Are liberals seceding from sanity?

A good piece by liberal, Michael Lind on the caricature of republicans as a bunch of red neck southerners. It turns out nearly every ethnic group agrees with conservative issues to some degree.....

Curiously, the progressive punditariat, so voluble about "angry white men," is silent about the decades-old Republican bias of white women. Even more curious is the paradox that liberals routinely denounce white Southern Protestants for holding the very social views that are held by majorities or near-majorities of blacks and Latinos who form the electoral base of the Democratic Party.

Consider gay rights. According to a Gallup poll in December 2008, only 31 percent of black Democrats consider homosexuality morally acceptable, compared to 61 percent of non-black Democrats. The proportion of black Democrats who think that homosexuality is immoral is identical to the proportion of all Republicans who think so. The double standard of the white liberal left was evident, when California voters narrowly passed an amendment banning gay marriage. Here is the AP: "California's black and Latino voters, who turned out in droves for Barack Obama, also provided key support in favor of the state's same-sex marriage ban. Seven in 10 black voters backed a successful ballot measure to overturn the California Supreme Court's May decision allowing same-sex marriage, according to exit polls for the Associated Press. More than half of Latino voters supported Proposition 8, while whites were split." There were lots of news stories about pro-gay-rights liberals denouncing the Mormon Church for its role in the campaign. Where were the liberals angrily denouncing black and Latino voters opposed to gay marriage?

Latinos, like blacks, are far more likely than whites to oppose abortion. According to a 2007 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Hispanic Center, nearly half of second-generation Latinos think that abortion should be illegal, while 65 percent of first-generation Latinos think it should be outlawed. Indeed, the overall level of Latino opposition to abortion, 57 percent, is higher than that of any other group. Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum, described Latino immigrants as being out of the mainstream, saying that second-generation Latinos (the more "liberal" cohort that is split nearly 50-50!) are "much, much closer to mainstream American values ... in stark contrast to the first generation who are much more conservative on this issue." Imagine the uproar if Rush Limbaugh or Patrick Buchanan said that Latino immigrants are far from "mainstream American values."

To read progressive pundits, you'd think that illegal immigration would not be controversial, were it not for hate-filled Southern rednecks. But according to a 2006 Pew poll, "Both whites (55 percent) and blacks (54 percent) are more likely than Hispanics (29 percent) to see immigrants as a burden." In Barack Obama's Chicago, according to Pew in 2006, "there is a widespread perception among African Americans that immigrant workers are damaging local jobs prospects. Fully 41 percent of African Americans say they or a family member has lost a job, or not gotten a job, because an employer hired an illegal immigrant instead." A Gallup poll in December 2008 revealed that 47 percent of black Americans thought that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S., while exactly the same percentage, 47 percent, thought that illegal immigrants should be arrested and deported.

Read the whole thing.......

funny

Why Bengals fans will always be losers

Last April, I outlined a list of the world's biggest losers.

These are the types of people accountants, computer gamers and Star Wars groupies actually call out as losers. Those groups are in no particular order senators, Dungeon and Dragon players and NFL draft groupies.

I need to add one to the list............... Bengals fans

Now your average Bengal fan looks at this up coming season and says "Wow! we signed a bunch of free agents this off season, had a great draft, a favorable schedule and Chad's got a great attitude. We'll have a great season!" (translation......... another 7-9 record). It's like watching Lucy pulling the ball from Charlie Brown.

So I'm here to help explain to your average Bengals fan why the Bengals will be horrible once again (as if 18 of 19 losing seasons wasn't enough evidence)

First, you have to start with what finished last year. The team ended 4-11-1. They were absolutely horrible. If they were to stay with the same team as last year, they would even be worse.

Second, there was not one game changer in their free agent signings. They lost their best receiver in TJ and replaced him with Laverneus Cole; at best a push.

Third, they had a great draft. Guess what? So did 31 other teams. You won't know until these guys suit up and play whether they'll be any good or not. Let's remember other great Bengal draft signings; Ricky Dixon, Pete Koch, Kijana Carter, Big Daddy Wilkinson, Akili Smith..... Not exactly a draft track record that invokes confidence

In addition, part of having a great draft is actually having your drafted players in camp! Once again, the Bengals are one of the last teams to get their number one into camp. I've heard sport talk clowns criticize Andre Smith for not signing and getting in. It reminds me of a great quote from Greg Allman I recently read "After my sixth marriage, I started to wonder if it was me."

How is it that the Bengals always have these holdouts? Have they wondered whether or not it might be them? Maybe it's not the player.

Finally, the schedule may or may not work out for the Bengals. Teams can shift fairly dramatically for an NFL team (unless you are the Bengals, Lions and Raiders who always suck). Last years Cardinals may be the 2007 Cardinals. Bengals fan always like to hang their hat on the number of losses their team had against playoff teams. Never factoring that the reason they are playoff teams is that they get to play the Bengals

So once again, if you don't want to be made fun of by a gang of Coldplay fans or a gaggle of Guitar Hero addicts or a litter of Perez Hilton Twitter followers, quit giving Mike Brown your money and attention.

The Public Plan Deception - It's Not About Choice

Feel free to call Linda Douglass and turn me in!

Putting my money where my mouth is II

I always find it humorous to read the comments on your various liberal sites about how "greedy" people who don't support school levies are when the thought of actually cutting a check for their schools seems as foreign as the aliens in Area 51.

There is no better example of this than that liberal dolt Eric of Plunderbong. A few years ago, Eric did such a post about supporting schools and I challenged him to send the schools a check if they are such a worthwhile cause.

Do you think he did? I'll let the readers decide.

But unlike Eric, I actually do support the schools with or without benefit of a tax levy.

Here is a copy of a cleared check that I sent the Lancaster Athletic Boosters for $100.00. For the record, I don't live in the Lancaster school district (although I have nieces and nephews who do). I just recently sent them another $100 that hasn't cleared yet.

