Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson rushed everyone into an ill-conceived bailout of the financial system by saying: “The ultimate taxpayer protection will be the stability this troubled asset relief program provides to our financial system, even as it will involve a significant investment of taxpayer dollars.  I am convinced that this bold approach will cost American families far less than the alternative - a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets unable to fund economic expansion.”  Not knowing what to believe, most of our fearful politicians voted to give him authority to disburse the funds.  Now, two months later, Paulson says: “It was clear to me by the time the bill was signed on October 3rd that we needed to act quickly and forcefully, and that purchasing troubled assets—our initial focus—would take time to implement and would not be sufficient given the severity of the problem…Our assessment at this time is that this is not the most effective way to use TARP funds,”  Excuse me?  Am I hearing this right? You rushed us into a bailout that few of us understood because you were sure it would work.  Now, just two months later, you’re telling us that by the time, the bill was signed you knew it wouldn’t work.  This has got to stop.  We need some brave leadership to stand up and stop this madness.

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Oklahoma continues to be the capital of common sense in this country.  Mainly because Oklahomans are smart enough to keep electing their two stalwart Senators, Tom Coburn and James Inhofe.  Senator Inhofe voted against the bailout and was furious last week after Paulson’s testimony: “It is just outrageous that the American people don't know, that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone...it could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else.  We don't know.  There is no way of knowing.'' Inhofe has vowed to stop payment on Paulson’s blank check.  “He was able to get this authority from Congress predicated on what he was going to do, and then he didn't do it.”  Finally, a voice to represent those of us who were suspicious from the start.  “I have learned a long time ago.  When they come up and say this has to be done and has to be done immediately, there is no other way of doing it, you have to sit back and take a deep breath and nine times out of 10 they are not telling the truth…and this is one of those nine times.”  How far away is Oklahoma anyway? From Massachusetts, light years.

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All of this talk about Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State has got me excited.  Hillary will most certainly be a rogue employee of the Obama Administration.  Expect her to ignore directives, keep them ill-informed of her activity and provide many embarrassing moments for Barack Obama.  If he chooses her, we are in for a very entertaining four years.  Very dangerous, but very entertaining.

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Gun sales have exploded since Barack Obama won the election.  One gun shop owner explains: “I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11, Katrina, and all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now."  According to CNN: “buyers and sellers attribute the surge to worries that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict firearm ownership despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and considers the issue a low priority.”  Apparantly, Americans don’t believe them.  John Lott, author of the well-researched book: More Guns, Less Crime knows why.  He met Barack at the University of Chicago and described the encounter: "Obama said 'Oh, you are the gun guy.'  I responded 'Yes, I guess so.'  He simply responded that 'I don't believe that people should be able to own guns.'  When I said it might be fun to talk about the question sometime and about his support of the city of Chicago's lawsuit against the gun makers, he simply grimaced and turned away, ending the conversation.”  Sounds like he supports the 2^nd Amendment to me.

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Roman Catholic Priest Jay Scott Newman told his parishioners last week that anyone who voted for Barack Obama should not take part in the sacrament of Holy Communion until they do penance for “backing the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for President.”  Father Newman posted a letter on the church website that states: “voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."  As a Catholic I am proud that Bishops and Priests like Father Newman are sending a strong message: the Catholic Church and its members must defend the rights of the unborn.  Sadly, 54% of Catholics (or people calling themselves Catholics) voted for Barack Obama despite his pledge that he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act which will ban all current restrictions on abortion including partial-birth abortion, parental notification and government funding of abortion.

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Apparently, advisors to Barack Obama secretly met with members of the Iranian terrorist organization Hamas during the election.  The Arab daily, Al-Hayat reported that these meetings took place in Gaza.  “Al-Hayat reported that Yusuf also said the relations were maintained after Obama's electoral victory last Tuesday.  He said the president-elect's advisors requested that the relations be kept secret so as not to aid his rival, Senator John McCain.”  Voters remorse anyone?  Not yet?  Just wait.

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Our enemies hate George W. Bush because they fear him. Why do you think they like Barack Obama so much?


...click here for more columns by Todd A. Carges