Obama Says He Has a “Very Specific Plan” to Fix Economy… Then Goes Golfing

Earlier this week Obama told an audence in Iowa that he has “a very specific plan” to fix the American economy.

But, first a round of golf or two.


President Barack Obama tees off while playing golf at the Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, Mass., on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Friday, Aug. 19, 2011. Obama is vacationing on the island with his family during the last half of August 2011. (AP/Steven Senne)

More… Obama Tries to Shield Press From Golf Course but Fox News Cameras Were There

thegatewaypundit.com

Obama’s New “Green” Car Mandates Could Add $10,000 To Vehicle Prices, Eliminate 260,000 Jobs

Hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. Millions of dollars in extra expenses. Less economic activity.

Yeah, it sure sounds like Obama policy.

The Detroit News’s dogged David Shepardson has unearthed a study by one of world’s most respected automotive research firms that reveals that President Obama’s radical CAFE mandate that vehicles average — average! — 62 MPG by 2025 “could force vehicle prices up by nearly $10,000, reduce sales by 5.5 million vehicles annually, and eliminate more than 260,000 jobs.”

Shepardson is quoting from the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research and the 260,000 job loss figure (consistent with past job losses from CAFE rule hikes) is another dent in White House’s propaganda that Green creates jobs.

The CAR study also reveals that Obama’s NHTSA and EPA have been gaming the figures when it comes to the cost of their new rules. The center’s study predicts it will cost between $3,744 and $9,790 per vehicle, while the agencies have low-balled the figure at $770 to $3,500 per vehicle.

The resulting costs would shrink the new-car market, with 5.5 million potential buyers disappearing (and manufacturing jobs with them) by 2025. That assumes that the auto fleet can even be built to meet such an absurd spec. Currently, no car — much less the average — meets 62 mpg. Indeed, only a handful of small vehicles meet the 35-mpg fleet-wide standard mandated in just five years.

I’ve never quite understood why the government feels the need to mandate efficiency. As if society, by nature, didn’t want to be more efficient.

CAFE standards are predicated on the notion that, were it not for the government, fuel efficiency wouldn’t improve. But fuel efficiency does improve, to the extent that’s reasonable. And who decides what is reasonable? The market.

If I could go out tomorrow and buy an SUV that performs the same way my current SUV does but gets 70mpg I’d do it in a heartbeat, and so would everybody else in the market. We don’t like big fuel bills. But the reason why there isn’t an SUV that gets 70mpg is because the technology doesn’t exist hit that threshold without sacrificing a lot of the other things people like in their SUV’s. Like size. Ruggedness. Off-road capability. Towing capacity. Horsepower.

So we, as consumers, accept lower fuel efficiency for these other considerations. But when the government mandates fuel efficiency, we’re forced to sacrifice those considerations to meet some arbitrary goal set by the politicians.

The markets always find the right balance between value, efficiency and price. The only thing government can do is distort that balance and make things worse.

sayanythingblog.com

Obama Administration In A Rush To Dump GM Stock Before 2012 Election

Despite claims to the contrary, the taxpayers are still very much the owners of General Motors, and the stock is becoming a bit of a hot potato in the hands of the Obama administration. On one hand, they don’t want to still be holding GM’s stock during the 2012 election year when it could become a campaign issue. But, if they sell it this year it mean losing billions.

At Monday’s price, and taking into account shares sold during the IPO, taxpayers would lose more than $11 billion on the rescue if the government dumped the rest of its stake now.

Government officials are willing to take the loss because the Obama administration would like to sever its last ties to the auto maker, the people familiar with the matter said. A summer sale makes it more likely Treasury could sell all of its stake in GM by year’s end, avoiding a potentially controversial sale in the 2012 presidential election year.

Keep in mind that the only reason why we bailed GM out to begin with was to keep the company from dispensing with the United Auto Workers’ extravagant labor contracts. If GM had gone into bankruptcy, those contracts could have been dispensed and entirely re-negotiated.

As it was, the taxpayers bought GM and guided it through extra-special bankruptcy during which President Obama’s friends at the UAW got extra-special treatment.

sayanythingblog.com

Obama Quicker to Denounce Governor Walker Than Mubarak

Priorities.
Obama was quicker to denounce Wisconsin Governor Walker for his efforts to cut spending than he was Mubarak… And Iran shooting protesters… And Russia invading Georgia… And….


gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com

Unreal… Obama Adminstration Lobbying Honduras to Let Thug Zelaya Back In

HOPE AND CHANGE.
The Obama Administration knew that ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was an anti-democratic anti-Semitic pig whose goal was to become ruler for life like his buddy Hugo Chavez. Team Obama decided to support him for the greater good of Latin American relations anyway. Barack Obama even cut off aid to Honduras in order to appease Marxist tyrant Hugo Chavez at the expense of the Honduran people.

