Obama announces 15 recess appointments, scolds GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Fed up with waiting, President Barack Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs, wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as the recess appointment.

The move immediately deepened the divide between the Democratic president and Republicans in the Senate following a long, bruising fight over health care. Obama revealed his decision by blistering Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.

“I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government,” Obama said in a statement.

The 15 appointees to boards and agencies include the contentious choice of union lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans had blocked his nomination on grounds he would bring a radical pro-union agenda to the job, and they called on Obama not to appoint Becker over the recess.

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Obama announces 15 recess appointments, scolds GOP

Do you know the difference between Adolph Hitler and Barack Hussein Obama?

So far, politically, not that much. There are also many similarities in the lives and backgrounds, their beliefs and dreams.

At the age of 35 Adolph Hitler would write a book called, “Mein Kampf” (translated as “My Struggle”). It would be an autobiography containing insights pertaining to his early years, political ideas, and thoughts on race.

At the age of 34 Barack Obama would write a book called, “Dreams of my Father”, also an autobiography highlighting his early years, political ideas, and thoughts on race.

Hitler’s “Zweites Buch” (translated as “Second Book”) contains a deeper understanding of his political ideas. The same can also be said about Obama’s second book, “The Audacity of Hope”.

Both Hitler and Obama used their books as a springboard to further their political careers. The title of Obama’s second book was based on a sermon of Reverend Wright and was the foundational basis of the speech he gave at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. It was that speech which caught the attention of the media and the public, both of whom propelled him to political stardom. He further expounded on those ideas to publish his second book in 2006, just before announcing his run for the Presidency. The book was on the New York Times best-seller list for 30 weeks.

Ok, so they have a similar childhood and they both wrote two books around similar themes. So what? Well, we suspected both might have had NPD too. Let’s talk a little more about NPD to see if there is really a connection to be concerned about here.
Criteria for narcissistic personality disorder to be diagnosed include9:

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Tea Party Leaders Condemn, Disown Threats Against Lawmakers

Tea Party leaders are condemning the rash of threats made against congressional lawmakers, saying violence and vandalism are not what they’re about — and that congressional Democrats are hardly the only ones dealing with intimidation over the health care debate.

The Tea Partiers say they’ve been enduring threats ever since their movement took off last year, and that while protesters were said to have shouted slurs at lawmakers on Capitol Hill over the weekend, other conservative protesters were harassed by counter-demonstrators. Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip in the House, also said Thursday that his campaign office in Richmond was shot at earlier in the week, though police said the bullet may have been randomly fired.

The Tea Party activists claim the latest threats aimed at lawmakers are, for the most part, coming from lone loons not associated with the Tea Party movement — though at least one incident has been linked to Tea Party activists in Virginia. And they say they’re concerned the intimidation could be used to smear those activists who are behaving responsibly.

“We support peaceful means,” said Debbie Dooley, co-founder of the Atlanta Tea Party and a national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, adding: “There are so many Tea Party groups that are out there. … It’s like herding cats. It’s impossible.”

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Tea Party Leaders Condemn, Disown Threats Against Lawmakers

“There are so many Tea Party groups that are out there. … It’s like herding cats. It’s impossible.”

Yeah, I know that feeling.

There have been many well documented posts made, here and elsewhere, calling the TEA Party a rudderless ship. I have to tell you, there is a lot of truth in that statement. It’s said by TEA Party detractors as a form of denigration, or so some in the TEA Party say, but there’s more truth in the statements of your enemies than you care to admit on occasion.

Several Florida Tea Party groups released an open letter to Congress and President Obama Thursday night denouncing “all forms of violence.”

“We the leaders of the Tea Party movement of Florida stand in stark opposition to any person using derogatory characterizations, threats of violence or disparaging terms towards members of Congress or the President,” they wrote.

I stand and salute these folks that had the foresight and courage needed to take a stand against this violence being done, and in many instances, blamed on TEA Party members!

These Florida TEA Party groups aren’t making an apology either! They are rebuking the actions of those that are doing violence in the name OF The TEA Party. That’s a GOOD thing!

