When Snowballs Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Snowballs.

Can you say, "disproportionate response": A District of Columbia Police detective, one "Detective Baylor", pulled his handgun on a group of college kids with snowballs, because aparrently someone hit the detective's Hummer with a snowball. Much more here. Someone with that poor judgement about when to draw his weapon should not be on the force, much less a detective.

Yet Another Example Of Why We Didn't Stay In Massachusetts.

When it comes to unethical politics and conflicts of interest, Louisiana is minor-league when compared to the Bay State.

Was Franklin Right?

After the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what form of government America would have. He replied bluntly, "A republic, if you can keep it."

And it looks like we're not keeping it.

I agree with Redstate - we have lost something very basic in this current Congress and Administration, and "what comes next is very discomforting to think about." By passing the health care bill - a piece of legislation that puts one sixth of our economy under direct government control; that has been purposely crafted out of sight of the American people; and that such a clear majority of us (for one reason or another) do not want - the battle between a free people and oligarchic government control will be, effectively, over. And a free people will have lost. We will have lost control of our lives and the right to decide them as we see fit, and ceded that right over to a ruling political elite that will now have the ability to control our most private decisions. We will have lost what Justice William Brandies saw as that most basic of American rights, the right to be left alone.

And we can not elect a new slate in 2010 that can easily undo this. Once it's in, it's in. Sympathetic courts will contort a way, Plessy v. Fergeson-like, to allow it's implementation. And while the Supreme Court may eventually find parts of this bill unconstitutional, don't bet your live (literally) on that. Because if you think this stops at health care, you are wrong. Once the precedent has been set - and more importantly, upheld in the courts - then there will be no limits to what powers Congress will grant themselves, and no limits on what Congress will compel us, the people, to do (exempting themselves and their cronies, of course). They will be our masters; not the other way round.

So, what's next? In the short run, if you have a Congressman or Senator who is backing this mess, don't stay silent! Make theirs a very miserable Christmas. Write, email, call, fax, stand in front of their offices with signs. Send them lumps of coal. If they have a town hall, show up and treat them like spoiled children; that is how they are treating you. The time for nice is over. And get organized. Join a Tea Party, or another fiscally responsible, freedom defending group working to defeat this agenda.

In the mid-term, we have elections in 2010. If you have a Congressman or Senator who voted for this disaster, don't just show up to vote against them, volunteer for the opposing candidate. Work phones, carry signs, put a sign in your yard, send money. Support candidates who will vote repeal this monster in the Congress, or at the very least vote to defund it. Champion candidates who vote to for an immediate balanced budget and will not vote to raise taxes or fees to balance the budget. If we have to live within our means, so does the Federal Government. On the state level, support candidates who will support your state opting-out of ObamaCare; vote for your state adopting a Sovereignty Resolution; and would, as a last resort, vote to have your state refuse ALL Federal funds in order to get out of unfunded mandates - even if that means shutting down programs. If the Congress wants programs that shell out our money to illegal aliens, let Congress run them.

In the long term, two things. Priority One: Vote Barack Obama out of office in 2012. He, more than anyone, has forgotten who he works for - or never knew it in the first place. And second, if you are forced to pay a fine because the government doesn't like your health care choice, refuse to pay it. Tell 'em to sod off. Make them take you to court; become a test case. Yes, that is the hard way. But they are counting all of us to be soft, and trade our principals for the easy way out. Don't. That is what got us into this mess in the first place. Stand up as free citizens. They can't prosecute millions of us at once.

Yes, there will be a time of reckoning for the way we, the American people, have been treated by those who are supposed to be our servants in this Republic. And there is no better time for that reckoning than now. Let us put our servants in their place. Let act as if we can keep this Republic.

Lake Jewbegon.

Garrison Keillor gets in touch with his inner Goebbels and wants Jews to "buzz off" when it comes to Christmas. (Um, wasn't a Jewish family rather central to the Christmas story? -ed.)

This isn't the first time Keillor has espoused brown-shirt notions. Perhaps they should start airing A Prairie Home Companion from a beer hall.

