I haven’t written anything yet on the SEC’s decision to indict Goldman Sachs yet, but I have been reading about it while trying to sort it out. Today I read this article about Barack Obama denying that there is a link between his announcement that he is going to go after Wall Street and the timing of the indictment.
Again, I am still not ready to write about the SEC’s indictment of Goldman Sachs, but I did find a quote about taxes on the middle class by Barack Obama that I found interesting.
He reiterated that he gave most Americans a tax break in the stimulus bill and said that he still hoped to avoid more taxes on the middle class.
First of all, he did not give most Americans a tax break as he claims. What he did give to the middle class was a reduction in withholding taxes from their paychecks– on average, $13 in 2009 which will be reduced to $8 this year. This is a huge difference, as many Americans found out when they filed their taxes earlier this year. Many middle class Americans when they filed their tax returns found out that they were not getting back nearly as much money as they usually do, while many Americans that usually get back a small return found out that they actually owed money this year. This was due to the fact that while Barack Obama cut the amount of withholding taxes, the tax brackets remained unchanged. That means that while people’s tax rates remained unchanged, they did not pay enough money in weekly taxes to cover the tax that they owed. This was not a tax break. I know this first hand.
But anyway, back to the Barack Obama quote that got my attention in the article I liked to above.
I believe that we should be able to make sure that we don’t burden middle class families further,” he said. “Having said that, I’m also going to wait for the fiscal commission to provide me what their best recommendations are
While he stated that he “did not want to burden middle class families and further,” he also stated that he is going to wait for recommendations before he makes any final decision. He has not ruled out tax increases on the middle class. While he does not want to raise our taxes, he has not ruled out the possibility of breaking one of his biggest campaign promises. If the committee recommends rasing taxes on the middle class Barack Obama is going to consider this option.
This was an opportunity for Barack Obama to reiterate his campaign promise not to increase taxes on the middle class, but he failed to do so. Middle class tax increases may very well be on the table and I for one don’t doubt for a second that we are going to see our taxes increased.
As everybody knows, Rod Blagojevich has been indicted for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat. The president was interviewed at one point for two hours by the FBI. Rod Blagojevich’s defense team asked for the FBI records of their interview with Barack Obama. They still have not received the documents, so it is now being reported that Blagojevich’s defense team is going to seek the subpoena of Barack Obama in this case.
Blagojevich claims that he met with a person that he thought was representing Barack Obama, he told the representative that he would appoint the candidate to the senate that that represented wanted. If this is true, and Blagojevich did meet with a man representing Barack Obama’s interest in this case, and he did agree to appoint a person to the senate that this representative wanted, then Barack Obama was involved in this corrupt process.
Somebody is lying. Either the man lied about representing Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich is lying about meeting with a man that was representing Barack Obama, or Barack Obama is lying about his involvement in this matter.
The man that Blagojevich claims was representing Barack Obama is being used as a prosecuting witness, but because this man’s testimony differs from Barack Obama’s testimony, Rod Blagojevich’s representation feels that it has the right to call Barack Obama to testify. It seems logical to me.
Nobody can guess how this is going to play out, but one thing is certain– somebody is lying and we deserve to know who it is. This could get very interesting before it is over.
Barack Obama’s actions may go a long way to let us know how deeply involved he was in this scandal– if at all. If Barack Obama manages to escape this subpoena and does not end up testifying it will seem as though he has something to hide. If he is totally clean he shouldn’t have any problem testifying in this case. If he has nothing to hide he should welcome the opportunity to clear his name.
An Arizona House bill would require Barack Obama to show his birth certificate in 2012
I am not a birther, although I do believe that there is a very good chance that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. I feel that even if it is true that he was not born here, there is no way that his election will ever be overturned– he will never be removed from office on these grounds– and there are more important issues facing this country now that he is elected that we must focus our attention on. To focus on the Barack Obama’s birth is to take away from what he is actually doing to the United States of America and I feel that our full attention should be on stopping his agenda.
Having said that, the Arizona House has just added an amendment to a bill that would require all presidential candidates in the future to provide a birth certificate when filing their papers to run for president to prove that they meet the constitutional requirements to be president before they can be placed on the ballot in Arizona.
