Iowa Gone Wild With Nazi Reference at Public Hearing (Listen to the Audio) as New Yorkers in CD-20 Test Obama’s Popularity

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It’s not just about “Tea Parties” anymore…

Things are starting to get wild…in IOWA, of all places. But, actually, it’s pretty ironic. After all, this is where Obama began playing games with the Democratic primary system, by delivering people to the caucuses across the Iowa-Illinois state line.

So, here we see some people in Iowa starting to getting unruly at public hearings.  From the DesMoines Register:

BREAKING NEWS: Hundreds of Iowans thrown out of public hearing

By JASON CLAYWORTH • jclayworth@dmreg.com • March 31, 2009

More than 500 people who are upset with a plan to change Iowa’s tax laws were cleared from a hearing tonight at the Iowa House after they interrupted multiple times.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, cleared the crowd at about 8:30 p.m. The decision brought about loud protests as the crowd was escorted from the chambers by Iowa State Patrol officers.

“This is the most atrocious thing I’ve seen in the history of the 15 years I’ve been a lobbyist. Pat Murphy has acted like a jack-booted Nazi,” said Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief, a conservative taxpayers’ rights group from Muscatine with 50,000 members…

MORE

Note the word “Nazi” in print…with “jack boots,” no less. And here is the short audio clip of Failor’s comment.  And the state troopers…

And, oh dear, Iowa’s governor, Democrat Chet Culver, was simply aghast, too:

Gov. Chet Culver said today that he was disturbed by reports that unruly audience members threw objects from the House gallery during Tuesday night’s public hearing.

“I was very disturbed to hear that some things were thrown from the gallery. That’s completely unacceptable, completely out of bounds. I hope the next time we have a public hearing that people will be respectful and civil. That has to be a part of the process,” Culver said.

Were Murphy and Culver this upset when Obama freaks intimidate voters during the primary caucuses?  When they abused caucus rules?

I don’t condone riots, but if we’re facing chaos according to the Obama plan, it might as well start in Iowa. (And don’t forget, we’ve already seen fisticuffs outside a closing car dealership recently.)

Last night on Lou Dobbs I saw a sign up in Hoboken, New Jersey by a realtor which suggested people could lower their property taxes by LEAVING! Problem is, there’s no where to go in New Jersey that doesn’t have high property taxes.  We left New Jersey ten years ago this coming September to escape what was obvious–in the future, we couldn’t afford to live in Jersey on retirement incomes.  Well, the future is now, and we’re really happy to be out Jersey.

As for New York, Rush Limbaugh, who makes millions, can rant about the taxes in NYC, but what about the “little people” elsewhere in the state?  Apparently, Obama’s “coattails” are beginning to fray there, too.  The election for the seat that Kirsten Gillibrand vacated to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate is now too close to call. (Gillibrand won this district with 61%  of the vote just 5 months ago…and Obama beat McCain here, too.) Sure, it’s a rural, traditionally Republican district, but Pelosi and the  Obama people put a lot of effort into this race–and Obama endorsed candidate Scott Murphy publicly:

That makes the election an intriguing test of Democrats’ claim to hold the middle ground and also of Republicans’ ability to recover from their electoral drubbing in 2008.

Justin Phillips, a professor of political science at Columbia University, said that victory in New York would be a springboard for next year’s nationwide Congressional polls.

“This becomes a tool for fundraising and candidate recruitment. They say, look: ‘You can run in 2010 as a Republican and you can win.'”

Tedisco hopes that the Obama stimulus package — hamstrung by the storm over executive bonuses at the government-rescued AIG insurance company — will tarnish his opponent.

As of this writing, recounts, lawsuits, etc. are probably coming down the pike; the winner probably may not be known for a couple of weeks.

So, while Obama and his lovely wife Michelle (who got touchy-feeling with the Queen, ignoring simple  manners, let alone formal protocol) zip around London, things may be shifting here at home.

You know what’s sad?  The country has been ready for many Democratic ideas for awhile now, but Obama’s reckless spending plans and the slow revelation of what’s in all those bills being passed are beginning to add up.  His 3-Card Monte game may be getting stale. The Republican Party is offering the same old tax cut mantra but the country just may lurch toward this simplistic message again and sooner than we may think.  And decent Democrats could suffer and where would we wind up?  Perhaps, with the Democratic Party destroyed, as many of us warned last year.  Either way, it seems, it’s the little guy that’s going to get screwed.

