Officials invited the White House press pool to 5 minute interviews with Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg to discuss Feinberg's announcement to cut executive pay at at least 7 companies.

The press pool is made up of the 5 major news organizations including CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX.  FOX has been a member of the White House press pool since 1997.

Officials invited the entire press corps to the round robin interview process with the express exception of FOX News. The Washington Bureau Chiefs of all of the 5 major networks consulted.  The group agreed that if FOX were not allowed to participate, that they would boycott the interview with Feinberg in protest.

The White House eventually relented and granted 2 minute interviews for each network including FOX.

This comes on the heels of several Obama administration officials making the rounds on the weekend talk shows on the other 4 major networks and claiming that FOX News is more like "talk radio" and "not really a news organization" like ABC or CNN.

Bret Bair of Fox News reports the president has granted the following number of interviews by news organization since taking office last January.

NBC: 12 Interviews

CBS:  11 Interviews

ABC:  9 Interviews

CNN: 7 Interviews

FoxNews:  2 Interviews

Obama's predecessor granted 6 total interviews in the same time period.

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Sincerely,

American Taxpayer

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.  You admit then that the plan is to restrict private businesses and force them to take risks much like the housing mess with Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac?  Is this supposed to help your cause?  The American people don't want you to create another financial disaster and we surely don't want you to experiment with our health care.  The latest polls are showing that most people in the US are happy with their current health care insurance.  So why not simply fix the problems for the few who are unhappy instead of completely overhauling the entire system, harming those who are already satisfied?  If you allow private insurance companies to compete in all 50 states, a market will emerge for those who have medical issues.  Competition will create price decreases.  It's basic economics.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.  Didn't Chavez try regulating prices in private industry? Yes.  How's that working out for Venezuela?  Or how about Cuba?  Government mandated pricing is unconstitutional and just plain destructive to an economy.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.  By this admission, private companies will be forced to provide services even though they aren't being paid for them.  Businesses survive on profit.  If the government mandates services be provided without charge, prices for other services will absolutely skyrocket to cover the cost of "free" services.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill. Already law.  Enforce the laws already in place.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.  Should they start covering pregnancy for men now?  Men and women are different.  Men don't live as long as women.  Smokers are at a higher risk for cancer.  Some people are simply more prone to disease, illness or accident than others.  Offering a flat rate for all people will simply raise prices for everyone.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.  So you will cap profits; you will cap pricing; you are capping executive pay; and now you want to force private business to continue services even if they aren't paid for?  Currently, it is a choice to participate in a program that has lifetime caps on coverage and there are supplemental insurance companies available to pick up the slack.  What will become of supplemental insurance companies like Aflac and Assurant?
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26. Again, open up the market.  Allow the private sector to do this and they will.  Why is Medicaid the only option or adults needing care?
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.  This is a small section of a bill that has grown to more than 1,000 pages.  This one piece could be a bill all by itself.  Why do you need to completely takeover the entire system to accomplish this goal? 

1.  Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.  The massive bureaucracy that will be created by this health care bill is staggering.  A health care czar who is accountable to no one, a clinical preventative services taskforce, advisory panels, a reinsurance program, new qualifications for private insurance companies, a public health workforce corps.......  The bill is laden with confusion and new government agencies.  All of these new salaries, supplies, and infrastructure are going to cost unheardof amounts of money; taxpayer money.  We can't afford it.  And if there's no money, decreasing expensive services, aka rationing, will be the only way to keep the system moving.
2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.  If the president has found all of these savings, why not implement them now?  If we save now, we won't need this massive overhaul.  The double-talk is becoming cumbersome and unconvincing.  Obama's plan to save us from the "fiscal catastrophe" that was supposedly coming if he didn't get the $787 billion stimulus package passed immediately has failed.  The omnibus spending bill to the tune of $410 billion turned out to be nothing more than a lot of democratic campaign paybacks, full of wasteful spending and hasn't helped the economy one bit.  The president promised no more cronyism, no more lobbyists in the White House and full transparency, yet he lied.  The truth is, we don't trust President Obama, his staff or this congress.  You aren't listening to us and now we aren't listening to you either.
3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions. If this isn't true of the original draft of the bill, then why are the "death panels" being removed in the newer revised version?  Did Sarah Palin scare you by exposing the truth behind what is in this bill?
4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.   Agreed. Allowing small businesses to drop coverage for their employees will of course help the profit margins for small business.  The problem then becomes where those employees will be allowed to go to get coverage.   According to this bill, employees who are dropped from coverage with their employer will be mandated to join the government-run program or face penalties and fines.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.  Medicare is safe?  The president said himself, out loud and on video, that part of the funding for health care reform will come from cutting up to 60% of medicare costs.  He said it, we heard it and you can't convince us that he didn't.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.  Let's refer back to #5.  If small businesses are allowed to drop coverage, employees will be forced to change insurance.  If they are forced to change coverage, it stands to reason they may be forced to change doctors.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts.  Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose.  Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.  Again, we don't trust you.  If we did, this rumor wouldn't have started.

