Thursday, April 30, 2009

Early Popular President and His Ideas? Not so much..

VWV Note: The news was just full of it yesterday. The general theme heard across the land was,"Look how popular the president is." Well, maybe at first blush.

Take a second look and note that only Bill Clinton had lower marks at this time in his administration. Everyone else's ranking has been better since the pollsters starting keeping this data.

Take a third look. Note how the staff that Obama appointed and how his ideas of changing America really aren't so popular. Guess the MSM can't spill that can of worms since they have so much riding on him.

Popular president? Maybe, but his plans? Not so much.

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Obama Administration Gets Negative Marks in First 100 Days


/PRNewswire/ -- A recent CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows that President Obama continues to enjoy 63 percent approval rating. His cabinet choices and their proposals are a disappointment to Americans, however, according to a Zogby International/O'Leary Report 100-Days Poll.

The poll covered a broad range of questions from frozen credit markets and gun control to energy and media diversity. "Sooner or later the public's opposition to the President's proposals will eventually take its toll on his job approval numbers. The dichotomy between President Obama's personal popularity and his unpopular proposals cannot continue. How long will the President ride a wave of popularity if his objectives are out-of-synch with most Americans?" asked Brad O'Leary, president and publisher of The O'Leary Report and author of Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech (WND Books).

Results of the Zogby International/O'Leary Report Poll reveal fissures in the Obama Administration's agenda:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently told a congressional oversight panel that the credit markets may be thawing following their deep freeze.

Q. How would you rate President Obama's job at un-freezing the credit
markets for small businesses who need loans to expand or survive?

Excellent 14%
Good 24%
Fair 18%
Poor 36%
Not sure 8%


Q. Thinking about the Tea Party demonstrations that took place on April
15th to protest the growth in taxes and federal government spending, do
you...?

Strongly support the beliefs of the organizers 45%
Somewhat support them 12%
Somewhat oppose their beliefs 12%
Strongly oppose them 27%
Not sure 4%

Attorney General Eric Holder & Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel:


Obama's anti-gun duo of Attorney General Eric Holder and Rahm Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff continue to call for gun control.

Q. Do you think new gun laws should be passed or do you think we should
enforce the laws already on the books.

New gun laws should be passed 25%
Enforce the laws already on the books 71%
Not sure 4%


Rahm Emanuel recently told the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence that he'd take on the NRA in a proposal to make everyone on the "No-Fly" ineligible to buy a gun.

Q. The President's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, recently stated that
the 1 million people the government put on the "no fly" list should be
prohibited from purchasing a gun, even if they are not guilty of a
felony or crime and they may not even be the correct person who is
targeted by the list. With respect to the "no fly" list which statement
do you support - A or B?

A: People on the no fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun
B: People on the no-fly list should be prohibited from buying a gun only
if they are convicted of a crime

Statement A 20%
Statement B 69%
Not sure 11%

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano


Q. The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a report to
850,000 law enforcement officers that focused on the potential terrorist
threat from disgruntled veterans and people dedicated to a single issue,
such as abortion and the Second Amendment. Do you think these groups
are...?

This statement is inappropriate and these people
are not a threat to America 58%
This is a good warning and these people are dangerous 27%
No opinion 15%


Acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps / FCC Chairman Designate Julius Genachowski

The FCC is moving ahead with its plant to increase its diversity of ownership and diversity of content with the first hearings scheduled for May 7th. Genachowski and Regulatory czar Cass Sunstein also favor a fairness doctrine for the Internet.

Q. Senator Durbin recently offered an amendment in the U.S. Senate that
requires the Federal Communications Commission to take actions to
encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership.
Opponents say the move would threaten the breakup of radio networks that
largely carry conservative talk radio shows like Glenn Beck, Rush
Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Do you support or oppose this legislation?

Support 41%
Oppose 51%
Not sure 8%


Q. The Federal Communications is entertaining the idea of re-instituting
advisory boards to determine the needs and interests of their
communities, to promote localism and diversity. These boards, appointed
by the FCC and would monitor what is said over the radio and report back
if they were offended by the talk show hosts and their guests. Critics
argue that such a proposal is nothing more than a back door
implementation of the Fairness Doctrine. Do you support or oppose the
FCC's efforts to reinstitute advisory boards?