So why do I send them money? Because of my experience with the Lancaster track and cross country teams, I was able to secure a scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. It was due to my relationship with all of my athletic coaches who helped me in so many ways that I feel an obligation to pay back. As soon as I fulfill my pledge to UC for a scholarship fund my intention is to reallocate those dollars to a public school athletic program.

The point of all this? I don't wait for a school district to pass a levy. I actually support my schools by sending them money! What a novel concept for a liberal.

With that said, I'll offer another wager with Eric and his Plunderdouche buddies. Who gives more to charity? I'll go up against each and every one of you for $500.00 to the charity of the winner's choice.

If you think that it's unfair because I make so much more than you, then we'll do it as a percentage of income. I know I would kick your ass then.

So what's it going to be big mouth? Are you willing to put your money where your mouth is?

PS I'm still waiting for that dolt to accept my challenge from yesterday.

Putting my money where my mouth is

I love comments on the blog. I actually would love to have comments from those who disagree with me; regardless of the issue.

What I can't stand are snarky character attacks from liberals.

Case in point, Eric from Plunderbong posted this comment.

Eric has left a new comment on your post "Global Warming challenge update":

Funny you don't put your money where your mouth is:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/07/challenge-to-climate-change-skeptics.html

Like a typical liberal, Eric knows everything. But what he knows just isn't so.

First, I wasn't even aware of this challenge so it's hard to participate in something you know nothing about.

Second, I have my own challenge, and if you would have read any of my global warming posts you would have run across this post dated 7/2/09.....

So if you believe that we are in one of these spikes, then these averages work in your favor since the numbers are actually skewed on the low side because of so many years of low temperatures.

Obviously, I'm taking in one reading from one site. But the last I could tell the Greater Cincinnati Airport was still on planet earth so I would have to think that if we have global warming on the globe, it should include parts if not all of Cincinnati.

My challenge has never been set out to prove or disprove global warming. As I said last January, the cool side won last year but it was a fifty fifty probability. I get that.

But if you are a Branch Gorvidian, this is a can't lose. I've set up a scenario that's actually stacked in your favor. And wouldn't it be great to steal some money from the great Gordon Gekko.

If you have the guts.

or maybe this post from 1/1/09......

The final results to the Global Warming Challenge

Warm 341
Cool 371

How is this possible? I mean it's supposed to be warming right?

Actually, I'd like to gloat but in reality it's like bragging about winning a coin flip. I mean the chances were 50-50 that cool would win the challenge.

Unless of course you're a Branch Gorevidian who believes in this global warming non sense. Then this has to be a shocker to your core. Kind of like killing yourself wearing purple Nikes only to find that comet really didn't mean the end of the world.

snip

No matter how you cut it, the temperatures were cooler despite claims of some warming.

At least this keeps liberals claims at a perfect 100% wrong.

But I'm willing to put my coin flip where my money is. Where is that little piss ant lib who mocked my challenge?

Here's your chance to take a conservative's money, you have to love that; at least if you have balls to take me up on the challenge.

So can I assume that Eric is going to take some money from the Gordonator?

I'll make you a deal Eric. We'll go down for a hundred bucks and you can make the start date 8/1 or 9/1. I'll even take the measurements from the Columbus Airport if it makes you feel better.

If you're the Branch Gorvidian you say you are, wouldn't it be orgasmic to take some dough from old Gordon?

That is, if your willing to put your money where your mouth is.

I'll be waiting for your acceptance.

Fight at Russ Carnahan Town Hall Event - Raw Video (8/6/09)

The little engine that could

Whenever you do a post on light rail systems, you end up getting comments from light rail junkies who's obsession with choo choos rival my three year old nephew's obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine.

My post earlier today was no different.

Unfortunately, the truth will set you free Choo Choo freak. Let's talk about the Tampa rails system completed in 2002........

Proud officials here have coined a word - "transportainment" - to describe the vintage electric streetcars that for the past seven years have run along a route lined by restaurants, shops, nightspots, public arenas and tourist attractions.

On one recent weekday, however, scant evidence of either root word in that description could be found.

Around noon, a succession of largely empty streetcars rolled by at 20-minute intervals - five passengers on the first two, four on the next and a solitary rider aboard the one after that.

So much for the transportation. As for the entertainment, that seemed largely confined to drivers wearing classic conductor hats and occasionally tooting the horn.

Read the rest here

How about Seattle's light rail?

Here's a video showing their rail system. Pay attention to the details.




If you watched the whole video you would have noticed a few items.

1) Notice the cars whizzing by. Obviously, it's not faster than traditional transportation modes.
2) Notice the lack of development along the street. It's looks like a series of 1950's industrial parks.
3) Notice the lack of passengers at the stations. Isn't moving people the whole purpose of these things?

Look, I think it would be nice to have a little choo choo to ride around the city on, oh, say three times in my life. But is that a wise investment of hundreds of millions of dollars when we have a bridge ready to fall into the river if it isn't rebuilt in the next decade?

I don't think so.

But I still love it when the pro rail guys comment. It's like watching Rainman" all over again.

Hampstead, NH, Town Hall Meeting-Protest, August 5, 2009, Part I

Read about this batch of well dress, swastika carrying brown shirts here.

Joker - Obama a bad metaphor

First off, it’s worth looking at whether the poster is racist. Liberals seem pretty certain it is. An LA Weekly blogger commented that “the only thing missing is a noose.” Now, you might be scratching your head and saying that the only people who would call this racist are brain-dead liberals who shriek “racism!” at every criticism about Obama as an alternative to thinking and only cause more problems by confusing the issue of racism and should thus be chased out of society and forced to live in the sewers, only emerging at night to feed on garbage and bugs.

