Strange: Obama skips 18 of top 20 questions on drug war, but answers questions about late-night snacks, dancing and his tennis skills

President Obama participated in an online "conversation" Monday. 18 of the top 20 rated questions related to marijuana legalization or the drug war. Obama skipped them and talked about what he likes when he has the munchies.

WASHINGTON, DC -- President Barack Obama in an online "conversation" with American voters on Monday, failed to answer a barrage of questions about marijuana legalization or the drug war.

Although 18 out of 20 of the most popular questions submitted by voters via YouTube were about the drug war or pot, the president in his 45-minute post-State of the Union chat didn't address a single one...

While the president did find time to talk about a whole host of less weighty questions, including ones about late-night snacks, dancing and his tennis skills, a response to a top-rated question submitted by Stephen Downing, the retired deputy chief of police in Los Angeles, was conspicuously absent.

Investigators searching for $1.2 billion in missing MF Global money should check Obama's campaign

Jon Corzine raised $500,000 for President Obama's campaign.

According to Barack Obama's 2012 campaign website, Jon Corzine of Hoboken, New Jersey raised at least $500,000 for the president's reelection effort. Here's the listing:

Corzine, of course, has most recently been in the news for being on the wrong side of a $6.3 billion bet as head of MF Global. "MF Global filed for bankruptcy on October 31, after $6.3 billion in risky bets on European sovereign debt spooked investors and an effort to sell the company failed," Reuters reported.

Priceless: Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatening to hold Eric Holder in contempt of Congress

Do it!

(Politico) — House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened Tuesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department did not provide certain documents in response to the committee’s subpoena.

In a letter to Holder, Issa wrote that “this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress” if Holder and the DOJ didn’t produce documents they demanded relating to the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal.
Holder has until Thursday, Feb. 9. to comply, according to Issa.

Issa accused the Justice Department of trying to “obstruct our investigation and deceive the public” by withholding documents.
“Your actions lead us to conclude that the department is actively engaged in a cover-up,” he said in a four-page letter.

$17 million purchases a big win in Florida for Mitt Romney

$17 million purchases a big win in Florida for Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney has won the Florida Republican presidential primary, Fox News projects.

The victory, in the GOP contest's biggest state to date, is likely to give the former Massachusetts governor a burst of momentum as he and Newt Gingrich battle for the lead in what has become an increasingly negative race.

With 61 percent of precincts reporting, Romney is leading with 47 percent. Gingrich has 31 percent, followed by Rick Santorum with 13 percent and Ron Paul with 7 percent.

The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity cuts off Planned Parenthood funding

Best news today!

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates — creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.

The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, mainly for breast exams.

Planned Parenthood says the move results from Komen bowing to pressure from anti-abortion activists. Komen says the key reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress — a probe launched by a conservative Republican who was urged to act by anti-abortion groups.

Obama In No Rush To Make a Decision On What To Do About Iran Nuke Program

President Obama doesn't have a problem kicking this can down the road. He never liked Israel anyway.

(The Hill) — The White House won’t be rushing to make a decision on Iran’s nuclear program, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday.

While Carney would not respond directly to questions about whether President Obama would have to decide within a year whether to use military force against Iran to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons, he did say Obama’s policy is “clear.” [...]

Asked whether Panetta’s view puts a timetable on Obama, Carney said: “It doesn’t change our strategy, which is to continue to put pressure, continue to isolate, continue to make clear to Iran what its options are.”

Obama has said the United States wants to resolve the nuclear issue with Iran diplomatically. The United States and European Union have both imposed economic sanctions against Iran’s oil exports, prompting Iran to threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passageway in the Persian Gulf.

DNC Claims They Never Used Extreme Rhetoric When Bush Was President

During a February 9, 2006 Good Morning America segment, former DNC Chief Howard Dean compared President Bush to the leadership of Iran.

(RCP) — DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse speaks to MSNBC’s Martin Bashir about RNC Chairman Reince Priebus comparing Obama to the captain of the wrecked Italian cruise ship.

Woodhouse says he never remembers anyone going after Bush during his presidency the way Republicans are attacking Obama. Woodhouse said Democrats never equated Bush to a terrorist or as someone who had committed manslaughter.

“Many Republicans will say didn’t democrats attack George Bush in exactly the same way. what’s your response to that?,” Bashir asked Woodhouse.

“I don’t remember anything that equates from official Democratic Party. I mean, of course there are interest groups and people have their say, but I don’t remember anything coming from Democratic Party about George W. Bush being equated to a terrorist or George W. Bush being equated to somebody who has been accused of manslaughter. I don’t remember anybody questioning some of the things about George W. Bush that have been questioned about the president. I don’t remember an opposing Governor wagging his or her finger in president George W. Bush’s face,” Woodhouse said.

Read more here

For a third year in a row, President Obama is the most polarizing President ever

Gallop has found President Obama has a 68-point partisan gap in 2011. This is a new record for a third year President. Guess who hold the record for the first and second year partisan gap?

(WaPo)- President Obama ran — and won — in 2008 on the idea of uniting the country. But each of his first three years in office has marked historic highs in political polarization, with Democrats largely approving of him and Republicans deeply disapproving.

For 2011, Obama’s third year in office, an average of 80 percent of Democrats approved of the job he was doing in Gallup tracking polls, as compared to 12 percent of Republicans who felt the same way. That’s a 68-point partisan gap, the highest for any president’s third year in office — ever. (The previous high was George W. Bush in 2007, when he had a 59 percent difference in job approval ratings.)

