Tidbits from the 100 Days Debacle/Join the W.A.M. ACTION Against the Mainstream Media

W.A.M (Wake Up America) has put together a review of the insults that the Obama Administration has been heaping on the country during their first 100 days.  More at: http://www.wamaction.org/NewsRoom.html

Via W.A.M. Press Release:

If it seems to you that the “Change Administration” continues to expend its primary energies to campaigning rather than governing, you’re on the right track. With scores of Executive Branch positions still left vacant, the spectacle unveiled for Obama’s 100 Day mark apparently took most of the Administration’s energy. This included erroneous polling by supportive Mainstream Media.

In a glaring example, an absurb AP poll, headlined on Time Warner and other outlets with this caption: “AP Poll: After Obama’s 100 days, U.S. on right track.”

One fly in the ointment of this much publicized poll is that it included a mere 21% Republican sampling – with a whopping 38% now identified as “Independent.” As one blogger remarked, it seems that ‘the communist state has arrived. AP is Pravda.” What happened to the rest of the GOP? Applying the ongoing “New Party” strategy, the swiftest means to alter political reality is to use the Media to tell the public what you want to be true. This  involves considerable attention and time – but if it keeps your “candidate”s popularity afloat, well, then it’s worth it. And let’s not leave out the new First Lady, who is also reported this week, in another fallacious poll, to be approved of by 87% of Americans – leaving many of US wondering just who did they call?!

In an astonishing report, Politico substantiates the fact that the  “Obama campaign still funds operations.” Its review indicates that, having entered the new year with $18 Million dollars, it’s now down to a mere $10 Million.”Last month alone, it paid $74,000 in payroll, $23,000 for rent, $10,000 for polling and $6,400 for travel. Other interesting payments during the first three months of the year, the period covered by Wednesday’s report, included $688,000 in legal fees to the firm of Bob Bauer — the top lawyer for the campaign, the Democratic National Committee, the Obama political group Organizing for America, and the Obama family — and $6,400 to a firm founded by Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.” For more fascinating facts on the Obama- Axelrod ongoing campaign, go here:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21304.html

Pulling out all the stops for his 100 Day marker not only included biased poll reports but a pointless hour of prime time coverage. Having already leveraged more prime time coverage than President Clinton was given his entire term in office – millions of viewers were coerced to sit politely through Obama’s tele-prompter guided Talking Points – unchallenged by reporters. In a full hour only 13 questions were permitted, including one riveting query about what has most “enchanted” the new Commander-in-Chief since January. The rest of US may be relieved to note that, while the economy continues to sink and Barney Frank’s housing fix law has qualified one homeowner for salvation over a full 3 months, Obama has plenty of “perks” to boost his spirits. These include a bombshell of unintended “bad press” – at extravagant expense – but too inept and careless not to be criticized. The Defense Department terrorizing of New York City, when a “photo shoot” of Air Force One, accompanied by fighter jets, swooped over the downtown area spoke volumes of this adminstration’s contempt  for both protocol and public safety. Turns out this thoughtless fiasco was created on behalf of – what else but the Change Administrations’ latest marketing video.  (See W.A.M. News Room for video.

The worst debacle of thinly disguised brainwashing, however, was GOP Senator Arlen Specter’s carefully timed announcement of his withdrawal from the Republican party to join the un-Democratic majority with which he has been voting all year anyway! Seems his rival for the 2010 PA race, Conservative Pat Tooney is so far ahead in the polls, the Senator has no other option for defending his re-election than to switch labels (but not gears) to bring forth more bundles of questionably sourced New Party capital by running under the Democratic banner. The price he paid? No more than his massively televised participation in this week’s 100 Day marketing blitz!

It’s amusing to note that Sen. Tom Harkin, who was scheduled to speak on FOX News about this political ‘upset’ bowed out abruptly,  without explanation. This after Specter made publicly clear that his deal with Senate Majority Leader Reid provides full rights to DEM seniority – since his 1st 1980 GOP election. Specter proudly stated that he now holds party seniority over most others, including IA Sen. Harkin himself!

