Tag: Obama

Swine Flu Gate Continued

Looks like this little epidemic is getting worse; and of course getting more politicized by the minute.

Looks like the Liberals are now pointing fingers at the G.O.P:

When House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who has long championed investment in pandemic preparation, included roughly $900 million for that purpose in this year’s emergency stimulus bill, he was ridiculed by conservative operatives and congressional Republicans.

Obey and other advocates for the spending argued, correctly, that a pandemic hitting in the midst of an economic downturn could turn a recession into something far worse — with workers ordered to remain in their homes, workplaces shuttered to avoid the spread of disease, transportation systems grinding to a halt and demand for emergency services and public health interventions skyrocketing. Indeed, they suggested, pandemic preparation was essential to any responsible plan for renewing the U.S. economy.

But former White House political czar Karl Rove and key congressional Republicans — led by Maine Senator Susan Collins — aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey’s attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

And his partisan attacks on his efforts seem not just creepy, but dangerous.

There’s only one problem with that; and that’s this:

“President Barack Obama has not yet chosen a surgeon general or the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His choice to run the Food and Drug Administration awaits confirmation,” Politico reported.

In all, 19 positions and the secretary are empty desks.

Maybe if Obama did something more than preen and pat himself on the back for his first 100 days in office, we would actually have a government that did more than just blame Republicans for all the troubles of the world.

There’s also this here as well:

Sorry to interrupt all the liberal blogosphere’s unhinged GOP-bashing over conservative opposition to flu pandemic funding in the porkulus bill, but…

Well. Just an inconvenient reminder:

“All those little porky things that the House put in, the money for the [National] Mall or the sexually transmitted diseases or the flu pandemic, they’re all out,” Schumer said.

“Porky things.” Er, a rather unfortunate choice of words then. And now.

Leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn’t it?

Nothing like a little dose of reality to totally bring the liberal retards back to reality.

However there are some, who have some semblance of a brain; if that’s even possible with the Liberals:

(1) It’s a good point to make that Collins somehow thought pandemic preparation money was not an economic issue deserving of inclusion in the stimulus package. But Collins was for the money being included in some other form. Now, I think her reasoning is stupid — pandemic prevention is part of a recovery plan. But it’s not like she was against the very idea of it.

In fact she has voted for a number of bills that included pandemic prevention in the past, including the war funding bill of 2007. This undermines her point about which basket the funding is in, but also proves that she’s not against the idea of it.

(2) Relatedly, this money is actually the tail end of money ($7.1 billion worth) that President George W. Bush pushed for in 2005. So this is actually Bush money! To pin all this on the GOP is, thus, a little silly.

[…]

(4) Importantly, the vast majority of the pandemic prevention money was passed in March’s omnibus bill, which passed the Senate by (uncounted) voice vote.

Statements like “thanks for the swine flu” or “I hope Susan Collins’ kids get swine flu” are crazy responses to her opinions and the reality of the current funding situation. Just asinine. Same as actually calling or writing Senator Collins. Why? Why are you doing this? Schumer went so far as to call the pandemic prevention funding a “little porky thing,” are you calling him? Are you yelling about him? Additionally, the money has been appropriated, so what’s the point?

Be truthful. Be fair. Be as comprehensive as possible.

Wow… 😮 There are some people on the left who have brains. If there were maybe about couple million more like this one. Maybe President Magic Negro would have never been elected. But when you say that, your a Raaaaccccccciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiist!

Swineheart, Pigheart, Heartburn, Who cares??!?!

Yes, Only I would quote a line from a three stooges flick to title a story about a flu epidemic…..

Like AllahPundit, It is times like these; when I am glad that the majority of my time, is spent in front of my laptop.  Now, if I could just convince my dad to stay in the house. Yeah, good luck with that. 🙄  This is a guy that has A.D.H.D worse than me. (Undiagnosed, of course…) The man is always on the go.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock; you most likely know that there is a very serious flu epidemic that is happening to our south, in Mexico. (Yes, that Mexico, with the drug wars.) What is worse, there are some cases of it being reported here in America as well. Which is not good at all.

Meanwhile, in the Conservative/right wing/Republican Blogosphere things are bit; shall we say, Varied. While the Neo-Conservatives are making a valid point that maybe now the US Government will take the illegal immigration problem seriously.  Some others on the right are really milking this for what it is worth. I do not know which is worse, or more stupid; the idiots who are reporting that a man, that the President met with in Mexican died the next day, with flu-like symptoms, while insinuating on their Blogs that “maybe he will get it and die too!”  Then there is the tin-foil hat crowd that is now claiming the United States of America actually made this virus up in it’s medical labs, so that it could distribute bad vaccines to people, in order to kill them off, all the while making a profit.  No wonder the rest of American thinks that Conservatives are a bunch of crazy gun grabbing, Bible thumping, crazies. 🙄

How any person could use a situation like this to hustle Americans with ignorant paranoia and sleep at night, is well beyond me.  Further more, how anyone can make such sick insinuations on a Blog and be able to sleep at night, is beyond me as well. Here is hoping that these people catch this disease and die themselves, God knows; the Conservative community would be so much better off, without them.