In 2010, the partisan gap between how Obama was viewed by Democrats versus Republicans stood at 68 percent; in 2009, it was 65 percent. Both were the highest marks ever for a president’s second and first years in office, respectively.

Video of Top Democrats Supporting OWS Movement

Democrats own these animals and here is video proof.

Via WZippers:

Fail: Obama accidentally claims he created 22 million jobs (video)

 This is why President Obama has a teleprompter. He needs it.

Tired of paying for a cell phone? Go on welfare and get an 'Obama Phone'

Yes. The government is giving free or discounted cell phones to welfate recipients.

Did you know that the federal government is giving out free cell phones and free cell phone minutes to welfare recipients?  It may be hard to believe, but it is true.  Right now, there are companies that are running advertisements specifically targeted at low income Americans informing them of the fact that all they have to do is sign up and they can get a free cell phone and hundreds of free cell phone minutes every single month and it will all be paid for by the federal government.  Some have referred to this as "The Obama Phone", but that is not exactly accurate.  The outrageous federal programs that are paying for this were initiated before Barack Obama entered the White House.  But the fact that welfare recipients have been receiving free cell phones and free cell phone minutes under both the Bush and Obama administrations has been confirmed as being true by Snopes.  All of this is paid for by "the federal Universal Service Fund".  That is one of those annoying little taxes that you may have noticed on your phone bill.  So what is essentially happening is the federal government is taking money from all of us so that they can provide free cell phone service for welfare recipients every single month.

DNC Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Mitt Romney is extreme or something

A Republican who was elected to statewide office in Massachusetts is "extreme?" DNC Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz must consider Karl Marx a moderate.

(CBS News) — The chair of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, attacked GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney for being “out-of-step” and “extreme” on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”

“Each of them are trying to out right-wing each other,” Wasserman Schultz told “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer.

The Florida congresswoman focused most of her attention on Romney. She said the former Massachusetts governor is a “dramatic contrast” to what President Obama offers the country.
Ahead of Tuesday’s Florida primary, she said “Romney is out-of-step with the priorities of Floridians.”

“Mitt Romney benefits from the tax loopholes that exist today and he wants them to continue,” Wasserman Schultz said. “That’s the dramatic contrast” to President Obama,” she said.
He is part of an “extreme Republican field” that would do nothing to “help homeowners remain in their homes,” Wasserman Schultz said, referring to the high rate of foreclosures in Florida.

Peace Talks With Taliban Going Nowhere

If the peace talks fail, President Obama can always surrender.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Talks between the Afghan Taliban and the United States in Qatar almost failed as the Taliban leadership reportedly refused to accept the U.S. demand of a ceasefire before swapping prisoners.

Sources in the Afghan Taliban said the Taliban had set up an office in Qatar hoping that it would help in a prisoners’ swap, especially for their five top commanders held at the Guantanamo Bay base since 2002.

The Taliban sources said their talks with the U.S. had been going for the past few years in exchange for an American soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, captured by Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s Paktika province in June 2009, bordering Pakistan’s South Waziristan.

Video: Flag burning and anti-Semitism at Occupy Oakland

Shameful...and democrats support this movement.

Occupy Flag Burning at Oakland City Hall

Gallop Swing States: Romney 48%, Obama 47%

This is the only reason any conservative would consider voting for Mitt Romney.

Screen Capture Via Gallop:

Obama vs. Gingrich- Obama 54%, Gingrich 40%
Obama vs. Paul- Obama 50%, Paul 43%
Obama vs. Santorum- Obama 51%, Santorum 44%

Foreign Press Calls Out Obama: "Barack Obama is Trying to Make The US a More Socialist State."

The American press still has their heads stuck up their collective butts in the sand, but Janet Daley, who writes for The Telegraph in Great Britain, can see clearly what is happening to America.

Listening to the President's State of the Union message last week was like a surreal visit to our own recent past: there were almost word for word all those interminable Gordon Brown Budgets that preached "fairness" while listing endless ways in which central government would intervene in every form of economic activity.

Later, in a television interview, Mr. Obama described his programme of using higher taxes on the wealthy to bankroll new government spending as "a recipe for a fair, sound approach to deficit reduction and rebuilding this country."  To which we who come from the future can only shout, "No-o-o, go back!  Don't come down this road!"

As we try desperately to extricate ourselves from the consequences of that philosophy, which sounds so eminently reasonable ("giving everybody a fair share": the President called it), we could tell America a thing or two-if it would only listen.

If his [Obama's] European credentials were up to date, he would know that this was precisely the social model that is causing the EU to implode, and whose hopeless contradictions the best economic minds on the Continent are attempting, unsuccessfully, to resolve.

He [Obama] wants to import the democratic socialism that Europe embraced after the war, which was for European cultural reasons, imbued with aristocratic paternalism and Marxist notions of bourgeois guilt.  If democratic socialism was ever a solution to Europe's problems (and the present crisis is making that seem less and less likely), it is certainly not an answer t... Keep on reading...

Food stamp President offers $75,000 grants to groups that sign up more people on food stamps

While acting offended at the food stamp label, the Obama administration is trying to make more people dependent on the government for food assistance. President Obama is hoping people will vote their meal ticket in November.

Via fda.gov

Outreach Grants

FNS provides grants to non-profit organizations and others to improve access to SNAP by low-income persons and families.

