Four more year of Bush

The Imperial Obama presidency.........

President Barack Obama is morphing into George W. Bush, as administration attorneys repeatedly adopt the executive-authority and national-security rationales that their Republican predecessors preferred.

In courtroom battles and freedom-of-information fights from Washington, D.C., to California, Obama's legal arguments repeatedly mirror Bush's: White House turf is to be protected, secrets must be retained and dire warnings are wielded as weapons.

"It's putting up a veritable wall around the White House, and it's so at odds with Obama's campaign commitment to more open government," said Anne Weismann, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal watchdog group.

More....

Man Cave complete

One of the projects happening in the Gekko household is the completion of my "man cave"; the place in the house where 1) nothing has to match 2) all my sports gear, beer can collection and CD's can go 3) A Brian Urlacher Fat Head adorns the wall 4)No Lifetime, Oxygen, Bravo, or Logo will be viewed on my 2000 inch high def TV and 5) I can leave my laptop on the coffee table without scorn from the lovely Mrs. Gekko.

We just got the HD installed and the leather couch delivered this morning.

Trust me, if you're a man, you're jealous.

I'll be in my basement for the next 72 hours. Have a great weekend.

Public Service Announcement

Former President, BJ Clinton, will be in town this weekend in celebration of Civil Rights Weekend.

Please keep your daughters, wives, and girl friends outside of the I-275 beltway for their protection.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Pocket Obama (Kevin Johnson) Nasty Personal Attack against Inspector General That Obama Fired

protection

A message from the President to the Iranians

Iowahawk with the transcript......

Greetings. As president of United States -- or, if you prefer, the Great Satan -- I have have been following with keen interest the vigorous post-election debate and vibrant political dialogue which has been taking place in your great and noble Islamic Republic of Iran over recent days. It has been both educational and fascinating, and as a sports fan I have thrilled to the pageantry, the suspense, and the fast-paced, hard-hitting action. I have to say It's been as exciting as a double overtime game seven NBA final between the Lakers and Celtics! Like millions of others around the world, I can't wait for the exciting conclusion of your distracting nail-biter so I can finally focus on my big health care project at the office. (Now that's what I call a real crisis!) But no matter who prevails in your hard-fought contest, you can rest assured that I will be out there in the stands watching, and ready to congratulate the team who brings home Tehran's coveted Golden Centrifuge Cup.

Now, I know that our two nations have had our differences in the past, and so it would be totally understandable if some of you were possibly upset my previous statements expressing "troubled concern" and "measured consternation" over your current situation. Please, do not interpret those statements as somehow taking one side or the other. I was not trying to be provocative or inflammatory, and far be it from me to interfere or play favorites. As we say over here in the Great Satan, "I don't have a dog in this fight," and so I was merely "calling 'em like I see 'em." Frankly, if America is going to regain respect as a geopolitical superpower, we need to make the tough call to sit quietly on the sidelines. That's why I have instructed my diplomatic team remain strictly neutral and to "let 'em play." With time and patience, I hope you will come to think of us as a bigger, flatter version of Switzerland. With less yodeling.

Read the rest here

Life in "Progress" City

From Chicago, The Windy City, who hasn't had a republican run the city since man split from monkey on the evolution tree..........

A startling number of children are falling through the cracks at one Chicago Public School. More than half of the kids didn't even pass the eighth grade. As CBS 2's Jim Williams reports there is fierce debate about who's to blame.

It is a debate that has gone on for years in poor communities: do you blame the schools for the students' poor performance or do you blame their parents?

You probably remember the old days when eighth grade was the toughest grade to finish with the whole being able to read and all.........

More......

Go Green, Build Nukes

Last summer, with gasoline over $4 a gallon, the leading criticism of off shore drilling was that it would take 10 years to get the first barrel of oil out of the ground.

Now. We're one year into that 10 years. How close are we to having a reliable alternative to oil and coal.

Well, we have one. It's called nuclear. And it looks like Duke Energy wants to build a nuke plant in Piketon Ohio.

An announcement by Duke Energy and state and federal officials about plans for Ohio’s first nuclear power plant in more than 20 years is expected Thursday morning at the federal government’s uranium enrichment facility in Piketon in Pike County, according to reports.

