Senate Republicans report via Twitter that Timothy Geitner, the tax cheat nominated by Barack Hussein Obama, was confirmed 60-34.

The Washington Post reports.

Tim Geithner was confirmed as Treasury Secretary moments ago by the Senate by a vote of 60 to 34, making him the successor to Hank Paulson and the man charged with leading the U.S. out of a global recession.

Geithner was confirmed despite the embarrassment caused last week by his botched tax returns from 2001 – 2004.

Quick recap: While working at the International Monetary Fund, Geithner was audited in 2006 and found that he failed to play self-employment tax in 2003 and ’04. He immediately paid those taxes but did not go back to check his 2001 and ’02 returns, in which he had also not paid the self-employment tax. He did not pay those back taxes until confronted by President Obama’s vetting team last year.

The 60-34 margin was the closest since World War II, Bloomberg said.

SHAME: The following Republicans — there are ten of them — voted to confirm the tax crook:

1. Corker (R-TN)
2. Cornyn (R-TX)
3. Crapo (R-ID)
4. Ensign (R-NV)
5. Graham (R-SC)
6. Gregg (R-NH)
7. Hatch (R-UT)
8. Shelby (R-AL)
9. Snowe (R-ME)
10. Voinovich (R-OH)

Much was made over Comrade Obama being administered the oath a second time to remove any lingering doubt about whether or not he was legitimately installed as president.

This brings up an interesting question… If White House counsel Greg Craig felt taking the oath again was necessary to silence Obama critics by removing “any lingering doubt” why doesn’t Obama show us his real birth certificate, given the more significant and real doubts surrounding his legitimacy to be president?

Now steps onto the stage of world history a man apparently quite conscious that the Supreme Law of the United States prevents him from being president of the United States.

For why else would anyone hire lawyers and expend millions of dollars to avoid producing a $12.50 birth certificate to show eligibility under the Constitution? ‘Midst the rhythmic chants of a delirious, sycophantic media, inaugural splendor will substitute for simple proof that the United States of America will have a constitutionally legitimate president.

If Obama is not eligible, legally, the United States of America will have no president. A usurper will wield such power as few men have ever held, having no constitutional warrant. However beloved of the media or adored by racialist groupies, and irrespective of public support, Obama will be a tyrant, in the original sense of the word (from the Greek tyrannos meaning one who wields power to which he has no lawful claim). As he sends young soldiers to die, even the appearance of his usurpation of presidential powers will insult their sacrifice and thwart the Constitution they give their all to preserve. Even as he utters the oath – hand on Lincoln’s Bible – he will betray it, not upholding, protecting and defending the Constitution, but subverting it.

President Bush was never fully accepted as President by a number of left-wingers because they felt the election of 2000 was stolen. if Obama wants to silence those who question his legitimacy, all he has to do is show us the birth certificate. Otherwise these questions will remain and plague him for the next four years, and beyond, as one day someone will be able to uncover the truth, and if it its found that Obama was constitutionally ineligible to be president… well, who knows what the ramifications will be in that cirumstance?

That is what he will deserve to be called if his plan to close Gitmo goes through… as it has already been docmented that terrorists who have already managed to use our system to against us have rejoined al Qaeda.

The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order President Obama signed Thursday that the detention center be shut down within a year.

The militant, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States Embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September. He was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen.

His status was announced in an Internet statement by the militant group and was confirmed by an American counterterrorism official.

“They’re one and the same guy,” said the official, who insisted on anonymity because he was discussing an intelligence analysis. “He returned to Saudi Arabia in 2007, but his movements to Yemen remain unclear.” 

Bleeding hearts may treat examples like this and other examples with skepticism, but sadly, that is exactly what these terrorists want. It is the same thing with allegations of torture. It was reported a few years ago that al Qaeda’s strategy was to make false claims of torture… those claims would help them take advatage of the American court system, and of course the media.

An al Qaeda handbook preaches to operatives to level charges of torture once captured, a training regime that administration officials say explains some of the charges of abuse at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

[…]

A directive lists one mission as “spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy.”

If captured, the manual states, “At the beginning of the trial … the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by state security before the judge. Complain of mistreatment while in prison.”

American bleeding hearts have given credence to bogus claims of torture,  which has been the primary justification for closing Gitmo.

One has to wonder if part of al Qaeda’s strategy was to get sleeper cells in America to campaign for Barack Obama. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

UPDATE: Captain Ed explains how al-Shihri got released.

How did Shirhi get released?  He told the Gitmo tribunals that he only traveled to Iran and Afghanistan to get carpets for his family’s store.  The Pentagon’s dossier on Abu Sayyaf showed that he trained at a terrorist camp outside of Kabul, went to Iran to bring extremists into Afghanistan, and wanted to assassinate a writer on which a mullah had placed a fatwa for his writings.  Shihri was fortunate that his review came at a time when the Bush administration was getting enormous pressure to reduce the number of inmates at Gitmo, and Shihri went into the Saudi rehab program.  A year later, Shihri disappeared — and now he’s running the AQ network in Yemen.