Purpose

The purpose of outreach grants is to implement and learn more about effective strategies to inform and educate potentially eligible low income people, who are not currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), about the nutrition benefits of the program, eligibility rules, and how to apply.

State and local food stamp offices and for-profit organizations are not eligible for these grants. Applicants receive up to $75,000 per grant for outreach activities lasting for 1 to 2 years, depending on the project.

Bill Maher thinks Obama deserves a little respect because he is President; Compared Bush to a child molester.

No Double standard here.

Maher on respecting Obama via Mediaite:

 Martin Bashir identified the moment as part of a pattern over the past few years of conservatives attempting to make Obama out to seem more radical and liberal than he actually is. Kennedy tried to accuse liberals like Maher of holding a double standard, and if the same thing happened to Bush, they would be applauding. Maher disagreed, saying that he believes a certain level of respect should be given to the office of the presidency. Republican Dana Rohrabacher shot back, asking what Brewer said that was so horrible.

Maher on Bush via Daily Caller:

“You know I love him,” Maher said. “You know you can’t not. I mean coming in after Bush, first of all, you have him there, you have a guy you can relate to. He’s intelligent, he can speak English. I don’t think about George Bush at all anymore, which is great. He’s like an uncle who molested me and I blocked it out. You know? And you could just tell, you know, you’d like to have dinner with Obama. He’s an erudite guy, he’s a constitutional law professor.”

Rasmussen: FL Primary- Romney 44, Gingrich 28

According to Rasmussen, Romney is looking like a big winner in Florida.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has opened a double-digit lead in Florida as the perception grows among Republican primary voters that he is the strongest general election candidate against President Obama. The state’s GOP Primary is on Tuesday.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Florida Republican Primary Voters, conducted Saturday, shows Romney up by 16 points with 44% support. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is a distant second at 28%.

These figures reflect a significant turnaround over the past week. Last Sunday, just after his big win in the South Carolina Primary, Gingrich led Romney by nine. By the middle of this past week, Romney was back in control with an eight-point advantage. Despite all the ups and downs, the results today are very similar to polling results found in Florida three weeks ago, coming off Romney’s decisive victory in the New Hampshire Primary.

In other news, the Herminator has endorsed Newt Gingrich.

Confirmed: Global Warming is over and a new mini ice age may be coming

Scientists at U.K.'s Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit have confirmed global warming has stopped for now.

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.


The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

Meanwhile, leading climate scientists yesterday told The Mail on Sunday that, after emitting unusually high levels of energy throughout the 20th Century, the sun is now heading towards a ‘grand minimum’ in its output, threatening cold summers, bitter winters and a shortening of the season available for growing food.


Solar output goes through 11-year cycles, with high numbers of sunspots seen at their peak. 


We are now at what should be the peak of what scientists call ‘Cycle 24’ – which is why last week’s solar storm resulted in sightings of the aurora borealis further south than usual. But sunspot numbers are running at less than half those seen during cycle peaks in the 20th Century.


Analysis by experts at NASA and the University of Arizona – derived from magnetic-field measurements 120,000 miles beneath the sun’s surface – suggest that Cycle 25, whose peak is due in 2022, will be a great deal weaker still.

Al Sharpton claims Obama's singing is helping the economy

Are ear plug sales skyrocketing?

“Since that performance, sales for Al Green’s songs shot up 490%. That’s the best sales week for that song since they began tracking downloads nine years ago. The President sings, boosts classic songs and helps the economy. Hey Republicans, you sure you are ready to face him in the election?”

Via WZippers:

Hyperbole: Jesse Jackson Claims Gov. Brewer ‘Gave President Obama the Finger’

Jesse Jackson in a typical Jackson overreaction claims Gov. Brewer ‘Gave President Obama the Finger.’ Of course he brings up George Wallace and Dr. King to tie in the race card.

Via NewsBusters:

It was a routine Saturday morning at Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH forum, broadcast nationally on the Word Network. He was all over the map. Jackson trashed Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney. He warned that enterprises such as black funeral homes and black insurance companies are “under attack.” He condemned a proposed change in Grammy Award classifications. Jackson also spoke out against Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who, he said, “did the ultimate insult. She put her finger in his (President Barack Obama) face.” Jackson wants people to call and complain (video here):

Also, while it’s on my mind, Gov. Janice K. Brewer, the finger person. Gov. Janice K. Brewer, who gave President Obama the finger, governor of Arizona, call 1 800 253 0883. Keep that line real busy. 1 800 253 0883. We’ll give you the number later a little later today and this week on the email number of her press secretary. We want to keep Arizona. . . until she can put her hands in her pocket and have some good. . . do you know how insulting it is to put your finger in somebody’s face? Try it with the cameras rolling, she knew the cameras.

She knew what she was doing. She was telling him off. She was cutting him down to his size. She must never get away with that. Even George Wallace did not put his finger in Dr. King’s face. Say, enough is enough.

Nanny State Alert: Hawaii considering legislation to require Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit

Wikimedia Commons

This is what happens when a state becomes 80% Democrat.

Hawaii's legislature is weighing an unprecedented proposal to curb the privacy of Aloha State residents: requiring Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit.

Its House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing this morning on a new bill (PDF) requiring the creation of virtual dossiers on state residents. The measure, H.B. 2288, says "Internet destination history information" and "subscriber's information" such as name and address must be saved for two years.

H.B. 2288, which was introduced Friday, says the dossiers must include a list of Internet Protocol addresses and domain names visited. Democratic Rep. John Mizuno of Oahu is the lead sponsor; Mizuno also introduced H.B. 2287, a computer crime bill, at the same time last week.