Anyhow, Mexico is working on containing the virus and our Government is as well. Something tells that this will be a non-story within days.

(H/T Memeorandum)


The Southern Avenger on "Tea Parties vs. The Warfare State"

How in praising the tea parties one week, then defending President Bush on torture and his “War on Terror” the next, conservatives negate their alleged anti-government message.

The Southern Avanger’s Blog

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

Quote of the Day

The New York Times Company also has a major problem with the Boston Globe, which Sulzberger bought back in 1993. That paper is on the verge of bankruptcy and recently told its employees that it will cut their pay and health benefits. Since the Times and the Globe are big on “universal” health care, that caused some giggling in anti-Times precincts.

Over the past few months, newspapers in Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and Denver have either folded or filed for bankruptcy. With the exception of The Rocky Mountain News, all the papers were committed left-wing enterprises. The truth is that most Americans are traditional-minded folks; they believe their country is noble, they want respectful discourse. Fanaticism of any kind is not the American way.

The New York Times is most definitely a committed left-wing concern that is openly contemptuous of the conservative, traditional point-of-view. That is the primary reason the paper may soon dissolve. And all the cash in Carlos Slim’s fat wallet is not going to change that.

*****

Rooted people love the things of the heart: God, country, family and faith. The weapons of the mind have been given to us, they believe, to defend the things of the heart.

Knowledge follows love; it does not precede it.

Most Americans have grown to love America long before they read the Constitution, or the Federalist Papers. There are heroes in Arlington who never learned to read. A true nation is an extended family. If fathers or sons do not defend it, it is their conduct that is indefensible.

Obama may be popular today, but he will lose the country and his presidency if he lets the perception take hold that he, the personification of American sovereignty, does not react as a normal patriot.

The Obamaites may not like Sarah Palin’s phraseology. But they need someone in their councils who is rooted in the Real America.

The Obama “under the bus” moment of the day

Looks like President Bambi Teleprompter is now trying to appease the far left of his own party.

Jack Tapper and Company Reports:

President Obama suggested today that it remained a possibility that the Justice Department might bring charges against officials of the Bush administration who devised harsh interrogation policies that some see as torture.

He also suggested that if there is any sort of investigation into these past policies and practices, he would be more inclined to support an independent commission outside the typical congressional hearing process.

Both statements represented breaks from previous White House statements on the matter.

While the Bush-era memos providing legal justifications for enhanced interrogation methods "reflected us losing our moral bearings," the president said, he also that he did not think it was "appropriate" to prosecute those CIA officers who "carried out some of these operations within the four corners of the legal opinions or guidance that had been provided by the White House."

But in clear change from language he and members of his administration have used in the past, the president said that "with respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more of a decision for the Attorney General within the parameters of various laws and I don’t want to prejudge that. I think that there are a host of very complicated issues involved there."

Just yesterday, asked by a reporter as to why the administration was not seeking to "hold accountable" Bush administration lawyers who may have "twisted the law," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, "the president is focused on looking forward, that’s why."

Here is some related video by the slime ball Liberal Network MSNBC, this is David Shuster who seems almost overcome with joy that the President is leaving the door open, to what will amount to a political witch hunt: (H/T Breit Bart)

Basically what this says to me is this; President Obama is scared to death of loosing his support among the far left, who want nothing more than to prosecute everyone involved with the so-called torture, the run up to the Iraq War, everything pretty much everything and everyone related to the Bush Administration. This is because the Democrats are still angry, because they lost the 2000 and 2004 elections; which the far liberal left ridiculously claim that the Republicans stole. Which is absolute idiotic nonsense. 

Let me clue you liberals in on something; you lost the 2000 and 2004 election, because your candidates quite frankly sucked. I mean, Al Gore for goodness sake, what a douche nozzle! John Kerry, talk about an out of touch Limousine liberal! Yes; I did vote for both of these idiots and yes, they both lost, and Yes, I knew why! This was before my blogging days and my close following of the politics of the left and the right. Yes, I voted for Clinton in his second term. Yes, I do regret that, highly. I remember just wanting Clinton out of office, after his little problem with Lewinsky.

What this will do is this; divide America. It will pit Conservatives against Liberals and visa versa. As we did not have enough that for the last eight years. It is too bad, Obama could have just left well enough alone. But, no, he has to dredge up idiot nonsense for we Americans to have live over again. What nonsense! But, then again, we are talking about Liberals.

Quote of the Day

“The contrition tour goes beyond Latin America. In China, Mrs. Clinton told audiences that the United States must accept its responsibility as a leading emitter of greenhouse gases. In  Indonesia, she said the American-backed policy of sanctions against Myanmar had not been effective. And in the Middle East, she pointed out that ostracizing the Iranian government had not persuaded it to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.”

Sandler wrote that Hillary brought to mind Bill Clinton:

“On a single trip to Africa in 1998 … Bill Clinton apologized for  American participation in slavery; American support of brutal African dictators; American ‘neglect and ignorance’ of Africa; American failure to intervene sooner in the Rwandan genocide of 1994; American ‘complicity’ in apartheid … .”