Or suffering from a severe case of whiplash…

The Past Week: February 15-21, 2009 (“Efficiency” Experts Michelle and “3-Card Monte” Barack Obama…Michelle’s Legacy at U of Chicago Hospital Under Fire by ER Physicians; Hubby Plans to Halve the Deficit via “Efficiency” (Among Other Things…); Spring Garden Prep!

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

This is going to be an abbreviated roundup as things still are rather hectic here.

We did get this nugget from our Chicago Correspondent Leslie, who heard a radio report on the local NPR station in Chicago on Friday morning (February 20).

Here is what she passed along:

This morning on NPR (usually the voice of BHO), I heard there is a medical group (I didn’t hear the name) accusing

UofC(hicago) Hospital ER of “dumping patients” with limited ability to pay in order to avoid having to treat them.

This report (by NPR) specifically named Michelle Obama for developing the program used by UofC Hosp. These doctors were quite clear that the purpose of the program was not for “more efficient use of the emergency room” but was expressly developed to move poor patients from UofC Hosp.

I found it pretty interesting that this report on NPR in Chicago did not screen the report more closely. I’ll have to listen the rest of the morning for the replay of this report. Let’s see if they even re-air this one item.

Our intrepid correspondent followed up with the link at the NPR site, surprised that it was even there.

Under the City Room “News Briefs” we find the story about how, in what the Vice-President of the American College of Emergency Physicians calls a “highly unusual” move, the group is accusing the U of C of dumping patients. In fact, Dr. Sandra Schneider says she can’t remember any other time the group has “called out” a hospital like this.

Doctors Slam U of C Hospital

Produced by Gabriel Spitzer on Friday, February 20, 2009

…

The organization singles out the hospital’s Urban Health Initiative, which diverts some patients away from the ER. It’s supposed to make the system more efficient by freeing up ER staff to treat the most urgent cases. But the doctors group likens it to dumping unprofitable patients. SCHNEIDER: We would ask the university to find ways where it would become good business to take care of all patients, not just those that pay. The Urban Health Initiative was developed in part by First Lady Michelle Obama when she was an executive at the hospital. A U. of C. spokesman called the doctors’ criticism, quote:”way off-base,” and said the hospital hasn’t cut back on emergency care.

Back on January 12 we posted the news from CC Leslie about how Michelle’s former job was being cut and how one of Barack’s friends was taking over the duties.  So, the legacy of Michelle Obama lives on at University of Chicago’s hospital…

Reality Check from Our Chicago Correspondent: University of Chicago & Its Hospital “Terminating” Jobs Like Crazy (Michelle O., Guess Shuffling All Those Indigent Patients Elswhere Didn’t Help the Bottom Line That Much? Your “Plum” Job is Going, Too!)

***

Speaking of  making the system “more efficient.”..as I write this post, a story has just come up on the Comcast news feed…talk about an eerie “coincidence”…

Official: Obama wants to halve budget deficit

(SNIP)

And, he has vowed to scale back spending and improve government efficiency by eliminating programs that don’t work.

MORE

It’s that “EFFICIENCY THING”!!  I wonder if the Obamas stay up nights talking about “efficiency”?

Monday we start the next campaign and start seeing what Obama thinks should be cut.  Meanwhile, the money will be flowing with very little supervision to the states and to his favored recipients.

And I’m wondering…how many seniors on Medicare get thrown under the bus?  How many people on disability???  That would seem to fit in in with the policies left behing by Michelle Obama at U of  C very nicely…

UNREAL!  Audacity, hubris, whatever you want to call it…I call it “3-Card Monte”…(another example of  Obama’s prowess with 3-Card Monte” here.)

***

This week in the high-desert garden.  Trees are budding out and the daytime temperatures are getting into the 70’s.  This week I pulled up most of the mustard, which has started going to seed. Same with the arugula.  I also harvested a few more sideshoots of broccoli and those plants have been pulled, too.  I still have to prune the grapes and fertilize. The rock squirrels are beginning to spend more time outside; when I look over the wall, I see one with his head poked out of his hole now all the time.  Today, I saw one of the crew on the wall,  near the feeder where I put cracked corn for the doves, so I know the squirrel was out for a sample.  Every year one of the squirrels tries to dig into my raised bed garden and usually they’ve dug out tunnels up to a couple of feet long before I find out about them!  I fill them in and the squirrels come back!  Then, they seem to get discouraged and stop trying. I’m really afraid that someday they will extend their burrows under the walls into the yard!

