Watching the Fox News Channel yesterday evening, while perusing my favorite Conservative Website, I observed something that I never thought that I would see in my lifetime. Well, that is, I never thought that I would see it before Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

President Barack Hussein Obama had a hissy fit on National Television.

Calling  Speaker  John Boehner and the the Republican members of the House of Representatives everything but Children of God, the Leader of the Free World went on a 35 minute tirade, explaining how it WASN’T HIS FAULT that the nation is heading to Default.

Naturally, it was the fault of those wascally Wepublicans.

Sounding like an adolescent girl having a tantrum over being dumped by a boyfriend, the petulant president (known affectionately around here as “Scooter”) told the sycophantic reporters assembled that the Republicans “won’t return my calls”.

So, holding his breath until he turned blue, while jumping up and down and stomping his feet, (my perception, anyway) the Leader of the Regime summoned the Republicans to a Royal Meeting this morning at the Royal Palace…errr…I mean, the White House.

If I was John Boehner, I would have told Scooter that I had already scheduled a golf game. But, I digress…

Here are some official excepts from the Presidential Hissy Fit, courtesy of the Royal Scribes at whitehouse.gov:

…But in the interest of being serious about deficit reduction, I was willing to take a lot of heat from my party — and I spoke to Democratic leaders yesterday, and although they didn’t sign off on a plan, they were willing to engage in serious negotiations, despite a lot of heat from a lot of interest groups around the country, in order to make sure that we actually dealt with this problem.

It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal. And, frankly, if you look at commentary out there, there are a lot of Republicans that are puzzled as to why it couldn’t get done. In fact, there are a lot of Republican voters out there who are puzzled as to why it couldn’t get done. Because the fact of the matter is the vast majority of the American people believe we should have a balanced approach.

Bull.

Now, if you do not have any revenues (TAXES!, YOU PREVARICATOR!), as the most recent Republican plan that’s been put forward both in the House and the Senate proposed, if you have no revenues (TAXES!) at all, what that means is more of a burden on seniors, more drastic cuts to education, more drastic cuts to research, a bigger burden on services that are going to middle-class families all across the country. And it essentially asks nothing of corporate jet owners, it asks nothing of oil and gas companies, it asks nothing from folks like me who’ve done extremely well and can afford to do a little bit more.

In other words, if you don’t have revenue (TAXES!), the entire thing ends up being tilted on the backs of the poor and middle-class families. And the majority of Americans don’t agree on that approach.

And I think that one of the questions that the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is can they say yes to anything? Can they say yes to anything? I mean, keep in mind it’s the Republican Party that has said that the single most important thing facing our country is deficits and debts. We’ve now put forward a package that would significantly cut deficits and debt. It would be the biggest debt reduction package that we’ve seen in a very long time.

…And so the question is, what can you say yes to? Now, if their only answer is what they’ve presented, which is a package that would effectively require massive cuts to Social Security, to Medicare, to domestic spending, with no revenues (TAXES!) whatsoever, not asking anything from the wealthiest in this country or corporations that have been making record profits — if that’s their only answer, then it’s going to be pretty difficult for us to figure out where to go. Because the fact of the matter is that’s what the American people are looking for, is some compromise, some willingness to put partisanship aside, some willingness to ignore talk radio or ignore activists in our respective bases, and do the right thing.

Not getting your way, are you, Scooter?

…And for us not to be keeping those folks in mind every single day when we’re up here, for us to be more worried about what some funder says, or some talk radio show host says, or what some columnist says, or what pledge we signed back when we were trying to run, or worrying about having a primary fight — for us to be thinking in those terms instead of thinking about those folks is inexcusable.

I mean, the American people are just desperate for folks who are willing to put aside politics just for a minute and try to get some stuff done.

No, Mr. President.  We’re desperate for an American President who cares more about his country and its citizens that his own personal agenda involving the advancement of a failed Socialist Ideology.

So when Norah asked or somebody else asked why was I willing to go along with a deal that wasn’t optimal from my perspective, it was because even if I didn’t think the deal was perfect, at least it would show that this place is serious, that we’re willing to take on our responsibilities even when it’s tough, that we’re willing to step up even when the folks who helped get us elected may disagree.

And at some point, I think if you want to be a leader, then you got to lead.

Mr. President, you showed America on National Television yesterday, that you are a long way from reaching that point.

Within a backdrop of the biggest battle of wills between our petulant president, Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), and Congress, since the disastrous passage of Obamacare, our nation’s capital is resembling a soap opera instead of a bastion of freedom.

There are more rumors flying around DC than in a high school, the week before the Senior Prom.

The lead characters in this Soap Opera, which I have dubbed, As the Stomach Turns, are (cue the melodramatic announcer):

President Barack Hussein Obama, a man wih a mysterious past, whose arrogance and goal to radically change the great country on the face of the Earth, is exceeded only by his desire to improve his golf handicap…

Speaker of the House (Cryin’) John Boehner, who is trying his best to put on a show of doing the right thing and holding the line against a debt ceiling increase, while all the time, secretly wishing for negotiations to wrap up in time for August Recess…

The Gang of Six, a mysterious cabal of cronies, whose sole purpose for existence seems to be to create the illusion of compromise, while, once again, capitulating to the president and the Democrats, as happened with the passage of Obamacare.

(Dinghy) Harry Reid – Majority Leader of the Senate…a crusty old politician, who never saw a political blackmail scheme which he didn’t like, and who follows his president so closely, if Obama ever stops suddenly, Senator Reid will disappear in a forced Colonoscopy.

San Fran Nan Pelosi – Former matriarch of the House of Representatives, desperately trying to re-achieve relevancy, by showing up every time a camera light comes on.