Birds of a feather…


(Michael Ramirez)
The news that President Obama cut off aid to American ally Honduras did not make many headlines. Barack Obama openly sided with Marxists Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega in punishing the government of Honduras.

Last month, “thanks” to a leaked Wikileaks cable, we found out that the Obama Administration knew that Zelaya was a dangerous leftist thug who could not be trusted. But, the Obama Administration sided with the wannabe tyrant anyway at the expense of the Honduran people. He did this to appease Chavez.

But that’s not all.
Now the Obama Administration is lobbying Honduras to drop charges against the far left thug and allow him to reenter the country.
Alberto de la Cruz at Pajamas Media reported:

On the last day of December last year, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, the deposed Honduran president and self-described victim of high-frequency radiation attacks by Israeli mercenaries, vowed to the press that he would return to Honduras. Few outside of Honduras have paid much attention to Zelaya’s MacArthur-esque prediction, but it has become apparent there is more behind his declaration than his usual hyperbole and bombastic absurdities.

Behind the scenes in the Obama administration there appears to be a concerted effort to pressure the democratically elected government of President Porfirio Lobo to dismiss charges of misappropriation of government funds and falsifying documents that are pending against Zelaya. This would open the door for his return to the country, and would be certain to undermine the delicate process of reestablishing democracy and order that is currently taking place in this poor and beleaguered nation.

When Zelaya was removed from office in July of 2009, the Obama administration at first joined with leftist dictators Fidel Castro of Cuba, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua in calling for his reinstatement. The Obama White House seemed oblivious to the Honduran constitution, as well as the threat Zelaya posed to the stability of the country and the region. When the courageous Honduran people held firm to their democratic constitution and refused to yield to the pressure exerted by the U.S., the Obama administration found no way of saving face other than reversing course and backing the democratic presidential elections called for by their constitution.

After their amateurish and myopic miscalculation, which exposed the Obama State Department’s lack of experience and incompetence, one could imagine the White House would want to avoid the subject of Honduras and Zelaya altogether. That, however, does not seem to be the case, as we learn from the new chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

According to Ros-Lehtinen, she has received reports that the State Department is applying considerable pressure on members of the Honduran government to absolve Zelaya of his alleged crimes.

More at Pajamas Media.

gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com

Republicans Introduce Bill To Fire Obama’s 39 Czars

This bill was introduced in the Democrat-controlled House and was pushed aside, but with Republicans now in the House majority it’s seeing the light of day again, though with Demcorats controlling the Senate and Obama still in the White House the bill is unlikely to get much further than the House.

Though that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.

A group of House Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday to rein in the various “czars” in the Obama administration.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and 28 other House Republicans introduced legislation to do away with the informal, paid advisers President Obama has employed over the past two years.

The legislation, which was introduced in the last Congress but was not allowed to advance under Democratic control, would do away with the 39 czars Obama has employed during his administration.

The bill defines a czar as “a head of any task force, council, policy office within the Executive Office of the President, or similar office established by or at the direction of the President” who is appointed to a position that would otherwise require Senate confirmation.

This is akin to Senator Jim DeMint’s REINS Act in the Senate which would require that any new rule-making by a federal regulatory agency be voted on by Congress and signed into law by the President. We have far too many unelected bureaucrats pushing regulations onto the citizens and businesses of this country, that we must follow under the force of law, without those regulations being crafted and voted on by our elected representation.

We have a bureaucratic regime at the federal level that not only abuses its power, but is unaccountable to the public. Obama’s czars are part of that regime, and it’s high time these bureaucrats were reeled in.

We elect Presidents and Senators and Representatives to make laws, not to delegate that authority to czars and bureaucrats so that they can avoid accountability for tough decisions.

sayanythingblog.com

Wikileaks: Obama Regime Knew Ousted Honduran Leader Was Socialist Pig – Backed Him to Please Chavez

Unbelievable. The Obama Administration knew that Manuel Zelaya was an anti-democratic anti-Semitic pig whose goal was to become ruler for life like his buddy Hugo Chavez. But, Team Obama decided to support him for the greater good of Latin American relations. Barack Obama even cut off aid to Honduras in order to appease tyrant Hugo Chavez.

Birds of a feather…

(Michael Ramirez)
The news that President Obama cut off aid to American ally Honduras did not make many headlines. Barack Obama openly sided with Marxists Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega in punishing the government of Honduras.

The Wall Street Journal reported, via Weasel Zippers:

Lots of hypotheses have been floated to explain why the Obama administration went to such extremes last year to try to force Honduras to reinstate deposed president Manuel Zelaya.

Now the release of two WikiLeaked cables from the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa strengthens one of those theories: that the U.S. knew Mr. Zelaya was a threat to democratic Honduras but had decided the country should tolerate his constitutional violations in the interest of realpolitik.

