The President is fatigued

What do you expect when it's the first job you've had in over twenty years.........

The Obama administration hasn’t picked up the ability to walk through walls; instead, according to the Associated Press, the New York Times and other publications, they are walking INTO walls for lack of sleep.

“Big first year leaves Obama tired,” the AP’s Julie Pace wrote on December 29 of last year. “After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama made a not altogether surprising admission. He was tired.”

The president was open in explaining his pooped-out appearance. "You have a convergence of factors that have made this a difficult year not so much for me but for the American people…Absolutely that weighs on me," the fatigued commander-in-collapse sighed.

And according to London’s Sunday Telegraph, the president’s decision to not welcome British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last March with the customary press conference and State Dinner was not a result of a deliberate slight, rather POTUS was pooped. "People say he looks tired more often than they're used to," said an anonymous strategist.

And like a yawn, exhaustion in the White House is contagious. In another New York Times article, White House senior adviser David Axelrod admits he’s “tired” and his friends are worried “he’s getting close to a burnout kind of thing.” It sounds like the White House is in desperate need of some NoDoz, or better yet, more sleep.

Welcome to the NFL douche bag.

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More from the smart party

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From the "smart" party

PJTV Salutes Mr. Tax-Law-Writing-Tax-Evader

Can someone get me David Brooks' crack pipe?

You may know David Brooks as the token NY Times conservative who knew Barack Obama would be president one day for the crease in his pants. I'm starting to think that his metrosexual bromance with The One is really starting to become intoxicating..... to this point that he's now a crack whore lighting up the BO bong on a dime.........

Take his column today.........

The fact is, Obama is as he always has been, a center-left pragmatic reformer. Every time he tries to articulate a grand philosophy — from his book “The Audacity of Hope” to his joint-session health care speech last September — he always describes a moderately activist government restrained by a sense of trade-offs. He always uses the same on-the-one-hand-on-the-other sentence structure. Government should address problems without interfering with the dynamism of the market.

He has tried to find this balance in a town without an organized center — in a town in which liberals chair the main committees and small-government conservatives lead the opposition. He has tried to do it in a context maximally inhospitable to his aims.

But he has done it with tremendous tenacity. Readers of this column know that I’ve been critical on health care and other matters. Obama is four clicks to my left on most issues. He is inadequate on the greatest moral challenge of our day: the $9.7 trillion in new debt being created this decade. He has misread the country, imagining a hunger for federal activism that doesn’t exist. But he is still the most realistic and reasonable major player in Washington.

Liberals are wrong to call him weak and indecisive. He’s just not always pursuing their aims. Conservatives are wrong to call him a big-government liberal. That’s just not a fair reading of his agenda.

Let's take some of his points ad infintum.

1) Obama is as he always has been, a center-left pragmatic reformer. What exactly is on Obama's resume that indicates The One has reformed anything? By the way reform means "to change for the better". Outside of winning elections, his next achievement will be his first.

2) Every time he tries to articulate a grand philosophy........ He always uses the same on-the-one-hand-on-the-other sentence structure. Government should address problems without interfering with the dynamism of the market. Yeah, he talks a good game but let's take healthcare. In a few speeches, he's mentioned that the other side has some good idea yet how many of them have actually ended up in the health care bill being proposed by the House of Lords?

3) He has tried to find this balance in a town without an organized center. Once again, where's the beef? On exactly what domestic issue has he taken even on iota of a conservative practical thought? Even on the war issues he had to tack right........ but only after he realized that he was an adult and that his lefty positions were a total loser for everyone.

4) But he has done it with tremendous tenacity. You mean the tenacity that allows the House of Lords to write the stimulus and health care bills? I realize that my education is of a public nature but I would define that as tenaciously passive.

This guy is clearly delusional. I want what he's smokin'.

Read the whole thing and laugh your ass off.

Who did he vote for? #910

Meet Sharif Mobley. Why is Sharif here in the news?

Coming on the heels of the release of details of the arrest of Pennsylvania woman Colleen LaRose, or “Jihad Jane”, yesterday, NBC reports today that federal authorities have confirmed that another American jihadist, Sharif Mobley, was detained in Yemen recently and engaged in a shootout with Yemeni authorities guarding him while trying to escape from a local hospital:

BUENA BOROUGH–Federal sources have confirmed that a man from Buena is in custody in the Middle East, and they say he’s believed to be an Al-Qaeda militant who’s accused of going on a deadly rampage.

