Freedom of BLEEP

A tiny phrase in the Bill of Rights promises us “Assistance of Counsel” for legal defense if we are accused of a crime. The US Supreme Court has interpreted this to mean we have the right to an attorney (Michigan v Jackson). President Obama says that this right “serves no real purpose.”

He has asked the Supreme Court to overrule this holding so that US citizens that have requested an attorney will no longer be guaranteed one during questioning. Apparently, Obama would like our police force to operate more like the KGB.

This right does serve a purpose - just not a purpose that serves our Freedom-hating President. Attorneys can inform defendants of their rights and help them understand the legal ramifications of pleas or other statements they submit. Interrogators will be able intimidate and deceive defendants if this decision is overturned. This will especially effect the mentally challenged or even those slightly less intelligent than the interrogator.

Honestly, I find this hard to believe and I wonder if the Telegraph has misunderstood him. If not, we are in trouble. How long before Obama says other parts of the Constitution serve no real purpose?

Yesterday your tax dollars were hard at work.

Air Force One roared directly over New York City, followed closely by an F-16 fighter jet. Apparently Obama needed some new pictures for his website. The photo op caused widespread panic because the low-flying planes looked like a terrorist attack. The planes made several passes right by 9/11 Ground Zero.

The photo shoot wasn’t announced in advance and many office buildings in NYC were evacuated. Mayor Bloomberg said he is “furious,” citing that the event was ill-conceived and insensitive, and a waste of taxpayer money.

What was the carbon footprint of this photo shoot? Well the 747 gets almost 0.2 miles to the gallon while the F-16 uses more than 25 gallons a minute. I’d estimate about 5,000 gallons of fuel consumed just for these two crafts alone during the shoot. Obama’s rock star mentality is getting old.

Why didn’t the White House issue a press release in advance? We may never know. Incompetent press secretary Robert Gibbs couldn’t answer any questions. He said he doesn’t have time to keep track of stuff like this.

Why did it have to occur over ground zero? Well they wanted a shot of Air Force One by the Statue of Liberty. And apparently they haven’t heard of this new technology called Photoshop. It’s pretty cool.

Update: Apparently the Feds actually thought this would cause a panic and proceeded anyway.

As the world watches and waits to see whether the swine flu will become a global pandemic, the White House has decided that it’s not worth it to close the border with Mexico, the only country thus far to have fatalities associated with the illness. Over 2,000 people have been hospitalized, and 149 people  have died in Mexico, many between the ages of 25-45. The outbreak is so serious that the country is literally on the verge of shutting down. Other countries confirming infections include Scotland, Spain, and Canada, while New Zealand, Brazil, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, and France are conducting tests.

Within the United States, New York, Ohio, Texas, Kansas, and California have already confirmed cases of the swine flu. Yet, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano believes that passively screening entering Mexicans is perfectly adequate to contain the virus. “We are simply in preparation mode. We do not yet know how widespread this flu will be within the United States.” Considering the fact that a person infected with the virus might not exhibit symptoms for 24-48 hours, they may be feeling fine when they are screened.  Not that it matters, since even people who claim to feel unwell have not been allowed entry.   Napolitano is relying on “personal responsibility” and “common sense” of persons entering the United States. Good thing Mexicans coming into our country are taking this risk so seriously.

Napolitano’s rationale is at best naïve and at worst a flagrant disregard for the safety of Americans. But she’s already proven she’s not the brightest crayon in the box. The cases found in the U.S. have luckily been mild, but just because the virus has already been found in certain states doesn’t mean we need to allow many more infected people into our country. That would do nothing more than increase the chances of a larger outbreak in the U.S.  Although the World Health Organization has raised the pandemic threat to 4 out of 6, Obama promises that the situation is “not a cause for alarm.”  Let’s hope that a more serious problem doesn’t arise before Washington decides to act with common sense. No me gusta.

The answer is yes. If you are a taxpaying American, you’re seeing a little over $9 extra show up on your paycheck each week. This is your stimulus check. And your promised tax deduction!

Let’s be honest. Will a minor decrease in withholdings really stimulate the economy when most Americans don’t even notice it? Even if you did realize you were getting the stimulus, does the extra nine bucks really make you want to go out and spend? Wouldn’t it make more sense to give us a fat check all at once like Bush did last year?

Which leads to another question. The withholdings deduction does add up to the $500 tax cut that Obama promised. But under Bush, taxpaying Americans received a tax rebate of $600 to $1200. By neglecting to renew these rebates, didn’t Obama actually raise our taxes?

The math really isn’t that complicated. However, it does take some calculus to see the big picture: the limit of taxes as Obama’s government expansion approaches infinity is equal to your paycheck.

Stay tuned for other ways that Obama will be raising your taxes.

How did Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano land her job?

Earlier this month, Napolitano claimed that conservatives are “the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” She also said that our veterans should have fewer civil liberties because they are “disillusioned” and “extremely dangerous.” And now she says Canada is responsible for 9/11! Napolitano is the one that’s disillusioned!

First, the 9/11 Commission confirmed that the terrorists did not come through Canada. So why is Napolitano using this as an argument to strengthen security at the Canadian border instead of the Mexican border? Second, why is she insulting Canada by falsely laying blame upon them? No wonder Obama thinks Americans are arrogant… He hangs out with his appointees all day!

But that’s not all. She also says that we don’t need any more security at the Mexican border, despite the 6,000 drug related homicides that occurred there last year. I haven’t read much suggesting the Canadians are this dangerous. And for some reason she even said that illegal immigration is “not a crime”. Why do we have immigration laws if people don’t have to follow them?

