Here is some bipartisanship for you

Let's take a break

If paying taxes is patriotic ...

Politico.com is reporting yet another nominee for President Barack Obama's cabinet is paying back taxes (story here).

Politico writes:

Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius has paid back taxes of more than $7,000 stemming from "unintentional errors" revealed during her accountant's review of recent tax returns.

The White House on Tuesday released a letter Sebelius sent to the Senate Finance Committee, detailing how she lacked some proper paperwork in accounting for charitable donations and business expenses. The Kansas governor also mistakenly claimed a deduction on her mortgage interest.

While it would be easy to criticize Sebelius, let's look at the broader issue. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had his tax troubles, as did Tom Daschle and others.

Instead of using this as an opportunity to blast them for not living up to their patriotic obligations, this should send the message to Washington we need a simple and fair tax code everyone can understand ... even the intellectual types.

TED Talks: Can Design Save Newspapers?

We were free, once

'It is no longer our country'

Showing some signs of progress(iveness)

Our president is on the move in RasmussenReports.com Daily Presidential Tracking Poll. President Obama had been in the low single digits and now is moving a little higher ... 7 is better than 4 in our books.

Dick Morris writes on his Web site about what he believes Obama's call for a reduction in tax deductions will do for charities. If this is true, those who operate and work for nonprofit organizations must be concerned. You can read Morris' column here.

Here is an excerpt:

It is totally dishonest for Obama to pretend that his curtailment of these deductions won’t hurt the poor. It will most directly impact them since most of the charities Obama is hurting focus on helping the impoverished.

This proposal is not about saving money. It is about controlling it. By, in effect, transferring at least $11 billion a year from private philanthropy to government spending, Obama empowers the public sector at the expense of the voluntary one.

President Obama’s recommended reduction in the tax deduction for charitable giving reflects his fundamental belief that only the government can or should help the poor. He wants to keep the impoverished directly dependent on the government - and the Democratic Party - for their daily bread.

A real American hero

Show me anything ...

"Have you ever seen the government run anything. I challenge anybody show me anything the government has run cost effective, efficient, that's worked, that's been prosperous, that's created instead of destroyed."

-- Sophia Nelson
On Hannity, March 27, 2009

Daniel Hannan on Neil Cavuto

Daniel Hannan on Glenn Beck

Message from across the pond resonates here

He might want to revise and extend his remarks

Where or where did my TelePrompter go?

President Barack Obama decided against using his TelePrompter during a break from his 2012 presidential campaign for a press conference to push his budget and push down Republicans (in a bipartisan manner, of course). He did not do away with the TelePrompter functionality, he just moved the words onto a widescreen television in the back of the room ... away from the camera's eye.

'The Great One' (per Hannity)

Take a step back in time

You ought to be in pictures, horror!

Obama song/video

Catchy, hip-hop tribute to our president, Barack Obama, featuring the voice of the Rev. Manning.

We the People Stimulus Package

A Second American Revolution

Welcome India

We welcome friends from India to our blog. We are truly global.

Obama's approval rating tight

The RasmussenReports.com site shows President Barack Obama's approval staying in single digits, between 4-7 points.

If you look at the Rasmussen chart, Obama really had no where to go but down. He started out as a very popular candidate, then president. However, during the campaign he was very vague and sounded like a moderate.

I think the low negative numbers at the start of Obama's presidency shows many were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Now that the people see what he is doing, who is nominated and what policies are important to him, his negatives have skyrocketed.

Even still, I don't think the chart is too bad or alarming. Might it be just right?

About one-third of the people think he is doing a great job and another third can't stand what he is doing. So, that leaves the remaining third somewhere in between. Seems balanced to me.

I am sorry; I could not resist

I just could not resist adding the TelePrompters in. Someone needs to record a song to the tune of Paradise City that says something to the effect: Take me down to TelePrompter City, where the words are clear and the prose is pretty ...

Here is a karaoke version of the Guns 'n Roses song:

Paradise City - Karaoke

Rabbi Daniel Lapin: Thou Shall Prosper

Watch and listen to Rabbi Daniel Lapin as he speaks about his book, Thou Shall Prosper. There are actually six videos, and they will play one after the other. His talk is about an hour long.

