Jeff Lewis

This past week we witnessed the “Tea Bag” Tax Protest. It was an orchestrated event that was co-opted, or hijacked by rightwing extremists and Republican conservatives from Ron Paul’s vocal, but normally civilized followers. The purpose for the protest was designed to draw attention, ostensibly, to multiple contemporary evils: excessive taxation, excessive government spending, and excessive insensitivity from our national political leadership.

The “Protest” allowed participants the chance to use inflammatory rhetoric that often characterizes such gatherings.  One of the unique aspects of this cause celeb was the contradictory outcries of “Socialism” and “Fascism”, plus numerous Obama hate messages.  It reminded me of the conundrum one of my innovative professors in college once posed in a political theory lecture that began with the rhetorical question, “Can any one succinctly explain the difference between communism and capitalism?”  After several seconds of deafening silence, he answered by saying, “In Communism, man exploits man.  In Capitalism, it’s just the opposite.”

The national network television news media in general acknowledged that the protest was grass roots, in nature. This aspect was driven home repeatedly by the Republican Party leadership and the Fox television news personalities, two entities often in political lockstep, prior to and after the event.  House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), called the event “Astroturf” because of the overt push it received from fat cat donors and Fox network talking heads.

While the President participated in a gathering of Western Hemisphere political leaders on the island of Trinidad, the release of the DOJ “torture memos” started a firestorm that, I believe, has the potential to sprout a genuine grass roots movement. Obama’s progressive supporters on the Democratic side of the aisle, or his own political family, are aggressively circulating a petition on the internet calling for the prosecution of all those governmental agents in the previous administration who participated in the policy that created the alleged tortuous acts.  The petition’s import is in direct opposition to Obama and the Attorney General’s promise not to prosecute any CIA operatives that may have direct involvement in carrying out these acts, as described in graphic detail in the previously classified DOJ documents.  Obama and Eric Holder have promised those CIA participants taxpayer supported legal defense, because the perpetrators were acting on advice from the DOJ, or, just carrying out orders from higher-ups.  The Nuremburg trials, immediately following WWII, featured prosecutions of Nazi’s, “Just following orders.”

One of the most compelling aspects of Obama’s campaign was his representation that among the “change” he would bring about was his vow to restore America’s moral authority in such matters. As he positioned himself against unjust prosecution of a misguided war, he promised transparency in his leadership in direct contradiction to Hillary and later McCain.  On Wednesday night, progressive stalwart, Keith Olberman of MSNBC, vehemently editorialized on Obama’s decision in this area and unequivocally stated, “Mr. President, you are wrong!”  Ooops!  Up jumped the first “family feud” in the Obama bunkhouse.  Among the graying and balding heads of Obama progressives are veterans of “real grass movement” protests from the 60’s.  Millions of these folks were on the front lines on behalf of civil rights and anti-war (Vietnam) conflagrations that occurred throughout the Republic with intensity and, on many occasions, with ferocity.  It is important to remember that Obama was born in 1961, therefore his memory of these cataclysmic struggles are not indelibly etched in his memory tapes.

At the present moment, Obama has opened a significant rift with conservatives that are outraged at his approved revelation of the previously top secret classified memos, and the bedrock of his political support, by saying he was turning a blind eye toward the perpetrators of these deeds.  Deeds, which are specifically prohibited by international treaties, of which our country is signator.  The president’s position is on a collision course.  The potential problems of this controversy are not inherited like the economic hand of cards he walked into upon his election.  Obama has chosen this present course entirely of his own volition.

In my judgment, President Obama is about to get a “real education” in presidential decision making and “grass roots movements.”

Allison Bricker

Once again, current and former hack politicians are calling for a reinstatement of the “Fairness Doctrine,” or in short and contrary what the title advertises, censorship. Joining the plutocrats in their chorus call for a government mandate, are many of the failed or failing “progressive” talk radio hosts, ergo Bill Press.

Every time Mr. Press gets the chance, he whines incessantly about how unfair it is that radio stations are dropping “socialist” talk radio in favor of another format. One recent victim of the pathetically low ratings in the “socialist” talk radio graveyard is Obama 1260 AM out of Washington D.C. As of February 9th, less than four months since its birth as a progressive bastion of all things Obama, the station had such pitiful ratings, WWRC decided to drop the format and focus on the imploding economy instead.

However, Mr. Press seems more concerned with the loss of his own salary than actually trying to develop a working business model. He has literally begged Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Stabenow (D-MI) to have government grant him job protection vis-à-vis the “Fairness Doctrine”, as his ilk’s brand of talk radio hemorrhages affiliates around the country.

Unfortunately, for Mr. Press however, it was recently revealed that Senator Stabenow’s husband; one of the biggest supporters of progressive talk in the Senate” according to Mr. Press, is the “Father of Progressive talk,” former Vice-President of the bankrupted Air America, and remains a top level executive in the television/internet industry.

