Roland Burris Admission Trumps Obama's Historic Signing

While the President of the United States was signing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, officially transforming our country into a Socialized government, the junior Senator from Illinois dropped a bomb shell. He stated that he did in fact attempt to raise money for the former Governor of Illinois.

Okay, one thing at a time. First, Obama stated - and I'm paraphrasing - that it was weird for so many people in Washington to come together for something so unprecedented . I laughed out loud at this comment. Where has he been living? Has he not seen the polls, watched the markets and reveiwed th voting records on this legislation? He barely got the 60 votes he needed and he only got those on party line votes. When this Spendulus package fails, this will fall squarely on his shoulders and nobody else's. He is the one who used scare tactics, included but not limited to, planting people in town hall meetings and using words like Armegeden and Catastrophe.

Today's historic signing gave Chicom a much firmer grip on our country. After all, where are we getting the money to pay for this bill? It has to come from somewhere. The Bush haters cried like babies about how Bush doubled our national deficit in his EIGHT-year's in office. Well, people of the world unite...Obama just did the same thing in his first month of his Presidency.

The Chicago Tribune reported today, "U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged trying to raise money for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich before being appointed to the Senate. According to a transcript posted on the Chicago Tribune's Web site, Burris told reporters in Peoria Monday night that he talked to some friends about putting together a fundraiser after being called by the ex-governor's brother."

Lastly, Time Magazine release of a list of the top 25 people to blame for the economic crisis we're in right now and, not surprisingly, Bill Clinton was ranked as number 13. Clinton's tenure was marked by "lots of financial deregulation, which in many ways set the stage for the excesses of recent years," according to Time. Under Clinton, Gramm was able to push through the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, which is widely blamed for opening the door to all those shady credit swaps that have brought the economy to the brink of collapse. George Bush was number 14. I was astonished at this, since Time Magazine is such a left leaning publication.

Hillarious

Media Propaganda Proclaims Spendulus Bill As 'Major Milestone' For Obama

Like all regimes of the past and present, the U.S. media is spewing forth propaganda. Imagine how incorrectly the news will be IF they pass the Censorship Bill (a.k.a. the Fairness Doctrine).

– “Fresh off victory on President Obama's $787 billion economic recovery plan…”


– “President Barack Obama, savoring his first major victory in Congress, said Saturday that newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus legislation marks a ‘major milestone’ on our road to recovery.”

CBS – “Less than a month in office, President Barack Obama has scored a key legislative win.”

ABC – “The passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill yesterday, however party-line the vote was in the House, and near-party-line in the Senate, is a big victory for President Obama.”

This is NOT a milestone victory for the President. He lied, he cheated, and it took longer than he wanted it to. He lied…He promised this bill would be bipartisan, and then did nothing to make it bipartisan. The Spendocratic controlled government flexed their muscle and, in the end, did not have a single Republican vote on the bill.


He cheated…Obama promised in his campaign that he would post a copy of every bill that he would sign on a web page for a minimum of one week before he signed it into law. So, where is it? Hell, even the people who voted on it, didn’t read it before they voted on it. The bill is a full eight inches thick and over 1000 pages; there is no way they could have possibly read it before they voted on it. Additionally, there were members of Congress being interviewed about the bill and after being asked if specific parts of it would indeed stimulate the government, they replied with answers like, “I don’t know enough about it to answer that question.” WHAT??? How can you vote on something so expensive, so important and not know enough about it to answer it?

This bill took longer than the President had hoped. If the bill didn’t pass by the 16th, then it was going to be labeled a failure. Thus, the reason it HAD to be voted on yesterday.

I applaud the Republican’s that held a higher standard of achievement and didn’t vote blindly and in agreement of so much pork. Did you know that only about 3% of this Spendulus Bill would directly reach the hands of you, the taxpayer? This bill is perhaps the single most reckless piece of legislation ever to be passed. For that, we can thank our incredibly inexperienced and unqualified man in the oval office and his Spendocratic party.

Prayer Request For My Aunt

My Great Aunt Carol is the youngest and shortest member of my dad's mom's side of the family. She lost her first husband to Leukemia and is now battling the disease herself. She was to have a bone marrow transplant and everything was set in motion, but at the last minute, one of the test came back abnormal and so the transplant was taken off the table.

