4 More Classy Gift Ideas To England For Obama

Seeing how Obama's big ole Box O' DVDs went over like a lead balloon with the UK Prime Minister, cbullit suggested a "Guy Fawkes commemorative plate" to further smooth our relations with the folks across the pond. Here's some other swell gift ideas Obama's crack diplomacy team could've used to boost our ties with England:


Home Dental Kit: What better way to ridicule negative stereotypes about the Brits than awkwardly suggesting they fix up their teeth.

Germany World Cup Soccer Jersey: Seeing how England doesn't take its soccer very seriously, why not give them a World Cup jersey of one of its biggest rivals.

IRA Figurine: Even though the IRA figurine was banned on eBay, Obama's staff could've dug up this little guy to remind the Prime Minister of the mad cap hilarity that accompanies a long running insurgence.
George Washington Delaware Crossing De-Motivator: It helps diplomatic relations to remind other nations that we kicked their ass 200+ years ago. An suitable alternative would've been "We Saved Your Ass in WW2!" T-shirt, which I'm pretty sure the Brits are fond of hearing from visiting American tourists.

Obama Gives PM Gordon Brown a Crummy Box of DVDs

Maybe They Could've Sweetened the Deal with a Used Copy of Mac and Me

It pretty much goes without say that the Brits have been one of our best allies ever since that whole unpleasant War of 1812 business. World War I, World War II, standing united against communist expansion, fighting side by side against terrorism, and other "minor" mutual understandings to name a few. But Obama's staff neglected to pull out the stops when PM Gordon Brown was in town and gave him what looks like a box of used DVDs from a Virginia flea market. Not exactly the V.I.P. treatment for a Prime Minister. Perhaps Obama should've screened his staff for protocol experience instead of whether or not they ever owned a firearm. From Daily Mail (h/t Flopping Aces):

Perhaps pertinently, given Britain is floundering in an economic slump, the DVD collection was thought to feature the movie of John Steinbeck's Great Depression novel, 'The Grapes Of Wrath'.

The gift also included the Oscar-winning boxing biopic 'Raging Bull' starring Robert Di Nero and Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller Psycho - maybe a comment on the PM's notorious short fuse?

And he will hope that at a General Election the British public do not shun his imploration for another term in office by thinking at the ballot box of the famous line from another of the movies, Casblanca: 'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'

Obviously, the Brits, big on the whole pomp and circumstance thing, were bloody-well pissed. Obama is set to meet the Queen of England in the near future. Let's hope that some boneheaded staffer doesn't diarrhea all over the toilet seat in Buckingham Palace further embarrassing America.

Obama's Economic Policies Really Kicking Ass!

Laidoffs in Michigan (the bad kind of laid)

Well, the left has been trying to say that Wall Street hitting the floor faster than a prom dress was not a good indicator of the economy, but what about all those jobs that The Obama promised? The first full month of Obama's America isn't looking to swell either. Dismal news from Reuters:

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent in February as employers, buckling under the strain of a severe recession, axed 651,000 jobs, government data showed on Friday.

Adding to the gloom, a combined 161,000 more jobs were lost in January and December than previously believed, the U.S. Labor Department said in its monthly nonfarm payrolls report.

Now, blaming the Prez for all the economic troubles is a bit disingenuous, but continuing to blame Bush & Friends for everything bad with the economy is going to wear very thin among lefty pundits. Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress have already passed multiple bills to "stimulate" the economy and free up credit, but they probably would've been better off spending $787B Taxpayer dollars on some magic beans. And we aren't even experiencing the hyper-inflationary period since we printed a bunch of funny money and dumped into unprofitable banks. Get ready for a wild ride...Wheee!

Energy Secretary is a Complete Putz

Apparently, qualifying for the Nobel Prize in Physics just ain't what it used to be. If DoE Secretary Steven Chu's recent conversation with the Wall Street Journal is any inkling of his intelligence, he probably rides the short bus around D.C. Here's what he had to say on deals with OPEC (h/t Flopping Aces):

On Wednesday, when approached by reporters after a speech to a group of utility regulators, Mr. Chu declined to offer an opinion on whether OPEC should cut production, saying the issue was "not in my domain." He later told reporters on a conference call that his response to the question reflected "more of my naiveté than anything else."

Mr. Chu said Thursday he feels "like I've been dumped into the deep end of the pool" in confronting questions about oil policy, such as whether the administration would consider delaying scheduled deliveries of oil this spring to the nation's strategic petroleum reserves.

