Massachusetts, Make it Happen!

Vote in the Republican Primaries today to choose who the nominee will be to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.  The vote will be taken via special election on January 19, 2009.  The front running Republican is Scott Brown.  Here's an exerpt from his statement on health care:   

I believe that all Americans deserve health care coverage, but that we shouldn't have to create a new government insurance program to provide it. I support strengthening the existing private market system.

We need your help Massachusetts.  Bring Scott Brown in and destroy the Democratic stronghold in the Senate.  This is your chance to stop socialized medicine and the extraordinary debt that comes with it.

Obama Bumps Primetime Again

Obama has decided to read from his teleprompter during Primetime again.  Tonight he will be bumping "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  Instead of the time honored Christmas Classic, Americans and the world will be learning of our plans for the war in Afghanistan.  Why is Obama, the King of Secrets, broadcasting war strategy?  Is he so enamored with himself that he must always be on our televisions regardless of the cost to our troops?

Whatever he says, do not be distracted from the healthcare bill on the Senate floor.  Call your Senators, let them know that their job is not safe if they do not represent the people.  Make them realize that outside the Democrat controlled bubble of Washington D.C. there are real people out there who need to be heard.  This President has never listened to anyone but himself and these Senators need to be aware that their jobs can and will be sacrificed for his agenda.

For a full list of Senators up for election in 2010, click here. 

So, the Senate is Going to Debate Universal Healthcare

The Senate has gotten their magical 60 votes and voted to go ahead and debate the giant socialist healthcare bill that they have created behind locked doors.  The bill has a public 'option' in it as well as federal funding for abortion.  The good news is that the Senate will also need sixty votes to close the debate and that may not come so easily.  Many Senators have indicated that they will not vote yes on the bill itself even though they voted to open debate, including Senators Landrieu and Lincoln.  If this bill passes it will become the giant sinkhole that other government programs have become and will be nearly impossible to reverse.  The next President won't be able to fix this giant Obama mistake.

Every Democratic incumbent voted yea to open the Health Care Bill for debate.  Return the favor by voting Nay for them in 2010.  Tell them of your plans by phone or email.  They need the wake up call.

Democratic incumbents
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
Barbara Boxer of California
Michael Bennet of Colorado
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii
Evan Bayh of Indiana
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
Paul Kirk - Massachusetts -Elected Senator will serve until 2012 election, Kirk is Ted Kennedy's Replacement
Harry Reid of Nevada - Harry Reid doesn't care what you think, Nevada, get this jerk out of office while you have the chance!
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York -Elected Senator will serve until 2012 election, Gillibrand is Hillary Clinton's Replacement
Chuck Schumer of New York
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota
Ron Wyden of Oregon
Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania - Switched from a Democrat to a Republican this year.  Vote him OUT, Pennsylvania
Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Patty Murray of Washington
Russ Feingold of Wisconsin

Republican incumbents
Richard Shelby of Alabama
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
John McCain of Arizona
Johnny Isakson of Georgia
Mike Crapo of Idaho
Chuck Grassley of Iowa
David Vitter of Louisiana
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
Jim DeMint of South Carolina
John Thune of South Dakota
Bob Bennett of Utah

Also of note, Senators Retiring in 2010:
Democrats:
Roland Burris of Illinois
Ted Kaufman of Delaware
Republicans:
Kit Bond of Missouri
Sam Brownback of Kansas
Jim Bunning of Kentucky
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
George LeMieux of Florida
George Vionovich of Ohio

So Does Obama Twitter or Doesn't He?

Millions of Democrats were devastated when Obama recently announced in an offhand sort of way, "I don't use Twitter."  This left the silly dems who actually thought they were conversing with the Elite One broken-hearted, all 2.6 million of them.  His account was verified, maybe it's that ass Gibbs who plays on Twitter pretending to be Barack.  Despite his statement tons of twitter users retweeted this today.

 BarackObama

The Senate has released a health reform bill that secures and extends affordable coverage while reducing our deficit. Now that's progress.

Gross.  Disgusting.  Self-Promoting.  Propaganda. 

Why Does Obama Want to Bring Terrorists to New York for Trial?

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that 5 alleged 9/11 terrorists are being brought to New York for their trials.  They are not being tried by a Military Tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  It seems fitting that they would be, given that their crimes were war crimes.  Instead, they will be tried in a civilian court.  The courthouse where the alleged terrorists are to be tried is about 1,000 yards from the World Trade Center Site.  The 5 accused will likely have multiple chances to admire their handiwork.  

Security in the middle of Manhattan is difficult on a good day, imagine a day with 5 alleged terrorists in attendance.  This likely enlarges an already large target on New York City.  In addition to the security issues some families of victims are finding the decision to be insensitive.    

The men on trial include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.  One of the very legitimate fears is that US Intelligence information will become public, while we are in the midst of war.  This could seriously jeopardize American lives. 

This trial is going to be an absolute circus.  It's the improper forum and making it such a show puts New York at risk as well as the rest of the country.  It seems that having a public trial is less to the benefit of the victims or the accused and more to the benefit of someone who wants to be a hero,  someone who needs his ego fed.  It almost equates to the days of the public hangings.  Our Military Tribunals are honorable and to imply that they are somehow inferior by trying these defendants in a civilian court is divisive.

Orly Taitz Files a Motion for Reconsideration in the California Obama Eligilibity Case

The birth certificate lawsuit widely thought to be the most likely to go to trial was dismissed October 29, 2009 by Judge David Carter of the District Court of the Central District in California.   Now attorney Orly Taitz is trying to revive it in her trademark style.  She has filed a motion for reconsideration where she argues multiple points including a possible conflict of interest, personal and professional attacks on her character, evidence, delays in discovery, and precedence.  It's a great read.  The lady doesn't hold back.

KEYES|BARNETT v OBAMA - 90 - NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION for Reconsideration - Gov.uscourts.cacd.435591.90.0

The House Passes that Stupid Healthcare Bill

Effing socialists.  Under Obama's regime it seems anything is possible, including turning America into Castro's Cuba.  I am so tired of the Representatives for the people not listening to the people.  I hope they all lose their jobs at the next election.  Hopefully the Senate will have more sense.  Attention Giant Government: Stop Spending All My Money, I don't have that much to spare since you already take half of my earnings in taxes.

