Obama Breaks Another Promise

A tax cut deferred, Ben Smith, The Politico:

The focus on tax cuts was central to Obama's campaign against John McCain, and his surprising strength in polls on the question of taxes.

One of those promised cuts -- the second bullet point in his campaign economic plan -- was a pledge to "eliminate all capital gains taxes on startup and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation."

That cut has been deferred, a Republican source notes: The elimination only begins phasing in, according to the budget overview (page 122) in 2014, well into Obama's second term.

Barack Obama breaks another promise, and this is a big one. He wants us to reelect him I guess, yeah that's it.

Chicago 3/3: Life Without Lawyers

Philip K. Howard, The nation’s most prominent advocate of litigation reform on his latest book, LIFE WITHOUT LAWYERS

Liberating Americans from Too Much Law

Noon, Tuesday, March 3, Heritage Room, Union League Club of Chicago. Luncheon $35 per person. Books available for purchase, Mr. Howard will inscribe books after his remarks. RSVP crobling@jaynethompson.com

Sponsored by: Illinois Civil Justice League, Madison County Record, The Heartland Institute, The Chicago Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, Sam Adams Alliance, Lincoln Legal Foundation, Illinois Policy Institute, Chicago Townhall Meeting, Jayne Thompson & Assoc., Ltd.

Obama Earmarks in Bill After All

Despite his campaign pledge of no earmarks this year, and his sleight of hand in his speech the other night to somehow ignore the thousands of earmarks in the $410 billion spending bill just passed by a Dem majority yesterday, the president (and his inner circle) have earmarks in the omnibus bill after all. Congressional Quarterly.

Oh, and remember in the speech the president promised no earmarks next year. Really?

As the president himself has said:

“We can no longer accept a process that doles out earmarks based on a member of Congress’ seniority, rather than the merit of the project,” he said last April in making his announcement.

So much for transparency and reform.

Chicago Tea Party tomorrow at 11, Daley Plaza.

Editorial cartoon by Michael Ramirez, Investor's Business Daily.

Will he spill his guts?

Read John Kass today. More amazing culture of corruption in Chicago.

Chicago Tea Party tomorrow at 11, Daley Plaza.

Lisa Madigan: Yes to Special Election

I heard Illinois AG Lisa Madigan on WLS' Don and Roma show this morning state her legal opinion in favor of a special election. More here.

UPDATE: Burris Son Got State Job From Blago that pays $75,000. What else? Sun Times:

Blagojevich's administration hired Roland W. Burris II as a senior counsel for the state's housing authority Sept. 10 -- about six weeks after the Internal Revenue Service slapped a $34,163 tax lien on Burris II and three weeks after a mortgage company filed a foreclosure suit on his South Side house.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Housing Development Authority indicated Wednesday there was nothing improper about Burris II's employment by the agency, whose mission includes overseeing mortgage programs for low-income home buyers and anti-foreclosure initiatives.

You can't make this stuff up. I guess it was Gov. Blago's especially targeted mortgage bailout plan.

Chicago Tea Party tomorrow at 11, Daley Plaza.

More: Tribune editorial, "Burris? He's all theirs"

A Radical Presidency

As Americans absorb President Obama's speech the other day, some ask if we can afford his expansive vision for government. The Tribune headlines, "Is it a fiscal fantasy?" and consumer confidence is at an all time low. I was at the low end of pundits asked by the Tribune to rate the president's speech, but I don't think I'm alone.

The WSJ makes this frightening point, which illustrates the enormity of the debt we are facing and the fragility of the economy. When you crush success you crush job creation, "Obama's 2% Illusion":

But let's not stop at a 42% top rate; as a thought experiment, let's go all the way. A tax policy that confiscated 100% of the taxable income of everyone in America earning over $500,000 in 2006 would only have given Congress an extra $1.3 trillion in revenue. That's less than half the 2006 federal budget of $2.7 trillion and looks tiny compared to the more than $4 trillion Congress will spend in fiscal 2010. Even taking every taxable "dime" of everyone earning more than $75,000 in 2006 would have barely yielded enough to cover that $4 trillion.

Fast forward to this year (and 2010) when the Wall Street meltdown and recession are going to mean far few taxpayers earning more than $500,000. Profits are plunging, businesses are cutting or eliminating dividends, hedge funds are rolling up, and, most of all, capital nationwide is on strike. Raising taxes now will thus yield far less revenue than it would have in 2006.

Then there is the president's talk of a cap and trade regimen. This is a huge tax on energy production in this country which will be added on to nearly every product we consume and shock us all with higher utility bills. The costs would force some companies out of business, killing yet more jobs (counteracting the few we get from the porkulus package), and despite the president's confident promise that Americans who make less than $250,ooo will not pay a dime more in taxes this year--cap and trade is a punishing tax on everyone and hits low income consumers the hardest. And it hasn't worked when it's been tried.

But all this does not deter our president, who speechified with the zeal of a prophet. Daniel Henninger, "A Radical Presidency":

In fact, people would probably coronate Mr. Obama if he merely revived the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow's fall since the Sept. 14 collapse of Lehman Brothers and sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America has eviscerated the net wealth of Americans across all incomes. Many are in the most dispirited state in their lifetimes.

Yesterday, the post-Obama Dow lost another percentage point. No matter. In his worldview, "short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity." His speech did include a plan to address the market crisis. It consists of a program to support consumer and small-business loans; a mortgage refinancing mechanism; and the "full force of the government" to restart bank lending. Mr. Obama delivered that last element with a rather crude pistol-whipping of the nation's bankers and CEOs, thousands of whom have been operating their companies in a responsible, productive way.

This was just the prelude.

This is change. But is this the change America voted for? Is this the change we believe will lead to a better future for us and our children?

Chicago Tea Party tomorrow. Start at Daley Plaza at 11, march to the Michigan Ave. bridge for a rally. Bring signs, wear black. National Tea Party info here, simultaneous protests across the nation.

P.S. Tribune sampling of opinions, including mine on our Sen. there's always Paris Burris.

