Obama’s Lowlights (2/6/12)

Interest Rates – The Federal Reserve announced it is unlikely that they will increase interest rates before 2014.

Taxes – From the AP: President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies in the Senate promised Wednesday to press ahead this year with legislation drawn from his plans to require millionaires pay at least 30 percent in taxes and curb tax preferences for companies that ship jobs overseas. Also, A new report from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama's executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. Is this part of Obama’s fairness?

USDA – The Washington Post announced “School cafeterias will be serving more-nutritious meals with twice as many fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and less sodium and fat under new Department of Agriculture guidelines that will revamp the federally-backed school meals program for the first time in 15 years.”

Prison – From ABC News: A convicted murderer on death row in North Carolina wrote a taunting letter to his hometown newspaper about his life of "leisure" in prison and making a mockery of the legal system. Danny Robbie Hembree Jr. was found guilty of murdering 17-year-old Heather Catterton in 2009 and was sentenced to death on Nov. 18, 2011.

Florida Homeless – As reported by the Miami Herald, state legislators have unearthed an obscure law that has not been enforced since it was adopted in 1988. It states that any ballpark or stadium that receives taxpayer money shall serve as a homeless shelter on the dates that it is not in use.

Warren Buffet’s Secretary – Mrs. Bosanek was the center of attention (aka poster child) during Obama’s SOTU address for paying a higher tax rate then her billionaire boss. Forbes Magazine concluded that Bosanek made somewhere between 200 and 500 thousand dollars in 2009. Don’t you feel sorry for her?

Jan Brewer – The Arizona Governor and Obama got in a heated exchange on the Phoenix airport tarmac. Obama initiated the exchange and finished it by walking away to avoid discussing the stark differences between the administration and Arizona policy.

Hillary Clinton / Tim Geithner – Clinton will step down from her Secretary of State post and Geithner will step down from the head of the FED after this term.

Social Conservatives – “Research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.” I would really like to see this data!

North Carolina – Embattled Democratic governor Beverly Purdue will not seek reelection this year. Also, Democratic congressman Brad Miller will retire at the end of the year. Both of these vacancies are very winnable for the GOP come November.

Economy – 2011 was the worst year on record for new home sales and fourth quarter GDP only hit 2.8%.

Ener1 – The battery manufacturer is the latest “green” company to go belly up after receiving 118 million in stimulus funding from the Department of Energy.

Higher Education - President Barack Obama announced this past week a plan to shift some federal dollars away from colleges and universities that don't control tuition costs and new competitions in higher education to encourage efficiency as part of an effort to contain soaring college costs. It was exactly this type of federal interference in our grade school system that led directly to its decay and lack of global competitiveness.

Keystone Pipeline - A senior Democratic congressman (Henry Waxman) likened Republican lawmakers to terrorists this past week for their insistence on tying approval of construction of a new oil pipeline to must-pass legislation.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)