by Ellen Tomes

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by Ellen Tomes

Come on, Sean. You know full well that the President’s making every attempt to reach across the aisle in an effort to pass a bipartisan economic recovery bill (Bill). There is not doubt that the priorities and ideologies of democrats and republicans are quite different. But, if ever there was a time for compromise, it is now. With unemployment rates soaring to 15.3 % in manufacturing towns and unemployment reaching 10% in Florida, where foreclosure rates are the highest in the country, it’s time to put aside partisan politics, and get something done. Immediately. There’s no time to be quibbling over small projects, when we’re teetering on the verge of an economic catastrophe.  If stimulus is not achieved in the short-term, a tipping point could be reached, causing our economy to spiral so far downward that it would likely take a half-decade to rebound.

When Obama entered the Oval Office on January 20, 2009, he inherited a trillion dollar national debt. And it was because of (often knowingly) ill-conceived tax-cutting and deregulated policies pandering big business that led us down this road toward a potential economic doomsday. So, even for those who still have posters of Ronald Reagan hanging over their beds, it’s time to face facts: Trickle Down Economics has been tried. And it’s failed. And, as for fiscal conservatism, perhaps Republicans need to be reminded that it was under their watch that the U.S. began (and has had to continue) spending $10,000,000,000 per month in Iraq, on a war that was neither necessary nor successful. The Bush Administration was also doling out $700,000,000,000 per year on oil from abroad, while suppressing the development of alternative fuel supplies, which would improve national security, benefit the economy, and protect our planet, all at the same time. These, among other Bush spending policies, make drunken sailors look like tightwods.

Conservatives are also so quick to accuse Obama of theatening (deregulated) free market capitalism, calling him a socialist, communist, and Marxist. The truth of the matter is that free-market capitalism was threatened, and ultimately failed, because of lack of oversight on Wall Street, which subsequently led to SEC Chairman Hank Paulson’s $7,000,000,000 bailout for investments banks. It seems as though the social conservatives that came to Washington with the Bush Administration left eight years later as conservative socialists.

So, what we must recognize right now is that we are faced with an economic scenario, the likes of which we have not seen since “The Great Depression”. While the pending economic recovery package does contain–along with tax cuts–a sizeable amount of spending, it’s necessary spending. Contrary to the republican mantra, the bill is not “full of pork”; in fact, it does not contain one earmark or one single pet project. And if you’re still dubious about government spending as a solution to our economic woes, take a listen to 2008 Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman who maintains that the bill should contain more spending in order to obtain the desired stimulative effect on the economy.

by Ellen Tomes

Alaska Governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, ventured back to Washington for the first time since the election last weekend for the Alfalfa Dinner, a venerable gathering of the city’s political elite. It seems somewhat suspicious that the “Mavericky” Palin, who ran on an anti-establishment platform, is suddenly hangin’ with the good ol’ boys club that she so vehemently derided throughout her campaign.

But Palin’s alleged reason for attending the dinner was to see the President. Prior to departing Alaska for Washington, Palin proclaimed “How often will I get an opportunity to have dinner with the President? I will take up that offer to do so.”
This is a rather surprising response coming from Governor Palin, who scathingly attacked Obama’s character throughout the campaign with comments such as, “Our opponent … is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country,” alluding to Obama’s scant interactions with 1960s-era radical, Bill Ayers. Thus, guilt by association would suggest that, by attending a dinner with Obama, Palin, too, is “pallin’ around with terrorists”.

Palin catapulted into the public eye when she was chosen in early September of 2008 to be GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate. She immediately galvanized the base with her ultra-conservative social values. Although she had great difficulty at times navigating her way through interviews and answering basic civics questions, her lack of experience and knowledge were greatly offset by her plucky personality, her charm, and her good looks, as well as the “breath of fresh air” the so many believe she brought to Washington.

So, why this abrupt departure from her outside-the-beltway, anti-elite persona? It’s now widely believed that Palin is gearing up for a presidential bid in 2012. Further fueling this speculation is Ms. Palin’s establishment of a Political Action Committee (PAC), a private group that is organized to elect political candidates and which helps would-be-candidates create grass-roots constituency and develop a nationwide political network. On January 26, 2009, Governor Palin filed a six-page report with the Federal Election Committee (FEC), thereby submitting the required documentation for her PAC. 20001939

The homepage of Palin’s PAC reads, “Dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation. SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.” It goes on to say that “SarahPac is a federally registered political action committee that supports Gov. Sarah Palin’s plans to build a better, stronger, and safer America in the 21st century.”

Aides have said that SarahPAC will help serve as a vehicle for her political activities going forward. Palin, however, denied that it means she is running for president.“No. Not at all. Not at all. No. It’s helpful to have a PAC so when I’m invited to things, even like to speak at the Lincoln Day dinner in Fairbanks, to have the PAC pay for that instead of have the state pay for that because that could be considered quasi-political,” the Alaska Governor said.

On her SarahPAC Web site, the Governor states that it’s important for citizens of all political persuasions to get involved in this time of economic crisis and international challenge. Ms. Palin also emphasizes that supporting SarahPac will enable her to provide a “strong voice for energy independence and reform.” And will afford her the resources necessary “to help find and create solutions for America’s most pressing problems.”

