Change and Hope

Dear Readers, I trust you have read the post immediately below.

It is true that both Clifford and I have been dealing with some rather sudden changes. Some could call them devastating. I, for one am not downhearted. Nor will I allow Clifford to be so. I keep coming back to one saying:

"Before you self diagnose depression or despair, have you considered the possibility that you may just be surrounded by assholes?"

I do believe that to be the case.

The Chinese character for "change" is a combination of the symbols for "danger" and "opportunity".

Yes, there is some risk in these changes. There is also great opportunity. Unfortunately navigating the dangers and chasing the opportunities will take some time.

I will do my best to fill in the gaps when Clifford can not attend this blog as much as he likes. And I'll encourage him, with all I can muster, to keep up the snark.

He will be back. To paraphrase Heinlein "You can cure someone of blogging. But you can't cure them of the need to blog". Clifford loves this blog, it's been his baby for years now. He is, justifiably, proud of his efforts.

Above all, he enjoys entertaining and educating his readers.

So have hope for his swift return. Even with these unplanned changes, I am hopeful. We've seen a moderate Republican elected in liberal Massachusetts. We've seen a sweep of fiscal conservatives into the US House, Senate, Governorships, State Legislatures, and lesser offices. We are seeing fiscal conservatives doing their best to hold the line on spending in DC. We have reasonable prospects for fiscal conservatism making gains in 2012, maybe even the White House. So there is good reason to be hopeful about our economy, if we can just hold on for 18 months.

Keep checking back, we'll be doing the same as you, the best we can.

Good Bye And Good Luck.

As I learned the hard way this week, nothing is forever. As a consequence, I think it necessary to put Red Stick Rant into a state of suspended animation. Whether this is temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent, only time will tell. The The Grey Man may take over the helm, but he is also in a similar state as me.

As you know, my dear readers, since about January I have let this site languish, sometimes for days or weeks at a time. It is not due to a lack of interest in the political, cultural and theological goings on in the world, but an utter lack of time and focus. Where my focus has been is on my work in a dwindling economy. I don't think I can be blamed for that.

But, in this last week everything changed; and rather suddenly. I find myself, at 52, going from the frying pan into the fire, and having to redouble my efforts to keep up.

I am sure I will be alright, but I do not think it fair of me to pretend this site is active, when clicking here only gets you something you already saw a few days or a week ago. I have more respect for you, dear readers, and your time. For the past four years you have given up of that time to read what I have to say.

And for that, I can not thank you enough. Especially my loyal readers.

The blogosphere will survive without my voice right now; my family and career, however, will not. See the list of blogs over on the right? Well, check 'em out. Some of the best voices out there.

While I will be drawing down, but I am not cashing out. I still intend to be very active in politics in Louisiana - especially this election season - and commenting from time to time on other blogs. I will also be doing an occasional guest post over at The Hayride.

So again, thank you all. I will see you on the flip side.

Yes We Can...

...Pout.

One Man, Not Enough Votes.

Via Scott at The Hayride, Eric Holder is suing the State of Louisiana because, well, we're not signing up enough Democrats:

A federal lawsuit accusing two state agencies of failing to provide adequate voter registration services for people who get food stamps, disability payments and Medicaid will be fought in court, the state's chief elections officer said Tuesday. (emphasis mine)

Which begs the question: If "the voting process begins with registration, therefore it is essential that all citizens have unfettered access to voter registration opportunities," then why is it only places "that provide public assistance" - where people receive government largess - are registering people? What about us schlubs who pay for it? Why isn't the tax office required to ask us to register? Or when we pay for our building permit? Or pay our occupational license fee? Or apply for a concealed carry permit?

Oh, yeah...

Am I Missing Something?

Team Hopenchange is insisting that if those evil, heartless Republicans don't raise the debt ceiling, like, now,

WE'LL GO BROKE AND WE CANT PAY OUR BILLS AND GRANDMA WILL STARVE AND LITTLE BILLY WILL GET POLIO AND OIL COMPANY LOBBYISTS WILL RAVAGE YOUR DAUGHTER AND THE EARTH WILL BOIL (OR FREEZE - TAKE YOUR PICK), AND THUNDERING HERDS OF GROVER NORQUISTS WILL ROAM THE LANDS UNABATED...

But!

We seem to have the jack to contemplate another "stimulus".

It's all a matter of priorities. And you, dear readers, are not a priority of the current administration.

Like We Didn't See This Coming.

Yes, Kate, there is a slippery slope: "Family" in Utah sues to decriminalize polygamy based on a famous 2003 gay-rights ruling.

I can't wait to watch the rhetorical gymnastics of the current, single-issue leadership of The Episcopal Church (tm) as they explain why "respecting the dignity of every human being" doesn't apply to folks like Kody Brown and his wives.

Pull up a chair. I'll make the popcorn.

We Have Met The Enemy...

...And he is us. It's time we grew up and started paying our own bills, not looking for someone else to pay them.

Advocacy Dreamin'.

Proof, as if more were needed, that The Episcopal Church (tm) is far more concerned with mortal politics than immortal souls.

Slip Of The Spin.

Obama doesn't want "massive job killing tax increases" right now. Nope. Nope. Nope.

He wants to wait 'till 2013.

Remember that come November 2012.

Hopenchange Versus Real World.

Real World 1; Hopenchange minus $384 billion.

Problem is the jack they're minus isn't their money. It's our money. And our children's money, and our grand children's money and our great-grand children's money. Which we/they will have to pay back to those staunch American friends, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the EU.

Might I Suggest A Road Runner?

New Orleans has a coyote problem. And please - "co-existence" and "management" are not how you deal with it. If you can't get one of these, try this.

Critical Mass.

No surprise, they do this sort of thing at Mass in Episcopal churches, too. And, like The Anchoress, I find it utterly ruins the sanctity of the Mass.

The Obama Administration In One Sentence.

And in their own words, too:

“We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money”.

Yep. Does sum it up rather nicely, don't yout think?

The Doctor Is, Out.

At least, the doctor we want. If Americans think ObamaCare will return us to the neighborhood family doctor, they are sadly mistaken.

I remember well as a child going to Dr. Webb in New Orleans. He had been my mom's doctor as well when she was younger, and he knew my dad. He knew us all personally, and treated us as such. We were, in the best sense of the word, his "patients". When I had bad bouts of bronchitis Dr. Webb would be at the emergency room at 2am. On several occasions he made house calls. My parents had major medical insurance, but the thought never crossed our mind to have someone else pay for the routine stuff. He preformed a service, and my folks paid him. We had the same relationship with our dentist, our eye doctor, etc., etc.

Now fast forward to 1988, and I was introduced to something called Harvard Community Health Plan (then HCHP, now Harvard/Pilgrim), a "community based" HMO. In it, I was assigned (no choice) to a clinic (in Watertown, MA), and I was told I could choose any doctor "accepting patients". Only two out of the 40 or so there were accepting. When you went to the clinic the wait was hours, not minutes, even with an appointment. Because it only "cost" a $5 copay people jammed the place unannounced for any minor malady. The doctor never knew me as anything other than a folder and a number - there was never any personal relationship. I remember bringing Dr. Webb a gift at Christmas (a bottle of scotch IIRC) and we'd chat about sports, Scouts, good eating habits and the like, and I remember him coming over to the house one Thanksgiving. My "primary care" doctor at HCHP didn't even recognize me in the grocery - "I'm sorry, I see SO many people", he excused.