As we left our story yesterday, Cryin’ John Boehner, called the all-knowing, all-seeing Maha Rushie to set the record straight, by telling him that there was no deal on the table regarding the Debt Ceiling negotiations:

RUSH: We’re so happy to have with us the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. I’m glad that we had a chance to talk to you here, Mr. Speaker, because people are confused with all of these leaks as to what’s going on.

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Well, Rush, there is no deal. No deal publicly. No deal privately. There is absolutely no deal. Our focus —

RUSH: Are you talking about a deal, though?

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Pardon me?

RUSH: Are you talking about a deal in secret?

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Our focus right now is getting the Senate to follow us in the House and pass Cut, Cap, and Balance. I believe that we’ve got to act to prevent a default and to prevent a downgrade of our nation’s credit rating, and the best way to do that is to enact Cut, Cap, and Balance. But let me be clear: I believe that is the best course of action. I’ve said all the way along that we’ve gotta keep the lines of communication open. That’s why Leader Cantor and I have talked with Mitch McConnell. We’ve talked to Nancy Pelosi. We’ve talked to the president. We talked about fallback options if in fact Cut, Cap, and Balance does go down; and I do think it’s our obligation to have a fallback plan if that doesn’t work.

RUSH: Well, but that’s what everybody is worried about: What is the fallback plan? A congressional aide is out there today saying that the deal’s been struck. He’s unnamed, he’s on Fox, he’s saying, “It’s $3 trillion of cuts with no tax revenue.” National Journal says three trillion in cuts with “insignificant” tax revenues. So a lot of people out here are of the opinion that Obama is the one who ought to be caving. He’s the one that doesn’t have a plan. He’s forcing you to compromise with yourself. He’s done great damage to the economy, and people want it to stop.

SPEAKER BOEHNER: I understand. I’m concerned about the nation defaulting on its credit rating. I’m concerned about us not doing anything about our debt, which will cause our credit rating to fall — and which then would mean everybody’s interest rates go up. I think that’s irresponsible. Frankly, we’ve looked at a half a dozen fallback plans. None of which, none of which, are all that appetizing. That’s why we continue to support Cut, Cap, and Balance.

We join today’s episode as the mysterious President Barack Hussein Obama, (affectionately known to followers of this soap opera as “Scooter”), puts pen to paper (or, at least, one of his staff did), producing a vacuous op ed or the daily newpaper, USA Today, in an effort to keep his adoring public up to date, concerning the Debt Ceiling Crisis:

…The middle class hasn’t just borne the brunt of this recession; they’ve been dealing with higher costs and stagnant wages for more than a decade now. It’s just not right to ask them to pay the whole tab — especially when they’re not the ones who caused this mess in the first place.

Why not? You’ve had not trouble in the past with stating that you’re going to increase our taxes.

A balanced deficit deal that includes some new revenues isn’t just a Democratic position. It’s a position that has been taken by everyone from Warren Buffett to Bill O’Reilly. It’s a position that was taken this week by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, who worked together on a promising plan of their own. And it’s been the position of every Democratic and Republican leader who has worked to reduce the deficit in their time, from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton.

There will be plenty of haggling over the details of all these plans in the days ahead. But right now, we have the opportunity to do something big and meaningful. This debate shouldn’t just be about avoiding the catastrophe of not paying our bills and defaulting on our debt. That’s the least we should do. This debate offers the chance to put our economy on stronger footing, restore a sense of fairness in our country, and secure a better future for our children. I want to seize that opportunity, and ask Americans of both parties and no party to join me in that effort.

Will the mysterious President of the United States (Ptui!) Barack Hussein Obama, succeed in getting America’s Debt Ceiling raised in time for the start of Ramadan and his killer family vay-cay at Martha’s Vineyard?

Will Cryin’ John Boehner succeed in the passage of Cut, Cap, and Balance, while maintaining his reserved bar stool at the GOP Elite Country Club?

Will the mysterious cabal of cronies, known as the Gang of Six, succeed in getting their compromise bill passed…and will they ever figure out exactly what they want to be in the bill, in the first place?

Will Senator Harry Reid ever propose anything useful?

Will San Fran Nan Pelosi finally end her Norma Desmond impression and just shuddup?

Stay tuned tomorrow, fellow Americans, for another exciting episode of AS THE STOMACH TURNS!

…And pass the Tylenol.

I am a product of the Memphis City Schools System. I graduated in 1976, 30th out of a class of 360.

I don’t say that as an exercise in braggadocio, but, rather, in deep sorrow for the delapidated state of what was once one of the nation’s finest metropolitan school systems.

Back on February 13th, in a post titled A Scholastic Soap Opera in Memphis, I reported the following:

In the last few days, things have really come to a head in this scholastic soap opera:

• The Memphis City School Board voted Monday night, December 20th, 2010 to let City voters decide on March 8th whether to surrender its charter.
• On Thursday, February 10th, 2011, the Memphis City Council voted 10 – 0 to accept the decision by the Memphis City Schools Board of Education to surrender its charter, wiping out the city school board in one vote.
• On Friday, February 11th, 2011, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslan signed into law a measure designed to delay any merger between the two systems.

And, through all of this, the wishes of the Shelby County School Board and the citizens that it represents have been tossed aside, because…wait for it…it’s for the children.

Well, now, Memphis has hit the national wires again with a story of poor management, involving, you guessed it, the Memphis City Schools  System.

The school board voted Tuesday night, by a tally of 8-1, to postpone the start of the school year indefinitely, locked in a spittin’ (I cleaned that up.) contest with the Memphis City Council, and in the process, once again putting the former “City of Good Abode” in the national spolight for all the wrong reasons.

Classes for Memphis City Schools have been halted because local professional politicians have decided that the education of urban children, many living in depressed conditions, is not as important as the $55 million which the city of Memphis owes them, budgeted for the schools from the city’s tax revenue.

