Category Archives: Barack Obama

Update II: Annual White House Sycophants’ Dinner

Barack Obama, Celebrity, Hollywood, Journalism, Politics, Uncategorized

It’s a sickening specter: some of the most pretentious, worthless people in the country—in politics, journalism and entertainment—get together to revel in their ability to petition and curry favor with one another, usually to the detriment of the rest of us.

Those gathered at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner are not the country’s natural aristocracy; but a group of people who make their living pretending to be something they are not. Poseurs and parasites.

Granted, actors do not coerce the citizenry to patronize their (mostly) lousy flicks. However, when they use their celebrity to push unconstitutional, naturally unlawful policies—then they are acting as enemies of the people.

Mostly, I find Hollywood disgusting. Every time I turn around a “celebrity” is preaching and propagandizing for the leftist cause du jour. Some of these tarts were using their tushes and other assets to tell their betters (YOU) to be good and do your “duty.”

Like nothing else, the annual White House correspondents’ dinner is a mark of corrupt politics. The un-watchful dogs of the media have no business frolicking with the president and his minions. This is co-optation. And when did the phonies of Hollywood become a fixture in this event?

The toxic “tradition” began in 1920, and, as far as I know, is sponsored by THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION. The event and the invited tell a great deal about the Association and its ethics and code of conduct.

The president’s performance was a little wooden. He had a few good lines. For example:

“I strongly believe my next 100 days will be so successful I will finish them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day I will rest.”

The dig at John Boehner’s tan: “We have a lot in common. He is a person of ­color, Although not a ­color that appears in the natural world.”

The dig at the sycophants: “Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me.”

On Rahm Emanuel on the eve of Mother’s Day: “It’s a tough holiday for [Emanuel] … He’s not used to saying the word ‘day’ after mother …”

On the other hand, this one captured how privileged Obama feels:

“Sasha and Malia aren’t here tonight because they’re grounded. You can’t just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan. I don’t care whose kids you are.”

Wanda Sykes, a talented comedian, began with some great material and then descended into vulgarity and sheer spite.

Update I (May 11): Glenn Beck gave into the temptation to join the high-flying toadies in Washington. It’s a shame; it damages this scrupulous soul’s credibility.

Written after attending the press palooza, Beck’s barbs would have rung truer had he watched the event from his bunker. For once, this is not a case of Beck bearding the proverbial lion in his den:

Glenn decided to attend the White House Correspondents’ dinner this weekend and called the atmosphere ‘slimy.’ Glenn said Obama did a good job with his delivery but was robotic, and he took issue with comedian Wanda Sykes’ routine. Typically this event serves as somewhat of a roast of the President (Imus bashing Clinton, Colbert bashing Bush) but apparently no entertainers these days know how to make fun of the Messiah, so instead Sykes made fun of Rush Limbaugh. Included in her hilarious (translate=crappy) routine were jokes about how she wished Rush’s kidneys would fail. Glenn imagines the things he can say with the new ‘kidney failure’ comedy bar set so low

Update II: Wanda Sykes’ gentle teases “ took a very ugly turn when she laid into Limbaugh.”

Update II: Annual White House Sycophants' Dinner

Barack Obama, Celebrity, Hollywood, Journalism, Politics, Uncategorized

It’s a sickening specter: some of the most pretentious, worthless people in the country—in politics, journalism and entertainment—get together to revel in their ability to petition and curry favor with one another, usually to the detriment of the rest of us.

Those gathered at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner are not the country’s natural aristocracy; but a group of people who make their living pretending to be something they are not. Poseurs and parasites.

Granted, actors do not coerce the citizenry to patronize their (mostly) lousy flicks. However, when they use their celebrity to push unconstitutional, naturally unlawful policies—then they are acting as enemies of the people.

Mostly, I find Hollywood disgusting. Every time I turn around a “celebrity” is preaching and propagandizing for the leftist cause du jour. Some of these tarts were using their tushes and other assets to tell their betters (YOU) to be good and do your “duty.”

Like nothing else, the annual White House correspondents’ dinner is a mark of corrupt politics. The un-watchful dogs of the media have no business frolicking with the president and his minions. This is co-optation. And when did the phonies of Hollywood become a fixture in this event?

The toxic “tradition” began in 1920, and, as far as I know, is sponsored by THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION. The event and the invited tell a great deal about the Association and its ethics and code of conduct.

The president’s performance was a little wooden. He had a few good lines. For example:

“I strongly believe my next 100 days will be so successful I will finish them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day I will rest.”

The dig at John Boehner’s tan: “We have a lot in common. He is a person of ­color, Although not a ­color that appears in the natural world.”

The dig at the sycophants: “Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me.”

On Rahm Emanuel on the eve of Mother’s Day: “It’s a tough holiday for [Emanuel] … He’s not used to saying the word ‘day’ after mother …”

On the other hand, this one captured how privileged Obama feels:

“Sasha and Malia aren’t here tonight because they’re grounded. You can’t just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan. I don’t care whose kids you are.”

