Say Anything Blog

Back From Vacation, Bammy Goes Golfing

I guess the poor, overworked President in Training Pants really does need a vacation from his vacation. We noted last week he’d be fleeing to Camp David tomorrow, but who knew his first order of business upon returning from vacation would be to go golfing?

  With a week on Martha’s Vineyard behind him, President Barack Obama was back in Washington on Monday and raring to go—to the golf course.

  The president, in khaki pants and a blue polo shirt, headed to the private Army Navy Country Club for an afternoon round with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, press office staffer Ben Finkenbinder, and trip director Marvin Nicholson. That health care debate? He’ll get to it next week.

  “I mean, if he hits Marvin with a golf ball, I guess he’d become more active in health care,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters.

  It was hard to miss the Obama family’s glum faces when they returned Sunday evening from their Massachusetts vacation. Walking across the South Lawn toward the White House from Marine One, the usually genial foursome looked uncommonly downcast.

Aw, what a shame. I guess destroying our economy is taking a toll.

Looks like another light day before he hosts a Ramadan dinner tonight. Then off on vacation again!

And he wonders why his approval ratings continue to plummet at an alarming pace.

ht jammieWearingFool

I wasn’t much on this O bummer being a Muslim masquerading as a Christian thing, but he sure spends more time with those folks than the Christians!
Host a Ramadan dinner in between vacations?
I am having second thoughts!

Most ethical congress ever!

House Democrats are willing to rally around Rep. Charles Rangel in his latest spate of tax missteps—but only as long as no more embarrassing revelations come to light, sources told The Post.

The head of the powerful Ways and Means Committee last week amended six years’ worth of financial disclosure forms and revealed he’d earned $1.3 million in previously unreported income.

That’s on top of ongoing House Ethics Committee probes into four other areas of Rangel’s financial past—including failure to properly report income taxes on a Caribbean villa he owns.

But unless the Ethics Committee probes hit Rangel with something more than a slap on the wrist—or a bigger scandal arises—Democrats are unlikely to push him off the Ways and Means Committee, a Washington insider said.

“He doesn’t strike me as someone who would go quietly, and he’s not afraid to play the race card on his own party,” the DC source said.

Friends like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the New York delegation are committed to keeping Rangel in place, sources said.

“Unless he’s done something absolutely insane that hasn’t come out yet, he’s protected,” said a Democratic official.

Rangel filed his amended forms during Congress’ August break, just three days ahead of his extended deadline.

“He was smart to get this new information out now, before we are back in session and working on the health-care bill,” said a Republican lawmaker close to the issue.

“If he’d waited two more weeks, a lot more Republicans would be there to demand he step down,” the Republican said.

gotis@nypost.com

Unless he has done something absolutely insane that hasn’t come out yet he’s protected?

W T F isn’t insane here?

At least that’s what Russ say’s!

From Jules Crittenden.

Double Reverse Wack-A-Mole

It’s the latest in Democratic strategic thinking. Sen. Russ Feingold in the Wall Street Journal. Bear with me, because this is really complicated, and also doesn’t make any sense. But I think this is how it works.

Remember when the Dems said the Iraq war was bad, we needed to get out, because all we were doing was making al Qaeda stronger? That didn’t entirely turn out to be true, but they wanted us to stop wacking the mole in Iraq and go wack it in Afghanistan, where the mole had been keeping its head down.

OK, we wacked the daylights out of the al Qaeda mole in Iraq instead, which the locals really appreciated, because they had had it with the AQ mole at that point. Then, because the mole was popping up again in Afghanistan, we ramped up mole-wacking operations over there … with new, improved rubber mallet wielding tachniques, thanks to our mole-wacking experience in Iraq. At the same time, we applied increasing pressure on the Paks to wack the mole on their side of the arcade.

