Obama's Lowlights (1/30/12)

SPOA and PIPA – Most politicians, on both sides of the isle, are now against the House’s Stop Piracy Online Act and the Senate’s Protect Intellectual Property Act because these bills violate free speech. Hollywood elites (you know the ones that want to pay higher taxes) support this legislation because it protects their work from being stolen and sold online.

Tourism - The tourism initiative is part of an executive order Obama signed. Its goal is to boost non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent this year; expand a Visa Waiver Program that allows participating nationals to travel to the U.S. for stays of 90 days or less without a visa; appoint a new group of chief executives to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; and direct an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy, including promoting national parks and other sites. This is just what Americans need - more government bureaucracy and intervention.

Gas Prices – Here is the latest regulatory power grab proposed by House Democrats: The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding "a reasonable profit." It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. What’s worse, the Democrats propose this legislation at a time when gas prices are at historical highs for this time of the year.

Keystone Pipeline - Though the president just rejected a permit for the controversial project, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman told Fox News that he expects to send the Obama administration a new proposed route for the pipeline well before Election Day.

New York Times - Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is refusing to pen an op-ed piece for The New York Times, signaling the degree to which he is fed up with the influential newspaper’s editorial policy on Israel.

Texas - The Supreme Court on Friday threw out electoral maps drawn by liberal federal judges in Texas that favored minorities. The decision ultimately could affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives and leaves the fate of Texas' April primaries unclear.

Housing Market - Existing home sales rose in December to an 11-month high while the supply of available homes dropped to a seven-year low. 

Solyndra – CBS caught the defunct solar panel company destroying millions of dollars in assets (glass tubing) they no longer needed.

Bain Capital – In the last three election cycles Bain employees have donated 1.2 million to Democratic campaigns, but only 480 thousand to Republican campaigns.

Egypt – The extreme Muslim Brotherhood Party won a large majority of the seats in Egypt’s Parliament.

Nigeria – Islamist extremists killed 178 people in the Nigerian city of Kano this past week.

Syria - The UN says that more than 5,000 have died since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted last March. Why did Obama intervene in Libya and not Syria? Syria (they have ties to Iran) is more of a national security risk than Libya!

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/26/12)

UN - Thousands of Haitians are dead thanks to a deadly, highly contagious strain of cholera. The disease was introduced by a Nepalese peacekeeping force sent to Haiti by the UN following the deadly 2010 earthquake.

Religion – As the 2012 election cycle begins, the Obama’s have started to attend church more regularly. This is no coincidence because the President is trying to appeal to Christians – but this is obviously nothing more than a political ploy.

Newsweek – Newsweek’s cover article this past week was entitled “Why Are Obama’s Critics So Dumb?” And yet, Newsweek proclaims to be an unbiased media source.

Canada - The Harper government is looking to increase petroleum exports to China, but those hopes are very much pinned on the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project currently under review by the National Energy Board. Harper will visit China next month. Harper has no choice but to find a new energy trade partner since the Obama administration will not agree to the building of the Alberta to Texas oil pipeline (Keystone Pipeline).

Congress – Congress passed 80 bills in 2011, this is the least amount in U.S. history. This is good news because less is better these days.

Obama’s Ego – Barack will conduct his 2012 Democratic nomination acceptance speech in a football stadium (home of the Carolina Panthers in the NFL – Capacity of 75,000). Obama also unveiled his first 2012 reelection TV ad touting his pro energy agenda.

School Food - A new study of nearly 20,000 middle schoolers has found that kids who attend schools that sell junk food such as soda and doughnuts do not gain more weight than students who attend schools where that type of food isn't available. The study concluded that the home environment has more impact on obesity than the school environment. This is another good example of why government interference into our daily lives is not only wrong, but it does not work.

Bain Capital - Jeffrey Zients will serve as President Obama's new acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but the president's decision might undercut attacks on Republican Mitt Romney's career as a venture capitalist, because Zients and Romney are both alumni of Bain & Company.

Occupy DC - Someone threw a smoke bomb over the White House fence last week, according to the Secret Service. The incident took place during an Occupy DC rally outside the White House. About 1,000 protesters participated in the rally and of course, no one was arrested.

Media – Here is a recent poll conducted by the liberal PPP polling service: Fox is the most trusted TV news source for 34% of voters, followed by PBS at 17%, CNN at 12%, ABC News at 11%, CBS News at 8%, MSNBC at 5%, and Comedy Central and NBC each at 4%.

Tax – Pelosi continues to push for a tax on the wealthy; this time to pay for a national tax free holiday.