HCHP was indeed cheap, but it was made that way by mass-production and a purposeful lack of relationship. Since those of us in it had little (if any) skin in the game, controlling cost through volume and "gate-keeping" were SOP. HCHP appeared to have little reason to develop personal relationships, because I wasn't anyone's "patient". The relationship we did have was apparently that of a wigit on an assembly line. You will fit here. You will go when we tell you, where we tell you. We will regulate you. We know better. Oh, and to hell with a second opinion.

When my daughter was born we were assigned a birth hospital, my wife was assigned an OB, etc., etc. Yes, we paid only a couple hundred bucks and lucked out with a great OB, but we had no, absolutely no, say in any decision affecting us. HCHP made the calls in the name of "controlling costs". And when my friend Hugh and I blew up a box of surgical gloves like balloons and taped them to my wife's bed, a nurse reamed us out for being "wasteful", and said we were helping to "drive up the cost of health care".

Harvard / Pilgrim is one of the programs Obama and pals hold up as an example of how they think "health care" should be "delivered". After dealing with that I prefer the old way. And write my own check, thank you.

Slartibartfast, Someone's Stealing Your Ship.

Stephen Green has nailed the perfect analogy for what Obama and his wiz-kiddies have wrought: A Bistromath Economy. Well, a 'Somebody Else's Problem' field does seem to be the goal.

For the uninitiated: Bistromath.

Pot: "The Kettle Is Black!"

Next time some Episcopalian gets all high and mighty about how our denomination doesn't condone cover-ups of child-molesting clergy (like some other ones do, wink, wink), remind them of this. And take a look who ordained this guy into The Episcopal Church (tm).

If you admit you were sexually indiscreet with a minor, we'll make you a priest. But if admit you were sexually indiscreet with a consenting adult, hey, you get your own TV show!

Meanwhile, Around The Crescent City...

Insert obligatory "touch my monkey" joke here.

Bigfoot discovered - in New Orleans' City Park.

We usually cut our coffee with chicory, but whatever.

Graphic Blunder.

Make of this what you want. I got 'nothin.

This Week's Winner: Best Use Of A YouTube Viral Video Meme To Counterpoint A Current News Story.

OK, I know the Grey Man a couple of posts back says we shouldn't judge here, and he's probably right. But, this was just too funny to pass up:



Post title background: Original YouTube vid here. Legendary viral video song here.

Only A Misty-Eyed Marxist Or A Community Organizer...

...Would think it makes economic sense to spend $278,000 (of somebody else's money, it should be pointed out -ed.) to add or save one $50,000 a year job.

And they wonder why we have no recovery. The good news is, such unrealistic and pig-headed logic can only exist, thankfully, in Socialist Worker Party meetings and college faculty clubs (but I repeat myself - ed.). The bad news is those are the very folks running the show until January 2013.

Religion Meets Pop Culture

Today Casey Anthony was found not guilty of killing her daughter. Sadly, my wife has been afflicted with an addiction to this trial. The Grey Wife is only on stage one of her rehab.

What I find most interesting about the verdict is the responses of many people I know, and that I know consider themselves good Christians. For the record, I am an Agnostic, not a Christian. Note that I said Agnostic, not Atheist. There is a difference.

Facebook and the web are full of those who call this verdict a shame, and that the Defendant should be imprisoned for life or killed. I find these opinions most un-Christian.

(All cites are from the King James Bible)

Matthew 7:1: Judge not, that ye be not judged.

None of us were there. The only one(s) who truly know what happened are Ms. Anthony and the killer if they are not the same person. Neither were any of us called upon by the courts to pass judgement on the evidence presented. Nor were any of us subjected ONLY to the evidence the jurors saw, without the additional input of weeks of Nancy Grace, et al. So we can not fairly judge their actions.

Romans 12:19: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Do you neither believe in your God nor trust Him? Vengeance is not yours but the Lord's. Shouldn't you trust your God to do what is just?

Does your religion teach the Lord's Prayer? Perhaps reciting it now will be instructive.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

When you pray as the Lord instructed, you are asking not for what YOU want, but what the Lord wants. While I, and probably you, can not see the sense in a child's murder, can you be absolutely certain that it does not fit a purpose of your God? Or are you so arrogant as to believe that you, and you alone, know the mind of God?

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Remember what you are praying for when you say this. You are NOT asking for forgiveness. You ARE asking to be forgiven in the same manner you forgive others. How forgiving have you been to Ms. Anthony today? Would you like God to mete out the same amount of forgiveness you have shown her when He judges your sins? If having God call for you to live a long and painful life in a prison, or to be killed brutally doesn't sound appealing to you, perhaps you should look at how forgiving you have been today.

I am not saying that we should not be saddened by Caylee Anthony's death and manner of death. Nor am I saying you should invite her mother over for a long and intimate dinner. I am saying you should trust your God's judgement. Either the verdict is correct and God is satisfied, or the verdict let a murderer go, and God will have his vengeance in His time. Not your time, His time.

While your sins may not be quite to the level of murder, they are real and manifold. You, as a Christian, will be relying on God for his forgiveness. Will you want the forgiveness you have given today, or will you want something better? To get better forgiveness, you must give better forgiveness. Have you, today, loved your neighbor as yourself?

No one ever said being a Christian was easy. You must learn to forgive. You must learn to give up your anger and your hate.

Have you considered that this whole episode happened just because YOU needed a lesson in forgiveness?

Here endeth the Rant.

Hey Libs, Lets Make a Deal!!

I've been hearing for ten years how the Evil Bush (TM) screwed up our economy, specifically with his super evil tax cuts for the rich. Here's a little something I stole from the American Thinker:



First, notice how Federal spending shot up after the Democrats took control of the Congress in Jan. of 2007. And how it went down under a Republican Congress in the '90s while Clinton was President.

Second, I know you would like to wipe out all the evil that Evil Bush (TM) did. And how you loved President Clinton.

OK, liberals, here's my proposal. I'll go along with wiping out any and all of Bush's tax policy. We'll erase Bush's chapter in our nation's economic history. All tax rates will go to whatever they were on Jan. 19, 2001 and keep them there.

All you have to do in return is to wipe out all of the spending hikes since Evil Bush (TM) took office, and keep spending at the level it was (as a % of GDP) on Jan. 19, 2001.

You say you hate Evil Bush (TM), and everything he did. You say he was the worst president. EVER. Are you all mouth? Here's your chance to do something about it.

Or are you a bunch cheese eating spending monkeys?

Well, Duh!

Guess what? The government really can't spend us out of a recession. Only a community organizer or a Marxist (but I repeat myself) would think otherwise.

Secede From The Union(s)

I found this over at Powerline, and all I can say is "Wow. Just wow!!"

A few salient points to note:

1) Labor unions and teachers' unions are separate entries. When speaking of special interests, they are the 800 lb., or should I say the half BILLION dollar gorilla in the room.

2) Big Oil? What Big Oil? Oil industry donations are only two spots above beer. Oil industry donations are smaller to Republicans are smaller than lawyers' donations to Democrats. Maybe we should start talking about Big Law.

3) Forget about the "Military Industrial Complex" that's been the boogeyman for nearly a hundred years. Defense donations are almost equal in favor of the parties, and they're literally dwarfed by donations to Democrats from teacher's unions. Maybe the "Education Government Complex" is a much bigger issue. Hell, all of defense gives less that Microsoft by itself. And less than President Obama's friends at GE, who paid NO taxes last year.

Hell, defense donations are positively puny compared to those from the accounting industry. It seems the pen IS mightier than the sword.

