Gary Johnson on Shovel Ready Jobs Joke: “I Didn’t Hear It From Rush”

Governor *Gary Johnson told the joke of the night at Thursday’s Republican debate in Florida. The audience enjoyed it so much, Charles Krauthammer called it “the moment of the debate”, and said if he had told it earlier on, he might be a top tier candidate.

Unfortunately, the moment was almost immediately taken from him as Rush listeners charged that he had stolen the joke from the “Limbaugh Institute For Conservative Studies”.

The Huffington Post caught up with Johnson after the debate, and asked him about the joke. He told HuffPo that he had received “about eight one liners” from his buddy, Jim Villanucci, a former “Tonight Show” writer and current radio host on Albuquerque’s KKOB station.

I have no reason to doubt him, so I thought I’d correct the record – as I did report last night, that he stole the joke from Rush.

Hat tip: The Blaze

*Correction: I originally wrote “Ron” Johnson instead of Gary Johnson. Need. more. coffee.

See Also:

Sunshine State Sarah on another thing people are getting wrong: The Truth About the Booing at the Debate:

The debate included video questions that were submitted on YouTube, and one came from a soldier serving in Iraq who is gay and asked about the candidates’ opinions on don’t ask don’t tell. There was audible booing after his question…however, please note that it was not the crowd booing. It was only one or two people.

I was at the debate, in the audience on the right hand side about halfway back (here’s my tweet of the video screen that was right in front of us). The person who booed was just a few rows in front of us. The booing got an immediate and angry reaction from nearly everyone sitting around him, who hissed and shushed at him. Lots of loud gasps, “Shhhh!” “No!” “Shut up, you idiot!” etc.

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Video: Krauthammer on the GOP Debate – Johnson Had The Best Line, Perry “Missed an Opportunity or Two”

Sir Charles was on hand after the debate to offer his insights on how it went. He liked Gary Johnson’s joke about his neighbor’s dogs creating more shovel-ready jobs than Obama. Unfortunately, if Krauthamer  listened to Rush limbaugh, he’d know that Johnson stole that joke from him.

Overall, he says, not much changed, but Rick Perry “might have missed an opportunity, or two”:

via Rightvideos

I think he let Perry off a bit easy. Some conservatives on Twitter were writing post-mortems for him, after the debate.

Michelle Malkin thought he faltered badly on immigration:

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry played Punch and Judy throughout the night. Perry lost big in his continued defense of DREAM Act illegal alien student preferences. Frank Luntz’s focus group on Sean Hannity’s show after the debate unanimously panned Perry on immigration and especially took umbrage at his condescending line about critics not having a “heart.” Which follows on his similarly-toned line from the last debate about how Republicans should care about students no matter what their last names sound like.

(Reminder: Texas Tea Party activists to Perry: Hey, what about our borders?)

He blundered through what should have been an easy attack on Romney’s flip-flopping, leading Charles Krauthammer to note his fizzled-out answers. He “dissipated.”

And Gary Johnson delivered a recycled Rush Limbaugh joke about his neighbor’s dogs creating more shovel-ready jobs than Obama.

Winners: Rush, Cain.

See also her choice for Perry’s Cringe Worthiest Debate Moment.

The Dream Act blunder was number two.

(Psssst…this is why I wanted Paul Ryan or Chris Christy in the race…)

Screenshots: Alec Baldwin and His Sick, Twisted Followers on Twitter Viciously Attack Michelle Malkin

After conservative blogger, Michelle Malkin, wrote a tweet gently mocking Alec Baldwin , for the spate of unhinged tweets he wrote about the  execution of Troy Davis, Wednesday night, he fired off a series of tweets calling on his followers to attack her:

As a man of the left, Baldwin would have known that a barrage of vile, left-wing sputum would soon follow. Immediately, Malkin was under unrelenting, vicious attack by Baldwin’s rabid followers.

(CONTENT WARNING)…

Screenshots via The Right Scoop:

A “Christian” follows these tweets with:

Even more vile  screenshots below the fold:

Thursday Quick Links: “Obama’s Scandal Chickens Come Home To Roost”

Yesterday, a photo of Obama waving and blocking the face of the president of Mongolia during a group photo shoot with world leaders made the rounds. Last night, Bret Baier provided video and an explanation for Obama’s latest mortifying gaffe:

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The Leather Penguin says: Class Warfare Has Become Declasse, Won’t Save His Ass:

The duplicitous mendacity is breath-taking; the sheer chutzpah Obama displayed in this speech is truly astounding. “Either we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes, or we’re going to have to ask seniors to pay more for Medicare” is nonsensical bullshit, and teh Messiah knows it, but he figures us rubes won’t recognize it.

Populace rhetoric has a storied American history, and O’Bammy figures he can work it, a la Huey Long. He’s banking on it to propel him to a second term.

He could not be more hopelessly wrong.

Those days are long gone, Champ.

For Obama’s class warfare gambit to succeed, he needs some things; things he believes to be true, but are not. Foremost, he needs the MBM to be, as they were in his 2008 campaign, actively protecting his ass, by being blind cheerleaders completely in the tank for the Lightworker.

That ain’t the case anymore.