The top guy in charge of energy policy in this country is naive about petroleum. That's inspiring a lot of confidence in his leadership! Jokes on us of course because we elected these people. His excuse for being a bonehead to the press was the following:

"I'm not the administration," Mr. Chu said during a meeting with reporters Thursday. OPEC members are scheduled to meet March 15 to discuss the possibility of production cuts to respond to slumping prices. "I will be speaking and learning more about this in order to figure out what the U.S. position should be and what the president's position is," Mr. Chu said.

If the executive branch isn't "The Administration", I'm not sure who is. Maybe we're waiting on the reincarnation of John Adams in puffy pants to explain OPEC policy to the press pool. Who the hell else would "The Administration" be! That's probably why the WSJ was asking you, Mr. Chu, and not the guy coming over to the house I rent tomorrow to steam clean the carpet. Although, he surely could have come up with a better answer.

Reality really does bite

Obama tried to govern with campaign rhetoric. He spent the last few days taking his public plea to the people to pass his "stimulus" bill. Moments before the vote, he sent his Treasury Secretary out to calm the markets. The bill passed and the markets swooned;

It took moments for the Financial Times to question whether the Obama presidency hasn't already failed;

Has Barack Obama’s presidency already failed? In normal times, this would be a ludicrous question. But these are not normal times. They are times of great danger. Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it. Today, it can offer solutions; tomorrow it will have become the problem. Today, it is in control of events; tomorrow, events will take control of it. Doing too little is now far riskier than doing too much.

A juvenile little putz in our own comment section cheered;

Hooray for democracy!

In your face assholes!! We won!!!

Won what? A vote? Just because the president won a vote doesn't mean he's off the hook. The plan has to work and apparently the experts don't think it will work. CBO warned last week that this plan would slow growth over the next ten years, and the campaign-like rhetoric was short on details that the experts need to plan the future of their companies. From the Wall Street Journal;

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner promised forceful action to get credit flowing again in the economy, but the lack of detail in his much-anticipated speech helped drive stocks down nearly 5%, the worst selloff since President Barack Obama assumed office.

From the Washington Times;

President Obama on Tuesday for the first time staked his fledgling presidency on pulling the country from its economic crisis, promising dispirited Floridians that his stimulus plan will produce tangible results such as jobs and tuition credits or he'll be ousted from office in 2012.

Mr. Obama -- who earned a small victory when the Senate passed his $838 billion plan but then was hit with a big drop in the stock market -- was on the campaign trail again, using a town-hall meeting and one of the best weapons in his arsenal: himself.

He'll always draw crowds of acolytes and ass-kissers, even Bill Clinton in his darkest days could do that - but now Obama has to produce, too.

Even the Washington Post finally admitted their messiah wasn't wearing any clothes;

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner vowed yesterday to bring the "full force" of the U.S. government to battle the financial crisis, assembling an unprecedented coalition of agencies and mustering federal resources on a scale rarely seen except at wartime. But the lack of detail in his plan dismayed lawmakers and investors, triggering a steep sell-off on Wall Street.

The problem is; the average voter who responds to the pretty rhetoric of the campaign isn't the same person trying to map out a future for their business or their investments. The reality is that Obama and his staff have always been sparse on details for the purpose of shagging along voters, as long as he said what they wanted to hear, they supported him. However, the rest of us work, live and plan for our futures in the real world where we need details - but as we saw with the stimulus bill, the more details we hear, the less likely we're going to support Obama's plans for our money.



I mentioned a month ago that the campaign is over and it's time for Obama & Co. to produce results. The president must not have heard me.

Obama: National Catastrophe Looms

Jon Ward at the Washington Times reports that the Obama weekly address is more doom and gloom crisis yammering;

President Obama on Saturday morning warned the nation of a "national catastrophe" if Congress does not move quickly to pass and implement his economic rescue plan, even as he lauded the Senate's movement toward passage of an $827 billion version of the bill.

"Yesterday began with some devastating news with regard to our economic crisis," Mr. Obama said, referring to the Labor Department report Friday showing the loss of nearly 600,000 jobs in January, which moved the national unemployment rate up to 7.6 percent.

If yesterday's news was so "devastating", why did the markets do this;


Apparently, the markets see something that Obama doesn't see. The Democrat President, instead of leading depends on fear;

"If we don't move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold," he said.

