Post Scripts

by Jack

If you were to take the sum total of all the great things Congress has done since 2001 to strengthen the Constitution and the nation, while insuring our future as a global power, it could be said that it is effort. . . akin to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Posted by Jack

­As president, Obama makes $400,000 and gets additional money in various expense accounts and that amounts to another $140,000. Vice president Biden makes $208,100 and also has expense accounts. However, they actually have more benefits in terms of staff, free travel, security, etc. In one year it is estimated that President Obama spent over $1.2 billion on vacations and miscellaneous travel for himself and his family, staff and secret service personnel.

In September 1999, President Clinton signed legislation that increased the presidential salary to $400,000, effective January 2001. The Constitution prohibits pay raises for sitting presidents. This presidential pay raise was the first since 1969, when the president’s salary was raised from $100,000 to $200,000. Adjusted for inflation, $200,000 in 1969 would be worth $930,232 today.

On top of the salary and expense accounts, both the U.S. president and vice president are given free housing with plenty of amenities. The White House has 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms, a movie theater, bowling alley, billiards room, tennis court, jogging track and putting greens. Obama also has use of Camp David, the presidential retreat. Biden lives in Number One Observatory Circle, which has been the official vice presidential residence since 1974.

Congress receives more frequent pay raises. Since 1989 a cost of living increase takes effe­ct each year unless Congress votes against it, but they rarely do. Pay for the average member of Congress has more than doubled in the past 20 years. For example, the average salary in 1983 was $69,800 and $141,300 in 2000. However, if you were to adjust the 1983 salaries for inflation, members of Congress made $119,708 in 2000. As of January 1, 2005, members of Congress make $162,100.

The president pro tempore of the Senate and the majority and minority leaders of both houses are paid $180,100. The speaker of the House of Representatives makes $208,100.

Note: Here’s a great business deal, few of us will ever get – In 1989, George W. Bush invested $600,000 to become part owner of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team. When the team was sold in 1998, Bush earned at least $14.9 million from the deal, according to CNN. As the governor of Texas, Bush earned $115,345 annually. Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, an oil engineering company, from 1995 to 2000. In 2004 he received $194,852 in deferred compensation from Halliburton. His net worth is estimated to be at least $30 million.

A president in retirement earns $196,000 a year for life, adjusted for inflation.

December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American Island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.

As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

But always will our whole Nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.

No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces- with the unbounding determination of our people- we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire. President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Posted by Tina

After watching various news sources interview “folks” who tell us that things are looking up because the unemployment figures are better, Breitbart shares the rest of the story…

While the media pants with exhilaration over a dip in the unemployment level that was created by over a half-million people giving up and dropping out of the workforce, a deep-dive into the employment numbers also reveals that it’s mainly government workers benefitting from what meager job growth we are seeing. Over the last five months, 73% of all jobs created were government jobs. Moreover, the unemployment rate for government workers plunged to 3.8% in November — which is considered full employment.

This administration doesn’t care that people are out of work. He doesn’t care that the economy stinks and he will do NOTHING that will create improvement. HE wants fundamental transformation. Now we know what it looks like. Merry Christmas America and welcome to the new normal…permanent depression.

Companies announce layoffs after election:

Energizer(1500 employees)
Westinghouse (50)
Research in Motion Limited (200)
Lightyear Network Solutions (around a dozen)
Providence Journal (23)
Hawker Beechcraft (240)
Boeing (30% of their management staff)
CVPH Medical Center (17)
US Cellular (980)
Momentive Performance Materials (150)
Rocketdyne (100)
Brake Parts (75)
Vestas Wind Systems (3,000) (they were also a recipient of $50 million from the Stimulus)
Husqvarna (600)
Center for Hospice New York (up to 40)
Bristol-Meyers (480)
OCE North America (135)
West Ridge Mine (closing up to 204 mines)
United Blood Services Gulf(up to 10% of workforce)

Also mentioned is Darden Restaurants, which is going to limit workers to 28 hours a week to avoid ObamaCare requirements regarding full time workers.