Keep reading…

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What if I told you that support for Obama among blacks is plummeting, too? Would you be like me and say, “yeah right – it’s gone from 98% to 92%, or maybe 95% to 87%? Whoop-de-doo.

How about: According to a new ABC/Washington Post poll, the number of blacks who have “strongly favorable” views of Obama has dropped off a cliff, declining from 83 percent five months ago to 58 percent today. 58%? Now that’s bringing it down to earth. (Link via White House Dossier - better go report him to Attack Watch on his handy-dandy new Attack-Watch button.)

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Make. it. stop>>>Labor Union Report: Is the US Department of Labor About To Develop Hit Lists of Individuals To Be Targeted By Unions?

Despite Barack Obama’s campaign promise to ban the use of permanent replacement workers, it would require legislation in Congress to do so. This won’t likely occur any time soon. Therefore, his union cronies at the Department of Labor may have devised a more devious strategy, which is to make the replacement workers themselves targets for union retaliation.

Under the Department of Labor’s proposal, not only will the firms that supply replacement workers like be required to file reports with the Department of Labor, it is highly likely that the Department of Labor will require the replacement workers themselves have to file with the DOL, which will then make the information public, on the internet, for union bosses (and others to view).

The filing form (see below), would require the independent contractor’s name, as well as address, and the requirement is that they file within 30 days of being contracted to do the work.

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From the teaching of tactics in college classrooms to the tactics during the recent Verizon strike, as well as the union dispute in Washington and the racially-charged noose incident in North Dakota, union retaliation and violence is not a rare occurrence. In fact, it permeates the House of Labor all the way to the top of the AFL-CIO, including AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka’s own history with union violence.

According to one study, there were  over 9,000 reported incidents of union violence. Many of those incidents, like the woman who found a severed cow’s head on her car or the assassination of Eddie York, occurred during labor disputes.

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If, like me,  you’re still trying to get a handle on Obama’s latest scandal,  Michelle Malkin’s LightSquared: Obama’s Dangerous Broadband Boondoggle is a must-read.

As the House prepares to launch official investigations of both Solyndra and LightSquared, investigators need to look closely at exactly how the Obama FCC’s unusual January 2011 waiver for LightSquared promised the politically-connected company a stunning corporate windfall. The waiver gave the company a green light to use its initial satellite bandwidth license for “exclusive terrestrial purposes.” As the Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, Inc. blog explains, this meant that “the spectrum rights would be considered (and valued) as equivalent to terrestrial spectrum, allowing LightSquared to raise additional funds to build out its network. In fact that is exactly what LightSquared then proceeded to do, by raising $586M, secured against its spectrum assets, in February 2011.”

By the company’s own internal estimates and comparisons with other satellite spectrum transactions, the January 2011 waiver boosted the value of LightSquared’s spectrum assets by $10 billion more than two similarly situated mobile satellite service providers that had gone bankrupt.

***

A few more tidbits:

*Soros Fund Management — surprise, surprise — is a “signficant investor” in Falcone’s enterprise.

Of course!

And in case you missed it, here’s her bravura performance talking about Solyndra, on Hannity, last night:

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Monty Pelerin at The American Thinker asks Will Scandal Drive Obama Off the 2012 Ticket?

President Obama will not run in 2012.  That prediction seems reasonable in light of the following:

1. His presidency is in shambles, shriveling up before our eyes.
2. His political poll numbers continue to weaken.
3. Unemployment remains stubbornly high for a period of time not seen since the Great Depression.
4. The economy is listless, consumer sentiment is in the sewer, foreclosures are ratcheting up, and the next financial crisis appears near.
5. No economic variable has improved; some continue to worsen.
6. The nation risks sovereign bankruptcy as a result of Obama’s out-of-control spending.
7. Obama is out of ideas and obviously well beyond his depth.

Every time Obama speaks, he shows himself as more out of touch with the country, its people, and their needs.  He is an obvious embarrassment to many.  He has alienated independents and even some liberals.  He now appears to have adopted a strategy to appeal to the most radical in his party.

Either he is trying to avoid a shut-out in the coming election by locking up some small number of votes or he is delusional.  Seasoned Democrats are dumbfounded by his performance, seeming to believe the delusional possibility.  Radicals have already rejected him and threaten to run a candidate in the primaries.

Despite everything above, Obama intends to run in 2012.  None of this fazes the Narcissist-In-Chief.  He needs the spotlight like most of us need oxygen.  The “messiah,” or the self-proclaimed “One,” does not see these problems.  If he does, they are mere details, trivialities, nothing that cannot be silver-tongued away.

The reality is that Obama is spent.  His false magic is no longer.  He has become a cartoon figure to many Americans and more foreigners.  Familiarity has produced contempt.  He is a fraud, a man who never was anything other than a carefully scripted and wonderfully executed marketing campaign.

I don’t actually agree that his 2008 campaign was all that “wonderfully executed”. I watched in stunned disbelief as the lies, gaffes, and inanities were systematically ignored by the media. He was “wonderfully propped up” by the MSM for that entire campaign, but now, finally, the slobbering love affair is coming to an end. The rats are finally jumping ship.