If this most recent and most glaring example of Washington’s abusive pattern of ignoring We the People insults you, SIGN IN to Wake Up America movement to participate in MAINSTREAM MEDIA BOYCOTT –  this Grass Roots Media Reform campaign launches with  MAJOR TELEVENT – WEDNESDAY PM – MAY 6!

Go to www.wamaction.org home page link – Get Involved – to join this ACTION.  See the upcoming plans for EXPANSION of the W.A.M. site including:

Expanded Newsroom

Watch Washington Forum

Private Chat Room for Bloggers & Broadcasters’

Research Archives On Critical Issues

State-by-State Vision-in-Action Board

The Past Week: March 8-14, 2009 (Alaska Rivalry? Palin/Murkowski; Franken vs.Colemen=Bush vs. Gore?; China Gearing Up for It’s Own Second Stimulus Package; Sen. Gregg’s Parting Shot)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Here are a few items that you may have missed during the past week as you basked in all the stock market “gains”…

Looks like there’s another star from Alaska who is making some waves in D.C. Lisa Murkowski, who’s father lost to Sarah Palin in the primary election as he tried for re-election as  governor in 2006, is being called a “powerhouse” in the Senate. (One of the charges leveled at Frank Murkowski was that he appointed his daughter to the Senate after he was elected governor.)  From the AP:

Alaska’s Murkowski a new ‘powerhouse’ in Senate

Only in her first full term, Murkowski is Alaska’s senior senator and the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, a crucial role for her oil-producing state. She serves on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is the only woman among eight men on the Senate GOP’s leadership team.

“I can’t think of anybody in recent years in the Senate who has gone further faster than Lisa Murkowski,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. “Alaska has a new powerhouse already.”

SNIP

…Even with her climb to power, Murkowski is dogged by an unspoken rivalry with Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP’s vice presidential nominee in 2008 who defeated Murkowski’s father in a hard-fought primary in 2006.

Murkowski is up for re-election in 2010, and pundits from Washington to Alaska have focused on a possible primary challenge by Palin, a possible presidential contender in 2012. Palin, whose term as governor ends next year, has not announced her plans.

SNIP

While she supports increased oil and gas drilling, Murkowski is more moderate than many other GOP senators, Begich said. Murkowski supported a fair-pay act for women and an expansion of children’s health insurance, both Democratic priorities.

While both women deny the talk of rivalry, even going so far as to write a joint opinion piece with the title “We’re not rivals; we’re in partnership for Alaska,” rumors persist.  Palin’s term as governor ends next year and Murkowski is up for re-election in 2010 and there is speculation that Palin might mount a primary challenge to Murkowski.  Should be interesting…

And doesn’t it seem that the GOP powers in D.C. may be closing ranks around Murkowski over Palin?

***

If you’re wondering what’s going on with the Franken-Coleman Senate seat battle, here’s the latest update:

Politco.com reported on Friday that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging a fight all the way to the Supreme Court:

Franken holds a 225-vote lead after a hand recount of ballots cast in November. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested Friday that Coleman’s fight to hold on to his Minnesota Senate seat may still be in its nascent stages.

“This could end up in federal court based on the allegations of the Coleman campaign that there has not been a consistent manner of counting votes county by county,” McConnell said. “I don’t know where this ends.”

Guess what case they are citing?  Remember the one that was supposed to be a “one-time only” decision?

McConnell said that Coleman’s team seems to have been laying the groundwork for a federal appeals challenge by citing the 2000 Supreme Court case in Bush v. Gore, which ended the Florida recount. McConnell argued that the equal protection clause of the Constitution ensures that each county should use similar standards in counting its ballots, which the Coleman campaign asserts was not done in Minnesota.

“We all remember Bush v. Gore,” McConnell said.