Plese stop creating situations where people who own small businesses are forced to lay people off because the government is making them pay out so much in healhcare.  This is not fixing the problem.  Please don't make me pay for illegal aliens or abortions.  Please don't drive private insurance out of business.  Please don't make America unrecognizable.  Obama, you are ruining this country with your rookie mistakes and missteps. 

Step down before you do anymore damage.  Put your ego aside and do it for the U.S.

Muslim Extremist Shoots Up Fort Hood

A Major created mass casualties at Fort Hood today.  He wounded 38, killed 13.  A pregnant woman was among the dead.  Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan spoke out openly against the war, strange for a man who made his living working for the US Army.  He stated that he believed the War on Terror was a war against Islam.  He had orders to go to Iraq in the near future.  Hasan told family members he felt mistreated due to his religion.  He was reportely tr8ing to get out of the military before deployment. 

Despite his opposition to the war and feelings of mistreatment he seemed to have no trouble at all living off the Army.  He attended medical school at the Uniformed Services University, where he graduated from in 2003.  He then completed his psychiatry residency and  his disaster and military psychiatry fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  He finally completed these programs in June 2008.  In July 2008 he reported for duty at Fort Hood, Texas.  A mere 16 months later he was trying to get a release from the Army, claiming mistreatment, as he faced deployment orders.  He used the US Army.  They invested in him, paid for all his schooling, as well as paying him at the same time, all thinking he would work for them. 

This was a man who had "Allah is Love" on a bumper sticker on his car in Arabic.  A man who wore traditional Arab garb even though he was American born, and allegedly posted on the internet praising suicide bombers. Fort Hood's commanding general said witnesses have reported that the gunman yelled "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great," during the rampage. 

Obama tells us not to jump to conclusions about him.   Don't worry, Obama, there's no need to jump to conclusions, he let his feelings be known.  He  wore his treason on his sleeve and it was ignored, no doubt in some show of political correctness.  He infiltrated our military, never hiding who he was.  What have we become?

Nancy Pelosi Includes Abortion in Government Healthcare Bill

Despite Obama saying that abortion will not be covered under Universal Healthcare Nancy Pelosi has ensured that it will be.  When does that witch come up for reelection again?  And more importantly, who elected her in the first place?  Even California can't like this nasty woman.  So, there it is.  Obama said no illegals covered and no abortions covered.  He did lie, Joe Wilson, you have been vindicated.  Pelosi, 69, is trying to pass this monster of a Bill by Sunday.  I personally don't think there's a chance in hell that it's going Sunday.  The Democrats have to see the writing on the wall with the change of power in Virginia and New Jersey.  2010 is an election year for many in Congress.  We shall see.

More indoctrinations

Big Hollywood posted a compilation of videos of schoolchildren singing and praising Obama, all with the apparent approval and assistance of faculty.  Here's one of the videos, this one is from a Giffen Elementary School performance at the Albany Institute.

Taking Our Country Back - VA Back to Red, NJ Red as Well

Virginia is Republican once again.  They elected a Republican governor by a landslide tonight, Congrats Governor Bob McDonnell.  Virginia tried going blue and they are back!  It didn't work out so well for them.  Guess this wasn't the kind of change they were looking for...now the GOP needs some Senate seats.

New Jersey has now been called for Chris Christie by the AP.  Congrats to Governor Christie.  Obama and Biden both pushed hard for Christie's opponent, incumbent Jon Corzine.  New Jersey pushed back.  People want something different.  I'm happy to see that people have stopped blindly following Obama.

It's All Over But the Crying - Judge Carter Dismisses Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit

In a devestating turn of events Judge Carter has dismissed the case against Barack Obama challenging his status as a natural born citizen.  This was the Santa Ana case with attorney Orly Taitz that already had a trial date set, the only birth certificate lawsuit to ever get that far.  Judge Carter says that this should be handled by Congress.  It won't be, there's no way Pelosi will hear this.  This is a huge blow for the birther movement.  Obama is clearly hiding something and we are not going to be allowed to know what, not now.
Judge Carter Ruling on MTD

Democrats Again Using the Children: Making Halloween about Healthcare

Organizing for America put this out.  At the bottom of the page it claims it is "a project of the Democratic National Committee." This one is for Alaska, there are similar events scheduled for Reno, NV, and Las Vegas, NV.  In Tuscon, AZ, Democrats in costume will begin knocking on doors at 9am.  Liberals have taken a children's holiday and decided to exploit it.  Please let me know if this happens in your area.  I would be curious to discover how widespread this is beyond the listed "events."  

Here's the info from Organizing for America.  

The Details

Healthy Halloween Reverse Canvass (Health Care Canvass)

As Alaskans know too well, when Halloween comes around, it usually means we've entered into winter - with nights that are cold, streets that are slippery, and snow that is piling up.

That is why this Halloween, Organizing for America is asking every Alaskan who supports President Obama's Health Reform Plan - whether you live in Sitka, Wasilla, North Pole, or Barrow - to join with other Alaskans in a Healthy Halloween Reverse Canvass!

Instead of going door-to-door, simply let the people come to you!

* Give trick-or-treaters a flier about President Obama's Health Reform Plan and a “Health Reform NOW” sticker.

* Give them a healthy snack too as a way to remind them about how important health reform is!

Let's make sure that this Halloween the only scary things Alaskans encounter are witches, ghosts, and goblins…and not big insurance companies who promise treats and only give you tricks.

TO PARTICIPATE: RSVP to this event. When you sign up be sure to include your mailing address & a good phone number so we can follow up.

Attention Democrat Party.  Please stop targeting the children.  It angers their parents, it doesn't make them want to do what you are pushing.  Republicans disagree with you, not because they are uneducated, but because you are wrong. 

