The Ecstasy of Gold

This was the best song suited for the occasion regarding this:

Stimulating Talk, Part II

To see how much this new stimulus package is going to cost compared to past government programs(Louisiana Purchase, Space Race, etc.), check this out.

Any politician worth their salt should be voting against this.

Via Ace

Stimulating Talk.

As Barack's Stimulus Bill heads into the Senate, iTulip has an animated graph on the upward curve. And by curve, I mean the straight upward turn in government spending and borrowing.



click here to see the graph in action.

They were even so nice to do a movie to help map it out too.

Just When I Was About To Agree With Him.

I was going to post this yesterday, saying something akin to I agree with him on this one issue. After living in Michigan for over ten years then moving to Virginia. Virginians can get a bit out of hand during the first snow of the season.

"Can I make a comment that is unrelated to the economy very quickly?" the new president told reporters at a gathering with business leaders. "And it has to do with Washington. My children's school was canceled today. Because of, what? Some ice?"

I didn't have to wait long before I find myself in opposition of him again. Mostly with this.

“He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?” said Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. “He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there.”

Which is fine in and of itself. Except for this classic statement from Barack telling everyone on how to live their lives when he was still Canidate Barack:

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

thanks to Ed over on Hot Air.

Brick Wall.

One more quick read regarding the stimulus package that graphs not as a hockey stick. But as a stolid brick wall shooting straight up with no curve. Jim Manzi from The Corner has the breakdown on what's in the bill.

Let’s start with some basics about the stimulus bill (H.R. 1: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). According to my quick read (so all numbers here are subject to revision) of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, the total estimated cost of the proposal is $816 billion over ten years. This is composed of $604 billion of extra spending, plus $212 billion of less money collected in taxes than had been planned. That’s a whole lot of money, even for the U.S. economy.

Read the rest.

The Pledge, Revisited.

The man says much better than I can. Zoe's Reaction to this Pledge video clip that made the rounds a while ago.



h/t: The Jawa Report.

More Human Than Human.

I've known that most supporters don't really care about Barack's policies. They see only the color of his skin and, by golly, that's enough for them. When people start using words like 'Transcend' and 'Ascend', they put Obama on a demigod pedestal. Soon, it will be very obvious that his policies will not work. And people who looked to Obama as their savior will be worshiping an idol with feet of clay.

From KCET in California somewhere. The quote below summarizes what the commentator says. Play the clip though, it's worth it.

Every president to hold office has espoused some version of Americanism; the truths that we hold self-evident, even when those truths are not always in evidence. But for all their grand rhetoric and mostly good deeds, none was able to seal the deal on the trifecta of equality, plurality and socioeconomic ascendancy. Obama has. Obama is the more perfect union. He is a house united. Obama is the New Generation and the hot light of a dawn that goes way beyond clever talk of morning in America.

Quite simply, quite plainly, just by virtue his being, Obama is America. The first true American to lead our nation.

H/T to Jim Treacher. He has some more pointed commentary of his own regarding the tool named John Ridley.

This Can't Be Good.

The amount of pure stimulus being dumped into the market.




From Ace via the Corner.

Worst Three Words To Hear In Washington D.C.

Via Michelle Malkin:

Since when did it become the Republican Party’s top priority to “get things done?” It was as annoying a campaign platitude when John McCain adopted it as it is now coming from President Obama’s lips. History has shown us that “Get Things Done” is mindless liberal code for passing ineffective legislation and expanding government for government’s sake.

More here.

Worth Repeating.

I posted this a while ago, just because it looked so damn good and crispy and baconlicious I had to repost it when I started to co-blog on Conservatives For Palin. Today, I received an email telling me to check out this:

The Bacon Explosion posting has since been viewed about 390,000 times. It first found a following among barbecue fans, but quickly spread to sites run by outdoor enthusiasts, off-roaders and hunters. (Several proposed venison-sausage versions.) It also got mentions on the Web site of Air America, the liberal radio network, and National Review, the conservative magazine. Jonah Goldberg at NationalReview.com wrote, “There must be a reason one reader after another sends me this every couple hours.” Conservatives4palin.com linked, too.

From the New York Times no less.

