TARP Abuse: Citibank $50m Bizjet Purchase Scuttled by Pres. Obama

Read this: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/story?id=6740011&page=1

Citibank, a company I do business with (I have a credit card account with them) apparently used 50 million of the 45 billion they received from the "TARP" funds (Federal rescue funds) to purchase a state-of-the-art Dassault business jet. They apparently cited this purchase as a "smart business deal".

My opinion of President Obama has improved somewhat because he apparently directed members of his administration to "call Citigroup's executives about the purchase and to 'fix it'". By this, apparently the "fix" was to abandon the purchase of the business jet.

I really wish that President Obama didn't have to play nanny to these corporations. If "responsible capitalism" means that large corporations who have received a tax-payer funded credit line think it's OK to purchase business jets while that credit line is open/unpaid then maybe it's time for a little socialism.

Now don't get me wrong. If Citibank had not accepted any of the money from TARP and they wanted to buy a 50 million dollar bizjet, as long as the stockholders approve of the purchase I'd say "go for it".

But not with our money.

CNN Continues to be Dishonest.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/01/21/nr.sanchez.slater.limbaugh.cnn

As you listen to the video above, try to reconcile the title of the page "Rush Limbaugh wants Obama to Fail" with what he actually said in his video interview with Sean Hannity, where he stated that if President Obama pushes a leftist agenda where the government nationalizes or becomes part owner in more and more of the private sector (like banking, auto manufacturing, socialized health care, etc) then he would not want President Obama to succeed.

What you didn't hear in that clip played on CNN was that if Obama were to do some things like make the Bush tax-cuts permanent and actually follow through on his current "middle-class" tax cut proposal, then he would hope that President Obama were successful.

If you don't believe me, go to this page: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_012209/content/01125108.member.html.

U.S. Senate Hanky-Panky

Seat Roland Burris already!

Fact: According to the Illinois Constitution the Governor of Illinois is charged with the responsibility selecting a replacement should a sitting U.S. Senator from his state be unable to fulfill his full tenure.
Fact: Senator (now President-elect) Barack Obama can no longer fulfill his tenure due to his impending inauguration as President of the United States.
Fact: Rod Blagojevich is still the Governor of the State of Illinois. The fact that he is under investigation for fraud and attempt to illegally reap gain from the appointment does not change this fact.

Until Rod Blagojevich is no longer the Governor of Illinois he is within his rights and duties to submit former Atty. General Burris as the Junior Senator of Illinois.

It is altogether possible (and highly probable) that Governor Blagojevich is going to be impeached or otherwise censured by the Illinois State Assembly. But until that time, he has all of the perogatives and responsibilities of that office.

Minnesota Senate Race Called for Al Franken.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123111967642552909.html

Before moving on, go to the Wall Street Journal On-line article and read it. If it doesn't cause you to believe that there is a conspiracy to unseat incumbent Senator Norm Coleman then you have either lost your senses or you are a pathologic Democrat who will compromise any principle to defeat a Republican.

In summary, more than 25% of the precincts in Minnesota have more cast ballots than registered voters, with nearly all of the "extra" ballots being cast for Al Franken. This smells like "stuffing the ballot box" to me. Another inconsistency is that in some counties, where there is a discrepancy between cast ballots and election night results and where the discrepancy has favored Al Franken then the discrepancy has been given precedence, while in other precincts where the election night tally favored Al Franken then the election night total was given precedence.

The Wall Street Journal article contends that with nearly every discrepancy being judged in Al Franken's favor, which is not consistent with the close election night results (essentially 50/50), a critical analysis must conclude that this election is truly being "stolen".

Even though Norm Coleman may be perceived as a 'sore loser' and 'obstructionist' he should seek the justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Israel and Hamas Share Equally the Blame for the Latest Gaza Tragedy.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/06/iftikhar.gaza/index.html

Simply put, just read the article above. In my opinion the author, Arsilan Iftikhar (www.themuslimguy.com) has hit it right on the head.

A Pox on Both of Their Houses.

Rocket Fire from Gaza the Work of Israeli Infiltrators

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98794206

What? Say that again...

In an interview played on "All Things Considered" on NPR radio on December 29th, the following statement was made:

"The rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel is the work of Israeli collaborators, says Ahmed Yusuf, political adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. He says Hamas was willing to agree to a new cease-fire with Israel, but Israel hadn't lived up to its end of the bargain."

Does/can anyone actually believe this? What in the world could possibly be a motivation for Israel to intentionally start a conflict with with Hamas if they were actually seriously considering negotiating a new cease-fire? Israel has been surrounded by hostile states since 1946 when they were recognized by the United Nations.

Practically from the day that Israel voluntarily returned the Gaza Strip to Palestinian control in 2005 hardline Islamic militant groups have been firing rockets into Israel on a weekly basis. The Palestinian government has completely failed to control it's own populace and rein in the hardliners, but they seem to expect the Israeli government to just stand by as rockets and missiles land in their communities and rain down death to primarily non-combatant targets.

Israel has no choice. If the Palestinian Authority cannot prevent terrorist attacks on Israel, then it falls to Israel to do it. Hamas is now in the process of being taught a very painful lesson which will sadly also catch Palestinian non-combatants in the fire. Israel needs to completely eliminate Hamas' warmaking capability. I expect that Israel will hold onto Gaza City for a while...