration policies that favored employers over workers.

Obama Stimulates Unions, Inflation and Debt.  The George Soros-funded Center for American Progress, which was run by Obama's Transition Project co-chair, John Podesta, said Obama would launch a "Green, Unionized Economic Recovery."  The key word was "unionized," a tip-off that public money would subsidize expansion of the labor unions that backed Obama.  One of those powerful unions, the AFL-CIO, is headed by John Sweeney, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Obama Admin Requiring Project Labor Agreements.  Almost as soon as he took office, President Barack Obama repealed a Bush executive order and issued EO #13502 which once again forces all federally contracted building projects to suffer under a PLA [Project Labor Agreement].  The fact is that President Obama stands in opposition to cost effective use of our federal construction dollars as well as free enterprise.  And why did he do this?  Perhaps the millions of dollars raised by unions to fund Obama's presidential campaign explains why?  This is no less than a pay back to Big Labor.

Payday For Unions.  If there's any question as to why union toughs turned up at recent health care town halls and got violent, consider what they were gooning for:  a $10 billion bailout for their mismanaged pensions — at our expense.

Obama Administration Not Enforcing Union Reporting Laws.  Are you a union member trying to find out information of the criminal actions and shady financial dealings of your union?  Well don't expect Obama and his toady in the Labor Secretary's office, Hilda Solis, to help you uncover any illegalities perpetrated by your union bosses.

Lost:  600,000 Jobs.  As if Big Labor hasn't been repaid enough for its help in electing Democrats, a new report shows that protectionism — the unions' signature issue — costs 585,000 of the rest of us our jobs.

Obama, labor's lackey.  President Obama says the big problem in Washington is that politicians focus on pleasing special interests at the expense of the general public.  But his curious definition of "special interests" exempts one key political force:  organized labor.

Obama puts union strings on federal jobs.  Delivering on President Obama's promise to boost the labor movement, the administration has announced a $35 million federal construction project in New Hampshire that requires union representation for the workers and forces nonunion employees to pay dues and contribute to a union pension fund.  Mr. Obama issued an executive order in the first weeks of his presidency that would make the requirement, known as a "project labor agreement" or PLA, the norm for all government contracts on large-scale construction jobs.

Follow the Money.  We have yet to see a bill from the Democratic Congress or the Obama White House that is not actually a payoff to a key constituency.  The tsunami of dollars unleashed by the Obama Treasury Department in coordination with the Fed has obscured the fact that many of those dollars are ending up in the pockets of Friends of Obama or Friends of Nancy or Friends of Harry.

Labor's $60 Billion Payoff.  Democrats seem impervious to embarrassment as they buy votes for ObamaCare, but their latest move makes even Nebraska's Ben Nelson look cheap:  The 87% of Americans who don't belong to a union will now foot the bill for a $60 billion giveaway to those who do.

Obama's $59 billion giveaway to unions:  Public outcry over a $59 billion special deal President Obama cut with unions on Thursday [1/14/2010] should be deafening.  Repeatedly throughout his presidential campaign, Mr. Obama promised that health care negotiations would be carried on C-SPAN precisely to prevent these types of special-interest favors.

Obama Order Locking Out Non-Union Construction Companies Marks One Year Anniversary.  One year ago this past Saturday President Obama signed an executive order that reshapes the bidding process for federal construction projects in a manner that is heavily weighted in favor of unionized companies.  This was done as a sop to labor bosses who have thus far failed to win passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), despite large Democratic majorities in both congressional chambers.

Obama's Unholy Union — With Unions.  President Obama still has one unstinting and stalwart comrade:  the unions.  After decades in inexorable and well-deserved decline, unions are back bigtime in the Obama-nation.  It is an unholy union.  It's bad for business, bad for the economy, bad for our country.

Unions demand more from White House.  Leaders of unions, a crucial constituency for Democrats, say they're disappointed over how little U.S. President Barack Obama has delivered on labor priorities.

Big Labor's Big Payback.  For some time, the business community has been saying that Big Labor would stop at nothing to obtain political "payback" in the form of forced unionization of America's employers.  Union bosses have tried unsuccessfully to ram their job-killing agenda, namely the Employee 'Forced' Choice Act (EFCA) through Congress, at the same time, working their friends in the Obama Administration for favors and awards.  And it now appears President Obama is prepared to "payback" Big Labor's political contributions and support with a recess appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

More about organized labor.


Radical environmentalism

 This subsection has moved to a new page.


Abortion

 Obama and His Pro-Life Apologists.  President Obama knows that an unborn baby is human.  He knows that the blood shed by the abortionist's knife is human blood, that the bones broken are human bones.  He does not deny that the baby whom nurse Jill Stanek discovered gasping for breath in a soiled linen bin after a failed attempt to end her life by abortion, was a human baby.  Even in opposing the Illinois Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which was designed to assure that such babies were rescued if possible or at least given comfort care while they died, Barack Obama did not deny the humanity of the child.  What he denied, and continues to deny, is the fundamental equality of that child — equality with those of us who are safely born and accepted into the human community.

The Supreme Court and fundamental freedoms.  Although he is absorbed in extraordinarily extensive and imminent problems, President Obama, I hope, will find just an hour to look at, in a sonogram, developing human beings before they are born.  Then he might revoke his promise to join many congressional Democrats in supporting the Freedom of Choice Act that annuls many states' restrictions on abortion, such as informed consent, parental involvement and state-funding laws.  If this is his first experience with what a sonogram reveals, he may, as happened to a very pro-choice law professor I know, take a little more time to see more of those unmistakable lives.

Does Obama respect conscience?  The Bush administration last month announced a new regulation protecting health-care providers who refuse to perform abortions or other medical procedures that violate their conscience.  Pro-choice groups have cried foul, arguing that the last-minute regulation is a politically motivated attack on a woman's right to choose and will restrict women's access to abortion and contraceptives.  The incoming Obama administration has signaled it wants to repeal the rule.

Pro-Abortion Groups Post 'Wish List' on Obama's Web Site.  A coalition of pro-abortion groups, including Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women, the Guttmacher Institute, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the American Civil Liberties Union, have posted a reproductive health wish list on the Obama Transition Team Web site, change.gov.  The list outlines the steps the groups think the next president should take during his first 100 days in office to promote and fund abortion in America and around the globe.

Change, but not for better.  [Scroll down]  But at this stage we have nothing to go on apart from his record and his rhetoric and what they reveal about his character.  On that basis, I think he's likely to be a disastrous president. ... Obama is on record as saying that a Freedom of Choice Act is "the first thing" he hoped to sign into law on taking office.  A FOCA goes a long way beyond the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, which mandated a general right to abortion.  It would overturn virtually all the existing limits on abortion, state and federal.  These include restrictions on government funding for the procedure and conscience-protection clauses for healthcare providers.  FOCA would override laws guaranteeing informed consent and, in the case of under-age pregnancies, parental involvement.  It would also require states to sanction late-term procedures, including the contentious "partial-birth" abortion which is widely seen as tantamount to infanticide.

10 Concerns about Barack Obama:  (#9.) Barack Obama is to the left of Hillary Clinton and NARAL on the issue of life.  As a state senator in Illinois, Barack Obama voted against the Induced Infant Liability Act, a law that would have protected babies if they survived an attempted abortion and were delivered alive.

Can Obama Win the "Values Voter?"  [Obama] is the most extremist pro-choicer ever to get this close to the presidency.  His stand-alone votes against bills protecting newborn babies who survive abortions were horrible.  He calls abortion a "safety net" and vowed to Planned Parenthood in July 2007 that the "first thing" he would do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would nationalize abortion policy and overturn all the perfectly reasonable state-level restrictions on abortion by bipartisan legislatures throughout America.  Then there are Obama's revealing statements on the stump — such as how he would hate to see his daughters get pregnant out-of-wedlock and "punished with a baby."

Barack and the Bishops.  Most shocking, and of special concern to the bishops, is the fear that FOCA [Freedom of Choice Act] would eliminate the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers — Catholic, non-Catholic, you name it — to not participate in abortion procedures at their hospitals.  The bishops noted that this would be an attack on Americans' free exercise of religion.

"Freedom of Choice" vs. "Born Alive".  In a presidential campaign issues arise and then fade from view.  The emergence of new media preoccupations may make it seem as though yesterday's controversy has been resolved.  This is rarely true.  Such is the case with the issue of Barack Obama's position on legal protections for infants while an Illinois state senator.