Support 21%
Oppose 66%
Not sure 13%


Q. Four members of the U.S. Senate recently introduced a bill that would
allow the President of the United states to turnoff the Internet
nationally in the event of an emergency but without defining what
constitutes a national emergency. Do you support or oppose this bill?

Support 5%
Oppose 82%
Not sure 13%

Energy Secretary Steven Chu


On Earth Day, Secretary Chu warmly embraced the administration's cap-and-trade proposal, stating, "We must state in no uncertain terms we have a responsibility to our children to curb emissions from fossil fuels..."

Q. President Obama wants to impose cap-and-trade laws that would limit
the total carbon dioxide emissions allowed to be released into the
environment. These laws would turn carbon dioxide into a commodity
allowing those that pollute less to sell credits to those that pollute
more. These credits would be traded on commodities markets. According to
congressional testimony given by the Director of the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office, "decreasing emissions would also impose
costs on the economy - much of those costs will be passed along to
consumers in the form of higher prices for energy and energy intensive
goods." Some have estimated these costs to be $800 to $1300 more per
household by 2015. Knowing this, do you support or oppose cap-and-trade
laws?

Support 30%
Oppose 57%
Not sure 13%


Q. Which course of action should America take with regards to energy
policy?

Make energy cheaper by developing all sources of U.S. energy,
including coal, nuclear power, offshore drilling and drilling
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 54%

Reduce America's production of fossil fuels
that might cause global warming 40%

Not sure 6%

Education Secretary Arne Duncan


Last month, Education Secretary Arne Duncan let Congress kill a District of Columbia voucher program while he was sitting on evidence of its success.

Q. President Obama's Education Secretary recently rescinded 200
scholarships previously awarded through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship
Program, a school choice program that allows low-income students to
attend private schools. Despite a Department of Education study that
showed the program is a great success, the Obama administration wants to
bring the program to an end and return those students to public schools
in Washington, D.C.. Do you agree or disagree with the Obama
administration?

Agree 23%
Disagree 61%
Not sure 16%


The O'Leary Report/Zogby poll was conducted April 24-27 of 3,937 voters nationwide and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.6 percentage points. Slight weights were added to party, age, race, gender, education to more accurately reflect the population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Saving Our Environment 36 Years Ago

Time flies by so fast. It seems just like yesterday when my science teacher tried to impress upon our young minds that we had to protect the earth. There was even a program run from the White House on Environmental Protection.

So, I planted trees on the school property which have seen been chopped down, picked up trash, started a backyard compost pile-- all in the name of the environment.

Here we are today. Still the same battle cry exists. Only it appears to be so much more savvy today. That's ok. My Certificate of Merit for Environmental Protection hangs proudly with some of my other life achievements.

The date? 1973 and yep, it has the signature of President Richard M. Nixon on it.

Happy Earth Day.

Friday, April 17, 2009

PJTV Attendance Count for Tea Parties Passes 540,000

VWV Note: Just thought you'd want to see the latest estimates in for the tea party. Today, the Atlanta Police estimated the Atlanta turnout to be over 15,000. And just think, it was peaceful.

/PRNewswire/ -- Pajamas TV (www.pjtv.com) announced today that its current attendance count for the April 15 tea parties has surpassed 540,000. That number will continue to rise as Pajamas TV tabulates additional reports. Over 600 citizen reporters filed text, video, and cell phone reports for Pajamas TV on tax day. Following the tea party protests, the Pajamas TV citizen reporter program has grown to include nearly 700 volunteer journalists.

"By any measure, the April 15 tea parties are a historic event and Pajamas TV has become the place of record for documenting the tea party movement," said Pajamas Media CEO and Co-founder Roger L. Simon. "We have committed significant resources to document this movement from both a reporting and attendance point of view. Pajamas TV is already planning to cover the additional tea parties that are being scheduled for July 4."

