Blue State Graft Watch: Securities Firm Run by Former New Jersey Governor and Obama Bundler John Corzine to be Probed by FBI

The MF Global Securities firm run by former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS] chairman John Corzine will be investigated by the FBI to determine if the firms actions violated criminal laws after filing for bankruptcy protection on Monday. MF's bankruptcy was reportedly the 8th largest filing in US History.

After taking over MF Global last year, Corzine led MF Global to make more trades for the company's own profits, a practice known as proprietary trading. Proprietary trading helped turn Goldman into a trading powerhouse in recent years.

Under Corzine's leadership, MF Global bet $6.3 billion on debt issued by Italy, Spain and other European nations with troubled economies. Those bonds have lost value in recent weeks as fears have intensified that some European countries might default.

Regulators said in September that MF Global was overvaluing some of its European debt investments. It required the company to raise more cash, according to court papers filed on Monday.

Corzine reportedly continued to use clients money as losses from the European sovereign debt MF invested in increased.

Reports had also been circulating as recently as a few months ago that Corzine was a possible replacement for current US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner should President Obama win a second term. In fact, these rumors led to an oddly specific stipulation in a $325 million bond offering from MF.

MF creditors were so concerned that Corzine might quit to take a White House post that they demanded an “Obama clause” be inserted in a $325 million bond offering -- in which MF would shell out an extra 1 percent in interest if Corzine left for a government post by 2013.

Oddly, the regulator in charge of investigating the wreckage of Corzine's securities firm worked at Goldman Sachs with Corzine and donated $10,000 the the Democrat party of New Jersey when Corzine was running for governor in 2005.

In 2009, Corzine lost re-election to Republican challenger and former US Attorney Chris Christie despite a number of high profile campaign appearances with President Obama stumping on behalf of the incumbent.

More recently, however, Corzine has gone on to become one of the top bundlers for Obama's 2012 campaign, raising at least $500,000 by many estimates.

A recent list of top “bundlers” or elite fundraisers released by Obama’s campaign listed Corzine in the highest category -- reporting that he had raised more than $500,000 for the campaign. A substantial chunk of those funds were collected at a $35,800 per ticket fundraiser that Corzine hosted at his wife’s spacious Fifth Avenue apartment last April -- an event that was touted at the time as part of a concerted effort by the president’s campaign team to reach out to well-heeled Wall Street donors who had been alienated by some of his policies and previous public comments.

In the meantime, an estimated $700 million in funds from MF Securities remains unaccounted for.

The Obama Administration had promised to return monetary donations from Corzine [although they didn't clarify if it was Corzine's $5000 maximum individual contribution or the contributions in excess of $500,000 that Corzine helped bundle from other wealthy donors- NANESB!] earlier this week.

I find it quite telling that the whole #Occupy Wall Street movement claimed they had taken to the streets to protest nationwide about the greed and excess on Wall Street embodied by Corzine's actions at MF Securities, but have remained remarkably silent about Corzine and the primary benefactor of his largess, President Obama.

Electric Car Company Building Vehicles in Finland After Obtaining US Gov't Loan From Obama Administration

The Obama Administration and Department of Energy are defending a $529 Million loan to Anaheim, CA-based electric car manufacturer Fisker after a report from ABC News on Thursday highlighted the fact that two years ago, the Administration approved the company shifting production overseas to Finland.

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department's $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the company's manufacturing jobs are still limited to the assembly of the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car in Finland.

"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here."

Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.

The loan to Fisker is part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department has made in two politically connected California-based electric carmakers producing sporty -- and pricey -- cutting-edge autos. Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware. And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley.

Fisker is more than a year behind rolling out its $97,000 luxury vehicle bankrolled in part with DOE money. While more are promised soon, just 40 of its Karma cars (below) have been manufactured and only two delivered to customers' driveways, including one to movie star Leonardo DiCaprio.

A department of Energy spokesman defended the loan to Fisker, saying that the company also plans on producing a $50,000 hybrid called the Nina at a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware.

"The Department's funding was only used for the U.S. operations," Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow wrote. "The money could not be, and was not, spent on overseas operations. The Karma also relies on an extensive network of hundreds of suppliers in more than a dozen U.S. states."

He said the first part of the loan, $169 million, supported engineering work at Fisker's U.S. facilities as the company "developed the tools, equipment and manufacturing processes for Fisker's first vehicle" -- though that work so far has not contributed to a production line in the U.S.

But Leistikow said the rest of the loan is still supporting U.S. production of another vehicle line called the Nina.

"Fisker is using this funding to bring a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware back to life and employing more than 2,500 workers. Fisker was attracted to this site in part by the opportunity to rehire some of the trained, dedicated workers who lost their jobs when that plant closed," Leistikow said.

However, industry sources are claiming that Fisker's production of the Nina at the Delaware site has been pushed back to mid-2013. Fisker claims that the car has been designed and built, but remains under wraps to maintain a competitive edge.

Moreover, according to a recent Forbes article, once off its electric motor (reportedly good for 32 miles) the Fisker's Karma hybrid actually gets worse gas mileage than a late model Ford Explorer SUV

Does anybody else remember the various factory and workshop tours that President Obama embarked upon during 'Recovery Summer' last year? All of them seemed to pivot around so called 'Green Jobs'- factories that made electric vehicle components, solar panels or batteries for hybrids. And it seems that this wasn't really by accident, either.

California Democrat: I'm Not Going to Bother Running For Re-Election With That Friggin' Obama Albatross Hanging Around My Neck

OK, Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D- CA18) didn't come right out and say that when he announced that he wasn't going to run for another term, but it was implied in his parting shots toward the Obama Administration.

In a statement explaining his decision, Cardoza, a leader of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, said he was “dismayed” by the administration’s “failure to understand and effectively address the current housing foreclosure crisis.”