More: Veteran Washington Post's David Broder is unnerved, "Obama Rolls the Dice":

The size of the gamble that President Obama is taking every day is simply staggering. What came through in his speech to a joint session of Congress and a national television audience Tuesday night was a dramatic reminder of the unbelievable stakes he has placed on the table in his first month in office, putting at risk the future well-being of the country and the Democratic Party's control of Washington.

Broder says the country didn't know what a gambler they were getting. Really? And why is that Mr. MSM? There was his voting record. There were his radical friends, unprecedented for any national politician. And there were his own pronouncements.

Dems Kill Choice for Kids in DC

Over the years, prominent Democrats in Congress and in the White House have sent their children to private schools in DC. I don't have a problem with their choice to do that. They only want what's best for their children, after all. What parent wouldn't? But I am sick at the Congressional Dem majority that killed school choice in DC for needy kids. The $410 billion bill was stuffed with pork but not a mite for those kids. No, no, no the Dems can't upset the patronage job mill of the teachers union that kicks back big contributions for them. These children are expendable.

The children had hope. They made an appeal. More: The Swedish model for success on school choice. School choice can bring big savings:

• As states struggle to close deficits that in some cases exceed 20 percent of their projected budgets for next year, the Cato Institute's Adam Schaeffer argues that school-choice mechanisms could not only expand educational opportunity but also alleviate fiscal pressure on states and localities:

A recent fiscal analysis of the Cato's Institute's broad-based education tax credit program demonstrates that it can save states billions of dollars. New York could save more than $6 billion over the first five years alone, while Illinois could save more than $3 billion and South Carolina more than $400 million. And even the small programs already up and running had saved taxpayers more than $444 million by 2006.

Michelle's Right to Bare Arms?

I have to say I was a bit surprised to see the First Lady wearing a sleeveless dress at the Capitol last night. I wondered if maybe she was used to being around the President in the hothouse atmosphere he prefers--but it's February and DC may not be Chicago but it's not the tropics either. 

NY Times The Caucus notes it. The Tribune. Some speculation from the LA Times' The Dish Rag: Does Michelle have the right to bare arms? And they make a comparison. See what you think.

More: Chicago's Ikram Goldman as Michelle's fashion adviser.

A GOP Senate Win in Illinois?

RCP CrossTabs Blog looks at whether the GOP could win the Burris Senate seat in Illinois.

More: USA Today, the Burris problem.

Honolulu Challenger

The GOP has a candidate for the Honolulu House seat held by that aging hippie Dem transplant from the mainland, Neil Abercrombie. The Politico. (Abercrombie is going to try to topple GOP Gov. Linda Lingle.) Honolulu city councilman Charles Djou was formerly Hawaii State House minority leader, studied Econ at Penn and has a law degree. An impressive young family man--a bright spot for 2010.

It's the Barackstar's other home state, which went heavily for him, but the Dems can't take it for granted. Nor can they this home state.

9,247 Earmarks: Believe it

The president glossed over the pork in the stimulus bill, and stated next year's budget would have no earmarks, as he promised in his campaign. But what about this year's budget, you know, the one the Dem Congress is presenting to him this week? 9,247 earmarks in a $410 billion budget. RedState:

The prosaic, yet perky, Katie Couric asked McCain if Obama “convinced him at all” with the rhetoric? McCain, after saying Obama’s was “a very effective speech,” seemed, though, to call the president a liar — though certainly in the nicest way possible.

Still, McCain said, “now I would like to know how we are going to implement it.”
“I don’t know where Social Security was,” McCain said. “I don’t know how you increase all of these programs and still cut spending to a point where you cut the deficit in half.”

McCain then addressed the earmarks issue:

“But when he says there are no earmarks - I just picked up a bill that we are going to take up tomorrow that has 9,247 earmarks in it,” a combative McCain continued. “What am I supposed to believe here?”

Earmarks coming out of our ears. Taxpayers for Common Sense is still going through the bill. How about $951,500 for a "sustainable Las Vegas", or $300,000 for a Montana World Trade Center? Who doesn't love Montana but puhleeze. Do we really need a world trade center in the middle of nowhere? Then there's $238,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii--this sounds lovely but do we need to pay for all this gravy in these tough times? Of course we all know this is one route the pols take to drum up campaign contributions from grateful developers, uh constituents, whatever. Who's counting in this era of TRILLIONS in spending.

We need job creation. We can't afford to waste our resources. Repairing and rebuilding existing bridges, yes. Fully funding and resupplying our troops, creating manufacturing jobs by replacing and upgrading our aging defense structure--buying American in this realm, yes. Reforming health care so that it's not tied to our job and we have a choice about the care we buy, yes.

This is not what we heard last night from our president. Start as you mean to go on. The largely irresponsible porkulus bill is already out the door. Veto this next huge spending bill until it's cleaned up. You can't keep claiming an emergency need to act Mr. President when you are creating a new crisis with this crushing debt we can't handle.

UPDATE: WaPo editorial--restrained reaction to speech, bold agenda but economy must come first. Left-leaning Ruth Marcus asks what's plan B when the rubber meets the road of reality. WSJ--President Obama--I have just begun to spend. And this big concern:

We were especially struck by his determination to pass a carbon "cap and trade" regime, despite the costs it would impose on the economy amid a recession. Only last year Midwest Democrats rebelled against those costs when the Senate debated cap and trade. But in the past week Mr. Obama's green advisers have declared that the Administration will soon formally declare that carbon must be regulated like any pollutant under the Clean Air Act. This will unleash a flood of new regulatory controls across the economy, and perhaps Mr. Obama believes this imperative will drive Congress to act, almost as a kind of relief. But the economic uncertainty alone will further retard business risk-taking just when we need such daring for the economy to recover.

Illinois' economy is already teetering with jobs and citizens leaving the state due to the high tax burden and promise for more to pay off the profligacy of Dems running up debt in this state. Now we face onerous regulatory burdens as well--striking at our industry. Does anyone think this won't drive up our utility costs?

Here we gObama

The president gives a good speech as usual. He seemed kind of glib to me--like a confident grad student but maybe that's just me. I don't know how President Obama is going to reduce the deficit his first term given the trillion plus dollars already expended in the "stimulus" package with the sure drag on the economy cap and trade will bring, then add government run health care expenses and paying for a college education for everyone? All this funded by higher taxes on the rich? 5% of the population paying for all this?

