Round Up For Saturday Night

I need that on my car.

Part of the root cause of the current housing bubble that burst. All the way back from 1999. That's during Bill Clinton's administration.

R.I.P., Mr. Harvey. Won't be another one like him.

What, exactly, does 'During Katrina' mean? Whatever the reporter wants it to mean, I guess.

Umm umm, good.

Rush Limbaugh at CPAC. Listen the entire speech.

Saturday Night Shoot Em Up

One reason to I want to visit Oklahoma. One place I can shoot a full automatic. One of those REAL assault weapons.

For more fun, check below the fold.



(mild language use toward the end)

Wish I Could Have Made It

Not sure if there were crumpets there. Or even actual tea. But there were protesters there. And not the smelly, hippie kind either. A friend of mine was able to go and emailed these back to me.






Thanks to Pistolero.

Update: Welcome, Dangling Invective readers.

Friday Night Departure

I heard this on the radio the other day. I wish more rap sounded like this. Very jazzy rhythm and with a semblance of a melody.

Obama – the CIC

Nice job Mr. President. I am impressed.

You have once again delivered a very smooth speech. Of course you always do so long as your teleprompter doesn't go on the fritz. And this time... Well this time - I actually agree with the meat of your message.

You listened to our military leadership and set us on a path for what appears to be a responsible withdrawal from Iraq, and for that I commend you. One thing that I am totally confused about though - How is this any different than what was in place already? Don't get me wrong - I am very pleased to hear your plan but let's be honest - this plan is the same plan that was put in place already. All you've really done is take the GWB (Petraeus) strategy and put your own name on it.

I do have one caution, note or lesson for you… You said:

"Let me say this as plainly as I can -- by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."

I hope conditions continue to improve and that this statement doesn't come back to haunt you. If it does – you'll wish you never said it.

One fun note... I suppose it will be interesting to watch the anti-war zealots. They must be plagued with anguish and confusion, tearing themselves up inside trying to square their cause of the last four or so years with their blind support for you. This should be fun - where is my popcorn?

Gotta Love This Guy

Jason Mattera of the Young America's Foundation stops by and talks it up with Ed Morrissey of Hot Air.

For a series of Jason's greatest hits, go here to see him mixing it up with young activists during the DNC.



For you, Matt.

(Thanks to Hot Air)

Get Off My Head!

After numerous attacks on her, Ann Coulter has a police escort when she goes someplace for book signings or even speaking engagements. So when a young college student tries to side step the police escorts and rush the stage, hilarity ensues.

Warning: Graphic images in video, unless you watch Cops. Then you have seen it all before.



Hot Air has more on the back story.

Something To Ponder Over

All of the 'abuses' that Pres. Bush is accused of. Obama was able to do away with executive order.

The abuses that Obama and the Democrat Congress is doing? Not so much.

Going On Right Now

CPAC. Watch the live TV stream here.

YES!

A win-win for comic book fans everywhere.

How About That?

I read a comment somewhere about how Ayn wrote the book for today. It was rather ahead of it's time. Besides, that 'Car Czar' position that Obama nixed recently reminded me of Cuffy Meigs.

Washington, D.C., February 23, 2009--Sales of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” have almost tripled over the first seven weeks of this year compared with sales for the same period in 2008. This continues a strong trend after bookstore sales reached an all-time annual high in 2008 of about 200,000 copies sold.

And speaking of Rand.

A Nice Dissection.

Worth repeating in massive blockquotes. Mainly because of the questions raised that the MSM never bothers to answer. But because Obama's rhetoric has never been meaningfully questioned, only echoed, it has become the conventional wisdom of MSM and the left leaning blogosphere. For example, de-regulation of the banking systems, predatory lending, tax cuts for the rich, and crumbling infrastructure. And that all happened within the last six to eight years.

Mr. Obama also said that America's economic difficulties resulted when "regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market." Who gutted which regulations?

Perhaps it was President Bill Clinton who, along with then Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, removed restrictions on banks owning insurance companies in 1999. If so, were Mr. Clinton and Mr. Summers (now an Obama adviser) motivated by quick profit, or by the belief that the reform was necessary to modernize our financial industry?
. . .

Even in an ostensibly nonpartisan speech marking Lincoln's 200th birthday, Mr. Obama used a straw-man argument, decrying "a philosophy that says every problem can be solved if only government would step out of the way; that if government were just dismantled, divvied up into tax breaks, and handed out to the wealthiest among us, it would somehow benefit us all. Such knee-jerk disdain for government -- this constant rejection of any common endeavor -- cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges."

Whose philosophy is this? Many Americans justifiably believe that government is too big and often acts in counterproductive ways. But that's a far cry from believing that in "every" case government is the problem or that government should be "dismantled" root and branch. Who -- other than an anarchist -- "constantly rejects any common endeavor" like building levees, roads or bridges?

Even though Karl Rove wrote the article, I'm still linking him because of the questions he raised. Much the same way Stacy McCain said of Mareen Dowd, out of all the times she's been wrong, it's important to point out when she is right.

Because It Will Work This Time

Eric Holder, the current Attorney General, is looking to introduce a second Scary Looking Weapons ban that expired under Pres. Bush. While grasping at straws for the reasons to do so.

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstate the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

Yes, because drug smugglers and coyotes hold the law with such respect. You know what else will help the flow of illegal guns into the US? Actual enforcement of the borders.