According to board member Tomeka Hart:

We’ve been patient; we’ve cut 1,500 jobs. We’re not going for everything. We’re not saying give us everything you owe. We are just saying we have to have the money in the bank from our city so we can pay our bills.

It’s a difficult situation they are in but we can’t continue to sacrifice our difficult situation to help them out of theirs. We did not create this situation, and we are a governing body as well.

City Council president and former TV news anchor Myron Lowery fired back, claiming that several of the funding issues are tied up in court and therefore not negotiable right now:

The council supplies less than 10 percent of almost a billion-dollar school budget. They have voted to delay for having less than 10 percent in hand. That is ridiculous.

Per Lowery, the problem is a failure to communicate between School Board President Kriner Cash and Mayor AC Wharton.

Employees of the school system will not receive a paycheck until school finally starts, which will effect thousands of personnel, including Sarah Harper, who spoke at the meeting of the school board, saying:

…as much as I would like to get paid, as much I need to get paid, let’s not muddy the water about what the real issue is. Our children are being made the pawns. The city of Memphis needs to fund Memphis City Schools and fund them now. Demand they make this right.”

Fellow employee, Clara Ford,  also emotionally addressed the school board, proclaiming:

We’ve got to have the money. If we don’t have it, we can’t open the doors. I will guarantee you this city would be up in arms if they have to teach their children at home or find somewhere for them to go.

School superintendent Kriner Cash attempted to be as politically correct as he could, walking a fine line between altruism and avarice, regarding the board’s vote:

Our children need to be in school. I can’t tell you that passionately or emphatically enough. I am going to keep fighting to get a resolution. What’s next? I expect the city to be in touch with us.

For his part, Memphis Mayor AC Wharton could not understand why the school board delayed the start of the school year:

The money is in the budget — no ifs, ands or buts about it. On Friday, I stated to Dr. Cash that we have fully funded Memphis City Schools for the fiscal year 2012. The money is there, point blank. I don’t know how to state that with any more clarity.

The mayor was fit to be tied, as he pounded the podium repeatedly, resonating through the city council’s chambers.

The school board says the city has failed to give it funds totaling $151 million over four years, including $78.4 million for the 2011-12 school year.

In return, the city council has not approved the district’s budget, required by state law. The district has to submit its budget to the state by Aug. 1. School was supposed to start on Aug. 8.

To add to the school system’s misery, if they cannot produce an approved budget which proves that the city will pay up by schools by Oct. 1, new Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman told Superintendent Kriner Cash on Tuesday that he would withhold state funding for MCS.

The state provides 50 per cent of the funding for public education in Memphis.

The City Schools’ Budget was not approved until Sept. 14 last year, more than a month after the start of school.

According to school board attorney Dorsey Hopson, this year’s budget is different, because the Memphis City Council’s legal position in the merger with Shelby County Schools is that the city schools no longer exist.

However, until now, they were still getting paid for their incompetency.

 

 

 

 

Last night, Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans passed a bill cutting federal spending by $6 trillion and requiring a constitutional balanced budget amendment be sent to the states, in response to a presidential untimatum proclaimed by Barack Hussein Obama ordering Congress to raise the Debt Ceiling by August 2nd, coincidentally, the day after the beginning of the Muslim holiday period known as Ramadan.

The legislation, nicknamed “Cut, Cap and Balance”, would require an estimated $111 billion in immediate reductions and would ensure that overall spending declined in the future in correlation to the overall size of the economy.

The Balanced Budget Amendment would require a supermajority vote in both houses of Congress for any future tax raises.

Voting along party lines, 234-190, the victory was secured by the actions of Conservative first-term Republicans, and dumped the issue’s resolution squarely in the laps of the Democratically-controlled Senate and the president, who have been whining about the Republican’s lack of bipartisanship during the Debt Ceiling/Budget Negotiations.

Speaking of the Upper House, Obama and a number of Republican senators were all aglow in their praise yesterday for a deficit-reduction plan proposed by a group of Senators known as the”Gang of Six”, which called for the confiscation of $1 trillion of American’ hard-earned money, euphemistically referred to as “additional revenue” by these professional politicians.

Scooter (Obama) proclaimed that he hoped that leaders in Congress would “start talking turkey” on a deal to reduce deficits and raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit as soon as Wednesday, using the Gang of Six’s proposition as a roadmap.

A roadmap? Yeah…to a place with a permanent Heatwave, paved with good intentions.

Per Treasury officials, without an increase in the Debt Ceiling by Aug. 2, the U.S. Government will not be able to pay all its bills, and default could result in severe consequences for the economy.

And, besides that, the Obama Family won’t be able to begin their vay-cay up in Martha’s Vineyard.

With time running out, yesterday’s soap opera certainly did not portend a happy ever after ending to this war between the two political parties.

Democrats in the Senate, led by Harry Reid, have announced they will oppose the House passed-measure, although it could take two or three days to reject it.

After last night’s vote was completed, signs started to emerge that House Republican leaders might pivot swiftly.

Speaker of House John Boehner, representing the GOP Elite, hedged his bets before the vote, telling reporters that it also was “responsible to look at what Plan B would look like.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor disappontingly chimed in with Boehner, issuing a statement leaning in favor of the Gang of Six proposal:

This bipartisan plan does seem to include some constructive ideas to deal with our debt.

Obama would not endore the Gang of Six’s plan.  His excuse was that administration officials were analyzing it and not all details were known.

But, he did say that it included “a revenue component” along with savings in Medicare and Social Security, making it the sort of balanced approach he has long advocated.

Scooter also hinted that he may use the 14th Amendment to bypass the will of the American people and raise the Debt Celing.

Obama said that the Senate’s two top leaders have been cooperating on a measure that would allow him to raise the debt limit without a prior vote of Congress while also setting up a special committee to recommend cuts from federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare.