And while that’s quite fair and probably true, we should still give the possibility of racism a fair hearing. Don’t you remember the long, racist history of black people being compared to the Joker? Of course not, because I just made that up — but it could be true in some alternate universe. Also, the image involves white makeup on a black person. White on black — that has to be racist somehow. I’ll bet makeup places won’t even sell white pancake makeup to black people. They’d be like “No! Get out of here, black person! We won’t sell that to you! That’s racist!”

Beyond the racism in the image that’s quite obvious to crazy people, the other question is whether there are any real substantive comparisons between Obama and the Joker. On the surface, they don’t seem at all alike. The Joker is psychotic, and I’ve heard Obama called a lot of things — arrogant, incompetent, deceitful, a Communist — but not psychotic. Obama doesn’t seem like he’s out to kill anyone — not even terrorists — and only leaves the option of killing people on the table to help make ends meet in his health care plan.

Also, the Joker seemed chaotic but was very careful in his planning, while the chaos from the Obama administration seems much more explainable by pure incompetence.

More..........

While Rome burns

Like most cities, Cincinnati has a chubby for building a street car system in the city.

But if you look at photos and videos of streetcars in other cities you'll notice two distinct characteristics of those cars.

1) They look kind of cool
2) They're almost always empty

Case in point, this photo of the Tampa cars. Notice the one person on this car the photo is taken in and notice the whopping two passengers in the car across the way.



Here's another.

So while the city is spending valuable resources trying to get these crime magnets into the budget, they might actually consider using those funds for cops.

More....

From "the most ethical congress in history"

Another Countrywide VIP..........

A powerful House Democrat who has turned down a Republican's call to subpoena records of a mortgage program at Countrywide Financial Corp. received two home loans from the lender.

Some information in the lawmaker's mortgage documents raises the possibility they were made through the program, which provided loans to public figures and other favored borrowers often at lower interest rates or with lower origination fees than were available to the general public.

The loans were made to Rep. Edolphus Towns of New York, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. The panel's ranking Republican, California Rep. Darrell Issa, has been pushing to have the committee subpoena mortgage records showing who received loans through Countrywide's VIP program -- operated under former Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo and known within the company as "Friends of Angelo."

Read the rest........

Life in "Progress" city

From the city of Akron who hasn't had a conservative run the city since the it was covered by a glacier...........

Akron police and Mayor Don Plusquellic are hurling accusations at each other after they tangled outside a downtown nightclub early Sunday.

The union charged Monday that the mayor was slurring his words, was abusive to officers and interfered with an investigation of a large fight that Plusquellic had witnessed after he had been out drinking.

Meanwhile, Plusquellic said he was upset that he was placed on hold twice when calling 911, a responding officer was arrogant and disrespectful, and police failed to pursue vital witnesses.

The mayor — who admitted he pestered police at the scene to interview witnesses — called the union's version a ''cock and bull story.''

''What I did was vitally important to cracking this case,'' he said Monday night in a telephone interview.

Plusquellic and others called 911 around 2:30 a.m. Sunday to report a fight involving many people that had spilled outside the Lux Nightclub near West Exchange and South Main streets.

First, what in the hell is a mayor doing at a "club" at 2:30 in the morning? Was he out fighting crime? I'll bet he was nice and sober.

Second, Plusquellic is white, are we to assume that cops were rude to a white guy? From the Gates incident, it became clear that cops only treat black guys rudely. I don't think so.

Third, let's do this again class. Cops don't show up on the scene to listen to some drunken a-hole tell them how to do their job. When cops show up their first priority is to secure the scene. Having some douchebag tell them how to do their job does not enhance that effort. You'd think this mayor would know that. But then again, he's a middle aged hack trying to get his freak on with some young honey at a club.

More...........

HT Boring made dull.

The dating world stinks for homicidal maniacs

Apparently, the LA Fitness gunman was upset because he couldn't find a babe......

His 4,610-word Web diary appeared to be a nine-month chronology of his plans to end his misery with a shocking act of carnage at his gym. He couldn't understand why women ignored him, despite his best efforts to look nice. He hadn't had a girlfriend since 1984, hadn't slept with a woman in 19 years.

"Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one. Not one of them finds me attractive," the 48-year-old computer programmer lamented.

Here's a little tip for the rest of you potential sexually frustrated gunman. Women can pick up on that whole homicidal maniac vibe you give off and, even though it's been a while since I checked out a Playboy, I don't remember any centerfolds naming that as a "turn on".

Maybe you ought to seek professional help before you get into the dating world.

More...

Kathy Castor Town Hall Erupts in Tampa Florida, August 6th, 2009

AARP Town Hall Meeting on Health Care - Dallas, August 4, 2009

1 - 800 - OBAMACARE

thanks to reader Andrew

Pelosi says health care protestors carrying swastikas

Barbara Boxer Objects To Health Care Protesters' "Attire"

Yeah. They probably called her Ma'am as well.

How dare those conservative thugs come well dressed.

Obama to Citizens on Health Care: Send In All Fishy Emails

Reason's take on those pesky emailers

Liberal Arrogance - Paul Krugman

Obama Solves More Conflicts

Red Pill v. Blue Pill

Obama makes that cliche sound so simple, so appealing but that's usually not real life.

Let's put this challenge to a more real life example.

Let's say that there's a cancer patient and the traditional treatment for a procedure is a generic red pill that costs $5.00 a dose. Because of the uniqueness of symptoms, red pill treatment may not work on Patient A. But a new, blue pill, is out on the market to address those symptoms.

Unfortunately, the new, blue pill costs $500 a dose.

Which one would Dr. Obama prescribe?

Well, if Dr. Obama operates like the State of Oregon's health care provider, he'd prescribe the purple pill for assisted suicide. Here's a real life example of government health care making the choice for the patient.....