Twitter Sellout: Twitter Planning to Allow Countries to Censor Tweets

Iran and China are the most happy recipients of this news from Twitter.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role reversal for a youthful company that prides itself in promoting unfettered expression, 140 characters at a time. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm, and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics - in a barrage of tweets - proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped.

"This is very bad news," tweeted Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem, who operates under the name Sandmonkey. Later, he wrote, "Is it safe to say that (hash)Twitter is selling us out? Keep on reading...

Former Obama buddy Hugo Chavez want to "shake hands again" with Obama

Birds of a feather flock together...

(AFP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he wants to “shake hands” with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, and have “good relations” with Washington if the two leaders are reelected this year.

“Here we’re going to win the elections on October 7 and Obama is probably going to win. With us winning here… if Obama wins there… hopefully we can shake hands again and talk and have better relations,” Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace in Caracas on Friday.

The Venezuelan leader made the remarks in response to statements by Obama, who said Thursday in an interview that “there is a tendency on the part of the Venezuelan government to use the United States as an excuse for some of its own mistakes.”

However, he also said he would like to see “improved relations with Venezuela.”

When a reporter read Obama’s remarks to Chavez, the Venezuelan president said, “I prefer to emphasize that last one,” referring to the American president’s desire for improved relations. Keep on reading...

Unlikely: Demo Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren claims she isn't in wealthy 1%, but she lives in a house worth $5 million

Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren claims to have been the founder of Occupy Wall Street. She also claims to not be the 1%. Papaers filed for her Senate campsign indicate a net worth of up to $14.5 million.

(BuzzFeed) — The rhetoric of class and inequality is back in force, and Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren — the standard-bearer for a combative new progressivism — made the case to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell last night that members of the Senate shouldn’t own stock.

“I realize there are some wealthy individuals – I’m not one of them, but some wealthy individuals who have a lot of stock portfolios” she told him.

Hard to see how Warren wouldn’t be, by most standards, wealthy, according to the Personal Financial Disclosure form she filed to run for Senate shows that she’s worth as much as $14.5 million. She earned more than $429,000 from Harvard last year alone for a total of about $700,000, and lives in a house worth $5 million.

Elizabeth Warren Says She's Not Wealthy

Obama Hypocrisy: "We weren’t sent here to wage perpetual political campaigns against each other."

The hypocrisy of the Campaigner-in-Chief is astounding.


Via RCP:

. . .This isn’t about me. We weren’t sent here to wage perpetual political campaigns against each other. We were sent here to serve the American people. And they deserve better than gridlock and games. One senator gumming up the works for the whole country is certainly not what our founding fathers envisioned.

Friday Flashback Video: Obama Touts Now Bankrupt Ener1(EnerDel)

It's almost like being touted by Obama is a guarantee of failure...

Via WZippers:

Obama to House Dems: ““Let’s Go Out There And Change The Country”

Let me finish that for Obama: “Let’s Go Out There And Change The Country Into a European Style Social Democracy" ”

Mitt Romney thinks Obamacare is nothing to get angry about (video)

Really? Well over half of Americans are angry enough to want the monstrosity repealed. I am beginning to wonder if Romney is trying to throw the race to Newt Gingrich.

Santorum V. Romney on Health Care (video)

.

If Romney becomes President, look for a Stock Market surge

U.S. investors prefer Romney 3-1 over Obama. For some strange reason, foreign investors prefer Obama 2-1.

Via Politico:

Investors in the U.S. would rather see Mitt Romney as the country’s next president than President Barack Obama, while those outside of the U.S. would prefer no change in the Oval Office, according to a new poll Thursday.

Romney, who touts his business and executive experience as his biggest assets on the campaign trail, is preferred three-to-one by U.S. investors, while investors overseas prefer Obama two-to-one, according to a Bloomberg survey that polled 1,209 investors, traders and analysts from around the world.

Keep on reading…

Jan Brewer’s Book Sales Skyrocket After Confrontation With Obama

Via Gretawire:

My FNC colleague Kimberly Schwandt passed along this link on Drudge showing Gov. Jan Brewer’s book “Scorpions for Breakfast” surging on Amazon.com.

As of writing this post, Gov. Brewer’s book has jumped from 276,665th to 56th place — an increase of 493,944%!

President Obama blames Bush for the record number of people on food stamps under his administration

Obama does realize Bush has been out of office for over three years, doesn't he?

Via ABC News:

Obama pushed back against what he called Republicans’ “rhetorical flourishes,” including Newt Gingrich’s oft-repeated contention that Obama is the “food stamp president.”

“First of all, I don’t put people on food stamps,” Obama said. “People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me. No. 3, when you have a disastrous economic crash that results in 8 million people losing their jobs, more people are going to need more support from government.”

Video: Obama jokes about long-form birth certificate in birthday tribute to Betty White

For some reason he didn't want to show up in a Georgia court with a copy of his long-form birth certificate today.

In honor of Google's no opt-out privacy policy, what does Google's ad server think you are?

Click here and Google will tell you what age and sex they think you are. Plus there is information about what they think you are interested in. Google believes I am a 65+ male based on the websites I have been visiting. I am actually in my early 50's. At least I know why I am seeing those insurance ads. They see my interests as arts and entertainment (Online Image Galleries and video), news, politics, campaigns and travel. They got that part right.

