Wall Street Journal hands out grades to Obama and Geithner

And as I figured they both got failing grades for how they have handled the economy.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the world's largest economy, according to participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.

A majority of the 49 economists polled said they were dissatisfied with the administration's economic policies, according to the paper, a stark contrast to Obama's popularity ratings with the general public.

On average, the economists gave the president a grade of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42 percent of respondents rated Obama below 60, the paper said.

Geithner received an average grade of 51, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored better, with an average 71, the paper said.

On average, the economists now expect the economic downturn to end in October, according to the paper. In the previous survey, they had expected the bottom would arrive in August.

And I'm sure these economist are a lot smarter than I am but yet we all agree. Government spending is no way to get a country out of a recession. If it were communists countries would be the most prosperous in the world.

If Obama and the Democrats were serious about fixing the economy they would have followed the same history lessons that JFK and Reagan showed us, tax cuts. Cutting the capital gains tax should have been the first thing Obama did to spur more investment into our economy.

When are these countries going to learn

You can have all the anti gun laws in the world and the criminals will still get the guns and commit crimes with them. But after every school shootings, yes they are tragedies, but they are no reason to place laws against law abiding citizens.

Several European countries have restricted gun laws in the wake of school massacres, gang violence and other gun-related crimes:

_Finland announced plans Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on firearms, including raising the minimum age for handgun ownership from 15 to 20. The proposal was prompted by two school massacres within a year in which lone gunmen opened fire on classmates and teachers.

_Germany, where a gunman killed at least 11 people Wednesday, raised the legal age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21 following a 2002 shooting in Erfurt that killed 16 people, including 12 teachers.

_Belgian lawmakers passed strict new gun control laws in 2006 in reaction to the racially motivated shooting deaths of a toddler and her black baby sitter in Antwerp.

_Swiss citizens are demanding a referendum aimed at confining army weapons to military compounds and banning private purchases of pump-action rifles and automatic weapons — following a spate of suicides and homicides.

_The Portuguese Parliament is currently discussing a government proposal to tighten gun laws, including denying bail to anyone suspected of a gun crime.

_Denmark's government said last week it will raise the penalty for illegal gun possession as part of a crackdown on gang violence that has killed three people and injured 25 in recent months.

_European Union lawmakers proposed tighter gun control across the bloc last year, including guidelines saying that only people over 18 not deemed a threat to public safety could buy and keep guns. EU members have until 2010 to adopt the measures.

In addition, some U.S. states have recently tightened gun laws as well:

I know Europe isn't the United States as they don't have the 2nd Amendment but the fact remains if you outlaw guns only the outlaws will have guns.

South Carolina's Sanford to become first governor to reject funds

And hopefully more governors, not just Republican ones, follow his lead.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is expected Wednesday to become the first governor to formally reject some of the federal stimulus money earmarked by Congress for his state.

The move will cement Sanford's growing reputation as a political powerhouse among Republican party stalwarts nationwide — though how much of the estimated $8 billion in stimulus funds destined for South Carolina will be affected is unclear. The law allows state legislative leaders to accept funds the governor rejects.

"Our objections to the so-called stimulus bill have been well-chronicled for the way it spends money that we don't have and for the way this printing of money could ultimately devalue the American dollar," Sanford said on Tuesday, even as he acknowledged that he'll accept some.

This is great to see. But we already know Deval Patrick won't be rejecting any money Obama wants to give away. In fact Deval has already spent the "stimulus" money 3 times over I'm sure.

More hypocracy in the media

Not that I'm all that surprised. I'd actually be surprised if the liberal media was actually fair and balanced. The media has jumped on Rush Limbaugh when he has said over and over again that he hopes Obama fails. Why would we want socialism to succeed in this country when it has been a proven failure time and time again? But apparently James Carville, a Democratic strategist and adviser said the same thing about Bush in 2001, only it wasn't reported.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: "I certainly hope he doesn't succeed."

Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president.