Yes, $45 million dollars for fish barriers will solve this problem. A new waterpark in Florida is the longterm solution. Where is the bi-partisanship? Why aren't the Democrats cutting the pork out of the bill to compromise with Republicans to get their votes?

The Washington Post calls it "bipartisanship" when squishy Republicans vote with Democrats. That's not really bipartisanship - when you see the Democrats move closer to the minority party, that's bipartisanship. Convincing Susan Collins to vote with Democrats is like convincing a dog to eat a strip of bacon. It's not a question of "if" she'll eat it, it's a question of whether you'll still have your fingers when she's done eating it.

CNN reports that support for the stimulus has slipped since we began to learn what's in it;

Fifty-one percent of those questioned in a CBS News poll released Thursday evening approved of the stimulus package. That's down 12 points from a poll taken January 11-15, the last time CBS asked the question. Thirty-nine percent opposed the plan, up 15 points from the previous poll, taken before President Barack Obama was inaugurated and before the House of Representatives passed an $819 billion stimulus package, with no Republican support, on January 28.

Funny how that works - the longer the debate goes on, the more Americans find out about the stimulus and the less they like it.

Labor Sec Nom's Husband Can't Pay His Taxes Either

Husband More of an Embarrassment Than Bill Clinton

Hilda Solis, the California union-lobbyist shill, up for nomination in Obama's cabinet seems to be having tax troubles as well. From USA Today:

The husband of President Obama's Labor secretary nominee paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration told USA TODAY this afternoon.

The disclosure came shortly before a scheduled 2 p.m. meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will vote on Rep. Hilda Solis' nomination as labor secretary. The hearing was postponed; no reason was immediately revealed.

The Solis family is claiming they didn't know about the liens against their business holdings when the media came asking, despite the fact that the liens were mailed to the husband's business address. Somehow I think the axiom of "stand by your man" is going to go under the proverbial bus in the very near future if Solis wishes to continue her political career.

Labor Secretary Nominee May Be Sacrificed

Blatant Union Stoogery From Hilda Solis Might Send Her Under the Bus

Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) is listed as Treasurer for American Rights at Work. This organization is strongly lobbying for the Employee Free Choice Act, which seeks to have voting on unions at the workplace be a non-secretive affair, thereby leaving the employee open to a lead pipe to the face if he or she doesn't comply. Unions have a right to organize, but should a congresswoman so obviously in the tank for Big Labor be allowed to serve the American people. Weekly Standard say their might be some ethical problems:

A seemingly innocuous letter sent to the Clerk of the House of Representatives last Thursday by President Obama's Secretary of Labor nominee Hilda Solis raises serious and troubling legal questions about her nomination and apparent violation of House ethics rules. Not only was she involved with a private organization that was lobbying her fellow legislators on a bill that she has cosponsored, but she apparently kept her involvement secret and failed to reveal a clear conflict of interest.

Sharp political journalist, Dave Weigel, says that everyone on the Hill already knows about her "extracurricular" activities at a lobbyist group so no one is going to make a big stink, even though Obama pledged to not have any lobbyists in his cabinet. It's comforting to know that DC critters all know about each other's dirty laundry so no one will speak up.

Hot Unicorn Sex

Uh...no witty commentary on my part. The picture speaks for itself. More creepy art at Stop the ACLU.

Daschle Sacrifices Himself For the Greater Good

Tax cheat and crooked politician Tom Daschle, who couldn't figure out how pay his taxes on his Limo & Driver, has just withdrawn as Health and Human Services nominee. His sacrifice into the molten vat of steel which will erase the media scrutiny will help keep the squeaky clean image of the Obama administration. This is the first senior Obama nominee to run into controversy, unless you count:

• Bill Richardson, (withdrawn Commerce Secretary), being investigated by a grand jury for pay-to-play allegations
• Rahm Emanuel (Chief of Staff) being involved with impeached Governor Blagojevich's Senate seat heist
• Tim Geithner (Treasury Secretary) being late on paying his taxes after working for the IMF
• Eric Holder (Attorney General) involved with shady gambling commission in Illinois possibly involving the mob
• William Lynn III (Deputy Defense Secretary) being a top lobbyist for Raytheon depsite the fact that Obama said there would be no lobbyists in his administration

But, after two weeks in office, the Biden and Obama families haven't been involved in any serious sex or money scandals. So good for them!