She is now at a cancer center in Indianapolis and her daughter, my cousin reports, "Mom has officially been admitted to the Simon Cancer Center on the IU campus. It is a beautiful room for her and Nelson. For the first 7 days, starting Friday, she will be getting a constant IV chemotherapy. The first 3 days, she will also be getting a bolus. Then, days 8 – 14, she will receive “supportive care” which can include blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, medications for nauseousness, antibiotics for any infections, etc. Then, on day 13 or 14 (because it will be the weekend) they will do a repeat bone marrow biopsy. The goal is that it will be “empty” and they will continue the supportive care for another 2 weeks with the goal of recovery of blood counts. If this is accomplished, she will be released to come home and after she is home for a couple of weeks and her counts are good, they will again do another bone marrow biopsy. The best outcome there would be complete remission and then she should be able to do the bone marrow transplant. If, however, the biopsy showed leukemia still present, she would not be in complete remission and then we would again 'discuss our options'."

You have to know my Aunt Carol to appreciate her. She is a little spitfire who doesn't take crap from anyone. She is the first to offer to help others and her outlook on life has always been optimistic. She is a strong woman, with a solid grip on everything she touches. Cancer, however can rob you of the things that define you.

I'm asking everyone I know to add Aunt Carol to your daily prayer lists. Her husband Nelson, her daughter Deanna, and her son Bobby are all doing their best to try to see her through this, but it is not easy to see a loved one suffer every day. Please bathe them in prayer.

Thank you in advance for your generous giving of your time to remember those who are afflicted in your spiritual life.

Psalm 91:14-16
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

My Best Friend, 1984

I’m going to take a little detour off the “Stop the Radical Express” for something much more personal to me. My cousin was going through some pictures and came across a picture of my grandma from 1984. As I gazed through tear-filled eyes at the image before me, I was instantly transported back in time. Grandma died from colon cancer in 1997. The grandmother that I remember who loved me unconditionally and was the best friend I ever had, until I met my wife, is in that picture, in that kitchen, in that house. I remember it with such clarity.

The lump that is now firmly implanted in my throat results from a longing to have one last healthy day with her; one last conversation; one last hug and kiss. Our house was right next door to Grandma’s house. From our bathroom window, I could see into her kitchen. I used to get mom’s make-up mirror and reflect the light so that it would shine into Grandma’s kitchen and she could wave at me before I went to bed at nights on the rare occasions that I wasn’t spending the night with her in the first place.

I would walk to school every morning and she would watch me until I got to the end of the street and turned the corner. Just before the turn, I would look back and Grandma would switch her porch light off and on for me to let me know that she had watched me and as a way to wave to me that she would be missing me.

I often wonder if Grandma would be proud of the me, that I have become. Have I made the choices in life that would have brought her joy and pride? I would love to have her here for my kids to know. Lezlie and she would have been great friends.

Now, I know that this post really makes you wonder why I published something that none of you really know anything about. I just wanted you to know…that today I had a visit from my Grandma. She warmed my heart and she held me while I cried in remembrance of her. She told me that this is the body she has in the after life (not the cancer-riddled body she had here) and that she is waiting patiently for me for the day that we can be whole again. She told me that in that kitchen, she is preparing for me all of my favorite things that I thought I would never get to taste again. She said that she has an Atari up there and she has been practicing her Lock and Chase gaming skills and that in Heaven there is no pain, so the joint discomfort she felt her that she blamed for her repeated losses in that game would put us on equal footing.

I love you Grandma. Thank you for keeping me safe as a child. Thank you for teaching me lessons as a child. Thank you for ALWAYS being there when I needed you. Thank you for never ever giving up on me.

I hope I’ve made you proud!

CATO Institute Calls Obama Out!

"There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy."

— PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 9 , 2009

With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.

Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.