4) On a good note, the Beer industry ranks a lot higher than I would have thought. Mmmmm. Beer. Please send some.
(Note from the Management: The Grey Man is making a shameless pitch for free beer. While he is free to do so, it is not necessary. If you choose not to send him any, feel free to drink amongst yourselves.)

5) I haven't done the math, but I suspect that total union donations are far larger than donations from all of the other "special interests" combined. Maybe we should call them "not-so-special" interests. The unions are really the only one that counts.

Please remember this information the next time some Kos kid starts railing about the Koch brothers/Halliburton/Blackwater/latest conspiracy theory. Download the jpg to your phone to show them. I have.

I'm Shocked... Shocked!

Mary Landrieu isn't a "moderate". Proof:

Sixteen Democratic senators want the Justice Department to look into whether voting rights are being jeopardized in states that require photo identification in order for people to vote.

And who were these Sixteen Democrats?

The 16 senators include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Patty Murray of Washington, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Mark Begich of Alaska, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Tom Udall of New Mexico.

Is anybody really surprised? After her 'Louisiana Purchase' vote for ObamaCare, do you really need more proof that Mary Landrieu is wholly owned by Reid/Obama, and is more interested in representing the interests of the Washington Elite over her constituents?

The Bayou State has had a picture ID requirement for some years, and I find it no intrusion. We require photo identification for things far more pedestrian than the sanctity of the Vote. You have to pony up a picture ID to buy beer, buy smokes, cash a check, get on a plane, or rent a car. I'm glad the requirement is there, actually, and I have first hand experience as to why: After returning to Louisiana from 7 years in New England, I found I had continued to "vote" in Orleans Parish for five of those seven years - even though I was lawfully registered to vote in Newton, Massachusetts, and had never come back to Louisiana to vote during that time.

The Right to Vote is the very basis for our Republic, and it must be kept secure and above reproach if we, The People, are to have any confidence that the system is accurate and fair. Why doesn't our Senior Senator like that idea very much?

The Titanic Church (tm).

Now that I've decided to return from one of my occasional, unannounced, self-imposed blogging exiles, I checked in on what's happening over at The Episcopal Church (tm), my D.I.N.O. (Denomination in name only).

It seems the church's Executive Committee and Pope Kate I met recently, and they have some really, really exciting new deck chair arrangements! Nothing about that iceberg, though, or the ship's current 20 degrees down by the bow attitude. Further, they are very annoyed at the folks wanting to abandon ship and trying to steal the lifeboats. Kate and friends are ordering more crew on deck to keep them in their davits. No sense in a panic.

At TEC, it's "Full speed ahead, Comrades!" This ship is unsinkable!

A Slave To Narrative.

George Stephanopolis, meet Abe Lincoln.

Today's Required Reading. (And A Pop Quiz!)

Why the ‘Unexpected’ Keeps Happening. The people who continually claim bad economic news is "unexpected" are:

a) Lying to cover for themselves and their allies.
b) So divorced from reality they refuse to see the problem.
c) So arrogant they believe that their answer, and only their answer, MUST be the right one.

The correct answer, dear readers, is of course: d) All of the above.

I guess reality is an elective at Ivy League schools anymore.

The Burning Steps.

A tale of two narratives. One of them, alas the one ignored by The Left / Mainstream Media, is horribly true. It doesn't fit the appointed conclusion, you see.

Double Standard.

If Sarah Palin or George W. Bush had pulled a gaffe like this, The Left / Mainstream Media would be holding it up as proof of their incompetence. Everyone would be talking about it. But since it was their hero, he'll get a pass.

It's Good To Be The Queen.

Proof that a career in politics does pay. And pays big.

Same As It Ever Was, Or, Refilling The Swamp.

Top Obama contributors get government jobs. Remember when Bush did this? The Left / Mainstream Media declared it indicative of a horrible Republican evil that was the ruin of the nation - a swamp that had to be drained. Will CNN, CBS, MSNBC, etc., make a ruckus over this? Er...no. Now that their side owns the swamp and it's their Messiah whose doing it it, well... they're not too upset about water levels anymore.

It'll Be A Cold Day In Hell...

...Before Republicans fall for something this stupid.

But wait! Now the "experts" are saying a cold day in hell could well be where we are heading. It's the 1970's all over again! Get that carbon back up in the air!

Well, There's Your Problem.

$125 billion - yes, billion with a 'b' - "improper payments".

I'm Shocked!.. Shocked!...

Rowan Williams is a profoundly divisive Leftie.

Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness.

But aparrently, a little resume padding is OK if you're standing for Presiding Bishop.

Will anything happen to the first Episcopal Pope because of this. Hell, no. Because theologically, it's no big deal. Just like homosexuality and having 12 items in the 10-items-or-less checkout, Jesus never said anything about embellishing your professional bone fides.

The Male Decision-Making Process For How To Repair Anything In The World.

Works for me.

From here.

This Should Rank Up There With Killing Off Bin Laden.

While they came into use just after I got out of the Guard, I thought the general issue of berets in the Army was a stupid, patronizing, feel-good shtick typical of the Clinton Era. Even it's nom-de-barracks, 'Monica', reminded all of it's origins.

Now, thankfully, it's gone.

IMHO, berets in the US Army should be reserved for the elites - Airborne, Rangers, and, of course, the Green Beret. For the rest of us, the patrol cap or boonie cap will do just fine.

Pop Quiz.

Which Member of Congress' would you find most qualified to offer solutions to save Medicare?

A) A 30-year career politician.

B) A medical doctor who still works with the poor.

If you picked 'B', you picked the Republican solution.

Prediction.

After watching CNN's GOP debate last night, and today's morning-after quarterbacking, let me add in my $0.02:

The GOP's 2012 vice-Presidential nominee was up on that stagiest night in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the GOP's 2012 Presidential nominee wasn't up there. Who that will be, I don't know. But it wasn't one of those folks.

Barry Does Some Stand Up.

Wasting a couple trillion of our money - and our kids money, and our grand kids money, and our great-grand kids money - for "shovel ready" projects, auto company bailouts, housing market bailouts, and "green" jobs, is now a Hopenchange laugh line.

For Barry and friends, well insulated as they are in Washington DC, in academia, in the unions and in the media, it's easy to say, "Oops, sorry. Hahaha", because this doesn't effect them. For them, it isn't real. It's just numbers on a page; an exercise in spreadsheets, ledgers and talking points. It doesn't even interrupt their golf game.

For those of us who it does effect, who are those numbers and who are worried about a far bigger game - our children, our freedom and our future - it is very, very real indeed.

Pulse of Louisiana.

Just in time for this week's Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, my buddy John at JMC Enterprises has released a "Pulse of Louisiana" poll. Doesn't look good for Barry, Nancy, Harry and the gang.

Promises, Promises.

Did Obama's we-must-have-it-or-else trillion dollar "stimulus" plan work? Connect the dots:

Context.

Via Twitter, Iowahawkblog identifies the meta-story in "l'affair Weiner". To wit:

"Breitbart at the Weiner press conference: Asteroid taking questions from dinosaurs."

Inflating The Future!

Yet another glass manufacturer is jumping prices (another here):

Vitro America has announced a price increase for its Architectural Products segment, effective June 27, 2011. In a letter to customers dated today, Charles Witherington, vice president and general manager, Vitro Architectural Products, wrote “Our float glass suppliers have informed us of price increases effective during the latter part of June. The manufacturers state this increase is due to their higher costs of raw materials and energy.”