Obama Panders on Abortion.  According to The Case Against Barack Obama by David Freddoso, Obama doesn't believe babies born alive during a failed abortion should have the same rights of other babies.  He's said "whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or other elements in the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a — a child, a nine-month-old — child that was delivered to term." (p. 197)

New president, more abortions.  Our new president-elect has not equivocated in his reverence for abortion rights.  Speaking at a Planned Parenthood event on July 17, 2007, Barack Obama pledged that his first act as president would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act.  It is the most radical attack yet on the deep beliefs of millions of American pro-lifers.

Faith-Based Hospitals Could Close If Obama Signs Freedom of Choice Act.  Now that Barack Obama has been elected president, pro-life and pro-abortion groups are waiting to see if he will keep his campaign promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into law and if faith-based hospitals and health care facilities will be forced to perform abortions or risk losing federal funding — a loss that could result in some health care providers closing their doors.

Obama vs. Pope Benedict.  President-elect Barack Obama's plan to pass the Freedom of Choice Act is setting up a showdown with the Vatican.  "The first thing I will do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act," he said at an address before Planned Parenthood on July 17, 2007.  And if he does, it will trigger a harsh response from Pope Benedict XVI, as well as a political revolt among practicing American Catholics.

Obama's Holy Hell:  If President-elect Barack Obama goes through with his campaign pledge to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, holy hell is going to break loose.  FOCA may be the most radical social legislation in decades.  It seeks to strip every last restraint from abortion — outlawing states' requirements for waiting periods, informed consent or parental consent; preventing health and safety regulation of abortion clinics and abortionists — and even ending restrictions on partial-birth abortion.

Obama's abortion conundrum:  Pro-choice groups in America are lobbying President-elect Barack Obama's transition team to remove all restrictions on abortion instituted by President Bush and the Republican led-Congresses over the last eight years.  A 55-page lengthy policy paper, "Advancing Reproductive Rights and Health in a New Administration," was sent to the transition team and posted to its Change.gov Web site this week.  It was ripped from the page in less than a day.

Obama's New 'Council on Women' Seen As Vehicle to Promote Feminist Agenda.  President Barack Obama on Wednesday created a new bureaucracy to deal with women's health, domestic violence and economic security. But some conservatives fear the new council will actively promote the feminist agenda in the government. ... Although the president did not say exactly what issues the council would address, the group is likely to promote feminist causes such as expanded litigation and the abortion rights, said Janice Crouse, a senior fellow at Concerned Women for America, a conservative advocacy group.

Sebelius' Pro-Choice Incoherence:  Obama has begun providing federal funds for international groups that promote or perform abortions overseas.  He has moved to weaken conscience protections for health care professionals.  And he has chosen the most radical possible option on the use of embryonic stem cells — a free license for researchers, with boundaries set only by the National Institutes of Health.  Taxpayers will now likely fund not only the use of "spare" embryos from in vitro fertilization, but also human lives produced and ended for the sole purpose of scientific exploitation.

Murder, Inc.  Usually when a president picks a friend of a big but controversial industry to run a federal department that regulates that same industry, some eyebrows are raised.  The press wonders how independent the nominee could be.  Senators fret over the long financial relationship between the nominee and the controversial industry.  In time, the White House quietly withdraws the nomination and insiders chortle that the administration never should have made such a foolish nomination. ... So we are wondering why President Obama nominated Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The Interrogation Memos and the 'Moral Bearings' of President Obama.  [Scroll down]  It appears that Obama lost his moral bearings years ago.  After all, with a moral compass in the form of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama was pointed to the far, far left.  That may or may not explain Obama's voting record with respect to the gruesome, immoral practice of partial birth abortion — it just might be that the President's conscience has been seared to the point of putting politics over innocent life.

Obama's Ethical Toggle Switch.  Obama doesn't know when "a baby gets human rights."  Based on what he doesn't know, he supports abortion, not to mention the denial of medical attention to a live aborted fetus.  In short, he assumes an affirmative ethical stance (pro abortion) based on what he says he doesn't know, namely, when a baby's life begins.

Obama's Moral Slide Rule.  In President Barack Obama's moral and constitutional universe, unfettering abortion and coddling terrorists trump innocent life.  But most Americans reject his anti-life calculations.  Candidate Obama promised Planned Parenthood that he would "go on offense" by signing the "Freedom of Choice Act" as his first act as president.  It would put millions of additional lives at risk by eliminating all federal and state regulations of abortion, including bans on late term and partial birth abortion.  If these barbaric procedures are not torture, nothing is.

Hidden Within ObamaCare, an Abortion Mandate.  Government-owned health care will place bureaucrats in Washington in charge of your health care options.  This is wrong.  Health care decisions must be made by you and your doctor.  However, there is another very serious concern with health care reform plans in Congress, especially the plan being offered in the House.  It will lead to mandated coverage of abortion, forcing employers and insurance providers to cover abortion as a health care procedure and subsidizing abortions with the tax dollars of pro-life Americans who have grave moral objections.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  Have any doubt about where Barack Obama stands on abortion rights?  You shouldn't.  During last year's presidential campaign, Obama said he would make "preserving a woman's right to choose under Roe v. Wade a priority as president."  Just three days after taking his oath of office, he lifted a ban on U.S. funding for international groups that promote or perform abortions.  And this week, Obama named a surgeon general, Dr. Regina Benjamin, who, according to a White House spokesman, "supports the president's position on reproductive health issues."

Obama's First 100 Days:  The anti-life plan is now established.  [President Obama] has a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, the U.S.'s leading pro-abortion organization.  That rating is based on a record of consistently voting against the unborn.  Obama has told Planned Parenthood he regards so-called choice as "a fundamental issue" on which he will not yield.  He voted against an Induced Infant Liability Act in the Illinois legislature in 2002; this would have given legal protection and medical assistance to babies born from botched abortions.  He also voted against banning partial-birth abortion in the Senate in October 2007.

More about Obama and abortion here and here and here.

More about Abortion in general.

Property seizures

 Beware of Congress's Threat to Tax 401Ks.  With the bear market red in the claw, with an equal opportunity bear market taking out solid stocks right and left, with panicked investors feeling like every headline is an explosion, comes this impenetrable stupidity:  Some Democrats in Congress have held hearings that included discussions of new proposals to tax 401K money.  Specifically, the idea would be to eliminate most of the $80 billion in annual tax breaks that 401(k) investors receive. Which means a nearly $80 billion tax hike.

Targeting Your 401(k).  You may have heard about Argentina's plan to nationalize private retirement accounts.  Some Democrats on Capitol Hill are inspired, and with their big election victory they may get the chance to test Peronist ideas in America.

Killing 401(k)'s?  It's still more than two months before the Obama administration takes office, and we are already seeing signs of just how the Democrats intend to govern.  One proposal being floated by Congressional Democrats aims to abolish the tax incentives for individual 401(k) retirement plans.  With the recent financial meltdown having hit a lot of people's funds heavily, those lawmakers think that the time would be ripe to end the private system and fold it into an expansion of Social Security.

Socialized medicine

 (See this page.)

Packing the courts with liberal judges

 Behind the blindfold.  The most distinctive characteristic of our president's legal thinking is the extent to which it reflects the leftist orthodoxy of the law schools in which he spent his formative years, including the assumption that the American legal tradition has been little more than a mechanism of oppression and white privilege.  In reading his speeches and comments over time, it is clear that he views the law not as a neutral set of rules to be presided over in umpire-like fashion by impartial judges, but as a form of historical affirmative action designed to right the wrongs of the past.  As such, his conception of jurisprudence begins and ends with the idea of the courts as agents of social change.

Obama's change will find its way to U.S. courthouses.  Experts say President-elect Obama could appoint as many as three Supreme Court justices in the next few years, as many as any president in two decades.  And with a newly solid Democratic majority in the Senate ready to confirm his nominations, Obama could also name scores of new judges to the lower courts ... .

Top 10 Things to Expect From Obama Court:  (# 10.)  Expanding and perpetuating the use of racial preferences … (# 6.)  Banning the death penalty … (# 4.)  Creating new constitutional rights to massive government welfare and medical care programs…

Questions for Obama:  Voting against the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, [Obama] said:  Deciding "truly difficult cases" should involve "one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."  Is that not essentially how Chief Justice Roger Taney decided the Dred Scott case?

Obama's Constitution:  Obama, if elected, would certainly aim to fill the Supreme Court — and the lower federal courts — with liberal judicial activists.  Although Obama has served in the Senate for barely three years, he has already established a record on judicial nominations and constitutional law that comports with his 2007 ranking by the National Journal as the most liberal of all 100 senators.

Obama's Judges and the Senate:  After years of obstruction by Senate Democrats, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered President-elect Obama a roadmap for ending the political war over judicial nominations.  What Mr. Obama does in his early days in office will reveal a lot about the next four years.  The key, Mr. McConnell explained, is for the new President to govern as he campaigned — with an eye toward moderation.

