Author: Stephen Gutowski

Stephen Gutowski is an award-winning political reporter who got his start in 2009 when he founded this blog.

Good News: No Al Gore in Obama Administration

“Former Vice President Gore does not intend to seek or accept any formal position in government,” Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider said. “He feels very strong right now that the best thing for him to do is to build support for the bold changes that we have to make to solve the climate crisis.”

Finally, some good news. Al Gore will not be the Climate Czar for the Obama administration.

Let me be the first to say Thank Goodness. I don’t think I could stand Al Gore becoming relevant again and, besides, Al Gore’s proficiency at producing boredom is far more deadly than all the world’s CO2 emissions. So the world is far better off if this dolt just fades back into bearded annonimity where he belongs.

Unfortunately, despite the absense of Al Gore, Obama is still planning on regulating us back to the stone age. In fact Obama’s transition chief John Podesta is calling for:

an Energy Security Council within the White House to oversee climate change and clean energy initiatives. The czar and the council would coordinate agencies, including the Energy and Interior departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.

So, yea, don’t down your anti-depresent dosage quite yet.

Forbes: Bailout Costs 5 Trillion… So Far

Yup… you read that right. 5 TRILLION dollars.

So far…

I recommend taking the time to go through and read every last detail in this article because there are little spending gems hidden throughout. Gems that you, most likely, wouldn’t hear about otherwise.

But the best part of this has to be the results… or, more accurately, the complete lack there of. After all lending between banks, which the government tells us is the most important problem, is still frozen even after interest rates have been cut by more than half. And it would appear the much touted bailout bill from October is nearly out of money to throw at the problem.

But, hey, take heart, the bottom is probably only another couple TRILLION taxpayer dollars away…

P.s. For more on the Massive Bailout Madness check out my earlier post. And for those who never saw this coming, check out Malkin’s latest.

UPDATE: Looks like the Massive Bailout Madness hasn’t helped stop or even slow foreclosures and some Senators are pissed at Paulson

Massive Bailout Madness!!!

In case you missed the first go round we now have the pleasure of a take two which shall be appropriately named:

Massive Bailout Madness!!!

Who are the stars of this sequel you ask? Well I’ll tell you…

First off, like any quality sequel, there is always one returning star. For this production that returning star happens to be AIG. The insurance giant wants billions more on top of the billions they received in Bailout Madness take one.

But, like any sequel worth destroying a country over, this sequel includes a few big name newcomers.

There is American Express who must have figured, “Hey, we suck at running our business too… why not?”

And the last star for this sequel, though you can be sure this certainly isn’t the last sequel (I’m thinking this could be a 5 part series), happens to be the big three automakers. Yes, that’s right, in a not so shocking move Ford, GM, and Chrysler have asked for and received a 25 billion dollar bailout… opps make that two 25 billion dollar bailouts.

Unfortunately the predictability and complete lack of direction combined with an overused and ultimately unsuccessful plot line (you know how it goes, Business meets bad management. Bad management drowns business. Government buys badly managed business. Government provides even worse management, as always. Economy explodes) makes Massive Bailout Madness absolutely unbearable. I am forced to declare it a turkey (and I mean on a Gigli level).

I much prefer the classic and intelligent; Business makes bad choices. Business doesn’t get free money. Business faces consequences of its actions. Business learns lesson and adapts or closes.

But, in an upside for those who prefer the story behind Massive Bailout Madness, I hear it is an extremely popular plot line overseas…

UPDATE: Rumor… Newspapers will be big new star for then third instalment of this worn out series?

Farrakhan: Obama will bring a “New Beginning”

In fact, Farrakhan gave an entire speech about how Obama’s Presidency will bring a new beginning to America. According to a press release coming from the Nation of Islam he was scheduled to give his speech praising Obama today during the Mosque Maryam’s Sunday service.

Despite Farrakhan being a delusional nut job he still manages to stumble upon a decent point.

