February 22nd, 2009 by TNM

General Motors is dying.

We all know it, and we watch with muted dismay as a once great American Icon shrivels before our eyes.

As far as I see it, here are some of the underlying reasons for GM’s demise.

• The UAW

The UAW is the elephant in the room that no-one wants to look at. The Obama administration has said absolutely nothing about the strangle hold the UAW has placed on a  once profitable American owned and operated company. Prior to the current Administration, Bush and his GOP party likewise were completely silent on the UAW.

Obama, and other democrats as well as those on the GOP side of the aisle have taken billions over the years from the UAW in campaign contributions, placing them at the mercy of the unions. To confront the UAW, and say the gravy train has come to a screeching halt, that concessions in benefits and compensations for their retirees, as well as the active work force must be made, would be political suicide.

This is not a Democrat or Republican problem, this is a U.S. Federal Government problem with lobbyist and big money influence from the UAW corrupting the outlooks and judgment of the people we elect.

• The media and consumer bias.

The media bears some of the burden for GM’s demise as well as other domestic car makers ills. Especially in the print media. Browse through a Consumer reports, or any other publication that reviews consumer purchased products and it is an endless litany of Asian / Foreign products good, US products are bad.

For years now Car and Driver, Consumer Reports etc, have touted the mantra that import name plates are superior to GM, Chrysler & Ford. They consistently harp that the imports are more reliable, get better gas mileage and are better backed cars. They rate them better consistently, based on nothing more a lot of the times, then some so called “car experts” opinion.

I personally have failed to see this. I’ve owned both Chrysler  and GM products all my life. I own both now, A Dodge truck, and a Chevrolet Coupe. One is a year old, the other now 7.  These are far from the only vehicles I have owned.  I’ve had no less than 4 Chevy trucks, every thing from an S-10 to WT 1500’s, and fully loaded Silverados, that performed flawlessly.

One of them had 129,000 miles on it when I bought it, the Odometer had quick working “oh about a year or so ago”  according to the owner I purchased it from, and I put another estimated 50,000 miles on that truck. I sold it, and it is still going strong to the best of my knowledge.

In all I’ve owned some 30 different cars in my life, some new, a majority of them used. I had one Pontiac way back in H/S that gave me some issues, it was a mid 70’s built car, and there is no secret that the cars built then by Domestics…were awful. I will concede that point.

However, moving into 2009, GM, Ford, and Chrysler? Their products are every bit as reliable and good as any import, and I will put my domestic name plates against an import any day.

That’s the impression I get from most people these days, they are more or less convinced that anything an American manufacture puts out is inherently worse than an import.

Another myth that seems to pervade the mass media is that imports get better fuel economy than American made cars, which if you’re comparing a Pirius to a Malibu, I suppose they have a valid point however, if you compare a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry to that same GM produced Chevy Malibu, the Malibu either matches or in some cases exceeds the Mileage ratings of the imports.

Don’t ever hear about this in the press do you? Only research, and careful comparisons will reveal the truth of this. And frankly most consumers are too lazy to be bothered to even care, they accept what they see in print and on TV as gospel and there is no changing of their minds.

I rented a Chevy Malibu not long ago, I drove it from Atlanta to Tampa. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Like others in America, I really didn’t put much stock into a Chevy Sedan anymore, I needed transportation, and that is what I wound up with at the car rental counter.

Driving that car was fun, I zipped out of Atlanta, and being a bit of a gear head that I am I decided to let the car prove itself to me, and I was pleased both with the power of it, the comfort and the ergonomics and design. After a 400 mile drive I loved the car, and I’d buy one in a heart beat if I had the need for one.

Americans need to take a second look at the domestic automakers, they need to look hard, and they might just come to find out that the Toyota they are driving isn’t any better than that Chevy Malibu.

• The Government at both State and Federal level

The Federal government and governments in states like Michigan need to reduce corporate taxes on GM and every other Manufacturer. They are simply too high. Michigan with it’s hostile business environment is now turning into a ghost town, Detroit and areas like Deerborne are a mess, and the elected officals wallow around in utter ignorance of how to help fix the problem.