Feingold explains that wacking the mole in Afghanistan will just make it pop up even more in the Paks’ tippy nuclear-armed wack-a-mole machine. This is actually convenient in terms of long-term Democratic strategy, to set aside the wack-a-mole analogy for a minute and speak plainly, because if you don’t have troops on the ground in a place, Pakistan for example, then you don’t have to withdraw them. It makes abandonment a lot easier. Or to return to the wack-a-mole analogy, you may be supplying the quarters, but if you aren’t wielding the rubber mallet, the mole-wackage isn’t your problem.

Feingold doesn’t get into the fact that the Paks, both people and leadership, have had it with al Qaeda and the Taliban and have had increasing success in wacking that mole recently, with some help from our unmanned aerial mole-wacking vehicles. Combined with our Afghan mole-wacking operations, some people might look at that as a good squeeze play. Kind of a doubles wack-a-mole game. No matter where that mole pops up, he’s getting wacked.

But Feingold, thinking outside the arcade, seems to be advocating a reverse wack-a-mole strategy … stop wacking, and they’ll stop popping up. At least, that’s what I’m getting from this. Where it falls apart is that Feingold thinks we should keep encouraging the Paks to wack the mole on their side, which sounds like it would just make the mole pop up in Afghanistan again. Taking his reverse wack-a-mole theory to its logical conclusion, everyone should stop mole-wacking ops. In a double reverse wack-a-mole game, theoretically, the mole should stop popping up altogther. 

Meanwhile, Feingold seems to be of the opinion that the Afghan government will do fine without our troop presence, as long as we throw a lot of money at it, and it promises not to be corrupt. I dunno, that sounds like what happens just before the moles start popping up really fast all over the place.


Humorous yes, but this is how most dem’s think.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Four years ago, someone published photos of a guy dancing on Ronald Reagan’s grave. The photos were posted also at the “Princess Sparkle” blog, with this commentary:

  I’ve never met the sassy youngster in the above photos, but he’s a Pony Pal™ by default. What’s he doing? Why, he’s dancing—and cutting a mean ol’ rug from the looks of it—on Ronald Reagan’s grave. The intrepid discoholic then triumphantly posted the photos on this message board, and now Wing-Nut Daily has her panties all in a bunch over it. And they’re out for blood. Or jail. Or an anti-Republican-grave-desecration amendment, or something. Just wait ‘til Anne Coulter hears about this, then the fur will really fly.

And to top it off, the blog post featured the same guy pissing on Nixon’s grave.

So when you hear people complain that Republicans are dancing on Ted Kennedy’s grave, figuratively speaking, let’s (1) hope it doesn’t happen, (2) keep in mind that it is Democrats who are using Kennedy’s death for political purposes, and (3) remember it happened to Reagan, literally.

ht Legal Insurrection

Rangel’s Lies Proliferate

Rep. Charles Rangel has had to go for some time now, but his lies keep proliferating. He’s lied to the IRS over his tax obligations. He’s lied to state and local officials about his tax obligations.

He’s lied to his mortgage lender. He fraudulently claimed that his Harlem brownstone was his principal residence, at a time when he was using his rent stabilized home in Lenox Hill as his principal residence (and which requires such principal residence status to receive rent stabilization).

  Rep. Charles Rangel claimed on mortgage papers that a Harlem brownstone was his principal residence—even though he was living elsewhere at the time, The Post has learned.

  When the Democrat—who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee—took out the mortgage in 1990, he said the property on West 132nd Street was his “principal residence,” records show.

  But Rangel has been living since the 1970s in Harlem’s Lenox Terrace apartment complex, where he improperly amassed four rent-stabilized properties.

  State law requires that rent-regulated apartments be the tenant’s residence.

  “I will reside in the Property (on 132nd Street) for at least six (6) months of every calendar year,” read Rangel’s mortgage contract with Citibank, which is on file with the city.

  The terms of the $60,000 loan appear to be normal for that time, but lenders say claiming principal residency when you live elsewhere is a serious breach.

  “It’s fraud or a mistake,” said David Reed, an author of several popular books about mortgage lending.

