I Guess She Was Right

This gal proclaimed on election day that Obama was going to pay for her gas and cover her mortgage payments. I've said from the beginning that the Powers-That-Be believe that housing is a human right and that before it's all over the Govt.--probably through Fannie and Freddie--will end up letting those who default stay in their homes. Free housing, owned by the Govt. (Who's going to pay to fix the roof or buy a new water heater when you're squatting in a Fannie-owned house?)

The banks are all halting foreclosure proceedings due to legal technicalities but I wonder if there's not some other reason. After all, if you're not making your mortgage payments, eventually someone will be knocking on the door no matter what's in the fine print.

I guess those continuing to make their mortgage payments--especially those who are under water--are just suckers.

Sue on YouTube

Look at the one minute, 56 second point in this YouTube and you'll see The Missus for a brief second. She was the towel girl.

Forward to your friends. For every click on the video, United Healthcare of PA, which also paid for production of the video, donates a dime to breast cancer research up to $100,000. So they only need a million clicks. (Another evil corporation.)

R.I.P. George Blanda

Another hero of mine.

"Against the Cleveland Browns, Blanda entered the game with a little more than four minutes to play and the Raiders down by a touchdown. He threw a touchdown pass, kicked the extra point, drove the team into position for the winning field goal and kicked it — that 52-yarder — with three seconds on the clock.

The next Sunday, he beat Denver with a late touchdown pass; the Sunday after that, he beat San Diego with a last-minute field goal. Five straight weeks he saved the game; he was 43 at the time."

The quote, pic, and more details on his great career here.

Corbett ad

The next governor of the Keystone State.

No Such Thing As a Free Commute

At least there no longer will be in New Jersy. Toll booth collectors in the Garden State have been allowed to drive toll-free for 50 years now. Governor Christie is putting an end to that.

He's obviously picking a fight here. Trying to piss off every union in the state. It couldn't save much money when you look at the big picture but it certainly is symbolic.

I'm sitting across the river loving NJ politics, knowing that the same sort of political fun is coming to Pa. should we elect Tom Corbett.

Cavuto

Here's the link to a humorous, yet pointed Cavuto commentary that reflects some intelligent economic thought.

This on a day when Barry O'B is reportedly going to appoint a 41 year old college professor turned campaign adviser to head his economic team--further evidence that this Govt. in the White House "knows nothing". At the very least, I'm confident Mr. Goolsbee knows nothing about what it would take to motivate entrepreneurs to take a risk and hire some folks.

The No Nancy Pledge

Dems in competitive House districts all over the country are running away from the O'B Administration, running ads bragging about how they are "independent", that they'll "stand up against the powers in Washington". Bragging that they voted against ObamaCare.

Well . . . maybe it's time to prove how "independent" they really are.

I challenge them to take the No Nancy Pledge. It's very simple: "I pledge that I will never vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House of Representatives."

My guess is that many Republicans would sign on within hours. Might be harder to get those Dems to do so.

Look for it on Facebook.

I found the lovely photo here.

They Just Want the Bacon

In honor of International Bacon Day, which is today. A couple years old but still relevant.

45 days in jail? They oughta put the pony-tailed do-gooder in the clink for 45 days for abuse of power.

Another Hero

Can't say I'm huge fan of Cramer, but I am of Ford CEO Alan Mulally. This guy is incredible. He's completely turned Ford around after having done the same at Boeing. And without the Govt. bailout money.

Watch this interview if you want to see what's right with this country and it's capitalist system.

Asininity on the Gulf

This is good. There's a converted oil tanker-turned-oil-skimmer down in the Gulf now that is reportedly capable of filtering 21 million gallons of oil-tainted water a day. The EPA won't let it go to work until they've tested the filtered water. Wouldn't want to put polluted water back into the Gulf. Unless of course, it's less polluted than it was when you pulled it out of the Gulf. Why is there a need to test? It's like denying experimental drugs to the terminally ill.

Pointy-headed bureaucrats and inspectors never cease to amaze. Time is never of the essence. More important is their power and control. They have to be able to "sign off" on everything. And they think through fin-reg they can prevent another financial crisis? And that with ObamaCare they can improve and expand health care at a lower price? Dream on, McDuff.

Here's the article and the pertinent quote:

The ship arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday, but officials have wanted to test its capability as well as have the federal Environmental Protection Agency sign off on the water it will pump back into the gulf. Although the ship cleans most of the oil from seawater, trace amounts of crude remain.