The Vitro Architectural Products price increase will affect the following:

All clear float products, including pattern glass: 10 percent;
All tinted float products: 8 percent;
All coated products: 8 percent;
Low-iron, acid-etched and all other specialty glass, excluding FireLite®: 8 percent; and
All glass fabrication charges: 10 percent.
The letter adds that energy surcharge costs will continue to be addressed separately.

Glass can be a large part of the price of a building envelope, especially with commercial buildings. This kind of thing will cause the cost of construction to rise, which will cause less building activity, which will cause... STIMULUS!

Thanks Timmy! Thanks Ben! Thanks Barry!

A Small Detail.

American traitor and Al Qaeda lackey Adam Gadahn wants American Muslims to buy guns and start shooting non-Muslim Americans. Really? Really?? There's a glitch in your plan there, Haj Dude - this isn't Britain, or Spain, or Canada, or France, or even California. In America...

We. Shoot. Back.

And unlike all the other places where you've cowed folks into diversity submission, we have a God-given Right to do so.

Today's Required Reading.

Walter Russell Mead's The Death of the American Dream, Part II. Read it all.

Part I is here.

Recovery!

Remember back in those primeval times, back when Reagan was President, the 20 million or so jobs added to the economy? Remember The Left / Mainstream Media sneering that those were just "hamburger-flipping jobs"?

My, how times have changed.

Today's Required Reading.

Walter Russell Mead's Death of the American Dream, Part I. Read it all.

All of us - Left, Right, In-the-Middle - have built, and lived in, this economic house of government-regulated cards. Now that is has collapsed, we have to come up with a plan to get the hell out. That is why the debates in the next few months and years are not only foundational to any future American prosperity, but also to who we are as Americans. On that score Mead reminds us of our unique strength:

I will have more to say about the ever-changing American Dream in posts to come; while painful, change is not only unavoidable. It can lead us to better, richer, more truly human lives. It is a new century, and America, the land of the future, must once again find the frontier.

The future is where we need to be looking. For the GOP, we need someone who can lead us there. And so far, we ain't got it.

Gaming The System - Government Motors Edition.

So, how's that "green" economy working out for us, Mr. President? Like this: Some Government Motors dealers are apparently pocketing the Federal tax credit for the Obama's Chevy Volt, and selling them off as "used".

Government Motors sold exactly 481 Chevy Volts in the entire US in the month of May 2011. (No breakdown on how many of those were sold as "used" -ed.) By comparison, Toyota reported 6,924 Prius, and Ford sold 42,399 F-series pick up trucks. Only a community organizer could miss the message there.

Obama Redefines The Work Ethic.

It has come to this: Team Hopenchange argues, with a straight face, that Obama's health care mandate isn't really mandatory - if you don't like it, just earn less until someone else pays your health care bill for you. Really.

Imagine if 300 million Americans took that advice. Who would pay for all that "affordable, quality health care" Barry promised??

In The Spirit Of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), A Shameless Attempt To Get Famous Quick.

By posting a picture of my junk on the Internet:


Someone please tell CNN. I need the traffic.

Background here and here.

Literally Limousine Liberals.

The Federal government's inventory of limousines has increased 73% since Obama took office. And the biggest increase? Hillary Clinton's State Department.

Sacrifice is for the little people. Like, you and me.

Balls.

Really big, coon-ass balls. Read it all. About time somebody said this.

My buddy Scott disagrees. Not with the content, but the delivery. Yes, you should respect the office, not the man. But when the man makes such a mockery of the office, what recourse do you have?

UPDATE: Landry is simply representing his constituency, who really, really have issues with the President after his Gulf drilling moratorium. Type "30.561265,-92.021019" into Google Maps, zoom in a bit and see for yourself. (Note: Harsh language)

Our ObamaCare Future...

...Is here today in Britain's NHS. And yes, it's rationed.

The NHS is the UK's version of ObamaCare in it's ultimate, misty-eyed goal - a single-payer, government controlled health care system. But just like every other attempt at that 19th century socialist dream, ObamaCare isn't about improving your health care, it's about controlling your health care. As in, Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank and Chuckie Schumer controlling it, not you. You will have the "right to choose" only what they will allow you to choose, and only then if you make the lifestyle choices of which they approve.

Welcome to freedom being just another word for nothing left to lose.

Hattip: Maggie's Farm.

Winning The Future!

How's that Obamanomics been working our for you these past few years? For those of us in the building trades, announcements like this are becoming more and more common:

Guardian announces price increase

Glass Magazine
May 31, 2011

In a May 25 letter to customers, Guardian Industries, Auburn Hills, Mich., announced a price increase on its products, effective June 23. Clear float glass prices will increase 10 percent, and prices for clear patterned glass, tinted and specialty glass, coated glass, tempered glass, and laminated glass will increase 8 percent.

"Guardian continues to experience higher costs for the materials and services used in manufacturing high quality float glass and related products for architectural and automotive glass applications," Martin Powell, vice president, North America, sales and marketing, said in the letter. "Glass pricing has not kept pace as costs have increased, despite Guardian's strides in increasing the efficiency of our manufacturing and administrative processes." (emphasis mine)

Yepper, Obama's borrow-our-way-to-prosperity approach to the economy and his $4.00 a gallon gas prices are really paying off, don't you think?

"Give Me Spots On The Apples, But Leave Me The Birds And The Bees..."

And, aparrently, leave the E.Coli bacteria, too:

A person in Britain has been diagnosed with a lethal strain of E.Coli that has already killed five people in Germany.

Almost 300 people in northern Germany are in hospital and around 500 more are being tested for the infection.

Organic cucumbers from Spain are thought to be the source of the bacteria, but travellers to Germany are also being advised to avoid eating raw tomatoes and lettuce. (emphasis mine)

The Doctor Is In.

Bookmark Dr. Rich's new blog. You won't be sorry.

We Didn't Start The Fire.

Nor, apparently, did Rick Santelli. Let The Yacht Club Boys tell it. In 1936:



Hattip: Small Dead Animals.

Irony Alert! Or, Bottoming Out Again.

Obama's peeps gas up his limo at a BP station in the UK.

How nice. You get a free fill-up with every disaster.

As Insty points out, some people get a fat chunk of campaign cash, too!

And in a related note...

The Reason Benjamin Netanyahu And Barack Obama See The World So Differently.

One spent his youth defending his community.
The other spent his youth organizing his.


Image from Maggie's.

Das Grand Funk Railroad.

At least the trains run on time. Shamelessly stolen from Sippican, of course.

A Frenchman Gets In Touch With His Inner Kerry.

"Don’t You Know Who I Am?"

Why, it's the standard greeting of The Ruling Class!

Taxes Are For Little People.

Not recipients of Obama's Stimulus.

Monday Evening Distraction: Proof We Men Are Born That Way.

And some things never change for us.

At 3:


At 63:

The Washington Syndrome.

This kind of meltdown doesn't worry me in the least. Why? Because I've never expected either Social Security or Medicare to exist when I retire. Both are legal Ponzi schemes on the Madoff level, run by dolts who would be in jail if it wasn't legal. All the money I've paid into the system (and will pay into the system) has already been spent. The only way I will get a check is to heavily shackle the earnings of tomorrow's workers, or borrow it from Obama's buddies - Islamist Arabs and the Commie Chinese.

Since I entered the working world in the mid-80's, "fixing" Social Security and Medicare has been a "top priority", but something our ball-deprived politicians always duct-taped over with magical predictions in the "out years". Well, those "out years" are here and their their predictions are not. Like our government, I've seen this train wreck coming for years. Unlike them, I've made plans to do something about it.

