Friday, December 31, 2010

Glad tidings!

Happy birthday, Adrienne!  We women, like wine, get better with each passing year.

To everyone else, have a safe and blessed New Year!

There's a new boogie man in town

Want to scare the bejesus out of a "progressive"?  Sidle up to one and whisper those two magic words that turn grown Lefties into thumb-sucking, mewling, rubber pants wearing little crybabies:  Paul Ryan.

And here’s one coming up, now: the incoming House majority will be establishing a rule that will give the House Budget chair the ability to set the spending ceiling for any 2011 budget. This rule is currently causing House Democrats to freak out like koalas deprived of their eucalyptus leaves/junkies deprived of their heroin/hipsters deprived of their iPhones, for two reasons:


•The Democrats never passed a budget in 2010, so this is going to affect spending for this fiscal year. A lot.

•Who is going to be the House Budget chair? Why, Rep. Paul “Embrace the sweet pain that comes from cutting entitlements” Ryan.
And when I say “freak out,” I mean freak out: the Democrats are so upset about this that they’ve lost all control of their higher brain functions and have reverted to babbling about Social Security privatization. And unilateralism! We haven’t heard that one in a while.

Heh.  Winning is always good but this time it is absolutely dee-lish-ous!  The Dems set this up by failing to pass a budget and now the Republicans hold the checkbook.  More specifically, a true fiscal conservative holds the checkbook.  Let the heads commence exploding.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Back to business as usual? I don't think so.

In what is presumably a hat tip to the Tea Party, Republicans in the House will read the Constitution on the floor and will require that each bill presented include a memo outlining how the bill conforms to the Constitution.  Not everyone is impressed:

"I think it's entirely cosmetic," said Kevin Gutzman, a history professor at Western Connecticut State University who said he is a conservative libertarian and sympathizes with the tea party.

"This is the way the establishment handles grass-roots movements," he added. "They humor people who are not expert or not fully cognizant. And then once they've humored them and those people go away, it's right back to business as usual. It looks like this will be business as usual - except for the half-hour or however long it takes to read the Constitution out loud."

I supposed that Prof. Gutzman could be correct.  Maybe this nothing more than a legislative parlor trick-the equivalent of giving a screaming kid a lollipop so they'll shut up.  But does anyone really believe that members of the Tea Party or the 912 Project or just plain folk who for the first time have become involved in the political process will be mollified by empty gestures?

Yes, that is exactly what they believe.  On both the Left and the RINO Right, the conventional wisdom is that the Tea party will simply peter out.  Or as Sen. Lindsey Graham put it:

"The problem with the Tea Party, I think it's just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out."
Actually there is a lot to be said for being "misunderestimated".  And being misunderestimated beats the hell out of being taken for granted.  The base, you and I, have been taken for granted for along time and I don't see any of us ever sitting quietly in the corner again.

I could not possibly care less whether the Left takes my political awakening seriously and I am willing to give the Republican Party a second chance.  But I don't think I am alone when I say I will be watching our Congressmen closely and any attempt by Republicans to return to their old ways will be met with fierce resistance.  Remember, the next election is less than two years away.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Thank God for 'dangerous madmen'

Writing in the Washington Monthly, Steve Benen has this to say of Rep. Paul Ryan:

Talking to various aides on the Hill, I get the sense that Democrats tend to look at Paul Ryan as the kind of Republican they can at least talk to. Unlike so many GOP leaders, the far-right Wisconsinite appears to have read a book and learned how to use a calculator. When he speaks, Ryan tends to use complete sentences, and tends to resist at least some partisan bomb-throwing.

But there's a catch: the guy is a crackpot. A polite crackpot who, by contemporary Republican standards, takes his beliefs seriously, but a crackpot nevertheless.

Ryan doesn't want to search for common ground with Democrats; he's hopelessly convinced that Democrats are radicals intent on destroying modern capitalism. He considers the very ideas of charity and sacrifice deeply offensive. His entire worldview is so bizarre, it has no meaningful place in the American mainstream.

Matt Yglesias recently noted that Ryan "is a dangerous madman," and the description doesn't seem especially hyperbolic.

Well, thank God for dangerous madmen!  The entire basis for Benen's criticism of Ryan is that Ryan has read Atlas Shrugged and requires his staff to read the novel as well.  Clearly we are dealing with a real sicko here (Benen, not Ryan).

Ayn Rand supported individualism and opposed collectivism.  Ryan shares these beliefs and therefore, according to Benen, has no meaningful place in the American mainstream.  What then does Benen think the "American mainstream" to be?  Does he suppose that subjugation of the individual to the group is mainstream? 

Benen gives Ryan credit for avoiding partisan bomb-throwing and then he throws a bomb of his own-He considers the very ideas of charity and sacrifice deeply offensive.  Really?  Care to back that up?  Maybe Benen should have written that Ryan finds the very idea of forced charity and sacrifice deeply offensive.

Benen and his ilk have no problem with forced "charity".  I rather imagine that is because the pro-collectivists believe that they will be on the side of the enforcers rather than that of the forced.  Kindness is for the other guy.

Paul Ryan rattles cages on the Left not because he has read a book and can use a calculator but because he rejects the notion that the individual is beholden to the almighty State.  He has a plan, a Roadmap, for freeing the individual from the grip of the State.  Paul Ryan speaks out when others, including other Republicans, are silent about the entitlements that are threatening the very survival of this country.  Again, thank God for dangerous madmen.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Maybe if Ben Affleck actually had to earn his keep...

Ben Affleck, playing his favorite role-champion of the ‘little guy’, appeared on NPR to push his new movie, Company Men:

INSKEEP: There's a line in Company Men that's staying with me. Tommy Lee Jones is at a corporate conference table. Someone else at the conference table is discussing their plans to lay off a bunch of workers. And nearly all the workers being laid off are older, which could be construed as being wrong or illegal. Someone at the table says: "Oh, no. This is going to pass legal scrutiny." And Jones responds: "I always thought we aimed for a little higher standard than that."

AFFLECK: That speaks so perfectly to people's feelings about our country. It's like it's just about getting by, or people can like let people go if they can get away with it, that there's no deeper sense of right or wrong. The banks shouldn't -- people shouldn't make such a giant profit off just moving money back and forth. And CEOs' pay shouldn't be 200 times the average worker. It used to be nine times.
Wow, two hundred times the average worker? That’s a lot isn’t it?

From the comments at the above link:

# 5 "Gigli" Starring Ben

Submitted by Chris Norman on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 8:37am.

"Gigli" Starring Ben Affleck

Net losses, inflation adjusted: $77,961,644

Total cost: $74,000,000

Worldwide theater gross: $7,266,209

Net losses (actual): $66,733,791

Affleck’s salary for the film was $12.5 million

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Hmmm-the average actor (IMHO Affleck would need to improve quite a bit to be average) earns $50,000 a year. Affleck made $12.5 million for acting in a total flop. He made two hundred and fifty times the pay of the average worker for a movie that lost $66,733,791. I can see why he considers himself an expert on who is overpaid.

I don’t begrudge Affleck his pay but nor do I begrudge the typical CEO his pay. I would, however, argue that the CEO does a hell of a lot more to earn his money than Mr. Affleck. Therefore I am anxious to know how Affleck justifies his pay while claiming that others are un-entitled to benefits he routinely enjoys.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Child Marriage Prevention Act fails

From Don Suber:

No one wants 12-year-olds to be forced into marriage. This bill had bipartisan momentum behind it. $5 million to stop 12-year-olds from getting married? Sure.