Gov. Ted Strickland, Senator George Voinovich and Rep. Jean Schmidt along with executives from several energy companies are expected to participate in an announcement about a “new clean energy partnership” at the Piketon facility, according to an advisory from USEC Inc., which operates the Piketon facility and is building a uranium enrichment facility there.

So it looks like we have lefties in the fold on this. But will the greens get in the way of using the best and greenest technology, available to date, so that in ten years we can have that power on line?

My guess is that they will continue their Quixotic pursuit of wind mills.

I'll keep the clock running. My guess is that in ten years, nukes will still be the best power source available.

More....

Choice

If you need to lose a few pounds and are looking for an appetite suppressant, read this series in the NY Time magazine (part 1, part 2 and part 3) before lunch. Trust me, you won't want to eat after that.

It's a series surrounding a college educated woman making her "choice".

Here's the money quote from the series.........

Once I came to the decision to terminate the pregnancy, so much of the guilt and sadness I’d been feeling melted away. I felt happy for the first time since finding out and I feel like my family is supportive of my decision. I’m focusing on the child I’ll have in a few years from now with someone I feel safe with and supported by. The life of that child will be infinitely better than this one and, sometimes, I wonder if such a miserable, lonely woman could even have a healthy child. There’s more to being a good birth mother than avoiding alcohol and eating right and I just don’t know if I have it. I’m a responsible girl but maybe that means knowing when you’ve put too much on yourself and it won’t work out.

Right......

It's so sweet that she's sacrificing so much for the child that she may never have over the one she's currently carrying.

Maybe she can tell that second child how noble she was when she killed the first one.

I'm just glad my mother didn't enact her "choice" when she had far less going for her than this ding dong does.

Where are all the English?

I had an interesting conversation with my sax instructor after he returned from a trip to his home country, England; where he hadn't been in a number of years.

He told me that during a tour of London his wife said "where are the English?" to which he said "They're all in America".

Why cheating matters

I couldn't care less who people sleep with. Yet, when it comes to politicians, it matters.

Why?

Because it makes you a target for black mail or extortion.

Case in point, John Ensign, Nevada senator.

Political insiders in Nevada and in the Senate said that Ensign decided to acknowledge the affair publicly after the husband of the woman he had been seeing asked him for a substantial sum of money.

Now what if Ensign wasn't so willing to come forward and his blackmailer wasn't looking for money but government secrets and/or cover.

You never need to worry about what people tell you; it's the stuff they won't you need to worry about.

Read the rest at Politico

What's a human life worth?

About 30 days in the can, if you're an NFL football player. Or about 1/16 of the time Michael Vick served for dog fighting.

Article here

Would you like some borcht with your government?

I guess it stands to reason that a country who's vodka consumption is increasing, should have more czars in the government.

Obama now has 28. Will they get Fabrage eggs based on their years of service?

Herb Allison-TARP Czar

Alan Bersin-Border Czar

Dennis Blair-Intelligence Czar

John Brennan-Terrorism Czar

Carol Browner-Energy Czar

Adolfo Carrion, Jr-Urban Affairs Czar

Ashton Carter-Weapons Czar

Aneesh Chopra-Technology Czar

Jeffrey Crowley-AIDS Czar

Cameron Davis-Great Lakes Czar

Nancy-Ann DeParle-Health Czar

Earl Devaney-Stimulus Accountability Czar

Joshua DuBois-Faith-based Czar

Kenneth Feinberg-Pay Czar

Danny Fried-Guantanamo Closure Czar

J. Scott Gration-Sudan Czar

Richard Holbrooke-Afghanistan Czar

John Holdren-Science Czar

Van Jones Green-Jobs Czar

Gil Kerlikowske-Drug Czar

Vivek Kundra-Information Czar

George Mitchell-Mideast Peace Czar

Ed Montgomery-Car Czar

Dennis Ross-Mideast Policy Czar

Gary Samore-WMD Czar

Todd Stern-Climate Czar

Cass Sunstein-Regulatory Czar

Paul Volcker-Economic Czar

more here

What happened to decorum?

I went to the Warren County Sheriff's office today to get my concealed carry permit.

The office is next to the Common Pleas Courtroom.

While I was waiting for my appointment, I was absolutely amazed at the number of people entering that courtroom in shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, visible tattoos, etc... I saw not one person wearing a collared shirt, tie, let alone a suit.

Now riddle me this Batman. You're going to court where a jury and/or judge is about to make a big decision on your future. Do you think it might help your cause to wear something that might communicate some respect for the process?

