The Political Fish

It has been a whirlwind news cycle the last few days as video after video has been coming out exposing the corrupt underbelly of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Andrew Breitbart and his new website BigGovernment.com has been absolutely destroying ACORN, and for his opening act he started releasing the videos and stories from Hannah Giles and James O’keefe as they sought to expose ACORN for who they really are, and contacted Breitbart to get the word out. And what a massive success they have been. They have travelled to Baltimore, Washington DC, New York City, San Bernadino and most recently San Diego playing the same act as a pimp and a prostitute looking for housing. Clearly, the ACORN employees were well versed in manipulating the system, even if it meant aiding and abetting criminal behavior. Things got really good in San Bernadino California, where the Tresa Kaelke (ACORN employee) admitted on camera to killing her husband, effectively illustrating her street cred to the “hooker” Giles and her “pimp” O’Keefe.  Sean Hannity got the scoop tonight on the newest video to come out, which happened in San Diego. Take a look at the interview with Breitbart and Giles, along with the newest damning video evidence.

Its simply amazing. Even though to look at them, it would seem there would be no way they could pull off the act, they apparently have convinced ACORN employees across the country, even so much as to get a solicitation from the San Diego representative.

This recent scam, which was attempted in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia to name a few places, had failed for months before the results we’ve all recently seen.
-Bertha Lewis, Chief Organizer, ACORN

Sorry Bertha, it doesn’t look like they failed. It looks like ACORN has been exposed.

THE FALLOUT

And boy has there ever been some fallout. Shortly after the release of the Baltimore video, Senator Johans (R-NE) added an ammendment to HR3288 which is the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Senate ammendment 2355 cut funding to ACORN, and was passed in overwhelming fashion, 83-7. Believe it or not, yes there were 7 who voted to continue funding ACORN. They are as follows:

NAYs —7
Burris (D-IL) Casey (D-PA) Durbin (D-IL)	Gillibrand (D-NY) Leahy (D-VT) Sanders (I-VT)	Whitehouse (D-RI

I know that I am not surprised by this list. Burris and Durbin jump out at me though, as likely being deeply connected with this organization, as they hail from the very center of government corruption in America, the great state of Illinois.

Also, in the days following ACORNs new found (albeit unwanted) fame, the US Census Bureau decided to cut ties with ACORN as well.  Ben Smith at Politico points out…

The latest ACORN expose, in which a conservative producer and his partner got two ACORN employees to give him advice on running his prostitution business and evading taxes with their underage Latin American prostitutes (really) has dealt the organization a final blow as far as the Obama administration is concerned: The Census has chosen to stop working with the group, with Census Director Robert Groves writing ACORN President Maude Hurd that public “concern” about the group has become “a distraction from our mission” and that recent events — an apparent reference to the expose — has “added to worsening negative perceptions of ACORN.”.

Conspicuously absent in this whole process has been the mainstream media. This expose from Giles and O’Keefe has exposed ACORN for who they really are (1 or 2 times coincidence, 5 is a pattern, sorry ACORN), but it has also exposed the inept main stream media for who they really are as well. They have been all but silent, other than MSNBC and CNN blasting these radical conservative 20-somethings who are on a witch hunt, following the right-wing obsession with ACORN. Actually MSM, they are doing your job…real investigative journalism.  Check out the piece MSNBC put out, including an interview with ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis. Tell me after watching this there isn’t some sort of leftist bias and radical agenda from this news organization. Its so thick in this segment, it cannot be missed.

Classic MSNBC…I was actually waiting for Rachel Madcow or Keith Olbermann to rush the stage and start up with one of their inane right-wing demonizing rants. One can dream I suppose.

I will end with this. We should all lift these two patriots up in our prayers, as the media and this organization has threatened them with lawsuits and other smears, and I’m sure its just a matter of time before more serious threats are levied in their directions. With a little creativity, they have accomplished what millions of decent Americans were hoping for, which is effectively bring down the largest “social justice” aka socialist community organizations in the country. Their website uses this social and economic justice double speak in its “ABOUT” section. Too bad the American public is awake now to what that term actually means.