“Home foreclosures are destroying communities and crushing our economy, and the Administration’s inaction is infuriating,” Cardoza said.

A former chairman of the moderate Blue Dog Caucus, Cardoza also bemoaned the increasing partisanship in Washington, and blamed the media for fueling the ideological divide in the country, not giving enough attention to moderates.”

Cardoza's district includes the cities of Stockton, Modesto and Merced, which are currently among the top 10 cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the United States [not to mention the district's brush with infamy 10 years ago thanks to former Congressman Gary Condit- NANESB!].

Also, keep in mind that a number of Democrats leading up to the 2010 mid-terms portrayed themselves as 'moderate' or 'fiscally conservative', despite having voted in favor of two of the most sweeping big government proposals (Cap & Trade and Obamacare) in generations- Cardoza voted in favor of both. This caucus of supposedly moderate Democrats (known as the Blue Dogs) was been led by Cardoza at one time.

Cardoza is one of three Democrat Congressmen from the Blue Dog caucus to announce in the last 4 months that they wouldn't run for re-election. In early June, Representative Dan Boren, who represented Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district (Basically Tulsa and the eastern ⅓ of the Sooner State) announced that he wouldn't run for another term.

A month later and on the other side of the Ozarks, 6-term Blue Dog Mike Ross (D-AR4) announced that he wouldn't seek a 7th term, leading to speculation that in some corners that Ross was preparing for a 2014 bid for the Governor of Arkansas.

Teleprompters, Other Equipment Stolen from Virginia Truck Before President Obama Appearence

An NBC station out of Richmond, VA is reporting that a truckload of official White House equipment including Presidential seals, sound equipment and a pair of TelePrompTers was stolen at a hotel parking lot in Henrico, VA. [Just teleprompters? Good thing nothing of value was taken! *WHEW!*- NANESB!]

A truck filled with President Obama's podiums and audio equipment was stolen in Henrico just days before his visit to Chesterfield.

[WWBT, Channel 12] confirmed an investigation with the U.S. Defense Department. There are still a lot of questions. The biggest one being did the thieves intentionally target the President's truck or did they take advantage of a crime of opportunity and give a big "uh-oh" when they saw what was inside.

When you see President Obama speak, there is a pretty typical setup including the presidential seal on a podium, the see-thru Teleprompter and a portable sound system.

Thieves saw the truck carrying that equipment and couldn't resist the target.

We're told the truck was parked at the Virginia Center Commons Courtyard Marriott in advance on Wednesday's presidential visit to Chesterfield.

Sources said inside that vehicle was about $200,000 worth of sound equipment, several podiums and presidential seals, behind which only the President himself can stand.

They told NBC12 around 12:30 Monday afternoon that truck was recovered in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express near the airport and hotel staff confirm police activity. One guest we spoke with said he saw various law enforcement agencies examining a white box truck parked there.

According to him, the entire back parking lot was blocked off as Henrico Police along with "lots of guys in suits" investigated. He said the truck had no markings and no indication anything special was inside. That leads to another big question of whether or not any of that was actually stolen.

Late Monday evening we found a truck with US government tags still parked in the Marriott's lot. We are waiting to find out if that is the original truck returned to the staff or a second vehicle.

We were able to get this statement from a Defense Information Systems Agency spokesperson: "No classified or sensitive information was in the vehicle. We take incidents such as this very seriously and a formal investigation is continuing."

We are waiting to find out if surveillance cameras on the building captured the crooks on tape.

President Obama is scheduled to kick off a second bus tour in North Carolina and Virginia this week. The truck was reportedly travelling in advance of the Presidential motorcade for a Wednesday appearance with Virgina GOP governor Bob McDonnell at a veterans-focused event in Ft. Eustis, VA.

US Air Force General Claims He Was Pressured to Alter Testimony About White House Backed Sattelite Communications Network

The Commander of the United States Air Force Space Command told House members that he was pressured to change prepared testimony before Congress to benefit a communications company that had a major Democrat donor as one of its main investors.

Republicans have raised questions about whether the project pursued by the company, LightSquared, is being unduly expedited by the Obama administration, which has pushed for national wireless network upgrades.

The Virginia-based satellite and broadband communications company has plans to build a nationwide, next-generation, 4G phone network that many, including Shelton, think would seriously hinder the effectiveness of high-precision GPS receiver systems, a product used most commonly by the United States military.

General William Shelton testified before Congress last week that interference with the military's GPS satellite system due to activity from LightSquared's proposed satelite-based 4G and wireless communications network could not be mitigated.

He did testify that testing done by various agencies responsible for military GPS positioning "demonstrated empirically that the LightSquared signals interfere with all of the types of receivers in the test."

He added that mitigation would not be possible because redesigning the equipment to filter out interference from LightSquared "would involve substantial financial cost and likely degrade the accuracy of high performance receivers, which is critical to many key GPS users."

Military training that relies on precision GPS, such as dropping ordnance, potentially could cease to exist in the United States. Many farmers who also rely on the systems would also be affected. It's estimated this system is used by as many as 1 million people.

The Federal Aviation Administration has also expressed worry about the LightSquared project. The FAA is in the process of moving from a radar based positioning system to a required GPS system for all aircraft, and it has “serious concerns” about how LightSquared may interfere with that, according to FAA spokesman Laura Brown.

Since the General's testemony, another witness has come forward to claim that he was pressured to modify his testimony to rflect more favorable on LightSquared.

General Shelton's allegations come less than a month after heavily subsidised solar panel manufacturer Solyndra shut down, leaving taxpayers on the hook for $500 million in loan guarantees.

The Obama Administration reportedly pressured regulators from the Department of Energy to expedite loans to Solyndra, sat in on company meetings and touted the solar company's activities as an indication that the 2009 Stimulus was working as intended, with President Obama visiting the company's Fremont, CA facilities in May 2010.