Watch this video to see which 'assault weapons' will actually be banned. After the video, you should know why it's been termed 'Scary looking weapons' ban. Based purely on cosmetics.

Quotes for the Week

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” [Name withheld] wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

. . .

. . . The people in the administration are surrounded by a galaxy of unknowns, and yet they see this economic crisis as an opportunity to expand their reach, to take bigger risks and, as Obama said on Saturday, to tackle every major problem at once.

President Obama has concentrated enormous power on a few aides in the West Wing of the White House. These aides are unrolling a rapid string of plans: to create three million jobs, to redesign the health care system, to save the auto industry, to revive the housing industry, to reinvent the energy sector, to revitalize the banks, to reform the schools — and to do it all while cutting the deficit in half.

If ever this kind of domestic revolution were possible, this is the time and these are the people to do it. The crisis demands a large response. The people around Obama are smart and sober. Their plans are bold but seem supple and chastened by a realistic sensibility.

Where Was This Guy Last Night?

H/T, Hot Air.

Ask Anyone

You cannot spend your way out of debt. Especially when you added in nearly a trillion dollars to the debt. *coff* Barack *coff*

The problem with this rhetoric is that it is based on a misunderestimation of the historic proportions of what has happened to the U.S. economy since 2006. We are not merely in a transitory slump that can be cured by Keynesian "pump-priming." The collapse of the housing bubble exposed systemic weaknesses in the American financial structure.

Like him or love him, this was over two years ago when Ron Paul gave this speech.

(below the fold)



Thanks to RMS

It Runs on Freaking Magnets

Magnets. Is there anything they don't do?

The deal provides $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, for example, including money that could benefit a controversial proposal for a magnetic-levitation rail line between Disneyland, in California, and Las Vegas, a project favored by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). The 311-mph train could make the trip from Sin City to Tomorrowland in less than two hours, according to backers.

How much will the rights of way cost for that much land between LA and Las Vegas? Or will the land be declared as imminent domain for the good of the environment?

More below the fold.



To be effective, it would need two tracks in a circuit. Much the same as a ski lift operates. With at least two trains. One boarding in LA at the same time the other boarding at Vegas. Running continuously. And the tickets need to be cheap too.

Money for rail transit: yay! Money to build a 300-mph monorail from Vegas to Disneyland: fuck you! Fuck you, Harry Reid, and fuck you, Mickey Mouse.

What's the MTA's budget shortfall looking like right now? They're cutting service and raising fares and "The Second Avenue Subway" will never, ever happen, and you're shipping old suckers from Main Street, U.S.A. to the slots in two hours.

The "high-speed" train from Boston to New York to DC run at about 45-mph half the trip and costs more than a fucking plane ticket and you are building a 300-mile shuttle bus from the Criss Angel show at the Luxor to your car in the Donald Duck lot.

Delayed and Denied

NASA's latest satellite crashed into the Indian Ocean soon after being launched. The satellite was suppose to be able to take accurate measurements of CO² of the earth's atmosphere.

NASA and climate researchers are weighing their options after yesterday's crash of a new satellite designed to monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide with unprecedented accuracy

"To say that it's extremely disappointing would be an understatement. This was a really important science mission," said a dismayed Edward J. Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for science.

Weiler said it was too soon to say whether NASA will attempt to launch a duplicate of the OCO, the initials of which are a nod to carbon dioxide's chemical structure: two atoms of oxygen and one atom of carbon. The satellite would have monitored not only the source points of CO2 emissions but also the carbon "sinks," such as forests and oceans, where carbon is taken out of the atmosphere.

What went wrong with the $278 million mission will be the subject of a lengthy investigation, but Weiler said it appeared that the protective nose cone, known as the fairing, failed to separate from the satellite. With the extra mass still clinging to the satellite, the rocket did not have enough thrust to boost it into orbit, and the rocket and conjoined spacecraft fell back to Earth and slammed into the ocean.

This will be too important to fail to the Global Warming believers. It will be built and launched again. The obvious name for the replacement satellite would be OCO².

Timing

Wish I could have seen this last night before his speech. But then, it's not like he'll make more. This will come in handy yet.



More cards here so the entire family can play.
via Dad 29.

THE REPUBLICAN RESPONSE

That was a wonderful story time with Mr. Rogers.... Uh - I mean Governor Jindal!

Are you kidding me? That was a creepy republican embarrassment.

Edit:

Jidal's speech reads much better than watching it. Full text at the LA Times

If you missed it last night and really want the pain -

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Reminder

The Nationwide Tea Party is this Friday.


If anyone is able to attend any of the meetings, please email me at dcore42-at-gmail-dot-com. Please let me know the location where the picture was taken. Thank you.

Who Are You?

We’re a coalition of citizens and organizations concerned about the recent trend of fiscal recklessness in government. This website is specifically dedicated to the Washington, D.C. effort specifically sponsored by the American Spectator, the Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the Institute for Liberty, the Coalition for a Conservative Majority and the Young Conservatives Coalition.

What Are You Doing?

On February 27th, getting a group of activists from around the country to participate in a big event, that, while we have to skimp on the details for now, will resemble the classic tax revolt that jumpstarted the American revolution. We’ll be holding it near the Washington Monument. More details will follow.

This isn’t a conservative or liberal thing.

This is about government forking over billions of dollars, OUR MONEY, to businesses that should have failed. This is about taking money from responsible people and handing it over to CEOs who squandered their own.

