Tag Archives: Obama

Obama Rejects Need to Adhere to War Powers Act After Citing It to Justify Action in Libya

By Duane Lester - - 1 Comment

President Obama is taking a bold and dangerous move into tyrannical waters with his most recent example of contempt for limitations on his office. He is making the claim that the War Powers Act does not apply to the current military action in Libya because we aren’t really fighting anyone and NATO and the UN are in charge:

In contending that the limited American role did not oblige the administration to ask for authorization under the War Powers Resolution, the report asserted that “U.S. operations do not involve sustained fighting or active exchanges of fire with hostile forces, nor do they involve U.S. ground troops.” Still, the White House acknowledged, the operation has cost the Pentagon $716 million in its first two months and will have cost $1.1 billion by September at the current scale of operations.

…

The two senior administration lawyers contended that American forces had not been in “hostilities” at least since early April, when NATO took over the responsibility for the no-fly zone and the United States shifted to primarily a supporting role — providing refueling and surveillance to allied warplanes, although remotely piloted drones operated by the United States periodically fire missiles, too.

They argued that United States forces are at little risk because there are no troops on the ground and Libyan forces are unable to exchange fire with them meaningfully. And they said the military mission was constrained by a United Nations Security Council resolution, which authorized air power for the purpose of defending civilians.

“We are not saying the president can take the country into war on his own,” said Mr. Koh, a former Yale Law School dean and outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s expansive theories of executive power. “We are not saying the War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional or should be scrapped or that we can refuse to consult Congress. We are saying the limited nature of this particular mission is not the kind of ‘hostilities’ envisioned by the War Powers Resolution.”

Except justified these kinds of hostilities by citing the War Powers Act. Hat Tip to Weasel Zippers:

In his March 21 letter to Congress, Obama said he was ordering the military to begin carrying out airstrikes and missile attacks against Gadhafi, citing his authority as commander in chief and saying that the letter satisfied the requirement that he report to Congress in the War Powers Act.

“For these purposes, I have directed these actions, which are in the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive,” wrote Obama.

“I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution. I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action,” Obama wrote. (Emphasis added.)

Now that things ended up differently than expected, (days, not weeks) then Obama has to flip the script and pretend what he said is not what he meant and what is going on now is not what is going on now.

Either our military is actively engaged in combat against forces in Libya, or it isn’t.

If it isn’t, why are our drones bombing targets to a tune of $10 million a day?

It’s difficult for me to accept that the president can take our military to war and when the 90 day limit is up, step back and say, “Nothing to see here. Move along.”

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10 Candidates That Would Be Better Than Obama

By Andrew Riley - - 2 Comments

I just saw a totally random statement on a Facebook discussion that made me do the Kif Kroker sigh. The discussion was about Mitt Romney, and someone took time to make the argument that Mitt is “better than what we have in there now”. After the overdose-of-obviousness induced one-second migraine went away, I realized that some people probably actually think (and vote) based on that train of thought.

So I thought I’d illustrate the point that “better than” is not always better. Much like getting hit in the face with a running chainsaw is better than being boiled in molten lead, it’s “better than”, but it still sucks.

10 Candidates Better Than Barack Obama

  1. A box of screws
  2. An empty box that once held screws
  3. A watch with a calculator on it
  4. A delicious ham and cheese sandwich –>
  5. A chess set with no pawns
  6. A pretty rainbow
  7. A dumpster full of medical waste
  8. A one cubic foot block of foam rubber
  9. Sand
  10. Any short story by Mark Twain

See, what we’re going for here is not something better than Barack Obama. What we need is a real person with basic math skills, the tendency to do the right thing when it’s not easy and maybe even some real world experience.

Who that person will be remains to be seen. But if we expect to have any chance of making it through this mess we’re in, as a nation, we’re going to have to look for a “great” candidate and not just someone better than the teleprompter reader we have now.

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Hasselbeck Verbally Pimp-Slaps Joy Behar

By Andrew Riley - - 8 Comments

There’s nothing I enjoy quite as much as seeing Joy Behar speechless. I salute Elisabeth Hasselbeck for saying what millions of Americans have been thinking for years.

You can skip to about the 1:20 mark to catch the relevant portion of this video.

Behar: “President Obama went to Harvard Law School and Columbia University, okay. He is a very intelligent guy.”