The powerful story of Barbara Wagner demonstrates why this discussion is of utmost importance. When Barbara’s lung cancer reappeared during the spring of 2008 her oncologist recommended aggressive treatment with Tarceva, a new chemotherapy. However, Oregon’s state run health plan denied the potentially life altering drug because they did not feel it was "cost-effective." Instead, the State plan offered to pay for either hospice care or physician-assisted suicide.

This is a must read for every US citizen.

Thanks to reader Fred.

Life in "Progress" City

From the Queen City of Cincinnati, who hasn't had a conservative run the city since Pete Best was a Beattle............

Cincinnati police could take the biggest hit in layoffs this year to make up for the city’s $28 million deficit.

City Manager Milton Dohoney proposes to lay off 138 members of the police department, but he said the number of officers assigned to neighborhood patrols will not change, and neither will the numbers assigned to each of the five districts.

That would leave civilians in the department, of which there are about 140, and officers assigned to investigative and other jobs. Chief Tom Streicher will speak later this afternoon about what the cuts will mean.The 138 police employees are part of 319 position cuts throughout the city. Of those 319, 295 are positions now filled -- 208 of them tull-time, 87 part-time. Exact positions have not yet been disclosed. The city employs about 6,000.

So the city decides to send out a big 'ole welcome call to criminals in the area that it's hunting season.

This on the heals of the city spending 3.5 million on new recycling bins for the residents.

If you live in the city and don't have your concealed carry permit, you are insane.

More.....

Who gets subsidized in "Cash for Clunkers"?

Excellent piece in Reason Magazine on who gets subsidized and who gets screwed in the nightmare aka "Cash for Clunkers"............

As for the factual claims, did cash-for-clunkers indeed "help everyone"? Well, no. Let's take my favorite example: me. The Welch household owns one car, a 1994 Acura Integra. While clunky, this 15-year-old car does not qualify for the program, because it gets too many miles per gallon–around 28, allegedly. So our tax dollars are being redistributed to people who have made less eco-friendly purchases than we have.

One could counter-argue that monocle-wearing magazine editors such as moi are not the intended audience for this bit of alleged FDRism, and while that actually doesn't make any sense (since no one's checking your pay stubs on the showroom floor), let's roll with it anyway. Here's the problem even then: We bought that pup (for the C-4-Cish price of $4,000, about six years ago), back when we were poor. Hell, I'd bet that the majority of households whose lone car is a 1994 anything ain't exactly swimming in the do-rey-mi. What this program does is take money from the stickshift-driving non-rich, and gives it to anyone with an SUV and/or old beater. Who (again, unlike us) is ready to shell out five figures for a shiny new car.

And wait! It gets worse, from that whole social-justice angle. What about the estimated 12 percent of Americans aged 15 years and above who don't drive, period? What about all the adults who live in the 8 percent of households that don't have a vehicle? What about half the residents of Manhattan, who took transit planners' decades-old dream to heart and "got out of their cars"? What about those who are too poor to drive? The answer: All of these people are subsidizing whoever turns in an SUV or crappy old $800 K-Car like the one I used to drive. Not only that, but what do you think happens to the $800 car market when the guvmint is handing out $4,500 checks to have the things destroyed? I'll go ahead and state the obvious: It shrinks, making it more expensive for the truly poor people, the ones who want to make that daring leap from the bus system to an awful old bucket of rust.

Read the rest.........

As transparent as mud

The Obamumists are apparently not all that transparent on this "Cash for Clunkers" deal.

Are we surprised?

Read about it here......

Life in "Redville"

Apparently, out here in "Redville" we have a lot of "slow" children since you see these signs on every block in every subdivision.

It brings to me to these questions.

1) Are these kids slow mentally or just not too fleet a foot? You can't really tell from the sign. The figure looks more like a power walker.

2) I thought in the day of mainstreaming we weren't supposed to identify children as "slow".

3) If/when you see one of these "slow" children are you supposed to point at them or not make eye contact? Are you allowed to feed them?

4) Where the hell are the "quick" kids in these neighborhoods and why aren't we identifying them with one of those "my kid is an honor roll student at Pisgah Junior High" bumper stickers?

5) It seems to me that most of these slow kids are going to be democrats some day so why aren't their families moving back to the city where they'll be right at home with the slow members of, say, the Detroit city council.

Finally, why aren't we identifying the "slow" parents?

Driehaus gets drilled

Those pesky constituents

Iowahawk with a hilarious piece.........

Over two hundred years ago, America's founding fathers established a constitutional republic based on the audacious notion that the interests of its citizens would be best served by a wise body of their democratically-elected representatives. In the two centuries that have since transpired, that bold experiment has largely been a success. But we should also realize our system only works when the interests of voters and their government are in harmony. Unfortunately, recent evidence suggests that America's hard-working hometown legislators are feeling the pinch from a fickle and increasingly out-of-touch voter class who no longer serves our needs.

Nowhere has this disturbing trend been more evident than in the recent debate over health care reform. Like hundreds of our fellow legislators and government officials, we recently traveled to a town hall meeting to distribute a grassroots press release explaining why this critical legislation is a done deal. Our advance staffs said that should anticipate a respectful, positive hearing from local media and bused-in union members. Instead we were greeted by a rude howling mob of idiot "voters" who refused to listen to reason, and ruined what should have been a killer photo op for our re-election ad campaign.

Have these arrogant ivory tower armchair quarterbacks ever had to live with the pressures of being a working stiff Senator or Cabinet Secretary in Washington DC? Have they ever had to juggle markup language on a supplemental appropriations bill, or deal with an incompetent Chief of Staff who constantly double-books fund raising dinners? Apparently not, if their whiny obnoxious chants are any indication. "Read the Bill! Read the Bill!" blah, blah, blah, as if we weren't already exhausted from writing and voting for the damned thing.

Read the rest here......