And it all comes back to a simple precept, those that ignore history’s lessons….are doomed to repeat them.

Detroit and Michigan should have looked no farther than their neighbors in Ohio, and the now mostly silent steel industry for a lesson on this. 30 years after the collapse of US Steel And others, the once mighty Steel Valley in Eastern Ohio, is still but a shadow of it’s former self. Again cheap foreign goods, and greed from a powerful union as well as greed from the government did them in.

Sadly, Michigan didn’t and now they are reaping the results of it.

Between state, local, and federal taxes, The US has the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world, higher than even Socialist based economies such as Sweden. This simply has to stop.The governments are totally out of control and they must be forced to curb their spending.

GM pays billions in taxes as does Exxon, and other huge producers. This is then simply passed onto you me and every other consumer in the guise of higher prices. It’s double taxation, and it could I suppose be considered Dangerously close to a violation of the constitution, as it become taxation with absolutely no representation.

These draconian taxes damage business, they increase cost of products and in the case of GM, add literally thousands to the price of a domestic car and other products.

• The way forward

Pouring billions of taxpayers dollars into GM is not likely to work, as far as I can see.

In the earlier 80’s Ronald Regan broke the Air controllers strike, and the Union that brought air travel to a screeching halt by demanding unrealistic pay and benefits for their members.

Obama and the Congress should take a page from his playbook, and force the UAW to the table. The simple fact of the matter is, the UAW is not making the moves it needs to make to help GM stem the red ink. They make small but meaningless gestures, and consider that as they are doing their part.  Sadly they are not even in the ball park, and like a vampire they will continue to suck the life blood out of GM.

If Obama and the Democrats or Republicans  really wish to bail out GM they would issue an ultimatum to the the UAW, Reduce your over head or face the possibility of the same thing that happened to the Air Controllers Unions. It really starts coming down to a simple case of common sense. The UAW is a problem for GM, and you cannot fix GM without first fixing the UAW.

Leadership of the country is a huge responsibility, and thus far Obama, and the Democrats are failing miserably by not getting tough with the UAW and forcing their hand. Instead they pour billions upon billions of the taxpayers dollars into the coffers and it winds up right in the hands of, who else? The UAW.

Again I will state, this is not just a Democrat or Republican party problem, this is FEDERAL GOVERNMENT at it’s very worst, they are in the UAW and other unions grasp, and they refuse to confront them for fear of loosing money they use to get re-elected.

These billions upon billions the Fed is pouring out to GM do not help the employees at idle plants, or their families, they aren’t getting any of this money, the Management of GM is not getting this money. The UAW is, via ongoing demands for unsustainable levels of benefits, and legacy pension costs.

Additionally, other than propping up a few UAW robber barons, and their retiree base, this gives very few dollars back into the economy when compared to what would be input should the tens of thousands of the workers now laid off return to work.

I am reminded of a debate I had with BoBo,  one of the contributors to both this blog, and my 454monte.com blog. Who stated in no uncertain terms he would not purchase a GM product for the simple fact that he refused to support a Union like the UAW.  Sadly he is correct and I think, a lot of people feel exactly the same way about the UAW and domestic car makers. The perception is out there and it is widespread that low skilled workers are making way too much money and the UAW is the one driving that type of pay structure. How true that is open to debate, but that is the perception.

• We as Americans can help GM

Drive a GM product lately? Or have you been living in the world of “Consumer Reports says an Accord is a better car so I won’t even consider a domestic name plate”.

Go try one if you are in the market for a new car, what does it really hurt to at least do a comparison? Other than maybe having to put up with the annoying car salesman, and some time, you loose nothing. But you do stand a chance to gain a quality product every bit as good as a Honda or a Toyota.

If you have stocks, buck the doom and gloom , and take a gamble, throw some cash on GM stock and let it sit. It’s a bargain at the current prices. You stand to gain a lot and loose very little at this point, and you help to save GM.

I would argue that less than 10 years ago GM was doing a bang up business, profits were good, they made good products and still do, and they can return to a viable company.