So used to getting a free pass, Obama was clearly annoyed when he wasn’t given adoring praise from a Politco reporter:

President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question.

Asked how he could reconcile a strict ban on lobbyists in his administration with a Deputy Defense Secretary nominee who lobbied for Raytheon, Obama interrupted with a knowing smile on his face.

“Ahh, see,” he said, “I came down here to visit. See this is what happens. I can’t end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I’m going to get grilled every time I come down here.”

Pressed further by the Politico reporter about his Pentagon nominee, William J. Lynn III, Obama turned more serious, putting his hand on the reporter’s shoulder and staring him in the eye.

 “Alright, come on” he said, with obvious irritation in his voice. “We will be having a press conference at which time you can feel free to [ask] questions. Right now, I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys – that’s all I was trying to do.” 

He can’t even handle a simple question. How sad. And we got four years of him ducking questions ahead of before we get rid of him…

Boston Herald columnist Michael Graham reports on a disturbing video showing Obama supporters  pledging allegiance to him, not their country.

President Barack Obama has an unusual ability to bring out the best in his enemies and the worst in his friends.

Which is why former foe John McCain was leading the push for a Senate vote on Hillary Clinton as secretary of state; and why the most disturbing Obama video you’ll see this year was just posted by his biggest fans.

Demi Moore and her boy toy Ashton Kutcher have put together a YouTube video called “The Pledge,” in which a cast of celebrities and semi-celebs pledge their service to Obama.

Literally.

The video starts harmlessly enough, with Hollywoodies like Cameron Diaz, Laura Linney and the like making various innocuous pledges of good behavior. They range from the serious (“I pledge to promote mental health education”) to the silly (“I pledge to never give the finger while driving again”) to the slightly icky (Jason Bateman pledges to stop flushing the toilet after urinating. House guests, you’ve been warned).

So when rocker Anthony Kiedis says “I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama,” it seems humorously over the top.

But then Moore stares intently into the camera and announces “I pledge to be a servant to our president,” a pledge echoed by all the celebs who promise to become “the change that we seek.”

A pledge of allegiance to Obama? I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat or a Vegan Evangelical Anarchist – that’s just plain creepy.

It’s also odd coming from a group of people who’ve previously shown little enthusiasm for pledging allegiance to our flag, much less a previous president.

Creepy is an understatement. The aforementioned nut jobs are the worst of Obama’s supporters because they are not mativated by love of country. In fact, over the past eight years, they have been loud haters of this country. So,, it makes perfect sense that these Obamabots have pledged faithful service to Obama, not their country. 

Consider this litany: “I pledge to be a better mother. . . To be a great father. . . To consider myself an American, not an African-American. . . To always represent my country with pride. . . To care for America’s elderly. . . To meet my neighbors . . . To plant 500 trees this year,” and so on.

All this as part of a pledge to “serve my president.” Not, it should be noted, a pledge to serve their nation.

This isn’t patriotism. It’s Obama worship. Liberals who once mocked the idea of patriotism as “My country, right or wrong,” have long lived by the creed “My politics – or else.” That’s why the same celebs who never had a kind word about President Bush’s massive aid to Africa are ready to skip meals in support of Obama.

There is something truly odd, embarrassing even, about people who are only able to embrace an idea when it’s held by the right (or should I say “left”) candidates. Loving your country because of its president is like loving your kids as long as they keep a 3.0 in school.

Yes, yes; helping hungry people and being a better parent are good things. But weren’t they just as good a year ago? Eight years ago? Did Eva Longoria really have to wait post-Bush to plant those 500 trees? Had Karl Rove stolen her shovel?

This disgusting blind allegiance to America’s Narcissist-In-Chief is disturbing for a number of reasons. Mainly because their blind worship of him will make them unwilling to discern Obama’s failures from his successes. They simply won’t admit it the times he fails. It is natural that they will give him the benefit of the doubt, but even President Bush’s supporters were more than willing to call him out when they felt he did wrong. Today, I am not so sure that Obama’s hardcore supporters will ever disapprove of what he does. And that makes Obama very dangerous. When his actions fail to meet his rhetoric, will they see Obama as another politician, or continue to look at him as a god who was merely thwarted by a devil?

Obama is an imperfect person, as is everyone. If his supporters think he is bigger than the office he holds, and their only motivation to do what they think is right is having their chosen candidate in power then they are the polar opposite of patriots. They will act like they love this country for four years, and when someone else is elected they will hate it again.

I expect Timothy Geithner to get all or most of the Democrat Party votes, so his confirmation as Treasury secretary is inevitable, as Democrats don’t need a single Republican vote to confirm him… but if any Republican votes for this crook, I’ll be very upset.

