Stock Market and Political Commentary

Power and Stupidity

This week was proof positive the democrats in Congress are power hungry to the extreme and the republicans and simply stupid beyond belief.

First let's consider the power hungry democrats.  They would have no office or power without the Constitution which establishes the office of the President and the Congress.  Before they take office they smile while holding their right hand in the air and placing their left hand on the Bible (or is it the Koran these days?) and they swear to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Next they become the arch enemy of the Constitution themselves.  They could care less about the constraints placed on the federal government outlined in this marvelous document, which is the foundation for all of our laws in the United States, that has been the basis for more freedom and prosperity for more people than has ever been experienced in human history.

 In the House of Representatives they passed a health care bill this week that shows just how power hungry and insane the democrats are and also shows they will take away every spec of your liberty and freedom unless they are stopped soon.

With this bill they are saying that they have the power to force every citizen in America to buy a particular product.  And if you don't what will they do?   Fine you heavily and throw you into prison for up to 5 years... for not buying health care insurance... and only the kind they approve!

 PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail

JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail

Friday, November 06, 2009

Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

                                                         - - - - - - - - - -                                                   

“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]

                                                         - - - - - - - - - -    
                                                

“Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses.  Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153583

The Constitution in no way gives them the authority to do anything even close to this, but they could care less.  And as long as their are enough idiots in America that are able to pull the lever for these lunatics on election day they will do as they please.  But let me guarantee you one thing.  Our standard of living will drop like a stone and our freedoms will be nothing but a distant memory.  This is not theory; it is already happening now.

Now let's deal with the incredibly stupid republicans.  With the bill as written by the democrats it could not pass even though they had an overwhelming majority.  There was an internal fight among the democrats about certain areas of the bill.  In particular, many democrats would not vote for it if it contained federal funding for abortion.  So it would have simply died in the House.

If they had a lick of sense the republicans from the very start would have made it clear the Constitution in no way authorizes them to force Americans to buy health insurance and offered no amendments or participation in the Marxist action whatsoever.  

But no, here come the dummies to the rescue!  They push an amendment to ensure there is not any federal funding for abortion and this then allows enough democrats to vote for it to put it over the top by a super slim margin.  It was so close that if 3 representatives had voted "No" instead of "Yes" then the bill would not have passed.

Now I'm against abortion on demand and I'm certainly against federal funding for abortion.  But that is not the point.  By making this change the republicans gave cover to enough democrats on the issue to vote for the bill.  As long as it is alive it is a threat to our nation.

The republicans had a chance to kill it by staying away from it, but they were simply not smart enough to do that.  So now it is up to the Senate.  Are the republicans there any smarter than they are in the House?  Don't bet the farm on it.

Folks I can't stress enough what a disaster this thing will be for Americans if it becomes law.  You will be forced to pay a large percentage of your income for health care that will be greatly diminished from what it is now.  This may be the price we all have to pay for stupidity.  Can we afford it?  No.  The final outcome will be ugly.

J. Cogburn

No Cash for Suckers Program Update

The government called it the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

I called it the "No Cash for Suckers" program in a previous commentary because of the following:

    a.  Dealers were not being reimbursed for the sales through the program after months of waiting despite being promised they would be paid in 15 days (another example of government efficiency), and

    b.  I predicted the cost per vehicle would be astronomical because sales would drop off after the program ended thereby leaving only a small increase in the total number of sales at a cost of another 3 billion dollars of debt for the taxpayers in America.

Now the evidence is in and this is exactly what happened.  Edmunds estimates it cost taxpayers about $24,000 per car... and this doesn't count the destruction of many perfectly fine used cars, lost time through massive paperwork, etc.

So the average price of these cars purchased was probably around $20,000 or less, but through the efficiency of government which they desperately want to demonstrate through a government run health care system, the taxpayers now owe $24,000 and the consumer owes $20,000 and the person who wants to buy a used car gets to pay a higher price too because those assets were destroyed under this brilliant government program.  What a deal!

They should have implemented my "Hay for Homes" program too since they liked this program so much.  See the details at:  Hay for Homes Program

Edmunds article: 

J. Cogburn

Idiots are Amusing but Expensive

Idiots are amusing, but they can also be expensive when they are in control of government.  They are extremely expensive to your liberty and to your pocketbook.