But few nations recognize such marriages: Sudan, Tanzania and Yemen. The Senate bill was a product of Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine. The House version was a product of Democrat Betty McCollum of Minnesota and Republican Ander Crenshaw. (A curious thing though, girls under 16 can still marry in both Maine and Minnesota. Perhaps they should fix that first before saving the world.)

House Republican leaders, though, took a closer look at the bill and, according to Amanda Terkel, decided to oppose it. She said they sent this in an e-mail:

S. 987 authorizes $108 million over 5 years without sufficient oversight of the taxpayers’ money. According to the Congressional Research Service, there is no available, confirmed figure on how much taxpayer funding is already being used to fight child marriage in developing countries and this bill does not address that issue.

In contrast, Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen has introduced H.R. 6521, which would result in no more than $1 million in potential costs, while making it clear that child marriage is a violation of human rights and that its prevention should be a goal of US foreign policy; requiring the creation of a multi-year strategy; requiring a comprehensive assessment of what the United States is already doing and funding in the effort to fight child marriage; and requiring that the practice of child marriage in other countries be reported each year as part of the annual Human Rights Report.

There are also concerns that funding will be directed to NGOs that promote and perform abortion and efforts to combat child marriage could be usurped as a way to overturn pro-life laws.
While we're spending taxpayer money on symbolic gestures why not have a Genital Mutilation Prevention Act or a Stoning to Death of Innocent Women Prevention Act? I don't think anyone is arguing that the marriage of insanely young girls to their uncles is a good thing but you would have to be a fool to believe that throwing American taxpayer money at culturally ingrained travesties in other countries would a) do any good and b) is the work of the US Congress.

Congress needs to get out of the symbolism business.

Skipping out

Joe Manchin is off to a rousing start. The new senator from W.VA skipped both the DREAM ACT vote and the DADT vote. Manchin sited the old "family obligations" excuse for missing the votes. I think I'll give that one a whirl on Friday-yes sir, I know I was supposed to work on Christmas Eve but I had family obligations.


Manchin says that he would have voted "No" to both. Maybe. Who knows? At any rate he obviously has the gig all wrong. When trying to avoid creating a record you should always show up and vote "Present".

Checking back in

Did you know that it is possible to go two weeks without even looking at the Internet?  I wouldn't have believed it had my professional life and personal life both intensified at the exact same time.  At the same time my grandkids moved back home the NCUA started a three week top to bottom audit of the credit union where I work.  In any case, life has now calmed down and I'm going to try to get back in to the blogging routine.  What better place to start than by quoting Stacey McCain:

As for “how to fix it,” the answer is equally simple: Stop!

Stop the endless deficit spending, stop the endless extension of unemployment benefits, stop trying to “fix” the housing market with further interventions, stop trying to “fix” deflation by having the Fed buy Treasury debt, stop the government takeover of the health-care industry — stop just about everything that Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke and Barack Obama have been doing since January 2009.

Once you’ve stopped doing the wrong things, that will be about half of the solution. The other half of the solution — actually doing the right thing — will probably have to wait until January 2013, when the next president is sworn in and we rid ourselves of Barack Obama, who now looks much less like the messiah Ezra Klein once worshipped and a lot more like the Second Coming of Jimmy Carter.
The Second Coming of Jimmy Carter-I love it.  Right now it is looking like Jimmy Carter would be a vast improvement.  Stacy is referring to the defeat of the Omnibus Bill.  It contained eight billion dollars of pure pork proving that our Congress is composed of the single most tone deaf incompetents to ever plant themselves in one location.  Fortunately, Mitch McConnell was able to hold the Republicans together forcing dear Harry Reid to shelve the bill.  Let's hope a pattern is emerging.

The problem is that Democrats believe in "fixing" things by do more of the same.  They want to tax and regulate their way to a Utopia but that has been tried and it hasn't worked.  As Stacey says, stop it!  We gotten so far off track that our Department of Homeland Security now wants to take on global warming.  Um, how about taking on border security first?  Can we please get our priorities straight?

On the bright side, in just three weeks Republicans will be holding the purse strings in the House.  We will soon know if there were any lessons learned from the last election.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Merriment abounds!

Does anyone actually take seriously the rumors of Obama facing a primary challenge? It is nothing but talk from a bunch of spoiled Leftists who are so inbred that they believe they can influence policymaking by making empty threats. The overwrought Lefty/Loony comment of the day (emphasis mine):

It's over. This was the last straw.  (Note to commenter-Obama has two years to go. No way this was the last straw.  Hee.)

If he wants to run in 2012, let him run as a republican which is what he is now that the facade he wore in 2008 has come off.

Health care reform? Yeah, right. Didn't even consider the only real solution which is Medicare for all. We were duped into thinking we'd have a public option but that didn't happen either.

Bank reform? Yeah, right. Investigations into fraud and criminal activity? None. Breaking them up so they aren't too big to fail? Nope. Nothing. A joke all around.

Closing Guantanamo? Another lie.

Investigations into previous administration war crimes? Didn't want to look back - the law only applies to the little people.

Ending the wars? Still 50k troops in Iraq and escalated involvement with the hopelessly corrupt Afghanistan government. Another con job.

Green jobs investments? Another promise that never happened.

I could go on, but I've made the point.

Democrats had better get rid of this republican masquerading as a democrat and get someone who represents progressives or get out of town. We don't need two conservative parties in this country.
Ah, yes-Obama has come out of the Conservative closet. He’s a DINO. Next thing you know we’ll find out that “Community Organizer” is code for “Venture Capitalist”. Pinch me, I think I’ve died and gone to Everyone is a Comedian heaven.

No boys and girls, Obama doesn’t ride unicorns. The seas do not part as he nears. He did not descend from Mt. Olympus. Barack Hussein Obama is a politician, though not a very bright or skilled one at that. He made promises during his campaign that any reality based sentient should have known were unkeepable. Even Obama himself seems hacked that the dolt filled masses fell for his lines.

So who would they run against Obama-Howard “The Scream” Dean? Make my day. Over a Crooks and Liars a commenter suggested Dean, Sanders or Grayson. Make my millennium. Nope, the Left is stuck with Obama and him with them. The upside is that until recently the Left gave me high blood pressure and ulcers but now they provide endless hours of entertainment. Whine on.

Monday, December 6, 2010

They are a cranky bunch over there on the left. I like it!

Geez, they call us Tea Partiers racist. Have you ever paid attention to how Progressives talk about Obama when he ticks them off? The following is a comment that appeared on the Firedoglake post AFL-CIO Legislative Meeting Explodes Over Obama’s NAFTA-Style Korea Free Trade Deal:

Leo Gerard is probably in a state of shock

A lot of decent, kind loving, warm hearted, people can’t deal with the devil at first.

It is hard to attack someone that says they love you, while stabbing you in the chest at the same time. It takes a special person or persons to deal with this type of Devil.

Know Thy Enemy!

Think about it like this, OBAMA destroys the middle class of the USA, with no remorse, yes he is killing your kids, my kids, future, and laughing about it! people

Obama is not some wuzzy, weak minded, fool, he is a cold blooded tool the elites developed to destroy democrats, and their followers.

Leo Gerard is probably like most people,just trying to live a simple life. Now his simple life has change for ever, he has seen the DEVIL, and knows what the Devil is capable of doing.

Obama is no JOKE!!! Here you have a Man, who lets nothing get in his way, he sticks to his mission, which is DESTROY THE USA MIDDLE CLASS. (Obama passed the bob dole health care bill, and he has not skip one beat, 80% of the nation hated the bill, Obama said SO WHAT!)