Timothy Geithner, President Barack Obama’s pick for Treasury secretary, told lawmakers that “substantial” and “dramatic” action will be needed to resolve the financial crisis but said the Obama administration was still determining how best to tackle the problem.

 

At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Mr. Geithner also apologized for failing to pay some past employment taxes, saying he made careless but unintentional mistakes and corrected the errors. 

[…]

While his tax problems are unlikely to derail his confirmation, Mr. Geithner faced some uncomfortable questions over why he failed to pay more than $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes over several years while working at the International Monetary Fund.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) called it “incomprehensible” that Mr. Geithner didn’t realize he needed to pay employment taxes. He also questioned why Mr. Geithner took so long to correct the problem for tax years 2001 and 2002. The payroll-tax errors were discovered during a 2006 Internal Revenue Service audit of Mr. Geithner’s taxes, and he paid what he owed for 2003 and 2004. But Mr. Geithner didn’t pay the Social Security and Medicare tax he owed for 2001 and 2002 until after Mr. Obama indicated in the fall that he planned to nominate him as Treasury secretary.

“I regret having not done that sooner,” Mr. Geithner said. “If I thought about it more, maybe I would have come to it sooner. I did not believe when I settled that audit that I had an obligation to go back. I had not thought about it in the intervening years.”

$34,000 in unpaid taxes is not an “honest mistake.” Anyone who votes to confirm Geithner ought to be ashamed.

I guess yesterday truly was historic:

U.S. stocks sank, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst Inauguration Day decline, as speculation banks must raise more capital sent financial shares to an almost 14-year low.

State Street Corp., the largest money manager for institutions, tumbled 59 percent after unrealized bond losses almost doubled. Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. slumped more than 23 percent on an analyst’s prediction that they’ll need to take steps to shore up their balance sheets. The Dow’s 4 percent slide was the most on an Inauguration Day in the measure’s 112-year history, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and the Stock Trader’s Almanac.

So let’s tink about this…

Stocks plunged after Obama was elected. Stocks plunged on Obama’s inauguration. It is said that tho stock market is forward looking… Obviously they see bad times ahead under Comrade Obama.

HAT TIP: @jimmiebjr

Check out this site. You can thank President Bush for his great leadership and service to our country.

Or, 83% aren’t paying attention.

Well, at least, that is the only explanation I can come up with to explain why they approve of the way Obama has handled his horribly botched transition.

President-elect Barack Obama receives a remarkably high 83% approval rating for the way in which he has handled the presidential transition, significantly higher than the approval level for either of his immediate predecessors just before they first took office.

A whopping 45% rate Obama’s appointments as above average or outstanding.

It is clear to me, and I have been paying attention, that this transition has demonstrated Barack Obama’s incompetence, lack of judgment, and lack of transparency.

Let’s just take a look at the facts.

• Obama has poorly handled the scandal surrounding his former seat being sold to the highest bidder by Rod Blagojevich, raising many questions about his transition teams involvement.
• Obama’s chief-of-staff pick, Rahm Emanuel, reportedly had conversations with Blagojevich about the seat.
• Obama selected Bill Richardson as his Commerce secretary. who had to withdraw due to a pay-to-play investigation in his state.
• Obama selected Eric Holder as his attorney general, despite his involvement in the Clinton pardon scandal of 2001
• Hillary Clinton, chosen to be Obama’s secretary of state, has apparently aided donors to Bill’s foundation with federal dollars. And let’s face it, despite Clinton nearly winning the Democratic nomination, the Clintons have a huge amount of baggage.
• Obama picked a socialist to be his “climate change czar.”
• Obama’s pick for Treasury secretary failed to pay $34,000 in taxes over 4 years. The Obama transition team was aware of this, and kept it quiet.

And yet, 83% approve of how he has handled the transition?

This makes me real nervous about the things Obama will get away with over the next four years.

With an hour to go before Bush gives his farewell address to the nation, I have resurrected the old Blogs For Bush logo in honor of a true patriot who has faithfully served this country these past 8 years.

As our readers here way know, Blogs for Victory began as Blogs for Bush back in November 2003. We worked tirelessly to unite bloggers who supported Bush’s reelection campaign. In the end, me built a community of 1500 blogs, and eve more blog readers. Blogs For Bush was one of the most popular political blogs of the 2004 campaign. Four years ago, I attending his second inauguration. I can’t say I agreed with everything President Bush did, but I am grateful he was the president these past eight years.

It is too bad more don’t appreciate what he has done to protect this country… but before the next four years are up, they will.

I will have more to say after Bush speaks.

UPDATE: Special radio show on Bush’s farewell…

NOTE: The Blogs For Bush logo will remain on this site, in tribute to President Bush, until January 21, 2009

UPDATE: Bush’s prepared remarks… Continue reading →