He Can't Help It... Obama Bashes Bush During NATO Q & A

Cal Bears Football 82: The Play

The Story of Business: moving forward in uncertain times

Liberalism - killing the ones you (allegedly) care about

As I repeatedly say on this blog, I'm not a conservative for me or my lovely bride. I'm a conservative for the people who have few options in life.

Take this for example..................

A leading U.K. fuel poverty charity is predicting deaths to skyrocket this winter as over 5 million homes struggle to pay rising fuel bills.

The Express is reporting that energy prices “have soared more than 80 per cent in the last five years,” and singles out British Gas for announcing a seven per cent hike when “the number of families struggling to pay their heating bills reaches 5.5 million and excess winter deaths this year are expected to be higher than ever.”

What the article failed to explain, or even mention, is the primary reason energy costs have become so dangerously prohibitive in the U.K: Green energy policy.

According to British Gas managing director Phil Bentley, not only is the price of wholesale gas up since spring, but the company is also fighting the ever-increasing costs of meeting its “environmental obligations.”

E.U. targets require the U.K. to produce 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, a sevenfold jump from 2008 implementation. And Britain has set an even loftier goal for its electricity production, mandating 35 percent be derived from renewables by 2020.

Now ask yourself this question. Does this hurt the rich or the poor more?

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More TSA stupidity

I won't fly within a 12 hour driving radius. Mainly, because I refuse to participation of this stupidity..........

A Charlotte-area flight attendant and cancer survivor contacted WBTV after she says she was forced to show her prosthetic breast during a pat-down.

Cathy Bossi lives in south Charlotte and has been a flight attendant for the past 32 years, working the past 28 for U.S. Airways.

In early August Bossie was walking through security when she says she was asked to go through the new full body-scanners at Concourse "D" at Charlotte Douglas International.

She reluctantly agreed. As a 3-year breast cancer survivor she says she didn't want the added radiation through her body. But, Bossi says she did agree.

"The T.S.A. Agent told me to put my I.D. on my back," she said. "When I got out of there she said because my I.D. was on my back, I had to go to a personal screening area."

She says two female Charlotte T.S.A. agents took her to a private room and began what she calls an aggressive pat down. She says they stopped when they got around to feeling her right breast… the one where she'd had surgery.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest to the TSA that a 28 year airline employee has probably not been working for a terror sleeper cell all these years looking for the right time to blow up a plane.

In addition, I'm thinking that a pilot of a 100 ton missile probably doesn't need to be checked for a toner cartridge full of c-4 shoved up his ass.

This is the type of lunacy liberalism brings to the world. Fortunately, more people are feeling the results of the stupidity............literally.

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Life in "Progress" City - Gary IN edition

Black males have higher rates of incarceration and of repeat offenses that land them back in jail or prison, statistics show.

Changing that dynamic could begin with expunging their criminal records.

That was the consensus of a discussion Thursday sponsored by the Gary Commission on the Social Status of Black Males in conjunction with the East Chicago-based group Working Outside the Walls and an alliance of grassroot activists.

The panel discussion brought together activists, religious leaders, law enforcement officers and area legislators to talk about a possible Expungement Summit in Northwest Indiana. Expunging the criminal records of juveniles and adults would help them find jobs and turn their lives around, said Bennie Muhammed, GCSSBM executive director.

Dorothy Brown, clerk of the Cook County (Ill.) Circuit Court, outlined how she has organized expungement summits across the state line.

"It's important for all our communities because we all have the same problem," she said.

Brown recommended that all agencies working with ex-offenders help organize and participate in an expungement summit. That includes police departments, the courts, lawyers, the public defenders office and the prison review board, Brown said.

"This helps ex-offenders to see us all working together to give them a second chance," she said.

Some offenses, however, don't qualify for expungement, including first-degree murder, sexual offense of a minor and DUI, Brown said.

So let me see. If I'm black, I can get a rape (as long as it's not a minor) expunged but not a DUI?

