So Much For Unemployed Lobbyists

President Obama promised during his campaign that lobbyists "won't find a job in my White House." It sounds pretty cut and dry, but wait. Obama had to right his own rules with massive loop holes to make sure he is successful.
Here is a list of High Ranking Appointments who he made an exception.

Eric Holder, attorney general nominee, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm.
Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year on behalf of the National Education Association.
William Lynn, deputy defense secretary nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for defense contractor Raytheon, where he was a top executive.
William Corr, deputy health and human services secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until last year for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit that pushes to limit tobacco use.
David Hayes, deputy interior secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until 2006 for clients, including the regional utility San Diego Gas & Electric.
Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for financial giant Goldman Sachs.
Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, was registered to lobby until 2005 for clients, including the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, U.S. Airways, Airborne Express and drug-maker ImClone.
Mona Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff, was registered to lobby for clients, including Angliss International in 2003.
Melody Barnes, domestic policy council director, lobbied in 2003 and 2004 for liberal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Constitution Society and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, was a lobbyist as recently as last year for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.
Patrick Gaspard, White House political affairs director, was a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union.
Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to the president’s assistant for intergovernmental relations, lobbied for the American Association of Justice from 2001 until 2005.
Full Article Found Here.

Look at this list and who they are supporters of. Do you feel the pull on your freedom yet. Hang on tight.

I Hope He's Feeling It.

Maybe now he can get a realistic picture of what it takes to run this nation. The liberal dream bubble will soon burst.

Sound the Alarm, Prepare to Dive

Looks like another round of Bailouts to further pull down the economy. JB Williams wrote an article that puts it in perspective. Let me quote a small section for you.

Congressional Democrats Bankrupted the Nation

History of Government Sponsored Enterprises
Even though the US congress has been mucking up the banking industry since 1916, few Americans are familiar with GSE’s, (Government Sponsored Enterprises). As a result, the people have hired the same people who destroyed the US economy to begin with, to fix the US economy. Those people are now attempting to save the nation from complete economic collapse via the same failed economic policies that caused the crisis...
History repeats for benefit of those who have not yet learned the lesson
Although the US Constitution affords the federal government no such power whatsoever to engage taxpayer revenue in banking or any other economic enterprise, Congress has been recklessly meddling in private enterprise for almost one hundred years now, with a devastating track record of unparalleled failure.
The 2008-2009 collapse of the US banking system is not the result of failed free market mechanics, but rather a clear demonstration of just how unqualified the federal government is to regulate industry and private enterprise. It is not the result of the last eight years, but rather the last eighty years or more... It was not an accident, but instead a natural end to a bad idea.
The Beginning
The 64th US Congress created the first federal GSE in 1916, with the establishment of the Farm Credit System. Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate at the time and Democrat Woodrow Wilson was president.
The stated objective was to “provide sound and dependable credit to American farmers, ranchers, producers or harvesters of aquatic products, their cooperatives, and farm-related businesses. - We do this by making appropriately structured loans to qualified individuals and businesses at competitive rates and providing financial services and advice to those persons and businesses.”
A noble objective, but the key word in this statement is the word “qualified.” They were not talking about “credit worthy” qualifications, or a borrower’s ability to repay, but rather qualifications tied to a borrower’s “need.”

Read the Rest Of JB Williams Article

I know I have written similar stuff but it is good to hear others profess the same thing. This points to the fact that we are not alone. The problem is visible to others willing to look. Those who are unwilling and blind to the lessons of history are running our nation. Once again I am asking you to help them out by writing and telling them. Use the tool on my side bar to get the names and addresses of your congressional critters.
It took WWII to save us the last time. I hope we don't need WWIII to recover this time. There might not be a planet left.