Fast and Furious - Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa is back on the Fast and Furious trail and announced the issuance of a new subpoena this past week to Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S Attorney's Office for Arizona Patrick Cunningham. The subpoena was necessary after Cunningham refused to testify. When Cunningham took the stand, he pleaded the fifth.

Abortion – ABC News reports from 2003 to 2008, the abortion rate per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44) changed slightly, from 29 to 28 per 1,000 women. But the proportion of unsafe abortions that took place across the world rose 44 percent in 1995 to 49 percent in 2008.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/23/12)

ObamaCare - Michael Bloomberg is set to unveil his latest attempt to improve public health - cutting down on New Yorkers' alcohol consumption. The city's mayor is planning to close liquor stores and restrict alcohol advertising, according to a leaked strategy document. Such a move would be the latest salvo in Mr Bloomberg's public health campaign, which has previously seen him take aim at smoking, trans fats and salty food. What’s worse, this program will be partly funded by ObamaCare.

Debbie Wassermann Schultz – Her latest video moment came this past week when she blamed the Tea Party for the Giffords shooting.

EPA - Power plants released 72 percent of the greenhouse gases reported to the Environmental Protection Agency for 2010, according to information released last week that was the first catalog of global warming pollution by facility. The data include more than 6,700 of the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gases, or about 80 percent of total U.S. emissions. What a waste of taxpayer money!

Economic Freedom - The Heritage Foundation, in cahoots with the WSJ, has tracked countries' progress in their Index of Economic Freedom and the U.S. is only ranked tenth.

Obama Campaign – Obama introduced his “Runway to Win” clothing line with the help of high end designers which includes t-shirts going for 50 dollars.

DOJ - “We conclude that while Congress can prevent the president from making any recess appointments by remaining continuously in session and available to receive and act on nominations, it cannot do so by conducting pro forma sessions during a recess,” the head of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, Virginia Seitz, wrote in a 23-page opinion.

Planned Parenthood - The taxpayer funded abortion factory Planned Parenthood is making millions in profits, specifically at the expense of minorities and teenagers, seems to think a woman seeing her baby before making the ultimate decision to end her pregnancy is an “abhorrent” standard.

Mercedes - The luxury car company is using the communist mass murderer Che Guevara as inspiration to launch the company into a "green" future to sell cars with fewer emissions.

Commander in Chief – Michael Hastings, from Rolling Stone Magazine, wrote that Obama complained about the amount of pictures and autographs he had to sign when on a visit to inspect our troops in Bagdad.

Rand Paul - The Kentucky Republican Senator and tea-party favorite said Thursday he’s returning $500,000 to the U.S. Treasury — money from his operating budget that his office never spent.

Elizabeth Warren – The Massachusetts Senate wannabe hauled in an eye-popping $5.7 million the last three months of 2011 — refused to swear off Wall Street money yesterday, instead claiming that any money she gets from deep-pocketed financiers is coming from those who “want reform.” Remember, Warren claimed to have started the Occupy movement.

Green Energy Investing - CBS News' Sharyl Attkisson, who is already in hot water with the Obamites for daring to report accurately about Fast & Furious, has filed a new report detailing eleven "new Solyndras."  These companies were given billions in taxpayer subsidies, despite serious financial problems, and have subsequently (and predictably) gone bust.

Employment - In the 30 months since the recession officially ended (GDP Growth), nearly 1 million people have dropped out of the labor force — they aren't working, and they aren't looking — according to data from Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the past two months, the labor force shrank by 170,000.

S&P – The ratings company will downgrade the credit ratings of France, Spain, Austria, and Portugal.

Consolidation – Obama is seeking permission from Congress to consolidate government agencies. This is a great idea, but the power to do so should not fall on only one person.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/19/12)

Iran – The AP Reports “Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes.”

Housing Market - New York Fed President William C. Dudley said in New Jersey yesterday that “additional housing policy interventions” can help boost growth.

The Obamas – NY Times’ Jodi Kantor’s new book about the first family (The Obamas) wrote "[staff] wondered: was the president using his wife to convey what he felt?" Also, "White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton's and Depp's contributions went unacknowledged," Kantor writes.

Chuck Schumer – The NY senator has blamed a rash of pharmacy robberies and murders on pain killers and not the criminals themselves.

Pelosi – The House Minority Leader is encouraging Obama to focus his campaign on a “Do-nothing Congress”.

Solyndra - Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," this past week Wasserman Schultz said the president wasn't the CEO of Solyndra and therefore, has no responsibility for the job losses even though the administration poured over 500 million dollars into the defunct company.

