CHRISTOPHER DODD, THE TOTAL FRAUD!

A great segment from last night's 'HANNITY' Show on Fox News:




CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

Beware the Cult of Obama by Gene Healy

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

You’ve met them. They may be friends of yours, or family members. You may even be one of them (in which case you’ll hate this column). I’m referring to those who’ve heard the Call of Obama.

Tucker Carlson compares it to a dog whistle: Inaudible to most, but irresistible to those who can hear it.

Obama "walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney gushed to Charlie Rose.

"I’ll collect paper cups off the ground to make [Obama’s] pathway clear,” Halle Berry recently told the Philadelphia Daily News, “I’ll do whatever he says.” (Does Michelle know about this?)

Hollywood stars aren’t known for their political wisdom. More disturbing is how starstruck the mainstream media has become. Hardball host Chris Matthews isn’t the only one who gets a “thrill” up his leg at the very thought of our new president.

Last summer, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford wrote that "Many spiritually advanced people I know … identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who … can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet."

The Politico recently ran a 900-word article entitled "The Power of Obama's Hand," reverentially describing how the president "uses touch to control and console simultaneously," laying hands on supporters and opponents alike.

And in February, author Judith Warner used her New York Times blog to confess that “The other night I dreamt of Barack Obama. He was taking a shower right when I needed to get into
the bathroom to shave my legs.”

Instead of keeping that information to herself, Warner “launched an email inquiry,” which revealed that “many women—not too surprisingly—were dreaming about sex with the president.” Those of us who like to point out that the Emperor has no clothes now have to worry that when we do, we may give rise to a new round of lurid cougar fantasies.

Conservatives like to think they're above this sort of thing. Their attitude is summed up by the subtitle of Jerome Corsi's recent bestseller: Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.

But any conservative who thinks cultishness is exclusively a leftist phenomenon ought to take a good long look in the mirror. Because many of those who decry the "cult of Obama" are the same people who made a flight-suited action figure hero out of such common clay as George W. Bush.

Peggy Noonan called Bush's post-9/11 address to Congress "a God-touched moment and a God-touched speech." Fred Barnes wrote that "the stage was set for Bush to be God's agent of wrath." National Review Online ran ads for the Bush "Top Gun" action figure, and an article about how wonderful it was to have a presidential superhero to complement your GI Joe collection.

On Hardball, after the "Mission Accomplished" speech, G. Gordon Liddy got graphic enough to embarrass Judith Warner: "Here comes George Bush. You know, he's in his flight suit, he's striding across the deck, and he's wearing his parachute harness.... and it makes the best of his manly characteristics. He has just won every woman's vote in the United States of America!"

Presidential cultishness can be found all across the political spectrum. It’s a pathology that needs to be rooted out, because when we swoon over the man who holds the office, we risk making the presidency far more powerful than it was ever intended to be.

William Hazlitt, the 19th-century English essayist, argued that man was by nature "a worshipper of idols and a lover of kings."

As savages, Hazlitt wrote, we fashioned “gods of wood and stone and brass,” but now, thinking ourselves above superstition, “we make kings of common men, and are proud of our own handiwork.”

But America’s very existence repudiates the idea that we’re hard-wired for leader-worship. We became a nation by throwing off a king, and our Founders gave us a Constitution that’s based on the notion that all men are flawed and none should be trusted with too much power.

Americans, of all people, should recognize how bizarre and dangerous it is to fawn over professional politicians.

Examiner columnist Gene Healy is a vice president at the Cato Institute and the author of The Cult of the Presidency.

Governor Jan Brewer Names Mark Brnovich Director of the Department of Gaming

PHOENIX - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer today named Mark Brnovich as the new Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming.

“I am proud to add Mr. Brnovich to my cabinet,” stated Brewer. “He has a great understanding of gaming issues in Arizona, and his legal expertise and experience will be essential in his service to the Department of Gaming and the State of Arizona.”

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Brnovich was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. During his time there he focused on federal offenses occurring in Arizona gaming enterprises and worked closely with tribal gaming investigators, the Arizona Department of Gaming and law enforcement agencies to prosecute crimes and coordinate crime prevention efforts. He also served as Assistant Attorney General in Arizona, where he was primarily responsible for representing the Arizona Department of Gaming and providing legal advice regarding legislation, contracts, licensing and regulation of Native American gaming. In prior years, Mr. Brnovich also worked as Judge Pro Tem of Maricopa County Superior Court, Deputy Maricopa County Attorney and Command Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army National Guard. He began his extensive legal career as a law clerk for the San Diego County District Attorney and later for the Honorable Jonathan H. Schwartz in Phoenix.