On This Date, President Obama's Pastor Delivers Sermon Justifying September 11 Attacks on USA

There's been a school of thought out there for awhile that President Obama is some sort of clandestine Muslim based on some of his foreign policy statnces as well as his background. I refuse to believe that for a number of reasons- for starters, I actually believe that there are a number of patriotic Muslims in the USA who love this country and have valued the rights and opportunities afforded them and in some cases even served it honorably in some capacity [the Persians who fled Iran during the rise of the Ayatollahs had a firsthand glimpse of what a totalitarian regime based on Islamic supremacy looks like, for instance- NANESB!].

Also, I think the truth is much more sinister that the 'Obama is a seekrit Muslim' claims that have been circulating. Obama is not a secret Muslim, but rather he was simply paying attention to the bigoted, anti-Semitic, homophobic hate-preacher Jerimiah Wright all this time. Paying attention and possibly taking his words to heart.

But you might be asking- Fenway, you bigoted right-wing neocon dupe, this was all settled in the 2008 campaign during the primaries. Why are you bringing it up right now? This came to my attention because of the date of one of the racist preacher's sermons at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.



The nation just recently observed the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 that killed nearly 3000 Americans. This sermon, which at times approvingly repeats statements from Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda justifying 9/11 and previous attacks, took place at Obama's Trinity Church on September 16th, 2001; not even five whole days after the single deadliest attack against the United States. Now it goes without saying that this is a free country and that this ebony Fred Phelps is entitled to his opinion, but lets provide a little bit of context- for those of you who were bitching in 2008 about how the sermon was 'taken out of context'.



On September 16, 2001, first responders from the NYPD and FDNY along with other agencies were breathing in God-knows-what and still sifting through tons of still-burning rubble to try and recover remains of Americans who were crushed and incinerated when the towers collapsed. Instead of any sincere condolences or prayers to those who were brutally murdered, Obama's pastor laments that there isn't enough introspection over his version of American history and foreign policy [which seems to have significant overlap with Al Qaeda's- NANESB!].

This begs the question of whether or not then state Senator Barack Obama was in attendance at Wright's church that weekend. It would not be out of character for Obama to appear at the church only occasionally and ahead of an election to try and lobby the parishioners for his vote.

Moreover, if Obama found the content of Wright's sermons so objectionable [apparently the 'God Damn America!' sermon came at a later date- NANESB!], why did he only choose to distance himself from the man and his words some 7 ½ years later during a contentious Presidential primary challenge with New York Senator Hillary Clinton? Maybe it's just me, but if I were one of Wright's parishioners, I don't think it would take me several years to repudiate him or his anti-American sermons. In fact, I'm sure there are other houses of worship in Chicago- if I was truly disagreed with what Wright had to say, I'm sure I could've made my way to another church.

And ten years later, there really seems to be nothing to disprove that Obama hadn't taken the race-hustling Wright's sermons to heart, only distancing himself from the preacher and his words when it was politically expedient. And now that he won the Presidency, all things Jerimiah Wright-related seemed to have gone away aside from the occasional embarrassing flare-ups in the early going.

On April 4, 2011, President Obama announced the start of his 2012 re-election campaign. I was never convinced he deserved a first term, but since he's seeking four more years in the Oval Office, I think this issue needs to be revisited just in case the first 2 ½ years of America under the Obama Administration wasn't enough to convince you.

Obama Administration Launches 'ATTACK WATCH' Website

Internet responds with howls of laughter.

Apparently the Obama Administration's latest tactic for their 2012 re-election bid involves pre-empting any opponents bid to portray him as amateurish, petty and thin skinned by....well, acting amateurish, petty and thin skinned.

The latest such example this week is the launch of a website paid for by Obama for America called Attack Watch.

Attack Watch,a website started by President Obama's campaign organization, was intended to be a repository for supporters to report "attacks" on Obama's record and get the facts. But its rollout has been met with scathing mockery by conservatives, who call it a second-rate version of previous Big Brother sites created by Team Obama

Conservative critic Mark Steyn, a native of the U.K., then cheered that he was the only foreigner with a designation on AttackWatch.com.

Both were met with comment after comment from readers offering the type of "attacks" they were going to report to the Obama re-election site. The #attackwatch Twitter page was immediately spammed with tweet after tweet heavy on sarcasm regarding the president's stimulus and jobs creation plans.

"hey #AttackWatch I heard the only good 'Cash For Clunkers' did was get all the obama stickers off the roads, thank you," tweeted @speedyjerry.

"Hey #attackwatch, I saw 6 ATM's in an alley, killing a Job. It looked like a hate crime!" wrote @thorninaz.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan told the Washington Post that 100,000 people had signed up for the site in the first 24 hours.

"This site is a tool providing our supporters with the facts they need to fight back against lies and distortions about the president's record," she told the newspaper.

But syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin said this site, the fourth one launched in three years attempting to respond to political attacks, has backfired on the Obama team.

"What this is really about is some sort of campaign against their opponents, and it's not working anymore," she said.

"Back in 2008, the Obama campaign had claimed this mantle as the tech savvy geniuses, and what's happened is that conservatives on Twitter and on YouTube and all the social networks have been able to strike back, and humor is always the best revenge," she said.

In an opinion article published in the International Business Times, Nadine DeNinno argues the site is pointless, saying it is counterproductive and has become a laughingstock.

"The website has become simply an instrument used by opponents to rail the president by conservatives, using it as their personal punching bag," she wrote. "The people who monitor the site will be quite busy, as Attack Watch only warrants more attacking."

She also wondered how many jobs the site created, "or how long it took to conceive, in which case jobs could have been created instead?" She then quoted @BradThor who tweeted, "If only the #Obama administration could create an atmosphere where jobs materialized as quickly as #attackwatch jokes!"

This video began circulating on conservative blogs within a day of Attack Watch's rollout.



