"Beware the greedy hand of government, thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry." --Thomas Paine

What does President Obama say: "We begin this year and this administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action. ...[I]f we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse." (which means more Government)

"As he has done so often, Obama pronounced debates about the size of government as irrelevant. What matters is 'whether it works.' Quietly but purposefully, he was overturning the Reagan revolution." --Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne

"So maybe liberals can stop acting as if the entire nation could at last come together in a 'unity of purpose' if only conservatives would stop fomenting 'conflict and discord' -- as Obama suggested in his inaugural address. We're not the ones who booed a departing president. ...

Liberals always have to play the victim, acting as if they merely want to bring the nation together in hope and unity in the face of petulant, stick-in-the-mud conservatives. Meanwhile, they are the ones booing, heckling and publicly fantasizing about the assassination of those who disagree with them on policy matters. ...

Republicans are not the ones who need to be told that 'the time has come to set aside childish things' -- as Obama said of his own assumption of the presidency. Remember? We're the ones who managed to gaze upon Carter at the conclusion of his abomination of a presidency without booing." --columnist Ann Coulter

"If we don't get this done we [the Democrats] could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can't let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That's how things don't get done in this town." --Barack Obama, more concerned with re-election that America

Obama advised Republicans last Friday to stop listening to Limbaugh if they wanted to get along with Democrats and the administration. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Obama said to Republican leaders who met with the president to talk about the stimulus package.


"Bashing Rush Limbaugh last week, Obama urged GOP lawmakers to ignore the voices of obstructionism and sign on to his behemoth stimulus package: 'We shouldn't let partisan politics derail what are very important things that need to get done.' ... History has shown us that 'Get Things Done' is mindless liberal code for passing ineffective legislation and expanding government for government's sake." --columnist Michelle Malkin

"There is something eerie, Big Brother-like in Obama's actions. He will deny it, of course, but this is an attack on Limbaugh's and all conservatives right to free speech. He wants to set the stage for the Fairness Doctrine. And he's doing it through character assassination with the goal of making Rush "public enemy number one." -- Brent Bozell


The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched an online petition against Rush, they are asking their readers to express their outrage at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for saying last week that he wanted President Barack Obama to fail. And, this isn't only about the biggest name in conservative talk radio - it's just starting with him. This is the first salvo in the war to silence all conservative voices. Democrats want to re-impose the Fairness Doctrine to force an end to conservative talk radio.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is also running an audio clip on its Web site that misrepresents what radio host Rush Limbaugh meant when he said on his Friday, Jan. 16 radio program that he wanted President Obama "to fail."

The audio clip, as played by the DCCC, omits a key sentence, as follows:

DCCC version: “If I wanted Obama to succeed, I’d be happy the Republicans have laid down. [EDIT] I don’t want this to work. So I’m thinking about replying to the guy, 'Okay, I”ll send you a response, but I don’t need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.'”

What Limbaugh said: "If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the U.S. government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, "Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails."

Limbaugh, on his Jan. 16 radio program, also made the point that no liberals hoped President Bush would succeed. Nevertheless, Limbaugh continued, Obama "is the president of the United States, he's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me, not his skin color, not his past, not whatever ties he doesn't have to being down with the struggle, all of that's irrelevant to me. We're talking about my country, the United States of America, my nieces, my nephews, your kids, your grandkids. Why in the world do we want to saddle them with more liberalism and socialism? Why would I want to do that? So I can answer it, four words, 'I hope he fails.' And that would be the most outrageous thing anybody in this climate could say. Shows you just how far gone we are. Well, I know, I know. I am the last man standing."

On subsequent radio programs, Limbaugh has talked about people "misunderstanding" his remark.

On his Friday, Jan. 23 program -- reviewing the week -- Limbaugh explained that he supports Obama -- he just doesn't support Obama's policies. "I don't support the nationalization of the banks, which has happened. I don't support the nationalization of the auto companies. I don't support the nationalization of the mortgage business. I don't like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd running things. And I don't want that to continue," Limbaugh said.

And let's not forget the leftwing news media, who are eagerly licking the boots of liberal leadership hoping to agitate and intensify a public outcry for gagging Rush and fellow conservatives. Here are some of the leftwing news media responses below:

MSNBC's Chris Matthews questioned Rush's patriotism, asking "Does Rush Limbaugh hate this country?" This after Rush dared to say he hoped Obama's socialist agenda would fail!

"Chris Matthews, on Wednesday night's "Hardball," fell into the same trap many other journalists have in misunderstanding the term "Dittoheads," to describe fans of Rush Limbaugh as having no minds of their own that, as Matthews claimed, "repeat every word he speaks as gospel." Of course, as Limbaugh himself points out, fans of the radio talk show host are a varied group, that listen to him because he expresses the opinions they already share and/or just because he's entertaining and the term "Dittohead" is merely shorthand for saying you are a fan, not some "mind-numbed robot." However that fact was lost on Matthews who went on to patronize the audience saying Limbaugh acts as "a support group for guys, mainly men," who, "feel underappreciated by their families, by their bosses."

According to Wolff, "Limbaugh's cheap shot at President Obama might be the first by the Republican attack machine this year but we know that it won't be the last. We need every grassroots Democrat to show Rush Limbaugh and all of the Republicans what they're up against if they start attacking President Obama and Democrats who are working to end the failed GOP policies of the last eight years.