Turn Around, You are Going the Wrong Way

Everytime I open a news page they are talking about a new stimulus package. Our government is looking for ways to spend vast sums of money it doesn't have, on programs most people don't really want, in an attempt to fix a problem that they will only worsen by there effort.
The government spending money is only a temperary solution to a long term problem. This sudden burst of cash onto the scene does nothing to create long term employment and ultimate security of the people. What Americans really want is success in the long haul. They want to be able to provide basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter as well as niceties that put joy and excitment back into daily living, our framers called this Persuit of Happiness.
For America to be returned to profitability and the American worker to be secure and successful, our government needs to do things that promote business and its growth here in America. The business world is where the jobs will come from that will strengthen our economy and turn this around. If business is growing and doing what it does, the world will soon flurish again.
In order for this to happen we need to stop intruding on business with taxes and regulations. We need to add insentives that encourage business to grow and employ people. The $3,000 tax credit for new hire was one of the best ideas floated so far. It is a small carrot but an incentive that would do something toward resolving the problem.
What we need is a investment tax credit that would encourage businesses to expand, inovate and grow. Programs like this would help big and small businesses. The big three would be able to afford the retooling necessary for high milage cars and hybrids. Create tax incentives for R&D with result oriented additional incentives that would drive a company to do more and get more. These are the avenues of job creation and economic recovery. These are the incentives that would propel America into the future.
Let us put a stop to bandaides and quick fixes that will only serve to further drain the economy. Now is the time to tell your representatives how to fix the problem. It should be pretty clear to you now that they don't know how.

Knowing Your Environment

The Obama team is doing what we need to save the auto industry. They say they are preparing them for the future, but what they are really doing is denying them a future. Increasing fuel standards does not make the auto makers more profitable or even viable. It simply increases the cost of doing business.
If you owned a company and the government came along and regulated you so that you could only sell your least popular product, how long would you stay in business? If you built homes and the government said you can only build homes under 1200 square feet but the buyers are looking for 2000 square feet, you wouldn’t be selling a lot of homes. You also wouldn’t be in business long.
America is not Europe. We are a nation of big things, ask a Texan. America is a spread out place where you have to be able to get around and bring it back. In Europe you can find businesses intermixed among the residences. Whatever you need or do can be found within blocks of where you live.
In America we chose a different path for our zoning laws. We keep business and residence separated often by substantial distance. This distance translates into needing to move goods and services and often that requires cars and trucks. Motorcycles and scooters won’t do the job.
Given these facts, our government has decided to ignore them. That is not what he said?
"The federal government must work with, not against, states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Obama said. He added: "The days of Washington dragging its heels are over. My administration will not deny facts; we will be guided by them."
I guess some facts are more relevant than others. If you were raised in New York, Chicago, or LA perhaps you aren’t fully aware of the vastness of this great nation. I know people in their forties who have never left their building in New York City. They live in their building; work in their building, shop in their building, there isn’t much that can’t be done in their building. These are the rare exceptions to the American way of life.
I currently live 20 miles from work, 2 miles from the closest store, my children’s school is 4 miles away, and these are close in comparison to other places I have lived. I have lived fourteen miles back on dirt and fifty miles from the nearest grocery store. This is the America I Love and Know so well. I have wandered all over this nation and have seen very little that reminds me of Europe. Yet our politicians keep trying to use the systems that in most cases already don’t work for them.
Listen, this is America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. We need American Solutions to American Problems. We don’t need foreign solutions that don’t work, haven’t worked and are plain worn out from trying to force them to work.

Articles of Interest:
Obama pushing stronger fuel-efficiency standard
Obama begins reversing Bush climate policies

The Gun Grabbing Veil has been Lifted

The goal is to rid the world of all Nuclear weapons, says Obama. This theory is constantly applied to gun bans, only to result in the bloodshed of law abiding citizens. When you ban something or seek to remove it, do you solve the problem?
Look, the cat is out of the bag, when it comes to nuclear weapons. We just went round and round with North Korea trying to get them to disarm. Does anyone feel 100% secure in the fact that they are telling us they no longer have any nuclear weapons? How are you going to prove it or enforce it?
The only real way to get people to step away from nuclear weapons it to discover something more terrifying. Right now nuclear is the ultimate weapon and everyone wants to feel big and powerful. Every two cent dictator wants to be big and important. Most of them already have a use in mind for such a wonderful weapon. No matter what the liberal says, the use isn't for a deterrent. Pres. DinerJacket over in Iran will tell you straight up what he intends to do with it.

