Time to Throw Da Bums Out!

I had promised to give the new Congress & Administration one year to settle in and ‘get the hang of things’. But the more fumbling international diplomacy I see, the bigger the spending bills get, and the more entitlement plans that are presented, I just don’t think we can afford to wait anymore. Let’s get them all out! - Out of office and out of D.C.
Members of Congress were never meant to have tenure; the more anti-Federalist of the founders wouldn't have wanted a government that required full-time, much less lifelong, service. Lawmakers usually pitched in for a few years upholstering the work of the framers, then went back to their plantations or law practices. This model of the citizen-legislator held for about 100 years, until government began to expand after the Civil War and the realignments of the 1890s made for safer seats where lawmakers could tuck in for a long ride.
Maybe it is time to kick all the incumbent ‘good ole boys and girls’ out and start over with some fresh faces and ideas. While we are at it, let’s get them out of the beltway and put them back into the states and districts were they are from. Why do we need them in D.C.? With all the technological marvels we have to today they can teleconference, blueberry, phone, fax, mutilate and staple to their hearts content. And they can stay where the people who put them in office have access to them and have the ability to keep an eye on them. You know, like are they really showing up for work, and who is that going into the office continually?
They could eliminate having to buy or rent homes ‘away from home’, and we could turn all the perks like the Congressional Golf Course, dining rooms, and other facilities over to public use. Nancy wouldn’t even need the Gulfstream on a weekly basis. How many billions could be saved?

A man's got to know
his limitations!

DIPLOMACY Or CAPITULATION??

China expresses relief over Clinton visit:
1 hour ago

BEIJING (AFP) — Hillary Clinton's trip to Beijing has come as a relief to China after the US secretary of state steered clear of human rights and other sensitive issues to focus on cooperation between the world powers.

Just before arriving in the Chinese capital, Clinton told reporters that while she would press concerns over human rights: “Those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis.”

Hillary Clinton is redefining herself to some extent (again?). After going to Beijing in 1995 as first lady to deliver an impassioned speech on women’s rights, Mrs. Clinton has sidelined human rights on this trip, saying she does not want the topic to interfere with central issues like climate change or the economic crisis.

Here are the words of U.S. Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton in April of 2008 less than one year ago. "These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. ...

But this year we get this:

Clinton: Chinese 'human rights can't interfere' with other crises

Dissidents held during Clinton Beijing visit

Clinton focusses on selling US treasury bills to China

China still sure of US bonds: Clinton

Clinton says America and China must work together

Clinton: US to 'deepen and broaden relationship' with China


Ahhh, the Fresh Face of Diplomacy!

TORONTO PRESS CONFERENCE

TORONTO PRESS CONFERENCE

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's first foreign trip as president - a down-to-business visit with an essential economic ally, Canada - is light on time but loaded with touchy matters.

Mr. President! Mr. President! “I have a question!”
“Uh, Uh, oh very well, what is your name, newspaper and your question sir?” I don’t believe you are on my posed question list!”
“Joe Schmoo from the Northern Plains Dealer, Mr. President.
In light of the following world news stories, the American people would like to know who is tracking these items in the Administration
and what the plans are to act on them?”

COLOMBO (AFP) — The United Nations humanitarian chief John Holmes held talks with leaders in Sri Lanka on Thursday over the fate of thousands of civilians trapped in the island's war zone.

CNN International - 55 minutes ago
(CNN) -- Kyrgyzstan parliament has voted to close a base the US military uses as a route for troops and supplies heading into Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Aljazeera.net - 44 minutes ago
The United States says it plans to press Nato allies to deploy more troops in Afghanistan for securing the troubled country. Speaking ahead of a Nato meeting in Poland starting on Thursday, Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, said Washington was ...

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited a development program in a working-class Jakarta neighborhood and spoke about her decision to work for the man who defeated her for the presidential nomination, on her second day in Indonesia before flying to Seoul. Mrs. Clinton said she put aside the disappointment of the election to take Mr. Obama’s job offer because, she said, “We have so many of the same views of what we should do in the world.”

The Associated Press - 2 hours ago
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea stepped up its war rhetoric Thursday, saying its troops are "fully ready for an all-out confrontation" with South Korea ahead of a visit to Seoul by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

GAZA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces on Thursday wounded and arrested a Palestinian near the border in southeast Gaza Strip, Israeli sources said.

BBC News - 1 hour ago
The leader of the far-right Israeli Yisrael Beiteinu party has said he backs Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next Israeli government.

“Joe, I appreciate your question. Of course this is being watched at all levels of this Administration. While Secretary Clinton, Speaker Pelosi, others, including myself are out of the country at the moment, we are not out of communication. All world situations are being monitored. Having said that, I have to spend the rest of this month curing the problems we have in this country. We have to act now and without hesitation. Once we have these problems solved, we will move onto the rest of the world next month. I hope that answers your question Joe.“ “Thank you!