"Tell Rush what you think of his attacks on President Obama. We'll send him your comments," Wolff wrote. “Creating real change requires every American stand strong against Rush Limbaugh's attacks -- and all of the other partisan attacks from desperate Republicans that are on the way. Let's start right here and now.

MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell asked on national television if Obama finally had the "cojones," to stand up to Rush Limbaugh unlike others before him!

"O'Donnell also spoke with Republican strategist Phil Musser and asked: "What out does it give the Republican Party to have Rush Limbaugh out there saying, who is the voice of many conservatives, that he hopes the President fails. I mean, that's kind of lame, isn't it?" Musser responded: "He is raising some legitimate issues in the context of what some would characterize as maybe impolitic language, but that's his business." However, he later attacked Limbaugh: "...the Republican Party is now the minority party and in a lot of ways, we're back to throwing the bombs from the sidelines... And that's one of the things that I think Rush Limbaugh is stepping up to try to capitalize on."

O'Donnell attempted to portray Obama's comments about Limbaugh as political savvy: "But isn't this exactly the kind of fight that Obama wants to have? Don't fight with the Republicans in the House, don't fight with the Republicans in the Senate, because you have to work with them. But find somebody like a Rush Limbaugh, who they can argue is on the fringe, and fight with him, score points with your base and not lose out with the Republicans that you need?" Lee replied: "Absolutely. I mean, Rush Limbaugh is on the extreme. He is, again, he takes the -- and I'm sure he will ratchet up his vitriolic -- you know, to get all of his supporters on board and rally around all things. They need to ignore. If they really want to do and get this country back on the right track, they will ignore Rush Limbaugh and all of the crazies that go along with him on all the radios, and diddoheads, and everybody else that is out there. They will stop listening to him and actually get back to the will of the American people." Musser then added: "68% today, going to 58% in two weeks if we keep fighting with Rush Limbaugh. I'd ignore."

What to do???

Follow Rush's incredibly clever request for his supporters nationwide to visit the DCCC website, read their petition and "send messages of love, hope and change to me via this petition!"

Click here to send your messages to Rush:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?U=15885&RID=18400292

Feeling the Heat in the White House

..."Barack Obama is feeling it in the Oval Office. But that's just because the thermostat is cranked up. "He's from Hawaii, O.K.?" said his senior adviser, David Axelrod. (Wait, we thought he was from Indonesia. Er, Chicago. Oh, never mind.) "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there." So what about Obama's admonition in May? "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times," he said, "and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK." Obviously, he didn't mean that he couldn't keep his home at 72 during the winter.

The warmth in the White House has prompted another change: No longer are coat and tie required in the West Wing. The New York Times described the change this way: "Thus did an ironclad rule of the George W. Bush administration ... fall by the wayside, only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management." Perhaps The Times forgot what happened the last time certain clothing was optional in the Oval Office"...

from: The Patriot Post

Take a Stand Against Abortion

Just in case you haven't read the letter from the Vatican - here are some excerpts. Yay!! to the Vatican for taking a stand against Obama's decisions to promote abortion throughout the world.

"Vatican officials have denounced US President Barack Obama's decision to sign an executive order last week allowing funding for foreign organizations that provide abortions and abortion referrals.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said that "if this is one of President Obama's first acts, I have to say, in all due respect, that we're heading quickly toward disappointment."

“It is essential to know how to listen to all of the requests of the country without shutting one's self up in an ideological vision with the arrogance of thinking that having power means the power over life and death," he said.

Archbishop Elio Sgreccia, the retired president of the same institution, told the Italian press that "among so many good things that could have been done, Obama has selected the worst: that which does not prevent the massacre of the innocent."

"It's a heavy blow," he continued, "and not just for us Catholics. The right to life is the first to protect and defend."

L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's principal newspaper, denounced the decision as "very disappointing, an error on the road to defend human life and the dignity of every person."

Want to take a stand for the unborn? A simple way to do this, is to write a letter to congress. The Susan B Anthony List has provided letters for you to sign and add your own comments to (if you wish) for the issues below. If we don't speak for the those without a voice, who will?

Stop the Bailout for Planned Parenthood

Support the Mexico City Policy

Tell Congress to Protect Young Girls

Keep your taxpayer dollars out of Planned Parenthood

Say NO to US tax dollars paying for forced abortions in China

Human-Animal Hybrids

Thank You for Speaking Out Against Abortion Funds

SCHIP - More Money for Planned Parenthood

Oppose the ERA

Oppose CEDAW

Massive Government Spending Program Just Passed

(actually, this photo is a bit of an exaggeration; Obama's right arm should be totally cut off - as I don't see how he has even tried to reach out to the right side.)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed the House Wednesday by a vote of 244 to 188. Not a single House Republican voted for the Democrats’ economic stimulus plan and eleven Democrats also voted against it also. Thank your representatives for voting against it if they did, or tell them your disappointment if they supported it, (unfortunately - all of my blue state reps were in favor of it) :(

"H.R. 1 is the largest pork barrel spending bill in the history of our country. President Obama has said this bill will create four million new jobs. President Obama is under the impression that we can spend our way out of debt! That's like thinking an alcoholic can drink his way to sobriety!