It will be interesting to see more of the fallout in the coming days and weeks. Potential Congressional investigations into lawmakers ties with this group would be appropriate, and let us not forget that the Obama administration and campaigns have been intricately involved with ACORN. It was after all his first job out of college! Already the White House has thrown ACORN under the bus, by attempting to distance itself from the group. But the American public already knows better than that. Its their typical modus operandi to sell out their friends when times get tough.

This has truly been a shock and awe campaign unleashed by the grassroots in America against corruption.

The Congressional cabal of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have told the President that the votes are in for healthcare reform.

Open wide America. Your about to have comprehensive healthcare “reform” shoved down your throats, and it will be soon.

The ironic part of it all is that we the people of the United States are supposedly the ones that will benefit from all of this, yet the American people don’t even know what the bill is going to be. Some on Capitol Hill have stated that there is not a new bill, that they are still using HR 3200, yes the monstrosity that started this whole debate, as the framework and possibly even the bill that will be used. Robert Gibbs in fact noted today in his press conference that they are not starting over (apparently nobody listened during the townhalls) and that apparently the President also will not be presenting a bill during his address to a joint session of Congress tommorow night.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, Obama will in fact be pressing for the public option, along with the Senates new idea to levy a large tax($3800) on those without insurance. Yes, that would be forcing those without insurance (whether by choice or otherwise) to go on to the public insurance option. Bye bye freedom and free market principles.

“It’s a sad state of affairs that many in this country politically would rather start an ‘Animal House’ food fight rather than inspire kids to stay in school, to work hard, to engage parents to stay involved and to ensure that the millions of teachers that are making great sacrifices continue to be the best in the world,” Gibbs told reporters on Monday.

Of all the press secretaries we have had in recent years, I can honestly assess that there have been none even close to the embarrasment that Robert Gibbs is for this administration. Today, he once again towed the administrations strategic line in minimizing, demeaning and insulting the American public (whom the President is supposed to be serving, just a little pesky fact) by implying that those that are concerned over the Presidents emerging cult of personality are immature college students engaged in a political food fight (ironic comparison given the subject matter).

We are all well aware, and were not surprised by the speech released today by the administration to the schoolchildren of America. As most expected, it was a pretty innocuous text, encouraging kids to stay in school etc. I personally would like to see the text of the original speech, which undoubtedly received some major sanitization after the controversy erupted.

Again, its not the speech itself that is the problem. Its the factors surrounding it. The teachers unions will no doubt take this opportunity to turn their classrooms into campaign offices, its the lesson plans that were developed by the Department of Education and disseminated to teachers across the country, focusing less on staying in school and more on the President himself, and the ways to serve him, as well as the Presidents connections with the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (of which he was the head in the late 90’s) which focused on radical activism within the school system, under the guise of school improvement.

The CAC’s agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers’s educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland’s ghetto.

There is much more in the subtext of the Obama speech than the speech itself. Read the lesson plans sent out by the Dept. of Ed. a little more carefully, then go read the speech text, and then imagine what a public school system led by an activist teachers union (completely in the tank for this administration) would be up to in the moments before and after. Again, I renew my call to contact your childs school, or just keep your child home from school. It is the responsibility of each parent to decide if they want their children turned in to junior activists, at the behest of President Obama.

Below is the full text of the speech by President Obama.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
 

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. 

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. 

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. 

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. 

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. 

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. 

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. 

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. 

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. 

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. 

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. 

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. 

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. 

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. 

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. 

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. 

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. 

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. 

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. 

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. 

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?  

