President Obama's Feb. 24, 2009 Speech

* Excerpting and critiquing...

We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.

Yet you and your Party have by and large stood against nuclear energy... stood against drilling in ANWR... stood against off-shore drilling... (*SIGH*)

The cost of health care eats up more and more of our savings each year, yet we keep delaying reform.

Not "we," Mr. President; you - and again, by and large - your Party. I've always been in favor of delinking health insurance from the employer/employee tie that came out of WW-2. (Note: WW-2 ENDED in 1945.) I've always been in favor of MSAs (medical savings accounts). I've always been opposed to state regulatory barriers to interstate policy availability.

Our children will compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare them for.

And your "solution" is the same old tired "spend more, spend more, spend more" that has NEVER worked and WILL never work. Perhaps you should invite Charles Murray to spend a weekend at the White House educating you. Or... invite my daughter Kim over to chat with you. My God, Mr. President, if you can't see that the present American educational system is at best wasteful and misfocused and at worse dysfunctional and that simply giving MORE money to the same fools who have created the current mess over the past four decades ISN'T THE ANSWER... (*SIGH*)

A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.

What surplus...?!?! There was NO surplus! The "surpluses" were illusionary in the sense that part of the "revenue" cited as providing the "surpluses" came from "borrowing" the money from "excess" social security "contributions." Take that accounting gimmick off the table and we were running deficits all along.

Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market.

Notice he doesn't specify WHICH regulations were "gutted" and how the "gutting" process scores according to Party voting records... including his own as a Senator? (*SMIRK*)

People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway.

Listen. Every educated, knowledgeable person KNOWS that Obama is full of $hit here. Sure, the banks and lenders acted irresponsibly, but it was GOVERNMENT which PUSHED them to act irresponsibly in the service of a misguided effort to increase minority home-ownership based upon quota rather than quality.

Listen. When quotas are used to try to force "diversity" into colleges, the result can be seen in attrition rates; when quotas are used to try and force "diversity" in the housing market the "attrition" which results is called FORECLOSURE!

Now is the time to act boldly and wisely...

Yes! For God's sake... DO!

...95 percent of working households in America will receive a tax cut...

So much for shared "sacrifice."

Because of this plan, families who are struggling to pay tuition costs will receive a $2,500 tax credit for all four years of college.

Throwing good money after bad; adding to deficit spending, adding to the national debt. (*SIGH*) And "best" of all... adding to educational inflation because now the colleges know that their... er... consumers... are being subsidized to the tune of $2,500 above and beyond other subsidies already figured into tuition and room and board rates. (*SIGH*)

And Americans who have lost their jobs in this recession will be able to receive extended unemployment benefits and continued health care coverage to help them weather this storm.

Courtesy of me. (*SMIRK*) Courtesy of my wife. Courtesy of everyone who is working, including those of us who are self-employed and have seen their income shrink by God only knows how much. (In my case... at least 50%.) Oh... and the "continued" health care coverage part... that's a NEW middle class entitlement, folks. (*SIGH*)

I have told each of my Cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the country, that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend.

Bull$hit. Com'on... we all know this is bull$hit. He's like the frigg'n Wizard of Oz! The curtain has already been pulled back! We've SEEN the pork in the "stimulus" bill; the nation's newspapers and websites are full of the details of the pork in the newest budget resolution now before Congress. (*HEADACHE*)

The concern is that if we do not restart lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.

What is he TALKING about...?!?! I just bought a new car three weeks ago! As far as I can tell, there's PLENTY of credit around - credit if you're a sound credit risk. Extending credit RECKLESSLY is what got us in to this mess in the first place!!!

But credit has stopped flowing the way it should.

Again... not from what I can see; not from what I've personally experienced. He seems to be just making $hit up. (*SHRUG*)

First, we are creating a new lending fund that represents the largest effort ever to help provide auto loans, college loans, and small business loans to the consumers and entrepreneurs who keep this economy running.