Welcome to Obama's America:  the USSA.  The fringe groups on the left such as the ACLU and ACORN will now have legitimate standing with a government ready to dismantle our free enterprise system.  Sound far-fetched?  Not my words but from the mouth of Barack Obama, "there is a legal rationale for bringing about economic change through the courts."  This basically changes the courts from arbiters of the law into super-legislators.

Read more about activist judges.

Revenge and reversal

 Democrats Look for Ways to Undo Late Bush Administration Rules.  Democrats are hoping to roll back a series of regulations issued late in the Bush administration that weaken environmental protections and other restrictions.  Potential targets include regulations allowing concealed weapons in some national parks and forbidding medical facilities that get federal money from discriminating against doctors and nurses who refuse, on religious grounds, to assist with abortions.

The Geithner Exception:  [Scroll down]  The just-issued Conyers report on "Reining in the Imperial Presidency" calls on the new Obama administration to "begin an independent criminal review (my emphasis) of activities of the outgoing administration, such as enhanced interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and domestic warrantless surveillance."  As prelude, the House last February voted contempt of Congress against Bush White House officials Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers and referred them for prosecution.

Pelosi Open to Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receptive to the idea of prosecuting some Bush administration officials, while letting others who are accused of misdeeds leave office without prosecution, she told Chris Wallace in an interview on "FOX News Sunday."  "I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it," the California Democrat said.

Obama's Tax Trap.  President-elect Barack Obama may be about to make a big mistake:  raising taxes in the middle of a recession.  That's what his top political aide, David Axelrod, hinted Sunday:  The Bush tax cuts are "something that we plainly can't afford, moving forward," Axelrod said.  "Whether it expires, or whether we repeal it a little bit early, we'll determine later.  But it's going to go."

The Nancy, Harry and Office of the President-elect Show.  The Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Hussein Obama triumvirate will be doing as much as possible to distract and demoralize the millions of Americans disenfranchised by last week's Election.  They've waited so long to come out with their show of control.  Tonight [11/13/2008] there's a developing story on Drudge that the Democrats are prepared to move forward with an investigation of the Bush Administration.

Obama reviewing drilling, stem cells.  US president-elect Barack Obama's transition chief has said the Democrat is reviewing President George W. Bush's executive orders and could change them once he takes office.  Oil drilling and stem cell research were among the areas Senator Obama was examining, as the Bush administration implements a series of last-minute orders during its final weeks in power, John Podesta told ABC today.

Obama Positioned to Quickly Reverse Bush Actions.  Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

Racial quotas and reparations for slavery

 The Prez-Elect's Quota Challenge.  Racial preferences are, after all, extremely unpopular with most Americans.  Voters in blue states like California, Washington and Michigan have banned them in referenda over the last decade or so.  Voters in red-state Nebraska just did the same thing, by a thumping 58-42 percent margin.  (A similar measure in purplish Colorado may pass as well; the votes are still being tallied.)

Obama:  Tilting at Racial Windmills.  Though neither the media nor the McCain campaign dared to challenge any of Obama's presumably sacrosanct pronouncements about racism in the justice system, the fact remains that every one of those pronouncements was an unadulterated falsehood.  Long ago, the injustices which Obama references certainly existed, particularly in the South.  But it hardly seems appropriate for a supposedly forward-looking President — who founded his entire campaign on a platform of "change" — to continue fighting yesteryear's battles again and again.

Obama's Stealth Reparations.  While he was an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama told a Chicago radio show host that he sought "major redistributive change" for the benefit of fellow blacks.  He was speaking in the context of the civil rights movement, and how it had fallen short of "economic justice."  Although John McCain and other Republicans are afraid to say it, his remarks can only be interpreted to mean one thing:  economic reparations for slavery.

Obama and the Drive for Slavery Reparations.  Barack Obama is the most radical candidate ever to stand at the precipice of acquiring his party's presidential nomination and the American presidency.  It is apparent that he is a member of an international socialist movement which hopes to use the United Nations as a vehicle to shake down U.S. taxpayers for trillions of dollars in slavery reparations.  One group, the African World Reparations and Repatriation Truth Commission, is demanding an astronomical $777 trillion.

Meet Obama's Reparations Model.  While some question the impact of preaching from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ on Senator Obama's thinking, the influence of one of Trinity's most recommended authors on Obama is clear.  Three of Randall Robinson's books are available for purchase on Trinity's website.  One, entitled "The Debt:  What America Owes To Blacks," is particularly important to understanding Obama's notion of reparations.  So who is Randall Robinson?

Does Obama Favor Slavery "Reparations?"  Barrack Obama's pastor not only spews anti-American rhetoric from the pulpit but favors shaking down U.S. taxpayers for "reparations" for slavery.  The Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright was the keynote speaker at the 2007 annual conference of N'COBRA, which stands for the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.

Read more about reparations for slavery.

Higher taxes and massive spending

 New Public Works Projects Must Employ American Workers.  The plan calls for still greater deficit spending in the hopes of jump-starting our sputtering economy and providing jobs for millions of unemployed Americans.  If we are going to spend billions, perhaps even trillions, of borrowed dollars to create public works jobs, an absolute prerequisite must be an insurance policy that the beneficiaries of the program are U.S. workers.

You're Not Serious?  There is no longer any need to play the class warfare card or gin up the liberal base.  But we are in a recession, unemployment is at a fourteen-year high, and the Fed can't find enough ways to shovel liquidity into the private sector.  And Obama still wants to hike taxes?

Obama's Math Doesn't Add Up.  Even economists who agree with Barack Obama that we need another stimulus are questioning his exuberant predictions that his spending plan will produce or save 3.7 million jobs.

Obama's Conflicting Goals.  President-elect Barack Obama's enormous stimulus package would be scary enough without learning the details.  To inject the same staggering amount of government-created or borrowed money into the economy as has already been spent or set aside for the government bailout when there's no proof it will jump-start our economy and no thought given to how we're going to recoup this money is madness.  But when you hear some of the uses he has for this money, it is way beyond madness.

Californians in Control.  The Obama transition team continues to talk to House and Senate Democratic leaders about trying to move a big ($850 billion?) economic stimulus package soon after the new Congress is sworn in.  Every special interest in the country is trying to stake a claim to a share of the cash, including promoters of "green jobs" and those that claim that transforming the energy economy to rely on much more costly forms of renewable energy would somehow stimulate the economy.

The 10 Dopiest Business and Economy Leaders of 2008:  [#9] Barack Obama.  If there is one piece of policy advice that economists agree on, it is this:  You don't raise taxes during an economic downturn.  Doing so would be right out of the Great Depression playbook.  Yet even as the economy obviously weakened in the latter half of the year, Obama stuck to his campaign pledge to reverse the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts on income and capital gains for wealthier Americans.

Economic Stimulus Amounts to Central Planning.  That there will be a huge "stimulus" package in the early days of the Obama administration is a certainty.  Nearly everyone thinks the government must do something drastic to, using President-elect Obama's word, "jolt" the economy into recovery.  That something is deficit spending on "infrastructure."  But it's not as simple as it sounds.  A big debate is shaping up over whether the program should concentrate on big, transformative projects or boring bridge repairs and pothole filling.

Bridges to Everywhere.  President-elect Obama's transition team is promising that its $700 billion, or $850 billion, or $1 trillion, or whatever it now is "stimulus" won't include pork-barrel spending.  They must not have talked to the nation's mayors, who recently responded to Mr. Obama's request to compile their priority list of "shovel-ready" projects.  By all accounts, the $73 billion wish list may be the largest collection of parochial spending projects in American history.

Paving Projects Won't Boost Economy.  President-elect Obama has announced plans for a new stimulus package containing $500 billion to $700 billion worth of public works projects. ... America's governors already are scrambling to compose lists of "shovel-ready" projects so no bridge or highway is left behind.

Obama's Secretary of Earmarks.  Barack Obama wasn't kidding about the audacity of hope.  In tapping Republican Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood to head the Transportation Department last week, he got more Beltway hosannas for bipartisanship.  At the same time he managed to choose one of the biggest spenders in Congress, of either party, and just the fellow to push $850 billion in "stimulus" out the door.  As a long-time and stalwart Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Mr. LaHood facilitated the incontinent spending that helped Republicans lose their majority in 2006.

You can bet on it:  Obama will raise your taxes.  Economists left and right have long argued that there is no way Obama can pay for a national health care makeover and a host of other expensive initiatives without breaking his campaign pledge not to raise taxes for anyone making less than $250,000.  The wealthy are already paying a grossly disproportionate percentage of federal income taxes, and increasing taxes on them won't raise enough money to meet Obama's needs.