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

The Democratic National Commitee has been pushing through the campaign to marginalize, intimidate, and demonize average American citizens who have been swarming the townhall meetings with Congressional leaders. Apparently, the  liberal loons out there are really buying into the idea that if you protest the President, you have obviously been paid off by Fox News, big insurance, or some other rich, white Republican to disrupt and intimidate the members of Congress. Just another Brooks Brothers Brigade is how Robert Gibbs dismissed Americans excercising their freedom of speech. What I am about to post, I am only posting because of how ridiculous this is…but it points to the lack of decency, and frankly the desire to stifle debate on an issue that will affect each and every American citizen. Check this out from talkingpointsmemo.com. This is only page 2 of 4. Read the rest at the site…its….amusing.

Political campaigning is in full swing for the 09 season.

Has the PoliticalFish lost its collective mind you ask? There are no elections this year, at least not on a national level. That is true, but we are seeing an unprecedented campaign this year. The President of the United States is running a full scale campaign against American citizens. And the joke is apparently on us, because we actually get to pay for his political campaigning. A reader brought up this point to me in yesterday’s article about the White House blog asking Americans to turn in their fellow citizens for dissenting against health care reform. He says:

Isn’t this an illegal use of government funds? I remember what happened with the Clinton’s database where they denied vehemently that they weren’t using government funds for political purposes, but this things by Obama seems like they are doing what Clinton was accused of doing secretly. Hopefully lawyers will get on this as it seems illegal for the White House to use taxpayer money to spy on taxpayers over a political thing.

To be totally honest, I am not sure of the legality of the issue, so at this point I would not even comment to that end, however in my memory I cannot remember a political campaign ever being waged against American citizens by a sitting US President. Maybe I am forgetting someone, and would love the feedback. Barack Obama has taken to the airwaves, press conferences, townhalls, and every other possible means denigrating the American citizens who pay his salary. He is not running against a GOP candidate. He is not running against the GOP party. He is running against a majority of US citizens who oppose his healthcare bill.

A majority you ask? Yes, a majority. Numerous polls speak to that fact.  According to an NPR poll:

However, when asked about the plan now moving through Congress, a plurality of 47 percent was opposed and 42 percent said they were in favor, based on what they had heard about the plan so far.

Thats one, ok…don’t worry there are plenty more. See more results here and here. Zogby and Rassmussen polling centers also both confirm, with Rassmussen polling indicating that 53% of Americans are opposed to the Congressional reform taking place (actually been put on ice for a month). Gallup tells us that while a majority of Americans believe that reform in the health care industry is neccesary, a  minority actually favor the plan moving through Congress currently. DailyKos is about the only website I was able to find where there is a majority in favor of healthcare as the President has stated it. That is of course no surprise, because generally speaking Kos readers are rabid far left liberals, and the polls taken on their site show that sort of bias. While none of these polls show an overwhelming majority, it is a majority none the less. All American citizens will agree on the fact that the healthcare system is broken, reform is needed. But that is not what HR 3200 is all about. HR 3200 is a full blown government takeover of what is already the best health system in the world.

So, the White House cannot and will not accept defeat on this matter. They have launched a full blown smear campaign against American citizens who are showing up at townhall meetings, bloggers like myself who write dissenting pieces, and normal citizens who don’t want government interference in the private sector. The polls show that Americans do NOT want the price tag that will come with this. The cost is too high, as are the taxes that will be attached to it. Tim Geithner opened his mouth Monday and told us all that the middle class may have to take the hit to pay for all this spending. The spin machine of the White House quickly flew into action dismissing his words. The White House email server sent this email out last week, here is an excerpt.

Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt

Speaking of misinformation and scare tactics….This one was sent out today.

So yes, fixing this crisis will not be easy. Our opponents will attack us every day for daring to try. It will require time, and hard work, and there will be days when we don’t know if we have anything more to give. But there comes a moment when we all have to choose between doing what’s easy, and doing what’s right.

This is one of those times. And moments like this are what this movement was built for. So, are you ready?