Nancy Pelosi walks back “There’s something that I know." comment about Gingrich

Apparently, Pelosi was bluffing and doesn't know squat on Gingrich. She now claims it just her “instinct.” More likely, it is a Botox overdose.

Washington (CNN) – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Thursday dismissed the idea she knows something secret about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich that would disqualify him from being president, saying it’s just her “instinct” – based on the public record.

Pelosi ruled out Gingrich’s chances of becoming the GOP nominee Tuesday when she told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, “He’s not going to be President of the United States. That’s not going to happen.”

“There’s something that I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him, that’s their prerogative,” she continued. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Gingrich, when asked about the comment Wednesday jumped at the opening to use a leading liberal as a foil and called on Pelosi to “spit it out” if she knows something about him.

Obama's plan to destroy the coal industry advances

FirstEnergy Corp. will close 6 coal power plants. They cite new government regulation as the reason. President Obama promised to destroy the coal industry. This looks like one campaign promis he is keeping.

Akron, Ohio, January 26, 2012 — FirstEnergy Corp. generation subsidiaries will retire six older coal-fired power plants located in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland by September 1, 2012.

The decision to close the power plants is based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which were recently finalized, and other environmental regulations.

The total capacity of the competitive plants that will be retired is 2,689 MW. Recently, these plants served mostly as peaking or intermediate facilities, generating, on average, about 10 percent of the electricity produced by the company over the past three years.

The following plants will be retired: Bay Shore Plant, Units 2-4, Oregon, Ohio; Eastlake Plant, Eastlake, Ohio; Ashtabula Plant, Ashtabula, Ohio; Lake Shore Plant, Cleveland, Ohio; Armstrong Power Station, Adrian, Pa.; and R. Paul Smith Power Station, Williamsport, Md.

In total, 529 employees will be directly affected. Existing severance benefits will apply to eligible, affected employees. However, the final number of affected employees could be less as some are considered for open positions at other FirstEnergy facilities and work locations, and eligible employees take advantage of a retirement benefit being offered to those 55 years and older.

President Obama 's original plan was to bankrupt the coal industry by charging power plants for CO2 emissions under a Cap-and-Trade bill. That bill failed to get past the Senate. Plan B is to regulate them out of business by ratcheting up other regulations that don't require new laws.

Obama on building coal plants in the United States

Starbucks: Would you like a latte with that gay marriage law?

Starbucks is endorsing gay marriage in Washington State.

Executive vice president of Partner Resources at Starbucks sent an email to business partners yesterday afternoon with the subject, "RE: A Message From Kalen Holmes: Starbucks Supports Marriage Equality"

"Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples," Holmes wrote.

The coffee megachain joins the likes of Microsoft and Nike, which also support the legislation...

The full letter is over at the Seattle Times.

Yet another Obama funded green energy company files bankruptcy

This time it is Indiana-based energy-storage company Ener1. They go a $118.5 million stimulus grant for their subsidiary EnerDel. It's almost as if President Obama was a community organizer and had no business experience. Oh!

Via The Hill:

An Indiana-based energy-storage company, whose subsidiary received a $118.5 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department, filed for bankruptcy Thursday.

Ener1 is asking a federal bankruptcy court in New York to approve a plan to restructure the company’s debt and infuse $81 million in equity funding.

“This was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our company,” Ener1 CEO Alex Sorokin said in a news release. “We are extremely pleased to have the strong support of our primary investors and lenders to substantially reduce the company’s debt.”

The company said it hopes the plan will “support continued operation of Ener1’s subsidiaries and help ensure that the restructuring will not adversely impact their employees, customers and suppliers.”

The Energy Department in 2009 approved a $118.5 million stimulus grant for EnerDel, a subsidiary of the company that develops lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. The company has so far spent $55 million of the federal funding.

Strange: VP Joe Biden does his best fake Indian accent or something

Joe Biden has been faking it his whole life. You would think he would be better than this. 

Via YouTube:

 While at a jobs event in Rochester, New Hampshire: VP Joe Biden uses an Indian accent to imitate call service employees.

.

Rasmussen: Romney now up by 8 points in Florida

Is the Gingrich surge ending?

Rasmussen reports:

Mitt Romney has jumped back ahead in the fevered Florida Republican Primary race with his support back to where it was before Newt Gingrich’s big win Saturday in South Carolina.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Florida Republican Primary Voters, taken Wednesday night, shows Romney with 39% support to Gingrich’s 31%. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum earns 12%, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul runs last with nine percent (9%). Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here).

President Barack Obama’s approval rating back to its all-time low among blacks

Only 80% of Black Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing.

(CNS News) — President Barack Obama’s approval rating has fallen back to its all-time low among blacks, dropping below 80 percent for only the second time in his presidency, according to Gallup.

In the week of Jan. 16–22, 2012 — a period that began with the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — Obama’s approval among blacks dropped 8 points, from 87 percent to 79 percent. The president’s approval among blacks had previously dropped as low as 79 percent in the week of Oct. 10–16, 2011, according to Gallup.

Obama’s highest approval among blacks was 96 percent, a level he achieved in five different weeks of 2009.

Al-Qaida spikes the football over U.S. Iraq withdrawal

Al-Qaida spikes the football over U.S. Iraq withdrawal.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq because its economy is collapsing and it needed to save money, an al-Qaida front group said in a message posted on its website Wednesday, its first online comment since the U.S. completed its pullout last month after nine years of war.

