Cash for Clunkers ends again

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration plans to end the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program on Monday, giving car shoppers a few more days to take advantage of big government incentives.

The Transportation Department said Thursday the government will wind down the program on Monday at 8 p.m. EDT. Car buyers can receive rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models.

"It's been a thrill to be part of the best economic news story in America," Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "Now we are working toward an orderly wind down of this very popular program."

Through Thursday, auto dealers have made deals worth $1.9 billion and are on pace to exhaust the program's $3 billion in early September. The incentives have generated more than 457,000 vehicle sales. Administration officials said they have reviewed nearly 40 percent of the transactions and have already paid out $145 million to dealers....

I have always wondered about the true success of Cash for Clunkers. I think Washington was too quick to call this program a success without first checking for fraud. It just strikes me as funny that under this economy, with so many Americans fretting about their jobs, that so many of them would rush out and buy new cars with payment schedules no less.

Something tells me months from now we are going to hear that there was some big scam going on. I know if I owned a dealership I would have found Cash for Clunkers an excellent way to move new stock and rid myself of worthless trade-ins.

Here is what I would have done. I would have taken all my crumby trade-ins that were worth less than $4,500 and use them as clunkers to purchase some of my new inventory. I would have then taken those new cars I purchased and put them on the used car side with a hefty $3,000 to $4,000 discount off the sticker price. In doing so, I would have improved my used car inventory quality, rid myself of hard to sell clunkers and improved my new car sales figures by decreasing my new car inventory. Not to mention I would be picking up anywhere from $500 to $1,500 per car in the process.

Time will tell if there were real sales going on or if some enterprising individuals found a way to game the system. My money is on gaming the system.

Via Breitbart

Astroturfing Racism: The Tale of Two Videos.

I have to admit I wasn’t following the guy with the assault rifle story too closely. This is because I was willing to write the story off as liberal media hyperventilating over people exercising their 2^nd Amendment rights in an open carry state. Well today, I stopped to take a closer look and imagine my surprise when I found out the guy with the AR-15 was a conservative brother. Hey after black conservative Kenneth Gladney getting a beat down from SEIU thugs, I would be packin’ too!

Here is what I found to be really interesting. Over at Hot Air, they have a video of MSNBC stirring the racial pot. Take a look at this video:

Notice how they only focus on the weapon, but not the person carrying the weapon? Then immediately jump to images of white people in the crowd, giving the impression that the person carrying the rifle is a white guy.

Now take a look at this video I found on Booker Rising:

It turns out that the brother is a Ron Paul supporter who staged the whole thing for two libertarian groups. Now why is MSNBC deliberately stirring the racial pot? Why go though that whole anger and racism bullshit when they knew damn well the man with the rifle was black just like Obama? It is absolutely sickening that there are people out there who feel the need to keep pushing racial tensions. MSNBC, appears to really want racism to the reason why people are angry at Obama. Never mind that he has push our debt to dangerous levels, never mind that he hasn’t even tried to live up to the high standards he promised, never mind that he suckered us with the stimulus, nope for MSNBC the only reason to hate Obama is because we are all racists.

While some racism still exists in America, do we really need a cable station astroturfing more of it? Shame on you MSNBC!

h/t Hot Air

h/t Booker Rising

Sarah Palin: Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work: First Cars, Now Foreign Oil

Via: Sarah Palin's Facebook page

Today's Wall Street Journal contains some puzzling news for all Americans who are impacted by high energy prices and who share the goal of moving us toward energy independence.

For years, states rich with an abundance of oil and natural gas have been begging Washington, DC politicians for the right to develop their own natural resources on federal lands and off shore. Such development would mean good paying jobs here in the United States (with health benefits) and the resulting royalties and taxes would provide money for federal coffers that would potentially off-set the need for higher income taxes, reduce the federal debt and deficits, or even help fund a trillion dollar health care plan if one were so inclined to support such a plan.

So why is it that during these tough times, when we have great needs at home, the Obama White House is prepared to send more than two billion of your hard-earned tax dollars to Brazil so that the nation's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, can drill off shore and create jobs developing its own resources? That's all Americans want; but such rational energy development has been continually thwarted by rabid environmentalists, faceless bureaucrats and a seemingly endless parade of lawsuits aimed at shutting down new energy projects.

I'll speak for the talent I have personally witnessed on the oil fields in Alaska when I say no other country in the world has a stronger workforce than America, no other country in the world has better safety standards than America, and no other country in the world has stricter environmental standards than America. Come to Alaska to witness how oil and gas can be developed simultaneously with the preservation of our eco-system. America has the resources. We deserve the opportunity to develop our resources no less than the Brazilians. Millions of Americans know it is true: "Drill, baby, drill." Alaska is proof you can drill and develop, and preserve nature, with its magnificent caribou herds passing by the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), completely unaffected. One has to wonder if Obama is playing politics and perhaps refusing a "win" for some states just to play to the left with our money.

