On tax day, a video of CNN reporter Susan Roesgen covering the tea party in Chicago with scorn and derision for those in attendance surfaced on YouTube. Adding to that embarrassment, another video showing how Roesgen behaved herself once the cameras were turned off.

Now CNN is trying to pretend like the incident never happened, and has demanded that YouTube pull the video off the internet.

Oh noes!! We got caught with our pants down!!! CNN bullies the public at large, and then bullies youtube to take down the video of them doing it!

How Ironic!

See also: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95525

CNN Tries To Take Video Of Susan Roesgen/Tea Party Embarrassment Off The Internet | KXNet.com North Dakota News

Under a VMT (vehicle miles traveled) tax program, GPS units would allow the government to keep track of how much each car is driven and where -- though not necessarily with exact street locations. The government could also track other things, including the time each car enters a certain zone.

For decades, the fuel taxes that drivers pay at the pump have been the central source of federal and state funding for roads and bridges. But they are no longer nearly enough. Last fall, Congress approved an $8 billion infusion into the depleted federal highway trust fund.

The problem stems in part from something good: More and more Americans are buying vehicles that have better gas mileage. That means less gas tax money from each car, though the car is causing the same amount of wear and tear on the roads.

Yeah, because my 1994 Toyota Camry get's between 29-36mpg, and causes GREAT wear on the roads.

This would penalize those of us who choose to live outside the concrete and pollution filled urban centers but have to commute into them.

How about setting up funding for the projects that we've been "promised", like light rail (between Athens and Atlanta Georgia?), better bus routes from the outlying areas that actually make sense, and less focus on the highway system in Downtown, which is an absolute failure?

In the past 10 years, we've watched the Georgia DOT make the exact same mistakes that Los Angeles made 20 years ago, and the Georgia DOT expected different results. Instead, Air Quality in Atlanta has gone down, Atlanta is now a "hot-spot" for Child-Asthma, we have "Smog-Alert" days for the city, and it's due mostly to the emissions from vehicles that are sitting idle on the Highways trying to get to and from the Atlanta businesses during rush hour.

Many of us with children have chosen to move far outside the city, where we have fresh air, less noise and light pollution, and have chosen to "suffer" the commute to the jobs we work. We moved out to the far reaches of the Atlanta "suburbs" to escape all that is bad about the city, while protecting our children's health and well being.

We "suffer" the commute into the city, with a small portion using the limited mass transit system available, and the rest of us having to drive solo due to work schedules, lack of timely mass transit solutions to our employer's areas, and the need to have a vehicle for our job duties.

Adding a mileage based system that would not only track our mileage, but the times that we performed this driving would financially punish us even further, for our decisions to make our children's life better. The alternate solutions of "telecommuting" would have to be embraced by Atlanta companies on a much greater scale, as I'm not currently allowed to work more than 1 day a week from home. (For the most part, this is not currently feasible, as the company doesn't have a good infrastructure setup for this type of employee yet.)

While I agree that the current system doesn't work that well, making changes to the system without fully understanding the consequences for the workforce that would be impacted by these type of changes is a mistake. How about promoting low rolling resistance tires? They don't wear the road system the same, nor do all vehicles wear the road system today. What about motorcycles? Would they pay less tax per mile travelled? Gross Vehicle Weight has much more to do with damage to the road system than does miles travelled, how about putting the tax on vehicles that way?

There has to be better ways!

Transportation agency: Obama will not pursue mileage tax - CNN.com

Gotta love Chrysler, thanking us for stealing our money. They should thank the shysters in Washington for giving it to them. Not the taxpayers who didn't want this "theft of taxpayer dollars" to occur.

It's plainly irreverent, and a slap in the face to every American Taxpayer.

Chrysler Faces Criticism for Full-Page ‘Thank You’ Ads - FOXNews.com Transition Tracker | dc0de's notes...

In recent years, some industry and government critics, including Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, have sought to have Fannie Mae's privileges removed. They say the company could pose a significant risk to taxpayers if it became troubled. And the White House, concerned about any political fallout if Fannie were to stumble, has declined to make 5 appointments to the 18-member board.

Until recently, Fannie successfully beat back the efforts to dilute its power by promoting its housing function. But it is now expected to face a reinvigorated effort in Congress to limit its growth.

Fannie Mae does not itself issue mortgage loans. But it serves as a bridge between lenders on Main Street and enormous pools of capital on Wall Street. By buying mortgages up to a certain dollar level - currently $333,700 - from banks and savings institutions, and either holding them as an investment or selling them in the secondary markets as mortgage-backed securities, it has made housing financing widely available.

In the process, it has built a steadily profitable business for shareholders and enriched its top executives. Together with a smaller brother company, Freddie Mac, it holds or guarantees more than $7 trillion in mortgages.

From a December 21, 2004 New York Times article.

This was foreseen, and discussed, and most importantly, beaten back by the democrats...