“We don’t know nothing, we’re trying to hear something,” said Charles Mobley. Those were the only words he would share on camera about his son, 26 year-old Sharif Mobley. Federal sources have confirmed the 2002 Buena Regional High School graduate is currently in custody in the Middle East, suspected of being an Al-Qaeda militant.

So in November, 2008 was Sharif a supporter of The One or The Maverick?

Need a hint?

Today’s confirmation of American Jihadist and Buena, New Jersey resident Sharif Mobley’s arrest and subsequent deadly escape attempt continues a troubling trend of American citizens becoming involved in Jihadist activities both here in the United States and abroad over the past year or so.

UPDATE: the NY Daily News adds an interesting detail to Mobley’s story – apparently Mobley was paid by the campaign of former Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ) in 2005 to assist Corzine in his turnout drive:

Campaign finance records show Mobley received $75 as an election day worker for Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign in 2005.

Read the whole thing......

Obama Propaganda With Kids, Orchestra, and Everything

Life in "Progess" state - New York edition

From the Empire state of New York who hasn't had a conservative in state government since Dag bought his first wheel from Ug for a couple of raccoon pelts................

You know New York's got an underfunded pension crisis on it's lap but nevermind that. The real quality of life issue in New York is salt in food.............

Some New York City chefs and restaurant owners are taking aim at a bill introduced in the New York Legislature that, if passed, would ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.

"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises," the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.

The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.

"The consumer needs to make their own health choices. Just as doctors and the occasional visit to a hospital can't truly control how a person chooses to maintain their health, neither can chefs nor the occasional visit to a restaurant," said Jeff Nathan, the executive chef and co-owner of Abigael's on Broadway. "Modifying trans fats and sodium intake needs to be home based for optimal health. Regulating restaurants will not solve this health issue."

Nathan is part of the group My Food My Choice , which calls itself a coalition of chefs, restaurant owners, and consumers, called the proposed law "absurd" in a press release issued on its Facebook page.

Ortiz has said the salt ban would allow restaurant patrons to decide how salty they want their meals to be.

"In this way, consumers have more control over the amount of sodium they intake, and are given the option to exercise healthier diets and healthier lifestyles," Ortiz said, according to a Nation's Restaurant News report.

They already have that douche bag. It's called not eating out.

How is that the party of pro-choice is all about choice when it comes to slicing and dicing babies but when it comes to things like..... oh..... say schools for our children, salt in our food, transfat on our fries, smoking, drinking etc.

First, they came for the rosemary but I said nothing because I wasn't rosemary........

Read the rest

Talking Babies Reject ObamaCare

some light hearted fun

Who did she vote for? #5

Meet Megan Barnes.

Why is Ms. Barnes in the news..............

Sometimes multitasking has its limits.

Such is the case in the Florida Keys, where police say a 37-year-old woman crashed her 1995 Ford Thunderbird into another car as she attempted to shave her bikini area.

According to the arrest report, on March 2, Megan Mariah Barnes told Florida State Trooper Gary Dunick that she was on her way to Key West to meet her boyfriend, and that she "wanted to be ready for the visit." So, police say she had her ex-husband, Charles Judy, who was riding in the passenger seat, take the wheel while she attended to her pubic hair.

Now at first glance I figured her to be an Obama fan but after reading about the Rubio back waxing, I'm starting to think that good grooming is a republican trait.

So I leave it to you. On November 2008, did Megan here vote for The One or The Maverick?

Why?

Congratulations Mick

It only took four years but Mick Cronin, coach of the UC Bearcats, won his first game in March after four seasons.

It didn't come easy. When you out rebound a crappy team 49-31, you'd think it would be a 20 point win not a down to the wire heart stopper.

But I guess i should give Mick credit, after all he's giving every unemployed brick layer an opportunity to better themselves.

George Will vs Robert Reich the american people are dopes on healthcare.mov

Pelosi: we have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it

Mark your calendar

Today marks the unofficial halfway point of my tax season.

That also marks the countdown before my next few bottles of liquid bread consumption.

So if you are a reader of this blog mark you calendar for April 15th for some free happy hour adult beverages. The place has yet to be determined, I'm thinking of some place in Cincinnati with a mechanical bull, a water slide and a TV station dedicated to the "O" channel.

If you are currently on public assistance or receive earned income credit, you will not be welcome. I've already paid for your beer.

Red v. Blue............. toe to toe

Doug Ross with a comparison between Texas, a nice blood red state, and California, a nice blue blood state.......................