There are only two requirements in the constitution for a person to be eligible to become president– you must be 35 years old and be a natural born citizen. Neither of these requirements has ever before been an issue with a candidate running for the presidency but I still find it incredible that a person does not have to prove their eligibility when they file their candidacy papers.
While this legislation is obviously aimed at Barack Obama, it seems to be common sense to me that a person who is seeking the highest office in the land would have to prove they meet the constitutional requirements for that office
I believe that not only should Arizona pass this legislation, but all states should require that a person prove he or she is eligible for the office that they seek, whether they are running for the House, Senate, or president.
It seems like common sense to me, but then again, many states don’t require a person prove they are who they say they are before they enter the ballot booth.
Is a value added tax still on the table despite the White House’s claim that it isn’t?
Two weeks ago a high ranking adviser to Barack Obama– Paul Volcker– floated the idea that it might be time for the United States to consider a value added tax, claiming that this idea isn’t as toxic as it once was. Just yesterday I wrote a post about the White House claiming that a value added tax “is not something the president has proposed, nor is it under consideration.”
But today is a new day and the president has a new position. Today Barack Obama did not rule out the possibility that he might be open to a value added tax. During an interview with CNBC, when asked about the possibility of a value added tax, Barack Obama failed to second the position that Joe Gibbs stated was the president’s philosophy when it comes to a value added tax, stating that before “I start saying this makes sense or that makes sense, I want to get a better picture of what our options are.”
There you have it, the president is leaving all of his options open. He was given the chance to deny that he would consider a value added tax and he did not do so. He is unwilling to declare a value added tax does not make sense until after he knows what all of his options are.
This leaves open the possibility that he is considering a value added tax. Surely this statement means that he is considering various tax increases, he just doesn’t know which one would be best yet.
Make no mistake about it, whether it ends up being a value added tax or some other tax; new taxes are coming because this man is unable to control his spending. Controlling spending would be the only option that would not require a new tax of some kind and we have already seen that that is not an option with this administration.
In all likelihood, there will be a combination of new taxes coming to the American people, not just one new tax, and a value added tax could still be one of them. The president did not come out and say it, but neither did he deny it. If a value added tax was not something that he was in favor of, and if a value added tax was not something that he was considering, this would have been the perfect opportunity to say so. He didn’t and now we are left to wonder what is in store for us when it comes to new taxes.
Two weeks ago Paul Volcker– a top White House adviser– hinted that it might be time for the Obama administration to consider a value added tax. He claimed that this idea is no longer as toxic to the American people as it once was.
Today the White House denied that Barack Obama is actually considering this idea.
This is not something the president has proposed, nor is it under consideration
I find it hard to believe that Paul Volcker just threw this idea out there out of left field. He was not just thinking out loud when he made this comment. I believe that this administration did in fact consider implementing a value added tax, and I believe that Paul Volcker was sent out to the public to float this idea in a casual way just to gauge public reaction. In other words, Paul Volcker sent out a trial balloon in order to see how it would be received.
I honestly believe that the Obama administration was considering a value added tax and that is why Paul Volcker made his comment. And while it may be accurate that Barack Obama is not considering implementing this tax, the reason that he is not considering it is because of the reaction that Paul Volcker received after making this comment. He was considering it, as I believe he is considering ALL taxes.
This tax may be off the table– and that is good news to say the least– but I am sure that the Obama administration is considering other taxes they could raise– most notably cap and trade. One way or the other, Barack Obama is going to have to raise “revenue” and that means rasing taxes on the people whose taxes he promised he wouldn’t raise.
In what can only be seen as an election year stunt designed to show the voters that John McCain is a conservative, he has called for an additional 3,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to the Mexican border.
While I agree that there needs to be a large United States military presence at the border, I call in to question John McCain’s motive. We all know John McCain’s stance on illegal immigration. He favors a “guest worker” program that would grant illegal immigrants amnesty. He does not care about closing the border, yet he is now calling for the completion of the wall and for increased border security.
Why this change of heart? According to John McCain, “violence has dramatically increased over the last two years.” This is the reason that since his failed presidential bid that he is only now ready to get tough on illegal immigration. But the challenge of illegal immigration is not the biggest threat that John McCain is facing, he is facing a hotly contested primary challenge from JD Hayworth. That is what John McCain is worried about.
