The United Socialist States Of America

I can't imagine any politician arguing against this on principle, can you? It is a transfer of wealth, plain and simple - your children's wealth they won't be able to accumulate but will owe in taxes instead.

WASHINGTON – More than 7 million poor people who are elderly, blind or disabled and receive cash benefits averaging $477 a month could get an extra monthly payment as part of President-elect Barack Obama's $800 billion economic recovery plan.

And then there's this at Instapundit right now. Just as they want to do with bad mortgages, these GM vehicles sold to people who can't afford them will never be repossessed. They'd take more taxpayer money to prop them up before they let that happen on a large scale. You can forget talk of Obama making the country into a socialist state. We're already there thanks to Washington.

In December, GMAC got $5 billion from the government’s $17.9 billion bailout of the domestic auto industry, which Sen. Dodd supported, and immediately lowered its lending standards. No longer would buyers need a credit rating of 700 or higher. Now, people qualify with scores as low as 621, which is 2 points above “poor” and 102 points below America’s median.

Comments

[WAHOO WILLIE]

"Oh and you and yours have no idea, NO IDEA of the threat we faced and are facing."

Damn, forgot.....Our new Pres has been going to school and thus Dan posts the thread before this one concerning Obie's "back peddling" on such issues as closing GITMO, etc. He's young and idealistic....he is not a fool and the world looks a bunch different from where he is now standing than it did watching Michael Moore films.

[jharp]

"Wow that would really, really help prevent a tragedy."

It might or might not. You've become a full fledged wingnut, Willie. The subject at hand is "WHAT DID BUSH DO". He ignored the warnings and did nothing. And you and Philip McDaniel have yet to even try to answer. (though I already know the answer is is he took a vacation and cleared brush)

And Philip deserves special mention for his phoniness as he claims the question has been answered many times previously.

[Worst President Ever]

The Bush Administration downgraded all Al Qaeda operations pre-9/11. Post 9/11 - for some reason, they suddenly changed their ways:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/clarke%20memo.pdf

Testimony of Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism coordinator:

TIMOTHY ROEMER, Commission Member: OK. With my 15 minutes, let's move into the Bush administration.

On January 25th, we've seen a memo that you've written to Dr. Rice urgently asking for a principals' review of Al Qaida. You include helping the Northern Alliance, covert aid, significant new '02 budget authority to help fight Al Qaida and a response to the USS Cole. You attach to this document both the Delenda Plan of 1998 and a strategy paper from December 2000.

Do you get a response to this urgent request for a principals meeting on these? And how does this affect your time frame for dealing with these important issues?

CLARKE: I did get a response, and the response was that in the Bush administration I should, and my committee, counterterrorism security group, should report to the deputies committee, which is a sub-Cabinet level committee, and not to the principals and that, therefore, it was inappropriate for me to be asking for a principals' meeting. Instead, there would be a deputies meeting.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm

[North Dallas Thirty]

"Is it possible that both of you are right?"

Yes and no.

If the whole point is to get people to spend money, writing them checks will probably manage that.

However, tax breaks for business, which is what leftists like IslamoLlama are decrying, are only useful if the business has some taxes to pay in the first place -- which means it has to be producing product and generating revenue on which it can be taxed.

The question is whether the best way to stimulate the economy is to write checks to people who aren't producing or providing jobs in the hope that they'll spend it and the knowledge that you're only returning money to the businesses from which your taxes took it in the first place, or to lower expenses for businesses that are producing and providing jobs, which frees them up to reduce prices, increase production, hire more people, sell to markets both inside and outside the United States, and pay bigger dividends to investors.

The latter seems to make infinitely more sense.

[jharp]

On the lighter side. I'm busy making a batch of pulled pork and damn is it good.

And I must thank Willie for turning me on to the vinegar based sauces.

Cornbread made from buttermilk is next. And a thank you to templar for that. Even though I'm aware he's lost the love. Peace to you.

[Lala]

Could this be true?

