Who needs the 1st Amendment when you have Hope'n'Change instead?

A new White House policy on permissible lobbying on economic recovery and stimulus project has taken a decidedly anti-First Amendment turn. It's a classic illustration of Big Government trying to control every aspect of a particular activity and in the process running up against civil liberty.

Check out this passage from a post on the White House blog by Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President on Ethics and Government Reform (emphasis added):

"First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

Ah, the incredibly elastic concept of "unique circumstances" being used to justify the stifling of free speech.

Politics, Chicago-deep-dish style.

Or, put differently, "How dare you petition the government!"

Thanks a flipping ton, 52%.

Posted by: DocJ at 08:41 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Except that I thought the plan was to, erm, avoid bankruptcy.

General Motors Corp. has cleared a couple of key roadblocks on the ailing automaker's route to an almost certain bankruptcy filing Monday.

Posted by: DocJ at 07:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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... then I suppose you can just make shit up.

You have to see this to believe it, and even then you'll have a hard time believing it. It's the Obama administration's deficit reduction program, otherwise known as "change the accounting." ...

Shazam! The government just made about $175 billion in deficits disappear (March's reported $956.8 billion compared to April's $781.4 billion through March).

Posted by: DocJ at 05:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Let's continue to hold some of these unlawful combatant scum indefinitely.  Yeah, that's the ticket.

You know, if I didn't know better I would suggest that Senator HopeyChangey was simply demagoging the issue during the campaign to score some cheap political points against Chimpy McBushitlerBurton and suck-up to the moonbats.

But that would never happen.  Would it?

Posted by: DocJ at 08:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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... if the President of the United States were actually trying to destroy the economy of the country - for whatever reason or none at all - what, precisely, would he be doing differently?

Seriously.

Posted by: DocJ at 08:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Color me unsurprised...

Retail Sales Drop Unexpectedly in April

Well duh!  People are losing their jobs by the millions - doesn't make one want to run-out and buy that Hi-Def Plasma Big Screen.  But this headline does provide us a nice segue to...


more...

Posted by: DocJ at 08:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So, let's recap, in a nut shell, what just happened here.

The President of the United States - acting in his capacity as self-appointed ruler of the fucking planet, I suppose - publicly negotiated the bankruptcy of an ostensibly private company (Chrysler) in such a way that the principal benefactors would be - surprise! - huge contributors to the campaigns of he and his political allies.

The negotiated settlement also screwed-over senior (and allegedly secured) bondholders, who will end-up with the table scraps left by the politically preferred, but junior and unsecured, debt holders.

And all of this was just blessed by a Federal Bankruptcy Judge - a 1995 appointee of Bill Clinton, of course.

Posted by: DocJ at 06:51 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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How does Barack's ass taste now, geniuses?

Posted by: DocJ at 07:52 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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