	California	Texas
Population Rank:	#1	#2
Joined the Union:	1850, ceded by Mexico	1845, ceded by Mexico
Hispanic Population:	About one-third	About one-third
Leadership over last 20 years:	Democrat, large government	GOP, small government
State legislature meets:	Year-round	Meets 90 days every two years
Net population change:	Outflow of 1,509,000 from 2000-2009	Inflow of 1,600,000 from 2000-2009
Average teacher salary:	$60,000/yr.	$41,744/hr.
ACT score rank:	#44	#30
8th grade % proficient at writing rank:	#30	#16
4th grade % proficient at math rank:	#26	#16
Tax Policy	8.25% sales tax, up to 10.55% income tax	6.25% sales tax, no income tax
Public sector unions:	Powerful. Spent $100,000,000 (in funds levied from taxpayers) defeating legislation that would weaken the Democrat-union alliance in 2005.	"Weak or non-existent".
Bond Rating (an indicator of financial health)	S&P A-	S&P AA+

What he doesn't have on here is the net in flight to/from the state. People are fleeing California like the Exodus.

So tell me again Mr./Ms. "Progressive" what exactly makes California so much more livable then Texas?

Life in "Progress" City - Portland edition

From the great city of Portland Oregon, where there hasn't been a conservative in city government since Tag and Dug clubbed their first sabre tooth tiger............

Even Tom Hurley, it's safe to say, figured there were limits on how much you could milk the Portland Fire and Police Disability Fund.

For 12 years after an independent medical examiner ruled he could stop playing hurt and return to work, Hurley received a monthly disability check at the taxpayers' expense.

But even Hurley -- the latest, and laziest, in a long line of firefighters -- eventually decided the jig was up. He ignored the funds' orders to return to work, attend mandatory training or explain his absences.

He'd moved on. He was a chef, re-trained at the city's expense. When the fund finally terminated his $3,200 monthly benefit in 2007, Hurley didn't bother to appeal.

His union, however, did.

City Commissioner Randy Leonard sees considerable irony in that. While Hurley is "reviled" among Portland firefighters, Leonard says, their union is concerned that ethical members of the frat might be fired without just cause.

The city failed to define the wages, hours and working conditions of Hurley's new low-hazard job, Leonard said, and an arbitrator ruled these are basic requirements of a city contract, subject to bargaining.

Leonard and Commissioner Dan Saltzman are going to war over this.

Leonard believes the arbitrator's ruling -- which would hand Chef Hurley $103,000 in lost disability payments and restore that $3,200 monthly boondoggle -- is "final and binding. There is no appeal."

One of my employees went to Portland last month and her observation...........

"It's a really beautiful city but after a while I started to notice all these perfectly capable young people living on the streets like it was cool. They were every where"

What's so "progressive" about paying people indefinitely?

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dan rather idiot leftist racist.mp4

Life in "Progress" City - Cincinnati edition

From the Queen City of Cincinnati, where there hasn't been a conservative in city government since Gog painted his graduate thesis on a local cave wall........

If Cincinnati's city manager can't convince City Council to restore some budget cuts, the city won't be able to send out income tax refunds or keep open recreation centers in Carthage and Camp Washington.

If council doesn't do something about the recreation cuts, programming at all the city's recreation centers could have to be cut, City Manager Milton Dohoney says.

Among the cuts council ordered in December to make up for this year's $51 million deficit was almost $1.8 million in non-personnel reductions throughout City Hall departments.

Council members specified amounts to cut for office supplies, travel, rent and other non-personnel line items, but did not specify how much of each should be cut from what departments. The city's budget office did the latter, assigning amounts proportionally.

But those cuts came on top of others, so most departments already had cut at least some of those expenditures. Now, after taking time to analyze the impact of the cuts, finance officials say they need $29,650 more, or they won't be able to afford the postage, supplies and manpower needed to mail tax checks and other necessary documents. City officials didn't know whether that would simply delay the mailing of the checks or force citizens to pick up the checks.

Think about that. How sensitive would the city be if you owed them money but didn't have money in the budget for postage to send it in? I'm thinking they wouldn't be all that open to hearing your money issues.

What's so "progressive" about not having money for postage?

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The Public Option at work

How about that model of efficiency, the BMV........

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has been tardy again in processing mail-in vehicle registrations, forcing some motorists to drive with expired tags.

The delays come four months after the bureau authorized $18,000 in overtime to burn through a previous backlog in registrations.

State officials blame the current delays on the Presidents Day holiday (Feb. 15), when offices were closed; systemwide testing; and a high number of vehicle leases in February.