The administration continues to demonize American’s as liars, paid for by Fox News, the insurance industry, and other big business interest groups. Former Clinton crony, and Democratic strategist Lanny Davis wants ObamaCare protesters to be photographed and investigated. He says he intends to prove the connection. I’ll smile for that picture Lanny, I have nothing to hide except contempt for a Gestapo-type administration who simply cannot handle dissent. Trust me, I won’t hide it. Robert Gibbs took a swing at the “Brooks Brother Brigade” as proof of a vast right-wing conspiracy to try and hurt the President by defeating his signature bill. Linda Douglass wants Americans to turn in other Americans for speaking the truth about the healthcare bill. If the President doesn’t say it, it must be misinformation. Has the American public become so dumbed down, that we actually believe that politicians are telling us the truth? Your fellow citizens are the liars? Amazing.

Its all lunacy. What has happened to the country that I love? We have gotten now to the point where dissent against tyranny has turned our own President against us. It’s sad really.

For the real truth about healthcare reform….go read it yourself. Conservatives are not making this stuff up.

Here is the link to the original health care bill.

The birther conspiracy continues to heat up and become more a mainstream talking point, despite everyone in the mainstream media and liberals in general dismissing the notion as a lunatic right-wing conspiracy. CBS News’ blog The Political Hotsheet ran a piece today, which clearly showed that the MSM is simply not willing to do any journalistic investigating on an issue which, like it or not, has hit the mainstream and is causing a ruckus in the political landscape. Sadly, the blog states in the opening paragraph that conspiracy theories flourish in the wake of traumatic, or game changing events…and weakly compares the election of Barack Obama to history-altering events like 9/11, the Kennedy assassination, and landing on the moon. While the election of a black President is definetely historical, it pales in comparison to any of the above mentioned events…CBS continues to show itself to be in the tank for the administration, by its outright refusal to even begrudgingly do their job and investigate these claims.

Listen, I am not a birther. I think the Manchurian candidate that is being pushed around out there is highly unlikely. However, this Certification of Live Birth is not evidence. This would not silence anybody at all. With a little web savvy and a professional graphic designer, I could also post this up on the web for all to see. Robert Gibbs continues to reference the above jpg. as the sole evidence needed to validate the Presidents credentials and requirements for eligibility. The media continues to decry these “nuts” as never letting this one go…but that’s actually not true at all. These right-wing nut jobs, or birthers (you gotta love the creativity of the media when it comes to perjorative terms) can and will be silenced…it will only take one move.

The President can silence the birthers once and for all.

But, he won’t. The President ran a campaign based on transparency in government, but refuses to even acknowledge the sound of millions of Americans screaming for the truth. For this conspiracy really to be true, it would have taken decades of planning for the installation of the Manchurian candidate, or Kenyan candidate as the case may be. Its a pretty unlikely scenario, however anything at all is possible. The President who preached to us about unity, closing the bipartisan divide and open government refuses to be open about who he really is. All records of Barack Obama prior to his public service have been considered off limits. This of course includes the original long-form birth certificate. I agree with Andrew Sullivan on this matter wholeheartedly…check out the Daily Dish from 7/29.

The whole birth certificate issue gets weirder still:

“I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago….”

But why are we supposed to rely on the testimony of Dr Fukino, whom I believe entirely. It is not my job as a journalist or yours as a citizen to take public officials on trust. They are not to be trusted, whoever they are. It is our job to demand all the evidence we want or need. I know the electronic record is legit. I have no doubt that Obama has every constitutional right to be president. I think the Birthers are nuts. But there is no reason on earth that the original cannot be retrieved and shown. Jon Klein and CNN were wrong, and I retract my apology of yesterday.

Obama promised total transparency. Where is it? Or will it arrive at the moment when he tackles the deficit, and withdraws from Iraq?