1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill.  Isn't that why we have Medicaid?  Overhaul of the entire system isn't needed to solve this problem.  Open up the market and allow insurance companies to truly compete across all 50 states and there will be a market for coverage of pre-existing conditions and severe illness.  Private insurance companies are not the devil.  They take extraordinary risk to provide a service to their customers.  They also understand that we are mortal.  Human beings will get sick.  And the insurance company will have to pay for care. 
2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job.  Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage.  I would argue that we are actually getting more care, more tests and more doctors are providing more services than in the past.  The real problem?  The doctors need to cover their backsides against frivolous malpractice claims.  More and more doctors are being sued out of business while savvy lawyers are making millions.  Why doesn't this bill, of over 1,000 pages, address malpractice reform? 
3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care.  Women are not lined up outside hospitals, writhing in pain, because they are denied an aspirin for a headache.  Refer back to #5 in the first section of this message.  You admit that women require more care, yet you want men to pay the difference for them?  Women in this country don't need your hand-out.  We are not inferior and we do not expect special treatment.
4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities.  Who are these 50 million people?  Illegal immigrants?  People who could afford care but don't purchase it?  Are they eligible for Medicare and Medicaid already but simply haven't filled out the paperwork?  Even the Congressional Budget Office reports that there will be a net loss in coverage for Americans because of the legislation you are trying to ram down our throats.  Hard-working taxpayers in rural America don't want to foot the bill for people who don't pay taxes, people who could already afford coverage and those who already qualify for a government program.  And that's to say nothing to the fact that we already pay for the cadillac health insurance of government employees, congress, and white house staff.
5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers.  Some of these people get insurance through a spouse.  Some choose not to purchase health care coverage even though they make enough money to do so.  Some purchase supplemental insurance plans such as Aflac or Assurant.  OPEN UP THE MARKET!  Allow insurance companies to sell insurance to these individuals at a fair price.  Allow insurance companies to compete and the prices will come down.  Small businesses will not be burdened with the bureaucracy of providing coverage.  And more American taxpayers will be able to purchase affordable coverage.
6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Didn't we already learn that this is a lie?  Factcheck.org has debunked this claim more than once.  Stop lying to us and we may begin to trust you.
7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. These numbers don't prove that access to care has been diminished.  Currently, if you require care but are uninsured, you have the option to pay for that care out of pocket.  It is not the ideal situation of course, but at least it's an option.  Under the health care bill proposed, individuals will be required to purchase health insurance or suffer being fined 6% of their income or more.  There will be no option for those who wish to purchase health care services on their own.  A government mandate on health insurance is tyranny.  It's not Constitutional.  And it's not what's best for America.
8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform.  Finally, we agree on something.  We need reform.  But do we need it right this very second?  What's the rush?  Why is it so important that we have such an incredible piece of legislation slammed through Congress and signed into law?  Why aren't we addressing just the problems outlined above?  Why are you trying to overhaul the entire system when you yourself have identified ways to cut costs, eliminate waste and provide better care without taking over the health care industry?  Why not just fix the problems instead of creating new ones?

PLEASE SEND THIS RESPONSE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.  DEMAND MORE PROFESSIONALISM, INTEGRITY AND MATURITY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!