The new Gulf of Mexico lease sales tomorrow sound promising and perhaps will move some states in the right direction, but we all know that the extreme environmentalists who serve to block progress elsewhere, including in Alaska, continue to block opportunities. These environmentalists are putting our nation in peril and forcing us to rely on unstable and hostile foreign countries. Mr. Obama can stop the extreme tactics and exert proper government authority to encourage resource development and create jobs and health benefits in the U.S.; instead, he chooses to use American dollars in Brazil that will help to pay the salaries and benefits for Brazilians to drill for resources when the need and desire is great in America.

Buy American is a wonderful slogan, but you can't say in one breath that you want to strengthen our economy and stimulate it, and then in another ship our much-needed dollars to a nation desperate to drill while depriving us of the same opportunity.

- Sarah Palin

Going Nuclear: Dems to go it alone on health care.

WASHINGTON — Given hardening Republican opposition to congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance for the minority's cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans' purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month's congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair…

Obama and the Democrats are going to fashion the bill to their liking and the then go against the will of the people and pass the bill anyway they can.

Democrats have been wetting the bed for decades trying to bring socialized healthcare to the United States. Obama and the Democrats know that after the current uproar, the chances of ever socializing healthcare will forever be zero. This is their best, last and only chance to do it. Therefore they will risk everything.

It is highly unlikely they will get all 60 senators on board to stop a filibuster; therefore, they will go nuclear and use the reconciliation process.

Should the Democrats so willfully go against the clear objections of the majority of the people, we should consider our own nuclear option and repeal the 16^th Amendment! Without the ability to tax income, estates or gifts, the Fed would never be able to fund Obamacare, Cap and Trade, bailouts, welfare programs or stimulus plans. Much of what Washington does now would fall to the states and at that level; we the people have far greater control.

Rest In Peace: Robert Novak

“Always love your country — but never trust your government!"

“That should not be misunderstood. I certainly am not advocating civil disobedience, must less insurrection or rebellion. What I am advocating is to not expect too much from government and be wary of it power, even the power of a democratic government in a free country.

“Ours is one of the mildest, most benevolent governments in the world. But it too has the power to take your wealth and forfeit your life. ... A government that can give you everything can take everything away.” – Robert Novak

I am going to miss Robert Novak. When it comes to political opinion there are two voices I consistently trust, Novak’s and Karuthammer’s and always in that order. Rest in peace old friend, rest in peace.

AARP loses 60,000 members, let’s make it 600,000!

We have all known for a very long time that AARP is really another shill for progressive BS. However, since pretty much coming out of the closet to support ObamaCare, AARP is feeling the burn from its members. They have lost 60,000 members since July 1. I guess that nasty rep in the YouTube video did not help.

AARP says that losing 60,000 members is a mere spit in the bucket, really? I say lets see how they feel when they loose 600,000. Tell your parents and grandparents to check out American Seniors Association (ASA) instead and say bye-bye to the leftist AARP.

Via: CBSNews.com

Obama Joker Poster Artist found

Firas Alkhateeb is the artist behind the Obama as Joker image. While he is not the guy who added the caption “socialism”, he is the original creator of the image. Here are some interesting facts; Alkhateeb is a US born Palestinian, who lives in Chicago and would have liked Rep. Dennis Kucinich as president. I wonder now if Earl Ofari Hutchinson still finds it racist? Something tells me not any more.

Alkhateeb said he found a Photoshop tutorial online that tells how to “Jokerize” someone’s portrait. Humm, anyone know where I can find a high-resolution image of Nancy Pelosi?

Pressure Works!

Since the 2008 elections, the Republican Party has been completely neutered and still remains clueless on far too many issues. As a result We The People have to step up to the plate and become the strong voice of opposition to far too many Democrats that have embraced Socialism.

We started out slowly with flooding Congressional hot lines with our displeasure. We organized loud and visible Tea Parties. We escalated our Internet activities through social networks and blogging. We are now pouring into Town Hall meetings and venting our long suppressed anger at a Federal government run amok. In effect we are applying pressure to Washington like it has not been applied in a very long time and you know what? It working!

Eight months ago Barack Obama and the Democrats took control of Washington. They rammed through huge bailouts, a pork laden supplemental spending bill, an equally pork laden stimulus and passed a job killing cap and trade bill in the House. All this resulted in deficits the like we have never seen in this nation before. Despite the real danger of damaging our economy beyond repair with this kind of reckless spending, Obama and the Democrats are trying to push through even more irresponsible spending under the guise of Health Care reform. But they are meeting their match. We the people are awake, we are alarmed, best of all we are informed and we are pushing back hard against Obama and the Democrats.

Within the last week we are starting to see the results. The "Death Panel" provision is history as far as the Senate is concerned. The Obama administration is sending up trial balloons on dropping the Public Option from the health care bill. The totally un-American snitch site, flag@whitehouse.gov, is no more and the administration has had to admit to sending out unsolicited emails in an attempt to sell you on that crappy health care reform.

Pressure Works! The harder we press against Washington’s irresponsibility the more they have to come in line with our wishes. So push back, write your Congress member, attend a town hall, rally at a tea party, register friends and family to vote, blog and spread the word. Do not give Washington a minutes rest. It is time they start answering to us again, We The People of the United States of America!

Via: Politico Public Option

Via: Politico Snitch site

Via: Breitbart

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Drudge Report