Examples:

• $20 million "for the removal of small- to medium-sized fish passage barriers." (Pg. 45 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "20,000,000 for the removal of small- to medium-sized fish passage barriers)
  
• $400 million for STD prevention (Pg. 60 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "CDC estimates that a proximately 19 million new STD infections occur annually in the United States ...The Committee has included $400,000,000 for testing and prevention of these conditions.")
  
• $25 million to rehabilitate off-roading (ATV) trails (Pg. 45 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "$25,000,000 is for recreation maintenance, especially for rehabilitation of off-road vehicle routes, and $20,000,000 is for trail maintenance and restoration")
  
• $34 million to remodel the Department of Commerce HQ (Pg. 15 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: $34,000,000 for the Department of Commerce renovation and modernization")
  
• $70 million to "Support Supercomputing Activities" for climate research (Pgs. 14-15 of Senate Appropriations Committee Report: $70,000,000 is directed to specifically support supercomputing activities, especially as they relate to climate research)
  
• $150 million for honey bee insurance (Pg. 102 of Senate Appropriations Committee report: "The Secretary shall use up to $ 50,000,000 per year, and $150,000,000 in the case of 2009, from the Trust Fund to provide emergency relief to eligible producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish to aid in the reduction of losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary")" (info from American Family)

House Republicans United Against Massive Government Spending Program

Republicans say tax relief would work faster in getting money to businesses and working families. But on Wednesday, an alternative Republican proposal, heavy on tax cuts, was defeated 266-170.

Republicans have been vocal in their opposition to the huge spending plan, saying it won’t stimulate anything except the Democrat Party and more debt. The plan’s price tag is estimated in the $819-billion to $1-trillion range.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) listed four reasons why he voted against it:
-- $80 billion for refundable tax-credits to individuals, even if they pay no taxes.
-- $1 billion for the 2010 census
-- $650 million for digital TV coupons.
-- $600 million for new cars for the federal government.

Rep. Mike Pence called it a partisan bill – “a wish list of longstanding liberal Democrat priorities that have little do with putting our economy back on its feet.”

“What does $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts have to do with creating jobs?” Pence asked. “What is $400 million for climate change research going to do to put people back to work in Indiana? And what is $335 million for sexually transmitted disease education going to do to get this country working again?

“House Republicans will oppose this bill for one reason—it won’t work,” Pence said.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) defended the “bipartisan rejection of a partisan bill.”

Boehner said House Republicans want to work with congressional Democrats on bipartisan legislation creates jobs: “Unfortunately, the trillion dollar government spending bill before the House today was not that plan,” he said. “It is time for Capitol Hill Democrats to finally work with Republicans on a job creation package that lets families and small businesses keep more of what they earn and that is supported by the bipartisan majority that the American people expect on an issue so important.”

Real tax cuts, not rebate-branded wealth distribution, stimulate economic growth and recovery.

In a report titled "Why Tax Rate Reductions Are More Stimulative Than Rebates: Lessons from 2001 and 2003," the Heritage Foundation analyzes the numbers. The 2001 tax "cuts," for example, centered on rebates. Yet, despite Washington's sending billions to Americans via $600 rebate checks, consumer spending grew only artificially, reaching seven percent in the fourth quarter of that year before dropping to 1.4 percent the following quarter. Meanwhile, fourth-quarter investment spending plummeted 23 percent, and economic growth measured just 1.6 percent.

The 2003 tax cuts, conversely, focused on structural cuts by reducing income, capital gains and dividend tax rates. In the six quarters following the cuts, GDP grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent while the S&P 500 shot up 32 percent. Additionally, in the 13 post-cut quarters, non-residential fixed investment grew each quarter, and the economy added 5.3 million jobs.

Real tax cuts, not rebate-branded wealth distribution, stimulate economic growth and recovery. History is clearly the teacher, but most of the class isn't paying attention.

Send your two senators an e-mail and ask them to vote against H.R. 1 when the Senate votes.

What's good enough for them, is good enough for us... Right??

Republican Rep. John Carter of Texas introduced a bill that would allow all U.S. taxpayers the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. That's only fair - if our elected officials can get off scot-free, shouldn't we be afforded the same luxury?

The bill has no chance of passing, but it makes a point: “We must show the American people that Congress is following the same law and the same legal process as we expect them to follow,” said Carter, a former Texas judge.

Under the proposed “Rangel Rule Act of 2009,” any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest.

“If we don’t hold our highest elected officials to the same standards as regular working folks, we owe it to our constituents to change those standards so everyone is abiding by the same law,” the congressman said.

Carter also said the change in tax law would provide good economic stimulus benefits, “as it would free many taxpayers from massive debts to the IRS, restoring those funds to the free market to help create jobs.”

A Baby Saved!!

I love hearing news like this... There is hope. Keep up the fight against abortion. Women Deserve Better than Abortion.

"Today Jo and other sidewalk counselors were able to talk a seventeen year old girl into keeping her child. The toughest loudest and most vulgar young girls are the girls you least expect to change their minds. This story proves that all you have to do is show up and Jesus can love them through you."

At a time of financial crisis, Nancy Pelosi's solution is to kill future taxpayers...

Hundreds of millions of the nearly $1 trillion price tag on President Obama's economic stimulus bill is expected to go to contraception and the abortion industry.

Somehow the left feel that contraception and abortion will stimulate the economy???

What??? huh???

Last week, during consideration of the congressional Democrats’ spending bill by the House Energy & Commerce Committee, the panel made universal a Clinton-era Medicaid waiver that allowed states to seek federal funding for contraception and abortion. Under the new program, the federal government would match state funding for "family planning" services with $9 for every $1.

