Prepare To Be Offended

Isn’t it interesting that the democrat party is always seen as the “party of the people”, always striving to help the little guy and the republican party is always seen as the party of the rich?

Then why is it that the democrat party is so full of rich people?

Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers received about $5.2 million over the past year in compensation from hedge fund D.E. Shaw, and also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees from major financial institutions.

A financial disclosure form released by the White House Friday afternoon shows that Mr. Summers made frequent appearances before Wall Street firms including J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. He also received significant income from Harvard University and from investments, the form shows.

In total, Mr. Summers made a total of about 40 speaking appearances to financial sector firms and other places, with fees totaling about $2.77 million. Fees ranged from $10,000 for a Yale University speech to $135,000 for an appearance paid for by Goldman Sachs & Co…

Imagine that. But wait there is more!

David Axelrod, the president’s top political advisor, reported in his form that he will get $3 million over the next five years from the sale of his two media consulting firms, ASK Public Strategies, LLC and AKP&D Message and Media. In addition, Mr. Axelrod took a salary of $896,776 last year from AKP&D and reported $651,914 in partnership income from the two companies.

In total, Mr. Axelrod reported assets valued between $6.9 million and $9.5 million. Mr. Axelrod’s clients were mostly political campaigns, including those of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He also reported receiving money from large corporations such as AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp. and the nuclear energy company Exelon Corp…

…Valerie Jarrett, assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs, lists a $300,000 salary and $550,000 in deferred compensation from The Habitat Executive Services, Inc., in Chicago.

Ms. Jarrett also disclosed payments of more than $346,000 for service on boards of directors that reflect her political ties, and work in Chicago real estate and community development.

She was paid $76,000 last year for service as a director of Navigant Consulting, Inc. a Chicago-based global consulting group with governmental clients. She received $146,600 for service on the board of USG Corporation, a building materials manufacturer, and $58,000 to serve on the board of Rreef American REIT II, a real estate investment trust based in San Francisco. The Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc., paid her $34,444 to serve on its board.

Deputy National Security Advisor Tom Donilon earned $3.9 million as a partner at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where his clients include Citigroup, Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Obama fundraiser and heiress Penny Pritzker.

Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, disclosed earnings of between $1 million and $5 million from lobbying firm Downey McGrath Group, Inc., where her husband, Thomas Downey, is a principal. She states $450,000 in “member distribution” income, plus retirement and other benefits from The Albright Group, a lobbying firm whose principals include former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

And yet this is the party that wants to soak the rich. Perhaps they are jealous, or just want power for themselves. Who knows, but I’m tired of hearing about the democrats being for the little guy. Bull Shit.

h/t Michelle Malkin

“With that comes an unprecedented obligation to do so wisely, free from politics and personal agendas,” the president said. “On this I will not compromise or tolerate any shortcut.”

Free from politics and personal agendas? Really? Like that 8 billion Reid Railroad? or the 30 million mouse for Pelosi?

There is more though:

“If a federal agency proposes a project that will waste that money, I will not hesitate to call them out on it, and put a stop to it,” Obama said.

Now we’re talking!! Maybe that Millionaire Mouse won’t make it now!

FNC had it right:

The president did not specify how, exactly, he would call out one of his administration’s own agencies or a local government.

This is unbelievable. Obama is actually telling people to live within their means while he is stealing their money, their kids money and probably their grandkids money.

h/t GatewayPundit

Not content with capping executives pay at $500k for companies that receive government funding, Barney wants to extend it to all companies regardless of if they get government help or not.

via HotAir:

Congress will consider legislation to extend some of the curbs on executive pay that now apply only to those banks receiving federal assistance, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.

“There’s deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Washington news conference today.

He said the compensation restrictions would apply to all financial institutions and might be extended to include all U.S. companies.

The provision will be part of a broader package that would likely give the Federal Reserve the authority to monitor systemic risk in the economy and to shut down financial institutions that face too much exposure, Mr. Frank said…

Mr. Geithner said he would consider “extending at least some of the TARP provisions and features of the $500,000 cap to U.S. companies generally.”

Nevermind the hatred that the public has for congress. Nevermind that BJ Barney helped get us into the mess we are in.

If the word gets out about this, expect to see companies jump overseas and massive amounts of money flowing into the Republican coffers.