OK- I'll go ahead and ask- what was the Obama 2012 brain trust thinking when they came up with this? "Hey, I know! Let's create a webpage encouraging citizens to inform on one another. And let's use colors and an austere layout evocative of a totalitarian regime!" I'm wondering in what parallel universe might this even be in the same area code as a good idea.

I did go ahead and check it out for myself- truth be told, the parody video wasn't that far off. There's a subcategory called Gun Control Gossip in which Attack Watch claims former UN Ambassador John Bolton and others are spreading false rumors that President Obama will sign on to a UN Small Arms treaty that could lead to firearms confiscation here in America [frankly, I think this particular rumor is at least as old as the internet and given new credence when a politician from a city priding itself on strict-but-ineffective gun control regulations is in the White House- NANESB!].

Interestingly, there's no mention of his executive order requiring sales of multiple long guns in US states bordering Mexico be reported to the ATF. The order comes after revalations in the media and sworn testimony before the House Oversight committee that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ordered field agents to allow guns to 'walk' into Mexico from the USA and beyond the jurisdiction of US federal agents.

Also, while on the topic of gun control, I noticed that Attack Watch hedged his support of gun owner's rights with the following requisite boilerplate:

President Obama believes in common sense gun control laws compatible with Second Amendment rights.

or

Public figures have made outlandish claims that President Obama is planning to use a United Nations treaty to take away legal firearms from gun owners in the US.

Notice the rather odd qualifier of 'legal firearms'. During the Clinton years, entire categories of firearms with certain design features were declared illegal with the stroke of a pen thanks to President Clinton's executive order. It's a little like the rationale behind the felon-infested Mayors Against Illegal Guns- give it a benign sounding name, but continue to implement laws and regulations incrementally on the local level that make owning just about any kind of firearm legaly untenable and nearly impossible, and pretty much all guns are illegal by default [see Chicago or Washington D.C for an example of this kind of logic in action and its overall effectiveness in preventing crime- NANESB!]

To go with the Attack Watch website is the official Attack Watch twitter account, which has been noticably quiet since the avalanche of ridicule began cascading down on late Tuesday afternoon. I must confess that I'm a little late to this particular party, but that hasn't stopped me from having fun with it.

Solyndra Raided by FBI After Bankruptct Filing

Remember what I was saying about this not being a good month for Federally subsidised solar panel manufacturers? Looks like it's about to get worse for California-based Solyndra, Inc.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Northern California headquarters of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection this week despite receiving $535 million in federal stimulus loan guarantees.

The FBI and Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General confirmed that their agents were involved in the raid Thursday at Solyndra's offices in Fremont but declined to discuss what they were investigating. FBI spokesman Peter D. Lee said documents related to the search had been sealed.

Last week, Solyndra abruptly announced that it was ceasing operations and laying off 1,100 employees, a move the company attributed to intense foreign competition and a "global oversupply of solar panels." The company filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.

Solyndra spokesman Dave Miller said the federal raid came as a surprise but that the company was "fully cooperating" with investigators.

He said he did not know what the federal agents were looking for but speculated it could be related to the $535-million loan guarantee, of which the company drew $527 million.

A skeleton team of about 100 employees is still working at the factory during a "wind-down" process, Miller said.

The raid came about 16 months after Obama visited Solyndra and praised the federal government's investments in clean energy and other sectors.

It's also been revealed that company officials from Solyndra made no less than 20 trips to the White House between March 2009 and April 2011, underscoring the cozy relationship between the company and the Obama Administration.

In late May 2011, the White House highlighted Solyndra as a success story thanks to the 2009 stimulus- also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act- in a short video on the White House website.


It was also reported on Friday that officials from the Administration and Department of Energy sat in on Solyndra's company meetings.

The Energy Department was keeping a close eye on Solyndra during those crucial months – sitting in on board meetings as an observer as part of the loan restructuring, iWatch News and ABC reported Thursday. That raises key questions: Did DOE miss obvious warning signs of the company's troubles in the final months before its collapse?

Last month, after receiving close to $60 million in aid from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts before moving their facilities to China, Evergreen Solar filed for bankruptcy protection. Less than a week later, Intel spinoff SpectraWatt had also filed for bankruptcy.

[Hat tip- Gateway Pundit]

Teamsters Boss at Obama's Detroit Labor Day Rally- "Let's Take These Sons of Bitches Out"

Does anybody else remember President Obama's call for civility in his Tuscon speech earlier this year?

Yeah- about that.....

Shortly before President Barack Obama spoke to the labor unions in Detroit, Jimmy Hoffa Jr. warmed up the audience and harshly attacked the Tea Party movement saying:

"We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war," Jimmy Hoffa Jr. said said

"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong," Hoffa then added.

President Obama immediately praised Mr. Hoffa, in the beginning of his remarks saying he was "proud" of the teamster president.

Hoffa's veiled threats came about a week after videotaped comments from Representative Andre Carson (D- IN7) telling an audience at a Congressional Black Caucus function that the Tea Party wanted to see blacks 'Hanging from a tree' last week. Prior to that, Representative Maxine Waters (D- CA35) fired up an SEIU-packed crowd in Inglewood, CA by saying she would tell the Tea Party to "go straight to hell" [her district?- NANESB!].

While hardly a departure for members of the Congressional Black Caucus to make incendiary accusations of racism against non-members, this seems to be triangulated with veiled threats from Union leaders like Richard Trumka or Jimmy Hoffa Jr and Vice President Biden likening GOP members of Congress to terrorists during the summer's deficit ceiling debate ahead of the 2012 elections.