One needs to keep in mind, when they think of GM, GM does not just make cars, that they do a lot of finance business, via their GMAC Division. GMAC is one of the largest lenders in the land. In fact GMAC holds my mortgage on my home, and they have been 100% honest, upfront and easy to work with.

I digress, Think about that for a second, GMAC loans money on homes, cars etc, and then the Sub-prime mess starts, what is going to happen? GM is going to get hit just as hard and like every other loan provider out there, including Bank Of America and Citi Bank.  I would further argue that GM’s current troubles have very little to do with the automotive products they produce.

In the end, it is my thoughts that, Government bailouts, and spending billions to prop up the UAW via confiscation of taxpayers dollars is an utter waste of time money and effort.

GM can be saved, but we the people need to save them, not idiotic politicians in D.C. with Unions yanking their leashes, and a lust for tax dollars that is unsustainable.

TNM

February 21st, 2009 by TNM

This cannot end well….Go see the clown over a the BoBo Files for a chuckle.
A Bear, The Pope, and a Tree hugger

February 17th, 2009 by TNM

Guess the congress critters didn’t learn the lesson the first time with TARP I and the market slide when that got pushed through….Dow off 270 pts and still falling.

Good job Democrats, and RINO’s you guys simply suck. All of you.

Definition of Stupidity : Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result.

*** Update***

Markets off over 6% on fears of GOVERNMENT Intrusion into the banking system as of Fridays close, welcome back to 2002.

Other Bloggers with posts on this:
The Liberty Zone

The Bobo Files

February 16th, 2009 by BoBo

While I was cruising the blogosphere this past weekend looking at all the reactions concerning this spending stimulus bill there was a very common theme that I noticed coming from you guys on the left.

1. The GOP’ers in Congress are obstructionists and they don’t care about the people, and
2. It really doesn’t matter what is in the stimulus bill because we just need to do something, and
3. There really can’t be anything in there THAT bad

Man, you guys are fools!  With reactions like this, all I can think of is that you did not actually read any of the details in the bill yourselves.  You too are just toeing the party line of the Dems and listening to the crap coming out of the MSM.  Lord knows that no one in the MSM actually read the spending stimulus bill themselves because surely that non-biased bastion of free press surely would have scrutinized everything and called out the government on their spendthrift ways, right?

You guys are getting so caught up in the fact that the Republicans voted NO down their party line that you aren’t looking at the BIG picture.  This is supposed to be a stimulus package!  This is supposed to be about stimulating the economy!  Frankly, I’m surprised after eight years of saying yes to everything that Bush wanted, to include increasing the size of government and doubling the deficit (which is totally against all Conservative principles which they are supposed to be for) that they actually voted NO in unison – with the exception of the three turncoats.

Sure, I’ll give you that they probably voted NO for political purposes – however, no matter the reason – it was, and still is, the right vote.  NO ONE read the whole bill before voting on it!!!  Doesn’t that resonate with any of you on the left?  Let me say it again – NO ONE READ THE BILL BEFORE VOTING ON IT!!!!

Would you buy a car or a house without reading through the contract to see what you are agreeing to?  Shouldn’t we all as Americans be demanding better of our elected officials?  If there was such a rush to get this thing passed – why did Obama take a weekend off for vacation (less than 1 month in to his Presidency – can you take a vacation in the first month of a new job?) and will wait until Tuesday to actually sign it in to law?  If this was so important that it needed to get passed immediately to make sure our country does not collapse – shouldn’t he have signed it Friday night or Saturday morning to get things rolling?

You guys on the left are being completely and totally played right now.  Is there no sane voice on the left remaining?  I thought you guys were all about freedom of speech and huge proponents of privacy rights?  Do you not understand that included in this bill is the underpinnings of socialized mass media, nationalized banks, and nationalized health care?  Perhaps you heard about it but don’t really understand what this means.

Socialized Mass Media – this is a direct assault on Freedom of Speech.  The government wants to control the radio waves and the Internet.  They will quash dissenting opinions.  Sure, you might think that is great because conservative talk radio and bloggers will get their come-uppance – but – what does that say about you liberals who are supposed to be about freedom and liberties and the like if you go along with this?  Your only hope is that the next time a Republican/Conservative/Libertarian gets in office they reverse this part of the bill – otherwise – the next time it could be your voices that are quashed.