The terms would be different, however, if the home were properly classified as a second home or rental property because it would have a higher interest rate and additional terms and conditions.

Rangel is in hot water here, and Democrats are doing their best to ignore this situation. Rangel can’t simultaneously claim that he lived in the rent stabilized apartments (of which he owned four units and already admitted to improperly using one as his office in contravention of state law) as his primary residence while claiming that this brownstone was his principal residence.

He is caught in a lie.

A big lie.

Rangel is instead betting on the stacked House Ethics Committee to clear him, and figures that his senior status in the chamber will insulate him. No one in Congress is going to send Rangel packing, primarily because the House Democrats are more intent on turning the swamp of corruption into a swimming pool.

As I pointed out previously, the Daily News chimes in noting that Rangel has two sets of rules, particularly on taxes. There’s the rules that everyone else has to abide by, and then there’s his rules, which primarily exist so that he can avoid paying taxes on his obligations. Rangel doesn’t just need to be reined in. He needs to be sent packing. A slap on the wrist simply does not cut it, and the House Ethics Committee is a joke, seeing how they took no action to deal with former member William Jefferson who was caught with a $90,000 bribe in his freezer.

Sooner or later this cat has to get hung out to dry!

Even Holder can’t cover forever!

ht a blog for all

Clean up our side and dismantle the other side!

Friday, August 28, 2009
Gen. Honore to Run For Senate in Louisiana?

Can you imagine this man on the Senate floor berating the Democrats for being Stuck on Stupid? Who cares that he might oust an incumbent Republican? David Vitter has plenty of baggage, plus we can see how much the left really has transcended race when they begin attacking a black man for having the audactiy to be a Republican.

  In a breaking story, The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.com have learned that the hero of Hurricane recovery, General Russell Honore is seriously considering entering the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent David Vitter. Honore, a Republican since the Reagan Administration and a registered Louisiana voter from his Zachary home, has spoken to friends and supporters in the last two weeks signaling that he is, according to one, “more than 50% sure that he will run.”

  The news comes mere hours after Third District Congressman Charlie Melancon announced his firm intention to be the Democratic challenger to David Vitter in the fall of 2010. Melancon, who represents the critical swing areas of Central Acadiana—a region known for crowing statewide candidates—has already proven a serious obstacle for the incumbent Senator to keep his job. Even if Vitter should emerge victorious from the closed Republican primary, a bruising fight against Honore could leave the Senator financially and visibly weakened before the onslaught of a Moderate Democrat like Melancon—one of the leaders of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Caucus in the House.

  While polls show Vitter as the clear favorite in both the primary and the general election, one very senior Louisiana Republican predicted that if Honore runs, “He wins.” As that GOP party elder further explained to the http://www.louisianaweekly.com and Bayoubuzz on the promise of confidentiality, “All he has to say is ‘Stuck on Stupid’, and Vitter is toast.”

  Military voters, who constitute a plurality of the Republican electorate, will flock to Honore, and the party leader in question also believes that the General’s race will matter to primary voters less than his social stands. Honore admitted through aides to the Weekly that he is “pro-life and pro-family”.

Now, just imagine Honore taking on this candidate in the general election.

Labels: Charlie Melancon, David Vitter, Louisiana, Russel Honore

posted by JammieWearingFool @ 7:01 PM

Stunner. Dem Leader & Chair of House Ways & Means Committee Forgot to Disclose Millions In Income
The Democratic Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee forgot to disclose millions of dollars of business transactions on his taxes.
The New York Post reported:

  Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income—including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale—on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records.

  The documents also show the embattled chairman of the Ways and Means Committee—who is being probed by the House Ethics Committee—failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period.

  This week, Rangel filed drastically revised financial-disclosure forms reflecting new, higher amounts of outside income and numerous additional business deals that had not been reported when the reports were originally filed.

The Wall Street Journal added:

  When normal people happen to “find” their own money, it might mean a twenty left in a winter coat, or discovering change beneath the sofa cushions. But if you’re Charlie Rangel, it means doubling your net worth.

