White House idiot(s) cause panic in New York

Is dealing with the economy too big of a task at hand for the White House that nobody cared to think through the idea of Air Force Once flying through Manhattan with two fighter jets on a "photo op" mission? Many New Yorkers panicked because of memories of 9/11. Buildings were evacuated, businesses closed down.

Can the city and state sue Washington for damages?

Biden household contributed less than $2,000 to charities in 2008

The White House has released 2008 tax returns from the President and the Vice President. Interestingly, take a look at Joe Biden's charitable contributions for the year: $1,885. With an adjusted gross income of $269,256, that's not even 1% in charitable gifts. Okay, it's possible that the tax return doesn't tell the whole story. He may have donated money to individuals or entities which aren't tax deductible. Good for him, but somehow I don't think that's the case...

This man professes to be a devout Catholic. But where's the 10% in Biblical tithing guideline?

And this man once said it was our patriotic duty to pay more taxes?! I'm sorry, Mr. Vice President, but let's worry about charities before taxes.

(He received a refund.)

It's official: Administration sees conservatives as "rightwing extremists"

This is unbelievable. Michelle Malkin confirms the validity of this DHS report about "rightwing extremism" after Obama's historic election. Check out this footnote on page 2:

(U) Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or
rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

Now you may close your jaws and take deep breaths. No kidding about the "broadly divided" categorization! This pretty much sums up how this liberal administration sees its conservative opposition.

It gets better! Big Brother is watching and listening on the Internet (page 3):

(U//FOUO) Rightwing extremist chatter on the Internet continues to focus on the
economy, the perceived loss of U.S. jobs in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and home foreclosures. Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial elites.” These “accusatory” tactics are employed to draw new recruits into rightwing extremist groups and further radicalize those already subscribing to extremist beliefs. DHS/I&A assesses this trend is likely to accelerate if the economy is perceived to worsen.

Conservative bloggers, radio show hosts, Twitter users, or even visitors of conservative Websites who like to leave comments -- be warned! Especially if you like to criticize the White House's economic policies.

With the revelation of this DHS report, I'm going to assume that federal agents will be present at the tea parties in major cities. That's a reasonable assumption now. I'm also going to assume that federal agencies will compile reports about these mass demonstrations, too.

Obama's economic policies pave way for America's indebted future. What future awaits us now we know how serious his administration views the opposition?

Thanks, Topix readers!

Wow, a lot of traffic coming from Topix today! Thanks to Topix member "Agent of Chaos" for reposting. I take it a lot of readers are paying attention to immigration reform and the White House's take on it. This is an issue that demands more dialog and scrutiny.

Harold and Kumar go to White House, indeed

With all the crisis facing the nation, the White House apparently thinks it's important to have a liaison between the administration and Hollywood:

WASHINGTON -- The White House has hired actor Kal Penn as a liaison between President Barack Obama's administration and Hollywood.

White House spokesman Shin Inouye said Tuesday that the actor who has a recurring role on Fox's TV show "House" and has starred in several movies would join the staff as an associate director in the Office of Public Liaison. His role will be to connect Obama with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities, as well as arts and entertainment groups.

Penn starred as Kumar in the movie, "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay."

Penn was an Obama supporter during the campaign. The White House says a start date for Penn hasn't been set.

The hire was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Seriously? Many already consider Hollywood an extension of Washington in the west with all the liberals talking trash about the military and the environmentally unfriendly conservatives. Al Franken as Senator, Kal Penn as liaison... what next? Maybe Bono is looking for a job in D.C.

Obama refusing repayment of TARP

Why would the White House refuse TARP repayment from banks? After all, it's millions and trillions of dollars we're talking about, not exactly pocket change.

Could it be that the administration wants to maintain power over these TARP recipients? This is very troublesome to know. It clearly shows the administration intends to push its own economic agenda to these financial institutions, and by now many of them are regretting to ever have received these government funds.

What's happening now is that the bank executives actually work for the federal government. These banks are no longer serving consumers, but rather serving its master, the gigantic federal government. The government will now dictate who runs the banks, who to lend money to, the interest rate, etc. Does that sound like a healthy banking system?

Obama thinks he's protecting bank CEOs

"My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." That's the message the President gave to bank CEOs during a meeting at the White House. This is interesting and sheds light into this administration's psyche.

First, the administration thinks it is rescuing the banks and serving the people. Nobody disagrees that the banks are in trouble. Many people are angry. But the actions of the administration so far really does not have Americans' interest in mind. The Treasury is pouring money into an ailing financial system, what many thinks is just propping up a dead body. The government is removing the risk from the banks, and that is detrimental to a healthy capitalism. Wall Street rose to become a world financial center not because the entrepreneurs and executives avoided risk, but how they took risks and reaped the rewards.