In addition to his legal career, Mr. Brnovich has served as Senior Director of State Customer Relations for Corrections Corporation of America, developing and maintaining relations with various government agencies throughout the United States. He has also worked as Director for the Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute, formulating policy and conducting research and analysis. He started his career with a congressional internship in Senator John McCain’s office.

Mr. Brnovich received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Arizona State University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law. He also completed the Judge Advocate Officer Basic Course for the United States Army.

“I want to thank the outgoing Director, Mr. Paul Bullis, for his dedication, hard work, and willingness to participate in an effective transition,” said Governor Brewer.

Will Gabby Giffords Support Devastating Energy Tax?

Arizona Families Would Suffer from Skyrocketing Home Heating Costs Under “Cap-and-Tax”

Washington- Despite Democrats’ promises to deliver tax relief to families who need it the most, the recent budget proposal from the White House includes a “cap-and-trade” provision that should more appropriately be named the “cap-and-tax” provision, because if it became law it would raise energy taxes on every single person who flips on a light switch. As Congress takes the President’s federal budget under consideration, Arizona families deserve to know if Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) would support such a devastating energy tax proposal.

The cap-and-tax proposal made by President Obama would drastically increase electricity rates for every American, causing additional hardships for already struggling Arizona families. A new analysis shows that electricity rates could rise by as much as $4.3 billion per year, costing a Arizona family of four approximately an additional $2,686 per year.

NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain asks,

“Will Gabby Giffords put partisan allegiances ahead of struggling workers and support a fiscally irresponsible cap-and-tax proposal that will increase energy bills, raise taxes and overwhelm the budgets of American families?

The last thing that American families need to worry about right now is whether they will be able to cool their homes this summer or keep their families warm next winter.” Families in Arizona would be even more drastically affected, as so many families’ homes are heated with expensive fuels:

MIT researchers released an
“Assessment of U.S. Cap-and-Trade Proposals,” which shows that the increase would be an increase of more than $3,000 a year for each household.

(A Report of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Climate Change; Assessment of U.S. Cap and Trade Proposals; http://web.mit.edu/globalchange/www/MITJPSPGC_Rpt146.pd.)

What’s more disturbing is that low-income families would take the hardest hit from this “cap-and-tax” proposal: Testimony from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed that,

“The rise in prices would impose a larger burden, relative to income, on low-income households than on high-income households for two reasons. First, low-income households spend a much larger fraction of their income than do high-income households. Inaddition,energy-intensive items compose a greater share of low-income
households’ total expenditures.”

(CBO Congressional Testimony; The Distributional Consequences of a Cap-and-Trade Program for CO2 Emissions.

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/100xx/doc10018/03-12-ClimateChange_Testimony.1.1.shtml)

(Source: House Committee on Ways and Means Republican Staff, Analysis of Annual Increase in Electricity Costs,

http://www.republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/showarticle.asp?ID=539, 3/26/09)

From the OUTSIDE looking IN: AZ Legislative Republicans need to explain SCHOOL choice -vs- HEALTH care rights for disabled children

Many of the AZ Legislature’s conservative Republicans love to put on their favorite pair of Party Platform shoes and “Do the Hustle”.

Needless to say, most people fall off of platform shoes while bustin’ a move – just as most Republicans fall off of the Party Platform wagon every once in a while. But, there are some who stay on that wagon….. and this is for you.

Since the GOP is suffering huge generational & ideological gaps – The GHOST thought he would enlighten the Party Purists at the AZ Legislature for a moment.

People are watching you but they can’t understand you. Young, old, black, white, big, little, liberal and conservative. They’re all watching. They’re all voting. They’ve heard rumors about the GOP Platform and they have good questions about it. They’re trying to make you listen and they want an answer. Sadly, you still don’t get it……So, HERE’S YOUR SIGN…………..

BE CAREFUL LITTLE MOUTH WHAT YOU SAY.

Arizona’s Senate Republican Chair of the Education Accountability & Reform Committee, John Huppenthal (Chandler), issued a press release late last week that is the best example of rhetorical irony The GHOST has seen in a long time. Additional presser commentary was provided by Senate President, Bob Burns (R-Peoria) and Thayer Verschoor, (R-Gilbert). (Click HERE to see the PRESS release)

The carefully chosen words of these bleeding heart liberals conservatives pull at the heartstrings of humanity, academia and all types of Christians – as they collectively express outrage against the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling that will displace “Arizona’s most vulnerable children” from their voucher-paid private education. (Click HERE to see the COURT’s ruling.)

