Decisions, decisions

There are times in our great nation when we need great leadership. And sometimes only one man is uniquely qualified for TWO position. Woe is me! If only we could clone him.

We need a Secretary of Automobile Production...
...and a Surgeon General

But Michael Moore is only one man.

Well, I guess Ralph Nader could run Detroit in a pinch. He knows cars.

Such is the plight of an all-knowing Washington.

Obama announced the take-over of GM on a Sunday. Pearl Harbor was on a Sunday. Coincidence? I don't think so.

A big step...

...in the wrong direction!

I took a double-take at that headline. It read,
"GM Boss to Step Down at Request of Obama"

And the story was just as the headline said. Washington is in the car business in a big way.

Here's the scoop: DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce plans to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more.

Do you understand the implications here? Putting aside the absurdity that government can manage anything, let alone something as complex and the auto industry, think about the symbolism of nationalizing a car company.

Think of FIAT. Yikes! Think about the stockholders and directors who were shoved aside in this unilateral move by the White House.

Then there is the precedence set here. What if the UAW decides they don't like a CEO somewhere. And so the UAW makes a big campaign contribution (Chicago style) and suddenly the White House removes the CEO. Not a stretch at all, folks.

Wow. This is big.

Joining Al Gore

Tonight at 8:30 local time we are all supposed to turn off the lights to show our support for Al Gore and the global warming gang.

I'm ready:

I have installed a 300 watt bulb in the front window.

Outside I will have the halogen construction site lights burning bright. All other lights will be ON for safety.

I've already sent my job offshore, along with the profits from all the junk we buy somewhere else.

I'll be d****ed if I'm going to send them money in the form of an international tax called "carbon offsets."

As Crocodile Dundee would say

That's not blocking a street...

THIS is blocking a street...

What is the Mexican Government complaining about?

The Battle of Rio Danubio

Mexican politicians are angry because the United States has occupied Mexican territory. They have taken over Rio Danubio.

Those lousy Americans just moved right in and took it over for themselves. They don’t have the right to do that.

"It seems to me to be a lack of respect, and it is also a violation of national sovereignty," said Tomas Pliego of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party.

What a mess. And Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit soon.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, of the same party, also has taken up the cause of Rio Danubio.
"The Embassy has not had, nor does it have, authorization to occupy public spaces," Ebrard told reporters. "They shouldn't be the ones who occupy the city.”

You know, I’ve felt the same way. Mexican citizens here without papers have no right to occupy our schools, hospitals, and factories. They shouldn’t be allowed to just waltz in here and help themselves to this country.

What is Rio Danubio, you ask? It is a one-way side street that runs alongside the US Embassy. Officials blocked it off fifteen years ago and covered it with a canopy to give the 2,000 Mexican citizens a day in Mexico City someplace to wait while they apply for a visa to leave that God-forsaken pit of corruption and killing. You are thinking 2,000 people a day waiting in line seems like a huge number. In perspective, here is the official tally of green cards issued to Mexico over the years. (Hint: Mexico gets more of them than any other country.)
2000- 171,445
2001- 204,032
2002- 216,924
2003- 114,758
2004- 173,711
2005- 157,992
2006- 170,042
2007- 143,180
Now, keep all this in mind when Obama and the rest of them talk about “going to the back of the line” as part of the amnesty program. It doesn’t make any sense, does it?

You can get the satellite view of Rio Danubio on Google by calling up a map of
"United States Embassy, Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City". It's the little side street just west of the embassy complex itself.

Picking your battles

Warning: I do not approve of puppy mills. I do not hate dogs.

Tom Dart is the Cook County Sheriff. His mug was all over the place yesterday as he personally assisted in the public raid of a puppy mill on Chicago's south side. In all they hauled out 67 puppies.

Dart was on camera over and over again as part of the lead story on all Chicago TV stations. Why, he even upstaged Obama.

So, staff must be short at the Cook County Sheriff's Office if the Sheriff himself is called out on a non-violent case like this one. Well, let's just say it ain't Mayberry. This from the CCSO website: "The Cook County Sheriff's Office is the second largest Sheriff's Department in the United States, employing more than 6,800 officers, deputies and civilians..."

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That Dart wanted to be at this photo op? And how did they get all that press there on a moment's notice to record the removal of all those animals?

And Dart himself told the reporters about the deplorable conditions on dogs in bird cages and stacked on top of one another so that when one eliminated, the dogs below were struck by falling "debris."

But Chicago Animal Control said this: The dogs have been taken to the city Department of Animal Care and Control, Sgt. Mark George said. He said it would be up to the department to evaluate the condition of the dogs, but he noted all seemed in fair condition.
He said while it was an unpleasant scene, it was "not as bad as other homes we've seen with less dogs." The house "was in bad shape, but not as bad as you'd think."

Indeed, all but two would be available today for adoption, and the other two were not far behind.

Now, Sheriff Dart missed this "trivial" event a day before (Monday). Congressman Mark Kirk held a press conference to roll out federal legislation to combat alien gangs. It turns out that Illinois has more gang members per capita than any other state in the nation.

Two Illinois Sheriffs stood beside Kirk at the news conference; Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran and Kendall County Sheriff Richard Randall.

Where was Sheriff Dart? Getting ready for his photo op with the puppies I presume. Sheriff Pat Perez of Kane County? AWOL as well.

Now Dart has a fine line to walk. Chicago and Cook County proudly wear the title of "Sanctuary." What's he going to say when reporters ask him how many illegal aliens are in custody in Cook County Jail? "I don't know," doesn't sound very professional, does it? Maybe it's best he stayed home.

One thing's for sure, Cook County is going to the dogs.

Kirk's press conference wasn't picked up by the press. ABC 7 TV did a short blurb on it, but that was it.

The media heaped coverage on Rep Gutierrez/Cardinal George and their rally in favor of illegal aliens. And, of course, the puppies. But they stayed away in droves when a Congressman talks about illegal alien gang members.

Here's Kirk's own coverage of the proposal: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il10_kirk/Deport_illegal_alien_gang_members.html

Sybil Napolitano

At a press briefing in Washington today, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was discussing the Mexican drug violence and her efforts to contain it south of the border so it doesn’t move into the United States.

First, you should know that the $400 million of Merida Initiative money scheduled for 2009 has magically become $700 million of Obama Bucks, effectively blowing the wad allocated for next year as well.

Not to worry. The official response at the press briefing was: “Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg: The $700 million is the existing appropriations for the Merida Initiative. As you know, we've committed a total of $1.4 billion over three years. And so we'll be looking forward to additional funding in the FY 2010 budget for Merida.”

It’s as simple as that; we’ll just go back to the well for more.

I like this new approach. No more worrying about running out of money. Like last year when the money ran out for construction of the border fence. Under Obama you can just keep on spending future budget money. Consequences don’t exist anymore, remember?

Enough about money. The best part is the explanation by Napolitano about the objective of moving all that equipment and officers down to the border. She said: “What we want to do is to better secure the border area against further violence and make it a safe and secure area where, of course, the rule of law is upheld and enforced.”

Can this be the same woman who told Congress on February 25th that she was going to investigate why ICE agents were upholding the rule of law by arresting illegal aliens working in Bellingham, Washington?

It appears Napolitano has a selective interpretation of the rule of law depending on how close you are to the border.

What a joke this all is.