Read more about taxes and the IRS.

See also Obama the Big Spender
and The Fast Track to Socialism.

Gun control

 Is Barack Obama Anti-American?  [Scroll down slowly]  Unlike citizens at all other times and in all other places, Americans can protect these broad rights with firepower, because the Second Amendment grants them the right to bear arms on their own soil, a right entirely separate from the military's obligation to protect American citizens from foreign enemies.  Given that the Second Amendment was ratified on the heels of a successful revolution, the Founders manifestly intended that Americans, protected by the military abroad, were free to protect themselves from their own government at home.  (To appreciate this right fully, remember that one of the first things the Nazis did was to make private arms illegal, especially for Jews.)

Fear of gun limits fuels a burst of demand for bullets.  Since President Obama's election, demand for guns and ammunition has skyrocketed.  Gun shops have trouble keeping bullets in stock.

Obama Driving Surge in Gun Sales, Firearms Groups Say.  President-elect Barack Obama's election has spurred a surge in gun sales, firearms retailers and enthusiasts say, as gun owners brace for what they believe will be a new era of gun control in Washington.  An electronic news service that covers outdoor news has even named Obama its "Gun Salesman of the Year."

Gun Owners Not Welcome on Obama's White House Team?  President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is showing its hostility toward lawful firearm owners by "weeding out" job applicants who own firearms themselves, a Second Amendment group says.  The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) notes that question 59 — part of a 63-item questionnaire given to Obama administration job applicants — asks for information about firearms owned by the applicant and his or her family.

They Hate Our Guns?  Right now it all seems pretty hopeless since Obama and his incredible cast of control freaks are about to claim even more power over us than any king who ever sat on the face of the earth.  Unfortunately, most people — including the NRA — seem to fail to understand the real danger and the actual problem.

Obama:  A Red Diaper Baby.  Do believe that the U.S. military should be in the streets of America to enforce the actions of the federal government "to prevent environmental damage"? ... The Environmental Protection Agency has just unveiled its own version of the FBI Most Wanted list, unveiling a roster of 23 fugitives charged with environmental offenses!  The most environmentally committed President to have ever been elected will be in charge by Noon on January 20, 2009 and the rise in gun sales across the nation suggests that a lot of people think the government is about to become the enemy.

Why Are Gun Sales Booming?  People are buying guns and ammo by the handful, not only locally, but across the nation, and reports on the buying surge tend to focus on the election of Barack Obama as the impetus.  Obama is expected to run the most anti-gun administration in U.S. history, based on his votes on gun legislation while a U.S. senator.

State Gun Sales Reach Record Levels.  Gun sales in Tennessee are reaching record levels.  More guns were sold on Black Friday than on any other day in the state's history.  Even in the middle of the week, when most people are at work, business at one Robertson County gun dealer is booming.  Guns and Leather is the second largest gun dealer in the state.  Managers said sales there have gone up more than 300 percent since the election.

Firearms owners concerned Obama will raise taxes on weapons, accessories, ammo.  The tension among the 20 or so customers and the employees at Jensen Arms the day after the election was evident.  With the election of Barack Obama, gun owners are flocking to stores, boosting sales because of concerns the Democrat will raise taxes on guns, ammunition and accessories or even ban some guns outright.

On Concerns Over Gun Control, Gun Sales Are Up.  Sales of handguns, rifles and ammunition have surged in the last week, according to gun store owners around the nation who describe a wave of buyers concerned that an Obama administration will curtail their right to bear arms.

Obama's record on firearms triggers run on sales in state.  John Faulkner and his wife, Brenda, thought Wednesday was a good day to buy a handgun.  "I'm 37 years old, and this is the first time in my life that I am really scared for our future," said Faulkner, an oil field worker, as he perused the collection of weaponry in A Pawn Shop here.  At Aurora's Firing Line gun shop, Steve Wickham was also purchasing.  "Anything I can get my hands on," he said as he cradled a $699 9mm handgun.

Obama Will Overreach and We Will Bounce Back.  Obama began revealing his true plans as soon as it became obvious that he would win.  Just before the election he told an NPR reporter that while he believes in the 2nd Amendment, he intends to seek a federal law that would repeal state "right to carry" laws, thus letting leftist anti-gun groups know that he is with them.  This was no doubt a promise made to these groups secretly far earlier and we can expect similar promises to be made public now that he's won.

Obama win triggers run on guns.  A week after the election of Barack Obama, gun buyers across the country are voting with their feet, flocking to gun stores to stock up on assault rifles, handguns and ammunition.  Some say they are worried that the incoming Obama administration will attempt to reimpose the ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004.

Gun Owners Stockpiling Over Fear of Democratic Weapon Bans.  Handguns and rifles are flying off the shelves at Ted Sabate's gun shop in Kensington, Md.  And while it's not uncommon for gun sales to spike when the economy takes a downturn, Sabate says that's not what he's hearing from customers.  According to Sabate, gun enthusiasts are stockpiling because they say they're afraid the incoming Democratic administration will impose new gun bans.

GunBaNObama.com:  Senator Obama says "words matter."  But when it comes to your Second Amendment rights, he refuses to speak honestly about where he stands.  In fact, Obama hides behind carefully chosen words and vague statements of support for sportsmen and gun rights to sidestep and camouflage the truth.  But even he can't hide from the truth forever ... his voting record, political associations, and long standing positions make it clear that, if elected, Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history.

FBI reports 49% increase in firearm background checks in 1 week.  Gun sales have skyrocketed since Barack Obama was elected, and many gun owners say they are concerned the nation's next president and a Democratic-controlled Congress will impose a ban on assault rifles and firearm ownership.

Post-election gun sales soar over fears of more control.  Harry McLain Jr. saw the spike the day after the election, when his sales doubled over the previous year then shot even higher Thursday.  "They are buying more guns than normal, and they are buying the guns the government doesn't want them to have," said McLain, who owns a gun shop near Binghamton and was among the sellers gathered Saturday for a weekend gun show on Main Street in Clarence.

Don't Take Your Guns to Town.  "As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen.  I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne."  That was Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on June 26, 2008, responding to the Supreme Court's landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down Washington, DC's draconian handgun ban and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms — not a collective one.

Factcheck and the Brady Campaign Share the Same Sugar Daddy.  Just last year, FactCheck's primary funding source, the Annenberg Foundation, ... gave $50,000 to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence for "efforts to reduce gun violence by educating the public and by enacting and enforcing regulations governing the gun industry."  Annenberg made a similar grant for $100,000 in 2005.

"Yes We Can ... Ban Guns".  Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit."  After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby — four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business.

Guns are 'flying off the shelf'.  Seeking to reassure gun owners, Mr. Obama told a campaign audience in Ohio in October:  "I will not take your shotgun away.  I will not take your rifle away.  I won't take your handgun away."  But the crowds mobbing America's gun stores this week say a large number of Americans — including first-time gun buyers — don't believe him.

The Real Obama — From Someone Who Knows.  We've repeatedly warned readers not to believe Barack Obama when he claims to support our Second Amendment rights.  We have told you the truth — that Barack Obama is the most anti-gun presidential candidate in American history!  Hands down.  No question.  Barack Obama opposes the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding, freedom loving, American firearm owners.  We've given the facts, and provided the documentation.  But if you know someone who's still not convinced, you'll want to share with them a recent, open letter to our nation's gun owners, hunters, and sportsmen, written by Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) Executive Director Richard Pearson.

The Blood of Patriots and Tyrants.  66 million Americans ignored all relevant facts concerning the most unqualified individual ever to seek the Oval Office and elected him anyway.  They bought into the sales scam of undefined "change."  The pig they bought in that poke is nothing new at all.  It's a third Clinton Administration and nothing more.  But 56 million Americans voted against Obammunism and that's who is retreating from the markets and stocking up on guns and ammo in record numbers.  They are preparing to protect their earned property, by force if need be.

Gun groups don't trust president-elect.  Obama, appearing on at a Sunday [12/8/2008] press conference, said he believes "in common-sense gun safety laws, and I believe in the Second Amendment."  But Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) political arm, said membership in his organization is growing at record levels, and a number of reports show that gun sales are up by as much as 50 percent nationally since Obama won the presidency on Nov. 4.  "He says gun owners shouldn't be worried, but clearly gun owners are worried," Cox told The Hill.

Utahns quick to draw concealed weapons permits.  Gun owners are flooding the state with applications for concealed weapons permits, with almost 45,000 applications filed in 2008, easily a record number, quadrupling the figure from just four years ago.  With the surge, about one in every 25 Utahns over age 21 could be carrying a licensed concealed weapon, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Criminal Identification.

Big Brother's new target:  Tracking of all firearms.  U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.  Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records.  Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner's address in America.

