Fighting to Preserve Liberty in America
As previously reported here Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama both claimed ignorance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives programs called Project Gunrunner and Fast and Furious that walked guns across the Mexican border. Some of those guns were found at the scene of a shootout where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed.
The above question could and should be applied to a number of individuals including Attorney General Eric Holder and even President Barack Obama. The subject is a program, run out of the Justice Department, called “Fast and Furious.”
You almost have to wonder, why in the world did he run for president? Was he swept up in the ego trip? Was he reading too much into his own press clippings? Did the historic opportunity of being the first real black president, sorry Bill Clinton, in U.S. history overwhelm a careful consideration of what the job entailed?
The baseball season has ended. The San Francisco Giants are the world champions for the first time since 1954 when they were the New York Giants. The stadiums are empty and the spring training fields have not yet gotten busy. But, fear not, the free agent season is heating up.
If you have been following the Obama administration closely it’s hard to be surprised by some of the things that they do but… never say never. Yesterday, Michael Posner whose title is, are you ready for this, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor brought up in discussions with China, the recent law passed in Arizona to control the number of illegals flooding into that state. This is a law that was passed to address this and the previous administration’s miserable failure to control the border.
The Chinese had counterpunched in response to a report on Human Rights issued by the State Department, as required by U.S. law, that was particularly critical of China, North Korea, and Iran and their restrictions on the Internet, other communications means and their treatment of minorities in their respective countries. This is what the Chinese said:
“The United States not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, it is also the main source of many human rights disasters worldwide,” the Chinese report said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
“Especially a time when the world is suffering serious human rights disasters caused by the global financial crisis sparked by the U.S. sub-prime crisis, the U.S. government has ignored its own grave human rights problems and reveled in accusing other countries.”
So, after being required by law since 1976 to issue an annual report on Human Rights and not wanting to be excoriated by Congress if they made it a puff piece, our socialist leaning administration felt it necessary to walk it back in meetings with the Chinese by bringing up the new law in Arizona, “early and often”.
The Chinese must have been stunned with their good fortune. Here was the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, going out of his way to point to a new immigration law passed in Arizona to say America might be encouraging discrimination. Here is the question from a reporter and Secretary Posner’s response:
QUESTION: Did the recently passed Arizona immigration law come up? And, if so, did they bring it up or did you bring it up?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: We brought it up early and often. It was mentioned in the first session, and as a troubling trend in our society and an indication that we have to deal with issues of discrimination or potential discrimination, and that these are issues very much being debated in our own society.
The Chinese, who under Mao killed millions of their own citizens, force families to have abortions after their first and only child is born, forcefully relocated peasants to Beijing to build the Olympic facilities and them sent them back to their farms, refuse to let information flow to their citizens over the Internet, completely dominate and subjugate Tibet, and we are criticizing our own behavior to them for passing a law in Arizona?
In testimony before Congress after publicly making remarks that the new Arizona law is discriminatory and may trigger a lawsuit from the federal government Attorney General Eric Holder admitted that he had not read the Arizona law. The Arizona law takes up all of ten pages and the Attorney General has not found the time to read it, but somehow knows the law is discriminatory.
In testimony before Congress Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano also admitted that she had not read the bill. The speedy Secretary, who was quick to point out that things were running swell at the Department of Homeland Security after a Muslim extremist in an Army uniform killed thirteen at Fort Hood and that the Times Square bomber was a “lone wolf” before investigators found numerous international ties, wasn’t quick enough to read the ten page law before testifying to Congress.
This is an administration and Congress that can crank out thousands of pages of laws that will change the landscape of liberty in America and then rams them through without reading them and cannot read a ten page law before declaring it discriminatory. It makes you wonder if anyone in this administration knows how to read, which would explain a lot about their ignorance of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
For nearly eight years we heard the left scream, “Bush Lied!” over the decision to invade Iraq. One decision and the same refrain repeated over and over again. Where is the scrutiny of the truth police where President Obama is concerned?