(Robert, Let’s make sure this guy never gets inside the press room again. Now I have to change)

A SHOUT IN THE WILDERNESS

One Sunday as I was napping on the back porch, I heard a bunch of
screaming out in the woods behind the house. Hmm. What could that
be about I wonder? Stepping into the kitchen I picked up my .22 rifle
and headed out to investigate. About two miles into the trees I came to the little pond where I sometimes go to catch bream and catfish.
There was a man walking back and forth with two buckets of water, dipping out of the deep end, walking the length of the pond and pouring into the shallow end of the small pond. Each time he poured in a bucket of water he would cuss, yell and throw the buckets down
In frustration.
“Excuse me sir, what are you doing out here and why all the noise on beautiful day like this”?
The stranger looked at me as if I were crazy and said “I am here to fix this pond".
“But sir, there is nothing wrong with the pond! It’s perfect, it’s full of catfish, bream and is spring fed by the aquifer”.
“Nothing wrong with it? Nothing wrong with it? Are you blind mister”? “Sure, this is end is nice, but look at the other end, it’s shallow and muddy and has no vegetation like this end. This pond is out of balance and I am here to make it nice on both ends and in the middle as well”! “But, every time I take water out of the deep end and pour it into the shallow end, it all just levels out again, I’m stumped, but I know I can come up with the solution, I just know it”!
“But sir, you are tramping all over the frog habitat on the shallow end of the pond! If you keep this up, the frogs will die, the fish will die and the pond will stagnate”!
“Now look fellow! I know it may not be a perfect plan, but it’s the one I came up with. I happen to be in charge here. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you”! By the way mister, is that gun loaded? Do you have a permit for it? I can’t believe we have people walking around in the woods with a loaded gun! What is your name”?
"This is another problem we are going to have to fix, just as soon as I get done with this pond"!

Obama sets executive pay limits

Obama Lays Out Limits on Executive Pay

"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste — it’s a bad strategy — and I will not tolerate it as President. We’re going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid — so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won’t find them up to the same old tricks".
--Barack Obama

The plan, which represents the most aggressive assault on executive pay by federal officials, includes salary caps of $500,000 for top executives at firms that accept "extraordinary assistance" from the government.

Sounds good doesn’t it? Let’s punish those bad boys and make ‘em
Hurt! But is there any teeth to this pay cap or is it just empty rhetoric?

Let’s look at how the new plan will affect James Owens, one of the members of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Team.

"The board will be chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Its members include Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, and James Owens, chief executive of Caterpillar. Both companies have strong sales around the world, though both are coping with hard times amid the slowing global economy; Caterpillar said last month that it would cut 20,000 jobs".

According to Forbes, this is James Owens compensation package for
2007. Now personally, I don’t care how much any CEO or Executive
Makes. I think that is between them and the shareholders. But, just for the heck of it, let’s see how this ‘salary cap’ will affect him.

$ 1,512,504.00 Salary
$ 300,000.00 Bonus
$ 0.00 Other Annual Compensation
$ 0.00 Long term incentive plan payouts
$ 918,626.00 Restricted stock awards
$ 0.00 Security underlying options
$ 221,307.00 All other compensation
$ 7,136,911.00 Option awards $
$ 4,442,998.00 Non-equity incentive plan compensation
$ 2,575,395.00 Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred
compensation earnings
$17,107,741.00 Total Compensation

So at first glance, it appears that Mr. Owens would lose $1,012,504.00.
Or would he? Might he just put oh, lets say $200,000 into his bonus plan and $800,000
into the item labeled 'Other Annual Compensation'?
Even if he did take the 1 million dollar pay cut, does it really hurt him? Of course not. CEO
salaries are nothing more than 'walking around money, for many of them.
I am all for CHANGE and a better method of doing things,but I firmly believe that I don't appreciate being misled by meaningless DoubleSpeak.

Where's the beef?

Air Force One to Williamsburg??

Obama takes first Air Force One trip to Williamsburg

Let me see if I have this correct. Obama takes his first Air Force One trip to Williamsburg?
Williamsburg, Virginia? The town that is 152 miles from Washington, DC?
Did he just need to take a ride and try out his new 'wheels'?

Are you kidding me?

Has anyone thought to calculate what it cost to fly Marine Corp One to Andrews Air Force Base?
Then load up on a 4,000 square foot flying office and travel to Virginia? (152 miles)
How many military people and staff did this require?
Did the C-141 cargo jet that carries the Presidential Limo and staff cars make the trip as well?
Was the Air Force AWACS plane flying overhead?
Was the military and air traffic control on special alert because the President was in the air?
How many millions did this cost?

Are you kidding me?

Is this the same person who criticized the ‘Big Three’ CEO’s for taking a corporate jet to Washington from Detroit?
Is this the President that is calling for personal responsibility and a ‘new way’ of doing business?
Is this the President who has promised accountability and transparency?

Is this the President who is asking for a Trillion dollar spending plan?

Are you kidding me?

Are you kidding me?

Lets just hope he doesn’t take it to Camp David next week!

...Bill

Personal Tax Stimulus Plan

2009 STIMULUS PLAN

(FAX OR MAIL TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN)


The Honorable ______________________
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Dear Sir/Madam

As an American tax payer of long standing, I would like to apply for
my own personal bail out program.

I request $1,000,000.00 to be spent over the next 10 years to bring
our economy back to life.

I pledge to use this money exclusively in the following manner.

1. Paying off my home mortgage and all personal bills.

2. Buying new cars, and boats as needed.

3. Travel at will to all possible vacation spots in the United States, only.

4. Diner, dancing, generous tipping and events at the above locations.

5. Golfing, fishing and other recreational passtimes as suits me.

6. Investing 10% up front in a long term mutual fund.

If we can do this for every taxpayer in the U.S. we will all retire and let
others who have not been able to find jobs in their lives take over the
work load.

The purchases and investments will get our troubled economy back on
track and solve the unemployment crisis.


ECONOMIC PROBLEMS SOLVED!!

SIMPLE!