Once we get all the commotion going it is a simple step to replace the words Nuclear Weapons with guns. They will all jump on it like it was handed down from Mt. Sinai.
Removing a weapon does not remove the aggression that pushes someone to kill another. It simply reduces the choices as to how. Does anyone remember how limited the killing was before the invention of gun powder? Generally, with each progression in the art of weaponry comes greater peace.
Good men want to distance themselves from death and only choose it as a last resort. Look at the progression of weapons; contact, close contact, arms reach, arms throw, arms sling, mechanical sling, propulsion, .....

Each level of weapon has established a deterrent and security for those who had them. Tell the president that we don't want to be vulnerable to dictators and criminals. While your at it, remind him that your weapons are off limits as well.

Vincent Gioia, I Applaud You.

When some one says it so clear it bears repeating, I will post it. If you enjoy history and love the United States of America with all your heart, if you deem truth and personal reputation as vitally important, than you are going to love this article. As you read it, ask yourself if your country will ever be the same.

Barack Hussein Obama will be the president January 20th because Americans voted how they feel rather than what they know

"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men." —Samuel Adams
Such was the thinking of those who created our country out of hopes and ideals in their quest for a more perfect union to be led by people of good character. In the age of patriotism after the "greatest generation" saved our hides once again through sacrifice and valor, an incoming president reminded us to put the country first. In his Inaugural Address on 20 January, 1961, President John F. Kennedy closed his remarks with these famous words: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country".
However today, the incoming president has turned Jack Kennedy's national challenge on end, essentially proclaiming, "ask what your country can do for you, not what you can do for your country."
In 1963, Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said for all to hear, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". Ironically the first black president in history proclaims just the opposite; he and his party have divided us up into constituency groups, where we are judged by all manner of ethnicity and special interests rather than the individual and national character King envisioned.
Kennedy and King had it right, but the Democrat Party has squandered their great legacy, and betrayed us while seeking to enslave many Americans as dependant wards of the state. The Party’s founder, Thomas Jefferson, would not recognize even the most vestigial elements of his Party in the transition from Jefferson and Kennedy to Obama.
When the Democrat Party still had leaders like Kennedy, Truman and Humphrey it included among its ranks Ronald Reagan, However when asked why he left the Democrat Party, this former Democrat said, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me." His observation, "the Party left me," has never been truer than today as whatever were the earlier principles of the Democrat Party has been replaced with socialist ideology intending to destroy the free market society.
Unfortunately, too many Americans have difficulty understanding the qualities required of our leaders to maintain the United States as our founders intended.
You have got to go read the rest......

The Flying Car is Here

At least that's what the folks over at Para-jet are telling us. They have set out on an incredible adventure to prove it.

Imagine a journey from London to Tombouctou in Mali. The Parajet Skycar expedition team will start from London, England, in January 2009, and travel through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania and Mali to Tombouctou, returning home via Senegal. The trip is estimated at 40 days.

Go Look and read about this car.

Skycar Expedition 2009 - Web Site

Article and Video Here

ParaJet - Web Site

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's skycar

It could be available in 2010. Start saving!

Competition In The Work Place

As a person who has worked in large and small businesses both as a floor worker and a manager, competition isn’t what it used to be. From the owner to the lowest skill level employee, there is a loss of competitive spirit in our work place today. This loss of drive and motivation has contributed to the current condition of our economy.
As an owner of a company you strive daily to win business and encourage return business. You compete in the market place as you bid against others for jobs. You are constantly resharpening your pencil and attempting to innovate in order to either make money or win bids. This continuous competitive struggle hones and improves both product and bottom line.
Being an owner means you don’t have a bead on your boss and their wants and desires. Having a hundred different regular customers and additional one timers, you constantly strive to meet different demands and quality concerns. The surprise to most is that product quality isn’t the issue but expectations and delivery are varying constantly. Methodology may be more of an issue then results. I have had customers refuse a quality product because I didn’t do it the way they wanted it done. The result was the same product but how you get there seemed to matter.
If you own a trucking company who was hired to deliver a product and there were two roads to the destination, would you ask which road there payment covers? I am sure there are many stories from your industries that result in similar frustration.
As an employee, you know your employer and their requirements. This daily complacency starts to erode the drive and competitive spirit in the work force. Soon the mere act of showing up seems worthy of the pay check regardless of what is done and how well. The familiarity and attachment by both the employee and the employer serves to slowly reduce business and quality.
Professional sports functions in opposition to this. Every participant must qualify and compete for their position. Every sports franchise is looking at winning the annual prize within the rules of competition. Every competitor is striving and working out to be the best in their position. Every year their stats are memorialized on cards and in books. There isn’t room for complacency on the road to success.
Imagine how different the work force would be if they used the guidelines of professional sports as a method of keeping and hiring employees. If every employee was to strive to be the best in their position, working out and striving for excellence. If employers were looking at success and rewarding it as if they ran the Yankees.
What would your stats look like on the back of your card? Would you be pushed out or traded based on your work performance? Perhaps they would make you the franchise player.

