FEATURED POST: Royal Obama Family Off to Hawaii For 17 Day Vacation

"What fiscal cliff. Get used to it, America. We’re in for four years of these leeches living high on our dime. Now that Barry doesn’t have to worry about re-election I expect all the stops will be pulled out. We should consider ourselves lucky if Moochelle and Grabma decides to ride along with him on Air Force One instead of demanding her own plane so she can leave a couple of hours sooner. Nice going, America. Maybe we are as collectively stupid as the Euros accuse us of being".  MC

Back in January 2009, Barack Obama told Americans that,
“Everyone must sacrifice… Everyone must have some skin in the game.”


Well… Everyone but Barack and Michelle Obama.
While Americans suffer through the worst economy since the Great Depression, the Obama family will enjoy a 17 day vacation in Hawaii this year.

 
 So I guess if I were trying to get a break from all the hard work of running a country, I would pick a vacation to Hawaii. And it would make it all that much sweeter if that vacation was all-expenses paid. And right around the time Congress is making the tough decisions, choosing between raising taxes on the upper middle class, small businesses, and the wealthy, risking the future of the American economy, or cutting government spending and risking the future of their own employment.
So I’m sure America will understand when Barack Obama spends $4 million of their hard earned dollars to relax for a couple of weeks on the sandy shores of Oahu.
I mean, obviously.

Residents living near the beachfront homes where President Barack Obama and First Family vacation with their friends every year since 2008 were alerted on Monday to some specifics of the Obamas’ holiday vacation plans.
The report delivered to residents living along the ocean and canal that surrounds the multi-million dollar homes at Kailuana Place where the President stays, informed  them of restrictions that will be implemented for 20 days beginning December 17 and running through January 6.
In a matter of weeks, Kailua residents will see the familiar street barricades fronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and Navy Seals and the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in canal and ocean waters.

The tab for the 20-day early winter vacation includes a fleet of 22 secret service vehicles, round trip airfare on Air Force One for the whole family, cargo aircraft and a number of limousines to transport the President and the family while they’re in Hawaii, advance work for the Secret Service, the rental costs for a week of posh Hawaii digs, rooms for the White House staff and press corps at the Moana Surfrider hotel (which averages around $200 per night, and offers private beach front access on Waikiki), local police and EMT presence, and other upgrades and management costs.

And of course, if previous experience is any indication, there will also be some associated vacation wardrobe costs. And, there’s always the public relations cost of going on a m*****f***ing 20-day Hawaiian vacation while around half of Americans will consider their “vacation” this year to be the two days they get to spend cleaning their house while the dog is at the vet getting neutered.

But they’ve earned it, America. They’ve earned it.

GOOD NEWS: Democrat Congressman Floats Idea of Constitutional Amendment to Restrict Free Speech

 And isn't this precisely what we've come to expect from the modern Democrat Party, with its increasingly authoritarian bent?

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) says, “corporations control the patterns of thinking” in the United States and that the Bill of Rights to the Constitution should be amended so that the government is given the power to restrict freedom of speech.

"We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations," said Johnson... “They control the patterns of thinking ... They control the media. They control the messages that you get. So, you are being taught to hate your government--don’t want government, but keep your hands off of my Medicare by the way. I mean, we are all confused people and we’re poking fingers at each other saying, well you’re black, you’re Hispanic, immigration, homosexuals. You know, we’re lost on the social issues, abortion, contraception.

“And these folks," Johnson said, "are setting up a scenario where they’re privatizing every aspect of our lives as we know it. So, wake up! Wake up! Let’s look at what’s happening. We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations.”

The modern Left is as far from classical liberalism as one could imagine.

These men are Statists: interested only in centralizing ever more power and in consolidating that power with fewer and fewer masterminds in Washington. These are the kind of men that our country's founders despised and feared.

They are would-be despots who worship unlimited government, who respect neither checks nor balances, and blatantly violate the Constitution at every opportunity.

I wonder what America's breaking point will be? By that I mean, when will have the circle of liberty constricted around the average American's throat sufficiently to waken the sleeping giant?