THE PAST WEEK

*By American Lassie

Anything More Nauseating that Bill Clinton Shilling For Obama on Greta Thursday Night?? (2/19/09)

El Paso Media Conference Pushes “Newspapers as Change Agents”; Interesting Background of Organizer

Obama World in Pictures: Privates and Flights of Fancy

*Eustace Mullins’ “Secrets of the Federal Reserve”: Read About what Ezra Pound Called “The Great Betrayal”

Family Matters (Politics, Home Style): David & Susan Axelrod and Epilepsy; Bristol & Sarah Palin Interview on Greta (UPDATE 1X: GM Retiree Health Benefits Dropped–the Next “Attached String” Falls into Place?

Wells Fargo Bank Goes Insane! (Antidote: Nice Pictures)

The Past Week: February 8-14, 2009 (Saturday Night Hard HR1 News; Chicago News [“Racial” Comments; Obama Ally Alexi Giannoulis]; “Roots Camp”; Bill Clinton Shills for the DCCC; New Sprouts in the Late Winter Garden)

Environmental Three-Card Monte? Obama *May* Grant Emissions Waivers to States Today? (“Immediately Work on It” vs. “Reconsider”) (But Other Policies Already Having a Negative Effect on Bears–Warning, Pic!) (Updated 1X) (Update 2X–After Announcements, NY Times Still Pushing Obama Kool-Aid) (Update 3X–Gore Surfaces)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Well, as we enter the second week of the Obama Monarchy, we find that we’re perhaps in a developing approach to governing that is reminiscent of “3-card monty(e).” In case you’re not familiar with the term, here’s an explanation from NY.com. The scenario:

Three Card Monte

Whenever a police car passes by, you can observe how quickly these games disperse. Sidewalk card games are both illegal and fraudulent for some very good reasons. The scenario:

Two or more people are standing around a cardboard box on a busy street trying to win money by choosing the correct card out of the three cards shuffled.

You notice that someone seems to be winning; this person is usually working with the dealer to lure people in. People who work these scams know that it will be less suspicious to plant a women or someone in a business suit in the game.

The shuffler will purposely lose the first few rounds to get you to bet more money.

At this point, if you take your wallet out, someone may grab it and run -OR- it will be pick pocketed as you watch the game.

If by some fluke you win, you may be followed and mugged.
How to avoid this : The hand is quicker than the eye and these are pros. Don’t play – YOU CANNOT WIN!

During the campaign, we learned that Obama was in the pocket of Exelon and re-wrote a bill regarding nuclear waste for the company’s benefit at the behest of Republicans.  Seemed to be easily swayed at the expense of his constitutents in Illinois. (See “In Nuclear Bill, An Early Obama Test.”) Now, we’re getting word that today (Monday, January 26) the Obama Administration will announce that they will grant waivers to states like California so that they can raise emissions standards, a move that was stopped by Bushco.  From Grist–Environmental News & Commentary:

Breaking: Obama to grant emissions waiver

Move would allow California and 13 other states to set tougher tailpipe standards

Posted by Kate Sheppard at 4:43 PM on 25 Jan 2009

President Obama on Monday will direct federal regulators to grant a waiver to California and 13 other states that have petitioned to set higher vehicle emissions standards, according to a New York Times report citing two administration sources.

SNIP

The Washington Post also has the story, reporting that White House officials “privately trumpeted [the emissions move] to supporters as ‘the first environment and energy actions taken by the President, helping our country move toward greater energy independence.'” While the Times says Obama’s decision will result in quick approval for California emissions waiver, the Post‘s story has a more conditional tone, saying only that the president has ordered the EPA “to reexamine two policies that could force automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars which yield fewer greenhouse gas emissions.“

So, the New York Times seems to be sure it will happen, while the WaPo is reporting in a more “conditional tone.”  I guess we’ll have to wait to see what “reexamine” means in Obama parlance. (SEE BELOW FOR ACTUAL WORDING IN THE STORIES)

Let’s also see what really happens with a promise Obama made during the lead-up to the Pennsylvania primary. Back then Obama promised he’d “hire” Al Gore. (See Obama Says Climate Change Is Real, Will Hire Gore) I haven’t heard a peep from Gore lately, but I haven’t been looking for him either. Maybe I missed something?  Let me know if I have missed any news about Gore. Perhaps he really is working on various issues for Obama and perhaps he’s under wraps so he doesn’t get into the “baggage game.” But, as it stands now, we will have to wait to see if Obama actually does use Gore in the way he promised.  Some of the proposals for carbon emissions capping, etc. may cost some money and consumer may not be too happy about it. Let’s see what happens.