Al-Qaida was one of the main U.S. enemies in Iraq. It was behind some of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soldiers, Iraqi security forces and American-backed government institutions. Since the U.S. pullout, al-Qaida and other Sunni militants have stepped up attacks on Shiites, killing more than 170 people since the beginning of the year and raising concern that the surge in violence and an escalating political crisis might deteriorate into a civil war.

In an audio message, a spokesman for al-Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq who identified himself as Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said “America has been defeated in Iraq.” Keep on reading…

Newt Gingrich Has a Bold Vision for Space Program

Newt Gingrich promises a manned American base on the moon and a propulsion system capable of taking us to Mars by the end of his second term. It turns out Gingrich is a big Asimov fan.

Click image for video:

 

President Obama is on the opposite end of the space exploration issue. He prefers to spend our money on questionable green projects and social programs. He has a typical liberal mentality about space exploration.

Obama goes to Arizona: Has angry words with Gov. Jan Brewer.

From a press pool report via White House Dossier:

He stepped off Air Force One at 3:28 pm and was greeted by Gov. Jan Brewer. She handed him a handwritten letter in an envelope and they spoke intensely for a few minutes. At one point, she pointed her finger at him.
Afterwards, your pooler spoke with the governor.
“He was a little disturbed about my book, Scorpions for Breakfast. I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president. The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt. So.”
Asked what aspect of the book disturbed him, Brewer said: “That he didn’t feel that I had treated him cordially. I said I was sorry he felt that way but I didn’t get my sentence finished. Anyway, we’re glad he’s here. I’ll regroup.”

******

A little more from the Brewer-Obama encounter.
It was clear from the moment they greeted one another that this would not be a run-of-the-mill encounter between the president and a local official. At one point, she was pointing her finger at him and at another, they were talking at the same time, seemingly over each other.
He appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking, and she confirmed that by saying she didn’t finish her sentence.
When Brewer spoke with your pooler, the AP and an NBC producer for several minutes afterwards, she appeared a bit flustered and taken aback by the conversation. Asked if she was, that’s when Brewer said, “I’ll regroup.”

Mitch McConnell on Obama's SOTU speech: “the goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans. "

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell nails Obama's real 2012 agenda.

Congress isn’t quite rolling out the welcome mat for President Obama tonight.

In an election year leaving little room for pleasantries, Senate Republicans offered a harsh assessment of what they interpret President Obama’s State of the Union address will represent tonight: a campaign speech.

“It’s hard not to feel a sense of disappointment even before tonight’s speech is delivered because while we don’t yet know all the specifics, we do know the goal,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor today, “the goal isn’t to conquer the nation’s problems. It’s to conquer Republicans. The goal isn’t to prevent gridlock, but to guarantee it.”

Stemming from President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign, McConnell said the message coming from the White House is that the president has “given up” on Congress and has decided to try now to “convince” Americans that the unstable economy is Congress’ fault and not his administration

Nothing to see here: U.S. deploys 15,000 troops to Kuwait

Preparations for hostilities with Iran?

 Via LSMedia:

The US Department of Defence have deployed 15,000 troops to the Middle Eastern state of Kuwait as tensions with Iran escalate over US and EU sanctions in response to Iran’s defiance to halt its nuclear programme, which claimed to have produced its first nuclear fuel rod earlier this month. On Monday the EU passed a ban on Iranian oil exports following similar action by the US on Iran’s oil and Central Bank.

Iran have now threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which 35% of the World’s oil shipments pass through and have been carrying out a 10 day naval exercise and missile tests. The US have stationed two nuclear powered Supercarriers in the Persian Gulf. Combined with the deployment of 15,000 troops it seems that the US is preparing for a potential conflict with Iran on all fronts.. Keep on reading...

Fail: Manila police try to defuse artillery round with wrench and acetylene torch

Yes. The expected result occurred. Four people were killed.

 AN artillery round has accidentally exploded while a welder and police commandos tinkered with it with an acetylene torch, killing four people, including two policemen, in the Philippine capital.

Ten other people, including another policeman, was wounded in yesterday's powerful blast in an ironworks shop in suburban Taguig city in the capital where the policemen brought the explosive apparently to have it defused and opened, police Senior Superintendent Tomas Apolinario Jr said.

Investigators were trying to determine where the policemen got the artillery round and why they brought it to an ironworks shop outside a police camp in Taguig instead of handing it to ordnance experts, who can safely defuse it, said Apolinario, who heads the Taguig police force.

"There was a procedural lapse in the way they handled this artillery round," Apolinario said.

The sprawling police camp in Taguig, southeast of Manila, used to have a depot for unexploded munitions and vintage bombs but a huge, accidental explosion at the site forced authorities to close it years ago.

Apolinario said the policemen failed to defuse and open the artillery round with a wrench, prompting them to bring it to a welder.

Pic of the Day: Obama Needs Teleprompter to remind Him to Say "God Bless America"

Well, he wouldn't want to get confused and say "Allah Bless America." Would he?

Yahoo News:

President Barack Obama's closing remarks are seen on a TelePrompTer following his visit to Conveyor Engineering and Manufacturing, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Obama denies he bailed out GM and Chrysler

President Obama bales Bush for the bailout of GM and Chrysler. He claims he "saved" them. The truth is Bush provided GM and Chrysler with $17.4 billion. President Obama ponied up $85 billion. Several billion will never be repaid.

(Washington Examiner) — President Obama today asserted that President Bush was responsible for bailing out auto companies in Detroit. Obama, on the other hand, implemented dramatic changes that saved the industry.