They want to control what you eat..... how you heat and cool your house.... what car you drive.... and of course the ultimate control they want is to control your health care.  That way you have no real say in anything.  You see, they know what's best for you and are certain you are too dumb to take care of yourself and your family.

These people are arch enemies of freedom and capitalism.  If you don't believe it, just look at what is happening to this country now.  We are moving farther and farther from freedom and prosperity into absolute insanity and tyranny.  If this Airhead Obama gets his way on everything he wants a 10% unemployment rate will look like boom times in the future.

As an example, here is a guy in England who is just as nutty as the liberals here in the US.  Let's see what he says, shall we?

"Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming, said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases."

Also notice how the pea brains of these idiots always work the same.... they are always wanting to "redistribute the wealth" by force of government.  In other words, they know what's best for this planet and human kind.  So what if you worked out some money through hard work and ingenuity.  They think the world's poor should have it and by God they will take it from you if you keep voting these lunatics into power.

"Lord Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank and now I. G. Patel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, warned that British taxpayers would need to contribute about £3 billion a year by 2015 to help poor countries to cope with the inevitable impact of climate change."

You may have seen Obama's similar plan regarding energy costs.  He said:

Jul 4, 2009 ... Barack Obama: "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."

See the Airhead in his own words if you can stomach it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4

You think the economy is rough now?  Let them pass government health care, cap and trade, and all this other horse manure they've loaded up to steal your prosperity and your liberty.... then you will really find out how that elections have consequences.

See the rest of this article quoting the British idiot at:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6891362.ece

J. Cogburn

The Plan In Action

Did you know there are millions of people who have a plan for your life?

Well they do, and they are called liberals.  Now let's see how their plans actually work.

First, they drum up phony fears about generating electricity through nuclear power.  Next, they fight all efforts to get our own energy through drilling off shore, drilling on shore, drilling in Alaska, etc.  Instead they talk about putting up windmills that are ugly, expensive, and produce zero power when the wind is not blowing.

Then presto!  It is finally time for them to begin controlling your life directly.  

California appears poised to be first to ban power-guzzling big-screen TVs

But don't worry because it is for a good cause.  In exchange for giving up your freedom to watch the type of TV that you want you get the following:

"The payoff could be big for TV owners, said Ken Rider, a commission staff engineer. Average first-year savings from reduced electricity use would be an estimated $30 per set and $912 million statewide, he said."

Yes that's right..... you get to save $30 a year.   What a deal!

This is just another example of how liberals know much more about how you should live your life than you do.  Imagine, if left to your own devices you would be watching one of these big screen high definition TV's that are really nice to watch, especially for sports and nature programs, and wasting $30 per year.  

Fortunately the liberals are going to put a stop to all this wasteful spending... and believe me,  they know about wasteful spending.  Next stop on the complete government control tour;  health care.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bigtvs14-2009oct14,0,4908205.story

J. Cogburn

New and Important Development

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Judge Confirms Eligibility Trial to Proceed

I just received a call from Orly Taitz, my attorney in the case seeking proof of Obama's eligibility for the Office of President of the United States. Judge Carter has release a statement declaring that the dates he set for the hearing and trial on the eligibility issue are confirmed, and it will move forward as scheduled. Apparently he was not swayed by the Obama lawyer's arguments.

Could it be that a judge will have backbone enough to actually uphold the Constitution and demand Obama produce a certified copy of his birth certificate?  If so there will be one of two questions Obama needs to answer...

1.  Since your birth certificate says you were born in Hawaii, why did you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers to keep from showing a certified birth certificate that you could have produced for $15 if in fact you were legal?  (Since his father was not a US citizen he actually cannot meet the natural born citizen clause in the Constitution anyway but they will ignore that and declare victory if his actual birth certificate shows he was born in Hawaii).

2.  Why did you commit the biggest fraud in American history? 

3. Will you be willing to grant interviews while you are serving your well deserved prison term?

4. Will you have William Ayers write another book for you about your sorry life that lists you

as the author?