Now that we have a Majority of democrats, what else are they going to set in motion?

The New York Times - Business - Chief Is Ousted at Fannie Mae Under Pressure --December 21, 2004--

President-elect Barack Obama has said getting affordable high-speed Internet service to every American home would create jobs, fuel economic growth and spark innovation. Yesterday, representatives from technology and telecommunications companies, labor unions and public interest groups frequently at odds with one another agreed to provide the next president with a roadmap for how to accomplish those goals.

Because this is more important than the economy? Pushing broadband is going to fuel growth? Create Jobs?

More like it'll fuel the labor unions that provided him his $$$ to gain office.

Pluuueeeeeze...

New Coalition Drawing Up Nationwide Broadband Access Strategy - washingtonpost.com

Mike the Usurper wrote:

dc0de wrote:

Mike the Usurper wrote:

dc0de wrote:

Obama, who warned again that the economy would likely get worse before it got better, declined to put a price tag on the two-year stimulus proposal which other Democrats have estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars.null

Oh yes, let's spend, spend, spend to make the economy stable. Yes, that's what we need to do...

Is this the same man who stood up and said that the spending of the last 4 years was out of control?

Funny, now he's ready to do the exact same.

Who'd'a thunk that he'd do that?

(hint: I did.)

Hint, what the money is spent on matters.

Spending $1000/man/day at Blackwater for "security" following Katrina? Not useful. Spending millions on trailers so contaminated with formaldehyde that their use as shelters for people displaced by Katrina is voided? Not useful. Not spending money on FDA food testing leading to the decimation of the tomato, spinach and pepper markets because of salmonella which is detectable? Not useful. None of those do anything but cause more money to be spent because it was spent stupidly the first time.

Spending money expanding power and transportation infrastructure in sustainable ways? Useful. Spending money modernizing the power grid to prevent a rerun of the northeast blackout of 2003? Useful. Spending money to get the currently in trouble US auto industry retooled away from increased foreign oil consumption? Useful. Those would all be forward looking things that deal with issues we know are in or coming down the pipe, and provide money to put food on the table in the here and now.

Obama is right, the spending of the last 8 years was completely out of control. When the economy goes completely in the crapper, and it has, the solution is not to stop spending, but change the spending into things that make a difference over the long term, while providing short term help so people can continue to eat.

The current bunch has handed well over $100 billion to AIG, is in the process of handing Citibank God only knows how much, proposed this morning another $800 billion to buy up bad credit card and student loans, another $600 billion to deal with bad debt at Fannie/Freddie, and has already spent close to $300 billion of the $700 billion authorized in the general bailout on no one knows what because they aren't saying. That is completely insane.

It's 1929 again (who said that a year ago? Hint: I did), and you appear to be advocating a return to Herbert Hoover's policies. If my grandmother were still alive she'd get out the rug beater, take you out back of the smokehouse and see if she could knock the dirt out of your head for making that suggestion.

My point (which was obviously missed), is this:

1) If the current regime aske... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ]

RE: Obama costly stimulus needed to jolt U.S. economy | U.S. | Reuters

Obama, who warned again that the economy would likely get worse before it got better, declined to put a price tag on the two-year stimulus proposal which other Democrats have estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars.null

Oh yes, let's spend, spend, spend to make the economy stable. Yes, that's what we need to do...

Is this the same man who stood up and said that the spending of the last 4 years was out of control?

Funny, now he's ready to do the exact same.

Who'd'a thunk that he'd do that?

(hint: I did.)

Obama costly stimulus needed to jolt U.S. economy | U.S. | Reuters

SAY NO! to a bailout of the automakers.

They've been making 40+ mpg cars for years, in their european market. They are responsible for our "SUV" nation, they've been in bed with big oil for years, and now they want us to pay them MORE?

Please.

I filled my tank for $1.75/gal today, and I really don't see how the automakers can fly into DC on private jets, and ask for alms.

Tell your representatives NO to a bailout.

Obama asks Bush to provide help for automakers - International Herald Tribune

This strip shows exactly why I don't trust Obama...

Why I don't trust Obama

Decius wrote:

It was in St. Paul last week that Palin drew raucous cheers when she delivered this put-down of Obama: "Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."

But Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for more than a decade, said captured suspects deserve to file writs of habeus corpus.

Calling it "the foundation of Anglo-American law," he said the principle "says very simply: If the government grabs you, then you have the right to at least ask, 'Why was I grabbed?' And say, 'Maybe you've got the wrong person.'"

"The reason that you have this principle is not to be soft on terrorism. It's because that's who we are. That's what we're protecting,"

I'm not as upset with Palin's comments as I am about Obama's statement, "I will stand with the Muslims should the winds shift in an ugly direction."

That makes me feel really warm and fuzzy...

Personally, I will stand with my neighbors and friends, armed to the teeth.

RE: Obama to Palin: 'Don't Mock the Constitution' | The Trail | washingtonpost.com