Weakly address

Dave Ramsey rant on Washington, D.C., and AIG

Listen to Dave Ramsey here talk about the problems in Washington, D.C., and AIG. He also proposes term limits to reduce the influence of lobbyists. He also argues the people who "run" this country (our elected officials in D.C.), should know what is going on (as with the AIG bonuses).

Quiet on the set (yet another taping)

I'm sorry, so sorry

President Barack Obama made a verbal gaffe on The Tonight Show when he made a comment regarding his bowling score and the Special Olympics. He apologized after the taping for the careless comment.

I say stupid stuff all of the time. After all, I am of Italian heritage. It's in my genes. So, I can understand the gaffe.

But I think there is something more to it.

I have often criticized our Commander in Chief because of his inability to articulate a message apart from his TelePrompter. He repeatedly falls back to saying "uh, uh, uh" as he tries to bide time in order to come up with the best possible reply so as to not offend anyone (and I would argue not to commit to anything).

If you watch the video clip, then you will see there is no hesitation on Obama's part when making the comment. He has absolutely no problem attaching his poor bowling scores to those who participate in the Special Olympics. It does not register in his brain that his remark is insensitive and inappropriate.

While it meant absolutely nothing for Obama to speak about the Special Olympics in the manner in which he did on Thursday, it does on Friday. I am sure he learned this lesson and will not be a turkey in the future.

... by weakening the upper class

Vote for me in 2012

Will EIB Institute go all the way?

March Madness: Stemming greed, shared prosperity

Look at these two screen shots from the White House Web site carefully. This tells you all you need to know about what President Barack H. Obama plans to do to those who have wealth ... those earning more than $250,000 annually.

Be prepared to lose a portion of what you have worked hard for. What that portion will be is anybody's guess, but it would not surprise me if it were substantial.

Look at the terms: Helping Small Business, Stemming Greed; or Sustained Growth, Shared Prosperity. This should scare you.

Could not this government be considered greedy by reaching deeper into our pockets to extract more cash to pay for their pet projects and programs? What exactly is greed?

Also, what is "shared prosperity"? To me, it seems that he will take from me to give to you so that we can all be equal financially.

This is somewhat alarming.

Check out this video to hear Milton Friedman talk about capitalism and greed.

Back in the saddle, again

As I acclimate myself to a life of reporting again, it has been fun getting out and seeing everyone. I forget how much things can change in a moment's notice. One minute I am jotting down information during a bid preview meeting (about the old terminal being demolished at Wayne County Airport), then I am trying to figure out what the process is to fill a vacant seat on Wooster City Council and then participating in a conference call with U.S. Rep. John Boccieri (D-OH) about bipartisan legislation he was introducing, along with U.S. Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY), that would make permanent research and development tax credits, along with a bonus for companies that manufacture at least 50 percent of their products in the United States.

Sing along with Obama

Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Dougla...

Negatives rising

President Barack H. Obama's negatives are climbing. I think his recent change of tone, in that he has quit talking about this economic condition as the worst catastrophic event ever to hit this country (it was inherited, remember), should help with his approval rating. For more, visit RasmussenReports.com.

Same result, different day

The four Republicans on Wooster's city council decided for a second time not to approve the appointment of Barb Hustwit to council. The story will appear in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Record, however, the words against her were not the kindest.

I read Seth Godin's blog and thought about council's action after reading the following post:

Demonization
The closer you get to someone, something, some brand, some organization... the harder it is to demonize it, objectify it or hate it.

So, if you want to not be hated, open up. Let people in. Engage. Interact.

Ralph Regula honored

'This is Our Time'

This is an inspiring speech by Dr. E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University. He spoke at the Wayne Economic Development Council's annual meeting March 11, 2009 at the Arden Shisler Center on the campus of OSU's Ohio Agricultural Reserach and Development Center.

I believe our president, Barack H. Obama, can learn from Gee's optimism and motivational and inspirational style.