Yet, as C.S. Lewis reminds us in “God in the Dock,” “The first and fatal charm of national repentance is … the encouragement it gives us to turn from the bitter task of repenting our own sins to the congenial one of bewailing — but, first, of denouncing — the conduct of others.”

Bewailing the policies of Bush as failures and standing mute in the face of attacks on his country and predecessors may come back to bite Obama.

For when Jimmy Carter assumed a posture of moral superiority over LBJ and Richard Nixon, by declaring, “We have gotten over our inordinate fear of communism,” it came back to bite him, good and hard.

The Worry in my Father’s Eyes (A Personal GM Posting)

As many of you know, I am the son of a retired General Motors worker.  Ironically, I am also a Conservative.  No, I am not a Republican; or even a formal Libertarian.  I am someone that believes that the less Governmental interference in my life, the better.   However, there is a place, where my politics ends and a genuine concern for my family begins.

I see that General Motors is going to be taking more money from the Government, and is desperately trying to salvage what is left of that company:

Quote:

General Motors Corp. will get up to $5 billion and Chrysler LLC $500 million in short-term aid, according to a 250-page government report obtained Monday by The Detroit News.

The Detroit News reported Friday that GM would get about $5 billion and Chrysler $500 million, citing an Obama administration official, which prompted a denial from the White House.

The short-term aid figures are disclosed in the report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The report was obtained from a congressional source late Monday.

Meanwhile General Motors is is doing its damnedest to rid itself of waste:

General Motors Corp. has started notifying about 1,600 white-collar workers — most of whom work in southeast Michigan — that they will lose their jobs this week as the cash-strapped automaker cuts costs that could help the automaker qualify for up to $16.6 billion in additional federal aid.

The announcement was made by GM North American President Troy Clarke in an e-mail sent to employees today, spokesperson Tom Wilkinson said.

“This is part of really restructuring the company to a smaller, leaner company, one that can, as the (Obama) administration requested, be profitable on an ongoing basis,” Wilkinson said.

While this might be a good thing, there are those out there that believe that this is too little too late:

It’s ironic enough that Italy’s Fiat Auto could end up being the savior for Chrysler. After all, former Chrysler President Bob Lutz once likened Fiat to a dead bride when his old boss, Lee Iacocca, wanted the company to join up with the Italian carmaker. Now, Lutz is at General Motors until he retires in December, and Fiat may help his current employer.

Yes, the Italian carmaker is reportedly in talks with GM about forming a partnership with its European and South American businesses, says Automotive News. How ironic is that? Well, in 2000, GM bought 20% of Fiat Auto for $2.4 billion. Back then, GM was healthy and Fiat was in serious financial trouble. The Italian company was wracked by quality issues. It was so bad that GM actually paid another $2 billion a few years later just to avoid a put option that would have made GM the sole owner of Fiat. GM’s board didn’t want that kind of headache.

But now, after Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has fixed the company, he could help save Chrysler in the U.S. and GM in Europe. GM lost $1.5 billion in the Olde World last year, with its Opel and Vauxhaul brands suffering mightily with too many factories. GM is actually doing very well in Latin America, where the auto giant earned $1.3 billion last year. Fiat is pretty strong there, too, so they could make a powerful pair down there. The only catch is that Fiat doesn’t have any cash either. But the alliances will help be getting each company jointly-engineered vehicles and sharing parts.

The bottom line: Fiat is not a great carmaker by any stretch. But Chrysler and GM are in so much trouble that anyone could help at this point. Even Fiat.

Which brings me to my point; have any of you really looked at your Father?  I have.  I see worry in his eyes.  I see worry in both my parents eyes.  The questions my parents are facing, as they enter into their golden years are unfathomable, for someone my age.  Will my parents lose everything that my father worked hard to obtain?  We are talking 31 years worth of blood, sweat, and tears.  My Father earned every damned last penny.  I dare some idiot beltway type to say otherwise.

I have been a critic of the Obama Administration for much, as of late.  However, I will give him credit for one thing.  The President is looking out my Father.  I just hope he does not throw my Father under the bus, as he has many others in his short time in the White House.

Some of you might look at this posting and call me some sort of a hypocrite.  That is your right as an American.

However, if you could only see my Father’s eyes; you might just might be able to understand.

The Southern Avenger on "The Illiberal Media"

The Southern Avenger’s Blog (New Address!)

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

Quotes of the Day

I don’t know if this qualifies as ‘insider trading’, but if you own Federal Express stocks you might want to sell, sell, sell.

As happens every few years, Washington was turned on its head and the neocons ended up back on top. The conservatives who endorsed Obama last year in hopes of seeing change in foreign policy are long forgotten. The hawks who went hoarse trying to defeat him are celebrated by liberals as the responsible faction on the Right. There was no manipulation involved, just a minor rebranding. As easily as one Kagan steps down from the stage, another rises to take his place. So PNAC becomes FPI, and the neocons become the new Obamacons.

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