The story also lists a large number of companies that announced that they are closing. And then we go to Daily Job Cuts and find more (partial list)

Update: Exide Technologies in Laureldale – 150
Southeastern Container – 15
Plexus Corp – Contract Loss Could = Layoffs
Yakima Regional Medical Center Washington – 10+
Crouse Hospital Syracuse NY – 70 Jobs
Eagle-Tribune in North Andover – 21
Ameridose LLC – up to 650 Layoffs
EMD Millipore St. Charles – Some Layoffs
Groupon – 80
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne – 100
Slidell La. – Warns of Possible Layoffs

We also get many more closings, including

Career Education Corp – Closing 23 Campuses – 900 Jobs Lost
Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna Minn.
Update: TE Connectivity Closing Greensboro Plant – 620 Layoffs Expected

That list is a month old.

Posted by Tina

If you have always thought that schools in America are interested in educating our kids and training them to be thinking adults fagedaboudit! Schools in America are nothing but propaganda bakeries that are determined to advance the leftist perspective and cookie cutter adults. I’m angry as he**…can you tell? Read it and weep for the children of America.

Powerline:

Controversy is brewing over new Common Core State Standards in English that call on public schools to emphasize the reading of “information text” instead of fictional literature. According to the Washington Post, English teachers across the country are upset by what they consider the government’s effort “to drive literature out of the classroom.”

English teachers are right to be upset, but they shouldn’t take it personally. The government has nothing much against literature, per se. Rather, this initiative is driven in large part by the desire to promote political propaganda in the classroom. The study of literature is being downgraded in the process, but for a good cause.

Consider that one of the “informational texts” recommended as a replacement for, say, Great Expectations is “Executive Order 13423: Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management.” Students would thus study government propaganda in English class (this Executive Order was issued under President Bush, but it is still propaganda — a political sop to the environmental left, as Stanley Kurtz shows).

Another Common Core’s non-fiction exemplar is an excerpt from a 2009 New Yorker essay by Atul Gawande on health care. This too is propaganda – an effort to show that Obamacare is wise policy.

Proponents of downgrading the teaching of literature claim that their goal is to make sure U.S. students can read and understand complicated texts. But there are plenty of complicated texts that don’t amount to political propaganda, much less propaganda relating to current hot-button policy issues in which the Obama administration is heavily invested. If teaching students how to read such texts were the only goal here, the list of exemplar tests wouldn’t include one-sided political tracts about health care and the environment.

The Washington Post attempts to say that this idea “trickled up” from the classrooms across America but deep in the storyit’s acknowledged that, “”the Obama administration kicked the notion into high gear when it required states to adopt the common standards — or an equivalent — in order to compete for Race to the Top grant funds.”

Do follow the link and read the entire Powerline post, you’ll find out how the curriculum for America’s kids is being decided by the likes of former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn along with fellow traveler, Linda Darling-Hammond.

by Ethan Anderson, Founder, Redbeacon

Nothing terrifies investors or entrepreneurs as much as the concept of expropriation. When governments decide to expropriate legally obtained assets, entrepreneurs who worked tirelessly to build businesses and investors who risked scarce capital end up with little to nothing for their troubles. In fact, developing countries often get saddled withcountry risk premiums, making it harder for them to attract capital because the mere threat their governments will someday seize profitable companies or industries keeps investors away.

Posted by Tina

2013 is looking like a blockbuster year with the fiscal cliff looming, politicians in full stand-off mode, and Obamacare taxes and regulations set to kick in. Just to add to the fun and games we learned today that a federal judge in New York may soon rule on a case that alleges a “backroom deal” between GM and the Obama administration. Judge Robert Gerber will decide if the deal should be reversed.

The Washington Free Beacon has the story:

At issue is a backroom deal hatched by GM to fulfill the Obama administration’s demand for a quick bankruptcy, draining the automaker of nearly all of its cash on hand and leaving it in worse shape than it was when it collapsed in 2009.
One condition of GM’s bailout was to shore up its overseas subsidiaries. On the eve of entering bankruptcy, the company cut a $367 million “lock-up agreement” with several major hedge funds to prevent GM Canada from failing. The agreement ensured that GM could spin-off its liabilities to “old GM,” while using a multi-billion dollar bailout to create a new company.

All of that could be reversed if bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber reopens the process and rules in favor of old GM trustees, who are suing the hedge funds at the center of the lockout agreement.