Hasselbeck: “But doesn’t that make President Bush very smart as well then? Yeah?”

Behar in full sour puss mode: “…”

One move. Checkmate.

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Obama: Don’t Like High Gas Prices? Trade In Your Gas Guzzler!

By Andrew Riley - - 64 Comments

Why I won’t be voting for Obama in 2012, reason number #3482.

President Obama is out on the campaign trail already, pushing the “green agenda” on an unwilling populace. The following video, which is actually not a rejected audition tape for “Last Comic Standing” is another good example of how out of touch Mr. Obama is with most of America.

Gotta love this quote from his routine…

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas, and you’re only getting 8 miles to the gallon… you may wanna think about a trade-in”

This is the modern equivalent of speaking about people who can’t afford bread and saying, “Let them eat cake”. Marie Antoinette uttered those words, and ended up with her head in the guillotine. While I certainly don’t want to see Obama (or anyone else) with their head in a guillotine, I do think his statement shows the level of disconnect between millionaire politician Barack Obama, and middle-class America.

Obama thinks that the average American can somehow spend his way to a lower gasoline bill. He’s right. But he doesn’t mention the massive amount of money you have to spend to do it.

I drive an S-10 and my wife drives a Taurus. Both of our cars are about ten years old and not exceptionally fuel efficient. But they run great and they’re paid for. The President’s solution to the increasing financial burden high gasoline prices place on our family is for us to “think about a trade-in”. Taking on $25,000 in new debt to replace my truck with a hybrid might lower my fuel cost, but it’s sure not going to help my financial situation. It would mean adding a car payment that I don’t currently have as well as higher auto insurance premiums. Plus I’d still have to buy some gas for it.

Can anybody explain to me how that solves my problem?

Mr. Obama is good with a glib answer, but he is so out of touch with the working class that he doesn’t even understand the problem. Dude… we’re broke.

Maybe we can put his political career in that guillotine.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

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AIM & Herman Cain: Obama agenda is “Alinsky style … radical socialism”

By Accuracy in Media - - 2 Comments

“They have attempted to play out the Saul Alinsky approach,” said Herman Cain in a recent interview with Accuracy in Media, in response to questions concerning the much-touted connections between the President and the controversial godfather of community organizing.

Cain continued in controversial territory by attacking the “End the Fed” movement that has built a steady groundswell of support due to Rep. Ron Paul and his former Presidential runs.  Cain, a former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, asked “What would we replace it with? (The Federal Reserve) …is the air traffic control system of our monetary supply,” Cain stated while loudly disparaging ideas that Congress should take on the role of the Fed.

Herman Cain is joining the chorus of contenders looking to square off with President Obama in 2012.  Cain has proven to be one of the more soundbite-worthy hopefuls in recent weeks, publicly stating that the media is scared to have a “real black man” run against Obama.  Such comments have earned fanfare in the conservative base and the blogosphere.  Cain, however, remains a long shot and has not even been considered in popular Gallup and USA Today polling, testing whether he can be taken seriously in the race.

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Will Obama Face a Primary Challenger? Let’s Hope So

By Duane Lester - - 1 Comment

When I was on Patriot Room Radio with Clyde Middleton, we discussed whether Obama would face a primary challenger in 2012. Personally, I think he will and I think it will be awesome. And I’m not alone:

Just last weekend, three liberal writers made the case for taking on Mr. Obama in 2012. Michael Lerner, longtime editor of Tikkun magazine, argued in The Washington Post that a primary represented a “real way to save the Obama presidency,” by forcing Mr. Obama to move leftward. Robert Kuttner, co-founder of The American Prospect and one of the party’s most scathing populist voices, issued a similar call on The Huffington Post, suggesting Iowa as the ideal incubator.

On the same site, Clarence B. Jones, a one-time confidant of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., suggested that liberals should break with Mr. Obama now, just as Dr. King and others did with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. “It is not easy to consider challenging the first African-American to be elected president of the United States,” Mr. Jones wrote. “But, regrettably, I believe the time has come to do this.”

