Obama's health police swing into action

At his State of the Union address, Barack Obama promised to tackle the problem of childhood obesity. Today, he signed a presidential memorandum creating a creepy Orwellian "task force" to think up ideas on how to keep kids from getting fat.

The memorandum is one of the most sinister documents Obama has ever released, and that's saying something. According to the president, "My Administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, engages families and communities, and mobilizes both public and private sector resources." How exactly does one "solve" the "problem" of childhood obesity? Send SWAT teams to kick down Burger King doors? In Great Britain, the government sticks a camera in your living room if they don't think you're parenting properly. Is that what's in our future?

Obesity might seem like a personal problem that's none of the government's business. Not so in Barack Obama's America. As Obama warns in his memorandum, "Without effective intervention, many more children will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our health-care system." This is the road to socialism mapped out as clearly as you'll ever see. Obama is pushing for a government-run health care system. If that happens, everyone will be subsidizing everyone else's health problems. If you're overweight, you'll become a strain on the system.

What a chilling reminder of Obama's nanny statism. As Rudy Giuliani said today, "I find it strange this administration is uncomfortable saying 'war on terrorism' but is eager to embrace a 'war on obesity.'"

Even Obama's obesity program not safe from the SEIU

During his State of the Union speech, Barack Obama pledged to make your child's nutrition the federal government's business. To do this, he wants to revive Lyndon Johnson's Child Nutrition Act, which used taxpayer money to provide subsidized meals for 30 million children. The wasteful program was killed by Republicans during the 1990s.

It's also yet another kickback to Obama's allies at the SEIU. Michelle Malkin dug up this quote by SEIU Executive Vice President Mitch Ackerma: "A more robust expansion of school lunch, breakfast, summer feeding, child care and WIC (the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program) is critical to reducing hunger, ending childhood obesity and providing fair wages and healthcare for front line food service workers(emphasis added)."

The SEIU is embarking on a nationwide march to bring all American service workers under its control. It already represents tens of thousands of school lunch servers. With Barack Obama's anti-obesity sham in place, schools will need more of those servers...which can then fall prey to the SEIU.

Where in the world was Hillary Clinton last night?

Our friend Donal Blaney noticed she was missing from the State of the Union address here.

Secretaries of state have always attended State of the Union speeches. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice were there during Bush's. Could Donal be right?

Cap and trade back from the dead

A nice little surprise from last night's State of the Union address.

"But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."

So Obama still hasn't given up on the cap and trade bill that would take a sledgehammer to the economy.

The top lies in Barack Obama's State of the Union. And the winners are...

Of course the entire speech was a deceptive charade but here are the worst of the whoppers.

LIE: "But we know that our schools don’t just need more resources. They need more reform. ... We’ll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps. And we will expand our commitment to charter schools."

FACTS: Obama doesn't give a damn about education beyond what the teachers unions want. One of his first acts as president was to destroy the Washington, DC school voucher program. Hundreds of students given the opportunity to succeed on a voucher were thrown back into DC's failing public school system.

LIE: "Because of the steps we took [meaning the stimulus], there are about two million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed."

FACTS: Last month, the administration reported that government stimulus had created 650,000 jobs. That number apparently jumped by 1,350,000 in the month of January alone. The truth is no one has any idea how many jobs, if any, have been created by Obama's alleged stimulus. The stimulus' error-filled website, Recovery.org, showed jobs created in congressional districts that didn't exist. At one point it claimed that the purchase of a single lawn mower had created 50 jobs.

LIE: "With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests –- including foreign corporations –- to spend without limit in our elections."

FACTS: This lie caused Justice Sam Alito to shake his head in disbelief. The Supreme Court ruling involved whether or not corporations could advertise on TV promoting or attacking a candidate. It had nothing to do with the early 20th-century law, which stopped corporations from donating directly to candidates. That floodgate is still shut, and Obama knows it.

LIE: "That's why -- for the first time in history -- my administration posts our White House visitors online. And that's why we've excluded lobbyists from policy-making jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions."

FACTS: It's true that Obama signed an executive limiting -- not banning -- the role of lobbyists in his administration. But he keeps waiving it over and over again for people he likes. Lobbyists or former lobbyists in the Obama administration include Eric Holder, Tom Vilsack, Patrick Gaspard, William Lynn, William Corr, David Hayes, Mark Patterson, Ron Klain, Mona Sutphen, Melody Barnes, Cecilia Munoz, and Michael Strautmanis.

LIE: At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. All this was before I walked in the door.

FACTS: There he goes with the Bush bashing again. That $3 trillion didn't just appear out of nowhere because of "the recession." It was caused by Obama's reckless bills like the spending omnibus and the stimulus. (The stimulus alone cost close to $1 trillion.) When will Obama man up and accept responsibility? This is his recession and his deficit.

LIE: "To close that credibility gap we have to take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue -- to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly; to give our people the government they deserve."

FACTS: That credibility gap is owned by Obama, who meets in closed-door meetings with union bosses, invites health care lobbyists into the White House, makes back room deals with senators so they'll support ObamaCare, and refuses to allow C-SPAN cameras into the final health care negotiations.

LIE: "Now, the true engine of job creation in this country will always be America's businesses. But government can create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and hire more workers."

FACTS: If that were true then businesses would have responded well to the omnibus spending bill, or the stimulus bill, or credit card reforms, or something Obama has done. But Barack Obama's government can't help businesses. It can only get in the way.

Things you won't hear during Obama's State of the Union tonight

Leave it to the Irish.

Paddy Power, an Irish on-line betting service, is offering odds on the length of Obama's speech, the color of his tie, and which political cliche he will utter first.

The favored cliche, at odds of 4-to-1, is "heath care reform." The longshot, 500-to-1, is "always bet on black." (Oddly, the phrase "I won't seek re-election" is a mere 250-to-1.)

In the same spirit as the good people at Paddy Power, here are some of the biggest longshots for tonight's address.

"I admit that my attempt at health care reform was a complete debacle and I take full responsibility."

"I believe the people at ACORN acted stupidly."

"Corruption and radicalism in our government cannot be tolerated. I'll be immediately firing Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, John Holdren, Cass Sunstein, Hillary Clinton, Ray LaHood, Lisa Jackson, Carol Browner, Kevin Jennings, Adolfo Carrion Jr., Ron Bloom, Patrick Gaspard, Ezekiel Emanuel, Mark Lloyd, Melanne Verveer, Farah Pandith, and Todd Stern."

"I believe special interest money and influence in Washington is a problem. And let me make it clear: That includes unions. Unions are part of the problem."

"This is in no way President Bush's fault."

"I have read and studied the Founding Fathers closely. I understand that our government is always to be a limited one. I know that our country was conceived in Lockean liberalism, which guarantees every man and woman personal liberty. I trust the American people enough to let them make their own decisions and not to intrude on them with government."

"So how about that special election up in Massachusetts last week, huh?"

"Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done. We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith. Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless America."

The last line is from Ronald Reagan's 1984 State of the Union address. Don't hold your breath waiting for that one.