Brad Watson, WFAA Interviewer vs. Obama Without His Teleprompter

So, someone in the White House thought it would be a cool idea to have Himself sit down for a ten-minute interview with a local TV reporter from Dallas, one of those Texas shit-kickers who otherwise aren't worth paying attention to. One of the Little People. It'll look good, The Beloved Leader condescending to da' Common Folk like Brad Watson--jest another middle-aged white boy with a nice voice and a trim haircut. What could possibly go wrong?

How about just about everything? This is the raw video, unedited. Listen and watch, and listen to the very end, where The One (obviously truly pissed off) takes his ire out on the erstwhile shit-kicker who got the best of him. The One begins the visit all smiles and relaxation, and by the end, is obviously cheesed.



Watson showed up well-prepared, with a tight list of questions, Texas issues all, that he wished to address with The One. Obama was not expecting this, at all.

When asked about deficit reduction, he goes into a standard rant about blaming George Bush for causing the crash in housing by spending money on wars and prescription drug beniefits, and 'tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires'. The standard rant. He's trying to change the subject and run the clock--his standard tactic. Then he claims that he'll be able to match the Ryan plan (6 trillion in cuts in spending) with his own 4 trillion, just by cutting waste and abuse and raising taxes. 4 does not equal 6, in anyone's universe except Obama's.

Watson asks bluntly--'Why do you think you're so unpopular in Texas?' Himself begins to ramble, claiming he didn't lose by much, at which point Watson corrects him by pointing out Texas voted against him by over a 10% margin. Himself did not like that at all....

Then on to the question about the retired space shuttles--not one for Houston. At this point Obama tries to cut off the questions entirely, and turns churlish. Not going well, there, at all. Again, he's employing a technique--just keep repeating the denials over the question, repeat repeat repeat, deny deny deny...

Watson gives him plenty of room to completely deny his involvement, and it's obvious Watson does not much believe Himself on this one. Texas in 2012 is beginning to swirl the drain. One can hear the sucking sound already...

At every mention of Rick Perry, Obama snickers condescendingly. Still going downhill, we are we are. (Flushing sound heard in background...)

At the mention of Medicaid, again he snickers and claims that the poor and elderly need the Federal gubbmint's protection from the State of Texas. Watson asks, 'So block grants are out?', and Obama goes into high chatter mode, about medical tests, on and on and on. He's really trying to run the clock, hold the ball, avoid the next question.

Same on immigration--if just the Republicans would roll over, we would have no more problems...

And finally--are you writing off Texas? Beloved Leader is off his game now, declares
'I love...Texas', (but won't commit to campaign there.)' All that relaxed, smiling, hail-fellow-well-met attitude is gone. Himself is chilly and unsmiling. (Who in the hell thought up this lame-brained idea? They told me this guy was a redneck shit-kicker! That's what I ordered up! Damn!)

Then, as mics are being removed, our Beloved Horse's-Ass-In-Chief (unaware the mics are on), proceeds to scold Watson for interrupting His Highness.

View the video again. Who was being disrespectful to whom? Who kept breaking in on a particularly uncomfortable question? Who continued to ramble and attempt to shift the subject? Who kept smirking about the governor of Texas?

This is Obama, being Himself, sans teleprompter. Churlish when taken off script, and intellectually vapid when challenged. What might have happened had Watson truly been aggressive, in the manner of any Lefty journalist with a GOP candidate--the sort of treatment afforded Sarah Palin in 2008?

Wait for it--it will happen. Blood has been drawn, and the next interviewer, or the next, or the next, will zero in. There will be a meltdown, for all to see. The mask will slip completely, not just partially, as happened today.

This man has to actually run on his record in 2012, not on George Bush's record. The country has been put on official warning about its credit rating, he has started a war outside both the law and Constitution that has gone tragically wrong; and with each passing day, it is obvious this man is only a child surrounded by children, completely unequal to the task, and unwilling to heed any manner of sane advice.

Thank you, Mr. Watson. You did the real job of the journalist. You revealed the true nature of the subject of your interview.

Don't, however, expect to be invited back. You're off the Christmas card list as well. Expect a letter from the IRS...

Hook 'Em Horns! Or, Don't Mess With Texas--UT Endowment Takes Physical Delivery Of Gold

It's such a common practice in the popular media, both entertainment and 'news'--the portrayal of Texans as rubes, fools, rednecks, sadists, hicks, farmers and ranchers with IQ's no higher than the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. It's so common we simply become innured to it, and quietly assume it must be true, because after all it's 'common knowledge'. California, on the other hand, is the epitome of all that is cool, forward-thinking and praiseworthy.

Movies such as 'Best Little Whorehouse in Texas' and the remake of 'The Man Who Loved Women'(with Julie Andrews and Burt Reynolds, back in their day), provide particularly funny skewering of Texas life. Chuck Norris did the state no favors with stilted productions of his TV series set in the state. Add in clowns like Jerry Johnson, eccentrics like Willie Nelson, stir gently.

OS has visited the place a few times over the years, and one of his best friends is a proud Texan transplanted to points north. These people are different, to be certain, but they are no fools. Anyone notice that there is an ongoing migration of population of businesses and people from California to Texas? Might that say something about life in those two states?


So, this little gem from Bloomberg today was not surprising.

Dallas hedge-fund manager J. Kyle Bass helped advise the University of Texas Investment Management Co. on taking delivery of 6,643 gold bars, worth $987 million on April 15, now stored in a bank warehouse in New York.

Bass, who made $500 million with 2006 bets on a U.S. subprime-mortgage market collapse, said managers of the endowment, known as UTIMCO, sought board approval to convert its gold investments into bullion this year. A board member, Bass, 41, said he was asked to help with that process.

