President Obama’s Third Press Conference

We’ll look at this remarks and a few of the questions he answered. You can find the transcript here.

Beginning his statements, he explained how his administration is dealing with the Swine Flu.

every American should know that their entire government is taking the utmost precautions and preparations.

Which is a relief compared to how pathetic our previous administration dealt with a crisis on the homefront.

Our public health officials have recommended that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of this flu strongly consider temporarily closing.

This would really stink for college students who are almost finished with the year.

I’ve requested an immediate $1.5 billion in emergency funding from Congress to support our ability to monitor and track this virus and to build our supply of antiviral drugs and other equipment, and we will also ensure that those materials get to where they need to be as quickly as possible.

What happened with all the money that was given during the stimulus emergency? How many times will President Obama request immediate funding for emergencies? Better yet, how many emergencies will we have?

I’d like to mention is how gratified I am that the House and the Senate passed a budget resolution today that will serve as an economic blueprint for this nation’s future.  I especially want to thank Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, all the members of Congress who worked so quickly and effectively to make this blueprint a reality.

And don’t forget to mention how no one from the other party ran with you on this. Even some from your own party disagreed.

I also campaigned on the promise that I would change the direction of our nation’s foreign policy — and we’ve begun to do that as well.

Which includes bowing to another head of state…is this a good thing for the President of the United States to do? Is it time for us to get off our selfish highhorse? What I really dispised was the Press Secretary excusing it as President Obama reaching to shake his hand with both hands. How pathetic!

You can expect us to work on health care reform that will bring down costs while maintaining quality

And everyone with health care currently, stand on your head if you believe this is possible. Universal Health Care equals lower costs/quality care?

When asked about federalizing the auto industry, President Obama said:

I would love to get the U.S. government out of the auto business as quickly as possible.

And near the end of the briefing he said,

I think our first role should be shareholders that are looking to get out.  You know, I don’t want to run auto companies, I don’t want to run banks.

Mark those words everyone! They are down and in writing!

With regards to halting waterboarding:

it takes away a critical recruitment tool that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have used to try to demonize the United States and justify the killing of civilians.

No offense, but al Qaeda will continue to demonize the U.S. and kill civilians until hell freezes over. Stopping that form of torture will not stop the recruitment.

Asked if he would ever use those torture tools to protect the nation, President Obama said,

I will do whatever is required to keep the American people safe … and there have been no circumstances during the course of this first hundred days in which I have seen information that would make me second-guess the decision that I’ve made.

With regards to abortion and why President Obama is pro-choice:

The reason I’m pro-choice is because I don’t think women take that position casually.  I think that they struggle with these decisions each and every day, and I think they are in a better position to make these decision ultimately than members of Congress or a President of the United States

Now here I find myself in agreement. I think choice is a person’s right. I don’t think there should be a federal law criminalizing a choice like this. On the other hand, I think those who perform these procedures should do everything in their power to explain the situation, describe what will happen and offer up alternatives.

Say what you want, but this President is a good one. I look forward to what’s in store under his watch.

It’s Not Fair?

President Obama was in California talking to the average American about the issues. On the AIG fiasco, he said,

I know a lot of you are outraged about this. I’m outraged, too. It’s hard to understand that a company that is relying on extraordinary assistance from taxpayers to keep its doors open would be paying anyone lavish bonuses.  It goes against our most basic sense of what is fair and what is right. It offends our values.

It goes against our sense of what is fair? See, I thought our country works through Capitalism and in that form of economy, you want to make more money. I can understand people being “outraged” at AIG taking loans and using them for bonuses; but when else can we see this administration using the “it’s not fair” card?

Remember when, while running for President, Obama made a comment about “spreading the wealth around”? People started to get worried that their money was going to be taken away and given to those who didn’t deserve it OR they were excited that they might be getting chunks of cash from the government.

When we start talking about what’s fair and what’s not when it comes to who’s making the money, I get a little anxious.