Soccer

A sport for those who coudn't make the baseball team? You be the judge.

Every time I turn on the World Cup and see the lads cavorting across the pitch, I'm reminded of the kiddies who were only allowed to shag foul balls for the ones who could actually play the game.

Read the whole piece here. And the Photoshopped picture here.

Putin Speaks Out

In the greatest bit of political hypocrisy since Barry "I-inherited-this-Great-Recession-from-Bush" O'Bama told graduates they should "take responsibility . . .for [their] . . . failures", Vlad Putin treats the world to this little humdinger re. the Gaza blockade incident:

"The loss of peaceful civilians has caused a new exacerbation of the situation [in the Middle East]. . . . We are deeply worried by such a crude violation of the universally recognized norms of international law."

How 'bout this, Vlad? --We'll investigate the Israelis concurrently with an investigation of the Russian invasion of Georgia and annexation of South Ossetia. How many peacful civilians were killed in that little excursion?

Picture found here.

Proud of Myself

Made the cousins cry when I posted this on FB.

(Have to admit it had the same effect on me.)

D-Day

The Obama Zombies guy recently commented that 18 year olds in 1944 were off fighting Nazis while 18 year olds today spend their time complaining that their internet speed isn't fast enough. This, of course, was his way of belittling this generation who voted for Barry O'B bc. he was the first politician to send them text messages. And bc. he scored free Dave Matthews tickets for them.

Agree with Mattera or not about today's 18 year olds, his comment about the WWII generation struck a cord here, especially after recently having watched HBO's The Pacific. What these kids did on the sands of Normandy and Guadalcanal and in the battles beyond was simply beyond believable. Where would we be were it not for their sacrifice?

On this anniversary of D-Day, remember.

No More Greased Pole

The powers that be at the Naval Academy wouldn't let the upper class people grease the obelisk this year. They were afraid the poor wuddle boys-n-girls might get hurt. Awww, isn't that sweet. Read a great comment here and an article in the Post.

Turkey vs. U.S.

"Turkey's contempt for Israel is also an expression of near total contempt for Washington," writes Mark Steyn in an interesting IBD editorial. Word is that the next "flotilla" to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza will receive an escort by the Turkish navy--an act of war by Turkey.

My question is this. Turkey is a NATO nation. We are obligated to defend NATO members who are attacked militarily. So if the Israelis and Turks get down to shooting at one another over this thing, aren't we obligated by NATO to defend Turkey?

This Turkish turn away from the West complicates the existing Mediterranean mayhem and marks a new era in Middle Eastern politics. The Ivy League brainiacs who now control American foreign policy have tough new Change to deal with.

Sop It Up with Hay

Here's a video about a cool and most unsophisticated way to sop up some of that oil that's spreading around the Gulf of Mexico. Hay is way cheaper than some of the other suggested methods.

Tragedy

What an unbelievable nightmare. According to this WSJ article, it was nine minutes from the time methane gas started to hiss to the time they pushed the emergency cut off button. Which by then didn't work.

The ripple effects from this oil spill will be incredible.

This is great

Gov. Christie for President

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Damned Unions

A Philadelphia beer festival has been canceled bc. the bartenders' union will not allow reps from the microbreweries to serve beer samples. Guess we gotta save those jobs.

Read about this asininity here.

Hate It When That Happens

Shamu tried to eat his trainer. Nothing worse than being "thrashed . . . around pretty good" as the hostess of the "Dining with Shamu event".

Amazing that SeaWorld bought a man-eating orca from the friendly Canadians.

Read about it here. Hope it doesn't show up on YouTube. . . .

Here's where I got the picture.

I Want One

Put this at the top of my Christmas list.

Another Day Older & Deeper in Debt

Jose Pinera is given credit for having privatized the Chilean social security system. Chileans put money into accounts that are protected constitutionally from the politicians.

In the U.S., FICA taxes go into a trust fund which is then raided by politicians with pork to pay for. The result is truly scary as you will hear if you listen to the Pinera interview.

There simply is not enough money to pay for the Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drug program commitments that have been made. Eligibility ages will have to be raised and benefits cut. Turmoil will ensue.

Still Paying

No wonder beer costs so much here: I'm still paying for the Johnstown Flood of 1936.

Johnstown Flood Emergency Tax
One such temporary tax that ended up becoming permanent was the 1936 Johnstown flood tax. Although this tax was set to expire in 1937, it was extended various times until the tax became permanent in 1951. Currently, the tax rate is set at 18%.