“Keep in mind,” Obama said, “That the administration before us, they had been writing some checks to the auto industry asking nothing in return. It was just a bailout, straight — straightforward.

Obama explained that he “demanded responsibility” from the auto industry, forcing it to “retool and to restructure,” making it “more efficient.”

“Over the past two years, that entire industry has added nearly 160,000 jobs.” Obama continued, “GM is number one in the world again. Ford is investing billions in new American plants. Chrysler is growing faster. So today, the American auto industry is back.”

Keep on reading…

The food stamp President who bailed out GM & Chrysler says in SOTU, "It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. "

The hypocrisy and duplicity of President Obama is mind-numbing.

Fox News reports:

Borrowing the motto from General Motors, the president is to call for restoring the economy and an end to favoritism. In a sampling of remarks released ahead of the address, Obama says it’s time to end a system that benefits those who know how to game it — whether the biggest company or the lowliest worker.

“Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same.  It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody,” the president is expected to say.

 President Obama steals a GM motto to make a case for no bailouts? Is he drinking or smoking weed?

Obama's recycled SOTU speech

Familiar Rhetoric, Failed Record

Nancy Pelosi on a Gingrich Presidency: "That's not going to happen...There is something I know."

Veiled threats or the effects of too much Botox?

The TownHall List of 15 Questions the Media Would Ask a Republican Barack Obama

Here are the first three.

Via Townhall:

1) Numerous Mexican citizens and an American citizen have been killed with weapons knowingly provided to criminals by our own government during Operation Fast and Furious. If Eric Holder was aware that was going on, do you think he should step down as Attorney General? Were you aware that was going on and if so, shouldn’t you resign?

2) In 2010 you said Solyndra, which gave your campaign a lot of money, was "leading the way toward a brighter and more prosperous future." Today, Solyndra is bankrupt and the taxpayers lost $500 million on loans that your administration was well aware might never be paid off when you made them. What do you say to people who say this is evidence of corruption in your administration?

3) Unions invested a lot of time and money in helping to get you elected. In return, they gained majority control of Chrysler, the taxpayers lost 14 billion dollars on General Motors, and General Motors received a special 45 billion dollar tax break. What do you say to people who view this as corruption on a scale never before seen in American history?

The other 7 are here.

Scary: Tokyo faces 70% probability of massive earthquake in next four years

The University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute predicts Tokyo faces 70% probability of a massive earthquake(7.0) in next four years

(CNN) -- Tokyo faces the possibility of being hit by a massive earthquake within the next four years, according to Japanese researchers.

The University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute predicts there is a 70% probability that the capital's metropolitan area will experience a magnitude-7 quake within four years and a 98% probability within the next 30 years.

Nearly one year ago, a magnitude 9.0 quake struck off Japan's central Pacific coast, triggering a devastating tsunami and aftershocks that left more than 15,700 dead, according to a government report in December on Japan's recovery from the catastrophe. About 4,500 were listed as missing.

Poll: 51% of likely voters want Keystone oil pipeline built

The Keystone oil pipeline is yet another issue President Obama is on the wrong side of with voters.

Via Washington Whispers:

President Obama is on the losing side of the fight over building the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil pipeline, with most Americans in two new polls favoring construction even if it is an environmental threat.

Two new Rasmussen polls confirm GOP charges that Obama’s move last week was aimed at wooing liberal environmentalists irked at his first three years in office.

In one poll published Monday, Rasmussen found that 56 percent of likely voters at least somewhat favor the pipeline, with 36 percent strongly favoring it. Just 27 percent are opposed.

And in a new poll just out, Rasmussen found that even more, 59 percent, believe creating jobs is more important than protecting the environment, a sure sign of the economic plight in the nation. Just 29 percent say that the environment trumps jobs.

Keep on reading…

Presidential candidate Romney gave 14% to charity. Presidential candidate Obama gave 65

In the last two years Mitt Romney has given about 14% to charity. In the two years he was running for President Obama gave about 6%. In the four years before Obama became a candidate, he only gave 1%.

Via Beltway Confidential:

Mitt Romney’s 2010 tax return was released today, revealing made $2.98 million in charitable donations, out of his adjusted gross income of $21.6 million. That comes to about 14 percent of his adjusted gross income for the year.

Compare that to when Obama first ran for president in 2008. He released his 2006 tax return, which showed $60,307 in charitable donations out of an adjusted gross income of $983,826.
That comes to 6.1 percent of his gross adjusted income two years before he ran for president.
Obama is overwhelmingly generous compared to Vice President Joe Biden’s charitable donations in 2006.

According to Biden’s 2006 tax return, the couple gave $380 dollars to charity out of his $248,459 adjusted gross income; a percentage of 0.15.

Keep on reading…

Team Obama to make six figure anti-Romney ad buy in Florida

It looks like President Obama's re-election team is rooting for Newt Gingrich. They are to run anti-Romney ads in Florida. That could be a mistake on their part.

(Ballot Box) — A super-PAC supporting President Obama and a major labor union have teamed up to air Spanish-language radio ads in Florida blasting Mitt Romney’s stance on immigration policy.

Priorities USA Action and Service Employees International Union will split the cost of a six-figure ad buy knocking Romney for pandering to Hispanic voters while supporting policies they say inflict harm on Hispanic immigrants.

The ads will air over the next several weeks in Tampa and Orlando, possibly expanding to other Florida media markets. SEIU has already endorsed Obama and vowed to aid his reelection efforts.