Sweet.

In desperate times.

Thanks to here.

Dissecting Barack's Rhetoric

Victor Davis Hanson takes apart Barack Obama, the perpetual campaigner.

I suppose Barack Obama made the nation giddy when he proclaimed there were no red and blue states, just Americans. He promised to unite us across political, racial, and religious lines. And for the age of cynicism there was something admirable to returning to the age of belief. For some in one fell swoop they were given exemption for all racial sins and now could continue to live as before-but relieved of white guilt.

Five O'Clock Somewhere.

I'm working over here today.

The New Minority Group.

White Male Construction Workers.



After watching this a few time, Robert Reich has the voice of a smurf.

Finally,

A good President Obama joke.

Did you hear the one about how after Barack Obama became president this week he found out the economy was worse than he thought—so he had to lay off 17 journalists.

Read the rest of Bernard Goldberg's response to Barack Obama's first meeting with the press.

Obligitory Posting from The Corner.

I think I went almost an entire week without posting anything from The Corner. Victor Davis Hanson is as good as anyone, if not better:

If one were to have gone into deep sleep in late October during the Dark Ages, and woken up in late January in the AB (after Bush) era of Hope and Change and an end to all evil, would the world seem different?

There is more food for thought at the link.

Friday night phoning it in.

If there is mash up out there that can't be made better with Star Trek, I haven't seen it yet.

Comrade

Is it too much to call the Obama posters, propaganda?

More here and an oldie but still a goody here

Green on the outside...

Brian Moran, a gubernatorial hopeful for Virginia, is looking to flex his green muscles. Mostly by looking to ban a coal burning power plant in Virginia.

Moran said the proposed plant in Surry County would contribute to global warming, worsen air quality in Richmond and Hampton Roads, and contribute to nitrogen pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

Nothing quite like trying to block future jobs with a looming recession on the horizon.

One other I learned about Moran. He older brother is in the US House of Representatives. Jim Moran, who has no qualms about wanting to 'share' the wealth.



The money quote for those who do not want to wait for the video:

We have been guided by a Republican administration who believes in the simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards redistributing wealth and they may be able to sustain it for a while but it doesn’t work in the long run.

From a man worth well over a million dollars. For thee but not for me.

The watermelon doesn't grow far from the vine. Green on the outside, red on the inside.

H/T for Hot Air for the Jim Moran clip.

Some REAL hope.

Please, just watch.



H/T: RSM

"I Pledge,

... to use my status, either as a celebrity or as paparazzi bait . . ."



Towards the end, listen to who, not what, they pledge their service too. I highly recommended reading the transcript here if you can't take the video.

via Volokh Conspiracy.

Virginia today.

Only thing I can find on the Virginia Governor race lately. It's still way too early to tell which way the wind is blowing, however.

Republican Bob McDonnell has more than $2 million in the bank to fund his 2009 bid for the Virginia’s governor’s mansion, putting him well ahead of all three of his potential Democratic rivals in the money race, according to fundraising figures released by each of the campaigns.

Geithner's very own top ten list.

The tax evasion is there too. It was nice to see a decent list of the cons for the guy. It sure beats what many of the Republicans in the Senate and their fatalistic attitude regarding Geithner as the 'only man for the job' are doing.

10. His performance in his previous job

But in the same that describes him as “a 47-year-old wonder boy,” reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin quotes several anonymous Wall Street CEOs who “question whether he’s up to the challenge.” His roles in managing the unravelings at Bear Stearns, AIG, and Merrill Lynch, the bankruptcy at Lehman, and the ongoing implosion at Citigroup deserve scrutiny. They appear to be getting none.

. . .

2. Disparate treatment of previously pulled nominees

Zoe Baird (Clinton, 1993), Kimba Wood (Clinton, 1993), and Linda Chavez (Bush, 2001) all had relatively minor or potential issues with self-employment taxes on household help. Geithner’s unpaid amounts were exponentially larger. Is there a whiff of male chauvinism in the air?

Thanks to Michelle

A slip of the mask.

Newbusters has been working overtime since Barack Obama's Inauguration doing what they do best. I didn't want this gem to get lost in the current.

