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April 2010
"I do think at a certain point you've made enough money." -- President Obama. How much is enough? The president earned almost $5.5 million last year, mostly from book royalties. He probably would have been just as happy if he had made only $5 million.
In the Obama Age of Transparency in Government, Democrats on Capitol Hill do much of their business behind closed doors. But The Hill newspaper reports that new doors on the House Democrat Caucus Room don't quite close. There's a gap between the doors that would allow anyone to see or hear what's being said inside. Weatherstripping has been ordered.
Is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the cover of Washington's popular Capitol File magazine, looking considerably younger than her 70 years? Celebrity plastic surgeon Ayman Hakki said he believes the Botox Queen hasn't had any new work done on her face, but that the photo definitely airbrushed. So much for truth in government.
"I do think at a certain point you've made enough money." -- President Obama. How much is enough? The president earned almost $5.5 million last year, mostly from book royalties. He probably would have been just as happy if he had made only $5 million.
In the Obama Age of Transparency in Government, Democrats on Capitol Hill do much of their business behind closed doors. But The Hill newspaper reports that new doors on the House Democrat Caucus Room don't quite close. There's a gap between the doors that would allow anyone to see or hear what's being said inside. Weatherstripping has been ordered.
Is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the cover of Washington's popular Capitol File magazine, looking considerably younger than her 70 years? Celebrity plastic surgeon Ayman Hakki said he believes the Botox Queen hasn't had any new work done on her face, but that the photo definitely airbrushed. So much for truth in government.
Lawmakers, especially those up for re-election, sometimes vote the right way because they know what's good for them. The House has followed the Senate’s lead and voted to block an automatic cost-of-living pay raise. Their salaries are stuck at $174,000 a year.
The House Transparency Caucus is getting organized and its meetings -- unlike a similar group in the executive branch -- are open to the public. Co-founders of the bi-partisan caucus are Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., a hockey player, and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a motorcycle rider. Bureaucrats inclined toward coverups might not want to mess with them.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced he is going to start using Twitter, which he branded "terrorism" in January when the social networking tool was employed to criticize his regime. How is that South American windbag going to limit himself to 140 characters per message?
"I never had a real job." -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on CNN. Nor have most of the others on the Obama economic team. That explains a lot about this administration's record on jobs.
Those poor overworked Senate staff members who are helping their bosses spend the taxpayers' money have been offered a class on "Meditation: Relax Your Busy Mind." Maybe those porn-watchers at the FEC should enroll.
The federal Institute of Museum and Library Science gave a $1 million taxpayer-funded grant "aimed at promoting conservation through poetry" to five zoos. (From the "Daily Outrage" feature of the Washington Examiner newspaper.)
Your Government at Work: Top financial watchdogs who were supposed to be monitoring the ups and downs of the stock market were instead watching gyrations of a different kind -- pornography -- using goverrnment computers. A report by the Inspector General of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that one senior attorney spent up to eight hours a day viewing and downloading porn from the Internet. An accountant tried to access raunchy sites 16,000 times in one month. At least 17 of the SEC sex addicts were senior employees drawing salaries of up to $222,418 -- paid by taxpayers who foolishly thought their hired help was on the job trying to prevent an economic collapse.
Shining the light on actions of Congress is a good thing, right? But how do you feel about spending $140,000 for new light fixtures in the House cafeteria? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is so proud of this expenditure of taxpayers' money that she called a press conference to announce it. Automatic window shades for the lawmakers' dining room also are included in the cost and it's all about "piloting new technology." The Capitol Cynic says: "Let 'em choke in the dark."
Another Obama White House screwup: Reporters were chased away from a gay rights protest, and a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police said, "they screwed up." This is, after all, the "most transparent White House" in history, isn't it?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had heavy security for fundraising dinner at Palm Beach, Fla.: 12 U.S. Capitol police guards, four Palm Beach cops, two sheriff's deputies and two police boats on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean across the street from the home of her wealthy host. With only 18 Democrat donors attending the dinner, Pelosi's security detail outnumbered the guests.
Why did Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., warn an audience that he might start drooling in the middle of his remarks? Warner, half-slurred, explained that he had some dental work done earlier and his mouth was still numb. Some doddering old senators don't have that excuse.
Want to win a $2,500 prize? All you have to do is find something nice to say about government regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency is offering the award to the maker of the best video explaining why federal regulations are good. The contest ends May 17, so get to thinking.
President Obama cancelled plans to fly to Krakow for Polish President Kaczynski's funeral because of the volcanic ash threat, and instead went golfing. And wouldn't you know? That drew criticism from the press in Poland, which was unjustified. But some Americans might be wondering if Obama spends too much time on the golf course. He has played 32 rounds of golf since taking office, compared with 24 during an 8-year span for his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Should President Obama issue a posthumous pardon for George Washington? That might be the only way to clear the record of the first president after a New York Library discovered papers that showed Washington borrowed two books in 1789 that never were returned. Library staff figured the long-deceased president owes about $300,000 in late fees.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." -- MarkTwain
More reasons to feel gloomy about paying taxes. General Electric had a $0 tax bill, mainly because its U.S. operations lost $408 million. But its international businesses netted a $10.8 billion profit. Tax reform, anyone?
