Obama Fail Blog

The Department of Homeland Security is leaking like a sieve:

As the government reviews how an alleged terrorist was able to bring a bomb onto a U.S.-bound plane and try to blow it up on Christmas Day, the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident.

Source: Associated Press

The fact that the TSA - which operates as part of the DHS - can't keep a secret for more than a few hours is bad news, no matter how you slice it. What is even more troubling is the zeal with which the TSA/DHS is going after these bloggers:

TSA special agents served subpoenas to travel bloggers Steve Frischling and Chris Elliott, demanding that they reveal who leaked the security directive to them. The government says the directive was not supposed to be disclosed to the public.

Frischling said he met with two TSA special agents Tuesday night at his Connecticut home for about three hours and again on Wednesday morning when he was forced to hand over his lap top computer. Frischling said the agents threatened to interfere with his contract to write a blog for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines if he didn't cooperate and provide the name of the person who leaked the memo.

Source: Associated Press

It remains to be seen if Frishling was reporting classified information and if he knew the information was classified. But it is telling that the TSA special agents immediately threatened the bloggers' free speech and business agreements in exchange for cooperation. This tactic is straight out of the Saul Alinsky rules for Chicago thug politicians.

Keep in mind, the attempted bombing of the airliner - the incident that set off this entire chain of events - took place on Friday, December 25. The TSA agents arrived at Frishling's house and made threats on Tuesday, December 29. It took roughly the same amount of time for President Obama to stop golfing and make his first statement about the terrorist incident. This administration certainly has its priorities...

An open, running thread to document some of the nastiest Twitter responses to the news that Rush Limbaugh has been rushed to a hospital with chest pains. Leave whatever you find in the comments section.

Here goes:

@JamesAkersJr - Can someone with no heart actually have a heart attack??? Just a thought.

@Marnus3 BREAKING: Rush Limbaugh suffering from empathy blockage

@wiseguyeddie I do not wish death upon Rush. I just wish he would have been caught with a black hooker instead

@jasonrantz Not only do I hope Rush dies, but I hope every #tcot drinks a bottle of cancer as well

@ryan_mcrae "I hope he fails!" LMAO

@RafayAgha Maybe 2010 will be better than I thought!

@adamwanderman Maybe the "Year of the Celebrity Death" will end with a big one! A big, obnoxious, drug abusing one.

@lavishluxuri #RushLimbaugh is an idiot biggit #imjustsayin


@ALumpOfCoal Here's wishing Rush Limbaugh a long, painful hospital stay. Or, perhaps better, a short one.

@DJ84 #RushLimbaugh rushed to ER with possible for possible heart attack..Mixing Oxis with alcahol again I see.

@chainsawbuffet Gee, it's be a pity if a drug-addicted blowhard hatemonger died.

@MsTWash God is real- 1st prayer answered: 1st black prez. 2nd prayer answered: give Rush heartattack.

@chainsawbuffet I've decided that the plain old #rushlimbaugh tag isn't dynamic enough. It needs to be more like #dierushdie

@chainsawbuffet Now if God will give Glenn Beck a fatal bowel blockage.... #rushlimbaugh #dierushdie

@seamusos Please be fatal, perfect way to end decade.

@DrusillaBloeme RT @chainsawbuffet: Now if God will give Glenn Beck a fatal bowel blockage....

@hbdinwid Ok im a yogi and pretty much a pacifist but...please chest pains, do your worst on #Rushlimbaugh. Thanks, the world.

@ishatonu RT @demonbaby: Come on 2009! There's time for one more!! RT @BreakingNews: Rush Limbaugh rushed to hospital in Honolulu after suffering ...

@davpel RT @seamusos: Please be fatal, perfect way to end decade. RT @gawker: Rush Limbaugh Rushed to Hospital http://gawker.com/5437494/

@dva1946 Wonder if Rush Limbaugh went to the rec center today? After all health & fitness is his specialty. Piss on U Rush.

@AndrewGlander Rush Limbaugh has a heart?... attack! PLEASE let his doctor be Black, Gay And Muslim!!!

@MichaelDCC @blogdiva RT @Ashley_Stephens: So...if Rush Limbaugh dies in Hawaii, will his listeners believe the death certificate?

@FoToEdge: Rush Limbaugh has been rushed to a hospital with a heart problem! Keep your fingers crossed, America may have a really HAPPY NEW YEAR!

@RJ_Acosta is Rush Limbaugh gone yet? :P

@kevinpalooza Die Rush Limbaugh, Die! Die Rush! Die Rush! Die Rush! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

@rosehollyhock RT @JoeMyGod: Rush Limbaugh has a pre-existing condition: he's an Asshole.

@gabolicious I feel somewhat bad now at laughing at all the tweets regarding Rush Limbaugh's heart attack in Hawaii. JK

@mellow_blue RT @phontigallo: I was scared of another death this year til I heard Rush Limbaugh was in the hospital. Come on 2009; don't fail me now.

@Folaaaaa Rush limbaugh prayer circle lolol

@WriterCLKelly Exactly, so personally I dont care whether or not Rush Limbaugh dies, he's always been an evil sack of manure.

@slackadjuster RT @Leazzel: My Rush Limbaugh voodoo doll must be working. Yeah!

@SamanthaCasey Guess Rush Limbaugh's heart couldn't handle all the boner pills he needed to take in order to rape little kids.

@flyinsaucier Rush Limbaugh ate himself to death just like Pizza the Hut. Now he's eating garbage in Hell while demons gnaw on his massive moon head.

@KathleenShimp RT @BJ_Porter: Rush Limbaugh has heart attack in Hawaii. 2009 waits till NOW to try to redeem itself?

@gonzogreg believes that "gawd" may have just told Rush Limbaugh to STFU. Just sayin'.

@cmon_now Rush Limbaugh heart attack - upon arriving at emergency the doctors discovered his heart was "three sizes too small"...

@ladygifts Rush Limbaugh might need a walker to go to work now lol

@Awww_Hell please tell me the last celeb that will die in 2009 is rush limbaugh!!!!!!!!!!

