Reprint: The Obama and Biden Gaffe Machine

This article is a reprint of one of mine from March 20, 2009 that I wrote for the original PonderPost blog. It is reprinted here due to the remake of PonderPost.

Everybody makes mistakes. As in life, in politics there is no exception to this axiom. However, while it is understandable that a new administration will make a few extra mistakes, some of the recent ones by Obama and Biden are being noted around the world. For example, British Telegraph.co.uk editor Toby Harnden’s “Top 10 Gaffes by Barack Obama and Joe Biden” post found its way at the top of the Drudge Report today. That means it’s being read worldwide.

In looking Harnden’s list over, most are rather serious gaffes (other than Obama mistaking a White House window for a door). Many are poor attempts at humor such as Obama’s suggestion that Nancy Reagan had seances in the White House and his Special Olympics bowling joke on the Jay Leno show last night. Perhaps it was that statement that prompted this list.

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I think one of the most serious gaffes, though, occurred over the Read More…

Posted under Barack Obama, Video

This post was written by PonderstormMike on May 25, 2010

Guest Post: President Obama Giving Commencement Speech for Notre Dame

The following guest post was originally published on March 24, 2009 for PonderPost. It was written by Tim Jones and is republished here with his permission to preserve it while PonderPost is renovated.

* * * * *

The University of Notre Dame has invited President Obama to give the commencement speech at the spring graduation ceremony.  Additionally, the university will bestow an honorary doctor of laws degree upon the President.

This has the Catholic community in quite a stir, as parishioners from both sides of the discussion weigh in.  On one side, many are happy to have the President speak, including a growing Facebook group called, “We Will Be Honored to Have President Obama at Notre Dame.” On the other, you have ardent, pro-life groups that wholeheartedly oppose the President speaking at the premier Catholic university in the country.

While I try to see both sides of the coin, I believe Notre Dame has made an egregious error by inviting President Obama to give the commencement address at, if not the premier Catholic university in the US, the most well-known Catholic university.

The Catholic Church represents one of the most fervent supporters of the pro-life movement, while President Obama represents one of the most pro-abortion politicians, ever.  President Obama has gone so far as to repeatedly vote for so-called pro-choice legislation that really amounts to infanticide, in the case of refusing medical care to live babies born after botched abortions.  His current administration threatens to, at the very least, lessen the ability for Catholic hospitals to operate with the elimination of healthcare conscience rule and to increase abortions by 125,000 per year with his Freedom of Choice Act.

It would seem that Notre Dame would prefer a commencement speech given by someone that more closely represents the Church’s positions, not just with regard to abortion, but across the board.  Doesn’t the Church have enough difficulty promoting it’s staunchly pro-life position without endorsing the exact opposite activity with President Obama as the commencement speaker?

As a Catholic and pro-life advocate, I’m disappointed with the Read More…

Posted under Barack Obama

This post was written by PonderstormMike on May 25, 2010

Reprint: Yes, With Obama We Got Change

This article of mine was originally published on PonderPost on April 18, 2009. With the coming relaunch of PonderPost, this post is being republished here so you can see if anything has changed for the better in the past year. I suggest if anything we are much worse off.

During the Presidential campaign season we heard lots of talk about change. Barack Obama told us he would deliver change and, as President, that is exactly what he is doing. Few would doubt that he’s keeping that promise.

In no particular order, let’s look at some of the changes we’ve seen so far in these first 100 days.

  • Ordered the closure of Gitmo within one year (learn more).
  • Allowed travel and financial transactions to communist Cuba (learn more).
  • Ended harsh interrogation methods for terrorist detainees (learn more).
  • Releases secret Bush Administration documents about methods for handling terrorist prisoners (learn more).
  • Called for nuclear disarmament and an end to nuclear testing (learn more).
  • No longer calls the war against radical Islamic terrorists a “war on terror” (learn more).
  • Allows federal tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research (learn more).
  • Reverses the Mexico City policy and lifts the ban on federal funding of foreign abortions (learn more).
  • Speaks at the Catholic Georgetown University but asks them to Read More…

Posted under Barack Obama

This post was written by PonderstormMike on May 24, 2010

Guest Post: Very Illustrative Videos

This guest post was originally written for PonderPost on May 20, 2009 by Tim Jones. Since PonderPost is being reworked for a new yet-to-be-announced project, Tim let me publish it on Ponderstorm for our readers:

I found these videos on Jimmy Akin’s Catholic blog.  They are amazingly good at illustrating Obama’s budget cuts and spending, so I thought I would share them with the PonderPost readers.  Enjoy! Read More…

Posted under Barack Obama, Video

This post was written by PonderstormMike on May 24, 2010

Beware, American Banks Are Being Nationalized

Beware, the Obama Administration is trying to bypass Congress and nationalize the United States banking system! This unconstitutional scheme is being done through financial maneuvering efforts that don’t make sense to most of us. In short, the Obama Administration is seeking to convert government loans into equity stakes of common shares of stock (with full voting rights) that are owned by the federal government — particularly the Treasury Department which is under the Executive Branch. This scheme would immediately make the government (i.e. the Obama Administration) the largest shareholder in several of our nation’s largest banks. It appears banks will have not a choice in this loan for stock conversion scheme.

This maneuver was done to Citigroup in January when up to $25 billion in preferred stock (which was basically a loan) was converted to common stock. This gave the government equity ownership including full voting rights. This move is a done deal!

Some think of this as a “backdoor to nationalization” approach. Whether it’s backdoor or frontdoor, the result is banks that are essentially owned and/or controlled by the government. Such a move allows the federal government to control everything from the printing to the supply to the flow of money within our economy. Bank ownership would mean the government would be directly responsible for setting rules and policy regarding creditworthiness, lending terms, qualification for mortgages, interest rates and so much more. That is a very, very scary thought.

Furthermore, the federal government seems to be actively seeking this position of power and is  putting conditions on the repayment of bailout funds that make it impossible for banks to repay these loans unless the government decides that their repayment is in the “national economic interest” whatever that means.  Sounds to me like the federal government is putting a stranglehold on the banks. Remember the federal government “borrowed” the bailout money that they received to inject into the banks. In effect, they are taking the banks over with nothing but paper.

A free people must have control over their own money. Any government that takes this power from their people enslaves them and controls their destiny. As Americans, we must never allow this to happen to our banks. We cannot give this up.

While it is true that our401Ks are worth less now than they were last year, they are not worthless. If the government gets their hands on them they will have even less value — the value will be whatever the government and not the market says it is. Remember, this is the same government that runs the Social Security system which is already worthless for most of today’s workers under the age of 45.

Beware, lest the fear of losing our money lead us to turn it over to the greedy hands of government. Instead, let us fear the loss of our money (and our freedoms) to the government. I urge you to contact your members of Congress and demand they stop this power grab from the Obama Administration controlled Treasury Department (which is headed by a tax cheat — learn more [28 page .pdf document]).

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Posted under Barack Obama, Economy

This post was written by PonderstormMike on April 20, 2009