In a televised speech on Tuesday Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez told workers they must support the president's socialist agenda or be suspected of conspiring against the revolution. (Forbes)

Ramirez warned workers that if they do not join the state-run unions or socialist community groups they would be fired from their jobs.  Further, Ramirez instructed the country's major oil company, PDVSA, to comply with Chavez's wishes to support social works projects and sell oil to China. (AP)

"By now there should not be one single counter-revolutionary left in the heart of the oil trade unions. We must stay on alert," Rafael Ramírez, the oil minister and head of PDVSA, said in [the] televised speech. (Guardian UK)

The Obama administration, along with Congress, is taking a decidedly similar path with American businesses.  Just as Chavez has been taking control of private industry such as food companies, electricity, telecommunications, media, steel and more, the United States has been taking control of the auto industry, banking, investments, etc.

Community organizations and unions such as the ACLU, SEIU, ACORN, UAW and others have enormous power and influence over their members, often securing millions of dollars in campaign contributions for elected officials.  Those elected officials are then lobbied heavily to produce legislation in favor of growing these organizations.  It's a form of the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" game that has been all too prevalent in Washington as of late.

A congressional bill that is flying somewhat under the radar as the nation focuses on the Sotomayor confirmations, the death of Michael Jackson and the latest contestants kicked off So You Think You Can Dance, is the so-called Employee Free Choice Act, also known as Card Check.  Defined simply, this bill would allow unions to coerce employees to join the union by taking away their secret ballot, or be repeatedly harassed by union bosses.  More on the act here.

Chavez has openly discussed his pleasure with the Obama administration as it heads down a path to socialism.  Obama seems to be taking Chavez's play-by-play instructions seriously as he and congress attempt to overhaul health care insurance and completely take over the energy industry.

Americans take note: So goes Venezuela, the US is sure to follow.

The president said today that he is requiring government to adopt "pay-go," a plan he says will lead to the national deficit being cut in half over the next four years.

"This is a rule I championed in the Senate, and a rule I called for time and again on the campaign trail," the president said.

He went on to say that he is urging lawmakers to pass legislation that will require government to save a dollar for every new dollar they spend.

Will that also apply to the $787 billion stimulus bill? or the $410 omnibus bill? or how about the $5 billion Serve America Act?  $50 billion auto bankruptcy? The SCHIPP bill? The upcoming Healthcare reform?  Or the Federal Budget Blueprint?

The truth is, President Obama has already signed into law billions of dollars worth of spending without the slightest regard for fiscal responsiblity or a "pay-as-you-go" philosophy.

Obama's claims today include:

$40 billion can be saved by reforming how government contracts are awarded.

Billions can be saved by overhauling defense spending.

Eliminating unwarranted subsidies (i.e. Medicare and Medicaid payments to insurance companies) will save roughly $177 billion.

The president went on to say that he and his staff are conducting an ongoing "line by line review of the budget." Under the Constitution, the president has no authority to line item veto anything in the federal budget, nor does the president's staff.

If the president had not already spent billions upon billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and kept his campaign promise that he so proudly "championed" as a senator to cut government waste, imagine what the deficit could be.

28% of votes from last November's election submitted by troops deployed abroad were not counted according to a recent study released by the Congressional Research Service. The study was conducted in 7 states with high populations of military absentee voters including Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  As reported by Fox News, 98,000 troops' votes were not counted or never collected.

Sen. Charles Shumer (D-NY) requested the study and was quoted as saying, "This is unacceptable and something we should not allow to continue."

Fox also reports that "one out of every four ballots requested by military personnel and other Americans living overseas for the 2008 election may have gone uncounted."

Shumer suggested part of the problem with uncounted votes from overseas is that many who are eligible for absentee ballots don't receive them within sufficient time to return them and to be counted.

Also included in the study were Florida, California, North Carolina, Texas and Washington.  California's startling statistics reveal 30,000 "lost" ballots, 3,000 returned ballots, and 4,000 rejected votes.  The state sent out 103,000 absentee ballots to military personnel and Americans living abroad.

Military personnel and those who submit absentee ballots are more likely to register republican than democrat. (National Review)

The results of that study reported yesterday by many media outlets is among a long list of problems with the voting process in the United States.  Unfortunately, the current process leaves many doors open for those with intentions of cheating to win an election.

In October 2008, Florida's Sun Sentinel reported significant voter registration problems.  Secretary of State Kurt Browning admitted that thousands of ineligible voters remained on the rolls for the election last fall.  More than 30,000 convicted felons remained on the registration rolls, of which nearly 5,000 are faithful voters.  According to the article, twice as many of Florida's registered felons register democrat versus republican.