Enough Letterman

I'm old enough to remember watching David Letterman when he had an afternoon show.

I always thought the show was funny with Larry "Bud" Mellman, The guy under the stage, Mrs. Marv, My dog Bob. It was a throwback to the Paul Dixon days (again for those of you old enough to remember him).

I don't watch Letterman at all anymore. First, I'm rarely up that late. Second, Jimmy Kimmel's show is actually funny. Third, Letterman has gone from emulating the Paul Dixon's of talk shows to the Smothers Brothers and Dick Cavett (again , I'm showing my age) genres.

I did happen to catch the Letterman slam on Palin. The thing that amazed me most was how many people wrote and commented on that joke before Letterman actually let it rip on his show. Letterman can qualify his remarks with some lame apologies but the remark says a lot more about him than Palin.

With that said, conservatives looking to have him fired sound like babies. In my mind, we have the obligation to call him out as an idiot and then not watch him anymore.

Trust me, if David Letterman has no audience, he'll go away and his lazy attempts at ripping a teenager, not in the national debate, will as well.

Who would he vote for? #4190

Meet Salahidin Abdulahat. Why is Mr. Abdulahat in the news?

Four Chinese Muslim Uighurs are adapting swimmingly to their new lives in Bermuda after leaving the Guantanamo Bay prison -- taking a dip in the ocean in the island paradise they now call home.

One ex-detainee, Salahidin Abdulahat, took his first-ever swim in the ocean and called it the happiest day of his life.

The men are settling into island life as they continue to explore the carefully manicured island's ice-cream shops and fishing spots while they plan for the future.

So these terrorists go from Gitmo to life in Bermuda.

Mr. President, have you ever heard of my plot to blow up an embassy somewhere? the Gekko's are looking for a vacation in some ocean locale and if I confess to terrorist activity it appears I can get free travel.

So let's pretend Mr Abdulahat got to vote for our president this last election. Would he have voted for the Maverick or the hope and change candidate making nice with terrorists by subjecting them to beach currents and sunshine?

Read the rest of this sickening piece here.......

Life in "Progress" City

You may remember a few weeks ago when the Cincinnati mayor responded to warnings of decreased city revenues by saying

"Who knows what the number will actually be?" he said. "The number is a projection. We get forecasts all the time."

Well the "actual" numbers are rolling in and guess what? It sounds a lot like old Gordon warnings.

It's a bad time to be Cincinnati's top budget official.

Finance Director Joe Gray is the one who, with help from economists at the University of Cincinnati, put together a budget that projected the city's income tax collections would go up this year. The tax is the biggest single source of operating money the city gets, and the budget counted on $238.7 million - up by 3 percent, or $7 million.

Those projections were wrong. That 3 percent up turns out, so far, to be about 8 percent - or $15 million - down.

With other funds expected to be down, too, the city faces a $20 million deficit this year and as much as a $40 million shortfall in 2010. Gray's boss, City Manager Milton Dohoney, presents his ideas for cuts and/or ways to generate new money to City Council today. Dohoney already asked department heads to lay out what a 5 percent cut would mean. He has promised no increased fees or taxes this year.

The kicker is the headline of this story

Tax drop caught city off guard

Really?

You mean to tell me all those smart "progressive" city leader types had no idea a revenue drop would occur despite 1) a collapse of the housing market 2) a national unemployment rate approaching 10% 3) business relocations to business friendlier environments.

Yeah I can see how they would be caught off guard.

What's so "progressive" about being terminally idiotic?

Culture of Corruption

Dick Durbin

As U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fund shares and used much of the money to invest in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The Illinois senator's 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock, the disclosure shows.

Altogether, Durbin sold investments worth $116,000 in September. By Oct. 2, he had invested $98,046 in Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway, the form shows.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged 4.7 percent last Sept. 15 after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bank of America Corp.'s government-engineered takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. By the end of October, the index had fallen 22.6 percent.

"Durbin was doing what a lot of other people were doing, taking a look at their savings" and seeing it "start to tank and trying to preserve some level of wealth by getting out of the market," said his spokesman, Joe Shoemaker.

A total coincidence that he changed his portfolio at the same time the markets would collapse.

Please...........

Article here

P.J. O'Rourke on the new "Obamamobile" at the Cato Institute