Michael Eavis, founder of the Glastonbury music festival, has been named on Time magazine's list of the world's most influential people.

Mr Eavis has run the legendary event on his Somerset dairy farm for 39 years.

He is one of 100 people listed, along with US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, teen actor Zac Efron and TV host Oprah Winfrey.
Mr Eavis, 73, said he was "flattered and maybe a little embarrassed" to be on the prestigious annual list.

Since Mr Eavis started the event in 1970, Glastonbury has grown into one of the world's largest and best-loved music gatherings.

Coldplay singer Chris Martin paid tribute to Mr Eavis in an article for Time, writing that Glastonbury was "the biggest rock cathedral in the world".

"Michael is one of the people to whom I owe my life and career," he wrote, explaining how the offer of a headline slot in 2002 had "changed everything".

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Everyone needs protection

Drudge got a shot of Madonna's housekeepers....

Free Play

Coldplay is offering a free play.

For cash-strapped fans unable to catch the Grammy winners in concert, Chris Martin and crew have decided to give away an album's worth of live performances online.

The nine-track set, titled LeftRightLeftRightLeft, will be made available for free download at Coldplay.com starting May 15, the opening night of Coldplay's Viva La Vida tour in West Palm Beach, Fla. A CD version will be handed out during the band's concerts.

The set was recorded over the past year and includes live versions of such hits as "Clocks" and "Viva La Vida."

"Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans—the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen," said Coldplay in a statement, the band's website adding that the giveaway is "meant as a recession-busting mark of gratitude to everyone who's supported them."

More...

Major Garrett: Obama Snub of FNC Was Payback!

That's not extortion

Wow, a must read and listen to piece on how the Obamunists back groups into this Chrysler bankruptcy plan.

Transcript here

Yesterday (May 1) on Detroit’s Frank Beckman’s morning talk show (WJR), bankruptcy attorney Tom Lauria made the incendiary accusation that the members of the White House had threatened to use the “the full force of the White House Press Corps to destroy” his client’s reputation if it didn’t acquiesce to highly unfavorable terms of the government’s proposed Chrysler restructuring plan. Because of the strongarm tactics, Lauria’s client dropped its opposition.

Here is the tape of Beckman’s interview of Lauria. The relevant portions begin at the 1:30 mark. Listen to it.

Lauria: Let me tell you it’s no fun standing on this side of the fence opposing the President of the United States. In fact, let me just say, people have asked me who I represent. That’s a moving target. I can tell you for sure that I represent one less investor today than I represented yesterday. One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under the threat that the full force of the White House Press Corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That’s how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence.

Beckman: Was that Perella Weinberg?

Lauria: That was Perella Weinberg.

There is a pattern here. Financial institutions holding billions of Chrysler’s secured debt are being held hostage by the TARP loans they are not permitted to pay back. They are being forced to accept just pennies on the dollar for loans they made in good faith less than two years ago. Just like mob loan sharks, the administration wants them under its thumb so they can extort more and more concessions.

This is an abuse of power that goes beyond Nixon.

The party of the working guy? Don't make me laugh.

Last week, I noted that Obama has reneged on a campaign promise and will not reopen the NAFTA treaty for negotiation.

Now I think this "four more years of Bush" is a good thing when it comes to this issue. But think about who supported Obama in the hopes of getting rid of this treaty.

It was organized labor or basically the guys who represent middle class, working stiff.

My question is this. Why does organized labor continue to support democrats who continually sell them out on this and every other issue where working laborers have a stake.

Think about it. In my hills they die on pieces. You put a common working Joe against any of the issues I note in those posts and you tell me who wins.

For instance, let's go through the list.

#7 Caribou - OK, we have the ability to explore and build out energy platforms across the Arctic and in the gulf producing good high-paying jobs. Do democrats support the working guy over the interests of environmentalists?

#6 Judicial Fiat - Many of our rights have been single handedly usurped by judicial decisions made by liberal court judges. Issues that impact conservative working folks like gun laws, abortion, prayer in schools, etc. Who do you think the democrats support; the working guy or socialist court judges?

#5 The NEA - Our public schools are a flat out mess. The condition of our public schools impact the poor and middle class harder because they can't afford any private school alternatives. Do you think democrats put the interest of the working folk in front of teacher's unions?

#4 The Welfare State - You show up to work every day, pay your mortgage, your taxes and next door, a welfare queen with four kids (from different daddy's) and a shack up, drug dealing, boyfriend moves in selling drugs. Do you think democratic policies put the working guy in front of these dead beats?

#3 Trial Lawyers - We can already document how our litigious society makes all of our products cost more. Increases that adversely impact working people over rich ones. Do democrats support tort reform, which helps the cost of goods for poor consumers, over the interests of tort lawyers.