According to the president:

That continues to be a necessary approach to put forward. In the event that we don’t get an agreement, at minimum, we’ve got to raise the debt ceiling.

Recently, Former President Bill “Bubba” Clinton came out in favor of using the 14th Amendment option for lifting the debt ceiling, saying that he’d raise it “without hesitation, and force the courts to stop me.”

Clinton said:

I think the Constitution is clear and I think this idea that the Congress gets to vote twice on whether to pay for [expenditures] it has appropriated is crazy.

Clinton and Obama are basing their proposed Congressional bypass on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s implication that the 14th Amendment gave the president unilateral authority to raise new debt.

However, now the Treasury Department has hedged on this point, with its general counsel saying that “Secretary Geithner has never argued that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows the President to disregard the statutory debt limit,” but rather “the Constitution explicitly places the borrowing authority with Congress, not the President.”

Per thehill.com:

Some constitutional analysts have suggested that the 14th Amendment makes it illegal for the United States to default on its debt, giving the president the power to extend the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority without congressional approval.

The amendment reads, in part, that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment actually reads, in its entirety:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

If Obama bypasses the will of the American citizenry by raising the debt ceiling through Executive Order, he’ll witness an insurrection and rebellion against his presidency, culminating Election Day,  November 6th, 2012.

Yesterday, United States President Barack Hussein Obama presented Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, as the new  head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Per its former Obama-appointed leader and professional academician, Elizabeth Warren, in an article posted on the Bureau’s website, consumerfinance.gov:

One year ago, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created this new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the CFPB). This law establishes a single point of accountability to assure that markets for consumer financial products work for American consumers and for responsible providers of those products. On July 21, the CFPB starts this work, and it will be a cop on the beat to enforce the laws on credit cards, mortgages, student loans, prepaid cards, and other kinds of financial products and services.

…The consumer bureau’s statutory obligations are designed to make markets for consumer financial products and services work in a fair, transparent, and competitive manner. This means, in part, creating a level playing field where all providers of consumer financial products and services are subject to meaningful oversight to ensure that they play by the rules. It also means creating a level playing field where both parties to the transaction – the customer and the lender – can understand the terms of the deal, where the price and the risk of products are made clear, and where direct comparisons can be made from one product to another.

Karl Marx would be so proud.

Mrs. Warren got booted out on her thesis when Obama declined to appoint her, a Harvard law professor, to a permanent position as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency she helped create to be a watchdog over mortgages, credit cards and other financial tools.

Warren, slighty to the left of Vladimir Lenin, would never have have passed her Senate confirmation hearings.

Yesterday, Professor Warren announced that she wants to get some rest and take a break from politics before deciding whether to run for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts:

Massachusetts does beckon in the sense that it’s my home and I need to go home.

And when I go home, I’ll do more thinking then. But I need to do that thinking not from Washington.

Warren would have to win the race for the Democratic nomination in order to take on incumbent GOP Sen. Scott Brown.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer has weighed in about the new appointment.  Per Cramer:

[Banks] were thrilled because they feared the unflappable Warren, who had frequently expressed contempt and anger about the banks and their executives, would decimate bank earnings and serve as a nationally appointed nemesis of the financial industry.

But any the relief the banks are feeling right now is premature, according to the “Mad Money” host.  His record as Ohio AG shows that Cordray, took aim at the national banks and has been a big supporter of the rights of borrowers against the lenders.

Cramer said:

I think that Cordray will be both for cuts in both interest and principal, something that will annihilate the banks’ meager earning and stand the whole mortgage business on its ear.

Cramer went on to say that bank investors shouldn’t be so quick to come out of the fallout shelter, because Cordray’s going to be the defaulting borrower’s best friend.

The other little tidbit that’s traveling under the radar is the fact that Cordray, 52, is known as an ally of Elizabeth Warren. In fact, he has been working with her as director of enforcement for the agency.

Per Warren:

He will make a stellar director.

Uh oh.

Republicans fought tooth and nail against the creation of the bureau last year and since then, they have been trying to place all the restrictions on the agency that they possibly can.

In May, all of the Republicans in the Senate signed a letter to Obama threatening to withhold their support for any nominee to the position if the White House didn’t make significant changes to the agency.

Among the changes they suggested would be to replace a single director with a board and to make the bureau’s finances subject to congressional approval.

Imagine that…a system of checks and balances. Now, where have I heard of that before?

Anyway, Obama’s introduction of Cordray as the head of the Financial Section of the Politboro…err…I mean the CFPB, was not received as enthusiastically as the president thought that it would be.

From realclearpolitics.com:

“Back in the 80’s, Richard was also a five-time Jeopardy champion and a semi-finalist in the Tournament of Champions. Not too shabby,” President Obama said as he announced the nomination of Richard Cordray to run the consumer bureau on Monday.

“That’s why all his confirmation — all the answers at his confirmation hearings will be in a form of a question,” Obama said to silence.

“That’s a joke,” he reminded the audience.

So’s your presidency, Scooter.  That’s why no one is laughing.

Hey, has anybody heard how Rick Santorum is doing in his quest to become the Republican Nominee for President? No?

What was Newt Gingrich up to this weekend? You don’t know?

Say…How about that Human Dynamo Tim Paw…Zzzzzz…excuse me…I nodded off.

But, there is some excitement in the Republican Sphere.  Stephen Bannon’s movie about Sarah Palin, The Undefeated, opened in 10 theaters this weekend, averaging between $5,000 – $7,500 per screen.

Per the Hollywood Reporter:

We didn’t put a nickel of P&A into this and the distributor had the movie for only three weeks. To describe this as anything but a hit is inaccurate,” director-writer Stephen Bannon told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday.

“We took out only one ad, which is what AMC required of us. We did a high-risk thing. I wanted to see how we could open on word-of-mouth and social media,” said Bannon.