So progressives have better develop the same will and drive Obama has to fight Obama.

Obama has no intentions of winning in 2012. Obama knows black candidates win state wide re- elections only 10% of the time. Remember Obama was the only Black Senator in the Senate in 2006.

One has to admire Obama cold blooded attitude about killing the MIDDLE CLASS, it takes a very bad man, to support a NAFTA trade deal in the middle of a depression.
I wonder what Eugene Robinson would think of that comment? Would he cut the commenter some slack or would he, as he does with members of the Tea Party, attribute the negative comment to something a bit more sinister than a mere policy disagreement:

First, I'll state the obvious: It's not racist to criticize President Obama, it's not racist to have conservative views, and it's not racist to join the Tea Party. But there's something about the nature and tone of the most vitriolic attacks on the president that I believe is distinctive - and difficult to explain without asking whether race is playing a role.

That was a total aside-I couldn’t care less what Robinson thinks. But if you read the FDL post linked above and the comments or just about any far Left site these days it becomes obvious that they have lost that loving feeling. It’s kind of like lighting a cigarette and then finding out that you are surrounded by former smokers-things turn nasty quick. It seems that the more enamored the person was with O in the beginning the nastier they are now. 

I love it. My only regret is that I don’t own stock in Orville Redenbacher.

Eventually they grow up

My son turned thirty today. My Dad put a hammer in J’s hand the moment he was big enough to hold it and that was it. When asked, “What are you going to do when you grow up?” the answer never changed, “I’m going to build tall buildings.” I used to dream about “my son the architect”. Nope- the operative word turned out to be build not design. He’s an ironworker.


I was disappointed, actually devastated, when he decided against college. But he loves his job, loves his life and he makes a pretty darned good living. I’d rather see him happy in the career of his choosing then miserable in a career that he felt he had been pushed in to. Besides, recently he has talked about taking some business and construction management courses to prepare himself for owning his own business.

In any case he has become a fine young man and I am very proud of him. I hope I can be forgiven if I’m also sad that he’s no longer a little boy.

Today is also Reagan McCain’s birthday. She’s a cutie, Stacy. They really do grow up so fast.

Your “Government Sucks” post of the day

How inept is our government? Well, they just spent $120 MILLION dollars printing unusable money:

As a metaphor for our troubled economic and financial era -- and the government's stumbling response -- this one's hard to beat. You can't stimulate the economy via the money supply, after all, if you can't print the money correctly.

Because of a problem with the presses, the federal government has shut down production of its flashy new $100 bills, and has quarantined more than 1 billion of them -- more than 10 percent of all existing U.S. cash -- in a vault in Fort Worth, Texas, reports CNBC.

"There is something drastically wrong here," one source told CNBC. "The frustration level is off the charts."

….More than 1 billion unusable bills have been printed. Some of the bills creased during production, creating a blank space on the paper, one official told CNBC. Because correctly printed bills are mixed in with the flawed ones, even the ones printed to the correct design specs can't be used until they 're sorted. It would take an estimated 20 to 30 years to weed out the defective bills by hand, but a mechanized system is expected to get the job done in about a year.

Combined, the quarantined bills add up to $110 billion -- more than 10 percent of the entire U.S. cash supply, which now stands at around $930 billion.

The flawed bills, which cost around $120 million to print, will have to be burned.
Is it just me or is it kismet that these bills are the first ever to bear Timmy Geithner's signature?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

When did we join the European Union?

Look, I feel as bad the next guy for our European brothers.  I mean those poor Greeks are being forced to raise their retirement age to a whopping sixty-three years old.  But Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, et al, spent their way in to their current financial mess and I can't see where we in the United States are in any position to bail them out.  Unfortunately it looks that we may do just that:

USA to bail out EU?

Looks like it,

US Ready to Back Bigger EU Stability Fund: Official

The United States would be ready to support the extension of the European Financial Stability Facility via an extra commitment of money from the International Monetary Fund, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.
There are contradictory reports regarding the extent of the proposed bailout, but

U.S. Treasurys’ prices fell and the euro strengthened against the dollar on Wednesday after the news that the United States would be prepared to support an enlarged EFSF.
Wonderful to know that we're so flush we can afford to spread our wealth around.

Read more

Somebody has her nose out of joint

Over at Salon Elizabeth Williams is in a snit:

Never mind that only 55 percent of the Smithsonian's budget is federally funded, that generally exhibitions are mounted through private fundraising, or that, as the Washington Post notes, Hide/Seek in particular "was funded by the largest number of individual donors for a Portrait Gallery show … underwritten by foundations that support gay and lesbian issues." Never mind the truth -- that your tax dollars really aren't supporting a whole 11 seconds of hot, hot Formicidae on Yahweh action.

Nope, that bluster was enough to turn the Smithsonian, America's most prominent cultural institution, totally chicken and pull the video. On Tuesday, NPG director Martin Sullivan issued a statement that read, "I regret that some reports about the exhibit have created an impression that the video is intentionally sacrilegious. In fact, the artist’s intention was to depict the suffering of an AIDS victim. It was not the museum’s intention to offend. We are removing the video today."

So while acknowledging that the work is not sacrilegious and its meaning has been misreported, they're getting rid of it anyway. Congratulations, whiners! You win again. The show, which runs through Feb. 13, promises visitors it explores "how major themes in art were influenced by social marginalization," but the Catholic League, Boehner and their god-fearing, gay-averse cronies may have strong-armed their way into the Gallery's curatorial discretion, by caving to pressure, the NPG is no longer just exploring marginalization, it's actively perpetuating it.

Yeah, well, take that!  I mean is there anything worse than a bunch whiny taxpayers?  And besides, the artist was gay and died of AIDS so we're talking about a sacred work of art here.  Sheesh!

By now everyone should know the rules-Christians threatening to cut off funding over offensive art is very, very bad.  Muslims threatening to cut off your head over offensive art is okay because you deserve it for not being more sensitive and multi-cultural and you know, enlightened.  And besides, these weren't just any Christians complaining.  They're Catholics.  (Would Williams somehow be less riled up if John Boehner were Methodist?)

People like Williams believe that Christians should be neither seen nor heard.  If they must exist, they should keep to themselves.  Not a standard that she would impose others.  I would think that taxpayers of any stripe have the right to speak out.  I guess I'm not very enlightened.

We need more of this!

I saw this earlier and Fox & Friends so when I saw a link at Weasel Zippers I just had to post it.  The narrative via Freedom's Lighthouse:

CBS NEWS: . . . . Here’s what happened: Buyer this afternoon asked Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson of California, who is acting as speaker, to yield time for him to speak on a veterans bill. Richardson refused, prompting Buyer to ask sarcastically, “as a sitting member of the House, the speaker chooses not to recognize another sitting member, is that correct?”

Richardson responds that the decision on recognizing Buyer is up to the speaker – that is, her. An increasingly frustrated Buyer replies that she is choosing not to recognize a ranking Republican member dispute the fact that isn’t anyone on the floor to object to his request.

“This is why the American people have thrown you out of power,” he says to Richardson. He then begins walking around the chamber angrily, throwing down a folder and muttering that Democrats are wasting time despite the fact that there are many things to be done, including repeal of the health care reform bill.

When Buyer returns to the microphone, Richardson changes course, yielding Buyer one minute to speak. He responds sarcastically, “wow.”