John McCain, like all other RINOs in the House and Senate, is facing a conservative primary opponent. When it was politically viable for John McCain to buck the Republican party and become a “maverick” he did so, but now that the anti-administration sentiment has shifted to the Democrats he is trying to tact back to the right. This is transparent and obvious and it will not work.
John McCain has a long track record in the senate and he is not all of a sudden going to be able to paint himself as something that he is not. The voters of Arizona know who John McCain is and they will either vote for or against him based on his record, not as the person that he is trying to become. This sudden change of heart by John McCain should be considered insulting to the people of Arizona. Does he really think that the voters of Arizona are not going to realize what he is up to? If illegal immigration is a big issue in the eyes of the voters of Arizona, John McCain should lose. Regardless of the position that John McCain is taking right now, voters know what he really stands for. It is time for the voters of Arizona to vote this man out of office.
Senate committee subpoenas Fort Hood documents
Joe Lieberman has followed through on his threat to subpoena the records on the Fort Hood terrorist attack. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has subpoenaed the administration’s secret documents on the attack.
Both Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins believe that the administration is obstructing the investigation into the Fort Hood terrorist attack, and now they have subpoenaed the records on the secret investigation into the matter.
Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to avoid reaching the conclusion that the departments simply do not want to cooperate with our investigation
The Pentagon is claiming that the release of these documents would pose a national security risk and are pondering their next move. One thing is clear here, nobody wants the committee or the people to see what is in those documents.
The administration is hiding something. Whether it is the fact that they are not willing to admit to the public that Nidal Hassan was an Islamic extremist for fear of offending non-extreme Muslims, or whether the administration doesn’t want to admit there was a terrorist attack on United States soil under Obama’s watch, or whether the administration is trying to hide the fact that all of the warning signs were ignored and this could of and should have been avoided, it does not matter. What matters is the fact that this administration is trying to cover something up and we need to get to the bottom of this.
If there was nothing to hide the administration would have been cooperating all along but they are not cooperating, they are hindering.
Much to Barack Obama’s dismay, this issue is not going to go away until we learn the truth. The man who jumped to a conclusion about the Cambridge police when he said the police department, “acted stupidly” asked the American people not to jump to conclusions about the Fort Hood massacre, but the administration’s unwillingness to answer questions on this attack has led the senate committee and the American people to jump to conclusions. He could have avoided this by cooperating but he chose not to cooperate.
The only conclusion that I can reach is that the administration is hiding something. It is going to be interesting to see how the Pentagon reacts to this subpoena. If they continue to obstruct the investigation they will only seem more and more duplicitous in a cover up of some sort.
I am glad to see Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins back up their words with action. This president has claimed that he was going to be more transparent, but so far that has only been words. We will know for sure in the very near future if this administration is willing to follow up its words with its actions very shortly.
Joe Lieberman may subpoena the Pentagon and the FBI over the Fort Hood terrorist attack
When the Pentagon released its report on the Fort Hood terrorist attack they left out a few words that would have accurately described what happened on that day. The Pentagon report never mentions the terms “radical Islamist” or “terrorist.”
Everybody– including the president– knows that this was a terrorist attack, yet the Pentagon refused to call this attack what it was. When the president first spoke about the attack he warned people not to jump to conclusions about the motivation behind this attack. At that time he knew that this was a terrorist attack by a radicalized Muslim, but he was unwilling to admit it– and to this day he still hasn’t admitted it. The all too willing media was happy to oblige him as they have also never mentioned that the attack was a terrorist attack on American soil.
Contrast that with the Hutaree FBI raid. The media had no problem referring to this group as a Christian militia group over and over again. Why was the president not out in front of the cameras asking the media not to jump to conclusions? In the first case we have an actual shooting spree that was perpetrated by a radicalized Muslim, in the later we have a case of a plan that was being hatched by radicalized Christians. Yet in one case the religion is off limits while in the other it is seen as a chance to taint all members of that religion.