#2 Affirmative Action - So your kid works his ass off to get into an ivy league school. Unfortunately, Michael Jordan's kid work's his ass off too, with the help of tutors and aides. There's one spot open. All other things being equal, who do you think a democrat will take into that school?

#1 Abortion - You're a working stiff who has done right by your kids and your 15 year old daughter gets pregnant. If the democrats have their way, who has more influence on her "choice". A Planned Parenthood doctor or you?

That really makes for a perfect 0-7 when the average working guy's interest gets matched up against the liberal agenda of the left.

So remind me again how the democratic party is the party of the working guy?

Single payer health care

Let's assume that your doctor tells you that you have one year to live, but if you take your entire life savings, you can extend your life for an extra year.

Would you spend it?

My guess is the answer probably depends on what your net worth probably is. If the only thing you have is a couple of rottweilers living under your front porch, I'm thinking you'd say, sure.

But let's say your retirement and life savings amounted to $400,000, how would you answer?

What about a million?

Now let's twist this around. Would you spend all of your life's saving to extend your neighbor's life for another year?

I'm thinking that the answer changes to where even the guy with the rottweilers is probably not so interested in helping his fellow man out.

That is the pivotal question as it relates to socialized medicine, or single payer for the "progressives" who want to sanitize the truth.

Of course, liberals love these ideas, even though they give nothing to charity already (see Joe Biden). But ultimately, you will be cutting the checks for my health care.

Thank you in advance, just make the checks payable to Gordon's health care. I'll let you know how much all you generous liberal types are willing to pay to keep me alive.

Here's a piece analyzing the ability of government to actually operate a healthcare system. And if they manage that like they've managed the financial systems, good luck.

And he would bring peace throughout the world....

And everyone throughout the world would love us once again......

The U.S. death toll for April rose to 18, the military said Friday, making it the deadliest in seven months for American forces in Iraq. The sharp increase from the previous month came as a series of bombings also pushed Iraqi deaths to their highest level this year.

Didn't someone tell those pesky "insurgents" that Obama won?

Steyn on Obamunism

Mark Steyn with another awesome column.......

And it is. But underneath the thoughtful look is a transformative domestic agenda that represents a huge annexation of American life by an ever more intrusive federal government. One cannot but admire the singleminded ruthlessness with which Obama is getting on with it, even as he hones his contemplative unhurried moderate routine on prime time news conferences. On foreign affairs, the shtick is less effective, but mainly because he's not so engaged by the issues: He's got big plans for health care, and federalized education, and an eco-friendly government-run automobile industry – and Iran's nuclear program just gets in the way. He'd rather not think about it, and his multicontinental apology tours are his way of kicking the can down the road until that blessed day when America is just another sclerotic Euro-style social democracy, and even your more excitable jihadi won't be able to jump up and down chanting "Death to the Great Satan!" with a straight face.

It would seem to me that reality is more likely to intrude on the Obama project from overseas than domestically. But if he's lucky it won't intrude at all, not until it's too late. Thirty years ago this month, a grocer's daughter from the English Midlands became Britain's female prime minister – not because the electorate was interested in making (Obama-style) history, but just because nothing worked any more. The post-1945 socialist settlement – government health care, government automobile industry, government everything – had broken down: Inflation over 25 percent, marginal taxes rates over 90 percent, mass unemployment, permanent strikes. The country's union leaders were household names, mainly because they were responsible for everything your household lacked. Even moving around was hard: The nationalized rail network was invariably on strike, and you had to put your name on a waiting list months in advance for one of the "new" car models. The evening news was an endless parade of big beefy burly blokes picketing some plant for the right to continue enjoying the soft pampering workweek of the more effete Ottoman sultans.

Margaret Thatcher was a great leader, who reversed her country's decline – to the point where, two decades later, the electorate felt it was safe to vote the Labour Party back into office. And yet, in the greater scheme of things, the Thatcher interlude seems just that: a temporary respite from a remorseless descent into the abyss. In its boundless ambition, the Left understands that the character of a people can be transformed: British, Canadian and European elections are now about which party can deliver "better services," as if the nation is a hotel, and the government could use some spritelier bellhops. Socialized health care in particular changes the nature of the relationship between citizen and state into something closer to junkie and pusher. On one of the many Obama Web sites the national impresario feels the need to maintain – "Foundation for Change" – the president is certainly laying the foundation for something. Among the many subjects expressing their gratitude to Good King Barack the Hopeychanger is "Phil from Cathedral City, Ca.":

"I was laid off in mid-January from a job I had for 12 years. It's really getting hard to make ends meet, but this month I got some great news. This week I received in the mail official notification that my COBRA monthly payments for medical, dental and vision insurance will decrease from $468 to only $163, all due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is a $305 in savings a month!

"I can't tell you how much of a weight off my shoulders this is. I am living proof of how the president's bold initiatives are beginning to work!"