I switched to CNN after the speech--they looked kind of grim and had their financial expert nearby. They are kind of amazed members of Congress had the time to sit around all day to get a seat by the aisle to greet the president--Anderson Cooper says he thinks it's kind of pathetic. They just shared a Facebook poll--52% of voters more hopeful after the speech but interestingly women were less hopeful than men by 10 points at least and more fearful. I wonder if the charm is wearing a bit thin.

Gov. Jindal is the best we can do at this point. I was glad he mentioned nuclear power and matched the president's talk of responsibility by characterizing the porkulus bill as irresponsibility. I liked his upbeat tone--"Americans can do anything".

More polling, CNN says the polling skews Dem since they watched the speech--88% positive, they mention those numbers are in line with President Bush's numbers at the same time in his first term.

P.S. Oh yeah, I did have to snort when he said something about curing cancer. Dennis Byrne in his column today suggested he might as well promise that--and he did.

UPDATE: AP's being kind of tough on the president--fact check: "Obama glosses over complex realities".

More: I like this observation:)

He thought it best to kill her

Via NRO. From Pakistan:

KARACHI: A man surrendered himself after killing his elderly sister on the pretext of honour killing.

Elahi Bux, 45, surrendered himself after axing to death his 60-year-old sister, Shehla Bibi, at his house located in Sector 15, Mehran Town, within the jurisdiction of Korangi Industrial Area Police Station.

Confessing to the crime, the accused alleged that his sister had illicit relations with a landlord of Larkana. According to SHO Ismail Lashari, Bux only dealt one swift blow to the victim’s head and when her screams attracted the neighbours, rather than fleeing, Bux waited for the police to arrive. The police have registered a case on behalf of the victim’s son.

However, according to family sources, Bux was in financial debt of the landlord and as he could not repay the money, he had married his daughter to the landlord. However, now the landlord wanted to marry Shehla Bibi, therefore, Bux thought it best to kill her rather than stain the family’s honour. The deceased was a widowed mother of five children.

Can we have a special election now?!!!

Illinois GOP:

Statement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna

"The Democratic Majority Whip in the United States Senate just called on Roland Burris to resign and said he supports a special election.

"The United States Senate should immediately follow Durbin's lead and remove him - Governor Quinn and Democrats who support a vote of the people must apply greater pressure on Speaker and Attorney General Madigan, who seem to be the only Democrats in Illinois who refuse to act on one of the most important problems facing our state."

Burris left through the back door...

...but he won't resign. Is there honor among thieves? Not these machine Dems, no, no, no.

Live by political expediency, die by political expediency.

Binyam Released

Don't Free Terrorists.org

And Minnesota jihadi got radicalized here.

Links to $8 Billion Fraud

Rogue Financier Stanford Linked to Fund Run by Bidens.

Party nazis?

Where does it end? Our president has defined spending as stimulus, but apparently some spending rates differently than other spending. When he wanted a mortgage, uh campaign contributions that was one thing. But now? No, no, no!

Barney Frank beats up on Northern Trust. After forcing Northern Trust to accept bailout dollars, Uncle Barney Uncle Joe Stalin Frank--you know the genius who reassured us about Fannie-Freddie wants them to pay the money bank for throwing a party. HT Rush, Tribune.

Will we have party nazis next? How about paying Chicago back for your victory party Mr. President?

P.S. When the government owns everything will we ever get to party again? Will it be like the Janet Reno Dance Party?

$900 MILLION to Hamas?!

We're giving $900 MILLION to Hamas?! A terrorist organization. 

Even the center-left is appalled. TNR.

Rahm's "Lincoln Bedroom"

Rahmbo's questionable housing deal and its tax treatment gets an airing in the Tribune today:

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's Washington lodging arrangements, a rent-free basement room in a Capitol Hill home owned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) and her pollster husband, have inspired debate among tax experts and in Republican-leaning parts of the blogosphere.

One issue is whether Emanuel, who served in the House with DeLauro until early January, should have listed the room either as a gift or as income on his congressional financial disclosure forms. Emanuel's disclosure filings contain no mention of his use of the room.

A murkier question is whether Emanuel has a tax liability for the arrangement. The matter may have particular sensitivity in the early days of an Obama administration in which at least four picks for high posts have had confirmations delayed or derailed by tax irregularities.

Tax experts give conflicting views, you be the judge. His co-landlord has been the DCCC's pollster. Rahm's a wealthy man from his plum investment banking days, but more importantly he can't claim ignorance of the law and tax issues. He's been there for five years, hardly a casual guest. Maybe Barack will lend him the Lincoln Bedroom. Of course that might incur an opportunity cost too.

Dead Heat on Porkulus

Dead heat on the stimulus bill. Plus this, Rasmussen:

Forty-one percent (41%) of voters say they are less likely to vote for their representative in Congress if he or she voted for the stimulus measure, compared to 35% a week ago.

This is making the email rounds:

Due to a very significant downturn in the economy for the year 2008, The United States Treasury Department and I.R.S. have been instructed to provide a 70% tax credit to American taxpayers before the Spring season!

Average refund will be between $3000 to $6500 for a married couple, and $1500 to $3250 for a single person.

Click on the red dot below to listen to the official proclamation and instructions as to how to apply for this refund online.

(You wish)

Have a nice day.

P.S. Tribune results from yesterday's online poll, printed in today's paper: "Is the government promoting bad behavior with the stimulus and bailout plans?" 79.1% say yes, 20.9% say no.

A Song of the Time

It's Dylan for these times:

Mortal Wounds?

The market's back to Clinton administration levels, Murdoch warns of mortal wounds, yet the Dem pols in DC just flap their jaws. President Clinton's press secretary, Politico:

“You try to come up with something that’s clever and catchy. You may well succeed and you may be sorry,” Siewert said, adding that today’s Washington press secretaries “should be watching CNBC and not CNN.”

The first rule of any doctor is do no harm.

No more of this too big to fail stuff. Stop mucking up the market with this public-private Fannie-Freddie fakery that got us into this in the first place!!!

Cut these banks down to size, cut taxes, and then get out of the way and let Americans be free to live their lives and get back to work for their families and their future.

