President Bush in Midland, Welcome Home Speech

I've been looking for a transcript of President Bush's talk when he spoke in Midland, Texas at his "Welcome Home" rally. No luck thus far. However, I have found a news station in Texas with videos of the entire rally, including interviews with the Gatlin Brothers, Lee Greenwood, crowd reactions and the entire speech.

I don't know how long they'll keep the page up...

Here's the video:



If the video doesn't play, here's a direct link: http://www.kwes.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3358841&at1=News - Special Coverage&h1=President Bush's Homecoming Speech (1-20-09)

The Obameter

According to PoliFact, from The St. Petersburg Times, Florida, Obama made 500 promises during his campaign. They're keeping track of the 500 they counted. I'm going to put the link on the sidebar of some of my blogs so I can check off and on and keep track of what they're giving him credit for accomplishing.

They've already given him credit for making two of his promises come true. Bush made one happen, but they're giving the credit to Obama simply because it happened. If that's their criteria for giving credit, twenty years from now the Obameter may still be clunking along with items being checked off...

However, I do understand their decision to give it to him. Obama promised shrewdly. He promised something that was gonna happen. And, based on what I've been hearing in recent days as more news comes out about some of the things President Bush laid the groundwork for, I bet President Obama is going to have a few more Bush actions marked as things he accomplishes during his tenure. Politics. Media. Whatever.

In fact, I just took a look at the Obameter a little closer. I had focused on the 2 accomplishments, and overlooked that he was also being given credit for 12 items being "in the works". I didn't read all of them yet, but the ones I read were things happening without his intervention or guidance. Of course, supporters will say that Pelosi, Reid and friends are pushing some of the items because he's now in the hot seat and yes, they can.

It's a new world. Now Presidents are getting credit for things that happened before their watch. Maybe we need to start a Oba-change-meter and keep track of all the things that change over the next four years. Hmmm.... I may just do that!

I'm also going to copy the list and put it in a safe word document somewhere just to save for posterity... I don't know how long it will be up and I don't know if some things will change under pressure.

Here's the link: The Obameter: Tracking Obama's Campaign Promises
http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/503/appoint-at-least-one-republican-to-the-cabinet/

Exclusive Interview with Condoleezza Rice

AFP's exclusive interview with outgoing Secretary of State for the Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice. She announced an upcoming trip to China. Rice also discussed the situation in the Middle East and her own plans for the future.

Orson Scott Card Says It Like It Is!

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, despite the fact that he's a die-hard, card carrying Democrat . Seriously, he is one of my favorite authors and I have lots of friends who are Democrats. We have quite a bit of fun sparring on the issues.

One thing that is rather cool (for me) is that he never has his photo in his books (or at least not the ones I've purchased). I finally got to see what he looks like when I read the article on the Meridian Magazine site... I know I could have done a search at any time and found a photo probably, but I really didn't care that much and once I put the book down any curiosity got closed inside the pages of the book. If you haven't read Ender's Game and his many other books, go grab one. He really makes you think about things without realizing what you're doing! Fun read.

The article below is a great read, and definitely doesn't fall into the fiction category. It is a fabulous article that amazes me. I bet we don't hear much about it given the topic! - Janet

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?
By Orson Scott Card

Editor's note: Orson Scott Card is a Democrat and a newspaper columnist, and in this opinion piece he takes on both while lamenting the current state of journalism.

An open letter to the local daily paper — almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.

It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans...
http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

Sad times in the good old USA

I know things go in cycles, and maybe this is just a cycle, but whether it's a cycle or just a downward spiral, it's not a great future to be staring at these days.

I have no idea whether we need a bailout or not, despite what I keep hearing on the news. I'm not privy to the information that our so-called leaders have at their disposal. I'm not sure they are able to look at the full picture given the intricacies of the world's financial markets these days.

Some things concern me.

Nancy Pelosi said she wanted to support President Bush's plan and help him get it passed. When has Nancy Pelosi EVER wanted to help George Bush? When have the Democrats ever agreed on anything that came out of the Bush White House? Somehow I just can't see her swallowing that one without an ulterior motive, and I guarantee whatever the motive, it's one I wouldn't like.

If this plan is such a great plan, why did the Democrats need the cover of Republican votes to get it through? They had the potential votes without the Republicans. When the have to have the other guys on board, they want to make sure everyone has equal blame. Except when they can't get 94 of their Democratic buddies to sign on.