But I got off track there, the point of this post wasn’t supposed to be about the media bias or about the president’s bias. The point of this post is the fact the Pentagon’s failure to mention radical Islam has upset Joe Lieberman— who is the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee– as well as Susan Collins, who is a ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Here is what Joe Lieberman had to say about the Pentagon report:
I was startled and really upset that in the whole report that Secretary [Togo] West and Adm. [Vernon] Clark did on this Ft. Hood massacre, they never used the terms radical Islamist extremism or violent Islamic terrorism
It’s known to anybody following your media outlets … [that] this was not just a random killing,” Lieberman said, adding that the Ft. Hood shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, “was motivated ideologically and shouted out such words as he committed these, these murders
Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins held a joint press conference and they claimed that the Obama administration is obstructing the committee’s probe into the Fort Hood terrorist attack and vowed to subpoena both the Pentagon and the FBI if they do not provide documents related to the attack by April 19th, which just happens to be today.
This story is far from over and as much as Barack Obama hopes that it will go away, it won’t. This administration is deliberately trying to hide the fact that the Fort Hood attack was an act of terrorism against America. They hope that by not mentioning the truth they will create a new reality.
Hopefully Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins will have the courage to persue this issue to its conclusion. I know that I have my doubts about these two, they have let me down in the past. Although it seems as if it would be hard for them to back down now, we have seen that Barack Obama has ways of “convincing” people to come over to his side.
I have written several posts about Joe Sestak’s claim that someone in the Obama administration offered him the position of Secretary of the Navy in return for dropping his primary bid against Arlen Specter. If this is a true statement, the person that did this bidding has committed a federal offense. If the assertion by Joe Sestak is false than he has libeled the person in question. Either way, there has to be some closure on this issue.
Darrell Issa is leading the charge to have these accusations investigated and he is preparing to ask Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to the case. Darrell Issa is running out of patience with the administration which promised transparency, because the administration has refused to answer his questions.
We’ve had no direct response, and we’re losing patience with the White House,” Issa told CNSNews.com in an exclusive interview on Capitol Hill. “It clearly knows an offer was made. It is trying to characterize rather than answer the question for the press or for Congress about what this offer was.
He has vowed to fight on even if Eric Holder refuses to appoint a special prosecutor to the case, claiming that he will continue investigating this on his own. With the primary just a month away, Darrell Issa is warning Democrats that once the primary is over not to expect him to drop this investigation.
I think a felony is something you don’t let go of just because an election has occurred
I honestly don’t think that anything is going to come of this, there is no way in hell that Eric Holder is going to appoint a special prosecutor. But I do find it interesting that the Obama administration is remaining quiet on this issue by refusing to answer legitimate questions.
Perhaps if the Republicans manage to win back one branch of congress we will have a chance to see this move forward. It is still a small chance, but it is the only chance we have to get to the bottom of this.
Either Joe Sestak is telling the truth and a federal crime was committed by someone in the Obama administration, or he is lying and has libeled the administration. If he is telling the truth, there is the probability that he cannot prove it. If this is the case he should have kept his mouth shut.
The bottom line here is that the American people deserve to know the truth about what happened one way or the other, and Darrell Issa is doing everything he can to provide us with the answers.
Somehow I missed Barack Obama’s statement last week on America being a superpower. Here is what he had to say:
It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them
Here is the video:
It seems like an odd statement to make coming from the head of the greatest nation on earth, to say the least. He seems to be admitting that he does not like the idea that America is a military superpower. As if there is something wrong with America having a superior military that is able to defend herself. Would he rather that America was a subservient nation to the other nations in the world?
I can’t even begin to put into words how bothersome I find this comment. The president of the United States has gone on record questioning the role that America should play in the world. He seems upset that America is a powerful nation. Sarah Palin summed it up pretty well with this statement:
I would hope that our leaders in Washington, D.C., understand we like to be a dominant superpower,” the former Alaska governor said. “I don’t understand a world view where we have to question whether we like it or not that America is powerful
It seems evident as Barack Obama travels around the world and apologizes to the countries which we have helped maintain their freedom over the years, and bows to leaders across the globe, that Barack Obama is not proud of America’s rich history in providing freedom to the oppressed peoples of the world. But this statement drives home the point.
Barack Obama would prefer that America not remain a dominate voice in the world; he would rather the United States be subjugated to the United Nations and his actions and his words confirm our deepest fears on his views of America.
I have to give Michelle Obama a little bit of credit here; at least she admitted that as an adult she was never proud of her country until it became obvious that her husband had a legitimate chance to become president. Barack Obama will not admit that he is not proud of his country, but his words certainly tell us that this is true.
America's Watchtower 