Wanda Sykes, a talented comedian, began with some great material and then descended into vulgarity and sheer spite.

Update I (May 11): Glenn Beck gave into the temptation to join the high-flying toadies in Washington. It’s a shame; it damages this scrupulous soul’s credibility.

Written after attending the press palooza, Beck’s barbs would have rung truer had he watched the event from his bunker. For once, this is not a case of Beck bearding the proverbial lion in his den:

Glenn decided to attend the White House Correspondents’ dinner this weekend and called the atmosphere ‘slimy.’ Glenn said Obama did a good job with his delivery but was robotic, and he took issue with comedian Wanda Sykes’ routine. Typically this event serves as somewhat of a roast of the President (Imus bashing Clinton, Colbert bashing Bush) but apparently no entertainers these days know how to make fun of the Messiah, so instead Sykes made fun of Rush Limbaugh. Included in her hilarious (translate=crappy) routine were jokes about how she wished Rush’s kidneys would fail. Glenn imagines the things he can say with the new ‘kidney failure’ comedy bar set so low

Update II: Wanda Sykes’ gentle teases “ took a very ugly turn when she laid into Limbaugh.”

Top Dog Dogs Tax Havens

America, Barack Obama, Economy, EU, Private Property, Taxation, UN

The swindler-in-chief’s shakedown efforts have taken a predictable turn today. Reports a sympathetic Bloomberg:

“President Barack Obama proposed raising about $190 billion over the next decade by outlawing three offshore tax-avoidance techniques. Obama’s plan also would make it riskier for Americans to stash money in tax-havens.”

Note how the efforts of private property owners to retain what is theirs by right are criminalized with the use of terms such as “stash away,” “tax avoidance,” “abusive,” “hiding money.” But state theft of said property is framed as “raising money,” “closing loopholes,” and conducting a “tax overhaul.”

The tax code is “full of corporate loopholes that makes it perfectly legal for companies to avoid paying their fair share,” Obama said at the White House today, as he outlined the plan [and as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner looked on with that evil-gnome scowl of his].

In 2001, I had the unusual occasion to commend the Bush Administration for refusing “to support an attempt by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to clamp down on tax havens. If the junta of high-tax governments has its way,” I wrote in the Financial Post, “not only will there be no place left to run to, but by eliminating what tax havens offer, these governments will have eliminated tax competition, and with it the imperative to downsize their fiefdoms.”

In “The War on Tax Havens,” I strongly condemned the coercive efforts of the OECD to strangle, “sanctuaries such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Malta, Mauritius and San Marino are rolling over.”

The sentiment applies to the Obaminator in spades. I fully expect him, moreover, to fulfill the UN’s dream of establishing an international tax collection organization, so as to better co-ordinate the confiscation of private property.

Incidentally, a few weeks back the administration (and Bush would have been of the same mind) sanctimoniously castigated Castro for taxing remittances from the US. Pot. Kettle. Black. And oh the hypocrisy! The US is one of the few nations to tax the income that nationals earn outside its borders.

Recommended: “The War on Tax Havens”

Updated: The Guy Really Doesn’t Get Econ 101

Barack Obama, Business, Debt, Democrats, Economy, Government

State-enforced egalitarianism in borrowing and lending has been a key component in the economic meltdown. But Barry the Bolshevik is intent on preventing any market corrections from taking place.

Financial institutions are attempting to reverse lending socialism. That means charging clients commensurate with the risk they pose to their lenders. Or not lending to the risky. Increases in late fees and in interest rates on existing balances, as well as requiring greater disclosure—these are all necessary, and to be expected, if a correction is to occur, one that incentivizes savings and solvency.

But not if Obama can help it. At Obama’s behest,

Both the House and Senate are considering a credit card “bill of rights” to limit the ability of credit-card companies to raise interest rates on existing balances and to require greater disclosure.

“These practices need to be stopped. … They cannot continue to use and do practices that are unfair to people,” Rep. Carol Maloney, D-NY, told CBS News.

Readers discuss “Survival On the Road To Serfdom.”

Update (April 25): The federal Frankenstein’s latest folly caught Peter Schiff’s attention, and is the subject of his latest column (great minds…). Writes Schiff:

“The bottom line is that credit card lending is a very risky business. The debts are unsecured and the probability of default is high, meaning big losses should borrowers choose not to pay. In addition, should a borrower file for bankruptcy, credit card debt is often the first to be discharged. Given the risks, interest rates need to be very high to keep lenders in business.

One way to keep a lid on rates for those who do pay is for lenders to weed out those most likely to default. This can be accomplished through higher rates. Not only does this discourage riskier borrowers from taking on more debt, but it gives lenders a bigger cushion to absorb losses. However, by interfering with card issuers’ attempts to better price risk and limit losses, the government will reduce credit availability.”