We are not opposing any specific legislation or politician. We are instead addressing the broader philosophical implications of a government that has grown too large and too distant from the very citizens it taxes. This is scary stuff.

Why Can't The GOP Answer Questions Like This?

This is so enjoyable to watch. The reporter is a moron and gets a verbal smack down. And rightly so.



If only Republicans in Congress could answers questions like this.

JMF has more.

H/T, Ace.

Update: Welcome, Stop Global Laming.

For a Good Laugh

Too funny not to pass on.



Thanks to some Curr over at Ace.

Media Malpractice Drops.

Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.
Looks like one for the DVD shelves. John Ziegler's documentary indictment against the big news media organizations and their love affair with Barack Obama. If you like Gov. Palin, buy one and feel your blood boil. Then pass it on to a liberal friend and watch them either curl up in the fetal position and cry or they will violently deny all the evidence and bury their head in the sands of Hope and Change©. Better yet, buy two. Just in case you do not get your copy back.

Big Hollywood has the review up, to give you an idea of how it goes.

Thump Thump Thump

I talked about the vehicle millage tax the other day. Michelle has the details of the plan going under the well traveled bus.

I Have a Legitimate Reason For This

And Bumped.

Update: Welcome, RS McCain readers. I don't add these links for just anyone.


In an effort to fulfill that rule number 5. Besides, someone has to do take this upon themselves. It may as well be me.

She is currently staring in 'LOST', the best TV show on right now.
Doing the much needed background reasearch of Ms. Evangeline, I found this.

Evangeline Lilly (b. 1979) became famous virtually overnight when she was cast in the lead role of Kate Austen on the hit television series Lost in 2004.

Known for her Christian moral standards and often-colorful language, tomboy antics and much-admired feminine figure, the Canadian actress admits she is a walking paradox.
. . .
Evangeline Lilly has not often discussed her religious beliefs in interviews — perhaps because she has not been asked. Generally, though, both Lilly herself and her colleagues refer to her as a Christian and a Lost producer reports that she carries a Bible with her at all time
. . .
Potty mouth notwithstanding, Evangeline Lilly has deep religious and moral principles that she still struggles to uphold while pursuing a career she loves. Her solution has been to regard her newfound fame as a tool that she can use to make a difference in the world.
. . .
In interviews, Lilly continually emphasizes her tomboy characteristics and her anti-starlet behavior. She says she tries make her image in photo shoots "portray strength or intelligence. I try not to be the sweet girl with perky boobs and make-up, because I'm not." She insists, "I really don't want to be mysterious. Women in this business are expected to put forth a poised and perfect persona. I want people to see that I'm an ordinary-Joe girl. I blow my nose after work, I drool in my sleep and my shit stinks."

The article is a little bit old but gave me a good excuse to do a babe blog. Now, back to the real news of the world.

Tea Party II

H/T, McCain, not that one. This one.

I Think it Calls For More Than Tea.

A new Tea Party is being called for.  Michelle has the details.

Loosely Based On a True Story

Key word is 'loosely', I'm sure.

My Next Truck

Pure unadulterated awesomeness. That can withstand any Zombie army, no matter if they run fast or slow.

Via Jonah at The Corner.

A New Democrat President

A new tax is being bantered about.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood told the AP.

"We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said in the AP interview.

LaHood spokeswoman Lori Irving said Friday that the secretary was speaking of the idea only in general terms, not as something being implemented as administration policy.

In fairness, Obama did reject the idea. For now.

But for arguments sake, what if he didn't? For starters, this was being talked about in lieu of the gas tax at the pump. It would need either a GPS in every road worthy vehicle or a tax form on the odometer of your car. Long term plan would be the odometer tax form to be gradually phased out by the millage tax GPS (MTGPS).

Gas tax or a MTGPS, it is about as close to a wash as you can get. Except for semi trucks. If you bought something, anything from a store or market, it was brought there by a diesel truck. Diesel engines fair better than their gasoline counterparts with regards of millage vs horsepower. The truck owners would be the ones stuck with the short end of the stick regarding the millage. So the only thing going up in price would be the cost of . . . everything.

Taxes have been and always have been a ways to an end on helping to control a population of a country. With a GPS in every car tracking where ever it goes, it does give you a very real sense of Big Brother watching you.

Not to mention the fines and punishments for tampering with the MTGPS and the new set of laws that will go along with that. As well as the slight increase in cost in the car itself to pay for the MTGPS.

Remember, The Only Man

It's was said once several times regarding Tim Geithner. He's the only man for the job. Despite being a malicious tax cheat. If this is the only man for the job, then God help us all.

They needed an alternative and found it in a previously considered initiative to pair private investments and public loans to try to buy the risky assets and take them off the books of banks. There was one problem: They didn't have enough time to work out many details or consult with others before the plan was supposed to be unveiled.

The sharp course change was one of the key reasons why Geithner's plan -- his first major policy initiative as Treasury secretary -- landed with such a thud last Tuesday. Lawmakers, investors and analysts expressed dismay over the lack of specifics. Markets tanked, and fresh doubts arose about the hand now steering the country's financial policy.

A quick aside, the mindset of theonly man for the job is rather fatalist and short sighted thinking in the larger scheme of things.

Historiclly, Secretaries in the White House Cabinet do not last long. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush went through 3 Secretaries in the duration of their terms. Obama should be lining up who he wants to succeed Geithner soon.