***

Guess who else has a second stimulus package ready to roll? From Xinhua News Agency/China Views:

Premier: China ready to roll out new stimulus package if needed

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) — China has prepared plans to cope with even bigger difficulties amid the financial crisis and is ready to put forward new stimulus package at any time, said Premier Wen Jiabao here Friday.

SNIP

“We are ready to put forward new stimulus policies at any time,” Wen said.

China rolled out a 4-trillion-yuan (585.5 billion U.S. dollars) two-year stimulus package last year, for which the central government has pledged 1.18 trillion yuan.

Wen said Friday the 1.18 trillion yuan from the central government was totally new investment.

The package included huge government investment, tax reform, industrial restructuring, scientific innovation, social welfare and promoting employment.

Apart from the 4-trillion-yuan package, China will cut tax by 600 billion yuan, raise the old-age pension for retired workers, hike the salaries of 12 million teachers, increase farmers’ income and provide more subsidies for them.

The country also plans to spend 850 billion yuan on reforming the health care sector within three years.

“These investment is not included in the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package,” Wen said.

All investment plans in the massive stimulus package have been fully debated, and would be open for public supervision, he said.

He said the stimulus package included many new projects, such as the housing projects for low-income urban residents.

MORE

Dollars, yuans…it’s beginning to sound all the same…

***

VIA Chicago Correspondent Leslie:

Here’s the quote of the week from Sen. Gregg, the Republican who bailed as Commerce Secretary:

From the end of the article a MSNBC’s First Read:

“Gregg questioned why any foreign country would continue to buy up U.S. debt: “Because if I’m in the international marketplace, and I’m looking at this budget, I’m saying to myself, ‘Where’s the discipline? Where’s the containment?’ There isn’t any.”

In his withdrawal statement last month, Gregg said, “I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the president’s proposals.”

The budget doesn’t appear to be one of them.”

***

THE PAST WEEK

*By American Lassie

Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (March 14, 2009) (Lost Dog; Budding; Pruned Grapes; A Robin Visits; Clouds Around Town; Biker Chic) Pics!

Obama on the Border: The Language Shift & Plan to Use Executive Orders–Tying It All Together (Security, Trade, Immigration )

Mexico Plans World’s Third Largest Seaport, Will Impact U.S. Ports on West Coast; Citigroup to Help Finance? (Updated 1X More on TARP $$ Going Overseas)

What’s Going On North of the Border: The Canadian Economy and Stimulus Plan

An Old Hand Comments on the Current Fix We’re In With Obama the “Post Turtle”

*THE PROPOSED NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY/NORTH AMERICAN UNION: 2010 Is Just Around the Corner

The Past Week: March 1-7, 2009 (More on Sinclair Lewis; Canada-EU Free Trade?; China Eyeing the Big Three Automakers’ “Juicy Bits”?; Palin’s “Troopergate” Foe Winds Up In Obama Administration)

Secy. of Defense Robert Gates Downplays Possible U.S. Role as Fears of Mexico Collapse Mount; Don’t Be Fooled, There’s A Bush-Era Agenda Still Going On Here…

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

A couple of days ago I posted a press release from W.A.M. (Wake Up America) on the impending demise of the “E-Verify Program” which has been operating since the 1990’s. (See URGENT PRESS RELEASE March 4, 2009 from W.A.M. RE: Expiration of the “E-Verify Program” Which Screens Employment of Illegal Aliens.)

You have to wonder why this is being allowed to die, especially with the news coming out of Mexico.  Living only about 50 miles from the border (the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez area), I got to thinking.