“Was treating another member with dignity so hard, madam speaker? I don’t believe it was,” he says. . . . Read More



We hear an awful lot about Republican "obstruction" to which I say obstruct away.  Our Republican congressmen should say "No" when bad bills are being forced down our throats.  What we don't hear enough about is the dirty tactics employed by Democrats.  Acting Speaker Richardson was acting like a jerk for no other reason other than because she could and Rep. Buyer called her on it.  Good for him.

Back online

The kids are at their new school today and I am back online.  I haven't even turned the 'puter on since Monday and as a result my inbox is stuffed to the gills.  It has been a great couple of days.  Yesterday was a picnic at the park that included a stone skipping contest that I lost badly and then we were off to see Harry Potter.  I'm tired and broke but incredibly happy.  Andre works for the government and I know that if the government needs him somewhere else they will be off again.  It is hard to be separated but I am proud of Andre's service and thankful that my daughter and grandchildren have such a wonderful man in their lives.  For the foreseeable future they'll be home and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

P.S.  Jeremy caught a fish in the canal that runs behind their house.  I have been informed that from now on Friday nights are "fish fry" night.  I love catching them, don't mind cleaning them, but I hate eating them.  Oh well, it is nice to see traditions from my youth repeated.

Monday, November 29, 2010

The grandkids are home!

I may be only fifty-two years old but right now my legs are feeling twice that.  Reason?  My grandkids got in yesterday afternoon so today was Zoo Day!  Commonsense aside, I'm pretty sure I walked a hundred miles today.  Among the animals encountered today was one very amorous giraffe who took quite the shine to me.  I backed as far away from him as I could but once I ran out of room, well, let's just say giraffes having amazingly long tongues.  

The big hit of the day was the stingrays.  Stingrays are in abundance here in Florida but the kids had never petted one before.  These stingrays are accustomed to people so they would come right up and let the kids play with them.  One particular baby stingray was really enjoying the attention.  Once Livvie got over her initial hesitation she and "Baby" had a great time.  I had to explain to her that these rays are not the same as the wild rays the swim in the canal behind their house and that it would better if she didn't try to play with any back there.

I can't believe they are home.  We had originally thought that they were going to Hawaii.  In any case, I think Andre has to report to MacDill on Wednesday and the kids have to get enrolled in school so things will settle down shortly.  In the mean time we are making up for two and a half years of being apart.  The last time we went on a picnic the raccoons stole our food.  It will probably happen again tomorrow.  It's kinda half the fun.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

If we would just quit pissing people off

Over at Salon Glenn Greenwald is getting his freak on:

The FBI is obviously quite pleased with itself over its arrest of a 19-year-old Somali-American, Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who -- with months of encouragement, support and money from the FBI's own undercover agents -- allegedly attempted to detonate a bomb at a crowded Christmas event in Portland, Oregon.
This is Greenwald doing what he does best-insinuating that the evil government creates terrorist where none exist.  But he goes way beyond insinuation:

But it may also just as easily be the case that the FBI -- as they've done many times in the past -- found some very young, impressionable, disaffected, hapless, aimless, inept loner; created a plot it then persuaded/manipulated/entrapped him to join, essentially turning him into a Terrorist; and then patted itself on the back once it arrested him for having thwarted a "Terrorist plot" which, from start to finish, was entirely the FBI's own concoction. Having stopped a plot which it itself manufactured, the FBI then publicly touts -- and an uncritical media amplifies -- its "success" to the world, thus proving both that domestic Terrorism from Muslims is a serious threat and the Government's vast surveillance powers -- current and future new ones -- are necessary.

Those evil bastards! 

To Greenwald's credit he admits that it is possible that the whole thing went down just as the FBI claims,
though reading the article, it would be hard to make the case that Greenwald actually believes that the FBI really thwarted a terrorist plot.  Of course that is okay because Greenwald is merely questioning authority and maintaining a healthy level of scepticism.  Scepticism and questioning authority are good qualities.  If you are a Progressive.  If you happen to be a Conservative, well, that's a horse of a different color.  Conservatives who question authority are called "Tea Partiers" or if you are of Greenwald's ilk, "Tea Baggers". 

Greenwald should have stopped writing before he showed his hand.  In Greenwald's estimation it doesn't really matter if Mohamed Osman Mohamud would have plotted to kill 25,000 Americans at a tree lightening service without the FBI's encouragement.  Had Mohamud planned and carried it all on his own it would still be America's fault:

We hear the same exact thing over and over and over from accused Terrorists -- that they are attempting to carry about plots in retaliation for past and ongoing American violence against Muslim civilians and to deter such future acts. Here we find one of the great mysteries in American political culture: that the U.S. Government dispatches its military all over the world -- invading, occupying, and bombing multiple Muslim countries -- torturing them, imprisoning them without charges, shooting them up at checkpoints, sending remote-controlled drones to explode their homes, imposing sanctions that starve hundreds of thousands of children to death -- and Americans are then baffled when some Muslims -- an amazingly small percentage -- harbor anger and vengeance at them and want to return the violence. And here we also find the greatest myth in American political discourse: that engaging in all of that military aggression somehow constitutes Staying Safe and combating Terrorism -- rather than doing more than any single other cause to provoke, sustain and fuel Terrorism.

So there you have it.  We are the terrorists. 

The problem is that only through total submission can we stop provoking them.  Nothing less will do.  Greenwald, as a gay man, may be okay with that but I'm not okay with it for him.  I'm not okay with it as a woman.  I'm not willing to give up one iota of my freedom for a false sense of security based on supplication.  We provoke them because we are.  Greenwald doesn't except that premise but as long as enough of us do we'll continue to be free.

Congratulations to the FBI for a job well done.











 
 
 
They kill us  


Saturday, November 27, 2010

I could use a laugh

My friend Annie just these to me.  They gave a smile and smiles should always be passed on.

TSA Bumper Stickers:

Friday, November 26, 2010

Just thinking out loud (although I'm old enough to know better)

I've been ruminating on this post for a couple days.  The other day Prof. Jacobson asked his readers their thoughts on Tim Pawlenty.  He began by writing this:

One of my theories is that the best chance to defeat Obama in 2012 is to make the election about Obama, not about the Republican candidate. The Obama record is so abysmal, and the Obama aura so shattered, that 2012 could be a repeat of 2010.

Each of the current top 4 Republican contenders (Palin, Romney, Newt, Huckabee) has issues of public perception which would make the race, to varying degrees, about the Republican.
I want 2012 to be about issues and solutions and I want my next president to be Obama's polar opposite. 

Obama did not win the presidency based on his record.  During his scant time in office prior to running he had intentionally avoided creating a record.  Obama did not win the presidency based on his accomplishments.  He had none.  Barack Obama is our president because he built a cult of personality backed up by pithy but meaningless platitudes.  He was the Wizard of Oz and fifty-three percent of the voting public was too busy shouting, clapping and yes, crying, to look behind the damn curtain. 

So what brings me to this little rant?  I keep hearing that Pawlenty is too "plain Jane" to be president.  It seems like everyone wants a little zippity in their doo da.  Really?  When did pizazz become the deciding factor in presidential elections?  I'm not saying that personality and leadership are mutually exclusive but I sure don't want an electorate that is so blinded by the former that they ignore the latter.

The next race should be about record, record, record.  Obama's disastrous record versus the proven
record for the republican candidate.  If any of the four mentioned by Jacobson are the candidate the race will end up being about so much more and the message (and the opportunity) will be lost. 