"No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms.  The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

— Thomas Jefferson    


Obama proclaimed 'gun salesman of year'.  What do you get when you add a faltering economy with Obama change?  Increased gun sales, for one thing.  Ever since Barack Obama was elected president in early November, Americans have been stocking up on guns and ammunition in unprecedented numbers.  Speculation is that the increased sales are driven by a nervous populace — a portion of it, anyway — wanting to be able to defend themselves in tough times, and by fears that the new president and Democratic-dominated Congress may not be especially gun-friendly.

Stop This Man.  One sector of the American economy that is booming is the absolute orgy of guns and ammunition sales.  I am pretty certain President Obama will not say anything positive about this economic news.  I have read more than one report that shows how the surge of civilian firepower sales began back when it appeared that Obama was likely to be elected.  The already-brisk guns and ammo market blew up another 25% once he was elected.  Reason:  freedom lovers do not trust liberal President Obama.  His nomination for Attorney General, Mr. Eric Holder, proves that distrust is justified.

Obama is stimulating gun sales.  If gun owners are like wooly worms —they instinctively fatten up ahead of a harsh winter —then the Second Amendment is in for a rough spell.  Since Barack Obama's election in November, gun and ammunition sales have soared, as have requests for concealed carry permits, on fears that the new president will clamp down on gun rights.  Business has been so brisk that one California store hung a poster of Obama with the words, "Salesman of the Year."

Gun dealers experiencing shortages of bullets.  Selling bullets may be the most secure job in Florida as long as supplies last.  After months of heavy buying, gun dealers across the state are experiencing shortages.  Some say it began with the election of President Barack Obama.  Others say it's about the economic downturn or fear of crime.  Whatever the reasons, ammunition has been selling like plywood and bottled water in the days before a hurricane.

Fears of tighter gun laws drive up local demand.  Since the election of President Barack Obama, local businesses have struggled to meet consumer demand for guns and ammunition due to what some dealers say is a fear of more stringent gun laws.  Though the surge in sales initially helped anyone in the Arkansas River Valley who sells guns and ammo, one business owner said it has turned into a double-edged sword due to increased prices and an inability to obtain what his customers want.

Gun novices have plenty of options, company.  Judging by the crowd at the Apopka Shoot Straight, you're not alone.  It is a weekday morning, yet the shooting range is full.  The muffled shots create an appropriate soundtrack in the spacious sales area.  There are the little cracks of .22's and the big booms of .44's.  They fire away because though ammo may be in short supply everywhere else, it is stacked high here.

Area gun sales and permit applications jump.  Floridians have requested 187,162 concealed-weapon permit applications over the last six months — an 82 percent increase compared with a year earlier.  Gun dealers say sales have doubled or even tripled in recent months, with customers fearing for their safety in desperate economic times and worrying that President Barack Obama might resurrect some 1990s gun bans.

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban.  The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today [2/25/2009].  "As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

NRA, Alaskans slam Obama assault weapons ban proposal.  Alaskan gun owners are concerned an Obama administration proposal, to reinstate an expired assault weapons ban, is putting their second amendment right at risk.  By the time the assault weapons ban ended in 2004, opponents argued numerous studies showed it had not cut down on crime numbers. ... Five years later, Attorney General Eric Holder says the assault weapons ban is needed again to stop weapons from flowing from US borders into Mexico.

Second Amendment Under Fire:  Gun Ownership in the Obama Era.  Obama's distrust of those bitter, clingy Americans you call friends and family is hardly unique, and seems to be something deeply ingrained in Illinois Democrats.  An Illinois state representative by the name of Kenneth Dunkin is introducing an even more draconian proposal than Obama's policies, attempting to make it all but impossible for Illinois citizens to own firearms. ... It seems that Dunkin's plan is to attempt to trap Illinois gun owners in a Catch-22 that would make it impossible for anyone in Illinois to legally own a gun because the insurance required doesn't exist.

Gun Makers and Retailers Post Strong Sales Increases.  The economy might be tanking, but firearm sales are going great guns.  Despite the weakest holiday season on record, outdoor-products retailer Cabela's turned in strong fourth-quarter sales, largely as a result of an increase in firearm and ammunition sales.

Gun and Ammo Sales are Shooting Through the Roof (I Wonder Why?)  [Scroll down]  Yep, by the end of the business day the guns were gone.  The rifles, shotguns, and pistols were ... lock stock and two smoking barrels ... pretty much history.  For those with short-term memory loss, this was not a small shop with a couple of Ruger .22s and a few boxes of CCI 40 grain hollow points but a national retail chain with a stonkin' firearm stockade.  Now, I've been an outdoor shop devotee for the last forty-one of my forty-six years and have never heard of that kind of mass movement of guns and ammo by civilians.

Brass Facts:  Every year, the federal government buys massive amounts of ammunition, primarily to meet the needs of the military.  For years, the government has been recouping part of its ammunition expenses by reselling the used casings to remanufacturers. ... Well, all that is changing.  The Obama administration is changing the rules on re-selling used bullet casings.  From now on, they cannot be sold for remanufacturing, but rather must be liquidated at scrap value.

Wonder why vets and shooters are suspicious of Obama?  The bad ideas just keep Twittering out of the Obama administration, and some of them are so ridiculous that even the Democrats who rule the congressional roost are squawking back. ... Given that this administration is all abuzz with going green, crushing a perfectly recyclable product runs afoul of the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra of environmentalists.  It's difficult not to assume that someone new in Defense wanted to reduce the national supply of ammunition by removing the ability to reuse fired brass.

Obama Gunning for the Second Amendment.  [It is ridiculous to believe] that a member of Chicago's socialist New Party, who was weaned in a black power church, was a gun caesar and not a gun seizer.  And now Obama is in fact striking a blow against the Second Amendment.  He isn't doing anything obvious such as advocating a ban on semi-automatic rifles, however (not yet); rather, in typical Saul Alinsky "Rules for Radicals" style, he is attacking where his adversaries least expect.

Ammo Flying Off Shelves.  A powerful sense of fear that gun control is inevitable appears to be the driving force behind a run on ammunition resulting in a national shortage.  "We're probably selling ammunition right now at a 200 percent increase over normal sales," said Richard Taylor, manager at the Firing Line in Aurora.  He calls it "panic buying".  Ammunition including 9-millimeter, .40 caliber and .45 caliber shells are the hardest to find and the most popular with handguns used for self-defense.

Obama's Sights on Second Amendment.  During his 2004 run for the Senate, Obama said, "I think that the Second Amendment means something.  I think that if the government were to confiscate everybody's guns unilaterally that I think that would be subject to constitutional challenge."  No kidding.  He didn't say it would be unconstitutional, just "subject to constitutional challenge."  Nor did he express any opposition.

'We want them registered'.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, announced last week that she wants to register guns.  Her next move will be to try to confiscate them.  The speaker picked a television show with a viewership of 4.6 million to float the Democrats' coming gun-control push.  Questioned on ABC's "Good Morning America" about the prospect of new gun-control laws now that "it's a Democratic president, a Democratic House," she responded, "We don't want to take their guns away.  We want them registered."

Firearm sales surging since Obama's election.  Firearm sales have surged in the state since President Obama was elected, mirroring a national trend fueled in part by concerns over the new administration's stance on gun control.  "It's like when your radiator blows or your pressure cooker boils, that's the kind of spike we're talking about," said Mark Diaz, manager of the Smoke 'N Gun shop in Waukegan.  "The joke is that the president is the No. 1 salesman in the firearm industry."

Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up.  The way Jay Chambers sees it, the semiautomatic weapons in his firearm collection might be the most promising investment in his financial portfolio.  Like many gun enthusiasts, Mr. Chambers, a manager for a door wholesaler here, believes President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress soon will reimpose a version of an expired federal ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons.

Obama Backs Away From Assault Gun Ban in Push to Stop Flow to Mexico.  President Obama, after meeting Thursday with Mexico's president, signaled he is backing away from his pledge to renew the U.S. ban on assault weapons but still wishes to stop the cross-border flow of guns that wind up in the arsenals of drug cartels.

Obama's gun lies:  When it comes to guns, President Obama is lying through his teeth. ... It is completely untrue that 90 percent of guns recovered in Mexico are from America.  The Mexican government separates guns it confiscates that were made in the United States and sends them here to be traced.  U.S. weapons are easy to identify because of clear markings.

Firearm sales surge after Barack Obama's election.  Since November, more than seven million people applied for criminal background checks in order to buy guns, according to the FBI.  That figure excludes anyone buying a weapon at the thousands of gun shows in states such as Virginia, without facing any checks.  The sudden run on weapons has also stripped gun shops in some parts of the country almost bare and led to a national ammunition shortage, the Guardian reports.