Nationalized Banks – again – do you not understand what this means?  If the government is controlling the flow of money and gets to make the decisions as to who gets the loans and who doesn’t – that will directly influence the direction of commerce.  You might think Capitalism and the free-market doesn’t work – but – the biggest stinger here is the fact that now the Federal Government will have direct access to ALL of your financial information.  Seriously, where is the ACLU on this?  Why aren’t you guys on the left screaming privacy right violation at the top of your lungs right now?  You did it when Bush passed the Patriot Act.  This new bill makes the Patriot Act look like a novice hacker stealing your identity.

Nationalized Health Care – okay – I know how you bleeding heart liberals want to take care of everyone and just could not wait for the day when the federal government would guarantee everyone access to health care.  I understand why you are for this part of the bill – but – did you not read the part about the duties of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technologies?  Did you not read the part about the mandate for electronic medical records through a national database?  If you did, you did not understand what it is you read.  Once this thing gets in to full swing, all of your personal health information will be stored at the Federal level for accessing by the NCHIT to make decisions to pass on to your physicians at the time of care with regards to what treatment you are allowed to have.  Again, why aren’t you screaming about the violation of your privacy rights?

Your party has gotten you in such a dander to play the “us versus them” game that they played you.  You have come to trust your elected officials so much that you have followed them blindly down a path of no return.  If you thought GWB was “Big Brother” with the Patriot Act – Orwell just found his main character in Barack Obama, Pelosi, and Reid – and all you guys can talk about is how the Republicans obstructed this wonderful piece of crap legislation.

It is time to wake up people.  This is not about being a democrat, republican, conservative, liberal, libertarian, etc.  This is about being Americans.  I wish you guys would begin the scrutiny of Obama and the Dem leaders as you did the past 8 years under Bush.  You are still gushing about your win and the fact that the Dems finally got control again that you are selling your souls to the devil.  You are pissing away the freedoms that you so declare you cherish.

I really don’t know what to say.  You called anybody who supported Bush “sheep.”  I can’t even think of the term that would currently identify you guys on the left that would be comparable.  You’re worse than sheep.  Perhaps lemming is the proper term as you are prepared to follow Obama over the cliff to your death and bring down the rest of the country with ya.

If any of you have ever followed my own blog – you will see I have been very critical of Bush and the Republicans because they went against my core values and belief in the constitution and this country.  I’m waiting for you guys on the left to finally wake up and do the same thing.  We ARE the people.  We get to make the decisions – not them in Washington.  You need to wake up and join the rest of us that refuse to let ANYONE in government make our decisions for us.  They need to listen to us.

In case you did not know this – 63% of this country opposed this bill.  If 63% of the country opposed it – then how can you explain 61% of the government approving it?  Doesn’t that mean they are not listening to WE THE PEOPLE?

Where are you bloggers on the “left” that will stand up and hold your government accountable?  Your messiah has backtracked on EVERY campaign promise so far – and not one of you is holding his feet to the fire on it.  At least we on the “right” spoke out against GWB and his administration when he strayed.

‘Nuff said!

February 14th, 2009 by TNM

This post utilizes information and quotes garnered from the following link :
The Patriot Post

President Obama on Tuesday, did a photo op at the Ford Theater, the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilks Booth.

It’s interesting that Barak Obama insists on idolizing Lincoln. The man that sparked a civil war, and who when the record is examined carefully, it would appear, had serious bias against the Black race.

Frankly, I don’t understand why he would, Lincoln was no friend of the Blacks. His words prove that, and the muddy waters of revisionist history do nothing to lessen the impact of the man’s own words.

Lincoln has been all but given a pass by many that write history, and that is truly disturbing, had he mouthed the words today that he did in the 1860’s he’d be an outcast, and run from D.C. at the point of a sword.

Here are some points to consider when viewing the Lincoln years.

When Lincoln was debating with Stephen Douglas he said :

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races — that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.”