Also a problem in Florida for many years is the number of deceased voters.  In central Florida alone, a local news group found 1,636 votes submitted from beyond the grave. (Channel Nine)

ACORN, now indicted in 14 states, could be responsible for more than 400,000 fraudulent votes, according to recent cable news reports.  Widely reported in the mainstream media, ACORN has claimed accolades for registering more than 1.3 million new voters in 2008. (Fox News)

In Pennsylvania, the district attorney charged seven employees with forgery and election law violations.  In Philadelphia, deputy election commissioner Fred Voigt protested ACORN for submitting at least 1,500 fraudulent registrations. (Wall Street Journal)

Nevada prosecutors charged 2 leaders of the state's ACORN branch with voter registration fraud for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent documents.

Despite repeated plites by ACORN officials to blame a few "rogue employees," authorities have filed criminal charges against the organization itself in addition to its employees in several states.

Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann blogs on Townhall.com:

The ACORN phenomenon isn't about a rogue prosecutor or a few rogue employees; this is a pattern of bad behavior investigated by several prosecutors, resulting in indictments by several grand juries.  As Nevada's Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto told the Las Vegas Sun, ACORN's own training manuals "clearly detail, condone and... require illegal acts."

The New York Times reports that of the 91,002 registration forms submitted by ACORN in Clark County, NV (which includes Las Vegas), only 23,186 were legitimate voters who turned out on election day.

Vote Today Ohio, an affiliate fo ACORN, employed 3 men who pleaded guilty in April of the voter fraud.  The 3 men living temporarily in the swing state of Ohio voted at least twice, registering at both their temporary addresses as well as their permanent addresses in other states.

Voter fraud doesn't stop with ACORN, nor does it stop at individuals or timing conflicts with the mail.

Minnesota is still short one Senator 6 months after the November election due to mass confusion over which votes count and how precincts differ in handling ballots.  The state reports that over 4,000 uncounted ballots are still under scrutiny as incumbent Norm Coleman takes his case to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Gopher State is one of many left-leaning states that do not require preregistration, photo identification, or even be able to speak English in order to vote.

Ohio was showcased on many media outlets last fall as a swing state that could potentially host massive voter fraud.  Lou Dobbs reported last fall.

College students, illegal immigrants and those who have never registered before pose a large threat to a fair voting process in the United States.

In a small precinct in a Minnesota college town where only 1,900 people registered to vote, the potential for voter fraud was astounding.  1,588 ballots were counted including absentees.  More than 250 of those counted were new registrants.  An estimated 90% of those new registrants were college students living in a dorm on the local college campus.

Arguably, each one of those students living on campus have a permanent address in another precinct.  The only identification required for those students was that someone "vouch" for them, promising that the new registration was legitimate, so no documented proof of residency in the precinct was required.

If those students received an absentee ballot from their permanent address, they could quite easily vote twice.

In this precinct with a high concentration of democratic voters, the election judges and volunteers were more than willing to "help" voters by filling out forms for them, allowed voters to talk about candidates in the polling room and even allowed people to vote who came into the precinct with a registration card from another precinct.

In one instance, a woman clearly announced she was from another county, showed her registration card from the precinct at which she was supposed to vote and asked how she could vote at this location instead.  The election officials promptly handed her a new registration form and took the woman's mother's address as her residence.  The woman was handed a ballot and boasted on her way out of the polling booth how happy she was to vote for Obama.

In another blatant disregard for voting rules, students gathered in the parking lot after voting discussing which precinct they were going to "hit next."

If this small precinct of less than 2,000 voters had such obvious accounts of potential voter fraud, it is safe to assume that these practices were upheld all over the country.

Filmmaker John Zeigler released a documentary in February 2009 called Media Malpractice which depicts multiple counts of voter inpropriety.  On the film's website, Zeigler showcases voters who were proud to vote more than once for Obama.  In one case, a man says he voted 4 times.

It would be unfair to assume that all voter fraud was committed to support the Obama campaign.  Certainly there may be instances of voter fraud, duplicate voting or unlawful practices perpetrated by McCain supporters.  Those reports however are few and far between.  They don't typically coincide with ACORN voter fraud cases either.

