U.S. National Debt Tops $14 Trillion

You may not have noticed it during the busy holiday rush, but the U.S. national debt has topped $14 trillion under Barack Obama.

It now stands at $14,001,550,000 - and rising by the second. Broken down by population, every man, woman and child in the United States owes $45,000.

The interest alone on the national debt has now topped $3.5 trillion.

Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats have increased the national debt by more than $3 trillion in just two years.

The debt was $10.6 trillion when Obama took office in January 2009.

And for the Kool-Aid drinkers out there who can't accept the fact that Obama has plunged the nation into uncharted debt territory, consider that it took George W. Bush eight full years to increase the debt by $4.9 trillion.

Left unchecked, Obama is on pace to push the debt to $16.5 trillion in 2012 (his last year in office) or $6 trillion more than the day he was sworn in.

If you can stomach it, follow the real-time debt at http://www.usdebtclock.org/

McChrystal's Failure Is Also President Obama's Failure

First off lets not give any credit to the behavior of General McChrystal and the other top military staff in his "inner circle" who were dumb enough to allow exclusive access to a reporter from Rolling Stones Magazine. That is just insane and unprecedented. From a military standpoint his behavior was inexcusable and his resignation was warranted considering the circumstances.

Now I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but the unusual circumstances of how all of this went down has to make the average American wonder what General McChrystal's motives really were in allowing the Rolling Stones Magazine article titled, "The Runaway General" to be written let alone be publish? Just think about it for a second. An exclusive interview with a reporter from Rolling Stones Magazine. Come on!! As an American this makes me wonder just what the hell is going on in Afghanistan?

Then on top of the fiasco of McChrystal's resignation yesterday the liberal media began spinning the events as President Obama finally demonstrating his strong leadership skills. Last night on Hardball, Chris Matthews was loving all over the President highlighting that Obama was finally stepping up and demonstrating his leadership skills by fulfilling his Constitutional duty as Commander in Chief. Really Chris Matthews. After more than a year in office he finally is stepping up and leading after he was backed into a corner by McChrystal and otherwise had no choice? Sounds like real leadership to me.

The truth is that Obama's Afghanistan strategy is nothing short of a circus at this point. Which also includes the events of yesterday that utimately led to McChrystal's resignation. The handling of the war in Afghanistan by President Obama and his administration officials during the past year should anger every American who supports our brave men and women in uniform. All the Obama Administration has accomplished thus far according to the article is to make things worse in Afghanistan by increasing political tensions with his withdrawal date strategy and the actions of his inept administration officials in Afghanistan. Which by the way resulted in bolstering support for the Taliban and increased the number of American soldiers killed.

In my opinion McChrystal must have been so frustrated with the Obama Administration's policies that he had a, "you want the truth you can't handle the truth" moment. Or maybe he thought that the prospects of winning the war were so bad that he just thought to himself what the hell. Either way I have tremendous sympathy for the man after reading the article. What did we expect him to do give his two weeks notice and collect unemployment? I hope he receives some credit for shinning a much needed light on just how bad the situation is in Afghanistan. I am hopeful that the the Rolling Stone Magazine article will be read for what it really is a scathing indictment of the failed policies of President Obama.

From Beyond the Grave,....

Herb Denenberg passed away this week, but even he saw the Emperor had no clothes:



BTW-note the poster, our own Skye Blue!!

From the Editor: Herb we love you too and your warning will not fall on deaf ears. I encourage everyone to find the nearest Tea Party Group and get fired up to take back our country. Herb was a citizen patriot and that is what we need to save our country!

Conservative News: The Disemboweling of America - HUMAN EVENTS

Pat Buchanan has an excellent article today on the state of American industry and the growth of big government under both Bush administrations and the Clinton administration. All have basically outsourced American industry while growing the size of government and running up huge deficits. Both political parties are guilty of trading good, hardworking American jobs for international political favors. Now we have a so called service economy based on what? That's right more government.