Pelosi Thinks We're Stupid - Tries to Rename Public Option

Nancy Pelosi thinks the public option should go by another name, one that people don't hate so much.  She's thrown out the term "consumer option" and Democrat Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz is using the term "competitive option."  Give me a small break.  People hate the idea not the name.  We are not stupid, we are not going to suddenly accept the public option just because someone sticks a misleading name in front of it.

The idea that government healthcare is going to help the consumer or competition is beyond rediculous.  This is going to end in disaster.  There will be long lines, inefficient care, and private healthcare plans will be driven out of business.

Yesterday Obama Declared a National Emergency Because of H1N1, Yet His Kids Don't Get Vaccinated

If H1N1 is such a huge deal why is Obama not vaccinating his own kids?  I don't buy that the kids are not at risk, the CDC doesn't either.  I don't buy that it's not available to them.  He's the President.

What is a National Emergency and why is it significant?  Basically a Naitonal Emergency opens up Federal Funds and allows the Health and Human Services Department to bypass federal rules regarding opening clinics.  It's all about spending money, unchecked.  Our money, once again.

It's in the President's best interests for people to be very afraid of this pandemic.  It's in his best interest for people to die, for people to get into medical debt.  He needed a health care crisis so he could show people who are usually quite healthy, with low medical bills, that they need socialized medicine, that they can't afford traditional medicine.  He wants people without insurance to fall into despair.

It doesn't matter that people without medical insurance are gambling.  It doesn't matter that a lot of them could afford health coverage, looked at the cost, and the odds and decided to take on another car payment, or take a cruise instead.  It doesn't matter that they gambled and lost.  Losers cry and whine and suddenly are victims, victims who want something for nothing.

Free is a misnomer, except for the non working members of society.  The rest of us pay to keep those who don't afloat.  The United States is the home of so many medical advancements, that will all go away.  There will be no monetary incentive anymore.  It's sad.

The DOJ Provides Judge Carter with Notice of New Jersey Court's Ruling

Judge Carter of the Central District of California is taking his time deciding whether or not to dismiss the case against Barack Obama, challenging his claim that he is a natural born citizen.  The plaintiff's lawyer in that case is Orly Taitz.  A person must be a natural born citizen to hold the office of President.  The New Jersey court's decision absolutely does not mandate what Judge Carter will decide, but the decision can be admitted to show what a court with a similar case has decided.  Here's the request for judicial notice.
KEYES|BARNETT v OBAMA - 87 - REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL NOTICE filed by Defendants Michelle LR Obama, Hillary Rod...

New Jersey Obama Eligilbity Birth Certificate Case Dismissed

A New Jersey case challenging Obama's eligibility has been dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  The court said that the plaintiffs had no standing because there was no injury.  I tend to disagree, given the state of our country.

This case is not to be confused with the birth certificate lawsuit in front of Judge Carter with attorney Orly Taitz representing Alan Keyes, among others.  That case is still waiting on a decision by Judge Carter on whether or not to dismiss, it has been 16 days now. 

Smoking Gun? Missing Document to Tie Obama To Kenya?

Probably not.  This is likely a hoax.  Would be nice to compare Obama's Grandma's signature though.  click to see the entire image.

Obama Birth Certificate Hearing - October 5, 2009 Official Transcripts

Thanks to friends of Politijab. 
Keyes|Barnett v. Obama - Official Court Transcript From 10-5-2009 Hearing    

Obama's Fist Executive Order

Sealing his records.  Something to hide? 

This is Funny!

Tim Hawkins Comedy

Olympia Snowe is a Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe is a pretend Republican.  She voted today for Obamacare, as part of the Senate Finance Committee.  She evidently wants a socialist health care system, which is exactly where this 'health care overhaul' is heading.  This is not a Republican value.  This is a silly liberal pipe dream that will hurt us all beyond belief, in terms of medical advances, personal finances, and quality health care.  Her vote also gives credence to the bill as being bi-partisan, which couldn't be further from the truth. 

Her comments after the vote make no sense.  “So is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls,” Snowe said.  What does that even mean?  She didn't like the bill but voted for it anyway?  To make history?  Snowe also supports legalized abortion and stem cell research.  Snowe is no Conservative and no Republican.  The State of Maine should stand up against this fraud at the next election and say no to Olympia Snowe.  Unfortunately, that election won't be held until 2012.  Until then we just have to be aware that an imposter walks among us.

For Your Viewing Pleasure - The Declaration that Was Filed with the Obama Kenyan Birth Certificate

It's a good read.  Filed with the court 09/04/2009.
KEYES v OBAMA - 55 - NOTICE Declaration regarding Kenian Hospital Birth Certificate of Barack Obama

Obama Eligibility Case - Affidavit of Obama Misuse of Social Security Number

Why would Obama need to 'borrow' someone else's social security number?  This guy is our President?  What is is Obama hiding?
KEYES v OBAMA - 78.4 - Exhibit Affidavit PI Susan Daniels-Obama's use of SS number of the deceased)(Taitz, ...

Obama Given Nobel Peace Prize for Being Obama

It was announced this morning that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize.  He now joins the ranks of Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama in terms of spreading global peace.  It seems in recent years that the Nobel Peace Prize is simply a prize for being liberal.  The most recent United States winners are Jimmy Carter (2002), Al Gore (2007), and now, Barack Obama (2009). 

The Norwegian Nobel Committee claims to give the prize to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."  In rational for choosing Obama, the Nobel Committee said that he recieved the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." 

Looking at this rationally, they must have based this on his presidential campaign because Nobel nominations are due by February 1st.  Obama had only been in office 11 days at that time.  That's not a huge amount of time to make extraordinary efforts to do anything.  If they continued looking at him post nomination all they could have seen is the downfall of America, a death spiral into socialism and massive debt.  I can't think of anyone less worthy of the award.  I would say that the Nobel Committee has lost my respect, but they actually lost me at Jimmy Carter, 7 years ago.  This is just affirmation that the award is now a joke.