At a quick glance, the numbers suggest that there is a legitimate case to be made that Obama may not have won the election in November by the landslide the mainstream media would have you believe.  The statistics reported here are documented incidents.  How many other cases have gone undocumented, uninvestigated or unproven?

Senator Edward Kennedy has been given credit for authoring the legislation, though he has been dealing with health issues for more than a year and had to be flown into Washington with extreme care to vote for the emergency stimulus earlier this year.

The Serve America Act is a call to "mandatory volunteerism" for Americans of all ages from high schoolers to baby boomers.  It is a call to action to "save our communities."  The act calls for feasability studies into "campuses" for volunteers to learn and to provide funding for uniforms.

Obama has spoken of his plan for a civilian militia as far back as last July when he spoke in Colorado Springs and the Serve America Act is the first step to making that militia a reality.

The act will be signed into law this afternoon at the SEED school of Washington where Senator Kennedy is expected to attend.  Said Obama in a press release:

"Because of this legislation, millions of Americans at all stages of their lives will have new opportunities to serve their country. From improving service learning in schools to creating an army of 250,000 Corps members a year dedicated to addressing our nation's toughest problems. From connecting working Americans to a variety of part-time service opportunities to better utilizing the skills and experience of our retirees and baby boomers."

Much of the wording in the original G.I.V.E. Act bill has been softened and the word "require" has been deleted in some cases, especially those involving middle school children receiving training to become volunteers.  The final bill does include a provision whereby those opposed to the legislation are prohibited from protesting, lobbying or organizing petitions against it.

The bill is clearly controversial in the United States with the blogasphere erupting in blogs both for and against the legislation.  Interestingly, U.S. neighbors to the north also weighed in on the debate.

The Canada Free Press wrote: "‘volunteerism that kept America running since the days of its founding' would be "wiped out with the stroke of a pen."

"It becomes forced labor and like the practice of another era, presses American citizens of all ages and creeds, unknowingly into military service. On paper, H.R. 1388 is the 'Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act'; the more innocuous sounding 'The Give Act,' for short."

Americans traditionally lead the world in true volunteerism and charitable giving.  America already has the 250,000 member strong volunteer group Americorps which will receive millions in funding from the recently passed $410 billion omnibus spending bill.  Why do we need another volunteer organization?

The signing of this bill will open the back door to allow President Obama to further take away the liberties and freedoms that Americans have fought to maintain for 200+ years.  It is exactly this type of legislation that has prompted so many citizens to attend TEA parties and get involved in politics in recent weeks.  And it will take decades to undo the damage once we are able elect a new administration, senate and house.

Hosts Wednesday night cocktail hour with friends and foes at the White House

Attended special concerts at the WH including Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire

Met the Jonas Brothers

Vacationed at Camp David

Visited Chicago and even squeezed in a pick-up-game of basketball

Hosted a Superbowl party where guests were served $100 steaks

Made an appearance on ESPN to choose his NCAA bracket

Appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he said he's "been practicing" bowling bringing his score up to 129

Traveled to California for press ops and townhall meetings seeking support for his budget

Accompanied elementary students for a chit-chat with astronauts

Met with the Boy Scouts of America

Appeared on 60 Minutes where he showed off the first swingset and laughed at the economy

Has spent time with his family including spring break and dates with Michelle

Obama has also been busy working in between practicing his bowling and catching the NCAA tournament.

Spoke at the joint sessions in March

Signed into law SCHIP and Stem Cell legislation, a $787 billion stimulus bill that no one has read in its entirety, an omnibus bill totaling more than $400 billion with nearly 9,000 earmarks and several executive orders

Wrote letter to former French president Jacques Chirac

Holds weekly Youtube addresses to the internet savy nation

Taken control of AIG, GM and others

Appointed nominees for cabinet posts and staff positions including the Treasury, HHS, Commerce, Secretary of State and others

Met with Prime Minister of England Gordon Brown (remember the gift fiasco)

Sent a Youtube video to Iran that was met with ridicule

Pre-empted regularly scheduled prime time programming 3 times

What Obama obviously hasn't had time for, and what he didn't learn in the 8 days he spent on Capitol Hill as a Senator, are the traditions, notions of respect, prestige and the properness expected by he who occupies the coveted office of the President of the United States of America.