How Many Need To Die?

Have you read this news report?

It sounds all warm and fuzzy like some thought and preparation went into it. Our various defensive agencies have a plan to deal with this but we have know idea what activates the plan. More directly, we have no idea how many need to die before the plan is activated.

Here is the quote from DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff: "We completed a contingency plan for border violence, so if we did get a significant spillover, we have a surge – if I may use that word – capability to bring in not only our own assets but even to work with Defense."

Significant Spillover means what? How many US citizens need to die in this violence? We need our nation and its citizens protected. It is written right into our constitution and deemed the highest order of office. Does the statement above give you the impression that they plan on carrying out their oath with diligence and determination?

I know I didn't get all warm and fuzzy over it. I bet many of you have similar views. How many times do "We The People" need to tell them to secure our border?

National Bankruptcy Day

Have you heard about this? February 10th has been named National Bankruptcy Day because of a well meaning law that went bad. That's right a law that goes into effect on February 10th will shut the doors of thousands of businesses across the US.

A new government regulation scheduled to take effect next month has thousands of retailers, thrift stores and small businesses worried they will be forced to permanently close their doors – and destroy their merchandise.
The law is expected to have such a devastating impact that Feb. 10 is now unofficially known as "National Bankruptcy Day."
Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, or HR 4040, a retroactive rule mandating that all items sold for use by children under 12 must be tested by an
independent party for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable.
All untested items, regardless of lead content, are to be declared "banned hazardous products.'' The CPSC has already determined the law applies to every children's item on shelves, not just to items made beginning Feb. 10.
The regulations could force thousands of businesses –
especially smaller ones that cannot afford the cost of lead testing – to throw away truckloads of children's clothing, books, toys, furniture and other children's items and even force them to close their doors.

This is a great example of how our do nothing congress has failed its citizens. They were in such a hurry to pass something that would up their basement rating they never looked at the consequences of this bill. Now as thousands face unemployment as the economy tanks, the due nothing congress can further collapse and destroy the small businesses of our nation.
When historians look back at '07 and '08 they will see the worst government this nation has ever had. Complete failure at all levels. Never before has our government been so far out of the will of its people.
Take a moment and write your congress-critters. There is still time to save Small Business America. You will have to spell it out for them.

Raising children in today's world comes with many expenses and dangers. The real problems have been from the import industries, namely China. If we need a law to protect our children from toxins than let's name names and write a real law that fixes the problem.

All children's products imported from China must be tested before entry into America.

That wasn't so hard.

Are You Ready?

David Limbaugh's new article brings many issues, and fears, to the front. The Obama presidency is about to kick off and there are many questions unanswered.

To Your Battle Stations, Conservatives

The best long-term solutions for our ailing economy are to restore market forces in every possible sector, reduce the crippling tax burden, and restore responsible fiscal practices to the federal government. Sadly, the incoming Obama administration plans on moving in the opposite direction in all these areas and believes it has a mandate to do so. Are conservatives asleep or just worn down?

Too many Americans have succumbed to the propaganda that the market is inherently evil and fraught with excesses fueled by "capitalistic greed" and that such systemic corruption has led to our economic woes. Only large-scale government intervention can rescue us from this pernicious system.

Under Democratic and Republican administrations alike, we have advanced ever more rapidly away from a free market environment and toward a command and control economy. Steadily we have accepted the notion that politicians should pick winners and losers based on their ideas of fairness rather than having market forces be the ultimate arbiter.

