Barack Obama -- March 24, 2009

March 24, 2009

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From $1 trillion in debt
to $4 trillion in debt
in six weeks

event	description
A Friggin Moron	“I keep thinking we should include something in the Constitution in case the people elect a friggin moron.”
Obama Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms	The Obama administration is asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document. The administration plans to send legislation to Capitol Hill this week. Sources cautioned that the details, including the Treasury's role, are still in flux. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is set to argue for the new powers at a hearing today on Capitol Hill about the furor over bonuses paid to executives at American International Group, which the government has propped up with about $180 billion in federal aid. Administration officials have said that the proposed authority would have allowed them to seize AIG last fall and wind down its operations at less cost to taxpayers. Besides seizing a company outright, the document states, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake. Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts, such as the agreements to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees of AIG's most troubled unit. The authority to seize non-bank financial firms has emerged as a priority for the administration... "The Treasury secretary could act only after consulting with Obama" -- ha, ha, hah, gag! -- wouldn't want to seize a George Soros company by mistake. It's a good thing for Obama and the Democrats that AIG had those performance bonuses. Otherwise the discussion would be about Obama running up the national debt from $1 trillion to $4 trillion in in six weeks -- can't have that.
S. 277	The Senate agreed Monday to take up legislation to triple the size of the AmeriCorps program and open up opportunities for more people to serve their communities. Lawmakers voted 74-14 to move to the legislation, named the "Serve America Act," that would expand AmeriCorps from its current 75,000 positions to 250,000 over the course of eight years. Sixty votes were needed to bring the bill to the floor. The measure is expected to come up for a final vote in the Senate sometime this week. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, made a rare appearance on the Senate floor to vote for the bill that he co-sponsored with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The legislation would also create five groups to help poor people, improve education, encourage energy efficiency, strengthen access to health care and assist veterans. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, said the proposal is an investment that "will pay dividends long beyond anything that we can imagine." The House last week passed a similar bill to add 175,000 participants, and S. 277 would amend and reauthorize programs established under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA). The bill also would authorize a "Volunteers for Prosperity" program at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $4 1 8 million in 20 10 and about $5.7 billion over the 20 10-20 14 period. What the hell is Hatch thinking? Read about "The Movement" here.
U.S. Rep. Bill Posey	A new member of Congress arrived in Washington to a flood of questions from his constituency about Barack Obama's eligibility to be president. Was he really born in the United States, and was he qualified under the Constitution's requirement that the office be occupied only by a "natural born" citizen? So U.S. Rep. Bill Posey did what most congressmen would do regarding a subject of grave concern to their voters. He proposed a bill that would require future presidential candidates to document their eligibility, and that action has earned him scorn and ridicule. U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HI, a close, personal friend of Obama's mom and dad, has gone so far as to suggest that Posey's judgment is skewed, saying, "It's one thing to try to be responsive to your constituents, no matter how marginal. I understand that. But to take it to the point of putting it into a bill -- you open yourself up, then, to having your judgment questioned." Abercrombie, whose judgment is obviously beyond question, said legislation generally is to "address common issues or concerns. The citizenship of someone who has reached the point of running for president of the United States is not really an issue," Abercrombie said, ending all debate (sarcasm off). "Why'd I do this?" Posey wrote on his blog. "Well, for a number of reasons and the more and more I get called names by leftwing activists, partisan hacks and political operatives for doing it, the more and more I think I did the right thing." He said, "I've been called some pretty nasty things. That's fine. But none of these tolerant people actually want to discuss the issue at hand … whether or not a presidential candidate should have to file these documents with the government. "I could easily fill up a page listing all the activities an American needs to show their ID for … everything from playing youth soccer to getting a drivers license, buying cigarettes and alcohol, to opening bank accounts and even playing little league. So I was pretty surprised to find out that to run for president, despite the constitutional requirement and the media scrubbing that goes on, it's not required for a candidate to file these documents when they submit their statement of candidacy with the FEC," he said. "I thought I could offer a solution to this question on eligibility," he wrote. "There's nothing anyone can do about changing past elections… the president won. All the lawsuits in the world are not going to change that. But if what some folks are worried about -- that presidential candidates don't have to submit to the same documentation that average folks have to submit to -- well, then we can change that for the next election." Posey cited an AOL poll that found three-quarters of Americans participating in the survey agreed. "I'm willing to discuss this issue with anyone who wants to talk in a rational manner, but I WILL NOT engage in name calling, smear campaigns, or any other venomous activity," Posey wrote. "For one thing, it's childish. But on another level, we're supposed to be able to have a civil debate on the issues in this country." Posey's spokesman, George Cecala, said the congressman has no plans to withdraw the proposal, even though it may not get a lot of support. Abercrombie told the Times that Posey's suggestion is "the kind of sick politics that permeates a certain portion of the electorate." Here are some comments from the geniuses in Congress.