In an AP article on Feb 5, a reporter describes how a very excited Obama broke from protocol just before his first trip on Marine One.  Apparently, he was so gitty about having his own helicopter that he forgot to salute the Marine at the foot of the stairs to the aircraft.  Instead, Obama extended his arm for a handshake.  The shocked Marine immediately returned to salute following the awkward moment.

This isn't Obama's first break from tradition in the last 60 days.  He gave his first interview as president to an Arab satelite television station.  Typically, the White House press corps has first dibs at the first official interview.

Obama doesn't understand the importance of the Marines and the respect they deserve.  In an unprecidented slap-in-the-face move, Obama has ditched the U.S. Marine Band and replaced them with a single piano player.  No longer will we hear the traditional "Hail to the Chief" when the president enters an event.  In its place we could hear pop, jazz or traditional music.  Obama's favorite so far has been Sting's Arab-themed "Desert Rose."

The dress code int he Oval Office has also been far more slack than Obama's predecessors.  According to reports, suit jackets are no longer required and rolled sleeves are the norm.  Being that Obama prefers the room temperature close to 80 degrees, rolled sleeves may be necessary, but even sweatpants have now made an appearance in the most prestigious office in the nation.

Obama recently declined an invitation to the Gridiron Banquet to spend some quality spring break time with his daughters.  Not since Grover Cleveland held office has a president not attended the extremely formal event.  The backlash from this may still be to come as the Gridiron Banquet is made up of prominent Washington elite including statesmen, columnists and bureau chiefs.  Reports have surfaced that some from the organization are not happy.  Telegraph UK spoke with a reporter from Chicago who said that people feel "miffed" that the invitation was snubbed.

Other traditions broken include removing the Winston Churchill bust from the White House, a gift from England and the refusal of a state dinner and dual press conference with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  Obama also starts his workday significantly later than in years past.  According to reports, he prefers to work out, eat breakfast with his family, read several newspapers and see his daughters off to school before he clocks in around 9am.  That is about 2 hours later than George W. Bush.

More disturbing than the changes in dress code or the hours of operation are the gravely significant changes in policy and the blatant disregard for the Constitution and the nation's free market system.

With the unions now running amock, campaign contributions and support more important than integrity and the downright disregard for the capitalistic set of laws set forth in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, the current administration has taken America on a path that is far from what her framers intended.

Then there's the stock market.  Since the inauguration, the Dow has slipped 2,000 points.  It had already fallen nearly 2,000 points since election day.  Analysts and news personalities hae weighed in saying:

"There's no confidence in Obama's plan.  The markets respond to data." - Sean Hannity

"The stock market is also demonstrating a lack of confidence in the president's big government agenda." - Lou Dobbs

It seem that every day there is another news story of how America is on the brink of total collapse if not for the Obama administration stepping in.  Every few days viewers are seeing the face of our cool and collected Commander in Chief on every cable news station, local news shows, late night comedy bits and daytime talk shows.  And every time the great one speaks, even when he says, "let me be clear," the markets tank.

A CNN poll this month suggested that Americans believe Obama is doing too much.  People were starting to get confused with his agenda, the markets were unsure of policies and on any given day, Obama could be holding a presser on anything from stem cell research to plans for a civilian militia.

Once the poll got out and other media outlets began reporting on the results, Team Obama changed strategy a bit and gave the president 3 things he was allowed to talk about - healthcare, energy and education.  Just before his press conference last Tuesday, I predicted that his answers would focus solely on those 3 things so that viewers could finally see a clear vision from their president.  There wer 13 questions asked.  Obama answered 11 of them with the big 3.

President Obama may have an ambitious agenda to save the world from annihilation due to greenhouse gasses, educate every child in the world to believe in the liberal, we-are-all-victims mantra, and to provide government-run healthcare to every resident (legal or not) of the United States, but I think it's time for a little time-out.

Why not take just a minute to reflect on what has been done for the last 2 months?  Why not evaluate the ethics, morals, standards and policies that have led us to the confused state we are in?  I propose, no... I beg of the president, take a few days off.  Give us all a chance to take in the poor hand you have dealt us.  Read a few of the bills you are signing into law and consider the consequences, not just the benefits for those with whom you owe favors.  Keep your promise to allow both lawmakers and citizens to evaluate bills being brought to your desk.  Give us the 5 days you promised.