Bannon also said the numbers are misleading, given the small theaters where Undefeated played.

“This is a documentary opening against Harry Potter on the toughest weekend of the year. We had small numbers but only in small theaters. In bigger markets, like Orange County, we’ll do $12,000 per screen,” Bannon said.

“One theater had, like, 95 seats. Most places upgraded us to a bigger screen because of demand. Where we had the capacity, we did more than $10,000 per screen,” he said.

Bannon also said audiences reacted much in the same way they did at the premiere in Pella, Iowa a few weeks ago: with standing ovations. He said he intends on putting video of the positive response online.

“The combination of passionate audience response, sustained standing ovations and in-theater Twittering convinces us that this is a special film that will have incredible word-of-mouth,” said Glenn Bracken Evans, co-founder of Victory Film Group, which financed the film with its partners.

ARC Entertainment and Cinedigm, which helped get the film into theaters, opened the film in Palin strongholds—Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Phoenix, Orlando, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Orange, Calif.

ARC said theaters in larger markets enjoyed per screen averages of nearly $10,000 on Saturday night. The theater in Phoenix played Undefeated on two screens at one point because of demand.

Bannon said details of a wider release will be announced Monday.

“We expect word-of-mouth to keep ticket sales strong and we will definitely expand the film to a wider national audience,” said ARC CEO Trevor Drinkwater.

Bannon also said independent filmmakers can learn something from the way Undefeated got a quick and inexpensive release that included efficiently marketing the movie to its target audience.

“Harry Potter is historic, and in our little way, we are too,” Bannon said. “We’re a template for independent film releases.”

Lord Voldemort’s vendetta against Harry Potter pales in comparison to the Main Stream Media, the Elite of both political parties, and “Fiscal Conservatives”‘ (i.e., Moderates, Libertarians, or incognito Liberals) hatred of Sarah Palin.

Check out this movie review from theweek.com:

No one was expecting a Tea Party Citizen Kane from conservative filmmaker Stephen Bannon, but all the same, critics (who’ve, so far, given the movie a 0 percent favorability rating on Rotten Tomatoes) are deriding the film, not just for being pro-Palin propaganda, but for being “bad propaganda.” How foul is it?

It’s amateurishly bad: The Palin documentary “makes no pretense of being anything more than a full-length commercial endorsement of her character and accomplishments,” says Robert Levin at The Atlantic. It’s just too bad the director, conservative Stephen Bannon, isn’t a better filmmaker. He beats every talking point to a pulp, “with earsplitting soundtrack flourishes, aggressive montage, and an overall state of high anxiety.” The film’s biggest problem isn’t its “hagiographic leanings.” It’s the “simple fact that its director needs to go back to film school.”

“Sarah Palin’s The Undefeated: Bad propaganda, worse filmmaking”

And quite boring: “The first hour of The Undefeated, scrupulously attentive to Palin’s rise through state politics, is pretty rough going, a turgid primer in Alaska’s pipeline management and oil, gas and, yes, milk subsidies,” says Richard Corliss at TIME. What could have been a compelling film about Palin’s place in the political landscape, and the establishment’s handling of her, is marred by Bannon’s clumsy, yawn-inducing attempt at propaganda. The movie might lead “even the most ardent conservatives to emulate their idol’s tenure as governor and walk out halfway through.”

“The Undefeated: Her holiness Sarah Palin”

And very thin on new material: This film is little more than “a string of encomiums against a backdrop of frantically edited archival material,” says Todd McCarthy at The Hollywood Reporter. Palin wasn’t even interviewed for the documentary, though some excerpts from her audio book are featured. There’s no worthwhile analysis here, “nothing about her personal life, international inexperience or interview gaffes.” It’s essentially a redundant, two-hour film “stitched together with a thousand sound bites” and a grating musical score.

At the same time, these clowns probably consider Janeane Garafalo, a gorgeous woman and a great actress…and Lady Gaga,the epitome of class and refinement.

I find it both fascinating and disgusting at the same time to watch the Progressive Leaders and all of their sycophants and unwitting dupes, on both sides of the aisle, as they attack Sarah Palin and everything that she stands for with a fervor and unceasing rage that makes Lord Voldemort seem like Deepak Chopra in comparison.

Sarah Palin is receiving more attention than all of the Republican Presidential Nominees, including the Legacy, Mitt Romney, combined.

And she’s not even running…yet.

As of July13th, 2011, President Barack Hussein Obama’s approval rating stood at 42%, per gallup.com, not exactly a Conservative polling organization.

Thoughout his reign as the Leader of the Far Left, masquerading as a Moderate President of the United States, Obama has shown himself to be out of touch with average American thought.

Let’s review a few examples:

He started out his presidency by giving a speech at the University of Cairo, on June 4th, 2009,  an attempt to reach out to the Muslim World, the same people who danced in the streets when 3,000 Americans were massacred on September 1st, 2001.  He said:

…There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.” (Applause.) That is what I will try to do today — to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart

Now part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I’m a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam — at places like Al-Azhar — that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities — (applause) — it was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality. (Applause.)

I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President, John Adams, wrote, “The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims.” And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, they have served in our government, they have stood for civil rights, they have started businesses, they have taught at our universities, they’ve excelled in our sports arenas, they’ve won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers — Thomas Jefferson — kept in his personal library. (Applause.)

This was only the beginning of a worldwide apology tour, where he made a very public show of apologizing for our country’s transgressions to every two-bit, tinhorn despot around the globe.

Beginning with the passage of Obamacare, by him and his Congressional minions, holding clandestine meetings, both on Christmas, and in the dark of night, Obama has shown the propensity to do whatever he wants to, in order to further his personal agenda, regardless of the wishes of the people whom he is supposed to be serving.

The day after this Gallup Presidential Job Approval Poll closed, Obama, flailing mightily in a situation of his own making, the Debt Ceiling/Budget Battle, announced in a morning press conference, that 80% of Americans wanted their taxes increased.