Any bets on a prosecutor taking a look at this tax cheat?

Ny Post via gateway pundit

Paul Krugman is an idiot!

“Krugman Is 100% Wrong” About Deficits and Govt. Spending, RCM’s Tamny Says
Posted Aug 28, 2009 12:54pm EDT by Aaron Task in Newsmakers, Recession
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, SPY, DIA, TLT, TBT, GLD
It may surprise those of you concerned about the $9 trillion deficit America faces over the next decade, but “deficits saved the world,” Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman declares in his NY Times column today. “In fact, we would be better off if governments were willing to run even larger deficits over the next year or two.”

Krugman goes on to say the U.S. economy is big enough to handle a $9 trillion deficit, suggesting “the dangers are political, not economic.”

John Tamny, editor of RealClearMarkets.com, might agree about the political danger but says “Krugman is 100% wrong” about the deficits. “The economy is recovering despite the stimulus, not because of it.”

Taking a page from the Austrian School of economics vs. Krugman’s Keynesian, Tamny argues the government “should have done nothing” in the face of the economic crisis last year, for the following main reason:

  * Government spending “crowds out” private enterprise and rising deficits raise the risk of a run on the dollar.
  * Stimulus spending causes people to become unproductive because it shows enterprise isn’t rewarded. “It’s a disincentive to work,” he says, making a similar argument about unemployment benefits.
  * Bailouts impede capitalism by rewarding failure and giving capital to non- or unproductive businesses, as we’ll discuss further in another segment.

 

Rocket science. Duh

She is just a creature.
A hundred grand in “grassroots"donations!
Shameless!!


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has launched an urgent effort to raise $100,000 by Monday to help combat what she calls GOP “smears” about health care reform.

“Republican opponents of reform are coming out with one outrageous smear after the next, all aimed at derailing our progress. We must be able to counter their special interest-funded attacks and set the record straight,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democratic supporters.

“That’s why I have set a goal of raising $100,000 in grassroots donations before the August FEC fundraising deadline,” says Pelosi.

Pelosi and Democrats are clearly worried that they’ve lost momentum on health care reform this month, and many in her caucus have been crushed by opposition at town hall events.

Pelosi’s appeal is aimed at small donors, and she asks for donations of $5 or more in her letter.

Democrats for weeks have been on the defensive, accusing Republicans of mischaracterizing their reform effort. President Barack Obama fired back several weeks ago after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a key Republican negotiator on the Senate Finance Committee, said the Democratic push threatened to “pull the plug on grandma.”

Now, Pelosi is pushing back.

“Republicans are doing everything they can to spread the lies they hope will kill health insurance reform,” Pelosi writes at the end of the e-mail. “Please make a generous financial contribution to help Democrats get the truth out and fight GOP smears.”

And she might get it from all those soros funded axleturfers!!


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26512.html#ixzz0PQvkLAK7

They can’t tell the truth!

OBAMACARE = CARE FOR ILLEGALS
Posted by GunnyG© on Thursday, August 27, 2009 7:25:55 AM
Now many of Anti Liberal Zone readers will say, “but Gunny, they’re ALREADY being treated in emergency rooms and free clinics across America and we’re picking up the tab,” and youi’d be RIGHT.
But the liberals running the show and working busy to force this upon the American people are saying different on Obamacare.
1. Obama: “That is not true. Illegal immigrants would not be covered. That idea has not even been on the table.”

LIAR!
2. Pelosi: “Illegal immigrants will not be covered under this bill.”

LIAR!
3. Senator Reid: “This coverage would be for American citizens only.”

LIAR!
You see libs, the Gunny READ the fooking bill and on page 50, section 152 of the HC bill it reads: 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations consistent with this Act, all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services.
That is libspeak for illegal aliens. Don’t ask, don’t tell. Just bill the American people.