I have no idea who I'll be for in a few months.  We have some great conservative "young guns" and I would be thrilled to see Cantor or Ryan in the VP slot.  I've made no secret of my support for Marco Rubio but I need to see how he is going perform as a senator before I can feel comfortable about him in a higher office.

Time to bottom line it.  I don't need a candidate who sends a thrill up my leg.  I want someone with a record of accomplishment.  I want an anti-Obama.

Too much of a good thing

Judging from the comments that Pundette is getting I may well regret this but here goes-dear Pundette, you are sooooooooooo right:

Her face and voice are everywhere. She engages every critic. I'm getting tired of her the way a consumer gets tired of an over-advertised product or a commercial that plays four times an hour. She's exacerbating my counter-will. Enough already. Remember what familiarity breeds.
Anymore when I think of Sarah Palin I think of the line from P.S. Your Cat is Dead, “…do you have any unuttered thoughts at all?” And I like Palin.

Palin has become a 24/7 commodity. As Pundette says, she is everywhere-always. Seriously, can anybody name anyone else with as much exposure? We know that Palin’s critics are going to attack her at every turn. Why keep the cycle going?
 
I like how Palin shakes things up, her straightforwardness and her ability to inject commonsense in to the political landscape. I like that she drives Liberals crazy. It is unlikely that I would vote for her in a primary but I would certainly support her in a general election if it came to that. She would probably be higher on my list if she weren’t so annoyingly everpresent.


We’ve got a few months (too few in my opinion) before the next election cycle kicks off in earnest. At her current pace Palin risks flaming out before the real contests begin. A little less would be greatly appreciated.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year I spent Thanksgiving at the hospital at Dad's beside.  The doctor had said he wouldn't make it through the day.  He made it through that day and all the days since.  "Thankful" isn't a strong enough word to describe my gratitude for this past year.

My daughter's family has spent the last two years out in Arizona.  I absolutely live for my Saturday phone calls from the grandkids though honestly, I can't understand a word Livvie says on the phone.  She talks a mile a minute and I just throw in a "REALLY?" every few minutes.  It seems to work.  Anyway, no more phone calls-they are on their way back and will be living right up the road.  They will be here until Andre accepts an assignment somewhere else.  I'll take it.

I just got a text from my grandson that they are on their way.  A moving van, two cars, two kids and two ferrets and a twenty-one hundred mile drive.  Sounds like fun, huh?  We'll celebrate our Thanksgiving when they get here.  Well worth the wait. 

I live in paradise.  Really.  It is eighty degrees on the 25th of November.  The breeze off the bay is air conditioning my porch and I'm sitting here watching the fish jump.  In a material sense I don't have a lot-the value of my house has dropped like a rock while my property taxes have gone up.  But I have everything I need and pretty much everything I want.  It helps that I don't want much but the bottom line is that I spend the bulk of my days happy and satisfied.  I am literally surrounded by things that I am thankful for everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving to all you.  Blessings aren't always readily apparent but they really are everywhere.  Joy, today and every day.

Carolyn

Monday, November 22, 2010

Maybe the smart kids aren't so smart

Fuzzyslippers sums up our dear leader and his admirers:

The problem with Obama’s incompetence is not that Obama has suddenly, magically become incompetent but that he’s been incompetent all along. And the problem for respectable conservatives (i.e. those who set themselves above the unwashed blogosphere masses) is that to admit this may lead to uncomfortable questions about their smart kids’ club.
Obama suffers from a depressing lack of competence.  He depresses Liberals who are left to wonder whatever happened to The One-the man/god who was going to heal the earth and unite her people.  He was going to create a Utopia and bring us peace.  Those of us on the Right are depressed (and more than a bit angry) that it has taken the Left so long to figure out what we knew all along-that Obama is just talk and he is really not all that good at that.

Obama became president of the United States by convincing fifty-three percent of the voters that a man who had never accomplished anything was qualified to be leader of the free world.  And to date, that remains his only accomplishment. 

Yet Obama continues to tells us that it isn't him, it's us.  We just don't understand.  And that is depressing.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Don't opt out. Wear a burka.

Fanatical Muslims want us dead.  That is a fact.  Our government has responded to that threat by turning the TSA in to a bunch of gropers and child molesters.  In addition to feeling up little children we have stories of a beast cancer survivor who was forced to remove her prosthetic breast and a bladder cancer survivor who was treated so roughly and inhumanely that his urostomy bag leaked urine all over him.

Travellers and non-travellers alike have reacted with outrage.  Janet Napolitano on the other hand has reacted to complaints with a shrug and a "go pound sand".  This in turn has led to National Opt Out Day.  Flyers are being urged to opt out of the full body scans on the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year.  I have a better idea.  I got it while watching Stephen Green, Scott Ott and Stephen Kruiser discuss the TSA on Trifecta.  Listen to what Janet Napolitano doesn't say when asked if women wearing hijab will be subjected to full body scans and pat downs:



Janet Napolitano doesn't affirm that women in hijabs and burkas will be subjected to the same indignities as other travellers.  We are expected to "show our all" if we want to fly but Muslim women, because of their religious convictions, the same religious convictions sited by jihadis as justification for killing us, well, Napolitano gets a little, in the words of Scott Ott, "squishy". 

I say a test is in order.  Don't opt out-wear a burka.  Man, woman and child.  Tell TSA that your convictions won't allow full body scans or feel ups.  What are they going to do-say that you can't be Muslim because of your eye color or name?  That is "profiling" and we all know profiling is strictly verboten.

Make a statement.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Mom knows best-again

I’ve mentioned before that my Mom has a tendency towards, um, plain speaking. She often hits the nail smack on the head and this morning she did it again:

“That lady out in Alaska wins and what is the first thing she does? She shows her ass.”

That’s my Mom! Typically her pronouncements are followed by “Am I wrong?” I double dare anyone to tell her that she is.

Mom is rarely wrong and in the case of Lisa Murkowski she couldn’t be more right. Cubachi’s Jennifer writing at Riehl World View:

Murkowski: "It's time they met one Republican woman who won't quit on Alaska"

Lisa Murkowski is now re-elected to office to be the thorn on our side in Washington.

Instead of being a gracious winner, she is giving us a preview of things to come from this "independent."

She trashed Sarah Palin, the tea party, and the establishment GOP, because she claims to be an "outsider." You have to be kidding me.
Tacky, tacky, tacky.

Murkowski comes from the “classless” wing of the Republican Party. Not coincidently it is also the “entitlement” wing of the party. Murkowski believes that she is entitled to be Senator and she is going to trash talk about anyone who disagrees. Ditto for Cornyn, who believes he is entitled to choose who is, and is not, suitable to run for the US Senate. Since the election, which was fabulously successful for Republicans, the classless/entitlement wing of the Republican Party has been showing its ass.

Ms. Murkowski has six years to endear herself to the voters. She wouldn’t have lost her primary had they believed that she was all that and a bag of Cheetos. Cornyn is not so lucky. In election time 2012 is day after tomorrow. If Cornyn wants my support for the NRSC he is going to have to show me, and a lot of people like me, that he learned the lessons of 2010. I am willing to let bygones be bygones. Unfortunately, the more Cornyn runs his mouth the more apparent it becomes that he is unteachable.

I have a suggestion for the entitlement wing of the party: shut up. As Mom would say, “try showing some class instead of your ass.”