But just exactly how do these "bold initiatives" work? Well, hey, simple folk like you and I and Phil from Cathedral City don't need to worry about the details. Once these "bold initiatives" really hit their stride maybe the cost of everything over four hundred bucks can be brought down to $163. Wouldn't that be great?

The problem in the Western world is that governments are spending money faster than their citizenry or economies can generate it. As Gerald Ford liked to say, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." And that's true. But there's an intermediate stage: A government big enough to give Phil from Cathedral City everything he wants isn't big enough to get Phil to give any of it back. That's the stage the Europeans are at: Their electorates are hooked on unsustainable levels of "services," but no longer can conceive of life without them.

Margaret Thatcher has a terrific line: "The facts of life are conservative." Just so. Alas, while the facts are conservative, everything else – the culture, the media, the institutions in which we educate our children, the language of public discourse, the societal air we breathe – is profoundly liberal. Phil is "living proof" of something, but it's not good news for conservatives.

Read the whole thing here........

Oh my God we're all going to die

This morning on the treadmill I looked up at the TV screen to see that The WHO has confirmed 675 cases of the R2D2 flu virus worldwide.

Just to put that into perspective, I wanted to know what the percentage is so I divided 675 cases by 8 billion people.....that translates into what Excel says is 7.6875E-08.

Which is a pretty damn small percentage. I think.

So if you want to avoid swine flu, here are my tips.

1) Drink lots of beer; preferably fresh from the bottle.

2) Stay away from liberals, they are the transmitters of most STD's, so you can assume they'll probably have swine flu as well.

3) Don't listen to Coldplay; it has nothing to do with the flu but just a general life principle.

I can assure you that if you follow these tips, you will effectively avoid the R2D2 swine virus or whatever politically correct name they are giving to this strain.

So Truman was a war criminal

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Cliff May Unedited Interview Pt. 2
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

The rock star formerly known as Obama

Bingo.....

I was born in 1940, which means that during my lifetime 13 men have been president of the United States. For many of those years, I was a Democrat. As was the case with Ronald Reagan, I never feel I had left the party, but that the party had gone stark raving mad and left me.

By and large, I don’t find the baker’s dozen to be overly impressive, either as leaders or as individuals. There are only three or four of them I can even imagine being friends with or wanting to have as next-door neighbors. But there are only two of them, Carter and Obama, whom I regard as unmitigated disasters. While it took Carter four years in office and 29 years out to achieve his greatly deserved recognition as an incompetent, a phony and a sanctimonious anti-Semite, Obama has pulled it off in just a few short months.

He has managed this by displaying his general incompetence by surrounding himself with clowns like Joe Biden; the seriously corrupt, such as Bill Richardson and Tom Daschle; and too many tax cheats to list in the space available.

Obama has also proven himself to be a liar of such proportions that if he had started out life like Pinocchio, his nose by this time would stretch from sea to shining sea. He has fibbed about everything from barely knowing Bill Ayers to never listening to a Jeremiah Wright screed, from banishing pork and lobbyists to providing transparency and change we can all believe in. On top of all that, while spouting the usual political piffle about economizing and saving the environment, he hosted the largest, most expensive inauguration in history, and from the way he and his posse jet around on the fuel-guzzling Air Force One, you’d think he was a rock star.

More...

Global Warming Challenge Update

Despite what seemed like an unusually cool April, the numbers didn't bear it out.

The average high temperature for the month of April was 65.00 against a historical high of 64.7.

The average low temperature of 44.5 was above the historical average low temperature of 42.7.

That makes for a three month streak for the Branch Gorevidians and puts the score at

Warm 6
Cool 2

Life in "Progress" City

Here in Cincinnati, where there hasn't been a republican mayor since the last moon landing.

Baby gangster, gangster, old gangster, prince and finally, king.

That was the Westwood youth gang's hierarchy.

Anyone who wanted to advance through those ranks had to randomly attack someone. Depending on what happened, points would be awarded. An attack earned one point, a robbery six.

A boy had to be invited into the gang. Every six points he earned brought a "promotion."

The boys roamed in a pack, drawing power from their numbers.

They targeted white victims because they believed white people would only call police after being attacked. Black victims, they reasoned, would gather family members and retaliate.

Their victims included a 5-foot-1, 130-pound deaf woman they followed out the Westwood library, a Harrison Avenue businessman who came to the aid of a teenager under attack and a man who had a concealed carry permit and scared them off with his gun.

What's so "progressive" about attacking a deaf woman?

What is waterboarding?

Here's a video showing what waterboarding is.

Torture?

The fact that you can even watch this video in its entirety would probably tell you that it isn't.




An acquaintance of mine who went through officer's training in the Marine corp told me of an exercise where his whole unit was awakened at midnight and made to go through a tube a quarter of a mile long.

