ObamaOdrama

In preparation for her confirmation hearings, Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius hired an accountant to scrub her taxes.  The paid accountant discovered “errors” over three years of tax returns requiring $8,000 in back taxes.

It may not be on par with Tim “Turbo Tax” Geithner who missed paying $35,000 in self-employment taxes or come close to Tom Daschle who failed to pay $140,000 in taxes and interest.  But come on!  Kathleen Sebelius is the governor of Kansas and her husband is federal magistrate judge so they can afford to hire a decent tax accountant right?  Maybe that would defeat the purpose… I dunno.

However seeing as how Republicans in the Kansas legislature had to inform Governor Sebelius that she would be breaking state laws by borrowing money from healthy state funds it couldn’t repay to cover shortages in other accounts, maybe her personal tax problems were “innocent errors” after all…

A sign of things to come…

Romeike, his wife Hannelore, and their children live in a modest duplex about 40 miles northeast of Knoxville while they seek political asylum here. They say they were persecuted for their evangelical Christian beliefs and homeschooling their children in Germany, where school attendance is compulsory.

 This story struck a chord with me as a father thinking about homeschooling.  It wasn’t that long ago in California, parents who homeschooled their own children faced similar persecution.

California has compulsory education statutes that require children ages 6 to 18 to attend full-time day school, public or private, or be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child’s grade level.

In Feb. 2008, a California appeals court ruling upheld the statutes in a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long who home schooled their eight children.

Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28th:

“Parents do not have the constitutional right to home school their children.  Parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program.”

So basically, parents could be prosecuted for truancy violations and or possibly have their children removed under allegations of educational neglect… sounds familiar.

Obviously this ruling pleased the state’s largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association. 

“We’re happy,” said Lloyd Porter, who is on the California Teachers Association board of directors. “We always think students should be taught by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting.”

Fortunately, public outrage forced the same three-judge panel to reconsider its ruling and in August 2008 they unanimously decided “California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education.”

Even more recently, Judge Ned Mangum of Wake County ordered three children to attend public school because the homeschooling their mother provided over the last four years need to be “challenged.”  The children test 2 years above their grade level. 

Unfortunately Americans face the real possibility that homeschooling might be banned if we are asked to sacrifice just a little bit more.

As a  psych major (don’t judge me!) I found this amusing…

NANNY STATE: GOVERNMENT WEBSITE TO WARN OF SADNESS/CRYING OVER ECONOMY
Mon Mar 30 2009 18:43:56 ET

The U.S. government is set to offer an online emotional rescue kit!

Getting Through Tough Economic Times” will launch Tuesday with a media push across all platforms.

The site is meant to help people identify health concerns related to financial worries.

The feds will warn of depression, suicidal thinking and other serious mental illnesses. It will raise warning flags for: Persistent sadness/crying; Excessive anxiety; Lack of sleep/constant fatigue; Excessive irritability/anger.

The guide will be available starting at midnight at http://www.samhsa.gov/economy.

Developing…

Thanks for the laugh, Drudge.

During the presidential campaign, stories linking Obama and the radical Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) sporadically popped up but  went largely uncovered by the mainstream media. 

Most sources seemed to agree that Obama represented ACORN in 1995 lawsuit against the state of Illinois.  However stories that tied Obama to ACORN before 1995 or training ACORN never received any serious media coverage.   Nor did stories that Obama giving ACORN $800,000 for get-out-the-vote efforts after ACORN endorsed him for the presidency merit much scrutiny.  It appeared that Obama’s own words were sufficient enough to discredit any further investigation of the allegations.

Now we have another story by the Bulletin to add to the Obama and ACORN chronicles.

Heather Heidelbaugh, who represented the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee in the lawsuit against the group, recounted for the ommittee what she had been told by a former ACORN worker who had worked in the group’s Washington, D.C. office. The former worker, Anita Moncrief, told Ms. Heidelbaugh last October, during the state committee’s litigation against ACORN, she had been a “confidential informant for several months to The New York Times reporter, Stephanie Strom.”