We all need a laugh

O'Reilly says there is a vast left-wing conspiracy

Gordon Gee absolves Jim Miller

Woosterites might recall Jim Miller, an Ohio State alum who comes from a family of OSU alums, sang the fight song from the team up north in order to raise money for a worthy cause.

Before Miller sang the song, he read an open letter to his alumni association and explained why he did so.

Well, when Dr. E. Gordon Gee, president of the Ohio State University, visited Wooster to catch up with everything going on at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and the Agricultural Technical Institute and to speak at the annual meeting of the Wayne Economic Development Council, he also had a few words for Miller and what he did.

Check out the video.

10 Myths about credit scores, but ...

A former FICO exec shares 10 myths about credit card scores. It's interesting that in order to have a good score, you have to have debt. Closing credit card accounts will not help you score.

Dave Ramsey repeatedly says he will not worship at the altar of FICO and calls the credit score an "I love debt" score.

Below is a question posed to Ramsey by a caller (or you can listen to Dave's response here):

Question: Caleb has had credit problems in the past, but has tried to clean them up. He wants to buy a house and wonders how he can improve his credit score.

Dave Ramsey's advice: Pull a copy of your credit score and make sure you have no outstanding bad debt or unpaid debt. The second thing that could cause your score to be bad is past debts that have been paid but are still on there. Remember, you don't have to have a credit score to get a house. You have to have cleaned up your bad debts, but if you find a mortgage company that does manual underwriting and can verify that you've paid your bills on time, then you qualify for a premium mortgage. You don't want to spend your life building your FICO score, because it's just an "I love debt" score.

You can also listen to Dave go off about credit scores here.

Another thing to keep in mind, as pointed out on the video, is that your credit score is used for other things (some employers check it, landlords will and some insurance companies offer better rates to those with good credit scores).

Pennywise, dollar foolish

Trust me, we don't make this stuff up. This great and wonderful Oz, I mean, stimulus plan will provide a short-term boost, but have negative effects in the long run. This is not me, but Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, director of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. This is what he says, in part, in his blog:

We estimate that the legislation will raise gross domestic product (GDP) and increase employment in the short run—by adding to aggregate demand and boosting the utilization of labor and capital. In contrast, we expect that the legislation will reduce output slightly in the long run because the resulting increase in government debt will tend to “crowd out” private investment and thereby reduce the stock of productive private capital. That crowding-out effect will be diminished to the extent that some of the funding in the legislation will go for activities that could add to the nation’s long-term output.

At the risk of repeatedly sounding redundant and saying the same thing over and over, again and again, time after time, Congress has risked our future for a short-term gain.

Is this want one of our founding fathers called pennywise and dollar foolish? Let's borrow our way to prosperity. Oh, that's right, that won't work.

Our wonderful, loving and benevolent government is going to "crowd out" private investment, thereby reducing our freedoms and liberty.

We need an infusion of Ronaldus Magnus about now.

Funny take on the news

Will the last one out turn off the lights?

Now that is veto power

OK, so I lifted this from SWNID

What you see below comes from our friends at the Seldom Wrong, Never in Doubt blog.

As far as we can remember, this is a first for this blog. We are doing what many others do and we don't, normally, that is. We are drumming up support for a favored candidate in an internet-based vote-for-your-favorite contest.

First, watch this video:

Then go to this page and vote for Bryce and Toni Bezdek and family to get a free trip to Disneyworld courtesy of Modern Mom. If you watch the video, you'll understand why this is a good thing.

Mr. Transparency ... nowhere in sight

This is what it says on www.whitehouse.gov: President Obama declares turning point on earmark reform.

Really? He signs a bill containing nearly 9,000 earmarks (about 60 percent from Democrats and 40 percent from Republicans), and he declares it a turning point on earmark reform.

He says it is last year's business (because the bill should have been done last year; not sure why the Democratic-controlled Congress did not pass it), as if it is someone else's fault. Wasn't he in the Senate before he was president.

Oh, yeah, that's right. As soon as he arrived in the Senate he began running for president. It might have been last year's business, but he didn't do the work of the people last year. He was running for president under the guise of being a moderate, reasonable Democrat.