Helen Thomas: You're not asking people not to think not to care are you? But you are asking them to give a fair reporting both sides and so forth and I did it for 157 years I was never, never accused of bias in my copy. But I had a right to be angry and unhappy at the trend that I saw in my country that I was close enough to see.

[I might have played with the quote a little]
Read the rest. And if you can stomach it, watch the video. Helen Thomas makes Jabba the Hutt look like Natalie Portman.

Witty replies to the Obama Inaugaration Mania in my liberal friends' Facebook status updates

At 2 pm today, I checked my Facebook profile and saw several new friends’ status updates. Wow, I know a lot of people that cashed in their brains for soup kitchen tickets. Many changed their status to something in line with the Barack Obama inauguration adoration. So I couldn’t help but give a dose of sarcasm for a reply. I took the names out and replaced it with _____. Not all are necessarily Probama. You should be able to figure it out. The bold is the status comment, and the italics are my verbal assaults.

Enjoy!

__________ is ecstatic! change is here! yes we can!

Dear Obama, bless me with security and understanding. Please take my bills away and anything difficult in life. You are my all in all. I don't think I really understood anything You say, so You must be totally divine. I'm still a little confused on the hope = change and change = hope circular logic thingy, but please grant me understanding of Your Truth. And forgive me for my transgressions against Your Holiness.

In the name of the Savior, Barack Obama, amen.

__________ is watching the inauguration with the hope that Obama can do all that he has promised, and the knowledge that GOD is in charge.

If he does everything he said he'd do, it will truly be the downfall of Western Civilization. Or at least it will be for four years.

__________ says "Buh Bye Dubya!"

Elect Palin 2012.

__________ loves history-making days like today. She's tearing up!

Really? I was too, but that was because of the pain from the chokehold I was put in by socialism this morning. Cough cough.

__________ says "GoBama!"

Nobama!

This next one is actually from the more bloggest blogger here at Point of a Gun, Dave C.

Dave (C.) is ready for his unicorns and rainbows.

A friend of his wrote

What about the green alligators and the long necked gesse, the humpty backed camels and the chimpanzees, the cats, the rats, the elephants, but as sure as your born, you aint never gonna find no unicorn.......are you saying that song aint true, curse you david.

Dave C. again

At 12:01, there will be Unicorns shitting Skittles and rainbows for everyone. :)

Then me

I think I'm going to start a book-burning. Not that I want to, but because I feel certain books should be torched by the day's obligation. I'll start- and maybe finish- with "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman, because we won't have either anymore.

Here’s another that I don’t know how to reply to. I went to journalism school with her and we were both hammered on avoiding !!! or ! or anything to do with exclamation points. Any takers?

__________ is about to trudge through the cold and crowds to witness history!

Followed by her own comment of

It was amazing. Absolutely incredible!

One thing I'm hopeful for today.

That events like this will be over and done with. This ain't Hell has the pictures.

Their main attraction was throwing shoes at this thirty-foot blow up of George Bush in a flight suit to remind you of the “Mission Accomplished” chapter of his presidency

I know that it won't be the last time BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) will be on display. There is still the question of trying Bush on war crimes. I don't think it will come to that because all Bush would have to do for a defense will be;

start by calling to the stand various Democratic senators and representatives who had been informed of the interrogation tactics and did not publicly object to them at the time. The testimony would surely be entertaining, as the politicians would be put in the impossible position of either admitting their moral complicity, which would make the entire trial look like a political show trial designed to punish Republicans but not Democrats, or looking like cowards who knew that the government was breaking the law but despite their oath to the Constitution were unwilling to do anything about it.

And Gaia forbid that any democrat would have to take responsibility for his votes in Congress.

Via Memeorandum

In a hetic world.

A time for serenity at the end of the day

Breaking...

The Flaming Skull is up.

More here.

Victory

For the first time in my life, I am proud to be a Cardinals fan.

From the mouth of the enemy.

I might have committed a blogging faux pas by reprinting the entire page here. But it is Saul Alinsky and from some Canadian Community Organizing page too, so what the hell. On some level, Alinsky would agree with stealing. Enjoy.

