The Way I See ItBy cj pollickValentine’s Day – February 14th is Valentine’s Day. Do you have a special person in your life? Don’t forget Saturday the 14th. The Man Behind Obama's Speeches - Most people know that top political candidates and presidents rarely write their own speeches. Rather, they use professional speechwriters did as President Obama while he was campaigning and now does as President. The man who writes Obama's speeches? A young 27-year-old liberal arts graduate from Holy Cross College named Jon Favreau. Favreau began his speechwriting career as an assistant writer for (then) Presidential candidate John Kerry. He was then asked to join Senator Barack Obama’s campaign as the head speechwriter. Yes, it was Favreau who drafted the President's inauguration speech, etc. In just a few years after graduation from Holy Cross, Jon Favreau is now the director of speechwriting for the Obama Administration. An amazing fast-track for this young political talent. Who knows, one day we might see the Favreau name in politics... as a candidate for public office. President Obama Presents A Calm, Smooth Presence On Television - In his first media speech, President Obama fielded several lollipop questions from media favorites Monday evening. In fact, one media expert's only tough question for the President was, "How do you feel about the A-Rod news?" Yes, we are in a deep recession and at war in Iraq, but the toughest question a reporter could ask the President was about a baseball player! Of course, that was, and is, the manner in which the national media has treated Barack Obama throughout his career. In his typical laid-back delivery, as written by his speechwriter, Obama tried to make his case to the American people regarding his stimulus plan. Perhaps one of the most humorous exchanges during the media question and answer period came from a reporter from FOX NEWS, who asked about the comment made by Joe Biden where he said, "There is a 30% chance we could be wrong." To which, Obama stated he did not recall what Joe meant regarding "there is a 30% chance we could be wrong." Yes, Obama smiled as he responded he could not recall the exact comment or meaning by his loose-lipped vice-president. If Obama and the Democrats could be 30% wrong with the stimulus package being pushed through Congress with no GOP support in the House, then the bottom-line result could push America into worse financial trouble. (Three out of ten times he could be wrong.) The President, nevertheless, clearly admitted that his stimulus plan offers more government spending than it does in tax relief. Interestingly, most economists support tax relief as the major component of a financial stimulus plan. Yet, when Obama spoke about the GOP not offering other plans, that was simply not true. Republicans in Congress supported cutting "pork" spending and supporting more tax cuts, such as lowering the tax rate for the lowest two tax brackets by one-half. Another idea by Republicans, President Oama must have forgotten was to cut payroll taxes which would offer immediate financial relief to businesses and employees. Yet, not one media type in Washington asked for comment on any of those optional financial topics Monday evening. Obama continued to explain that “we are breaking new ground” in the manner in which government might handle the current financial recession. Economists agree that the only entity that has enough money to provide any form of a stimulus is the federal government. Trillions of US tax dollars could be needed to help stimulate our nation's economy. Any resulting financial stimulus plan, they say, should include tax cuts plus government spending, in that order. Not one Republican supported the current stimulus plan in the House, only three Republicans crossed party lines to support Obama's plan in the Senate. (Two liberal Republicans from Maine, and one liberal Republican from Pennsylvania.) Yet, Washington media types have referred to this as bi-partisan support. Overall, Obama presented another calm and collective speech filled with partisan political speak that attempted to scare moderate voters into believing his stimulus plan is the best plan available at this time. "It is a time of action," he continued, "no time to waste." With trillions of tax dollars to be spent by our government during 2009-2010, our nation's accumulated debt could require three generations of American taxpayers to pay for the proposed federal spending spree. Bottom line? Our nation is spending its way into pure socialism. Who knows how many of our large banks could become nationalized within the next two years. Democrat Senate Hopeful Al Franken Admits To Tax Problems - Even though Democrat senate hopeful Al Franken had tax problems (much worse than Tom Daschle) for the past few years, that negative news was kept out of the public's eye until after the senate election. How bad are Franken's tax problems? His accountant was told to not talk to the press about the various Franken tax issues which, according to Newsmax.com, covers more than one state, including New York, and potentially total several tens of thousands of dollars (excluding alleged work comp taxes not paid.) All of this prompted one political pundit to say, "Democrats in office seem to favor tax increases as long as they do not have to pay them." Of course, President Obama's words to the American public are being tested in his early days in office by his own political party favorites, "It is important to send a message there are not two sets of rules...." On the other hand, it is the same Al Franken that is trying to be sworn-in as a US senator regardless of alleged voting improprieties in his home state. A-Rod Admits Steroid Use - In an interview with ESPN, baseball star Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids while he played for the Texas Rangers from 2001-2003. Of course, and as many baseball fans know, A-Rod had one of his best years in baseball in 2003 (the year before he was traded to New York.) The recent admission by A-Rod adds credibility to many of the things another baseball player ( Jose Canseco) had been saying for years. Canseco reported that there were many baseball players who used various forms of steroids, "I know that as a fact," once said Canseco on national television. How many other baseball greats used steroids? More than just a few. A list of over 100 baseball players tested positive for such drugs in 2001-2003. This new revelation could cause most of the recent baseball greats to be excluded from baseball's Hall Of Fame. How could you put them in the Hall Of Fame when they used performance enhancing drugs to help elevate their games? The list of suspect stars that might have used or did drugs? Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, etc., etc. Ancient Snake The Size Of A Bus - In South America, about 60 million years ago, existed a water snake that was reportedly over 40 feet in length and weighed more than 2,500 pounds. At that size, the giant snake reportedly could barely squeeze into a bus door. Since it was a water snake, experts have stated that it probably ate things like crocodiles and other large water animals. The same experts stated that the snake was likely the ancestor of today's large anacondas, but much larger. Can you imagine a snake longer than a house and weighing over a ton? Political "Closet" Deals, Michelle Obama, And A Failed Liberal Radio Show - If you follow "dirty" political deals made in certain Democrat strongholds across America, you would find some of the following suspect deals: The University of Chicago Medical Center was swayed to hire a person to handle things such as community relations, minority relations, neighborhood outreach, etc. In 2005 they hired Michelle Obama to fill that position, her starting salary was $120,000 but soon ballooned to $317,000 plus benefits. After the hiring, Sen. Barack Obama earmarked $1 million for the University of Chicago Medical Center. Quid pro quo? When Sen. Obama opted to run for the presidency, Michelle Obama resigned her important position at the medical center. How did medical center officials react to her departure? They have decided to leave her position unfulfilled. |