@Hater4real: #Rush Limbaugh is ok! He chocked on a chicken wing while washing down 7 oxycodone with a 22oz of colt 45!

@jkellen99 I hope Rush Limbaugh dies! He's an evil old bigot!

@petercoffin Am I wrong in saying Rush Limbaugh in the hospital is actually a step towards world peace? I feel bad but I also feel like that is true.

@GriffMorivan Rush Limbaugh might die. I would laugh endlessly! I really fucking would.

@swimcredible Rush Limbaugh having a heart attack?! isn't having a heart a pre-req for that kind of problem? no, seriously...

@hawk_n_seoul Go ahead and pray for Rush Limbaugh. I'll be praying God answers your prayers. Just remember, sometimes the answer's "NO."

@FriscoCity "Rush limbaugh" hopefully he's dead

@bdawg923 If Rush Limbaugh dies this year, it will be all worth it.

@MizzMariah so i heard Rush Limbaugh was in the hospital.... his karma came QUICK!! take note all u people. take note.

@Sloopydrew #2010Predictions Rush Limbaugh will die of a heart attack&Cheney's 5th heart attack will prove fatal. It will be a Happy New Year!

@OneCalledJG Rush Limbaugh can die for all i can care hate him so much

@3rdcoast318 Rush Limbaugh <-------the GrandWizard is in the hospital huh. I hate that dirtbag and Sean Hannity too fuckn racist

@iamerror356 It would be a great way to kick off the new year if Rush Limbaugh died.

@quellez Rush Limbaugh dying is lyk the Joker dying on Batman... Who will we love 2 hate then? Bill O'rielly? Anne Coulture?

@HEBisreal Rush Limbaugh IN THE HOSPITAL AND I HOPE HIS RACIST CRACKER PINK PANTIE WEARING ASS DIES! HERE A MIDDLE FINGER REPUBS! FU

@jenbonstein RT @superficialcom: BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! @TMZonline Report: Rush Limbaugh Hospitalized in Hawaii

@BFIrrera Rush Limbaugh is hopefully going to join the Celebrity Rapture of 2009! He's been rushed to the hospital with chest pains...

@dmagku OMG. Rush Limbaugh heart attack proves Santa does exist!

@multyplysity please let Rush Limbaugh die

@devincf: Here's hoping Rush Limbaugh goes home to hell tonight.

@chelseablobs RT @phontigallo: I was scared of another death this year til I heard Rush Limbaugh was in the hospital. Come on 2009; don't fail me now.

@pbump Rush Limbaugh has been taken to the hospital in serious condition. How quickly can I learn to tap dance?

@kwilson9austin RT @wesmn914: I was scared of another death this year til I heard Rush Limbaugh was in the hospital. Come on 2009; don't fail me now.

@djRBI RT @mrdaveyd: Wow Rush Limbaugh in the hospital? People at the restaurant I'm at just cheered at the news.. Somebody yelled I hope he dies..

@varygoode Rush Limbaugh in the hospital? Death must have finally remembered his resolution for 2009! Just in time, too.

@HoodedMan Rush Limbaugh croaked? To paraphrasing what a friend of mine said: that was a great early start to the upcoming year

@Kutsum RT @Caseyjones71: @Kutsum Rush Limbaugh fuck. That. Racist. Muh-fucka

@agentska RT @wmburden: rush limbaugh hospitalized?? at least he'll be in his white KKK gown.

@JasonReizen Rush Limbaugh is in serious condition. Who cares, other than racists and wacko Christian Evangelicals? If he croaks, we will be better off.

@cesarl RT @raum: And Rush Limbaugh goes to the hospital in serious condition? It's like Xmas came 5 days late. I hope he gets a black doctor.

@jaydestro if there is a god, rush limbaugh will not make it out of hawaii alive.

@mitchsamuels It be cooler to be the first celeb to die in 2010 than the last one in 2009, Hang in there Rush Limbaugh

UPDATE: 12:15am EST - That's enough for now. Documenting this stuff is disgusting. There is a huge difference between criticizing a policy or laughing at Joe Biden and wishing someone to die - ESPECIALLY when that person is lying in a hospital in what could be his final minutes on Earth.

If you wish Rush Limbaugh dead tonight, remember your hatred on the night when you take your last breath. Whatever you feel - if you feel anything at all - will be a small payback for the inhumane, childish way you behaved tonight.

Plenty of analysis has been done about the militant leftsts behind the Obama administration's social policy - Van Jones, Anita Dunn, Kevin Jenkins, Valerie Jarrett, Ezekiel Emanuel, Julius Genachowski, and so on...

But what about Obama's financial team? Surely, there must be some socialist dirt on Tiny Tim Geithner and Peter Orszag. Well, yes, there certainly is...

Check out this 2001 exchange between Orszag and interviewer Peter Robinson:

Peter Robinson: Why don't you just soak the rich? If you're concerned that these rich are getting richer too quickly…

Peter Orszag: There is a tradeoff that one has to find a balance between…

Peter Robinson: Ahh, okay, all right.

Peter Orszag: …in--in, uh, equality versus incentives. And at some point, one--one leans too hard and the disincentive effects are too large. The question is finding a balance between the--the incentives provided to produce, supply labor, take risks, and fairness.

Peter Robinson: So this would be difficult statistically, but the rule of thumb would be, we engage in redistribution, we cream off the top quintile and put it one the bottom qui--quintile, to the extent that we can without killing the economic engine--without smothering growth. Would that be about the rule of thumb that'd you go for?

Peter Orszag: I think that's about the rule of thumb, yes.

Peter Robinson: So…

Peter Orszag: It's all a matter of degree. How much reduction in--in economic activity are you willing to…

Peter Robinson: Right, and it could be difficult to find that balance…

Peter Orszag: Right.

Peter Robinson: …but that would be the aim.

Peter Orszag: That should be the aim, yes.

Source: Hoover Institution via JammieWearingFool

JammieWearingFool has more on the socialist leanings of Orszag's new bride Bianna Golodryga.