The President continued,

So we are going to do everything we can to deal with these specific bonuses. But what’s just as important is that we make sure we don’t find ourselves in this situation again, where taxpayers are on the hook for losses in bad times and all the wealth generated in good times goes to those at the very top.

Someone please explain to me why the taxpayers are on the hook at all. I’ve noticed that our local banks aren’t hurting. Seems to be the major, global institutions that are in need of a “bail-out”.

Once again the President seems to be counter-Captialism. He doesn’t want wealth to go to the CEOs? Does he think there is another person wiser, who won’t make bad decisions? Is this the first hint that our new administration is going to put a salary cap on businesses that take the government’s money?

Seeing as he was in California, President Obama said,

One out of every ten Californians is out of work.

And that’s probably because the other nine are working in Hollywood!

You’ve got one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

Because the houses there are so insanely large! And some people simply shouldn’t have been able to afford the loan.

We are not only going to make it through this crisis, we are going to come out on the other side a stronger and more prosperous nation.

When I first read this I thought of all those Get-Rich-Quick schemes we see on television. “If you act now, you’ll have so much money, you won’t know what to do with it all…”

And finally, because of the new stimulus package -

a new hospital will be built at Camp Pendleton that will give our servicemen and women the care they deserve. Over in Inglewood, the police department is planning to expand its staff by thirty people. And Orange County is hoping to add a new lane on SR-91, creating about 2,000 jobs, and easing congestion in the process.

This is the part that is actually encouraging to hear.

Let’s hope we don’t hear “It’s not fair!!!!” from our President too often.

Obama Administation Out Of Touch

I remember when Senator Obama mocked Senator McCain for saying “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” Senator Obama said Senator McCain was out of touch with how things truly are.

It came as a great surprise that I found President Obama’s team agreeing with Senator McCain. If things are worse than they were before Obama took office, how can our economy be sound if it wasn’t back then?

Next, another giant getting federal money wastes it on bonuses. And what is the White House response? “Outrage”, “really upset”…. Give us a break people! We thought you had taken care of this fiasco so events like this wouldn’t happen again. And the only response we get from the White House are just verbal? So me the law suits! So us you mean business (to quote that law firm guy commercials).

My “change & hope” shield is slowly rotting under the fruit from this administration’s labor. All I hear is talk. I want to see retribution for AIG. I want to see some action.

The final peg in this Out-Of-Touch administration is the new stimulus plan coming. We don’t know how much money will be spent, or what kind of regulations will be on it. If you ask me, this plan should have been in place before we gave money to the Big Businesses.

Mr President, you need to show us that you are in control. You’ve moved so quickly on spending our money, show us how quickly you can move to protect it from greedy, selfish CEOs.

“Quickest & Broadest Tax Cut Ever” Review

You can find this information at the White House website.

President Obama began his weekly address by saying,

Because of [the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act], 3.5 million Americans will now go to work doing the work that America needs done.

If we’re still not sure what work America needs done, I think the President is talking about infrastructure (rebuilding/updating roads, bridges, levees, etc…)

How about bringing back the Steel Factories? Or are we beyond that “old style” jobs and looking forward to faster, sleeker techno-careers?

I’m grateful to Congress, governors and mayors across the country, and to all of you whose support made this critical step possible.

About 90% of Republicans in Congress, if not more, voted against it and many GOP governors are thinking about denying part of the money to their states.

On a side note, I find it very interesting that President Obama criticized President Bush over the previous stimulus package (ie how much money was being spent…or was it how the money was spent) and now he has pushed through an even larger package.

Because of what we did, families can lower their energy bills by weatherizing their homes.

Wait, this wasn’t possible before this stimulus package? I can remember going out and purchasing that film you tape over your windows. Isn’t that weatherizing my home? Is President Obama referring to something else? And does this mean, when I weatherize my home, I can expect to get reimbursed by my federal government?

Because of what we did, lives will be saved and health care costs will be cut with new computerized medical records.

I will believe this when I see it. Computerized medical records, not lives saved…

And I’m pleased to announce that this morning, the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks — meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month.  Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans.