House Republicans immediately criticized the move, questioning whether such funding actually helped stimulate the economy or create more jobs.

"How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives – how does that stimulate the economy?" questioned House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). "You can go through a whole host of issues that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America and helping people keep their jobs.”

House Democrats defended the measure, however, as an indirect means of reducing the burden on state budgets allotted to children's health and education.

George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" asked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a self-avowed Catholic: "Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?"

Pelosi responded: "Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

"So no apologies for that?" asked Stephanopoulos.

"No apologies. No," Pelosi responded. "We have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy. ...Food stamps, unemployment insurance, some of the initiatives you just mentioned. What the economists have told us from right to left. There is more bang for the buck, a term they use, by investing in food stamps and in unemployment insurance than in any tax cut.”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue criticized Pelosi’s statement, saying: “Now we have Pelosi arguing that the way to balance the budget is not by cutting expenditures, but by cutting kids. We have reached a new low when high-ranking public office holders in the federal government cast children as the enemy. But at least it explains their enthusiasm for abortion-on-demand.”

Will it work???

Will the spending on "family-planning services" help dig America out of its economic doldrums?

"That's not going to help grow the economy," Fani responds. "It doesn't even make sense as a prospect for helping this country through our economic crisis. So it's wrong on so many different levels, and just shows...a very flawed thought process."

American Life League calls Pelosi's remarks "a betrayal" of her Catholic faith, and the Christian Defense Coalition says it is "unthinkable" that she would try to stimulate the economy by "seeking to reduce the number of children."

Robbing a nation of a future labor force is never good for its economic health.

Besides the fact that Pelosi is once again directly contradicting the Catholic Church she claims to be a part of, she is also ignoring a basic economic principle that Europe and Asia are dealing with now: Robbing a nation of a future labor force is never good for its economic health. For example, Japanese corporations, which usually expect their employees to work 12-hour days, are now telling them to leave early two days a week so that they can "be fruitful and multiply." At its current death-spiral birthrate of 1.34, Japan will lose 21 percent of its population by 2050.

Eighteenth-century economist Thomas Malthus hypothesized that a smaller population allows for a higher standard of living. Later, Malthus himself acknowledged that he had been wrong, and Japan and Europe, with their dwindling labor forces, are proof of his mistake. Analysts are saying that the greatest threats to Japan's society are from within, and, if Nancy Pelosi and her ilk have their way, the same will be true for the U.S.

It's just another way to pour money into Planned Parenthood

Nikolas Nikas, a pro-life attorney with the Bioethics Defense Fund condemned the decision.

He told LifeNews.com that he decried "efforts to pass legislation that would appropriate hundreds of millions of tax-dollars to Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider."

Nikas said Congress is wrong to send money to a group that does 25 percent of all abortions occurring annually in the U.S.

"Planned Parenthood is the number one provider of abortions in the United States. During its 2005-2006 fiscal year, the nonprofit Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed a record 264,943 abortions according to its annual report," he said.

"Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that has no need for our limited tax dollars for the purpose of killing innocent unborn children," he added...

This is why it is ludicrous:

“Pelosi defended contraception as part of the stimulus,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) told CNSNews.com at the National Press Club. “It has to rate as one of the weirdest defenses in history -- ‘no children would lead to a better economy because there would be nobody to cost anything and therefore governing expenses are going down.’ You have to admit that’s very strange,” said Gingrich... “In other words, children are a burden to the economy, and Pelosi believes it's the government's responsibility to eliminate them,” said the Family Research Council. ... And if Congress continues to spend and spend, the nation will need more children – not fewer – to help pay for Social Security, Medicaid, and other government entitlements that Democrats hope to expand, the FRC said. ... Obviously, there's a practical danger in suggesting that babies are problems or ‘punishments’ (as President Obama called them) instead of blessings that build bridges to the future,” the FRC concluded. ...

Here is some more great economic advice from Pelosi on how food stamps will stimulate the economy more than tax cuts:

“(F)ood stamps and unemployment insurance, which affect the people in the states, are necessary at this time when funds are short and the economy is down, (and) actually have the most stimulative effect on the economy,” Pelosi said. “Food stamps first, unemployment insurance next, infrastructure after that, and it goes on from there.” “Actually, those investments bring a bigger return than the tax cuts,” she said, adding: “but tax cuts where we have them – to the middle class – we think will give us our biggest return.” ... Pelosi laid out the contents of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is expected to be passed in the House Wednesday. ... The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will devote $20 billion to “provide nutrition assistance to modest-income families and to lift restrictions that limit the amount of time individuals can receive food stamps,” according to a summary of the plan released last week by the House Appropriations Committee. “It’s about jobs, tax cuts and accountability,” Pelosi said of the legislation. ... Alan Viard said. “It’s also important to realize you are never going to get a large amount of stimulus from food stamps, just because it’s not a very large program.” Traditionally, governments raise interest rates and cut spending to stop inflation -- cutting down on “demand” – but they cut interest rates and raise spending to reduce unemployment – or “boost demand.” “The only purpose to boosting demand is to stabilize the economy,” he said. “When you boost demand, what you get is an upfront economic gain. But later you will have a payback once output goes down.”

