ForumGarden

Do you remember Joe Plumber and the uproar about his tax's?

The liberals were all over it like flies on $hitt....Right?

Well Ol Obama wants to put a tax evader ( Timothy Geithner ) as the Treasury secretary.

That would put him over the IRS.........

Where is the outrage from those same liberals?



Here's a man who, when he worked for the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2004, was repeatedly told he would have to pay his own Social Security and Medicare taxes. He did submit a routine and legitimate request to the IMF to cover those taxes. Incredibly, he didn't pay the $34,000 to the IRS.



After the IRS audited him in 2006, Geithner made back-payments for 2003 and 2004. He didn't correct his 2001 and 2002 errors until after Obama picked him for Treasury.



Then there is my GREAT New Mexico Gov., Bill Richardson, who withdrew as commerce secretary-designate



Grand Jury Investigation into Richardson Donor Heats Up | 44 ...



Richardson Administration Hit by Another Allegation - WSJ.com





This is of note too,



Obama got big contribution from ...

One of the key figures in the pay-for-play scandal that derailed Bill Richardson ’s appointment to Barack Obama’s Cabinet also has connections to Obama









Team Obama's injury list



January 16, 2009 Barack Obama takes office Tuesday with a mandate to improve the economy. But he'll have to start his new gig without a Treasury secretary. His nominee, Timothy Geithner, has yet to be scrutinized by a U.S. Senate that needs to ask tough questions. Such as: Sir, how can you urge Americans to do right by the Internal Revenue Service you would oversee, given that you didn't pay more than $34,000 in payroll taxes just a few years ago?



The more details we learn about Geithner's taxes, the more we question the wisdom of appointing him to such a crucial post. His qualifications for the job—and his popularity among Capitol Hill Democrats and Republicans—are high. But with each new disclosure, it's a lengthening stretch to dismiss his tax-form omissions as mere mistakes.



Geithner's predicament raises a larger question as well: In its rush to name an all-star Cabinet, did Team Obama make too many allowances for too many people? Was the vetting process rigorous enough—or did someone neglect to fully explore the vulnerabilities of the candidates for these important jobs? The Geithner conundrum accompanies four other embarrassing episodes:



• On Jan. 4, Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew as commerce secretary-designate because of a grand jury investigation in his home state of New Mexico. The evident question is whether a prominent businessman and donor to Richardson and Obama got favored status from Richardson's office in competing for work as a state financial adviser. The FBI's investigation of the matter has been the subject of news reports since August.









• On Wednesday the Senate Commerce Committee announced, just before meeting to consider the nomination of Illinois' Ray LaHood as secretary of transportation, that the hearing would be postponed at least until next week. The Washington Post reported that LaHood, who retired from the U.S. House last month, "has close ties to a Republican power broker, William F. Cellini Sr., who was indicted in the pay-to-play scandal that also led to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's recent arrest. . . ." The Post's account noted that Obama's transition team has become increasingly anxious about the backgrounds of its Cabinet nominees.



• Hillary Clinton appears to be sailing toward Senate confirmation as secretary of state despite her husband's disclosure that, since leaving office, he has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars for his foundation—some of it from scoundrels overseas. Will some of those donors now expect favors from the U.S. government in return? We'll see. We do know that Hillary Clinton will spend her time as this nation's chief foreign officer with that question hanging over her.



• Republicans displayed no eagerness Thursday to dwell on questions about Atty. Gen.-designate Eric Holder and his role in the pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich and sentence commutations of 16 Puerto Rican terrorists during President Bill Clinton's second term. Would Holder, who at the very least helped Clinton play politics with pardons, stand up to President Obama when the need arises?



But there's a lesson: Better to discuss a nominee's vulnerabilities when he or she is named—and not to wind up trying to extinguish fires in the final days before an inauguration. Obama's people told at least some of Geithner's woes to Senate staffers. Why didn't Team Obama also tell the rest of us

Another interesting pick................