Things that we once made in America -- indeed, we made everything -- we now buy from abroad with money that we borrow from abroad.

Over this Lost Decade, 5.8 million manufacturing jobs, one of every three we had in Y2K, disappeared. That unprecedented job loss was partly made up by adding 1.9 million government workers.

The last decade was the first in history where government employed more workers than manufacturing, a stunning development to those of us who remember an America where nearly one-third of the U.S. labor force was producing almost all of our goods and much of the world's, as well.

Click Here To Read More

For those voters out there who think the American economy now under the control of President Obama is going to turn around soon are absolutely crazy. I have to give Pat Buchanan credit for at least speaking the truth about what we have become as a nation. America doesn't create anything. It doesn't produce anything. We need big government to prop up the failing industries that we do have. Our government's free trade economic policies have basically eliminated the American middle class and outsourced our livelihoods. I think it is high time for another revolution in America. It is time for a TEA PARTY Revolution!!!!!

Say What? Rev. Wright Claims Fox News Ruined His Granddaughter's Senior Prom | NewsBusters.org

Say What? Rev. Wright Claims Fox News Ruined His Granddaughter's Senior Prom | NewsBusters.org

Remember 'Culture Of Corruption'

"Culture Of Corruption" was a phrase commonly used by Democratic Party leaders like Howard Dean, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi when referring to the Republican controlled Congress during the events leading up to the 2006 midterm elections.

The phrase began to catch on with the Democratic Party's base after a series of political scandals involving Republican politicians rocked the political landscape in Washington D.C. culminating in the indictment of then House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, by a Texas court for violating Texas campaign finance laws. The phrase began to be repeated over and over again on Countdown by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and during a statement on Delay's indictment the current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated the following:

"The criminal indictment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people."

Democratic Party leaders were able to nationalize the election and define the Republican majority as a bunch of crooks that were out of touch with the American people. This eventually led to sweeping victories by democratic candidates across the country as the Democratic Party regained control of Congress for the first time since 1994.

The American People realized that the republican majority lost its way and entrusted democrats to take the country in a new direction. But now we look a head to the 2010 midterm elections and it looks like the same Democratic Party leadership that used the phrase to regain control of Congress is fostering a "Culture Of Corruption" themselves.

Many national news sources reported yesterday that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), the embattled Chairman of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee, has been admonished by the House Ethics committee. According to the committee's findings, Rangel violated House rules by allowing corporations to pay for a number of trips he and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus took to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008.

According to the ethics panel's report, two of Rangel's staff knew the origins of the money but "submitted false or misleading information" to gain the committee's approval. The report also indicated that they were unable to determine exactly what Rangel himself knew of the false information given to the committee.

Fox News covered the press conference held by Rangel at the Capitol late Thursday night after he was informed of the Ethic Committee's findings. Rangel stated the following at the press conference:

"I don't want to be critical of the committee. But common sense dictates that members of Congress shouldn't be held responsible for what could be mistakes by staff unless there's reason to believe the member knew or should have known," Rangel said.

Rangel called the Ethics Committee's ruling "disturbing." He said he wouldn't comment further until he spoke with his attorney.

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This is the first ruling in a series of House Ethics Committee's investigations that have plagued Rangel since he was appointed Chairman of the House Ways & Means committee by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Apparently Rangel has failed to report over a million dollars worth of assets including a Merrill Lynch account valued between $250,000 and $500,000 dollars. Rengal also is being investigated separately for failing to pay federal taxes on rental properties.

Despite knowledge of these investigations Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic House leadership seem hell bent on allowing Rangel to keep his Chairmanship.

What Went Wrong With The 'Change We Can Believe In' Revolution

The sudden drop in popularity of President Obama and democrats in general has to baffle mainstream political pundits. I've lived through a few conservative revolutions in my lifetime. Both the Reagan Revolution and the Newt Gingrich led Republican Revolution of 1994 were both conservative movements that had real political legs changing the Country's political landscape for 8 to 12 years. However, the "Change We Can Believe In" revolution lasted barely two years.