Also Read "Pelosi should abstain from social engineering"

"If Nancy Pelosi wants fewer births, I have the way to do this, and it won't require any contraception. You simply put pictures of Nancy Pelosi in every cheap motel room in America. That will keep birth rates down, because that picture will keep a lot of things down." --radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh

Media blubbers over Obama

"Here's a small sampling of the churlishness in just The New York Times: -- The American public is bemused by the tasteless show-biz extravaganza surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration today. -- There is something to be said for some showiness in an inauguration. But one felt discomfited all the same. -- This is an inauguration, not a coronation. -- Is there a parallel between Mrs. Obama's jewel-toned outfit and somebody else's glass slippers? Why limousines and not shank's mare? -- It is still unclear whether we are supposed to shout 'Whoopee!' or 'Shame!' about the new elegance the Obamas are bringing to Washington. Boy, talk about raining on somebody's parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981." --columnist Ann Coulter

It should say - pick your favorite quote about the Inauguration now!

Here's a the "real" sampling of the media swooning over Obama before/during/after the Inauguration. -Caution -Read it, only if you can believe you can stomach it. (quotes gathered by MRC, comics gathered by me)

A Day When Even the Seagulls Were Awed

"We know that wind can make a cold day feel colder, but can 
national pride make a freezing day feel warmer? It seems to be the 
case because regardless of the final crowd number estimates, never 
have so many people shivered so long with such joy. From above, even 
the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity."
-- ABC's Bill Weir on World News, January 20.

"What a day it was. It may take days or years to really absorb the 
significance of what happened to America today....When he [Barack 
Obama] finally emerged, he seemed, even in this throng, so solitary, 
somber, perhaps already feeling the weight of the world, even before 
he was transformed into the leader of the free world....The mass 
flickering of cell phone cameras on the mall seemed like stars 
shining back at him."
-- NBC's Andrea Mitchell on the January 20 Nightly News.

"A new day is dawning here in the nation's capital on the eve of the 
inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United 
States...Does it get any better, or more beautiful, or more 
spectacular, than this?"
-- Co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez opening CBS's Early Show, January 19.

"America the Beautiful: The nation and the world pause to witness an 
extraordinary milestone as nearly two million people come together to 
hail the new chief and celebrate an era of change."
-- ABC's Terry Moran opening Nightline, January 20.


After Eight Years of Bush, Finally Some Smart People in Charge

"Brains are in the ascendancy now, absolutely. They're such a brainy Cabinet."
-- Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth during NBC's live coverage, 
January 20.


A Great Day for Objectivity

  NBC's Al Roker: "You know, Brian, I gotta tell ya, it was a very 
emotional trip....I had tears in my eyes...."
  Anchor Brian Williams: "Al, I'd love to tell you that I have no 
idea what you're talking about, that everybody here kept their 
emotions thoroughly in check during the ceremony, but I'd be lying to 
you, my friend."
-- Exchange during NBC's live coverage January 20 following Obama's 
swearing-in.


Matthews: It's an "Honor" to Cover Obama...

"This is one of the great opportunities in journalism to cover 
history in the face. We're going to see history in the face and when 
you get up tomorrow morning I recommend you stay tuned all day 
because I don't think you're going to stop seeing history being 
made....It's going to be the honor of our lifetimes to be here on the 
Washington Mall."
-- MSNBC's Chris Matthews previewing his network's inauguration 
coverage, January 19 Hardball.

..And We've Opened Our Hearts to Change

"I have never seen so many teeth in my life. Everybody is 
smiling....It's radiant, the happiness....It sure as hell helps to be 
on MSNBC, let's talk straight here. This is the network that has 
opened its heart to change -- to change and its possibilities. Let's 
be honest about it. These -- these people [the crowds at the 
Inaugural] watch this network out here....This is the network of the 
21st century, MSNBC....We're not crotchety about change -- stuffy."
-- Chris Matthews during MSNBC's live coverage of Obama's 
inauguration, January 20.


Cheney Exiting Like "Dr. Strangelove"

"It's unfortunate for Vice President Cheney to have had this 
accident....There will be those who don't like him, who will be 
writing tomorrow that he had a Dr. Strangelove appearance as he 
appeared today in his wheelchair. It's not something he'll be happy about."
-- NBC's Tom Brokaw during live coverage, January 20.


Farewell to the Unpopular Dictator

"You know what it [Obama's inauguration] reminds me of? It reminds 
me of the Velvet Revolution. I was in Prague when that happened. And 
Vaclav Havel was a generational leader and was in the square in 
Prague and the streets were filled with joy. And we're not 
overthrowing a communist regime here, obviously, but an unpopular 
President is leaving and people have been waiting for this moment."
-- NBC's Tom Brokaw during live coverage prior to Obama's 
inauguration, January 20.


Bush In "Retreat," Like Executed Russian Czar

  MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "Two or three hours from now, we'll have a 
brand new President. He will really be the President. Bush will not 
be President....It's going to be like the Romanovs, too, and I mean 
that. There's a sense here that they are fallen from grace, that 
they're not popular, that the whole family will now go into retreat. 
You have a sense that the former President Bush already-"
  Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson: "[It won't] happen 
exactly like the Romanovs-"
  Matthews: "It's not like the Romanovs in the end, but there's a 
sense of retreat here."
-- Exchange on MSNBC on January 20 about an hour before Obama took 
the oath of office, referring to the Russian Czar Nicholas II and his 
family, who were executed after the communist revolution of 1917.