Why should anyone care about Orszag's wife? Why shouldn't she be allowed to live a private life as the wife of her dorky, meek, eggheaded socialist husband?

Well, because Bianna Golodryga is a financial reporter for ABC News. Her opinion shapes the tone of financial reporting at one of the largest news organizations in the world. And now that she is married to one of the most powerful socialist-leaning economists in the world, you have to wonder how much her stories will be influenced by the Obama administration - as if they weren't already...

Remember when Janet Napolitano announced - on behalf of President Obama - that commercial aviation security procedures "worked" when the procedures in question allowed an Islamist terrorist to board a plane carrying explosives?

Yeah, that was YESTERDAY.

Today, Napolitano is backpeddling furiously:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday the aviation security system failed miserably in the foiled Christmas bombing, a stark reversal after claiming the system worked "like clockwork."

"Our system did not work in this instance," Napolitano said on NBC's "Today" show. "No one is happy or satisfied with that. An extensive review is under way."

Source: NY Daily News

Now, it would be foolish to blame the failure of aviation security on President Obama or his administration. If the administration was at fault for the security lapse, that information is not known at this time. For the moment, it has to be assumed that this was an unfortunate error and the system needs to be reassessed and strengthened.

Although they can't be faulted for the situation itself, the Obama administration still managed to fail miserably in the aftermath. Here's why:

• President Obama was not notified of the terrorist attack until three hours after the plane landed.
• President Obama declined to issue a statement or appear on camera to reassure the nation in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack. As of this writing, it has been over 72 hours since the incident and still no word from the president...
• The administration dispatched DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to speak on behalf of President Obama on Sunday - two days after the attack. Instead of allaying the fears of the nation, Napolitano proudly declared that the "system worked."
• On Monday morning, Napolitano backtracked on her statement - personally taking the heat for a statement that was made on behalf of President Obama because he couldn't be bothered to do it.
• Still no word from the president...
  

Janet Napolitano (dba President Obama) has announced that the commercial aviation security system "worked," when it allowed an Islamist terrorist carrying explosives to board a passenger jet on Christmas Day.

Napolitano has also announced that there is no indication of a wider terrorist threat:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today that there is no indication that a self-proclaimed Al Qaeda suicide bomber who allegedly tried to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas was part of a broader international effort to attack U.S. targets.

Napolitano, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," said it was too early to speculate on the claims of Al Qaeda connections made by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian held in connection with the incident.

After his arrest in Detroit, Abdulmutallab said he had obtained a specialized explosive chemical compound and a syringe sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with the terror network, according to authorities.

However, Napolitano said that "right now we have no indication that it is part of anything larger."

Source: LA Times

Must be like that Fort Hood thing... No rush to judgement, not really terrorism, we need to focus on healthcare and global warming, yada yada yada.

Apparently, no one told the Islamist terrorists:

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged with the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253, told FBI agents there were more just like him in Yemen who would strike soon.

And in a tape released four days before the attempted destruction of the Detroit-bound Northwest plane, the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen boasted of what was planned for Americans, saying, "We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God."

Source: ABC News

Er, maybe President Obama could act presidential by cutting short today's round of smoking golf and make a statement. You know, if it's not too much to ask?

Someone needs to track the failed policies and embarrassing gaffes of the Obama administration. Obama Fail Watch to the rescue!

1.) How bad is Obama's economy? Take a look at a pre-Christmas photoblog from two shopping malls in Los Angeles. Spoiler Alert - the parking lots were empty and so were the stores. [Doug Ross @ Journal]

2.) It's a Christmas Eve miracle! In the spirit of "transparency" - and while President Obama was on vacation - the Treasury Department announced the elimination of the maximum bailout cap for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

The above actions would preserve and strengthen the government’s involvement and control over the country’s housing finance system and make it harder to reintroduce substantial private sector involvement later on. They would also continue distortions in the marketplace leading to who knows what unintended consequences. Finally these steps would do nothing to de-leverage the housing finance system, a key step in returning it to any degree of normality.

Source: Business Insider

3.) Senator Russ Feingold is not happy with President Obama. Why? BECAUSE OBAMA SPENDS TOO MUCH MONEY. That's right, Obama spends too much for some senators on the left. Amazing. [Hot Air]

4.) Lefty blog Firedog Lake is on the failwagon! Sure, FDL thinks Obama is a failure for all the wrong reasons, but it is important to note that the Obama administration is failing in the eyes of the right, left and center. [Gateway Pundit]

5.) Why is INTERPOL no longer subject to the constraints of the US Constitution when operating in the US? Because President Obama wants it that way. [Obama Fail Blog]

6.) President Obama and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano... Never before have two political hacks sounded so silent and so stupid, respectively. [Obama Fail Blog]

5.) Michelle Obama is starting to draw criticism for her over-the-top fashion choices. The criticism is mostly aimed at the presumed high price of her wardrobe, but it wouldn't be surprising if half of these outfits were picked directly out of a goodwill box by someone wearing a blindfold. Then again, her husband is very adept at spending other people's money and looking like a clown and they always say, "anything boys can do, girls can do better" [Sweetness & Light]

President Obama has been doing business as (dba) Max Baucus (D-MT) as Obamacare has made its way through Congress. Baucus is more than a key Democrat vote - he is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and one of the principal authors of the Senate's version of Obamacare.

While President Obama vacations in Hawaii, Americans are contemplating the following questions:

• How did Nigerian-born Islamic terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab board a Delta flight bound for Detroit?
• How did Islamic terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab smuggle an explosive device on board the plane?
• Why did it take three hours for the president to be informed of the terrorist incident?
  
• Why has President Obama refused to speak or issue a statement?

As usual, President Obama is cold, distant and detached from the reality of the situation. Instead of making a statement, he has chosen instead to smoke cigarettes play golf.

Instead of acting presidential, Obama has dispatched Janet Napolitano - the political hack with a lunch lady haircut - to speak on behalf of the administration. And of course, Napolitano did what she usually does - she inserted her foot directly into her mouth:

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the thwarting of the attempt to blow up the Amsterdam-Detroit flight this week demonstrated that “the system worked.”