Thursday, November 18, 2010

So many levels of wrong

Wrong, wrong, wrong.  (emphasis added)

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV): "There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to FOX and to MSNBC: 'Out. Off. End. Goodbye.' It would be a big favor to political discourse; our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and more importantly, in their future."
Somebody should tell the honorable Sen. Rockefeller that the government has done enough to the American people.   Oh, wait.  We told him on November 4th.  Perhaps he has a short attention span.

It is an interesting concept though.  Increasing the American people's faith in government by limiting their access to information.  However, I think it has been tried before.  Somewhere.

The problem with nanny stateism there is no end to the things that government can limit, or abolish, for the people's "own good".  It starts with salt or Happy Meal toys and ends with state approved "news".  Little wannabe dictators like Rockefeller claim to doing the public favors as they slowly tighten their fingers around the throats of the populace. 

Ask yourself why a United States senator would feel perfectly comfortable even suggesting that a government agency use its heft to shut down two networks.  Scary and wrong.






Wednesday, November 17, 2010

It lives!

Yes, the gift that keeps giving will be gracing us with her presence for another two years

The soon to be former Speaker of the House has been elected to serve as Minority Leader in the House.  (Suddenly the words "former" and "minority" are my new favorite words.) 

I can't think of anyone more suited to be the face of the Democratic Party than our girl Nancy.  Sadly, Nan's descent to Minority Leader wasn't quite as smooth as her well botoxed forehead.  She was challenged for the position by Heath Shuler (D) NC and 43 of his fellow Dems agreed that she might not be the sugar and spice that their party needs after their election drubbing.

So keep that frozen smile on your face, Nan, and remember, thanks to your esteemed leadership there will be alot more room to stretch out and get comfortable on your side of the aisle come January.

Paco suggests that under Nan's continued expert tutelage  Dems may soon be able to carpool.  We can hope.

Well this should be fun!

Gateway Pundit:

Via Bare Naked Islam and Jawa Report:

PICKET SCHEDULE

Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, MI November 18, 2010 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM

Fred Phelps and the WBC will picket the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, MI, the largest mosque in North America, to remind the idolatrous, doomed Muslims that Mohammed was a pedophile and a false prophet. Like most other false religious systems of modern doomed america, Islam teaches rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ. Muslims claim Christ was merely a prophet and that He did not die and live again. They claim His blood is not sufficient or even necessary for salvation. They shall learn the truth when Christ himself returns!
They may find out the hard way that there are worse things than having your tires slashed at a protest.

As much as it pains me to even appear to be defending anything associated with the sickos at Westboro Baptist Church, I'll give them bonus points for having more guts than Comedy Central.

Echoing a commenter at Gateway Pundit, it's times like these that I wish that I owned stock in Orville Redenbacher.

h/t Instapundit

TSA: Enforcing equality by treating all of us equally like crap

Writing in the Washington Examiner, Mark Hemmingway has an immodest proposal:


The President and his family — preferably with DHS Secretary Janet “The system worked” Napolitano — should show up at Dulles or Reagan airport on a weekday with a camera crew in tow, as airport pat downs are typically done in full view of hundreds of travelers. All of America will to see the TSA handling the President’s crown jewels. Then a rubber-gloved federal agent will run his hands all over his wife and daughter’s privates while he watches. Then I want him to turn to the camera and tell all of America that this is no big deal and we should all be good citizens and comply with the necessary security procedures.

It only seems fair.

Well, I guess “fair” don’t feed the puppy. The One and his family are not subject to the rules of mere mortals and neither, it would appear, are Muslim women, who according to CAIR, should be exempt from TSA feel-ups on religious grounds. I have no such qualms. I simply prefer to pick and chose whom I allow to get touchy feely, and call me old fashioned, but I refuse to be groped unless I’ve been treated to a decent dinner and movie first. A girl has to have standards.
 
It has been pointed out numerous times that Israel, a country with a permanent bull's eye on it, feels no compulsion to subject its citizens to intrusive security measures.  The Israelis know who their enemies are and they concentrate their efforts on those who would do them harm.  Our government can't even admit that we have enemies much less bring themselves to name them.  As a result we have three year olds molested in airports with the full approval of the United States government. 
 
The insanity has filtered down to Florida.  We have a huge problem with illegal aliens here.  Our state doesn't want to be accused of "profiling" when issuing driver's licenses so it has instituted a new set rules for everyone in the state that ensures that we will all be inconvenienced together without regard to citizenship, national origin or common sense.  In January, when I renew my license, I will be required to provide the state with a long list of documents, including a certified copy of my marriage license, a document I gleefully burned twenty-eight years ago.  I will be required to do this despite the fact that I have been a legal resident and driver in this state for over twenty-five years.  This all speaks to government's unwillingness to deal with specific problems.
 
So we will jump through hoops and suffer indignities while travelling, whether flying cross-country or just driving in our own damn state.  We won't be any safer and illegals will continue to pour across our borders but the government rulemakers will remain smug in the knowledge that they have treated us all equally.  Equally like crap.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I'll comment

Ever a gentleman, Bob refuses to comment of this picture.  Well, somebody has to.

Dear Michelle:

You are the First Lady of the United States of America.  Please do remember to comport in a ladylike manner.  This means you must not pick your nose, dig the earwax out from you ears or do that in public.  Image, dear.

Charlie Rangel is found guilty. So what?

Charlie Rangel has been found guilty of 11 counts of violating House ethic's rules.  Is anyone out there honestly holding their breath that the findings will result in anything meaningful? 

Back in 2006, Nancy Pelosi said she only needed 100 hours to begin to "drain the swamp".  Four years later the swamp stinks to high Heaven and the muck has taken over our government.  Further, the soon to be former Speaker of the House is in a pissing match with the Congressional Black Caucus and can ill afford to risk fanning the flames by agreeing to any serious sanctions against Rangel, the longest serving African American in the House. 

Rangel deserves to be bounced, but it won't happen.  He will walk away from this with a mere "tsk, tsk".  In just short of two weeks we will see Act II when the committee meets to replay the charade over Rep. Maxine Waters.  This is DC at its worst.

By the by, Stacy McCain shows his age (and mine).

Saturday, November 13, 2010

You're so vain

Gee, who'da thought that a man who had written two memoirs by the time he was forty-five might just be a tad full of himself?

Pundette:

Heaven help me, I'm starting to feel sorry for this vain, petty man. William Kristol:

At his November 12 press conference in Seoul, President Obama was asked the following question by CBS’s Chip Reid: “What was the number-one complaint, concern, or piece of advice that you got from foreign leaders about the U.S. economy and your stewardship of the economy?”

Whereupon the president began his response with a complaint: “What about compliments?” he asked. “You didn’t put that in the list.”
Pair that with another recent "But let's get back to me" moment and you might detect a pattern:

MR. KANSAGRA: Thank you. Welcome, Mr. President, to India. As a fellow Kenyan, I’m very proud to see that you have made –

THE PRESIDENT: Made something of myself. (Laughter.)

MR. KANSAGRA: — India as the focus of your drive for exports out of the U.S.

Remember, this the man who referred to himself one hundred and thirty-two times during the State of the Union address.  This is a man who never met a talk show he wouldn't appear on.  He is da bomb, the bag of Cheetos and President who put the sexy in the bee's hot little knees.  Just ask him.  You don't like ObamaCare?  Barry just needs to talk to you-some more.

Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen are calling for Obama to announce that he will not run for re-election:

"If the president goes down the reelection road, we are guaranteed two years of political gridlock at a time when we can ill afford it," Caddell and Schoen write in Sunday's Washington Post. "But by explicitly saying he will be a one-term president, Obama can deliver on his central campaign promise of 2008, draining the poison from our culture of polarization and ending the resentment and division that have eroded our national identity and common purpose."

