6 years, 100,000 miles, guaranteed by.....Uncle?

Apparently it's not enough for Obama to be President. He apparently also wants to be President of General Government Motors.

It is my hope that the steps I am announcing today will go a long way towards answering many of the questions people may have about the future of GM and Chrysler. But just in case there are still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can -- if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warranty will be safe.

In fact, it will be safer than it's ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty.

Benito Mussolini would be so proud. Such is life in the Bizzarro World of DoublePlusGoodHopeChange.

I know that Ford must be breathing a tremendous sigh of relief knowing that they aren't under Uncle's thumb, having rejected bailout money last Fall. In fact, Ford stock is up over 400% since GM and Chrysler took bailout money according to Baby Vulture, who has been actively monitoring that stock since it hit its low of $0.79 per share.

Lay down with dogs, expect fleas. Lay down with Collectivists, expect Fascism.

Yes, there ARE good politicians

One would think, for all of the time I spend lambasting awful politicians like Harry Reid and Nancy "Air Force 3" Pelosi, that I have a very low regard for politicians. One would be right.

But my disdain for politicians isn't universal. Anyone who has read more than about 5 of my posts knows that I L-O-V-E Ron Paul. Longtime readers are also aware that I have a great deal of admiration and respect for Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic and constant critic of the European Union.

Now I've added a third member to my list of admirable politicians - Daniel Hannan. Check out the beat-down he administers to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a meeting of the EU Parliament last week (click here for the video, here for the transcript).

I really can't do his speech justice with a few random quotes. But I would like to highlight my two favorite parts of his speech. Perhaps it will motivate you to check it out for yourself.

The truth, Prime Minister, is that you have run out of our money. The country as a whole is now in negative equity. Every British child is born owing around £20,000. Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child.

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[Y]ou are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government.

This guy is AWESOME.

BTW, he's also written a book called The Plan which details how Britain can be turned around by taking back power from Brussels and returning it to the people. This is my kind of guy.

Wiener of the Week

This is one installment of WotW that you're gonna just love. I know I do. It seems that an attempt to smear Christians and supporters of third-party candidates has come back to bite the state of Missouri in the ass.

The Missouri Highway Patrol this week retracted a controversial report on militia activity and will change how such reports are reviewed before being distributed to law enforcement agencies.

The Highway Patrol also will open an investigation into the origin of the report, which linked conservative groups with domestic terrorism and named former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.

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[I]t suggested that domestic militias often subscribed to radical ideologies rooted in Christian views and opposition to immigration, abortion or federal taxes. The report also stated that it was "not uncommon" for militia members to support third-party political candidates.

Let's see. We have "radical ideologies rooted in Christian views" (whatever that means). We have a blanket painting of third-party supporters as militia members (and, as such, as right-wing extremists. What more could we ask for?

The state's Lt. Governor had more - much more.

Before Keathley’s memo was released Wednesday, Kinder criticized the report for suggesting that only issues championed by conservatives motivated domestic terrorists. The report "slanders" opponents of abortion and critics of illegal immigration, he said.

"Under the guidance of the present director, who apparently must think it is Nixon’s secret service, the Department of Public Safety has taken on the new and sinister role of political profiling," Kinder said.

Also troubling, Kinder said, the report makes no mention of Islamic terrorists or those who might subscribe to ideologies associated with liberals, such as environmental radicals.

I'd like to second that last thought. Google up ALF (Animal Liberation Front) or ELF (Environmental Liberation Front). These are bona fide terrorist groups - not a phantom menace like Christian supporters of third-parties!

What's extraordinary about this story is that it took a major s*** storm for Missouri to disavow the report! Their initial reaction was this:

[T]he information analysis center released a statement reaffirming its "regard for the Constitutions of the United States and Missouri" and expressing regret that "any citizens or groups were unintentionally offended by the content of the document."

Yeah! Don't get your panties in a ball! We're protected by the First Amendment, so you can kiss our collective asses!

They're not talking so tough now, are they? And you wonder why schadenfreude is such a major part of who I am...

So, Missouri: Congrats! You're the Wiener of the Week.