Back to the only man for the job. In a country of over 300 million people, the best man for the job is the one who cheated on his taxes continuously. I'm sure that Obama will be able to find someone who ran a busload of widows and orphans off the road with the seat is ready to turn over. Anyway, back on point.

Jenifer Rubin has this to say about it all:

So to review: they raised expectations, they had insufficient personnel to do the real work and too many uber-cooks stirring the pot, they didn’t get input they needed and they went ahead with the roll out anyway. Oh, and Geithner had really been thinking about this for nineteen months. And this is what he came up with.

You have to question the executive skills of both the Treasury Secretary and his boss (who is ultimately responsible for Geithner and the disastrous roll out). And next time someone explains that he has been too sloppy, inattentive and distracted to abide by simple rules in governing his own life, it’s probably a clue we shouldn’t put him in a job with huge responsibilities demanding astute judgment and keen executive leadership skills.

Thugs

The whole lot of them.

"This is our house now," said Louis Beverly, ACORN.
. . .
"We are actually trespassing, and so this is a way of civil disobedience to try to stay in the house," said Beverly. "Legally it's wrong, but homesteading is the only means that she has left to stay in her house. And we feel as though this is the right thing to do at this particular time to save this family."

Friday Night Hallelujah

When I was looking a version of this song, there was several covers I could have chosen from. The original version with Leonard Cohen or even with the U.K. Idol winner, Alexandra Burke. I had to go with Jeff Buckley cover because of the stripped down version. Simply him and his guitar. A great example of 'less is more'.

Glittering Jewels of Colossal Ignorance

A member of Barack Obama's administration, the United States Secretary of Energy, responds to questions regarding his job by answering:

"I'm not the administration," the Cabinet secretary replied. "I will be speaking and learning more about this in order to figure out what the U.S. position should be and what the president's position is."

"like I've been dumped into the deep end of the pool" on oil policy.

The day before, reporters asked him about OPEC output levels after a speech to a group of utility regulators. He responded that the issue was "not in my domain."

Or is it in his domain?
(more below the fold)

The Department of Energy Organization Act brought the federal government's agencies and programs into a single agency. The Department of Energy, activated on October 1, 1977, assumed the responsibilities of the Federal Energy Administration, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Federal Power Commission, and parts and programs of several other agencies.

The Department provided the framework for a comprehensive and balanced national energy plan by coordinating and administering the energy functions of the federal government. The Department undertook responsibility for long-term, high-risk research and development of energy technology, federal power marketing, energy conservation, the nuclear weapons program, energy regulatory programs, and a central energy data collection and analysis program.

Jimmy Carter signing into law the bill that establishes the Department of EnergyOver its two decade history, the Department has shifted its emphasis and focus as the needs of the nation have changed. During the late 1970's, the Department emphasized energy development and regulation. In the 1980's, nuclear weapons research, development, and production took a priority. Since the end of the Cold War, the Department has focused on environmental clean up of the nuclear weapons complex, nonproliferation and stewardship of the nuclear stockpile, energy efficiency and conservation, and technology transfer and industrial competitiveness.

Today, the Department of Energy contributes to the future of the nation by ensuring our energy security, maintaining the safety and reliability of our nuclear stockpile, cleaning up the environment from the legacy of the Cold War, and developing innovations in science and technology.

We really dodged a bullet with that Palin chick, didn't we?

Via Ace

Could Not of Happened to a Nicer Guy

Arlen Spector receives a warm homecoming.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter was greeted with jeers at a press conference in Cranberry Township.

Conservatives are fuming after Specter cast the deciding vote that led to the passage of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan.

Specter, 79, acknowledges his run for re-election will be tough.

Retire you POS. 30 effing years of you at the public teat is enough.

I apologize to actual shit. You can spread actual shit around and fertilize the ground with it.

All Huff and No Puff.

So, how did that work out for you?

The Quran Challange.

Watch it while you can. YouTube takes down videos like these fairly regularly.



Heh, he's been called the Canadian Zoe at Hot Air.

H/T, The Jawas

It's Fun To Watch--Now

You know the feeling you get watching two football teams that you don't like play each other. You root for injuries. Watching the Democrats gear up for the run at the Governor's office this year is like that.

Given McDonnell's expected strengths, some Virginia Democrats may decide to support the Democratic candidate who they think has the best chance to defeat him. But Democratic activists are divided about whether Terry McAuliffe, Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (Bath) or former delegate Brian Moran stands the best chance against McDonnell.

So, to help Democrats figure out what the opposition is thinking, Virginia Notebook spent a day asking randomly selected Virginia GOP leaders which Democratic candidate they fear most as an opponent.

Here are some of their answers. Yes, these are Republicans, so Democrats will have to decide whether the answers reflect a bit of reverse psychology.

Something To Hedge The Bets On.

If it's accurate, of course. Sean Penn walked away empty handed after going full retard and now it looks like he is walking away empty handed after making out with another dude.

Guess it pays to be likable like Tom Hanks.

Voices of Dissent

Because a man has a political bumper sticker on his truck, the Secret Service stops by his house to see if he warranted and searches the room. To see if he belonged to any 'hate groups'.

''The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.

After talking to his attorney, Harrison went home where he met the Secret Service.

''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

Harrison said he invited the Secret Service agents into the house and they were "very cordial."