UPDATE: Forbes, "Why Mark to Market Rules Must Die".

Put that in your 201k

So much for a new tone in Washington--it's the permanent campaign. Democrats are already targeting Republicans who voted no on the porkulus bill with robo-calls. So much for democracy--you know, Democrats, these Republicans were elected too!

The laugh a minute message is that this porkapalooza is "the largest tax cut in history". Really? $13 a week? Put that in your 201k. Yeah, you can take that home to the bank.

P.S. You know, opposition to the porkulus bill in the House was bipartisan. Republicans had proposed twice the jobs at half the cost. Judy Biggert, Peter Roskam, and Mark Kirk are HEROES.

UPDATE: House Dems unveil another $410 billion in spending, stuffed with earmarks:

House Democrats unveiled a $410 billion spending bill on Monday to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year, setting up the second political struggle over federal funds in less than a month with Republicans.

The measure includes thousands of earmarks, the pet projects favored by lawmakers but often criticized by the public in opinion polls. There was no official total of the bill's earmarks, which accounted for at least $3.8 billion.

The legislation, which includes an increase of roughly 8 percent over spending in the last fiscal year, is expected to clear the House later in the week.

Democrats defended the spending increases, saying they were needed to make up for cuts enacted in recent years or proposed a year ago by then-President George W. Bush in health, education, energy and other programs.

Republicans countered that the spending in the bill far outpaced inflation, and amounted to much higher increases when combined with spending in the stimulus legislation that President Barack Obama signed last week. In a letter to top Democratic leaders, the GOP leadership called for a spending freeze, a step they said would point toward a "new standard of fiscal discipline."

HT Chicago Bungalow.

Daley Plaza Start for Tea Party

If you rent a car in the suburbs Mayor Daley wants to tax you if you drive into the city--an 8% transaction tax! Bringing the Chicago Tea Party home with a vengeance you might say. Let's share some home truths with the mayor and the powers that be--Chicago Tea Party starts at 11 am on Friday at Daley Plaza, then march through the loop to the Michigan Ave. bridge for rally and a speech or two, including Tony Peraica.

And wear black.

The last time I went to a rally at that spot it was for the ticker-tape parade after the Sox World Series Win. This time is not a happy occasion.

The mad as hell march. Sign up for updates here.

UPDATE: Tribune editorial on Rick Santelli and the Chicago Tea Party. It may be happening this summer, but it's starting Friday with a rally just across the river from the Tribune tower. Dennis Byrne:

My question is: When does Obama have the time to go over the budget "line by line" like he promised?

Obviously, he doesn't, but we won't count that as a broken campaign promise because, well, we'd get trashed by the White House for questioning the wisdom of this frenzy. Much as Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs racked Rick Santelli, the CNBC reporter in Chicago's futures pits, over the coals for audaciously saying what many Americans are: How fair is it when the irresponsible get rewarded by the government and the 90 percent of us who pay our mortgages on time don't? What kind of example does it set for a nation that has gone from an instant-gratification culture to one that demands instant and foolproof protection from all risk? You'll have to excuse the Chicago commodities and futures traders for raising the question, since they make their living by facing down pure risk. You would have thought the current White House would understand where the traders are coming from since the financial/investment sector was among Obama's biggest campaign contributors, according to OpenSecrets.org.

There is something about this manic rush to set straight everything in America that bespeaks an incredible conceit, the same kind of hubris that argues that government policy can stabilize the global climate.

And Bill McGurn, WSJ on the people missing from Obama's narrative--the actual hope and change producers in America.

The president makes another speech

Our president will make another speech tonight. Who will he expropriate next?More: The government is screwing over the Forgotten Man again--promoting bad behavior:

The Obama plan and Hope for Homeowners are subsidizing the banks that service the loans for losses that they often won't even take. The parties that are actually doing the loan forgiveness and should be paid, if anyone should be paid (and I don't think anyone should, because the government shouldn't be interfere at all) are the investors holding the mortgage-backed securities.

The contracts between banks and investors are usually pretty clear that it's either the original terms of the loan or foreclosure. They state that loans can only be modified for the best interest of the investor, if they even allow modification (which in the case of the Frey lawsuit vs. Countrywide, they apparently don't). The government is paying and pressuring banks to ignore their fiduciary duties and rip off investors, including pension and mutual funds with mortgage-backed securities that serve middle-class savers

Consider that investors aren't generally plutocrats, but you and me, via our pension funds, 401Ks and mutual funds, and the need for a Tea Party for the forgotten men seems even clearer.

Chicago Tea Party Friday at 11, Daley Plaza. Details and RSVP here. Nationwide Chicago Tea Party info here.

P.S. Is he going to lecture us again tonight? 'We can't simply spend as we please' Is the White House a Glass House?

Ayers on the Air

Bill Ayers' interview with Alan Colmes will be on Sean Hannity's show tonight. He still doesn't regret setting bombs, but he's willing to "rethink" them.

Oh that's all right then. I guess he's finally rehabilitating himself. Change you can believe in.

P.S. Meanwhile the Obama administration has released a terrorist from Gitmo to Britain, Binyam Mohamed. He will not be in jail, nor on trial. He will be under surveillance. Is he rehabilitated too?

Biden Named Stimulus Czar

As Allahpundit asks--what could go wrong? HotAir.

P.S. Biden gets name of his recovery website wrong. Hit & Run.

Newt's 12 American Solutions

UPDATE: House GOP calls for spending freeze.***An alternative to the porkulus package--12 American Solutions for jobs and prosperity. Newt Gingrich. Agree or disagree, he's a laboratory of ideas:

Jindal Responds to Obama

The president made a remark about "cable chatter" during his meeting with governors from around the country. Watch the Jindal response:

Fear and Loathing in the Media

Amid the news of newspaper bankruptcies--the Tribune for one, most recently the Philly paper--fear and loathing in the media: The Chicago Journalism Townhall. I see Fran attended from Illinois Review and I followed some twitter posts from Anna Tarkov.

