Posted by Tina
Most of the world is in a state of financial trouble. Nations are looking to America for leaderhip and strength, for endurance and revival. Weve been assured that the change America embraced by putting our trust in the Democrat Party will translate to renewed admiration and respect from nations across the globe…Americas reputation will once again be restored.
Now the first real work of Congress has been completed and perhaps the most important piece of legislation ever written by our government awaits the Presidents signature. But will it recieve applause and appreciation from others around the world?
Gerald Warner: Obama’s pork barrel is open and it is stinking – Scotland on Sunday
** STIMULUS is one of those neutral, unexceptional words that is suddenly appropriated by politicians and debauched, so that ever after it will have connotations that are sinister, ironic and sleaze-ridden. Barack Obama’s “stimulus” plan will be long remembered as the occasion when political euphemism triggered economic disaster. *** There is no terminology available to express adequately the appalling irresponsibility of this naked political banditry. To have squandered a fraction of the near-$1 trillion cost of Obama’s pork barrel in days of prosperity would have been more than reprehensible; to do so at a time of financial crisis is unforgivable. Obama likes to pose as the heir of Abraham Lincoln: as this shameless bribery demonstrates, he is heir only to the Chicago Democrat political machine that spawned him. **
This article is a must read…Mr. Warners terminology is well chosen and right on the mark. He highlights the absurdity of the pork stuffed into the bill and the naked truth of it’s purpose.
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The Welfare Issue is Alive, Alive! Mickey Kaus, kausfiles.com
** A Times of London story (link not working) highlights worries about the Thermidorian welfare reform backsliding in the stimulus bill. Sample: Douglas Besharov, author of a big study on welfare reform, said the stimulus bill passed by Congress and the Senate in separate votes on Friday would “unravel” most of the 1996 reforms that led to a 65% reduction in welfare caseloads and prompted the British and several other governments to consider similar measures. **
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China editorial slams ‘Buy American’ provision, – AP
<strong.** BEIJING (AP) Measures in a $789 billion U.S. stimulus package that favor American goods are a "poison" that will hurt efforts solve the financial crisis, an editorial by China's official news agency said. *** Provisions in the U.S. stimulus bill approved Friday favoring American steel, iron and manufactured goods for government projects are protectionist measures that could trigger trade disputes, said the editorial issued late Saturday by the Xinhua News Agency. *** "History and economics have told us, facing a global financial crisis, trade protectionism is not a solution, but a poison to the solution," the editorial said. **
Neither the people of the United States nor the rest of the world will be served well by this legislation. First impressions mean a lot; President Obama would be wise to eighty six this abomination and demand a better bill from Congress. It would demonstrate a serious commitment to saving our economy and go a long way toward building confidence that Americans can and will get the job done.