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Big government shrinking during this recession, like the private sector? Fat chance.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090131/D9627HU00.html

This is an interesting article about the government actually GROWING BIGGER during this economic downturn.  Completely disturbing.

Already, I've heard that approximately one in five workers is employed by some form of government, be it local, state, or federal.  And now that number appears to be on the rise.

Remember, folks... The government does not create anything, it only takes from the private sector and from the taxed public.  The less people work for the private sector, the less real money there is being created in the marketplace.  The only way the government gets the money it needs to pay government workers is to take it from the taxpayers.

Speaking of bloated government...  Did you hear the announcement during the recent Hillary Clinton Secretary of State ceremony?  I believe it was Secretary Clinton herself who announced appreciation for the 20,000 workers in the State Department. 20,000?  Really?  How many of those jobs are political payoffs to big donors?  "Hey, we need a position filled over in (insert glamerous foreign city).  Who should we send to said city?"  I can just see it.

Osama has spoken. What say you, Obama?

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090114/D95MTVQ81.html

According to the article, Osama has a message for Obama.  Well, not for Obama, per se, but to his fellow jihadists to initiate a "holy war" against Israel.

Not much to read in the article, but things are shaping up Internationally for some tough early decisions regarding foreign policy for the incoming President.  The conflict between Hamas and Israel is only one of them.

One of Barack Obama's themes during the campaign was that we didn't go after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.  We'll see fairly quickly what his actual policy will be toward that end.  Osama has spoken.  What will Obama say in response?

Mr. President Obaba, it's not a secret foreign policy strategy if you tell the press about it ahead of time.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/08/barack-obama-gaza-hamas

It sounds as if the President-Elect is charting some new waters when it comes to how his new administration will deal with terrorist organizations, specifically Hamas.

According to the article, the new administration will "abandon George Bush's �doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organization."

I'm not sure it's productive to negotiate with terrorists.  After all, do you really believe you will get the truth and be able to negotiate sincerely with someone who wants your head on a platter?  And in general, these organizations are not countries and have no real incentive to be nice.

But that's not my sole reason for concern.  I'm a little perplexed by the announcement, or leak, of this foreign policy shift of the new administration.

According to the article:

"A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services, similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s. Israel did not become aware of the contacts until much later."

Well, Mr. President-Elect, Israel just became aware of your plans to deal directly with Hamas - before you even became President.  Nice job, Barry.

I will never understand (a) why politicians can't keep their mouths shut on issues like this - and think it's okay to leak foreign policy strategies and plans.  Hey morons, the enemies are listening, too!  And (b) why the press finds it necessary to pass along said information.  You know, it seems like it would be prudent for the press to sometimes think just a little before they write.  Just sometimes.

Will China still be willing to buy up Obama's new debt?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/07/business/yuan.php

The President-Elect Barack Obama is preparing a major speech on his proposed economic stimulus package that is reportedly coming down the pipeline shortly after he takes office.

But I've been warning for some time that our ability to borrow money and run up huge deficits (something I am against, for the record) is predicated on other government's faith in our economy and their willingness to invest in U.S. Treasury Bonds.

The article above is reason to worry.  In recent years, China has been one of the major purchasers of U.S. debt.  In case you're not aware, as Congress spends us into oblivion, other Countries purchase that debt and we have to pay that money back.

Perhaps we'll be forced to stop digging ourselves into this ever-growing bigger hole simply because no one is left to buy up our debt?  Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

Wait - I thought Barack Obama was supposed to usher in a new era of world peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_al_qaida_tape_gaza

According to all the press leading up to the 2008 general election, the only reason there wasn't world peace was because of George W. Bush's foreign policy.  The world would be a much happier place if we would only elect Barack Obama to the White House, right?  Remember all that?

Well, apparently it was all a bunch of nonsense.  According to this article, Al Qaeda #2 lashed out today at Barack Obama.  Say it isn't so!

Of course, the sooner the President-Elect realizes that the world dislikes America because of who we are and not because of who occupies the White House, the better.