Burton Abrams, Univ. of Delaware
Douglas Adie, Ohio University
Ryan Amacher, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
J.J. Arias, Georgia College & State University
Howard Baetjer, Jr., Towson University
Stacie Beck, Univ. of Delaware
Don Bellante, Univ. of South Florida
James Bennett, George Mason University
Bruce Benson, Florida State University
Sanjai Bhagat, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Mark Bils, Univ. of Rochester
Alberto Bisin, New York University
Walter Block, Loyola University New Orleans
Cecil Bohanon, Ball State University
Michele Boldrin, Washington University in St. Louis
Donald Booth, Chapman University
Michael Bordo, Rutgers University
Samuel Bostaph, Univ. of Dallas
Scott Bradford, Brigham Young University
Genevieve Briand, Eastern Washington University
George Brower, Moravian College
James Buchanan, Nobel laureate
Richard Burdekin, Claremont McKenna College
Henry Butler, Northwestern University
William Butos, Trinity College
Peter Calcagno, College of Charleston
Bryan Caplan, George Mason University
Art Carden, Rhodes College
James Cardon, Brigham Young University
Dustin Chambers, Salisbury University
Emily Chamlee-Wright, Beloit College
V.V. Chari, Univ. of Minnesota
Barry Chiswick, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Lawrence Cima, John Carroll University
J.R. Clark, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Gian Luca Clementi, New York University
R. Morris Coats, Nicholls State University
John Cochran, Metropolitan State College
John Cochrane, Univ. of Chicago
John Cogan, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
John Coleman, Duke University
Boyd Collier, Tarleton State University
Robert Collinge, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
Lee Coppock, Univ. of Virginia
Mario Crucini, Vanderbilt University
Christopher Culp, Univ. of Chicago
Kirby Cundiff, Northeastern State University
Antony Davies, Duquesne University
John Dawson, Appalachian State University
Clarence Deitsch, Ball State University
Arthur Diamond, Jr., Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha
John Dobra, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
James Dorn, Towson University
Christopher Douglas, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Floyd Duncan, Virginia Military Institute
Francis Egan, Trinity College
John Egger, Towson University
Kenneth Elzinga, Univ. of Virginia
Paul Evans, Ohio State University
Eugene Fama, Univ. of Chicago
W. Ken Farr, Georgia College & State University
Hartmut Fischer, Univ. of San Francisco
Fred Foldvary, Santa Clara University
Murray Frank, Univ. of Minnesota
Peter Frank, Wingate University
Timothy Fuerst, Bowling Green State University
B. Delworth Gardner, Brigham Young University
John Garen, Univ. of Kentucky
Rick Geddes, Cornell University
Aaron Gellman, Northwestern University
William Gerdes, Clarke College
Michael Gibbs, Univ. of Chicago
Stephan Gohmann, Univ. of Louisville
Rodolfo Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Richard Gordon, Penn State University
Peter Gordon, Univ. of Southern California
Ernie Goss, Creighton University
Paul Gregory, Univ. of Houston
Earl Grinols, Baylor University
Daniel Gropper, Auburn University
R.W. Hafer, Southern Illinois
University, Edwardsville
Arthur Hall, Univ. of Kansas
Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins
Stephen Happel, Arizona State University
Frank Hefner, College of Charleston
Ronald Heiner, George Mason University
David Henderson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Robert Herren, North Dakota State University
Gailen Hite, Columbia University
Steven Horwitz, St. Lawrence University
John Howe, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia
Jeffrey Hummel, San Jose State University
Bruce Hutchinson, Univ. of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Brian Jacobsen, Wisconsin Lutheran College
Jason Johnston, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Boyan Jovanovic, New York University
Jonathan Karpoff, Univ. of Washington
Barry Keating, Univ. of Notre Dame
Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University
Nicholas Kiefer, Cornell University
Daniel Klein, George Mason University
Paul Koch, Univ. of Kansas
Narayana Kocherlakota, Univ. of Minnesota
Marek Kolar, Delta College
Roger Koppl, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Kishore Kulkarni, Metropolitan State College of Denver
Deepak Lal, UCLA
George Langelett, South Dakota State University
James Larriviere, Spring Hill College
Robert Lawson, Auburn University
John Levendis, Loyola University New Orleans
David Levine, Washington University in St. Louis