We have swallowed the fear mongering admonitions of public officials who insist that even apart from the moral question of picking winners and losers, our government must bail out "essential" segments of the economy, such as the automobile industry, lest the entire economy be doomed for extinction. Indeed, this word "essential" has proved to be an essential tool for the left in these difficult times.

True conservatives out there -- however many remain -- must not forget the ominous words of Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who said: "Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste. They are opportunities to do big things."

Go Read the rest By David Limbaugh.

There is much truth in this article. I do not see things as bleakly as they are painted here. Conservatives were so enraged by some of the Bush policies that they were willing to vote for anyone who promoted “Change”. It will not be so easy in the next election cycle. The doom and gloom of the recession plus time will make them look more critically at Obama and his cabinet. He really needs to either fix the problem or make changes that show effort toward this end. I don’t think he can fix the problem because I believe everyone has the wrong answer.

The Democrat led congress will be looking at the election of 2010 and will not be as willing to slide over the abyss as many such as Mr. Limbaugh would suggest. Obama has about 200 to 250 days where congress will oblige him. He looks like he will be getting a running start given his pre-inauguration activities. I am really interested to see what his focus is and how willing congress is to follow. I am also interested in how Americans will respond to these suggestions and if they will attempt to strong arm their representatives into not going with the flow. It is going to be a big year for America and a major test of “We the People”. Given the media has fell at the feet of Obama, I don’t know if people will even know they are in a crisis by every suggestion coming out of Washington DC. Talk radio stands in opposition but that too is on the list of things to silence.

The question that has yet to be answered, is Obama looking at being a two term president? If he is, he will be more conservative and less aggressive then his liberal constituents want. He will lean in their direction but probably not move to boldly in his first term. His second term would be a major liberal turn and if he can continue to help congress stay liberal and Democrat, it will be a feast for liberalism. If Obama thinks his programs are going to save America and make him the god figure the media has portrayed him to be than we could be in deep trouble. He can be quite convincing as a speaker and holding the bully pulpit of the president will sway the weak minded. Given our educational system over the last thirty years, many will fall for his charms.

Does Obama have a god complex that his campaign tried so hard to hide? Does congress have the will to go against Obama? Will the people rise up against some of the Anti-American policies being suggested? Will the recession encourage Obama to make major liberal shifts or suggest a waiting period? When will the dream bubble pop and working to solve real problems in America, bringing this nation together?

These are the tough questions that need an answer. In just ten days these answers will start to be revealed. I don’t know if I am ready.

Why Are We In This Recession

Don't let them get away with saying they didn't know it was coming!



Thanks to news services in Canada we actually have the facts. You won't find this information available in America. Our American Media turned against us years ago.

Staying Employed

This is the topic of conversation everywhere. In my position employees are often coming to me hoping that I can provide the answer for them. Here is a great article that may help you stay employed.

What Can I Do to Make Sure I Don't Get Laid Off?

We read the headlines, we see the news, we hear about our friends. Times are tough, and the advertising and marketing business isn't going to be spared. In the past, I had the unfortunate privilege of being in the room as we went through a pretty major layoff. So here are some insider tips on what you can do to improve your chances of keeping your job.
1. Be "The One". You want to carve your niche and be the "go-to" person for something important at your company. Be the one upon whom everyone relies. In other words, you want to be "the new-business guru," or "the client-relationship all-star" or even "the I-know-everything-about-our-brand's-media expert."

Find something that's important to your company and latch onto it. If it comes to layoffs, you want them to say, "We can't fire Willie; he's the new-business guy." Or, "We can't fire Audrey; she has the best relationship with our key client." It's even better if you become the authority in an area that makes the company a lot of money.

2. Do the work of two or three people. Here's what happens during layoffs. Departments of 20 become departments of six, but none of the work goes away. When management is deciding who will make the cut, they look for people who can carry the load. Start volunteering now to do the extra assignment, to take on more work, or to help out with the new project. Now is not the time to complain about all the work you have or to schedule that three-week vacation.

Grab this link and go read the other two suggestions made by the author.

It’s not just about what you can do but how you do it. This isn’t going to be an easy time. You best figure out how to compete for the work available.

Happy New Year Everyone