http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/

3 million, random hits on MSNBC of all places…and the MSM still claims this azz hole is on the right track?

Special Report

…Both from the Hotline and from other leads, SIGTARP has initiated, to date, almost 20 preliminary and full criminal investigations.…

http://sigtarp.gov/reports/con.....ngress.pdf

Boy, this is really shocking.

Of course, I knew, because I’ve been told once or twice by our trustworthy president, how corrupt and evil private business is, but I was certain, absolutely certain, that our beloved government betters would never ever allow even a single corrupt practice with the 700 Billion dollars we faithfully entrusted to their oversight.

Luckily, we can be sure nothing will ever go wrong with the tens of trillions that we’ll be forking out for medical care for illegal aliens and in-country deadbeats who voted for our Saviour. That program will be on the honor system.

From a depressed AP:

Civil libertarians feel let down by Obama

By Mark Sherman

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to overrule a long-standing law that stops police from initiating questions unless a defendant’s lawyer is present, another example of the White House seeking to limit rather than expand rights.

The administration’s action is one of several that have disappointed civil rights and civil liberties groups that expected President Barack Obama to reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, after the Democrat’s call for change during the 2008 campaign.

Since taking office, Obama has drawn criticism for backing the continued imprisonment of enemy combatants in Afghanistan without trial, invoking the “state secrets” privilege to avoid releasing information in lawsuits, and limiting the rights of prisoners to test genetic evidence used to convict them.

The case at issue is Michigan vs. Jackson, in which the Supreme Court said in 1986 that police may not initiate questioning of a defendant who has a lawyer or has asked for one, unless the attorney is present.

The decision applies even to defendants who agree to talk to the authorities without their lawyers.

Anything police learn through such questioning cannot be used against the defendant at trial. The opinion was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, the only current justice who was on the court at the time.

The justices could decide as early as today whether they want to hear arguments on the issue as they wrestle with an ongoing case from Louisiana that involves police questioning of an indigent defendant that led to a murder confession and a death sentence.

The Justice Department, in a brief signed by Solicitor General Elena Kagan, said the 1986 decision “serves no real purpose” and offers only “meager benefits.”

The government said defendants who don’t wish to talk to police don’t have to and that officers must respect that decision. But it said there is no reason a defendant who wants to should not be able to respond to officers’ questions. …

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12213406

Personally I’m shocked this story was even published.

From the Denver Post:

Vanity plates catch ACLU’s eye

By Tom McGhee

The American Civil Liberties Union has fired the first shot in what could turn into a legal battle over the state’s control of what messages may appear on personalized license plates.

Colorado chapter legal director Mark Silverstein earlier this week asked the Colorado Department of Revenue for records including copies of plate applications denied since Jan. 1, 2007, because they were considered “offensive to the general public,” or “offensive to good taste and decency.”

Revenue department spokesman Mark Couch said he had received the request and the agency will comply with the Colorado Open Records Act.

The ACLU became interested in the case after a Centennial woman was denied a plate with a message trumpeting her affection for tofu.

Kelley Coffman-Lee, 38, asked the Revenue Department’s Division of Motor Vehicles to approve a special plate emblazoned with “ILVTOFU” for her Suzuki SL-7.

But “FU” is on a long list of letter combinations barred by the division because someone could interpret the letters as an abbreviated obscenity.

Courts have held that when the state sets up a program allowing personalized license plates, a decision whether to approve the message must comply with the First Amendment, Silverstein said.