The trillions of dollars injected into the system are sending the country into an abyss of debt, and ironically Communist China is the one hoarding U.S. treasuries. The well-being of future American generations now lay in the hands of Red China.

Secondly, it is clear the administration, along with the liberal Democrats' control of the Legislative branch, are taking advantage of our financial vulnerability to expand their powers. Congress has passed laws that members and the public had no time to scrutinize, giving the Treasury unprecedented powers over corporations receiving government money. Executive compensations are limited, and CEOs and board members are appointed by Washington.

Third, the fear mongering has driven some people to irrationally despise everything Wall Street. Never mind how Wall Street has helped the country to become a world economic power. Never mind how Wall Street has made money for countless investors. And never mind how Wall Street has provided the millions of jobs for Americans and even foreigners. The fear mongering merely deflects the attention that should be given to the perils of government intervention, namely Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This two-headed monster in the course of a few decades brought the housing market to its knees today. And not surprisingly, the main political benefactors from Freddie and Fannie and from this crisis, have been Democrats and their sprawling entitlement programs...

Sorry, President Obama. You are arrogant to think that your administration is protecting these CEOs from the population.

Keeping score at the White House

President Obama to Rep. Peter DeFazio: "Don't think we're not keeping score, brother."

It's a subtle warning to the Congressman about his vote against the stimulus bill, and a reminder that this White House keeps tabs on such breaks with the administration.

Will this turn off some Democratic House and Senate members? When Obama was elected, both House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke out publicly that they do not work for the President, so I wonder if they are keeping score on the White House, too?

Harold and Kumar go to White House

How about that for a Hollywood blockbuster? It's starting to look that way with Harold Koh, nominated by President Obama to be the State Department's legal advisor, and talks of the White House perusing top Muslim Americans for a high ranking government position.

But this is no comedy. Before his nomination Harold Koh was dean at Yale Law School, but once he enters the State Department as one of the government's top lawyers, he'll have powers to be feared because he'll be the one forging international treaties and agreements with foreign nations.

His beliefs are worrisome and even anti-American:

Koh has called America's focus on the War on Terror "obsessive." In 2004, he listed countries that flagrantly disregard international law -- "most prominently, North Korea, Iraq, and our own country, the United States of America," which he branded "the axis of disobedience."

He has also accused President George Bush of abusing international law to justify the invasion of Iraq, comparing his "advocacy of unfettered presidential power" to President Richard Nixon's. And that was the first Bush -- Koh was attacking the 1991 operation to liberate Kuwait, four days after fighting began in Operation Desert Storm.

Koh has also praised the Nicaraguan Sandinistas' use in the 1980s of the International Court of Justice to get Congress to stop funding the Contras. Imagine such international lawyering by rogue nations like Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela today, and you can see the danger in Koh's theories.

Koh, a self-described "activist," would plainly promote his views aggressively once at State. He's not likely to feel limited by the letter of the law -- in 1994, he told The New Republic: "I'd rather have [former Supreme Court Justice Harry] Blackmun, who uses the wrong reasoning in Roe [v. Wade] to get the right results, and let other people figure out the right reasoning."

Worse, the State job might be a launching pad for a Supreme Court nomination. (He's on many liberals' short lists for the high court.) Since this job requires Senate confirmation, it's certainly a useful trial run.

Be scared. Be very scared. The nomination of Harold Koh needs to be a flashing, bright blip on the political radar!

Obama courts Muslim Americans for administration

There's a secret (until now) book of resumes of top 45 Muslim Americans being submitted to the White House because President Obama may want to staff his administration with a few Muslims. To promote religious reconciliation, I'm sure.

Wait, I thought we're not supposed to hire based on a preference of race, gender, or faith?

Video of Biden's daughter doing cocaine?

There is trouble in the domestic front -- V.P. Joe Biden's family and by extension, the White House family. Somebody has video of Ashley Biden, or somebody who resembles her, at a party enjoying a few lines of cocaine.

If the video is truly evidence of Ashley's drug use, then we can expect the standard "children are off limits" spin from the W.H. and the Second Family. I predict the mainstream media burying this story. We're likely going to see another fine example of media double standard: Remember how the media portrayed the Bush twins' college drinking? Or how about the pregnancy of Gov. Palin's daughter? The media had field days with those stories -- nothing was off limits then.

It is unfortunate that the children of politicians also come under the spotlight, but it is even more unfortunate that the mainstream media would tirelessly pursue certain stories to advance their (and the liberal pols they support) agenda than some others.

AIG a top Obama political contributor

This whole show from President Obama and his crew on the AIG bonuses sickens me. Not only has the administration showed its anti-capitalistic nature with executive pay limits and crying foul about bonuses, but the mainstream media isn't covering the fact that AIG contributed big money to Sens. Chris Dodd and Barack Obama.