UPDATE: Not only is the Tea Party 'terrorists' according to VP Biden, they're also 'Barbarians at the gate'

Something to Fret Over: Feds Raid and Shut Down Gibson Guitars Over Imported Wood- Rival Company & Democrat Donors Untouched

Country singer Kellie Pickler flaunting contraband Gibson acoustic guitar at 42nd CMA awards in Nashville- Marsaili McGrath/Getty Images Entertainment

On Thursday, Aug 24th, agents from the US Fish & Wildlife Service raided Gibson Guitar corporation's Nashville, TN facilities, seizing massive quantities of wood and unfinished guitars. This is the second such raid on Gibson's Tennessee facilities in less than two years- in November 2009 federal agents seized files, documents and Madagascar rosewood used in the fabrication of guitars.



At first blush, this appeared to be a case of regulatory busybodies arbitrarily singling out a particular business for scrutiny. Like the 2009 raid, Gibson CEO Henry E. Juszkiewicz insisted his company was in compliance with both US and international laws regarding the harvesting and importing of rosewood.



The most recent raid apparently centers around the Department of Justice's interpretation of an Indian law (reportedly if the wood was finished by Indian workers are required in order for it to be legal).



However, last week enterprising bloggers took a look at the political contributions Gibson CEO Henry E. Juszkiewicz made over the last few election cycles on watchdog site opensecrets.org. The guitar company's CEO gave over $12,000 in contributions to GOP candidates as well as the Consumer Electronics Association, a PAC that contributed $92,000 to Republicans (Although the CEA also gave more than $70,000 to Democrats).

When warrants as ridiculous such as these are issued and executed, there appears no other reason than because the company or individual at hand is being targeted, not because there is any sort of wrongdoing. As a company, Gibson is a legendary. They’ve done nothing wrong, except, apparently, deigning to have a Republican CEO.



The plot thickens, however.



One of Gibson’s leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Company. The C.E.O., Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the DNC over the past couple of election cycles. According to C.F. Martin’s catalog, several of their guitars contain “East Indian Rosewood.” In case you were wondering, that is the exact same wood in at least ten of Gibson’s guitars.



The Gibson facility wasn’t raided over allegations of tax evasion, charges of embezzlement, or even something as drab as child labor. Not even close. It was raided over what the DOJ deems an inability to follow a vague domestic trade law in India (one that apparently the Indian government didn’t seem too concerned about enforcing) regarding a specific type of wood. Not illegal wood, just wood with obscenely specific procedural guidelines.

It's worth noting that C.F. Martin & Co has not had the same visit from the Feds that their GOP-donating competitors at Gibson have received twice in less than two years.



Keep in mind this is the same Justice Department that allowed American guns to be smuggled to Mexican cartels, decided to sue Arizona after their state legislature passed SB1070 and declined to pursue a voter intimidation and civil rights violation case against the New Black Panther Party after members were videotaped wielding truncheons outside a Philadelphia polling station in the 2008 elections.



With any other Attorney General aside from Eric Holder, I would simply assume this was a case of anal-retentive bureaucrats and regulatory busybodies attempting to prove their relevance. However, this is the Department of Justice under Holder, so it's very difficult to see anything aside from Chicago-style politics in play as far as Gibons and C.F. Martin & Co are concerned.



UPDATE 8/30: In an even more curious development, Doug Ross' Director Blue blog was among the first to detail the political donations from CF Martin & Co. For a few hours on Tuesday afternoon, the blog had disappeared altogether before reappearing later on. Not just the post on the Gibson raid, but the entire blog.



UPDATE 8/31: In an interview on KMJ radio on Wednesday, CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said that he was told by government officials that his company's legal troubles would go away if he used Madagascar labor instead of US Labor at his factory.



[Hat tip: Dana Loesch; Director Blue; All American Blogger]

How President Obama Spent The Summer- Not to Mention Our Precious Money and TIme

After the unprecedented sovereign credit rating downgrade from Standard & Poors earlier this month, President Obama took it upon himself to allay concerns over the economy and high unemployment rate by embarking upon a multi-state 100% NOT-a-campaign-tour "listening tour" through the Midwest.



Eager to demonstrate to midwestrners that he was no out-of-touch limousine liberal, Obama left the Presidential limo back in Washington D.C. and instead embarked upon his midwest road trip with two new motorcoaches that the Secret Service ordered in July 2010 for $1.1 million apiece.







And what better way to show the people of the midwest that you are serious about the economy, American job creation and living within your means than by pulling into town in a brand new, armoured Canadian made motorcoach escorted by a 40+ vehicle motorcade?



After a terse exchange with a local Tea Part activist in Decorah, IA and botching the name of one of the companies that was hosting a town hall, it was off to Martha's Vineyard- that summertime playground of the wealthy and powerful- for some well deserved R&R! But not to worry, as President Obama would manage to find time between golf games to issue two executive orders- one was regarding diversity in the federal workplace while the other would reportedly allow nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants to avoid deportation and receive work permits- not word on whether or not this amnesty-through-executive-order will include his uncle. He also hinted at announcing a new jobs plan when Congress returned from summer recess.



When he wasn't spending time with his family or golfing on Martha's Vineyard, the President managed to work in visits to wealthy donors on the island. Alas, with Hurricane Irene's approach, the President and First Family had to cut their vacation short by about 12 hours so that Obama could swoop in and take charge at the National Hurricane Center.



Despite the strong Democrat voting bloc in the Northeastern states struck by Irene, the President has made no plans to visit those states to view the damage firsthand or meet survivors, despite Democrat lawmakers in New Jersey urging the President to visit the stricken areas. Instead, Obama will be travelling out to California for more fundraising in Hollywood and silicone valley next month.



As for that highly anticipated jobs speech that President Obama had been promising since his Midwest road trip, the Administration attempted to schedule it before both the senate and House the same night as the GOP Presidential debates next week. Speaker of the House John Boehner declined the President's initial September 7 deadline pointing out that it would be their first day back from the summer recess and offered Sept 8th as an alternative. Although the White House seems receptive to that date, that Thursday is also supposed to have the season opener for the NFL with the Saints taking on the Packers.