Asked by CNN’s Candy Crowley on “State of the Union” how that could be possible when the young Nigerian who sought to set off the bomb was able to smuggle explosive liquid onto the flight, Napolitano responded: “We’re asking the same questions.”
Source: Hot Air

Absolutely brilliant! Somehow, the system worked, even though the system allowed a known Islamic radical to board a plane with an explosive device attached to his body.

Here is Ed Morrissey's take:

I suppose one can make that argument — if one assumes that the system includes allowing a man included on a watch list onto an airplane, allowing his visa to remain in force even after his own father informs the US that he’s become a radical jihadi, assuming that any explosive said terrorist will smuggle onto the plane will fizzle out, and that only quick thinking by the other passengers on the plane kept the jihadi from trying it again while he barbecued his crotch.

Is that the actual system we put in place after 9/11? Because if it is, a lot of heads need to roll, starting with the woman who believes that this near-miss represents a validation of the system. Most of us would prefer to keep the known radical Islamist terrorists off the plane in the first place.

Source: Hot Air

If you've been reading the semi-daily Obama Fail Watch, you know that President Obama has given an unprecedented amount of power to INTERPOL. Essentially, INTERPOL is immune to United States law when operating in the United States.

What exactly is INTERPOL and why might the Obama Adminstration think it a good idea to grant immunity to the organization? National Reviews Andrew McCarthy did some analysissin':

Interpol works closely with international tribunals (such as the International Criminal Court — which the United States has refused to join because of its sovereignty surrendering provisions, though top Obama officials want us in it). It also works closely with foreign courts and law-enforcement authorities (such as those in Europe that are investigating former Bush administration officials for purported war crimes — i.e., for actions taken in America's defense).

Why would we elevate an international police force above American law? Why would we immunize an international police force from the limitations that constrain the FBI and other American law-enforcement agencies? Why is it suddenly necessary to have, within the Justice Department, a repository for stashing government files which, therefore, will be beyond the ability of Congress, American law-enforcement, the media, and the American people to scrutinize?

Source: National Review via Lonely Conservative

Yikes. And there's more, according to ThreatsWatch.org:

In light of what we know and can observe, it is our logical conclusion that President Obama's Executive Order amending President Ronald Reagans' 1983 EO 12425 and placing INTERPOL above the United States Constitution and beyond the legal reach of our own top law enforcement is a precursor to more damaging moves.

The pre-requisite conditions regarding the Iraq withdrawal and the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility closure will continue their course. meanwhile, the next move from President Obama is likely an attempt to dissolve the agreements made between President Bush and other states preventing them from turning over American military forces to the ICC (via INTERPOL) for war crimes or any other prosecutions.

When the paths on the road map converge - Iraq withdrawal, Guantánamo closure, perceived American image improved internationally, and an empowered INTERPOL in the United States - it is probable that President Barack Obama will once again make America a signatory to the International Criminal Court. It will be a move that surrenders American sovereignty to an international body who's INTERPOL enforcement arm has already been elevated above the Constitution and American domestic law enforcement.

For an added and disturbing wrinkle, INTERPOL's central operations office in the United States is within our own Justice Department offices. They are American law enforcement officers working under the aegis of INTERPOL within our own Justice Department. That they now operate with full diplomatic immunity and with "inviolable archives" from within our own buildings should send red flags soaring into the clouds.

Source: Threats Watch via Lonely Conservative

Sounds about right... Obama can blame Holder for the KSM trials and Holder can blame INTERPOL for the capture and trial of Dick Cheney... Nobody takes responsibility and Obama takes America down a few more notches.

It is telling that the left's messiah operates like a cowardly snake - cold, spineless and in the shadows. There is no courage in this man or his associates. None at all...

Bonus Insanity: Noisy Room has a huge collection of links on this topic, including the following disturbing information about INTERPOL:

It is well to know who these people are, and where they’ve been. Though the expression “modern day SS” sounds like a hyperbolic metaphor, an examination of Interpol’s roots shows that it is, in fact, more literally true than that.

I was in Europe in 1973 when an expose was published, revealing that many, if not all, of the presidents of Interpol from the late 1930s or early ’40s until at least 1972 were Nazi Gestapo and SS officers. Reinhard (”The Hangman”), Heydrich (also head of Nazi SS Intelligence Service) and Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner. By 1942 Interpol was consolidated with the Nazi Central Police, run by the Gestapo. As the Nazis invaded cities throughout Europe, police files from each were seized and evidently integrated into Interpol’s files. In 1972 the sitting Interpol President was Paul Dickopf, former Nazi SS officer (SS #337259).

Source: Garry Hamilton via Noisy Room

And if you doubt any of this - as I did - check out some links on Paul Dickopf:

Paul Dickopf - Wikipedia
Paul Dickopf - WikiTap
History of Interpol and Nazi War Criminals

Yesterday, we declared Obama's Auto Bailout was a failure, on account of Detroit's unemployment, GM's leadership fiasco, Chrysler's lack of new car models and the administration's forecast of a $30 billion loss...

And here's a video to bring it all together:

Allahpundit at Hot Air puts it in perspective:

Other American cities have been dominated by the left for decades too, from Berkeley to D.C., and none have the Hiroshima-after-the-blast feel that Motown does. (Democrats currently outnumber Republicans on the New York City Council 46-3.) What Detroit reminds me of, in fact, is a photo set I once viewed online taken in and around Chernobyl by a girl touring the area on her motorcycle. It’s a fascinating gallery, in case you’ve never seen it; follow the link, then compare it to the ghost town Crowder’s walking through here. Horrifying.

Source: Hot Air

If you want to learn more about Detroit's decay, OnlyNDetroit.com has a fantastic collection of photos and information on specific areas and buildings that have been neglected and destroyed.