Turns out that the inept disaster known as Barack Hussein Obama was the wrong guy to execute their dreams of Socialist Utopia. But there’s always Hillary!

Polls continually show Obama as an “Obamatros” around the Democratic neck, making a potential GOP landslide a sure thing. Now with the stepping in of Hillary, the Obama stain will disappear from the Democratic landscape and a new “bright future” emerges as she, a proven administrator, with all the right contacts in Washington and the media and as a potential winner in the 2012 election will have TWO TERMS to implement the Progressive/Socialist agenda that Obama radically started. Obama, as did Lyndon Johnson in 1968, will bow out, “for the good of the country and the party.”

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Video: Greta Interviews Darrell Issa On Fast and Furious

Darrell Issa, told Greta Van Susteren that the  focus in his investigation is on where the safeguards broke down in Fast and Furious, the program he calls “felony stupid” and repeated his complaint that he’s getting 0% cooperation from the DOJ.

Greta asked him about the tape that was given to the Inspector General, Cynthia Schender, which he called “a solution” because it tells a lot, but also a problem because it became an obstruction to his investigation. It involved the agent in charge of the case talking to  gun dealer, Andre Howard, who ran the Lone Wolf Trading Company.  Howard taped the conversation because he thought he was being set up, although both he and the agent come  off sounding very corrupt on the tape. Howard’s the one who called border patrol agent, Brian Terry, “collateral damage”.

You can listen to the newest F&F audio at Hot Air.

Senator Grassley and Chairman Issa fired off a “blistering” letter to IG alleging obstruction relating to the secretly recorded audio tapes, and suggesting that their investigation has been compromised.

David Workman of the Seattle Gun Rights Examiner reports:

 Schender allowed copies of the recordings — made public by CBS News this week — to be sent to the U.S. Attorney for Arizona (USAAZ) and the Phoenix field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. USAAZ and ATF are supposed to be the targets of Schender’s investigation.

The recordings, which were apparently leaked to CBS News after they were made available to USAAZ and ATF, are startling, as noted by this column. It is clear from the letter that Grassley and Issa are angry.

“The recordings corroborate the cooperating FFL’s allegation that personnel at the ATF and the USAAZ sought to recruit him in an effort to obstruct the congressional inquiry and obscure the truth about Operation Fast and Furious from public scrutiny.”—Sen. Charles Grassley & Rep. Darrell Issa

Grassley and Issa are investigating the scandal, an effort that Grassley told this column in an exclusive interview is somewhat combined, though each office still operates independently of one another.

The audio tapes, made by an Arizona firearms dealer earlier this year, apparently contain suggestions that the dealer help assist with a cover-up.

Rest at the link.

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Video: Conservatives “Do The Math”, Discover Obama’s Full of Crap

Via iOWNTHEWORLD this Crossroads GPS video says, YOU do the math, Mr. President:

In making his case for higher taxes on the wealthy, Monday, Obama said, “this is not class warfare. It’s math. Obama, always looking out for “the little guy”, wants to make sure that the uber rich, like Warren Buffet, are not paying less in taxes than their secretaries. I mean, who can disagree with that?

Freddie Freddoso, for one., because, guess what? The math says Obama’s speech was class warfare:

In 2009, about 237,000 individual income tax filers reported adjusted gross income of $1 million or more. Taken together, these filers — families and small businesses — made a grand total of $722 billion, and paid $178 billion of that in income taxes.

Their effective federal income tax rate was 24.6 percent, between three and four times the effective rate on middle-income families that pull in $50,000 to $75,000 per year.

This million-plus crowd — who comprise less than 0.2 percent of all taxpayers — made 10.6 percent of all income in 2009 and paid 20.5 percent of all individual income taxes.

To be sure, the wealthy can and should pay more in taxes than the poor. The point here is that they already do pay more — a lot more. So when we discuss tax increases on the wealthy, we aren’t really talking about whether we should be letting “millionaires and billionaires” slide on their obligations to society.

At the American Spectator, Peter Ferrara an through Obama (and Buffet’s) “calculated deceptions”:

Even before you were elected, Mr. Obama, under the tax policies adopted by President Reagan, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and the much vilified President George W. Bush, official IRS data for 2007 showed that the top 1 percent of income earners paid more in federal income taxes than the bottom 95 percent combined! The top 1 percent of income earners that year earned 22 percent of income but paid 40.4 percent of total income taxes. When Reagan became President, the top 1 percent paid 17.4 percent of income taxes, as I note in my recent book, America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb. As Jack Kemp used to say, if you want to soak the rich, cut tax rates. Moreover, the bottom 40 percent plus of income earners now pay no federal income tax on net as a group.

So if “the rich” are not paying their fair share, Mr. President, what would that fair share be? Based on these official facts, for you to run around the country telling America that we could have jobs and balance the budget and solve the debt crisis you are creating if the rich would just pay their fair share of taxes only demonstrates that you are not qualified to be President. Either you don’t understand the basics of America’s tax policies even after you have been President for three years, or you are engaged in calculated deception thinking your fairy tale will fool enough gullible people that you can be re-elected despite an economic record so bad that it is threatening to rival the Great Depression.