Exposed: The Secret Animal Rights Agenda Of America’s Next Regulatory Czar

1/15/09





Barack Obama’s pick for “regulatory czar, Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein, may be the incoming president’s most popular appointment so far. Judging from his resume -- best-selling author, “pre-eminent legal scholar of our time, and an endorsement from The Wall Street Journal -- we can almost understand why. Almost. Because as we’re telling the media today, there’s one troubling portion of the new Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator’s C.V. that has seems to have flown under everyone’s radar: Cass Sunstein is a radical animal rights activist.



Don’t believe us? Sunstein has made no secret of his devotion to the cause of establishing legal “rights for livestock, wildlife, and pets. “[T]here should be extensive regulation of the use of animals in entertainment, scientific experiments, and agriculture, Sunstein wrote in a 2002 working paper while at the University of Chicago Law school.



“Extensive regulation of the use of animals. That's PETA-speak for using government to get everything PETA and the Humane Society of the United States can't get through gentle pressure or not-so-gentle coercion. Not exactly the kind of thing American ranchers, restaurateurs, hunters, and biomedical researchers (to say nothing of ordinary consumers) would like to hear from their next “regulatory czar.



A version of the same paper also appeared as the introduction to Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions, a 2004 book that Sunstein co-edited with then-girlfriend Martha Nussbaum. In that book, Sunstein set out an ambitious plan to give animals the legal “right to file lawsuits. We're not joking:

“[A]nimals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives, to prevent violations of current law ¦ Any animals that are entitled to bring suit would be represented by (human) counsel, who would owe guardian like obligations and make decisions, subject to those obligations, on their clients’ behalf.



It doesn't end there. Sunstein delivered a keynote speech at Harvard University’s 2007 “Facing Animals conference. (Click here to watch the video; his speech starts around 39:00.) Keep in mind that as OIRA Administrator, Sunstein will have the political authority to implement a massive federal government overhaul. Consider this tidbit:

“We ought to ban hunting, I suggest, if there isn’t a purpose other than sport and fun. That should be against the law. It’s time now.



Sunstein also argued in favor of “eliminating current practices such as greyhound racing, cosmetic testing, and meat eating, most controversially.





He concluded his Harvard speech by expressing his “more ambitious animating concern that the current treatment of livestock and other animals should be considered “a form of unconscionable barbarity not the same as, but in many ways morally akin to, slavery and mass extermination of human beings. Sound familiar?





As the individual about to assume “the most important position that Americans know nothing about, Sunstein owes the public an honest appraisal of his animal rights goals before taking office. Will the next four years be a dream-come-true for anti-meat, anti-hunting, and anti-everything-else radicals? Time will tell. For now, meat lovers might want to stock their freezers.

JAB;1111649 wrote: C'mon BTS, Geitner's was an honest mistake. :rolleyes:


That's what will be used, next time some one makes a tax mistake.............

JAB;1111668 wrote: Methinks Obama's team needs a bit more help in the vetting process.

We have Geitner here.

We have Panetta, with no experience in intelligence, slated to head up the CIA.

We have Schapiro, the new nominee for the head of the SEC who is known for her light touch on regulation.

Yup, we're 3 for 3 here.


At least you got Kennedy, Clinton and Biden :-6:-6:-6

oscar;1111724 wrote: At least you got Kennedy, Clinton and Biden :-6:-6:-6


You were supposed to cheer us up, Oscar.....................:rolleyes:

They rolled through Baltimore about an hour ago, I did not go down in the freezing cold to see them. But I heard there was crowd there, and in Delaware too, saw that on the set at the gym.

It is like I said to Nomad from the beginning, he has not impressed me yet. I am still waiting........so life will go on as well as possible, in the cold chill of Baltimore. (ghads, it is cold here today!)

But my students will watch everything they can on Tuesday-if the school will provide me with a TV set, if you can believe that! I will probably have to tote in one of my kids sets-no regular TV, no cable TV, and the internet sites are blocked at school. That is modern education for you...........(I would hate to think as the lone Republican teacher in the school, my students would not have access, where it is almost mandated all over the state, my, my, what politics will do....)

chonsigirl;1111764 wrote: You were supposed to cheer us up, Oscar.....................:rolleyes:

They rolled through Baltimore about an hour ago, I did not go down in the freezing cold to see them. But I heard there was crowd there, and in Delaware too, saw that on the set at the gym.