Michelle Malkin discusses "Culture of Corruption" on "The View"

How to cut down on medical costs

About ten years ago, I got involved with a talking head, ding dong who lived in New York (call it a rebound, midlife crisis relationship).

I always found it hilarious that this woman was taking an anti-depressant (Wellbutrin) yet found a way to continue her consumption of vodka gimlets. Some times, she would actually down her meds with the vodka.

When I asked her if she ever considered dropping the booze to help her "depression" issues, she looked at me like I had three heads (maybe that was the vodka). It never occurred to her that her lifestyle (diet, exercise, alcohol consumption) might actually be a contributor to her depression issues.

Last week, I went to the eye doctor and he told me I needed to see my GP because my blood pressure was really high. Now, for the record, old Gordon thinks the food pyramid consists of beer, pizza, donuts, nachos and ice cream; none of which help a blood pressure issue. So before I could go in the see my GP, I radically changed my diet and really started watching the crap I fuel my body with. Within a week and a half, my blood pressure is down about 20 points. Accomplished without aid of a script.

Now for me, I will resist till the day I die having to take a daily med for some condition. In addition, I have a high deductible insurance with an HSA account so any med is coming right out of my pocket. So I also have a financial interest in not taking meds.

But it has me wonder; how much of our medical costs are wrapped up in taking meds for conditions that could be solved by simple lifestyle changes?

When I see a report that 27 million are taking anti depressants, I'm thinking that it's a lot.

How much of our medical costs are wrapped up in treating conditions resulting from lifestyle choices (diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, etc.) that people continue even after diagnoses? My guess is we could collectively save billions if people were forced to pay for these scripts out of pocket. They might decide the lifestyle change is cheaper.

Except for Ms. Talking Head........... that vodka is just too tasty.

Birthers

I've done little posting on this "birther" movement because, frankly, it's a monumental waste of time.

There were lots of reasons to vote against Obamamania without even including this drivel.

But when I'm going through and seeing liberals post on the "technical" violation of the Constitution, it has me wonder what the hell is up with this........

Here's one article.......

But whatever the actual percentage was of kooky Democratic "truthers," they never got even close to the mainstream cred now enjoyed by the largely Republican "birthers." You didn't find serious lefty pundits or elected Democrats muttering that there were still serious questions about whether Bush was in on the 9/11 plot, or ducking the issue when reporters came to call.

Even still, at least the Democratic wingnuts were obsessing over a gravely serious matter -- treason and the deaths of thousands of innocents. The Republican wingnuts are obsessing over what is, at worst, a highly technical violation of one of the ugliest and outmoded passages in our Constitution.

More.......

And another.........

Despite a congressional resolution affirming President Obama's U.S. birth and a reaffirmation of his birth certificate's authenticity from Hawaiian officials, media outlets continue to air frivolous allegations that the president was born in Kenya, rendering him ineligible for the presidency. Let's pretend, for just a moment, that the birthers had credible evidence that Obama was foreign-born. Then what would happen?

Resignation, impeachment, or nothing. If Obama stood his ground, and Congress stood by him, then the only way to legally remove him from office would be for someone to sue. Problem is, no one would have standing to bring such a lawsuit. To establish standing, a plaintiff must show that he has suffered an injury personal to him, that the defendant caused the injury, and that the court could provide a remedy. That turns out to be an impossible task.

More.....

So these are now the democratic talking points? We've gone from "is he really an American" to splitting hairs on technical aspects of the law as to whether he's eligible to serve. It's almost like they're conceding a breach in the dike and now they're moving behind the next one to shore it up.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Life in "Progress" City

From the Queen city of Cincinnati, who hasn't had a republican mayor since the earth was flat (as reported by Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth").............

Cincinnati, your city leaders really want you to recycle a lot more – so much so that they’ll spend more than $3.5 million to lease 64-gallon, wheeled recycling carts as the city struggles to cope with a $28 million deficit.

A majority of council members voted Monday to approve a 10-year lease.

That might seem like bad timing, but proponents say the carts and other recycling expansion plans – including participation incentives – will make the recycling program more effective. The plan should save the city money long term, they say, in less cost at the landfill and reduced expenses for trash pickup. Next year, four fewer trash trucks could be needed, saving more than $950,000.

So that's mathematics "progressive" style; spend 3.5 million to save $950,000.

No wonder the city is broke.

More............

I'm Not a Doctor, But I Play One on TV

Bluer than blue

Even the NY Times is starting to catch on to the notion that blue state politics don't work out quite so well in bad times...............

And, inevitably, the tendency toward political corruption. The Republicans have their mistresses, but the Democrats are dealing with a more serious array of scandals: the Blagojevich-Burris embarrassment in Illinois, Senator Christopher Dodd’s dubious mortgage dealings in Connecticut, the expansive graft case in New Jersey, and a slew of corruption investigations featuring Democratic congressmen.

This helps explain why the Republican Party might be competitive in the Northeast for the first time in years. Chris Christie is easily leading Jon Corzine in the race for New Jersey’s governorship. Rob Simmons might unseat Chris Dodd in Connecticut. Rudy Giuliani, who has experience with blue-state crises, is pondering a run for the statehouse in New York.

And it also helps explain Obama’s current difficulties. The president is pushing a California-style climate-change bill at a time when businesses (and people) are fleeing the Golden State in droves. He’s pushing a health care plan that looks a lot like the system currently hemorrhaging money in Massachusetts. His ballooning deficits resemble the shortfalls paralyzing state capitals from Springfield to Sacramento.

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste,” Rahm Emanuel remarked last fall. But in a crisis, all the public tends to care about are jobs and economic growth. It’s not the ideal time to pass costly social legislation that promises to reap dividends only in the long term, if at all.

That’s why Franklin Roosevelt waited until 1935, when the Great Depression seemed to be waning, to push Social Security through Congress. It’s why Lyndon Johnson established Medicare at the peak of the long post-World War II expansion. And it’s why Massachusetts’s health care plan and California’s cap on greenhouse-gas emissions both passed at the height of the recent boom, rather than the bottom.