Didn’t Obama say he didn’t want any earmarks in this stimulus package?

So much for that idea, this so-called stimulus package is full of garbage:

Here are some numbers/items (remember, all in the name of “saving jobs, and saving America’s economy”):

Page 41: The Coast Guard wants more than $572 million for “Acquisition, Construction, & Improvements” They claim these funds will create 1,235 new jobs. Crunch the numbers and this brings the cost of “creating” each job to a staggering $460,000+

Page 23: $200 million for Dep. of Defense to acquire alternative energy vehicles.

Page 32: $1.5 billion (with a “B”) for a “carbon-capturing contest”

Page 64: $3.5 billion for higher education facilities. This is ridiculous as I know in Georgia the Board of Regents has imposed a “temporary” (yea right!) $75 fee per student during this economic crisis. The funds from this per-student fee stays at the school and is used to offset current budget shortfalls.

We at AASU are starting construction on our new student center, all paid for by student fees. No tax money has been used during any process of this planning. How about asking other higher education institutions to do the same, or hold off on any renovations, additions, etc.?

What is especially funny though is that during today’s press conference before the vote, Robert Gibbs was asked repeatedly about all these little pork projects. Over and over again he kept saying that we shouldn’t worry about those things and focus on the bigger picture.

The $75 million for smoking cessation was brought up several times by reporters and one even asked why that money couldn’t be better used for helping people out instead of this pork. Same response: don’t worry about it.

Well, given that the GOP all voted against the bill in the house, they are definitely making a statement that this is solely on the democrats lap and they will fall with it. Unfortunately we still have to pick up the tab.

More wonderful “change” in this new administration. A tax cheat has just become head of the IRS. The hypocrisy here is damn funny to say the least. However, what I can’t wait for is the first person to sue the IRS and this as their defense. I can see it now…

Auditor: You owe us $50,000 in back taxes

Tax Payer: Oh? Tell that to your boss. It was a “careless mistake”.

Auditor: That doesn’t matter

Tax Payer: Tell that to your boss

Auditor: uh….

I forget which talk show she was on, but I remember Nancy Pelosi talking about how much more bipartisan things were going to be now that the democrats were in control. Is this what she meant?

From Connie Hair at Human Events via Gateway Pundit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.

Pelosi’s rule changes — which may be voted on today — will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich ’s “Contract with America.”

In reaction, the House Republican leadership is sending a letter today to Pelosi to object to changes to House Rules this week that would bar Republicans from offering alternative bills, amendments to Democrat bills or even the guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress. These procedural abuses, as outlined in the below letter obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, would also include the repeal of six-year limit for committee chairmen and other House Rules reform measures enacted in 1995 as part of the Contract with America.

After decades of Democrat control of the House of Representatives, gross abuses to the legislative process and several high-profile scandals contributed to an overwhelming Republican House Congressional landslide victory in 1994. Reforms to the House Rules as part of the Contract with America were designed to open up to public scrutiny what had become under this decades-long Democrat majority a dangerously secretive House legislative process. The Republican reform of the way the House did business included opening committee meetings to the public and media, making Congress actually subject to federal law, term limits for committee chairmen ending decades-long committee fiefdoms, truth in budgeting, elimination of the committee proxy vote, authorization of a House audit, specific requirements for blanket rules waivers, and guarantees to the then-Democrat minority party to offer amendments to pieces of legislation.

Pelosi’s proposed repeal of decades-long House accountability reforms exposes a tyrannical Democrat leadership poised to assemble legislation in secret, then goose-step it through Congress by the elimination of debate and amendment procedures as part of America’s governing legislative process.

Hopefully the word will spread about her plans and in a couple years the public will oust them like they did in 94.

If Obama wins, you can expect the so called fairness doctrine to make a come back. Of all things, Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer likens it to pornography, saying

“The very same people who don’t want the Fairness Doctrine want the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to limit pornography on the air,” Schumer said.

The really funny thing is what he told Fox News:

I think we should all be fair and balanced, don’t you?

REALLY???? And yet it is the democrats that can’t stand Fox News for its fair and balanced reporting while saying nothing of the MSM when they blatantly support them and their candidate.

What hypocrisy.