QUICK UPDATE

Just because it makes me feel a little more awesome, you can now reach Nuggets of Logic at www.nuggetsoflogic.com .

Chicago Tea Party???

This is a clip from CNBC this morning featuring reporter Rick Santelli on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This guy puts into words what a lot of Americans are feeling right now. Keep in mind that the folks around him are traders, runners, and clerks. This is not a speech or political rally.

Total Cost of Economic Rescue-TAKE DEEP BREATH BEFORE OPENING LINK

Here's a link from CNN Money that gives a breakdown of total cost and pledges since the economic recovery spending first began under Bush. Get ready to be blown away, and keep in mind this is not included in the debt we already have as a country. I don't have time right now, but over the weekend I'll try and put up my opinion of what I believe would be the best way forward, as well as my feelings on Greenspan's recent comments and so forth.

I just have one more pointed remark towards the president right now. Stop continuously bemoaning how we're in a crisis, and headed to catastrophe, and it's the Great Depression all over again, etc. etc. You're the leader of this country. Leadership does not involve stirring up a panic. I know this is where Obama's history has been from his days on the streets of Chicago, but Mr. President, it's time to step up. You got elected because you convinced millions of Americans to believe in 3 things. Two of those were "hope" and "the future". Part of your job is to make Americans believe in themselves again. Convince people that our best days are still ahead. This was part of the greatness of Reagan. Now is not the time for Chicken Little style panic. Although your policies are abhorrant, speak positively when you speak of my country. We've gone through far more difficult times in the past.

Amateur Hour

We're 4 weeks into a government run by a Democrat Congress and a far left president. Here's what I've observed so far. The Congress is full of shameless idiots and dim bulbs, and the White House is currently occupied by a guy who looks completely inept and way in over his head. A few of the going's on from the last 4 or so weeks.

Obama:

• Hired a Chicago political hitman to be his Chief-of-Staff
• 3 days after taking office gets into a media pissing match with Rush Limbaugh. I happen to enjoy listening to Rush. Many don't, and that's fine. They don't have to. But Mr. President, I don't care what Rush said about you, he's just a talk-radio host. YOU'RE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!! Is your skin really that thin that you can't take criticism from a talk show host? Do you remember half the things you said on the campaign trail about President Bush, not to mention what elected representatives from your party have said over the last 8 years? Don't you have better things to do? This really scares me. If he can't brush off Rush, how's he going to handle people like Kim Jong Il or that nutbag president in Iran?
• He's nominated 3 tax cheats to his cabinet. Two pulled out of the nomination process in shame and one, Tim Geithner, got through and is now in charge of the Treasury. As Mike Huckabee said, "The guy who couldn't figure out how to use TurboTax to is now running the IRS."
  
• He signed an executive order to close Gitmo, which made this country exactly 0% safer. He has no plan on how do to it, but said they would come up with a plan as they go along.
  
• Had another cabinet nomination, Bill Richardson, drop out because of a pay-to-play scandal
• Had yet another cabinet nomination drop out. This time it was his token Republican Judd Gregg, his second nominee to Commerce Secretary, who resigned after Obama started talking about taking the census responsibilities from the Commerce Dept and placing them squarely in the hands of Rahm "Don Corleone" Emmanuel. Can you just imagine if George Bush tried to give the census, which determines how House Representative districts are set up, to Karl Rove?
  
• Nominated for Secretary of State a woman who's husband has received millions of dollars from countries she will be dealing with. A slight confict of interest in my opinion.
  
• Nominated for Attorney General a guy who had the bright idea of convincing President Clinton to pardon convicted terrorists, even though none had requested a pardon
  
• After stating he wanted an bipartisan stimulus bill, he wooed Republicans with ($100 apiece) steak dinners and Super Bowl parties, then allowed Pelosi to craft a bill with exactly zero Republican involvement. The result: More House bipartisanship opposing the bill than voting for it.
  
• Tried to walk through the Oval Office window
  
• Had 1st press conference in which he rambled and stumbled trying to find a coherant thought to fairly simple questions. His first answer lasted around 12 minutes. In all seriousness, who brings a telepromter to a press conference? When Obama's off the promter, he makes Bush seem like a gifted communicator.
• Reneged on his pledge to post all bills online for the public to see for several days before signing them
• Decides to limit pay of executives working for banks in the private sector who took federal TARP money, some against their wishes
  
• One day after signing phony stimulus bill and flushing hundreds of billions down the crapper, begins talking about pledging another $275 billion (no, we don't have it) to help homeowners about to be foreclosed on. I'm pretty sure socialized health care is next week's project. Of course, like everything else, it will have to be done quickly. Everything has to be done quickly, there's no time to lose.
  
• Was out all last week campaigning (he really likes campaigning) for the largest government spending program ever, with money we don't have and which doesn't stimulate, which brings us to:

Joe Biden

• Said that the aforementioned spending boondoggle, even if accomplished perfectly, would still have a 30% chance of failure. I'd place those odds in line with the same amount of faith I place in a TV weatherman.
• I don't have much more to say about Biden because he doesn't appear to be allowed to speak publicly anymore. Something tells me that Obama has one of those dog-bark shock collers under his tie.
  

Tim Geithner

• After paying his backtaxes, of course after finding out he was nominated for Treasury Secretary, TurboTax Geithner now wants the US taxpayer to be on the hook for up to an additional $2 trillion for a 2nd round of TARP. This means that within the first 4 weeks of the new administration, they want to make us and our children liable for a possible $3 TRILLION which we don't have! This is unreal.
  
• After building up his big press conference last week for days, came out and offered literally no specifics, triggering a massive sell-off in the market

Congress

• Pelosi drafts a "bipartisan" bill with no Republican input
• Both houses call for votes before any one of them actually has time to read the bill
• Drags back CEOs up to Capitol Hill to be grilled about how they are using taxpayer money. Anyone else see a problem with this? The fact that any of these politicians in Congress have the gall to lecture ANYONE about the wasting and/or misappropriation of taxpayer funds is appalling.
• Barney Frank, aka Daffy Duck, is now talking about limits on compensation to executives of ALL COMPANIES! I've been told on this blog to stop using terms like socialism or Marxism because I'm engaging in "fear-mongering". What else do you call this? This is a completely outrageous power grab by the governing elite in this country. To all you on the left cheering this who think these guys get paid an "obscene amount" and should be compensated more "fairly", just remember this. If 535 numbskulls in Congress can decide how much the labor of a private sector CEO is worth in an industry they know nothing about, it's a very short step to deciding what we're all allowed to earn to support ourselves and our families.

OK, I'm done. For now.

Sorry Bill, but Hillary's got a new sugar...

Quote of the Day

"It looks like more than 13,000 people were caught up in that Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. You know what a Ponzi scheme is? It's where you throw good money after bad, or as the government calls it, a stimulus package."

-Jay Leno