Krauthammer's Take: Geithner Deal 'Insulting,' GOP Should Walk Away

"Walk away. Republicans better have the guts to do whats right". MC

Republicans on Thursday rejected the White House’s “offer” of $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over a decade and an immediate infusion of cash. In an attempt to appease Republicans, President Barack Obama offered what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called “vague” spending cuts that do not adequately address the nation’s financial woes.
Appearing on Fox News Thursday, Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer called the deal “insulting” and advised Republicans to “simply walk away” from the negotiating table.
“It’s not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal. What Geithner offered, what you showed on the screen, Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox, and he lost the Civil War,” Krauthammer said. “The Democrats won by 3 percent of the vote and they did not hold the House, Republicans won the house. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that is what the administration is asking of the Republicans.”
He continued: “This idea — there are not only no cuts in this, there’s an increase in spending with a new stimulus. I mean, this is almost unheard of. What do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think the Republicans ought to simply walk away. The president is the president. He’s the leader. They are demanding that the Republicans explain all the cuts that they want to make.”
Watch the clip below:



                                                          

Krauthammer pointed out that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) presented a “serious real budget with real cuts” more than a year ago and Obama not only rejected it, he called it “un-American” in a speech with Ryan sitting in the front row. Further, Obama has offered no counter measures on Medicare and real spending cuts, he explained.
“And they expect the Republicans are going to do this again?” Krauthammer asked. “The Republicans are going to walk on this. And I think they have leverage…He’s going to have a recession, 9 percent unemployment, 2 million more unemployed, and a second term that’s going to be a ruin. That is not a good proposition if you are Barack Obama.”

HEY, DEMOCRATS: I'll listen to Warren Buffett's tax hike ideas when he decides to PAY HIS OWN DAMN TAXES

Warren Buffett's marketing efforts for Barack Obama's class warfare campaign is despicable on two fronts. First, it does nothing to address the country's catastrophic deficit problem:

A search at the Associated Press’s national website on Warren Buffett’s last name at about 5 p.m. ET returned two recent items which are still present there. Each item (here and here) mentions the Obama Fan of Omaha’s idea to “impose a minimum tax of 30 percent on income between $1 million and $10 million, and a 35 percent rate for income above that.” Neither mentions the pathetically small amount such a tax would raise while seriously impacting the ability of high income earners who own or run businesses to expand them — or in some cases causing them to shrink.

It’s the same at other establishment press outlets. Two recent New York Times items found in a search on Buffett’s full name (here and here, the latter item being Buffett’s own op-ed on Sunday) fail to note how little money Buffett’s proposed tax hikes would raise. So how little is “little”?

Buffett hasn’t been entirely consistent in his expressed suggestion. Earlier this year, he wanted a rate of 30%, while his recent Times op-ed suggests 35% for those earning over $10 million. James Pethokoukis estimated in April that the amount which would be raised would be about $5 billion — “although experience suggests that it won’t raise even that much.” The government currently spends $5 billion about every 12 hours, and runs an $5 billion deficit in less than two days.

You read that right: even if the truly wealthy didn't find ways to get their money out of the U.S. or otherwise evade these taxes, the amount raised by Buffett's brilliant plan wouldn't pay for two days of this massive, bloated federal government's deficit spending.

It also turns out that Buffett is hardly a model citizen when it comes to paying his own taxes:

It Turns Out Warren Buffett Is A Master Of Avoiding Taxes

Lately, Warren has been a shill for Obama. Over and over again, we hear how good ole Warren “wants” to pay more taxes and thinks his wealthy buddies ought to follow suit. “We aren’t taxed enough,” he says. Well, let’s take a closer look at just where Warren stands when it really comes down to paying his taxes...

There are two recent cases where Warren has done everything possible to AVOID paying taxes that he actually owes. The first case involved a 14-year fight over the dividend-received deduction that was finally settled with the IRS in 2005. The second case is still pending after 10 years in which he owes just over $1 BILLION in back taxes. Both of these cases are well-documented and you can satisfy yourself simply by using Google to inquire as to the voracity of these assertions. Also note the timeframes of 14-years and 10+-years; not exactly a haphazard hissy fit. While you’re at it, you might also ask yourself “why” Warren says one thing in public discourse while he practices the exact opposite in his business and personal life. Is not that the definition of hypocrite?

...Buffett is now at the center of another tax controversy, according to The Wall Street Journal. His recent decision to invest in Bank of America “represents another tax-avoidance triumph for the Berkshire chief executive,” the Journal wrote in an editorial ... “With the exclusion for Mr. Buffett and his fellow shareholders, Berkshire will enjoy an effective tax rate of 14.175% on the $300 million in dividends it will receive each year from Bank of America,” the Journal reported. [Remember, his secretary pays a higher tax rate?].

Look up "crony capitalist" in the dictionary and I'll bet you see a lithograph of Warren Buffett staring back at you.