Demand for Ammo Depletes Stores' Stock.  At Georgia Arms, an ammunition and reloading supplies company outside of Atlanta, the machines that make bullets spit out 4,000 rounds of ammo every hour, and that's not nearly enough.  "We have been running pretty much around the clock for the last two or three months," Georgia Arms co-owner Curtis Shipley said.

Fear triggers sales of guns and ammo.  Mendie Elliott bought her first handgun this month, a 9mm semiautomatic that fits into her purse.  The Houston wife and mother's motives are twofold:  She's afraid of a gun ban and a hike in crime related to the recession.  "As times get tougher, we're going to see more crime because people get desperate," said Elliott, 42, who plunked down nearly $1,000 on a gun, ammunition, ear muffs and classes on how to use her new weapon.

The Editor says...
 The mere threat of a recession does not explain this level of demand.  Criminals do what they do regardless of economic indicators.  In my opinion, the sudden demand for guns is due to two obvious causes:  (1) Suspicion that Obama will outlaw guns and (2) Suspicion that Obama will try to confiscate guns as part of an emerging dictatorship.  It's sad to say, but I believe many of the recent gun buyers are preparing for civil war.

Obama May Grab for Guns.  President Obama voiced his support for an anti-gun treaty with such wide ranging implications that it could ban everything from assembling guns in kits to repackaging spent shells.  The treaty was signed by former President Clinton, but never approved by Congress.

Democrats hang fire on guns.  There is one thing that can be said of President Obama with certainty — his election has had a phenomenal effect on gun sales.  Across the country, ammunition prices are soaring and many guns are in short supply as weapons fly off the shelves at stores.  This is a telling economic indicator about consumer confidence as many Americans stock up for fear that the end is nigh.

Obama's End Run on the Second Amendment.  Long before he was the president of the United States or even the junior senator from Illinois, Barack Obama made his opposition to the Second Amendment of the Constitution painfully clear.  As a director of the Joyce Foundation for eight years (1994-2002), Obama participated in the creation and funding of prohibitionist-minded anti-gun groups to the tune of millions of dollars.  This fact does not surprise the millions of Americans who have responded to the threat by purchasing millions of firearms since the president was elected and who purchased at least 1.5 billion rounds of ammunition in December alone.

Bullet bill is loaded for bear.  One of the most controversial measures to come before the County Legislature in some time is expected to draw an overflow crowd at a public hearing Tuesday night [5/26/2009].  At issue is a proposed law that would require gun shops to register sales of ammunition, a measure that has been condemned by gun proponents as a back-door means to register guns and learn what weapons people have.

Obama and the Birth of Mobocracy in America.  Obama came to power via fraud. He is not a 'natural born' U.S. citizen.  The clear proof of that is that despite 31 lawsuits filed against him demanding he prove his eligibility for the U.S. Presidency, he has instead hired three law firms and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid discovery and evade a judicial review.  The result is that not one of these 31 cases received a hearing on its merits.  But why is it that judges have been unwilling to tackle Obama's eligibility problem?  The answer is that most now suspect Obama is not eligible and are afraid of the political chaos that would result from such a discovery.  They are afraid of what his supporters would do.  They know that if they overturn Obama's presidency, his millions of fans will turn American cities into warzones.

Gun sales soar amid fears of Barack Obama weapons ban.  President Barack Obama may never have fired a gun but he is turning out to be one of the best firearms salesmen in American history.  "I've sold probably four times as much in the last six months as I have in 20 years combined," said Cliff Hunter, owner of Tommy Bronson Sporting Goods in Memphis.  "Hand guns and the tactical weapons, they're absolutely off the charts."

Another 1,000,000+ Guns Added to American Homes in August.  Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,074,757 checks in August 2009, a 12.3 percent increase from the 956,872 reported in August 2008.  So far that is roughly 9,076,205 gun bought this year!  The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time.

Here's an easy explanation for the flurry of gun purchases:
 On the Second Amendment, Don't Believe Obama.  Barack Obama opposes four of the five Supreme Court justices who affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms.  He voted against the confirmation of Alito and Roberts and he has stated he would not have appointed Thomas or Scalia.  Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.  Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition.  Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.  Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.  Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people who use firearms in self-defense.

A beneficial side-effect:
 More Guns, Less Crime in '09.  Americans went on binges buying guns and ammunition in early 2009, worried that a radical leftist president and Democrat-dominated Congress would violate their Second-Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.  The effects?  Less murder, robbery, rape, and property crime, according to an FBI report released Monday [12/28/2009].  This gives the young president and Democrat Congress at least one proud but unintended accomplishment for which they'll never claim credit.

On the other hand... gun control is politically risky.
 Obama Spurns Gun Control.  [Scroll down]  In terms of actual policy, rather than his previous record, Obama is a long way from being anti-gun.  This is not because he has fond memories of sitting in a deer stand as a lad in Hawaii or of talking shotguns with Dick Cheney.  It's because his mother didn't raise a fool.  Like some other Democrats, he may recall that in 1994, after banning "assault weapons," they lost the House for the first time in 40 years.

Read more about Obama and gun control.
Read more about gun control in general.
See also Obama's stealthy moves toward gun control.

Nationalizing and radicalizing the public schools

 See this page.

Constantly expanding government

 Role of Federal Tech Czar to Be Defined by Obama.  The most talked-about tech job in government is one that never before existed.  On the campaign trail, Barack Obama said he would appoint the nation's first chief technology officer who would, according to his Web site, help federal agencies use technology "to make government work better."  But he's given no specifics about the job, leaving the tech community to speculate about the role and who might fill it.

Obama may name auto czar.  President-elect Barack Obama has raised the idea of appointing a so-called "auto czar" to oversee emergency federal aid to automakers, exact tough corporate reforms and ensure taxpayers earn a return on any investment in the auto industry.

Obama's Czars:  Suddenly a rash of czars is in prospect for the Obama Administration.  The title "czar" in the executive branch has some history.  The "drug czar" title appeared during the Reagan administration.  The term has always seemed a little strange to me, but that's probably because the word has a negative connotation in my opinion; an all-powerful, micro-managing type of connotation.  What's more, after spending a little time participating in the "war on drugs", it seemed that the czar's effort was futile and cost a lot of money.

Obama Promises on Job Creation -- Including 600,000 New Government Employees.  In his radio address today, President-elect Obama uses some new language when discussing what he wants the stimulus package to achieve in terms of jobs.  First off, he has a name for the package -- the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."

The federal government is too big already.

Totalitarianism / Ruling by Thugocracy

 See this page.

Read more about the heavy-handed government goons we already have.

Weakening the military

 Obama to re-instate the Draft.  Americans won't volunteer their lives in defense of Marxism.  People in the military now, will not re-up.  They didn't sign up to defend Marxism.  They signed up to defend freedom.  The nation just voted against freedom.

Barack Obama:  It is no longer important to kill Osama bin Laden.  Barack Obama last night suggested that removing Osama bin Laden from the battlefiell (sic) was no longer essential and that America's security goals could be achieved by merely keeping al-Qaeda "on the run".

Obama to end military's ban on homesexuals, spokesman says.  President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.

Challenges loom as Obama seeks space weapons ban.  President Barack Obama's pledge to seek a worldwide ban on weapons in space marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy while posing the tricky issue of defining whether a satellite can be a weapon.

Dealing with Cuba

 Is Obama planning adios for U.S. Cuban Embargo?  The U.S. president-elect is touted as President of the World and in global opinion, some 98.9 percent of the world opposes the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba as documented in United Nations statistics.  Before Obama even came into power, the European Union had agreed to lift its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba.  At the same time, Venezuela was working with Cuba to lay undersea Internet cable to bring more Cuban citizens onto the Information Highway.

Obama poised to change Cuba policy?  With the inauguration last week of Barack Obama, many Cuban-Americans are anticipating a change in policy toward their homeland that reflects both the new president's campaign promises and shifting views and demographics among a once-solid Republican political bloc.

U.S. turns off Havana news ticker that angered Cuba.  The United States has turned off a news ticker at its diplomatic mission in Havana that long had irritated the Cuban government, the U.S. State Department said on Monday, in another sign of efforts to improve relations with Cuba.  The five-foot-high (1.5-meter) news ticker ran across 25 windows on the outside of the fifth floor of the U.S. diplomatic mission's building on Havana's busy seaside Malecon drive.

Obama's Cuba Policy:  Speak Softly, Carry No Stick.  I had hoped that Obama might use his popularity with the international left to demythologize the dictatorship in Cuba and rally the world to the cause of freedom for that country's citizens.  Turning off the electronic news ticker billboard is just the latest sign that Obama has no such intentions.