It is like I said to Nomad from the beginning, he has not impressed me yet. I am still waiting........so life will go on as well as possible, in the cold chill of Baltimore. (ghads, it is cold here today!)

But my students will watch everything they can on Tuesday-if the school will provide me with a TV set, if you can believe that! I will probably have to tote in one of my kids sets-no regular TV, no cable TV, and the internet sites are blocked at school. That is modern education for you...........(I would hate to think as the lone Republican teacher in the school, my students would not have access, where it is almost mandated all over the state, my, my, what politics will do....)


We are getting a lot of press reports about the inaugaration. It looks very exciting even the detailed pics of Obama's armour plated car he needs. They estimate it will be the biggest event since Kennedy.

At least here in Britain, i have been told that the kids will be able to watch in schools. All our class-rooms have tv's and pc's. That's the brilliant education system under Gordon Brown for you!! He has recently pledged that every house-hold on benifit in the country will recieve a one off payment of £200 to install a pc for their child to help in education. :-6:-6:-6

That is a very nice thing for the kids to get a PC.

The inauguration looks very nice, I have all the details for that to talk about in class. I also pulled Lincoln's inaugural address to compare with Obama's, I hope there will be an outline on Monday night so I can copy it to take in Tuesday morning.

Some counties here in Maryland have it set up so kids can watch it-I am assigned all social studies classes to teach next week-a nice change. (1/2 the kids are going to camp, in the snow!) But I think they should see it in the afternoon when it is live, to lead to a discussion the following day.

The crowd estimates-I think they are large right now, hard to tell. To be honest, the weather will play a part of it, it is cold down there too. There are so many things restricted that the people cannot take in-no chairs, no backbacks, etc. The mass transportation is hiking the prices $10 a trip, not outrageous, but they shouldn't do that. There is a very nice program set up-Yo Yo Ma and Perlman are playing, John Williams, Navy band and two choirs from California.

JAB;1111816 wrote: Politics aside, it is a cool thing to see any of the inaugeration events. Back when Bush was elected for his first term, I was working for the BBC here in DC. One of our British managers lived in an apt. on Pennsylvania Ave along the inaugeration parade route. He invited the whole lot of us to his place for a ringside seat to the whole affair. Everyone of us - British/American, Democrat/Republican/Independant - thought it was a momentous occasion. I don't always agree with the one we put in office but I unfailingly respect The Office of the President of the United States.


Biden would do very very well here in Britain. He's well like by the government and respected. Caroline kennedy is a sore point to some after her grandfather openly favoured Hitler to Churchill during the war when he was Embassador to Great Britain. Hilary is also well respected here.

You were so lucky. It matters not who the President Elect was, it's a moment in history to be able to say 'I was there'.

My husband very much wanted to go to to the route taken for Diana's funeral procession but you would not have got near it unless you camped out.

I saw Diana at the Olympics, at the dressage. I always rememebr that.

Well, we shall see what happens. Hilary is not liked by all. I do think that is a blunder on Obama's part to give her a position, I hope he does not regret it later on. Out of the 3, I would prefer Biden.

chonsigirl;1111881 wrote: I saw Diana at the Olympics, at the dressage. I always rememebr that.

Well, we shall see what happens. Hilary is not liked by all. I do think that is a blunder on Obama's part to give her a position, I hope he does not regret it later on. Out of the 3, I would prefer Biden.


Biden has the maturity and experience to steer Obama... If he listens to him :(

JAB;1111932 wrote: For Obama to proclaim "change" as he so often did in his campaign, and to then select a Washington longtime insider, does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling on his ability to keep his promises. To this point, Biden has been most know for plaigerism and his own failed attempts to the Presidency. We shall see...