1.) Public support for President Obama continues to nosedive. The latest Rasmussen Reports Presidential Tracking Poll puts Barry at -21... a new personal best! [Rasmussen Reports]

2.) It seems like just yesterday, President Obama held a press conference to laud his success at growing the economy by 3.5% in Q3. Apparently, that was a big hoax - the actual growth rate has since been reduced to 2.2%. [Red State]

3.) Americans are dead set against ObamaCare's provisions for abortion funding, by a 72%-23% margin, according to the latest polling data. [HotAir]

4.) Remember when Obama was all, "Hey, I'm a post-partisan outsider!" Yeah, those were the good old days... Jennifer Rubin points out that Obama has quickly proven himself to be a Chicago-style politician. Shocker! [Commentary Magazine]

5.) HotAir has a list of the payoffs that were required to move ObamaCare forward in the Senate. [HotAir]

6.) Democrat Representative Parker Griffith is switching sides - another sign of Obama's crashing public support. Hooray for common sense! [Politico]

7.) Did you know the US Civil Rights Commission is investigating Attorney General Eric Holder for dismissing charges of voter fraud against the Black Panthers? [All American Blogger]

8.) More unconstitutionality in ObamaCare, uncovered by Senator Jim DeMint. [Lonely Conservative & Left Coast Rebel]

9.) It's official - Obama's auto bailout is a failure. [Obama Fail Blog]

Hey, remember when President Obama saved Detroit with an auto bailout?

Yeah, about that:

The mayor of Detroit, Mich., has hit the nation with an unemployment shocker.

Despite an official rate of 27 percent, the city's actual unemployment rate is closer to 50 percent, according to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.

...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that for the year ending in September, Michigan's official unemployment rate was 12.6 percent, according to the Detroit News.

Yet, using the broadest definition of unemployment, the state's unemployment was 20.9 percent, or 66 percent higher than the official rate.

The unemployment situation is particularly severe in Detroit, where the official BLS unemployment rate was 27 percent, while the broader measure pushed the city's unemployment rate to 44.8 percent.

Source: World Net Daily

Fantastic. And this news comes a little more than a week after the Obama administration forecast a $30 billion loss on the auto bailout.

Meanwhile, GM has forced CEO Fritz Henderson to resign and Chrysler has announced that they won't be showing any new vehicles at the upcoming Detroit auto show.

Obama's auto industry bailout is a massive FAILURE. You can mark that down.

1.) Germany's Der Spiegel is calling the recent UN conference in Copenhagen a "Club for Losers." [Der Spiegel via HotAir]

2.) Big Hollywood continues to track the transformation of the NEA into a federally-funded Obama propaganda machine - specifically, regarding ObamaCare. [Big Hollywood]

3.) President Obama is releasing 12 terrorists from Guantanemo Bay! No, not THOSE terrorists, silly! THOSE terrorists are getting civilian trials... But THESE terrorists are going home - and Eric Holder's cowardly fingerprints are all over the decision! Hooray! Merry Christmas! [Michelle Malkin]

4.) Have you heard the one about the $100 million dollar mystery hospital that one lucky senator bargained for in exchange for supporting ObamaCare? The senator in question is doubly lucky - he or she is getting a hospital and he or she has not been publicly named (yet). [PowerLine Blog]

5.) While you weren't watching, President Obama gave an unprecedent (and most likely unconstitutional) amount of power to INTERPOL. [Wizbang Blog]

6.) President Obama (dba as Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse) is accusing ObamaCare's opponents of being a bunch of right-wing aryan militia types. [Gateway Pundit]

7.) Despite Senator Whitehouse's comments, black leaders are realizing that Obama doesn't have compassion for black Americans. Hey, what do you expect? They are Americans, after all! [Breitbart]

1.) Gordon Chang sees failure in Obama's Iran policy. [Forbes]

2.) Left Coast Rebel wonders if Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) was intimidated into voting for ObamaCare. [Left Coast Rebel]

3.) Ed Morrissey at HotAir points out that the aforementioned Ben Nelson (D-NE) sold his vote for some sweetheart deals for his home state of Nebraska. [HotAir]

4.) Regardless of the upcoming Senate vote on ObamaCare, the bill may be losing support in the House of Representatives. [Politico]

5.) Chrysler will not have any new cars to unveil at next month's Detroit Auto Show. Looks like Obama's auto bailout is failing. [The Patriot Room]

6.) Looks like the Obama administration may have done favors for ABC in exchange for the network airing a primetime ObamaCare infomercial back in June. [Yid With Lid via Lonely Conservative]

While President Obama was failing in Copenhagen and threatening Senators to vote for ObamaCare, Iran was attacking a US-based corporation:

A group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army has hacked Twitter and an Iranian opposition website, replacing it with an anti-American message. Traffic to the social networking website was redirected for nearly two hours on Thursday night. The opposition website mowjcamp.org remained disrupted on Friday.

Source: PBS.org

Hell, if Obama wasn't so busy attacking the US economy from Denmark, he may have done something like this himself... Joke! That was a just joke! Just kidding! (Kinda...)

But, but, but, but, wait! It gets worse!

While the Iranians were attacking Twitter and critics from their own country, they were also making military moves into Iraq:

A group of about 11 Iranian soldiers seized a portion of the remote Fakka oil field in Maysan Province in southeastern Iraq early Friday, according to Iraq.

Government officials in Baghdad said they had summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the military action, but diplomatic efforts had so far failed to resolve the dispute.

Source: NY Times

Will President Obama ever respond to either of these actions? Or will he continue to roll over and play nice with the world's most tyrannical regimes?

Stay tuned to Obama Fail Blog!

In baseball terms, President Obama is now 0-for-Copenhagen. It was just a little over two months ago that our very own World-Citizen-In-Chief dispatched himself to Copenhagen to make sure the IOC chose Chicago as the site of the 2016 Olympics.

That didn't work out... And neither did this...

President Obama has failed accomplish anything at the COP15 United Nations Climate Conference. Even worse, he seems to have alienated and disappointed a large swathe of the world's most fervent leftists, making himself into an international clown in the process. Let's review:

"Obama has said nothing to save the Copenhagen conference from failure," said Raman Mehta, ActionAid's climate change expert in Asia.