In his State of the Union address he took the unprecedented step of calling out the Supreme Court and encouraging his minions to give that rebuke a standing ovation. Shameful. This is not to say that Obama cannot criticize other branches of government, but there is a time and a place. When Joe Wilson called out “LIAR!” during a previous speech by President Obama he was roundly criticized and rightly so. Not for the criticism, but for the time and the place. Joe Wilson called the president to apologize. Did Obama do the same?
The timing of the act was bad enough, but the accusation he made was not true, as Samuel Alito could be seen saying, if you can read lips. In the midst of his constitutional duty to report to Congress on the State of the Union, he uses a blatant lie to attack his guests. But that wasn’t all. His speech was sprinkled throughout with falsehoods, not least of which was his statement on jobs.
Counting the Uncountable
To try to put a positive spin on his porkulus bill, he had to make up a statistic that no reputable economist can endorse, “jobs saved”. In his State of the Union speech and on the Sunday morning talk show circuit, Obama and his team talked about 2 million jobs created or saved. But they weren’t all on the same page, some said 1.8 million, but regardless it is blatant dishonesty.
Jobs created is a real statistic. As a small business owner I can tell you that when you hire someone there are a number of government agencies that you have to report it to and you have a deadline in which to do so. There is also some paperwork involved when you eliminate a job. But I have never, never had to report to any agency when I thought about eliminating a job and then changed my mind. After all wouldn’t that be the definition of a job saved?
If I never thought about eliminating the position, then the job is not “saved” it just continues to exist. If I thought about eliminating the position and did so, it would not be a job “saved” it would be a job eliminated, no? So it is this two step process of thinking about the action and then not following through that could reasonably be thought of as a “job saved”. How do you measure that thought process? Hiring someone is an observable action. Eliminating a job is an observable action. Saving a job are two related thought processes not externally observable, they can only be “reported” by the decision maker and it cannot be independently verified. Is that the kind of statistic upon which you want your government to base billions of dollars in spending decision? The only added feature of Obamanomics is that some money changes hands. Money that comes from you, dear taxpayer, and goes to the businessman. Can you see why such a statistic is ridiculous?
Which One Is It Mr. President? Mr. Biden? Anyone?
Let’s pretend for a moment that “jobs saved” is a real statistic. If the president has a figure in his head of 2 million jobs created or saved, and for the aforementioned reasons the number of jobs created is a hard number reported to some agency, then the number of jobs saved should be a matter of simple math. 2 million minus the number of jobs actually created equals the number of jobs saved. So why not report it as such? 100,000 jobs created and 1.9 million jobs saved, for example. Why lump them together? Because when you lump them together its harder to tell how big of a lie the president is telling.
Stimulus recipients previously reported that they had directly “created or saved” 640,329 jobs by Sept. 30, but their filings were criticized after it emerged that some people had reported saving jobs when they had actually spent the money on pay raises or paying employees who were not in danger of being laid off.
In December, the White House Office of Management and Budget changed its guidance, telling recipients they should start counting every worker whose salary was funded with stimulus money, rather than guessing whether the jobs would have existed in the absence of the federal plan. Opponents of the program accused the administration of “moving the goal posts” to make the plan appear more successful. — Wall Street Journal, Latest Stimulus Report Fuels Jobs Pressure, Feb. 1 2010
So companies using stimulus money to give people raises was counted as jobs saved! We have 10%-17% of our workforce idled and taxpayers are being fleeced to give people raises and this administration is calling that successful policy. When do we start firing people in this administration? How about Janet Napolitano? How about Eric Holder? or are we saving their jobs too so that the numbers look good? The other reports are just as galling: $1000 purchase of a lawn mower is credited with saving jobs; using stimulus money to purchase boots with each boot (left and right) being counted as a job saved because someone had to make the boots; stimulus money going to create jobs in Congressional districts that do not exist. Does anyone have any confidence that this administration has a clue about how to run a government? This is beyond embarrassing.
The Next Stimulus
But fear not, since the first stimulus was so successful, President Obama is teeing up the next one, but don’t worry this one is only $100 billion. Doesn’t that just make you feel warm all over?