It has been suggested by many, and I believe it’s more than a passing possibility, that these acts are being committed by agent provocateur types, in an effort to show a bad light on the TEA Party and to stir as much hatred and controversy as possible on the American political scene.

And, among other incidents, somebody cut a propane line attached to a grill at the Virginia home of Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello’s brother. Tea Party activists had posted the address online, apparently believing it was the congressman’s.

Mike Troxel, the blogger who posted the address online, told Fox News’ Alan Colmes that he was encouraging voters to go to Perriello’s house.

“I think people should have the right to have access to their, um, public officials,” he said. When asked if the children of public officials should be harassed at their house just because they’re related, Troxel said, “You know, I think that’s a burden that comes with being an elected official.”

I don’t know if this Mike Troxel guy is really a TEA Party member or not, but IF he is, there is NO WAY that I can agree with his actions. Posting addresses and encouraging people to go to a mans home in protest is a damned good way to get people shot dead! Castle Doctrine.

If you want to protest against my actions, do it in a PUBLIC protest, not on MY front lawn.

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AT&T will take $1B non-cash charge for health care

NEW YORK (AP) - AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers.

The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses.

All four are smaller than AT&T, and their combined charges are less than a quarter of the $1 billion that AT&T is planning. The $1 billion is a third of AT&T’s most recent quarterly profit. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company earned $3 billion on revenue of $30.9 billion.

AT&T said Friday that the charge reflects changes to how Medicare subsidies are taxed. Companies say the health care overhaul will require them to start paying taxes next year on a subsidy they receive for retiree drug coverage.

The telecommunications company also said it is looking into changing the health care benefits it offers because of the new law. Analysts say retirees could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers as a result of the overhaul.

AT&T rival Verizon Communications Inc. was among 10 companies that sent a letter to congressional leaders in December warning that their costs would increase with the health care changes. Verizon did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Shares in AT&T, which is based in Dallas, climbed 7 cents to $26.22 in afternoon trading Friday.

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AT&T will take $1B non-cash charge for health care

The article talks about how retirees could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers as a result of the overhaul. But Obama, Pelosi, Reid and every moonbat in this nation stands and tries to tell us how GOOD Obamacare really is and how GOOD it’s going to be for ALL Americans!

I know people in the financial business, and they are a bit shocked that the market has continued to gain, especially with the passage of the healthcare debacle.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock indexes on Friday finished higher for the week, their fourth straight, making it the longest winning stretch for equities since August of 2009. Equities offered a lackluster performance for the day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average SOURCE

I’ve been told to look for a fairly sharp drop in the market early next week as some of the *big guys* do a bit of profit taking. We’ll see, so far, my sources have never told me wrong.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Commodities, from crude oil to copper and gold — and their related sectors of the stock market — have trailed other assets in the first quarter of 2010. But that’s not necessarily a reason to fret for the market just yet. SOURCE

The key word here is YET! The full ramifications of this ObamaCare bill hasn’t even begun to rear it’s ugly head yet. The Dems that wrote this debacle have NO idea what’s in it, but they forced it off on America, because Obama, Pelosi and Reid said it was GOOD!

SAN FRANCISCO — 3M Co. said Friday that it expects to record a non-cash charge of $85 million to $90 million after tax, or about 12 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2010 as a result of the recently passed health-care bill.

The charge is due to a reduction in the value of the company’s deferred tax asset from a change to the tax treatment of Medicare Part D reimbursements, it said.

In late January, the company had raised its 2010 earnings target to a range of $4.90 a share to $5.10 a share. However, that forecast did not include the impact of the bill. SOURCE

Millions for 3M Corp. Billions for AT&T, and that’s just in the first quarter of 2010, and only 2 major companies announcing so far. And the cost of ObamaCare is a GOOD thing?

Here’s another thing that is killing our market, and I am guessing that it’s completely out of our control. I don’t know that Obama can apologize to North and South Korea and accept enough of the blame on OUR behalf.

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