Sounds easy enough until the instructors lock the gate behind them and tell them they have to come out the other end and that none of them can come out until they all come out.

That sounds like no problem until they start going though the tunnel and it turns out that some of the guys are too big to get through the tube.

They spend the entire night working the bigger guys through that tube.

Can you imagine?
Stuck in a pitch dark tube all night with a bunch of sweaty ass marines.

Is that torture?

I think I'd take the waterboard.

Obama's French Toast: Just Say Non

Biden with diarrhea of the mouth...... again

Joe Biden on the swine flu epidemic.

“I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places right now,” he said. “It's not that its going to Mexico, its that you are in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft. That's me.”

“I would not be at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway,” Biden continued. “From my perspective, it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft, a closed container, closed car, a closed classroom, it's a different thing.”

What if Bush had said that?

More.....

Dick Morris on The Won

Dick Morris took his ball gag and leather chaps off the other day to make this observation of the Big O.....

When the Obama administration crashes and burns, with approval ratings that fall through the floor, political scientists can trace its demise to its first hundred days. While Americans are careful not to consign a presidency they desperately need to succeed to the dustbin of history, the fact is that this president has moved — on issue after issue — in precisely the opposite direction of what the people want him to do.

Right now, Obama’s ratings must be pleasing to his eye. Voters like him and his wife immensely and approve of his activism in the face of the economic crisis. While polls show big doubts about what he is doing, the overwhelming sense is to let him have his way and pray that it works.

More....

Jay Leno on Charlie Rangel's Tax Problems

Another oldie

What Just Happened?

This old but good

Democratic corruption du jour

From the WSJ.....

A fund of hedge funds run by two members of Vice President Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by companies controlled by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford, who is facing Securities and Exchange Commission accusations of engaging in an $8 billion fraud.

The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and a Stanford Financial Group entity and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund. Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, according to a lawyer for Paradigm. ...

While I guess it's patriotic to pay taxes what about ripping people off?

Amen brother

Maybe the most profound paragraph I've ever read......

The day Democrats embrace those holding conservative ideas and implement at least some of them will be the day Republicans can be told to water down their principles. In fact, Republicans in recent years have behaved more like Democrats than Republicans and have paid the electoral price for doing so. Republicans under George W. Bush added to the size and cost of government. Republicans created new spending programs and increased the reach of the federal government in education and other areas. The major difference between Republicans and Democrats these days is this: Democrats know how to use power when they get it; Republicans, when they gain power, spend most of their political capital trying to prove they are not mean, uncaring, racist, sexist and homophobic. Republicans masquerade as Democrats and want to be liked. Democrats live to rule.

More here

Deep Thoughts

Deep Thoughts by Gordon Gekko

So the World Health Organization is declaring 30 worldwide deaths a "pandemic". When will a pandemic be declared on the thousands of young black men being gunned down in this country every year in our city's streets?

.

The Bank of Obama

So let me make sure I have this right.

The Bank of Obama "loaned" billions to GM and Chrysler to keep them from bankruptcy and now it looks like they'll file bankruptcy anyway, within all of about 3 months after they got their money.

I'd call that pretty savvy business acumen or maybe total stupidity.

Coldplay - Going Techno?

Coldplay have reportedly brought some beat-making equipment into the studio and have recorded a 168-beats-per-minute "rave" track that's in 7/4 time. The band have been recording the follow-up to Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends in London, England with producer Brian Eno (Talking Heads, U2) while on a break from their tour.

"Will [Champion, drums] has a new toy for drum programming which has sent him on a beat-making odyssey. He rolls up today with a new idea and announces cheerfully to all that, 'It's in seven four time and it's 168 bpm', "Roadie #42" blogged on Coldplay's website on April 20.

"For those of you less versed in music theory, 'Seven four time' means that when he kicks off the drum machine, everyone spends a lot of time asking, 'Where's the one?' Meanwhile, '168 bpm' means that everyone is getting confused very quickly."

More...

A history of math

A funny from reader Doug............

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $ 2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters , but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?

2. Teaching Math In 1960s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5.. Teaching Math In 1990s

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )

6. Teaching Math In 2009

Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80.. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

He switched on principle

I should be so quick to shove Arlen out the door. After all, he switched parties based on principle, right? If you consider "it's all about Arlen" a principle then you would be correct.....

In his 1970 book "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor," advertising legend Jerry Della Femina tells the story of trying to see Philadelphia District Attorney Arlen Specter:

"'Are you crazy?' his people said. 'Nobody gets to meet Arlen Spector [misspelling in original]. We can't even see him.' 'All right,' I said, 'what's Arlen Specter for?' 'Arlen Specter is for getting elected.' 'All right,' I said. 'What is Arlen Specter against?' 'Arlen Spector is against losing.'"

