Real change huh?
Change…
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Monthly Archives: June 2009
U.S. Government for Sale!
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
Study: 19 Ambassador Nominees Bundled $4.8 Million for President’s Campaign, Inauguration
If all goes according to plan, Colorado businessman Vinai Thummalapally will soon be moving to a Central American tourist paradise to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.
Thummalapally was President Obama’s roommate at Occidental College in 1979. As Barbara and Vinai Thummalapally described it to the Colorado Springs Gazette, they “used to party with (the president) in college. He was the guy who’d drink a few beers, maybe take a toke, stay up until 4 a.m. then excuse himself to crank out an ‘A’ paper due that morning. … He was Barry, the mellow guy in the leather jacket, dragging on a cigarette.”
Of course, friendship only goes so far in the world of ambassadorships. It’s Thummalapally’s fundraising for — not partying with — President Obama that is more characteristic of his fellow ambassador nominees. The Coloradan bundled between $100,000 and $200,000 for the Obama campaign and has personally contributed $13,375 to Mr. Obama’s various campaigns since 1999. And according to Federal Election Commission records, Thummalapally’s “not employed/student” children Vishal and Sharanya donated $2,300 and $2,275 to the president.
The information comes from the Center for Responsive Politics, which in a recent study concluded that the president’s new nominees for ambassadorships to Belize, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Romania and Switzerland “brought in at least $1.1 million for Obama’s presidential bid as bundlers, and at least another half-a-million as bundlers for his inauguration. To date, this brings the contribution histories of Obama’s ambassador nominees to roughly $1.8 million in donations since 1989. The 19 ambassadors that CRP has found in our campaign contribution database, along with their spouses and children, have given more than $98,200 to Obama personally, bundled at least $3.4 million for his 2008 presidential run and bundled another $1.4 million for his inauguration.”
As we reported last month, President Obama is hardly the first president to appoint pals and big donors to ambassadorships nor, according to the American Foreign Service Association, is he the worst offender in recent history.
In addition to his former Occidental party pal, President Obama nominated:
Former Virginia lieutenant governor and businessman Donald Beyer for ambassador to both Switzerland and Liechtenstein; he and his wife Megan bundled at least $500,000 for then-Sen. Obama’s presidential campaign, with Megan bundling at least $245,000 for the inauguration;
Lawyer Howard W. Gutman to be ambassador to Belgium; he bundled at least $500,000 for the campaign and another $275,000 for his inauguration;
Entertainment executive Charles Rivkin to be ambassador to France; Rivkin, head of the entertainment company W!LDBRAIN who produces Yo Gabba Gabba!, bundled at least $500,000 for the campaign and $300,000 for the inauguration;
Lawyer John Roos to be ambassador to Japan; he bundled at least $500,000 for the campaign; and
Lawyer and investment banker Louis Susman to be ambassador to the United Kingdom. Nicknamed the “Vacuum Cleaner” because of his skill sucking up checks for Democratic candidates, Susman and his wife bundled at least $100,000 for the Obama for America campaign and at least $300,000 for the inauguration.
The list goes on and on, but you get the picture.
In the ring with Boxing Boxer
Senator Boxer was so upset by a Brigadeer General who replied to her as “ma’am” that she requested he call her “senator”. She apparently does not understand that the military use “ma’am” and “sir” as terms of respect to an authority. If Boxer had been a man, the General would have been using “sir”.
In trying to make it appear that the General was being rude, she actually showed her ignorance of military protocol. That doesn’t surprise me. No one in the Obama administration nor most Democrats understand how important the military is to our safety. And, they certainly do not respect our armed forces nor are they willing to financially support their missions!
During a terse exchange, as Boxer pressed Walsh on why the levees in New Orleans are still not repaired nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, she said to Walsh:
“Could you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I’d appreciate it.”
The general’s response? “Yes, Senator.”
The blogosphere exploded with reaction following the senator’s comments, with some arguing the senator deserves to be addressed by the title she’s earned through three Senate elections, and others saying it’s the general who deserves a little more respect.
Stupid Dictators
As they say in the article, how dumb are they? Make it look more natural if you’re going to rig the election.
– Mr. Knowledge
Obama… Flip Flop Extraordinaire
He ran campaign ads against McCain stating that he wouldn’t raise them, then this? Why am I not surprised?
– Mr. Knowledge
Obama — a Muslim advocate
Why does our President always choose to support anything that promotes Muslims?
Although President Obama and his followers fervently deny his obeisance to anything remotely associated with Islam, it is obvious that he venerates that tradition…even at the cost of America’s reputation and safety. Almost everything he does or says is based on this devotion. Obama bowed to the sheik…a muslim. He has tried to make Israel accept untenable terms that satisfy only the Palestinians…again mostly muslims. He insists that Guantanamo be closed, despite the majority of Americans wanting it to remain as it is — a prison for the extremely violent, mostly muslim terrorists. Obama has said that Iran, the most rigid Islamic country in the world, can have nuclear technology, so long as it’s peaceful………….and, what fool believes that technology will be peaceful or stay in-country? In every instance, his choice has been pro-Islam. Unfortunately, Obama does not show any tolerance or ability to recognize that the majority of Americans are NOT Islamic. While those of that religion are just as worthy of being Americans as any other group, they shold NOT have special privileges!
Unfortunately, our President can’t seem to understand that he is the President of all of us — liberals, conservatives, independents, Christians, muslims, and any other way you slice and dice the American public. He chooses to side with the killer of an American soldier because the killer was a convert to Islam. He sided with the deceased doctor who performed partial birth abortions because the doctor was an abortionist. Whether countless babies, or countless soldiers, die is of no consequence to Obama. His first allegiance is to Islam and his statements and actions as President demonstrate that!
GM — Governmental Madness
Today, we lost an iconic, American business in GM’s bankruptcy. It was brought down by many factors, including excessive union demands and governmental regulations. And, it won’t be the last company to drown in the politically correct “muck” that makes demands which prevent a company from being competitive in the world. Too many American companies are weighed down by excessive regulations, expensive union contracts that prevent competitive pricing, environmental concerns that only the American companies must address, and the inevitable threat of costly litigation if they step “out” of the politically correct line.
Governmental regulations and intrusion into the business world have cast a long shadow on anyone considering a new business or even investing in a new business. When the government can arbitrarily decide that one group with no financial stake — i.e., the unions — takes precedence over those who actually invested in a company — i.e., the bond holders — then few are going to be willing to risk their assets in any business that the government could possibly take over. Usually, this is called nationalization and only happens in third world countries, like Chavez in Venezuela, where dictators routinely seize assets to improve their own power and control of a country. For it to happen in America is absolutely unthinkable and absolutely outside the rights granted to our government in our Constitution. Yet, it did because the Lieberals want to control every aspect of everyone’s life.
So, GM, or Generous Motors is no longer. Now, it’s hello, GM — Governmental Madness– the guaranteed method of destroying anyone with ambition… and all to placate the masses. In the long run, destroying those who work hard and save their income has never helped those less successful. There are always repercussions as New Jersey discovered when they overtaxed millionaires. Those fortunate enough to leave New Jersey did so, and tax revenue went down! You can’t make a short man tall by cutting off the legs of a tall man. And, neither does exorbitant taxation of the wealthy create a harmonious and industrious society. Government was meant to facilitate the pursuit of happiness, not become the “Great Measurer” of who gets what.