Buy more stuff people! Go DEEPER into debt! That's Obama's... er... "solution."

Second, we have launched a housing plan that will help responsible families facing the threat of foreclosure lower their monthly payments and refinance their mortgages.

How'bout me? Is Obama gonna order my rent lowered? 32% of all Americans rent. Screw us, huh? In fact, to add insult to industry, make us renters subsidize home ownership even more than we've done so historically!

It's a plan that won't help speculators or that neighbor down the street who bought a house he could never hope to afford, but it will help millions of Americans who are struggling with declining home values...

Umm... Mr. President... whether we're talking about DECLINING home values or APPRECIATING home values, we're talking about FREE MARKETS. (Or at least were till Comrades Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, Pelosi, Reid, and now yourself got into the act.) (*SIGH*)

In short, folks, our President is calling FOR housing INFLATION... (*SIGH*)

Hey... those of you planning on purchasing your first home in a few years... you message from President Obama is that you should PAY MORE - pay more artificially thanks to artificial government stimulus and subsidy. Sound like a plan which makes sense to you...???

Americans who will now be able to take advantage of the lower interest rates that this plan has already helped to bring about.

Artificially low interest rates were a large part of the reason we got ourselves into this mess in the first place!

What's next... wage and price controls...??? (*SIGH*)

In fact, the average family who refinances today can save nearly $2,000 per year on their mortgage.

With me subsidizing it. (*SMIRK*)

Third, we will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times.

Even if we're simply PRINTING the money with nothing by IOUs to back it up... even if we're BORROWING the money with INTEREST ACCRUING leaving the debt and the interest payments to our children and grandchildren. (Hey... at least the Chinese are making money off Obama's plans...) (*HEADACHE*)

And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.

Nonsense. Utter nonsense. By "clean up" he means debt will be taken OFF the shoulders of those who assumed the risk willingly in exchange for the possibility of profit and instead this bad debt will be shifted to... er... ME!!! (Me and you and you and you...) (*SIGH*)

And I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive, and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks, or buy fancy drapes, or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.

Perhaps someone might wanna tell the IRS that President Obama has declared an end to the deduction of "business expenses." Oh... you mean you forgot that when a company takes its executives, its employees, its clients out to be wined, dined, and entertained that the average Joe Blow is SUBSIDIZING these expenses to the tune of a 25% "business expense" deduction...??? (*SNORT*) Wise up, folks... this is the game...

Still, this plan will require significant resources from the federal government...

By "federal government" he means HE and CONGRESS do the "charging" on the national credit card and you, me, and our kids and grandkids do the paying when the bills come due. (*SMIRK*)

And, yes, probably more than we've already set aside.

"PROBABLY...?!?!" Did he REALLY just say "probably...?!?!" (*SMIRK*) Folks... that right there tells you all you need to know about President Obama.

But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater...

No. It wouldn't be. Seriously... it wouldn't be. Bush, Pelosi, Reid, Paulson, and Bernanke started us down this road to disaster, but Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and Bernanke are stepping on the gas rather than stepping on the brake. Folks... these people are just plain wrong. They're making things WORSE.

That would be worse for our deficit...

Folks. Com'on. (*RUEFUL SMILE*) NOTHING could be worse for our deficit that what Obama and the Democrats (along with Specter, Collins, and Snowe) have done and are continuing to do.

In the next few days, I will submit a budget to Congress. So often, we've come to view these documents as simply numbers on a page or a laundry list of programs. I see this document differently. I see it as a vision for America - as a blueprint for our future.

Raise your hand if you believe he's... er... read his own proposal word for word... gone over it line by line as he promised he would all during the campaign. (*SMIRK*)

We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy-efficient.

So... anyone wanna hazard a guess to exactly how many new nuclear power plants will be build during Obama's first term? (*PURSED LIPS*)

As to China... sure, they're industrializing; they're also creating environmental disasters akin to that visited up the forest of Truffula by the Lorax! (Google it if you don't get the reference.) Oh... and by the way... child labor... slave labor... I could go on and on.