A standard such as “offensive to good taste and decency” is too vague, subjective and indefinite to survive a First Amendment challenge, he said. …

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_12213302

I can hardly wait until they approve the first “BUSHIT” plate but find some reason to reject “NOBAMA.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_pl311

Interesting look at Bamb’s polls. MOst love him, while most think his policies are going in the wrong direction – and John – I want to point out the perception of people, when comparing “big gov, vs big business vs big union:

That certainly doesn’t mean Americans are confident all around. While Obama himself may be polling well, some of his policies — and the government as a whole — aren’t. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 60% of Americans think the federal government has too much power and too much money. The bank bailouts, which began before Obama was president, didn’t fare any better: 59% of voters say they were a bad idea, while 60% say the Chrysler and GM bailouts were a bad idea. In Gallup’s long-running question of who the biggest threat to America is — big government, big business or big labor — big government still leads 55% to 32% to 10%, respectively…

I will take the Ford bet…

The fact they mention Carter had 75% approval 100 days in lets us know something very important: People who “feel good” are being lied to. When you promise everything from free this, to bail out that – people’s feelings rise. Of course the net effect is unattainable – but important to note: people love being lied to.

I think you just gave the reasoning for Reps to compare the 2 companies ramping up for 2010.
Gov subsidized company: Fail
Free market company: Success

I dont disagree with your sentiments, but as a guy who works in brand building – I will bet the true brand vs a propped up one will win, starting with sales.

Unions have become the whipping post (in fact, led to FIAT walking away from a Chrysler merger – ouch!) but even foreign companies who manufacture in America, with unionized labor are doing a hell of a lot better than GM and Chrysler. I find the dynamic interesting – because down south, where many foreign based comapny’s are manufacturing – there isn’t that “buy America only”, just the opposite – its “but a car from a company who gainfully employs you” NASCAR were concerned about foreign ownership (being they werent American, in an American sport) – but are reaping benefits across the board, again due to popular drivers switching to foreign cars.

The backlash never happened in both instances – primarily due to state tax breaks for company’s to move there. Alabama, Georgia, Tenn., Miss, etc are fourishing with brands like Hyndai, Toyota, Nissan being built in their back yard.

Union payouts to the lazy are overhead costs – the worst thing GM and Chrysler need right now, even with Bambi’s posturing. So they can make all the gov funded concessions – which does nothing to spur sales. Its been their legacy problem for years now.

All in all (I may be naive) – but trust the person employed over the hand out crowd, when pitted against each other. Also remember – Michigan went Dem – and could be in play in 2012 – purposely killing Ford would have disasterous effects.

It will be an interesting comparison and feel pro Ford, pro capitalism folks should show these glaring differences as much as possible.

Even if Ford did manage to garner the lion’s share of the other two’s faltering sales, etc, the capacity to absorb those gains wouldn’t necessarily translate into jobs for those who lost them at the other companies. I have a friend who is normally quite sensible, yet he’s convinced that the unions don’t share any blame for the current fate of the U S automakers. (He also votes for democrats all the time.) People like that won’t take the necessary medicine because they refuse to admit they are sick.

I drive Fords as do almost all of my relation. All of my business vehicles are Fords, not for the reasons mentioned above, but because my past experiences, going back over 50 years, have given me confidence in their products, services, and warranties. And I realize that union labor builds Fords just like the others, so I’m not anti-union per se. But some of those fools in government and the UAW need to re-read about the goose that laid the “Golden Egg”.

Not Obama, though. He has an entirely different agenda.

I believe your opinion is valid and could possibly come true, but the mechanics of supply and demand are at hand here (what we have left) and if betting on a horse – Ill take the free market one over the Gov propped up one, even with their backs against the wall as you pointed out. And for the record – isn’t this Chryslers 3rd bailout in the past 30 years? Additionally, they have that failure – Nardelli, who destroyed Home Depot in less than 3 years and was hand picked, most likely because he a) is a business failure, making a few million a year like the Bambi cabinet and b) will willingly go lalong with whatever Uncle Sam says, to keep said millions. If that alone isnt hypocrisy – being Bambi wants to go after “the rich white folk” , I don’t kow what is.

I beleive Ford can build a successful campaign around their ability to go alone – and as the Q1 report shows – are doing much better than GM/Chrysler funded company’s, by a long shot and can win over American consumers fro core truck/car sales. GM and Chrysler are doing nothing, nada, zilch to grow sales – and are doing everything to stave off absolute bankruptcy. Even Bambi can’t give and print enough money to make up for this.