As the Wall Street Journal further explained yesterday, in 2008 official IRS data shows that taxpayers earning over $1 million paid an average federal income tax rate of 23.3 percent. Those earning between $500,000 and $1 million paid an average federal tax rate of 24.1 percent. As the Journal further elaborated, “that is more than twice the 8.9% average rate paid by those earning between $50,000 and $100,000, and more than three times the 7.2% average rate paid by those earning less than $50,000. The larger point is that the claim that CEOs are routinely paying lower rates than their secretaries is Omaha hokum.”

Actually it is a Warren Buffett scam. His company that made him rich, Berkshire Hathaway, itself is a sophisticated tax shelter. If tax rates are raised, that will only lead more of the wealthy to flee to investing in his company to avoid the abusive multiple taxation. The IRS claims that Buffett’s company owes a billion dollars in back taxes. If Buffett thinks the rich don’t pay their fair share, why is he fighting this? Why doesn’t he just pay his fair share as required under current law?

Buffett is just playing all of us like President Obama is. What a disgrace that our public debate has fallen this low, to this level of rank, manipulative dishonesty.

The Weekly Standard, too did some math: Top 0.1 Percent Pays More Income Tax than Bottom 80 Percent:

In 2010, according to the TPC, Americans in the lowest quintile of income-earners — the bottom 20 percent — paid minus-3.8 percent of the total federal income tax burden. In other words, they got more back, in income tax credits and the like, than they paid in. Similarly, those in the second quintile paid minus-4.3 percent of the total federal income tax burden — so they, too, weren’t paying into the income tax till but rather were taking out.

Those in the middle quintile — pretty much the center of the middle class (this quintile had an average income of $44,000) — paid 3.9 percent of the total federal income tax burden (about $1 of every $25 dollars in income taxes paid nationwide). And those in the fourth quintile — whose income ranged from $58,000 to $102,000 — paid 15.1 percent of the total federal income tax burden.

So, all told, the 80 percent of Americans whose income placed them in one of these first four quintiles of income-earners combined to pay 10.9 percent of the total federal income tax burden. Put otherwise, this 80 percent of the citizenry paid about $1 out of every $9 that was paid in federal income taxes nationwide.

Meanwhile, Americans in the highest 0.1 percent of all income-earners — these are the very rich, with incomes of at least $1.974 million — paid 16.4 percent of the total federal tax burden. Essentially, one out of every $6 paid in federal income tax was paid by this 0.1 percent of the citizenry.

In other words, the top 0.1 percent paid more toward the workings of government than the bottom 80 percent did. That’s despite the fact that the bottom 80 percent collectively made more than six times as much money as the top 0.1 percent did.

Obama also had the audacity to slam crony capitalism and “special interests” in his tax hike speech, conveniently forgetting to mention Solyndra, GM, and GE, :

Part of President Obama’s tax hike speech focused on corporations with the “best lobbyists” ending up getting preferential treatment. Despite his concern with “special interests”, President Obama neglected to mention the Solyndra scandal which appears to be rife with favors for the “green jobs” special interest company.

Does anyone but the most brain dead drones still buy this B.S. this guy peddles?

UPDATE:

Obama: We Are In ‘A Battle For The Hearts And Minds Of Americans

Minds?

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Video: Ted Nugent On The DOJ’s Gibson Guitar Raids: “Illogical, Anti-American, and Contrary to the Claims of Creating Jobs…”

Here’s some red meat for you, (probably venison, knowing Ted) this Wednesday afternoon:

Nugent,  appearing on Fox Business with Lou Dobbs, today, said the “abuse of power and corruption” we’re seeing from this administration is “heartbreaking and frightening”. The raid on Gibson guitars, he believes, is “illogical, anti-American, and contrary to (the Obama Administration’s) claims of creating jobs”. “Life as we know it would be worthless without Gibson Guitars, know that, Nugent exclaimed.

He went on to say, “This is going to come to an end -we’re going to vote these punks out of office!”

One of the organizers for the Stand With Gibson Guitars rally in Nashville, October 8th, needs to get Nugent on the horn, stat, and invite him to the rally.  Who would be a more perfect spokesman for the cause?

See Also:

Big Hollywood:BigDawg Spotlight: Singer/Songwriter Nathan Picard Weighs In On Gibson Guitar Raid

Hat tip: Brian B.

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Video: Obama Throws Some Global Warming Alarmism In His UN Speech

The President felt the need to push global warming alarmism in his speech  to the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 21.

. . .To preserve our planet, we must not put off the action that a changing climate demands. We must tap the power of science to save those resources that are scarce. Together, we must continue our work to build on the progress made in Copenhagen and Cancun, so that all of the major economies here today follow through on the commitments that were made. Together, we must work to transform the energy that powers are economies, and support others as they move down that path. That is what our commitment to the next generation demands.

Video via The Blaze:

RELATED:

Watts Up With That: Climate Craziness of the Week – have we had our fill yet?

From Reuters:  The sky will soon be full, view it while you can.

“At present emissions levels, in less than 20 years the sky would effectively be full”

Analysis: Extreme steps needed to meet climate target

At present emissions levels, in less than 20 years the sky would effectively be full, meaning every extra tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted would have to be removed to stay within safer climate limits, one lead author says.