Senator Huppenthal said, “These children already live each day with special needs and unfortunate histories of abuse or neglect; it is tragic that now on top of that they will be yanked from perhaps the best schools they have ever known”.

Is that right?

For a hot minute, I thought I read, “These children already live each day with special needs and unfortunate histories of abuse or neglect; it is tragic that now on top of that they will be yanked from perhaps the best DOCTOR they have ever known.”

Then, I remembered that I was reading a REPUBLICAN press release, not one released by the Democrats. But, my how similar they sound….except for that one pesky word.

Using 5^th grade logic, we can deduce that:

Republicans = School choice for healthy disabled kids

Democrats = Health care for disabled kids so they can attend school, period.

Logically, the disabled children can’t function at their best in school (if at all) with untreated medical problems. ACCCHS and special State program budget cuts have killed specialized health care for many disabled kids but it takes the Supreme Court to kill private (mostly parochial) school education for the healthiest of these disabled kids.

That’s a bitter pill for many Republicans to swallow. There is an inherent poetic justice and sadness in watching the tighty-righty Republicans run to rescue the voucher program for disabled kids just weeks after they rallied to kill health care for disabled children.

How are we supposed to counter this behavior? Really, it’s the $64,000 question. We GOP soldiers in the street have run out of excuses for the Wagon Train. We do our best to explain ourselves but sometimes we have no choice but to shrug our shoulders and say, “I don’t know.”

All of those people watching the GOP that I mentioned have already taken that 5^th grade LOGIC class. They don’t understand how the brains inside the GOP can arrive at their conclusion. Care to explain? Anyone? The next generations are watching you…..while voting against you. What can we do to help?

Governor Jan Brewer Names Ben Grumbles Director of ADEQ

Benjamin H. Grumbles to lead Governor’s Policy on Environment
And Transition into Directorship of ADEQ in June 2009

PHOENIX - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer today named Benjamin H. Grumbles as her Policy Advisor for the Environment. Mr. Grumbles currently resides in Arlington, Virginia and will commute and telecommute between Virginia and Phoenix until June 19th, 2009, at which time he will have relocated to Phoenix with his wife and two school-aged children. Effective June 22, 2009, Mr. Grumbles has agreed to transition to serve as the Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).

“Mr. Grumbles is an internationally renowned expert in water
conservation and water quality and will serve this administration and the citizens of Arizona very well,” stated Brewer. “In a continued effort to fill my cabinet with the best and brightest, it became imperative that we act immediately in securing Mr. Grumbles. I am thrilled that we were able to do so.”

Mr. Grumbles, whose parents and siblings reside in Arizona, has an extensive background in environmental policy formulation having served most recently as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There he led the National Water Program involving Safe Drinking Water, Clean Water, wetlands protection, ocean dumping, and the American Indian Environmental Office. While with the EPA, he also served as Associate Administrator for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations and as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water.

Prior to his years with the EPA, Mr. Grumbles served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Environmental Counsel for the Science Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. For over fifteen years, he served in various capacities on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff, including Senior Counsel for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. His duties included legislation and oversight regarding energy and environmental research and policies of the Department of Energy, EPA, Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA.
From 1993 to 2004 he was an adjunct professor of environmental law at the George Washington University Law School.

Mr. Grumbles received his Master of Laws (LL.M) in Environmental Law, graduating with the highest honors from George Washington University Law School. He also received his J.D. from Emory University Law School and his B.A., graduating Summa Cum Laude, from Wake Forest University.

Mr. Grumbles will replace current acting Interim Director, Patrick J. Cunningham, who will resume his duties as the Deputy Director of ADEQ.

“I am thrilled that Mr. Cunningham has agreed to continue at ADEQ and resume his leadership as Deputy Director,” stated Brewer. “I have the utmost confidence in Patrick’s background, knowledge and experience as he has served so well at the helm of ADEQ during this interim period.”

SEN. JOHN McCAIN YESTERDAY ON 'MEET THE PRESS'

McCain on Sarah Palin & GOP Future

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

McCain on Obama

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

Public Schedule For Governor Jan Brewer Week of March 30, 2009

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

· National Constables Association Meeting
Governor to provide remarks
9 a.m., Omni Tucson National Golf Resort and Spa
2727 West Club Drive, Tucson

· Pima County Social Host Ordinance Press Conference
Governor to provide remarks
10:30 a.m., Pima County Board of Supervisors Office
130 West Congress Street, Tucson

· Cenpatico & Linkages Kick-Off Event
Governor to provide remarks
3:00 p.m., Mission Royale Golf Resort
11 South Mission Boulevard, Casa Grande

A New Order Rises: President Fires GM Agency Head By Robert Romano

A new order is rising.