Obama is still broadly popular, and the public is still broadly sympathetic to his administration’s agenda. But the money has to come from somewhere. You can’t have a bold new liberal era without the growth to pay for it.

The president wants to govern America like a blue state. But for that to work, he’ll need the nation’s economy to start performing more like Texas.

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Life in "Redville"

If you've followed this blog for more than a week, you are familiar with my "Life in 'Progress' City" series.

Just to be fair; let it be known that life in "Redville" isn't perfect. While we lack for murders, home invasions, horrible schools, unemployment, high taxes, condemned houses, we do have our share of meth dealers.

Case in point, meet Joseph Wiggins.

A Deerfield Township man, who was the focus of Warren County's first meth lab bust in 2000, will now go to prison for 16 years after getting caught doing the same thing in March.

A jury convicted Joseph Wiggins, 44, of 17 charges involving the raid on his rented Davis Road property, where police found 17 guns, a meth lab in a shed, and a variety of other drugs -- incuding marijuana and prescription drugs -- they say he was selling.

In Warren County Common Pleas Court today, Wiggins told Judge Neal Bronson he was trying to give up drugs after becoming a first-time father last year.

Wiggins was holding the 8-month-old girl when county drug agents bought meth from him and arrested him, Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Derek Faulkner said.

Yeah, a regular father of the year.

Maybe Gary over at Right Runner can teach him how to can pickles.

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Who's in your wallet?

Thanks to reader Bernie........

Crowd Explodes When Arlen Specter Urges That We "Do This Fast"

ABC 20/20 Takes on Health Care Reform

Huh?

Separately, in Tel Aviv, the police continued hunting for a gunman who fled a gay community center after killing 2 Israelis and wounding at least 10 others on Saturday night. The shock over the attack jolted a society that largely values tolerance and has hardly been exposed to the specter of hate crimes. Both Mr. Netanyahu and the defense minister, Ehud Barak, strongly condemned the attack.

Yeah, Israeli's have had little exposure to hate crimes except for those pizzaria bombings, shopping mall bombings, bus bombings, etc, etc, etc. Life in Tel Aviv is a virtual communal love in....

Are media members absolute morons?

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Tea Party

I went out to Voice of America Park Friday night for the Tea Party rally and I obviously misunderstood the nature of the festivities.

1) There was no rally but a presentation for the Tea Party movement.

2) The presentation was in what looked like a 300 person lecture hall and it was packed. We had to leave because I couldn't even find a comfortable place to stand.

3) For what little I saw and heard while I was there, republicans and democrats alike would be very advised not to assume that these people were all there to rally for republican support.

I look forward to being able to actually attend one of these in the future.

It's still Bush's fault

So the Obamunists are getting that they can't blame Bush for things as they are now. So they're doing the next best thing.

Blame Bush & Clinton for Obama being incompetent............

Politicians, like generals, suffer from a tendency to fight the last war. Having studied meticulously the mistakes of their predecessors, they take care to avoid repeating them—and make the opposite ones. They fortify Maginot lines. They overcompensate for past errors. They swing too far in the other direction.

It is difficult to think of a contemporary president who has not fallen prey to this temptation. Jimmy Carter reacted against Richard Nixon's ruthlessness and Lyndon B. Johnson's horse-trading by becoming both too nice and too disdainful of congressional politics. Carter's micromanagement encouraged Ronald Reagan's propensity for detachment. Bill Clinton came to Washington intent on reversing George H.W. Bush's excessive focus on foreign policy—and proceeded to neglect foreign policy for his first few years. George W. Bush compensated for his father's lack of vision and Clinton's indiscipline with his own excesses of grandiosity and punctuality. First ladies do it: Hillary Clinton tried to be the anti-Barbara Bush, while Laura Bush tried to be the anti-Hillary. Even vice presidents do it: Blathering, peripheral Joe Biden is the excessive response to the silent, all-powerful Dick Cheney.

Barack Obama, too, seems to be caught in this dialectical rut. His early difficulties with health care reform, which will probably be the defining domestic initiative of his presidency, are the consequence of over-learning Clinton's lessons. Of course, Clinton's mistakes were fateful and ought not to be repeated. Bill and Hillary were far too controlling of the details of policy and not skillful enough at forging political consensus. They drafted an indigestible, 1,342-page bill in secret and then dumped it on Congress' doorstep. They tried to pass a massive social and economic transformation on a too narrow partisan basis. Rather than compromise, Clinton waved his veto pen. He challenged too many interest groups too directly and lost the propaganda war.

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SHOCK UNCOVERED: Obama IN HIS OWN WORDS saying His Health Care Plan will ELIMINATE private insurance

Global Warming challenge update

Results for the global warming challenge through 7/31/09.......

The average high temperature for the month of July was 78.7 degrees versus an average high temperature of 86.4. A difference of 7.7 degrees cooler than normal.

The average low temperature for the month was 61.6 degrees v. an average low of 66.1 a difference of 4.5 degrees cooler than normal.

That brings the score to

Warm 8
Cool 6

Some interesting facts about the month of July. Not one day did the temperature exceed 85 degrees.

More than half the days (16) the temperature never exceeded 80 degrees.

As I seem to have to point out for the Branch Gorevidians, I would call this a weather anomaly. But if you are a believer in the religion known as Global Warming, how do you explain such low temperatures. After all it is supposed to be WARMING. Right?

I guess without the warming, the temperature average temperature would have been 76 degrees this month.

The Joker

From Tammy Bruce

And these guys will run healthcare

Now, it seems that Government Motors is acknowledging that they screwed up the dealer closings..............

Thomas McCaslin might never know for sure why General Motors called two weeks ago to say his 80-year-old dealership in the heart of Nebraska cattle country wouldn't close after all.