"We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I'm wanting them to turn against him," Greenberg admitted.

The pollster added with a chuckle of disbelief: "They don't want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails."

Minutes later, as news of the terrorist attacks reached the hotel conference room where the Democrats were having breakfast with the reporters, Carville announced: "Disregard everything we just said! This changes everything!"

The press followed Carville's orders, never reporting his or Greenberg's desire for Bush to fail. The omission was understandable at first, as reporters were consumed with chronicling the new war on terror. But months and even years later, the mainstream media chose to never resurrect those controversial sentiments, voiced by the Democratic Party's top strategists, that Bush should fail.

That omission stands in stark contrast to the feeding frenzy that ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail. The press devoted wall-to-wall coverage to the remark, suggesting that Limbaugh and, by extension, conservative Republicans, were unpatriotic.

Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with what he said. I would certainly hope that a top Democratic adviser would want a Republican to fail. He has his opinions, as wrong as I think they are, but they are the complete opposite of the conservatism that Bush campaigned on, just didn't follow.

This is just another example of how the media is liberal. If you don't think so you might want to go see an eye doctor.

Card check needs to be opposed

Allowing this bill to pass would be devastating to small business's around the country. There is a reason why elections have secret ballots, because otherwise people could intimidate you into voting a certain way. The fear of people shunned for voting a certain way or worse set physically assaulted is not the way things should be done. But the Democratic leadership wants union vote to me made public. But even now, some Democrats are wavering on this bill.

The Bill Would Allow Workers To Bypass Secret Ballots To Form Unions. "The most contentious provision in the bill, known as 'card-check,' would allow workers to bypass secret ballot elections to form unions if a majority of them sign petition cards stating their intention to organize." (Kevin Bogardus, "Democrats Introduce Card Check, Vow To Move It," The Hill, 3/10/09)

Rank And File Senate Democrats Are Already Wavering On Card Check:

Some Key Democrats In The Senate Are Wavering On Card Check. "Key Senate Democrats are wavering in their support of legislation that would give more power to labor unions, dealing a setback to labor's top priority as businesses warn of the damage the bill would cause." (Melanie Trottman and Brody Mullins, "Labor Bill Faces Threat In Senate," The Wall Street Journal, 3/10/09)

Six Senators Who Have Previously Supported Card Check Are Now Either Opposed Or Unsure. "At least six Senators who have voted to move forward with the so-called card-check proposal ... now say they are opposed or not sure -- an indication that Senate Democratic leaders are short of the 60 votes they need for approval." (Melanie Trottman and Brody Mullins, "Labor Bill Faces Threat In Senate," The Wall Street Journal, 3/10/09)

Another great way to stimulate the economy

Mass politicians are thinking of raising the sales tax to 6%.

Top state lawmakers are seriously considering a controversial and politically risky plan to boost the sales tax by one penny to 6 percent, socking it to Bay State residents already facing possible gas and booze hikes.

Both House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and Senate Ways and Means chairman Steve Panagiotakos (D-Lowell) are eying a sales tax of 6 cents on the dollar that they say would bring an additional $750 million a year into state coffers.

“I don’t think anything can be considered as off the table,” DeLeo said yesterday, later adding he plans to pass reforms before any additional taxes are considered.

These liberals are never going to learn. The worst thing they can do during a recession is raise taxes. People are already afraid of spending money and adding costs would only makes things worse.

I just don't understand the lack of common sense on the left or how people are still voting for them...

Mass GOP hire Healy's field director as executive director

Kerry Healy didn't exactly run a great campaign, but then again she wasn't the greatest of candidates either. So I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Nassour has appointed Nick Connors as the party’s executive director as the state GOP works to reverse its downward spiral.

Connors, of Stoneham, was field director for Kerry Healey’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign and deputy regional coalitions director for former President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. He also worked in the White House Office of Political Affairs, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Small Business Administration. Nassour said the 2002 Northeastern University graduate will work to help the party stage a comeback.