After failing to return to profitability—as ALG News predicted they would—GM and Chrysler have been “granted” 60 and 30 days respectively to present “acceptable” plans. GM Chairman, Rick Wagoner, has been forced out as a condition to receive more federal bailout money, and Chrysler has 30 days to complete a merger with Italian automaker, Fiat.

ALG News warned these companies about accepting bailout money—that this was not an innocent favor by a benevolent government trying to “help”—that it would come with strings attached. Now, they know.

But it's too late. Such is the state of the American auto “industry.” These are no longer companies.

These are now de facto agencies of the federal government.

This is a new order not just for the American economy—but for the nation's entire system of government. The executive branch is taking upon itself seemingly limitless powers to push around those who took Federal Reserve loans or TARP companies, firms, and insurers.

Stringent terms and conditions are now being applied to the dispersal of these funds. They are called “taxpayer protections.” They are anything but. They are carte blanche to continue the bailouts, increase the troubled firms' dependency on government funds, and to further regulate them.

Therefore, the bailouts only serve to increase the taxpayers' burden, not decrease it. How does this work?

By perpetuating the economic emergency, President Obama is now ensuring that investors will want no part of troubled firms, or the bailouts—a double-edge sword. The only way the bailout firms will now be able to remain funded for the foreseeable future now will be through government-backing.

Meanwhile, Ford is increasing its market share, as ALG News has previously reported.

The President's actions today and the Treasury Secretary's move last week to request authority to seize TARP-recipient firms now crystallize the intentions of the Administration to both market and government observers. This is war.

The President is engaged in a chess match against the markets. And he is at present winning. Why?

Because, in one short year, the government has moved so quickly to take over the financial system, and now in extension all investments, pensions, funds, and everything else that presently needs to be back-stopped by the FDIC, Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and Congress.

It overtook Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the summer completely—thus ensuring that the government owns most every mortgage in the country.

It has signed up to buy every single mortgage-backed security out there, creating a limitless line on the budget without much thought as to its final, bottom line, as the bailouts pile up and spiral out of control, and the taxpayer is left on the hook to wither and dry.

All of which is a dramatic departure from constitutional limited government.

There now are no limits, and the Federal Constitution is but mere paper. Even the fiat currency the government prints with abandon now carries more value at the moment to the elected and unelected officials giving it away seemingly for free but in reality at the costly price of leverage upon the bailout's recipients.

The reason for this rapid succession to tyranny in such a short period is because there now is no effective defense of the Constitution and its limits being waged. There is a weak opposition on Capitol Hill, and a fervent and yet powerless conservative movement on the airwaves and embodied in dedicated organizations in and near the capital and around the nation.

Once these industries—whether they be the mortgage, financial, and now automakers—are subsidized by federal dollars, officials, whether they be Congressmen, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, or the President, arbitrarily apply so-called taxpayer “protections” while simultaneously perpetuating the need for taxpayer assistance.

This new order is decidedly fascist, and it will rapidly proceed to being outright socialist. First, the monster will subsidize, then it will take ownership, and then it will destroy the American economy.

And if men who love liberty do not act quickly, it will be the end of limited government as we know it.

Robert Romano is the Senior Editor of ALG News Bureau.

ALG CTA: The Obama administration is starting to look like a power hungry authoritarian regime. Tell Congress to forbid the President, Secretary of Treasury, or any other member of the executive branch from seizing private firms! This is only the beginning. Government should keep its hands off the American entrepreneurial spirit! Your member of Congress may be reached through the Capitol Operator at 202-224-3121.

http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=1082

REPUBLICAN PROFESSIONALS Arizona Tea Party Event This Thursday at The W Hotel...

You're invited to attend the Republican Professionals "Tea Party" Event on Thursday, April 2nd 6:00 PM at The W Hotel in Scottsdale.

Tea Party events are occurring across the nation to challenge the stimulus/bailout package Congress passed and President Obama's budget. Let your voice be heard, bring your friends and join us for this media covered event. Signs will not be allowed at The W Hotel.

Guest speakers include former U.S. Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr. and Tom Jenney, Director of Americans for Prosperity.

The W Hotel is located at 7277 E. Camelback Rd. in Scottsdale (SE Corner of Scottsdale and Camelback). Valet and free parking are available all around the hotel.

We have the entire second floor bar reserved and we will have drink specials available during our event. For more information on The W Hotel please visit www.whotels.com/scottsdale

Everyone is welcome to attend! Please RSVP right away as we anticipate this to be our largest event of the year.