Indeed.

As of 6:01 last night:


Someone is not a happy Camper...

(note: We have no idea if this is real or Photoshop, or who originated it, kudos to whoever did.

O, Christie And Perry, Where Where Are You...?

Mitch Daniels is out, Huntsman, Romney, Paul, Romer and Cain still in.
This is best we can do? Really? Really??

"Khan... I'm Laughing at The Superior Intellect!"

Via Insty, Mark Steyn looks at one of the latest scandals of The Ruling Class (French edition) and gets in touch with his inner Kirk. The Ruling Class, secure in it's superiority and the idea that they've taken Genesis away from us, have followed us into the nebula for the big finish. Big mistake.

Make this today's required reading.

Post title reference and metaphor here.

Speaking In Lefty Tongues.

Recently Katherine Jefferts-Schori, Pope of Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (tm), recently visited the Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands. She should have also visited the Dutch Catholic Church as well. Seems they have a lot in common:

In a second interview, RTL quoted Spronck as saying he was aware of Van B.'s pedophilia and membership in Martijn, and even of two instances where the priest had been fined by police for exposing himself in public. But he said he didn't think that was sufficient reason to ban him from the order.

"Removing someone from the order is something you would only do in the case of grave moral transgression, such as rape. There was never any question of that," Spronck was quoted as saying.

Sounds like something Jefferts-Schori herself, or a dozen other "leaders" of The Episcopal Church (tm) might have said. We already know covering up the clerical shagging of 14-year olds doesn't rise to the level of "grave moral transgression" in The Episcopal Church (tm). No, "grave moral transgression" nowadays, at least in The Episcopal Church (tm), are pretty much limited to five things:
Threatening the real estate portfolio of TEC.
Saying people do not have the God-given right to stick their winkie wherever they want.
Saying people do not have the God-given right to vacuum out the consequences when they do.
Refusing to take "global warming" "climate change" as an article of Faith.
Speaking against any part of the Obama agenda.

Conan The Adulterer.

Crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of your housekeeper.

Waiting For Perry?

Since Chris Christie won't run, is Texas governor Rick Perry the next best hope for the GOP in 2012? Some say yes. Considering the parade of has-beens, ankle-biters, and wanna-bees the Republicans have put forward so far, I'm disposed to agree. I want ot see more, though, before I sport a Perry pin.

Proof That There Are Lies, Damn Lies, And The Left / Mainstream Media.

How our tax system really works, and what a "tax cut" really means:



Hattip: The Hayride.

Defending The Faith.

The good folks over at Maggie's Farm call this 'Christianity with Balls'. If you are a Christian - especially one who takes their catholic and/or orthodox underpinnings seriously - I highly recommend all three of Ann Barnhardt's provocative videos at the link. I know, I know - seems she's a birther. But on the state of the Christian faith today, she is spot on.

How Is Government Motors Getting Out Of Debt?

By some serious kissing of Commie Chinese butt. This is GM's 'The New Standard of the World'. Well, Obama's world, anyway.

A side note: Can you guess how many Chevy Volts, the "green" car Obama thinks will save GM, have been sold between December 2010 and April 2011? 2,029. In five months. As a comparison Ford, who didn't take any government money, sold 12,593 Explorers and 45,435 F-series trucks in April alone. And at a time when gas was pushing $4.00/gal.

Join the "Gas Roots Army"

Today, the AP reported that President Obama is working to re-create his "grassroots army" from 2008.

On 20 January 2009, the day President Obama was inaugurated, gas was $1.84 per gallon. Today, the average national price is $3.95 per gallon.


Does this piss you off just as much as it does to us?

In response to the President's "grassroots army", and his energy policy of raising gas prices to the same as Europe, we are pleased to announce the formation of the Gas Roots Army.

Joining the Gas Roots Army is simple. Just do it. Let the President's minions know you're here, and you're pissed.

For those who wish to be open about it, we hope to have some Gas Roots Army bumper stickers available on the internet in a few days. In the interest of full disclosure, any profits will be split equally four ways. 1/4 to Clifford, 1/4 to The Grey Man, 1/4 to researching ethanol in your tank, and 1/4 in researching ethanol to GET tanked. We will specialize in single malt scotch.

If you wish to remain a covert operative of the Gas Roots Army, all you need is a pen and some Post-Its. Just write "Inauguration Day $1.84" on a few, and stick it next to the price on the pump next time you fill up.

If you're feeling the pain at the pump while the President jets off on vacation, or raises a billion to campaign, please join the Grass Roots Army!!

Indeed.

Hattip: Also from Theo.

Why? Because I Can, That's Why.

Five minutes of P-38 Lightning goodness:



Along with the P-51 and the F4U, the greatest American fighter of WWII.

Hattip: Theo.

Janet Napolitano's TSA To America -

Up Yours, Peons. Supremacy Clause? Excuse me?? What part of

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

do these morons not understand?

I hope one of the first actions a Republican president does in 2013 is rein in the out-of-control TSA. Hard.

Sidwell Friends, With Benefits.

How the Ruling Class does PTA. It's "in your face".

Today's Required Reading.

Walter Russell Mead takes a look at America's Ruling Class, and he ain't happy. As in, making comparisons to the French Revolution ain't happy.

Massachusetts' RomneyCare Present Is Our ObamaCare Future.

And it doesn't look good.

Somewhere, 10,000 20-Something Guys Who Don't Date, Spend All Day On The Computer And Still Live At Home...

...Just had an orgasm.

Gettin' Your Geek On.

Geek Item 1: The sky. In detail.

Geek Item 2: Amazon's one day sale on 'Firefly: The Complete Series'. In Blu-Ray, too.

I May Not Know Much, But I Know Chicken S**t From Chicken Salad.

Ed Driscoll, pinch hitting over at Instapundit, posts a PJTV look at the current crop of GOP hopefuls. It's worth a watch for the analysis alone, but what makes it true gold is Stephen Green, the Vodkapundit , gives the best description of my least favorite uber-RINO, evah:

"Ron Paul sounds increasingly like an angry, constipated chicken."

UPDATE: But he's worse when not verbally constipated, because this type of chicken s**t often spews forth. Yeah, that'll deliver the mainstream.

LSU Geauxs the Right Way

Last week, Clifford posted this shameful event at LSU. Today, the LSU community has redeemed themselves.

Now if you could just put fishnets and eyeshadow on that Saban statue in Tuscaloosa....

The Invisible South

Today, the President flew to Texas. Was he there for the wildfires ravaging the state? Maybe to declare a disaster area? Um...No. He went in support of illegal immigration in El Paso, and to two, count 'em, two fundraisers in Austin.

En route, he flew over the Mississippi River. You know, that tiny body of water that is threatening flooding greater than 1927? He didn't even friggin look.

OK, he was slow after the oil spill. Since then, he has instituted an illegal de facto ban on offshore drilling. He didn't even mention the tornadoes in the Carolinas a few days before the Alabama ones. You've gutted NASA and Houston.

Mr. President, I can only come to the conclusion that either you are prejudiced against the South, or we're just invisible. Either way, we are Americans. American citizens, who you are supposed to represent. We're worth a look.

I guarantee we won't be invisible next year.

To Protect and To Serve Time.

Another of New Orleans' finest allegedly raises, um... the bar.

Guess What Isn't Selling?