That more or less sums up the Pennsylvania Senator's announcement yesterday that he will quit the GOP and seek re-election next year as a Democrat. "I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," said Mr. Specter. And perhaps he does, to the extent Mr. Specter has a philosophy.

But it's also true that the 79-year-old finds himself trailing former Congressman Pat Toomey, his GOP primary opponent for 2010, by 21 points in the latest polls. By running as a Democrat, he will avoid a tough fight for the nomination and increase his chances of winning in his home state, which has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Mr. Specter no doubt cut a deal to avoid any serious Democratic challenge, and he joins a Senate majority that is now within grasp of a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

One bitter irony is that, while Mr. Specter has long styled himself as a "moderate," his defection means that it will be that much more difficult for Republicans to moderate the most liberal Washington agenda since the 1960s (see above). Mr. Specter said yesterday he'll continue to oppose union card-check legislation, having already flipped from his vote in the previous Congress. But on health care, taxes, spending and most other things, he's likely to be a reliable vote for Democratic priorities.

As far as I'm concerned elections have consequences. The libs have all the power, none of the excuses, when they do to the country what they've done to all of our once great cities, I'll be there to say I told you so.

More....

Count me as one

Twitter..........

More than 60 per cent of Twitter users have stopped using the micro-blogging service a month after joining, according to Nielsen Online research released on Tuesday.

More...

It's all about "O"

I'm not the biggest Michelle Malkin fan but you have to admit she hits this one right in the sweet spot....

Come on, who's surprised? The White House-engineered photo-op of low-flying Air Force aircraft that caused terror in New York City this week epitomizes the Age of Obama. What better way to mark 100 days in office than with an appalling exercise in pointless taxpayer-funded stagecraft?

The superficiality, the unseriousness, the hubris, the obliviousness to post-9/11 realities: They were trademarks of the Obama campaign, and they are the tattoos on his governance.

He never leaves home without his teleprompter. All the Obama world's a stage. Or a world ready to be staged.

So is it any wonder he would staff his White House military office with a clueless paper pusher who saw nothing wrong with spending inordinate government resources -- and re-creating 9/11 havoc -- to update Air Force One publicity shots? And who planned, believe it or not, to do the same in Washington, D.C., next month, where the 9/11 jihadists murdered 53 passengers and 6 crewmembers on board American Airlines Flight 77, and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the Pentagon?

All for some publicity shots.

The more I think about it the more this ranks up there with the "Mission Accomplished" stunt of Bush.

Can you imagine the media salivating if the Bush administration had pulled this one off.

More...

And now you're surprised

From The American Thinker..........

Israeli strategy is all too often constructed, if not dictated, by American foreign policy and in particular, the American President. How then could American Jews risk the survival of the State of Israel on a man who they knew befriended and listened to an anti-Semitic pastor for 20 years, surrounded himself with anti-Semitic friends and advisors, promised to unconditionally reach out to Israel's (and America's) enemies, and flip flopped on the status of Jerusalem?

They probably did it the same way American Catholics voted for him and are now surprised he's pro-abortion.

More...

Deep Thoughts

Deep thoughts by Gordon Gekko

The next time some bureaucrat wants a shot of AF-1 over some monuments; here's an idea. Call your teenage daughter over and have show you this new thing called Photoshop. You might avoid some ass chewing down the road.

.

Clear Channel Sucks

Despite the fact that I'm a free market kind of guy, I have to admit, sometimes the clowns who run these businesses are their own worst enemy.

Airlines - you won't catch me on a plane if the drive is within 10 hours. Cattle being shipped to slaughter get a better ride.

Newspapers - I bought a Cincinnati Enquirer yesterday that was about 20 pages (four if you only count the text). The Lancaster Eagle Gazette's I delivered 35 years ago had more information than this thing did. And they wonder why circulation drops?

Radio - "Free" radio on the AM and FM dials is absolutely horrible. If you tune into a classic rock station, you will hear a Steve Miller song (usually The Joker) within fifteen minutes of tuning in. Talk radio has turned into one bad syndicated show after another (see Michael Savage).

Yesterday, I read that Clear Channel canned Paul Daugherty on WLW's and Alan Cutler on 1530-Homer along with a variety of producers and staff.

I wasn't a big fan of Doc's and I hated Alan Cutler (I could never take his opinion qualifications). but the stations are basically replacing them with what class? More syndicated crap.

When the Gekko's bought our new Acura, we also signed up for the XM. Trust me when I say, it's worth every penny.

So when Clear Channel goes down the tubes along with your newspapers, they'll have no one else to blame but themselves.

Old Media - Giving you more of what you already don't want.

The Country's In the Very Best of Hands

Air Force 1 Backup Plane Flies Very Low Over Manhattan

So you are having a nice quiet day in Manhattan when you see a low flying 747 trailed by two fighter planes overhead.

This is a classic case of a bunch of idiots having no appreciation for the impact that 9/11 had on our citizenry.

