When will Israel end their aggression?

When should Israel pull out of Gaza seems to be the question of the day on most of the conservative blogs.

I've got an answer. How about never.

Let's face it here's how this dance goes. Hamas and Hezbullah have continued assaults on Israel with rockets flown into the country. Israel takes it up to a point then pulls a counter assault. The international community condemns Israel and the US negotiates some sort of pull out and/or cease fire settlement. All of which does nothing but allow these terrorist organizations to regroup and re arm and fire more rockets another day.

The day Israel goes in and demolishes the military infrastructure of these groups and the international community applauds it, will be the day the people in these territories will remove Hamas and Hezbullah from their ranks and maybe peace will be had. Ask Egypt.

Go kick some ass Israel.

More on the discussion at NRO

Brought to you by the "Most Ethical CONgress in History"

Today's pile of corruption comes from none other than Charles Rangel, a repeat performer.....

Representative Charles B. Rangel has helped raise $11 million for a City College of New York school of public service to be named in his honor. In recent months, as questions have emerged about his fund-raising, he has insisted that he has kept his efforts to attract donors scrupulously separate from his official duties in Congress.

But Congressional records and interviews show that Mr. Rangel was instrumental in preserving a lucrative tax loophole that benefited an oil-drilling company last year, while at the same time its chief executive was pledging $1 million to the project, the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at C.C.N.Y.

The company, Nabors Industries, was one of four corporations based in the United States that were widely criticized in 2002 and 2003 for opening offices in the Caribbean to reduce their federal tax payments. Mr. Rangel was among dozens of representatives from both parties who bitterly opposed those offshore moves and, in 2004, pushed unsuccessfully for legislation to make the companies pay more tax.

But in 2007, when the United States Senate tried to crack down on the companies, Mr. Rangel, who had recently been sworn in as House Ways and Means chairman, fought to protect them. The tax shelter for the four companies was preserved, saving Nabors an estimated tens of millions of dollars annually and depriving the federal treasury of $1.1 billion in revenues over a decade, according to a Congressional analysis by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.

More from the NY Times no less.......

Nepotacracy

The conventional wisdom is that republicans are the party of "silver spoons in their mouths".

Yet how do you describe the current shenanigans of democratic appointments to the senate.

Riddle me this batman

In Illinois, you have a man appointed by the sitting governor with a decent resume of public service within the state.

In New York, it appears the governor will appoint a debutant who's never held a meaningful job for any extended period of time.

Yet the democratic senate leadership looks to bar entry to the chamber of which candidate?

Apparently, if you are a democrat it's more helpful to be a Kennedy than to actually have a job.

From Althouse....

The aide familiar with Senate Democratic leaders' plans said if Burris tries to enter the Senate chamber, the Senate doorkeeper will stop Burris. If Burris were to persist, either trying to force his way onto the Senate floor or refusing to leave and causing a scene, U.S. Capitol Police would stop him, said the aide.

So at at time when there isn't a single black person in the U.S. Senate, a black man arrives at the doorway and means to go forward to take what he believes is his rightful seat...

More....

Don't Ask Me No Questions

A tough loss

The UC Bearcats weren't ready for prime time last night with their 20-7 loss to Va. Tech last night.

Regardless, it was water in the desert for those of us who have followed this team for years. Let's hope last night wasn't an aberration but a sign of times to come.

Congratulations to the team for a great season.

For a city thirsting for a winner, it was nice that it came from a team like the Bearcats.

How to avoid a New Year's hangover.

Don't drink with Midas

Santa Claus Bailout Hearings

Being so busy during the Festivus season, I missed this on C-Span.

Thanks to reader Mike.

Global warming challenge final results

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.

Now it is possible that Gordon's point scoring skewed the numbers in favor of the cool figures.

However, keep in mind that the warm figures included 10 extra points for record highs and zero for record lows.

None the less, I went back day to day and noted the average high and lows for the year.

The historic average high temperature at CVG is 64.1, for 2008 is was 63.8 a difference of .3 degrees cooler.

The historic average low is 44.4 degrees v. the 2008 average of 43.8 degrees, a difference of .6 degrees cooler.

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.

However, I am changing the scoring this year.

I'm going to calculate the average high and lows for the month against the historic average high and lows. I'll assign one point for each for a total of 24 total points. I'll carry the decimal out to avoid any ties at the end of the month.

So what's it going to be punk?

Bartman meets the president elect

Happy New Year 2009

Year end wrap up

The things I'll miss from 2008

- George Carlin
- Luther Vandross
- Tony Snow
- Paul Newman
- Hair
- My old basketball buddies
- A great UC football season

Things I won't miss from 2008

- Arugula
- Hope and Change
- Bailouts
- Bad UC basketball
- The Billary
- Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.
- Rosie
- My significantly lower retirement account.
- John McCain

Unfortunately, one of the reasons I won't miss any of that second list is that they'll all still be around next year.