''We walked through the house and my wife and 2-year-old were in the house," Harrison said.

He said they interviewed him for about 30 minutes and then left, not finding any evidence Harrison was a threat to the president.

''I'm still in contact with a lawyer right now," Harrison said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Harrison said he feels his First Amendment rights were violated.

Would he have been treated any different if he did belong to some hate group? Wouldn't that be his right, living in this country, to belong to such a group? When has it been a crime to join PETA, Earth First, The Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, or the KKK? Bad judgment, yes. A crime, no.

For Sharpton, it's called Wednesday

A cartoon appears with a cop shooting a chimp based on an actual even where a chimp went on a rampage. Al Sharpton sees it as a chance to get in front of a news camera and remind people how important he still is.

"The cartoon in today's New York Post is troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual reference to this when in the cartoon they have police saying after shooting a chimpanzee that "Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill."

"Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president) and has become synonymous with him it is not a reach to wonder are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?"

To some degree, I hope he keeps this up and others will start to see his game. Screaming of faux outrage at any intended atrocity imaginable.



Original story here.

Free Money for All.

Well, not all.



For the details, go here.

Tip to RSM.

Damn Shame These Are So Few

When any president took office, you could always account for a slew of jokes regarding the occasion.

With Barack Obama, not so much. So it's such a joy to finally find one worth publishing.

Q. What’s the difference between Obama and Jesus?

A. Jesus was a carpenter; Obama can’t assemble a cabinet.

Thanks to Steve here via Treacher(Read the original blog posting and not just Steve's joke, it's worth it).

Once More From CATO

Because he's so damn right about the economy.

Doing What He Does Best

Barack is in Denver, CO today to sign in the spendulus package into law. And then an entire week of campaigning. It's going to be a good bet that Barack will put a record amount of travel time on Air Force One.

Quote of the Week.

Candidate Obama promised a new openness in government. But the biggest spending bill ever was drafted behind closed doors. Candidate Obama pledged to weaken the influence of lobbyists. But lobbyists received copies of the "stimulus" bill before lawmakers did. Candidate Obama pledged a bipartisan approach to government. But not a single Republican in the House, and only three in the Senate, voted for it.

Mr. Obama is fond of the appearance of bipartisanship. He nominated three Republicans to his Cabinet. He's dined with conservative columnists, and invited several GOP lawmakers to watch the Super Bowl with him.

But Mr. Obama is like a young man who expects a girl to put out if he buys her a hamburger and a beer. If he were more concerned about the substance of bipartisanship, he'd have insisted upon a stimulus package more Republicans could support, and he wouldn't now be looking for his third nominee for Secretary of Commerce.

Thanks to this guy in the comments at Hot Air.

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR OBAMA AFTER H.R. 1

Over the past fifteen or so years I have avidly followed politics and during that time I have become a fan of Rasmussen Reports. In my opinion, they are just better than anyone else at accurately capturing and conveying the mood in America.


Today Rasmussen Reports shares with us a new trend for President Obama – a downward trend. Every elected official faces ups and downs over time and Obama's approval numbers are still extremely high so he isn't likely to turn around and head in the opposite direction but… I predict that this trend will continue downward after he signs the bill into law.

Coincidentally another poll conducted by Rasmussen measuring consumer confidence taken after H.R. 1 passed indicates that consumers did not respond well to the passage of the bill. Now… I can't wait to see an update to this poll. It appears as though some Americans are waking up from the Obama dream.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

From the office of the White house, for those who wish to read it here is the link H.R. 1

Obama Broke His Promise?

NO! Who would have seen this coming.


via, Gateway Pundit
The Spendulus Package was made behind close doors, with little to no Republican help drafting the bill, and is expected to be signed Tuesday. The final version was passed on Friday night. That makes it less than four days.

This is the best I can do in finding where the finalized version of the bill is.

Moron Complaining about Fairness and Hosting Failed Radio Program

But mostly about wanting more people to listen to him under the guise of 'Fairness'.




H/T, Hot Air, which gave me the perfect excuse to post a video of Megyn Kelly

Scratching the Surface

The Barack Obama Commemorative Coin Set. Keep them in the their original wrapping or they will lose their value. Besides, everyone will know they are just stickers on top of real coins.



For a tale of a sucker who believes in the entire 'Hope and Change' coin set, try here.

via The Jawa Report.

It's Working Already

The Spendulus at work.

Not a Total Sellout Yet.

She went a little squishy on illegal immagration but it's nice to see her holding fast to her guns.

Gillibrand said neither she nor her husband is a hunter, and in a general discussion of gun control said, "If I want to protect my family, if I want to have a weapon in the home, that should be my right."
. . .
"It's a false debate," she said. "It's political rhetoric that's sucking you in to believe that hunters owning a gun or an American citizen who wants to protect his home owning a gun somehow increases gun violence."

Global Warming Skeptic Speaks Out

From one of the last guys to walk on the moon.

"I don’t think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect," said [Harrison] Schmitt, who is among 70 skeptics scheduled to speak next month at the International Conference on Climate Change in New York.
. . .
Schmitt resigned after the group blamed global warming on human activity. In his resignation letter, the 74-year-old geologist argued that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making."

Whereas I totally agree with a policy from President Obama:

Now if he would only follow through. Fat chance, right?

Pardon the Mess

under going a format change..

now with more points.. and more guns too.

Rock On.