Practically speaking, Hugo Chávez was the man to please. After a decade in power, the president of Venezuela’s influence around the region was notable. George W. Bush had clashed with him. Barack Obama was out to prove that they could get along, as evidenced by the warm handshake at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain in April 2009.

Honduras offered a bonding opportunity. Mr. Zelaya was a protégé of Mr. Chávez. Standing up for him as democratically elected was a way to score points with Latin America’s hard left.

But Honduras wasn’t willing to play the sacrificial lamb. When its other branches of government removed him from office last year, it caught Hugo Llorens, the U.S. ambassador, flat-footed. Saving face became the top priority.

Mr. Ford’s cable, written as he was turning his post over to Mr. Llorens after a three-year assignment in Tegucigalpa, supports this premise.

Instead of supporting Honduras Obama officials compared the interim leader to Napoleon.

gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com

Teleprompter to make its debut in Parliament when Obama speaks

A teleprompter will be in use for the first time in the Central Hall of Parliament when US President Barack Obama addresses MPs on November eight.

As per the tentative programme being worked out, the address by Obama, who once said that "America has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi", would not be for more than 20 minutes.

The president's programme in Parliament House complex itself will be less than an hour affair, Parliament sources said today. It is scheduled to start at 5pm.

The programme will feature a welcome speech by vice president Hamid Ansari and a vote of thanks by Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar. The US president would also sign the Golden Book, the visitors’ diary of Parliament.

While US first lady Michelle Obama would be accompanying her husband, there was no confirmation whether secretary of state Hillary Clinton would be part of Obama's entourage, Parliament sources said.

Besides the visiting dignitary, those who would be on the dais in the historic Central Hall along with Obama, the vice president and the speaker would be prime minister Manmohan Singh. Michelle will be given a special seat in the front row.

Obama will take the help of a teleprompter to deliver his address to the 780-odd members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, sources said.

Parliament authorities said this will be the first time that such a facility will be arranged in the Central Hall.

Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual--not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small.

Teleprompters are textbook-sized panes of glass holding the prepared remarks of the speaker and which rests on top of a tall, narrow pole and flank his podium during speeches.

dnaindia.com

Media Tries to Rescue Michelle O From Spanish Escapade; Insists She Was Mourning With a Friend

Honestly, is there nothing these corrupt cranks in the media will not do to bail out the radical Pelosi-Obama regime from disaster after disaster?

Last week the nation was outraged after it was revealed that Michelle Obama was spending over $300,000 of taxpayer money on her extravagant Spanish vacation.

After a few days of plotting and planning the state-run media finally settled on an excuse. Now the media spin is that Queen Michelle really traveled to Spain to mourn the loss of a parent with a friend.


Really? Here’s Michelle mourning with the Spanish King Juan Carlos.


Here’s Michelle mourning while sight seeing in Ronda.


Michelle O even mourned during her shopping excursions.


Poor Michelle even had to mourn with her friends down at the beach.


It was a very somber trip for the First Lady…
At least that’s what the journolist state-run media wants you to believe.
Unreal.

More:

As Michelle Returns From Spanish Extravaganza Obama Cuts Food Stamps to Nation’s Poor

As Michelle Obama returned home from her royal excursion to Spain which cost taxpayers $400,000, Barack Obama cut food stamps to the nation’s poor.


After all, he had to bailout unions so they could run ads against the GOP this fall.

The Examiner reported, via Free Republic:

Just as Michelle Obama returned from her much-criticized luxury vacation to Spain, which cost the U.S. taxpayers an estimated $400,000, her husband cut $11.9 billion from the Food Stamp program, designed to help the poorest Americans.

The cut, along with tax increases to businesses is supposed to pay for an aid package to several states, mostly to prevent the layoff of about 160,000 public school teachers and administrators.

Of course, the teachers’ unions are tremendous contributors to the Democratic Party, and were instrumental in putting Obama in office. The move is seen by many as a payback for their support.

What is so hypocritical is the fact that Obama made the cut in the Food Stamps program, while he expects the taxpayers to pick up the bill for the First Lady’s trip to Spain.

By the way, $400,000 would buy a lot of food stamps.

gatewaypundit.firstthings.com

Comics

Comics & Jokes

Jokes from Late Night:

“Well, President Obama said today he’s going to use the gulf disaster to immediately push a new energy bill through Congress. I got an idea. How about first using the gulf disaster to fix the gulf disaster?” —Jay Leno

“Now, I know Obama was trying to take the long view, but talking about solar energy in the middle of the oil spill is like watching your house engulfed in flames and saying, ‘We really should change the curtains.’” —Craig Ferguson

“Today, President Obama finally met with BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, but the meeting was only scheduled 20 minutes. Call me crazy, but I think it should take more time to discuss an oil spill than it does to get your oil checked.” —Jimmy Fallon

nobamablog.wordpress.com

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