Of course, he had no corroborating evidence to back that claim up.  He just pulled it out of thin air (or a darker region).

And his supporters wonder why his approval polls numbers are sinking faster than Lady Gaga’s record sales.

Former (Thank you, Lord!) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said the other day that Obama was just like the Biblical Hero, Job, because of the patience he’s shown during the Debt Ceiling/Budget battle.

San Fran Nan has lost her mind…what little there was.

Job was a great man, a hard worker who was

blameless and upright, one who feared God andturned away from evil.

Tell ya what, Nan, read up about Haman in the Book of Esther, and get back to me.

Congressional nutjob Sheila Jackson Lee then proclaimed that she had it all figured out:

Obama is failing because we’re all Raaaciiists!

What makes it difficult is we have leadership in the other body that is Republican that says their main job is to defeat President Obama in 2012.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Why is there such a devastating attitude from our friends on the other side of the aisle?

Because the American people can’t stand him, you idiot!

I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president…has received the kind of attacks and disagreements and inability to work. Only this one. Read between the lines.

Waitasec. What about Booosh?

What is different about this president that should put him in a position that he should not receive the same kind of respectful treatment of when it is necessary to raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills, something required by both statutes and the 14th amendment.

Jackson Lee, D-Texas, also brought up the contentious debate over the Affordable Care Act as an example of lawmakers being disrespectful to the president, noting that she had

…never seen the level of [disrespect] depicting of the president of the United States by Americans as I had during that debate.

I do not understand what I think is the maligning and maliciousness of this president. Why is he different? In my community that is the question we raise. In the minority community that is a question being raised. Why is this president being treated so disrespectfully?

Why is he treating the American people so disrespectfully?

He is no different than any other president that has served, and I beg this House and I beg this Congress to treat him with the dignity that that office deserves. Get on with our work. Get on with solving the problems of the American people – a diversely, multicultural nation.

Sheila-baby, you need to understand something about average Americans’ problem with Barack Hussein Obama:

IT’S NOT THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN.  IT’S THE CONTENT OF HIS CHARACTER.

Yesterday, the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, held a press conference on the state of the Debt Ceiling/Battle of the Budget meetings currently taking place between him and Congressional Leaders, which are presently making all the progress of a rock.

To say that the president is a master of prevarication is like saying that Albert Pujols is a fairly good baseball player.

Here is a partial transcript of the press conference, with the, err, exaggerations, highlighted:

All the congressional leaders have reiterated the desire to make sure that the United States does not default on our obligations, and that the full faith and credit of the United States is preserved. That is a good thing. I think we should not even be this close to a deadline on this issue; this should have been taken care of earlier.

After all, he’s taking August off for Ramadan.

…These are obligations that the United States has taken on in the past. (Boooosh!)  Congress has run up the credit card, and we now have an obligation to pay our bills. If we do not, it could have a whole set of adverse consequences. We could end up with a situation, for example, where interest rates rise for everybody all throughout the country, effectively a tax increase on everybody, because suddenly whether you’re using your credit or you’re trying to get a loan for a car or a student loan, businesses that are trying to make payroll, all of them could end up being impacted as a consequence of a default.

Oooooh….scary.

Now, what is important is that even as we raise the debt ceiling, we also solve the problem of underlying debt and deficits. I’m glad that congressional leaders don’t want to default, but I think the American people expect more than that. They expect that we actually try to solve this problem, we get our fiscal house in order.

Heck…we expected you to do that 2 and 1/2 years ago…and we got a tanking economy and Obamacare, instead.

And so during the course of these discussions with congressional leaders, what I’ve tried to emphasize is we have a unique opportunity to do something big. We have a chance to stabilize America’s finances for a decade, for 15 years, or 20 years, if we’re wiling to seize the moment.

Our great-grandchildren are already going to be paying for your brilliant economic strategy, Scooter.  Why don’t you quit while you’re ahead?

…It also requires cuts in defense spending, and I’ve said that in addition to the $400 billion that we’ve already cut from defense spending, we’re willing to look for hundreds of billions more.

But, how will you pay for all of the “How to Accept Homosexuals in the Military” Training?

It would require us taking on health care spending. And that includes looking at Medicare and finding ways that we can stabilize the system so that it is available not just for this generation but for future generations.

I have a better idea.  Repeal Obamacare.

And it would require revenues. It would require, even as we’re asking the person who needs a student loan or the senior citizen or people — veterans who are trying to get by on a disability check — even as we’re trying to make sure that all those programs are affordable, we’re also saying to folks like myself that can afford it that we are able and willing to do a little bit more; that millionaires and billionaires can afford to do a little bit more; that we can close corporate loopholes so that oil companies aren’t getting unnecessary tax breaks or that corporate jet owners aren’t getting unnecessary tax breaks.

Again with the corporate jets.  Were you frightened as a baby by a jet flying too close over your head?

If we take that approach, then I am confident that we can not only impress the financial markets, but more importantly, we can actually impress the American people that this town can actually get something done once in a while.

Not a chance in you-know-where.

Now, let me acknowledge what everybody understands: It is hard to do a big package. My Republican friends have said that they’re not willing to do revenues and they have repeated that on several occasions.

My hope, though, is that they’re listening not just to lobbyists or special interests here in Washington, but they’re also listening to the American people. Because it turns out poll after poll, many done by your organizations, show that it’s not just Democrats who think we need to take a balanced approach; it’s Republicans as well.

If they are not, just like you, they’re going to be out on their keisters, come January of 2013.

The clear majority of Republican voters think that any deficit reduction package should have a balanced approach and should include some revenues. That’s not just Democrats; that’s the majority of Republicans. You’ve got a whole slew of Republican officials from previous administrations. You’ve got a bipartisan commission that has said that we need revenues.