In a very public manner, President Obama has promised to cut the federal budget by $100 million. This is equivalent to asking someone that makes $60,000 a year to save only $6. But our president calls it “tightening the belt” and he thinks you’re dumb enough to fall for it.

It’s great that he is cutting the budget, but this $100 million is only about 0.0028% of the budget. Borrowing for February’s stimulus package alone will cost about $100 million a day for the next decade. Furthermore, much of the “savings” he demanded from his cabinet are already under way and are included in the calculation (and the budget).

If you look closer, the legitimacy of speculated savings is more than questionable. Will buying multi-purpose office equipment (such as a combined copier, printer, and fax all in a single unit) really save the Homeland Security Department $2 million a year? Also, an estimated $52 million will be saved buying office supplies in bulk. You mean it took our government decades to realize this is possible? Next Obama will be telling us that the public sector is more efficient than the private sector. Oh wait, he already did tell us that.

Thanks for playing, Mr. President.

Tax dollars at work

An Opinion Piece by Lenny the Liberal

If you disagree with anything Obama does, you are obviously racist.

And according to Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano you are probably a terrorist, too. In her  “Extremism Report” she described conservatives as “the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” In the report, she defined extremists as those “in opposition to abortion or immigration.” Napolitano also explained that our veterans are particularly dangerous because many of them are “disillusioned.” Frankly, I’m shocked we still let these people roam the streets.

Yesterday, these conservative racist terrorists rallied at Tea Parties from coast to coast to further their radical anti-socialist agenda. But I’d like to echo the message of ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring that these are merely “small get-togethers by fringe conservative” extremists. In Atlanta, only 15,000 to 20,000 extremists showed up for the Tea Party. I hope the authorities got all their license plate numbers.

Up until now, content on this blog has been rather one-sided. You might call it freedom of speech.

But the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats have other words for conservative opinions. Words like “unfair, racist, and extremist.” Accordingly, they’ve passed a bill that will allow them to censor the media (but more on that later).

In an effort to promote “fairness,” Freedom of BLEEP will now feature a new writer - Lenny the Liberal. Lenny will be writing on various social issues and the splendors of socialism whenever he finds the time. He is very busy so this may or may not happen often. Also, he doesn’t have an email address or Facebook account since these services were created through the free enterprise he opposes.

Thanks for reading.

The Obama Power Grab, Part V

Multiple banks have tried to pay back their bailout money (with interest) but the Obama administration is refusing to accept it. Even banks that have reported profits since the bailout and have successfully restored investor confidence are being forced to sit on piles of borrowed cash. CNN also reports, “It’s likely the Treasury will not permit bankers to return taxpayer money for many more months.”

The reason for this is clear: the government wants to control these banks, just like they control GM and Chrysler. Why? Well for one thing, the Pay for Performance Act was just passed by the house. This legislation allows the government to dictate pay for anyone working for any company that accepted TARP money (in other words, it has nothing to do with performance).

If the government can fire the CEO of GM and mandate what comes off their production lines certainly they will take unprecedented authority over the banks as well. They will be able to regulate who can receive loans, ultimately determining which businesses in the US can stay open. Chairmen have already been threatened with “adverse” consequences if they persist in trying to pay the loans back.

While it’s disturbing that the government could have this much control, it’s even more disturbing who will now be running these banks… A man who couldn’t even figure out how to pay his taxes!

On CNN, Jeff Johnson said, “When you can be in a church, and if you just say Jesus, the people will shout. Now, if you just say Obama, people will shout.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, “At Oakhurst Presbyterian in Decatur, 40 Obama worshippers gathered Thursday evening to reflect upon Obama’s victory.”

On NBC’s Tonight Show, Chris Matthews said, “If you’re in [a room] with Obama, you feel the spirit. Moving.”

Rev. Lawrence Carter of MLK International Chapel at Morehouse College said, “It is powerful and significant on a spiritual level that there is the emergence of Barack Obama… No one saw him coming, and Christians believe God comes at us from strange angles and places we don’t expect, like Jesus being born in a manger.”

Movie star Susan Sarandon said, “He was a community organizer like Jesus was.”

In Time Magazine, Nancy Gibbs wrote, “Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope.”

LA Times writer, Joel Stein said, “Maybe it’s a religious revelation. I’ve never had one of those… The messiah would make an excellent president. That’s half the job, making people feel saved. And Obama does that. If you make people feel like you can save them, half of them are already saved.”

Jesse Jackson, Jr. said, “What Barack Obama has accomplished is the single most extraordinary event that has occurred in the 232 years of the nation’s political history. … The event itself is so extraordinary that another chapter could be added to the Bible to chronicle its significance.”

Representative Steve Cohen said, “Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

On CNN, Donna Brazile also said, “Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor.”

On MSNBC, Chris Matthews said, “In the Bible they talk about Jesus serving the good wine last, I think [Obama] did the same.”

The Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed Obama is “not just an ordinary human being but indeed an Advanced Soul.”

On MSNBC, Chris Matthews also said, “This is the New Testament… I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often.”

Our Father, who art in Washington,

callowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done,

to make the US as it is in Cuba.

Give us this day our digital TV rebates.

And let us overlook your trespasses,

as we blame everything on Bush.

Lead us not into wealth;

but deliver us from working.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

until America realizes you are a nutjob.

Amen.