He has a feeling that a hamburger cookout and an old-fashioned brand of political lobbying had something to do with it.

"There's no doubt in my mind" it helped, McCaslin said Thursday as about 200 residents gathered to celebrate the town's only GM dealership continuing to sell Chevrolets. "You have all these elected officials who make things happen because they depend on votes."

GM's reversal followed a massive letter-writing campaign and lobbying of elected officials that started with a cookout in the town square just days after Gateway Motors was told in May it would be among 1,300 in the country to close.

In some rural areas, GM dealerships once set to be casualties of the company's financial freefall find themselves part of its reformation after sending handwritten pleas and barbecue invites — including one that used GM's own "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet" slogan.

GM says its change of heart on about 50 dealerships it called underperforming wasn't based on those kinds of factors or any political arm-twisting.

Instead, GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos said, the company realized it erred when analyzing the finances of the dealerships and reconsidered the distances between some dealers. Closing Gateway Motors, for example, would have meant people had to drive 60 miles to the closest GM dealer.

Yeah, I guess it never occurred to anyone that they might want to analyze that before they announced the closings......

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Compassion when nobody's looking

They say a picture says a thousand words.

American Thinker with a thousand word analysis of the after beer summit photograph............

I am stunned that the official White House Blog published this picture and that it is in the public domain. The body language is most revealing.

Sergeant Crowley, the sole class act in this trio, helps the handicapped Professor Gates down the stairs, while Barack Obama, heedless of the infirmities of his friend and fellow victim of self-defined racial profiling, strides ahead on his own. So who is compassionate? And who is so self-involved and arrogant that he is oblivious?

In my own dealings with the wealthy and powerful, I have always found that the way to quickly capture the moral essence of a person is to watch how they treat those who are less powerful. Do they understand that the others are also human beings with feelings? Especially when they think nobody is looking.

C'mon now. It's the same compassion he's shown his relatives in Kenya.

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Paul Ryan on MSNBC: "Let's have an honest debate"

Who's idea was "cash for clunkers"?

I think it was this ding dong, who happens to be on the Obama economic team.....

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

From I hate the media

The Most Interesting Man in the World (2009)

What did Obama drink yesterday?

HT NRO

Quote of the day

Let’s be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science, consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.

Michael Crichton

And it shows

Apparently, that socialized medicine works so well 7.4 million people in England can't see a dentist.......

Millions of adults in England and Wales haven’t been to an NHS dentist since April 2006 mainly because they couldn’t find one to treat them, says new research carried out for national charity Citizens Advice as it urges Primary Care Trusts to spend newly allocated resources to improve access.

The Ipsos MORI survey found that lack of access is the most common reason cited by people in England and Wales for not seeing an NHS dentist since April 2006, along with not needing treatment. It was mentioned by 31% of respondents in England and Wales who have not been to an NHS dentist since April 2006. This is the equivalent of approximately 7.4 million people who have not been to an NHS dentist since April 2006 because of difficulties in finding one. Of these, the equivalent of approximately 4.7 million have sought private treatment instead and the equivalent of approximately 2.7 million have gone without treatment altogether.

The research also reveals that the problem is more evident in the South West (53%) and the North West (39%).

Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:

"These figures show the scale of the lack of access to NHS dentistry, reflecting the evidence which bureaux across England and Wales have been reporting ever since the early 90’s. People on low incomes are particularly affected as private treatment is just not an option.

"We are therefore delighted that the Government has responded to the problem by announcing an 11% increase in funding for NHS dentistry in England from 2008. This has the potential to deliver real improvements in access to dentistry but it needs to be carefully targeted on those areas where patients are experiencing the most acute problems.

"Primary Care Trusts have a duty to ensure that dentistry services meet local requirements and it is vital that they start planning how to allocate their additional funds now. We also hope that the Welsh Assembly Government will follow suit and increase funding for NHS dentistry in Wales.

"Patients who have been trying to find an NHS dentist should contact NHS Direct to find their local dental helpline now in order to benefit from any new services that are set up."

Read the rest......

The rich don't pay enough

For those who want to believe in the myth that the rich don't pay enough here's a piece from the Tax Foundation on the breakdown..........

Newly released data from the IRS clearly debunks the conventional Beltway rhetoric that the "rich" are not paying their fair share of taxes.

Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007—the most recent data available—the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government. This is the highest percentage in modern history. By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8 percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the year following the 1986 tax reform act.

Remarkably, the share of the tax burden borne by the top 1 percent now exceeds the share paid by the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers combined. In 2007, the bottom 95 percent paid 39.4 percent of the income tax burden. This is down from the 58 percent of the total income tax burden they paid twenty years ago.

To put this in perspective, the top 1 percent is comprised of just 1.4 million taxpayers and they pay a larger share of the income tax burden now than the bottom 134 million taxpayers combined.

Yeah, wait till they get to pick up my health care tab......

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Go ahead and cash that hope check

Thanks to reader Mark for the tip.........

Hope and jobs are in short supply in Ohio eight months after President Barack Obama won the recession-battered state in the 2008 election with promises of a better future.

"People were looking for a savior to get us out of this mess and that's why they voted for Obama," said Jeff Fravor, 55, a retired train conductor on his way to breakfast on the outskirts of Toledo.

"I've nothing against Obama personally, but he's new to the job and 'hope' won't fix this mess."

A spokesman for Governor Ted Strickland added "As soon as we get all those receipts from on line Keno, all of our hopes will be redeemed."

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Why are liberals still angry?

The American Thinker has been running pieces by a recovering liberal, Robin from Berkeley.

These are all interesting reads. Today she opines as to why liberals are still so angry even though they won everything last fall.

So I'm writing to ask a burning question: Why are liberals still so angry? Given that you own almost everything, how come you're not just chilling on the couch, gaming and partying, rather than posting and trolling?