When will we get this transparency? The entire issue is annoying, not because of right wingers continually demanding answers. It’s annoying because it could have, and should have been silenced by now. Frankly, if the President continues to refuse to show the records of his birth, his schooling, and his life prior to his public service in Illinois, it makes him look like there is something to hide. That is why the “birthers” won’t go away. It is unprecedented for the President of the United States to stonewall against all information about himself…Bush never did it, Clinton, Reagan, Carter…its never happened before. I mean, George W. Bush even released his college records, informing the world that he was a fairly poor student.

So, all that to say this. What is there to hide? If there is nothing to hide…be transparent. This is exactly what you promised the nation that you currently lead.

Let the good times roll at the White House. Thursday is the highly anticipated sit-down of President Obama, Henry Louis Gates, and accused racist Officer James Crowley.

“The president sees this as an opportunity to get dialogue going on an issue that’s been historically troubling,” senior adviser David Axelrod told CBS Sunday.

Robert Gibbs told reporters today that there will be no formal agenda to this meeting, as he says, its “just about having a beer”. No confirmation on the Presidential beer of choice at this time, but its good to see racial fences being mended as the President, Gates and Crowley scarf down some chili dogs, tip a few brews and shoot the breeze at the Presidential picnic table. One could only expect a few Cuban cigars to be lit up as well.

We will see how far this new found friendship blossoms. So far, neither Obama nor Gates have offered up any apologies for berating Officer Crowley as a racist, and painting the picture of a profiler who performed woefully at his job. I just hope we don’t end up with a White House bar fight…that could be bad.

Interesting that this keeps coming up.

I am not really a big fan of this “conspiracy theory” but it seems to be a conspiracy with a lot of legs and life behind it. I haven’t been able to find myself falling in line with the birth certificate issue 100%, however, as much as Gibbs would like to downplay it as non-sense and made up fiction, it is obviously an issue. An issue I might add that could very easily be put to bed.

With a little web savvy, I could also come up with a birth certificate for myself and post it up for the world to see. How hard would it really be to produce a long-form birth certificate as proper documentation? It would serve the President well, as well as Mr. Gibbs to walk into the White House briefing room, hold up the real birth certificate and make it all go away.

I choose to give the President the benefit of the doubt on this one, but it seems like an awful lot of stonewalling going on for an issue as novice as this. It could so easily be put to rest, and then we  could move on. While I give him the benefit of the doubt, I am watching carefully the court cases being fought by Dr. Orly Taitz, and the lawsuits being filed by military personnel. Its exceptionally important, as the Constitution clearly states the requirements for the commander-in-Chief.

To dismiss the detractors, which have now hit the mainstream media establishment, as well as the White House Press corp, as crazy loons, while the whole time stonewalling what they are looking for simply makes the administration look…well…guilty. Put the issue to rest, then the birthers will go away. A grainy picture of a short-form birth certificate is not putting it to rest. There is no reason at all we as a country should not be able to point back to the history of the man who is running the country. We can go back to Hope Arkansas and learn about the history of Bill Clinton, including all pertinent record leading up to the White House. Seems we cannot do that with Barack Obama. My question is why?

President Obama put on his community organizer hat last night at the 4th nationally televised, prime-time news conference of his young presidency,  touting his health care government takeover. More on the health care issue later.

The final question of the night came from Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, when she asked about the arrest of Henry Louis “Skip” Gates for disorderly conduct by the Cambridge Mass. police department. Here is the video.

The nation was able to watch in sheer amazement as Obama issued the trump card…racial profiling. Clearly in this case, it was not true. There was no profiling there was an officer responding to a call of a crime in progress. Sgt. James Crowley responded to the home of Gates, who is a professor at Harvard University. Obama, instead of applauding Sgt. Crowley for his quick response and even-tempered response to what was potentially a very dangerous situation, slams the officer and the department as “acting stupidely” and throws down that trump card that is all to often played in this country. Check out the arrest report here, for what actually happened. Clearly, Gates had flown into a fit of rage at the idea of being questioned by a white officer, when the officer needed in fact to verify that Gates was the owner of the home that he was seen breaking in to. This is not an outrageous request, it follows police procedure. Gates flying into a rage screaming about the officer being a racist and “talk to ya mama out front” shows that he was very clearly out of control. Many witnesses have already verified this take.