Read the rest of this stupidity here........

Who did he vote for? #189

Meet Walter Edmund Bond. Why is Wally in the news?

A self-described animal-rights activist known on the Internet as “Lone Wolf” pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to arson in a fire that destroyed a local sheepskin business.

Walter Edmund Bond, 34, admitted in U.S. District Court to setting the fire that burned the Sheepskin Factory to the ground on April 30, 2010. The store sold sheepskin blankets, rugs and related products.

Authorities were led to Bond after an informant told them Bond — who called himself “Lone Wolf” on the Internet and has the word “Vegan” tattooed in his neck in large letters — bragged on an animal rights web site that he “torched” the business.

“Be warned that making a living from the use and abuse of animals will not be tolerated,” Bond allegedly wrote on the web site.

FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis said in a statement that federal authorities will aggressively investigate “ideologically driven” violent crimes.

“Our priority with acts of terrorism remains to be proactive and preventative. But when acts do occur, they will be pursued to justice,” Davis said.

The article doesn't mention his home state so let's flashback to 2008. Did Wally here vote for McCain or Obama?

I'd love to tell this clown that the vegan tattoo on his neck was done with animal tested inks.

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Rangel's punishment

So the house is in a tither about how to punish Charles Rangel.

Here's an idea. How about making him pay restitution to the landlord of the rent controlled apartment he used for his campaign.

Naaaahhhhh. A censure from your brethren is so much harsher.

Life in "Progress" City - DC edition

Depending on whom you ask, West Potomac High School's latest change to student grading is either another sign of a coddled generation or a necessary step to help struggling kids.

The dreaded F has been all but banished from the grade books.

The report cards that arrived home late last week showed few failing grades but instead marks of "I" for incomplete, indicating that students still owe their teachers essential work. They will get Fs only if they fail to complete assignments and learn the content in the months to come.

The change in educational philosophy is intended to encourage students to continue working toward mastery of material rather than accepting a failing grade and moving on.

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Those violent tea partiers

More censorship from the party of free speech

Sen. McCaskill discusses TSA screening procedures on CNN

Those love pats are probably the only action she's getting.

Experience Hendrix

The Gekko's spent last night at the Experience Hendrix show last night. It was essentially an all star game of Fender guitar players (Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Steve Vai, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Eric Johnson, Ernie Isley, Living Colour, Chris Layton of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble and The Slide Brothers a/k/a Chuck and Darick Campbell of Sacred Steel).

It was a good show for the most part. Living Colour's rendition of Crosstown Traffic and Kenny Wayne Shepard's solo on Voodoo Child were the highlights of the evening for me.

But I was never a big Jimi Hendrix fan and last night's show highlighted why. I can take an occasional Hendrix guitar solo but 10 minute solos of loud, fast and distorted guitar on each song flat out wore me out. I get it. All you guys can play.

It's a three hour show which was about a half hour too long for me but if you are into guitars it really is a show you need to take in.






Other items of note.

1) The Taft Theatre is a dump. What it lacks in comfortable seating it makes up for in warm beer and three urinals in the men's john.

2) Brad Whitford of Aerosmith, I think you need to talk to Sally Fields about a Boniva script.

3) Bootsy Collins, C'mon man. If you're going to sing a Hendrix song, would it have killed you know the lyrics before you got up on stage. Watching you read Purple Haze lyrics off a program was kind of a buzz kill. It's especially worse given that you narrated Jimi's voice in his biography.

Life in "Progress" City - San Francisco edition

Is the presidency too big?

Yeah, if you give the job to a guy that's never even run a lemonade stand and wants to play golf 30 times a year.

Greene for president

I found it so hilarious that the media wanted to highlight Christine O'Donnell during the last election but paid no nevermind with South Carolina's democratic nominee for senate Alvin Greene. Now Alvin wants to run for president..............

Former South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene has only the highest hopes for his political future despite his crushing defeat two weeks ago — he thinks he will be the next president.