These are important questions if we are to take the law seriously in this country.

If not we are now officially a banana republic and this will become more apparent as time goes on.

http://loyaltoliberty.blogspot.com/

J. Cogburn

Did Ayers Write Obama's Books?

As suspected the Airhead can't write either..... if they could incorporate a TelePrompTer someway perhaps he could.

 As you recall, during the campaign a guy who does forensics on writings and books said Obama's books were almost certainly written by Ayers.  But he did say that analyzing Obama's writings were difficult because there is almost nothing to be found.

Even when he was the so called leader of the Harvard Law Review he only wrote one paper that they could find and confirm was his.  And what was the subject?  Abortion of course.

But let's give the man his due.  We have determined he is very good at the following:

a.  Taking trips on Air Force One

b.  Avoiding the Oval Office almost completely

c.  Reading from a TelePrompTer when it is working

d.  Rushing things that don't need to be rushed

e.  Procrastinating on things that are urgent

f.  Apologizing for America 

g.  Wrecking the economy

h.  Skyrocketing the deficit

i.  Skyrocketing the unemployment rate

j.  Making himself the laughing stock for other world leaders

k.  Making promises he can't or won't keep

l.  Telling bold face lies about important issues

m.  Pointing to an image on the internet as proof of his claim to be a natural born citizen

n.  Blaming Bush for everything negative and taking credit for anything positive

o.  Redistributing wealth from those who earn it to those who don't

Even Saturday Night Live is now portraying the guy as a zero as some people are waking up to this fact.  However it is too late.  The damage he is doing will be deep and long lasting.

 Ayers admits writing Dreams - http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/ayers_admits_writing_dreams_1.html

American Thinker

J. Cogburn

A 25 Minute Joke

Those of us who understand guys like Obama were not surprised when General Mcchrystal, the Commander in Afghanistan who was handpicked for the job earlier this year, revealed on 60 Minutes that he has spoken to our "Commander in Chief" exactly one time in 70 days.  Others who originally thought Obama was actually a leader are now having second thoughts.

Well Obama knew he had been exposed and this revelation was damaging so what did he do today?  He invited the General to meet with him on Air Force One for...... drum roll please..... 25 minutes!

Yes our young King is a cool guy and a quick study isn't he?  Imagine, the General sent a report last month saying the war is going badly and we may lose this thing if additional troops are not sent soon.  And yet Obama is able to wait for over a month and then meet with General Mcchrystal for a mere 25 minutes to grasp the whole situation.  Pretty impressive, don't you think?

That is unless he is actually an arrogant airhead who knows absolutely nothing about leadership and is willing to let the clock tick while our young military members are being killed.... his spokesman says they are going to "study" this for a few more weeks.  Yes, I guess he didn't realize this war thing would be so important when he was running for office and apparently still doesn't.

A real leader would be meeting through teleconferences and in person with his top military staff, to include General Mcchrystal, on at least a weekly basis and probably more often than that in a situation like this until a decision is made on the General's request for more troops.

Instead we got a 25 Minute Joke from Obama today all done to blunt criticism that he is not meeting with the key military leader on a regular basis when the war is going in the tank.  And by the way, don't give me any nonsense about hiding behind the skirt of his Secretary of Defense citing "chain of command".  This is an excuse from a man who knows nothing about the military or war and is trying to avoid it even though his position description says he is in charge of the military.

General Mcchrystal I've got some advice for you.  Tell this airhead you are a busy man who is trying to keep our young soldiers from being killed and the war from being lost.  

Explain to him in no uncertain times you have no time for photo ops or other butt saving exercises on his part.  And he must understand that you are not about to take long trips out of theatre for 25 minute meetings..... or as I call it a 25 Minute Joke.

Tell him that when he is serious about being briefed on what is going on there you will be happy to give him that briefing.  If you don't consider this to be reasonable or satisfactory you need to get someone else for the position.

In fact, I would demand a minimum of one meeting a week through teleconference that is at least one hour long with both him and the Secretary of Defense present.  Tell him if he doesn't have that much time or interest in what is going on here he needs to get a replacement.

