On the morning of February 17th,I was standing in line getting coffee at the little cafeteria at my day gig. Behind me were two guys that had obviously been in heated discussion for some time. I don’t know either of them. I can’t vouch for the conversation being word for word, but here it is from my memory:

So, let me understand this. Obama’s going to Denver, today… several days after the bill he was so much in a hurry to sign that none of Congress could actually take the time to read it, was placed on his desk. Why did he wait all that time after the vote? So he could vacation?

Well, no, so he could fly out to Denver, I guess.

Why Denver?

So that he could sign it in a plant that makes Solar panels. He wants to be seen as a ‘green’ president.

But what does it take to make this happen? How’s he getting there?

Well, he’s got to fly Air Force One out to Denver.

Doesn’t that mean he’s flying at least four planes? Air Force One, plus the military escort, PLUS a second plane for a decoy, and likely more escorts for the decoy?

I guess so, why?

How much fuel does that take?

Oh, I heard [...]

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Tags: Barack Obama, Environmentalism, Stimulus Package, Vision

Two weeks ago today, the Obama Nation was gloating. Sweeping victories in the general election, Democrats now control the White House and both houses of Congress. Well, it’s been two weeks, so that means it’s time for me to get out of my fetal position, stop throwing up, an assess what’s transpired since then.

In the last two weeks, there has been a steady stream of companies lined up at the Treasury Department’s door to obtain “equity stakes” from the American taxpayer. I admit that I was one of the first (and few) to defend Treasury Secretary Paulson’s and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s bailout/rescue/money grab in an effort to shore up a global economy on the verge of total economic collapse. This was, and is, an unpopular position, because the consensus was, and is, that stupid management decisions should not be compensated for by the American taxpayer.

My argument [...]

That’s what Ben Smith is reporting, yesterday morning:

Andrea Mitchell reported this evening that Obama is considering Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, something that’s been buzzed about as a possibility for a few days.

I haven’t been able to confirm it, and neither Obama nor Clinton camps would comment, though NBC apparently has confirmation that she went to Chicago today.

One interesting item: Clinton aides are not knocking the report down, which they might.

Since Ben wrote that, apparently, there are confirmations are coming from a number of sources, including the Washington Post:

There’s increasing chatter in [...]

From the Washington Post:

Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.

All of you that were taken completely off-guard by this news, please raise your right hands. Now smack yourself on the back of the head.

Any turmoil and angst over this should[...]

(Cross-posted from Bitsblog)
Fox News:

John McCain’s campaign prepared to accuse Democrats on Saturday of leaving behind 12,000 miniature American flags after Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech last Thursday in Denver.
Boy Scouts have arrived with 84 trash bags full of bundles of flags at the site of a McCain rally scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. local [...]

Sad to see, but true.  California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is appearing on a web site to promote “EcoDriving“.  Among his comments are that we should do…
Simple things such as maintaining proper tire pressure and avoiding rapid starts and stops, and keeping your engine tuned.
Gag me.  He preceeds the above comments with the standard liberal line [...]

Well, it’s official.  Barack Obama is now the first African American (am I supposed to still say that, or am I supposed to say “black” now?  I can’t get this Political Correctness down right it seems) to be nominated by a major party for President, as long as you don’t include Warren Harding, Thomas Jefferson, [...]

Democrats for decades have been struggling with the inner turmoil of diverse political positions which have kept their party from setting a course that all Democrats can get behind.  And this partly why that party has bled so many conservative Democrats to vote for Republican Presidents.
Obama has succeeded in achieving the role of presumptive Democratic [...]

Last week I started taking my bicycle to work. It’s about 7.5 miles as the crow flies, and my shortest (and most difficult) route is about 8.5 miles… the longest (and easiest) route is 13 miles.  Downtown Des Moines is at a slightly lower elevation than the suburb of West Des Moines where I live, [...]

Down!  Not alot, but it dropped another $.75 today to $114.45 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the Republican Protest against the Democratic No-Vote Vacation continued into its second full week, with activity at Capital Hill and at town halls throughout the country.  House Republicans want everyone (that means you and me) to contact their Democratic representatives and tell them to demand [...]