You might think that by announcing he will not run, Obama would be telling the world that he is too weak even to try for re-election. Not so, say Caddell and Schoen. "Forgoing another term would not render Obama a lame duck," they write. "Paradoxically, it would grant him much greater leverage with Republicans and would make it harder for opponents such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who has flatly asserted that his highest priority is to make Obama a one-term president -- to be uncooperative."
Does anyone really believe that Obama's ego would allow him to forgo a possible second term?  Granted, walking away beats the hell out of losing but the likelihood of it occurring to Obama that he could lose is somewhere between zip and nada.

We are stuck with Obama and his ego for two more years.  It is my greatest hope that the next election will be about substance rather than faux star power. 

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I love a rumor with a happy ending!

There's rumor floating around the net that Stacy and Smitty have achieved quite a milestone:  5,000,000 hits!  Congratulations to both, but remember-there's more to life than Alyssa Milano.

By the way, thank you.  You are appreciated.

There's an app for that

The time is right.  Or maybe it's wrong.  Who cares?  He's hot and you are ready.  There is just one little thing.  You lean over and whisper in his ear, "Baby, pee on my phone." 

But do we really have to pee on our phone? Come on!

We hear more and innovative uses for Apple's smartphone everyday, but an application that detects whether you've got the clap? Well that's taking things to a whole new level.

The proposed app, which had us thinking we'd by-passed winter and gone straight to April 1st, will require users to urinate on their pride and joy like a pregnancy test and plug it in to get the dreaded verdict on whether last week's sexual faux-pas gave you a gift that keeps on giving.

The £5.7m eSTI2 project, being overseen by a team of University of London scientists, will apparently use nanotechnology and software to analyse the sample.

If the news is bad, then you can book an appointment with your GP using the app, and pick up the ready-prepared prescription and get to work on relieving that itch.

The team working on the eSTI2 app reckon the technology is close to becoming a reality. It remains to be seen whether Apple is thinking of incorporating a "p**s here" sensor into its new iPhone 5.

Project Leader Dr Sadiq Tariq says: "Currently, if you want to know if you have an infection, your sample is usually sent to a laboratory and the results come back in a few days. Imagine how much more likely you would be to get tested if you could test yourself away from a clinic and have an on-the-spot, accurate result, but still let a doctor or pharmacist know within minutes that you may need treatment."
Ah, romance.  It is a beautiful thing.

You say you want a revolution

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
For all we hear about scary Teaba**ers who are clinging to their guns and Bibles as they suit up for the last battle it seems that the real threat to the Republic may be those cuddly, enlightened Liberals whose talk of tolerance is really just so much bong smoke.

Doug Ross:

Wealthy, Coddled, Marxist Cartoonist Calls for Violent Workers' Revolution (While Hawking His New Book)

Does anyone else find this hilarious?

The economically illiterate cartoonist known as Ted Rall appeared on (where else?) MSNBC to hawk his latest book, which preaches a socialist revolution of sorts. He says the system's broken and the only solution may be a violent overthrow of the government by the workers. Because they need jobs.

Yes, those would be the same jobs that the private sector could create, if it weren't being suffocated by the federal leviathan, that is.
You know, I don't think that Ted Rall is the first to suggest that "workers" should rise up and kill their fellow Americans.  That other fellow, Barry's buddy Bill Ayers and his Weather Underground had similar thoughts:

I asked, "well what is going to happen to those people we can't reeducate, that are diehard capitalists?" and the reply was that they'd have to be eliminated.

And when I pursued this further, they estimated they would have to eliminate 25 million people in these reeducation centers.

And when I say "eliminate," I mean "kill."

Twenty-five million people.

I want you to imagine sitting in a room with 25 people, most of which have graduate degrees, from Columbia and other well-known educational centers, and hear them figuring out the logistics for the elimination of 25 million people.

And they were dead serious.
I wonder what Rall's thoughts are on that?  Is twenty-five million dead a little extreme or just right?

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
Ah

Verum Serum has an excerpt from Rall's book:

Christian fundamentalists, the millennial end-of-theworlders obsessed with the Left Behind series about the End Times, neo-Nazi racists, rural black-helicopter Michigan Militia types cut from the same inbred cloth as Timothy McVeigh, allied with “mainstream” gun nuts and right-wing Republicans, have been planning, preparing, and praying for the destruction of the “Godless,” “secular” United States for decades. In the past, they formed groups like the John Birch Society and the Aryan Nations. Now the hard Right has a postmodern, decentralized non-organization organization called the Tea Party. . . .
The government, the corporations, and the extreme right are prepared to coalesce into an Axis of Evil. . . .

The millions of partisans who follow Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and right-wing televangelists . . . will act to stop teenage sluts from getting abortions, teach n—–s a lesson, and slaughter those spics, dots, and everyone else who doesn’t fit into their vision of what and who is right.
Paranoid, anger issues, wacko or all of the above?  Stacy interprets:

You — the millions of people who listen to Limbaugh and vote Republican — are bloodthirsty totalitarians who endorse the genocidal “slaughter” of everyone who disagrees with you. So says Ted Rall, providing a handy guide to how he sees the two sides in the political Armageddon that looms:

Us: Hard-working, underpaid, put upon, thoughtful, freedom-loving, disenfranchised, ordinary people.
Them: Reactionary, stupid, overpaid, greedy, shortsighted, exploitative, power-mad, abusive politicians and corporate executives
See? That’s who the Left thinks you are, and how they think of their “thoughtful” selves. Only they are “hard-working.” Only they are “underpaid.” You? You’re stupid, overpaid and greedy. (Elsewhere, he calls you “parasites, vampires, hideous monsters.”) And who is promoting Ted Rall’s insightful analysis? Who else, but MSNBC?
Bottom line:  a grossly under-talented, overpaid cartoonist is trying to sell a book filled with bile and aimed at a niche market-ever frothy Liberals.  This particular niche group will snarl and growl as the foam runs down their chins but they will not bite.  They enjoy violent fantasies but in reality they will not act.  No balls.

You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
Ted Rall was only five years old when John Lennon wrote Revolution in 1968.  Lennon was not impressed by the tactics of protesters who advocated change through violence.  Who would have imagined that the lyrics would be relevant all these years later?  I guess every generation has its spoiled punks.

Monday, November 8, 2010

I only watch Olbermann on Kruiser Control

Seriously, The Olbermannometer is a hoot.  Outside of that, Keith Olbermann is not a part of life.  I'm happier for it.  But he's been in the news lately for breaking his network's rules and then being suspended for it.  Most employers set rules and most employees follow those rules knowing that breaking them (and getting caught) has consequences.  Not our Keith.  No, the rules don't apply to him so when he got caught he refused to apologize and insisted that his employer, MSNBC, apologize to him.  There's a definition in there somewhere.  Jerk?  Asshole?  Egomaniacal, immature ingrate?  You decide.

I'm glad to see that Charlie is using his remaining time wisely

Good gravy!  Who is Charlie trying to ingratiate himself to now?

Come on Charlie light our fire
Killer quote:

One thing Doors fans should take from the entire Florida Senate race was that whatever Charlie says today has no bearing on what he will say or do tomorrow.
So very true.

Californication

Honestly, is there anything more degrading than being compared to Lindsey Lohan? Allysia Finley goes there:

California: The Lindsay Lohan of States
Listen up, California. The other 48 states—your cousin New York excluded—are sick of your bratty arrogance. You're the Lindsay Lohan of states: a prima donna who once showed some talent but is now too wasted to do anything with it.