We invented solar technology, but we've fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it.

Solar energy provides exactly 0.6% (yep... 0.6 - not 6.0) of Germany's power requirements - and that figure is based upon artificial subsidy via Germany's Renewable Energies Act. (*SMIRK*) Japan? I'll let anyone interested do his or her own research. (*SMIRK*)

Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation's supply of renewable energy in the next three years.

Big frigg'n deal. (*SNORT*) Operating under the assumption we actually will "double" the nation's supply of renewable energy by the end of three years, what would this bring it to, and at what cost? If I find $.85 cents in my couch cushions today and check again in three years to find $2.55... (*SHRUG*) (*GRIN*)

We've also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history - an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine and science and technology.

Basic research in WHAT...??? A little specificity please... (*INQUIRING STARE*)

We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country.

And WHERE is this energy COMING from...??? (Yeah, folks... hard to believe, but even as a poli-sci guy without degree in electrical engineering, I seem to recall that it's not the LINES that CREATE the energy.)

And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.

Here's where it would be nice to hear some HONESTY from Obama. If he's interested in more AFFORDABLE homes... more ENERGY EFFICIENT homes in terms of energy requirements... then he should be telling Americans that we need to DOWNSIZE to SMALLER homes. But, no... he's NOT going to tell us that. He's NOT going to tell the truth. (*SHRUG*) (And even the most liberal amongst you reading this KNOWS I'm being absolutely accurate here.)

But to truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change...

(*SIGH*) "Climate change" is a NATURAL phenomenon. How do you suppose the Grand Canyon got to be... er... GRAND...?!?! (*SNORT*)

As a general rule of thumb, as far as human activities and sustainable food production go... WARMER is preferable to colder. (*SMIRK*)

We need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy.

Then create a legal climate where NUCLEAR POWER can expand and prosper!!! (But, no... we know he's not going to do that...) (*SHRUG*) Sentiment over substance, folks. (*SHRUG*)

So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution...

So-called "cap and trade" has been a disaster in Europe and will be here. Mark my words...

We will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power, advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.

By "invest" he means SPEND TAXPAYER MONEY... actually... SPEND BORROWED MONEY... actually... SPEND BORROWED MONEY WITH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS GOING TOWARDS JUST FUTURE INTEREST PAYMENTS... (*SIGH*)

Speaking of our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices.

Again... WHAT IS HE BABBLING ABOUT...?!?! We're BAILING THEM OUT!!! Everyone one of us KNOWS we're bailing them out! What's he TALKING about...?!?!

Already, we've done more to advance the cause of health care reform in the last 30 days than we've done in the last decade.

He says "advance." I say "make things worse." (*SHRUG*)

When it was days old, this Congress passed a law to provide and protect health insurance for 11 million American children whose parents work full-time.

Yes. Another expanded middle class entitlement. Plus... as a "bonus"... a sure to expand future unfunded liability.

Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology...

Ask yourselves, folks... except for the military (sometimes!) and our intelligence services (NSA mainly), when you think of the technological standards of the public sector (think FAA, IRS, even FBI), what comes to mind? Look it up! By and large it's the PRIVATE sector where you get innovation and which set the timing benchmarks for technological upgrades; what our President is calling for is to put those LEAST able to quickly and competently adopt with regard to new technology in charge of "new" technology. (*SIGH*)

[We] will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives.

Again... seriously... does this sound like GOVERNMENT to you...??? "Reducing errors... bringing down costs..." Seriously. Does this sound like GOVERNMENT to you...???

It will launch a new effort to conquer a disease that has touched the life of nearly every American, including me, by seeking a cure for cancer in our time.

From what I know, it has historically been the FDA which has SLOWED drug development and market availability of the latest private sector cutting edge pharmaceutical products. (*SHRUG*)

In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a prerequisite.

