No Compromise

Obama Rules Out Compromise to Extend Bush-Era Tax Cuts for Wealthy

President Obama will rule out on Wednesday any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, officials said, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package that is otherwise designed to entice support from big businesses and their Republican allies.

Mr. Obama's opposition to allowing the high-end tax cuts to remain in place for even another year or two would be the signal many Congressional Democrats have been awaiting as they prepare for a showdown with Republicans on the issue and ends speculation that the White House might be open to an extension.

Mr. Obama finally has decided that the show of 'reaching across the aisle' and 'bipartisanship' needs to close it's curtain? It's only been close to 19 months.

This is a political show. He's trying, nay, daring the Republicans to oppose him on this - just in time for November. How funny.

Just so we're clear - where's THIS guy been?

All in the Chicago Family

Excerpt from the story: Among the more appealing messages that Barack Obama campaigned on in 2008 was his promise to change the culture in Washington and usher in a new era of openness and honesty in government.

It was the sort of message that still resonates with an increasingly cynical electorate that is, as Obama’s handlers recognized, fed up with the corruption, hidden agendas and back-room deals that characterize life within the beltway. Voters hoped that this fresh face, so full of earnest enthusiasm and idealistic vision, could be the one to usher in a new era.

Almost two years after that historic election, more and more voters are realizing that not only didn’t get the change they had hoped for, they’re actually getting much more of business as usual than they could have ever imagined. As ethical questions continue to swirl around the people that the president has embraced one cannot help but wonder if the vaunted political acumen of the Obama administration has been vastly overrated, or if the president and his advisors simply feel that they can and should be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people at will.

The list of Obama associates and appointees who have serious ethical problems is long indeed, from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his unpaid taxes through ex “Green Czar” Van Jones’ communist ties. Now there is a new name on that dishonor roll: the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate seat that was once held by Barack Obama: Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. Giannoulias’ sordid history and that of his shady associates should be enough to concern any canny politician this side of Boss Tweed, but the president has embraced Giannoulias as if he were the second coming of Obama himself.

Giannoulias’s political baggage has not stopped the president from endorsing a candidate who helped run a bank into the ground, who made millions while that bank bled red ink, and who has ties to the mob and disgraced political figures.

"Show me who you walk with, and I will show you who you are..." -Barack Obama

Why I Regret Voting For President Obama

Why I Regret Voting For President Obama

I was sent this article - and what can I say?

First, I post everything that is sent to me.

Second, this pretty much sums up the disappointment I hear in, well, everyone who was swept up in the Kool-Aid days of 2008. Hope and Change isn't working out the way everyone hoped.

And that's on both sides of the isles.

I might also add, this was written by one of his supporters!

The tl;dr is this one quote,

"It was clear after just 90 days what a mistake I'd made. My taxes have gone up and my quality of life has gone down. Hope has given way to disgust and I see now that change is simply a euphemism for "big government."

Wat Change?

Obama continues to fill his staff with ex-Clinton-era folks... including the Clintons -
Which makes me wonder...
Does Obama not know enough people?

Maybe he just doesn't know anyone in government?

Or maybe all his buddies in Chicago and Springfield don't qualify. Maybe that's why he has such a massive application. You know, the one where if you've ever done anything naughty you're automatically tossed out... unless you already have a house in D.C.

Axlerod doesn't count either. He's an ex-Chicago Tribune reporter turned-consultant who hadn't had much 'win' until Obama. You can't count Pharaoh Daley as a 'hard win'. So there's one person in for Chicago.

Former senator Tom Daschle, a seasoned veteran of the partisan political wars Obama has vowed to end is set to become secretary of health and human services.

Eric Holder, a former Clinton-era Justice Department official is being lined up as Attorney General in the Obama administration. Just ask about the Mark Rich pardon.

Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton White House aide, and Illinois politic insider.

Clinton energy secretary Bill Richardson is being touted as commerce secretary. Well, they gotta give him SOMETHING since he lost the VeeP spot and also Sec. of State. He even delivered New Mexico.

This line-up makes Obama's promise for "Change we Can Believe In" look pretty damn hollow. And, as I've sarcastically said before - it's Change, in the stationary.

"Apparently, Washington outsiders need not apply in the Obama Administration," said Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant.

"Barack Obama's cabinet is starting to resemble a Clinton reunion. His appointments so far have been a disappointment for Americans hoping to see some fresh faces in Washington."

I'm not saying (at all) that he should keep the Neo-Cons of the Bush Administration - but come on... are there even two or three people in there that DIDN'T work in the Clinton White House? But Bush took people who worked for him in Texas. He had a whole team.

The point is that Obama doesn't have a team. He has a pile of enemies and has-beens who are working in his house.