The architects of this Obama led revolution David Plouffe, Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod managed to tap into the mood of an American electorate who at the time was desperately seeking CHANGE from Bush Administration's policies. Obama candidacy rode this momentum through the Democratic Presidential Primary defeating Washington insider Hillary Clinton. The momentum continued to carry Obama into the fall where he won a very convincing victory over GOP nominee Senator John McCain.

The revolution peeked with the election of President Obama in November of 2008 and now has been on a downward slide ever since. I must admit that the Democratic Party's victory was so sweeping that I thought it would be decades before another republican majority controlled Congress.

This year the political landscape of the country has already changed and democratic incumbents up for re-election in Congress are feeling the heat from the many political missteps by Congressional leaders and the Obama Administration.

Here is a list of missteps that have tipped the scale favoring republicans this election year:

1. Over estimating their political mandate that depended heavily on the idea of CHANGE. The country, especially independents, didn't vote for a move to more left of center policies. They just wanted change for change sake. This miscalculation led to the Obama Administration pushing an agenda geared towards satisfying the liberal left wing of the Democratic Party. This fatal mistake is why independents left the movement and has given rise to the Tea Party movement.

2. Passing a stimulus bill packed full of pork rather than real economic policy. The Obama Administration called the bill "shovel ready", but the bill was less stimulating to the American people who are still suffering from near 10% unemployment.

3. Focusing on passing health care reform instead of economic recovery. The now year long debacle has revealed to the American people Washington's true colors. The political partisanship and backroom, deal making continues to demonstrate that nothing really has changed in Washington at all. Obama and Congressional Democrats still haven't caught on to the fact that the more this health care debacle drags on the lower their poll numbers go!

4. The liberal media's portrayal of President Obama as a larger than life, Hollywood mogul has not helped the President's real poll numbers. The Obama is here, Obama everywhere strategy of the White House staff hasn't made Obama look very presidential. It is almost like Obama is still campaigning.

5. The beer summit staring President Obama, Professor Gates of Harvard, and police officer Crowley whom arrested Gates for trying to brake into his house. Obama said that the police officer acted "stupidly" in a press conference. In hindsight now I have to say the entire event was stupid.

6. President Obama losing the Chicago Olympic bid. This was an embarrassment and a first in a string of losses.

7. President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Accepting the honor before accomplishing anything really set well with the American people.

8. Accepting Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter into the Democratic ranks with open arms. This was a very big mistake. Obama and the Democratic leadership aligned themselves with and campaigned for Specter putting them in direct conflict with the CHANGE mantra that Obama so elegantly spouted during his campaign.

9. The two deals worked out by Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, with Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson and Louisiana Sen. Landrieu in order to pass the Senate's Health Care Bill. This has left many Americans wondering if they can trust the current Congressional leadership.

10. Underestimating the political influence of the Tea Party movement. The Massachusetts special election proved that the continued disdain for the Tea Party movement by leaders in the Democratic Party is not paying off at the ballot box. They are the ones looking like fools for attacking a movement that is advocating for limited government. An idea that has been popular in America for over 200 years.

11. Underestimating just how much of a political issue sound fiscal policy and the growing federal deficit would be this election year.

Forward to the Past

By John D McGinnis

George Will recently wrote that American government is largely a redistribution device from the young to the old. The size and growth of entitlements, most of which are for the benefit of the elderly, and the growing amount of health care expenses with the largest portion of them going to the elderly, make his point. Will concludes that by allocating more and more dollars to the old, American government is investing in its past.

There is another way our government sacrifices our future to invest in the past. Virtually all government economic development and economic policy is focused on the past. Witness the call for rail projects in the State of the Union address. Even high speed rail is an old idea and if it needs government subsidies to come into existence, how good an idea can it be? Still, legions of politicians on both sides of the political aisle, will get behind the idea, because they can grasped the concept of rail.

