TARP – Most of the Toxic Asset Relief Plan (TARP) funds given to bailout banks and financial institutions have been repaid with interest. They are eager to pay off these debts to avoid the wrath of government interference. That is great news, but the bad news is that Obama wants to take these funds and use them for a second stimulus and so small businesses can receive loans. However, the TARP plan says that when the money is repaid, it must be used to pay down our massive deficit. It appears the White House is going to rewrite the TARP laws so they can continue their spending spree.
ACORN – The liberal urban housing charity may be getting more federal funding after all. After last year’s undercover unit exposed fraud and corruption within 5 divisions of ACORN, Congress cut off funding for the group. However, the latest Obama budget allocates 4 billion for ACORN or similar organizations.
The Weather – The record snow fall on the capital is a blessing for every American because Congress closed down. Thus, our wallets and the economy are safe from the liberal wrath for at least one week.
Unions – SEIU Union Leader, Andy Stern, visited the White House 27 times last year. That is the most visits by any one person. So much for the White House administration’s pledge to steer away from both lobbyists and special interest groups.
The Economy – The good news is that the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% for January. The bad news is that the economy still lost 20,000 jobs and the Labor Department claims the only reason the rate decreased is because the job market is shrinking. In other bad news, the Labor Department increased its forecast from 7.2 million jobs lost in this recession to 8.4 million. This news is more evidence that the Obama stimulus is failing miserably. One thing that may artificially help the economy over the next several months are government jobs added for the census. The census will add about 1.2 million jobs, but this is artificial since they are only temporary employment.
Mary Landrieu – The Louisiana Senator is defending her 300 million dollar cave out in the health care reform legislation and claims it had nothing to do with her backing the bill. This does not change the fact that she was against the bill before the 300 million dollar bribe was introduced to the bill.
Iran – Despite the threat of more sanctions, this is not deterring their aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons. Last week, Iran launched yet another missile to further show their defiance to the rest of the world. The Obama administration keeps placing deadlines for Iran to conform to global concerns, and deadlines continue to pass without any real sanctions being levied on the rogue nation.
Tea Party – They held their first convention this past week. The Tea Party influence is one reason for the resurrection of conservatism in this country as witnessed in the New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Virginia elections. However, the good news for Obama is it still remains to be seen if this movement will unite both conservatives and center-right ideologies or if it will splinter the GOP. Signs are that the Tea Party can unite individuals; after all, they supported moderates in Scott Brown (Massachusetts) and Chris Christie (New Jersey).
Climate Services – The Obama Administration is going to create a new government agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called climate services. The new agency is to combine both the climate science and services offered by the NOAA. This sounds like another great waste of taxpayer money.
John Murtha – His death opens up another vacancy for the Republicans to capitalize on. Murtha had been one of the longest tenured members of the House at 36 years.
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