"The US is the one major player yet to move. Developing countries have come here to negotiate in good faith but feel they have been cheated and it looks like they will leave empty handed," added Mehta.

Source: Common Dreams Press Release

Well yeah, but if you ask Obama, it's not his fault... How could it be his fault? Nothing is EVER his fault... Let's blame the Chinese!

President Obama said he came to the final day of global warming talks "to act," but found precious little to do as a last-minute push for a deal on reducing green house gases appeared to fail.

"We are running short on time," Obama said to a packed plenary session filled with dozens of heads of state, the final effort of 193 countries here to forge even a minimally binding agreement to curb green house gases. "Our ability to take collective action is in doubt today and hangs in the balance."

Obama said the keys to any effective pact are pollution cuts, transparency to prove they are real, and multilateral financing for developing nations. Though Obama did not mention China's resistance to international verification, the implication was clear

"I don't know how you have an international agreement where we all are not sharing information and making sure we are meeting our commitments," Obama said. "That doesn't make sense. It would be a hollow victory."

Source: FoxNews

Oh, Barry... You KNOW the left ain't buyin' what you're sellin'... That three-card monte-dealing, snake-oil-salesman-sleight-of-hand-thing you do may work with the most open-minded, freedom-loving society in the history of civilization (America), but when it comes to lefties, greenies, commies and tyrants, you gotta deliver the goods or go home! Just ask the lefties, greenies, commies and tyrants:

“We are disgusted by the failure of rich countries to commit to the emissions reductions they know are needed, especially the US, which is the world's largest historical emitter of greenhouse gases. In contrast African nations, China and others in the developing world deserve praise for their progressive positions and constructive approach. Major developing countries cannot be blamed for the failure of rich industrialised countries.”

Source: Friends of the Earth International

How delicious... And it goes on:

Tim Jones, a spokesman for the World Development Movement, said: “The president said he came to act, but showed little evidence of doing so. He showed no awareness of the inequality and injustice of climate change. If America has really made its choice, it is a choice that condemns hundreds of millions of people to climate change disaster.”

Source: UK Independent via HotAir

Ed Morrissey at HotAir puts this mess into perspective - NONE of this should surprise ANYONE:

Honestly, have these people paid no attention to Obama’s performance all year? He doesn’t do the hard work. Obama has spent all year outsourcing his work on domestic policy to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, refusing to get involved in negotiations. Even now, progressives on Capitol Hill wonder if Obama ever wanted a public option in his signature domestic policy priority at all — a rather strange gap, considering the high-profile cheerleading coming from Obama all year long. That’s all he does: campaign.

Source: HotAir

Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping all formalities and going for the throat... the third-world tyrant's equivalent of a triple-dog dare... he urged Obama to embrace the Kyoto Treaty while calling him the devil:

Chávez said that “the Kyoto Protocol cannot be declared dead or extinguished, which is what the US pretends to do. Which is why (President) Evo (Morales of Bolivia) tells a great truth: If Obama, Nobel War Prize, said here, by the way, it smells of sulfur here. It smells of sulfur. It keeps smelling of sulfur in this world. The Nobel War Prize has just said here that he came to act. Well, then show it, sir, don't leave by the back door, eh? Do everything you need to do for the US to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol, and let's respect Kyoto, and empower Kyoto, and respond to the world in a transparent fashion.

Source: ABC News

Of course, Obama can't do anything without a speech and/or photo-op, so even after the world witnessed his spectacular failure, he had the audacity to announce a "meaningful" and "unprecedented" agreement:

And then he rushed to Air Force One, so he could return to Washington DC, before it was socked with a massive snowstorm. Fail!

Janet Napolitano - the hapless Secretary of Homeland Security with a lunch lady haircut - has interfered with the FBI's investigation of terrorist suspect Najibullah Zazi:

In mid-September, the FBI arrested the Afghan-born Zazi after he allegedly tried to build bombs with "large quantities" of hydrogen peroxide purchased at beauty shops in the Denver area.

Days earlier, media reports had disclosed that Zazi, 24, and others were allegedly planning to hide the bombs in backpacks and detonate them in New York City.

On a Friday night, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter joined Brennan, Mueller, Napolitano and Holder for a two-hour meeting, which turned into an "excited" back-and-forth over information sharing, officials familiar with the meeting said.

Mueller was "angry" and "upset" over leaks to the media, while Napolitano expressed dismay that DHS was not more involved in the Zazi case, and she relayed concerns that only limited information was being offered to local authorities through joint FBI-DHS intelligence bulletins, according to the officials.

"It was very clear that the FBI's position was: The investigation is what's important, and you can't do anything to compromise the investigation ... because it is only through these investigations that we can stop attacks," one official said.

Source: FoxNews

It isn't surprising that Napolitano would favor the dissemination of information - thereby risking and encouraging leaks - over the successful completion of the Zazi investigation. She is, after all, a political hack and a clown.

However, here is the most interesting part of the story:

Throughout the meeting, Leiter tended to side with Napolitano, and Holder often aligned with Mueller, the official said.

Source: FoxNews

That is big news. Attorney General Eric Holder is responsible for granting civilian trials to 9-11 conspirators. - a move that will almost certainly compromise current and future investigations into domestic and international terrorist threats. Yet, in this instance, Holder seems to be siding with the FBI.

Holder's actions in the Zazi case can be taken one of three ways:

1.) Even Eric Holder can't deny that Janet Napolitano is a dangerous clown...

or

2.) Eric Holder is just as incompetent as Janet Napolitano and his contradictory positions on terror investigations should come as no surprise.
or

3.) President Obama was behind the KSM/9-11 show trial idea and he is also behind Napolitano's efforts to thwart the Zazi investigation through dissemenation and leaks.

Remember when the USPSTF - a group tied to Kathleen Sebelius and Ezekiel Emanuel - recommended that fewer mammograms and pap smears be given to women?

