Epic Vote

This weekend could be one of the defining weekends of the Barack Obama presidency and the Nancy Pelosi congress.

While I have certainly been absent from this site over the past few weeks, I have been patiently waiting, reviewing, and studying the magnitude of the looming vote that is on the horizon.

With approval numbers for both Obama and congress at their lowest point since this regime took full control, one can only wonder how much longer before the citizens truly revolt against this administration and fundamental left-wingers begin clamoring for G.W.Bush to come back. Not to mention the wonderful work of VP Biden over the past few weeks.

An unofficial poll conducted in passing here in the streets of DC actually was slightly in favor of the Bush administration over the current, which begs the hypothetical question... "if there was a vote tomorrow for President, could George Bush beat Obama?" ... give it a few minutes to sink in and then answer. It's not that far fetched.

So far under this administration, responsible home owners have been shafted, irresponsible home owners have been rewarded, beat up old cars have been bought by tax payer dollars, banks and automakers have been bailed out, and now health-care is about to be shoved down everyone's throat.

So this weekend will indicate how closely congress is in tune to the citizens of this nation or if they are pulling the "We know whats best for you" thing pretending that the polls and overwhelmed phone system on Capitol Hill are just a media ploy.

I wonder who gets a surprise visit from Rahm this week...

The Sinking Ship

Obama's Approval Rating Lowest Yet, Congress' Declines
Slightly more disapprove than approve of Obama
by Jeffrey M. Jones --> Full Article

"Americans hold Congress in far less esteem than they do the president -- 16% approve and 80% disapprove of the job Congress is doing."

President Barack Obama's job approval is the worst of his presidency to date, with 46% of Americans approving and 48% disapproving of the job he is doing as president in the latest Gallup Daily three-day average.

"Americans hold Congress in far less esteem than they do the president -- 16% approve and 80% disapprove of the job Congress is doing."

Obama's approval rating has hovered around 50% since November, but in the last two days has declined to the point that slightly more Americans now disapprove than approve of his performance in office.

The new low ratings come during a week in which the White House and Democratic congressional leaders are working to convince wavering House Democrats to support healthcare reform, which they hope to pass using a series of parliamentary maneuvers in the House of Representatives and Senate.

Americans hold Congress in far less esteem than they do the president -- 16% approve and 80% disapprove of the job Congress is doing, according to the latest update from a March 4-7 Gallup poll. That is just two points off the record-low 14% Gallup measured in July 2008. Gallup has been measuring congressional approval since 1974.

Congress' image improved during the early part of the Obama administration, peaking at 39% in March 2009. But by last month its ratings were back to where they were before Obama took office, mainly due to a loss in support from Democratic identifiers.

Bottom Line

Public support for President Obama and Congress -- both of which were running near their low points prior to the beginning of this month -- continues to slip. That is an ominous sign heading into this year's midterm elections. As of now, Gallup's tracking of congressional election preferences suggests a close House race, and a much worse performance for Democrats than in the 2006 election that restored the party to majority status in Congress.

Robinhood is at it again... and again... and again.

$15 Billion, $787 Billion, $154 Billion when will these Jobs Bull’s, Oh sorry I meant Jobs Bill’s, sorry, Stimulus Package’s, STOP COMING UP AND START WORKING?

See, with $787 Billion of hard earned tax PAYER money (oh Timmy Geither aren’t you glad you’re not one of them?!), Robinhood, made his first move with the stimulus package, hoping to create or save three to four million jobs over the next two years, not including the mass transport of convicted murderers, rapists, kidnappers and the like onto American soil to spur job growth in the small town in IL., good one, try again. On top of this, they promised to “stop the wasteful spending” (you can see it here)

And in mid December the House did try again, narrowly approving a $154 billion job creation package that would “provide funding for infrastructure projects and keep teachers and emergency personnel on the job.”

Which include but are not limited to:

$27.5 billion Highways

$8.4 billion Transit

$800 million Amtrak

$500 million Airports

$100 million Maritime Administration (shipyard modernization

$2 billion Clean Water ($1 billion CWSRF and $1 billion SDWSRF)

$100 million Bureau of Reclamation (clean water for rural areas)

$715 million Corps of Engineers (environmental restoration, flood protection, hydropower and navigation projects)

$2 billion Energy Innovation Loans (DOE renewable energy and electric transmission projects)

$4.1 billion School Renovation

$1 billion Housing Trust Fund

$1 billion Public Housing Capital Fund

Oh and they are certainly trying again, no need to go to extremes O-bummer!, you now have this glorious Jobs Bill, that was just passed last week. A scaled down version of an $85 Billion Jobs Bill has ended up as a (still) whopping 15 Billion!, just for job creation!... but wait, they already did that, twice. Now thanks to a great article from reason, see it here, I’m left wondering a few things:

1. 1. Why doesn’t this Administration get it? People are losing their jobs and taxing the hell out of them, won’t help.

2. 2. Why don’t you get rid of the useless committees, AKA MAKE GOVERNMENT SMALLER, SMALLER GOVERNMENT = MORE EFFIENCENT GOVERNMENT.

3. 3. How do liberals still fail to grasp the fact that SPENDING DOES NOT REDUCE THE DEFICIT.

1. 4. Will these jobs be created or saved? funded? assumed? estimated? imagined? dreamt up? or fantasized about?