“What I would most desire would be the separation of the white and black races…”

“They say that between the nigger and the crocodile they go for the nigger. The proportion, therefore, is, that as the crocodile to the nigger so is the nigger to the white man.”

** Note the words struck out are Lincolns own words, obviously America was a vastly different place in the 1860’s the word in it’s use has changed considerably, and is no longer accepted. I have struck them to be clear that I only use these terms as a matter of historical record, I do not agree with their use. **

Why is it that History as taught in schools today teaches us that “Lincoln Freed the Slaves” via the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation but it is his words and his speeches that one must also consider to gain and accurate picture of Lincoln and his thoughts on race.
If as history teaches, and further more our current Presidents insistence of elevating Lincolns position were truly valid positions….

Answer, why then, did Lincoln say this?

“My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery, If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”

Why did it take a full two years after the Onset of the Civil war to actually sign into law the Emancipation?

More sinister in all of this, is this: Perhaps Obama Idolizes ” Honest Abe” simply because…..

During the war, Lincoln trampled the individual rights of many citizens, who were arrested for political opposition, or “treason,” and their property confiscated.
Lincoln also has to his credit the ugly fact that Habeas corpus and, in effect, the Bill of Rights was suspended. Newspapers were shut down, legislators detained, all so they could not offer any vote unfavorable to Lincoln’s.

Yet Obama idolizes the man? The left for all it’s screaming about Bush and the Patriot Act, and “erosion of our liberty” holds Lincoln in a revered light? This is simply stupid.

Obama’s closing remarks at the Ford theater also give one pause, and are a clear indicator of the fact either he truly does not know history, or someone is woefully misguided that is writing these speeches for him.

“It is this sense of unity that is so much a part of Lincoln’s legacy. For despite all that divided us – north and south, black and white – he had an unyielding belief that we were, at heart, one nation, and one people. And because of Abraham Lincoln, and all who’ve carried on his work in the generations since, that is what we remain today.

Simply put, Obama is making a serious mistake in his seemingly idolization of Lincoln. I would hazard a guess that some adviser somewhere said “it’s a great idea Mr. President, it crosses the divide; Blacks see him as the liberator of the race, Whites see him as a White man, he is a safe bet”. But in reality It’s nothing more than a more misguided politically correct rhetoric from the liberals that overlooks history and attempts to revise it for political gamesmanship.

Revisionist History, and muddying the waters does no one any justice.

February 8th, 2009 by TNM

The more I dig, the more pork I find, here is yet another glaring attempt to “spread the wealth” in the so called Stimulus Bill.

• $14 billion to increase the maximum for college Pell Grants by $400 to $5,250, or almost a 9% increase in spending.

From the edu.gov website:

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education. Students may use their grants at any one of approximately 5,400 participating postsecondary institutions. Grant amounts are dependent on: the student’s expected family contribution (EFC) (see below); the cost of attendance (as determined by the institution); the student’s enrollment status (full-time or part-time); and whether the student attends for a full academic year or less.

Why is it that my government demands that I pay for this?

And when did it become my responsibility to put someone Else’s kid through college?

Also, Explain to me,  how does this “create jobs” or “stimulate the economy?

Simply stated, it doesn’t. It has nothing to do with job creation of any meaningful type.

Colleges and Universities and their employees will be the only ones to benefit from this as they will simply vote themselves some raises, jack tuition up yet again, and line their coffers. I seriously doubt that 4 billion dollars is going to be spent by them to hire more people.

Face it, There’s a reason an average liberal arts professor makes 76,000.00 dollars a year, and you can look straight to Uncle Sam to find it.

Next, Does anyone doubt the relationship between ever increasing government funded secondary education, and tuition costs that have historically averaged TWICE the rise in inflation?

You’d have to work awfully hard to justify the rise in the cost of college vs inflation any other way.

So Why aren’t people complaining about this ?  Simply put & the reality is, You don’t have to go far these days to find someone screaming about the oil companies, big business, defense budgets, etc and the condemnation of  cutting corporate taxes loudly derided as “corporate welfare”. This is despite the fact corporations in America pay the 2nd highest tax rates in the entire world,  2nd only to Japan. But they are strangley silent when it comes to higher education.