You may be fired and probably will be because arrogant people don't take criticism or frank talk very well.  But better that than to allow this to continue while our soldiers lives and the outcome of this war are in the balance.

J. Cogburn

Why Wait Until 2010?

Are the people really serious and mad as hell about what Congress is up to these days?  I'm afraid not.  Let me explain.

Tea parties are nice.

Pink slips sent to Congress indicating they will get one for real in 2010 if they vote for government health care, cap and trade, or more government spending are nice too.

Is this serious action?  No.  Well then, if this is not serious action, what is?

Earlier this year when all this foolishness started the citizens should have put together all the elements needed for a recall election in every district in America.  It should have been made clear that if these guys vote for government health care, cap and trade, or if they continue voting on bills the Congress or the people have not even had a chance to read there will be a recall election; we the people are not waiting until 2010 to throw out the trash.... you will be fired on the spot just like in the real world!

Citizens would make sure the recall preparation is very public and very concrete; everything would be in place to start the recall.... then the clear warning would be made; you vote the wrong way on any of these things and we will push the button to have you recalled this year, not in 2010.

When you see this type of thing you know the people are serious.... at this point the people only think they are serious, and we'll see if that even holds in 2010.

Now why is this country beyond bankrupt?  Because the politicians in Washington found out that the people will not enforce the limitations placed on them by the Constitution.  That being the case, they can spend money they don't have in unlimited quantities and spend it in any way they please.  This is what breeds corruption, pure and simple.

See a good example at:

http://www.businessandmedia.org/commentary/2009/20090930111103.aspx

You see this is why the birth certificate issue is so important. If a politician can simply point to

an imageon the internet that is not even a birth certificate as proof of where he was born

and get away with itthen he knows he will do whatever he pleases on everything else....

and so far he has!

J. Cogburn

The Articles are Shouting Liar

Recently in a national speech to a Joint Session of Congress Obama said:

"But thanks to the bold and decisive action we have taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink."

But what do the articles say?

U.S. job seekers exceed openings by record ratio

Despite signs that the economy has resumed growing, unemployed Americans now confront a job market that is bleaker than ever in the current recession, and employment prospects are still getting worse.

Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. According to the Labor Department’s latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33041366/ns/business-the_new_york_times

The dead end kids

The unemployment rate for young Americans has exploded to 52.2 percent -- a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. -- meaning millions of Americans are staring at the likelihood that their lifetime earning potential will be diminished and, combined with the predicted slow economic recovery, their transition into productive members of society could be put on hold for an extended period of time.

Labor Dept. statistics also show that the number of chronically unemployed -- those without a job for 27 weeks or more -- has also hit a post-WWII high.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/the_dead_end_kids_AnwaWNOGqsXMuIlGONNX1K

Let's face it.  Joe Wilson told Obama "You Lie" one time, but articles about the economy are shouting "Obama is a Liar" day after day.

Even though he is making a total mess of the economy and foreign policy Obama is undeterred from trying to control everything else too.  This is because he thinks he is a King with unlimited power instead of a President who is restrained by the Constitution.  So far it looks like he is right about this which gives him the one thing that he is right about so far.

Obama would curtail summer vacation

WASHINGTON – Students beware: The summer vacation you just enjoyed could be sharply curtailed if President Barack Obama gets his way.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_re_us/us_more_school

J. Cogburn

Lower and Middle Class Suckers

Hey, all you lower and middle class suckers out there...... hear this.

You Obama supporters bought the lie about how only the "rich" were going to pay for everything while you got a free ride, didn't you?

Well if the health care bill comes through as the democrats want it you are going to be forced to pay hefty premiums for health care insurance whether you like it or not.

And if Cap and Trade gets passed, which the democrats are also pushing, look for your utility bills to double in the next few years from extra taxes alone, not even counting inflation.  

I guess the old saying, "There's a sucker born every minute", is true for at least 52% of the US population.

....a fundamental conclusion is becoming evident: The Obama plan is a giant tax increase for much of the American people (not just the rich).

Having spent the entire campaign speaking about “affordable” coverage, it turns out the program is not at all affordable, but a massive new tax on the average uninsured American.

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/dick-morris/59853-obamacare-taxes-for-everyone

J. Cogburn