Trying everything until something works

 'No' to Obama's experimental government.  On Sunday night [11/15/2008], President-elect Barack Obama told CBS' "60 Minutes" that Franklin D. Roosevelt would be a model of sorts for him.  "What you see in FDR that I hope my team can emulate is not always getting it right, but projecting a sense of confidence, and a willingness to try things.  And experiment in order to get people working again."  This is a problematic standard.  What do you want in a surgeon?  One who "gets it right" or who projects "a sense of confidence?"  Ditto accountants, defense lawyers, mechanics and bomb-disposal technicians:  Cocky and self-assured, or gets it right?

Popularizing cigarettes

 Aren't Obama's supporters the very same left-wing Democrats who have campaigned to outlaw smoking in public places, and aren't they the same Democrats who push for higher taxes on cigarettes?

Let the Guy Smoke.  Smoking is a disgusting habit that can kill you and those around you.  Barack Obama claims to have quit, but the evidence is ambiguous.  And the media's lack of interest in this question supports the charge that Obama is enjoying a honeymoon with the press.

The Editor says...
 The article above is replete with bias and misinformation.  For example, nobody dies from second-hand smoke.  But it does provide another example of the media's willingness to cover up Obama's shortcomings.  And it also glosses over another issue:  Big-government Democrats are the ones who have pushed anti-smoking laws for decades.  What will they do now?

Under Obama Will Smoking Become 'Cool' Again?  Smokers could soon have a reason to rejoice:  President-elect Obama is a smoker who has tried hard to quit the habit but just can't seem to do it.  His addiction could go a long way toward making smoking a fashionable pastime once again.

Media are gonna Barack around the clock.  Barack Obama announced last week that he was forming an exploratory committee to explore whether he can really be as fabulous as the media say he is.  And happily the answer is:  Yes!  He's young, gifted and black, and white, and Hawaiian, and Kansan, and charismatic, and Congregationalist, and Muslim.  He rejects the way "politics has become so bitter and partisan," he represents "a different kind of politics."  He smokes, which is different.  He was raised in an Indonesian madrassah by radical imams, which is more than John Edwards can say.  And he looks totally cool when he smokes!

Puff piece.  Organizations such as the American Lung Association see the issue of Obama's cigarette use as a teachable moment.

No smoke without ire.  About a week ago, the New York Post published a portfolio of photographs of Barack Obama that had been taken on the campus of Occidental College in 1980.  According to the paper, the photographer, a university friend, had kept them in a safe-deposit box until after the election, "to make sure they wouldn't fall into the wrong hands and be used for political purposes".  What made them incriminating? ... The scoop was that one of the photos showed Mr Obama smoking a cigarette.

Obama pledges not to smoke in White House.  Barack Obama says you won't catch him lighting up a cigarette in the smoke-free White House.  "There are times where I've fallen off the wagon," the president-elect said when asked in a broadcast interview whether he has kicked the habit.

The smoker-in-chief.  It's been a long time since we've had a smoker in the White House.  The media, of course, never really got around to telling the American public that the Democratic candidate for president was a nicotine addict.  Even now, they prefer to write stories about his 45 minute daily work outs, and how awesomely lean and fit he is.  But the plain fact is that the President first smokerhas a nicotine jones, and can't get the monkey off his back.

Is President Barack Obama still smoking?  [Anderson] Cooper's question:  "Have you had a cigarette since you've been to the White House?"  The president's answer:  "No, I haven't had one on these grounds."

Editor's note:
 The fact that Obama is a cigarette smoker is just one of many details that were covered up by the news media during his campaign.

What the US Presidential hopeful HASN'T said about his father...  It is a classic story of the American dream made real:  an impoverished Kenyan goatherd rising to become a brilliant Harvard-educated economist.  On the way he fights racial prejudice at home and corruption at work, survives the heartbreak of a broken relationship and, despite it all, leads the fight to rid Africa of its colonial legacy. … Yet an investigation by The Mail on Sunday [1/28/2007] has revealed that, for all Mr. Obama's reputation for straight talking and the compelling narrative of his recollections, they are largely myth. … And, devastatingly, the testimony has come from Mr Obama's own relatives and family friends.

Will Obama go up in smoke?  In case you haven't heard — and many apparently still haven't — Barack Obama smokes.  Despite the crush of media attention enveloping him, few have spent much time discussing his nicotine habit, much less asking the obvious question:  In an era of unprecedented hostility toward tobacco users, can a cigarette smoker win a presidential election?

Obama to Quit — Smoking, That Is.  When Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., officially enters the stressful world of presidential politics this Saturday [2/10/2007], he will be trying his hardest to resist the urge to smoke those Marlboro Red cigarettes he has relied upon for years.  Instead, he has pledged to his wife, Michelle, that he will chew Nicorette gum.

[ ... Now that he has been elected, who's gonna stop him from smoking?]

Obama still battling his nicotine needs.  Judging from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' roundabout answer Friday [6/12/2009], one can conclude that President Obama still might occasionally sneak a smoke — even though smoking is not allowed in the White House.

President Obama praises nicotine legislation, as Gibbs ducks questions on his smoking.  As President Obama hailed new legislation to regulate tobacco Friday, his spokesman ducked a question on whether Obama still sneaks a cigarette now and then.  "I think the President would likely tell you, as I think anybody would that has smoked or been addicted to smoking, that it is a lifelong struggle," said press secretary Robert Gibbs.  Gibbs acknowledged the President still chews Nicorette to deal with his cravings.

The smokin' president.  Here's the thing, Mr. President:  We know you smoke.  Or at least that you did.  You admitted during the campaign that you were chewing Nicorette gum, and we've heard the story about Michelle not letting you run for president unless you quit.  True, there have been no firsthand reports or photographic evidence of your lighting up since then.  But as recently as last December, you told Tom Brokaw on "Meet the Press" that you had occasionally fallen off the wagon...

The White House smoke screen:  President Flawless, it seems, has a flaw.  The White House has been opaque about whether President Obama has quit smoking, as he promised his wife, Michelle, when she agreed to a presidential race.  During the campaign, reporters occasionally saw him mooching a cigarette off an aide, but now that he's president, he's only seen when he wants and how he wants.

Jenna and Barbara Bush Gave Secret Service Fits.  [Scroll down]  More currently, [Ronald] Kessler delves into President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's treatment of their Secret Service agents.  He says that despite his claims to have cut back on smoking by 95 percent, Obama continues to puff away regularly.

I've kicked smoking.  Has Barack Obama followed my example?  I don't know if it's yet an impeachable offence to smoke in the White House, but it must in any event be almost impossible for Obama to do so.

Obama in Great Shape, Still Trying to Kick the Nicotine Habit.  President Obama hasn't kicked the smoking habit, takes anti-inflammatory medication to relieve chronic tendinitis in his left knee and should eat better to lower his cholesterol, his team of doctors concluded Sunday after the 48-year-old's first medical checkup as commander in chief.

President Obama still smoking?  Doctor's note may be smoking gun.  President Obama is in "excellent health" — but has to stay away from the smokes and watch his cholesterol, doctors said Sunday.  Obama, 48, is a lean 180 pounds, with 20-20 vision, but needs to "continue smoking cessation efforts," doctors said after his first physical as commander in chief.

Doctors tell Barack Obama to quit smoking.  Barack Obama is still struggling to kick smoking, according to his first medical examination since becoming president.  Obama is sensitive about his cigarette habit and tetchy with reporters who raise it.  But after his 90-minute medical at the Navy hospital outside Washington yesterday morning, his doctors confirmed he had not yet managed to conquer the habit and suggested he "continue smoking cessation efforts".

Obama, cheeseburgers and cigarettes.  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today filled in some blanks from yesterday's presidential physical.  Noteworthy items from the doctor's report included admonishments to keep up with the smoking cessation program and get that cholesterol down.  Naturally at the White House, this led to lots of questions — like where does he bum cigarettes?  (Gibbs:  I don't know)

ABC's George Stephanopoulos Defends Obama's Smoking, Coos Over Physical Fitness.  Ex-Clinton aide turned journalist George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday gushed over the results of Barack Obama's first White House physical, even going so far as to defend the President's continued smoking.  Talking to Dr. Richard Besser, the Good Morning America host defended, "My reaction is, what is the big deal?  He's got the most stressful job on the planet."

The Editor says...
 Just call him Tobacc-Obama!  But wait -- there's more!

Obama Boozing?  The Guardian reports that President Obama's doctors have recommended he moderate his "alcohol intake."  Most reportage on the president's recent physical has focused on Mr. Obama's continuing smoking habit, but revelation of a potential drinking problem is a much bigger story.  How much "alcohol intake" does it take to get a doctor's attention?  And what did the president drink and when did he drink it?