Motion to Expedite Discovery in Obama Eligibility Case Denied

Judge Carter denied Orly Taitz's motion to expedite discovery today pending his ruling on the dismissal motion. None of the attorney's were present.  If the dismissal motion is denied discovery will commence.  This ruling changes nothing.  Discovery was not yet allowed before, it is still not yet allowed.  It's now past 5 pm in California.  Maybe Judge Carter will rule on this issue tomorrow.  Good things come to those who wait, hopefully.

The Decision is Not Yet In on the Obama Eligibility Case - Motion to Expedite Discovery Due to Finalization of Trial Dates

Earlier today rumors swirled that the motion to dismiss had been denied.  I can't find any evidence that that is true.  What I did find evidence of is that the court did finalize the trial dates in this case.  The dates were tentative before. 

There is a logic to the natural jump that came from that release to the assumption that Judge Carter denied the dismissal.  Why would the court go through the work or effort to finalize trial dates for a trial that's not going to happen?  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  In fact, today Orly Taitz contacted the Justice Department and told them she wants to start the discovery process because of this.  They refused, citing lack of an order.  The events of today do give me optimism that I didn't have before.  Tomorrow is another day.

KEYES|BARNETT v OBAMA - 82 - 0/07/2009 82 EX PARTE APPLICATION to Accelerate motion for relief from stay of...

At Least One Outlet is Reporting that Judge Carter has Made a Decision on Obama Eligibility

What appears to be Alan Keyes website is reporting that the case is moving forward.  This means that Judge Carter has in fact denied the dismissal motion.  Reports are out that Orly Taitz has also hinted at this in the last hour on her website, but her website gives me a warning message which I am choosing not to ignore at this time.

This hasn't been carried on any major news networks as of yet, but that is typical when decisions go in favor of people challenging Obama's eligibility.  It seems only decisions against the 'birthers' are reported.  I'm working hard to confirm, but wanted to update.

Judge Carter Still Hasn't Issued a Decision in Obama Birth Certificate Dismissal

His docket showed his last case today at 10am, so hopefully he has plenty of time to issue the decision today on the motion to dismiss.  If not, we wait.  Sadly, no one has any control over when judges release decisions.  

Politijab Unofficial Transcript of Obama Eligibility Court Proceedings

Here is an eyewitness account, or unofficial transcript, if you will, from Politijab.  

Barnett v. Obama - Report on 10-5 Hearing

Further Analysis of Obama Birth Certificate Hearing - No Decision Yet

There has not been a decision issued on the dismissal hearing today.  Judge Carter has previously indicated that he wants to hear this case on the merits, that it would be good for the country.  It seems that someone has gotten his ear or he's gotten scared of the case.  After hearing multiple accounts from people who were in the courthouse it seems that Judge Carter was gearing up to wash his hands of this case. 

Judge Carter focused in on jurisdiction.  It seems he has all but decided that this isn't the job of a court, but rather of Congress, because only Congress can impeach a sitting President.  What he's missing is that Congress is completely unwilling to even investigate the issue, and it is an issue.  There will be no justice if it is left to Congress. 

If the President is willing to fight this hard to keep his documents private, including his long form birth certificate and school records, among other documents, one has to wonder what he has to hide.  He's spent untold amounts of taxpayer money trying to avoid the disclosure of identity documents. 

Carter did also mention that he has no precedent to go by in this case.  Then there were the usual discussions about standing.  Were any of the plaintiff's really harmed?  Would they have won the election in any case?  Does that even matter? 

One of the plaintiff attorney's, Gary Kreep, made an very decent argument on the Congress/Impeachment issues.  He said that if Obama was not validly elected he could not be impeached, so therefore impeachment is irrelevant. 

Clearly, this case could lead to Obama's removal if it is proven that he is not a natural born citizen.  That's a lot on Judge Carter's shoulders.  I hope he cares about upholding the Constitution and getting to the bottom of this polarizing issue.  We will see what he decides. 

Obama Birth Certificate Hearing - October 5, 2009

UPDATE 2:  The court is done for the day.  Judge Carter has not issued an opinion yet.  He is going to look over all the documents and decide on the motion to dismiss.  I don't know how long that will take, it could be hours or days.  There are reports of spontaneous applause after Orly Taitz's argument in the courtroom.  There was no decision made on discovery either, which makes complete sense.  Now we must wait.  

Update: The hearing did get started about five minutes late and it is still going on!  This is probably very good news.  If the case was dismissed we would have probably heard by now.  I'll keep you posted.

This is a big day for the Obama Presidential eligibility case in the U.S. District Court in California.

The hearing for today is scheduled for 8:30 am PST, there are two other matters for unrelated cases on Judge Carter's docket, one at 7:30am, one at 8:00am.  The delay for these matters, if any, should be minimal.  The next case on Judge Carter's docket is scheduled for 10:00am.  We may have our answer by then.

Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open Tommorow - Birth Certificate Hearing

October 5, 2009 Judge Carter will be holding a hearing regarding discovery and the motion to dismiss.  This is the first birth certificate lawsuit that has gotten to the point where a trial date has been set.  That trial date is set for January 26, 2010.  There is also a pretrial hearing set for January 11, 2010.  Please see my initial post on this subject to learn more.  At issue is Obama's eligibility to serve as President, specifically whether he is able to fulfill the Natural Born Citizen requirement.    

As I had previously reported, the discovery process has been delayed by a stay of court pending the hearing set for tomorrow.  This may result in a delayed trial date.  Judge Carter will also be ruling on the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss.  Both parties have been instructed to prepare for full discovery following this hearing, if the motion to dismiss is denied.  If this case makes it through tomorrow, and I believe it will, discovery is likely to be quite swift with Judge Carter. 

Check back here for updates!

Obama's Olympics Plan Fails

President Obama jetted across the world to make a push for Chicago to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.  It really doesn't seem fitting that the leader of the free world would go and do this personally.  It seems out of place, even undignified.  No surprise there, Obama seems determined to take the dignity out of the Oval Office.  Maybe the President owed Chicago a favor. 