This action is a consistent nonchalance attitude towards terrorism from a bunch of derelicts who decided to release torture memos.

Specter

The world according to Arlen............

I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am.

So let me make sure I have this right Arlen. You are not defined by your party. As a result, you find the need to change your party so as not to be defined by it.

Huh?

If you are not defined by your party, why are you changing your party? Why not run as the independent PA representative you say you are?

Good riddance, grab George Rinovich, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins on your way out.

Avoiding swine flu

Don't do this....

From Lucianne

Maybe the same thing would apply to STD's?

Who did she vote for #145

Meet Anna Meyer, 26. Why is Anna in the news?

A 26-year-old woman was arrested and charged Monday with attacking a pregnant woman by running her down with a car.

Anna Meyer of West Price Hill is held without bond on a felonious assault charge at the Hamilton County jail.

Cincinnati police allege she purposely struck the victim on April 14 on Reading Road, injuring her leg and hip. The victim’s condition was not available.

A motive in the attack also was not disclosed in court records.

Now let's think. In the past election did Anna here vote for the Hope and Change candidacy of Obama or the Four more years of Bush candidacy of John McCain?

Article here....

Happy Birthday to us

Happy Birthday to the taxmanblog boys.

Many people assume that the two of us are twins simply because we lack oppose able digits. Yet we are not related; except in a political realm.

We share a birthday with the following hotties; Ann-Margaret, Penelope Cruz, Elisabeth Rohm, Jessica Alba.

We also share a birthday with Jay Leno, Barry Larkin, and Saddam Hussein.

Not bad.

The Lovely Mrs. Gekko is going to show me the love tonight when she takes me out to dinner and promises not to play Coldplay on the radio.

Why is Sarah Palin still a threat?

Boy, you'd think that Sarah Palin was the reincarnation of Karl Rove the way the democrats continue to go after her.

Isn't it kind of cute the way all the feminists step aside and say nothing while all the news shows put on Bristol's ex boyfriend and he tells everyone what a nice piece of ass she is.

More in this article (thanks to reader Mark)

Life in "Progress" City

Sharon Reed is a very active lady who has lived in Naperville for more than 40 years. During that time, she raised a family as well as founding and maintaining a successful business in our city.

Some months ago she received a $75 citation in the mail from the city of Chicago for running a stop light in their city. The evidence attached was a photo of her license plate number with some undecipherable logo/decal in front of the numbers.

Included in the photo was the rear of a Chrysler van. Her vehicle is a four-door Buick.

After many phone calls, insisting this was not her vehicle, nor was she anywhere near the location indicated, she was instructed to protest the ticket at the Daley Center.

A protest filing fee was paid. Three appearances were required in traffic court. Each one became more frustrating than the one before. It seemed the protester was not innocent before being proved guilty but quite the contrary. It became obvious that no representative of the court believed the story.

The third appearance finally got the court's attention because the license plate was produced as evidence, and although it did match the numbers on the plate, it was not identical to the plate on the photo.

After all the dust had cleared and the expenses were paid by this tenacious senior citizen, including time, parking fees, tolls as well as anguish and distress, the case was dismissed.

More.....

What is torture?

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Meet the "progressives"

Meet Noble Maseru. Why is he in the news?

Cincinnati Health Commissioner Noble Maseru found himself under scrutiny by his own department after grass at his Westwood home grew so long it violated city standards.

Maseru was fined $200 and ordered to cut his grass after an inspector cited him April 24, based on an anonymous complaint lodged one day earlier.

An Enquirer review of the property shows the grass has been cut. Because that work was done within the 10-day requirement, Maseru is eligible for a $100 deduction.

It's the second citation at the home in a month, city records show. Maseru was cited April 15 by the Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Division of the city's Community Development Department for failing to have a secure hand rail on outside steps to the home.

More....

Yeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Obama batting .091

Remember the good old days when The Won, promised sunlight of five days on any bill before he signed it.

How's that working out?

President Obama promised on the campaign trail that he would have the most transparent administration in history. As part of this commitment, he said that the public would have five days to look online and find out what was in the bills that came to his desk before he signed them. It was his first broken promise, and it's the promise that keeps on breaking. He has now signed 11 bills into law and gone, at best, 1 for 11 on his five-day posting promise. The Obama administration should deliver on the Web-enabled transparency he promised and post bills for five days before signing.

To the thrill of technology and transparency advocates, candidate Obama promised sunlight before signing: "As president," his campaign website said, "Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."

But nine days after taking office, he signed a bill into law without posting it on Whitehouse.gov for five days. Since then, 10 more bills have become law over the president's signature, and only one has been posted online for five days — and that was for five days after it cleared Congress, not after formal presentment. Two bills have been held by the White House for five days before signing — but they weren't posted online!

More at Cato....