More funny stuff from Ferrellbush

You're Welcome America: Tenawesome

Congratulations to the Schaaf family

Congratulations to Bryan and Becky Schaaf on the birth of their son, Ward, who came into the world at 4:45 a.m. (I believe that would be 9:45 a.m. in Newcastle on the Tyne) Wednesday, March 11, 2009, weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches long. Daddy Schaaf undoubtedly wants young Ward to follow in his steps as a goalkeeper in soccer (or football as it is known everywhere else on the globe). (Thanks to Mike Plant for the phrase: He's a keeper.)

European Football - Parry Grip...

The Changeling

After a sufficient break ... back to politics

You're Welcome America: Wood


This is funny ... G.W. interviewing G.W. with the help of Will Ferrell. There is one word in it that some might find objectionable, rhymes with hisses.

Forget about politics, enjoy some music

Octavarium - Dream Theater

So simple, yet so true

Here is a funny skit from Saturday Night Live that Dave Ramsey pointed out: Don't buy stuff you cannot afford.

I have not always made the best financial decisions, but I have been getting better with the help of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University classes. If only our politicians would get it into their heads about not buying stuff unless you can afford it.

Enjoy.

Yes, he smiles!

The wheels on the bus fall off and off

If you look at the data objectively from RasmussenReports.com regarding its daily presidential tracking poll, which tallies the Presidential Approval Index, you can clearly see Obama's policies are alienating him with the public.

When you look at the entire poll, Mr. Obama had few opponents when he began his presidency. But, his policies appear to be alienating more and more people who thought favorably of him. He can't blame that on Bush. He didn't inherit high negatives from Bush.

No, Mr. President, you own your negatives. Now keep on telling us your policies are what the American people want. Not.

Nearly a lone wolf in the Democratic :Party

Greta Van Susteren of Fox News talks with U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) about the omnibus appropriations bill. Bayh, along with Democrat Russ Feingold, plan on voting against it and recommend President Barack H. Obama veto it.

Ohio wins the Governor's Cup

Wooster/Wayne County was again named Ohio's top micropolitan statistical area based on its 10 economic development projects, according to rankings by Site Selection magazine. The story appears in Tuesday's edition of The Daily Record.

Ohio beat out Texas for the number of development deals, so Gov. Ted Strickland received the Governor's Cup.

Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jeff Griffin traveled to Dublin to represent the area, and he posed for this photo with Gov. Strickland. Thanks to Marc Kovac, Dixland's Capital Bureau Chief and the force behind The Capital Blog.

So much for hope, but, hey, there is change

RasmussenReports.com reported investor confidence reached an all-time low Sunday.
Part of the report states:

The Investor Index includes components that measure both an assessment of current economic conditions and an expectation of future economic performance. During the period from the collapse of Lehman Brothers until the inauguration of President Obama, the assessment of current economic conditions fell much faster than expectations of future performance. The reverse has been true since Inauguration Day with expectations of the future declining much more rapidly.
The assessment of current economic conditions fell 28 points between the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the inauguration (from 89.6 to 61.7). It has fallen another nine points since then to 52.3.
Expectations of future economic performance fell eight points between the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the inauguration (from 83.4 to 75.3). It has fallen another twenty-one points since then to 54.4. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of investors say their own personal finances are now getting worse.

President G.W. Bush did not leave the country or the economy in the best of shape, however, investor confidence in future performance of the economy has to be affected by President Barack Obama's and Congress' willingness to spend money we don't have.

Go shopping. Where have we heard that before?

Our government, first under the auspices of George W. Bush and now Barack H. Obama, began a shopping spree in the trillions to bail out failed business models. They are using wealth that has yet to be created (we are going in debt) and taxpayer money (hard-earned dollars confiscated from us).

After Sept. 11, 2001, this country was in shock. People were afraid to fly; no one was sure what lay ahead. During this time, Bush told us to go shopping and live life as normal. For this, he was mocked.

Now, we find ourselves in an economic crisis, and what is our government doing? Essentially, it is going shopping, purchasing roads, bridges, failed banks, suffering automakers and whatever else trillions of dollars can buy.

