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)