Bureau officials said yesterday that they worked through the latest backlog this week and that motorists can expect new tags, plates and paperwork in the next few days.

Hilliard resident Bill Gibson said he mailed in his renewal on Feb. 1 for tags that expired at the end of February and still hasn't received new ones.

"It seems to me this is a pretty serious situation for a lot of people in this state," Gibson said yesterday. "I'm driving illegally."

Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Lindsey Bohrer said drivers whose registrations are delayed can call or write the bureau to receive extension letters that will exempt them from citations for expired registration. A spokesman for the State Highway Patrol confirmed that drivers with the letters will not be cited.

"We then would either fax, even fax to a nearby deputy registrar, e-mail or mail it to them, whatever is most convenient to the customer," Bohrer said.

Here's an idea. Instead of having people spending man hours sending out extension letters why don't you have them sending out the actual stickers instead.

That's just what a dumb conservative would do though.

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Just wait until it's your liver transplant.

Apologies

I need to apologize to reader Becky who sent me an email a few weeks back asking me if I had noticed any trends in my tax practice.

I didn't respond because I wasn't really sure how to.

See my little spot of Redville isn't exactly a trend setter. We're more of a lagger. So we're just now starting to feel the effects of the slow economy.

In any given year, we have about 15-20 people who get unemployment during the year. Last year was no exception.

This year, I already have 25 clients who have received unemployment.

Unlike the technology bust in 2000, almost every person who's received unemployment is a blue collar type. During the 2000/2001 tech bust I saw several $200k/year white collar types receive pink slips.

The one trend that's really wearing thin on me is the total lack of knowledge about how our tax system works.

Last week, I had a senior come in with a small retirement and interest income and a bag full of prescription receipts asking me what her refund would be.

Given that her income was so low, I told her she didn't need to file and that she would have no refund even if she did.

She got all indignant with me "well medical expenses are deductible right?"

Yes they are.

Then why can't I deduct them?

Maam, to begin with your income is already so low you pay no income tax. Secondly, you can only receive a refund if you actually pay something in (I didn't bother getting into earned income credit and the like with her).

It's like these people believe the IRS stands for Internal Reimbursement Service.

And really why wouldn't they?

They see neighbors with a pack load of kids getting $5,000 refunds from Earned Income Credit and refundable Child Tax Credit so certainly if they have a lot of medical expenses that's got to be good for something right?

Yesterday, I happened to run some numbers and depending on your lifestyle choices, if your household makes $60,000 a year you may have an $8,000 tax liability or zero (with a refund coming back) all depending upon choices you make in your life.

Where is the inherent "fairness" in that?

I'm a believer that everyone should have skin in the game. Unfortunately, we have way too many people who don't and that's creating a complete entitlement attitude for everyone.

If you wonder what's going on in Greece right now..... I'm starting to witness it here. That's the trend I'm seeing.

Life in "Progress" City - Kansas City edition

From the great city of Kansas City where there hasn't been a conservative in city government since Tag beat Ug in the first pre Olympic spear throwing competition.

You may remember the Kansas City schools for their court ordered billion dollar new school project where nearly every school in the district was replaced with state of the art education environments.

Remember the liberal promises that the poor education in Kansas City schools was about resources and that once the schools were brought up to speed suburbanites would be moving back into the city.

Well....... things haven't worked out that way................

Kansas City was held up as a national example of bold thinking when it tried to integrate its schools by making them better than the suburban districts where many kids were moving. The result was one school with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and another with recording studios.

Now it's on the brink of bankruptcy and considering another bold move: closing nearly half its schools to stay afloat.

Schools officials say the cuts are necessary to keep the district from plowing through what little is left of the $2 billion it received as part of a groundbreaking desegregation case.

Buffeted for years by declining enrollment, political squabbling and a revolving door of leadership, the district's fortunes are so bleak that Superintendent John Covington has said diplomas given to many graduates "aren't worth the paper they're printed on."

Kansas City is among the most striking examples of the challenges of saving urban school districts. The city used gobs of cash to improve facilities, but boosting lagging test scores and stemming the exodus of students were more elusive. Like other big-city districts, it finds itself struggling to become more than just the last resort for large pockets of poverty in the urban core.

Who could have told you that? One of those double digit IQ conservatives that's who.

What's so "progressive" about bankrupt schools?

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Shea-Porter: I Vote With Obama 90% Of The Time, Pelosi 93% Of The Time

Not bad for a dumb conservative

Take this quiz at Pew Research.....

I did get all 12 right. Let me know how you did.