On Monday (3/2) I saw a small AP article in the Albuquerque Journal hidden near the fold on page two which reported on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ appearance on Meet the Press the day before.  Since I don’t trust the AP to report anything anymore, I found the transcript of the show; here is the relevant passage:

March 1, 2009

Meet the Press

MR. GREGORY:  We’ve got a few more minutes, and I want to go through as quickly as we can some other really important topics.  The first is Mexico, a major threat on the border with Mexico because of a widening drug war there. The Economist magazine wrote this startling synopsis, and they call it “Who’s in charge?  The police chief in Ciudad Juarez, on Mexico’s border with America, resigned after drug gangs, who had murdered his deputy, threatened to kill one of his officers every 48 hours until he quit.” What’s going on there, and how big of a national security threat is this for the U.S.?

SEC’Y GATES:  Well, I think that what is important is that President Calderon of Mexico, perhaps for the first time, has, has taken on the battle against these cartels.  And because of corruption in the police and so on, he sent the federal army of Mexico into the fight.  The cartels are retaliating.  I think we are beginning to be in a position to help the Mexicans more than we have in the past.  Some of the old biases against cooperation with our–between our militaries and so on I think are being set aside.

MR. GREGORY:  You mean providing military supporting?

SEC’Y GATES:  Providing them with, with training, with, with resources, with reconnaissance and surveillance kinds of capabilities; but just cooperation, including in intelligence. But it clearly is a serious problem, and, and–but what I think people need to point out is the courage that Calderon has shown in taking this on, because one of the reasons it’s gotten as bad as it has is because his predecessors basically refused to do that.

This policy does not come out of the blue. The  plan was signed into law on June 30, 2008.

The Mérida Initiative (also called Plan Mexico by critics) is a security cooperation between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational crime and money laundering. The assistance includes training, equipment and intelligence.

In seeking partnership from the United States, Mexican officials point out that the illicit drug trade is a shared problem in need of a shared solution, and remark that most of the financing for the Mexican traffickers comes from American drug consumers. U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that US$12 to 15 billion per year flows from the United States to the Mexican traffickers, and that is just in cash, and doesn’t include all the money sent by wire transfers.^[1] Other government agencies, including the Government Accountability Office and the National Drug Intelligence Center, have estimated that Mexico’s cartels earn upwards of $23 billion in illicit drug proceeds from the United States.^[2][3]

U.S. State Department officials are aware that Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s willingness to work with the United States is unprecedented on issues of security, crime and drugs, so the U.S. Congress passed legislation in late June 2008 to provide Mexico with $400 million and Central American countries with $65 million this year for the Mérida Initiative. The initiative was announced on 22 October 2007 and signed into law on June 30, 2008.

Now, this plan raises a couple of alarm bells. First, some are speculating that we should expect some sort of terrorist attack on the U.S. that will allow the Obama Administration to do something that will complete their power grab.  George Bush took 911 and we got a spate of new laws regarding security, FISA, and a whole new Homeland Security office.  It doesn’t take much to see the conditions in Mexico as a potential source of  a “transnational crime” of some sort.  What Obama would do with this sort of situation has been widely discussed.  Reports of  “camps” being built, the continuation of FISA, the economic problems and greater government intervention…well, would you be surprised if we saw some more power grabbed by Obama?

Secondly, what could the “cooperation” that Gates describes actually lead to?  The use of the word “just”, as in “just cooperation” automatically raises suspicion, as if it’s all being minimized to sound simple and benign. Foreign Policy In Focus analyzed the plan this way:

From what’s known of it, the package — officially dubbed the “Mérida Initiative” but more commonly referred to as “Plan Mexico” — contains direct donations of military and intelligence equipment, and training programs for Mexican law enforcement officials. A White House fact sheet lists surveillance equipment, helicopters and aircraft, scanners for border revisions, communications systems, and training programs for “strengthening the institutions of justice.” An additional $50 million dollars is earmarked for Central American countries to support their fight against “gangs, drugs, and arms.”

The Washington Post, which obtained a copy of the “Overall Justification Document,” reported that more than a third of the package will be spent on aerial surveillance and facilitating the rapid deployment of troops.