So why was the President even weighing in on this matter?? Without the facts, Obama made an enormous mistake to take sides and fire insults at the arresting officer. Here is the video of Sgt. Crowleys response (or really a non-response) in which he tells reporters that he is NOT sorry, and will NOT apologize to Gates or anyone else about the incident.

Of course realizing the error of the Presidents ways, the White House decided to spin this around, and run damage control. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs addressed the media today about the controversy.

“Let me be clear, he was not calling the officer stupid,” Gibbs told reporters as Obama landed in Cleveland for two health care events Thursday. He said Obama felt that “at a certain point the situation got far out of hand” at Gates’ home last week.

Acting stupidely is apparently quite a bit different from being stupid. Interesting take. It is worth noting that Sgt Crowley, according to the Boston Herald, has taught a racial profiling class at the Lowell Police Academy for the past five years. He is considered to be an expert at the local police department, and has never had anything but the top recommendations from his commanding officers. Gates clearly believed that this white cop was picking on him by his reaction, and Obama exascerbates this mentality with his irresponsible, Jesse Jackson-Al Sharpton-style attack at this white officer.

Just like any good community organizer, the first step to organizing a movement is to enflame the masses. It is engrained in his entire mentality to do just that. I mean, we elected a black President for goodness sake, do we still really believe that racism is still a problem running rampant? Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Asians…we all have the same opportunities in this country (some lessened by affirmative action I might add) but this is not an issue. The information the President cited about blacks and latinos being disproportionately  arrested is outdated material, and was centered around urban areas, which as always have a higher population of black residents.

Thankfully, this officer has the support of his colleagues and the state police union who have all come out and blasted the irresponsible prime-time scolding that Obama gave this officer. Even Bill Cosby, the outspoken comedian, came out swinging against the President. Wonderful words from a legend.

“I’ve heard about five different reports [on the details of the arrest],” Cosby said on Boston’s WZLX. “If I’m the president of the United States, I don’t care how much pressure people want to put on it about race, I’m keeping my mouth shut.”

Word of advice for the President of the United States. Next time, get the facts before you speak. Hundreds of millions of people watched you play an irresponsible, Jesse Jackson-Al Sharpton-style, race attack on what appears to have been a legitimate arrest. Before you shoot…aim next time!!

This is the last that the Political Fish will say about this matter. I have thought that this may be a diversion (although a really bad idea if it is)away from the Presidents health care debacle, so we will get back on point. There is much to talk about when it comes to the healthcare debate.

I know this is a few days old, but this was a great video from the White House press room, during President Obama’s “townhall” meeting on healthcare this past week. Watch Helen Thomas and Chip Reid take Robert Gibbs to task for these “tightly controlled” meetings as Reid describes them.

Its quite amusing that this administration supposedly prides itself on its transparency and openness, yet on an issue that cost estimates range from 500 billion to well over 1 trillion dollars, we get a pre-packaged townhall meeting, complete with the emotional exchange between the president, and what turned out to be a government employee.

“Taxation without Representation”

One of the many interesting things here in Washington DC, all the license plates in town have it…interesting caveat as we move towards the second major round of teaparties. The American citizens here in DC have no representation in the House, or in the Senate. Taxation without Representation was one of the major grievances of the colonies against the British government. Strikes me as odd in this great town…the silent protest that goes on every day here.

Those who read regularly I am sure have noticed that the Fish has been lacking any recent content. Fear not, I have not abandoned you!! I am however on vacation down here in our nations capitol, taking in the sites and sounds, and celebrating the birth of this great Nation tommorow on the fourth of July.