While Bass, a managing partner at Hayman Capital Management LP, said in an April 16 e-mail that “the decision to purchase and take delivery of the physical gold” was made by endowment staff members, “I helped where I could.” Gold futures touched a record $1,489.10 an ounce April 15 in New York before closing at $1,486.

There's all sorts of paper floating about, putatively backed by physical gold. Both the gold and silver markets have become massive shell games, because there isn't even a fraction of the metal needed to deliver to all the customers who could demand delivery. So, UTIMCO decided it was time to pick the chips off the table and leave the game. They demanded and took delivery last Friday, in physical gold.

It's theirs, and no one else's.

Wonder what happens when another twenty or so similar funds decide to follow suit? Rather like a deadly game of musical chairs: twenty players, nineteen chairs, and when the music stops, someone ends up on the floor. Repeat--nineteen players, eighteen chairs.

This could get ugly, unless you're the board of UTIMCO. Yep, them folks is just a bunch of rubes and rednecks, so don't pay them no attention....

Moral of the tale: Don't mess with Texas. (And take delivery while you can...)

(Disclosure--long gold and silver--in self defense, 'cuz the money printing will eat us all up before too long.)

Reality Begins To Set In For The States: Texas Budget Cuts

Of course, there are cries of how unfair it all is from the NannyStateProfessionals, but math is math. Texas is 15 billion short, and spending must be reduced.

From Associated Press, who of course, never miss an opportunity to spit on a conservative:

AUSTIN, TX -- Public education in Texas is facing billions in proposed budget cuts that would include slashing arts education, pre-kindergarten programs and teacher incentive pay as lawmakers take on a massive deficit with the promise of no new taxes.

Lawmakers got their first glimpse of what the next state budget might look like late Tuesday, including the $5 billion cut to public schools, as Republican Gov. Rick Perry and his supporters were dancing at an inaugural celebration.

Texas is facing a $15 billion revenue shortfall, and few corners of state government were spared in the draft proposal for the next two years. The Texas Constitution requires a balanced budget, and Republican leaders have vowed not to raise taxes.

Now, one must understand that had the incoming governor been a Hopey-Changey type, the AP would have breathlessly detailed the details of the ball, down to the first lady's shoe buckles, and buried news of any revenue shortfalls. Or blamed them on George Bush.

But, math is math is math. Texas, unlike the Federal gubbmint, must operate on balanced budgets, and doesn't have its own magic unlimited money-printing machine down the street.

It's not just Texas, ya'll. It's a lot of places, like Tennessee.

Himself and Miz Nancy and Mr. Harry went and borrowed hundreds of billions (freshly printed up by Zimbabwe Ben), and threw it out of the gubbmint helicopter to the states, confident that they would sprout votes and employment and votes and growth, and votes, by 2012. It kills economies and cultures, just ask Argentina. And, it didn't work this time either.

Here's a partial list of ObamaPork for which the money has run out in Tennessee:

STIMULUS FUNDED PROGRAMS:
Coordinated school health: $15.3 million

Extended contracts: $15 million

Safe schools: $4.8 million

Statewide Student Management System: $3.7 million

Family resource centers: $3.5 million

Exemplary educators: $2.3 million

K-2 assessment: $2.3 million

TN early intervention services: $2.3 million

Public TV grants: $2.8 million

Internet connectivity: $2.4 million

Tennessee School for the Deaf transportation: $800,000

Science Alliance museum grants: $750,000

Professional development: $582,000

Governor's Books from Birth Fund: $340,000

Governor's Schools: $240,000

Arts Academy: $150,000

Early childhood education operational savings: $150,000

Holocaust Commission grants: $128,300

Little Tennessee Valley Educational Cooperative: $47,700

Obama went and borrowed money from the Chinese to fund this. Our grandchildren will be paying for it.

The states will have to lead the way. Hopey-Changey just wants to spend more.

Unrepentant, Unscrupulous, Undeterred, Underhanded: The EPA Attempts A Coup On The Economy Of Texas

They released the news, quietly, on 23 December.

When no one (they assumed) would pay attention.

It's how totalitarians always operate, in the dead of night.

Back here at home, they've had their neck on our county for almost fifteen years. We have vast industrial park areasdeveloped, a stone's throw from the junction of two major roadways, and ZERO development for years.

Texas will fight back. You don't mess with Texas. Hell, they even kept ownership of their embassy building in London, just in case it would be needed.

Hope we draw courage from their example.

The Four Envelopes: Obama Still Running Against George Bush

Honest, can't make this stuff up.

There is an old joke about Nikita Kruschev, the Soviet leader of the 50's and 60's.

Stalin is on his deathbed, and writes four letters, seals each into its own envelope, labeled 1-2-3-4. He then writes a separate note, and seals it inside a large envelope along with the four letters. He gives it to Molotov, and says: 'Give this package to my eventual successor, and tell him to read the note as soon as he takes office.' That done, he dies.

Kruschev ascends to power, and is given the envelope. The note reads: Comrade! Crises are an inevitability of history. When you have a major crisis, open each letter in order, one letter per crisis. Good luck, comrade!

Kruschev stuffs the envelope in the drawer for safe-keeping. The wheat crop fails--a crisis. He opens the first envelope, and the letter says: Blame me!

The de-Stalinization campaign begins, and it works!

Next crisis arrives--next envelope: Blame the Chinese! Damn, it works!

Next crisis--envelope #3: Blame the Americans! Hot-damn, it really works! He goes to the UN, bangs the podium with his shoe, makes the cover of Time!

(By this time, Nikita's feeling pretty good about his job. It's a good gig, screwing up and getting to blame everybody else!)

Next crisis--envelope #4: Prepare four envelopes.