It was ____ who said....

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."


A)  Speaker of the House John Boehner

B)   Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell

C)   Titular Head of the Republican Party Rush Limbaugh

D)   Speacher Extraordinaire Barack "Words Matter" Obama

ANSWER:   D.  Senator Barack Obama, 2006. Congressional Record, S.2237-8, 3/16/06


The "Debt Limit" at that time was $8.5 trillion.  That was the year Obama joined the Senate.  They are now at $14.5 trillion.

Don't worry, he didn't 'flip flop,' he wasn't 'wrong,' he wasn't a 'partisan hack'...

"He now believes it was a mistake..." - White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. 

Don't worry, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner knows what he is doing, he went to an expensive college:

"Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner now estimates that the nation's debt ceiling will be reached no later than May 16, and has urged Congress to act before then...Geithner noted that the Treasury Department can take "extraordinary measures" to buy time -- about eight extra weeks, maximum -- after the May deadline..." White House: Obama Vote Against Raising Debt Limit a 'Mistake'

Californication...

LAPD makes it easier for illegal immigrant drivers

This was from earlier in the year, but it just came to my attention on the other coast.  The Los Angeles Police Department had a policy that vehicles stopped at sobriety checkpoints, in which the driver had no license (i.e. shouldn't be driving), the vehicles was towed, and the registered owner could come pick it up.

The point (which I believe started with DUIs in San Francisco about ten years ago) was that you could issue people tickets...which meant nothing.  Even if they did go to court, the fines were not enough to stop them from driving.  (Note:  if the driver does not have a license, do you think he/she has insurance?).  So they passed a law that took away the vehicle...temporarily.

In Arizona - it wasn't just for DUIs, if you were in an accident, or ANY traffic stop, and you had NO DRIVER LICENSE, NO PROOF OF INSURANCE - the vehicle was towed.  The owner (you can't be a 'registered owner' without a driver license) could pick up the vehicle the next day.


What was the result?  Many cars were towed that NOBODY came to pick up.  Why?  Because the registrations were in names of people who had no idea about the car, or allowed their name to be used but didn't care to get involved to pick up the car.

...so, back to LAPD:

“As we reviewed our impound policies it became obvious to me that they had disparate impact on individuals based on something that was entirely out of their control," Beck said.

California doesn’t issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Under the new policy, officers will give unlicensed illegal immigrants “reasonable time” to find someone else to drive their cars home. 

"I think that in the course of time he will be acknowledged as a great police chief and a very wise man because this is the right thing to do," said Juan Jose Gutierrez of Vamos Unidos U.S.A.


God Bless America!

Pro Life Choice...

Pilot survives night in Lake Huron after plane crashes

Michael Trapp's plane crashed in Lake Huron.  He survived.  The plane sunk, and he survived...by treading water for 17 hours. 

I have often wondered how long I could tread water for.  I believe I could do it until I succumbed to something else, like hypothermia, or shark attack...but that I could keep going, not falling to exhaustion. My current record is 10 minutes...1,010 minutes shy of Trapp's feat.  It is actually quite boring.  The 10 minutes was fully clothed, with boots, as part of survival training, and I passed the time by making fun of people that were having difficulties, and swimming around them, pretending to go under.  At ten minutes - we had to move on to the next test.

*Note to self:  If you crash your plane into Lake Huron...do it in the summer!

Operation Informant Runner...

Column: ATF’s Melson May Have a Second Wind; Should FBI Have Used Violent Gun Smuggler as Informant?

"...If you haven’t been following that closely: ATF was looking at some guy, who had a reputation as a violent gun dealer for the Mexican Cartels — only to find out that the FBI was using this guy as an informant. So of course, ATF had to back off..."

"...maybe, just maybe, the FBI needs to draw the line with some informants (like Bulger) when it appears their crimes out weigh the benefits of getting the information..." As far as the FBI goes, the line has been drawn...If there is any hint that an informant is committing unauthorized illegal activity - the FBI shuts him/her down.  This is part of the reason that the FBI doesn't...well...arrest alot of people.  When they are successful, often times, at the end of an investigation, when all the bad guys are in jail...and they talk to each other...they figure out that the one bad guy not in jail...was the informant.

"...Then there’s the issue of doing the right thing. The FBI was dealing with a major gun runner. It should have given ATF a heads up that it was working the guy. It didn’t. Now, with this mess, who knows. The informant may end up dead as a result of this all coming to the surface..."  I wonder if the FBI agents knew their "informant" was a major gun runner?  If so - score!  I can tell you this, if the FBI muckety-mucks had known - he would not be an "informant", game over, shut down - they would rather NOT arrest anybody, NOT shut down the gun running, than face the headlines...that they are facing. Which, to me, shows they (the muckety-mucks) didn't know. 

"...In any event, this whole mess can’t be good for anybody and it certainly can’t help the already strained the relationship between the FBI and ATF..." True that. Then again...why is there an ATF? Why is there a DEA?

Question:  Do you know what FBI agents, ATF agents and DEA agents have in common?




Answer:  They all applied to the FBI.


Just kidding! Can't we all just get along.  There needs to be some tightening up at the ATF...but there needs to be some loosening up at the Bu...

Wait what?

Last week, it was big news that "Syrian protesters" attacked the American Embassy...mind you, those were supporters of murderous dictator Bashar al-Assad (how do you say astro-turf in Arabic?)

United States Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford reacted and posted some comments on his Facebook page...then some real Syrian protesters assaulted Ford's vehicle...with olive branches and roses.

I Can't Wait...

..when they announce the "agreement" - it will all be fixed, or on its way to being fixed.  Whew! That was close! Re-election for all!

Freedom...