Tommorow, the Fish will be standing in the shadows of the Capitol building protesting once again a government that has strayed far from the vision of the great patriots that birthed this  nation so many years ago. We will excercise our first ammendment right to peaceably assemble with our grievances. The statement will be a powerful one.

Obviously, there has been alot of news to catch up on. The Honduras situation escalating with President Obama latching on to the ideology of worldwide tyrants. Sarah Palin resigns today, the continuing Iran story (the green revolution  is far from over unlike what you might here from CNN), Helen Thomas slaps down Robert Gibbs (i love this video), health care, cap and trade…ahhh, much to write about.

For now we will celebrate. We will celebrate our independence, we celebrate freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Celebrate America in the best way you know how to this weekend. I will be here in the capital excercising my first ammendment, followed by one serious party on the National mall.

We will see you all next week!!! Happy 4th!!

Check out the updates for the Washington DC teaparty here, or here. If you are in the NOVA, DC, Maryland area, come on out and join us!!

Apparently Robert Gibbs stated today that the Obama administration has taken back its invitations for the Iranian regime’s diplomats to join in on some 4th of July festivities. Apparently the regime never answered back to the invitations. Not into hotdogs and bratwurst fellas?? Roll the tape…

5…..4…..3…..2……1….. There it is everyone, the White House is starting to take a little credit for the uprising in Iran.  From the Washington Post today:

Obama’s approach to Iran, including his assertion that the unrest there represents a debate among Iranians unrelated to the United States, is an acknowledgment that a U.S. president’s words have a limited ability to alter foreign events in real time and could do more harm than good. But privately Obama advisers are crediting his Cairo speech for inspiring the protesters, especially the young ones, who are now posing the most direct challenge to the republic’s Islamic authority in its 30-year history.

One senior administration official with experience in the Middle East said, “There clearly is in the region a sense of new possibilities,” adding that “I was struck in the aftermath of the president’s speech that there was a connection. It was very sweeping in terms of its reach.”

There is more don’t worry…

Obama’s advisers say the outreach may have contributed to the defeat in Lebanese elections a few days later of a coalition led by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed party, that had been predicted to win. In recent days, administration officials have pointed to the Iranian demonstrations as further evidence of Obama’s possible influence in the region.

Asked Friday whether the administration believes Obama’s outreach to Iran and the Muslim world is affecting events on the ground, press secretary Robert Gibbs said, “You’re witnessing something that many people might not have presumed or imagined . . . just a few — even a few weeks or a few days ago.”

That didn’t take long. The arrogance of this self-proclaimed “world changer” is amazing to me. The Iranian population has stirred for a while now. The population of Iran is made up of youth, some say in the range of 65-70% of the population is under the age of thirty. These youth have grown up in an oppressive society in an age where information is available world wide. This is not a new movement in Iran. The youth of that nation have been stirring for years. There were similar uprisings in the late 90’s and the early 2000’s, the difference here is the size and gravity. These things were brought about and rallied around a blatant injustice on the part of the oppressive regime. It brought to the forefront the grievances that the populace carried against the inept governing. The current Iranian President went out of his way to irritate and provoke the West and thumb his nose at them, all the while isolating his country from the rest of the world. The Iranian youth witnessed these things as they have come of age. The election and the injustice that was served up on a silver platter to them was the straw that broke the camels back. Follow these things up with the handling of the uprising, as the Iranians were met with batons and teargas and murder and you have all the makings for a revolution. I said all that to say this. Iranians did not just learn that they lived in oppression. It wasn’t taught to them from behind the podium in Cairo. The love for freedom and the desire to go and get it doesn’t just spring up overnight. Frankly, Obama made the case in Cairo to embrace rogue governments such as the Ahmadi government. Overthrowing that government could be conceived as a rejection of that strategy. Its not, it just goes to show the flawed logic of taking credit for what is going on in Tehran.