The purpose of the Republican Professionals is to link like-minded professionals together in a monthly happy hour where they can network, socialize, and hear directly from prominent politicians and successful business leaders.

The Republican Professionals Association was started in Phoenix, Arizona and has already spread to other cities. For more information, please visit our websitehttp://www.republicanprofessionals.net/

Evite RSVP: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/AKVBLSLYIFQIJBYKABKM/rpapr02

or

Facebook RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=69426258209

PRESS RELEASE: Sean Hannity Joins Tea Parties

Another Name to Add to the List?

Sean Hannity Joins Tea Parties

Sean Hannity will be broadcasting his show "Hannity" live and on-site at the Atlanta, Georgia Tax Day Tea Party. The Tea Party will be held at 9pm EST at the Georgia State Capital. The Tax Day Tea Parties are being held across the country on April 15th to protest the unprecedented wasteful spending by the Obama Administration and certain members in Congress.

National Communications Director Juliana Johnson says,

"As we get closer and closer to the Tea Party date we continue to grow stronger. We have over 300 cities planning Tea Parties with that number growing every day. If this doesn't show that Americans are displeased that I don't know what will."

The Tax Day Tea Parties will be occuring in over 300 cities and have an expected turnout of over 150,000 people. The groups sponsoring the Tea Parties are Smart Girl Politics, the DontGo Movement, and Top Conservatives on Twitter. They have the endorsement of Newt Gingrich, Michelle Malkin, Dana Loesch, and numerous other groups.

You can read about the Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party on Sean Hannity's FOXNews blog at: http://hannity.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/03/27/special-announcement/

For more information on the DontGo Movement, please go to www.dontgomovement.com.For more information on the Tax Day Tea Parties, please go to www.taxdayteaparty.com.

LADY SUN DEVILS DEFEAT TEXAS A&M; ON TO THE ELITE 8

Congratulations to the ASU Lady Sun Devils, who defeated Texas A&M today 84 - 69 to advance to the NCAA Women's Elite 8.

I've watched the last 2 games they have played; this team has a ton of heart and grit. Hats off to Coach Charli Turner Thorne and the entire team. This is the 2nd time in the past 3 years that the Lady Devils have made the Elite 8.

Next up - #1 U-Conn Tuesday @ 4:00pm Phx Time on ESPN! GO LADY DEVILS!!!

Click here to see Jeff Metcalf's game story!

OBAMA SOAKS THE RICH: CHURCHES, DAY CARE, HOMELESS SHELTERS By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

Published on DickMorris.com on March 28, 2009


Printer-Friendly Version


President Obama's glib assertion that his reduction in tax deductions will not reduce donations is absurd. His pathetic defense at his press conference - that he would still give a $100 dollar check to charity even if he only got $11 less of tax deduction from it was both disingenuous and beside the point.


And his comment that his reduced deduction would only impact one or two percent of the nation misses the point that it is these folks who are doing almost half of the donating.


In 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, four million taxpayers had adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more. They comprised 3% of the tax returns, made 31% of the income, but donated 44% of all charitable contributions. Together, they provided charity with $81 billion in that year.

Obama's plan will cost them $10 billion in extra taxes on the income they allocated to charitable donations.


How can the president be so glibly certain that they will not curtail their charitable contributions by a like amount or even more?

Imagine all the harm Obama's program will cause. Churches will be hit most hard. They account for the largest share of charitable donations, but universities, disease research, hospitals, soup kitchens, and cultural institutions will also be hard hit.
So will international relief efforts that funnel aid abroad through churches or directly.

It is totally dishonest for Obama to pretend that his curtailment of these deductions won't hurt the poor. It will most directly impact them since most of the charities Obama is hurting focus on helping the impoverished.This proposal is not about saving money. It is about controlling it. By, in effect, transferring at least $11 billion a year from private philanthropy to government spending, Obama empowers the public sector at the expense of the voluntary one.

President Obama's recommended reduction in the tax deduction for charitable giving reflects his fundamental belief that only the government can or should help the poor. He wants to keep the impoverished directly dependent on the government - and the Democratic Party - for their daily bread.

The voluntary sector has always been the backbone of compassion in the United States. Our charitable donations dwarf those of any other country. And our system of tax deductions for giving permits us to decide what charities are worthy of our generosity - a decision Obama will transfer to the politicians under his program.


Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!

Obama's Enforcer by Floyd and Mary Beth Brown

Thursday, March 26, 2009

In Obama's entire circle of advisers, one man rises above the pack, gaining the reputation as the most ruthless political figure in America today. This man is Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff. Instead of being an impassioned ideologue, he instead enjoys utilizing Machiavellian tactics to achieve more traditional political ends.