Fast and Furious - ATF Deputy Director Tom Brandon has suspended ATF Assistant Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations Bill McMahon, ATF Acting Deputy Director Billy Hoover and ATF Assistant Director in Charge of Field Operations Mark Chait until further notice from their cushy ATF management positions as the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, of which McMahon, Hoover and Chait were heavily involved in.

William Daley – The White House Chief of Staff is stepping down at the end of the month and being replaced by budget director Jack Lew. Daley has only been on the job for a year. And let’s not forget the pork barrel spending budget proposal submitted by Obama and Lew last year which was shot down in the Senate 98 – 0?

Debt and GDP - The amount of money the federal government owes to its creditors, combined with IOUs to government retirement and other programs, now tops $15.23 trillion. That's roughly equal to the value of all goods and services the U.S. economy produces in one year: $15.17 trillion as of September, the latest estimate. Private projections show the economy likely grew to about $15.3 trillion by December — a level the debt is likely to surpass this month.

Big Brother - Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that came out of DHS headquarters in November, Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms.

Fidel Castro – Nobody really cares what Castro thinks, but thought it was funny that he thought a robot would be better than Obama as president.

Domestic Policy Council – Obama appointed immigration amnesty / open borders proponent Cecilia Munoz to control domestic policy.

Van Jones – He declared Martin Luther King as the original “Occupier”. We are so fortunate to have such a great history teacher in Van Jones at our disposal.

Texas Pro Life - A federal court has upheld the requirement that doctors give women an ultrasound before performing an abortion.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/16/12)

Economy – Unemployment dropped from 8.6% to 8.5% for December as the economy added 200 thousand new jobs. Although the numbers are moving in the right direction, the workforce size is still decreasing to make these numbers look better.

Marion Barry - Marion Barry, former four-term DC mayor is running for office again. DC residents may remember some of the highlights of his career, including tax evasion, smoking crack on video, and improperly awarding a contract to his girlfriend (and later stalking her). Now he is running to represent Ward 8 on the DC Council.

Credit Cards - "Rates currently are the highest since we've been tracking them," says Ben Woolsey, director of marketing for CreditCards.com, which has tracked card rates every week for the past four years. The average rate nationally right now, based on new card offers by 100 of the most popular issuers in the U.S., stands at 15.14 percent, up from 14.75 percent six months ago. I am so glad Congress passed the Credit Card legislation 3 years ago!

Military - The Obama administration last week unveiled a new military strategy that shifts the Pentagon’s focus towards Asia and says the country’s dire budget problems necessitate a more restrained use of military force and more modest foreign policy goals (a smaller military).

Green Hypocrisy - The federal government is proposing to grant a first-of-its-kind permit that would allow the developer of a central Oregon wind-power project to legally kill golden eagles, a regulatory move being closely watched by conservationists.

Recess Appointments? - We're not going to use signing statements to make an end-run around Congress!" - President Obama, May 20, 2008. That's not all; President Obama appropriated his authority as a constitutional law professor to denounce President Bush's use of signing statements as unconstitutional. So now, the question is: Was he wrong then, or is he acting against the Constitution now, in his post as Chief Executive? Technically, Congress was in session when Obama made these appointments.

Federal Pay - The White House will propose a 0.5 percent pay increase for civilian federal employees as part of its 2013 budget proposal.

ObamaCare – The final waiver count was 1,231, which covers about 4 million people across the country.

EPA - For the first time, the federal government is regulating big-rigs, RV's, and tractor-trailers in much the same way it's held car makers to rigorous fuel efficiency standards for decades.

Massachusetts - Another Kennedy is set to run for office. Joseph P. Kennedy III a prosecutor from Massachusetts, aims to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Barney Frank.

Fast and Furious - The Department of Justice has released documents suggesting the Bureau of Alcohol, Fire, Tobacco, and Explosives was fully aware of "gun-walking" in Mexico. 

Drugs – ABC reports roughly 200 million people worldwide use illicit drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and opioids each year, according to a new study. The figure represents about one in 20 people between the ages of 15 and 64.

California – They are now trying to regulate when people get oil changes for their cars.

Eugene Robinson – The liberal columnist criticized how the Santorum’s handled the death of their still born child – what a classy guy.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/12/12)

Iran – According Reuters: Iran claimed this past week it had successfully test-fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear program. In other news, “The daughter of influential former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was sentenced to jail and banned from political activities for "anti-state propaganda" dating back to the 2009 disputed presidential election, Iranian media reported.” Also, the European Union has agreed to ban Iranian crude oil imports. While the embargo date has not been established, the agreement comes on the heels of new financial sanctions imposed by United States. 

Wasserman-Schultz – The DNC head claims Obama will win in 2012 “because of his policies”. In reality, if Obama wins it will be because the Republican candidate is too weak. The DNC head also believes Obama has kept all his campaign promises including shutting down Gitmo.