Please add to the list.

Is social security a Ponzi scheme?

Here's an article discussing the merits of social security being a Ponzi scheme or not.

Ask yourself this question, if you go to the local social security office and ask how much money you have in your account what would they tell you?

I've been kicking in to social security for 30 years. I have yet to get an IRA like statement that says how much money I currently have in "my account".

Oh, for sure I get a statement every year telling me what my future retirement benefit will be. But what if I die tomorrow? How much of that money I kicked in over these 30 years do I get to pass on to my heirs? Prior to being married that answer was a big fat ZERO. As a result of getting married later in life, Mrs. Gekko will probably get none of my contributions.

Here's the wiki description of a Ponzi scheme......

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors out of the money paid by subsequent investors rather than from profit. The term "Ponzi scheme" is used primarily in the United States, while other English-speaking countries do not distinguish colloquially between this scheme and other pyramid schemes.^[1]

So you tell me, where is our money? I don't call boxes of IOU's from the same people we gave the money to an investment.

Let's put it another way. If everyone in the US quit working tomorrow and demanded their money, where is it?

As far as I'm concerned, each and every politician who oversees this actuarial nightmare is a worse human being then Bernard Madoff. Yet he'll get prison time.

Sweet Caroline

Norma has a post about Caroline Kennedy's assent to the NY senate seat.

The question? Is she qualified?

This answer is a slam dunk. Just ask yourself, is she a multi cellular organism? If the answer is yes, then of course, she's qualified to be a senator. Maybe not qualified to be the feces shoveler for a circus but senator? You betcha'.

Just look at what the "honorable" senate has brought us.

- Ponzi schemes called "Social Security" and "Medicare" that makes for about 1000 Bernard Madoff investment opportunities. And it's all legal.

- A member who dunked a poor young woman to death..... and still keeps his job.

- Tom Daschle

- Earmarks

- A democrat who runs for the presidency as a republican.

- A president who never did his job as a senator.

- Bailouts for everyone but the people who need them.

So yes, I think Caroline Kennedy is more than qualified to deliver us more of the same. You know.

Why government doesn't work

In what might make me the only person in the world. I want to defend Blago.

First, he is still governor of Illinois.

Second, while he has been charged with crimes he still has not been convicted of anything. What if the totality of the evidence is that Blago is not guilty of any of the charges against him? Are you telling me that we need to strip him of his governor duties, which includes appointment of the Illinois senator, without due process.

Third, my understanding is that Illinois has a procedure to remove Blago from office. They've known that this was a potential outcome for doing nothing and guess what? They've done nothing.

This indictment has been out there for over a month, how long does it take for a slam dunk to get done in the Illinois legislature?

Look, Blago is a narcissistic pile of excrement. That really doesn't make him different from any other democrat. Apparently, that alone doesn't qualify anyone from removal from office without exposing all Illinois democrats.

This whole escapade is a good reminder why government doesn't work.

Hitchens on Bush

I think this is old but it's making rounds through the blogoshpere. It's still funny.

Obama Backing North American Union Agenda

CNN is supposed to be a legitimate news source, yet believes in this goofy NAFTA highway.

And people wonder why national media outlets are going under.

More life in "Progress" City

You always have to love "progressives". They're all about diversity and inclusiveness until it reaches their back yard.

Out in the "progressive" confines of California....

As more and more black renters began moving into this mostly white San Francisco Bay Area suburb a few years ago, neighbors started complaining about loud parties, mean pit bulls, blaring car radios, prostitution, drug dealing and muggings of schoolchildren.

In 2006, as the influx reached its peak, the police department formed a special crime-fighting unit to deal with the complaints, and authorities began cracking down on tenants in federally subsidized housing.

Now that police unit is the focus of lawsuits by black families who allege the city of 100,000 is orchestrating a campaign to drive them out.

"A lot of people are moving out here looking for a better place to live," said Karen Coleman, a mother of three who came here five years ago from a blighted neighborhood in nearby Pittsburg. "We are trying to raise our kids like everyone else. But they don't want us here."

More...

Life in "Progress City"

It just keeps getting better for Detroit.

With Kwame Kilpatrick in the hoosegow, the city needs a new mayor. Look at this fine list of candidates....

As the race to complete the term of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick speeds toward the Feb. 24 primary, tax liabilities are expected to come under scrutiny as 15 candidates seek to succeed a mayor whose fall from grace began when he used taxpayer money for private gain. Last week, for example, Dave Bing disclosed his personal income and challenged his opponents to do the same.

Bing, who moved to a Detroit condo this fall from Oakland County, paid $9,995, including $384 in interest, this month to settle property taxes on his home in Franklin. Campaign spokesman Cliff Russell said the bill was a "mishap" that was corrected once it was discovered.

