Gaddafi Cut Off

 While Libya has been in chaos, America has been slowly stepping into the spotlight of foreign aid. In the last 72 hours, the Obama administration has been targeted on cutting off as much money as possible from the Libyan government. As mush as $29.7 billion of Libyan property have been within one bank. Here is what the Washington Post reports:

The Treasury Department team had been working nonstop on a plan to freeze Libyan assets in U.S. banks, hoping they might snare $100 million or more and prevent Moammar Gaddafi from tapping it in the deadly attacks against protesters who wanted him gone.

Never before had U.S. officials so quickly launched economic sanctions affecting so many assets of a targeted country.

The frenetic 72 hours leading up to the Executive Order 13566 illustrate how a process of identifying and freezing assets — something that customarily has taken weeks or months — has become one of the first tactical tools to employ in the midst of fast-breaking crises.

 The same virtual finances that helped maintain the Libyan government are now ironically the same ones being used against them. Although this freeze is only one of many actions used to slow down the dictatorship, there is no guarantee that it will slow Gaddafi down in any way. This action should dwindle his resources but after a look at Gaddafi's track record, it is obvious that he knows how to remain in power during rough rides. The US should also consider proactively going after sources supplying the Lybian dictatorship.

Half and Half GOP

Politico

The White House unsurprisingly welcomed the House's passage of a three-week spending bill on Tuesday, while arguing that the temporary measures to stave off a government shutdown can't be used excessively.

Somewhat defiantly, press secretary Jay Carney repeated in a statement that the White House has "met Republicans halfway" in budget negotiations, a claim the GOP has disputed wildly.

President Obama "urges" the Senate to pass the House's spending bill, Carney said in the statement. 

"The short-term funding bill passed in the House of Representatives today gives Congress some breathing room to find consensus on a long-term measure that funds the government through the end of the fiscal year. The President urges the Senate to pass this bill to avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery. But the President has been clear: with the wide range of issues facing our nation, we cannot keep funding the government in two or three week increments. It is time for us to come together, find common ground and resolve this issue in a sensible way. There is no disagreement on whether to cut spending to put us on a path to live within our means, but we can’t sacrifice critical investments that will help us out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competitors to win the future. We have already met Republicans halfway, and we are optimistic that Congress can get this done."

Obama's Polls Take a Dip

In the midst of the Tuscon crisis, Obama took upon his presidential social powers quite favorably amongst the American people. But his lack of presence in the social media due to tremulous political times has possibly caused a dip in his followers' enthusiasm. Politico reports:

Dipping a bit from heights reached in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings, President Barack Obama’s approval rating is hovering at or just above 50 percent in a pair of polls released Tuesday.
Fifty percent of Americans surveyed for a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said they approve of how the president is handling his job, while 51 percent of those surveyed for an ABC News/Washington Post poll said they approve of how Obama is doing.

Obama’s approval rating reached as high as 55 percent in January in a CNN poll conducted just after he delivered his State of the Union address. Another CNN poll, conducted earlier in January, had the president’s approval rating at 53 percent, as he rode positive sentiments from his response to the shooting that killed six and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). His approval rating in the CNN poll was last below 50 percent in mid-December, when 48 percent of those surveyed said they approved of how the president was doing and 48 disapproved

Forced to exercise his political prowess at the moment, Obama has had no time to practice his social skills. Disrupting wold crises shake the faith of people in many aspects, one being the President and his reactions. If anything positive can be taken away from the momentary worldwide devastation, hopefully it is that Obama will be able to step in and provide substantial foreign aid.

Obama's Melting Pay Freeze

 Last year Obama announced a freeze on federal workers' pay. Is it possible that this freeze had loopholes through which federal workers' pay could be increased? According to Politico, this is exactly the case. Politico reports:

Issa, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made his case to the Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry at a hearing on Wednesday.

“The president has announced a pay freeze,” Issa said. “The truth is, there will be pay raises through this process.”

Last November, Obama announced a two-year freeze on on two million federal employees. The freeze, which took effect in January, will save $28 billion over five years. Berry told Republicans that the freeze doesn’t stop federal agencies from promoting workers for a job well done. He said agencies must be able to offer promotions to good employees or risk losing them to private companies. Berry said that federal workers are victims of a poor economy, just like private sector employees.