I know of the plaigerism. Unfortunately for Biden, one of the speeches he took word for word came from one of our own most famous failed Labour politicians 'Neil Kinnock'.

Trust me, to steal a 'Kinnock' speech is pretty dumb :yh_rotfl

Obama has indeed taken on some old familiar faces dispite 'The Change' pledge.

I have said from way before the election that i expect great dissapointment in Obama. The problems he faces with the economy and foriegn policy are way way over what any other President Elect has had to face. :(

Then we shall wish him good luck, and all due respect.

Maybe some of the Raven's luck rubbed off of him while in Baltimore.......

Forum Garden is a big forum. I don't know the percentage of Americans in this forum, but it has to be large. In the recent Presidential election, Mr Barack Obama was elected by a landslide. That means, the majority of Americans support him, want him to be the President. And yet almost all the threads on American politics in general in here, and on Mr Obama in particular, are very negative, or even hate-filled. The lukewarm comments of a few Americans in this thread seem to be the height anyone is prepared to go in the forum in support of the popular candidate, to be sworn on Tuesday into the highest office in the land, amid much razzamatazz and general rejoicing everywhere else. Why is Forum Garden so unrepresentative of the joy that other Americans seem to be experiencing, and the hope so many people seem to have??? Cynicism may come later on, but why not joy now?????



One perplexed foreigner.

Pammie, I think everyone has respect for the position Mr. Obama was elected to. While many do not agree with his policies-it was over a third of the country in voting-that is a large number. You sit here and watch his selection of cabinet members-some are good choices, some are unknown, some you know are not wise. We do not have the same views on that as other countries, who look at at a different perspective. Not right or wrong, just different.

So cynicism is part of the system, or else there would not be multiple parties. Joy-I wish him good luck. It will be nice for a change, and I think it will very nice for there to be young people in the White House once again. Mrs. Obama has a good agenda, I will want to see how that is put into place.

It is no more perplexing than any unknown-I can only state my opinion. And for once, on this thread we were able to voice our opinions without being trampled on. (which has fortunately not been evident the last few days) I think our comments were pretty nice. Times are hard here, and worsening. So I do hope he has a plan in place, because what we have heard is not reassuring enough for many of us.

AussiePam;1112068 wrote: Forum Garden is a big forum. I don't know the percentage of Americans in this forum, but it has to be large. In the recent Presidential election, Mr Barack Obama was elected by a landslide. That means, the majority of Americans support him, want him to be the President. And yet almost all the threads on American politics in general in here, and on Mr Obama in particular, are very negative, or even hate-filled. The lukewarm comments of a few Americans in this thread seem to be the height anyone is prepared to go in the forum in support of the popular candidate, to be sworn on Tuesday into the highest office in the land, amid much razzamatazz and general rejoicing everywhere else. Why is Forum Garden so unrepresentative of the joy that other Americans seem to be experiencing, and the hope so many people seem to have??? Cynicism may come later on, but why not joy now?????





One perplexed foreigner.


Ok.........Landslide it is If you must..............BUTTTT

52% of popular vote is NOT a landslide in my book.



Does this look like a LANDSLIDE to you?



2008-Election results by county



Here is a map of US counties, colored red (Republican) and blue (Democrat) to indicate Republican and Democratic majorities respectively:





Looks AWFULL red from here.



One Perplexed Non-foreigner

Looks AWFULL red from here.


That's how it looks. But some commentator over here explained that many red states are largely empty space and if you show the size of the state by population not square miles the map looks a lot bluer (as well as showing a really weird shaped USA!). It sounded pretty convincing from this side of the pond.

Clodhopper;1121206 wrote: That's how it looks. But some commentator over here explained that many red states are largely empty space and if you show the size of the state by population not square miles the map looks a lot bluer (as well as showing a really weird shaped USA!). It sounded pretty convincing from this side of the pond.




Yah Clod, that might be so.