I don't consider myself a journalist but I do consider myself new media. Maybe even a pundit, from time to time:) I definitely have an opinion, and I advocate for it. One of the reasons I started blogging was poor coverage on local issues in the village real estate rag and liberal bias in the Chicago papers. Ultimately letters to the editor were not enough, especially when they were censored or totally cut--I wanted to leverage my conservative voice--to encourage my friends and persuade others as I could, day by day, issue by issue.

I have been paid for my blogging efforts from time to time which is nice, and I put up a few ads. Agreed, I don't make a living from it and don't expect to. But while I mine news from old media websites I link to them as well, helping to drive up their traffic, such as it is. I know there was certainly an impact during the primaries when I was channeling nationwide Mitt Romney traffic. And I do think I have given MSM some story ideas and opinions that have helped frame an issue or two. My coverage of Barack Obama and Illinois politics I think provided a resource for reporters and other bloggers--and I believe I was pretty accurate in predicting the kind of president he would be--leftist and raw. As far as the local issues there is nothing like a little spotlight and a little mockery to encourage more sensible behavior.

For too long the media did not have enough competition--now they think they have too much. Welcome to the real world. And after the slavish adoration of our new president by much of the MSM--to the point when even Democrats in the general public admitted it-- at least we alternative media voices are not going away any time soon.

And maybe many in the old media will think twice about continuously bad-mouthing the private sector that works and pays for the advertising that has kept them going for so many years.

P.S. I may have been a bit harsh. I will just add that I have been reading newspapers for 40 years, and I still read 4 print editions a day--delivered to my door when I am in town. So I do support the journalists therein whether I agree with them or not. I will also say I often agree with editorials and columnists, and where I find excellent stories I link to them all as well.

Chicago Tea Party Details

Friday, February 27, 2009

11:00am - 12:00pm

Location:Daley Plaza Civic Center

Street:50 W Washington St., Chicago, IL

Facebook sign-up.

War on Drugs is a Failure

The war on drugs is a failure. I have reluctantly come to this conclusion. Beyond the narco-terrorism we see in our own hemisphere, illegal drug trafficking supports Taliban and AQ terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere. If they can't make money on oil with support from their terror master states like Iran, and unofficially Saudi Arabia, terrorists can profit from the drug trade.

We pay either way.

WSJ op-ed here.

P.S. A little dark humor--legalize it, then let's go after Big Drugs!

Gov. Jindal on the Stimulus

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana explains why he is turning down some of the stimulus money. It doesn't make sense for states to spend a dollar to get a dime...watch:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Do you take lemon in your tea?

The NY Times' Krugman turns sour--we have lemon socialism. For once I agree with him. James Pethokoukis, US News, "Rick Santelli, The Man Who Talked Back":

Which, do you suppose, would be the bigger draw right about now: a) a Barack Obama house party supporting the housing bailout package, or b) a Rick Santelli-inspired "Chicago Tea Party" opposing the bailout package? Well, given that a) more Americans oppose the plan than support it, and b) Obama's house parties in support of the stimulus package drew mere dozens of Obamaniacs in major cities around the nation, "tea time" it is.

In the Tribune, local reaction to Santelli in Phil Rosenthal's column. The porkulus debt trap for states. WSJ. Plus caution on politicizing financial institutions--does anyone believe the government would run anything well?

Do you take lemon in your tea?

Chicago Tea Party this Friday at 11, not sure the location in Chicago but presumably downtown. Other tea parties simultaneously around the country. Sign up to RSVP and get updates.

More: Heritage Morning Bell:

The Heritage Foundation does not believe in Keynesian economics. We do not believe that massive government spending has a "multiplier effect" which turns the initial amount of money spent by the government into an even greater increase in national income. Economic studies of projects claiming to have a "multiplier effect" have shown that the claimed additional economic benefit from government spending simply never materializes. But the White House does believe in Keynesian economics. And President Barack Obama's entire economic plan is grounded in the belief that massive new government spending is the key to economic recovery. So the Washington Post reported Saturday:

President Obama is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious first budget that seeks to cut the federal deficit in half over the next four years, primarily by raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy and by slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration officials said.

So while the Federal Reserve is predicting that unemployment from our current recession will remain high through at least 2011, President Obama plans to raise taxes on small businesses, corporations, and all Americans who invest in the stock market. What will this do to our economy in 2011? Uber-Keynesian Paul Krugman offered his explanation of what happened when President Roosevelt enacted the same policies in the middle of the Great Depression:

Roosevelt got the economy moving somewhat. By 1937 things were a lot better than they were in 1933. Then he was persuaded to balance the budget or try to and he raised taxes and cut spending and the economy went back down again and then it took a enormous public works program known as World War II to bring the economy out of the depression.

In other words, unless President Obama is planning to fight World War III, Obama's own Keynesian supporters believe that his tax raising spending cutting budgets will only make our economy worse. As we noted at the time, the Congressional Budget Office predicted the Obama Administration's stimulus plan would only deepen the recession: "in the long run it will lower aggregate output (GDP) by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent." Obama's tax hikes will only make this recession deeper. Economies simply don't recover while staring down the barrel of a 12-gauge tax hike.

More: Rasmussen poll: 55% say government mortgage plan rewards bad behavior. 65% among investors, 60% among independents. Kudlow with more.

Child Prostitute Pimps Arrested in Chicago

Working with local law enforcement in a nationwide sweep, the FBI has arrested 50 alleged pimps and rescued 45 teenagers from the illegal sex trade, some as young as 13. FoxNews:

Agents in cities from Miami to Chicago to Anchorage, Alaska took part in the operation.

The federal effort is also designed to hit pimps with much tougher prison sentences than they would likely get in state criminal courts.

Government prosecutors look to bring racketeering charges or conspiracy charges that can result in decades of jail time.

"Some of these networks of pimps and their organizations are very sophisticated, they're interstate," said Roberts, requiring wiretaps and undercover sting operations to bring charges.

In Boston the sting took place at the Marriott Long Wharf. No word on where the arrests took place in Chicago.

Etruscan Vase Moon Rising

Astronomy pix of the day. Good morning folks. We have some sunshine in Chicago.

Do women prefer gentlemen?

Are gentlemen an endangered species?

Count me a Gene Kelly rather than a Fred Astaire kind of girl. A perfect excuse for one of my favorites, ever:
P.S. You notice I have to go back quite a few years. Maybe that's why I'm not watching the Oscars.

