New Tone At Work: Now Threatening News Reporters

You know, when you have lost Jerry Rivers. . .

Also: Via Camp of the Saints and Michelle Malkin, who details how law and order is breaking down in Wisconsin:

The Capitol police had set a deadline this afternoon for the grievance mob to clear out their sleeping bags, crock pots, and other makeshift camp paraphernalia. The occupiers ignored them. The Capitol police then promptly…capitulated. Rest assured, rewarding the breakdown of civil order will lead to more civil disorder.

I have to agree with Bob on this:

The police officers who refused to enforce the order to clear the Capital Building of people should be immediately fired. By their action of solidarity with the Socialist/Communist/Marxist Union Members and out of state hired thugs/protesters, those police have provided aid and comfort to law breakers and, therefore, have violated their sacred oaths to protect and to serve.

If anything, this shows the difference how a Nation of Men behaves as opposed to a Nation of Laws.

Also related: Video of one brave man standing up to crowds of protesters.



Oh my goodness, did I hear a drum circle in the video? Anyway, the man with the Gadsden Flag was correct with his definition of what Fascism is. Not that it mattered to the rest of the protesters.

Video: State Budget Battle Showdowns

From The Heritage Foundation and Reason TV.

Wisconsin. Ohio. Michigan. New Jersey. New York. Budget-battle showdowns are coming soon to a statehouse near you.

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has provoked the ire of labor union leaders in Wisconsin, but he’s not alone. Governors across America are confronting budget shortfalls — and looking to public employees to help make up the difference.

Walker’s budget repair bill asks government workers to make a 5.8% pension contribution (about the national average) and 12.6% health insurance contribution (about half the national average). In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie proposed that public employees pick up 30 percent of their health care premiums. And in neighboring New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, asked public employees to pay $500 million toward benefits they’re currently receiving for free.

It’s a scenario all too common after years of out-of-control government spending.

Keeping Mumford & Sons On Friday Night

Thanks to Heidi for finding this.

Sen. Rand Paul From The Late Show

Sen. Rand Paul made it to The Late Show the other day.

I think he held his own against Letterman. Letterman kept making the annoying claim about taxing the rich and Paul kept shooting it down. Keep in mind that Letterman is raking in 45 million a year when he talks about himself as 'middle class' toward the end of the clip.

The other part that I do like about the clip is how Sen. Paul isn't afraid to call the old Republican party what it was the past few years. Basically, Democrat Light.

New & Improved Tone At Work: Video Of Teamster Threatening To Violate A Body Cavity Of Someone Taping Him

Michelle has the details.


The confrontation starts at about the 7:30 mark in the video. Obvious language warning.

Anymore, the 'New Tone!' just like any other progressive idea. Repackage the old idea and slap a new name on it.

War on poverty? Redistribution of wealth with welfare and food stamps.

Cap and Trade? Redistribution of wealth with a made-believe commodity of 'Carbon Credits' that make richer countries have to buy with real money from poorer countries.

New Tone? Same old hate, hostility and projection from the left there always has been.

I'll give the progressive democrats this: The party knows how to recycle.

PSA Video: How To Remove Those Pesky Obama Bumper Stickers

With the new BS (Bumper Sticker) Remover.



Even in trying times, there are entrepreneurs who can make a product that the public needs and wants.

The best selling point? It works on a Prius!

The New, New Tone In Action: Union Protester Hits Woman For No Reason Whatsoever

Via The Other McCain, The Daley Gator and Da Tech Guy.

And they say chivalry is dead.



As much as I would have loved to see Tabitha Hale, the woman assaulted, kick him back in the jewels, violence is the end game for many of the progressive type protesters.

They would be able to use that one event as a chance to say, "Look how violent those right wing types are! They punch back!" And a willing media will lede with that story for at least a week.

As it stands now, the guy may get a slap on the wrist. Makes me wistful for the days of vigilante justice.

Damn, I've read too many western books growing up.

Update: This is what a union thug looks like.

Movie Clip: Atlas Shrugged

Henry Rearden Comes Home.



To help put the clip into context, Rearden has been working on a new metal alloy to that would help revolutionize the steel industry. His first major pour of it was done that day.

Ten years of blood, sweat and failed formulas went into the planning of Rearden Metal and his wife and family scoffs at his gift to his wife. Calling it "Bondage" and effectively, driving Hank emotionally away.

If they were able to get this scene right, there are hopes for the movie yet. I wasn't quite sold on the trailer for it.

On A More Personal Note

I want to say congratulations to my wife who ran her first marathon last weekend.

She finished it in a little over 5 hours. It was her that directed me to this little video. It helps immensely to understand the relationship between a runner and a none-runner.

Predictable

Rahm Emmanuel 'unexpectedly' wins the Chicago mayor election.