So this is not just a Democratic understanding;  (you hope) this is an understanding that I think the American people hold that we should not be asking sacrifices from middle-class folks who are working hard every day, from the most vulnerable in our society — we should not be asking them to make sacrifices if we’re not asking the most fortunate in our society to make some sacrifices as well.

…The fallback position, the third option and I think the least attractive option, is one in which we raise the debt ceiling but we don’t make any progress on deficit and debt. Because if we take that approach, this issue is going to continue to plague us for months and years to come. And I think it’s important for the American people that everybody in this town set politics aside, that everybody in this town set our individual interests aside, and we try to do some tough stuff. And I’ve already taken some heat from my party for being willing to compromise. My expectation and hope is, is that everybody, in the coming days, is going to be willing to compromise.

…The bottom line is that this is not an issue of salesmanship to the American people; the American people are sold. The American people are sold. I just want to repeat this. The whole —

Chuck Todd, NBC News – You don’t think the whole debate would have been different? You had Republican support on it.

Obama: Chuck —

Chuck Todd: Tom Coburn, the Republican senator, signed onto it.

Obama: Chuck, you have 80 percent of the American people who support a balanced approach. Eighty percent of the American people support an approach that includes revenues and includes cuts. So the notion that somehow the American people aren’t sold is not the problem. The problem is members of Congress are dug in ideologically into various positions because they boxed themselves in with previous statements.

To quote Rep. Tom Wilson, YOU LIE!

Per rasmussenreports.com:

Just 34% think a tax hike should be included in any legislation to raise the debt ceiling. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% disagree and say it should not.

…Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Democrats want a tax hike in the deal while 82% of Republicans do not. Among those not affiliated with either major political party, 35% favor a tax hike and 51% are opposed.

Americans who earn more than $75,000 a year are evenly divided as to whether a tax hike should be included in the debt ceiling deal. Those who earn less are opposed to including tax hikes.

Voters remain very concerned about the debt ceiling issue. Sixty-nine percent (69%) believe that it would be bad for the economy if a failure to raise the debt ceiling led to government defaults. Only 6% believe it would be good for theeconomy. Fourteen percent (14%) believe it would have no impact and 11% are notsure. These figures are little changed from a few weeks ago.

Mr. President, you are out of touch with the American people.  No sane American wants their taxes increased. 

This is not Russia.  You are not Lenin.  We are not your Proletariat.

We are Americans!

As I reported yesterday, right before President Barack Hussein Obama took his ball and went home, walking out of the Debt Ceiling/Budget Meeting with Congressional Leaders on Wednesday, he warned Congressman Eric Cantor:

Eric, don’t call my bluff.

Obama told Cantor that he would take his case “to the American people.” Obama also told Cantor that no other president — not Ronald Reagan, the president said — would sit through such negotiations.

So, today, at 10 a.m. Central, (actually about 30 to 45 minutes later, Obama Standard Time) Obama is holding a Press Conference.

Remember, reporters, no shouting.  He’s sensitive.

Obama is going to be pleading his case to the American people as to why it’s imperative that he is allowed to order the raising of America’s Debt Ceiling.

The president has a huge problem, per thehill.com:

Only 27 percent of likely voters favor raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, while 62 percent oppose it, according to an exclusive poll for The Hill.

The poll found solid opposition from Republicans and also from independent voters, who are critical to President Obama’s re-election in 2012.

Barry…you got some ‘splainin’ to do!

This is not the first Hot Button Issue that the president has been on the opposite side from the overwhelming majority of the American people.  For instance:

1.  The Stimulus Bill – Even before it was signed into law by Obama, per rasmussenreports.com, 60% of Americans said that the  Stimulus Plan was what the Democrats wanted, and was not bipartisan.

Of course,  Obama went ahead and signed it into law…and it turned out to help America’s economy about as much as a screen door helps a submarine.

2.  Obamacare – On 3/22/10, before the passage of the Obamanation known as the National Healthcare Law, a poll was released by CNN/Opinion Research, in which the following question was asked:

As you may know, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are trying to pass finallegislation that would make major changes in the country’s health care system. Based on what you have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor it or generally oppose it?

Mar 19-21, 2010

Favor 39%

Oppose 59%

No opinion 2%

Obama signed the Bill into Law on march 22, 2010.  It will eventually wind up before the United Supreme Court, which will decide its Constitutionality.

3.  The Auto Bailouts – Back in 2008, Chrysler, Ford, and GM were seeking a total of $34 billion in federal loans to buy them time to restructure and stave off bankruptcy, which they said would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. They presented recovery plans to Congress.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, from December 3rd of 2008,  found that 61 percent were against the loans, while 36 percent supported them. The poll also found 53 percent who said they don’t believe that aiding the automakers would help the broader economy at the time.

The support for the automakers was damaged, in part because of withering criticism of auto executives, who flew private jets to Washington to ask for money.

Of course, GM and Chrysler were bailed out, using our money.

ABC’s Jake Tapper reported on his blog, on June 3rd, 2011:

President Obama today will again herald the recovery of the U.S. auto industry and the success of the $80 billion financial bailout his administration sponsored for GM and Chrysler.

“If any of the Republicans running for president now had been president in 2009, auto workers wouldn’t be on the assembly line today, they’d be on the unemployment line,” White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said this morning on MSNBC.

But saving the auto companies from bankruptcy, and preserving thousands of American jobs, has cost taxpayers at least $14 billion, according to several estimates by government agencies and independent groups.

To put it in perspective, $14 billion is double the annual budget of the Transportation Security Administration, or roughly two months of operating expenses for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, based on 2010 figures.