After enjoying ephemeral highs and spending binges, you suffer crashes that culminate in brief, unsuccessful stints in rehab. This cycle repeats itself every five to 10 years, as the rest of the country looks on with a mixture of horror and amusement. We'd feel sorry for you if you didn't constantly flip us the bird.

Instead, we're making bets on how long it will be before your next meltdown. Oh, wait—you're already melting down.
Here’s the deal-California deserves its very own category at the Darwin Awards. The state has become too useless to survive and astonishingly, it is proud of its idiocy. One can imagine the meetings that take place in the various government halls throughout the state: “We simply must have a Commission for the Study and Improvement of the Eleven Known Auras. We’ll fund it a special tax on Happy Meals.” “But we’ve outlawed Happy Meals.” “Then we’ll increase the taxes on energy consumption.” “All agreed. Motion passed!”

Meep @ POWIP:

California, living up to its reputation as the land of fruits and nuts, has re-elected two retreads, and neither is going to be able to save California from its self-inflicted issues.

Could California pensions implode? You betcha. They are not in the death spiral that Illinois is. Yet. But there has been bad behavior for the past decades, in terms of goosing the benefits at the pinnacle of the market, right before it collapsed.

Even if California as a state can weather it’s bad decisions with respect to retroactive benefit increases and contribution holidays, the municipalities might not do so well. And while there’s no official way a state can go bankrupt and drop its liabilities (though they can definitely default on bonds), municipalities can definitely go bankrupt. And stop paying all sorts of bills. Here’s a separate projection of when the money runs out.
California has been a joke for years. It was a joke back in 1980 and ’81 when I lived there. But now the state has gone from being a joke to being a parody of its stereotypical self. California will survive. What’s the alternative? But once the bottom falls out and there is no bailout to prop up an utterly unprepared citizenry, what will they do? Will they adjust or worse, go East? I say we act pre-emptively and build a border fence between them and the rest of us.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Reach around

Sure, if your name is Vladimir Putin.

Ever get the feeling that liberals are just unteachable?

Make mine a double.

But hold the bitters and sugar.  And pour, don't measure.


That Hitler fellow is one testy little Fuher.
 
Oh how I love a good meltdown!
 
Ahhhhh!  The sweet smell of "sucks for you"!
 
Why does it have to be so hard to not be cocky while I'm gloating?
 
I told you that Global Warming is a good thing.
 
Average temperature in Tampa in November = 78 degrees.  Current temperature in Tampa = 58 degrees.  I want my warming stat!
 
Marco Rubio: Republicans screwed up
 
Isn't it nice to know that somebody gets it?
 
Yeah, he'll work with us except when he doesn't.
 
Not holding my breath.
 
Sadly, the Left doesn't have a patent on idiocy.
 
We certainly have our share of slow learners.
 
Bloomberg:  Voters are illiterate.
 
Voters:  But we know how to spell S-E-E Y-A!
 
Apparently, Some Members of the GOP Liked Being in the Minority.
 
Maybe someone should remind them that in just two years we'll be culling the herd again.
 
When was the last time you heard anyone describe Olbermann as "objective"?
 
I don't remember the exact date but I believe that was the year that Russia launched Sputnick for the first time.
 
I can believe it.
 
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Some people have more issues than others.

When it comes to issues I get the feeling that Obama is a bottomless pit.

Yuck!

Tastes like chicken?

The man in the mirror.

Yeah, I don't think Obama is really in to introspection.

Sure, that's the problem!

Let's watch Obama go more liberal and see how that works out.

Is David Frum still around?

I want a job where I get paid for getting everything wrong.

The popcorn is popped and extra beer is on hand!

Nancy Pelosi:  The gift that just keeps giving.

Coexist!

When Hell freezes over.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Obama misses the mark

Writing in the New York Times President Obama makes a case for the country’s need to increase its exports:

AS the United States recovers from this recession, the biggest mistake we could make would be to rebuild our economy on the same pile of debt or the paper profits of financial speculation. We need to rebuild on a new, stronger foundation for economic growth. And part of that foundation involves doing what Americans have always done best: discovering, creating and building products that are sold all over the world.

We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000 jobs at home.
As tempting as it may be to snark about the president’s “pile of debt” comment, I will set that aside. I am struck by the president’s ability to write 763 words without mention two of the biggest impediments that US manufacturer’s face-taxation and regulation. The United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. According to a 2010 World Bank study our effective rate is 27.9 percent while the average among the world’s developed nations is 16.8 percent. This country walks in to the global market place at a severe disadvantage. The disadvantage is compounded by the fact that our government has become downright slap happy when it comes to piling on regulations.

Yes, we need to become more competitive on a global level but Obama will not bring that about by running around glad-handing foreign dignitaries. Job One if he is really serious about putting Americans back to work is to get government out of the way.

Contrary to the liberal talking points, manufacturers do not move overseas because of cheap labor. They move because of our punitive taxes and innovation stifling regulations. Give businesses the tools they need to prosper and they will do so. Continue to hamper a manufacturer’s ability to put out a product at reasonable price and realize a profit and as sure as LeBron James moved his “franchise” from tax heavy Ohio to income tax free Florida, our manufacturers will continue to flee to more accommodating locations.

Rather than running around Asia, Obama should meet with Timothy Geithner and the heads of the various regulatory commissions. Unfortunately that is not how Democrats “do” business.

Another beautiful day in Florida

Obama Democrat Alex Sink will not be governor of Florida.  It is a wonderful thing.  Sink, like her husband before her who lost his run for governor to Jeb Bush, is a liberal Democrat.  Her idea of governance is tax, tax, tax and then spend, spend, spend.  Central planning puts a smile on her face.  She was all Obama all the time.  But now?  Ed Morrissey:

Sink blames loss on Obama White House

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. But what comes after a fall? Recriminations, as Alex Sink reminds us in Florida. Politico interviewed the erstwhile gubernatorial candidate from Florida, who puts a large part of the blame for her loss on Barack Obama’s shoulders, and the rest on Rick Scott’s checkbook:

In the wake of the party’s worst election drubbing since 1994, the deep frustration felt by many centrist Democrats toward the White House and the national party is now out in the open. And it’s being aired in the battleground state that’s the biggest prize in presidential politics.

Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink pointed an accusatory finger Friday at what she called a “tone-deaf” Obama White House to explain why she narrowly lost her campaign.

In an interview with POLITICO, Sink said the administration mishandled the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, doesn’t appreciate the political damage done by healthcare reform and argued that her GOP opponent’s strategy of tying her to the president did grave damage to her candidacy in the state’s conservative Panhandle.

“They got a huge wake-up call two days ago, but unfortunately they took a lot of Democrats down with them,” said Sink of the White House.

She added: “They just need to be better listeners and be better at reaching out to people who are on the ground to hear about the realities of their policies as well as politics.”
Oddly enough, Sink doesn’t mention the fact that the DNC and Obama’s organizing wing OFA poured resources into Florida on her behalf to keep her competitive with Scott. Sink also neglects to mention that she had leads in polls in the final days of the election until she got caught cheating in a debate — and then lied about it. That didn’t do anything for her relationship to Florida voters, either.
Sink is not a "centrist".  She is who she is and now that the voters have rejected her brand governance she wants to whine and finger point.  Not a very attractive trait in someone who wants to be a leader.  On the other hand, seeing her taking swipes at Obama certainly is entertaining.  Party on, Alex.