As recently as last week, even President Clinton jumped on the bandwagon calling for a reinstatement of the Federal censorship policy. Additionally, recently confirmed Attorney General, Eric Holder has publicly commented upon expanding the reach of the “Fairness Doctrine” to the internet.
Thus, we present Phase One of Operation: Solvo Sermo, Stop the Fairness Doctrine. Please stay tuned to The Smoking Argus Daily, as we get ready to launch Phase Two in the coming weeks.

Allison Bricker

“Change” was the cornerstone of President-Elect Obama’s campaign. Often spoken and vaguely defined, his hypnotic lip service to a nation weary of the “Bush Years” was enough to sweep him from the well of the Senate straight into the White House. The problem here is that as the days since the election become weeks, the individuals President-Elect Obama is selecting to fill out his staff and cabinet are more of the same old career politicians who have spent their lives sucking from the public trough. As the chart below illustrates, these are the same scoundrels which through their love of central nanny state planning, helped ensure the current economic crisis and erosion of inherent liberties.

This list reads like a veritable “Who’s Who” of beltway Washington Aristocrats, and these are just the sourced appointments to the Obama White House. Unconfirmed reports are also circulating that James Steinberg former Clinton Administration deputy national security adviser is on the short list to be President-Elect Obama’s choice for National Security Adviser.¹ How is someone to believe that President Elect Obama will help fix an imploding economy and divided nation when the same people who helped cause the mess are elevated yet again to positions of power?

The answer of course is that they will not. Moreover, a closer inspection of these filthy power hungry individuals yields even less hope for rolling back the massive unconstitutional powers decreed to the Executive Branch under President Bush. The truth is, the face of the puppet may have changed from bumbling dote to articulate persuasive figurehead, but outside of that it is business as usual.

If we look at the public statements and actions of those listed above, we see that their motivation comes solely from attaining more for themselves while throwing scraps to “we the people”. Eric Holder, who is on pace to be the next Attorney General for example, said in a 1999 interview:

“The court has really struck down every government effort to try to regulate it. We tried with regard to pornography. It is gonna be a difficult thing, but it seems to me that if we can come up with reasonable restrictions, reasonable regulations in how people interact on the Internet, that is something that the Supreme Court and the courts ought to favorably look at.”²

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As we reported weeks ago, it is almost a certainty that an Obama Administration will seek to end the free flow of ideas exchanged across the internet vis-a-vi the “Fairness Doctrine 2.0″. Do we as Americans need the government to tell us what is “reasonable” or”safe” to listen to, read, or view? The Founders knew that allowing government to dictate what was “reasonable” was guaranteed to lead to one thing and one thing only, censorship.

Further complimenting President-Elect Obama’s socialist plans for our healthcare industry, are his picks for Chief of Staff and Secretary of State, Rahm Emanuel and Hilary Clinton respectively. Both were lead architects of the failed “Hilary Care” during the Clinton Administration.³ Rahm Emanuel as we reported is also the architect and ferverent supporter of forced unpaid labor via his “Compulsory Civil Service” program. Between Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel they have received over $15.9 million in campaign contributions from healthcare industries, central bankers, criminal financiers, and bailout recipients.⁴ Care to guess which healthcare companies/individuals will receive government certification to administer and oversee the universal healthcare program?

Next, continuing President-Elect Obama’s perverse definition of “change” is his choice for Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner. Mr. Geithner is currently the President of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve. This guarantees that an Obama Administration will continue this debt based fiat currency system that is to the sole benefit of the private Central Bankers who own the Federal Reserve. The obvious conflict of interest in having a Federal Reserve branch President in charge of the U.S. Treasury, relying on his fellow Federal Reserve Central Bankers to loan the government money via Reserve Notes, should go without saying, and most likely will thanks to a mainstream media intoxicated by President-Elect Obama.

Additionally, many of us would love to be a fly on the wall during the times when Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury under the Clinton Administration and Hillary Clinton are in the same room. It would be most interesting to see how Hillary Clinton interacts with Mr. Summers, the former President of Harvard who resigned in disgrace in 2006 after remarking that “issues of intrinsic aptitude” could explain underrepresentation of women in the fields of science and engineering.⁵ Nice to know “Change” in Obama’s mind means appointing a misogynist who feels women are just too stupid in comparison to men.

In conclusion, during the next four years we will see campaign promises fall by the way side, massive government programs designed to fix the last batch of failed government programs, central planning and intervention into our economy which will exacerbate and prolong the coming depression; while benefiting central bankers, as well as a further shredding and trampling of our liberties and Constitution.

It is my opinion, President-Elect Obama’s definition of “Change” reeks of 1984 “doublespeak”.

Source(s): ¹Business Day – “Contenders for Key Posts in New Cabinet” • ² May 28, 1999 NPR Morning Edition • ³ Slate – “Obama’s Muscle” • ⁴ OpenSecrets.org – Hillary Clinton Record/Rahm Emanuel Record • ⁵ The Economic Times – “Lawrence Summer to become Obama’s Top Economic Adviser”