Blue State Graft Watch: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Guilty on 17 of 20 Corruption Charges in Second Trial

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts of corruption at the Federal Courthouse in Chicago Monday afternoon.

This was the former governor's second trial. In 2010, Blagojevich was found not guilty on 23 of 24 charges faced, with the jury finding that the former Land of Lincoln governor guilty of lying to the FBI.

CHICAGO—A federal jury on Monday found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 counts of corruption, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

The jury found Mr. Blagojevich not guilty on one of 20 corruption counts in his second trial and deadlocked on two other counts. The verdicts came more than two years after Mr. Blagojevich, 54 years old, was arrested by federal agents.

The verdict was a victory for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who initiated "Operation Board Games" just a few months after Mr. Blagojevich took office. In the hours after the then-governor's arrest, Mr. Fitzgerald said he had "interrupted a political corruption crime spree" and that Mr. Blagojevich had "put a for-sale sign on the naming of a United States Senator."

Mr. Blagojevich is the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted of corruption. Gov. George Ryan is currently serving a 6½-year sentence.

Unlike his first trial, in which the former Chicago congressman escaped conviction on 20 of 21 counts, Mr. Blagojevich testified for seven days at his second trial. He said his intent was to use the seat as leverage to pass legislation that would have benefited the residents of Illinois.

Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to fill President Obama's then vacant senate seat in late 2008- an appointment that came after federal investigators recorded a call between the two where Burris was offering to raise funds for the governor in exchange for the Senate seat.

Key Jewish Donors, Unions Keeping Money on Sidelines During Obama's 2012 Bid?

I have to say that it takes a very special kind of incompetence to quash your own 'I had Osama Bin Laden killed' bounce in the polls after all of 3 weeks.

A pivotal donor for the Democrat party who's previous donations include the financing of the DNC's Washington DC's headquarters has hinted that he will be sitting on the sidelines for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Billionaire financier Haim Saban told CNBC last night that Obama hasn’t done enough to show support for Israel. He also said that he has no plans to contribute to the president’s campaign.

“President Obama has raised so much money and will raise so much money through the Internet, more than anybody before him. And he frankly doesn’t, I believe, need any of my donations,” said Saban.

“I’m very perplexed as to why the president, who’s been to Cairo, to Saudi Arabia, to Turkey, has not made a stop in Israel and spoken to the Israeli people,” he continued. “I believe that the president can clarify to the Israeli people what his positions are on Israel and calm them down. Because they are not calm right now.”

There have been reports that Obama is losing Jewish support after his clash with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week, but this development is the most significant so far. If a key donor like Saban has decided to break with the president, then there are likely others who will follow suit.

Steve Rosen, director of the Washington office of the Middle East Forum, and a former AIPAC official, said that this is part of a trend of Democrats rejecting Obama’s policy toward Israel.

“It’s not happening in isolation. It’s happening in a context in which Harry Reid broke with the president in the last two days,” Rosen told me. “I think that Saban is another step in that direction.”

And here I am with my world's smallest violin in the shop for it's 25,000 sad sad song tune-up.


And wouldn't you know it- it's a union shop!

Some of the nation’s largest labor unions are cutting back dramatically on their financial support to the Democratic Party, saying they are highly frustrated with the failure of Democrats to put up stronger resistance to Republican proposals opposed by labor.

The unions have cited what they see as Democrats’ tepid response to Republican efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, cut Medicare funding and require voters to show identification at the polls.

Waiver Mania! HHS Awards Over 200 Obamacare Waivers Including High-End Businesses in Congresswoman Pelosi's District, Entire State of Nevada

Pelosi getting pointers on governing from Bashr Al Assad, circa 2007

Still taking what's been described by some as a 'victory lap in a clown car' over the successful raid on Bin Laden's Pakistani compound, the Administration quietly announced on Friday that the Department of Health & Human Services had granted more than 200 additional waivers for HR 3590, also known as Obamacare.

The Obama administration approved 204 new waivers to Democrats’ healthcare reform law over the past month, bringing the total to 1,372.

The waivers are temporary and only apply to one provision of the law, which requires health plans to offer at least $750,000 worth of annual medical benefits before leaving patients to fend for themselves. Still, Republicans have assailed the waivers as a sign of both favoritism and of major problems with the law.

“The fact that over 1,000 waivers have been granted is a tacit admission that the healthcare law is fundamentally flawed,” Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said in March. Upton is one of three House committee chairmen who has used new oversight powers to investigate the annual limit waivers.

Of the 204 new waivers issued by HHS, at least 38 went to upscale San Francisco resturants, hotels and nightclubs in Congresswoman Pelosi's disctrict. According to the Daily Caller, this is in addition to 27 new waivers for healthcare or drug companies and 31 waivers for unions in San Francisco.

Also given a partial waiver from 0bamacare- the entire state of Nevada after it appeared as though implementation would force insurance companies doing business in the Silver State to pull up stakes and leave.

Interestingly, while Harry Reid was an ardent backer of 0bamacare in the US Senate, his son Rory Reid was running for governor of Nevada last year. Rory had claimed that the healthcare legislation could end up hurting Nevada during a gubernatorial debate in October 2010.

BREAKING: White House Situation Room Photos Indicate Bin Laden Raid Took Place Much Earlier Than Announced, Situation Room Photos Doctored

The successful raid of Osama Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan had since been followed up by a number of contradictory statements from the White House and allegations that the situation room photo released by the White House was in fact staged.

Now a leaked photo from White House sources has not only called the Administration's timeline of events into question, but even the veracity of the situation room photo that was released by the Administration.

My highly confidential and trustworthy White House sources have hinted that the SEAL raid on Bin Laden's hideout actually took place earlier and coincided with another event that had generated much international interest; the Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey.

