The Stimulus

"You've got some economists and some folks who think they're economists. By the way, theses days everybody thinks they're economists."

President Obama casually joked while stressing the need for the U.S. Senate to pass a stimulus package that was around $700 billion, but has now gone beyond $900 billion. With public support for his stimulus plan falling from %46 to now %34, President Obama now feels pressure to pass his stimulus plan as quickly as possible. President Obama cites that the U.S. economy is in the same dire straits as it found it's self during the Great Depression, even though Wall Street analysts say that while the economy is in a slump, it's nowhere near the level experienced during the 1930's.

As the American public becomes more aware of the pork barrel spending that makes up a majority of the bill, the less likely they will be to support such a measure. Obama knows this, which is why he's pushing so hard for this bill, but spending almost a trillion taxpayer dollars over the next several years just to simply grow the government doesn't sound like economic stimulus to me. And the more that the American public learns of this, the less likely they will believe that such a radical step is necessary.

It's true that there are economists, and then there are those who think they are. However, if I remember correctly Obama's major at Harvard was Law, not economics, so I guess it would be safe to say that he's (Obama) not an economists either.

President Obama Criticises Wallstreet Executives

Yesterday President Obama chastised Wall street Executives for handing out an astonishing $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008 after receiving financial aid from the government over the sub prime mortgage fiasco. Obama called the bonuses "The height of irresponsibility", and asked that more restraint be shown by Wall street executives. Yes, it's true that Wall street executives showed poor judgement, and gave bonuses to their employees rather than buying up all the "Toxic Loans" that the bailout money was intended for. However, there is another group that shares an equal amount of blame for this mismanagement of the bailout. While it is true that a Republican President called for the bailout, it was a Democrat controlled Congress who voted for it, with no oversight, no way to determine how the money was being spent, and no idea where the rest of the money is now. So before Obama starts pointing his finger at the abuse of Wall street executives, he should start cleaning up his own house first.

President Obama lifts Abortion Ban

Last Friday, President Barack Obama lifted the Ban on U.S. funding of overseas abortions. "For the past eight years, (the restrictions) have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing counties." stated Obama. It never ceases to amuse me how pro-choice groups continually refer to abortions as "family planning". They make it sound like they're planning a vacation for you and your child, not promoting a medical procedure where a doctor cuts up a mother's unborn baby into some weird type of sushi. That President Obama lifted the restrictions is no surprise to me. What does surprise me is the timing of the decision. With America on the brink of financial collapse you would assume that President Obama's primary concern would be getting the economy back on track. Instead Obama has decided to reinstate a program that will cost American taxpayers over $400 million dollars a year. With American workers getting laid off in droves, and wondering where their next pay check will come from, this seems like a very odd move for President Obama to make.

Guantanamo To Be Closed Within A Year

On his second day in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo by the end of 2009. Gitmo has been a continuing source of critsizim by governments, and human rights groups around the world. At the same time, President Obama is suspending all terrorist trails there for not more than 120 days to review the military tribunerials. Although there are some people who see the need for Gitmo's existence, the truth of the matter is that it is a violation of international law, and the Geneva Conventions. According to the Geneva Conventions, a terrorist is not considered a legal soldier, and cannot therefore be held in a military facility, or tried in a military court. The only question that remains is where to put them? A civilian facility?