Peter Lewin, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Dean Lillard, Cornell University
Zheng Liu, Emory University
Alan Lockard, Binghampton University
Edward Lopez, San Jose State University
John Lunn, Hope College
Glenn MacDonald, Washington
University in St. Louis
Michael Marlow, California
Polytechnic State University
Deryl Martin, Tennessee Tech University
Dale Matcheck, Northwood University
Deirdre McCloskey, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
John McDermott, Univ. of South Carolina
Joseph McGarrity, Univ. of Central Arkansas
Roger Meiners, Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Allan Meltzer, Carnegie Mellon University
John Merrifield, Univ. of Texas at San Antonio
James Miller III, George Mason University
Jeffrey Miron, Harvard University
Thomas Moeller, Texas Christian University
John Moorhouse, Wake Forest University
Andrea Moro, Vanderbilt University
Andrew Morriss, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Munger, Duke University
Kevin Murphy, Univ. of Southern California
Richard Muth, Emory University
Charles Nelson, Univ. of Washington
Seth Norton, Wheaton College
Lee Ohanian, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Lydia Ortega, San Jose State University
Evan Osborne, Wright State University
Randall Parker, East Carolina University
Donald Parsons, George Washington University
Sam Peltzman, Univ. of Chicago
Mark Perry, Univ. of Michigan, Flint
Christopher Phelan, Univ. of Minnesota
Gordon Phillips, Univ. of Maryland
Michael Pippenger, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks
Tomasz Piskorski, Columbia University
Brennan Platt, Brigham Young University
Joseph Pomykala, Towson University
William Poole, Univ. of Delaware
Barry Poulson, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder
Benjamin Powell, Suffolk University
Edward Prescott, Nobel laureate
Gary Quinlivan, Saint Vincent College
Reza Ramazani, Saint Michael's College
Adriano Rampini, Duke University
Eric Rasmusen, Indiana University
Mario Rizzo, New York University
Richard Roll, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
Robert Rossana, Wayne State University
James Roumasset, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
John Rowe, Univ. of South Florida
Charles Rowley, George Mason University
Juan Rubio-Ramirez, Duke University
Roy Ruffin, Univ. of Houston
Kevin Salyer, Univ. of California, Davis
Pavel Savor, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Ronald Schmidt, Univ. of Rochester
Carlos Seiglie, Rutgers University
William Shughart II, Univ. of Mississippi
Charles Skipton, Univ. of Tampa
James Smith, Western Carolina University
Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate
Lawrence Southwick, Jr., Univ. at Buffalo
Dean Stansel, Florida Gulf Coast University
Houston Stokes, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
Brian Strow, Western Kentucky University
Shirley Svorny, California State University, Northridge
John Tatom, Indiana State University
Wade Thomas, State University of New York at Oneonta
Henry Thompson, Auburn University
Alex Tokarev, The King's College
Edward Tower, Duke University
Leo Troy, Rutgers University
David Tuerck, Suffolk University
Charlotte Twight, Boise State University
Kamal Upadhyaya, Univ. of New Haven
Charles Upton, Kent State University
T. Norman Van Cott, Ball State University
Richard Vedder, Ohio University
Richard Wagner, George Mason University
Douglas M. Walker, College of Charleston
Douglas O. Walker, Regent University
Christopher Westley, Jacksonville State University
Lawrence White, Univ. of Missouri at St. Louis
Walter Williams, George Mason University
Doug Wills, Univ. of Washington Tacoma
Dennis Wilson, Western Kentucky University
Gary Wolfram, Hillsdale College
Huizhong Zhou, Western Michigan University
Lee Adkins, Oklahoma State University
William Albrecht, Univ. of Iowa
Donald Alexander, Western Michigan University
Geoffrey Andron, Austin Community College
Nathan Ashby, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
George Averitt, Purdue North Central University
Charles Baird, California State University, East Bay
Timothy Bastian, Creighton University
John Bethune, Barton College
Robert Bise, Orange Coast College
Karl Borden, University of Nebraska
Donald Boudreaux, George Mason University
Ivan Brick, Rutgers University
Phil Bryson, Brigham Young University
Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University
Edwin Burton, Univ. of Virginia
Jim Butkiewicz, Univ. of Delaware
Richard Cebula, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Don Chance, Louisiana State University
Robert Chatfield, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas
Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University