Obama Dines With Conservative Writers
From the pool report:

The PEOTUS departed Hay-Adams at 6:17 p.m. and at arrived at 6:34 p.m. at No. 9 Grafton St., Chevy Chase (right off the circle). Thanks to the good work of Hans Nichols (of Bloomberg and "Daily Show" fame), Montgomery County property tax records showed this is the home of conservative columnist George Will (valued at $1.9 million, according to the 2008 levy).

We're still awaiting confirmation that this is indeed Will's house from the transition, but your pool is satisfied with the documentation.

Your pool has been told it's a dinner party.

And, thanks to an enterprising photographer, a shot through a window showed op-ed stalwarts William Kristol and David Brooks are also part of this unlikely gathering of tight, right suits.

Transition mouthpiece Tommy Vietor was also spied inside the manse.

This is for real, folks. The bloggers are going to love this one.

Update: Hot Air suspects Rush Limbaugh might also be at the dinner. (Hat tip: John Aravosis)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/01/13/obama_dines_with_conservative_writers.html

[Philip McDaniel]

"The latter seems to make infinitely more sense."

It does to me too, with the caveat that they should be businesses in production in the US. However, I can see dispersing some money directly to people to spend. Whether they spend it in the right places is almost irrelevant if, and it’s a big if, by spending they get money moving throughout the economy and the sense of panic or insecurity is eased. Over the long run reducing the cost of production by reduction in certain taxes (tax on Diesel comes to mind) would seem to be the most beneficial.

[Philip McDaniel]

LOL
Poor jharp.

[Philip McDaniel]

"CLARKE: I did get a response, and the response was that in the Bush administration I should, and my committee, counterterrorism security group, should report to the deputies committee, which is a sub-Cabinet level committee, and not to the principals and that, therefore, it was inappropriate for me to be asking for a principals' meeting. Instead, there would be a deputies meeting."

Richard Clarke was just upset (pissed off really) that he was being pushed aside. Actually I think he wanted a cabinet position. What he was saying was not being ignored, simply handled through new channels. He has a personality similar to that of jharp.

[WAHOO WILLIE]

So here's WPE to prove my point for me. Thanks worst. Of course we all know it wasn't your intention. Worst points out (inadvertently) that NOT ENOUGH was done. A far cry from "NOTHING". His intent to point out the incompetencies in the last administration are inarguable. My favorite is hiring a horse groom to head FEMA. Now, keeping in mind that intel agencies quit talking to each other under Clingon and GW didn't fix it. Also, it was these same people (CIA, NSA, etxc) that convinced three administrations that Saddam had WMD's stacked to the rafters all over Iraq. I submit that Clarke himself was slightly less than sterling and presented a weak case for an AQ move. There are hundreds of terror cells working in the US every day. Google it. There's tons of traffic and rumor floating about and the government at every level insists on a chain of command. Clarke was simply unable to present a viable case to be pushed up the chain. Now personally, I'm all for profiling and kicking in doors because intel knows who these people are. The question being, How many Ruby Ridges do you want? Harpie and others whine like little girls over wire tapping (without knowing how it works)What would happen when the suits started busting up mosque meetings?
Yes, oh yes...they could've done more. Hell, they may even have been able to stop 9-11 but the constitution would have to be bent a wee bit.

I wouldn't put buttermilk in my corn bread harpie. Let me know how that goes.

[Philip McDaniel]

“Also, it was these same people (CIA, NSA, etxc) that convinced three administrations that Saddam had WMD's stacked to the rafters all over Iraq”

You are right, of course. Part of the problem was the intel. Who would have imagined that Saddam was projecting the image of harboring WMD’s for the sake of instilling fear and awe in his neighbors and was feeding the intel stream with the same stuff knowing it would be analyzed by us. As was once said, he was one of the great military minds of the 13th century.

[Philip McDaniel]

“My favorite is hiring a horse groom to head FEMA.”

That guy was a real piece of work. The whole episode of Brown’s career is an example of cronyism, and so-called lawyers in way over their heads. Here is an article that you might find interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Brown