Chicago was knocked out in the first round, despite the star power provided by President Obama, Michelle Obama, and Oprah.  Truthfully, I'm glad Rio de Janeiro, Brazil won it.  The entire contienent of South America has never had the opportunity to host the Olympic Games.  The United States has hosted the Olympics 8 times. 

Nearly half of the people of Chicago opposed the Olympic Games coming to their city.  They were concerned it would bankrupt the city.  This is a valid concern.  My concern was a little different.  Chicago is not a particularly nice city.  It is crime ridden and plagued with corruption.  I get that it's Michelle Obama's hometown, but it's just not the best that America has to offer.  When you step onto the world stage you really want to put your best foot forward, Chicago is not our best foot. 

Democrats Prove Joe Wilson Right - Make it Easy for Illegals to Go Around the Rules and Get Federal Healthcare

When Obama said "The reforms I'm proposing will not apply to those who are here illegally" Joe Wilson shouted out, "You Lie!"  Democrats recently rejected a provision that would require immigrants to show photo ID to sign up for federal health care programs.  Why?  What's wrong with making them prove that they are who they say they are?  It doesn't seem too burdensome.  I have to show photo ID to buy liquor, to board an airplane, and to cash a check, it's not a huge deal.  Immigrants are required to give other information, such as name, place of birth, and social security number but without a photo ID to tie them to the person they are claiming to be, it seems pretty worthless.

The only time the government issued photo ID becomes burdensome is when it is required and you don't have one.  A state ID costs $15 on average, no state charges more than $30.  So, it's not really the cost to get one that is burdensome.  Where it becomes burdensome is when you are trying to get a state ID you are not entitled to.  Like one someone else's name, someone who has legal status. 

Why would the Democrats make it easy for people who are here illegally to slip into the federal health care system?  It doesn't make any sense.  A registration for federal health care without requiring ID is like a gate with no fence, you can just go around it.  I guess the gate is just for show.

Obama Now Wants to Control Education - Turn Schools into Taxpayer Funded Daycare Centers

Obama has decided that America would benefit from longer school days and longer school years.  I'm not in complete disagreement.  However, it's not my place to decide, just as it's not his place to decide.  Obama seems to consistantly ignore the issue of State Sovereignty, the rights guaranteed to the states under the 10th Amendment of the Consistution.  That Amendment basically says that unless the Constitution says otherwise all rights are to be granted to the States.  This is meant to limit the Federal Government. 

Obama seems to operate under the theory that his powers are limitless and he is all knowing, rather like a God.  The Constitution is written to prevent this type of thing.  The Democrats tend to ignore the Constitution.  Obama reportedly "wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go."  So, he is basically asking for a taxpayer funded daycare for school aged children.  It has always been the case, apart from a few progams for the poor, that people pay for their own aftercare for their children. 

For years, parents who both work have been picking children up at Kindercare and the like, or hiring nannies or teenaged neighbors to fill the gap between the end of the school day and when the parent arrives home.  It's just part of being a working parent.  It's part of the concept of personal responsiblity.  It seems our society is going more and more this way.  People want "free" everything (read, taxpayer funded). 

This is Socialism and it doesn't work.  If the Government takes more and more from the high earners they are eventually going to start refusing to work extraordinarily hard just to give their money away to those that chose not to.  The lazy will get lazier and the pool of funds to draw from will shrink.  Then we will end up with crappy, underfunded, mismanaged federal programs and no alternatives to choose from.  We are not going to be able to borrow money forever to fund loser programs.  I hope America wakes up while America is still America.

Paul Kirk Quietly Sworn into Kennedy's Seat

Paul Kirk became a senator yesterday.  He will be one for four months as he has been appointed in the interim between the vacancy created by Ted Kennedy's death and the special election on January 19th, 2010 which will elect his successor.  It seems the Democrats have played it dirty and won again.  There has been not a mention of the hypocricy or fastracking of this bill on CNN.  They are too busy rerunning clips of Obama on David Letterman.  He was sworn in just before 4 pm yesterday.  Often things that are believed to be controversial are announced late on a Friday in an attempt to bury them over the weekend.  It's a long weekend for many with schools closed in several areas for Yom Kippur. 

Paul Kirk was sworn in by Joe Biden, with John Kerry, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi looking on.  What a group.  Paul Kirk is the critical 40th Democratic Senator, which makes the Senate fillibuster proof.  He is 71 years old.  He is a former DNC party chairman who once suggested means based testing for social security.  He served as a super-delegate in 2008 and pledged his vote to Barack Obama.  Super-delegates are unique to the Democratic Party and are controversial because are not elected but rather seated automatically by the Democratic Party, they are free to vote for whomever they wish for the Presidential Nomination.

Watch the Video and Be Terrified - This is Our School System - New Jersey

How many schools are doing this type of Obama hero worship?  It's scary, and it's what he wants.  Complete indoctrination.  Please spread this far and wide.  It's important that people see this video.  I know it starts off slow but continue watching to see just how creepy it can get!

Ted Kennedy's Senate Seat about to be Filled

As I previously reported, the Massachusetts House voted to give the governor the right to appoint someone to fill Ted Kennedy's senate seat, well, now the Massachusetts Senate has voted the same way, clearing the way for Governor Deval Patrick to make an appointment. 

This is why people hate politicians.  This kind of dirty, corrupt, crap that Ted Kennedy endorsed in life.  For a bit more history on this law, look here.  Basically, Ted Kennedy had the law changed 5 years ago to help the Democratic Party, and now it's being changed back for the same reason.  Ted Kennedy had been fighting to change the law back before he died, in anticipation of his empty senate seat causing a change in the current fillibuster proof majority.

Bills without a 2/3 majority reportedly take 90 days to go into effect under Massachusetts Law.  Massachusetts has found a work around and the seat is expected to be filled by the end of the week.  Apparantly Democrats can have it both ways. 

Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit - Discovery Delayed by Stay of Court

The citizenship eligibility lawsuit that has been making the news lately is not the one that I had spoke of before in this blog, just to erase any confusion that might understandably arise.  There is an issue with a birth certificate lawsuit in the District Court in Columbus, Ohio.  It has been thrown out of court.  The judge, Clay Land, called the case frivolous.  Another federal judge threw out a similar case because the issue had been blogged, texted, twittered, and massaged to death and therefore it was frivolous.  I missed when public opinion and blogging became the equivalent of legal opinion...Federal District Court judges are appointed for life and can only be involuntarily removed under the impeachment process.  This explains their behavior in these cases.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  In the Judge Land case there was also an apparent breakdown in the attorney/client relationship as well as the attorney/judge relationship.  Read about it here.

The case that I had spoke about before, in the District Court in California, is still on.  It's the only case to have a trial date set.  There is another hearing on October 5 regarding discovery and a motion to dismiss.  Recently the judge in that case reportedly told lawyers challenging Obama's citizenship and thus eligibility to be President that they cannot start the discovery process yet, responding to a stay requested by the government.  In case it wasn't clear before, the government is defending Mr. Obama's decision not to produce his records, so we are paying for this, as taxpayers.  If Congress had insisted on verifying Obama's citizenship status before the election it would not have fallen on our shoulders.

The Judge in this trial, Judge Carter, has decided to grant a temporary stay in the production of discovery and has told lawyers that the court, not the defendants, will determine what evidence would be pertinent to the case and if the plaintiffs are hampered by the time frame imposed by the court, he will hear "any proposed new trial dates" during the Oct. 5 hearing.

Obama's Marathon of Speeches - Creating A Deeper Division

President Obama said today that he is not breaking through in his many, many speeches on health care.  Breaking through what?  A communication barrier?  I don't think that could be it, because we understand exactly what he's selling and we're not buying.  Just because there is opposition doesn't mean that we don't understand.  That's condescending.

He then says that the opposition to his plan is caused by a fear of big changes.  This imply's an idea of conservatives stuck in the past.  Conservatives don't fear change, even big change, they fear negative change.  Change that is going to hurt me is something to fear.  When he says that people that oppose him fear change it makes us look like irrational ninnys who don't care what the issue is they just want the status quo.  This is also unfair. 

Something has been bothering me for quite some time.  Obama talks constantly about his "inherited" problems, even though he has expanded them exponentially, just to take a jab at Bush and Republicans.  In his address to Congress he said that Republicans were telling "scary stories" and "tall tales".  Add in the implications that conservatives are fearful and stupid today by Obama and I'm getting pretty sick of it.  The President is insulting half of the country on a near constant basis.  He's advancing the us against them mentality.  Why?

Healthcare Bill Won't Cover Illegal Aliens Because Obama Wants to Legalize the Illegals

At a speech this week Obama spoke about health care for illegal aliens.  He said, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all." How do you resolve the issue of 12 million illegals?  By deporting them?  I sincerely doubt it.  He's talking about amnesty. 

Obama wants to convert the illegals to legal status and add them onto the health care plan.  So, basically, people break our laws, sneak into our country, take advantage of our services, pay no taxes, send their earnings back to their home countries and now we are going to reward them with citizenship?  Seriously??  Who elected this clown?

Ted Kennedy's Last Act of Hypocrisy - Gubernatorial Appointment Gets Through Massachusetts House

In the months before Ted Kennedy died he was busy making preparations for the future of his senate seat.  The idea was to make sure that the seat wasn't vacant for any appreciable amount of time and to make sure it was filled by a Democrat.  He had an obstacle in his way though, there was already a law preventing the Governor of Massachusetts from making an appointment.  Instead, a special election was required.  This would cause a five month delay in filling his seat.  This seat being filled with a Democrat would maintain a majority which is filibuster proof.

So, what makes this hypocrisy?  The fact that Ted Kennedy was the one who created the law requiring the special election back in 2004 to prevent a Republican from being appointed to a Massachusetts seat by then Governor Mitt Romney in anticipation of John Kerry becoming President.  Clearly, that eventuality never happened, but the law was set into place.  

Today, it was reported that the Massachusetts House voted to change the law and allow gubernatorial appointments for Massachusetts senate seats.  Now it has to get through the State Senate and be signed by Democratic Governor Deval Patrick.  So, if it's a Republican Governor, the law gets changed to strip him of power, if it's a Democratic Governor, the law gets changed to give him power.  Typical Democratic behavior.  What a note to go out on, Ted.

Former President Carter Calls Joe Wilson a Racist

This morning on the news I saw Jimmy Carter saying that Joe Wilson's comment was racially motivated and that much of the Obama opposition is because he's a black man.  I take great offense to that.  My opposition to Obama is because of his policies, not his race.  Joe Wilson's comments had nothing to do with race either.  It's unfair that everytime anyone disagrees with Obama they are immediately labeled a racist.  Jimmy Carter also said racism is bubbling to the surface in that people don't think that a black man is qualified to run the country.  Excuse me?  Maybe it's his complete and utter lack of qualificiations that convince people that he's not qualified, as well as his actions over the past nine months. 

It is completely insulting to insinuate that half of the country cannot look beyond race and see the issues.  Obama's political stances are offensive enough, regardless of what he looks like.  I do not believe that Joe Wilson is a racist.  I believe that the forum he chose was unfortunate, but I also believe that he brought attention to a very important issue and for that I'm greatful.  President Obama stood on that stage and claimed that Republicans were telling 'scary stories' and 'tall tales.'  Was he not calling Republicans liars as well?  I understand how that could be frustrating to Joe Wilson, I do.  I know I would be squirming in my seat wanting to say something. 

Now that 'the Great Leader' is in power and he has race on his side I guess there's nothing he can't do.  Any opposition is discrimination and inherently irrational.  What a sad state we are in. 

Obama Loves the Sound of His Own Voice

Obama has decided that we need to see even more of him.  So, in addition to the speeches he is giving this week he has also decided to grace us with his presence on the television once more by doing 5 interviews on Sunday.  That's right, 5.  The list is: This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC,  Meet the Press on NBC, and Face the Nation on CBS.  In between, he is going to sit down for interviews on CNN and Univision.  This is a Presidential record.