New Yorker Profiles Rahmbo

The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza profiles Rahmbo, "The Gatekeeper". Is his hair that white and crazed? Not yet anyway, give it time. Lizza senses a thick "atmosphere of crisis". I'll let you read it, it runs 6 pages.

But who knew he was a neat-freak? I'd say hide the knives but he probably has more sophisticated weaponry at hand these days. And I'm not talking about actual f-bombs.

P.S. Rahmbo argues he's the one who did the only deal that could be done on the porkulus bill--but the bigger bottom line is whether it was going to actually work or not. He may have experience in the legislative world, but not the real one. The president in his inauguration speech said Americans want a government that works. This team seems to have lost sight of that already.

Mrs. O's Portfolio

Michelle's jewelers roll out a budget line at Target. NY Daily News. Lynn Sweet spends some time with First Lady Michelle Obama, giving us a snapshot of her portfolio:

The newest item on her non-controversial agenda is healthy living. That's in addition to assisting military families, pushing work-family balance, national service, women's concerns and opening up the White House to the community.

Michelle, plugging fruits and veggies at the Ag Dept, but she likes cheeseburgers too. Apparently the White House farmer idea is a non-starter.

The NY Times on Michelle as mom--the kids will have their First Chores:

“That was the first thing I said to some of the staff when I did my visit,” Mrs. Obama said in an interview with ABC News, describing her talks with White House employees. “Don’t make their beds. Make mine. Skip the kids. They have to learn these things.”

First family life with Mrs. O.

Who's the Chumbolone?

Kass, Who's the Chumbolone? Chapman--Detroit as the prodigal son.

More: Matt Continetti, TWS on The Age of Irresponsibility.

And that is why Santelli's cry-- "the government is promoting bad behavior" has such resonance.

Her nine-month old

Holding her nine-month old...at the Chicago Dog Show. Yes, it's a mastiff. Tribune pix.

A Million a Day for 2,000 years

UPDATE: Video below--Santelli Rips up Housing Bill in response to elitist and unprofessional White House Propaganda Minister Gibbs' thuggish attack on him. ***WatchMore: No hope for fairness. Michael Goodwin, NY Daily News:

"The American people have a sense of entitlement that the government has to bail us out for making stupid mistakes," one man told the Daily News after reading about another man who, with a $555,000 mortgage on a salary of $80,000, wants government help. Another reader said of that indebted homeowner: "I'm going to be footing the bill for this. My taxes are going to be insane."

Life is not fair; we know that. But the bailouts are proving that life is even less fair when the government plays God with your money. It can be a soul-sapping experience.

Found the video of Santelli answering Gibbs on Kudlow Friday night. HT Gateway Pundit.More:Only 2% of mortgages in this country are non-performing--98% of us are playing by the rules--yet we are being demonized? and forced to subsidize this bad behavior?!!!, and the housing bill allows judges to rewrite contracts--undermining the rule of law--are we a banana republic? Michael Barone--HALF the underwater mortgages are in FOUR STATES (gee why is that?).Illinois is not one of them, though it is up there.

Throwing good money after bad. And the Obama administration is going to come back for more $$$ when this doesn't work.

More: Another real job killer, pushing our heads underwater as we try to breathe--Obama's going to raise taxes on "the rich", which includes a lot of small businesses, the engine of job creation in our economy.  God help us. Oh, and NOW he claims to be a fiscal conservative, after shoving this insanely wasteful porkulus package on us which our children will be paying for their entire lives.

Market is Shorting Obama's Stimulus

RealClearMarkets: The Market is Shorting Obama's 'Stimulus', By George Bittlingmayer & Thomas W. Hazlett

It's clear--so far the administration's decisions or lack of them are poison to the market. And what is the market? It's millions of people voting with their money.

More: IBD editorial--Is it any wonder the market continues to sink?

In search of an honest man

WSJ, "The Resigning Illini".

I am changing my name to Fannie Mae

Mad as Hell March music for the populist TEA Party. Bringing the left and right together. Arlo Guthrie remake of Tom Paxton's "I am changing my name to Chrysler"--"I am changing my name to Fannie Mae." ("It's a liberal education".) HT Michelle Malkin.

Related posts: Chicago TEA Party Feb. 27th, Barack Obama fell off his horse

BackyardConservative on Twitter

For what it's worth, I am now on Twitter (backyardconserv) --so far just using it to feed out the blog posts. I will not be reporting earthshaking events like--I'm carrying out the garbage, or, like this morning, am about to shovel snow off the back steps. Maybe I'll wait, though. It's still snowing...have another cup of coffee. Cheers.

Chicago TEA Party Feb 27th

Chicago Tea Party... Join Us!
Welcome! This is NOT the "official" website for all Nationwide Chicago Tea Party activity. This IS the official planning group for the DontGo Movement's involvement.

The "Nationwide Chicago TeaParty" sponsored by the #DONTGO movement, Smart Girl Politics (#SGP), Americans for Tax Reform, Heartland Institute, Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT), and the American Spectator will be February 27 at Noon EST.

[11 AM Central here in Chicago? Need to confirm. They are doing simultaneous gatherings I believe. I will let you know when I know more.] For more info and to RSVP go here.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin with coverage of the national effort:

My friend Michael Patrick Leahy of Top Conservatives on Twitter and his crew are spearheading “simultaneous local tea parties around the country, beginning in Chicago, and including Washington DC, Fayetteville NC, San Diego CA, Omaha Nebraska, and dozens of other locations” for next Friday.

In case you missed the unprofessional and condescending Obama press sec. Robert Gibbs targeting Rick Santelli, links to video here including Santelli earlier in the day. I saw Santelli last night on Kudlow's show--his response to Gibbs--very eloquent, of course he had read the housing plan--then he tore it up and threw it on the floor!!!

IBD piece here. Mad as Hell on FoxForum. American Thinker, "Meet Joe the Plumber's Brother: Rick the Trader".

Another site picks it up.

Related posts: Santelli on CBOT floor--Chicago TEA PARTY!!, Are you listening President Obama?!!!, Barack to America: Bleep YOU!, My mini Chicago Tea Party

Gitmo Meets Geneva Code

Gitmo meets Geneva code. And the usefulness of skunks.