Former President Whose Election Campaign Was Called The War Room Is Now Co-Chair For A 'National Institute For Civil Discourse'

There was a documentary about Clinton's election effort by the same name.

Anyway, Via Doug Powers at Michelle Malkin's place.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush will serve as honorary chairmen of a new center at the University of Arizona that will focus on civility in political debate, university officials will announce Monday.

The National Institute for Civil Discourse – a nonpartisan center for debate, research, education and policy about civility in public discourse – will open Monday in Tucson. It was created in the aftermath of the Jan. 8 shootings in the city where six people were killed and 13 injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Sounds more like a place where politicians can lecture people on how to treat them. Tar and feathers need to be left at the door.

Update: Miss Attila links about stern, meaningless lectures.

About Sums It Up

Henry has more over at Disrupt The Narrative.

"Raymond Noodles"?

Ramen, raymond. Tomato, too-mah-toe.

I just want to tell you what it’s like not to have Planned Parenthood. You have to give your kids ramen noodles at the end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they won’t cry. You have to give them mayonnaise sandwiches. They get very few fresh fruits and vegetables because they’re expensive. It subjects children to low educational attainment because of the ravages of poverty.

Robert Stacy breaks down Rep. Gwen Moore's (D-Wisc.) non-sequitur of a speech that she gave on the House floor.

The full video of Moore's comments can be found here.

The real irony of it all is that Moore is defending the organization that Margaret Sanger started in order to target minorities like Moore with sterilization in the first place.

Why Can't Movie Trailers Take A Hint From Video Game Designers

There is some graphic images with this clip because it deals with, you know, zombies.



It's from a game so they have more liberty with making the trailer than most movies but still, this three minute clip impacted me than most movies ever did in two hours.

More:

The trailer for Dead Island, scheduled to launch for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC at some point in 2011, is a riveting tease of the long-delayed zombie shooter. It may be the best videogame trailer I’ve ever seen; gorgeous, well-edited and emotionally engaging. The music is somber and the visuals are utterly harrowing. It makes the oversaturated zombie genre seem appealing again.

Only thing is, this isn’t really a game trailer in the traditional sense. It’s not a series of clips from the game. It’s a short film that takes place in the world of Dead Island.

A Very Modest Proposal

One of the best ideas I've seen with the question about what to do about public schools.

The smartest thing to do with the entire big mess of public schools in the U.S. is to give them straight-out to the teachers. If they believe that their services are worth more and more money every year, let them prove it. Let them earn it. Let them make a payroll. Let them figure out how to compete in the marketplace of ideas and students.

Teachers deserve to own the schools, and to have a say in how their schools function. Let them be shareholders, let them be on the board of directors. Create companies and give the damned school buildings for free to them. Let the teachers vote on their own Board of Directors, CEO's, CFO's, salaries, and more. What the hell, give 'em all five years free of taxes.

Let them GO.

Be sure to read the entire thing because there is more than the bit about the schools.

More: Back in my days as a security system technician, the company I was with bent over backwards in order to get a chance to submit a job bid on a new high school being constructed.

The sheer number of hoops the project manager had to jump through in order for a chance to just place a bid was amazing to me.

And after everything was done, the bid went to a someone else. Nothing wrong with that-- all part of business-- but for about a month, the project manager's main focus was on that bid. Everything else got pushed off onto the rest of the staff. All for a chance to get at that sweet, sweet public school building fund.

Tim Geithner: The President's Budget Is "Unsustainable"

For those who have been following along, this isn't anything new.

For everyone else, the Secretary of the Treasury-- Tim "Turbo Tax" Geithner-- admits that this debt is unsustainable.

Admission is the fist step.

David Horowitz From CPAC

This is a man who knows what he speaks of when he talks about the Conservative Movement being eroded from the inside out.

So It's Come To This: A Statue Of RoboCop In Detroit

Philidelphia has a statue of Rocky, an inspirational tale about an regular joe getting a chance to box the world champ and a shot at greatness.

Why not a statue of RoboCop for Detroit? A tale of a dytopic future where lawlessness rules the land and in the back pocket of a corrupt government.

Old movies can cast a nostalgic glow on just about any setting – even a struggling Rust Belt city such as Detroit.

That’s what a group of youthful idealists say they are hoping to do with a sculpture of, yes, Robocop – the hero of a 1980’s film of the same name in which a cop dies and is reborn as a cyborg in a dystopian Motor City.

Florida Governor Rick Scott Became My Chris Christie Today Because Of This

Speak softly but carry big budget cutting scissors.

Gov. Rick Scott just announced that he has rejected federal money that would be used to build a high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando, saying the project would be “far too costly to taxpayers” and that he believes “the risk far outweighs the benefits.”

Even without getting into the "Green" aspect of trains, this would be a boondoggle.