Treehuggers.com (a site owned by the Discovery Company)  has a list of environmental concerns that the Center for Progressive Reform believes Obama should act on.  You can see the list here:

7 Executive Orders President Obama Should Sign to Protect the Environment: Center for Progressive Reform

Back at Grist there’s a story about how the departing Bush Adminstration slipped in a rule that weakens a Reagan era rule, if you can believe that!

Blazing addle

Bush administration moves to allow guns in national parks and wildlife refuges

Posted by Kate Sheppard at 6:15 PM on 05 Dec 2008

The Department of the Interior on Friday announced a final rule that will allow visitors to carry loaded and concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. The previous rules, put in place in the early ’80s under President Reagan, allowed firearms in parks as long as they were unloaded and stored somewhere that wasn’t easily accessible.

SNIP

It could take many months (or possibly years) for the next administration to overturn the rule, should it choose to do so, since it would require a whole new rule-making process. Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Obama’s transition team, told the Associated Press that the president-elect hasn’t made any decisions about the rule: “President-elect Obama will review all eleventh-hour regulations and will address them once he is president.”

Note that Obama hadn’t made any decisions about the rule as president-elect…so, we’ll have to see if he addresses the issue.  It’s sort of like the “Conscience Rule” which could also take years to overturn.  Let’s see if Obama sticks his neck out on either of these two issues. Meanwhile, the poor bears are already showing changes in their behavior to adapt to the new mindset in Washington!  Here’s the story, passed along by  a correspondent from W.A.M.:

Montana wildlife impacted by spreading malaise: The photo below captures a disturbing trend that  is beginning  to affect wildlife in the US.

Bear Waiting for Handout

With a sweeping Democratic Party victory in the November elections, animals  that were formerly self-sufficient are already  modifying their behavior to take advantage of what they expect to be a new set of societal norms in the next four to eight years. This  black bear from Montana has ceased hunting for a living and is sitting outside the US Fish &  Wildlife Service office in Kalispell, apparently  waiting to be fed and to have his winter den dug  by government employees. The residents of Kalispell are calling him “Bearack Obama”.

So, we’ll have to see how Obama handles this development. Does he let the Bush rules on loaded, concealed weapons stand which would then allow park visitors to shoot bears expecting a handout?  That might be the easiest way out of the problem.

And it just goes to show you…when it comes to Obama, choosing the correct card from what’s being shuffled as Obama zigzags along with “conditional statements”  and watered down promises, a la Exelon, is probably a game we won’t be winning.

“3-Card Monte” may turn out to be even more Obama’s game than basketball…

***

UPDATE 1

How the Times and WaPo word the story lower down the page:

The two stories (web editions)–Both start the same then there’s  the NYT’s “begin work immediately” vs the WaPo’s instruction to “reconsider”…

The New York Times, January 26, 2009

“But the centerpiece of Monday’s anticipated announcement is Mr. Obama’s directive to the Environmental Protection Agency to begin work immediately on granting California a waiver, under the Clean Air Act, which allows the state, a longtime leader in air quality matters, to set standards for automobile emissions stricter than the national rules.”

Washington Post, January 26, 2009

“Obama will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider whether to grant California a waiver to regulate automobile tailpipe emissions linked to global warming,…”

UPDATE 2 (1 pm MT)

Just back from errands, I searched for the reporting on the big event…and found that the NY Times headlines says one thing  but the story is now in line with the original WaPo story (above)!

From the New York Times web edition:

Obama Directs Regulators to Tighten Auto Standards

By JOHN M. BRODER

Published: January 26, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules imposing higher fuel-economy standards on cars and light trucks.

SNIP

Mr. Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the Bush administration’s past rejection of the California application. While he stopped short of flatly ordering the reversal of the Bush decision, the agency’s regulators are now widely expected to do so after completing a formal review process.

From the Washington Post web edition:

Obama Announces New Energy, Environmental Policies

By William Branigin, Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, January 26, 2009; 2:05 PM

President Obama today promised new U.S. leadership in the fight against global warming as he announced a series of steps aimed at making American cars more fuel efficient and reducing greenhouse gases, including a directive to the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider granting California and other states waivers to set their own strict regulations on auto emissions.

SNIP

In the presidential directives he signed today, Obama instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider whether to grant California and other states waivers to regulate automobile tailpipe emissions linked to global warming…

Quite a difference in the reporting. The Times story injects the word “swiftly” in the first sentence, there by setting it’s “editorial” tone.

Blatantly and deliberately.  Guess which line the evening news and cable will pick up…I’m betting the Times version….

UPDATE 3 (12:14 AM MT, 1/27)

Al Gore to testify Wednesday before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on climate change…if ice doesn’t postpone proceedings…