First on Obama's Agenda: Arrest the War Criminal Bush

"The most popular question on your own website is related to this. On 
change.gov, it comes from Bob Fertik of New York City and he asks, 
'Will you appoint a special prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) 
to independently investigate the greatest [on-screen graphic says 
"gravest"] crimes of the Bush administration, including torture and 
warrantless wiretapping?'...No 9/11 commission with independent 
subpoena power?....Let me just press that one more time. You're not 
ruling out prosecution, but will you tell your Justice Department to 
investigate these cases and follow the evidence wherever it leads?"
-- ABC's George Stephanopoulos to Obama on This Week, January 11.

"This country has never succeeded in moving forward without first 
cleansing itself of its mistaken past....We compromised with slavery 
in the Declaration of Independence, and, fourscore and nine years 
later, we had buried 600,000 of our sons and brothers in a civil 
war....What we have to focus on is getting things right in the 
future, as opposed to looking at what we got wrong in the past. And 
that means prosecuting all those involved in the Bush 
administration's torture of prisoners, and starting at the top."
-- MSNBC's Keith Olbermann in a "Special Comment" on Countdown, 
January 19.


Chris Scolds "Hermit Crab" Bush for "Not True" Belief in Freedom

"He was a rich kid driving his father's car. He got to be President 
because of his father, let's face it, the same way he got into school 
and everything else....The scary thing about Bush is he picked up on -
- almost in the way that a hermit crab does -- another identity in 
becoming President....He became this new scholar of freedom, and he's 
going to spend the rest of his life selling this stuff. This stuff 
cost the lives of 100,000 Iraqis, it cost the lives of 4,000 U.S. 
service people....The idea that we have some brand new neo-
conservative ideology of freedom that's going to bring peace over in 
that part of the world is not true, and he's still selling it, and 
that's the tragedy of the last eight years."
-- MSNBC's Chris Matthews immediately following President Bush's 
farewell speech, January 15.


Press Gets Intimate with Obama

"I've been reading the pool reports that have been filed by reporters 
on the train and they refer to Barack Obama as 'PEBO,' which is short 
for 'President-elect Barack Obama' and there's an intimacy and a 
familiarity on that train, a down-home folksiness, that belies the 
tremendous hopes that not only the country, but the whole world, have 
for him."
-- Newsweek's Howard Fineman during live MSNBC coverage of Obama's 
January 17 arrival in Washington, D.C.


CNN Expected an Inaugural Speech "For the Ages"

"Barack Obama has some big shoes to fill, roughly the size of the 
ones up on the Lincoln Memorial....Obama's inaugural address may be 
more than the speech of his lifetime. Historians and speechwriters 
say it could be one for the ages."
-- CNN's Jim Acosta on American Morning, January 13.


Bush's "Lavish" Inaugural Scolded, But "Go for Glitz" with Obama

"So you're attending an inaugural ball saluting the historic election 
of Barack Obama in the worst economic climate in three generations. 
Can you get away with glitzing it up and still be appropriate, not to 
mention comfortable and financially viable? To quote the man of the 
hour: Yes, you can. Veteran ballgoers say you should. And 
fashionistas insist that you must....And if anyone does raise an 
eyebrow at those sequins, remind them that optimism is good for times 
like these. 'Just say you're doing it to help the economy,' chuckled 
good manners guru Letitia Baldridge."
-- AP writer Laurie Kellman in a January 13 dispatch, "For Inaugural 
Balls, Go for Glitz, Forget Economy."

vs.           

"President Bush's second inauguration will cost tens of millions of 
dollars -- $40 million alone in private donations for the balls, 
parade and other invitation-only parties. With that kind of money, 
what could you buy?
  - 200 armored Humvees with the best armor for troops in Iraq.
  - Vaccinations and preventive health care for 22 million children 
in regions devastated by the tsunami.
  - A down payment on the nation's deficit, which hit a record-
breaking $412 billion last year....
"The questions have come from Bush supporters and opponents: Do we 
need to spend this money on what seems so extravagant?"
-- AP writer Will Lester in a January 13, 2005 dispatch, "Some Now 
Question Cost of Inauguration."


As Obama Ascends, Horn Honking Ends

"So many of the streets are closed, those that are open are clogged. 
But there were no car horns, no shouting. Instead, the San Francisco 
Boys and Girls choruses practicing for their Inaugural moment on the 
steps of the Capitol."
-- ABC's David Muir talking about traffic tie-ups associated with 
Obama's inaugration, January 19 World News.


Take That, You Rednecks!

"I just want to say one thing. Having been in the South in the '60s 
and Los Angeles, in Watts and northern urban areas, when we were 
evolving as a country, I'm thinking of all the bigots and rednecks 
and people I met along the way. I'm saying to them, 'Take this.' You know?"
-- NBC's Tom Brokaw talking about Obama's inauguration on MSNBC's 
Morning Joe, January 20.


Slamming War Criminal Bush's "Profoundly Un-American Administration"

"It [signing a memorandum affirming that the Geneva Convention does 
not apply to al-Qaeda terrorists] was his single most callous and 
despicable act. It stands at the heart of the national embarrassment 
that was his presidency....It would be interesting, just for the fun 
and justice of it, to subject [ex-Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld 
to four hours in a stress position -- standing stock still with his 
arms extended, naked, in a cold room after maybe two hours' sleep. 
But that's not going to happen. Indeed, it seems probable that 
nothing much is going to happen to the Bush Administration officials 
who perpetrated what many legal scholars consider to be war crimes."
-- Time's Joe Klein in "The Bush Administration's Most Despicable 
Act," January 19 issue.