This is not the Nirvana I once knew.

The Most Ethical Congress in History

Our elected officials rely heavily on the fact that most Americans are too busy and too occupied to pay attention to any real details about what is going on in Washington. They also rely heavily on us having no long term memory. As a husband, a father of two, and student who also works a full time job I am admittedly one of those people who finds that there are just not enough hours in the day… Unfortunately for Nancy Pelosi and company I have a relatively good long term memory thanks to advances in technology.
In the run up to the 2006 elections the Democrats ran on a promise to rule over our legislative branch with the highest of ethical standards. In my opinion they justly ballyhooed from the top of their soapboxes about the Republican Culture of Corruption promising to do better. They also attacked Republicans about a lack of leadership and competency. So the question begs – since taking power in 2006 how have they done? With that let's take a look:

More below the fold.

• One of the first gems we had with the new leadership in 2006 was Plane-Gate: Video. Remember that one? That was when Speaker Pelosi felt that the aircraft used by her predecessor was beneath her and that she deserved a bigger more expensive one.



• Only a few months in control and Speaker Pelosi has to ask Alan Mollonhan to step down as the ranking member of the Ethics Committee in April 2006 amid mounting public pressure due to an ongoing FBI investigation in to Mollonhan's role in earmarking and real estate deals.



• Oh and let's not forget Tuna-Gate. That is the time when Pelosi was leading the charge for a new minimum wage for everyone except Starkist Tuna packing plants that were based in Samoa – I am sure it was pure coincidence that Starkist Tuna's headquarters is in Speaker Pelosi's home district.



• In a continuation of the Mollohan saga – after being embarrassed into asking Mollonhan to step down from the Ethics Committee, Pelosi leaves Mollonhan on the very committee that oversees the budget of the FBI, the very agency that was investigating Mollohan. After this little ethical dilemma was called out by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Pelosi forced Mollohan to recuse himself.



• The Democrat packed $$Billions in the form of earmarks to Farm subsidies into the war spending bills in order to logroll Bluedogs into voting in favor of it.



• A year after taking control – The Democrats still taking direct fire and solid hits on earmarking including a cool $13 Million for a World Toilet summit.



• Also a year later – is this what is called pay to play?



• William Jefferson – Yet another questionable appointment by the Democrats



• Remember how the democrats got the public all upset about lavish golf trips that were taken by the Republicans? Well they clearly took care of that – NOT!



• And we just cannot forget about how much effort went into cleaning up all those earmarks. Again here. I especially liked David Obey's comments on the matter: "The fact is, that an earmark is something that is requested by an individual member. This item was not requested by any individual member. It was put in the bill by me!"



• Speaking of Obey and Earmarks.



• 9800 Earmarks worth $10 Billion in the 2007 Omnibus.



• Threats and thugery from the top. Nice job Nancy.



• Remember Nancy's attempts at playing Secretary of State? Remember what happened when she went and visited with those foreign leaders? I do.



• More hiding of pet projects



• Remember the Norman Hsu thing?



• Oink Oink – Murtha's Pork Feast. Video



• Mary Landrieu's earmarking problems.



• Favorable loans for Laura Richardson, Barack Obama, Kent Conrad, Chris Dodd, and probably some I've forgotten.



• Ahh can you feel the love?



• Charles Rangel's rent control apartments, violations of campaign finance law, tax evasion, and parking spot.



• PMA group connections with Murtha, Visclosky, and Moran.

Honorable mentions (in no particular order):

• Bill Richardson


• Rod Blagojevich


• Obama, Durbin, and K Street


• Eliot Spitzer


• Kwame Kilpatrick


• Tom Daschle


• Dianne Wilkerson

Wow – it's been quite an interesting couple of years. And I have probably forgotten some things. I can only imagine how much more interesting it is going to get with the Democrats now in full control of the Whitehouse as well. If one compares current day to the early days of American politics where Presidents defended their wife's honor on the front lawn of the Whitehouse, it is easy to see that we have come a long way. Though… we're not there yet. Maybe one day Americans will demand more, maybe even enough of our officials.

Fairness, Revisited.

Several big names in Congress have threatened to bring in the 'Fairness Doctrine' now that Democrats have power in both the Senate and the House and the Presidency.

Michelle Malkin has more on Democrats trying to squash voices of dissent. If they are going to tote the moniker 'Fairness' around, it needs to be applied to the FM side of the dial as well as any TV Channels over the airwaves too. Not just AM.

Once More, With Feeling.

Dan Mitchell does a nice job on taking apart the Spendulus package. He references his old Keynesian video which you can watch here.



Thanks to Instapundit.

Signs of Moral Decay in Modern Culture.

With the prevalence of reality shows hitting the airwaves, the relative cheapness to produce a seasons worth of episodes, and the plethora of channels out there looking for content it's no surprise that many times, reality TV hits a lowest common denominator. As you go higher up with the channels, the worse it gets. VH-I and their roster of 'I Love New York', 'A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila', and 'Rock of Love' are among the many examples.

The average cable subscriber has than a hundred channels. It's no surprise that some of the lesser known, more specialized channels needs filler. Infomercials can only fill for late night, early mornings but the producers need the red meat for prime time.

Original and syndicated shows cost more than most budgets allow. The cost of the stage, sets, cast, and crew starts to increase more than most ad revenues can allow. The cheaper of these is the usual round table type of shows with the moderator and pundits or experts in that field.