Attendance Passes 540,000

Pajamas TV has been tabulating attendance data for the tax day tea parties since they began. By the evening of Thursday, April 16 that number had reached 541,568. The latest numbers are available at www.pjtv.com along with breakouts of the top events, top states, and a map view (http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=map) of attendance by state. A PDF file detailing tea party attendance by location is available at http://tinyurl.com/teapartyattendance.

The numbers are based on 40 percent or 350 of the 879 events registered in the PJTV database. The numbers came to Pajamas TV directly from the field and include accounts from organizers, police, and citizen reporters. "The top 40 events represent about 257,000 attendees and our last 20 reports average about 1,000 per event. It's highly possible that the total attendance number is between 800,000 and 1 million," Simon noted.

Pajamas TV Coverage of the Tea Parties

The PJTV coverage included reports from its locations in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Tennessee. In addition, over 600 citizen reporters were active on tax day. These reporters submitted photos, videos, cell phone, and even live wireless reports back to the Pajamas TV studio headquarters in Los Angeles.

In addition to its coverage of the tea parties which centers on the public outcry regarding America's financial direction, Pajamas TV is continuing its effort to quantify the financial impact on the next generation. Its Generational Theft contest offers a prize of $20,000 for college students and their professors.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Pine Tree Crosses Stand Tall on Easter

Last year, I came across pine tree crosses. The story I read discussed how pine trees begin their growth in the early spring. By Easter, the story said, the trees will exhibit a cross.

As it was after Easter when I read about this phenomena, I made a mental note to search this year.

I began looking at the local trees around the first of April. I watched the growth and noticed no cross.

Then, on Easter Sunday, there they were. Crosses standing tall. So, yes, my friends. Nature shows us the promise of life after death.

Cool.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Prepare for the Son-Shine

It's a great day. The sun is shining, and I'm looking at the promise of God. How 'bout you?


Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Holocaust Hauntings

Just this morning, two articles of Holocaust interest have popped up in the news.

The first is Schindler's List of 801 Jews which has been found in Australia. According to the story, it was found in a box of German clippings, which was owned by the author of Schindler's Ark, Thomas Keneally. Wow. What a historical find.

There's a movement going on around certain areas which denies the Holocaust. I have to wonder how could anyone in their right mind could deny the murder of so many people just because of their faith? How could anyone deny it? There are pictures. There is film footage.

And still, they deny.

Emory University in Atlanta has a website on the Holocaust. Today, Emory announced they've added other languages to it so the truth can be seen in other locales. Good for them.

Deny the Holocaust? Never. My dad was a soldier and he was stationed in Germany as part of the Occupation Army right after World War II. During that time, my mom was there with him. She told stories of going to the concentration camps and the overwhelming feel of death in the air. Her visits to the death camps haunted her for years. It was horrific for her to see what had been done to those who didn't fit in to the mold Hitler declared was acceptable.

Could this happen here? Maybe the question is would it?

Monday, April 6, 2009

Tea Parties are for All Americans

The number of Tax Day Tea Parties is on the rise. I've been watching and reading about some of the towns trying to stop them. "It's not in the best interest of Americans' is one excuse used by some. In other areas, the local government thinks the crowds will be too large.

As I recall, excessive government spending is an American interest. It sure does interest my pocketbook.

As I recall, there is an amendment in the Bill of Rights which allows Americans to gather in peaceful assembly in public.

The MSM is now starting to catch on, although too many of them are trying to bash the party. I thought you'd be interested in this new release about the upcoming conference call.

Tax Day Tea Party Planning Calls Broadcast Live Tonight on PJTV

/PRNewswire / -- The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, the grassroots organization sponsoring the April 15 Tax Day Tea Parties across the country, announced this morning that it will broadcast the group's regular Monday conference call LIVE at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT, on Pajamas TV, the leading provider of conservative internet television programming. The live conference call this evening will be the debut of the new daily Pajamas TV program, "The Tea Party Coalition Show: Countdown to Tax Day.".....http://potluckpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/04/tax-day-tea-party-planning-calls.html