President Vows To Cut Mortgage Costs

More magic wand waving coming from the Obama Administration. This time, the president vows to help lower Americans’ mortgage costs with a new “plan” – details to be worked out by new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

“Soon my Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, will announce a new strategy for reviving our financial system that gets credit flowing to businesses and families," Obama said in his weekly radio address. No pressure there, Tim.

I’m not sure frozen credit markets are necessarily the problem at this point. Credit rates are at historic lows – there is money to be lent. The problem is, is that consumers and businesses are already saddled with debt, and hesitant to take a chance in the current environment. Consumers are busy paying down current obligations and worried about employment; and businesses don’t have incentive to expand as the business cycle continues to contract.

It’s a difficult situation, and one that I feel will be compounded by needless government spending and intervention. Ultimately, there is a role for government in this economy as a short-term consumer and long-term business facilitator, a role that unfortunately is not well-defined in the current pork package winding its way through the corridors of Congress.

Nah, No Bias Here...

No Obamaniac should be without the new CNN tee-shirt:

I'm envious. I'm thinking of coming out with my own:

RNC Headed By The Man Of Steele

After several ballots, former Maryland Lt. Governor Mike Steele emerged yesterday as the new Chairman of the Republican National Committee. In addition to his stint as Lt. Governor, Steele has headed the Maryland Republican Party, and currently serves as chairman of GOPAC, an organization that grooms prospective Republican candidates.

What I know of Steele I’ve seen only by way of his appearances on the network talk shows. And what I’ve seen, I like. But I’ll let the CW and other Maryland political wonks offer more insight into his credentials.

Cynics will no doubt look upon Steele’s selection as political pandering by the GOP toward minorities. Steele is black, as is former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who challenged Steele for the GOP chairmanship as well.

I say the cynics are right – and it’s a good move. From Steele to Condoleeza Rice, Alberto Gonzales and even Colin Powell, the Republican Party has quietly and consistently sought to expand its base to appeal to women and minorities. But where the GOP differs from Democrats – they do it with little fanfare. Hopefully, continued outreach efforts by the party will infuse it with younger, dynamic personalities and innovative ideas that will marginalize the race card so overplayed by the left.

Obama Cookies – They’re Drunkalicious!

This type of idiocy requires no set up. Suffice it to say that shoppers in Greenwich Village (the Village of all places!) were shocked to discover a bakery in their little enclave had created "Drunken Negro Face Cookies" to “honor” the inauguration of Barack Obama.



Ironically, this bakery is a fave spot of the Village hoi polloi – the same folks who voted en masse for Obama. Where will all these celebutards go now for their crullers and coffee?

Hat Tip: The Glenn Beck Show

Taken For A Ride

News that Obama’s selection for HHS, former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), neglected to pay taxes on chauffer services he was provided by a longtime friend and Democratic fundraiser. The services were not part of his compensation as consultant at Intermedia Advisors, but were required to be declared on his income tax returns. The “oversight” was uncovered during Daschle’s vetting process, and he has since paid $101,943 in back taxes.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Democrats appear so anxious to tax us is because none of them ever seem to actually pay them themselves.

Putin Slams US Stimulus

Wow, you know the stimulus bill sucks when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin comes off as the voice of experience and reason. Speaking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Putin said this of the US stimulus package:

“Interference of the State, the belief in the omnipotence of the State: that is a reaction to market failures. There is a temptation to expand direct interference of state in economy. In the Soviet Union that became an absolute. We paid a very dear price for that.”

I can’t argue with that logic, especially given the source.

Pennsylvania’s State Run Newspaper

My hometown newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, has reportedly petitioned Governor Ed Rendell for a $10 million bailout. This story came to light only after the paper itself became the subject of a lawsuit for a series of articles it published questioning a Philadelphia’s school’s use of government funds.

Isn’t there a slight conflict of interest here? What happens to the paper’s vaunted objectivity in covering state and federal issues now that the government may in turn become the Inquirer’s sugar daddy?

Please stop laughing, this is a serious question