Obama will bring a new beginning and it will probably be the kind of beginning that Farrakhan, and other radicals, will rejoice over… but, Farrakhan does miss one thing, the kind of “new beginning” that he speaks of will only happen if Conservatives let it happen. It will only happen if we sit back and do nothing. It will only happen if we don’t fight hard enough. It will only happen if we don’t go all in to stop it.

So, clearly, we must do all we can to make sure a “new beginning” made in the image of Obama and praised by the likes of Louis Farrakhan never becomes reality.

I guess the only question left now is when will Bill Ayres or Rashid Khalidi make their celebration speeches?

UPDATE: Looks like Oprah and Father Pfleger have given their celebration speeches as well… (so does will.i.am)

And they wonder why they can’t win people over…

Seems the “NO ON PROP 8” supporters have been protesting and even fighting with police out in California. The protesters where disruptive enough that the Los Angeles Police Department had to declare a tactical alert which requires all available officers, including some from other precincts, to respond. Fox News even labeled it “rioting“, though that seems a bit excessive considering only a couple people were arrested and there doesn’t seem to be any property damage or injuries at this point… Here’s a link to the video, judge for yourself.

Either way this is pathetic on the part of the gay marriage proponents. I mean, when you throw tantrums and threaten people after you’ve lost an argument do you really think its going to change their mind?

P.s. Here’s a final thought… Now that we know what the gay marriage supporters will do after losing a ballot proposition, what do you think an Obama loss would have been like?

UPDATE: Malkin eventually picked up this story and has more details on the mayhem

UPDATE: Now they’re getting people fired simply for supporting Prop 8.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: More details on the economic and personal aftermath associated with simply supporting Prop 8

As if Pennsylvanians need another reason to vote McCain

Here is one anyway…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwBbl6RoIs

Yea, that’s right, obama wants to bankrupt an industry that accounts for thousands of Pennsylvania jobs.

Is the University of California about to destroy its own standards?

UPDATE: Soros and Ayres behind the group pushing the destruction of UC’s standards

It would seem so as the University of California Board of Regents is proposing the elimination of the SAT subject test as an admissions requirement.

The SAT subject tests asses how well a student performs in 20 different subjects ranging from advanced mathematics to language skills. This part of the SATs have become an important part of admissions at nearly all American colleges and universities. In fact, the Dean of admissions for Harvard has said that subject tests are “Better predictors than either high school grades or the SAT”.

So why in the world would the UC Board of Regents want to do this?

Well, you probably already guessed but this is all an underhanded attempt to reinstate affirmative action at UC despite the fact that race based admission policies were outlawed for California in 1996. The basic logic behind this proposal is that lower SAT standards combined with the lower gpa standards they are simultaneously proposing will make more minority applicants eligible and therefor increase ever-coveted diversity.

Now, as expected, the lowering of standards has pissed some people off, here is California Assemblyman Cameron Smyth’s objection for example, and rightfully so… But the funny thing in all of this, if there is anything funny about this, is that SAT subject tests actually help minorities get into college. You see, the SAT subject tests enable minority students to showcase their abilities in certain areas, such as the social sciences and language, that would other wise be overlooked.

Thus, and quite unexpectedly, there are people pissed off because this plan would, most likely, hurt diversity in the California University system. California Assemblyman Van Tran is a great example of someone in opposition to the proposal because it would actually hurt minority students, here is his opinion.

A concerned UC grad, who tipped me off about this situation, has also told me that the Regent’s meeting where they will be discussing this proposal is coming up in mid November. So everybody try to put as much pressure on the Regent’s as possible in order to keep them from willfully destroying UC’s admission standards.

Here is the contact information for the Regents:

Email: anne.shaw@ucop.edu

Phone: 520-987-9220

Fax: 520-987-9224

Website: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/

UPDATE: Michelle might want to put this issue on the conservative “to do” list…

UPDATE: There is now a website dedicated to the cause of saving UC’s Standards

The most popular election video on YouTube from a McCain supporter?

Can this really be true?

Could a video where an Iraq war veteran endorses John McCain really have more than 11 million views and still have a 4 star rating?

Apparently the answer is yes.

Here is the video. It is poignant, concise, and heart felt:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8