Furthermore, on page 91, lines four through seven, it states:
(7) CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES AND COMMUNICATIONS.—The entity shall provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services.
In libspeak, that means that “translators will be provided at no cost to the illegal.”
In addition, there is NO PROVISION in the bill to CHECK IDs to make SURE that only American citizens get the treatment! Well, American citizens ARE getting the USUAL liberal treatment of HIGHER TAXES to pay for entitlement programs.
You can BET your last American dollar, before it become a Mex-American pesolar, that WE are going to be footing the bill for every illegal, from sea to shining sea and from Canada down to Honduras. Once this bill passes the NEXT gig will be the liberals passing Amnesty, with Juan McShamnesty crossing the aisle once again to betray us. America is indeed, UNDER SEIGE.

Every American worth their salt should be P*SSED OFF in the EXTREME. Show UP at Tea Party’s and ask your Reps and Senators POINT BLANK about this and watch them squirm. Show up on 12 Sept in DC if you can and RAISE the roof on this. If you cannot go, support those who can.

ht anti-lib zone

Does anyone even know the truth?

Dem Congresswoman spreading myths, too?
posted at 4:10 pm on August 27, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Does Linda Douglass know that Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) is spreading malicious myths about ObamaCare?  Has anyone flagged Markey to the White House yet?  The House Democratic caucus may need to be flagged after Markey’s local paper caught her admitting that Medicare benefits would have to be cut — for the greater good:

  Some people, including Medicare recipients, will have to give up some current benefits to truly reform the nation’s health-care system, Rep. Betsy Markey told a gathering of constituents in Fort Collins on Wednesday.

  Markey has repeatedly said during the August congressional recess that Medicare spending needs to be reined in to help pay for reforming the broader health-care system.

  “There’s going to be some people who are going to have to give up some things, honestly, for all of this to work,” Markey said at a Congress on Your Corner event at CSU. “But we have to do this because we’re Americans.”

B-b-b-but President Obama said that was just a myth …..

from hot air

Poor Charlie, are you mentoring the clown from Minnesota?

Surprise! Suddenly Wealthy Rangel Also a Tax Cheat

Considering Charlie Rangel just happened to stumble across nearly $800,000 in previously unreported assets, does it surprise anyone the chairman of the House committee that writes tax law also happens to be a tax cheat?

  The Tax Man is a deadbeat.

  Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has failed to pay taxes on two plots of land he has in New Jersey, records show.

  Rangel’s ownership of the small, undeveloped properties came to light on Tuesday only after he drastically amended at least six years of financial-disclosure forms he had filed annually with the House clerk as required by law.

  The corrected filings as much as doubled the amount of personal wealth Rangel has claimed going back years and revealed at least $780,000 in previously unreported assets.

  The Harlem Democrat concealed somewhere between $38,902 and $116,800 in 2007 income, according to the revised filings.

  Among the assets he failed to list was a checking account containing somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000.

  Also undisclosed for years were two lots he owns in Glassboro, NJ, about 100 miles from the city.

  Rangel is delinquent on his taxes on that property, according to the Gloucester County Clerk’s office.

  He currently owes $159.39 in unpaid property taxes for the second and third quarters of this year, according to the clerk’s office.

  Rangel’s second-quarter taxes were due May 1 and his third-quarter taxes were due at the beginning of this month.

  Skating on property taxes is nothing new for Rangel.

  A review of property records for the borough of Glassboro revealed at least six tax liens levied against Rangel’s property during the past 16 years.

  Just last year, two separate liens were levied against both properties owned by Rangel.

Of course if you were the owner of such undisclosed properties you probably would have forfeited them despite the seemingly small amount of taxes owed. You see, you’re just an average schmo, not a well-protected member of the political class who just so happens to be a member of the most ethical Congress ever. Since Rangel also has a certain complexion, he also has that ace in the hole ready to use at any time—calling critics racist.

Rangel was allegedly going to explain his sudden windfall but apparently found better things to do yesterday.