Please stop being so damn pushy, Mr. President.  We don't want your plan.  We are not a Socialist Country and we don't want to be one.  We are tired of seeing your face and hearing your voice.  You are not the sole source of power in the United States and your arrogance is quite frankly, annoying. 

In case five Obama interviews on Sunday aren't enough he is also booked to be on David Letterman on Monday.  David Letterman, is of course, a late night talk show featuring celebrities not politicians.  Obama will be the only guest, which is only fitting because he won't shut up and let anyone else speak anyway.  Are the liberals getting oversaturated yet, or are they immune?

Obama On Health Care - "They Can't Stop Us. Let's Go and Get This Done"

Obama held a rally today to support his number one issue, socialized medicine, in liberal Minnesota today. In that rally he basically repeated the same things he said on Wednesday, some of it verbatim. He accused the insurance companies and the right of spreading rumors to scare and intimidate the people.

There is no need for rumors, the truth is scary enough. It's simple to see what would happen under Obama's plan. It leads to a single payer system, he is attempting to drive the insurance companies out of business. Then, when the government is paying we get crap healthcare. Low budget healthcare that no doctor in his right mind will want to work under, so then we get crap doctors as well. We only have to look to the UK and Canada to see where we will land under this plan. It's not good. All of our choices will be gone and so will a good chunk of our paychecks.

While Obama was out having a rally in a liberal area (basically preaching to the choir, he does love to be stroked) a very sizeable protest formed in Washington D.C. against the huge amount of government spending and againt government healthcare. Obama doesn't care what the people of the country think though. In his own words, as he left the stage: "They can't stop us. Let's go and get this done." He is taking the stance of a spoiled child. Whatever Obama wants Obama gets, at any cost. He's taking us down a bad path that may be irreversible. Congressman John Kline (R) of Minessota says that Obama does not have the votes and the bill won't pass either chamber of Congress. Here's hoping he's right.

Obama Must Hate Joe Wilson

A momentary rude interruption to a speech has taken all focus off the speech itself. Obama's great plan, to take over Primetime TV and somehow convince all of us that socialized medicine was the way to go, has been foiled. No one is talking about the content of the speech, except, perhaps to ask if he really did lie. The contents were old hat anyway, nothing persuasive there. If you were on one side of the aisle before the speech you were still there when it ended.

When Obama decided to bully members of Congress who disagreed with him it was almost comical. If you don't want the bill don't waste my time, I'll call you out. Who are you, Tony Soprano? Is this really our President? Newsflash, Mr. Obama, Congress doesn't have to do what you say, they're not even supposed to. They are supposed to represent the nation, not just some spoiled brat who needs to have everything his way all the time. These people have their jobs to protect, jobs they will have long after you leave office if they play their cards right.

A Quick Note on Joe Wilson

Joe Wilson, to yell, "you lie" when the President is speaking is horribly disrespectful and childish. Obama was lying, but really, the lack of dignity there was painful. We all know he's lying, no need to yell it out like that. I watched the speech and somehow missed that moment until it was brought up later. Maybe I was typing, maybe I mistook it for one of the 47 applause interruptions. We are all frustrated but we have to remember time and place. If Rep. Wilson had made commentary later in front of a camera in a calm and rational way it would have been fine. I saw a freeze frame of that moment somewhere on the internet today and Nancy Pelosi looked like she was going to kill him with her death stare. Joe Biden attempted a similar look but just appeared as if he was trying to fart. Obama looked confused and eventually said, that's not true. The teleprompter apparently didn't have a good comeback ready.

The Obama Speech on Universal Health Care - My Analysis Minute by Minute

I see all of the attention whores are in red tonight. Obama, has on a bold red tie, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi are in red power suits. Michelle Obama is in a pinkish color, actually looking quite appropriate tonight, her shoulders are covered and she's not stealing too much of the limelight. Nancy Pelosi is like a Jack-In-The-Box jumping up and down to clap like a performing seal every time Obama finishes a sentence. Joe Biden looks quite bored and is slouching in his seat, he does take Nancy's cues and gets up almost everytime she does.

Now is the time to deliver on health care! Now is the season of change! Nothing in our plan requires you to change anything you have. Huh? Why does he keep talking about pre-existing conditions? HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) reduced this issue to nearly nothing. That was 13 years ago. This is not an issue in employer issued healthcare and is limited to six months of non-coverage in all other types, excluding urgent medical conditions, like pregnancy which have no wait at all. Also, no one is ever turned down for employer based care, so the issue of not being able to get insurance is remedied by getting a job with benefits as opposed to being self employed.

He says no one should go broke because of a medical issue. The problem with that is that we are America. What he's talking about is cost sharing, Universal Healthcare, socialized medicine. It just doesn't work. The Canadian system and the U.K. system are shameful. The waiting list is long and people die. Care is bad and outdated. He is speaking about providing a choice, providing competition, when at the begining of the speech he said that the very best system is single payor. This is clearly a gateway into that system that involves no choice or competition whatsoever.

He has now claimed that he will not sign a plan that adds one dime to the deficit now or in the future, so I guess the health care plan is dead!!!! Ohhh, a jab at Bush, that makes the clapping very loud, something about inherited debt, to the tune of 3 trillion dollars. We got into a war, we couldn't pay for, apparantly. War is funny like that, tough to budget for. He just said that this program would eliminate the waste and fraud in insurance companies. That's because there is never any waste or fraud in the federal government, right Obama?

Now he's saying that people are telling scary stories and tall tales about his plan. Kind of like when he was talking about people dying without it in the begining of his speech? So he's going to nail the insurance companies with fees for expensive policies? That's how you foster competition and choice? No, that's how you drive people out of the market. He threw the Republicans a bone by saying that we might be able to slip in some tort reform somewhere.

Here's used car salesman Obama, my door is open, come to me with reasonable offers. I will not waste my time on people who wants to kill the bill.

Did he just say he would call people out who disagreed? Seriously the President says he's going to call people out?

Here's the emotional plea, Ted Kennedy sent me a letter, to be delivered after his death, supporting health care and talking about how it's a moral issue. Sorry, but I'm not really taking moral advice from Ted Kennedy, dead or alive.