Now the W.H. claims it didn't know about these bonuses until March. But wait, I thought this administration is all about transparency! The government gave monetary aid to AIG last fall. Is the W.H. saying that nobody keeps track of any of this money?

Cramer gets grilled

Recently Jon Stewart has been vocally criticizing CNBC in their part in this economic meltdown, and unfortunately Mad Money host Jim Cramer has become the unofficial spokesperson of the network. He appears on The Daily Show for an interview. Even the W.H. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announces how he enjoyed the grilling.

I won't debate that CNBC could've done a better job with journalistic research, but I think too much blame has been put on the network. And I am sure that CNBC had either guests or other anchors/reports who's brought up contrarian views based on company fundamentals, and that Stewart's team probably picked only old clips it could use against Cramer et. al. The bottom line is that the stock market is the world's largest casino! Play at your own risk. Just like a casino, corporations aren't going to tell you how to beat the "house"... Many of these Wall Street CEOs outright lied to reporters and journalists, and unless you're an investigative reporter, you're not going to dig deep into their corporations to find dirt about their balance sheets and whatnot.

In addition, Mad Money is always prefaced with a disclaimer telling viewers to conduct their own research and that Cramer's opinions are his own. So why beat up on Cramer about it? He should be regarded as a TV entertainer foremost.

Stewart and his producers know that some folks despise Wall Street and its allies during these difficult times, and that picking on CNBC and the like would certainly bump up ratings. Really, there's nothing to see here.

Cramer unloads on the White House

Uh oh, I think the White House, especially Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, is going to regret ever picking on Rush Limbaugh and Jim Cramer. In his latest column, Cramer gives the W.H. a piece of his mind, even disclosing that he'd previously contributed to the Democratic Party and had voted for Obama. Now he's a vocal critic of Obama and his economic policies, and it's not pretty...

Is the White House wise to target Limbaugh?

The Democrats think they've got Rush Limbaugh where they want him. Apparently this all started when James Carville and Stanley Greenberg ran an poll in October to discover that Limbaugh was hugely unpopular among the younger voters. The conservative talk show host continued his criticisms against Obama even after his election, and now top Democrats and the White House see a golden opporunity to paint him as the leader of the GOP, while brushing aside RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

First I got to ask: Why are the Democrats marginalizing Mr. Steele, a fine black politician who's worked his way up to earn the respect of his peers to lead the Republicans during these troublesome years for the party? The Democrats ought to be ashamed of themselves!

While the Leftosphere is cheering on the latest assaults on Limbaugh, the Rightosphere is welcoming this classic battle of Liberalism vs. Conservatism. On the liberal corner of the ring, there is the mainstream media, the White House, the Democratic Congressmen and Senators, and all the crazies who start their day with coffee and Huffington Post. The other corner of the ring sits one of radio's giants, commanding an audience of millions on a daily basis, and not to mention his great contribution to the conservative movement.

Will it be a fair fight? Of course not. But that doesn't matter. Battles are never fought fairly, and only the strong will survive.

Most conservative bloggers are betting on Limbaugh crushing the opposition like an ant. If the Obama White House was a business, then it'd probably suffer the same fate as Air America. To me this pick-on-Rush strategy is a miscalculation on the White House's part, and the Democrats are just going to convert more folks into Rush's army. The economy hasn't gotten better and probably won't get any better during the Obama presidency, and people are going to realize that perhaps wanting Obama to fail was a valid point...

Gibbs vs. Cramer

W.H. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs seems to be getting more and more questions about TV personalities dissing the President's economic policies. The latest comes from CNBC's Mad Money host Jim Cramer where he calls Obama's budget plan "the greatest wealth destruction I've seen by a president."

Ouch. The capitalists at CNBC seems to be getting on the White House's nerves lately. Just a few weeks ago it was Rick Santelli, surrounded by traders on the floor, who blasted Obama's mortgage rescue plan.

And how does Gibbs spin Cramer's criticism? Says Gibbs:

If you turn on a certain program it's geared to a very small audience. No offense to my good friends, or friend at CNBC. But the President has to look out for the broader economy and the broader population.

Jim Cramer has a very small audience? What comes out of Cramer's mouth can move markets. Well, I guess Obama has the same influence as it seems everytime he opens his mouth, the Dow dips a few hundred points...

Obama downgraded from Messiah to Hero

Officially, too, from whitehouse.gov.

Move into the White House, continue the Bush bashing

Thanks to Erick Erickson over at RedState for catching this.

Campaign's over. You won. Move into the White House. Update the Website. Stop with the tasteless Bush bashing already.