  Rangel’s office did not respond to repeated questions yesterday from The Post about his failure to pay taxes.

  Meanwhile, Rangel was scheduled to hold a press conference yesterday just as dozens of stories revealed his ongoing ethical woes in Congress.

  Rangel canceled the press conference at the last minute, citing “changes in his schedule,” according to one participant.

Of course Rangel can hold his seat for life since he wins overwhelmingly in his solid Democrat district and Queen Pelosi will never show him the door. But if the GOP is smart (always a huge if), Rangel becomes a poster-boy for all things corrupt during next year’s election cycle. That is, of course, unless they’re afraid of being called racist.

again ht jammie wearing fool

(more...)

Health care reform?

  UAW backs reform, cites $10B to defray costs for retirees

  David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

  Monday, August 24, 2009

  Washington — The United Auto Workers is urging its members to back efforts in Congress to reform health care coverage, citing a provision that includes $10 billion to defray the medical costs of union members and others in retiree group health care associations.

  The bill, approved by a House committee late last month, includes Section 164, a reinsurance program for retirees, according to a summary of the bill from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. It sets aside $10 billion to establish a temporary reinsurance program to provide reimbursement to participating employment-based plans for part of the cost of providing health benefits to retirees age 55-64 and their families. A Senate version has nearly identical language.

  Employment-based plans must apply to participate and be approved, and the health care plan would reimburse participating employment-based plans for 80 percent of the cost of benefits in excess of $15,000 and under $90,000. The plans are required to use the funds to lower costs borne directly by participants and beneficiaries.

  “We need meaningful health care reform if we are going to get our economy going again,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement posted on the union’s Web site Thursday. “Decent, affordable health care should be a right of every American, not a privilege.”

  The provision could provide badly needed financial support to hourly retirees, who have agreed to accept stock in exchange for billions owed in retiree health care at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC. The UAW’s voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA, owns a 55 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for billions Chrysler owed in health benefits. The UAW GM VEBA received a 17.5 percent stake in GM in exchange for billions owed. It also received a warrant for 2.5 percent of GM stock and a note for $2.5 billion.

  As part of the deal at Chrysler and GM, it eliminated hourly retiree dental and vision coverage and some prescription drugs for hourly retirees. Low-income retirees who previously had no co-pay must now make an $11 monthly co-payment.

  But the congressional provision could also boost other groups, including steelworkers, municipal workers and others with similar health care associations.

  The UAW letter noted the health care bills “provide assistance to employers and Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs) to help them continue coverage for early retirees.”

  The UAW said the provision would benefit a “wide range of retiree health care plans, including those sponsored by large private-sector employers, by state and local governments, and by VEBAs,” according to Bloomberg News, which reported the provision Friday.

  The UAW was among a number of unions to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on July 13 to discuss health care reform and other issues. UAW legislative director Alan Reuther said last week the UAW had already taken an active role in pushing for health care reform.

Gee, all of that GM and Chrysler stock was not enough for the long suffering UAW.

This is just head banging insane!

HT sweetness & Light

The magician shows more slight of hand!

Will Obamacare Cover Illegal Aliens?
Posted by Kevin
Published: August 25, 2009 - 12:40 AM

Not according to President Obama, although Jon Feere of the Center for Immigration Studies makes a pretty good case that the current bills are doesn’t really bar coverage for illegal aliens. Even if the final bill rectifies the situation and definitively bar illegal aliens from benefits, the Obama administration has another surprise in store, as CIS’s Jerry Kammer notes:

  In an interview on the program “Al Punto,” White House Director of Hispanic Media Luis Miranda acknowledged that coverage would not be provided to illegals. Then he immediately added, “Precisely because of that we are working for reform” of immigration laws. Presto-change-o, problem solved, with coverage for all those formerly illegal immigrants.

See there’s no need to worry about whether Obamacare will extend coverage to illegal aliens because there won’t be any illegal aliens when Obamigration passes…

HT wizbang