Last week, Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans paid $11,656 in delinquent summer taxes on his Washtenaw County horse farm. He bought the roughly 20-acre farm in 2001 for $590,000, according to property records. Tax bills on his three rental properties in Detroit and Grosse Pointe had already been up to date.

"It was an oversight," said Bob Berg, a spokesman for Evans' campaign. Evans rents an apartment in Detroit and that address is on his voter registration, but he uses the address for his farm, located along a gravel road in Salem Township, to register his motorcycle. It also is listed as the address on some of the mortgages and tax records for his business interests. Evans, who does not declare any of the properties as a primary residence to reduce his tax bill, paid the overdue bill after his campaign was contacted by The Detroit News.

Owing the most for unpaid income tax is candidate Duane Montgomery, an engineering consultant. According to liens filed by the IRS and the state of Michigan, he owes $34,697 in federal and Michigan income taxes. Montgomery outlines some of his woes on his Web site -- www.4etr.com -- that includes a receipt from the IRS stating he overpaid his federal taxes last year and the excess was used to reduce his debt.

"If there are skeletons in my closet, then they are listed here," writes Montgomery on the site. He didn't return phone calls seeking elaboration.

First-time candidate Jerroll Sanders, a businesswoman who recently moved to Michigan from Missouri, owes $19,650 in taxes, according to liens filed in St. Louis.

On Dec. 23, Sanders explained the liens as the result of "political malfeasance" waged against her by operatives in the federal government that began in 1999 when she lost a government contract. "We are going to slug this out," she said last week from a home she owns in Missouri.

Observers say the way candidates handle their tax obligations is a fair indicator of how seriously they take their role as public servants and how responsible they would be as mayor.

More....

Real Leadership

So how does a real leader like Obama handle the Gaza bombings.....

(Chirp)

(Chirp)

As the third day of Israeli air strikes drew to a close, Mr Obama continued his holiday in Hawaii with a game of golf, keeping his distance from reporters who might hurl a question at him.

Mr Obama does not become president for another three weeks and his aides argue that any comment by him could send mixed messages to the world about American foreign policy.

But Mr Obama's silence is being interpreted by many as an implicit agreement with President George W Bush's stance that the crisis is the fault of Hamas and that Israeli military action should not let up until the Islamist group agrees to stop firing rockets into Israel.

No, his silence should be interpreted as if things turn out badly in Israel, it's Bush's fault. If things work out well, he was right behind the real president; you know, the one who actually shows real leadership.

More...

Who runs Detroit?

Just how awesome is Detroit?

Here's a piece that lays it out pretty well....

In a city often known as the nation's murder capital, with over 10,000 unsolved murders dating back to 1960, the police are in shambles through cutbacks and corruption trials. (They have a profitable sideline, though, as one of the nation's largest gun dealers, having sold 14 tons of used weapons out-of-state.) Their response times are legendarily slow. Their crime lab is so inept that it has been closed. One Detroit man found police so unresponsive when trying to turn himself in for murder that he hopped a bus to Toledo and confessed there instead.

Detroit schools haven't ordered new textbooks in 19 years. Students have reported having to bring their own toilet paper. Teachers have reported bringing hammers to class for protection. Declining enrollment has forced 67 school closures since 2005 (more than a quarter of the city's schools). The graduation rate is 24.9 percent, the lowest of any large school district in the country. Not for nothing did one frustrated activist start pelting school board members with grapes during a meeting. She probably should've reached for something heavier.

An internal audit, which was 14 months late, estimates next year's city deficit to be as high as $200 million (helped along by $335,000 embezzled from the Department of Health and Wellness Promotion). With a dwindling tax base--even the city's three once-profitable casinos are seeing a downturn in revenues (the Greektown Casino is in bankruptcy)--the city has kicked around every money-making scheme from selling off ownership rights to the tunnel it shares with neighboring Windsor, Canada, to a fast food tax. It's perhaps unsurprising that Detroit now has the most speed traps in the nation.

It also has one of the highest property tax rates in Michigan, yet has over 60,000 vacant dwellings (a guesstimate--nobody keeps official count), meaning real estate values are in the toilet. Over the summer, the Detroit News sent a headline around the world, about a Detroit house that was for sale for $1. But it's not even that uncommon. As of this writing, there are at least five $1 homes for sale in Detroit.

Now ask yourself this question. Who runs Detroit? Looking at the information above, you would have to guess that republicans must have infiltrated the city in a covert attempt to create a cesspool.

Or you could guess that democrats run the city. The same party that seems to have its fingerprints on any cesspool around the country.

Given that Jack Bauer couldn't find a republican in the city with a GPS tracking system, I think it's safe to answer democrat on this one.

What's so "progressive" about an armpit?

More......