Now, I shouldn't even ask the question given that only last year, I was you. I blew a gasket every time I heard the words "Bush" or "Cheney." But the difference is that my party had lost. Defeated underdogs tend to be all pissy and indignant. How could any of us survive bosses without being able to sit around at lunch and vent about how stupid they all are?

But it's different when the winners are on the attack. If the top dogs go ballistic, all hell can break loose. When the boss spies on you, calls you a c___t, wishes you were dead, and curtails your free speech, well it's time to hightail it out of there.

Some people say this is politics as usual, but I don't think so. I've never witnessed this level of anger from the party in charge. When Clinton was elected, for instance, I was happy as a clam. I really believed in the dude. So I could snooze in the back of the car, not paying much attention to Washington, confident that my beloved (at the time) Democratic Party was in the driver's seat.

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Who did he vote for? #519

Meet Robert Schuerch. Why is Mr. Schuerch in the news?

A Covington man lived with his girlfriend's body for eight days after she died, police said.

It was only after the woman's relatives broke down the door that Kathleen Schmitz's body was taken from the Hermes Street home she shared with Robert Schuerch, according to a police report.

The incident is still under investigation, but Covington police spokesman Spike Jones said it's believed Schmitz died of natural causes.

"We don't believe that foul play exists," Jones said.

Schmitz, 57, died July 10, according Don Catchen Funeral Home. Her brother-in-law, Ron Wynn, told police he last saw her July 9.

Now this past November was Robert here a hope and change guy or a four more of the same kind of guy?

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You want these guys to run health care?

Nothing like ramming through a bill where no one could predict a first class mess.

No I'm not talking about health care but "cash for clunkers".........

Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases.

The Transportation Department called congressional offices late Thursday to alert them to the decision to halt the program, which offered owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle.

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Single Payer Action Confronts Barney Frank

Stimulus money for porn seems appropriate

The National Endowment for the Arts may be spending some of the money it received from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund nude simulated-sex dances, Saturday night "pervert" revues and the airing of pornographic horror films at art houses in San Francisco.

The NEA was given $80 million of the government's $787 billion economic stimulus bill to spread around to needy artists nationwide, and most of the money is being spent to help preserve jobs in museums, orchestras, theaters and dance troupes that have been hit hard by the recession.

But some of the NEA's grants are spicing up more than the economy. A few of their more risque choices have some taxpayer advocates hot under the collar, including a $50,000 infusion for the Frameline film house, which recently screened Thundercrack, "the world's only underground kinky art porno horror film, complete with four men, three women and a gorilla."

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Tomorrow's Tea Party

Gordon and the lovely Mrs. Gekko will be at Voice of America Park for a tea party Friday July 31st at 7:30.

Be there.............

Who did he vote for? #1990

Meet general prisoner in the local county lock up. Why is he in the news?

Prisoner is so hooked on meth that he decides to lick up some that spilled on the floor.



Now this past election, did prisoner here vote for the hope and change candidate or four more years of Bush?

Who did they vote for? #41

Meet Perry Nigley albeit on an audio 911 call. Why is Perry in the news?

911 calls normally aren't funny -- but when a Glendale man came home to a man robbing his house over the weekend, he tackled him and held him still while talking on the phone to a 911 dispatcher.

More News »

Homeowner Perry Bigley told a 911 operator, "I have the robber in one hand and the phone in the other." Click play to listen to the 911 call exchange

Officers arrived to the home in the 4600 block of W San Juan where they found the victim on top of the suspect, holding him down.

Now this past election, did Perry vote for the Maverick or The Messiah?

What about the robber?

Life in "Progress" City

From the "progressive" city of Obamaville, aka Chicago, who hasn't had a conservative run the city since Galileo invented Ray Bans so he could look at the sun..........

At least 14 people were shot and wounded in Chicago overnight, seven of them in a single incident on the city's West Side.

In that incident, police were called to the scene of a shooting at Walnut Street and Homan Boulevard at 10:43 p.m.

Seven people were shot, according to Fire Media Affairs Dir. Larry Langford, who said six people were initially hospitalized in critical condition and one person, an adult man, was taken in stable condition after suffering a graze wound.

One person was found shot inside a grocery store and the six others were found within a half-block radius of the store, Langford said.

All victims were male, Langford said. They ranged in age from 15 to 28, and were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and Stroger Hospital of Cook County for treatment of their wounds.

A couple of questions.

1) How many of these people had health insurance? And did they get their bullet holes plugged if they didn't have their card?

2) How many were canning pickles? (a reference to Gary's comment on life in Redville)

Seriously, the KKK never inflicted one tenth of the damage to young black males as the city of Chicago has this year.

What's so "progressive" about genocide?


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I'd like the Rangel deduction with mustard please

From the WSJ.........

Ever notice that those who endorse high taxes and those who actually pay them aren’t the same people? Consider the curious case of Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel, who is leading the charge for a new 5.4-percentage point income tax surcharge and recently called it “the moral thing to do.” About his own tax liability he seems less, well, fervent.

Exhibit A concerns a rental property Mr. Rangel purchased in 1987 at the Punta Cana Yacht Club in the Dominican Republic. The rental income from that property ought to be substantial since it is a luxury beach-front villa and is more often than not rented out. But when the National Legal and Policy Center looked at Mr. Rangel’s House financial disclosure forms in August, it noted that his reported income looked suspiciously low. In 2004 and 2005, he reported no more than $5,000, and in 2006 and 2007 no income at all from the property.

The Congressman initially denied there was any unreported income. But reporters quickly showed that the villa is among the most desirable at Punta Cana and that it rents for $500 a night in the low season, and as much as $1,100 a night in peak season. Last year it was fully booked between December 15 and April 15.

Yes, he does, in fact write the tax code.

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