Welcome to Obama's Amerika

In my post-election analysis of what kind of president King Obama, Lord and Savior of Big Media (the BM for short) might be, I postulated that the worst scenario would be for Obama to turn out to be the next Woodrow Wilson. Well, hello Mr. Wilson!

The Obama administration is considering 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 government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president's Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators, according to the document.

For all of the sniveling of the blathering heads of conservative talk radio about what a communist Obama is, he's shown much more aptitude and appetite for plain, old fashioned Corporatism (a euphemism for good old Mussolini-style Fascism). When the government has the power to seize major segments of the economy based on the Treasury Secretary's perception of the relative financial health of the companies that comprise that segment, you're looking at an economy that isn't the least bit free in a country whose citizens are little more than Serfs.

This is what DoublePlusGoodHopeChange looks like. Buyer's remorse, anyone?

More "stimulus"

You remember King Obama's stimulus bill, the one he was so anxious to pass, the one that got hijacked by Harry Reid and Nancy "Air Force 3" Pelosi? You remember that, don't you? It was supposed to be the panacea. It was supposed to fix everything: solve our economic "crisis", end world hunger, bring about world peace and a planet devoted to sitting in a circle singing Kum Ba Ya. How's that working out?

Not so well apparently. The Fed has taken matters into its own hands.

The Federal Reserve sharply stepped up its efforts to bolster the economy on Wednesday, announcing that it would pump an extra $1 trillion into the financial system by purchasing Treasury bonds and mortgage securities.

Having already reduced the key interest rate it controls nearly to zero, the central bank has increasingly turned to alternatives like buying securities as a way of getting more dollars into the economy, a tactic that amounts to creating vast new sums of money out of thin air. But the moves on Wednesday were its biggest yet, almost doubling all of the Fed's measures in the last year. (emphasis mine)

I'm not used to such candor from the media. Oh, wait. It's the International Herald Tribune. That's why. God forbid that our domestic media should say anything that would reflect badly on their Lord and Savior, King Obama.

The article is absolutely accurate. The Fed IS creating vast new sums of money out of thin air. This is a recipe for disaster. By inflating the money supply, the Fed is guaranteeing a wave of hyperinflation that will make us nostalgic for the Good Old Days of the 1970's when inflation was "only" 10%.

It seems that the more government and pseudo-governmental agencies like the Fed get involved in the financial problems our nation is experiencing, the worse things get.

Is it redundant to say that?

Wiener of the Week

This was a tough week for choosing a WotW. So many candidates! But in the end, I had to go with The Gang that Couldn't Think Straight.

What is with these banks? Have they lost their everloving minds? Just days after AIG gets splattered all over the news, these two gems come out.

Citi wants to "save money" by redecorating.

Citigroup is going through with more than $3 million worth of construction at its corporate headquarters in Manhattan.

The bank says the renovation will save $20 million in the long run. Top executives currently working on two floors will be consolidated in "smaller, simpler offices on a single floor," Citigroup said.

But the office makeover at the bank's Park Avenue address comes at a tricky time for the company, which is operating with $45 billion in federal funding after recording five straight quarters of losses. The bank's use of taxpayer dollars has been under close watch.

Gee, d'ya think?

Bank of America "bails out" Hollywood.

"Why Bank of America?," Greenfield asks in a report posted this morning. "We have not seen any formal announcement about the Bank of America/[DWA] promotion beyond an increasing number of consumers discussing the promotion link on Twitter. However, we find it odd that a bank that just received $45 bn [billion] in government aid is paying for consumers across the US to see a movie in 3-D vs. 2-D at no extra cost. We also wonder whether the presence of DWA’s President, Lew Coleman, helped DWA convince Bank of America to enter into the promotion, as Coleman is a former Vice Chairman and CFO of Bank of America."

I need to make something clear before continuing. I don't care if Citi wants to redecorate as part of office consolidation and downsizing. And I don't care if BofA wants to get involved in movie promotions. But these people have to be aware of the scrutiny their every move is receiving in the wake of the government bailouts. They are under the microscope; they need to act accordingly if they don't want to be hounded and harassed like AIG's executives have been.

Citi and BofA, for demonstrating complete tone-deafness in the wake of the AIG scandal, you're the Wiener of the Week.