However, the raid also overlapped with the official White House Royal Wedding viewing party, and guests actually watched both events unfold in real-time on multiple screens in the situation room.

The above photo, believed by many anonymous insiders to be the original and unmodified situation room photo, seems to confirm this version of events and it's likely the White House waited nearly 48 hours to make the announcement in order to disseminate the doctored photos showing White House Staff, Pentagon brass and Administation officials.


When reached for comment on how the Obama Administration and Pentagon officials were able to get so many copies of her now-infamous hat in advance, a spokeswoman for Princess Beatrice of York had no comment about the hat, but pointed out that the 23 year old daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson had lost some weight, was the first Royal to run in the London marathon and looks 'positively smashing' in a bikini these days.
Well- who am I to argue?

Make Believe Leader Travels to Land of Make Believe, Asks for More Money

Concerned about his plummeting poll numbers and the perception that he's losing touch with the average American, President Obama flew off to a series of fundraisers in California this week, culminating in a meeting with the blue collar John Q. Publics and workaday Joe Lunchpails of the obscure, low profile burgh of Beverly Hills.

Speaking in a tiny room of the Italian restaurant Tavern to a an audience of 60 that included Steven Spielberg, Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks and George Clooney, Obama said he understood frustration with his compromises with centrist Democrats and Republicans on healthcare, ending the Bush tax rates for the wealthy and other issues.

Over the past two and a half years, Obama said, he was sure there were times "where you're reading the papers or you're watching TV and you're saying, 'Ah, Obama, you know, why's he compromising with the Republicans?' Or 'Aw, why did healthcare take so long? and I want single-payer plan anyway.' "

Obama, who returns to Washington from California on Friday, has held a series of fundraisers in the Golden State over the past two days as he completes a week of barnstorming across the country that foreshadows the presidential campaign.

The president has spoken to liberal supporters in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Palo Alto whose continued support will be critical if Obama's campaign is to meet a goal of raising $1 billion in campaign funds for 2012.

A big part of Obama's message on the West Coast has been that the White House has accomplished much, but that the president needs another four years to continue his work.

Fresh after addressing the audience of average Joes in Beverly Hills that were directly feeling the sting of inflation and rising gas prices and just struggling to get by, President Obama returned to Washington D.C. where he sprang into action regarding the escalating conflict in Libya, deadly West Texas wildfires and devastating tornadoes in North Carolina and Missouri.

Oh no- wait....I take that back, he went and played a round of golf at Andrews AFB. Close enough.

President Obama's 2012 Campagn Gets Underway With Petulant Speech, Unimpressive Budget Proposal at George Washignton University

President Obama took time out from his busy schedule on Wednesday to promote the upcoming Atlas Shrugged movie during an address at George Washington University.

Wait....what? He was being serious? Damn- that's unfortunate.

Several days after announcing his campaign for re-election, a government shutdown was narrowly averted and House Budget Committee chair Paul Ryan (R, WI-1) unveiled a budget proposal that would cut government spending by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, President Obama had the opportunity to show the public he was serious about this country's growing debt but instead decided to double down on the same rhetoric that cost his party control of the House last year. Here are some of the highlights (and I use the term loosely) with commentary from me where I thought appropriate:

In the speech at George Washington University, he positioned his spending plan as a more "compassionate" alternative to one introduced last week by Ryan. He applauded Republicans for putting a plan on the table to address entitlements, but the praise stopped there.

"The way this plan achieves those goals would lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known certainly in my lifetime," Obama said, calling the GOP plan "deeply pessimistic." He suggested Republicans were giving up on basic functions of government.

"It's a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can't afford to fix them. [Wait wait wait wait.....hold the phone- if you want to talk about infrastructure, THEN WHAT THE FUCKING HELL WAS THE STIMULUS SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR!?- NANESB!]

If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can't afford to send them," Obama said of the Republican plan.

"It's a vision that says America can't afford to keep the promise we've made to care for our seniors."

The president claimed his proposal would cut $4 trillion from the deficit in 12 years or less. He drew several lines in the sand as he explained how he planned to get there.

Accusing Republicans of cutting services to seniors and poor children while cutting taxes for the rich, Obama said: "That's not right, and that's not going to happen as long as I'm president." [oh good- so we can look forward to this happening sometime in January 2013 then? Please go away you colossal asshat- NANESB!]

The president's proposal would deal with entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid, but avoid the major changes being pushed by Ryan. The president opposes turning Medicaid into a block-grant program for states and making Medicare seniors purchase government-subsidized insurance, as Ryan proposed. Rather, he vowed to make other changes he claims will extract more than $300 billion in savings from those programs over the next decade. Plus he pushed cuts in discretionary spending, including to defense. [Of course! All military spending is wasteful- until Obama decides to start lobbing cruise missiles at Libya- NANESB!]

But where Obama departed most sharply from Republicans was his call for rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the most well-off Americans -- meaning a tax hike for households making more than $250,000, or the top 2 percent of wage-earners. Republicans and Democrats had agreed to extend all the Bush tax cuts for two years, but Obama said Wednesday, "I refuse to renew them again" for the top tier. [Gee- who didn't see that coming?- NANESB!]

"The most fortunate among us can afford to pay a little more. I don't need another tax cut," he said [how generous of the guy who hasn't created a single job in his life- NANESB].

Here's the thing- exactly how much did the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cost? The more conservative estimates put it at a minimum of $787 billion dollars. Unemployment wasn't supposed to go above 8% and all sorts of public work projects were going to create jobs as a result. Except after a few months in, the Obama Administration decided to change the metric to jobs saved or created- and that revision didn't even last until the end of 2009.