Political Ideology – From Charles Lane in the Washington Post “Gallup recently asked Americans to rate their ideology on a liberal-to-conservative scale of 1 to 5. The average result was a right-of-center 3.3. More alarming for Obama, voters scored him at 2.3, to the left of center — and put Mitt Romney at 3.5. Every other GOP contender was to the right of the mean, except Jon Huntsman, who hit the ideological bull’s-eye. But even Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann came closer to the middle than Obama did.”

Campaign Strategy – The NY Times did a story outlining the Obama reelection strategy which includes demonizing Congress. I guess Obama still does not realize that Democrats hold the majority in the Senate.

Teacher Merit Based Pay – The NY Times reports “In the nation’s capital, the country’s most successful merit pay system is creating incentives for exceptional young teachers and other educators who might otherwise leave the field.” Now there is novel concept: pay the best performing teachers more. Unions certainly cannot be happy with the DC educational system’s decision to enforce this policy. After all, unions like to reward and protect seniority – even if the teacher is failing its students.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) - President Obama appointed Richard Cordray to head the controversial agency without Congressional approval. The CFPB was created under the Dodd – Frank financial reform legislation. The CFPB is chartered to regulate student loan providers, debt collectors, payday lenders and check cashers.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) - Obama appointed (recess appointments) three new members to the National Labor Relations Board, in a move that will empower unions and put businesses on the defensive. According to the Washington Post, the new members are Sharon Block, Terence Flynn, and Richard Grifin.

Boeing – From the AP: The Boeing Co. has told its employees that it plans to close its massive defense plant in Wichita Kansas by the end of 2013 in a bid to cut costs in a tight market for defense spending.

ObamaCare - Colorado Christian University is taking ObamaCare to federal court. The university claims the contraceptive mandate in ObamaCare violates the school's religious beliefs. 

Al Sharpton – His new catch phrase: “White wing extremism”. Does the race baiting ever end with Al?

Iraq – Violence and causalities continue to escalate since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/9/12)

Gulf Coast – The region had record tourism numbers for 2011, which of course was a huge rebound following the catastrophic BP oil spill in 2010 that crippled the local economies.

Law Enforcement – 173 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2011, which was a 13% increase over 2010. However, it is interesting to note that overall violent crime was down in 2011.

Hugo Chavez - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hinted that the U.S. may be behind a “very strange” bout of cancer affecting several leaders aligned with him in South America (including himself).

California – Here are few new laws being enforced on businesses in the liberal state of California for 2012: Mandatory bereavement leave for employees and an injunction against employers being able to look at a potential employee's credit report before hiring -- as well as the requirement on local officials that union labor agreements must be used for publicly funded construction projects.

Taxes - A new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that in the middle of the last decade -- i.e., after the Bush tax cuts were introduced -- the U.S. income tax was about as strongly redistributive as income taxes in Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden. You might have noticed that the CBO report on top incomes was widely quoted, but one finding got less attention: Between 1979 and 2007, “the federal individual income tax became slightly more progressive.” The main reason for this is mainly because the U.S. does not have a Value Added Tax (VAT), which affects the rich and poor equally.

Progressivism / Liberalism / Socialism – Why do socialists and liberals prefer to be called progressives? In a Pew poll Americans have a 67% favorable view of Progressives, but the favorability of Liberals drops to 50% and Socialists drops to 31%.

National Security - The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official (Mohammed Fazl) suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.

Markets – The Dow Jones ended the year up 5.5%, but the S&P was flat.

EPA - A U.S. federal appeals court last week issued a last-minute order to delay the January 1 implementation of stricter federal limits on pollution from coal-fired plants, providing a temporary win for utilities worried about the cost of implementation.

Weaponry – The U.S. has agreed to sell 3.4 billion dollars of military weaponry to the United Arab Empire.

Planned Parenthood - Its annual report indicates that Planned Parenthood had assets of over 1 billion dollars and generated a profit of more than $18 million in 2010 and 2011. 

The Occupy Movement – The Occupy Charlotte movement has been showing its displeasure by burning American Flags. Meanwhile, 68 protestors were arrested in New York during the New Year’s Eve party. Even more protestors were arrested outside of Michelle Bachmann’s Iowa campaign office.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/5/12)

The Obama’s – In an interview with Barbara Walters Michelle said she prioritizes herself over everything else and Barack admits he is lazy.

AARP – Congressional Republicans are pushing the IRS to investigate the AARP’s tax exempt status since they earn revenue from insurance companies.