Remember when President Obama (dba Kathleen Sebelius) distanced himself from the recommendations, without ever saying if the Obama administration actually supports the "cost-saving" recommendations?

That was a little over two weeks ago... And now we find out that the recommendations are already being implemented, under the watch of President Obama, Kathleen Sebelius and Ezekiel Emanuel:

As the economy falters and more people go without health insurance, low-income women in at least 20 states are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings, according to the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network.

...

"I cried and I panicked," said Erin LaBarge, 47. This would have been her third straight year receiving a free mammogram through the screening program in St. Lawrence County. But the Norwood, N.Y., resident was told she couldn't get her free mammogram this year because there isn't enough money and she's not old enough.

New York used to screen women of all ages, but this year the budget crunch has forced them to focus on those considered at highest risk and exclude women under 50.

Source: 24Medica

Hey, maybe they should just take a pain pill!

Watch CBS News Videos Online

More from President Obama's war on American businesses:

In an interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft, the president went after what he called the "fat cat bankers on Wall Street." He said bankers have not shown "a lot of shame" about their behavior and outsized compensation despite the bank bailouts and economic downturn.

After stating that the financial crisis was "caused in part by completely irresponsible actions on Wall Street," Mr. Obama suggested that some banks paid TARP bailout money back to the government specifically to free themselves from government-mandated constraints on executive compensation.

"I think in some cases that was a motivation," said Mr. Obama. "Which I think tells me that the people on Wall Street still don't get it. They don't get it. They're still puzzled, why is it that people are mad at the banks?"

Source: CBS News via BusinessInsider

What... a... clown...

Mad at the banks? Meanwhile, his approval ratings are at an all-time low.

Maybe it's time for President Obama to bow to capitalism.

Hey, remember Walpin-gate? According to Byron York, it seems Michelle Obama could be involved! What a shocker!

Congressional investigators looking into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin have discovered that the head of AmeriCorps met with a top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama the day before Walpin was removed.

[Source: Examiner.com]

Hmm... What did they discuss?

After being presented with the visitor logs, investigators say, Solomont explained that he met with Norris to discuss Corporation business but did not discuss the Walpin matter. When pressed, Solomont said he might have made an offhand comment, or a mention in passing, about the Walpin affair, but that he and Norris did not have a discussion about it.

[Source: Examiner.com]

LOLZ!

Today's Obama Fail Watch:

1.) Last week, the Obama administration celebrated its openness by holding a meeting that was closed to the press. [HotAir]

2.) Obama went off-teleprompter and wound up claiming he took office last year. [HotAir]

3.) More evidence that Obama's mortgage modification program is failing. [Bloomberg]

4.) Fresh off his victory-free speech on Afghanistan, European leftists are calling Obama "the love-bomber" and a "bloodthirsty liberal." [Forth]

5.) Obama's new Afghanistan surge may be doomed to fail, if reports of the new rules of engagement are true:

The London Times recently reported that Marines, about to embark on a dangerous supply mission, were shown a PowerPoint presentation that first illustrated locations of IEDs along the way and then warned the Marines "not to fire indiscriminately even if they were fired on."

The Times story went on to note: "The briefing ended with a projected screen of McChrystal's quote: "It's not how many you kill, it's how many you convince."

Source: Washington Examiner

6.) Speaking of PowerPoint presentations and war in Afghanistan, it seems the Obama administration is in way over its head:

In June, McChrystal noted, he had arrived in Afghanistan and set about fulfilling his assignment. His lean face, hovering on the screen at the end of the table, was replaced by a mission statement on a slide: "Defeat the Taliban. Secure the Population."

"Is that really what you think your mission is?" one of those in the Situation Room asked.

On the face of it, it was impossible -- the Taliban were part of the fabric of the Pashtun belt of southern Afghanistan, culturally if not ideologically supported by a significant part of the population. "We don't need to do that," Gates said, according to a participant. "That's an open-ended, forever commitment."

But that was precisely his mission, McChrystal responded, and it was enshrined in the Strategic Implementation Plan -- the execution orders for the March strategy, written by the NSC staff.

"I wouldn't say there was quite a 'whoa' moment," a senior defense official said of the reaction around the table. "It was just sort of a recognition that, 'Duh, that's what, in effect, the commander understands he's been told to do.' Everybody said, 'He's right.' "

Source: Washington Post

7.) President Obama's approval rating is at -19... a new personal best! [Rasmussen Reports]

8.) President Obama's brother - Samson Obama - was denied entry to the UK, on account of an alleged sexual attack on a girl. You can bet this won't receive the same kind of coverage of Sarah Palin's children and in-laws. [BBC News]

As President Obama prepares to tout the benefits of "green jobs" and "clean energy" at the Copenhagen climate meeting, it might be a good time to review wind energy's dirty little secret - a phenomenon known as "shadow flicker."

SHADOW FLICKER

Shadow flicker is the on-and-off flickering effect of a shadow caused when the rotor of a wind turbine temporarily blocks sunlight. Watch the video below to see just how disruptive green energy can be if you are living in the shadow of a wind turbine:



Wind Watch analyzes the situation:

Look at the facts of the situation. The rotational speed of the blade assembly on a large turbine is between 12 and 24 revolutions per minute or one revolution every 2.5 to 5 seconds. Standard turbines have three blades, so that means that the blades will create a shadow every .83 to 1.67 seconds.

These turbines are blocking the sun on and off once every second; this creates a flashing effect than can impact an entire house. Imagine this: At night, go into a room and turn two lamps on. Once every second for an hour turn one of the lamps on and off while someone else sits in the room and tries to read a book, or watch TV, or any of the other activities one typically does in their home.

I can almost guarantee that within five minutes the person trying to do anything in this room will not be in the best of moods, to say the least. This is what it will be like to be in a home affected by flicker.

Source: Wind Watch

If you search "shadow flicker" on YouTube, there is no shortage of videos on the subject:



DOES SHADOW FLICKER CAUSE SEIZURES?

