Obama's Approval Slide

Starting Aug. 1, Rasmussen added a new graphic highlighting the President’s overall levels of approval.

Cash for Clunkers Web Site Allows Govt to Track Your Computer, Seize Private Info

When a dealer goes to cars.gov to participate in the "Cash for Clunkers" program, and proceeds past the login, they are met with some very disturbing Privacy Act language:

A warning box will pop up, and it reads:

‘This application provides to the DoT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, your computer is considered a federal computer system and it is property of the United States government ... Any and all uses of this system and all files on this system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized CARS, DoT and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.'

Kimberly Guilfoyle, a legal analyst for Fox News, has interpreted the language to mean the government will assume very broad authority over your computer -- including the ability to seize personal and private information.

Guilfoyle also said legally the government can use Web software to track your computer any time they want once you've logged into the site.

GDP Shrinks, Economy 2X Worse Than Predicted: Press Sees Good News

The first 12 months of the U.S. recession saw the economy shrink more than twice as much as previously estimated, reflecting even bigger declines in consumer spending and housing, revised figures showed.

The world’s largest economy contracted 1.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the last three months of 2008, compared with the 0.8 percent drop previously on the books, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.

The economy sank at a pace of 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, the Commerce Department report shows. Many economists were predicting a 1.5 percent drop. This prompted many in the media to peg the report as good news.

With the contraction in the second quarter, U.S. GDP has fallen for four straight quarters for the first time since government records started in 1947.

AP said that the recession is winding down. CNN said the pain is easing. AFP said the economy is improving. Reuters said U.S. economy fares better than expected.

Historic Obamanation: Illegal Alien Population Drops by 1.7 M illion

You no longer have to guess that things aren't going at all well in the economy when the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has dropped nearly 14 percent in two years, and is still declining.

The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that since summer 2007 the illegal-immigrant population has dropped from 12.5 million -- its peak -- to 10.8 million in the first quarter of 2009.

The CIS report also said there is evidence that the number of new illegal immigrants arriving has fallen by about one-third in the past two years compared to earlier this decade.

From The Hill.

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, July 30: A New Low

The red line says it all....

Read it.

Taxes of Top 1% Now Exceed That of Bottom 95%

Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the "rich" are not paying their fair share of taxes and disproportionately benefited from the Bush tax cuts.

The IRS data shows that in 2007 -- the most recent data available -- the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government. This is the highest percentage in modern history. By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8 percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the year following the 1986 tax reform act.

Read it.

The Obama Czar List: 32 Unelected, Unaccountable Officials

Here is a list of 32 unelected people spending your tax dollars.

Read it (Excel).

As Poll Numbers Plummet, Obama Plays a Familiar Card

Facing the first real rough patch of his presidency, President Obama and his supporters are once again resorting to a tried-and-true tactic: attacking George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, The Washington Times notes.

In his White House press conference last week, Mr. Obama referred to the Bush era at least nine times, three times lamenting that he "inherited" a $1.3 trillion debt that has set back his administration's efforts to fix the economy.

With the former president lying low in Dallas, largely focused on crafting his memoirs, Mr. Obama has increasingly attempted to exploit Mr. Bush when discussing the weak economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the difficulty closing the military prison at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

As he took power, Mr. Obama promised a "new era of responsibility" that would transcend partisan politics.

"For a guy who campaigned on taking responsibility and looking forward, he spends an awful lot of time pointing fingers and looking backward," said former Bush deputy press secretary Tony Fratto, who has begun defending the previous administration.

Read it.

See chart.

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, July 28

The red line says it all....

Newsweek Obama Campaign Reporter Joins Obama Administration

The mutual back scratching and slobbering love affair between so-called journalists and Obama continues. Here's news of the most recent open-mouthed, tongue lapping exchange.

From The American Spectator:

Daren Briscoe, a Newsweek correspondent who was embedded with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, has taken a job with the Obama administration, according to an email sent to a listserv of his classmates at the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

The email, written by Time reporter and fellow Columbia grad Jay Newton-Small, said Briscoe would be serving as deputy associate director of public affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy as of Monday.

"Despite his multiple basketball games with our commander-in-chief, he always brought a skeptical eye to his work and in conversations about the candidate," Newton-Small wrote the email.

Briscoe's campaign reporting helped provide the basis for Newsweek's book on the campaign, A Long Time Coming.

Briscoe will work for Obama "drug czar" Gil Kerlikowske, who was sworn in on June 19.

The 5 Freedoms Obama Health Care Will Kill

According to Fortune magazine, there are five freedoms that you have now that the Democrats in Congress intend to take away from you. These are in the actual legislation.

Bluntly, Obama is lying to your face says he won't take these freedoms from you.