Bush says go shopping, and he is ridiculed. Obama basically says go shopping, and he is hailed as a genius.

Doesn't make sense or cents. Go figure.

If you do want to shop, this song from BNL might put you in the mood.

Shopping - Barenaked Ladies

Anthem for America?

During his sermon, Dean Hammond, senior minister at Parkview Church of Christ, played this song, Ka-Ching!, by Shania Twain. It pretty much sums up America's attitude toward money and things.

It's a shame, but it also seems to be our government's approach to getting out of this economic mess: Shop more, buy more, borrow more.

Ka-Ching! - Shania Twain

Ka-Ching! by Shania Twain

We live in a greedy little world
That teaches every little boy and girl
To earn as much as they can possibly
Then turn around and
Spend it foolishly
We've created us a credit card mess
We spend the money we don't possess
Our religion is to go and blow it all
So it's shoppin' every Sunday at the mall

All we ever want is more
A lot more than we had before
So take me to the nearest store

Can you hear it ring
It makes you wanna sing
It's such a beautiful thing--Ka-ching!
Lots of diamond rings
The happiness it brings
You'll live like a king
With lots of money and things

When you're broke go and get a loan
Take out another mortgage on your home
Consolidate so you can afford
To go and spend some more when you get bored

All we ever want is more
A lot more than we had before
So take me to the nearest store

Can you hear it ring
It makes you wanna sing
It's such a beautiful thing--Ka-ching!
Lots of diamond rings
The happiness it brings
You'll live like a king
With lots of money and things

Let's swing
Dig deeper in your pocket
Oh, yeah, ha
Come on I know you've got it
Dig deeper in your wallet
Oh

All we ever want is more
A lot more than we had before
So take me to the nearest store

Can you hear it ring
It makes you wanna sing
It's such a beautiful thing--Ka-ching!
Lots of diamond rings
The happiness it brings
You'll live like a king
With lots of money and things

Can you hear it ring
It makes you wanna sing
You'll live like a king
With lots of money and things
Ka-ching!

Oh, yeah. Boccieri got game!

Yes, Congressman John Boccieri, D-Alliance, who represents Ohio's 16 District, did challenge President Barack Obama to a basketball game. And, yes, when Obama asked the freshman congressman if he had game, Boccieri replied, "Sir, I do my talking on the court." So reports Bryan Schaaf in Saturday's edition of The Daily Record. See the story here. Boccieri, and others from Ohio's delegation, traveled with Obama on Air Force One Friday on a trip from the nation's capital to Ohio's capital.

Gyration of daily tracking poll

We know our president does not look at the daily gyrations of the stock market, but we wonder if he looks at the Presidential Approval Index from RassmussenReports.com.

According to data collected by the organization, 75 percent of the people are concerned President Barack Obama's budget will lead to too much government spending.

More from Freedlander's

Here is some more video footage from Freedlander's last day in business. The voice you hear is of auctioneer Dave Acker.

Really?

Hail Caesar! Not!

Alas, President Barack Obama's negative numbers are not really trending in the right direction.

I thought it was interesting our president used graduating police officers for a photo op in Columbus on Friday as a way of touting how his stimulus plan saved the jobs of those 25 officers(who were going to be laid off by Columbus because of the economy).

I wonder how much money it cost for the president to fly his crew, along with the Ohio delegation and other guests, from Washington, D.C., to brag about saving those jobs. Why not save the money and the environment (does Air Force One burn fossil fuel, hmmm?) by staying in D.C. and posting a video on YouTube.

At any rate, the Golden One's popularity just ain't what it used to be.

Boccieri on Air Force One with President Barack Obama

Congressman John Boccieri had the opportunity to fly with President Barack Obama on Air Force One from Washington, D.C., to Columbus on Friday. Bryan Schaaf has a story in Saturday's edition of The Daily Record. You will want to read what Boccieri had to say when the president asked if he could play basketball.

Nice quote

"In times like these, the way forward is never a straight and smooth one."

-- Grant Cornwell
President of The College of Wooster, to faculty, staff and students.