There seems to be some evidence that suggests shadow flicker can cause epileptic seizures in some people:

The most severe, though by no means the only health risk associated with shadow flicker and strobing is seizure. It is a known fact that flickering or strobing light can cause seizure in susceptible individuals. Other risks due to flicker and strobing include headache, loss of balance, nausea and disorientation. Having a seizure is a severe medical issue but if that seizure, or for that matter disorientation, were to take place while a person was driving a car or operating farm equipment, it could be devastating to that individual and family.

Source: Chautaqua Wind Power, The Citizens Repsond

Canadian economist Michael Trebilcock gave a lengthy presentation in opposition to Ontario's proposed Green Energy Act. Trebilcock addressed the seizure question directly:

A growing body of scientific and medical evidence suggests that the health effects on those subjected to long and frequent periods of pulsating, low-frequency noise associated with wind turbines include sleep disturbances leading to depression, chronic stress, migraines, nausea and dizziness, exhaustion and anger, memory loss and cognitive difficulties, cardiac arrhythmias, increased heart rate and blood pressure. Kamperman and James[11] list no fewer than 13 studies that show noise from wind turbines at night can disturb residents more than 2 km away. Those living close to the source of noise can develop what has been termed "Vibroacoustic Disease (VAD). Noise from wind turbines exhibit the characteristics of noise experienced in various occupations (aircrews, aircraft maintenance workers, ship workers and an islander population exposed to environmental infra and low frequency noise) and has been shown to lead to VAD. Complaints from people living near wind turbines are the same as those from persons who have developed VAD.[12] Also, flicker from turbines at a minimum are disruptive and annoying. Flicker poses a potential risk of photosensitive seizures.[13]

The refusal of the provincial government to order full independent environmental assessments, including assessments of health effects, of any wind turbine project, undermines the credibility of claims that there will be no such negative effects.

Source: Energy Probe

Given the recent Climategate scandal, it wouldn't be surprising if the health risks of wind turbines have been glossed over by government officials.

And now might be a good time for congress to explain exactly how Obamacare will deal with the potential increase in epileptic seizures, if both Obamacare and Cap and Trade are signed into law.

Oh my...

Hillary Clinton pollster Mark Penn is looking at some pretty sweet numbers - namely $6 million in federal stimulus contracts awarded to two firms he controls.

The Hill newspaper reported Wednesday that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus package helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global PR firm headed by Penn.

The Obama administration awarded the contracts to Burson-Marsteller to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television.

Source: NY Daily News

Leave it to Barry!

One of the few "accomplishments" of the Obama presidency was when the Ditherer-In-Chief was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for, well, no good reason. It quickly became an international joke, but it was what it was - the president won a major prize. Whoop-dee-doo...

And now he's gone and screwed it all up:

Barack Obama's trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner.

Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit.

The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children's event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an exhibition in his honour at the Nobel peace centre.

He has also turned down a lunch invitation from the King of Norway.

According to a poll published by the daily tabloid VG, 44% of Norwegians believe it was rude of Obama to cancel his scheduled lunch with King Harald, with only 34% saying they believe it was acceptable.

Source: UK Guardian

Lisa Schiffren has written an article at American Thinker titled, "Tiger, Barack, and the Law of Transitivity."

Schiffren compares the well-crafted public images of Woods and Obama and deduces that the public fallout from Tiger's multiple sex scandals could be similar to the fallout when Barack Obama's true ideology become known:

If I were watching the public's disgust with the newly revealed Tiger Woods from an office in the West Wing, I'd be concerned. Because Barack Obama is about as completely manufactured a political character as this nation has seen. His meteoric rise, without the inconvenience of a public record or accomplishments, and the public's willing suspension of critical evaluation of his résumé allowed his handlers and the media to project whatever they wanted to on his unfurrowed brow.

Ironically, the parallels have nothing to do with race. The Obama campaign did explicitly attempt to borrow the from the then-universal Tiger Woods appeal to allay any discomfort voters might have had with a mixed-race politician. They constructed a persona that would make the American electorate comfortable with a barely-known, first-term senator with a left wing voting record, a deliberately obscured personal and professional past, and no traditional qualifications for high office.

Source: American Thinker

Since taking office, Obama has played ALOT of golf. According to multiple sources, he isn't even very good at it (more on that here and here).

The Wall Street Journal asks the obvious question:

Which all serves to deepen a mystery that has surrounded the presidency: Why has Barack Obama forsaken basketball for the links?

Source: Wall Street Journal

The answer is that golf allows Obama to smoke cigarettes like a fiend, away from the cameras.

On October 24, 2009, Christopher Andersen appeared on the John Batchelor radio show. Andersen is the author of "Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage" - he was the author who spilled the beans to Sean Hannity about how Bill Ayers helped write Obama's first book.

During the interview (you can find the show on iTunes), Andersen revealed that Obama golfs because it allows him to smoke without being seen by cameras. Batchelor writes of the interview on his website:

Several weeks back, I spoke to Christopher Andersen re his Barack and Michelle: Portrait of a Marriage and toward the close of our conversation he asked me if I knew why POTUS was spending so much time on the golf course? "Smoking," he said. I said on-air that it was not smart for POTUS, and he should quit it. My impression from Andersen is that the smoking is not a secret. However from the presentation above, my guess is that the White House image team has decided to shield POTUS from photos of his smoking. That would explain using heavy security and a four-man team in front and behind him on the course. My thought also is that this is an elaborate, clumsy and shallow ruse that will eventually be exposed by an accident or a papparazzi. Also, does POTUS not smoke at the White House? Is the WH still a smoke-free zone as arranged by HRC when she was First Lady?

Source: John Batchelor Show

Image... Image... Image...



Why would the president go to such lengths to hide his smoking? It's simple - Team Obama is trying to craft and maintain an image, similar to the PR hacks who crafted the clean-cut image of Tiger Woods.

Smoking reveals two important cracks in the Obama image - he isn't as fit and health-conscious as he'd like you to think and, more importantly, the pressure is getting to him.

The public just wouldn't buy the image of a mentally cool, physically fit president if they knew he was smoking like a chimney.