The FDIC has given a negative review to a Massachusetts community bank with no delinquent loans or foreclosures on its books and no anticipated losses.  The "needs to improve" rating is a result of the bank being picky about lending, according to the FDIC's interest in the Community Reivestment Act.

Joseph Petrucelli, chief executive of East Bridgewater Savings since 1992, told the Boston Business Journal that his bank is "paranoid about credit quality."

Apparently that will get you a poor rating in the eyes of the FDIC.  The agency also faulted Petrucelli for not promoting the bank's loan products enough.  East Bridgewater Savings does not have a website and offers fixed rate mortgages.

In comparison to others in the lending business, EBS only made an average of 28 cents in loans per dollar deposited over the last five years while its banking competitors had a 90% average loan to deposit ratio, according to Fox News reports.  The bank also turned a profit last year of $87,000.

The rare "needs to improve" rating is a slap in the face to a bank that chose not to make risky loans at the strong suggestion of the federal government.  The Community Reinvestment Act is of 1977 is "intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound banking operations." as stated on the act's website.

The key words here are "consistent with safe and sound banking operations."  Petrucelli successfully navigated the banking collapse in this country by keep his bank safe and using sound banking procedures.  How is that worthy of a poor rating by the FDIC?

The CRA is a major part of why lending in this country is in such crisis.  In the late 1970's, U.S. banks began writing loans, and consequently writing off loans, to non-creditworthy customers as a result of the federal government strong-arming them into making poor business decisions.  The economic crisis that the Obama administration is so often pinning on former President George W. Bush has deep roots in the Carter years.  The practice of writing bad mortgages, loaning money to those who couldn't afford to pay it back, and catering to the whim of Congress is precisely why the American banking system is in trouble today.

A message to our corrupt politicians:  Leave our money alone.  Leave our businesses alone.  Stop punishing success.  Let capitalism work.

The $410 billion Omnibus Spending Bill is official, signed by President Obama earlier today.  Obama openly admitted the bill was "imperfect" but failed to stick to his campaign promise to eliminate earmarks and wasteful spending.

After a brief statement to the media, President Obama went behind closed doors to sign the bill without his typical dog and pony show.

In his first 50 days as president, Obama has been on TV more than any other person in the world.  According to CBS News, he has held 3 televised news conferences, had 4 televised meetings with foreign leaders, delivered 52 televised formal speeches and has had countless photo ops at the White House and beyond when signing bills and executive orders.

So why was Obama so camera shy today?  Could it be that he knows he is breaking a promise? Perhaps it is the sheer fact that he prefers that the so-called "last year's business" bill is brushed under the rug to be quickly forgotten.

Whatever the reason, part of Obama's press statement was directed at changing how things are done in the future with regards to earmarks and spending.

"The future demands that we operate in a different way than we have in the past," he said. "So let there be no doubt: this piece of legislation must mark an end to the old way of doing business, and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability that the American people have every right to expect and to demand."

There were plenty of earmarks to go around in the massive spending package with both democrat and republican at fault.  For more on where your tax dollars are being spent, visit Examiner here:  Minneapolis Conservative Examiner

Each and every project funded by the colossal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be "stamped" with a logo to remind the taxpayer exactly who is responsible for the deed.  At the Department of Transportation on March 2, Obama had this to say about the measure.

“We’re also making it easier for Americans to see what projects are being funded with their money as part of our recovery. So in the weeks to come, the signs denoting these projects are going to bear the new emblem of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Obama said.

Why won't Obama use the American Flag as an emblem? What does he have against using the symbols already in use for hundreds of years? And for those who still think we aren't turning into a communist country under the Obama regime, google Germany and the Communist Logo.  The hammer and sickle are on practically every building, every monument, every sidewalk in the country.  Most of them left over from Hitler.  Your tax dollars are going to produce millions of little advertisements for the Obama 2012 campaign.  Don't be surprised when he suggests that term limits are unfair because people love him OOOh so much.