“In this particular situation, there’s $1.3 billion in liabilities, but that’s just what’s officially back on the table if the court rules for old GM,” said a bankruptcy expert close to the negotiations. “If those go back on the table then everything could be back on the table and [new GM] would have to address them.”

Those liabilities, which include old GM’s debt and product liabilities that pre-date bankruptcy, are valued at $30 billion, a sum that would wipe out the company’s $34.6 billion cash reserves.

Wouldn’t it have been smarter to face the music in bankruptcy court?

Posted by Tina

Last Monday I shared a story from PJ Media about a bombing attack at a Social Security Administration office near Phoenix. The man arrested in the incident was Abdullatif Aldosary. The bomb he allegedly placed near the back door of the building was described as similar to an IED. No one was hurt during the blast but a car in the parking lot was badly damaged. The story has yet to gain much national attention.

Today I checked in at PJ Media and discovered an update to the story. Details were given about what was found in Aldosary’s apartment included a bomb making manual, an AK-47, a 9mm Ruger, more than a thousand rounds of ammunition, and chemicals used in bomb making. He also had more than $20 thousand according to bank statements even though he was an ex-felon and day laborer.

…Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)…received a request from Aldosary in November 2011 for assistance in obtaining a “green card”.
According to today’s news report, the Department of Homeland Security responded to Gosar’s request on behalf of Aldosary last year by saying that he was ineligible for a change in status because of “terrorism-related grounds of inadmissibility” (emphasis mine)

Homeland Security guidelines for refusing the green card request include activities associated with terrorist acts or terror organizations: “…an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury, a terrorist activity; to prepare or plan a terrorist activity; to gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity…”

Representative Gosar’s office is about a block away from the bomb site. He’s written a letter to Homeland Security asking a few pointed questions. I can understand his concern. A foreign man with ties to terror that’s been denied a green card blows up a bomb outside a federal building and nobody notices? What is the deal? Why aren’t journalists and reporters asking questions? Why is this man in the country and how did he arrive on our shores?

PJ Media promises further updates.

A fictional story about Washington politics, by Jack Lee

A conversation is overheard by the fly on the wall in the hallowed halls of the Rayburn building next to Congress.

D- Okay this is how it goes John. This is a simple three part plan. First, we stall in negotiations to give the perception we’re both battling it out (chuckle) over our partisan differences. You can say we’re totally un-moveable on tax hikes and we’ll say you’re trying to shut the government down!

Then in phase two, we’ll both start scaring everyone about the horrible things that will happen IF we go over the financial cliff! We can both play the blame game while pretending like we’re heading into a major showdown. We’ve got to get the citizens really worked up and afraid of what’s coming.

But, John…before this second part is over you must get those four Tea Party Republicans off your key committees, I don’t care how, but they must go or they will ruin the whole plan.

Now here comes phase three; Just before we go over that imaginary cliff, somehow we miraculously reach an agreement and we call for a press conference. That’s when we announce in the most dramatic way possible, “For the good of the nation, we each gave a little and came to…” That patriotic stuff always works and then its a done deal. That my friend is the plan how we get our tax hikes for more pork and you get your token cuts and we’re all guaranteed to get re-elected. .

R- You know Harry sometimes this job is like a license to steal, only better! Just hope the voters never figure it out.

D- Well, we’ve been running these scams for years and they’ve caught on yet; voters are dumber than a stump.

Note to the readers: Of course this story is just a piece of pure fiction… something like this could never really happen.

Headlines: Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Four Republicans who opposed Speaker John Boehner on spending and budget issues won’t return to the Budget or Financial Services committees when the next session of Congress begins in January, according to a House Republican leadership aide.

The Republican Steering Committee removed Walter Jones of North Carolina and David Schweikert of Arizona from the Financial Services Committee, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas were removed from the House Budget Committee, the aide said.

Amash, Schweikert and Huelskamp were elected in 2010 with support of the Tea Party movement. Their reassignments drew a protest from FreedomWorks, an umbrella group for the Tea Party movement.

(No I didn’t make this part up…)

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/bloomberg/article/Four-Republicans-Who-Opposed-Boehner-Removed-From-4091091.php#ixzz2EFtiLgPl