But what has legislators and civil society worried on both sides of the border is not the money involved or the equipment to be sent. It’s the reach of Plan Mexico in recasting the binational relationship, to create what the Bush administration calls “a new paradigm for security cooperation.”

SNIP

The concept of a joint security strategy for North America goes back at least as far as the creation of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in March of 2005. Since that time, the Bush administration has attempted to push its Northern American trade partners into a common front that would assume shared responsibility for protecting the United States from terrorist threats and bolstering U.S. global hegemony in the region.

SNIP

Plan Mexico twists the plot by presenting Bush administration efforts to create a North American security strategy in the guise of a war on drugs.

And Gates is still there as a carryover in Obama’s cabinet.

On Monday( 3/9) this site will be featuring a post on a planned “community,” with many of the target dates for reaching certain goals set for 2010.  The demise of E-Verify may be part of a larger scenario that’s being played out.  Remember “SPP”–you’ll be reading about it in more detail on Monday.

Is the plan going to work? A recent article from the El Paso Times reports on some doubts:

Lawmakers to evaluate Merida Initiative’s success

By Darren Meritz / El Paso Times

Posted: 02/08/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

EL PASO — As drug violence claims lives every day across the border in Juárez, lingering questions about the Merida Initiative may come to dog lawmakers, who could find themselves under pressure if the cooperative agreement to fight drugs is not a success.Security experts have urged Congress to consider a range of indicators when evaluating the progress of the Merida Initiative.

Whether the initiative will work and whether benchmarks have been set to measure success of failure remain key questions for lawmakers and local officials, some of whom are skeptical about the three-year, $1.4 billion plan.

SNIP

Meanwhile, fears abound that money, materials and services from the Merida Initiative won’t make it to their intended recipients, with corruption getting in the way and the potential for worsening violence as drug cartels continue to clash.

Gee, no “indicators”?  Doubts about whether “benchmarks” have been established? Sounds sort of  like how the “stimulus package” and bailout money is set up…no real oversight!

I found a rundown of some recent news items at The Albuquerque Journal site which paint a pretty grim picture of what’s going on. Click on the following headline to get the full list.

Updated at 11:20am — Cartels Said To Have 100,000 Foot Soldiers

Pentagon source tells Washington Times rival drug organizations may be negotiating a merger…

Here are the other headlines, which are descriptive enough:

7:10am 2/9/09 — Texas Plans for Possible Mexican Collapse: ‘You hope for the best, plan for the worst,’ Gov. Perry’s aide tells El Paso Times.

6:45am 2/2/09 — Ambassador: Mexico Not Collapsing: Top envoy responds to chorus of alarms by current and former U.S. officials over border violence.

9:45am 1/29/09 — Joint Chiefs Chairman Worries About Mexican Violence: Navy Adm. Mike Mullen tells D.C. press briefing that border drug war ‘has all of our attention.’

11:25am 1/14/09 — Military Report: Mexico’s ‘Sudden Collapse’ Possible: U.S. Joint Forces Command study puts Mexico on a par with Pakistan as global security threat.

9:35am 1/9/09 — U.S. Says It’s Ready for Mexican Violence: Homeland Security has a ‘surge’ plan, including use of military, if drug wars spill over the border. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told The New York Times this week that if Mexico’s vicious and escalating drug war spills over the border, the United States has several response plans, including the use of the military, the El Paso Times reported.

10:00am 1/7/09 — Ex-U.S. Drug Czar Warns of Mexican Chaos: McCaffrey tells incoming Obama administration ‘millions of refugees’ could surge across border…The United States has provided only minimal support for the Mexican government to date, with Congress approving the $400 million Merida Initiative worked out by President Bush with Mexican and Canadian participation only “after a divisive and insulting debate,” the report said…”A terrible tragedy is going to take place in the coming decade if we don’t closely ally ourselves with the courageous Mexican leadership of (President Felipe) Calderon’s administration — and develop a resourced strategy appropriate for the dangers we face,” McCaffrey told the incoming administration.