If Nancy Pelosi can't get 94 Democrats to go along with the plan, including some Party leaders, how can she and Barney Franks blame it on the Republicans? All she needed was to be able to whip a few more of her guys and gals into the chosen line and we'd have a bailout already.

Why did Barney and friends feel it necessary to muddy the waters by including money for groups like ACORN?

They keep saying it's the end of the world as we know it if this plan doesn't go through immediately. Thus far every deadline they've set for major calamity has passed. I understand that maybe there's still hope for the bill passage so maybe the markets are holding off until it passes or until there's absolutely no hope of passage.

If Nancy Pelosi is so sure we need bipartisan votes to make this go through, why's she calling Republicans unpatriotic and lashing out at them? Ya think that's the way to make the other side want to work with you? Or do you think she just can't help herself?

Why did some of her fellow Californians vote against the bill? You'd think she would be able to get her neighbors to go along wouldn't you?

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall and see what it is that has been going on behind closed doors? They've taken a 3 page plan and turned it into a 160 page document. I guess that takes a lot of wrangling when you have so many fingers in the pie.

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland ended his press release response with a comment about alternate plans not being considered. Why not?

From what I've heard, they're not really capping the golden parachute for CEO's and others in failed institutions, even though that's the way they're phrasing it when discussing the bailout. If I understood correctly, the government will impose a higher tax on the company if they pay a huge severance to a badly performing CEO while the company is going under (or something like that). Basically they're going to penalize the company so much they hope they won't make contract concessions guaranteeing a big payout.

Doesn't make sense if that's what they've truly put into the bailout plan. If the company is going down the tubes, what are they going to care if they're taxed higher? They're gone, finished and have no money to pay taxes.

I'd like some clarification on that one, even though I'm not sure I want the government interfering with setting salaries in the partially-private sector. I don't want these people who don't do well to be rewarded with money that should go to the employees and / or stockholders, but I don't want the goverment getting involved and setting pay caps either.

Don't you think that the conspiracy theory types are having a ball with this one? Can't say that I blame them! If you believe in that big bad business group that is written about in so many books (sorry, can't think of the title of the group) then this dovetails perfectly. I'm talking about the group of movers and shakers that some think control the world behind the scenes.

I don't know if the bailout will help, hurt or just postpone the inevitable. I don't like it. I don't want our government having control of this one. I haven't seen anything get smaller or work well once the government got into the mix. There will be many bureaucracies that pop up as a result of this! The bailout isn't going to be $700 billion, it's going to be much more when you add in the man hours we'll fund to monitor the oversight.

I've heard that they'll push this through before the end of the week.

Financial Crisis, Politics, and Stuff

I listened to bits and pieces of the debate in D.C. about the so-called Bush bailout today. I listened to some more pundits discussing the merits and /or negatives on the issue. It seems to be boiling down to "we have to do something and this is all we have on the table".

I don't like it. I agree with many others that this is another step in the wrong direction for our country. I haven't a clue what else they could do though. They (whoever 'they' may be) are going to do everything in their power to keep the country rolling.

There's a lot of finger-pointing and backward looking, which is good for future lessons only if we're ever going to go down the same path. We've already made the good and bad decisions, and ignored good and bad suggestions along the way.

Regardless of what we do now, someday some bright minds will look back and see we could have chosen a better path, and they'll use it as part of their election rhetoric if they're running for office and it matters at the time.

Our politicians are being inundated with calls saying NOT to vote yes on the bail out. Newt Gingrich is encouraging John McCain to vote no. Barack Obama has already said he's going to vote yes, but that doesn't mean he'll do it by the time this thing comes up for a vote.

Everyone is grandstanding and it's fairly clear that many of our elected officials are simply trying to make sure they're on the right side with those who will vote them back into office.

If it weren't so difficult at the moment it would almost be funny. Think about it. If those in office vote yes, they're going to be bucking the will of a majority of voters. If they vote no and the economy collapses then they're going to be in even bigger trouble as their constituents will say "why didn't you do something?". They can't win.

It could be even worse if they vote yes and things still fail. Money down the drain.

And what about all these foreign countries that are sorting through the dregs to see what they can pick up? How much more of our country is going to be owned or owed to other countries?