In another installment of the the government spend-a-thon, Obama is likely to sign into law another $410 billion spending bill called the Omnibus.  It has over 8,500 congressional earmarks.  Some examples of your federal tax dollar expenditures include:

22 facilities or organizations in Pennsylvania receiving $24,000 each for abstinence education and related services

Amtrack (the failing and nearly bankrupt railway company) will receive $1.5 billion in addition to the Intercity Passenger Rail grants totaling $90 million

Formosan Subterranean Termites Research, New Orleans, LA  $6,623,000

Honey Bee Lab in Weslaco, TX  $1,762,000

Termite Species in Hawaii research, Gainesville, FL  $130,000

Swine odor and manure management research, Ames, IL

Wild Rice research, St. Paul, MN

Center for Grape Genetics, Geneva, NY  $2,192,000

Alternative uses for tobacco, MD $280,000

Childhood obesity and nutrition, VT $169,000

Cool season legume research, ID, ND, WA  $235,000

Improved fruit practices in Michigan, $147,000

Maple research in VT $155,000

Pierce's disease (a disease affecting grape vines) in CA  $1,531,000

Swine and other animal waste management in NC, $349,000

Wool research, MT, TX, WY  $206,000

Cotton research, TX  $1,730,000

Pasteurization of shell eggs in Michigan, $935,000

Childhood farm safety, Farm Safety Just for Kids, IA  $69,000

HI Brown tree snake management in Guam, $657,000

HI Rodent control, $162,000

Beaver management and control, MS  $443,000

UT Mormon crickets, $1,049,000

Tri-state predator control program, ID, MT, WY  $926,000

Income enhancement demonstration, OH  $864,000

American Museum of Natural History for public education and research, NY  $250,000

Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois heigh modernization $725,000

University of S. AL, oyster rehabilitation $800,000

Viginia Polytechnic Institute for horseshoe crab research, VA  $400,000

Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary for exhibits and telepresence technology, MI $500,000

City of Las Vegas for copper wire theft prevention  $400,000

Gulf Coast Science Exploreum (a museum in Mobile, AL) for educational exhibits  $500,000

Lakeview Museum of Arts and Lakeview Museum Planetarium in Peoria, IL  $250,000

WCA Metro Chicago economic empowerment program $122,821

There are 7 line items for the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration in Honolulu, HI for such projects as deploying 2 buoys, sea turtle research, education program for Hawaii's schools and others.  The total request is for several million dollars.

Republicans and democrats alike have provided certification letters to the Appropriations Committee requesting billions for earmarks and pet projects like those above, despite Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' repeated claims that there have been none.

The Omnibus bill is completely separate from the $787 economic stimulus package signed by the president one week ago, the housing crisis package forthcoming, the bank bailout and TARP funds, and the recently released 10 year budget blueprint which includes a $364 downpayment on universal healthcare.  Already in massive debt and in the midst of a global recession, the United States will need to raise taxes on the wealthy and businesses making more than $250,000 per year, according to the president's budget proposal.  Individuals, families and businesses that fall into the category of "wealthy Americans" will experience a tax increase of at least 4.5% of their income, a decrease in tax deductions for charitable giving and will no longer be allowed to deduct the interest from their mortgage on their tax returns.

Title VI. Legislative Procedure

39. (a.) Every bill and resolution filed shall be in a typewritten or printed form having no handwritten interlining or defacements of any kind, and drafted in a form prescrived by the Legislative Council.

The final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as voted upon by the Senate on February 14, 2009, was not in a legal format, as outlined in the Standing Rules of the Senate.  There were handwritten notes in the margins, underlined paragraphs, and many other defacements throughout the 1,071 page document.  In fact, the president had to postpone signing the bill until the aides were done typing it sometime today because it simply wasn't complete.

Also stated clearly in the Senate Rules in Title VI is the following.

53. (a) No committee or subcommittee, except the Committee on Rules and Legislative Procedure and the Committee on Ethics, shall meet, hear evidence, or take a vote on a bill or resolution assigned to the committee or subcommittee without at least 48 hours notice to the public.

Furthermore, on October 3, 2007, the Committee on Rules and Administration released a Dear Colleague Letter (essentially an informational letter to senators and their staff regarding rule changes and other business) requiring that conference reports must "be made available to Members and the public at least 48 hours before a vote is in order."

There are currently no public reports of legal action against the Senate for their failure to break their own rules.  President Obama is scheduled to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tomorrow in Denver.

To read the U.S. Senate Rules in their entirety, click here:  http://rules.senate.gov/senaterules/