In the last few moments of this speech I think I got what Obama wants most of all. A legacy. How sad is that?

One thing to remember is that the United States is a place of many medical advances, we have some of the most advanced technology on this earth. Many vaccines and new drugs come out of this country. The reason? The dreaded pharmaceutical companies fund that very expensive research and the best minds come together to accomplish amazing things. People send their very complicated medical cases here to be treated. I'm sorry, but that system is unique and won't be able to be duplicated once Obama takes away their ability to make a profit on prescriptions.

Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit Trial Date Set

There are been several lawsuits filed in an attempt to get President Obama to prove that the is a Natural Born Citizen - a Constitutional requirement to be President. Up until now they have all been dismissed before a trial date was even set because no one who had brought a lawsuit was found by the courts to have legal standing. Basically, the plaintiff must be able to prove that they are (or imminently will be) harmed to prove standing. Although I believe that all the citizens are being harmed by this man being in office the court has not seen it this way. Now, with a different combination of plaintiffs, including former Presidential candidate Alan Keyes standing appears to be within their grasp.

There is a lawsuit in the district court in California challenging the President's citizenship. A copy of a Kenyan Birth Certificate, proported to be Obama's, has been submitted to the court as evidence. Judge Carter has ruled that a trial on the merits is set to begin January 26, 2010. This is the first time in any of these lawsuits that a date has been set to hear the merits of the case. This is a major legal victory. Plaintiff's attorney is Dr. Orly Taitz.

There is another motion to dismiss set to be ruled upon on October 5th, along with discovery motions. If the motion to dismiss is denied we should see a trial in the new year. No wonder Obama is trying to hurry along the Universal Health Care vote. His time in office may be quite limited.

If Obama was born in the US and has nothing to hide then why is he wasting taxpayer money by having the Department of Justice defend him in these lawsuits instead of paying $12 for the long form birth certificate? It doesn't make sense.

It Must be Hard for Obama to Sit Down with the Media's Lips Implanted Firmly on his Ass

I am watching some pre-coverage of Obama's speech tonight. Obama is taking over Primetime once again to speak to us on a non-urgent matter, health care. Much to the chagrin of the liberals, Fox is rebelling, showing "So you Think You Can Dance." Good for them, make some money. They will be showing the speech on Fox News though, which seems like a more appropriate venue anyway. Showing it on CSPAN seems like the most appropriate option while allowing people to chose other programming. Sadly, Obama is not happy unless he is on ALL the channels, so, per his request NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News will be covering the President pushing his plan on an increasingly unsure Congress. Their seats are on the line here and with angry constituants and an election coming up in a years time there is an air of reluctance to blatently ignore the people that congress represents, as well there should be. The media, of course, is running hype over the speech and 'The Great Leader' and Universal Health Care.

In addition to "So You Think You Can Dance" on Fox, there are other alternatives during Obama's Speech:

1. America's Next Top Model - CW
2. Dog The Bounty Hunter - A&E
3. Top Chef: Las Vegas - Bravo
4. Lottery Changed My Life - TLC

So, if you like reality shows, you're all set. If not, watch the speech. It's about as far from reality as you can get.

Yet Another Attempt to Nationalize - National Soda Tax

The tenth amendment of the Constitution states that powers not expressly granted to the Federal Government are to be reserved to the states. This is one of the basic foundation of America. Obama, with his need to control everything, doesn't like sharing power. He wants to be a dictator, he wants to be the great ruler.

Recently New York attempted to enact a "sin tax" on Soda. The 18% tax proposal was dropped after public outcry. The president has reportedly said that he thinks a tax on soda and other sugary drinks is worth putting on the table as congress debates health care. So now we are looking at a national tax on soda? When will the states be left alone to regulate anything? As he reaches out and grabs onto more and more power and puts it into the government realm he brings us closer and closer to socialism, and thus capitalism.

The Promised Analysis of the School Address Speech

The speech is not as bad as it could have been, and I believe would have been, had there not been a public outcry. The speech is an 18 minute pat on the back for President Obama, which is expected, the man has taken self-aggrandizing to new levels. It also doesn't seem to be written for the average child. It is for the downtrodden and the children of extreme circumstances. The examples he gives of a child who was unable to speak english, the child with brain cancer, and the child in foster care don't seem like children that the average child would be able to identify with at all.

Obama as tells how he made a lot of mistakes and got a lot of second chances. This isn't the smartest lesson for children. Sometimes the second chance isn't available. Not everyone can do drugs and still become President. Van Jones just learned that you can't publically admit you are a communist and then hold a public post. I teach my kids that mistakes can haunt you, they can affect college admissions and future opportunities. This doesn't mesh wish his everyone makes mistakes attitude. Just because he was forgiven for his doesn't mean that others will be forgiven for theirs. I'm not saying children must be perfect, just that they should strive towards that goal.

I still disagree with Obama even giving a speech, and especially with him issuing a lesson plan. I think that there are people more qualified to speak on the subject and a statement to kids released through the media could accomplish as much as this speech does. I have no idea why he is purposely picking a time where kids will be without parents, but I don't like it. As long as he doesn't wander away from the teleprompter, and let's face it, he seems to be incapable of doing so, I'm not overly concerned about the content, which has almost certainly been watered down from the original content, before parents suprised him by caring what was said to their kids.

It does feel as if he is trying to endear the children to him, which is rather creepy and reminicent of communist regimes. The speech itself doesn't seem like it will hurt the children, most will get bored and ignore him, it also doesn't seem like it be beneficial to them.

The address to the schoolchildren is just another Obama is Awesome event. He seems to like those and will break into programming to hold these Obamafests. I guess primetime tv wasn't enough for him, now he's breaking into the kids school day to hold another unbirthday party for himself. He obviously feels that what he has to say is more important than anything that the children were going to learn that day. I say that day, because with the lesson plans for before, during, and after the speech it will undoubtedly fill the whole day. In reality, the liberal teachers will likely discuss it for the whole week.

Text of Obama Address to Schoolchildren - Analysis Later, I Promise

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.