Obama Approval Numbers – Obama’s approval numbers are up this past month, meaning people have sided with his handling of payroll tax debate over Republicans.

Federal Pay – According to a USA Today article “Newly hired federal workers are starting at much higher salaries than those who did the same jobs in the past, a lift that has elevated the salaries of scientists and custodians alike.”

Obama’s Green Plan – According to a Washington Post article: “Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal ­e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.”

Iraq Violence – From the AP: “An Al Qaeda front group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the wave of attacks that ripped through markets, cafes and government buildings in Baghdad on a single day last week, killing 69 people and raising new worries about the country's path.”

Payroll Tax Deal – The deal DOES INCLUDE a tax hike. Under the new law, an additional income tax will be imposed on those taxpayers who receive more than $18,350 in wages during that two month period. The tax is an amount equal to 2% of the amount of wages received during the two-month period in excess of $18,350 (and not greater than $110,100).

Ben Nelson – The Democratic Senator from Nebraska will retire when his term completes this year. This is a very winnable seat for the GOP.

California – The state passed 750 new legislative laws in 2011 alone. That is over 2 new per day! This is excessive governing and it is not hard to understand why California has one of the highest unemployment and debt per capita rates in the nation.

Economy – More than 100 Sears and Kmart stores nationally will close its doors.

Debt Ceiling – When Washington politicians head back to work to start the New Year, Obama will seek a 1.2 trillion dollar raise in the debt ceiling.

National Labor Relations Board – The controversial Craig Becker’s term has run out leaving only two members on the board. This is good news because without a quorum they cannot interfere in the private sector.

Iran – From Reuters: The US Fifth Fleet said this past week it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the strategic oil route.

Ethnic Studies – From the AP: Judge Lewis Kowal's ruling, first reported by The Arizona Daily Star, said the Tucson district's Mexican-American Studies program violated state law by having one or more classes designed primarily for one ethnic group, promoting racial resentment and advocating ethnic solidarity instead of treating students as individuals.

Wealth - Both The New York Times and The Washington Post had separate reports last week about the widening wealth gap between members of Congress and the people they represent. Almost half of all congress people are millionaires and their median net worth has climbed to $913,000, compared to $100,000 for the rest of America households.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

Obama's Lowlights (1/2/12)

LA School System – Since the LA school system went to healthy menus this past year, there has been a growing black market on school campuses for assorted junk foods. In fact, studies indicate students are eating more junk food than they did prior to the menu change. Imagine that, kids rebelling against the system.

Bo Obama – According to the Honolulu Star-Advisor the Obama’s pet dog, Bo, flew home from the family vacation on the taxpayers’ dime.

Mortgage Rates – The average 30 year mortgage hit a record low of 3.91%, which is a sign the housing market continues to struggle.

Obama’s Ego – In a 60 Minutes interview a few weeks ago, Obama proclaimed himself as the 4^th best President in US history, behind only FDR, LBJ, and Lincoln.

Iraq – Within days of the U.S. withdrawal of ground troops in Iraq violence escalated and security deteriorated to pre surge levels.

Campaign Ad – Obama released a new campaign ad targeted at young adults and the message was for them to convert their much dumber (paraphrasing) parents to vote for him.

Kim Jong-Il – The United Nations held a tribute moment of silence for the rogue North Korean leader who passed away two weeks ago.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) - The Agriculture Department is reinstating several reports that it had targeted for elimination two months ago in a cost-cutting move. The department says that it will reinstate reports for industries such as catfish and trout, hops, fruits and vegetables, and bees and honey. While private sector businesses continue to make cuts, the federal government continues to find excuses to avoid making tough choices – case in point, the USDA.

Gambling - The Obama administration cleared the way for U.S. states to legalize internet poker and certain other online betting in a switch that may help them reap billions in tax revenue and spur web-based gambling. I personally do not have any problem with this since people are going to gamble and billions of dollars in revenues have been going to foreign nations.

Charity - The Charities and Aid Foundation's second annual “World Giving Index” found that despite economic turmoil, Americans help those in need more than any other country. In other news, the hacking movement known as "Anonymous" is taking responsibility for a Christmas inspired hacking scheme-- taking money from individuals' accounts and giving it away as donations.

Campaign Contributions – Obama has returned contributions made to his campaign by the embattled ex-governor of New Jersey and ex-CEO of MF Global - John Corzine.

Warren Buffet – According to AP “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has completed the purchase of Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett's hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald.” In fact, Buffet has been buying up a bunch of small town newspapers – After all, what better way to indoctrinate Americans than to control what they read.

Retail Sales – Holiday retail sales increased by 4% over 2010, which is a sign the ailing economy is slowly getting better.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)