When will the American government realize that its not always about them. At the same time that White House staff is talking about their great success in achieving this  new wave of uprising and hope, they are tamping down their statements, as not to meddle in the affairs of Iran. If you are going to take credit for it, how can you not in good faith support it with much stronger words? I for one have been on board with the somewhat muted response. He has said all the things that need to be said, support for the people, fraudulent power…all these things are the reality of what is happening. What more can really be said, other than strong demands against a government who is your sworn  enemy, and could embolden them to stronger force against their citizens. Frankly, the ayatollahs and Ahmadi really couldn’t care less what the American president has to say, it does however strengthen their propaganda.  Given Americas questionable history in the region, is this something you are willing to do? My support for that strategy dies however when I read the statements from the Post.

Since the administration has the idea in their head that they have had much to do with the Iranian uprising, let me give a counter argument. I am not going to get wordy, I am not going to research this all the way out. I will make it short and sweet.

Could the Iranian uprising be a vindication of the “hated” Bush doctrine of “planting the seeds of democracy in the region?” A democratic Iraq to the west, a democratic Afghanistan to the east. Now an Iranian population rising up against tyranny right in the middle. Just a thought, bring on the Bush-haters that want to shut that down. Both democracies mentioned are struggling for sure, but the people are largely free from the oppression they suffered at the hands of Saddam Hussein  in Iraq, and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Just a thought.

The White House today endorsed the House of Representatives, who passed the resolution HR560, the resolution condemning the crackdown in Iran, and voicing the United States support of the Iranian people.

“I think the president has been clear on what he believes ,” he said. “And I will say, as the president has said, we’re not going to be used as political foils and political footballs in a debate that is happening in Iran. There are many people in the leadership that would love us to get involved and would love to trot out the same old foils they’ve used for years. That’s what they would love to do.”

Nevertheless, he said that “obviously, we welcome the resolution.”

A clear sign from the United States government that while we do not want to get heavily involved in the turmoil in Iran, we as a people and a country support the movement for freedom of the Iranians.

I might even be proud of my government today…

For a moment, I wanted to deviate away from the historic events in Iran and bring it back home to the US for a moment.  We have reached a new low in American politics in my opinion as this past weekend Leon Panetta, the recently appointed head of the Central Intelligence Agency, came out in an interview with some insanity not often seen in American politics. He was quoted in his interview with Jane Meyer of the New Yorker:

“I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue,” he told me. “It’s almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it’s almost as if he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that’s dangerous politics.”

Panetta was referring to the speech that Cheney gave in the aftermath of the torture debate, and the policy positions that he took in that speech. To add insult to injury, the Obama administration decided to not even attempt to distance themselves from this sort of vicious, unwarranted attack at a former VP, in this unbelievably generic and vague statement from Robert Gibbs, when asked if he agreed with Panetta’s assessment:

“Well, look, I’m not going to get into motivations. That’s not what our business is. The President’s concern is keeping the American people safe. We’ve had policy disagreements, but I think what is true for anybody is doing what’s — doing what we need to to keep the American people safe and secure. That’s what the President is working on every day.”

Panetta came under intense criticism when nominated for the position to head the CIA for his lack of any experience in the intelligence services.  He is showing the problem of having a career politician heading an agency as important as the CIA. Mr. Panetta please don’t marginalize the agency with ad-hominem political attacks. You were able to stay above the fray in the Pelosi-CIA flap…keep the decency within the CIA.

Cheney responded with dignity and class (I’m sure all the Cheney haters will hate this) when he said:

“I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted. The important thing is whether the Obama administration will continue the policies that have kept us safe for the last eight years.”

Say what you want about Dick Cheney, he is a hawk on national security. You may not like his methods or his ideology, but to reach into his mind and assume you know his motivation is dangerous and irresponsible. Panetta put himself in line with the 9/11 truther crowd who still believe that Bush and Cheney orchestrated 9/11. Pure insanity and not worth the breath it would take to argue.