Reality shows will not be going anywhere and are much cheaper to produce in the long run. Instead of paying the actors whatever the SAG wage is per episode, there are 5, 10, 20 contestants vying for that $50,000 grand prize for being the last man standing. And it allows the producers of the channel to cite the ever popular, "Original Programming" to entice viewers.

To make their reality show stand out in a sea of hundreds others, it's easy to pander to the basest of behaviors. By putting on lots and lots of good looking women with questionable values followed by cameras to get every bit of it on film.

So when the Onion satires these shows with a mock round table and then travels full circle and ends becoming what it supposedly objected to, I wasn't going to repost that video here. I will, however, give Robert Stacy a link to where you can watch said video. I hope that was enough of a rant to justify the link.

Ya' Think?

You don't say. Heck of a job, there, Tax Cheat.

Geithner is attempting to revive a U.S. banking system throttled by $756 billion in credit losses and an economy that lost almost 600,000 jobs last month. His new approach comes four months after the start of the $700 billion so-called TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which both Democrats and Republicans have criticized as ineffective.

“He caused the problem all last year,” Rogers said on Bloomberg Television. “He came up with TARP, and he came up with all these absurd bailouts. Mr. Geithner has never known what he is doing. He doesn’t know what he is doing now and pretty soon everybody is going to find out, including Mr. Obama.”

Via Instapundit

Worth A Listen.

It's almost thirty minutes long but offers a nice alternative view for health care issues besides a Universial Health Care system ran by a government who couldn't figure out how to profit running business selling sex and booze.

Shudder at the Thought.

Now that the election is over, Bill Ayers cannot help himself and will not shut up.

Now that the campaign rhetoric has subsided, Ayers has an idea for a new show starring his Alaskan nemesis.

“I did send her a note after the election,” he says of Palin in the upcoming issue of the New York Times magazine. “I suggested that we have a talk show together called ‘Pallin’ Around With Sarah and Bill.’ I haven’t heard back.”
. . .
He also says that while he considers himself a radical, he believes Obama is “a moderate Democrat.”

“If you look at his record, it’s the record of a moderate, who indeed does know how to make compromises,” Ayers told the magazine.

If anything, I hope more people find out about this man and his history and make him go away. With any luck, his re-write of history, via graphic novel, will tank. I just might take a page from Abby Hoffman and maybe steal a copy.

H/T, Memeorandum.
Cross posted at Conservatives for Palin.

Ouch.

This will hurt the kids grandkid's paycheck.

The actual cost of the Spendulus Package?

$3.27 Trillion.

3,270,000,000,000.01. A lot of zeros.

And To Think.

Hat tip to the Acton Institute's Blog. Too good not to repost in full. Considering how almost a trillion dollars is about to go up in smoke.

William F. Buckley, 1956:

[I’d] sooner be governed by the first two thousand people in the Boston telephone directory than by the two thousand members of the faculty of Harvard University.


Rassmussen poll results, 2009:

Forty-four percent (44%) voters also think a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress, but 37% disagree. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe.

The Zombies of Obama crawl out.

Stay tuned to the very end.



thanks to Ace

Huray.

When this happens, I'm surprised that border violence isn't on the rise between home-owners and ranchers are not taking the law into their own hands. If there was only some sort of fence to keep people who pack this as they smuggle drugs, illegals, and more guns across the border.

Bound To Happen.

They tried to do too much, get too many big names, too many channels with a cost a bit prohibitive for most people for satellite radio.

So Much for Governing From the Middle.

Never mind what Obama says, it's who he appoints will reflect his real views on how he wants to move this nation backwards. His Drug Czar pick, for example.

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has accepted a job in the Obama administration, most likely overseeing the nation's drug policies, according to sources familiar with the chief's plans.
. . .
He has been an advocate of gun control and fought to pass the assault-weapons ban and has championed closing the background-check loophole at gun shows.

Some of you may be wondering then:

So what does his anti-gun stance have to do with being the new Drug Czar? Because his input into dealing with drug gangs will certainly include suggesting to Obama the need for more national gun control to help eliminate those gangs. And, between him and Holder, that’s a powerful lobby with access to the Oval Office.

Obama might claim to “respect” the Second Amendment but he’s filling his cabinet with people who don’t.

Via Instapundit

Quote of the Week.

Why in the cosmos would the new administration, smoothly sailing out of Obama's classy inauguration, repeat the embarrassing blunders of Bill Clinton's first term? By foolishly promising a complete overhaul of healthcare within 100 days (and by putting his secretive, ill-prepared wife in charge of it), Clinton made himself look naive and incompetent and set healthcare reform back for more than 15 years.

President Obama was ill-served by his advisors (shall we thump that checkered piñata, Rahm Emanuel?), who evidently did not help him to produce a strong, focused, coherent bill that he could have explained and defended to the nation before it was set upon by partisan wolves. To defer to the House of Representatives and let the bill be thrown together by cacophonous mob rule made the president seem passive and behind the curve.

Donahue Gets a Smack Down.

Milt Friedman slaps down Phil and leaves the guy speechless. Priceless.




H/T, Jonah.

WaPo Editorial: Squish, Squish.

The RINO of all RINO speaks.