Ms. Moncrief had been providing Ms. Strom with information about ACORN’s election activities. Ms. Strom had written several stories based on information Ms. Moncrief had given her.

During her testimony, Ms. Heidelbaugh said Ms. Moncrief had told her The New York Times articles stopped when she revealed that the Obama presidential campaign had sent its maxed-out donor list to ACORN’s Washington, D.C. office.

Ms. Moncrief told Ms. Heidelbaugh the campaign had asked her and her boss to “reach out to the maxed-out donors and solicit donations from them for Get Out the Vote efforts to be run by ACORN.”

Ms. Heidelbaugh then told the congressional panel:

“Upon learning this information and receiving the list of donors from the Obama campaign, Ms. Strom reported to Ms. Moncrief that her editors at The New York Times wanted her to kill the story because, and I quote, “it was a game changer.”‘

Ms. Moncrief made her first overture to Ms. Heidelbaugh after The New York Times allegedly spiked the story - on Oct. 21, 2008. Last fall, she testified under oath about what she had learned about ACORN from her years in its Washington, D.C. office. Although she was present at the congressional hearing, she did not testify.

U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., the ranking Republican on the committee, said the interactions between the Obama campaign and ACORN, as described by Ms. Moncrief, and attested to before the committee by Ms. Heidelbaugh, could possibly violate federal election law, and “ACORN has a pattern of getting in trouble for violating federal election laws.”  

Even with ACORN’s history of voter fraud, they still managed to secure a place in the 2010 Census.  Game on!

Today Obama addressed the restructuring efforts of General Motors and Chrysler. 

…after careful analysis, we have determined that neither goes far enough to warrant the substantial new investments that these companies are requesting. And so today, I am announcing that my administration will offer GM and Chrysler a limited period of time to work with creditors, unions, and other stakeholders to fundamentally restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional tax dollars; a period during which they must produce plans that would give the American people confidence in their long-term prospects for success.

While neither auto maker provided restructuring plans that meet Task Force Obama’s standards, it was clear that GM had better positioned itself in recent days with the firing of its CEO Rick Wagoner. 

…after broad consultations with a range of industry experts and financial advisors, I’m confident that GM can rise again, provided that it undergoes a fundamental restructuring. As an initial step, GM is announcing today that Rick Wagoner is stepping aside as Chairman and CEO. This is not meant as a condemnation of Mr. Wagoner, who has devoted his life to this company; rather, it’s a recognition that it will take a new vision and new direction to create the GM of the future.

In this context, my administration will offer General Motors adequate working capital over the next 60 days. During this time, my team will be working closely with GM to produce a better business plan.

Chrysler, on the other hand, apparently hasn’t demonstrated sufficient sacrifice and has been given a different fiat:

The situation at Chrysler is more challenging. It is with deep reluctance but also a clear-eyed recognition of the facts that we have determined, after a careful review, that Chrysler needs a partner to remain viable. Recently, Chrysler reached out and found what could be a potential partner — the international car company Fiat, where the current management team has executed an impressive turnaround. Fiat is prepared to transfer its cutting-edge technology to Chrysler and, after working closely with my team, has committed to building new fuel-efficient cars and engines here in America.

At the end of the day, what may be the ultimate fix for GM and Chrysler?  Bankruptcy, of course.

While Chrysler and GM are very different companies with very different paths forward, both need a fresh start to implement the restructuring plans they develop. That may mean using our bankruptcy code as a mechanism to help them restructure quickly and emerge stronger.

No need to question the government’s commitment to rebuilding America’s automotive industry, Obama announced government warranties for GM and Chrysler.

It is my hope that the steps I am announcing today will go a long way towards answering many of the questions people may have about the future of GM and Chrysler. But just in case there are still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can — if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warrantee will be safe.

In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warrantee.

Government Motors - “Backed by the industry’s best warranty, the U.S. taxpayer.”