Going "green". First, Walmart bails (they've even resumed selling guns and ammo in many stores). Now General Electric's CEO - Obama's top lackey poster boy for corporate greenism - is having second thoughts.

UPDATE: Even the greens aren't buying it.

Apologies to the Seals and Harry

Although accounts of Bin Laden's death widely vary, one thing has remained remarkably consistent. The Seals actually pulled triggers and actually killed enemies of the USA. Accordingly, the White House has denied their applications for the Courageous Restraint medal.

Sorry, guys. And with apologies to Harry Morant:

If you do something untoward
when following orders from Obama,
you'll never win this award
If you shoot Osama.

Another Participant, Another Opinion

Yesterday, Clifford commented on this article. In it, the doctor in question says, "So yes, to ask if a device that is associated with over 30,000 deaths a year and over 50% of suicides is unloaded, locked up, and kept out of reach of children is also well within my scope of practice."

I feel I must question the doctor's intellectual honesty.

Since automobile crashes caused 30,797 deaths in 2009, does he also ask about their driving habits? Does he inquire whether they drive a light, fuel efficient, green vehicle that would prove fatal in a collision with a Dodge Ram? If not, why not? Could there be any animus toward those dangerous icky gun thingies?

And if he's truly interested in saving lives, perhaps he should look in the mirror. According to Medical News Today, medical mistakes caused 6.5 times the number of deaths. That's right, 195,000 people per year die from medical errors.

Doc, if you're serious about helping your patients, you should heed the old advice.

Physician, heal thyself.

Another Participant In The Doctor / Client Privilege.

The Government. If our doctor ever asks those kinds of questions... me, my wife, and my children will be more than happy to tell him or her to STFU. We will use the long form of that acronym, and tell the questioner to enter that into our medical records.

I've said since 1992 the real goal of any government takeover of health care isn't improving quality or cost for you and me. It is a nifty way for the Progressives - The Left / Mainstream Media - to make an end run around our Constitution. The Rights enshrined therein - to do with ourselves as we see fit (or in the case of a bacon double-cheeseburger, see unfit) and limit government intrusion in our lives - have hampered the Progressive agenda for a century.

By putting our health care providers and our health care information under the control of the Federal government, as ObamaCare does, doctors essentially become snitches of the State - gathering the kind of information the Constitution would bar the Federal government from otherwise acquiring without a warrant or reasonable cause.

Information is power, and with access to the kind of information the doctor at the link above wants, the Progressive Movement achieves their Holy Grail - the very thing the Bill of Rights prevents: Unfettered government control over our lives. Armed with data about our personal habits, likes, dislikes, values, and interests, an enlightened, educated Ruling Class can finally regulate society unimpeded. They can organize, systematize, and manage our lives to arrive at that collective nirvana they are sure they can create if they just had enough control.

Under the rubric of "health care", The Left / Mainstream Media have a way to force us to live as they think we should while still giving lip service to the Constitution. They can claim they are not violating, say, the Rights protected under the First or Second Amendment by demanding we tell our doctor how we voted, what websites we visit, what we eat or drink, or what firearms we own; because we will still - on paper, anyway - have the Right to those things as before.

BUT...... if our doctor and/or a government regulatory agency decides we are exercising those Rights in a way they deem as "unhealthy" or "costing the system too much" (owning a gun or eating a steak or watching FoxNews with our kids), well... we may have to pay much more for our health care, or maybe lose it all together. When government-approved health care plans become the only game in town, we won't have much option. Your wife's surgery or your Right to join a Tea Party. Your heart medicine or eating meat. Pick one.


Note: FWIW, the way we keep our kids safe around firearms is my wife and I have let them become familiar with them, taught them how to correctly use them, and let them shoot with us as often as we can. My daughter isn't intimidated by a .357 Magnum because, well, she knows how to use it.

Yep.

Via Theo:



If you read RSR regularly you already know about this angle.

Um, How About 'Sauron'?

I have to agree with this - using "Geronimo" as Bin Laden's code-name was not cool. Not at all. Geronimo was an American. Geronimo was one of us, and he fought for something uniquely American - the right to be left the hell alone and not have others trying to run your life. Bin Laden stood for none of these things. Bin Laden wanted to destroy us, not leave us alone, and force us to live out lives (those that his ilk would let live, anyway) according to their dictates, their mores, and their god.

Best And Brightest.

Weep for America's future. Well, if these people have any say in it:



UPDATE: For those keeping track, this is the 3,000th post here on RSR.

A Word From The Management.

RSR would like to welcome it's first "guest author" (hey, that's what Blogger calls 'em -ed.): The Grey Man. He is an insightful sage of formidable intellectual and linguistic skills, and will be a welcome addition to our blogging bullpen.

But be forewarned, dear readers - if you wish to cross keyboards with The Grey Man we at RSR take no responsibility for the result. You will be challenging a man known to palpate cattle (that is, stick his arm up a cow's butt -ed.) while reciting the climactic soliloquy from 'Henry V' from memory. You will be in for the scrap of your intellectual life.

I'll Buy A Round.

My buddy Christopher Johnson notes America's newest drink craze: The Bin Laden. It’s two shots and a splash of water.

Q and A Time

Q: As Osama bin Laden stood in his secure compound, facing an armed American, while hiding behind a woman's skirts, what was the last thing to go through his mind?

A: 5.56

The Man Who Shot Osama Bin Laden.

(Note: Below is a guest post by The Grey Man, with his unique and insightful take on recent events. Read it all.)

Sometimes, life imitates art.

Today I am reminded of a 1962 classic film, one of the great stories written by James Warner Bellah. This film was also a rare pairing of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Of course, I refer to "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". There was even a very early sixties theme song.

For those of you who haven't seen the film, I'll have to summarize:

Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) is the classic bad guy who terrorizes the town. The only man in town who will stand up to Liberty is a local tough, but good guy, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). One day a lawyer, Ransom Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart) comes to town, carrying law books but no gun. Of course, Liberty and Ransom come into conflict, and the local law, Marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) is no use. It has to be settled with a gunfight. Ransom Stoddard wins, and becomes famous as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". Because of his fame, he gets Statehood passed, gets elected to the Senate, as Governor, etc. And he gets Doniphon's girl in the process.

But all is not as it seems. Actually, Doniphon killed Valance from the shadows. When Stoddard tries to set the record straight many years later, the press refuses to tell the facts. The money line is "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

Today, I think we have seen President Obama's re-election campaign laid out.

The President has been polling very poorly among independents, the soft center. Obamacare, gas prices, unemployment, foreign policy, etc., weigh heavily on their minds. Yet they are a patriotic group.

For the next 18 months, I predict criticism of the President will be answered with "He's the "Man Who Shot Osama Bin Laden"". Calling your opponents racist at every turn is a negative, and has become ineffective. Now, the President's supporters have something popular to point to. There's already a theme song written for this role.

This seems, historically, somewhat silly. Did the press laud President Roosevelt for giving the order to assassinate Admiral Yamamoto during the election of 1944? Also how will ordering assassinations play with the President's base?

Regardless, it seems that, politically, we are in for a remake of this classic film.

How will we cast this remake?

Liberty Valance - Osama Bin Laden. The big bad guy.

Ransom Stoddard - President Obama. This is the apparent hero, who gets the credit for something others have done. While he does not actively claim credit, neither does he give the appropriate credit until way too late. He also takes the great love of the true hero.

Tom Doniphon - Seal Team Six, and the entire US military. These are the real heroes, who do the right thing time and again with no thanks. They put it all on the line, time and again, and don't complain when the credit gets given to someone else.