In 1971, Saul Alinsky wrote an entertaining classic on grassroots organizing titled Rules for Radicals. Those who prefer cooperative tactics describe the book as out-of-date. Nevertheless, it provides some of the best advice on confrontational tactics. Alinsky begins this way:

What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.

His “rules” derive from many successful campaigns where he helped poor people fighting power and privilege

For Alinsky, organizing is the process of highlighting what is wrong and convincing people they can actually do something about it. The two are linked. If people feel they don’t have the power to change a bad situation, they stop thinking about it.

According to Alinsky, the organizer — especially a paid organizer from outside — must first overcome suspicion and establish credibility. Next the organizer must begin the task of agitating: rubbing resentments, fanning hostilities, and searching out controversy. This is necessary to get people to participate. An organizer has to attack apathy and disturb the prevailing patterns of complacent community life where people have simply come to accept a bad situation. Alinsky would say, “The first step in community organization is community disorganization.”

Through a process combining hope and resentment, the organizer tries to create a “mass army” that brings in as many recruits as possible from local organizations, churches, services groups, labor unions, corner gangs, and individuals.

Alinsky provides a collection of rules to guide the process. But he emphasizes these rules must be translated into real-life tactics that are fluid and responsive to the situation at hand.

Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have. If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.

Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your people. The result is confusion, fear, and retreat.

Rule 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat.

Rule 4: Make opponents live up to their own book of rules. “You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”

Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.

Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy. “If your people aren’t having a ball doing it, there is something very wrong with the tactic.”

Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag. Commitment may become ritualistic as people turn to other issues.

Rule 8: Keep the pressure on. Use different tactics and actions and use all events of the period for your purpose. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this that will cause the opposition to react to your advantage.”

Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself. When Alinsky leaked word that large numbers of poor people were going to tie up the washrooms of O’Hare Airport, Chicago city authorities quickly agreed to act on a longstanding commitment to a ghetto organization. They imagined the mayhem as thousands of passengers poured off airplanes to discover every washroom occupied. Then they imagined the international embarrassment and the damage to the city’s reputation.

Rule 10: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. Avoid being trapped by an opponent or an interviewer who says, “Okay, what would you do?”

Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame.

According to Alinsky, the main job of the organizer is to bait an opponent into reacting. “The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.”

Thanks to the comments at Ace

So the theme carried over from last night.

So I might be phoning it in tonight with this.

ummm, yeah.

Pretty much how my wife described it to me as well.


h/t Hot Air.

Change has come.

I've always liked Circuit City. Bought my first CD player from them way back when they first started to become popular.

Circuit City, the second-largest retailer of consumer electronics, has announced it is forced to close all its remaining 567 U.S. stores and sell all its merchandise. The closing also leaves 34,000 Circuit City employees out of a job.

Businesses like Circuit City are among the first hit in a recession. As disposable income levels go down, so do levels of toys that people buy. People make due with the old digital camera instead of giving in and buying the newer, cooler camera. The old TV still works with the converter, there isn't any room in the budget for the a new flatscreen. No economic stimulus package will fix the pocket income that helps drive today's market short of getting out of the way of employers and their businesses.

Update: More links here and here

Funny if it wasn't so true.

Quick 3 minute clip summery of Geithner's tax evasions. Not sure what else it can be unless it's sheer incompetence on the man who wants to run the IRS.

Par for the course.

Nice work if you can find it

I was going to put this as an update but after reading it through more, it seemed worthy of it's own posting.

...the presidential transition team discovered that the nominee had not paid Social Security taxes when he worked for the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003, nor in 2004, when he also received compensation from the fund.

The IMF does not withhold those taxes from its employees' pay, so employees are supposed to pay so-called self-employment taxes themselves.

Quick breakdown on Geithner. He was employed overseas, basically as an independent contractor. He is paid the full amount, nothing withheld. The onus is on him to pay all his taxes, income, social security, etc. When he does pay he signs a form saying that he has paid and is reimbursed for the paid (or in his case, unpaid) taxes. And it went on for four years.

This will be the man in charge of enforcing the tax code for the next four years if confirmed.

Michelle has more on the details of the 'simple mistake'.

Hey, it's the taxman.

Remember, this is four years of not paying taxes.