Washington Times. The Guantanamo Bay detention center for high-risk terrorist suspects meets the humane treatment standards laid out by the Geneva Convention for conventional, uniformed combatants.

Reaction at HotAir, NRO. Most Americans oppose closing Gitmo.So much for the left's hysterical assertions on "torture".

One of the community groups I belong to met the other day. We were talking about dog meets skunk, which seems to have happened to quite a few pets lately. Someone mentioned he'd been walking with his dog who'd poked his nose into a bush and gotten skunked, then ran straight to him. Before he realized what had happened he'd gotten skunk juice on his hands.

Then he casually remarked--he'd been waterboarded, but this was worse.

Stunned silence from the predominant bunch of liberals in the group, so I cracked--now we know what to do with the terrorists--we're not left with playing acid rock like we did to drive Noriega out of the Papal Nuncio's house.

Hothouse Atmosphere

Gibbs Targets Santelli

Obama White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs threatens CBNC's man at the CBOT, our own Rick Santelli. Thugs. Video via RCP. Santelli on the air this morning

Get Your Shovel Ready

Ramirez scores again. Get your shovel ready. 

Suburban Crime an Issue

Cul-de-Sac Politics. The battle for the suburban middle class--crime is an issue. Congressman Mark Kirk (R-10th) gets some coverage, TWS:

ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN Mark Kirk wants to take a bite out of suburban crime. And in doing so, he also hopes to curb the growing Democratic advantage on some political turf Republicans used to dominate. Last week Kirk unveiled a list of the "Top 10 Most Wanted Gang Members" in Lake County, Illinois, a handsome area of hamlets north of Chicago.

"Illinois leads the nation in per capita gang members, fueled in part by the growth of suburban street gangs," Kirk said. "As violent gangs are pushed out of Chicago, they are relocating in the northern suburbs."

Here's the Tribune article on the top 10, with a list:

The county put out its most-wanted list for gang members this week, the second year it has done so.

"It motivates the public," Kirk said. "They don't want these gang members in their communities."

On the list are:

•Germaine Bess, 27, last known to be living in Waukegan, charged with failure to register as a sex offender.•Jose Delgado, 30, last known to be living in Waukegan, charged with first-degree murder. •Arturo Hernandez, 24, last known to be living in North Chicago, charged with a weapons offense. •Javier Maldonado, 28, last known to be living in Waukegan, charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. •Alex Coleman, 37, last known to be living in Kenosha, charged with violation of sex registration law. •Keany Parks, 30, last known to be living in Zion, charged with criminal sexual abuse. •Edward Perez, 21, last known to be living in Gurnee, charged with first-degree murder. •Alejandro Ramirez, 28, last known to be living in Mundelein, charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. •Jerald Spivey, 27, last known to be living in North Chicago, charged with drug possession. •Osvaldo Wence, 27, last known to be living in Waukegan, charged with unlawful use of a weapon.

US Bancorp Rips TARP

Some truth coming out of the Twin Cities, you know, the heartland. US Bancorp head rips TARP. My friend Mick, Anatreptic: Not A Crisis, A Conspiracy. Mick starts out this way:

If you're plan all along was to nationalize the banks, wouldn't you first want to consolidate the market so you'd be dealing with a more a manageable number? U.S Bancorp's CEO alludes to as much.

Read on.

Renewed Call for Special Election

Statement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna on Governor Quinn joining Republicans in their call for a special election:

"Blagojevich Democrats created this embarrassing mess for the people of Illinois and as the party in power it is their responsibility to find a solution.

"We are pleased Governor Quinn chose to join Republicans in our call for a special election and it is imperative that Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton act quickly to give the people a vote.

"Blagojevich Democrats have turned Illinois into a national embarrassment and the people deserve a vote to choose a senator they can have confidence in."

Silence of the Dems

Tribune editorial:

The silence of the Dems

February 20, 2009

By what he said and what he chose not to say, Roland Burris lied his way into the United States Senate. Our questions, then, for leaders of Burris' Democratic Party:

Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Harry Reid, Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias—what's your moral calculus here?

• Do you think it's acceptable for someone to take a Senate seat by lies of commission and of omission? That is, by saying what isn't true—and by declining to say what is?

• Are you comfortable having Burris represent the people of this state—people who wouldn't trust him if he said in a sworn affidavit that the Earth is round?

• At the time of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's downfall, we heard many of you comment publicly on the need for more ethical government and politics in Illinois. Have you re-read your words lately? Did you mean them?

• Burris, who says he has "absolutely nothing to hide," in fact is hiding behind the excuse of "an ongoing investigation." But a perjury investigation in Springfield, and some Ethics Committee interest from a U.S. Senate that last expelled members for sympathizing with Civil War rebels, doesn't entitle the rest of you to avoid telling Burris to quit. Or do you think it does?

• Your bottom line question here isn't whether you think Burris should be prosecuted or expelled. Your bottom line question is this: Should Roland Burris resign from the Senate seat?

• • •

No, you don't need more time to study the evidence, all of which is in writing or has been transcribed; millions of us in Illinois have taken time to study the evidence. Nor do you need to hear more of what Sen. Burris has to say about all of this; he has said plenty. Nor does anyone care whether you have a long friendship with him; that's irrelevant. Don't even try to creep out of those three basement windows.

A handful of your fellow Democrats already have stepped forward—at some risk to their political ambitions—to state the obvious: Burris has to go. Now.

U.S. Reps. Phil Hare of Rock Island and Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, we salute you. State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg and state Rep. Lou Lang, assistant majority leaders in the Illinois legislature, good for you. Reps. Susana Mendoza of Chicago and Linda Chapa LaVia of Aurora, this is the sort of courage-of-the-moment—when so many leading voices of your party remain timid and silent—that voters will remember.

On Thursday, state Comptroller Dan Hynes joined the call for resignation: "As a government leader and civil rights trailblazer, Sen. Burris has served the state of Illinois and the nation honorably for many decades. He should do so again."

Schakowsky offers a novel approach. She says the 17th Amendment to the Constitution gives the governor the power to rescind a Senate appointment. She wants Quinn to call a special election now.