First step would be planning. How many communities wouldn't want the rail to run through their back yard? The "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) effect.

Second, rights of way. Would the rail run along the same highway that connects Tampa Bay and Orlando or a different route? Not everyone who owns land or property along that pathway is going to want to move or sell. Some may claim 'Historic Landmark' and won't be able to move. Some will try to bilk the government out of more money than what their land is worth because they can.

Others will have their homes taken at the point of a gun simply because 'the rail needed to be made'.

Third, in order for the rail to be successful, people will need to pay to ride it. Orlando is a very large destination town anyway because of Disney World and other theme parks located there. How many people need to ride between Tampa and Orlando in order for a rail to make a profit and be successful?

There are already many alternative forms of transportation available for those who want to go to the parks. Many hotels offer daily bus rides to and from the parks (at least, last time I went they did five years ago. I can't imagine things would have changed that dramatically since then).

If a family is visiting Orlando and wants to visit Tampa and takes the rail, they will be at the mercy of whatever forms of transportation they can find in TB. And not the freedom of the open road.

And that is off the top of my head just for starters. Gov. Rick Scott has even more reasons listed.

What happens if it's unsuccessful? Does the train become scrapped or will laws and regulations be passed in order to force people to take the train? Installing toll booths on the highways that charge an unreasonable amount just to dive 5 or 55 minutes on the road in order to condition people in using the rail? Or subsidize the hell out of it with tax money?

A train can work if it was stationed between two large centralized populations with a lot of the population commuting back and forth. And if there was an easy way to get from home, to rail, to work and back again.

Anymore, "High Speed Rails" are just being built in order to build them and nothing more.

And because they are "Green" and that should be good enough, you planet haters! Shut up!

Where Lawrence O'Donnell Exercises His Acting Chops And Expresses His Faux Outrage Against What He Thinks Is 'RAAAAACISM!'*

File under: Seeing what they only want to see:

Progressives have taken issue with a cartoon published recently on this website mocking the government overreach of the First Lady’s food regulations. The cartoon ran specifically post-Super Bowl to emphasize the double standard of what Michelle Obama says regarding American diets, and the food choices offered at the White House’s Super Bowl party.

Lawrence O’Donnell stopped his beta male “Say Anything” pining over Bill O’Reilly long enough to bore us all to tears with a discombobulated diatribe about why the Hudnall/Lash cartoon was racist but apparently screaming for the lynching of Justice Thomas was not. Oh! My bad! O’Donnell said nothing of the prog-Thomas-lynching or the Cain-monkey-slur.

Untitled from Breitbart on Vimeo.

Be sure the read the whole thing.

Anyway, pointing out that MSNBC is biased is like pointing out that "The Son of the Invisible Man" was still visible (mildly not safe for work clip. No language but use your digression).



*Because ninety-nine times out of a hundred, when a liberal or progressive cries "RAAAAASISM!", it's only something they disagree with.

Comment Of The Month

This was linked by the Blogfather a while ago and I had meant to highlight it at the time. I forgot about it until I was clearing out my bookmarks and stumbled across it.

I don't get tired of talking about this. My grandfather quit high school, joined the Army Air Force, fought in the Pacific theater in WWII, came home, married his high school sweetheart, and got his high school diploma. He didn't go to college. He could read, write, and do figures, though I doubt he knew anything about Foucault, or ever paid a grad student $500 to write a 10-page essay about it. He joined a large company, which quickly figured out he was intelligent, and they moved him into a clerk position. His wife never worked. He sired five children, all boys, bought a nice house in a small town, took vacation at a lake house, retired, moved to Florida, lived another 15 years, and died just shy of his 80th birthday of colon cancer.

Today, his job title instead of Clerk would be something like Managing Purchasing Coordinator. He would have a Master's degree in nothing in particular, probably from nowhere important, and have $50,000+ in student loans. His job today requires reading, writing, and doing figures, just like it did 50 years ago, but today he would have crippling student loans and 6 years of layaboutry.

Sometime during the last 50 years, our society went Full Retard about schooling. I've yet to see anyone explain why.

Be sure to read the article that this comment is responding to.

Video: Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government

I think I've argued about a couple of these points a time or two in the past here. Here it is again in a format most high schoolers should be able to follow along with.

'John Edwards Sex Tape!'

It could be worse, the title could say 'Al Gore Sex Tape!'. If only by a whisker.

Two-time presidential candidate John Edwards has testified under oath in a lawsuit over a videotape that purportedly depicts him in a sexual encounter, an attorney for a former Edwards aide said.

Robert Elliot said Edwards was deposed last week as part of a dispute between former Edwards aide Andrew Young and Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter. Elliot declined to discuss the content of the testimony. A judge said last year he didn't want the details discussed publicly and warned both sides that he could hold people in contempt if the deposition material is talked about outside of the case.

Hunter has sued Young to reclaim materials, including a video that Young has said depicts a sexual encounter involving Edwards and a woman he assumes to be Hunter. Young has said he helped cover up the affair and contends the tape was found amid trash Hunter left behind in a home he was renting.

Women, just say no to sex with Democrats whose wife is stricken with cancer.

The Dangers Of Speaking Without A Teleprompter

You might start dropping S-Bombs at a presser.

Lady Gaga At The Grammys

She arrived in a giant egg or cocoon or some type of pod for the award show.

Picture credit to the Daily Mail.

Meh, it's been done before.

Video: The Deficit Explained Using Shots Of Jack Daniels

Via The Daley Gator.



Or it can be summed up by this Iowahawk quote:

If your pet govt agency is existentially threatened by a 5% budget cut, it's too poorly managed to exist in the first place.

I Think I've Noticed A Trend

That once someone said something that must be said, others are more willing to speak up and say the same things.

First, it was Germany last year.

Germany's attempt to create a multicultural society has "utterly failed," Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, adding fuel to a debate over immigration and Islam polarizing her conservative camp.

Speaking to a meeting of young members of her Christian Democrats (CDU), Merkel said allowing people of different cultural backgrounds to live side by side without integrating had not worked in a country that is home to some four million Muslims.

"This (multicultural) approach has failed, utterly failed," Merkel told the meeting in Potsdam, south of Berlin.

Then earlier this month in England.

David Cameron condemned Britain's long-standing policy of multiculturalism as a failure Saturday, calling for better integration of young Muslims to combat home-grown extremism.
[. . .]
"What I mean to say is that for years, for decades, the approach was that integration was not something that needed to be addressed, that people would live side-by-side and that it would sort itself out," Merkel said in November.

"This turned out to be false."

And finally, France.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Thursday that multiculturalism had failed, joining a growing number of world leaders or ex-leaders who have condemned it.

"My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure," he said in a television interview when asked about the policy which advocates that host societies welcome and foster distinct cultural and religious immigrant groups.

"Of course we must all respect differences, but we do not want... a society where communities coexist side by side.

"If you come to France, you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community, and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France," the right-wing president said.

Video: The Debt Limit Made Simple

It's a little over five minutes in length but simplifies how the Debt Limit works.



The video is a little over a year old but still timely.

Cross posted at The Daley Gator and Disrupt The Narrative.

Da Tech Guy Catches Up With Herman Cain At CPAC

And was able to snag this brief interview with him.



You can see his CPAC Speech here: Part I, Part II and Part III.

I can see why Robert Stacy is very enthusiastic about him.

The best part is that Mr. Cain has an actual background of real accomplishments. Rather than a flimsy resume of a couple of books and speeches.

By the way, Da Tech Guy is doing a pretty good job keeping up with the day to day happenings of CPAC.

Read The Bill!

Some encouraging signs from the new Republican Congress.

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, blasted his fellow party for how they brought up the bill. “Little debate, no committee hearings held, no amendments allowed, and no examination of whether our government had lived up to its responsibility to protect the liberty of the people,” is how he put it in a press release.

Please read the whole thing.

Religion of Peace Strikes Again

This time using a 12 year old boy as a suicide bomber in a recruiter's office.

Islamabad-- The suicide bombing in the town of Mardan, an area that had been relatively free from attack, undermines government claims that it has weakened the militant threat.

Witnesses said the boy detonated his explosives during morning exercises at an army recruiting centre. Dozens more cadets were wounded.

Just barbaric.

Arianna Huffington's Business Plan For Blogging Success

Step 1: Start a blog
Step 2: Have over 6ooo bloggers work for free to provide content.
Step 3: Profit!!!

So let me pass on a message to those 6000 unpaid bloggers. And I'll do what I can to put it into terms so that they can understand:

Bloggers of the Huffington Post, unite!

For far too long, you have toiled gratis under Arianna's watch at her vanity project, The Huffington Post. Where her blog entries can be summed up as 'Current Events' and 'Thoughts From Wherever I'm Vacationing At This Week' while you labored writing the stories that really mattered.

For what, you may ask yourself? For her financial benefit? So she will receive the accolades from her peers? All of it undeserved and all of it while she sat in her pixelated plantation with you out in the data fields, gathering content.

For what did Arianna do to deserve a pay out in the range of 300 million? Write roughly a diary entry a week? And who is to say that she actually wrote them herself?

It was the work of you, bloggers, pounding away at your proverbial typewriters in the hopes the script for Hamlet would materialize. The Huffington Post is yours. You created the content and drew in the commenters. Yet you get no peace of the pie. For 300 million, Arianna can at least supply gift packs of Visine and Tylenol for the computer glare.

Now is the time to come together and stand in a united voice-- in a blogger's paradise-- to let her know that she will no long be able to enjoy the spoils of your labor anymore.

Speaking Truth to Power is no longer acceptable as its own reward, now that Arianna is the Power. In her quest for profit, she sold you out for her own greed. Using you to enrich her to where she is no longer the Bolshevik but an out and out dirty Bourgeoisie. And by working for free for her, you sold her the rope she hung you with.

No more! No more carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist supports! No more eye strain from trying to Google Republican's home addresses. No more organizing bus trips to see Jon Steward in Washington DC. No more stories about Trig Palin being the son of Bristol Palin and not Sarah.

An online strike might not be as effective as a traditional strike with boots standing outside a fence. But when the submission box to Arianna's vanity site slows to a trickle, the editors will have no choice but to listen and pay you what you are deserved.

This is where you bloggers-in-arms need to hold fast. Should any other progressive blogger show any independent thought to move across that line in cyberspace and submit something, anything, make an example out of him or her. Expose their skeletons from they have tried to hide deep in the closet. Publish their parents address where they are living in the basement. And, in the rare case it should actually happen, publish their boyfriend or girlfriends address also. This is how you keep unity in line. This is how peace is kept within the ranks.

Unite for a better blogging tomorrow. Unite for a more fair blogosphere. Unite for a social justice with equal outcomes with regards to blog acquisitions. Go on a strike of the mind and the heart and do not give Arianna the time of day.

It's the social justice way to go.

Edit: Tightened up some of the verbiage from last night.

Roger Ailes: The Man Who Is Destroying America?

"Well, maybe if your father left you when you were two, your stepfather left you when you were four, and your mother was out of your life when you were ten, you wouldn't be warm, either."

Roger Ailes about Barack Obama in Esquire.

Well done profile, overall. I think the writer went a little overboard into tongue in cheek territory-- at least I hope it was tongue in cheek-- overstating that he was being unbiased and fair & balanced. But he did a nice job getting some insights into the man behind Fox News.

On second thought, all Ailes did was market a TV channel toward a large segment of the population that was being ignored. Instant audience.

Webb Is Out:? Updated With Appropriate Musical Number!

One Term Jim Webb is looking to retire.

Or as I read between the lines, Webb's chances for reelection are between slim and none.

Not sure who is going to step up for the Democrat Party to run just yet.

It's tough to imagine Democrats having trouble fielding a candidate to replace Webb. Democrats had a rotten 2009 and a rotten 2010 in Virginia, and they're fighting uphill to hold the State Senate this year. But former Gov. Tim Kaine, now DNC chairman (yes, he presided over those bad years), only ruled out a bid when failure to do so would have fired up speculation about Webb.

Forgive me for failing to do this earlier:

Man Versus Rooster In Cockfight

Rooster wins.

A Kern County man attending a cockfight died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its own limb.

The coroner says 35-year-old Jose Luis Ochoa was declared dead at the hospital about two hours after he suffered the injury in neighboring Tulare County on Jan. 30.

In the man's defense, he was only a bystander. Not an actual participant in the cockfight. As much as that can be considered to be a defense.

Thanks to Michael.

At Last: ObamaCare Explained In A Comic Book

Sure, why not?

The liberals and progressives try and try to explain why ObamaCare is such a good thing but the most of the people aren't buying it. So the left needs to explain it again in a different package.

It's not the messaging. It's the product.

A commenter named Soothsayer, You, and a dog named Boo over at Spades had this to say about it:

The Left sued Big Tobacco for using Joe Camel in ads to appeal to kids.

The Left is suing McDonald's for using a clown to sell their poison food-stuffs to children.

But this propaganda aimed at children and the simple-minded is okay?

It's reprehensible.

What The White House Offered For Snacks During 'The Big Game'

On it's own, this shouldn't be that big of a deal. The White House offered the standard tailgating grub for the Super Bowl.

For his Super Bowl party Sunday evening, Obama is offering Yuengling Lager and Light, brewed in Pennsylvania, and Hinterland Pale Ale and Amber Ale, all the way from Wisconsin. Independents can pour down some White House Honey Ale if they like.

The rest of the menu for the 100 or so guests at the White House bash is tailgate-friendly even if served inside the Executive Mansion: bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers, deep-dish pizza and Buffalo wings with sides of German potato salad, twice-baked potatoes and assorted chips and dips.[Bold mine]

But when that menu of junk food is coupled with what Michelle Obama wants to do:

After wrapping her gigantor arms around the retail giant Wal-Mart and trying to cajole foodmakers into producing nutrition labels that are easier to understand, Michelle Obama has her sights set on a new target: the nation's restaurants.

A team of advisers to the First Lady has been holding private talks over the past year with the National Restaurant Association, a trade group, in a bid to get restaurants to adopt her goals of smaller portions and children's meals that include offerings healthier than French fries and soda, according to White House and industry officials.

That snippet may have been played with a little.

To paraphrase Pres. Reagan, if no one among us is able to control their own diet, then who among us has the capacity to control the diet of someone else?

Thanks to Sid.

American Online Buys The Huffington Post

Via Insty.

Does this mean that the Huffington Post will now be mailed to your house on DVD?

In one of the biggest digital publishing deals in recent memory, AOL has agreed to pay $315 million for the Huffington Post, the pioneering web-only newspaper co-founded by Arianna Huffington.

The deal is AOL CEO Tim Armstrong's latest and boldest attempt to transform the declining company from one that helped millions of people get onto the internet through dial-up connections to one that informs and entertains them in a broadband world, or as he called it, a "new American media company."
[. . .]
AOL's Patch unit, a series of hyper-local news sites, will be folded into Huffington Post, which has long sought to expand its local-content strategy. Local advertising has become a closely watched sector given the growth of locally focused startups such as Foursquare and Groupon. AOL made new investments in Patch this past year, expanding into 775 towns across the U.S. Each town has its own website with typically one editor and a handful of freelancers, a content-production model similar to the Huffington Post, which runs on an army of more than 6,000 unpaid bloggers and a paid staff of 88 editors and writers, all posing more than 600 articles a day. [Bold mine]

Those 6000 unpaid bloggers won't see a penny for that 300 million either. No word if David Epstein-- noted practitioner of incest-- would still be welcome at the AOL/Huffington Post.

The Purple Avenger links to this about Tim Armstrong in the Washington Post:

The New York-based company posted a net loss of $782.5 million, or $7.42 per diluted share, for 2010, compared with a profit of $248.8 million the year before. Total revenue slid 26 percent from $3.2 billion in 2009 to $2.4 billion last year.

Financial results for the fourth quarter painted a brighter picture, with a profit of $66.2 million, or 60 cents per diluted share. That bested Thomson Reuters analysts' estimates of 46 cents per diluted share.

During a conference call Wednesday morning, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong reiterated his position that "2011 is the year we stop working on the turnaround and start working on the comeback."[Bold mine]

Which leads to the obvious question, just were did AOL get the money to buy this?

The last word goes to Da Tech Guy who has this:

There is one side thought that instantly comes to mind however. When you are buying something like the HuffPo you are not only buying the structure and the “writers” so to speak, you are also buying the commentators.

It's Super Bowl Eve. . .

And it looks like Dan Collins of POWIP has a date with density.

One Last Post About That Racist And Violent Common Cause Rally

Via Insty.

If you can handle one more posting about The Common Cause rally, this should be it. Unless something really good comes along.

James Taranto points out a few things he noticed in the Wall Street Journal:

The press release is framed as a condemnation of the Common Cause supporters--or, in the group's unwieldy description of them, "a few of those attending the events around a gathering Common Cause helped to organize Sunday near Palm Springs." The statement goes on:

Anyone who has attended a public event has encountered people whose ideas or acts misrepresented, even embarrassed, the gathering. Every sporting event has its share of "fans" whose boorish behavior on the sidelines makes a mockery of good sportsmanship; every political gathering has a crude sign-painter or epithet-spewing heckler.
Everybody does it? Think it through and you will see that this is a stunning indictment of the American left.

[. . .]
In claiming that everybody does it, Common Cause is committing the fallacy known as hasty generalization: drawing an overbroad conclusion based on a statistically insufficient sample. A famous example from politics is the apocryphal quote attributed to the late Pauline Kael, film critic of The New Yorker: "I don't understand how Nixon won. Everybody I know voted for McGovern."
[. . .]
There is another rich irony to Common Cause's "condemnation" of its rally's participants. The purpose of the event was "to call public attention to the political power of . . . corporations, their focus on expanding that power, and the dangers it presents to our democracy." Common Cause is targeting Justices Scalia and Thomas because they voted with the majority in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 decision that--as Common Cause put it in a fund-raising appeal last year--"inexplicably gave corporations the same rights as individuals" to engage in political speech.
[. . .]
Common Cause's position is that only individuals, not corporations, have the right to free speech. So what is Common Cause? As we noted above, its website describes it as a "grassroots organization." But that term has no legal meaning. As Common Cause's "Frequently Asked Questions" explains, the group is a "a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, tax exempt organization." A corporation, just like Citizens United.
[. . .]
For the sake of truth in advertising, Common Cause should change its name to Hypocrisy Hub.

Please read the whole thing.

One Last Post About That Racist And Violent Common Cause Rally

Via Insty.

If you can handle one more posting about The Common Cause rally, this should be it. Unless something really good comes along.

James Taranto points out a few things he noticed in the Wall Street Journal:

The press release is framed as a condemnation of the Common Cause supporters--or, in the group's unwieldy description of them, "a few of those attending the events around a gathering Common Cause helped to organize Sunday near Palm Springs." The statement goes on:

Anyone who has attended a public event has encountered people whose ideas or acts misrepresented, even embarrassed, the gathering. Every sporting event has its share of "fans" whose boorish behavior on the sidelines makes a mockery of good sportsmanship; every political gathering has a crude sign-painter or epithet-spewing heckler.
Everybody does it? Think it through and you will see that this is a stunning indictment of the American left.

[. . .]
In claiming that everybody does it, Common Cause is committing the fallacy known as hasty generalization: drawing an overbroad conclusion based on a statistically insufficient sample. A famous example from politics is the apocryphal quote attributed to the late Pauline Kael, film critic of The New Yorker: "I don't understand how Nixon won. Everybody I know voted for McGovern."
[. . .]
There is another rich irony to Common Cause's "condemnation" of its rally's participants. The purpose of the event was "to call public attention to the political power of . . . corporations, their focus on expanding that power, and the dangers it presents to our democracy." Common Cause is targeting Justices Scalia and Thomas because they voted with the majority in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 decision that--as Common Cause put it in a fund-raising appeal last year--"inexplicably gave corporations the same rights as individuals" to engage in political speech.
[. . .]
Common Cause's position is that only individuals, not corporations, have the right to free speech. So what is Common Cause? As we noted above, its website describes it as a "grassroots organization." But that term has no legal meaning. As Common Cause's "Frequently Asked Questions" explains, the group is a "a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, tax exempt organization." A corporation, just like Citizens United.
[. . .]
For the sake of truth in advertising, Common Cause should change its name to Hypocrisy Hub.

Please read the whole thing.

Friday Night With The Stripes

A couple more from The White Stripes for tonight.





And one more from Jack White for a piece he did for the movie, Cold Mountain to show that he wasn't some garage band head banger wannabe.

Is Benny Hinn An Agent Of The Dark Side?

Stolen from Doubleplusundead.

I knew he was somewhat of a faith healer but a Sith Lord as well? That explains a lot.

"Their Fingerprints Are On The Pillows That Are Suffocating All Of Us"

Yesterday, the 'Common Cause' rally was highlighted here to show some of the hatred and vitriol and, quite frankly, violence that dwell in the hearts of their followers. Common Cause can't control those who wanted to appear at their rallies anymore than the Tea Parties can.

But what do the the organizers say about those who were invited to speak at a special discussion panel that used extensive rhetoric? "Fight to stop this evil"? Is that a metaphor or was fight meant in the literal sense of the word?



The real cause of their hate and violent rhetoric? (At least I only hope it's rhetorical.)

Global Warming, is there anything it can't do?

Actually, Global Warming is a small apart of it. "Evil" corporations are polluting the planet, causing the earth to overheat. Anti-Global Warming is just a root in the tree of Progressivism. Social Justice is another root that has a vague enough sounding name that it sounds like a good idea until you start to examine it. Give money to the poor from everyone who makes more than I do is what Social Justice is when stripped down to the bare bones.

I think the people in the video feel entitled to say those things because they consider themselves to be on the 'side' of everything that mighty and just. Clean air and water! Free health care! What kind of monster would oppose that sort of thing? Surely some sort of greedy-eyed hunchback who uses the blood of the poor to mix the cement in the foundation in order to build mansion plantation (sorry, forgot who I was talking about) would do such a thing. At least that's how I would imagine a conservative to appear if I went by their description alone from the video above. So of course if you are on the side of good, everything else will be bad and worthy of scorn and hate and violence.

Because, in their minds, they are the good guys.

Obviously this doesn't apply to all liberals but the most liberal of liberals. The kind who sign up for a Common Cause rally. A very vocal and violent sounding-- again, one only hopes they are speaking rhetorically-- minority.

The rest of the liberals are clueless dolts who haven't thought out their positions very well. They say, "Free stuff? Sure, sign me up!" without realizing that if everyone was promised cookies and lemonade, by the time it was distributed it would only be a couple of crumbs and a teaspoon of juice-- to paraphrase what Jesse Hughes said.

I think I've beaten the 'New Tone' thing to death with a tire iron (whoops, did it again, violent imagery). But its obvious to me that there was no 'New Tone'. It was only another way to tell conservatives and Republicans to shut up.

Audio: James O'Keefe Was On Red Radio Last Night

The first part is here. The rest is at the Red Radio site.

It's pretty good. O'Keefe goes into his background to explain how he got to where he is today. He also tells his side of the story with what happened in Louisiana and Sen. Mary Landrieu.



By the way, Heidi and Vincent are doing good work with Red Radio, check them out on a Thursday night.

Global Warming Is Preventing Us From Having More Global Warming

Screencap of the week.

Five years ago, Al Gore warned us that humanity was ten years away from putting the earth into an "irreversible slide into destruction".

The polar ice caps were supposed to he melting away, massive hurricanes devastating coastal areas and dogs & cats living together. If not the end times it was the beginning of the end of times. If Al Gore was to be believed.

Obviously, with global warming causing all this cold weather, it's getting in the way of the real global warming that would be causing the ice caps to melt.

It's not quite a yellow smiley face that shows 15 minutes to midnight but it is Al Gore's very own Doomsday Clock slowly ticking away.

Video: Progressives Admitting They Want To Torture And Hang Clarance Thomas

I think that 'New Tone' has been stepped on, kicked around, ran over, its wires cut, its bell cracked and buried by now.

Language warning, liberals have filthy mouths.



Notice the Van Jones cameo?

Anyway, despite what was being said for the benefit for the camera at the news conference, you can see what's really on their progressive minds when they think they are among friends.

Torture, lynchings and killings. One more way to make you 'shut up'.

Da Tech Guy noticed a few other things.

ObamaCare For Thee But Not For Me

SEIU lobbied long and hard for the passage of ObamaCare then turned right around to receive a waiver exempting them from the same law that they helped pass.

Hardly sounds fair now, doesn't it?

Sad News In The Music World Today

The White Stripes have broken up.

Groundbreaking blues rock duo The White Stripes have announced they've split up after 13 years together.

The band, comprising of Jack White and ex-wife Meg White released a statement saying they 'will make no further new recordings or perform live.'

They added that there were a 'myriad of reasons' for the breakup, but the main reason was to 'preserve what is beautiful and special about the band.'

They might be gone as a band but their music is still around.





Plus, I've been neglecting my duties for Friday Night videos so this is an effort to catch up on it.

Flashback To 2000: Children Will Not Know Snowfall In 2010

With a track record like this, how can they not be trustworthy today?

Britain’s winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives. Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain’s culture, as warmer winters – which scientists are attributing to global climate change – produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries...According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia ,within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”. “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.

That was then, this is now:

The Groundhog Blizzard continues to unleash its fury across Chicago and other cities across the Great Lakes, but an end to the fierce and historical snowstorm is finally in sight.
The Groundhog Blizzard now ranks fifth among the greatest snowstorms in Chicago's history, exactly what AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski predicted on Tuesday.
A total of 17.1 inches of snow has buried Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (the city's official weather observation site) through 6 a.m. EST.

And that was Chicago, this is the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has ordered utilities to begin rotating outages to compensate for a generation shortage due high usage in extreme weather.

Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of service designed to ease the load on the electric grid.
[. . .]
The outages last anywhere from 10-45 minutes and the locations and durations are determined by the local utilities.

Yet, the ManBearPig doubles down on his investment:

“In fact, scientists have been warning for at least two decades that global warming could make snowstorms more severe. Snow has two simple ingredients: cold and moisture. Warmer air collects moisture like a sponge until it hits a patch of cold air. When temperatures dip below freezing, a lot of moisture creates a lot of snow.”[bold mine]

Global Warming, is there anything it can't do?

It's A Sad Commentary When Cracked Magazine Is Able To More Accurately Report On A Story Than The Actual News Media

Mainly, anything that related to the Tea Party.

For all those wackjob birthers captured on film wearing frilly lady blouses and triangle hats, there were thousands of ordinary people just living their lives, being regular, and not liking how their Republican Party had turned out. And even though Tea Party members tend to skew toward older, middle-class white guys, their overall demographics aren't that far from the rest of the country. Of course, regular people are about as riveting as dry toast, so they didn't get much screen time. Which is why it came as such a shock to everyone when 32 percent of Tea Party-affiliated candidates won their elections.

By focusing in on the assclowns the media painted a picture that not only wasn't accurate, but pretty much made constructive political discourse impossible. They didn't just fail to do their job -- they did the opposite of their job, and they've been doing it for years.

Like back in the 1960s, when they homed in on long-haired hippies dancing like spazzes and plugging every orifice they could with flowers, then declared these ding-dongs the voice of their generation. In reality, most kids from the 60s never looked like that or behaved that way, but that doesn't mean they inherently supported the war in Vietnam or were opposed to civil rights. They just weren't part of the hippie fringe. Look at your mom's (or grandma's?) yearbook if you don't believe us. Or look at this picture from Woodstock.

In case you can't tell, most of the guys are sporting relatively short hair ... at Woodstock.

So when we watched coverage of O'Donnell and the Tea Party this year, we were only getting the bonkers half of the picture. Now that CNN is teaming up with the Tea Party Express to host the Republican debates next year, we'll probably see a lot fewer costumed revolutionaries. But everyone will just assume the Tea Party cleaned up its act, when in reality it will be CNN.

Be sure to read the entire thing. Even the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien dust up that. . . Wasn't.