Geithner’s confirmation hearing was delayed after the Senate Finance Committee discovered that the former New York Fed president failed to pay more than $34,000 in back taxes for 2001 to 2004. He’s since paid them, plus interest for the period.
...
Tax experts blame Geithner’s error on the IMF’s atypical tax arrangement. Because it’s an international organization, it’s exempt from withholding employees’ payroll taxes.

U.S. employees get additional salary to cover the IMF’s share of their payroll taxes. They’re responsible for paying the tax, considered a “self-employment tax,” as part of their personal tax returns.

Yet Senate Republicans are heaping praise on Geithner saying he's the right man for the right job, Sectary of the Treasure. In charge of the IRS. Overseeing the tax code he made mistake after mistake on.

The real lesson of the Geithner flap, say tax experts: Get a good tax accountant.

I hope the Senate confirmation hearings take that last line from the Political linked above to heart. They are about to put Geithner in charge of the rest of the TARP funds. 350 Billion dollars is a lot of money for a man who can't figure out his own taxes but still, somehow, be smart enough about economics to be head of the financial world.

Update: Vice President Elect thinks that Geithner isn't patriotic enough.

This can be good news.

The more time he spends out of Washington, the better.

Joe Biden has never much cared for Washington in the socializing, living-there kind of way.

So, he and his wife, Jill, will be more like part-time residents of the brick Victorian vice presidential home at the Naval Observatory than Second Families before them, aides say.

Bad emotions make for bad law.

It was tried about a year ago. And has come around again. The gunshow loophole. The WaPo has this nugget buried deep in the report:

Seung Hui Cho, obtained his weapons from federally licensed firearms dealers and underwent criminal background checks.

Cho was crazy. Apparently others noticed:

...the shooter at Virginia Tech, also had no history of violence. But he did have a record of mental illness. He frightened people, including his teachers. His behavior worried his roommates enough that they contacted school officials, who arranged a psychological evaluation for him. He was briefly hospitalized, and outpatient mental health treatment was recommended but not required. His parents were never informed. And, as is so often the case, he never followed through in getting help.

Cho was able to buy his gun through the normal channels then spread his carnage on the campus of Virginia Tech. So if the 'loophole' gets closed, the next crazy man will still be able to buy his gun through the normal channels, arrives at the campus of his choice, then tries to top Cho's record.

The closing of gunshows won't stop crazies from shooting people up.

For those of you who keep score.

The Jack Bauer Torture Report.

The 'Word of the Day'

Barbaric.



Thanks to JR and everyone else at Conservatives for Palin. I'll be doing some co-blogging over there from time to time.

Going along with the flow.

Since even American Dog is doing it, as well as nearly everyone else, why not me:




Thanks to Jonah

Update: No, I have not gone to graphic design school. I know it shows.
Also.. it's a joke of a magazine cover.. that is all.
Thanks, Hans.

The best songs are sad songs.

Just because.

"Think we need a bigger truck"

From over on The Corner by Michael G. Franc

Last year’s tax rebate, Durbin now says, didn’t work. This bipartisan scheme operated on the theory that if Uncle Sam dropped tens of millions of checks from government helicopters to taxpayers and non-taxpayers alike, they would spend the windfall, revive consumer demand, and jumpstart an economic recovery. Unfortunately, as economist Martin Feldstein demonstrated in a Wall Street Journal editorial, Americans used about 80% of their windfall to pay off mounting credit card debts or stabilize their dwindling savings accounts. No economic recovery there.

It's the old joke realized about the two hill-billies buy hay at $3 a bale each. Load their truck and go down the road and sell it off at $2.50. At the end of the day the first hill-billy looks at the second and asks why they are broke. The second hill-billy scratches his head and looks around a bit, "I dunno," he replied, "Maybe we need a bigger truck."

The thing that should not be.

I'm not sure how or why but Virginia and New Jersey have their state elections the year after a National election.

Terry McAuliffe, the former head of the DNC, is in the running to be the next democratic governor for Virgina.

McAuliffe, whose staff includes veterans of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's 2005 campaign and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's unsuccessful 2008 presidential run, is competing against former delegate Brian J. Moran (Alexandria) and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (Bath) for the nomination.