"I think this has been a profoundly un-American 
administration....[But] it's going to be very hard to prosecute these 
people. The Obama folks don't want to do it, because they want to 
focus on the big problems we have going forward. It might happen 
overseas, you know, I raised the possibility of Cheney being snatched 
mid-stream while, you know, fly fishing in Norway, as Augusto 
Pinochet, the dictator in Chile, was."
-- Klein on MSNBC's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, January 8, after anchor 
David Shuster named him "Muckraker of the Day" for his anti-Bush 
column cited above.


To Fix Problems, Let's "Dial Down" Talk Radio & Blogosphere

"We have never in my lifetime faced economic crises such as these, 
and opportunities....I think this is an extraordinary moment. I guess 
my passion is for something to happen to fix these problems, and for 
dialing down of all of the sharp criticism that we have on cable 
talk, on talk radio...the blogosphere. I just wish that we could find 
something in the center that would be bipartisan and would be 
productive and constructive."
-- NBC's Andrea Mitchell on PBS's Charlie Rose, January 7.


Ordinary Demonstrators vs. "Hardline" Demonstrators

"Demonstrators burn an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush during 
a demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur...."
-- Reuters photo caption accompanying picture of protest against 
Israel's move into Gaza, January 9.
    
"Hardline demonstrators burn posters of U.S. President-elect Barack 
Obama, during a demonstration in support of the people of Gaza...."
-- Reuters photo caption, January 13.


Santa Claus Loves Obama

* MSNBC's Tamron Hall: "What do you think this next administration 
brings to the country?"
  Obama supporter: "I think they bring diversity. I think they bring 
a spirit of excellence. I think they bring unity and they bring love. 
Santa Claus loves them."
-- MSNBC live coverage, January 19.



After Eight Years of Hell, Celebrating Soulful, Brilliant Obama

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime situation. The last eight years have been 
such hell. We're all so excited about the hope of things to come. I 
really think that's part of it. People are so ready to rejoice and 
celebrate what is hopefully the return of the foundation of the 
United States."
-- Actress Gloria Reuben, as quoted in a January 15 USA Today article.

"I've been around him and shook his hand. He's a truly scholarly man. 
I'm very excited that we have this powerful, intelligent, 
constitutionally brilliant President. I find him very soulful in private."
-- Actor Josh Lucas, same article.

"I'm calm for the first time in eight years, that somebody is in 
charge that has such intelligence and grace and is so thoughtful. I 
feel calm that the country is falling apart, but really that he's in 
charge now. There's a relief that I feel. After this past 
administration, I feel really lucky."
-- Actress Maura Tierney, as quoted in a January 16 USA Today article.

"[Barack Obama's] presence is so larger-than-life. I'm so happy my 
children have a real hero to look up to....For a man as intelligent 
and charismatic to come along and unite this country....that's really 
what America is."
-- Actress Kim Raver, as quoted in the same article.


"Nightmare" of Bush Ruined Thousands of Lives

"We've lived through a nightmare...in the past eight years....We're 
going through something that we haven't gone through in my life. 
Foreign policy, domestic policy â€" driven to its breaking point. 
Everything got broken. And the philosophy that was at the base of the 
last administration has ruined many, many people's lives. The 
deregulation, the idea of the unfettered, free market, the blind 
foreign policy. This was a very radical group of people who pushed 
things in a very radical direction, had great success at moving 
things in that direction, and we are suffering the consequences."
-- Singer Bruce Springsteen in an interview with producer Mark Hagen 
published January 18 in Britain's The Observer.

Obama's Victory is:

"A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous and fearless, but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups.

A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere. A victory for the cult of the cult. A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising [sic] over reality.

A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world. Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros and Sarandon.

Victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for group-think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and the right to be out of step with meager political fashion.

Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already stated that media have to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television stations and newspapers are extremely liberal and anti-conservative. Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition.

A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.

A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.

Congratulations, America!"

from: an editorial in London Daily Mail

Gun Control in History, Why Do They Want Our Guns?

No Media Bias here...

"ABC's World News on Wednesday night used limited news time to feature a silly piece with soundbites from naive kids around the world sputtering beauty pageant-like simplicities about how President Barack Obama will bring "world peace" and inspires them to say "yes, we can!" Reporter Jim Sciutto touted how "we heard children around the world expressing hope and fascination with the new American President."

Transcript of the story on the Wednesday, January 21 World News on ABC:

CHARLES GIBSON: Worldwide reaction to Barack Obama: In the Middle East, many newspapers are taking note of the President reaching out to Muslims in his inaugural address, promising new relations. The headline of one Palestinian daily paper read: "Obama is Committed to Open New Page with Muslim World." And closer to home, Cuban President Raul Castro today said he wishes President Obama good luck, and that Obama, quote, "seems like a good guy." But it is not only adults and world leaders who have something to say about President Obama. Children around the world are welcoming him and weighing in with their reactions and their advice. Our Jim Sciutto has been sampling kids' reaction from around the world.