They REALLY think we’re stupid.

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Video: New Perry Ad Slams President Zero

Whatever you think of Rick Perry, ya gotta love his new ad clobbering Zero:

Hat tip: Gateway Pundit who adds this related tidbit: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) says Rick Perry is right on Social Security – It IS a Ponzi scheme.

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Gaffe-tastic Pic of The Day

This photo is so egregious, Zombie thought it was a photoshop, at first:

The photo began to circulate on the blogs, last night, showing Obama at the “Open Government Partnership” conference raising his hand to block the face of another world leader, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, the president of Mongolia.

Here’s a link to the MSNBC photoblog.

Now,  we know that if President Bush had done anything like this, he would have been mercilessly ridiculed for months. But it would have been unfair.

It looks like Obama was trying to get someone’s attention, (perhaps during a break in the picture taking?), but a photographer snapped away, and caught him in this awkward pose. You can tell by his face, he wasn’t expecting to be photographed, because if he was, he’d be flashing his well practiced, world-class grin.

One thing it does sort of signify, though, is his total disregard for the person standing next to him. He could have raised his hand a little closer to his head, thus not blocking the President of Mongolia.

So –dumb pic. Definitely a gaffe. But honestly, there are much bigger and better things to be hitting him on.

Exit question: I wonder if Attaaaack Watch will put out an official correction to let the masses know Obama wasn’t really waving to say “hi!” and intentionally blocking Elbegdori.

UPDATE:

Gateway Pundit: YES IT’S REAL – Obama Waves During Pictures at the United Nations …Here’s the Video:

Video of Obama – yes – briefly waving his hand to say “hi” to someone, at link.

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We Stand With Gibson Guitars Rally Oct. 8

A coalition of 26 Tea Party and Conservative groups from across the US will be hosting a rally in support of embattled Gibson Guitars, next month.

As you may know,  Gibson Guitars was recently raided by Holder’s Justice Department  over the type of wood it uses in guitars.

Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. held a press conference to explain the situation.

The Wall Street Journal expanded on the story.

Gibson Guitar Corp., a big user of ebony and other scarce woods, for years has allied itself with Greenpeace and other environmental groups to show it was serious about preserving forests.

That didn’t stop the Nashville-based company, whose guitars are used by such musicians as B.B. King and Angus Young of AC/DC, from running afoul of U.S. authorities over allegedly illegal imports of wood. Though no charges have been filed, Gibson factories have been raided twice, most recently last week, by federal agents who say ebony exported from India to Gibson was “fraudulently” labeled to conceal a contravention of Indian export law.

Henry Juszkiewicz, chief executive officer of the closely held company, said in an interview that a broker probably made a mistake in labeling the goods but that the sale was legal and approved by Indian authorities.

The “We stand with Gibson” rally is scheduled for October 8th, in Nashville, TN. Speakers include Gibson President Henry Juszkiewicz, Representative Marsha Blackburn, and talk radio hosts Steve Gill, Phil Valentine and Mark Skoda.

Speakers will include Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, and Congressman Marsha Blackburn, along with special guests Talk Radio Hosts Steve Gill, Phil Valentine, and Mark Skoda and Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express.

If you can help with the rally or you need additional information or maybe you know an artist who would be kind enough to perform please send us an email to: GibsonRally@gmail.com

Please Note: This event is being organized by concerned citizens and groups across Tennessee, and in fact across the US, who are concerned about the extraordinary abuse of power represented by the raid of the Gibson Company by federal agents.

We Stand with Gibson Sponsoring Organizations

9.12 Project of Tennessee
Gibson County Patriots
Wilson County Tea Party
Tennessee Conservoliance
Americans for Prosperity
Tennessee Tax Revolt
Tennessee Tea Party
MidSouth Tea Party
Memphis Tea Party
Chattanooga Tea Party

Liberty News Network

Fayette Tea Party
RedCounty.com

Tea Party Express

Smart Girl Politics

Sumner United for Responsible Govt

Humphreys County Tea Party

Liberty Legal Foundation

The Minority Report Network

One Nation Under God Radio
Williamson County GOP
BigDawg Music Mafia
Davidson County Libertarian Party
Patriot Action Network
Grassfire Nation

Tea Party Tribune

Previously:

Why Is The Obama Administration Targeting Gibson Guitars?

Audio: Gibson CEO Claims Feds Told Him Problems Would ‘Go Away’ if Labor Done in Madagascar

Video: Newt Gingrich Calls For Congressional Investigation of Gibson Guitar Raid; Republicans Invite CEO To Obama Speech

Hat tip: @michellemalkin and @imsure on Twitter.

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Video: Peter Schiff’s Blockbuster Congressional Testimony

Obligatory. Every other conservative blog out there is posting Peter Schiff’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee, from last week, highlighting his  “I was fined for hiring to many people” line.

It’s long, clocking in at over 22 minutes, but well worth your time.

At Big Government, Publius notes:

Of  course, Obama’s stimulus is just one obstacle to economic growth. Regulation, Dodd-Frank, ObamaCare and threatened tax hikes are all putting growth out of reach. If the Obama Administration were intentionally trying to destabilize the economy, its hard to imagine what they would do differently.