A classic Chicago-style machine politician, Rahm will do whatever is necessary to get things done his way. With his aggressive tactics, he has earned the nickname of "Rahmbo."


He lost a finger at the age of 17, and since then Emanuel has been a driven man. Working at an Arby's he sliced his finger but he insisted on attending his prom and swimming in Lake Michigan before going to the hospital. His finger became badly infected, forcing him to have it amputated during a lengthy stay in Children's Hospital. Never the same after the incident, Emanuel lives with an intense passion for life and a drive that alienates people, but achieves results.

Once a skilled and disciplined ballet dancer, he attended college on a dance scholarship. He became involved in his first campaign as an undergraduate, and his political career took off from there. His climb began while working on Richard Daley's mayoral campaigns in the late '80s, where he proved himself an avid fundraiser. As Emanuel called donors, if they gave less than he thought they could, he would refuse to accept their contribution. Then, he resorted to goading them by stating that he thought they were wealthier and bigger donors. Oftentimes donors would call him back, apologize, and then give Emanuel's desired amount.

Cutting his teeth in Chicago machine politics helped him develop his no- holds- barred style of campaigning. As a member of the Daley machine, Obama's chief of staff has been involved in his share of shady dealings. In Emanuel's 2002 congressional race, Daley forced city patronage workers to run a get-out-the vote campaign that is still being investigated for campaign violations.

Emanuel's exploits are legendary. Once he had a disagreement with a pollster, so he sent him a rotten fish. At a dinner party in 1992, the day after Clinton's hard-won election, Emanuel viciously attacked those whom he called betrayers. Spouting their name
and shouting, "Dead! . . . Dead! . . . Dead!" he plunged a knife into the table after each name. Now, he is bringing these tactics along with his foul mouth to the White House.

This hardnosed political operative employs methods and tactics that would make Karl Rove blush. Rahm fights like a rooster in a cock fight. A political street fighter, he is the enforcer lurking behind Obama's pretty words about bipartisanship and unity. Continued...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

HOW OBAMA PARALYZES RECOVERY

CLICK HERE TO SEE DICK MORRIS COMMENTARY

60% View Pelosi Unfavorably

Friday, March 27, 2009

Sixty percent (60%) of U.S. voters now have an unfavorable opinion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including 42% Very Unfavorable, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. A growing number of her doubters seem to be fellow Democrats.

While these are Pelosi’s highest negatives yet in the current session of Congress, Republican congressional leaders haven’t been the beneficiaries. Their numbers remain virtually unchanged.

Thirty-four percent (34%) have a favorable view of Pelosi, with nine percent (9%) Very Favorable. Just seven percent (7%) have no opinion of the speaker.

Two weeks ago, 36% viewed the San Francisco congresswoman favorably (15% Very Favorable) while 53% had an unfavorable opinion of her, including 37% Very Unfavorable. Eleven percent (11%) were undecided.

Pentagon Plans to Regrow Human Body Parts

This article was sent to me by a lifelong friend of mine who works for DARPA in Washington, D.C.:

Friday, March 27, 2009

Soldiers wounded in combat will someday regrow their limbs -- if the Pentagon has its way.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has just given Massachusetts' Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) a $570,000, one-year contract to get a mammal, preferably a human, to regenerate a large body part such as a finger or even a limb.

That's Phase II of DARPA's "Restorative Injury Repair" project, which according to the DARPA Web page "will culminate in the restoration of a functional multi-tissue structure in a mammal."

WPI's CellThera for-profit unit has already achieved Phase I, which according to the school's press release "succeeded in reprogramming mouse and human skin cells to act more like stem cells, able to form the early structures needed to begin the process of re-growing lost tissues."

"The goal is to genuinely replace a muscle that's lost," WPI bioengineering researcher Raymond Page told Wired
News. "I appreciate that's a very aggressive goal."

Some salamanders can regrow lost limbs, and some lizards lost tails. But humans can generally regrow only their livers, and have to have at least one-quarter of the previous one still intact for it to happen.

On Spending and the Deficit, McCain Was Right By Byron York

3/27/09

Barack Obama used to get very upset about federal budget deficits. Denouncing an "orgy of spending and enormous deficits," he turned to John McCain during their presidential debates last fall and said, "We have had, over the last eight years, the biggest increases in deficit spending and national debt in our history…Now we have a half-trillion deficit annually…and Sen. McCain voted for four out of five of those George Bush budgets."