So that made me think, but what about all of these Universities, do they even pay taxes?

From what I can find; Universities pay no Federal Income tax, at least according to this budget from the University Of Colorado at Boulder.

Actually, I don’t have any answers to that question,  but it would appear to me that they don’t. I’ve conducted various searches and nothing comes back, and looking at various major school budgets, they never mention any tax liability in them.

So if my guesses are true? When is the left in this country going to start screaming about “Higher Education welfare”?

Don’t hold your breath, the left controls higher education, and to challenge the status quo would be akin to killing the gold laying goose, to state otherwise is a bold faced lie.

Pork, it’ the other word for “Stimulus”

TNM

February 7th, 2009 by TNM

I suppose that there’s a lot more wrong in this bill but here is one of the huge and ugly aspects of it.

This bill includes A staggering 20% increase, amounting to 264 Billion dollars, on Welfare spending.

That is  32% of this entire bill.

I’m curious as to why the press has not said a single word about this provision in the stimulus bill, not that they would mind you, they are part of the Obama administration for all intents and purposes.

Browsing the headlines, Apparently,  the GOP is too scared to bring this out either, they haven’t said a word, and with ME’s  Senators Collins & Snowe, and PA’s senator Spector now lining up with the Democrats…this bill is as good as signed into law.

Where is this coming from you ask?

The Heritage foundation’s Robert E. Rector  has this to say about it. Welfare Spendathon: House Stimulus Bill Will Cost Taxpayers $787 Billion in New Welfare Spending

Here are the highlights:

• $264 billion (32 percent) is new means-tested welfare spending..

• In the first year after enactment of the stimulus bill, federal welfare spending will increase by more than 20 percent, rising from $491 billion in FY 2008 to $601 billion in FY 2009.

Even more worrisome is this:

• 10-year fiscal burden (added to the national debt) will not be $816 billion, as claimed, but $1.34 trillion. This amounts to $17,400 for each household paying income tax in the U.S.

That’s all I am going to cover, you have to go read the rest for yourself, I’m sure HF and Mr. Rector would frown heavily on my hijacking their article and indepth research.

My thoughts on this are however;  This Stimulus bill is exactly what everyone opposed to it said it was, pork. One only needs to look at provisions like, Stop smoking programs, birth control, money for the “arts”, “green buildings” for the federal government,  massive increases in public  assistance and  it all adds up, and none of it adds up to one single job.

Fact of the matter is,  is nothing more than an overt attempt at appeasement to the liberals and the welfare class that turned out in droves and helped put Obama in office. Those same people that said “I voted for him because I’m not going to have to worry about how to pay my rent or put in gas in my car any longer”.  Well I guess they got that right after all didn’t they?

We are told by a left biased media and liberal Democratics like Obama, Pelosi, Reid,  over, and over,and over yet again, that this bill will create jobs, that it is stimulus for an ailing economy, and that is an outright lie.

Who is going to pay for all of this?  See the third Bullet point above? We are, to the tune of 17,400 dollars a year.

If the Stimulus package was nothing but a jobs creation package the Welfare expansion wouldn’t even be in there, it would be under an entirely different bill, why give free money to those who can’t or won’t work and dont pay taxes in the first place ?

When over a third of the entire bill  going to expand welfare alone, it cannot possibly create any jobs, it serves to only do one thing, and that is nothing more than, It keeps the boot of the government on the peoples necks.

The welfare rolls will expand by 20% and those that produce will be taxed to cover it.

“But wait!  There’s “tax cuts” in the bill as well you say”?

They are throwing out these red herrings about Home owner exemptions, tax rebates, etc, to throw us off the scent on this bill. Notice there is no long term cuts in this bill, they are one year provisions, and The Obama crowd WILL raise taxes in the next 3 years, That’s a promise.

As soon as the economy rebounds, and it will, although this so called  stimulus bill will have next to nothing to do with it, the taxman  is going to be knocking. You can bet on it.