Building a religion?

The master communicator (... when TelePrompter present)

All politics is local

This is just a follow up to the globalization of The Warren Report entry below. Slowly, but surely, this blog is making its way across the USA and the world.

Thanks for reading.

Heard it from a friend, who ...

A friend from Florida sent this my way, and it makes a lot of sense.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
– The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005

For more quotes from Rogers, check out The Beacon blog or Ray Fowler's blog.

I should note, this quote is flying around the blogosphere, so I was interested in its origins. Fowler says it is a Rogers quote, and the Beacon points to a similar quote Rogers made in a book. Also, Snopes has nothing on it.

Never was so much owed by so many to so few

Listen to a great leader, Winston Churchill, talk about how never were there so many who owed so much to so few people.

Never Have So Many Owed So Muc...

What's so bad about globalization?

The Warren Report is now officially international. Google Analytics reports this blog has been viewed in the United Kingdom, Australia and Indonesia. Ohioans are visiting the site the most, and the blog also has a good showing with visitors from Florida, Massachusetts and Kentucky.

Boccieri votes to help families avoid foreclosure

Ohio Ranks Among Top Five States Nationwide For Highest Total Home Foreclosures

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative John Boccieri (D-Alliance) today voted to help families stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. Boccieri voted for the Helping Families Save Their Home Act which passed the House with a vote of 243 to 191. Boccieri issued the following statement:

“Today’s great recession is rooted in the housing crisis and Ohio suffers disproportionately with home foreclosure. To successfully rebuild our economy, we must address the crisis in our housing market. We began that process today by giving responsible homeowners the tools they need to avoid foreclosure.

“The bill would help refinance loans into lower interest rates for some families in traditional mortgages who owe more on their house than its current appraised value; modify loans for some families stuck in sub-prime mortgages; give bankruptcy judges the chance to modify existing mortgages; and give lenders more confidence to modify loans by protecting them from some lawsuits.

“With more than 6,400 homeowners filing for foreclosure last year in the 16th Congressional District, the majority of them in Stark County, this bill would help prevent further foreclosure.

“The success of our communities begins at home. We all stand to lose if we don’t stop the decline in housing prices. Stabilizing the housing market is key to rebuilding America’s economy.”

What we have here is a failure ... to communicate

Here comes reform

Regular or decaf?

BOCCIERI LAUNCHES ‘COFFEE WITH CONGRESSMAN BOCCIERI’

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman John Boccieri (D-Alliance) today announced the launch of his Coffee with Congressman Boccieri outreach effort. These coffee hours are designed to give constituents visiting the nation’s capitol the opportunity to casually converse with Congressman Boccieri about their concerns. This is Boccieri’s latest addition to an ambitious outreach program designed to best represent his constituents in the 16th Congressional district.

Representative Boccieri’s first coffee hour will take place tomorrow, Thursday, March 5 in his Washington office. Constituents visiting Washington DC are welcome to drop by to visit with Boccieri to talk about issues important to them. Additional monthly coffee hours will follow.

Who: Congressman John Boccieri (D-Alliance), 16th Congressional district constituents visiting Washington DC

What: Congressman John Boccieri will launch his Coffee with Congressman Boccieri, the latest addition in an outreach program designed to best represent 16th Congressional district constituents

Where: Congressman Boccieri’s Washington DC Office
1516 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

When: Thursday, March 5th, 8:30 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.

Spike: A new liberator in a time of change

A little plastic surgery

My wife and I are working toward eliminating debt and have started operating on a cash basis. Here is video from Dave Ramsey talking about how credit cards have not propelled us toward wealth and how some families have chosen to get rid of those credit cards, aka plastic surgery.

Jimmy Fallon slow jams the news

U2: No Line on the Horizon

No Line On The Horizon - U2

Boccieri Q&A on economic recovery plan

"Eighth Wonder of the World" - Boccieri on economic recovery

John Boccieri speaking about health care

New opportunities every day

From The Warren Report

Farewell Address - New Orleans...

Ronald Reagan is very inspiring, and his words ring true just as much today as they did more than a decade ago.