"The beginning of the end." The end of what??? ...the end of capitalism, liberty, and freedom as we know it:

"I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems. Nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn our economy around. But today does mark the beginning of the end." --President Barack Obama on signing the stimulus bill into law

"Never have so few spent so much so quickly to do so little." --Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole

"The fact is, we'll never build a lasting economic recovery by going deeper into debt at a faster rate than we ever have before." --Ronald Reagan

"Though President Obama emphatically declared that this 1100-page piece of legislation does not contain "a single pet project, not a single earmark," it's full of some type of financial fluff. Call it what you will, but few knew recessionary needs included $2 billion for battery companies, $2 billion for the National Parks Service, $2.3 billion for NASA and the National Science Foundation, $1.1 billion for airport improvements, $850 million for Amtrak, $800 million for federal prison construction, $300 million for additions to the federal fleet, $200 million for new Department of Agriculture buildings, $165 million for fish hatcheries, $100 million for the FBI, $100 million for shipyards, $50 million for an arts endowment, etc. (A detailed list of the stimulus package expenditures can be reviewed on the website of Patton Boggs legal firm at www.pattonboggs.com.)" -- Chuck Norris


"The big story last week was the incredible Congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than a thousand pages long in just two days -- after which it sat on the President's desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday. There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself." --economist Thomas Sowell

"The $180 billion stimulus program in the spring of 2008 failed. The $345 billion housing bailout from the summer of 2008 failed. And the $700 billion Wall Street bailout from the fall of 2008 failed. All told, just last year, Washington wagered $1.2 trillion in spending and lost. And like a problem gambler, Washington isn’t walking away from the casino, it’s doubling down." --Newt Gingrich

"Stimulus: Say this for the $787 billion behemoth that Congress voted on Friday -- never in our history has a more important vote been cast on legislation with so little scrutiny. Couldn't they at least read the thing before voting on it? The 1,434-page bill is, in a word, massive. It's full of details that deserve to be given a close look before anyone votes. ... The bill that President Obama called 'the largest change in domestic policy since the 1930s' was jammed down Congress' throat, breaking almost all the promises of bipartisanship and transparency along the way. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed to give members of Congress at least 48 hours to look at the historic legislation before them. After all, the bill will spend the equivalent of nearly 9% of our GDP while adding $1.2 trillion to our national debt. Obama vows to 'create or save' 3.5 million jobs at a cost of $263,000 per job. Shouldn't it get even a little bit of scrutiny? Apparently not. ... Why the haste? Surely one reason is the bill is stuffed with pork and short of real stimulus. Its authors don't want the details out. They shouldn't be surprised, then, when voters bridle at what they've been saddled with." --Investor's Business Daily

"Make no mistake: The "Recovery Act" is not about economic recovery. It's about shackling our future to a socialist agenda, which will play out in the next decade short of significant intervention -- a cyclical economic recovery, the advent of another great leader with the stature of Reagan, or another unpleasantry like that one begun in 1776, the discussion of which has now entered mainstream conversations, albeit at a whisper." --Mark Alexander, Patriot Post


"We must follow the advice of those like Thomas Jefferson, who warned long ago, "To preserve (the) independence (of the people), we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." (Now read that again, then one more time.)" --Chuck Norris

"Obama remarked that the spending package is the first step toward reviving the economy, but, oddly enough, on the day Obama signed it, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 300 points, or 3.8 percent in value. Thursday, the Dow closed at 7,465, a six-year low, and as we went to press Friday morning, it had dropped below 7,400. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal spending never increased the deficit by more than 1.5 percent of GDP in its biggest year. This package increases the deficit by 2.5 percent of GDP two years in succession, hence the market reaction.

Furthermore, The Wall Street Journal reports, "The Federal Reserve sharply downgraded its outlook for the economy this year, forecasting a deeper contraction and an unemployment rate near 9% by the end of the year." And the Labor Department announced that inflation increased by 0.8 percent in January, well above the expected 0.2 percent increase and the largest increase since July -- that's what happens when government prints money to pay for stuff. And if we have taken the first step, we can only imagine what the rest of the journey entails." -- Mark Alexander, Patriot Post


"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." --Presbyterian minister William J.H. Boetcker (1873-1962)

"Not that long ago, Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were taking potshots at President George W. Bush for supporting deficit spending. Now that they're in power, they're spending money at record speed that Washington doesn't have. And they're still blaming the Republicans. Will they ever be responsible for the choices they make?" --columnist Debra Saunders

Just blame Bush: "We reject the failed Bush administration economic policies which got us where we are today. The proposals that the Republicans put forth were more of the same. We will not go back." --House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

"Government has only two ways of getting money other than raising taxes. It can go into the money market and borrow, competing with its own citizens and driving up interest rates, which it has done, or it can print money, and it's done that. Both methods are inflationary." --Ronald Reagan

"President Reagan inherited an economic situation even worse than the one President Obama has. When Reagan took office, the economy had been in recession for about a year, the unemployment rate was almost identical to today's, but the labor force participation rate was smaller, and inflation was out of control. At the time, the newspapers were filled with stories about the 'worst economy since the Great Depression' -- which, unlike today, was true, and the economic establishment seemed to be bereft of ideas of what to do. Credit markets were in a mess, and both businesses and consumers were not borrowing because they could not afford the interest rates. President Reagan, unlike his critics, had a clear plan to revive the economy, which included: monetary restraint to stop inflation; large reductions in marginal tax rates to renew the incentives to work, save and invest; and a reduction in nondefense spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Unlike other recent presidents, Reagan actually kept and delivered on his promises, which resulted in high growth (7.2 percent in 1984 alone) and large reductions in the unemployment rate -- particularly, inflation. He stuck with Mr. Volcker and his monetary restraint because he understood inflation had to be brought under control, even though he also knew it would necessarily prolong the recession. How many of today's politicians would be willing to take the heat for the long run good?" --Richard W. Rahn, Chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth


For a list of economists who oppose BHO's policies, or to read essays by economists who object, link to http://patriotpost.us/reference/disagreement.php

Newt's nonpartisan, citizen-based organization, American Solutions, has developed an alternative plan, called “12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity.” It takes its inspiration from Ronald Reagan.

The plan doesn’t bet on government. It bets on the American people. This is how Reagan put it in his first inaugural address: “Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

In the spirit of Ronald Reagan, 12 American Solutions for Jobs and Prosperity puts its faith in the people, not the government. Our plan isn’t more money for more government, more power for politicians and more make-work for bureaucrats. It’s a clear and decisive alternative that creates jobs, rewards work and encourages savings and investment.

(all photos from lookingattheleft.com)
To read more about Colorado's Protest to Obama's Package of Pork and to see many more photos click here.