I am supporting the economic stimulus package for one simple reason: The country cannot afford not to take action.
. . .
Our $780 billion bill would save or create up to 4 million jobs, helping to offset the loss of 3.6 million jobs since December 2007. The bill cuts some $110 billion from the $890 billion Senate version, which would actually be $940 billion if floor amendments for tax credits on home and car purchases and money for the National Institutes of Health are retained.

This stimulus bill will not work. You can dress it up however you want but it still will not work.

There has been 3.45 Trillion spent in terms of Stimulus already in forms of TARP and other bail outs of Wall Street. And that is a conservative view. Others think it can go over 7 Trillion. If that hasn't worked, then another 800 billion will not work either.

And back before the election, somehow deficit spending mattered regarding the war. Now, with Democrats running around with a blank check, not so much.

Signs Of Affliction.

Signs of Obama Derangement Syndrome include, but not limited to, wet dreams.

“I dreamed I was an Obama girl. I had a chance to be in the same room with him for the first time. There were dark velvet chairs and he was standing there with all this dark and mist around him. His lips so purple and sensuous as if to be otherworldly,”

H/T, RSM

Saturday Night Twofer.

One of my favorite Beatles songs covered by two different people.

First is Fiona Apple from the movie, Pleasentville:

.

Next is Rufus Wainwright. Featuring a young Dakota Fanning, no less.

I Feel Bad for the Child

Give him a strong cup of coffee to snap him out of it.

More Examples of Obama Worship.

Does Obama really deserve his very own type font?



H/T, Just Barking Mad.

Only Their Mother Knows.

Separated at birth?

Fitting.

Happy Birthday, Gipper.

Back story here.

h/t, RSM

Still Early But Nice To See.

It's still early and a lot of year to go before November but it is nice to see Bob McDonnell polling higher than any of his potential challengers.

The tastiest of it all? Seeing McDonnell highest in the polls against McAiliffe.

H/T,

Shep Arrives.

The man behind the iconic posters from Obama's Presidential Campaign, the images proclaiming 'Hope' and 'Change', is in a bit of trouble. Shepard Fairey is being sued by the Associated Press for copyright infringement.



Art For a Change has done a bit more deeper analysis regarding Shep. Looks like Shep has been down that road before.

More about Shep here and here. The guy seriously loves old soviet propaganda.

Shep made his way as a counter culture street artist spray-painting images of Andre the Giant on lampposts. Now after his fame regarding the Obama posters, easily going over a couple of thousand dollars each for a signed copy, he is facing a lawsuit. Welcome to mainstream.

H/T Treacher. again.

Robert Gibbs: Lessons In Competence.

Listen as Gibbs clearly and articulately answers Jake Tappers questions.



Best Press Sectary EVER.

H/T, Treacher.

Update: More fun with Gibbs.

"If Every Democrat Supports This Tax Cut, It's Probably Not A Tax Cut"

At twenty minutes, it's a bit lenthy but worth it. If you can, let it play in the background and listen to it. All about the Stimulus and the pork going along with it. He also provides a solution instead of just harping on the problem.

A Mild Distraction.

Who would have thunk it?

Some people on this list were not a surprise. Others, like James Earl Jones and Kathy Ireland, did surprise me.

Who Knew Things Where This Bad?

I mean, every month, 500 million Americans lose their jobs? Good thing there is Nancy Pelosi in congrell looking out for us.



Via AoSHQ.

Duff in Playboy?

Duff McKagan, the one time band member of Guns 'N' Roses has moved on from the lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. He's in a world of tickers, markets, and deadlines (something Axel knew nothing about). And I'm not ashamed to admit to google baiting with the title as well.

How the hell is it that I will to be writing about money matters for Playboy? Well, over the last few years, I have been doing more and more TV and print interviews regarding some faction of finance. It started in 2004 when a writer for some music newspaper asked me about my experience going to business-school after my career with GNR.

Playboy had articles (the school yard jokes write themselves). Via the Open Market Blog by way of CEI. Really. And RSM mentioned CEI.

Why Geithner?

The National Review has some good questions as to why Tim Geithner's tax issues are bygones but Daschle's are an anchor.

If Daschle’s tax problems should bar him from managing the federal health-services bureaucracy and Killefer’s preclude her from scrutinizing the budget, how is it that Geithner’s transgressions—the worst of the lot—are insufficient to disqualify him from managing the same Internal Revenue Service whose attentions he evaded?

via Instapundit.

Saves Me the Work.

If only there was a place where you can go and see the list of people Barack Obama wants to nominate for his cabinet. And not only the names but the list of back taxes they owe, more taxes that they owe, a secret donor list to a Presidential Library, ethic violations, lobbyists who are working for Obama when Obama said no lobbyists will work in his administration, and a list of the questionable pardons one has made with his work in the Clinton administration.

If only there was a site like that.

It looks like Bill Richardson was the smart one afterall to cut his loses.

HT to R.S. McCain.

Shamelessly Stealing From Allah Pundit.

My own quote of the day.*

"They know its a messy bill and they wanted a clean bill. Now, I got in terrible trouble with our leadership because they don’t care what’s in the bill, they just want it pass and they want it to be unanimous. They don’t mind the partisan fighting cause that’s what they are used to. In fact, they’re really good at it. And they’re a little bit worried about what a post-partisan future might look like. If members actually had to read the bills and figure out whether they are any good or not. We’re just told how to vote. We’re treated like mushrooms most of the time."

* Maybe I can try to do these once a week. But this was too juicy not to pass by.

Cross posted at The Minority Leader.