I am sure you all recall the video played ad nauseum starring the Reverend Wright railing against America defending itself. It now seems to accurately describe the results of the new hope and change administration. After his worldwide apology tour, and banning the term “War on Terror,” replacing it with the limp “Overseas Contingency Operation,” so that, like his presidential campaign, no one would know what he actually meant or stood for, his own chickens are coming home to roost.
Actions Have Consequences
The left used to attack the Bush administration’s approach because being tough on terrorists only served to aid them in their recruiting. Maybe so, but I am less concerned about lines of recruits in Afghanistan than crazed terrorists in New York. Obama’s apology tour shows his weakness and as the terrorist mindset abhors weakness, it encourages attacks. So what would you prefer, attacks on American soil, or an uptick in recruiting on the other side of the world?
War vs. Law and Order
Bush recognized the War on Terror for what it was, a direct attack on the United States and our way of life. In a war, you go after the enemy, you don’t wait for him to come to you. You take prisoners and hold them, until the conflict is over. You dismantle their ability to wage war. It is aggressive and proactive. It is the way America has prevailed in wartime.
The Obama approach is Law an Order. Each act is seen as separate an isolated and as a crime to be investigated and prosecuted after the fact. First responders are more important than the first wave of Marines. To quote today’s Wall Street Journal:
Brian Jenkins, who studies terrorism for the Rand Corporation, says there were more terror incidents (12), including thwarted plots, on U.S. soil in 2009 than in any year since 2001. The jihadists don’t seem to like Americans any better because we’re closing down Guantanamo.
But the Obama Administration is currently considering releasing prisoners held in Guantanamo to Yemen. How long do you think it will be before they are back on the front lines trying to kill us?
Add to the mix the Obama administration’s, or should I say Eric Holder’s, decision to try the 9/11 terrorists in a civilian court. Holder’s testimony before Congress justifying his decision was painful to watch how he had no credible justification. Don’t forget to give Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, his Miranda rights and get him a good lawyer. Let’s pretend his claims to be associated with al Qaeda is just tough talk and braggadocio.
The reality is that whenever America fought a war and politicians pulled punches (e.g., Viet Nam) we lost.
Things are Working Swell
Janet Napolitano, Obama’s head of Homeland Security had this to say, according to the New York Times
“The system has worked really very, very smoothly over the course of the past several days,” Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary said, in an interview on “This Week” on ABC. Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, used nearly the same language on “Face the Nation” on CBS, saying that “in many ways, this system has worked.”
How chilling is that? What exactly does she mean by the system worked? She refers to the number of organizations that were alerted after the fact. How about notifications before the fact? How about listening to the terrorist’s own father who reported him to the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria. How about denying him a visa? Or is Napolitano too busy adding funeral homes to her list of organizations to notify after the fact?
Where’s Obama?
If there’s a chance Chicago might get the Olympics, don’t worry, Obama’s on a plane to give it the old presidential push! If there’s a Nobel Prize to pick up, Obama is your man! If there is a terrorist attack on our country, hey, don’t bother me I’m on vacation in Hawaii.
Some pundits on the news pointed out that President Bush didn’t speak out against the shoe bomber, Richard Reid, for several days, so cut Obama some slack. The problem is that no one doubted for a minute that Bush was engaged in the War on Terror, some even saying he was obsessed. Well that obsession kept us safe for seven years. In less than one year we have had Fort Hood and now this airline bombing.
Furthermore, why is Eric Holder making such a monumental decision regarding trying the 9/11 terrorists in New York? Why isn’t this Obama’s decision? Just like so much in this administration, Obama campaigns and gives speeches, and Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Eric Holder make policy decisions on their own.
Here’s to the Heroes
The heroes in this case were a Dutch citizen and the flight attendants, who subdued the terrorist and extinguished the fire. To quote again from the Wall Street Journal:
The lesson here is the same as Flight 93 on 9/11 and shoe-bomber Richard Reid, which is that civilians willing to act in their own self-defense are a crucial part of “homeland security.”