Not the Kind of Change We Were Looking For

Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012...Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says totally clipped from live leak.com

The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.

Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting fut More..ure world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.

Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.

"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".

"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.

Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.

The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.

The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."

In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.

"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."

"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."

"It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more."

"We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."

"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."
— CNN Headline News

"A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."
— The Economist

"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."
— USA Today

"There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."
- CNBC

"Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."
— The Wall Street Journal

"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around."
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."
— The New York Times

"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."
— 48 Hours, CBS News

"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."
— The Detroit News

"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."
— Chicago Tribune

"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture."
— The Los Angeles Times

"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."
— New York Post

(no word on all the stuff he's been wrong about, notes the Cap'n)
Hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start,

Weapons and ammunition would be a better place to start - then you can take all the food and gold you want.

A little revolution now and then is a good thing; the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. - Thomas Jefferson, 1787

There you have it. Prepare to plow your yard into a garden - hope you haven't been pouring chemicals into it all these years - buy some guns, some food and pile up the gold. And one thing the original story forgot to mention:
yeah, there will be zombies. (Go on! Click on the link!)

The Case of President Obama

Obama has made a case for Change.

But there are no details of that 'Change'.

Is he simply talking about the skin tone of the man in the White House? Is he talking about bringing Change as someone out of the 'elite class' from Yale or Harvard? (He attended Harvard, just for the record). Is he talking about being out of the 'typical Washington' or a Change away from the normal massive political systems? Sadly, he's a Senator and from the Chicago Political Machine... and his running mate has a decade on his opponent - so there's no 'Change' from those two perspectives. It originally seemed a logical divergence from his primary opponent, Hillary Clinton. That's the only time 'Change' meant anything. But it stopped being about Hillary back in late July.

No, the case that Obama brings as Change is the call for Socialism.

Obama's opponents have called him a 'historic' figure. They say he's the most inexperienced and most liberal candidate that the Democrats have ever put on their ticket.

Yes. Exactly.

The last eight years have seen Enron, 9/11, two on-going expensive foreign wars, fuel and food prices rising, home values declining, and now an economic collapse caused by a shell game with nothing under the shells. It appears - and that's appears - that the free market is fatally flawed, and it's time for something - anything - new. Here comes Change.

The assumption is that the free market has failed. Chris Rock said it best, "George Bush has f*cked things up so bad, that he's made it hard for a White Man to run for President." The Change has already begun too. The rejection of free market philosophy on a high governmental level with the bail outs of banks and insurance industries. The Nationalization of those companies in trouble has swung open that door of 'Change'. A complete reworking of society and government has started. Which is, what I assume, the message of Change is.

Folks in America are preparing to allow or are already willing to let their government tell them the right way to live, work and take care of themselves. Apparently it's no longer safe for us to do it on our own. You and I have messed it up pretty bad. The 'self' is no longer as important as the 'group', and with a group mentality you find a different philosophy to govern. "I mean, come on - look at what a great job we've done so far!?" is the prevailing wind swirling around.

That's why the story of Joe the Plumber is important. (Transcript) It highlights the theme of the Change philosophy. The collective "We" know how to "spread the wealth around" better than you do, Joe. We know how to teach your kid his book learning. We know how to take care of your retirement funds. We know how to give you medicine. We know how to get you to work, and take care of you when you're not qualified. We'll get you a house, and some food to eat. Don't worry about it. Just get fat, and make sure you keep voting for us.

The "We" is the Department of Education, Social Security, Medicare, Employment, HUD, Food Stamps, Welfare... and pretty much all of FDR's New Deal, and LBJ's Great Society that I might not have pinpointed. It isn't important if any of these programs are successful, or have any measurable benchmarks worth mentioning. It's more important that they MEAN well. And it's always better to expand on them if they aren't successful, because obviously IF they're ineffectual it can only be because they're just not funded enough. There must not be enough enough administrators or middle managers.... we need more, so be sure to offer giant pay raises with no provisions other than longevity. And be sure to offer huge fat pensions, too.

You can hear this philosophy in Obama's campaign stump speeches.
He talks gloriously about giving tax breaks. But WHO is he giving tax breaks to?

“I think it’s time to give a tax cut to the teachers and the janitors who work in our schools; to the cops and firefighters who keep us safe; to the waitresses working double shifts, the nurses in the ER, and yes the plumbers fighting for their American Dream. These workers are the backbone of our country. They’re the ones that Washington has forgotten. They’re the ones I’ll fight for,”

Allow me a second to check my scorecard, but aren't most of these folks Federal or State employees already? Is he planning to nationalize the hospitals and restaurants too? No, not the restaurants. Or the Plumber's Union.

President Obama's America?