While the bill is written in the House, it's still Obama's health care bill. He can claim one thing while doing something totally different. All he has to do is sign the legislation.

1. Freedom to choose what’s in your plan
2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs
3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage
4. Freedom to keep your existing plan
5. Freedom to choose your doctors

Read it.

Newsweek: The Recession is Over

Mark this day, July 27, 2008.

Daniel Gross, writing July 25 in Newsweek magazine, on a day nearly half of the United States reported unemployment rates over 10 percent, said the recession is over.

Link.

Can we now dump the failed stimulus?

Then again, ABC News reported the same news on May, 12 2009.

Link.

Can we now dump the failed stimulus?

Senior Dem Lawmaker: No Point in Reading Obama Health Care Bill Without 2 Lawyers to Interpret

During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.

“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.

“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”

Video.

Democrats Alone CAN But WON'T Deliver Obamacare

Mainstream media outlets for the past few days have reported President Barack Obama's push to overhaul health care needs Republican votes to pass.

However, Democrats have controlling majorities in both the House and Senate. Any notion that Republicans are needed to pass the bill yells for scrutiny.

Democrat officials acknowledged Sunday that Obama's plan would not pass without the aid of a doubtful GOP, whose members are almost united against the White House effort.

"The only thing bipartisan about the measure so far is the opposition to it," said Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Without any Republican input into the Obama plan, why do Democrats expect the support of the minority?

Democrats need cover in order to spread the blame for a disaster-in-the-making.

WaPo Bombshell: Obama Hiding Costs of Health Care Reform

President Barack Obama last week perhaps had his worst week since he was forced to throw his spiritual mentor, and longtime, friend Rev. Jeremiah Wright, under the bus.

It got a lot worse Sunday when the Washington Post editorial board accused the President of withholding from the public the true costs of the health care reform he so eagerly seeks:

Link.

The Health-Care Sacrifice
What President Obama needs to tell the public about the cost of reform

Sunday, July 26, 2009

PRESIDENT OBAMA sometimes presents health-care reform as a pain-free proposition, as simple as choosing the red pill over the blue -- one that's no more effective but costs twice as much. Asked at his news conference whether "the American people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen," Mr. Obama's basic answer was no. "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier," he said.

But Mr. Obama's soothing bedside manner masks the reality that getting health costs under control will require making difficult choices about what procedures and medications to cover. It will require saying no, or having the patient pay more, at times when the extra expense is not justified by the marginal improvement in care. Mr. Obama is right that sticking with the status quo is a bad alternative, but he isn't leveling about the consequences of change.

Are you clicking the link right now to make sure this really was a Washington Post editorial? Well, it gets better:

Take Mr. Obama's red pill-blue pill example. What if the pricey blue pill is actually better than the cheaper red one? What if it's better but just a little bit? What happens when a yellow pill comes along, costing twice as much as the blue? What happens if there's a new procedure that cures the ailment, but at an even bigger cost? [...]

The fundamental driver of health-care inflation is technological innovation. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that new technology accounts for about half the increase in health-care costs over the past several decades.

This is, for the most part, a good thing. Adjusted for inflation, health-care spending per person is six times what it was 40 years ago. But no one today would settle for 1960s-style medicine. Treating patients with heart disease was inexpensive then, because there wasn't a great way to detect problems before a heart attack and not much to do afterward. Today, angiograms can diagnose blockages. Bypasses and angioplasty can fix them. Drugs such as beta blockers can prevent repeat heart attacks. So spending for coronary care has soared, along with survival rates. Some medical innovations can save money, but the general arc has been better treatment -- at higher costs.

This is what those on the left and most in the mainstream media don't get.

Yes, course health care costs have dramatically increased in the last 40 years as have health insurance premiums. But what do you get for the extra expense now?

There's a reason why the fastest growing segment of our population is over the age of 80.

But that comes with a price.

Democrat's 'Retarded' Health Care Bill

The proposed health-reform bill from the House of Representatives refers to mentally disabled people as "retarded" -- a term advocates, relatives and physicians find outdated and offensive.

The bill refers to: "A hospital or a nursing facility or intermediate-care facility for the mentally retarded...."

If you wanted proof that 20-something Congressional staffers are the ones really running the government, you need look no further than this example. It smacks of immaturity.

Then again, this is what we come to expect from a political ideology that empowers the president to refer to his poor bowling skills on "The Tonight Show" as "like the Special Olympics," and say police were acting "stupidly" when protecting the public.

I wonder what would happen if the bill refereed to African-Americans as colored?

Read it.

Obama Tracking Poll Hits New Low: -11

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday, July 26, shows that 29% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -11. That’s the first time his ratings have reached double digits in negative territory.

Read it.