Gooooooooool - Brasil

Parabens pra meus amigos brasileiros! Parabens mesmo.
Rio de Janeiro won its bid for the 2016 Olympic games. This will be the first time the Olympics visit South America, believe it or not. The Brazilians will be outstanding hosts, of that you can be sure. I'm excited for all of the NBC vignettes that will bring the marvelous beauty that is Brazil into the world's living rooms. At a minimum, I hope to be able to buy Guaraná Antárctica at my local supermarket when all is said and done.
Let me know if you're interested in a translation of the music.


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Almost as gratifying is the humiliating beatdown received by President Obama and Omarosa. They flew into Denmark with all of the swagger and the cameras and the press to personally ensure the games would be awarded to Obama's "hometown" (I thought he said he was from Hawaii), Chicago, only to be eliminated in the very first round of voting. That means it wasn't even close!

To have the president of the United States and his wife personally appear, then this should happen in the first round is awful and totally undeserving.
I'm shocked. The whole thing doesn't make sense other than there has been a stupid bloc vote. 
- Kevan Gosper, Senior Australian IOC member

What's the problem? Obama has lambasted "American arrogance" and yet the assumption was that he need only show up in order to win the vote? That his presence would somehow matter to the IOC? Is that not arrogance? Erick Erickson of RedState.com put it this way, "So Obama's pimped us to every two bit thug and dictator in the world, made promises to half the Olympic committee, and they did not even kiss him."
On the other hand, any day that Obama spends doing something other than presidenting (TM) is a good great day for America. That's one less trillion dollar expense he was able to conjure. One less non-elected and unaccountable czar put into a position of extraordinary power. One less non-reciprocated concession that weakens our national security. One less naive, wasteful commitment to "fight global warming." 

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I find it hilarious and incredibly dishonorable how at every opportunity, Obama feels the need to take shots at President Bush. You've all heard it. Said one journalist, "Obama had held out the enticing prospect of a Chicago games helping to reconnect the United States with the world after the presidency of George W. Bush," - John Leicester, AP sports writer. 
Obama is like the insecure girlfriend: I'm prettier than her, right? I'm smarter than she is, right? I'm more fun to be with, right? You never loved her, did you? You're happier now, right?

Like it or not, George W. Bush was the president for eight years, which is at least four more years than you [this is directed at President Obama, whom I'm told follows this blog religiously] will "serve". That means Bush won two elections. Aside from the odd person that claims embarrassment at having voted for Bush, there are still many millions of Americans that would prefer Bush and all his warts to the legacy you are building (or destroying, depending upon your perspective). May your successor treat you with a bit more dignity than you have shown your predecessor.



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The Fourth Amigo

Sometimes I feel like I'm turning into a Bush apologist. 

I am not.

However, when I see or perceive injustice, I'll be there.

President Obama has recently published his fiscal year 2010 budget, a 140-page report titled "A New Era of Responsibility," distributed by the Office of Management and Budget (www.budget.gov). Within its pages, the president and his crew attempt to make the case for why borrowing trillions of dollars is actually in the best interest of our country and its people.

I admittedly have not begun an in-depth study of the budget, and I probably won't. I have better things to do. But I have flipped through it a bit. Sometimes, something jumps off the page.

Here's an early dig at President Bush from the "President's Message" - a foreword.

For millions of Americans, the recovery from 2001 through 2007 was hardly one at all.

That may or may not be true - but it would be just as accurate to state that for millions of Americans, "the tech bubble was hardly one at all". If you didn't own stock or options in one or more of the hoards of tech companies that sprung up overnight around the turn of the century, you missed out. I missed out. Likewise, if you didn't own real estate, you didn't profit (on paper, anyway) from the surge in property and home values that only recently stalled.

The title of the first section of the budget is "Inheriting a Legacy of Misplaced Priorities". In what other job, other than hosting late-night television, can somebody sit around all day and take pot shots at his predecessor? Just *show* us how great *you* are, Mr. President. You want to be another Lincoln, right? History will judge you, as it will President Bush. We certainly don't need to pay you to do it for us. We do, however, need you to protect our country through wise security policy and smart, efficient financial policy.

This graph, just one of dozens in the document, highlights budget surpluses/deficits over the past three decades. I have added the color coding and the labels for your benefit. Click to enlarge.

President Obama's first budget deficit is expected to be more than three times larger than any of President Bush's which, I remind you, included events like the aftermath of 9/11, major military campaigns, Hurricane Katrina, and the first stimulus package. The government, of course, blames all of this deficit on other people, despite the fact that they themselves wrote, passed and signed the legislation into law. 

Mr. President, at what point can we expect you to begin accepting responsibility for what transpires in this country? Is it this year, with the 12% of GDP budget deficit? Your second year? Will you only take credit for the positive things and continue to pass the buck on the negative? Will you claim victory during the next president's administration? Unemployment continues to pile up - if you are the answer, shouldn't that trend have, at a minimum, stopped growing? The stock markets continue to plummet - if you are the pillar of hope, shouldn't that encourage a bull market as investors seek to profit from currently undervalued stocks? I've said it before: the financial markets are a reflection of the collective expectations, hopes and fears of its stakeholders.

If Obama = Hope, and

Financial markets = collective expectation, hope and fear, then

Obama = Fear (currently)

That said, I hope that President Obama's plan works (since I haven't been able to prevent it). I hope his plan restores America's economic strength and retools the country for the changing global environment. But on the other hand, I don't want to be an indentured servant for the rest of my natural life because of his commitments.

Obortion

This is old news now, but I'm trying to get rid of my backlog of time-sensitive half-written blog posts.

Brief summary: In one of his first acts as POTUS, President Obama, by executive order, removed the ban that states federal funds cannot in any way be used to support abortion internationally.

I only have two issues with this story:

1) The way it was promoted in the media was that this was a direct shot at President Bush, Jr.; that this act somehow made right the great evil that had transpired under the prior administration. The fact is, as you can read in the full text, the policy dates back to President Reagan. The policy was continued under President Bush, Sr., then lifted with President Clinton, only to be reestablished again with President Bush, Jr. Odds are the ban will be enforced once again in 2013. There's no story here - it is now a Presidential tradition.

2) The part that most upsets me about this story is that our tax dollars are being used to fund ANYTHING in other countries, let alone something so controversial as abortion. I'm certainly not calling for a ban on foreign aid or disaster relief. But abortion funding hardly fits either of those bills. Are we running such a surplus that we can afford to give money to other countries for planned parenthood?

Enjoy this educational video about where some of that "family planning" money ends up.