These folks have company. Dan Rather is singing the same tune:

“This is a political nightmare for Barack Obama as president. The more-left portion of his party hates this with a passion. And politically, within his own party, if this goes through, Barack Obama will be in a position to have his shirttail on fire, his back to the wall, and the bill collector at the door. Which is metaphorically a way of saying he’s almost guaranteed — if this goes through — to have a serious challenge in a Democratic primary for president in 2012.”

Rather went on to add that “the perception of [Obama] is that he won’t fight for anything.”

When Clyde and I were talking, I floated a name…Howard Dean. Again, from the New York Times:

The White House seems to view the notion of a serious primary challenge as far-fetched, and you can see why. For one thing, there seems to be no perfect vehicle out there, no Edward M. Kennedy biding his time.

The closest approximation appears to be Howard Dean, the former presidential candidate and party chairman who criticized the president’s deal on taxes. But Mr. Dean hasn’t shown any interest to this point in running, and you might recall that his 2004 campaign, for all its passion and fund-raising prowess, yielded just two primary victories, in the District of Columbia and in his home state of Vermont.

True, but we were dealing with rational voters then, not these die hard nutroots that think the Marxist in Chief isn’t left enough. They might be crazy enough to give this guy a second chance:

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Let’s hope so.

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Obama Freezes Pay for 2,000,000 Federal Workers Less Equal Than Others

By Duane Lester - - 4 Comments

So today, President Obama announced the big news — there’s going to be a wage freeze for federal employees:

President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a two-year freeze of the salaries of some 2 million federal workers, trying to seize the deficit-cutting initiative from Republicans with a sudden, dramatic stroke. Though signaling White House concern over record deficits, the freeze would make only a tiny dent in annual deficits or the nation’s $14 trillion debt.

On Mark Levin tonight, he said it was equal to a guy about to wrack up $10,000 in credit card debt announcing he found a way to save $60.

I’m not going to to the math for a couple of reasons.

First off, they are making a pile of money already.  And when I say pile, I mean pile.  These guys are raking it in.

Enter, the awesome Jim Hoft:

Federal workers make twice as much as workers in the private sector.
While the rest of the nation suffered through Obama’s first year in office, government workers increased their salaries by over $30,000 in 2009.

The federal compensation advantage has grown from $30,415 in 2000 to $61,998 last year. (USA Today)

So I’m not falling over myself to pat Obama on the back.

Also, it wouldn’t be an Obama action without a little Animal Farm style “All federal employees are equal, but some are more equal than others” type stuff:

“The proposal, which must be approved by Congress, would not apply to the military, but it would affect all others on the Executive Branch payroll.”

“It would not affect members of Congress or their staffs, defense contractors, postal workers or federal court judges and workers.”

“The freeze ‘will not impact step increases or bonuses for federal workers.’  It applies to cost-of-living increases, mainly.  If an agency wants to give a worker an increase, they just need to increase their pay grade or boost their bonuses to make it happen.”

It’s all for show, to try to take the wind out of the Republican sails. I don’t think this is the beginning of Obama’s march to the middle. That would take something of substance. This is just an act to give the media something to fawn over.

But the one thing that no one is talking about is the fact that there are over 2,000,000 federal in the first place.  My God!

That number should give even the most oblivious Glee fanatic an idea of how out of control and enormous the federal government has become.

Think about that for a second.  Over 2,000,000 people had their wages frozen, and there is close to a million more who are shrugging and thinking, “Sucks to be you.”

Don’t freeze the wages.  Cut the size of government.  When that starts to happen, then we’ll be making progress.

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Woman “Exhausted of Defending” Obama Laid Off

By Duane Lester - - 1 Comment

Remember this:


Now that woman, Velma Hart, is looking for a job:

Velma Hart, the chief financial officer for Am Vets, a veteran services organization based in Maryland, said Monday in an interview with CNBC that she was laid off as part of the nonprofit’s effort to cut expenses.

“I want to focus on the positive and be optimistic,” said Hart, who lives in Upper Marlboro, Md. “And assume that somehow things will work out, that there’s an opportunity out there with Velma’s name on it that’s right around the corner.”

Am Vets executive director Jim King told The Washington Post that the nonprofit was looking for ways to survive financially.

“It’s not anything she did,” King told the Post for a story that appeared online Monday. “She got bit by the same snake that has bit a lot of people. It was a move to cut our bottom line.”

Somehow, Velma is still a supporter of Obama.

That is some powerful Kool-Aid.

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