Proof: Having Mardi Gras Beats Having The UN.

Louisiana is the happiest state in the nation. New York, is dead last.

Note also that the more conservative, less densely populated, lower tax states tend to be higher on the "happy" index, while more liberal, urbanized, high-tax states tend to be toward the bottom of the ranking. The lesson here, dear readers? Having the government in your life doesn't necessarily make your life happier.

A War To Watch.

Did you know there was a shooting war going on the Saudi-Yemeni border? You do now. The Saudi and Yemeni governments are fighting an uber-hardline Islamic group on their border - the Houthi - who appear to be supplied by Iran and who's motto is "God Is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam". A real tolerant and enlightened bunch.

The Saudis, with all the latest hip tactical weaponry their oil money can buy, don't appear to be doing all that well. Lots of posed pictures and shooting at nothing. (Hint: The training and discipline of the man behind the weapon is as important as the weapon itself. -ed.) And from looking at the videos, it seems the Yemeni government forces seem to be getting their clocks cleaned.

Doing My Part.

What with the impending success of the Copenhagen climate change conerence, I really want to get into the spirit and do my part. And I've found the perfect "green" floor insulation - it's all-natural, biodegradable, and made of 100% recycled material.

UPDATE: See - if you do it right, insulation is sexy stuff!

Friday Guest Post.

The Grey Man, he speaks:

I am about to be called a racist. Why? Because I think that Health Care has become Obama and company's Tar Baby.

First, it was "health care reform". Later it became "health insurance reform". I'm not really sure what it is now, because nobody outside Reid's inner circle has actually read it.

Why the changes? Well with each new evolution, it gets more unpopular. So they keep repackaging the product and slapping "New and Improved" on the label. And the product, far from improving, is getting more rancid by the day. It literally stinks.

And with each decline in the polls, they get more and more desperate. Attack talk radio? Oops, that failed. Okay, try attacking Fox News. Oops again.
Go after Insurance companies? Damn, still not working. How about unpatriotic TEA partiers? Crap, we're getting nowhere.

And the bill itself keeps changing. Abortion coverage is in. Nope, it's out. It's in. It's out. Single payer is in. It's out. It's in. It's out.

This thing has more in and out than a Tiger Woods date.

Right now, the Democrats have only two choices, and both terrify them.

If they fail to pass uber-liberal health reform after all this effort, they will look like a bunch of incompetent boobs to their base, and to the rest of us. But what terrifies them, what really and truly terrifies them, is if it passes, and they have to take responsibility for their actions.

Like Brer Rabbit, they aren't smart enough to realize that the more they fight, the more stuck they become. Amazingly, the party that demands an exit strategy for wars and tax cuts didn't think that they might need one themselves.

I know some reading this will blame it all on Fox or Republicans or a bad alignment of the stars. But the simple fact is that the Democrats could have passed anything they wanted to as soon as Franken was seated. Obama could have told his party what he wanted, and demanded it. He could have actually lead from the front. But he didn't. Reid could have lead. But he didn't.

What is really pathetic is that this effort will, at best, produce a hodgepodge law that nobody likes. And to do this, President Obama is throwing away his congressional majority, and ruining the careers of some of his party's most faithful. Mary Landrieu might not be up for election for a few years, but for the first time, she has an overall unfavorable rating in the polls. She will go down in flames come her next election. So will Reid next year.

Harry and Mary, this IS the "Change" you voted for. You've thrown your careers away. And you've done it all for nothing.

The Grey Man


(Note - the Owner of this blog takes no responsibility for the content or opinions of guest posts.)

Climate Change In Our Time?

Someone from Greenpeace benevilles himself. Read it all.

And note Warner's term for the permanently indignant, ratty-looking protest crowd: "Smellies". How apropos.

The None.

Will The Messiah go 0-2 in Copenhagen? It's looking that way. And he can't blame it "on the past eight years".

'Hockey Sticks' Through History.

