Term Limits redefined

A commenter to a recent column by John Ransom made a pithy observation:  "Politicians should be limited to two terms -- the first in office, the second in prison."

Interesting O-care waiver facts

The most recent count on "waivers" from Obamacare is 1,372.  That is, 1,372 businesses, state and local governments, labor unions and insurers have been exempted by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius from the requirements mandated by Obamacare for at least one year.

These 1,372 entities cover 3,095,593 individuals.  More than half of those individuals are in plans issued by labor unions, the Democrat party’s biggest political ally.   Union members make up just 12 percent of all employees but have received 50.3 percent of Obamacare waivers. 

Recently, Obama’s HHS Secretary granted 38 waivers to higher-end restaurants, nightclubs, spas and hotels in former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco congressional district. 

Apparently, in Obama’s administration how much you suffer under the federal government’s mandates depends on who you know.

"Michelle, let's not come to the UK again any time soon!"

First there was Obama's "Stuck in the Middle with You" moment in Ireland.
Then there was Obama's "That was the best year of my life" snafu at Westminster Abbey.

And the UK police (Scotland Yard) gave Obama the code name "Smart Aleck." *


Finally, Barack "At last we have a President with great speaking skills" Obama bungled his toast to the Queen of England. 

So way to go, Obama!  Way to represent!

*Turns out the code name was for the entire visit, not specifically Obama. Still appropriate.

Doctor My Eyes

Haven't thought of this song in years, but this morning I woke up with it in my head.  A classic.

Now that's ironic, or symbolic, or something

Obama's huge armored limousine, nicknamed "the Beast," got stuck on a ramp in Ireland.
This could, of course, with a bit of imagination, serve as an analogy for what he's done to the American economy.  He's weighted it down with so much junk that it can't get going.

Hope for the future?

Headline from the Daily Caller:  "Recent college grads sour on Obama, surveys say."

"A very large proportion of recent university graduates have soured on President Barack Obama, and many will vote GOP or stay at home in the 2012 election, according to two new surveys of younger voters...83 percent voted for Obama in 2008. But only 27 percent are committed to voting for Obama again, and 80 percent said they would consider voting for a Republican..."

Of all things for me to say, this has to be the one of the oddest: the Daily Kos was right about Obama way back in 2008.  "Obama is an empty suit into which people pour their dreams." Now that his supporters have had a chance to see the empty suit in action, many of them realize they chose a poor vessel for their dreams.

America the Dictatorship

John Ransom wrote a column recently, one in which he brings up an enormously important point.


     "On issue after issue, Americans are fed up with the fact that they feel they can’t trust Washington. It doesn’t matter what new laws they pass; they either pass the wrong ones or won’t enforce the ones they do pass.
     I always use illegal immigration and the tax code as twin examples of what’s wrong. These two areas of the law present the gravest threat to our liberty. And here’s why:
     The easiest way to create a dictatorship is to pass laws that you don’t enforce. That way, everyone becomes a criminal and the government gets to decide who get prosecuted and who gets to skate. We are at a point in our history where the government will not enforce immigration laws and has made the tax code so complex that it’s impossible to follow.
     We’ve created a permanent under-class of criminals in this country, completely at the leave of the federal government."


An example of the selective enforcement of laws is Tim Geithner, Obama's Secretary of the Treasury. During his nomination hearings, we learned that Geithner had neglected to pay income taxes for several years. It was only after he learned that he had been nominated to the Treasury job that he paid the past-due taxes.  The IRS charged him interest, but no penalties -- a most unusual decision.  As Secretary of the Treasury, he heads the Treasury Department, one part of which is the IRS.  


Thus begins dictatorship.