So while the media frenzy continues and reporters, bloggers, and pundits, alike try to read the tea leaves into Sarah Palin’s political future, there is one additional piece of the Palin puzzle that could very well prove to be the smoking gun.

In addition to Sarah Palin’s PAC application, there is one other document in the FEC database that renders Sarah Palin’s name. The report is entitled: “Palin, Sarah”. And below the Governor’s name, it simply states the following information. Office Sought: President; Election Year: 2012; State: “Presidential Candidate; and Party: “REP (Republican Party).
With the submission of this document to the FEC, it’s now hard to deny that Sarah Palin has full intentions to seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and is ready to square-off with Barack Obama in a race for the White House.

by Sean Sanity

The Obama administration is just getting started, and already they’re talking about the one thing liberals love — government spending. Barack Obama and his crew think that taxing & spending is the only way out of a recession. But have they thought about tax cuts?

House Minority Leader John Boehner has already argued against the hundreds of millions of dollars to provide birth-control (abortion pills and the like) so I won’t make that argument here. But what about the “job creation” Obama keeps talking about? Under Obama’s plan, it would cost $275,000 for each job created. I didn’t know the government was only considering hiring executives.

Tax cuts work, because you’re more concerned about the details of spending your money than the government is. How likely is it that you’d spend $25,000 on a toilet? Well, I guess if you got one of those $275,000 jobs, you might consider it. But the rest of us are careful. We’ll pump money into the economy, but only for things we need.

Lastly, why not just cut the federal interest rate? This has been done a number of times over the last couple of years, and it’s kept things in check. Cutting the interest rate again would keep money flowing all over this country’s economy, as people start borrowing to take advantage of the new negative interest rates.

by Sean Sanity

While we’re on international affairs, it’s been reported that Iceland’s government collapsed. Some on the loony-left are blaming this on global warming (Iceland is not made of ice), while others blame it on George W. Bush. It’s obvious that Bush is a liberal’s favorite punching-bag, but what could he have had to do with this? Come on, Obama has been in office for nearly a week. Why couldn’t he prevent the collapse of Iceland’s government? More are sure to follow. This is a sign of how the world feels about our new president.

by Sean Sanity

Hey, Ellen. The phrase innocent Palestinian is the very definition of an oxymoron.

by Ellen Tomes

Did you hear or read the news today that a prison brawl injured eight inmates in Florida? Maybe you also heard about the fire that destroyed fifteen homes in a Philadelphia Suburb. Or about the gunman who opened fire in a Portland nightclub, killing two and injuring eight. But what about the slaughter of thousand of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza by the Israeli army, which claims to be acting in “self-defense”? Three and-a-half weeks after the most recent outbreak of violence began, Israeli’s had already killed 1312 Palestinians, including 417 children and 108 women. Additionally, the number of Palestinian casualties by this time had risen to 5340.

The first question is, why is this being allowed to happen; why is United States of America, which  prides itself on taking the moral high ground (at least once we cleanse ourselves of the residual effects of Bush, Cheney, et al.), turning a blind eye to war crimes? None of the following claims has been  proven, since the Israeli government has banned Western media from entering Gaza (although a few have snuck in through Egypt), but these are some of the repugnant acts that have occurred according to individuals living in Gaza: The bombing of a school being used as a UN rescue shelter for people whose safety was threatened by staying in their own homes; Israeli tanks blocking an ambulance carrying a father and his two sons—all injured by an Israeli attack—from reaching a hospital (the 17 year old son eventually died); prominent human rights groups blaming Israeli army tactics for the difficulty that doctors in Gaza are having in treating  patients—it’s suspected by doctors that illegal chemical weapons are behind some of these intractable injuries.

Clearly pro-Israeli lobbyists exercise great influence over U.S. Government policy. Why else would presidential contenders rush every year to attend the annual meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)? In fact, Israel receives more American tax dollars than the impoverished nations of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean combined.

Likewise, the media have become a key propaganda arm of the pro-Israeli lobby; hence the abject failure of newscasters, analysts, and commentators to address the brutal atrocities being exacted by the Israeli army on innocent civilians in Gaza.
It is a very sad commentary that here in the United States of America, where we pride ourselves on freedom of speech, freedom of press, and a denouncement of censorship, our media have succumbed to the pressure of the pro-Israeli lobby and, thereby, have failed to report on the heinous acts of violence in Gaza. And, in so doing, our media outlets are demonstrating complicity to war crimes and, because of that, have the blood of innocent women and children on their hands.

by Sean Sanity

My colleage, Rush Limbaugh, has come under fire for saying that he hopes Obama fails. The only problem with Limbaugh’s statement is that it ignores the facts. Obama has already failed. Liberalism has failed. Obama was the most liberal member of the Senate, and now he’s the most liberal president in the White House. Obama wants to go back to the days when to govern meant to spend money. This is why we have a recession, and why we will have a depression. Liberalism. Look it up.

Obama and all the democrats should do what’s good for the country. They should just step aside and let the next Republican in line assume the presidency. That’s the only way out of this mess.

by Sean Sanity

The liberal media is reporting that Israel has declared a cease-fire, while Hamas has vowed to continue fighting.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to point out that Israel has shown remarkable restraint by killing only 700 Palestinians, when clearly they could have killed a lot more.