And instead of being used for infrastructure as it's cheerleaders had promised, the stimulus went instead to researching the effects of cocaine on monkeys or sexual activity of college freshmen at Syracuse University. Supposedly, in some very abstract manner, it worked and the economy is in a recovery- oh...and any budget proposal by the republicans would endanger this 'recovery'. Except this recovery features near double-digit unemployment, the dollar taking a beating, a cratering housing market as well as skyrocketing food, fuel and commodity prices.

Now, after all the funds that went towards in the 'stimulus' the President wants to raise taxes on 'wealthy' Americans (and make no mistake, the Democrat party has a very malleable definition of 'wealthy'). This is not unlike Bernie Madoff demanding a raise after bilking investors out of their life savings.

If this is part of President Obama's 2012 campaign strategy, I have to say that it is indeed very powerful and effective materiel......for whoever winds up running against him

Waivers, Requests for Exemptions Mark 1-Year Anniversary of 0bamacare Being Signed Into Law.

Today marks the one year anniversary of President Obama signing HR 3590- better known as 0bamacare- into law after months of contentious public debate and last minute wrangling. [I don't know about you, but I for one was tired of stepping around all the corpses of people without adequate healthcare who collapsed and died in the middle of the sidewalk- NANESB!]

The bill passed the US Senate on Christmas Eve and squeaked through the House of Representatives by a 217-212 margin in March 2010 after a bloc of reportedly pro-life Democrats caved in exchange for a worthless piece of paper in the form of an executive order.

By and large, the Democrats who voted for 0bamacare found themselves out of a job when voters went to the polls in November 2010. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been issuing a steadily increasing number of waivers- many of them going to unions, school districts or municipalities. The Lonely Conservative is reporting that the number now exceeds 1000 waivers (including the State of Maine) with more to come.

In addition to the waivers, a number of Federal judges have declared parts of the law or the entire thing unconstitutional. More than half the states in the union are actively seeking to block implementation of 0bamacare.

Perhaps the most glaring example of unmitigated chutzpah comes from Conressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY 9)- who reportedly has is interested in running for mayor of New York City. Weiner was one of 0bamacare's most strident and obnoxious cheerleaders in the debate leading up to it's passage in Congress. However, one year later Congressman Weiner is having second thoughts saying that his office was looking into whether or not a waiver for New York City would be feasible.

Hmm....a waiver? Interesting. Why not some slight modifications to this otherwise flawless gem you were pom-pom shaking for, Congressman Weiner [heh heh.....I said....ah, nevermind- NANESB!]. Unless you were for the bill (as a Congressman) before you were against the bill (as a Mayoral candidate).

Perhaps by this time next year, Congress can completely cut off funding for this thing, or like cap & trade, this monstrosity will languish thanks to legal challenges and key provisions being blocked or de-funded. I suspect this very issue will be an albatross around the neck of the Democrats who voted for this and are running for re-election in 2012.

Federal Judge in Florida Rules 0bamacare Unconstitutional; 500 MORE waivers granted by HHS

A U.S. Judge in Pensacola, FL struck down the Healthcare Act as being unconstitutional on Monday, presenting the biggest challenge yet to the partisan bill that was signed into law last year. The ruling on Monday was more sweeping in scope than a December ruling in Virginia that declared the individual mandate to exceed Congressional authority, as Judge Roger Vinson was hearing the case where 26 states filed suit against HR 3590.

"Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire act must be declared void. This has been a difficult decision to reach, and I am aware that it will have indeterminable implications," Vinson wrote.

Referring to a key provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he sided with governors and attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans, in declaring it unconstitutional.

"Regardless of how laudable its attempts may have been to accomplish these goals in passing the Act, Congress must operate within the bounds established by the Constitution," the judge ruled.

The ruling came after the House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal HR 3590 and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued 500 new healthcare waivers.- this brings the total number of 0bamacare waivers to over 700.

A good number of the entities that have successfully obtained waivers from HHS include many of the same labor unions who supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This naturally begs the question of why they would seek an exemption from legislation they had been so supportive of.

State of the Union and Obama's Sputnik Moment

Truth be told, I was only able to tune in for the last 10 minutes or so of the President' State of the Union Address, so I'm not sure what the two of them had in common besides crashing and burning in Wisconsin.

Oh wait....am I not supposed to use language like that in this new epoch of hypercivility?

Well anywhoo, my first response was to the State of the Union was 'My God- He's Still Talking?'. Like I said- I didn't tune in until the final 10 minutes and that only happened because I had assumed the speech was over and done with. And to be perfectly honest, I was listening on XM- the final moments of the address was only made tolerable by intermittent commentary from Cam and Company.

Apparently I had missed the first 45 minutes of vapid platitudes, contrived calls for bipartisanship, token nods towards American exceptionalism and contradictions galore. Since this was radio, I didn't get to actually see the 'high school dance' mentality of the Republican congressmen and senator mingling with their Democrat counterparts. Probably just as well, as that was a pretty stupid and pointless exercise. If the final 10 minutes were any indication, the speech seemed to be more about crowing about what the highly unpopular lame duck Congress was able to cram through last month than learning anything from the election results in November. The president also seemed to be taking credit for this month's referendum in South Sudan, which in fact was a key component of a 2005 ceasefire brokered by the USA. C'mon, progressives and Democrats...think back to 2005 when we had an unemployment rate that maxed out at 5.4%- who was in the White House again?

There were no huge surprises after the speech- Congressman Paul Ryan (R- WI, 1st District) delivered a pretty good rebuttal regarding the size and scope of government. President Obama's insipid media cheerleaders- many of whom he met with for lunch before the State of the Union- thought this was the greatest speech since Churchill while FOX news and the AP were skeptical.

It's one thing for me to be skeptical of the President, because I had no interest in sitting through what amounted to a 1 hour and 10 minute sales pitch for something I didn't want but was probably going to wind up with anyway. I'm just wondering how many independents or undecideds saw what I saw last night- teleprompter fuelled status quo.

What did you think?