When you take everything lethal decision he has made domestically, and in foreign affairs,  then add  his many scandals including Fast and Furious, (which Bob Owens is now openly speculating might be another Cloward-Piven moment,  a picture emerges not of a benign leader with our best interests at heart, but of an enemy of the State.

CBS Exclusive: Secret Audio Recordings Reveal ATF Concerns About Fast and Furious Whistleblower

Sharyl Attkisson (who broke the Fast and Furious story for CBS News) and Chris Scholl report on the secretly recorded audio tapes, believed to be recorded last March. The tapes reveal an apparently corrupt Arizona gun dealer and an ATF agent involved with the”Fast and Furious” operation fussing and sniping as news about the scandal was breaking.

The tapes were made just weeks after CBS News broke the story in February.

The conversations were recorded by Andre Howard who ran the Lone Wolf Trading Company. Howard’s gun dealership had been cooperating with the ATF in “Fast and Furious.” At least two of his weapons were sold to a straw buyer before turning up later at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Hope MacAllister, the ATF agent heard in the conversations, was the lead case agent.

The ATF’s controversial “Fast and Furious” operation allowed thousands of weapons to be smuggled into Mexico and into the hands of drug cartels. Agents involved describe it as “letting guns walk.”

Among other things, Howard and MacAllister expressed concerns about ATF Special Agent John Dodson, who by that point had gone public about “Fast and Furious” in an exclusive interview with CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

The gun dealer is Andre Howard, the agent is ATF Agent Hope MacAllister.

Dealer: He’s (Dodson) more toxic than you realize. I can tell you casue I asked him. How much of this f—–g file did you release?

Agent: Mmmhm

Dealer: He said basically the underlying case file. I said okay, who’d you release it to? F—–g Patrick Leahy! Ok? Wasn’t just Grassley it was Leahy alright? Leahy as we both know has adjourned this inquiry right now okay with no plans to reconvene it. So your people were successful on that end.

Agent: Right.

Dealer: Obviously that’s good. However these other idiots from

Agent: Yeah I saw that. The House?

Dealer: Yeah and that I don’t know. What is troublesome with this I expected Darrell Issa’s signature to be on this it wasn’t. He’s your biggest thorn, he hates Holder.

Agent: Yeah. Where’s he out of?

Dealer: Darrell Issa?

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: California.

Agent: California.

Dealer: Lamar Smith you know’s out of Texas, I don’t know. Holder has to respond to this tomorrow.

Agent: Yeah he’s gonna respond.

Dealer: I know he is. And I can assure you the media isn’t gonna like his response because basically it’s gonna mirror what he’s told Grassley.

Agent: Yeah.

Dealer: He can’t deviate.

Read the rest and listen to the audio at CBS News.

SEE ALSO:

Issa: Fast And Furious Has Seriously Damaged Our Relationship With Mexico – Special Prosecutor May Be Appointed

UPDATE:

Doug Ross notices something in the transcript that slipped by me.

Did I just imagine this, or did an ATF agent suggest having a private investigator tail Chuck Grassley, presumably to dig up dirt on the Senator and thereby forestall further investigations through, ahem, blackmail?

Nah… that must be my imagination.

Once again: House Republicans must demand a special prosecutor in no certain terms.

 

Hat tip: Sipsey Street Irregulars, who quips, “Eric Holder probably wishes there was an 18 minute gap in these tapes.”

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Issa: Fast And Furious Has Seriously Damaged Our Relationship With Mexico – Special Prosecutor May Be Appointed

In between getting kids off to school, and taking my mother to her doctor’s appointment,  this morning, I was able to sit in on a conference call with Chairman Darrell Issa of the Oversight & Government Reform Committee. The subject at hand was the latest developments in the Fast and Furious investigation. Others sitting in on the conference call were reporters and bloggers from  CNN, Townhall, The Washington Examiner, American Thinker, Gun Rights Examiner, Newsmax, Confederate Yankee, and Sipsey Street Irregulars.

Issa began the conference call by informing us that according to the Attorney General in Mexico, at least 200 murders south of the border have occurred as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. He also referenced a report from over the weekend that indicated Mexico was kept in the dark about the program, and to this day, Mexican officials are not getting briefed by  Obama administration officials. Nor have they apologized. Issa said the debacle has ” seriously damaged our relationship with Mexico.”

Issa and Grassley expanded the investigation to the White House nearly two weeks ago when they asked a senior White House official for documents and communications regarding the gun-walking scandal. Thus far, that request has not been filled. The White House has until the end of this week to submit documents requested before Issa takes the next step.

When asked by the Newsmax reporter whether the DOJ has engaging in a cover-up, Issa answered flatly, “yes”.

As for the possible motivations for the debacle (I won’t say “botched operation”), Issa wasn’t prepared to say the ultimate goal was an assault weapons ban, but he did say that “the administration wanted to show that guns in Mexico came from the US.”

Well….

Issa told us  that there would be more hearings, and that he would like to wrap up his investigation this Fall, saying they may end up writing legislation that criminalizes this sort of activity in a future administration.  I asked what the chances were that Congress would appoint a Special Prosecutor given the obstruction they were seeing, and he noted that his committee would need to finish their investigation first, before that happened.