4. With that in mind the O-Bummer administration has still failed to form any kind of real economic advisory committee, Lawrence Summers and his type, do not count. Why? because of their stupidity, irresponsibility and ridiculous involvement in the downturn of the economy and their selfish decisions to cover-up the mess that was to come from OTC derivatives.

a. A NOTE TO LIBERALS: now for sign waving, unicorn riding, hope-and-change enchanted liberals reading this, asking “well you just said get rid of committees and now you’re saying make one, how does that make any sense” well, since your pea-sized-public-school-public-subsidized-indoctrinated brains fail to understand the word “useless” then only you would raise such a question, when really, after realizing that “useless” is the KEY word here, that making a committee as crucial as this one, and eliminating 5 to 10 of the ones that just do busy work, is just that, essential.

5. You want job creation? I mean real, tangible, jobs? How about you offer ALL businesses tax incentives REGAURDLESS of your “must hire” agenda, that way they save money with out the direct burden of hiring someone who may not even be fit to do the job just so they can get this tax break/return.

a. CHEW ON THIS FOR A SECOND: by “ALL businesses” I am including the mean, horrible, unethical “big business” too, why? Because although the heart of the Economy is beating thanks to small businesses, the infamous big boys employ massive numbers of people and in general, are able to provide great private health insurance (GET YOURS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!).

Why are you subsidizing this through taxpayer money instead of cutting the size of this preposterous, inefficient, committee-riddled, money sucking, term-limitless, fiscal-bubble creating, government and when will this legislation actually help us, by creating jobs, and lowering our national debt?

Stay off the kool-aid people.

Haiti Trip Confirmed: April 13th

On April 13th, I will be going to Haiti to aid in the disaster relief efforts.  Below is a short note from the director of MLC about the trip outlining the scope, structure, and cost. Any support is greatly appreciated. Please contact me directly to get involved, or with any questions.

-Joe

----------------------------------------------

To: All
Re: Haitian Earthquake Disaster Relief

On January 12, 2010 a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, destroying most of the country’s infrastructure.  There have been an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 related deaths with thousands more left injured and without homes and critical needs. Substantial humanitarian assistance is required for survivors to get food, clean water, emergency shelter, medical care and other support.

Mission Life Center (MLC) will be sending a group of 10 volunteers to Haiti in April 2010 to aid in frontline disaster relief efforts.  These efforts will include distribution of supplies, infrastructure stabilization, re-building of communities and other disaster relief functions that are needed desperately throughout Port-au-Prince.  The total cost of the trip is approximately $1000 per person. This cost includes airfare, lodging, meals, transportation, and supplies for the volunteers. *Any funds not exhausted on meals and lodging will be donated to the local Red Cross relief operation in Port-au-Prince upon our departure.*

We kindly ask for your partnership to help us send this team of volunteers. Your donation will allow MLC to provide direct and real disaster relief and also allow this MLC advance team of volunteers to gather source information in hopes of sending a larger volunteer group back later this year.

MLC is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit and all donations are tax deductible.  Checks can be made payable to MISSION LIFE CENTER, or can be submitted online via our website. (Select “Haiti” from the drop down list at the bottom of the online form.)

We are ready and willing to go and we thank you in advance for your contribution and support. The MLC website will be updated regularly with blogs and pictures from the ground in Haiti, and we encourage everyone to follow the volunteers on this trip. For more information about Mission Life Center and our active zones (both stateside and abroad) please visit our website. Thank you again for helping make this trip to Haiti possible.

Sincerely,

  John Basta
John Basta

Executive Director

Mission Life Center
www.missionlifecenter.org

The Iraqi Voices

From the ballot box.... as real as it gets. (Guardian)

"We got up at 7am and were planning to vote. Next thing. I was digging my wife out of the rubble. She is eight months pregnant and both her legs are broken. My children are not badly wounded but look at their eyes. We don't have a future, we want to leave. We need to go somewhere else to secure anything like a future. I hope my family can stay in the hospital. This is the only place we have."
Zuhair Hikmat, 40, at the Yarmuk hospital in central Baghdad

"I left my house to go to the election centre at 7am. I walked near a pile of rubbish and the bomb went off. I think this situation will deteriorate again. I am unemployed and they were going to pay me for one day's work. Now I have nothing."
Salim Turki Najim, 45, from the west Baghdad neighbourhood of al-Hurriya

"I tell you I am more hopeful inside my heart than I was five years ago. This time we will vote for different people. We need and we will get different people this time. Ayad Allawi will serve me well. We are much more mature in the way we approach elections now and the enthusiasm to vote has been strong across my area. By voting, we are safeguarding a future for ourselves."
Ibrahim Majid, from the northern Baghdad suburb of Adamiyeh

"We hope it will be fair. There will, of course, be a degree of fraud. This is Iraq, after all, but we hope it will be within manageable limits. We have hopes for our future. We could not just give up. We have to work towards something."
Mawa Shakri, 23, from Zayouna, in the north-east of the capital

"I have found my voice. We have suffered a lot and I am going to die soon, but today I am voting for my grandson's future. We will change the devil and his shirt because now we have knowledge (about the electoral process) and now we have a new force behind us."
Qadimeyah Hussein, 70, from Qasrah, in northern Baghdad