White House Refuses To Release Photos

The White House is refusing to release the controversial photos of Air Force One flying over the Manhattan skyline last week that triggered panic among New Yorkers and an internal review in the Obama administration.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that there was no need to release them.  (After all, middle eastern terrorists won't benefit at all by the release of these photos.)

"I've watched CNN," he said, noting the considerable coverage from amateur footage. "I didn't notice a lack of archival material from that flight."

Last week, the Obama administration sent an Air Force One backup plane to fly over lower Manhattan to capture the presidential plane with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The public was not notified in advance that there was no cause for alarm.

Some New Yorkers were reminded of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, sparking chaos as employees evacuated office buildings and emergency call centers were inundated.

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The Pirate Problem

Defense officials said the U.S. military is considering attacks on Somali pirate bases on land and aid for the people there to help stop the hijacking of ships off Africa's coast, Bloomberg.com reported.

The plan would include helping Somalia create their own coast guard and train security forces, the officials, who requested anonymity, told Bloomberg.com.

Officials said the plan would be submitted to the Obama administration as they decide how best to tackle the increase in pirate attacks off the Somali coast.

The only way to make shipping routes safe from pirates would be to disrupt their support network on land, security analysts have said.

Any actions against the pirates, defense officials said, would require the support of the Somali people, who are usually not in favor of foreign intervention.

Frankly, I don't care what the Somali people want.  This is a country run by warlords with no structured government in place.  We must do what is in the best interest of the USA and the rest of the free world.

The pirates have promised to ratchet up violence against US flagged ships in a retaliatory effort against our actions.  I don't think they have thought this through very well.  Our military will be very resolute in quashing the dangers these thugs are causing.  Their only hope is that the administration holds back the military response in favor a a weaker response, perhaps involving the UN.

I must give credit to Obama and the administration.  Up to now, they seem to be taking the advice of the military in these kinds of matters.  Hopefully, that will continue.

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Two Constants

There appear to be only two constants in our ever-changing world. One is that Barack Obama is going to be on television every day forever. No venue is too strange. Soon, he’ll be on “Dancing With the Stars” (“And now, doing the Health Care, Energy and Education tango ...”) or delivering the weather report. (“Here we see a wave of systemic change, moving across the nation ...”)

The other immutable truth is that we always need to have somebody we can be really, really angry at. John McCain, George W. Bush, the House Republicans. The A.I.G. bonus-takers have pretty much worn out their 15 minutes. Someone will have to step up to the plate and take their turn.

I don't know for certain, but I suspect there must be a White House department for this.  Someone appointed to target the next distraction/villain to keep the public eye off of the economy and the administration.  Someone to distract us from the ever increasing federal deficit and national debt. Someone to make us forget that we went from a president who stumbled over his words, to one who stumbles over his thoughts without a tele-prompter.

I don't know who this person is, but if he really exists, I'm certain he's cheated on his taxes.

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Another Tax Cheat Nominee

This is getting old.  How many is it now?  Four?

It seems yet another would-be member of the Obama administration accidentally forgot to pay taxes.   It was revealed today that the husband of Secretary of Labor nominee Rep. Hilda Solis had 15 outstanding state and county tax liens totaling $7,630 against his automobile  business, some of them dating back over 16 years.

White House Spokesman Robert  Gibbs had this to say:. 

"The White House believes that if you owe taxes you should pay them." Robert Gibbs

I certainly hope that they do.

The couple is claiming ignorance of the outstanding liens.  

While I have little specific knowledge of the tax lien process in California, this doesn't pass the smell test.  Liens aren't usually imposed until there have been a series of notices asking for payment.  In addition, in our age of computerization the existence of unpaid taxes often effects an owner's ability to keep the business completely legitimate. That's because city, county and state agencies now readily share information about the unpaid taxes and may refuse to renew many licenses and certifications until shown proof that all applicable taxes have been paid.

During the Obama campaign, he promised not to include lobbyists in his adminsitration.  (A promise which he broke, but that's beside the point, at the moment.)  What he didn't tell us was that he would make as a requirement that anyone in his administration MUST be a tax cheat.  All this is very ironic, given that all the rest of us simple folk are going to be stuck with mammoth tax bills for years to come because of the Obama Porkulus Spending Package.

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