May I suggest that the statists drop their efforts to weaken the 2ndAmendment? As part of “homeland security” we may need to bear arms like at no time since the Civil War.
The balloons and bunting have been picked up, the Washington Mall has been swept, the ball gowns put away. The campaign, the election, the historic celebration are now in the history books. It’s time to govern. Sadly, with only three weeks in office, President Obama’s lack of experience is on full display.
Due to the looming financial crisis, the transition in power was unprecedented in the level of cooperation between the departing Bush administration and the incoming Obama team. Obama said he needed the second half of the $700 billion, Bush put in the request. Everyone knew what problem number one was. The economy was in crisis.
When Dealing With a Crisis, You Lead, You Don’t Delegate
When United Airways Flight 1549, which would end up in the Hudson River, was climbing after takeoff, the co-pilot was at the controls. When the plane struck a flight of birds and lost power, Captain Sullenberger coolly said two words, “My aircraft.” The co-pilot responded, “Your aircraft,” the captain took the controls and the first officer then set about trying to re-start the engines.
In the midst of this economic crisis, that President Obama keeps saying we have to fix now, he let Nancy Pelosi run the show, while he took a victory lap, visiting the White House press pool, writing executive orders closing Guantanamo, and speaking to al Arabiya. Nancy Pelosi was furiously stuffing the stimulus turkey with pork, and President Obama was inviting Republicans in for tea, thinking that by doing so, a new era of bipartisanship would emerge.
In several corporate jobs that I have had there were times of crisis. If we had to drastically cut expenses to deal with the crisis, it was all hands on deck. It wasn’t see what you can do and get back to me. It was, “Be on the conference call at 3PM prepared to tell the Chief, how you are meeting your expense reduction targets.” All senior managers were on the call and all got a turn to tell the Chief what they were contributing or, gulp, where they were falling short. If you were falling short, make no mistake, you better have a damn good reason and whether or not you did, your future career was now under a microscope. The point is, like Captain Sullenberger, in times of crisis, the leader is unmistakably in charge.
President Obama let Nancy Pelosi craft this disaster, without strong guidelines of what he would or would not accept, and did not demand that Republicans be involved from the start. You reap what you sew. Now he is scrambling to drag this stinking corpse across the finish line and it’s not pretty.
Why did this happen? Because President Obama was a Community Organizer. He never ran a business. He never held an executive position in government. His gossamery resume was obvious, but ignored. Sarah Palin must be shaking her head in disbelief.
Running Back to Safety Zone of Campaigning
Barack Obama was a master on the campaign trail, first dispatching Hillary Clinton, and then deftly outmaneuvering John McCain. So what does the inexperienced man do when he’s under stress? Go back to what he’s good at. This week we saw President Obama back on the campaign trail, with the same rhetoric. The problem is, you can take a fair degree of license with what you say on the campaign trail. When you govern, you have to deal with reality. George Bush is gone. Bashing Bush may have gotten Obama elected, but he’s got to put that one out to pasture. His claim that tax cuts caused this financial problem, and that the past eight years have been an economic disaster, just don’t hold up. It makes him look clueless. Sure it fires up the base, but so what. We need solutions, not pep rallies. Tax cuts boosted the economy for Kennedy, for Reagan, for Bush. In short, they work. Obama may not like them, but they work. To say otherwise is like hanging a sign over his head, saying Under Construction.
Cabinet Picks
And the late night talk show hosts were wondering what they were going to do without Bush in office. The hits just keep coming. Once again, you have to ask, who’s in charge? How did all of these slip through the cracks? Richardson, Geithner, Daschle, Soldis, Nancy Killefer, Eric Holder. Sure it’s noble that Obama took responsibility for Daschle. But if you stay with him too long you look, uh, inexperienced? With all of these problems, someone’s head should roll. The President is delegating what he shouldn’t and what he should delegate is a mess.
International
President Obama was supposed to usher in a new era of harmony in our relations with other countries. But what has happened?
I hope President Obama is a quick study, or we’re in for a long grim four years.