If you're having the "after Tax Day blues", this won't help much. Taxpayers shelled out almost $300,000 last year to buy alcoholic beverages for the State Department -- about twice as much as the year before. Included was $9,501 in "Christmas gratuities" of whiskey and wine at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea, according to the Washington Times.
Your Tax Dollars at Work -- The good news is the number of earmarks for pork barrel projects dropped by 1,000 and the dollar total went down $3 billion in the last fiscal year. The bad news is there were still 9,129 earmarks worth $16.5 billion. Is your state getting its share of the gravy?
First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated Tax Day by taking a taxpayer-paid trip to Mexico City, where she played games and danced with schoolchildren and pleaded, 'I need some hugs."
There he goes again. President Obama has provoked criticism by bowing to another foreign dignitary, Chinese President Hu Jintao -- or so it appears in a photo taken during the Nuclear Security Summit. It could be that Obama is peering at a spot on the Chinese leader's tie. But he'll have to stand up perfectly straight to avoid zingers from conservative pundits.
"Peace is harder to decide on than war. In war you know who your enemies are and who your friends are, too. But in peace you don't know either friend or foe." -- Will Rogers
Late night TV star Conan O'Brien has chosen TBS as his new home, passing up a potential opportunity to join one of the world's longest running comedy shows, "It's So Funny", produced by the North Korea government to lift the morale of troops and spead propaganda about its leader, Kim Jong-Il. Reuters reports "laughter is optional -- unless the soldiers are ordered to do so."
Taxpayers must file their tax returns by April 15 or pay a penalty. Congress has the same deadline for completing work on next year's budget. But politico.com reports lawmakers aren't in any hurry and might not pass a budget resolution at all if it means taking the heat in the fall elections on spending, deficits and taxes. Just another example of arrogance by your elected representatives.
"Apparently I caused quite a problem." -- President Obama, after breaking with White House tradition and ditching his press pool to go watch his daughter play soccer.
"OK, I'm a politician. We lie. You understand that." -- House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., as a University of Maryland audience chuckled after he falsified his age.
When workers go on strike, it's usually for higher wages. But at the Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen, a few hundred employees walked out because the company decided to restrict beer drinking to lunch breaks. A new rule went into effect April 1, but it was no joke.
For some time, Republicans have been demanding Janet Napolitano resign as Homeland Security secretary. They may get their wish if President Obama sends her to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She's among several potential nominees.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's call to rebrand the GOP the "Party of Yes" is receiving a chorus of "noes" from big name Republicans like Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. "We shouldn’t just be the 'party of no,'" said Jindal, "we should be the 'party of "hell no." '
"Imagine an invasion of Washington, D.C. that threatens to bring the capital city to a standstill. That was the prospect when 40 heads of state arrived for a Nuclear Security Summit called by President Obama. For their own security, the world leaders' presence will result in two days of gridlock, with closing of downtown streets, rerouting of bus routes and reduction of subway service. Why couldn't they have this meeting in North Dakota?
"Ten Thousand Commandments" -- That's the name of a report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute that says federal regulations eat up more than 8 percent of the entire U.S. gross domestic product.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., might have come up with a winning slogan in his uphill battle to get re-elected. At a campaign appearance in Carson City, he was asked what he is doing to encourage immigrant women of child-bearing age to come t the United States. "Let me answer it this way," he said. "I'm not opposed to sex."
This time next year you might not get the tax refund you were expecting. If you don't have health insurance, as the Democrats' health care plan mandates, you can be fined and the IRS will take it out of your refund. Tax officials say they're not sure what they'll do if you're not entitled to a refund.
America's enemies aren't too impressed with President Obama's new strategy of limited options for nuclear weapons. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ridiculed the first term U.S. president, saying: "Wait until your sweat dries and get some experience." And North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il is basking in the praise of a French fashion that he is setting a world fashion trend with his drab suits.
"The stimulus promised jobs and economic revitalization, yet money has been thrown away on backyard gardens and bumblebee research." -- Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste www.mywastedtaxdollars.org
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele sent out a fundraising letter which mistakenly contained a phone sex number. It didn't raise campaign money for the GOP, but it might have boosted a certain sector of the economy.
At a meeting in Charlotte, N.C. a woman asked President Obama a question about taxes and he gave her a rambling 17-minute lecture on health care but didn't answer her question. That's a strange way of communicating with your constituents.
Your Government at Work: One reason the Postal Service is losing money is that more people prefer e-mail to "snail mail." Yet the Postmaster General had to use e-mail to submit his proposal to abolish Saturday mail delivery to cut costs. It's a requirement imposed by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Stand by for a 911 call from Guam. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., told a House committee he's afraid the U.S. Territory in the Pacific is going to "tip over and capsize" due to overpopulation.
Headline: "Obama Clears Way for Oil Drilling Off U.S. Coasts" Translation: "Drill, baby, drill!"
Government gobbledygook got the boot from a Texas state agency. Dave Lieber, "Watchdog" columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reports the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has its employees "trying to make plain language a defining feature of all agency communications." Bureaucrats everywhere, please copy.
Our high-tech president, Barack Obama, relies on a teleprompter for his speeches and now it's revealed that he uses a Blackberry for worship. He seldom attends church but aides say he can always find time to check his Blackberry, and that's where he gets a daily prayer. It's chosen from a selection sent in from pastors around the country. But does he e-mail God?
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