Marshal Link Appleyard - Eric Holder. This is the bumbling law enforcement officer who is totally ineffective at stopping the terrorizing of the town.

Major Cassius Starbuckle - Any Republican presidential candidate. In the film, Maj. Starbuckle is the man who runs against Stoddard for office at the Territorial Convention. He gets called "The Cattlemen's Mouthpiece". Expect any Republican candidate to be called "The Oilman's Mouthpiece" or in the pocket of Big Something or Other.

Hallie Stoddard - The American voters. Hallie is Doniphon's love interest, who dumps him for Stoddard. Never mind that while both Stoddard and Doniphon had the courage to confront Valance's terror, only Doniphon had the skill to stop it. The President is hoping our appreciation for a difficult and dangerous job well done will accrue to him, not the ones who have been fighting terror for years.

We will, of course, have to forget that the President has been slashing the budget of the very operators who carried out this mission. Ignore what you just paid for gas, milk and bread. Pay no attention to the man groping your crotch at the airport. Just keep humming "The Man Who Shot Osama Bin Laden".

Grrrr. Cowards.

OK, so you don't like the fact we offed the biggest scumbag on the planet. We get it; it's a free country. But, this??

Oh, Happy Day!! Part II

Indeed.

Oh, Happy Day!!

WE GOT HIM!!!! One Shot, One Kill.

Take it away, Lee:



Yes, watch it again.

UPDATE: On FoxNews right now, a large, flag-waving crowd is gathering at the White House in celebration. Shouts of "USA! USA!" and singing "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye!" can he heard.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the US military, US intelligence services, President Bush, and President Obama.

UPDATE: Good Lord. The tin-foil hat fringe is already talking C-O-N-S-P-I-R-A-C-Y! Just scroll though the posts and pages if you go there. And scrub well after you leave.

UPDATE: FoxNews now showing a crowd gathering in Times Square in New York.

UPDATE: "Three Administrations and a Funeral: The Osama Bin Laden Story". Heeheehee.

UPDATE: John Paul II beatified, Bin Laden killed. An amazing, historic day.

UPDATE 02MAY2011: I hope this is not accurate. In your humble blogger's opinion, his remains should have been cremated, and mixed anonymously into concrete for sidewalks at the new World Trade Center - where the soles of millions of shoes would stomp on him daily.

UPDATE 02MAY2011: ABC News has images from inside Bin Laden's "mansion". Geez. It looks like a college apartment furnished out of a Goodwill Store. All these years and he couldn't hire an interior designer?? IKEA delivers, you know.

For Anne.

She knows why.

So Tom, Is This One Of Those "Right Solutions" You Would Authorize?

Communist China - the authoritarian worker's paradise where everybody has government health care; the nation that is the company store we now owe our national soul to; the proletarian nirvana Thomas Friedman wishes the United States could be just for a day - puts profits before people.

I'm shocked! Shocked! OK, not really.

So, Mr. Stalin, How Many Saints Does The Soviet Union Have?

There is a God, and he has a delicious sense of irony. Proof: Karol Wojtyla, later known as John Paul II - a man who used his life and his Faith to struggle against godless socialism (first Hitlerian National Socialism, then Marxist Scientific Socialism) - will deliver one more kick to the ash heap of history when he is beatified this May Day.

A little post title history.

Sitting In My Blind Waiting For The Perfect Shot, And...There It Was - An 8-Point Princess.

Princess Beatrice at today's Royal Wedding:


-photographer unknown.

An Internet meme is born.

King Barry I, Or Hugo Chavez II?

Team Hopenchange thinks their agenda is just too important to let that Rule Of Law thing get in the way.

THE core question for next 18 months:

It all boils down to this: Are we to be a constitutional government with three distinct branches, or a single executive entity that makes policy, carries it out and decides for itself whether it's constitutional or not?

That's what the next presidential race is really all about.

Indeed it is.

Today's Required Reading.

The Case against President Obama's Health Care Reform: A Primer for Non Lawyers, Cato White Paper No. 32

Miss USA Meets TSA

Yes, Susie, as a Citizen in Obama's America, you have to go through this.

His Sister Was Bit By A Moose Once.

No, reali:



From here. Of course.

Bible Thumping.

My friend Christopher over at Midwest Conservative Journal shows why those who are unfamiliar with Scripture - because they usually don't believe a word of it - should not use it to make a point. Christopher, who does know Scripture, uses it convincingly to make his point.

How Much Of A Lightweight Is Barack Obama?

This much: He just coughed up his birth certificate. Why? Because of pressure from Donald Trump. Donald. Freakin'. Trump. The leader of the free world just got beat by a pompous blowhard with bad hair.

No wonder Kadaffi/Qaddafi/Gadaffii/(insert your spelling here) is still in power. Let's see how long it is before we get Barry's college records, too.

A Modest Proposal.

Like it or not, the Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling. I don't like it either, but yes, they will. If they don't, the President will have the ability to almost unilaterally cut spending necessary to keep us under the ceiling. And you know what he will do - muck up things the average, not-that-much-into-political-tussles American will notice and get angry about - close National Parks, stop Social Security payments to Granma, stop paying the troops, stop paying out creditors, etc., etc. Fiscally irresponsible in the extreme, yes, but it makes great Alinskyesque political theatre. Especially with The Left / Mainstream Media pushing White House talking points without question.

But, as this article points out, raising the debt isn't going win any points for Democrats with the average Joe and Jane. They (the Democrats) don't want to be the ones holding the bag here, either, especially with so many vulnerable seats in 2012.

Which gives Boehner, Ryan, Rubio, (Rand) Paul, etc., a golden opportunity to cut a deal. Not a promise for a few billion off here or there, but something big.

(Crapgamevoice) You know... a deal deal. (/Crapgamevoice) Like...

Tell Pelosi, Reid, etc., that the GOP will vote to raise the debt ceiling say, $1 trillion, if the Democrats agree to vote out a Balanced Budget Amendment to the States. There are several already introduced into the Congress this session . It takes two-thirds of the Congress to vote on a proposed Amendment before it goes to the States, so support from moderate/conservative Democrats is essential for the two-thirds number. Most States already live within such constraints, and I think they would be more than pleased to have the Feds do the same.

Whatever happens, the GOP can not let this opportunity go by and get a pittance (a few billion here and there) in return. That is not what they were sent there to do, and they will fare almost as bad as the Democrats in 2012 if they come out of this with a few lumps of coal in their bag.

If the folks on Capitol Hill want to do something like this, they better act fast.

OK, Can We PLEASE Move Onto The Important Things Now?

Here is Barack Obama's birth certificate.

There are a LOT of failings of our current President that point to his lack of fitness for the job. His place of birth has never been one of them. The 'Birther' issue has distracted us from highlighting the real problems before this nation. It has given attention to a malignant fringe strata in our body politic, and in so doing has handed our opponents an issue with which to poison Independents against those of us who argue for fiscal sanity and limited government. Because of 'Birthers', our ability to convince the critical middle to align with our point of view is now that that much harder.

The 'Birthers' should, if they have any honor - and any understanding of politics beyond a high-school civics class level - admit they were wrong and then STFU. But if I know them, they won't.

UPDATE: Well, that didn't take long.

What If Brittany Spears Had Directed 'Lord Of The Rings'?

Sippican at Borderline Sociopathic Blog for Boys accidentally found out while scouring the InterTubes. It ain't pretty:

So, How Are Those "Green" Jobs Working Out?