If you need proof of this, one only has to look back to the mid 90’s, Bill Clinton was a master bait and switch artist doing the same exact thing, first came the Cuts to military spending, then he pushed for “welfare reform” and in the next 2 years taxes shot up. Obama will follow suit.

Of course idiotic Americans that can’t see the hangman noose, being so blinded by the entitlement mentality that grips the nation these days, will certainly re-elect the ones doling out the cash. So it is a win-win for the Democrats.

To those I say, If you want to live your life under the whim of the US government so be it, sit at home, draw your check live day to day and exist just until the 1st of next month when the government handout comes your way again, fine. It’s a free country. I want no part of it, and when the time comes and all those entitlements and welfare divides this nation into only “rich politicians” and the “masses on the government dole”.

Remember this:

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us
in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down
and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon
you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen”

~ Samuel Adams ~

TNM

February 6th, 2009 by TNM

This is “Change”? Obama’s Op-Ed in the Washington Post..

Change? I think not, if this is your idea of change…keep it President Obama, I don’t want it, and according to a lot of polls out there, neither do a lot of other Americans.

Some select quotes from that piece below:

“By now, it’s clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression”.

Fail! Not so fast, Right now the bear market we are in, while down and correcting, it still has not hit the lows it did in the late 90’s after the Dot Com bubble burst. Furthermore, latest data says the Unemployment rate has risen to 7.9% and widely being forecast to top out in the next year at 9%+ What was it during the Depression years? 20+ % … The 70’s? Try 15% ...

“And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years”.

Why is D.C. so focused on trying a rehashed version of the “New Deal” loaded with pet porker ’stimulus’ projects like planned parenthood funding?
Despite the fact it is widely accepted that FDR’s “New Deal” EXTENDED the depression by some estimates almost A DECADE?
Why? Because Obama and his cronies are all beholden to special interests, just like Bush was, (Any one remember him crowing about “home ownership is at an all time high..” I do.) Clinton before him was, and on and on on it goes.
This so called Stimulus bill is so laden with pork and kickbacks to liberal groups like ACORN, NEA, Planned ParentHood, etc that one would have to willfully stupid to overlook it.

“I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We’ve seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail”.

That last paragraph pretty much covers the entire 2 years of the Obama Campaign , Which basically in a nut shell boils down to nothing but: “It was all Bush and the GOP’s fault”. It does add in the little gloating he is seemingly unable to put aside after his election victory. I grow rather weary of hearing him crow about it, simply put, we know who won in November; Thanks for reminding us, now would mind very much “putting aside childish things” and maybe focus on what’s best for the country?

February 4th, 2009 by TNM

Eric Holder was confirmed as the AG in a 75-21 Vote on Monday.

Especially disturbing to see on this vote is that TN Republicans Senator Corker, and Senator Alexander both voted in favor of his nomination.

Here are a list of those voting for the anti-gun zealot that Obama selected as his AG:

SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR ERIC HOLDER (AN ANTI-GUN VOTE):

Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Corker is my Senator, and I’m pretty dismayed at his vote in favor of Holder, it simply does not make sense, given that TN and a large majority of it’s residents are overwhelmingly  pro 2nd Amendment.

This is now the straw that broke the camel’s back for Bob Corker, his gangs of 10, 14, and habit of crossing the aisle to vote directly against TN voters wishes and now with confirming Eric Holder now has made him an OFFICIAL RINO…

Congratulations Senator Corker, wear your new RINO hat proudly, we wont forget this come election time.

And also remember this: Empty clip, smoking barrel and prying it out of my cold dead fingers is the only way in hell you Eric Holder and the rest of your merry constitutional hijacking fellows in DC are going to get my guns. Any questions?

Gun Owners of America has a nifty letter mill in the works, if your Senator voted in favor of Eric Holders nomination, here is the website to go to to send a letter to them and voice your displeasure over this.

Gun Owners of America

Please send your letter and consider joining the GOA.

February 1st, 2009 by TNM

Join the book bomb campaign for Stephen Halbrook’s Book :

The Founders Second Amendment

The Founders Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms

Website: Book Bomb

Watch Dr. Halbrook’s Judiciary testimony concerning anti 2nd Amendment zealot Eric Holder  :