The stock market will let us know how things will go. Here is the last 3 months between GM and Ford:

http://finance.yahoo.com/echar.....M;range=3m
http://finance.yahoo.com/echar.....F;range=3m

As long as Bambi defies capitalism through bailouts – he will lose in the capital markets every day of the week. As long as he punishes success on Wall Street, he will fail.

On the other hand, when GM and Chrysler are being dictated to because of their acceptance of government loans, they will remain immune from onerous legislations or be given inside information and incentives designed to drive the remaining free-market, capitalist U S automaker to her knees and into submission to Obama’s socialist agenda.

How long does anyone think Ford can prevail when every asset at the government’s disposal will be used against her success? This is the same government that directs the IRS to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect an $800 delinquency in tax revenues, all while elevating blatant tax-cheats to cabinet positions.

Think about a free-market corporation that guarantees/warrantees their product having to compete with company(s) whose warranty program is underwritten by Uncle Obama. This is fair?! Obviously not, but that’s how the ‘new’ rules are being written. If the MSM and Obama will seek to ruin “Joe the Plumber” for a mere question, if Obama forces banks to take funds they don’t want and refuses to take back the money after the fact in order to keep them under the government thumb, if Obama & Co. will sic the DHS on military veterans, people adhering to the Second Amendment, people holding anti-abortion views, and people disagreeing with government dictats that embrace socialism, what makes anyone think he won’t ruin a huge corporation that operates counter to his wishes. It’s only a matter of time.

Ford will be punished for her success, if for no other reason than to teach the rest of us a lesson. Wait and see.

I’m surprised they would admit those numbers! Says a lot for Fox in my book. Altho they have their problems too, they are the best we have.

From the socialists at Reuters:

Deadly new flu breaks out in Mexico, U.S.

By Alistair Bell and Noel Randewich Alistair Bell And Noel Randewich

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A deadly strain of flu never seen before has killed as many as 61 people in Mexico and has spread into the United States, where several people were reported ill.

Mexico’s government said on Friday that at least 16 people have died of the disease in central Mexico and that it may also have been responsible for 45 other deaths.

The World Health Organization said genetic tests of the virus in 12 of the Mexican victims had the same genetic structure as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in seven people in California and Texas.

Because there is clearly human-to-human spread of the new virus, raising fears of a major outbreak, Mexico’s government canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas.

“It is a virus that mutated from pigs and then at some point was transmitted to humans,” Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said.

It first looked mostly like a swine virus but closer analysis showed it is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Humans can occasionally catch swine flu from pigs but rarely have they been known to pass it on to other people.

Seven people were infected with the new strain in California and Texas, but all of them have recovered. Mexico said it had close to 1,000 suspected cases there.

Worldwide, seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people in an average year, but the flu season for North America should have been winding down.

The White House was closely following the new cases in the United States and Mexico, and President Barack Obama has been informed, an administration official said.

The Mexican government cautioned people not to shake hands or kiss when greeting or to share food, glasses or cutlery for fear of infection.

The outbreak jolted residents of the Mexican capital, one of the world’s biggest cities and home to some 20 million people.

One pharmacy ran out of surgical face masks after selling 300 in a day.

“We’re frightened because they say it’s not exactly flu, it’s another kind of virus and we’re not vaccinated,” said Angeles Rivera, 34, a federal government worker who fetched her son from a public kindergarten that was closing.

The virus is an influenza A virus, carrying the designation H1N1. It contains DNA from avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses, the CDC has said.

The Geneva-based U.N. agency WHO said it was in daily contact with U.S., Canadian and Mexican authorities and had activated its Strategic Health Operations Center (SHOC) — its command and control center for acute public health events.

The CDC said it will issue daily updates at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/investigation.htm.

Surveillance for and scrutiny of influenza has been stepped up since 2003, when H5N1 bird flu reappeared in Asia. Experts fear this strain, or another strain, could spark a pandemic that could kill millions. …

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_.....FkbHlzd2k-

Time to reread Stephen King’s The Stand…