Obama's promised land of milk and windmills may not be so promising after all. In the scad of adverts in my inbox this morning was one from a company offering to do LEED certification for buildings - a "green job" if there ever was one. I get (and trash) these all the time, but this one was a bit different - it was offering a hugely reduced, flat rate to do LEED certification on any building of any size. It was substantially less - like, half - than we paid a for a LEED consultant just a year ago. (We have only done one LEED building, and we - and our banker - pray we never have to do another.)

Is This What We Have Come To????...

I hate to post something like this, but it must be seen. MUST. A woman, who turns out is transgendered, is savagely beaten - enough to cause seizures - and appears to have chunks of her hair ripped out while the employees in a suburban Baltimore McDonald's mostly stand by and laugh. Several even tell the two women who beat the third to leave quick because the police are on the way. The store manager made a half-hearted attempt to break it up but only one person - a middle aged lady - tried to actively intervene, and got punched in the process.

The inhuman savagery, violence, and lack of restraint is stunning, as is the idea that those teenagers thought such was appropriate for whatever the third had done. Equally stunning is the inhuman reaction to those who who witnessed the event, who seemed more interested in having something for their Facebook page than having any compassion for the victim.



UPDATE: Much more here. This is being considered a "hate crime". While I don't believe "hate" is a crime, if there ever was an example of a "hate crime", this is it.

Barack Obama: An Expensive Empty Suit.

Literally.

Happy Birthday, Bill.

Still looking good at 447. Don't believe me? Take it away, Kenneth:

Question Of The Day.

If TSA can't screen alleged pedophiles from their own ranks, how can they screen terrorists from our skies?

A TSA screener in Philadelphia, who gets paid by Janet Napolitano to touch other people's junk, now finds himself under arrest for allegedly possessing and distributing kiddie porn.

Remember this when one of Janet's blue-gloved minions insists on feeling up your daughter or son.

RUN-EPA

Just in time for Earth Day, dear readers, we are pleased to present government-funded Prius Rap:

Nothing But Comrades, Or, I'm Glad I Have A Lawn Mower.

Besides being one of the most sacred days in the Christian Faith, today is also one of the most sacred in today's Marxist Faith: It's Earth Day.

So in celebration, take it away, Mr. Byrne:



For our Marxist friends today is really a toofer - since it's also Lenin's birthday. With May Day just around the corner, and the birthday of Pol Pot (an early advocate of combining spread-the-wealth with back-to-nature) on 19 May, I guess this is the 'holiday season' for Marxists.

Yin/Yang.

Apple Computer:

Good: Apple named least "green" tech company. Companies exist to make things and provide services, not be butt-kissers for busy-body moralists. That doesn't mean dumping old SE30's in the Bay is OK - it means they shouldn't have to require employees wear all-natural, free-range, fair-trade skivvies because the Natural Resources Defense Fund or Al Gore thinks it's a nifty idea.

Bad: Apple is tracking you via your iPhone and/or iPad. I'm sorry, but what do they need this for? And, who will try to get their hands on it?
(cough) The government via lobbying by busy-body moralists (cough).

Scotty, This Is Schrodinger...

...We're almost ready to beam up the cat.

Wait till some Ron Paul/Alex Jones/911 Truther/Birther types look at that ominous machine and realize this was done... in Tokyo... before the quake. The conspiracy theories, they shall fly. UPDATE: Wouldn't be the first time.

Remember When The Left Thought Big Business Making Huge Profits Was A Bad Thing?

Nowadays, it seems to depend on which friends Big Business keeps. I bet the standard-issue Lefties won't be rioting because General Electric - one of Obama's most reliable Big Business supporters who seems poised to make buckets of cash off the government's "green" regulations and restrictions, saw it's profits jump 77%.

In the Era of Hopenchange, crony capitalism is bad - unless they're your cronies. And success is not measured by what you do anymore - but by who you know in government.

UPDATE: Concrete proof of that last point.

A Story That Is Sure To Generate, Um, A Lot Of Traction.

I predict this will be the most read article on the 'Net this week:

Yes, men really can make it longer: study.

Actually, I think this will be the most read article this month. No, wait... This year.

And The Ones Who Couldn't Tell An Umbrella From An AK-47 Will Get, What? An Award?...

The Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts - a place I frequented often while living in the Tax State, was evacuated today because two - not one, but two - Massachusetts Morons couldn't tell the difference between an umbrella and a "short-barreled rifle".

The poor sod who was just trying to keep dry felt so bad he came forward to the police. Will the idiots who wasted everybody's time because they couldn't tell a Totes from a Tavor do the same? It's Massachusetts - don't hold your breath.

Will The Left / Mainstream Media Now Worry About The Feelings Of The 'Christian Street'?

French (yes, he said French -ed.) fundamentalist Catholics destroy Andres Serrano's infamous 'Piss Christ' to protest "blasphemy".

While I find Serrano's work repugnant, I find the response in Avignon equally repugnant in a free society. The litmus test here is how The Left / Mainstream Media react/spin this story. Will we hear lots of there-are-limits-to-free-speech lectures from them, just like we did when the 'Arab/Muslim Street' went nuts after the Danish Cartoon kerfuffle? Don't hold your breath.

They Came From "Shangri-La"...

...And 69 years ago today these 80 men flew into history.

Next year in Jerusalem!

A very Happy Passover to our Hebrew friends.

Burnin' Down The Garage, Part II; Or, Bringing Back The Firebird.

Remember the story the other day about a garage fire in Connecticut, wherein a Government Motors 'Volt' - Obama's vision of a "green" auto future - was suspected of causing the fire? Well, dear readers, seems it caught fire again.

Today's Helpful Hint.

Don't bring a machete to a pocket-knife fight.

UPDATE" A friend noted that this proves, once again, it's not the size of your blade but what you can do with it. OK... So why do the ladies always go for the guy with the broadsword and not the one with the Swiss Army Knife? Even one with the larger, locking blade SAK? Um... metaphorically speaking, of course.

UPDATE: Maybe now is a really good time to mention that I have one of these. And if a great blade is important to you, you should have one, too. And I'm not speaking metaphorically.

Steve, Jobs Killer.

According to the deep thoughts of Jessie Jackson, Jr. (D-Luddite Heights), the Apple iPad is killing the First Amendment. Really. I presume he'll be proposing legislation to protect newspapers and printers from this evil. Maybe he can amend his bill protecting 8-track tape makers from cassettes.

The Grapes Of Spong.

This being Palm Sunday, I think it's a good time to note the progress the Liberal wing of Anglicanism has achieved in the UK:


One Rev. Dr Giles Fraser thinks all that "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" is a bunch of hooey. So, Giles... what's the point?


The parish of Holy Trinity / St. Mary's, Guildford, apparently gets in touch with their inner Himmler, posting this bit of inclusive indaba dhimmitude on their website:



Some are saying the site was hacked, and have alerted the parish. Yet, the cartoon remains...


An electrician in the UK is facing the sack for displaying a palm-frond Cross on his dashboard. That's where mine is today. I thank my lucky stars (and stripes) that I don't live in the UK today.


Hattip to The MCJ.

UPDATE: In a related note, the grapes of "diversity": The 12th-Century Boys practice some interfaith dialogue and religion-of-peace cultural understanding in London. I don't know if Rowan Williams would approve, but I know he sure as hell won't protest.

UPDATE 18APR11: Well that didn't take long - the cartoon is gone. But have no fear, dear readers, there is something called "screenshot", and I have one. In case they want to get all Orwellian on us.