When asked if the investigation could end in prosecutions, he answered in the affirmative.

Also sitting in on the conference call:

Townhall’s Katie Pavlitch Attorney General in Mexico: 200 Murders Result of Operation Fast and Furious

When asked what the consequences would be for DOJ or ATF officials involved in the operation, Issa said prosecutions may come at the end of this scandal to those who knowingly trafficked weapons across the border and could be held accountable for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Sipsey Street Irregulars: The Era of Big Media is Over. Just finished a conference call by Darrell Issa with bloggers on the state of the Gunwalker investigation.

I asked: about FBI complicity in Gunwalker. “Given that we now know about FBI paid informants further up the cartel chain and a third gun that ‘disappeared’ from the Terry murder scene indicating the FBI is covering up the true circumstances of his death, when will we see Robert Mueller and his apparently-complicit minions under oath?” Issa indicated that he thought the third weapon disappeared because “people were panicking.” He added later, “The smoking gun is the gun that killed Brian Terry.”

Asked about Janet Napolitano’s knowledge of Gunwalker, Issa cracked that in Janet’s DHS, “Freedom of information is an oxymoron.” He indicated that they would continue to ask questions to get as far up the chain as possible.

Asked about the overall purpose of Gunwalker, he demurred on agreeing outright with the “conspiracy against the Second Amendment” theory which sources say was the entire point of the larger exercise, but said:

“The administration wanted to show that guns found in Mexico came from the United States.”

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner: Issa calls Fast & Furious ‘dumb, useless and lethal’:

Congressman Darrell Issa, speaking this morning in a conference call with on-line reporters, called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Operation Fast and Furious “dumb, useless and lethal.”

Issa said that in addition to the slaying of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, he has been advised by Mexican authorities that there have been some 200 different incidents involving guns linked to the Fast and Furious operation, launched in autumn 2009 by the Obama administration.

See also:

John Hayward, Human Events: Fast and Furious: Time to Come Clean - The media plays along with a massive cover-up.

You can see why the Mexican government might be growing a bit crabby about getting shoved into voice mail when they call Washington to ask about a covert U.S. government program that put heavy weapons into the hands of terrorists who want to topple them.  A less polite government might use terms like “act of war.”

I’m sure the Mexicans will have their answers, once the full-court media press squeezes some answers about this astonishing scandal out of the Administration.  I’m sure that pressure will be coming soon from a media that went berserk and provided wall-to-wall coverage of far less serious matters, like Iran-Contra and Watergate.  Instead of cooking up new trillion-dollar tax schemes, President Obama should spend his time answering tough questions about this, and many other, scandals.

Bob Owens, Confederate Yankee: Should Obama Administration Officials Face Death Penalty?

Barack Obama’s inept Presidency is coming under fire from all corners now, with his top problems now being scandals involving apparent corruption involving a massive loan to Solyndra that involves apparent political payoffs, and a similar bit of corruption that may have threatened national security when the White House attempted to rig the testimony of a general for their campaign donors at LightSquared.

The worst affront, however is Operation Fast and Furious and other suspected gun-walking operations that could not have functioned as a law enforcement endeavor and which only makes sense as an attempt to implement the radical Cloward-Piven strategy and destroy capitalism in America.

Taken in the aggregate with so many of the economic, regulatory, and political moves we’ve seen since January 20, 2009, it is hard to conclude that the goal of the Obama administration is anything but the intentional destruction of our government.

If this can be proven, should Obama Administration officials face extensive prison time, or do such crimes against the nation warrant the use of the rarely-used implementation of the federal death penalty?

David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner: ‘Elite’ media treatment of Gunwalker is scandalou

The Hill: Issa to launch probe of Obama actions on Solyndra, LightSquared:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that his committee plans to investigate government loan programs to private corporations in light of allegations of improper dealings between the White House and failed energy company Solyndra and wireless start-up LightSquared.

“I want to see when the president and his cronies are picking winners and losers… it wasn’t because there were large contributions given to them,” the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Tuesday morning on C-SPAN.

Issa said the committee was looking at whether it was improper for members of Congress or White House staff to select companies eligible for subsidized government loans when those companies could give campaign donations

Issa calls Fast & Furious ‘dumb, useless and lethal’

When the transcript from the phone call is available, I’ll post it under the fold.

Linked by Doug Ross in Larwyn’s Links, thanks!

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Republicans Respond To Obama’s Tax-The Rich-Proposal

The President drew immediate condemnation from congressional Republicans after he unveiled his deficit reduction plan Monday morning in the Rose Garden. The plan calls for $1.5 trillion in new taxes, including an end to Bush-era rates for upper income earners making $250,000 or more and additional taxes on millionaires.

Together with spending cuts enacted last month and projected savings from interest payments, the savings in the president’s plan total more than $3 trillion. The Obama administration is also adding on another $1 trillion in savings over 10 years from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though that kind of accounting has been dismissed in past debates as a gimmick.

Republicans are calling Obama’s latest scheme a “non-starter”.

From Speaker Boehner’s website:

Speaker Boehner said last week that tax hikes “are not a viable option” because “tax increases destroy jobs.” And the plan put forth today by President Obama is a prime example of what the Speaker meant.

