Presidential Earnings

An interesting look at how much the President actually earns each year:

No more than the President of the United States

The Cult of Snuggie

It's ridiculous how popular the Snuggie has become...

Snuggie gets a warm embrace from pop culture

Obama and the Press

Obama's experienced an unprecedented honeymoon with the press, and many of them still refuse to ask the hard questions or do any actual investigative journalism. What will Obama's response be when they actually do come to their senses and become journalists again? If this is any indication, we're going to see Mr. Cool struggle a little bit when he learns that there are people who don't worship his every move.

Obama flashes irritation in press room - Politico.com

Shortly thereafter, Obama decided to pick a fight with Rush Limbaugh. I don't necessarily agree with Rush most of the time, but I still can't figure out why Obama would want to ignite a culture war so early in his presidency. Rush has always been one of those guys who speaks openly and is going to be controversial no matter what. He's got a segment of listeners who hang on every word, but most people just ignore him and laugh it off. But by Obama stepping up against him, he is emboldening Rush's supporters and giving Rush added mainstream credibility. Doesn't seem like the smartest move to me...

Barack Obama picks a fight with Rush Limbaugh as bipartisan spirit crumbles - Telegraph

Nancy Pelosi: Dumber than Soap

I think my favorite part of this video is the title:

Nancy Pelosi: Dumber than Soap - YouTube

She's also batshiz crazy and terrifying.

The American Public's Priorities

Very interesting list:

http://people-press.org/report/485/economy-top-policy-priority

Notice that my six vital issues for the Republican Party are all encapsulated in the top 8 responses, making it more clear than ever that these are the issues we should be focused on above all else: taxes and spending (the economy, jobs), national security (terrorism), education, entitlement reform (Social Security and Medicare), energy, and health care. Also notice that global warming is last. And rightfully so.

Seven reasons for health skepticism

Call it skepticism or cautious optimism, but there are several reasons to temper expectations about the Obama Administration. After all, he's not going to turn a nation facing its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression into candyland in a day.

Politico posted seven reasons to be cautious in a great read. They are, without further explanation:

1. The genius fallacy
2. The herd instinct
3. We are broke
4. Words, words, words
5. He rarely challenges the home team
6. Everyone is winging it
7. The watchdogs are dozing

Numbers 5 and 7 are particularly disconcerting to me. As Politico puts it, "by Obama’s lights, the national interest usually coincides with his personal interest."

Seven reasons for health skepticism - Politico.com

Bush's Achievements

Sure the Weekly Standard is a conservative outlet, but Fred Barnes does a pretty good job of summing up Bush's accomplishments in this piece. He might have screwed up some things, but it's important to remember him as a President rather than an infantile f---up (feel free to disagree, I know so many do).

Bush's Achievements, Ten thins the president got right by Fred Barnes - The Weekly Standard

Here's the list in sum:

1. Ditching the flawed Kyoto Treaty
2. Enhanced interrogation of terrorists
3. Rebuilding of presidential authority
4. Unwavering support for Israel
5. No Child Left Behind
6. Promoting democracy
7. Medicare prescription drug benefit
8. Roberts and Alito on the Supreme Court
   
9. Strengthened relations with east Asian democracies
10. The surge

I would personally add the attempt to fix Social Security to that list, even if it was widely panned, at least he tried to do something that far too many politicians ignore.

Global Warming

According to my Weatherbug application, today's high was -4 degrees and today's low was -18 degrees. The wind chill has been hovering around -40 degrees. Just sayin'...

And people wonder why I hate Al Gore...

What if I didn't pay taxes?

Many politicians wonder why the general public refuses to trust them. The simple answer is that they give us an endless supply to reasons to distrust them. There's a double standard that exists between politicians and the rest of America. Obama's cabinet nominees' failures to pay taxes are the latest proof of this double standard.

By defending individuals like Tim Geithner, Obama and other defenders appear to be making the argument that it's okay to forget to pay your taxes. However, after taking income taxation last semester, I know that that isn't the case. In fact, the IRS likes nothing more than going after people for failing to make payments. The IRS also has a tendency to go after people who may have paid their taxes in full but the IRS feels like it would like a little more money at the moment, so they create some new interpretation of the existing rules to screw the taxpayer.

So what message does Obama really want to send? It seems that he wants to reinforce the double standard we've seen countless times, especially given that the Obama folks didn't admit to Geithner's failure to pay taxes, but instead kept it secret until the WSJ discovered it and made it known. With the IRS's tendency to come down hard on taxpayers, the whole flap brings up serious questions as to how he's going to be able to credibly enforce the IRS rules.

The linked Politico article sums it up well: "we will see how easy he is on other people when they say they made 'honest mistakes.'"

What if I didn't pay taxes? - Politico.com

In politics, does race trump gender?

A recent Politico article takes a look at the cakewalk that Roland Burris has had on the way to the Senate, with not a single question asked about where he stands on the issues. It highlights the absolutely disgusting absurdity of people like Bobby Rush making the issue of whether to seat him solely about race. So much for that whole "content of character" thing...

Obama made it to the White House largely with indifference to his race, so why is it necessary to behave this way in regards to Burris?

The article also looks at how the treatment of race compares to the treatment of gender in politics, and it doesn't even hit the tip of the iceberg on this topic.

Politico.com - In politics, does race trump gender?

Obama's Redeeming Quality

What is Obama's redeeming quality?

The answer is easy: sports. His love of Chicago sports, especially the Bulls and Bears, warms my heart. And the fact that basketball is his favorite sport evokes feelings of camaraderie. Those feelings may end there, but at least it's something.

Hoops Fans Can't Wait for Obama to Take Office - NYTimes.com