Dude, Where's My Heavy-Duty Teleprompter?

The Obama administration's clumsy and petty attempt to step on the Republican debate (subsequently short-circuited by Speaker Boehner) made no sense. First, America has pretty much tuned out the president's tiresome speeches. Second, the controversy would (and still will) probably wind up increasing ratings for the probably boring GOP face-off, which most TV viewers would have otherwise ignored. Of course, a president can command the airwaves anytime he wants by delivering a speech from the Oval Office, Martha's Vineyard, or anywhere else. In a matter of extreme urgency, why wait until Congress is back in session? As New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin writes, "It's not a jobs plan; it's a political photo-op."

That being said, one wonders how many presidential teleprompters will be necessary for an address to a joint session of Congress. The Washington Examiner reports that the president "required two heavy-duty teleprompters on Monday during a three-minute speech in which he nominated Alan Krueger to serve as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers."

Casey Anthony in Probation Protection Program

For security reasons, Casey Anthony will be serving one year of probation--possibly outside of Florida--for an unrelated check fraud charge in an undisclosed location according to FindLaw.com:

The Florida Department of Corrections will not be putting her photo and information on their website, and a judge has blocked public release of her personal information.

Judge Belvin Perry imposed the 12-month probation term earlier this month. Subsequently an appeals court ruled against Anthony's claim that she had already served her probation while she was in jail awaiting her murder trial, in which she was subsequently found not guilty.

Anthony secretly sat down with her probation officer on Wednesday and must meet with him in person once a month.

Follow the Path of Hurricane Irene

Will Hurricane Irene, currently Category 1, be less severe than projections? If so, is the media guilty of engendering ratings-motivated hysteria similar to what they do for impending, "end of the world" snowstorms?

Click here for the Weather Channel's hurricane tracker.

Contessa Brewer Loses MSNBC Anchor Gig

Obama-worshipping MSNBC anchor (is that redundant?) Contessa Brewer, who famously made a complete fool of herself in challenging Congressman Mo Brooks' economic credentials, has lost her anchor gig on the network. Apparently she will remain affiliated with the network in some capacity, however.

Michelle Obama's Excellent Vacations

Hurricane Irene forced the Obamas to cut short their summer vacation near Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It's been reported that the president and his wife for some reason flew to and from Martha's Vineyard on separate jets--on the taxpayer's dime of course. Last August, NY Daily News columnist Andrea Tantaros wrote that "Michelle Obama seems more like a modern-day Marie Antoinette" given the first lady's luxury vacation in Spain, in which she and her entourage flew on a government plane accompanied by a large taxpayer-funded security detail.

Even White House staffers are becoming uneasy according to the Daily Mail in the UK:

White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10 million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year. Branding her 'disgusting' and 'a vacation junkie', they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol. The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage of her privileged position while the most hardworking Americans can barely afford a week or two off work.

As Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr observes, "The first family came in separate planes, and they’re leaving, ditto. Hey, it’s only money, our money."

Can you imagine the outcry if someone like Laura Bush was running up this kind of vacation tab especially with the economy on the skids?

Super-Rich Obama Supporters Should Cough Up More Dough

All this talk of tax policy and governmental budgeting makes our eyes glaze over. One thing that's clear is that federal spending is out of control, in part because a swarm of overpaid, over-pensioned do-nothing bureaucrats and regulators--many probably sitting around playing solitaire on their computer terminals--stand (or sit) in the way of bringing the economy back.

These include the "unessential employees" that somehow never have to report to work during a snow storm. As was demonstrated in Wisconsin, it is unreasonable to force taxpayers to pay higher taxes to fund lavish public sector salaries, pensions, and benefits. Public employees should be subject to the same marketplace forces as their private-sector counterparts.

Romney recently caught a lot of flak for saying that "corporations are people too." As a matter of law, a corporation is considered a "person." For the broader electorate, however, wouldn't it be better if he said something like "Yes, corporations like General Election which didn't pay any taxes along with other similarly situated Obama corporate cronies should pay more taxes."

In an Op-Ed yesterday, billionaire Warren Buffett says the super-rich should pay more taxes. Fine. The U.S. Treasury accepts voluntary payments, so Buffett (and Matt Damon and other fat-cat Obama supporters and donors in Hollywood, on Wall Street, and elsewhere) should open their own checkbooks if they really believe in continuing to prop up the bureaucratic welfare state. That way the entrepreneurs and small businessmen and women--the real job creators--can perhaps be left alone.

Atlanta Appeals Court Finds Obamacare Unconstitutional

Another setback for socialized medicine:

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that the health care reform law’s requirement that nearly all Americans buy insurance is unconstitutional, a striking blow to the legislation that increases the odds the Supreme Court will choose to review the law.

The suit was brought by 26 states — nearly all led by Republican governors and attorneys general — and the National Federation of Independent Business. The Department of Justice is expected to appeal.

The 2-1 ruling marks the first time a judge appointed by a Democrat has voted to strike down the mandate. Judge Frank Hull, who was nominated by former President Bill Clinton, joined Chief Judge Joel Dubina, who was appointed by George H.W. Bush, to strike down the mandate.

Since the original legislation has no severability clause (i.e., that would allow some parts of it to go forward but not others), the Supreme Court will ultimately have to decide whether the law can indeed stand without the individual mandate.

One practical issue apart from the constitutional questions (that is sometimes lost in the shuffle) is that the individual mandate would be one-size-fits-all (effectively prohibiting high deductible or cafeteria plans), thereby resulting in increased premiums for everyone.

Separately, the administration lost another round in federal court in connection with oil exploration rules:

A judge on Friday threw out Obama administration rules that sought to slow down expedited environmental review of oil and gas drilling on federal land. U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal ruled in favor of a petroleum industry group, the Western Energy Alliance, in its lawsuit against the federal government, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The ruling reinstates Bush-era expedited oil and gas drilling under provisions called categorical exclusions on federal lands nationwide, Freudenthal said.