TOTUS

From Politico

Life in "Progress" city

Government by the people, from the people and for the people.....

That sounds like this run on parking tickets in Washington DC, who hasn't had a republican mayor since a dude named Plato was cool..........

Beverly Anderson is mad as hell. She just started to get tickets for parking in her own driveway.

That’s right. The District of Columbia is ticketing people who park their cars in their own driveways.

"This is clearly an attempt by the city to extort money out of property owners," Anderson tells WTOP.

Anderson has received two of the $20 tickets in the past month. Anderson has owned the Capitol Hill house (and the driveway, so she thought) for more than ten years and has never gotten a ticket. And she’s not alone.

It seems Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has also been breaking the law in the eyes of the D.C. Department of Public Works.

"Not only has the Congresswoman been ticketed in her own driveway, she has received a towing ticket on her car parked in her driveway," writes Sonsyrea Tate Montgomery, a spokesperson for Norton. "She did what any other Member would do -and any resident. She contacted her Council Member, Tommy Wells, who assured her the Council will take care of this problem even if it means passing a new law."

D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) says he’s been getting lots of complaints.

"For the first time in anyone’s memory," Wells says. "People are starting to get ticketed in their own driveways. This is ridiculous and we’re going to get to the bottom of it." …

So what does the law say?

"Any area between the property line and the building restriction line shall be considered as private property set aside and treated as public space under the care and maintenance of the property owner."

Basically what that means is most property owners in the District don’t own the land between their front door and the sidewalk, but they are responsible for taking care of it. It’s why you can get a ticket for drinking beer on your front porch in the Nation’s Capital. You’re technically on public space. It’s also why the city can ticket you for parking in your own driveway if you don’t pull your car deep enough into the driveway beyond the façade of your house or building…

To be clear, we’re not talking about people who park in shallow driveways and let the rear of their cars block the sidewalk. The cars are off the road, off the sidewalk and in the driveway - just not far enough back for the city.

"This is ludicrous," Anderson says, "We were three feet away from the sidewalk. People have parked here for thirty years."

Here's an idea for you DC residence. Move out here in Redville where you don't have to deal with such buffoonery.

What's so "progressive" about extorting money from residents?

Thanks to reader Jeremy for the link here.....

Deep Thoughts

Deep thoughts by Gordon Gekko....

I believe listening to Coldplay is torture. So when the Lovely Mrs. Gekko makes me listen to them, can I email Eric Holder and have her convicted of a war crime?

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The Hills They Die On - #1

I was all set to do a follow up piece on who democrats will always sell out union members to when I realized that I had never finished my series on The Hills They Die On.

Below are numbers 2-7 of a seven piece series.

#7 Caribou
#6 Judicial Fiat
#5 The NEA
#4 The Welfare State
#3 Trial Lawyers
#2 Affirmative Action


Number One, Numero Uno, the Big A, the whole enchilada of democratic party politics; What is the one issue that forms the foundation of their political party? The one issue they'll defend to the party's death? The one issue where if you don't agree, you don't play; you're exiled to be a republican.

Of course that issue is Abortion.

Much from the media is made of the republican's lack of a big tent on the abortion issue and litmus tests for judgeships but how big is the democratic tent when you couldn't name me one democratic judge appointment, one speaker at a convention, one HHS appointment, who is/was pro-life.

For democrats, a fetus is nothing more than a pile of tissue similar to an appendix, tonsils, a gall bladder, all can be cut out and thrown away when it's not convenient.

In fact, democrats think that an annonymous Planned Parenthood doctor, who just met your teenage daughter 15 minutes ago, should have more control over your child's reprodcutive decisions than you, the parent, should.

I've often had internal debates as to which party is more optimistic about the human condition. With their stand on abortion and the environment, it's clear that democrats take a very pessimistic view of human life. If it's human it's bad. So, of course, when you have that view of human life, snuffing one out when it's not convenient, or doesn't recycle, is perfectly A-OK.

When it's all said and done, the democratic party will do anything to protect abortionists and their brethren. If it means having an economy in chaos; that's OK, if it means a weakened national security, fine.

It's all good because when we can all be assured of getting an abortion on demand, our country is a better place. Just ask a democrat. Because it's a hill they die on.

Surprise - Circulation declines

Below is a list of recent circulation numbers for the largest US newspapers.....