If the people believe that the country really is hosed, and that it's time to try something else - i.e. that the People have accepted Change. What are we going to get? We're going to get Chicago. Probably not the Change you were looking for. Sorry.

Obama's America is going to take Chicago's bloated, over funded, corruption and cronie run city hall and county government to a National level. Expect skyrocketing taxes - sales and income taxes, and an end of the Bush Tax cut that encourages companies to buy more stuff so they can write it off. Also expect tons and tons of Nanny State styled legislation - which limit freedoms - simply because you and your poor choices aren't as important as 'protecting the children.' Look to all those wonderful Chicago bans for some examples: Smoking bans, gun-bans, bans on certain breeds of dogs, cell phone bans, texting bans, bans on foie Gras, bans on dice games, bans on pet pigeons, bans on bans. That's only the first couple that rolled out of my head.

Then there are the ever increasing fees and sales taxes. Just like Chicago, businesses will be fleeing and firing in the wake of Change. As a result National unemployment will skyrocket just like Chicago's. As a result there will be a dramatic increase in the crime rate. If we're lucky, the Nation will only look like Chicago, and not downtown Detroit. Don't worry, the accountability will conveniently be passed back to George Bush. The Obama Administration has the potential to become a haven of corruption and cronieism not seen since the Grant Administration. And this has nothing to do with Obama himself - it's just the way Chicago governs.

And what will be done about it? The hearings and the constant watchful checks and balances of The House and Senate? You're kidding, right? It'll be packed with like minded folks lining their pockets with an endless supply of hard working people's tax dollars... just more than usual. That's if anybody who pays those taxes will still be working. The push to Nationalize medicine and steal that one Hillary Clinton 'comeback' platform will be on. Never mind it won't work - look at Hawaii's success with that. Remember, it's only about good intentions - not success or failure.

But who cares? If they don't get enough cash they'll just keep raising taxes. This philosophy works pretty well for Mayor Daley! (And a side note, if there isn't a Daley brother in President Obama's cabinet I'll be VERY surprised.) What is the recourse? All they have to do is say, "what're you going to do? Elect a Republican?! Shame on you for even suggesting that idea. They messed things up so bad that we came in as your Savior, remember?"

So if America's ready for Change - in the repackaged message - then they will have it.

Yes, that's the Change you can believe in....

Change Sucks

What a day it has been.

The theme of the day has been "Change"

Let's change our mind. Let's change what's going on. Let's change the direction. Let's surprise you with a new time for that thing we were supposed to do later, that you already moved your schedule around, after we talked about it for 40 minutes when I didn't have 40 minutes to be your logistics officer -- turns out it doesn't matter, because you came 2 hours earlier than we just talked about...

Change, my friends, sucks.
First a customer has changed their mind on a project I'm working on. It hasn't been canceled - not yet - but it's been groupthinked to near death by a committee of people trying to cover their asses and make sure their dirty inky finger smudges are on the project as an official "contributer" to the "process." Glad I worked on that budget and schedule all last week. Really glad I was kept up-to-date with all those grand new thoughts and budget trimming you were talking about. Thank you. Really extra plus happy that I can't charge you for changing a project that hasn't even been approved yet. That's excellent. Let's also change my attitude about working for you pukes.

Second, the family reunion of The Cap'n's is supposed to be happening sometime soon. It's at a completely inconvenient time - and on a Friday - four states away. I'm really looking forward to it. Meanwhile, powers and forces beyond my control are moving things, and spreading logistics to 4 corners... things like "do you mind picking up suchansuch in Iowa on your way through Ohio?" -- Did you flunk geography class? Yes. I DO mind driving 5 hours out of my way to get that slug - then 5 hours back to where I started. Never mind the gas!
"Oh, if it's too much trouble, then we're not going either." And then they changed their mind three more times after that discussion.

Then there's life here at the Cap'n's houseboat. Little changes around the domestic world are compounding with the other stuff. The fuse is short. And any small change causes a feedback loop in my tiny little mind. Then it all shuts down. Worst of all I had to put on a shirt to see what it "looks like." Which really means, how much of a slob do you look like in this NEW shirt? So at one point in the day - I literally had to change.

Then I have a guy picking up or dropping off some crap - and I can't remember which at this point - but I had to talk to him for about 40 minutes about how our schedules would synch up. We finally decided that I'd go over by his place - at 9:00. He calls at 7:00 saying he's about to pull up to my house. I don't know about you, but when you plan something, have a detailed conversation about that something - and it involves time- don't you want the other party to STICK with that long discussed detailed plan? Me too -- now after all this I'm just another jerk-off blogger bitching about my day instead of showing funny pictures and complaining about stupid shiznit that happened to other people.

Bottom line - Why does everyone want to change all the damn time? Change is challenging Change is disruptive. Change is damaging. Change sucks.