Peter Colwell, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael Connolly, Univ. of Miami
Jim Couch, Univ. of North Alabama
Eleanor Craig, Univ. of Delaware
Michael Daniels, Columbus State University
A. Edward Day, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Stephen Dempsey, Univ. of Vermont
Allan DeSerpa, Arizona State University
William Dewald, Ohio State University
Jeff Dorfman, Univ. of Georgia
Lanny Ebenstein, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Michael Erickson, The College of Idaho
Jack Estill, San Jose State University
Dorla Evans, Univ. of Alabama in Huntsville
Frank Falero, California State University, Bakersfield
Daniel Feenberg, National Bureau of Economic Research
Eric Fisher, California Polytechnic State University
Arthur Fleisher, Metropolitan State College of Denver
William Ford, Middle Tennessee State University
Ralph Frasca, Univ. of Dayton
Joseph Giacalone, St. John's University
Adam Gifford, California State Unviersity, Northridge
Otis Gilley, Louisiana Tech University
J. Edward Graham, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Richard Grant, Lipscomb University
Gauri-Shankar Guha, Arkansas State University
Darren Gulla, Univ. of Kentucky
Dennis Halcoussis, California State University, Northridge
Richard Hart, Miami University
James Hartley, Mount Holyoke College
Thomas Hazlett, George Mason University
Scott Hein, Texas Tech University
Bradley Hobbs, Florida Gulf Coast University
John Hoehn, Michigan State University
Daniel Houser, George Mason University
Thomas Howard, University of Denver
Chris Hughen, Univ. of Denver
Marcus Ingram, Univ. of Tampa
Joseph Jadlow, Oklahoma State University
Sherry Jarrell, Wake Forest University
Carrie Kerekes, Florida Gulf Coast University
Robert Krol, California State University, Northridge
James Kurre, Penn State Erie
Tom Lehman, Indiana Wesleyan University
W. Cris Lewis, Utah State University
Stan Liebowitz, Univ. of Texas at Dallas
Anthony Losasso, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago
John Lott, Jr., Univ. of Maryland
Keith Malone, Univ. of North Alabama
Henry Manne, George Mason University
Richard Marcus, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Timothy Mathews, Kennesaw State University
John Matsusaka, Univ. of Southern California
Thomas Mayor, Univ. of Houston
W. Douglas McMillin, Louisiana State University
Mario Miranda, The Ohio State University
Ed Miseta, Penn State Erie
James Moncur, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa
Charles Moss, Univ. of Florida
Tim Muris, George Mason University
John Murray, Univ. of Toledo
David Mustard, Univ. of Georgia
Steven Myers, Univ. of Akron
Dhananjay Nanda, University of Miami
Stephen Parente, Univ. of Minnesota
Allen Parkman, Univ. of New Mexico
Douglas Patterson, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University
Timothy Perri, Appalachian State University
Mark Pingle, Univ. of Nevada, Reno
Ivan Pongracic, Hillsdale College
Richard Rawlins, Missouri Southern State University
Thomas Rhee, California State University, Long Beach
Christine Ries, Georgia Institute of Technology
Nancy Roberts, Arizona State University
Larry Ross, Univ. of Alaska Anchorage
Timothy Roth, Univ. of Texas at El Paso
Atulya Sarin, Santa Clara University
Thomas Saving, Texas A&M University
Eric Schansberg, Indiana University Southeast
John Seater, North Carolina University
Alan Shapiro, Univ. of Southern California
Frank Spreng, McKendree University
Judith Staley Brenneke, John Carroll University
John E. Stapleford, Eastern University
Courtenay Stone, Ball State University
Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, UCLA
Scott Sumner, Bentley University
Clifford Thies, Shenandoah University
William Trumbull, West Virginia University
Gustavo Ventura, Univ. of Iowa
Marc Weidenmier, Claremont McKenna College
Robert Whaples, Wake Forest University
Gene Wunder, Washburn University
John Zdanowicz, Florida International University
Jerry Zimmerman, Univ. of Rochester
Joseph Zoric, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Venezuela Behind on Billions in Payments to Oil Contractors

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela's state oil company is behind on billions in payments to private oil contractors from Oklahoma to Belarus, some of which have now stopped work, even as President Hugo Chavez funnels more oil revenue to social programs.

This is yet another example of how socialism cannot and will not ever be successful. Obama and his Democrat allies are so sold on socialism. I'm so disgusted that they're about to pass this outrageously over-funded spendulous bill. All hail comrade B. Hussein Obama!

The Inconvenient Debt