When you think about it, it's not really so far fetched. He's run as many things as our current president.

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Union Members: Where Do Your Dues Go?

Wait and See

OMG... Big Sis Considers Giving Exemptions to Muslim Women at Airports

Life in "Progress" City - LA edition

Enacting one of the nation's most aggressive environmental measures, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban plastic grocery bags in unincorporated areas of the county.

The vote was 3-1, supported by Supervisors Gloria Molina, Mark Ridley-Thomas, and Zev Yaroslavsky, and opposed by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Supervisor Don Knabe was absent.

The ban, which will cover nearly 1.1 million residents countywide, is to the point: “No store shall provide to any customer a plastic carryout bag.” An exception would be made for plastic bags that are used to hold fruit, vegetables or raw meat in order to prevent contamination with other grocery items.

If grocers choose to offer paper bags, they must sell them for 10 cents each, according to the ordinance. The revenue will be retained by the stores to purchase the paper bags and educate customers about the law.

“Plastic bags are a pollutant. They pollute the urban landscape. They are what we call in our county urban tumbleweed,” Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said.

Mark Gold, president of the Santa Monica environmental group Heal the Bay, said previous county efforts to promote recycling of plastic bags at grocery stores was a failure.

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Stuff liberals run - Colleges and universities

The ranks of the most expensive colleges have grown again: 100 institutions are charging $50,000 or more for tuition, fees, room, and board in 2010-11, according to a Chronicle analysis of data released last week by the College Board. That's well above the 58 universities and colleges that charged that much in 2009-10, and a major jump from the year before, when only five colleges were priced over $50,000.

This year marks a milestone as the first public institution has joined that elite club: the University of California at Berkeley is charging out-of-state residents $50,649 for tuition, fees, room, and board. (The price for in-state residents is only $27,770.)

All of the other 99 colleges charging $50,000 or more are private. They made up 9% of the 1,058 private institutions reporting any amount for tuition, fees, room, and board.

But hey, you can't get rich as an academician right?

Not exactly........

Following up on my previous post, 100 Colleges Charge $50k/Year -- Up from 58 in 2009-10 and 5 in 2008-09: 30 college presidents earned more than $1 million in compensation in 2008 (up from 23 in 2007), topped by Touro President Bernard Lander's $4,786,830 compensation. (Hat Tip: Ann Murphy.)

Maybe that's how the inflation curve for higher education looks like this........

Life in "Progress" City - Detroit edition

Just how "progressive" is Detroit? Often, I make fun of how hard it is to find a republican in some of our most "progressive" cities. In Detroit, it's no joke.

theblogprof has the results of the most recent elections in Detroit.


2008 General Election results-DEM: 96.93% GOP: 2.65%
2006 General Election results-DEM: 95.05% GOP: 4.33%
2004 General Election results-DEM: 93.61% GOP: 5.93%

So if you are a native Detroiter, when the hell do you start blaming the condition of your city on your democratic officials? Based on the above figures, I'm guessing never.

Life in "Progress" City - Cincinnati edition

If you look at the photo to the right, you might guess that it's a shot of a homeless encampment.

It's not. This is an encampment of families waiting in line in the hopes of enrolling their kids into one of the better Cincinnati magnet schools..........

Rodrigo Coronel had originally planned to set up his tent Saturday at the Fairview Clifton German Language School.

The West End man figured he would be there in plenty of time to snag his son a spot on the enrollment list for the school’s pre-kindergarten program. After all, the school won’t take applications until 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

He figured wrong.

“I went to work (Friday) and a co-worker said ‘aren’t you supposed to be at school? I heard there was about 70 people already!’” he said.

So Coronel, who works in marketing at Procter & Gamble, canceled his day of meetings, hailed a cab and rushed over.

He managed to snag spot No. 67 in line – a low enough number to guarantee his child’s enrollment.

Waiting in line for days in the hopes of getting your kids into a decent school.

Now that's "progressive"!

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