Barack Obama should drink less alcohol and try harder to kick his smoking habit, doctors say.  Barack Obama should not only try harder to kick his smoking habit, his team of doctors warned, but they also recommended 'moderation of alcohol intake'.

Can the Smoker in Chief really lead America in health care reform?  With President Obama making his final push for health care reform, I ask you to consider the following "If, Then" theorem:  If our health is the President's business, then the President's health should be our business.  The recent revelation that Obama still sneaks a cigarette now and then, contributing to an industry that costs us more than $167 billion a year in lost productivity and health care, and gambling with a substance that kills more Americans every year than anything else, means that the issue deserves a healthy debate (pun intended).

The Editor says...
 Who really knows if Mr. Obama smokes "now and then"?  Such a smoky cloud of secrecy surrounds this topic that for all we know the President smokes like a locomotive.


Prepare for four years of minor scandals

 Why Don't You "Spread the Wealth Around"?  Apparently, the Obama campaign remains so flush with cash that it's going to give staffers an extra month's pay, along with blackberries, laptops and other assorted goodies.  Assuming the money was raised within the boundaries of law and ethics (a mighty big assumption), in one sense, who can object?  If it's theirs fair and square, then they should be able to use it for any purpose they please.  But given that Obama's victory supposedly represents a "wave" of "change" that involves "spreading the wealth around," it's the height of hypocrisy to blow all that extra cash on goodies for themselves.

Nation of Islam activists on Obama camp payroll.  Sen. Barack Obama employed and continues to employ senior staffers who belong to the Nation of Islam, and the presidential candidate has some "worrying" ties to the controversial group headed by Louis Farrakhan, a former key Obama insider told WND.

Husband's foreign deals may pose issue for Clinton.  Hillary Clinton has campaigned as a champion of workers' rights.  This year, Brazilian labor inspectors found what they called "degrading" living conditions for sugar cane workers employed by an ethanol company in which Bill Clinton invested.

AP Ignores Jarrett's Slum Ties.  It'll be interesting to see if the Associated Press and other mainstream media outlets more fully cover [Valerie] Jarrett's participation in the management of Chicago slums.  Certainly if Karl Rove, White House senior adviser in the Bush administration, had such a record it would not have gone unmentioned.  Perhaps President-elect Obama will be asked directly by the press about Jarrett's mismanagement of public housing.  Or would that put a damper on all that hope and change the mainstream media have been selling us?

Obama adviser lobbied to protect Fannie.  A transition adviser to President-elect Barack Obama earned millions of dollars overseeing an office that led a lobbying effort to prevent increased oversight of mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the company at the heart of the ongoing turmoil in the nation's financial markets, public records show.  The unpaid adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, held several senior positions at Fannie Mae from 1999 to 2005, including vice president of law and policy, at a time when the company's officers and lobbyists were insisting that now-troubled Fannie's finances were sound.

You must register to become president.  As the mainstream media covers President-elect Barack Hussein Obama's every cabinet appointment consideration, citizens have been seeking information about Obama that, when uncovered, appears to be one fraud after another.  On Nov. 13, Debbie Schlussel, attorney and political commentator, posted on her website a copy of Obama's Selective Service System Registration form.  Schlussel points out all the peculiarities and inconsistencies in the document that would lead just about anyone to conclude the document is a fraud and that either Obama signed the fraudulent document in 2008, rather than in 1980 as the document portends, or he never registered for the draft, as required by law, and someone else created the after-the-fact forgery.

Obama's Draft Registration Raises Serious Questions.  Did President-elect Barack Hussein Obama commit a federal crime in September of this year?  Or did he never actually register and, instead, did friends of his in the Chicago federal records center, which maintains the official copy of his alleged Selective Service registration commit the crime for him?  It's either one or the other, as indicated by the release of Barack Obama's official Selective Service registration for the draft.

Fugitive Financiers.  The party that casts itself as the champion of the poor is more like the party of Wall Street plutocrats.  That Bill Clinton's most famous pardon went to a billionaire financier illustrates the party's evolution.  Clinton ended up soft on crime, only deviating from Democratic custom by choosing a white-collar one.  Not long after pardoning Marc Rich, Clinton received from Morgan Stanley — in a small sign of Wall Street's client-indifference and dereliction to come — $100,000 for a speech at a "high-yield" conference in Boca Raton.  It was the first speech of his post-presidency.

Obama's $1.74 million party.  President-elect Barack Obama's victory celebration in Grant Park cost Chicago taxpayers $1.74 million, turning up the heat on the cash-flush Obama campaign or the Democratic National Committee to reimburse the city.  Mayor Daley had predicted that more than 1 million people would attend the rally and that the election night extravaganza would require the city to spend $2 million.

The Editor says...
 Of course, if the Republicans had spent that kind of money on a victory celebration, the liberals would certainly have asked, "Why couldn't some of that have been spent on the homeless?"

An example of Obama 'transparency':  As a preview of transparent things to come [... beginning] January 20, 2009 in America, listen to The Office of President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama's interruption to a question from John McCormick, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune — his hometown paper.  "Let me just cut you off because I don't want you to waste your question."  In other words, asking a legitimate question about Obama's relationship with his state's governor, even though it was not the purpose of the press conference, indicates The Office of the President-Elect will cut off all reporters who probe too uncomfortably in sensitive areas.

Future President Obama commits a crime.  In a ceremony held in Hawaii, Obama, teary-eyed, poured his grandmother's ashes into the sea from the sand-lined shore.  Environmentalists were quick to stand up against the move.  The reason behind the contention was the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources Protection Law, which prohibits ashes from being dropped into the ocean.

Obamas may come out of the woodwork.  Just days before the election, the media focused briefly on the news that Barack Obama's paternal aunt was living illegally in public housing in Boston.  While the story didn't get much traction, it offered a glimpse of things to come:  With the spotlight shining so hard on the next president, distant family members are likely to get caught up in the glare.

The Editor says...
 An aunt or a half-brother is not generally considered a "distant" relative.  If you aren't familiar with the story of Aunt Zeituni, read this.

Two More Weeks of Senator Biden -- But Why?  Among those who will take the oath of office Tuesday, when the 111th Congress convenes, is a man who has no intention of further service as a member of Congress:  Sen. Joe Biden. ... Obama, by contrast, resigned his Senate seat shortly after Election Day -- creating the vacancy that is has caused so much controversy in Illinois and beyond.

With Friends Like These, It's Tough to Believe in Change.  So, this is Change We Can Believe In?  It's more like the same old change we've heard jingling in the pockets of politicians since the beginning of time.  And it's the same dirty change that has landed the bums in jail since the beginning of democracy.  Barack Obama hasn't even made history yet by getting into the White House, but he's already making history for the number of serious scandals between his election and his inauguration.

Life in the Clown-Car Fast Lane.  Can you believe it?  Barack Hussein Obama II hasn't even been inaugurated yet and he's already been interviewed by federal prosecutors in the ongoing Blago mess; ... and he's facing the prospect of the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, standing like a homunculus George Wallace in the schoolhouse door, ready to deny entrance to a black man when Roland "We Are the Senator" Burris tries to take Bambi's hardly-even-used seat tomorrow.

Corruptocrat Eric Holder's National Security Cover-Up:  For more than a year, I've been writing about the looming national security and conflict-of-interest problems posed by Holder's status as a former partner at the prestigious law firm Covington and Burling.  The company currently represents or has provided pro bono representation and sob-story media-relations campaigns in the past to more than a dozen Gitmo detainees from Yemen who are seeking civilian trials on American soil.

TARP Inspector General excluded from investigating $30 billion TARP funds?  Neal Barofsky, the Inspector General for the TARP program, has been pretty critical in the past of how that money has been used.  Now it looks like the Treasury Department is trying to keep the watchdogs at bay.

Miscellaneous warning forecasts

 Poverty threatens entire generation, says Obama.  The president-elect, Barack Obama, has warned that the United States is sliding into the deepest economic crisis since World War II and urged Congress to pass a stimulus package quickly or risk an entire generation of Americans losing any hope of prosperity.

The Editor says...
 What's this?  Suddenly, he's "no hope" Obama.  And he hasn't even been sworn in.

Obama Watch:  As the most liberal Senator and first African-American prepares to ascend to the presidency on January 20th, we believe that we are about to witness many events previously unimagined in America.  Some of these events have already begun to unfold in the ongoing economic crisis.  With all of the "change" that the Obama presidency promises to offer, it's incumbent upon conservatives to keep a close watch on what transpires, separate from the fawning and adoring drive-by media's predictably biased coverage.

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