Rasmussenreports.com conducted a poll on October 20, 2010, right before the political massacre known as the Midterm Election:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most Likely Voters think their representative in Congress does not deserve reelection if he or she voted for the national health care law, the auto bailouts or the $787-billion economic stimulus plan. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Those votes also appear to be driving factors in the GOP’s consistent lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot. Most strong supporters of President Obama believe those who voted for the measures should be reelected. Even more of those who Strongly Oppose the president disagree.

Forty-three percent (43%) of all Likely Voters say someone who voted for the health care law deserves to be reelected. Fifty percent (50%) oppose their reelection.

Thirty-six percent (36%) say if their local representative voted for the taxpayer bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler, he or she deserves to be returned to Congress. Fifty-three percent (53%) say that person does not deserve reelection.

Similarly, 41% say their representative in Congress should be reelected if he or she voted for the stimulus plan. But 50% don’t see it that way and say the individual should not be reelected.

And we all remember how the Midterms turned out.

So, the Question of the Day, is:

Why should we listen to you, Mr. President?

PAY ATTENTION, SCOOTER!…ON SECOND THOUGHT…DON’T.

 

 

 

Perhaps we news junkies should have had an inkling about what kind of a day President Barack Hussein Obama was going to have yesterday, when his Press Secretary, Jay Carney, scolded the reporters assembled for the daily press briefing over the time-honored practice of shouting their questions to the president.

Obama does not like the practice and has gone so far as covering his disdain for it by only allowing stills of his appearances at the press briefings, instead of live cameras, because they might capture Obama being the petulant snob that he is.

Carney explained why they only allowed still cameras in yesterday’s briefing:

People shouted questions at him. The purpose of the meeting is not to create a circus, but to negotiate, so today we’re doing stills only.

So, there!  Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.

Then, our petulant president got upset at the 2:45 p.m. meeting he held with Congressional leaders yesterday, and abruptly walked out of the meeting, according to politico.com.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters in the Capitol after the meeting:

He shoved back and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out.

Obama’s First Presidential Temper Tantrum (TM) comes on the heels of an announcement by Moody’s rating agency warning that American debt could be downgraded.

The president had a hissy fit when Cantor said the two sides were too far apart to get a deal that could pass the House by the Treasury Department’s Aug. 2 deadlineand that he would consider moving a short-term debt-limit increase alongside smaller spending cuts.  At that point, the former collegiate  guest lecturer, who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, began to lecture him.

Scooter upon telling the Congressman that he would take his case “to the American people” and that no other president, including Ronald Reagan,  would sit through such negotiations.

The president warned Cantor:

Eric, don’t call my bluff.

Of course, Scooter’s playmates say that Cantor got the indicent all wrong.  The Democrats said that Obama was “impassioned” but claim he didn’t exactly storm out of the room.

According to one of Obama’s minions:

Cantor’s account of tonight’s meeting is completely overblown. For someone who knows how to walk out of a meeting, you’d think he’d know it when he saw it. Cantor rudely interrupted the president three times to advocate for short-term debt ceiling increases while the president was wrapping the meeting. This is just more juvenile behavior from him and Boehner needs to rein him in, and let the grown-ups get to work.

So, there, again!  Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.

As he stormed out of the room, heading upstairs to Mama, Scooter said that

…”this confirms the totality of what the American people already believe” about Washington, according to a Democratic official familiar with the negotiations, and that officials are “too focused on positioning and political posturing” to make difficult choices.

The striking difference between what Rep. Cantor related about the presidential Temper Tantrum and Scooter’s account of the incident, is the fact that Cantor spoke directly to reporters about the president.  Obama’s minions told the story, trying to cover for Obama’s decidedly un-presidential actions.

Cantor went on to accuse the president and his Congressional minions of increasingly low-balling, over the last several days, the savings that could be achieved from proposals discussed by Vice President Joe Biden’s working group on deficit reduction.  According to Cantor, the group has not yet identified enough cuts to win House passage of a $2.5 trillion debt-limit increase, the size the president says is needed to get through the 2012 election.

Obama ordered Cantor that he would either have to agree to tax increases or give up on his demand that the debt hike be matched dollar-to-dollar to the cuts — that is, $2.5 trillion in deficit-reduction over 10 years in exchange for a $2.5 trillion hike in the debt ceiling.

Cantor said that when they return to the White House this afternoon, they are supposed discuss savings from health care programs, budget caps and options for raising revenue.  The president gave additional orders to the participants, according to the Congressman:

Then he said we also ought to get in the mode here, because we’re going to have to decide by Friday which way we’re going. He said really we ought to all start to think about things we can do rather than things we can’t.

Cantor said that he would be willing to take incremental steps to help solve the debt ceiling-increase issue.

However,  Obama said he wouldn’t do the debt-limit increase incrementally and that he would veto a short-term bill.

According to Cantor:

That’s when he got very agitated.

An anonymous [Democratic] witness said:

Obama lit him up. Cantor sat in stunned silence. “It was incredible. If the public saw Obama he would win in a landslide.”

Because, as we all know, American’s just loove a president who acts like a schoolyard bully when he can’t get his way...NOT.

Per Cantor:

I’m trying to represent where the votes are in the House. and we’ve always said the votes in the House are consistent with the principles that the speaker’s laid out that we’ve been operating on.  It is dollar-for-dollar match, it is the no tax increase and it is this other subject that we are discussing tomorrow the enforcement mechanisms … I understand why he’s frustrated. But again, we’re trying to get this thing done, and that’s why I was a little taken aback.

Obama has stated that he wants an assessment on Friday of where the process stands .

Obama is watching the calender, and has given a deadline of August 2nd for a decision to be rendered.

It just so happens that August 1st is the start of Ramadan, the Muslim Holy Days, during which the devout are not allowed to work.

Not to mention the fact that he and his family are heading up to Martha’s Vineyard in August for an extended vacation.

That’s our boy Scooter…always putting the welfare of America first.

**snort**