And will this be taken into account when we pay our taxes next year? Will that $65 a month be eaten up next year?

It will require reforming the broken regulatory system that made this crisis possible

You may want to harp on your Democratic friends for that fiasco.

I’ll release a budget that’s sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline.

I hope to God that your budget cuts what “we” don’t need. I don’t think “we” need as many programs that are sucking our money down the drain.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

True to his word, President Obama is letting the general public look through the laws that make their way through Congress. Of course, this is now after it has passed. So everything is too late for your comments.

Maybe in the future we can look through bills a bit sooner than this example.

Once you read through the text of the legislation you can go here and voice your opinion.

Here are the links to the actual PDF text. There are five parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

My oh my, it’s a headache to try to make heads or tails. Maybe this is why our Senators and Congressmen and women make the big bucks.

Could someone please explain what I just read? Does this resemble anything like a solution?

Stimulus Details By State

The White House has released a 102 page article detailing how each state will benefit from the current stimulus package moving through Congress.

Let’s take a look:

Jobs created or saved in the next two years:
Alabama – 55,000     Alaska – 8,700     Arizona – 74,300
Arkansas – 32,700     California – 421,000     Colorado – 63,000
Connecticut – 43,700     Delaware –   11,300     D.C. – 13,300
Florida – 218,300     Georgia – 113,300     Hawaii – 16,700
Idaho – 18,300     Illinois – 157,700     Indiana – 79,300
Iowa – 39,000     Kansas – 35,300     Kentucky – 50,700
Louisiana – 52,700     Maine – 16,300     Maryland – 70,000
Massachusetts – 83,300     Michigan – 115,700     Minnesota – 70,000
Mississippi – 32,300     Missouri – 73,300     Montana – 12,300
Nebraska – 24,000     Nevada – 36,300     New Hampshire – 16,700
New Jersey – 106,000     New Mexico – 23,300     New York – 228,300
North Carolina – 111,300     North Dakota – 9,300     Ohio – 141,700
Oklahoma – 42,300     Oregon – 46,300     Pennsylvania – 151,700
Rhode Island – 13,000     South Carolina – 53,700     South Dakota – 10,300
Tennessee – 75,000     Texas – 285,700     Utah – 33,300
Vermont – 8,000     Virginia – 99,000     Washington – 79,700
West Virginia – 21,000     Wisconsin – 74,000     Wyoming – 8,000

The PDF file explains what type of jobs will be created – claiming ninety percent will be in the private sector.

Just one more way for us to keep tabs on The Obama Administration’s promises.

Are You Paying For That?

Courtesy of CNN.com, we have a list of items included in this current stimulus package and it’s cost. Now, this list was presented by the GOP but I am not saying whether paying for any of these programs are wasteful. I just wanted to be made aware and let you know.

$2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.

A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.

Now is this the actual film? Like the stuff you put in the camera or movies already made?

Moving on…

$650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program.

$88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).

$448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.

$248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.

$600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees.

$400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD’s.

$1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs.

Are we talking incinerators? Are these programs going to be state-sponsored or federal-sponsored?

$125 million for the Washington sewer system.

$150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities.

$1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion.

$75 million for “smoking cessation activities.”

That’s all?

$200 million for public computer centers at community colleges.

$75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI.

$25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction.

$500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River.

$10 million to inspect canals in urban areas.

$6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings.

$500 million for state and local fire stations.

$650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands.

$1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs.

$88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.

$412 million for CDC buildings and property.

$500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland.

$160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

We all like the idea of being a paid volunteer right?

$5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

$850 million for Amtrak.

$100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.

How do you reduce the hazard? lead-based paint has lead in it. If you take the lead out, it isn’t lead-based anymore.

$75 million to construct a “security training” facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.

$110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.

$200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.

These are just a few of the items marked for a nearly $900 billion stimulus bill presented by President Obama.

Did you find anything you would consider wasteful spending?