But the back bone of America is it's rural communities (Farmers,Ranchers etc...) and they are getting disenfranchised. (and have been)



If you want to call the red areas empty, fine, but that empty area you suppose supplies that (blue) inner-city with their food etc...... My original point was that 52% is not a landslide and with this picture it kinda shows that point.

Maybe not?

I'd agree 52% is hard to see as a landslide!

I just wanted to point out that your map shows a vast amount more red than blue, but this reflects the size of the states, not the population.

Agreed too, that the empty red bits provide food for the cities - and indeed, us in Britain - but this doesn't mean rural voters should have more rights than urban ones. Does it?

Clodhopper;1121221 wrote: I'd agree 52% is hard to see as a landslide!



I just wanted to point out that your map shows a vast amount more red than blue, but this reflects the size of the states, not the population.



Agreed too, that the empty red bits provide food for the cities - and indeed, us in Britain - but this doesn't mean rural voters should have more rights than urban ones. Does it?


Nope, we shouldn't but then again we should be represented TOO.

Our rights are being taken away as in "LAND GRABS" by the government and NGO's.

Those RED states are referred to as "Fly-By States" because they (politicians) fly from the east to the west coast and visa verse and that's about as close as they EVER get except for our larger inner cities where the votes are. They regulate us from afar without a clue to what is what.



America wants $2.00 a pound hamburger but then stiffel the farmers and ranchers right and left.

If youare interested I will show....

Yes - I would be interested. But right now I'm six hours away from a blind date (see other thread) and in consequence brain is transforming into cream cheese.

In effect, I'd be unlikely to do your argument justice at this moment. By all means post and I will read, but I won't reply until tomorrow.

Disenfranchisement - or at least the sense of it = big prob both sides of the pond.

Clodhopper;1121227 wrote: Yes - I would be interested. But right now I'm six hours away from a blind date (see other thread) and in consequence brain is transforming into cream cheese.



In effect, I'd be unlikely to do your argument justice at this moment. By all means post and I will read, but I won't reply until tomorrow.



Disenfranchisement - or at least the sense of it = big prob both sides of the pond.






You got got it Clod...............

I will be back on tomorrow too..........

No blind date here.........Just going blind........:sneaky::sneaky:



PS: Good Luck......and PLEASE behave I don't want no bad reports...........K?

Hokay, BTS - shoot.

yeah, it definitely wasn't a landslide. You can't "forget" that 48 percent of people didn't vote for him.:-2

And, I haven't seen anything bad said about the guy, most people are saying let's wait and see what happens. Nothing wrong with that. We'll leave the couch jumping to the rest of you. :p :wah:

"Ah Change"









The Young TurksTom Daschle withdraws cabinet nomination amidst tax scandal

The tax scandal, moreover, was only the tip of the iceberg, and more scandals threatened to break out if the nomination continued. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Daschle “could face questions about his finances, including travel and entertainment provided to him by EduCap Inc., a nonprofit student-loan company whose business has been under scrutiny by the IRS and the Senate Finance Committee. Among the services Daschle received from EduCap were at least two trips on the company’s private jet, including one to the Bahamas and the other to the Middle East.

EduCap faced an IRS probe because the lavish spending on perks by the company’s top executives, including a corporate jet, raised questions about its nonprofit status.

Daschle is only the latest in a string of nominees to face charges of tax evasion or corruption. Hours before the announcement from Daschle on Tuesday, Obama’s selection to occupy the newly created post of chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer, also withdrew her name over unpaid taxes, albeit a much smaller amount. Obama created the post that Killefer was to fill in order to signal his commitment to fiscal austerity and budget cutting.

Bill Richardson, Obama’s first choice for commerce secretary, withdrew last month amid a grand jury investigation into his potentially corrupt relations with a state contractor and financial contributor. Obama announced his new selection, Republican Senator Judd Gregg, on Tuesday.

Other selections have faced scandals or conflict of interest charges but have been able to gain Senate confirmation. While Daschle was in the end dispensable, Obama’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, was not. Geithner failed to pay payroll taxes over a four-year period, but was approved to head a department that includes the Internal Revenue Service, responsible for tax collection.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009





Kirk, Obama's trade pick, owed taxes





The string of President Obama's Cabinet nominees with tax problems reached five Monday as a Senate committee revealed that his nominee for U.S. trade representative has nearly $10,000 in unpaid taxes.

Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, has agreed to pay around $9,975 in back taxes from 2005 to 2007, the Senate Finance Committee said.

Much of the unpaid taxes came from speaking fees Mr. Kirk had failed to report because he had donated the honorarium to his alma mater, Austin College, and from tickets to professional basketball games that he had deducted as professional entertainment expenses.

The White House, however, is "confident that Mayor Kirk will be confirmed," said spokesman Ben LaBolt.



"The mayor is working with the Finance Committee on a few minor issues, mostly relating to a scholarship fund he set up at his alma mater, Austin College," Mr. LaBolt said. "The nomination is on track. The committee has scheduled a hearing for next Monday."

This is the fifth time that an Obama nominee has come under scrutiny for tax problems. Mr. Obama's Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, paid $34,000 in back taxes but was still confirmed because lawmakers said his position was too important to be left unfilled in time of an economic crisis.

News of Mr. Kirk's problems came to light on the same day that Mr. Obama formally appointed Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Obama´s first choice, former Sen. Tom Daschle, withdrew when it came to light that he had paid $128,000 in back taxes only after being nominated.



The same day Mr. Daschle dropped out, chief federal government performance office nominee Nancy Killefer also resigned because of a $946.69 lien against her home filed by the D.C. government because she had not paid unemployment-insurance taxes for a household employee.

Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis was confirmed only after lawmakers looked closely at her husband's payment of more than $6,000 to settle outstanding liens against his business.



On Monday, Mr. Obama simultaneously named a new White House health czar to fill the second post Mr. Daschle had planned to fill. Nancy-Ann DeParle, 52, will serve as director of the White House Office of Health Reform.



Eric Hargan, a former deputy secretary at HHS in the Bush administration, said the Obama administration was "doing themselves a real service by splitting those offices up."

"It's too much. Sebelius would be handling the largest civilian department in the [federal] government. It's a quarter of the federal budget, an enormous place," he said. "And to add to that to try to handle all the White House things herself, it was a recipe for disaster."

Mrs. DeParle is a former Clinton administration official turned private equity financier at CCMP Capital who has spent the past several years as a national health care policy specialist, serving on a variety of boards and commissions and teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.



Mr. Kirk, who was announced as Mr. Obama's trade representative nominee on Dec. 19, had alerted the Obama transition team to his practice of donating honoraria to Austin College in a questionnaire during the vetting process.

"Since he asked for the honoraria to be assigned to Austin College, he did not think the honoraria were taxable income to him. His paid preparer also thought this was proper," said the Senate Finance Committee report.

The finance committee said Mr. Kirk owes about $5,800 for the honoraria and roughly $2,600 in taxes because he could not substantiate that all of the Dallas Mavericks basketball games he attended from 2005 to 2007, at a cost of $17,382, were for business purposes.

Count The Promises Broken¦

ALREADY............



Watch This DOOZIE!!!!

Barack Obama says:

"Public Will Have 5 Days To Look At Every Bill That Lands On My Desk"

and no hidden PORK........

Yah right!!!

We found 7.....!!..... from this clip alone ..:-1



7 Broken Promises:



1. Make Government Open and Transparent

2. Make it "Impossible" for Congressmen to slip in Pork Barrel Projects

3. Meetings where laws are written will be more open to the public (republicans have been shut out)

4. No more secrecy

5. Public will have 5 days to look at a Bill

6. You'll know what's in it (American Citizens didn't know and we are still finding out every day ...IE...AIG)

7. We will put every pork barrel project online



:-1 ..:-1 ...:-1

Check this poll out over at MSNBC.......



Give President Obama a grade



With almost 2,000,000 votes in, it's not lookin good for the messiah......

Glad to see people see him for what he is...An F President (44%)



You can bet MSNBC's ol Keith Olderman will never quote this poll.