It looks like Moran and Deeds have much of the local endorsements behind them already, but McAuliffe has some connections with some deep pockets as well. Be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Bob McDonnall, the current Attorney General of Virginia is the only one so far to be in the running for the Republicans.

I'll try to get some more info on McDonnall's record soon enough. As well as Deeds and Moran.

Regarding McAuliffe, it would be worth it call in to see if Rush Limbaugh could to do another 'Operation Chaos', version 2.0.

Saturday night dinner plans

This looks too good to be true.

Take two pounds of Italian sausage and layer it directly on top of your bacon weave. Be sure to press the sausage to the outer edges of the bacon creating a patty that is the same thickness all the way across.

I might have to dust off the smoker this weekend after all.

H/T to Jonah Goldberg at the Corner

Late Friday night/Early Saturday morning video

So I couldn't find a video per say. This was the best I found with this song.



The song is featured on the trailer for 'Taking Chance'

Number Two of in a series . . .

Soon after I posted the Toyota Prius with "4 EARTH" license plate, this Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe zipped passed us in the car. My wife, Kyndra P., and I couldn't believe it. So here's another.

A Tahoe? Really? Please go back to the San Francisco Bay and leave Nevada to us. Please.

Nimrods and pseudo tree huggers

There's someone in Reno, Nev., that drives a Toyota Prius with the personalized plate of "4 EARTH."

What a pussy. If you really were concerned about the environment, why aren't you on a bike? Breathing that smug coming from his tailpipe was pretty bad. So here it is for the whole world to make fun of.

Keep an eye out for this.

From John Ziegle, who started How Obama Got Elected, (and who's been linked here before ) has an exclusive interview with Sarah Palin. Palin sets the record straight about the campaign and the double standard in the reporting that went on against her. You can find the back story to the interview here.

'Taking Chance'

If this doesn't make you well with tears, I'm not sure what will.

Chance Phelps was wearing his Saint Christopher medal when he was killed on Good Friday. Eight days later, I handed the medallion to his mother. I didn’t know Chance before he died. Today, I miss him.

Over a year ago, I volunteered to escort the remains of Marines killed in Iraq should the need arise. The military provides a uniformed escort for all casualties to ensure they are delivered safely to the next of kin and are treated with dignity and respect along the way.

That was posted four years ago. Now, soon to be a movie from HBO. The trailer looks good and Michael Strobl, the man who penned the original post for BlackFive, has a credit with the movie.



Thanks to the morons at Ace again.

Action Alert!

My friends, many people have been getting this email soliciting funds.

Today, I'm asking you as a friend and supporter to renew your commitment to our common goals by becoming a Charter Member of Country First with an online contribution.

Ace (been mining him a lot today) have the dirty details about John McCain's new 'grassroot' PAC.

What's in a name.

Gabriel Malor at Ace of Spades has the list of the first ten bills ready to go through the Senate. If going by the names, they all sound peachy keen.

S.1 -- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

S.2 -- Middle Class Opportunity Act of 2009.

S.3 -- Homeowner Protection and Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009.

S.4 -- Comprehensive Health Reform Act of 2009.

S.5 -- Cleaner, Greener, and Smarter Act of 2009.

S.6. -- Restoring America’s Power Act of 2009.

S.7 -- Education Opportunity Act of 2009. .

S.8 -- Returning Government to the American People Act.

S.9 -- Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009.

S.10 -- Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

Don't let the names fool you.

S.1 -- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This is the stimulus package. Democrats are halfheartedly trying to reach out to Republicans on this one. Bully for them, but I'm with Ace about trading one-time tax relief for long-term intervention.

S.2 -- Middle Class Opportunity Act of 2009. This is where several tax reforms relating to education, the alternative minimum tax, and child tax credits will go. Rumor is that card check could make another appearance as well as last year's failed Ledbetter Law.

S.3 -- Homeowner Protection and Wall Street Accountability Act of 2009. This would more accurately be titled the "No More Mortgages for Anyone Act." This is the Democratic plan to put a moratorium on foreclosures and rewrite existing loan contracts. The predictable result of this meddling is much higher interest rates, even if it doesn't cause a few lending institutions to collapse.