Our politicians have also decided to punt on the issue of drilling saying this issue is too big and they can't deal with it at the moment. Do you really think every minute of their day is caught up with studying the books or trying to figure out how to vote on this issue?

I think they don't want it used as a bargaining tool. Everyone is trying to look the best they possibly can during this difficult time and they all want to come out smelling like... not a rose, but at least not smelling rotten. If drilling is on the table at the same time there will be some humongous deals cut. "We'll vote yes on this aspect if you'll add this to the bailout bill." So they took it off the table.

At least that's my take on it.

Unfortunately that just delays something else of importance that could make us feel better about all that's happening. Maybe they're holding it out as something to make us feel better down the road when things are more bleak? Hope that's not the game plan!

Did anyone notice that oil went up? Gee, you think there's a bit of manipulation going on? Kick 'em while they're down?

OK, 'nuff on this one. They're going to do what they're going to do and we're going to deal with it somehow.

By the way, I heard that McCain's numbers are on the rise again. Wonder what that's about?

Oh, and just another quick aside, has anyone been following Joe Biden's foot-in-mouth troubles? I actually like the guy and kinda feel sorry for him. I definitely wouldn't want him as President though after watching his difficulties with knowing when to speak and what to say. It would give the Saturday Night Live crew something better to joke about than incest though.

(Did anyone hear about the despicable SNL skit where they spoofed about Todd Palin and incest? That is lower than low. Can you imagine the uproar if they'd spoofed Obama or Biden or Hillary on that topic? There is nothing, nothing, funny about incest. )

Guess I've introduced enough subjects in this one blog! If you want to know more go check out http://readmylipsticknetwork.blogspot.com and wander through the listing of member blogs on the side bar. They're covering all the political news in a fun way!

President Bush, Weekly Radio Address

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. New Year's Day will soon be upon us, and with it will come New Year's resolutions. This weekend is a good time to give thanks for our blessings -- and to resolve to do better in the coming year.

One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we live in a country with a growing economy -- where people can pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their families. It is a measure of our economy's resilience that even with high oil prices and softness in the housing market, we're still growing. In November, our economy added jobs for the 51st straight month, making this the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. Unemployment is a low 4.7 percent. Exports are up. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

Economic statistics are important indicators. Yet it is more important to remember that behind all these numbers are real people. These people include the entrepreneurs who live their dreams by starting up new businesses. These people include small business owners who create most of the new jobs in our economy. And most of all, these people include the tens of millions of working moms and dads whose jobs provide for their families.

I know that even in this growing economy some of you have real concerns. Some of you worry about your ability to afford healthcare coverage for your families. Some of you are concerned about meeting your monthly mortgage payments. Some of you worry about the impact of rising energy costs on fueling your cars and heating your homes. You expect your elected leaders in Washington to address these pressures on our economy and give you more options to help you deal with them. And I have put forth several proposals to do so.

In the last month, Congress has responded to some of my initiatives. They passed a good energy bill, they passed a temporary patch to protect middle class families from the burden of the Alternative Minimum Tax, and they passed a law that will help protect families from higher taxes when their lenders reduce their mortgage debt. But this is only a start. Congress needs to do more to decrease America's dependence on oil. Congress needs to pass legislation that will help make health care coverage more affordable for small businesses and workers who buy their own policies. And Congress needs to act quickly on the rest of my proposals to help families struggling with rising mortgage payments keep their homes.

Most of all, we need to set a good example in Washington by being careful with your money. I'm disappointed that leaders in Congress sent me a massive spending bill that includes about 9,800 earmarks. Earmarks are special interest items that are slipped into big spending bills like this one -- often at the last hour, without discussion or debate. Among the earmarks Congress approved was one for a prison museum and another for a sailing school. In the last election, congressional leaders ran on a promise that they would reform earmarks. They made some progress, but not nearly enough. So my Administration is reviewing options to address wasteful earmark spending.

As we address earmarks, we also must restrain spending, keep taxes low, and continue on a path towards a balanced budget. And that is what the budget I submit in February will do. You work hard for your money and to live within your means. As you provide for your families, the last thing you need is wasteful spending that will lead to a tax hike. My resolution for the New Year is this: to work with Congress to keep our economy growing, to keep your tax burden low, and to ensure that the money you send to Washington is spent wisely -- or not at all.

Thank you for listening, and Happy New Year