USA TODAY -- 2,113,725 – (-7.46%)
WALL STREET JOURNAL -- 2,082,189 -- 0.61%
NEW YORK TIMES -- 1,039,031 -- (-3.55%)
L.A. TIMES -- 723,181 -- (-6.55%)
WASHINGTON POST -- 665,383 -- (-1.16%)

NEW YOK DAILY NEWS -- 602,857 -- (-14.26%)
NEW YORK POST -- 558,140 -- (-20.55%)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 501,202 -- (-7.47%)
HOUSTON CHRONICLE -- 425,138 -- (-13.96%)
ARIZONA REPUBLIC -- 389,701 -- (-5.72%)

DENVER POST (02/28/2009 to 03/31/2009) -- 371,728 -- N/A
NEWSDAY -- 368,194 -- (-3.01%)
DALLAS MORNING NEWS -- 331,907 -- (-9.88%)
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE -- 320,076 -- (-0.71%)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES -- 312,141 -- (-0.04%)

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- 312,118 -- (-15.72%)
BOSTON GLOBE -- 302,638 -- (-13.68%)
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER -- 291,630 -- (-11.70%)
DETROIT FREE PRESS -- 290,730 -- (-5.90%)
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER -- 288,298 -- (-13.72%)

NEWARK STAR-LEDGER -- 287,082 -- (-16.82%)
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES -- 283,093 -- (-10.42%)
OREGONION -- 268,512 -- (-11.76%)
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION -- 261,828 -- (-19.91%)
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE -- 261,253 -- (-9.53%)

See anything noteworthy here?

In general, the liberal papers, keep losing circulation.

In fact, the WSJ actually increased it's circulation. I guess it never occurred to these papers that liberal don't need to read papers since they actually know it all already.

More.....

ABC News Reports On John Murtha's Pork Laden Airport

"That's Pelosi!"

Sgt. Schultz Pelosi

In the immortal words of Sgt. Schultz, of Hogan's Heroes fame.

I see nothing.......Nothing.

Nancy Pelosi didn’t cry foul when the Bush administration briefed her on “enhanced interrogation” of terror suspects in 2002, but her team was locked and loaded to counter hypocrisy charges when the “torture” memos were released last week.

Many Republicans obliged, led by former CIA chief Porter Goss, who is accusing Democrats like Pelosi of “amnesia” for demanding investigations in 2009 after failing to raise objections seven years ago when she first learned of the legal basis for the program.

“As soon as the president made the decision to release [the memos], I was telling people that the Republicans were going to come after us, saying she knew about it and did nothing,” said an adviser to Pelosi (D-Calif.), speaking on condition of anonymity. “And I’m sure we’re going to get hammered again when they release all those new torture photos,” the person said.

But Pelosi’s allies were less prepared to confront the fallout from her convoluted answers during three sessions with reporters last week — answers that raised new questions and handed Republicans a fresh line of attack on a speaker at the height of her power.

So Nancy sits on the intelligence committee and had no idea that waterboarding was going on?

Does she read the newspaper?

Is she lying or just that damn stupid?

More..........

Barney Frank in 2005: What Housing Bubble?

Why a Concealed Carry Permit?

I spent all day (12 hours) yesterday at an NRA course to qualify for my concealed carry permit.

For the record, it was really a great course. I would recommend it for anyone who wants knowledge of pistols and protection. It should actually be taught in schools.

I have to admit that I was surprised with an NRA course that spent an hour of the course on how to protect your home without a firearm.

None the less, after the course, I met up with the Lovely Mrs. Gekko for a niece's birthday party. One of the parents asked me. Why are you getting a concealed carry permit?

Good question.

The reason I've been buying up guns and ammo and getting my CCP is the same reason I bought a generator and a chain saw after the winds storms last fall. The same reason I carry a can of fix a flat and jumper cables in my car. The same reason we have a fire extinguisher in our kitchen.

It's much better to have one than to need one.

Look, I'm 45 years old and I've never felt threatened to the point that I needed lethal protection. That includes my time in Madisonville & Corryville where gun shots ring out like your snooze alarm. However, the Lovely Mrs. Gekko is a nurse and meeting up with ding dongs seems to be part of her job description.

None the less, I never want to be in a position where I have to ask permission from the likes of Nancy Pelosi to determine whether or not I need lethal protection.

In addition, The Gekko's have 13 brothers and sisters and a billion or so nieces and nephews. If any of those people find the need to have lethal protection, I'll have it for them just like the generators and chain saws they could have used last fall....... if I would have had them.

Frankly, I watched the Ted Nugent video I posted last week and the thought occurred to me; he's 100 percent correct. Who is anybody to tell me that I need their permission to protect my family? It's one of the basics of human rights; it really comes before eating and drinking.

Personally, I think it's ridiculous for anyone to have to get advanced permission to justify their own self protection. We should all be in a position to leave our arms at the local gun shop and when we feel the need to have one, we should just walk in and buy one; just like I'm able to buy a bowling ball when I join a bowling league and not ten years before in anticipation of joining a bowling league.

Regardless, that's the law as it is written. We have to wait make sure the state thinks we are competent enough to have a weapon to defend ourselves against the ding dongs, derelicts and douche bags of our society.

So why am I getting a concealed carry permit? I think the actual question should be............. why are you not?