S.4 -- Comprehensive Health Reform Act of 2009. Still a big blank. It could be Obama's plan, which creates a new federal health insurance bureaucracy, penalizes small businesses, places mandates on parents, and forces private health insurers to accept all comers. Don't forget the paperless health system! Or it could be something more like Hillary Clinton's mandatory, universal care. I'm on pins and needles over here!

S.5 -- Cleaner, Greener, and Smarter Act of 2009. Harry Reid had the same bill in 2007. That one didn't go anywhere, but maybe the newer, snappier name will make a difference.

S.6. -- Restoring America’s Power Act of 2009. This one is almost certainly just a pro forma attempt to sound like they've got a clue when it comes to foreign policy. They're not going to step on Obama's toes right off the bat, which means this one's already a dead letter.

S.7 -- Education Opportunity Act of 2009. Same here. Despite the screeching of the teacher's unions, there is no Democratic consensus on education. About the only thing they can agree on is that saying they are "For Education" is good politics. Consequently, they have one like this every time.

S.8 -- Returning Government to the American People Act. Blame Bush: The Law! The idea is to review and possibly legislate away Bush-era regulatory reforms. Regulations from the EPA (but especially the EPA) to the VA and everything in between could face review.

S.9 -- Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009. This is the Artist formerly known as "Comprehensive Immigration Reform." He got a better agent.

S.10 -- Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. This is Democratic lip service for the things they've already thrown out the window: pay-as-you-go and deficit reduction.

Many of these have been repeats from last year too. And the year before that.

Thanks to Gabe for his legalese and the cut and paste feature.

Not all of it stays in Vegas.

A policeman running basically a vice squad becomes the enemy and goes on a bender.

White is accused of staging his disappearance, staking himself with $2,500 in confiscated drug money and flying off to Las Vegas to try to win back thousands of dollars to pay his debts.

So much for truth in advertising

Can't get enough

One more interview with Sarah Palin. By some guy in Canada.


Thanks to Hot Air for the find. Plus, you will always find a good, 400 plus comment count regarding Palin between the enlightened and the folks who just don't get Sarah.

Oldie but a goodie

I saw a joke in the comment section at Ace of Spades a while back about Caroline Kennedy. The person said that he saw Caroline's entrance essay in Harvard and all it said in a crayon was: "I am Caroline fucking Kennedy." Sure it's an old joke. I heard it regarding Prince William and when Chelsea Clinton was entering Stanford.

Caroline at Harvard was a resume enhancement. For Harvard. Caroline would have been accepted at any school she applied at. And the tenure of any professor be in question if she failed a class. So it's no surprise she graduated near the top of her class.

As for her work experience, any job she had, any fund raiser, any charity that wanted her involved is solely owed to her last name being 'Kennedy'. She wouldn't even be considered for the appointment of Hillery Clinton's old job if it wasn't for big uncle Ted pushing for her.

If Caroline really wants the Senate Seat, fine. Let her run a campaign, raise money, and debate her opponent when the time comes.

The day when Caroline runs her own campaign, wins against an entrenched politician, and moves on to an %70 approval rating (much like how Sarah Palin won as Governor), then she will be qualified to hold the Senate seat.

Update: Cross posted at The Good McCain's blog

One more year end list.

Right Wing News has their The 7th Annual "20 Most Annoying Liberals Of 2008" list. My real beef with the list is that they have Elliot Spitzer at number 15 when he should have been at number 9.

Thanks to Robert Stacy

Any excuse to post something from Ms. Ham

Mary Katharine Ham that is. Nice to see the President Elect so transparent in his press conferences.



h/t to Robert Stacy for the link.

Finally.

A good case for Caroline Kennedy for US Senate. From someone who would know her best.

Senora Kennedy is the good boss for the people. She treat everybody on the staff very nice and no yell. We all get one day off in the week and she give the $200 bonus this Christmas. Except Maria because she broke the crystal bowl in the office when she dusting.
...
I have to fold laundry now. Also Tio Teddy is come to the party tonight so I have to lock the liquor cabinets.

Many more convincing arguments back with Iowahawk's special guest blogger.