Economies, however, advance by concepts that aren't even known by politicians or most people in general. At the time, did any politician or pundit understand what Henry Ford and John Rockefeller were doing to change the world? Did they understand what Edison was doing? Who saw what Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were going to do 30 years ago? The point is, what politicians push is stuff that already exists, because that's all they see and all they know. They learn quickly how to exercise control and peddle influence in existing endeavors. They are merchants of the past and status quo. But economies advance, as Friedrich Hayek often pointed out, by discoveries and innovations that nobody can anticipate. When politicians redistribute wealth to the already known and established sectors of our economy, they not only reduce the opportunity available for advancing our standard of living, but they also provide incentives to stifle economic progress. This happens due to the fact that established businesses will play the political game, curry favor with political donations, and use government as a lifeline rather than engaging the fickle and responsive marketplace.

Oversight of our economy by government and quasi-governmental "economic development" organizations does not work. If it did, the 9th and 12th Congressional Districts in Pennsylvania would be leading the world in prosperity. Instead, those districts are plagued with a culture of dependency and economic stagnation. They are just two examples of so many across our Commonwealth and our county where elected officials, who have the hubris of thinking they know best and who disregard liberty and constitutional government, impose their out-of-date thinking on the rest of us.

State Of Narcissism, President Obama's State Of The Union Address

According to Wikipedia, the definition of narcissism is defined as having or exhibiting the personality trait of egotism, specifically in reference to a set of character traits associated with self-image ego. The terms narcissism, narcissistic, and narcissist are often used as pejoratives, denoting vanity, conceit, egotism or simple selfishness. Sometimes it can be applied to a group in the terms of elitism. I just think it is kind of funny how the simple definition of the word narcissism pretty much sums up President Obama's entire State Of The Union Address to Congress Wednesday night.

As I watched the entire State of the Union speech, I couldn't help but feel like I was listening to my high school principal telling me just how bad of a person I was and how listening to him would make my life better.

In fact, the speech wasn't really a speech. It was more like a lecture on how things ought to be according to President Obama's world view. The speech did not clearly lay out the challenges we face as a nation and what the Obama administration plans to do about them. Then to say in the speech that the American people need to muster up the courage to follow him was just a slap in the face.

It baffles me how someone who campaigned on changing the tone in Washington continues to snub his nose at opposing views. It is because of Obama's leadership not former President Bush's, Washington is now more partisan than ever. In his speech President Obama was lecturing everyone. Congressional republicans, the American people, and even the Supreme Court Justices were the victims of President Obama's furry. That kind of tone really isn't stirring up bipartisanship in Washington.

President Obama also made it clear in the speech that he and the liberal left wing of the Democratic Party will continue to shove their liberal agenda down people's throats. Word to the President and democrats controlling Congress, this is the real reason the American people are frustrated and angry. It is a failure to listen not communicate that is the real problem.

What the speech did do is demonstrate just how out of touch the President and the Democratic Party is with the challenges that everyday Americans face each day. They believe the answer to our problems is more President Obama and more government control of our industry and our lives. What the American people need right now is not a helping hand but a strong plan to move our country forward. That just wasn't evident in the State of the Union Address.

President Obama and the Democratic Congress's Strategy for 2010

With unemployment above ten percent, I just cannot believe that the idiots in Washington feel the need to shove Health Care reform down our throats. This just proves to the American People that the leadership in Washington is out of touch with the concerns of their constituents.

Then you add to this mess a massive stimulus bill that was full of Democratic Party pork and pet projects. They would have accomplished more stimulus if they would have passed tax breaks for Viagra users. Probably would have stimulated the economy more with that strategy.

Things are just crazy in Washington right now. Voters really have to question what exactly were the Democratic Party accomplishments this year? 2009 What a waste. "YES We Can" has turned out to be "Yes we can't"!