That was then. Now, President Obama is asking lawmakers to vote for a budget with a deficit three times the size of the one that so disturbed candidate Obama just a few months ago. And Obama foresees, for years to come, deficits that dwarf those he felt so passionately about way, way back in 2008.

Everywhere you go on Capitol Hill, you hear echoes of the last campaign's spending debate. So on Thursday morning, as the budget fight raged, I asked McCain about the president's seemingly forgotten concern about deficits. McCain doesn't like to rehash the campaign -- "The one thing Americans don't like is a sore loser," he told me -- but when I read him Obama's quote from the debate, he said, "Well, there are a number of statements that were made by then-candidate Obama which have not translated into his policies."

That's an understatement. The deficit issue could be one of
the most, if not the most, consequential of Obama's unkept campaign promises. Just how consequential was made clear last week in a little-noticed conference call featuring Budget Director Peter Orszag. Orszag was trying to explain to reporters how the Obama administration calculated its rather rosy forecasts for
economic growth. Near the end of the call, he was asked whether deficits along the lines of those predicted by the Congressional Budget Office are sustainable."

Orszag at first dodged the question, saying he was sure the final Obama budget will "reflect a fiscally sustainable path." But the questioner persisted:

Are those deficits sustainable? Relenting, Orszag said such
deficits, in the range of five percent of the Gross Domestic Product, "would lead to rising debt-to-GDP ratios in a manner that would ultimately not be sustainable."The simple version of that is: If the Congressional Budget Office projections are correct, we're headed for hell in a handbasket.

I asked McCain what might happen if Obama and Orszag get their way. First, the U.S. could have to print a lot of new money, "running the huge risk of inflation and returning to the situation of the 1970s, only far worse," McCain said. The second option is to raise taxes.

Just this week, former Clinton budget director Alice Rivlin conceded that Obama's budget could present a "scary scenario" that would "raise deficits to unsustainable levels well after the economy recovers." The solution, she wrote, is higher taxes, and not just for the richest of the rich.

Of course, that's what McCain said during the campaign. And it's what the much-maligned Joe the Plumber said, too. Remember when he took so much flak for objecting to Obama's plan to raise taxes only on those Americans making more than $250,000 a year? Joe didn't make anything near that, the critics said, so why was he worrying?

The point was not that Joe made that much, or that anybody at McCain's rallies made that much -- the vast majority didn't. The point was that Obama was promising so many things that to pay for them he would eventually have to raise taxes on people making far less than $250,000. Look out, McCain warned -- someday he'll come after you.

And now that's where we appear to be headed. At some point, Obama will likely have to bow to those in his party who say he must raise taxes if he wants to pay for health care and other expensive initiatives.

Some skeptics believe that was the plan all along. McCain wouldn't go that far, but when I brought up the idea, he did sound a bit suspicious. "Well, you set up a situation that puts spending at an unprecedented amount of GDP, and then you turn around and say, 'Of course we're going to have to raise taxes to pay for this,'" McCain told me. "I'm not saying it was their plan, but it certainly was inevitable."

State of the Republican Party Survey

When running to become your new Republican National Committee Chairman, I campaigned on a need for responsible change for our Party.

Not a change of our core values, but real change of how we go about listening to our supporters, how we communicate our message to all Americans and how we organize and win elections.

While I'm excited about the challenges and opportunities we face, I have no illusions. I am fully aware of the hard work ahead and obstacles we must overcome to start winning elections again.
But this isn't about me -- I can't do this alone.

It's about you and every Republican grassroots leader who believes in our conservative principles of limited government, economic growth, personal responsibility and a strong national defense.

And it's about empowering you to lead and giving you the tools to help our Party set a new direction for our country.

Successful campaigns cannot be run from a building in Washington. The strength of our Party comes from people like you who believe in our values and ideals and promote them in their communities.

As one of my first official acts as Chairman, I've commissioned a survey of Republican activists in EVERY state. I want to hear from each of you to understand your thoughts and opinions about our Party and how we can once again be the party of ideas.

That's why I'm asking you to do two very important things for me:

1) Please take a moment right now to fill out online the State of the Republican Party Survey for the RNC. I want you to be honest and candid in your answers -- there's no need to sugar-coat your responses after our Party's performances in the last two elections.

2) And when you complete your survey, please make a secure online contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25 to help move our Party forward and elect more Republicans in the 2009 state and 2010 congressional elections.

If you choose not to participate in this crucial project, the RNC cannot create a campaign plan to educate and mobilize the millions of Republicans we need to resist the liberal agenda Barack Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Democrats are attempting to ram through Congress.

Your guidance will also help us develop new strategies for winning the two Governor's races held this year.