How about the rest of the Illinois members of the U.S. House? Do you want Burris to remain in the Illinois congressional delegation? If you've said he should go, we've missed it. Should he?

And the members of the Illinois House and Senate, particularly state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, chair of the Illinois House impeachment panel. Given that Burris deceived the committee, should he resign?

No, we haven't forgotten the leading Democrat from Illinois, President Barack Obama. We understand why a president doesn't want to get immersed in back-home politics. But during his Senate days, Obama was his party's designated spokesman on ethics matters. He campaigned on a vow to bring a higher level of ethics to Washington. Here is a critical ethics case, Mr. President.

Folks, the people of Illinois, the people of this country, are watching and waiting. They saw each of you on national television during the Blagojevich fiasco. Now you're ringside at the Burris fiasco. The longer you tolerate this, the more you own it.

Burris Switched Position on O'Hare

Roland Burris switched his position on the O'Hare "modernization" project--why? "Burris, and Blago and Daley...O'Hare":

Here we are over eight years later, and now over 600 families have been displaced. But Burris isn't running for governor anymore. This year, Burris supports the OMP, going so far as to tell the Chicago Tribune that, as senator, he would fight for federal funding.

The probe into the OMP is focusing on kickbacks and back-door deals with regard to, big surprise, the construction companies involved. They would of course stand to make millions, in some cases hundreds of millions, if federal funding were delivered for the project. Starting to smell bad? Read on ...

Porkulus as a source? No wonder Daley wanted to keep his requests quiet. And what's with Gov. Quinn--pleading for Burris to resign, but then not supporting a special election:

Many Republican lawmakers argued Quinn has the constitutional authority to order a special election, which could have the effect of forcing Burris from office. But Quinn said today he doesn't feel he has the constitutional authority to order a special election.

Gee, how come so overly scrupulous now? What a so not funny joke he is, especially after just appointing his and Rezko's buddy Lavin to oversee the porkulus pay to play. We need a special election and recall:

The special election legislation is Senate Bill 285.

The recall legislation is Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 9.

Related post: O'Hare Hilarity

ObamACORN in Action

ACORN mobs breaking into homes:

ACORN’s foot soldiers, funded with your tax dollars, will scream, pound their fists, chain themselves to buildings, padlock the doors, and engage in illegal behavior until they get what they want. It’s a recipe for anarchy.

Remember, they're getting $2 billion from the porkulus bill for "community stabilization". It's ACORN's Crash and they're profiting now.

UPDATE: ObamACORN in action. NY, LA, Indiana, Texas, and more:

“ACORN is targeting the following areas: Tucson, Ariz.; Oakland, Calif.; Los Angeles; Contra Costa County, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Baltimore; New York; Houston; San Mateo County, Calif.; Denver; Bridgeport, Conn.; Wilmington, Del.; Broward County, Fla.; Boston; Flint, Mich.; Detroit; Minneapolis; Raleigh, N.C.; Durham, N.C.; Albany, N.Y.; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; and Dallas.”

My mini Chicago Tea Party

Santelli all over the airwaves. Sun Times front page has it too, plus headlines Obama's victory rally tab at Grant Park remains unpaid--$1.74 million, but he's still more popular than Jesus. David Brooks writes a column about the Santelli phenom, "Money for Idiots". Tribune question of the day, should taxpayers bail out homeowners with at-risk mortgages? Where does it end--and isn' the plan unfair to renters who were more prudent and were saving up for a house? Meanwhile the FEC confirms Obama got a sweetheart mortgage deal but closes the file.

The Chicago Tea Party revolt is on its way. Here's my mini party pix.

P.S. Palin-Santelli in 2012?

More: NRO interviews Rick Santelli:

When we posted a link to the video, we were swamped with e-mails in support, including a couple from traders at the Board of Trade in Chicago, who have been saying right on. How have the e-mails that you’ve been getting, how have they been running?

Santelli: I’ll be honest with you, I think I’ve gotten somewhere between 850-900, and I think I had three that were negative. ... The issue is, you can’t pick out 8 or 9 percent and give them things that weaken the 90 or 92 percent who are carrying the water. ... They need to quit picking winners and losers, and they have to quit alienating the classes. You have to figure out a way to float all boats, and I think that’s where the administration has gone wrong, and I think that’s the nerve I hit.

Heritage Morning Bell:

Santelli's criticism of the mortgage bailout plan is dead on: The plan treats borrowers who sacrificed to pay their mortgages on time the same as those who used their equity for a boat and stopped paying their loans. This moral hazard sends a clear message to our children that they can avoid the consequences of their actions. But this is only one reason the plan is bad policy. Others include:

The plan's mortgage cram down provision would only worsen the housing crisis in two ways: First it would increase the risk to lenders and lead to higher interest rates for people trying to buy homes today. Second, the policy would open the door to achieving mortgage reductions for tens of millions of homeowners who can afford their mortgage pay ments and whose homes are not at risk.

The plan will fail because too few people will qualify and many of those that do will default anyway. The housing bubble was caused in large part by speculators who bought homes planning to flip them for quick profit and other who out-right lied on their loan applications. The mortgage bailout will do nothing to stop these foreclosures. Furthermore, the re-default rates for people that have already participated in mortgage modifications show that as many as 50% of them go on to default again.

The plan risks another $275 billion in taxpayer funds. The Obama Administration claims their plan will only cost $75 billion, but that is only true if it works out perfectly. If the plan fails to stem the inevitable correction in housing prices taxpayers will lose a full $275 billion.

Closing his interview with National Review, Santelli also connected the mortgage bailout to the Obama Administration's stimulus plan:

At the end of the day, it’s simple. A lot of the president’s advisers are saying that there’s a multiplier effect to the government money, and it’s over one. Now if that’s true, then the government should spend non-stop for the rest of our lives, because we’ll get a positive return. And it makes no sense. ... I guess in the end, I believe in the founding fathers, and I believe that in America... the pursuit of happiness and to work hard and keep the fruits of your labor is something I believe in. And I’m not saying we should forget people who need help. But at the end of the day, Americans are strong and they’re charitable. I think what they have a problem with is that it’s force-fed via the government.