With The One heading off to Copenhagen to single-handedly save to world from man-made global warming (which seems can only be ended by destroying our economy and giving governments like Zimbabwe billions of dollars), perhaps we should put the famous 'hockey stick' in some perspective:

Quick, Bonnie Anderson! Get Me Rewrite!!

Is the Climate Change Fund the new Millennium Development Goals? Kenneth Anderson wonders. Oy. Another unsuccessful UN program our Presiding Bishop will want us to worship...

Stop the Typing!!

Your humble blogger just went over to The Episcopal Church (tm) website to post a link to their ever prominent MDG page and.... It's gone! Poof! Not there! Nothing in the 'Quick Links". Nothing under the "Advocacy" tab. Or any of the other tabs, for that matter. You'll find it if you look hard enough, buried in the Episcopal Relief and Development page here.

Why just a year ago, our Presiding Bishop couldn't stop talking about the MDG's. She was giddy for them. Our pope-in-waiting crisscrossed the country exhorting the faithful to participate. They were a 'mission priority' for the church. Large gatherings of Episcopalians (defined officially by TEC as 25 or more, excluding wait-staff) were reminded that the ticket to salvation was using sporks and giving 0.7 percent of their income to make the MDG's come true. The MDG's were our new catechism.

So... what happened?

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

...And apparently, it is.

UPDATE: But this new revelation should make it uncomfortably hot for some folks at the conference...

Reform, Democrat Definition Of.

Back in 2008, Obama and the Democrats sold the American people on health care "reform" that would be both bipartisan and transparent.

Here it is, almost 2010, and this is what we're about to get:

‘And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen. That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private’

What is it, Senator Reid, that you and your Democrat colleagues don't want the American people to see?

Thursday Morning Distraction.

Besides being an inconsiderate bore, here's another reason I don't get invited to Christmas parties - I think this kind of stuff is fun:



Much more scientific weirdness here.

Hattip: Theo Spark.

TIGER WOODS' GIRLFRIEND NAKED!

Not really. My stats are down; I need some traffic.

The Little Party That Roared?

'Tea Party' now polls more favorably than either Democrats or Republicans.

If my little see-into-the-future globe is right, look for both 'established' parties to try and glom onto the Tea Party Movement in 2010.

The GOP establishment machinery has been trying to co-opt the Tea Party movement as theirs from the get-go, proving once again the current GOP still doesn't get it: The Tea Parties exist because of GOP failures in leadership and vision, not successes. If the GOP wants us in their camp, they're gonna have to earn it. And they're not doing a very good job with that right now. Actions, people; not words. (Or bus tours; or Facebook groups; or wine parties... -ed.)

As things continue to sour for Team Hopenchange, look for the Democrats to also try to make some kind of overture to the Tea Parties, or try to create a similar 'grassroots' organization to compete for the 'angry vote'. Like the Republicans, they have failed at the things that have folks looking to the Tea Parties as an alternative.

Maybe a new third party isn't such a bad idea.

The Rt. Rev. Tiger Woods?

Calling Katherine Schori: In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, Ann Althouse asks: "Is the need for multiple partners a sexual orientation?"

In this day and age, ask a question like that and it won't be long before The Episcopal Church (tm) will promote it. (We have to, you know. It's somewhere in our 'Baptismal Covenant'. - ed.) Besides, it gives The Episcopal Church (tm) further opportunities for another celebrity priest (or three), to show the world how with it, hip and relevant The Episcopal Church (tm) is these days.

"I'm-a Leaving On A Jet Plane..."

Though sources say it's more like five jet planes, actually. Carbon footprints are for the little people.

And why the hell is Charlie Rangel going?? Like he needs another government-paid vacation. The best way for Charlie Rangel to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere would be for the man to simply shut up. Or maybe, the good Congressman is going there to learn more about an interesting tax-free business opportunity. And we know how much our Mr. Rangel hates paying taxes.

Cap-n-Scam.

Think of all the "green" jobs we'll create if we implement Cap-n-Trade. Just like they're doing in Europe.