The centerpiece of President Obama’s latest debt plan is a job-crushing tax hike that will hurt small businesses and create an even worse environment for private-sector job growth.  

When the president and his advisors talk about a proposal that would affect “millionaires” or “the rich,” what they’re really talking about is a plan that would:

• PIT WASHINGTON AGAINST SMALL BUSINESS JOB CREATORS: President Obama’s tax hike hits hardest the very people most likely to create new jobs: small business owners. The House Ways & Means Committee cites estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation that show “small business owners will pay over half of the taxes raised” under the president’s proposal. Economists Kevin Hassett and Alan Viard wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “fully 48% of the net income of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations” would be subject to the president’s tax hike. President Obama’s plan punishes successful small businesses rather than removing barriers holding them back and creating an environment where they can flourish.

• CREATE AN EVEN WORSE ENVIRONMENT FOR PRIVATE-SECTOR JOB GROWTH: “Pitting one group of Americans against another is not leadership,” Speaker Boehner. That’s because the president decided against bringing both parties together to address the spending binge that’s driving our debt and fueling economic uncertainty. Instead, while he provided few real details, the president proposed a tax hike that would punish innovative American entrepreneurs, and steer private capital away from job-creating investments and into federal coffers for politicians to spend as they see fit. Economists John B. Taylor and Diana Furchtgott-Roth warned the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee that tax hikes are an impediment to job growth.

• IGNORE REFORMS NEEDED TO PREVENT FURTHER DOWNGRADES: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said strengthening and preventing our entitlement programs from going bankrupt is the “key to long-term fiscal sustainability.” Moody’s said America’s “status could be threatened if further measures to address the long-term fiscal situation are not adopted.” The president’s proposal ignores the need for reforms, leaving Americans exposed to the possibility of further downgrades that will make job creation more difficult.

While Obama was giving his speech at the White House, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, was about 120 miles south, standing before a high school auditorium full of students giving a talk on how to grow the economy. So he  got to give react to Obama’s speech in front of a roomful of skulls full of mush. What an opportunity, let’s see how he did.

Via The Richmond-Times Dispatch: Cantor, in Chesterfield, decries taxes in jobs plan:

Cantor said small business people often choose to be taxed as individuals rather than as a corporation to pay less taxes, so raising taxes on people making $200,000 or more would make it more difficult for businesses to create jobs.

“That’s the bottom line,” he said. “Bad policy makes for bad politics.”

He emphasized his aversion to tax increases — “The president knows that we’re not passing tax hikes” – but pressed efforts to work on areas where the two sides agree, including tax relief for small businesses, regulatory relief and trade agreements.

***

After the program, during which an arranged slate of students asked questions, one James River senior approached Cantor to follow up on the proposal to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

“The point is this: it’s about jobs right now. You don’t create jobs by raising taxes. We’ve seen that,” Cantor told him.

“The question is do you want to grow the economy and you lower tax rates or do you want to grow the government in Washington and we all know the government doesn’t spend money as well as you can or your family can or the businesses can. I think this is the real crux of the difference in Washington right now.”

At The House Committee on the Budget website, Paul Ryan issues this press release: Still Waiting for Credible Plan from President Obama:

President Insists on Tax Hikes for Job Creators, No Plan to Lift Crushing Burden of Debt
September 19, 2011

WASHINGTON – In response to the President’s latest proposal to raise taxes on job creators, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan issued the following statement:

“The President’s partisan speech and misguided proposals are disappointing, but not surprising.  Having overseen an unprecedented surge in government spending – from his failed stimulus law, to the creation of new trillion-dollar health entitlements, to double-digit percentage increases in the budgets of many federal agencies – the President has finally admitted that he plans to send the bill for Washington’s reckless spending straight to American businesses and families. A $1.6 trillion tax hike on job creators is never a good idea. But taking more money from private savers and investors, and giving it to the same government bureaucrats who brought us the Solyndra debacle, is an even worse idea – especially in a weak economy.

“Unfortunately, none of the President’s proposals this year – from his February budget to his April budget speech, to his recommendations today – offers a credible plan to lift our crushing burden of debt while restoring economic growth. Instead of renewed prosperity, the President has offered us a plan for shared scarcity. The nation deserves better.”

On a lighter note, Republican Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida  suggested that the president doesn’t quite understand “Talk Like a Pirate Day”:

“Perhaps the Pres misunderstood,” Ross tweeted. “It is TALK like a pirate day…not ACT like one. Watch ye purses & bury yr loot, the taxman cometh.” Then, just to be sure followers knew he meant it good-naturedly, he added the hashtag #humor.

So far, I don’t know of any Republicans mentioning the fact that Obama egregiously misrepresented the Republican position on tax reform during his speech:

In today’s speech unveiling his new tax increase, President Obama said Speaker of the House John Boehner had ruled out “any additional revenues whatsoever.” Yet Mr. Boehner specifically said he was in favor of closing tax loopholes in conjunction with fundamental reform of the tax code, which would result in increased revenues. He is against increasing taxes, but not increasing revenues. They are not the same thing.

Watch the video at Breitbart TV.