In the rile of devil's advocate, this is only addition to Obama's slights. This plan could quite possibly completely backfire, although it will most likely not cost him re-election. Republicans, specifically Tea Party members could use this to their advantage, but they will most likely be dealing with slip ups of their own. With Obamacare flaring up, this issue probably won't cause any major uproar.

 Michelle Bachmann does not cease to spill gems of political mayhem from Tea Party alter ego. Possibly said as a anti-Obama comment for her Obama hating supporters, Bachmann decidedly called the Obama administration a "gangster government". Here's politico's report:

"I don’t take back my statement on gangster government," said Bachmann, who is weighing a 2012 run for president, on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think there are actions taken by this government are corrupt."

After the midterm elections, Bachmann had blogged that the debt ceiling would be “one of the most significant challenges to the start of the 112th Congress” and that “Congress simply cannot continue to operate under the pretense of ‘gangster government,’ raising the limit upon our whim.”

 Hopefully Bachmann's supporters will feel bad enough for her that they'll vote for her anyway. If she realizes in time that she is distancing herself from the 'undecideds' and democratic majority, she ay even have a chance to consider running for president.

Jerry Brown's Obama Condition

 Toyota's climb back to the top looks like a few short steps compared to what California is going to have to do. Even with a recent bill passed to close up a $19 billion dollar shortfall, California managed to fall into deeper budgetary crisis. Much like Bush's gift to Obama, Schwarzenegger will be passing California on to Brown in less than 'spick and spack' fiscal condition. The New York Times reports:

Five weeks after the Legislature passed a budget that promised to close a $19 billion budget shortfall, California has sunk back into yet another fiscal crisis, this time facing a $26 billion gap that is posing a major new challenge for the incoming governor,Jerry Brown, and seems almost certain to force deep cuts in a state already reeling from three years of financial turmoil.

The departing governor,Arnold Schwarzenegger, has called a special session of the Legislature for Dec. 6 to begin dealing with one part of the problem: a projected $6 billion shortfall in the $126 billion budget passed in October, a record 100 days late. Mr. Schwarzenegger’s aides said the governor, a Republican who has fought repeatedly with Democrats in pushing through deep spending cuts, would propose another round of reductions to get the state through the end of this fiscal year in June.

 While Schwarzenegger's administration is packing and telling everyone they've done their best, Brown must propose a new budget in January for 2011. California's estimated budget shortfall for next year is an estimated $38 billion including the shortfalls of the propositions Californians voted in this November. Brown's pledge not to raise taxes without voters' approval may be a hard pledge to follow through with in the next several years.

DADT Repeal Held Off

The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has been in a limbo of severe dissaproval and support in these last few months. Countless civilians and soldiers have been pushing for its repeal, and just as it was coming close to a decision, it looks like it may be held off for a while longer. While Obama has also been pushing to repeal DADT, he does not have the rights to and is now holding off the final decision of the judges to put his position in a more favorable view. Politico informs:

The Obama Administration filed an appeal Thursday in a bid to halt a judge’s order striking down the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibiting gays from openly serving in the military – escalating a politically awkward fight that has the Justice Department battling to preserve a policy that President Barack Obama wants to dismantle.

Justice Department lawyers asked U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips for an emergency stay of her order voiding the 17-year-old policy. The government also filed a formal appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking review of Phillips’ decision which bars the Defense Department from enforcing the policy against any service member, anywhere in the world.

Judge Phillips, the original judge to pass this act, will be in power to repeal, if Obama's plans pan out. If not, the DADT will be repealed sooner or later, but sooner is preferable to the majority in this case. If the judge does not recognize this as a violatons of the first amendment, who knows what will break out?

Possibly Not As Dumb As We Want to Be

America's economy has been in the low tide for quite some time now, but it appears that things might be finally turning around. For the first time for what seems to be in years, Obama has finally signed a bill that will be beneficial to the American people. Here is USA Today's explanation of the bill:

The small business jobs bill passed today will help provide loans and cut taxes for millions of small business owners without adding a dime to our nation's deficit. After months of partisan obstruction and needless delay, I'm grateful that Democrats and a few Republicans came together to support this common-sense plan to put Americans back to work. I look forward to signing the bill on Monday.

Not adding to the deficit?  That is definitely something we have not heard in a long time. For Obama's sake, let's hope that this little streak of pleasing everyone will continue.