The elections in New Jersey and Virginia offer Republicans a chance to demonstrate that we got your message and will help us seize the momentum.

But we cannot lay the groundwork for winning this year and next without your participation in this survey and your active involvement in the RNC.

So please complete your State of the Republican Party Survey online today and support the RNC's efforts to grow our Party by making a secure contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25.

Our Party cannot do this without you. Please take this survey today.

Sincerely,

Michael Steele

Chairman, Republican National Committee

P.S. As the new Chairman I'm eager to hear your views about what our Party must do better to promote our message and win elections. I want our Party's strongest supporters to have a voice in setting our new direction. Please complete your State of the Republican Party Survey online today and make a special contribution of $1,000, $500, $100, $50, or $25 to support the RNC's party-building programs. Thank you.

Contributions or gifts to the Republican National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
Contributions from corporations, labor unions, federal contractors and foreign nationals without permanent residency status are prohibited.

Poll of change: Obama’s job approval slipping to ‘50-50’ By Joe Dwinell

Updated 2d 22h ago

The honeymoon is over, according to a national poll out today as President Obama’s job approval stumbles to about 50 percent over the lack of improvement with the crippled economy.

The sobering numbers come as the president backpedals from two prime-time gaffes - one comparing his bowling score to a Special Olympian and another awkwardly laughing about the economy, which prompted Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes” to ask “are you punch-drunk?”

Pollster John Zogby said his poll will show Americans split on the president’s performance. He said the score factors out to “about 50-50.”

The poll, released this afternoon, shows the president’s “excellent or good” job performance rating hitting 49 percent, down 3 points from a March 5 Zogby poll. Other poll highlights include:

• 50 percent rate Obama’s performance as “fair or good.”

• 1 percent are not sure about the president’s performance.

• 45 percent believe the nation is heading in the right direction, an upward trend.

• 91 percent of Democrats rate the president favorably.

• 14 percent of Republicans support his performance in office.

Some polls show Obama coasting with a 65 percent job approval, but not in Zogby’s tally.

“The numbers are going down,” Zogby told the Herald. “It’s not because of the gaffes, but a combination of high expectations and that things aren’t moving fast enough with the economy.”

Zogby said any stumbling does serve as “red-meat fodder” for administration antagonists.

As for the president’s love of the limelight, it could backfire, according to a media watcher.
“I thought he overexposed himself weeks ago,” said Tobe Berkovitz, associate dean of Boston University’s College of Communication.

“I wonder when the public will say ‘Instead of being in front of the camera, be in front of a spreadsheet.’ ”

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

MARK LEVIN'S TIMELY REMINDER By DICK MORRIS

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In more normal times, we would not need Mark R. Levin's treatise Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto. We would know which side to be on and the points in his Manifesto would be, well, manifest.But in this day, when a socialist sits in the White House, committed to expanding what Levin calls the "soft tyranny" of government regulation to every aspect of our economic and corporate life, we all need to read and remember what Levin writes in his new book.



Levin defines, again for us, what it means to be free and in the private sector. Why do we need this reminder?


Don't we all remember from the Reagan days?


But the more you read Levin's remarkable book, the more you realize how we have all been lured into socialism, how much we have already surrendered. Liberty and Tyranny makes us understand who we are, where we want to go, and what the detours we must eschew along the way are.


He begins by eloquently defining what it means to be for us to live in civil society as free people:"...the individual in civil society strives, albeit imperfectly, to be virtuous - that is restrained, ethical, and honorable. He rejects the relativism that blurs the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust and means and ends.

"The very comprehensiveness of Levin's book reminds us of the broad offensive of the Obama Administration. It aims not simply to expand government, but to contract our freedom. Levin spells out how.

Freedoms we take for granted - like being able to provide medical care for your family - are at risk in this new socialist regime we have elected.


The leading contribution of the Levin book is to define and explain "soft tyranny." It is soft tyranny that requires us to sit by passively while our ethic of cultural assimilation is replaced by a permanent enshrining of diversity. It bids we let our rights to our own property, that we have worked for and acquired, be sublimated to government power disguised as human rights. It asks that we elevate the demand for equality over that for economic initiative and the incentives which propel them.


Soft tyranny wants us to wait on a global consensus to act, even when inaction leads to genocide in Bosnia, homicide in Iraq and nuclear armaments in Iran.


But there are no posters for socialism. It advances masked. Its soft tyranny is presaged by a20softer seduction as its coils tight around us. Mark Levin's book explains what the soft tyrants are trying to do and how we can fight back.


One would wish we didn't need such a book at this time. But we do!

Get Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto

Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns!