A Couple Of Notes About Trump

For all of the sound and fury about how the Birth Certificate is over nothing, it's worth noting that The Donald made The President blink over the issue.

Part of the reason why I think Trump was pushing the issue is that many people want someone to push back. Mitt Romney does it but he doesn't get any traction. Presumably because he doesn't go anywhere but Fox News to make his case*

Not picking on Mitt in particular but he was the first example that popped into mind.

In Trump's quest to be the text book example of the political populist, he's merely bomb-throwing. Not bad in and of itself but if he really wants to run for president, I think that person needs to be more. . . subtle in their approach.

There is a fine line to tread for conservatives running for president. One side is that they can't be too polarizing but yet they can't yield too much ground to the other side in terms of the argument. Ronald Reagan was the perfect example of that. With a small joke, he could slice his opponent's arm off and they wouldn't realize it until they tried to answer their cell phone later.

Anyway, when the leader of the free world backs down from a real estate developer with a bad comb-over, I would hate to think what would kind of capitulation would go on should Obama have to face down a real threat.

*A poor assumption on my part if in case he has gone on other networks. I'll cop to that much (Google? What's that?) but I think it's a safe guess. If he had and made his point, I'm pretty sure it would have been in the subtext of the blogosphere and more people would be comfortable in saying that he's their guy if he can handle the clowncar that is PMSNBC. But I digress.

Video: Racist Tea Partier Disrupts African American's Town Hall Meeting

By racist tea partier I really mean failed Air America radio host trying to heckle Congressman Allen West at a townhall meeting.



I still stand by my charge of RAAAAACISM though. She is white, Rep. West is black. What else could it be?

The Schadenfreude comes in about the 3:30 mark.

How Do You Say, "Potemkin Villages" In Mandarin?

A visual tour of China and it's ghost cities.

Via the sidebar at Ace's place.

A Couple Of Blog Cleaning Notes

About the lack of posting from this past week: I needed a break. Spring break rolled around and I was home with my kids so blogging took a backseat.

But as Jeff Goldstein has Darleen Click, Dan Collins has Dahlhalla and Little Miss Attila has, well, Little Miss Attila, I begged and pleaded for Viv to step out of semi-blogging retirement and throw up a few posts.

Thank you, Viv.

Things should be getting back to the usual incoherent postings as usual from now on out.

Gas Pump Activism

It cost me twenty dollars for a little over five gallons of gas today.

How did it get to that point?



That's one promise kept [PDF of the page available for download at the link]:

The next time you fill up, instead of watching in horror as the dollar amount on the pump races by as the gallons trickle into your tank, afix one of these to the pump.

Take care to not cover vital information regarding safety, etc. and don’t cover any advertising.

Then drive off with a smile on your face

Place Your Bets - 2012 GOP Candidates

Charles Krauthammer is my favorite political analyst and columnist currently. In his column today, he is giving odds for the Republican nominees in 2012. Here is a summary of the likely candidates:

1. Mitt Romney: 5-1


2. Tim Pawlenty: 5-1


3. Mitch Daniels: 6-1


4. Haley Barbour: 7-1


5. Newt Gingrich: 12-1


6. Michelle Bachmann: 20-1


7. Donald Trump: Lions have a better chance at winning the Super Bowl

He mentions but doesn't give odds for those he believes aren't running - Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee.

He does discuss the very deep 2016 bench. They are Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, and Nikki Haley. Personally, I would add Allen West and Bob McDonnell to his list.

So based on this list of Krauthammer's odds and my previous post of electoral college strategy, upon whom are you willing to place your bet?

The Crystal Ball

Larry Sabato has his baseline 2012 electoral college map available. This is the map upon which all the campaign strategies (and predictions) will begin for candidates considering a run against Obama.

There are 270 electoral college votes needed for victory. Looking at the map and the baseline votes, the optimistic view suggests Republicans will need to gain 100 electoral votes beyond their solid red states (safe and likely). The "leans" Republican and "toss up" states total to 121 votes, if every one of those is won by a Republican nominee.

This is going to be extremely difficult and challenging, with or without a strong GOP nominee. Here's why. Several of those states are union states, which will fight to the death for Obama. They are going to focus on those states heavily with money and their SEIU thug tactics. Another factor will again be retirement states such as Florida and North Carolina. Those two toss up states alone comprise 44 electoral votes. It is close to impossible, basing estimates on this baseline, to see a Republican 2012 victory without those two states.

The good news here is that we have some newly-elected Republican governors in the union states and in Florida. If they are building strong GOP state chapters and the RNC is focusing on helping them organize, this could help a Republican nominee. Also, there are some redistricting factors that haven't even been realized yet and they could play heavily into the favor of the Republicans.

Bottom line: if the GOP puts up a weak candidate, who can't generate enthusiasm for a GOP "big tent" by reaching conservatives and independents, then the optimistic scenario is completely unattainable. Polarizing candidates won't win the electoral votes needed in the toss-up states. Difficult and controversial issues (entitlement spending and the national debt) are going to have to be treated with kid gloves by the GOP nominee. He or she will have to swing hard at Obama and present realistic and maybe even reserved solutions. It can't be emphasized enough how important it will be to select a candidate who can win. It may not be the favorite of the Tea Party or the establishment GOP or the independents or the social conservatives, etc..., but a Republican who can unseat Obama will certainly be my favorite.

I won't go into the gory analysis of the pessimistic viewpoint of the electoral votes needed by the GOP in 2012. I think the "optimistic" view sets a difficult enough tone by itself.

Not Satisfied With Repetitive Chants, Protesters Take Up Primal Screams And Grunts

Uhhh. Ummm. This is a protest?



Near as I can tell, he's protesting over this.

Civility Watch: New Tone At Work When Protest Crowd Drowns Out 14 Year Old Girl Speaking

In that Mecca of post-modern civility, Madison Wisconsin.

Video: EPA Admits That Jobs Do Not Matter With Their Policies

I'm shocked, shocked that the EPA doesn't consider the private sector when implementing their policies. The Blog Prof has more.



The video is over five minutes long but it's worth the viewing.

Video: Sen. Rand Paul On John Stossel

The best pull quote from the video?: "[The Department of Commerce is] nothing more than a hall closet where you throw in everything that you don't know what to do with."

Just In Case You Missed It

Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at the Tampa Bay Tax Day Tea Party.

Video: Why Aren't The Rich Paying 50% in Taxes?

It's the theme of the day. Via Insty.

Walter Williams On The "Tax The Rich" Meme

I touched on it here last night, Walter E. Williams takes it on so much better than I ever could because, well, he's Walter E. Williams:

This year, Congress will spend $3.7 trillion dollars. That turns out to be about $10 billion per day. Can we prey upon the rich to cough up the money?

According to IRS statistics, roughly 2% of U.S. households have an income of $250,000 and above. By the way, $250,000 per year hardly qualifies one as being rich. It's not even yacht and Learjet money.

All told, households earning $250,000 and above account for 25%, or $1.97 trillion, of the nearly $8 trillion of total household income. If Congress imposed a 100% tax, taking all earnings above $250,000 per year, it would yield the princely sum of $1.4 trillion. That would keep the government running for 141 days, but there's a problem because there are 224 more days left in the year.
[. . .]
According to the Forbes 400, America has 400 billionaires with a combined net worth of $1.3 trillion. Congress could confiscate their stocks and bonds, and force them to sell their businesses, yachts, airplanes, mansions and jewelry. The problem is that after fleecing the rich of their income and net worth, and the Fortune 500 corporations of their profits, it would only get us to mid-August.

The fact of the matter is there are not enough rich people to come anywhere close to satisfying Congress' voracious spending appetite. They're going to have to go after the non-rich.

Be sure to read the entire thing.

I'm pretty sure this happens to most people but when I was a kid, whenever I would happen upon an extra buck or two, it would usually be spent 5 different ways in my mind. Usually before I got a block away from my house on the way to the corner store.

Same thing with Congress. Increasing revenues only allow more spending when more spending is what is not needed.

Will Trump Perot Up The 2012 Elections?

It has been amusing to listen to Donald Trump ask things about the birth certificate that a lot of people want to ask. He can afford to.

And the birth certificate is something that Barack can put an answer to if he wanted but it's a device his water-bearers use to marginalize any of his critics and try to divide the bases opposition. Watch any of the talking heads in the media badger Republicans and you'll see what I mean.

Talking Head: Do you believe Barack was born in the US?

Republican: Yes, I do. That's what he said.

Talking Head: But what about all these people who want to see it?

Republican: I can't speak for them.

Talking Head: But would you denounce them?

And on it goes. Just once I would like to see a Republican say that this is an issue that belongs to the President. And why won't he release his school records?

Back on point.

Trumps bid for President seems to be more for his own ego rather than what's best for the country. If he can't have it, no one can.

Donald Trump will “probably” run as an independent candidate for U.S. President in 2012 if he does not receive the Republican party’s nomination, he told the Wall Street Journal in a video interview on Monday. …

“I am very conservative,” said Mr. Trump. “The concern is if I don’t win [the GOP primary] will I run as an independent, and I think the answer is probably yes.” Mr. Trump said he thought he “could possibly win as an independent,” adding, “I’m not doing it for any other reason. I like winning.”

With him flirting with a run as a Republican, he's sure to split the vote in the general election as an independent.

The Republicans are screwed unless they can get this guy to run as an independent (Via IowaHawk from Twitter):




He'll divide the Democrat vote for sure.

Now gaze as this blog and feel enlightened.

And if I had known about this guy's scam a few months before, I wouldn't have this restraining order against me from my local Hooter's restaurant (These are the jokes, people).

This Is When You Root For Injuries

And lots of subpoenas for discovery. Lots and lots of subpoenas.

Today, a group of bloggers led by union organizer and journalist Jonathan Tasini filed a class-action suit against the Huffington Post, founder Arianna Huffington, and AOL, which acquired the news-and-blogs site in February.
Tasini, the lead plaintiff, has been a blogger for Huffpo since December 2005, when the site was just seven months old. According to his blogger page, however, he stopped posting on February 10, three days after the purchase of the site by AOL was announced.

Read the whole thing.

Progressive bloggers willingly worked for free under Zsa Zsa are suddenly waking up to the fact that they have been had? This is tastier than a bacon and bratwurst breakfast burrito.

Who did they think would profit from a vanity web portal named Huffington Post? Chumps and rubes if they thought that she would 'sprinkle the wealth' down to their level.

The Puff Ho bloggers were told that speaking truth to power was it's own reward. Now they are finding out there are better rewards. Money.

Update that's more of an addendum: I was about to publish this when I saw the Pigford comment:

I can just see it now: A Pigford-style settlement for former HuffPo bloggers, former non-HuffPo bloggers, people who have attempted to blog for HuffPo, people who know someone who attempted to blog at HuffPo

Heck yeah! I'm a victim too! I was thinking about blogging at the Puff Ho Huffington Post (better play it respectable), where do I sign up for the class action suit?

Update II: Linked back by The Other McCain.

Update III: Little Miss Attila jumps into the fray.

I Don't Look At This MoveOn Video And Wonder Why 30,000 People Are Fasting. . .

I wonder if any of the people featured holding empty plates have given to a local charity out of their own pockets to feed the poor?



That's besides the point.

"Politicians never accuse you of 'greed' for wanting other people's money --- only for wanting to keep your own money." (Joseph Sobran)

It's funny how most people who do say "Tax the Rich" never say what the next step is. To crib the business model from the Underpants Gnomes, it's:

Step One: Tax the Rich.
Step Two: ???
Step Three: Government profits!*

So to indulge those who do say, "Tax the Rich" let's do this. Forbes released their list of the 400 richest people in America last year. The combined wealth for everyone on that list was 1.37 trillion. If at the stroke of a pen the President can take that 1.37 trillion via executive order and distribute that to the roughly 300 million Americans, there would be about $4,500 per person.

According to the Cato Institute, there's roughly a 70% administration cost per dollar that is budgeted toward welfare.

Today [This was back in 1995. I can't imagine that the bureaucracy of government has miraculously improved over that time. The only other place I found that had this stat was the highly polarized and slanted Media Matters.], 70 cents of every dollar goes not to poor people, but to government bureaucrats and others who serve the poor. Few private charities have the bureaucratic overhead and inefficiency of government programs.

$.70 would go to the government to help run the program and $.30 to the actual poor. Using those percentages with taxing the rich would put that amount to a little over $1,300. If that.

And I'm not even going to go into the US deficit or budget either. Suffice it to say should Congress find $1.37 trillion plopped into it's lap, it won't be used to pay off anything.

Anyway, most of that exercise is pointless. Turns out, those cuts were phantom cuts. Reductions in future spending. Where (via Insty) “Only in Washington can a budget that spends more than it did the year before, with a larger deficit, be portrayed as ‘cutting.’”

*Looking that over, Step 2) should be 'Government profits' THEN Step 3) would be 'Distribute a small portion to special interest group'.

Update: Walter Williams weighs in.

They Told Me That If I Voted For John McCain, Halliburton Would Get Rich Off Of Government Contracts. . . And They Were Right!

Government approved at least. And those headlines never get old.

Halliburton Co. said Monday that it has been contracted by Exxon Mobil Corp. to use three drilling rigs to provide oil drilling services at a large field under development in southern Iraq.

The contract from ExxonMobil Iraq Ltd. covers services for 15 wells at the 8.6 billion-barrel West Qurna Phase I oil field, one of Iraq's largest. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Exxon's partners in the Qurna project include two Iraqi state-owned companies and an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell PLC. ExxonMobil Iraq is the lead contractor on the field, with a 60 percent stake. It said last month that initial field production at the Qurna I field increased 17 percent to 285,000 barrels per day, exceeding its 10 percent improvement target. Under an agreement between Iraq and the companies, production from the West Qurna I field should reach 2.825 million barrels a day after 6 to 7 years.

Shares of Houston-based Halliburton rose 8 cents to $48.21 in morning trading.

Failure: The New Success

Via Smitty at The Other McCain.



If you want to credit him any success its in getting highly controversial and partisan bills like the ill-named "Affordable Health Care Act" passed into law. And even then he was mostly "Present" and not "President" about it. Letting Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi do all the legwork. Strangely enough, it will forever be deemed "ObamaCare".

All the man really wants to do is go to the grocery store and fondle some fruit.

And Now: Cowboy Poetry!

Since Congress passed their stop-gap and things have settled down
I have no idea the Cowboy Poetry Fest will still be around
Here is a sample or three of what one might hear.
Because Cowboy Poetry isn't going anywhere.

The subject of tonight's poems is one Baxter Black.
As you can see, he's quite good. He ain't no hack.
With humor and insight, he speaks his lines.
And with his lexicon dexterity, makes them rhyme.

Enough with the intros and my yabbering.
Let's get to what you came for, Baxter's jabbering.
A real life cowboy poet dealing with a range of issues,
Starting out with when you're on a horse and a lack of tissues.



Another one from Mr. Black, if you want to hear
About his dog. I dare you not to shed a tear.

About his dog. I dare you not to shed a tear.

Lastly, my favorite of his in this celebration,
What he recited at my wife's graduation.
So maybe it's the sentimental value attached to the verse.
How simple it is when mine are so much worse.

People Are Funny Critters

People are funny critters.
There's apple pie bakers,
And crooked book makers,
And blondes and brunetters,
And birthday forgetters,
And chicken fry lovers,
And blue eyed soul brothers,
And drinkers and boozers,
And winners and losers,
And elephant trainers,
And tireless campaigners,
And fixers and menders,
And paper clip benders,
And goers and stayers,
And pinochle players,
And handkerchief users,
And tissue abusers,
And interstate bikers,
And wilderness hikers,
And joggers and addicts,
And handball fanatics,
And kissers and tellers,
And friends of the fellers,
And lovers and fighters,
And finger nail biters,
And mayonnaise dippers,
And miracle whippers,
And newspaper readers,
And drivers and speeders,
And overweight hookers,
And magazine lookers,
And people with answers,
And bottomless dancers,
And quivering flunkers,
And basketball dunkers,
And readers and thinkers,
And double scotch drinkers,
And soda straw manglers,
And bar napkin stranglers,
And teasers and triers,
And high rolling flyers,
And uncles and sisters,
And passive resisters,
And virtuous girlies,
And sillies and squirlies,
And weirdoes and sickies,
And five dollar quickies,
And xylophone pickers,
And popsicle lickers,
And yawners and nappers,
And one handicappers,
And zippy old timers,
And lunatic rhymers.
People are funny critters.

by Baxter Black

This concludes tonight's session of our Cowboy Poetry Slam.
Remember this, should Congress find itself in a budgetary jam.
That private citizens can do just as well organizing this stuff,
Because when the government steps in, we've all have had enough.

Video: Andrew Klavan In Imagination Land

Shamelessly stolen from The Daley Gator for two reasons: 1.) It's Andrew Klavan and 2.) It makes for an easy posting on a busy Friday.

Rep. Jim Moran Gives Ammo To His Next Opponent In Townhall

Sitting congressman tells disabled veteran to sit down, shut up or leave. New tone!



Again, it goes back to messaging. Republicans need to keep pounding the point home that Democrats had control of the both Houses of Congress and failed to pass the budget which brings us to these Continuing Resolutions we have today.

This isn't the first time that Rep. Jim Moran (D- Ickhead, VA) has shown contempt to the troops either.

More: Okay, I read someplace about that this is Moran's last term in office but I closed that tab and can't find it now. So the title might not be completely accurate but I liked the sound of it and didn't want to change it.

Update: Charlie Wrangle (D- Irty, lying crapweasel) said that the budget was a hot potato. I guess Presidenting isn't the only difficult job in Washington.

NPR Is Really Unbiased And I Run The New York Times

Some may consider the James O'Keefe NPR sting Only A Game but it helps reveals an issue that many have known for some time about taxpayer funded media. That by the very fact they are on the public dole, they can't be unbiased.

For a while, the Talk of The Nation was John Ensign.

From The Top, NPR has been on the John Ensign affair issue for some time. Why not? He's a Republican.

But Tell Me More about Democrat Alcee Hasting's sexual harassing a subordinate?

Crickets.

So in the case of two consensual adults having relations that is more than just Car Talk, it's news. In the case of a disgraced and impeached federal judge turned congressman making unwanted sexual advances toward an employee, it's not.

On Point, it all depends on what their political party is.

All Things Considered, would NPR run story about the political party that favors them?

Wait, Wait. Don't tell me. It's the party that fell over backwards in order to get a photo opportunity with a gopher or whatever the hell kind of animal Arthur is in order to scare monger kids into thinking Republicans are going to take PBS off the air.

(Seriously? He's an aardvark? Where's the long snout?)

Peep Sushi?

Meh. Not really epic enough*.

And by epic, I mean Epic Meal Time sushi.



This isn't to pick a fight with Little Miss Attila over food. Just a posting in jest.

It's Official: Tim Kaine For Senate

The man who presided over the largest political bloodbath (blah, blah, blah, new tone blah, blah) in Congress is now the chosen boy to run for Senate in Virginia.

Remember, this logo was Tim Kaine's most significant contribution to the Democrat Party while he was the head of it.

Video: Andrew Klavan And The Religious Iconography Of Barack Obama

Shamelessly stolen from The Daley Gator.



Think the religions symmetry is a bit much? Check out this video from the '08 election then ask yourself that again.


Disclose.tv - Barack Obama - \"Our Personal Jesus Video

Solidarity

Obviously it carries a different meaning for union bosses than it does for union members.

One Thing About The Republican Race For Senate. . .

It looks like it can get very nasty fast.

. . . I was shocked to learn when sources told me (which I was able to confirm yesterday) that Jamie Radtke has hired Jon and his company CRAFT Media to take on her primary challenge to George Allen.

This is a big move for Radtke who will now have every possible piece of dirt against Allen at her disposal.

I know this is almost a month old. Trying to clear out a few older-- but still relevant-- bookmarks.

Video: The Tea Party vs. John Boehner

From Insty-Glenn.

I don't remember who said this originally but all politics are local. Sure, it might not be as sexy sounding as going to Washington DC for a rally or two but it does help serve it's purpose by making sure that a politician knows his base, donors and voters are keeping watch.

The Tea Party held a rally outside the Capitol Building today to demand that congressional Republicans demand significant cuts in federal spending. The outlook is bad. House Republicans are fighting to hold on to the $61 billion in spending cuts they approved in February, a mere rounding error in a budget totaling about $3.8 trillion.

Today's rally shows how the Tea Party has continued the fight to make itself heard in Washington. But in Ohio there's a new focus: local politics.

Rep. Jim McDermott Explains How ObamaCare Will Ultimately Be Controlled By The Government

This. This is what people meant when they said the Government Takeover of Health Care in protests and on signs for the last two years.

McDermott wants only a little control over cost.

Video: Bill Whittle Lays Out How Far A Billion Will Go With Today's Government Spending It

A liberal (and clueless, but I repeat myself) buddy of mine keeps saying that the US needs to, "Soak the rich." Bill Whittle demonstrates just how far the money from the rich. Turns out, not very far.

Content warning: There is a small, archived clip of Micheal Moore speaking in a quivering voice.

The Obama AdministrationTells The Best Aprils Fool's Joke Ever

Except that USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah didn't say, "April Fools" at the end of his statement.

"We estimate, and I believe these are very conservative estimates, that H.R. 1 would lead to 70,000 kids dying," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah testified before the House Appropriations State and Foreign Ops subcommittee.

Wait. This was from yesterday. The guy was serious about that?

Update: Linky love from Smitty at The Other McCain's place.