“Mitt Romney has no shame. He shows one face to the Hispanic community and another completely different one to everyone else,” the narrator says in the ad.

Read more here...

Shameful: Google Pimping Obama SOTU Address On Main Search Page

Everyone knows this years 'State of the Union' address is going to be the kick-off of President Obama's re-election campaign. We can expect thinly veiled attacks on the Republican controlled House and a likely dose of class warfare. Apparently, Google wants to make sure you see it. In what appears to be an unpaid ad, they are pimping the SOTU on the Google main search page. Is there any level the mainstream media and liberals won't stoop to in their efforts to get Barack Obama re-elected?

In 2008, Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt hit the campaign trail for Obama.

Obama buddy Warren Buffet to benefit from Keystone XL pipeline cancellation

On of Obama's cronies is benefiting from an Obama decision? Who would have guessed?

Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe LLC is among U.S. and Canadian railroads that stand to benefit from the Obama administration’s decision to reject TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL oil pipeline permit.

With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department.

“Whatever people bring to us, we’re ready to haul,” Krista York-Wooley, a spokeswoman for Burlington Northern, a unit of Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said in an interview. If Keystone XL “doesn’t happen, we’re here to haul.”

The State Department denied TransCanada a permit on Jan. 18, saying there was not enough time to study the proposal by Feb. 21, a deadline Congress imposed on President Barack Obama. Calgary-based TransCanada has said it intends to re-apply with a route that avoids an environmentally sensitive region of Nebraska, something the Obama administration encouraged.

The rail option, though costlier, would lessen the environmental impact, such as a loss of wetlands and agricultural productivity, compared to the pipeline, according to the State Department analysis. Greenhouse gas emmissions, however, would be worse.

Fred Thompson endorses Newt Gingrich on Hannity (Video)

 In 2008, Thompson endorsed John McCain. This election he is endorsing Newt Gingrich. Thompson is endorsing Gingrich because he thinks our nation is in trouble. He cites our countries debt and the fact almost half the people are on some government program and/or pay no income taxes.

Heroes: SCOTUS Unanimously rules police can't put GPS device on your car without warrant

The police involved in this violation of liberty should now be fired.

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON — In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that police cannot attach a GPS device to a criminal suspect's car to track their movements without first obtaining a search warrant.

A GPS device had helped authorities link Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antoine Jones to a suburban house used to stash money and drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison.

A federal appeals court in Washington had overturned Jones' drug conspiracy conviction because police did not have a warrant when they installed a GPS device on his vehicle and then tracked his movements for a month.

The Supreme Court agreed.

Nanny State Fail: Government stops eviction of 101-year-old woman for nonpayment, then declares house unfit to live in and throws her out

You just can't make stuff this stupid up. Our government has gone insane.

Four months ago, a 101-year-old Detroit woman was evicted from her home because her son could no longer afford payments. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development stepped in and said she go back home, but has now reversed course, deeming the residence unfit to live in.

She tells The Detroit News "Here I am, 100 years old (rounding her age), and don't have a home. Oh Lord, help me."

Volt demand so low, dealers are refusing delivery from GM

Every time the government tries to interfere in the free market system, things go poorly. If you can't sell a car with $7500 taped to the hood, it is a flop. Unfortunately, taxpayers will pay.

DETROIT — Some Chevrolet dealers are turning down Volts that General Motors wants to ship to them, a potential stumbling block as GM looks to accelerate sales of the plug-in hybrid.
For example, consider the New York City market. Last month, GM allocated 104 Volts to 14 dealerships in the area, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Dealers took just 31 of them, the lowest take rate for any Chevy model in that market last month. That group of dealers ordered more than 90 percent of the other vehicles they were eligible to take, the source said.

In Clovis, Calif., meanwhile, Brett Hedrick, dealer principal at Hedrick’s Chevrolet, sold 10 Volts last year. But in December and January he turned down all six Volts allocated to him under GM’s “turn-and-earn” system, which distributes vehicles based on past sales volumes and inventory levels.

GM’s “thinking we need six more Volts is just crazy,” Hedrick says. “We’ve never sold more than two in a month.” Hedrick says he usually takes just about every vehicle that GM allocates to him.

GM spokesman Rob Peterson confirmed that “dealer ordering is down” for the Volt. He said many dealers have been waiting for resolution of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation into the risk of fires in the car’s battery pack. Last year three packs caught fire in the days or weeks following government test crashes. Read more here...

White House spokesman Jay Carney: President Obama “accepts that there is still a regrettable level of hyper-partisanship”

Thanks Captain Obvious. The "hyper-partisanship" started day three of the Obama administration. On day three, President Obama reportedly told Eric Cantor,

"Elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won."

Afterwards, President Obama immediately rammed through his budget and Stimulus Bills on a purely partisan basis. The next year, he rammed Obamacare down American's throats by using reconciliation.

(The Hill) — Even though he promised to bridge partisanship before coming into office, President Obama “accepts that there is still a regrettable level of hyper-partisanship,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.

Carney said there were “instances” where the tone on Pennsylvania Avenue “got in the way of moving forward.”

“But that’s not an excuse to stop trying,” Carney said.

The spokesman said Obama believes there’s still an opportunity to work with Congress to accomplish “big things.”

Carney used an example of the GOP’s persistent call last year to release President Obama’s birth certificate as a “gratuitously stupid side show.”

“Our challenges are too big to be dragged down by these kinds of things,” he said.