***

See that mention of Canada in the last excerpt?  You’ll be reading more about Canada next week…

And please remember who Felipe Calderon is. Recall that during Mexico’s national election in July 2006, there was a great deal of scuttlebutt around about how Calderon was “selected.”    As reported at the time:

Mexico Vote Gives Bush New “Amigo” in Latin America

Catherine Bremer – Reuters

Felipe Calderon’s election victory in Mexico gives the U.S. government a much-needed conservative ally in Latin America, where it has lost influence in recent years as a string of leftist leaders took power.

For months, it seemed that Washington would have to work with a combative Mexican leader in Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a fiery leftist who led opinion polls and promised to end two decades of U.S.-backed economic reforms.

But Calderon won the narrowest of victories and Mexico’s electoral court named him president-elect on Tuesday, throwing out Lopez Obrador’s accusations of massive fraud.

MORE

Now, doesn’t that sound real familiar?

Reviewing all this information, it’s plain to see that E-Verify is just an afterthought these days.  Maybe bigger things are brewing…

AP Analyzes Obama:He’s FED UP With Protests About the Stimulus Plan…Too F*cking Bad!!

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

With my mother still in the hospital as they try to figure out her heart meds, I didn’t have the time to stay glued to the TEE VEE and watch Obama recite his talk about the stimulus package.  To be honest, when I saw him speaking LIVE, I quickly changed the channel and kept on cooking artichokes…I have quickly adopted my defense which I used against the aura of  GW Bush, which was to ignore the talking head as much as possible and rely on printed words.  Annoying as THEY were, they still didn’t raise my blood pressure as much as actually hearing Bush uttering his crap.

And it is the same with the new petulant fraud in the White House.  I am on “gray hair” watch, however.  I am watching to see the Obama’s hair color change, not out of acquired wisdom, but with the stress of not getting his way ALL the time as the long 4 years unwinds.

So I had to laugh when I saw this AP story on O’s address on the stimulus package.  The headline that caught my eye contained the words “fed up” but was the one that linke to the actual story…The AP decided to call this ANALYSIS rather than dropping the editorializing into the story without warning…and it’s quite a delicious opening:

General News – Analysis: Obama says GOP can’t criticize stimulus.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama looked comfortable enough at his first White House news conference, but he sounded like a man fed up with one thing: Republicans lecturing him about his $820 billion economic stimulus plan.

Message to Obama:  The Republicans aren’t the only ones fed up.  ME, I’m fed up, too!  Being “lectured to” pisses you off?  Well, I’m pretty sick of being “lecture to” by YOU!!

Oh, and what happened to the charisma?  “Looked comfortable enough” is faint praise indeed…

My underlying nightmare is that in one month, this jerk in the Oval Office and the Democrats in the Congress under the “leadership” of Pelosi and Reid have set up the Democrats to be CRUSHED eventually at the polls.  Anything good that the Democrats might accomplish will be blown away because of the crap that has been coming down ever since they’ve taken control.

It’s the ARROGANCE and STUPIDITY, baby!

But why should I care? I’m no longer a Democrat…but I AM a citizen who wants to be free of the GOP that seems to never wise up and move off the subject of women’s bodies and destroying the social safety net  (which Obama and the Democrats are helping along…more coming on this).

Fed up?  I’m SO FED UP with both Republicans and Democrats, religion being shoved down my throat, etc., etc. that I can’t even begin to express it!!

PS…the artichokes turned out great!!

Shocking! AP Writer Does Fact Check on Obama’s TV Infomercial! (UPDATE 1X)

~~Posted by InsightAnalytical

I nearly fell over when I saw it…a piece by AP writer Calvin Woodward which took on Obama’s ode to himself last night.  I’m wondering if it will be showing up in newspapers like my local rag, the Las-Cruces Sun News which usually is full of AP stories, edited to make Obama look good…I bet they pass on this one.