And apparently 13 years - K-12 - isn't sufficient to meet this "prerequisite." Ever ask yourself why...???

Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma.

Why...??? Seriously. Why...??? Why shouldn't THIRTEEN YEARS of formal government education at God knows how many billions of dollars per year create a "prerequisite" competence to enter a workforce which largely relies upon on the job training...???

Think about this: Wouldn't a certification system (think Paralegal... think CPA... think Microsoft Certification...) be a swifter, more certain, and far more cost effective route to most specific entry level para-professional and even professional jobs than the broad liberal arts education we now insist upon and which is used as an arbitrary screening tool by all too many employers regardless of whether "well rounded" (in a liberal arts sense) employees are what they really need...???

We've made college affordable for nearly seven million more students - seven million.

Via BORROWING the money from CHINA! (*SMIRK*) Again, folks... every cent above revenues that the government spends is either BORROWED (at interest... HUGE interest over time... interest often paid to individuals, organizations, and nations that do NOT mean us well...) or simply printed (thus devaluing the currency and stoking the fires of inflation down the road).

[W]e will provide the support necessary for all young Americans to complete college and meet a new goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. That's is a goal we can meet. That's a goal we can meet.

Exactly the WRONG path. First of all, not all Americans SHOULD go to college. Not all Americans are INTELLECTUALLY capable of excelling in college and gaining a cost/benefit edge by attending anymore than "all" Americans can reach even the level of competence in gymnastics mastered by a gifted five year old.

Folks. Get it through your heads: By dumbing down education standards to the point where "everyone can succeed," we're defeating the very purpose of education. I call upon everyone reading this to read Charles Murray's "Real Education." (*SHRUG*)

Now, I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education.

Again. Reality check. There IS NO MONEY. He's simply borrowing and spending... printing and spending... leaving us, our children, our grandchildren, and God only knows how many succeeding generations to figure out how to pay the bills.

Now, I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks...

Oh.... PLEEEASE...!!! So instead of "earmarks" linked to a particular Senator or House Member there was targeted spending... targeted to key Democratic constituencies - the Unions, etc. (*SMIRK*) Who does he think he's fooling...?!?!

I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities.

(*SIGH*) "Prioritizing" would mean living WITHIN your means... living WITHIN the revenue stream. (*SMIRK*) Folks... he's full of $hit.

And yesterday, I held a fiscal summit where I pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.

(*SNORT*) (*CHOKING ON MY OWN LAUGHTER*) Very funny, Mr. President. Droll. Very droll.

My administration has also begun to go line by line through the federal budget...

Lies. Simply lies. HE promised to PERSONALLY go through federal budgets "line by line." Anyone believe he's done so...??? How about the so-called "stimulus" bill... NOT ONE SINGLE SENATOR OR HOUSE MEMBER ACTUALLY READ THE ENTIRE BILL WORD FOR WORD. (Yet... they voted on it... and now it's law - EACH AND EVERY WORD.) (*SIGH*)

But we have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next decade.

Well, well... you'd think if that's so he'd at least PREVIEW some of the specifics... (*SMIRK*) (*SNORT*)

In this budget we will end education programs that don't work...

SUCH AS...???

[A]nd end direct payments to large agribusiness that don't need them.

SUCH AS...???

Finally, because we're also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget. That is why this budget looks ahead 10 years and accounts for spending that was left out under the old rules - and for the first time, that includes the full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. For seven years, we have been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.

I'll believe it when I see it. (*SHRUG*) I hope he's telling the truth here. Time will tell.

I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it.

Again. He has my total support here. I just hope he's telling the truth. Time will tell.

To relieve the strain on our forces, my budget increases the number of our soldiers and Marines.

Good move. Smart move. (*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

And to keep our sacred trust with those who serve, we will raise their pay, and give our veterans the expanded health care and benefits that they have earned.

Ahh... increase their pay... via BORROWING and PRINTING. (*SHRUG*) What a guy... what a guy...