BOY IN RUSSIA: Peace, democracy and friendship.
BOY IN INDONESIA: Freedom and hope.
GIRL IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: He's interested in giving peace to the world and stopping wars.
JIM SCIUTTO: From the Far East-
GROUP OF CHILDREN SHOUTING: Hello, Mr. Obama!
SCIUTTO: -to the Middle East-
SCIUTTO: Do you place a lot of hope in him?
BOY IN ISRAEL: Yes, I do.
SCIUTTO: -from his childhood school in Indonesia-
GIRL IN INDONESIA: It's amazing.
BOY IN INDONESIA: He's going to change the world and make world peace.
SCIUTTO: -to his father's home in Kenya-
GIRL IN KENYA: He's prestigious, peaceful, and he wants to change America.
SCIUTTO: -we heard children around the world expressing hope and fascination with the new American President.
GIRL FROM THE PALESTINIAN WEST BANK: No one's better than anyone. We're all the same. We shouldn't discriminate anyone.
SCIUTTO: No matter where they're from or how young they are, children here all have something to say about Barack Obama, and some advice to give. In Israel and Gaza, it's hope he'll bring lasting peace. "We hope he will be fair to the Palestinian people," he said, "and prevent Israel from attacking us." And in Pakistan, hope for an American President with a Muslim father.
BOY IN PAKISTAN: He can make the citizens of the U.S. recognize that we, not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslims.
SCIUTTO: We found children in many countries are aware of his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq
GIRL IN FRANCE: I think that he may stop the war in Iraq. At least I hope he will.
SCIUTTO: And wherever we went, children spoke about how Obama's inauguration renewed their hope in the American dream.
BOY IN PALESTINIAN WEST BANK: This thing shows that America is the land where everybody has the chance to be something important.
SCIUTTO: That familiar campaign theme has gone global.
GIRL IN SOUTH KOREA: Yes, we can.
BOY IN ITALY: Yes, we can.
BARACK OBAMA: Yes, we can.
GIRL IN FRANCE: Yes, we can.
SCIUTTO: Jim Sciutto, ABC News.

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"Good Morning America on Wednesday featured video messages from young children to Barack Obama. GMA news anchor Chris Cuomo asserted that the kids, ranging in age from seven to 17, had "strong opinion[s]." Yet, every single one of these youths spouted the type of liberal propaganda usually reserved for people like Keith Olbermann and not one conservative voice was featured."

A transcript of the January 21 segment, which aired at 8:45am:

CHRIS CUOMO: You know, whenever we talk about change in politics, generally leads to a discussion about the next generation. About the kids.
SAM CHAMPION: Yeah, yeah. And you don't have to be- this is proof, though. You don't have to be old enough to vote to have a very strong opinion. And you found some folks who did.
CUOMO: Absolutely. Kids from seven to 17, all across the country. So, we asked them, what do you think about what's happened? And what advice do they have for their new president?
FEMALE CHILD #1: I think that the fact that America voted you to be president shows that we needed a change.
MALE CHILD #1: Mr. Obama, please, like, make all the trees not die because we all need oxygen to breathe.
FEMALE CHILD #2: When we were voting, lots and lots of people didn't have very much money. So, you wanted to give some money to other people. And I thought it was a great idea.
MALE CHILD #2: Can you please lower our taxes? And how come people who earn millions of dollars pay less taxes than us middle-class people?
FEMALE CHILD #3: You made it cool to be smart. And someone once said that humans will do anything to avoid thinking. And you have really inspired this generation to want to think. And to want to get involved politically.
FEMALE CHILD #4: A lot of times when I was younger, everyone used to say, "Oh, someday, you'll become president. And you'll live in the White House." Well, when you won, right then and there, when you won the election, I knew, wow. Since he can do it, I know I can do it.
MALE CHILD #3: [Note, child is about six years old]: All this time, I've been alive, I've been having white presidents. And I think now, it's- this is my chance to have a black president.
FEMALE CHILD #5: I would like it if you could change the laws of recycling, so we can help the Earth
MALE CHILD #4: My school needs more healthy food, like broccoli and cheese.
MALE CHILD #5: I have some tips to help you become president. First, to make great laws. Second, to help poor people. Third is to make better jobs.
MALE CHILD #6: Could you make the hybrid cars a little more cheaper so we could buy them? Because they don't pollute that much. And they pollute less.
FEMALE CHILD #6: I want you to make people stop littering because our Earth is dying.
MALE CHILD #7: Stop the wars. And- because more people die. And it's just- they don't want to die. They just die. But they don't want to die.
FEMALE CHILD #7: I would also like you to give all the funds and science to the research for Type 1 diabetes because I'm a Type 1 diabetic. And we really need a cure.
FEMALE CHILD #8: Even though I'm only 16, I won't be directly affected by anything until, maybe, another two years. But by the time I get to 18, I'm going to be set.
FEMALE CHILD #9: I'll be praying for you and Joe Biden and your success. And I wish you both the very best. And I think you should get a golden retriever.
CUOMO: And I think they should get both of those dogs. A lot of talk about the environment from the kids.
CHAMPION: Yeah. You heard global warming and trees and recycling. That's great. That's great.
CUOMO: The best gift for any leader is to be able to spark the imagination of the people. If you can do that with the kids, that's good to be sure.
CHAMPION: And to hear them say being smart is cool. Gosh, that's so great to hear.
CUOMO: Yeah. It's all about possibilities now. We're going to have to see where it goes.

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