The Johnstown flood tax was a 10% temporary emergency tax imposed on alcohol sold throughout Pennsylvania. The tax was meant to cover the costs of cleanup and repairs needed after the 1936 flood in Johnstown, PA that year. Although the tax was meant to expire after all the costs were covered, it was instead raised in 1963 to 15% and in 1968 to 18%. Since the money collected covered the costs of the flood many years ago, now the money goes to the states' general fund for discretionary spending. . . .

Residents of Pennsylvania have long opposed this tax because of its high rate. The tax is 18% in addition to a sales tax of 6%, bringing the cost of alcoholic drinks up significantly. There are people on both sides of the flood tax debate. Advocacy groups who want to limit alcohol consumption are in favor of the high tax rates, but unions who want to protect liquor resellers who oppose it.

Read more about "temporary" taxes here.

My New Hero

Can you imagine an 11 million dollar deficit within a 26 million dollar budget? Unbelievable, but that's what New Jersey is looking at for fiscal 2011.

Governor Christie did an interview on CNBC this morning and said flat out that he would not raise taxes, he would only cut spending. The highest taxes in the country are the the reason people and capital are fleeing the state and it's time to turn that around. It's about time that a grownup stepped on stage.

Another astonishing tidbit--according to the governor, the great state of NJ has not made its contributions to the state employees' pension fund for ten years. And these poor folks think they're ever going to see their pensions? Good luck with that. How many other state and teacher pension funds are in such deep trouble?

The video is a little long but worth a look. Funniest part is the amazed look on the interviewers' faces when Christie refuses to consider raising taxes.

Saints Win

Cousin Donald put this up on YouTube--Well worth watching. Sure would have been fun to be on Bourbon Street that night.

Stirring the Pot

Doug Wilder is one of my heroes. He's a classic pot-stirring, rabble-rousing, trouble-making, threat to The Man.

Read his newest--an attack on Tim Kaine and some advice that won't be well-received in the White House.

I agree with everything he says.

What Race Is Your Sex?

Dad sent me this one. "What Race is Your Sex" is a scholarly publication by Laurel Schneider, PhD. in a book called Disrupting White Supremacy from Within.

One has to laugh at the Mike Adams response. Tho, laughter might not be the most appropriate response. Somehow I don't think Mr. Adams is really going to attend Meadville-Lombard and become a UU minister . . . but if you read to the end of his piece, he may have hit on the head the reason that Unitarian-Universalism hasn't grown in the 50 years since the U's and the U's merged: it's their emphasis on "social justice". Much of this emphasis comes across to so many of us non-Ivy Leaguers as threatening, as condescending, and as just plain weird.

Of course, it's not meant that way. Fighters for justice are, after all, fighting for justice. They're true believers, and what could be wrong with that? The problem is that many of us take their fight for justice as an implication that we are ipso facto unjust. Lots of us probably don't think we're living unjustly. Of course we're all sinners to some degree, no one's perfect. Many of us take their struggle for justice as an attack against us and the institutions that we really don't have that much of a problem with--marriage, the military, capitalism, the United States.

It's wonderful that this great country is free enough and rich enough to be able to afford to let folks like Professor Schneider make a living writing and teaching this stuff. It's great that there's a market for this. Markets are good, they satisfy needs and create value. Jobs are being created/saved here.

I certainly wouldn't pay for any of this, tho, and I wish our taxpayer dollars were not supporting it, either.

Most importantly, I certainly would be unhappy if, when lying on my death bed, I asked my minister a critical question, she/he responded that my question made him/her feel uncomfortable, and would I mind if she/he replaced my question with a question that he/she thinks is more appropriate for death bed discussion. After all, Professor Schneider let her/him write his/her own test questions in Queer Theory class back in seminary. Shouldn't we be talking about what she/he thinks we should be talking about when I expire---instead of what might be on my mind?

Makin' a list, checkin' it twice

A new sort of endangered species list? Democrats have published a list of Congresspeople who are in trouble. Known as the Frontline List, three are Virginians.

See it here.

GDP up

Good news today that the GDP is up nearly six percent.

Here's an interesting graph, borrowed from The Atlantic website, that recommends caution. The explanation:

What's happening here? The short version is this: The economy started to rally dramatically last summer, but the recovery has stalled since September.

Here's One Place You Can Cut, Arnold

Walking by the Boobtube and caught this image of this stray dog being rescued by a helicopter team in Los Angeles. That's California for ya!

How much do you figure that dog's worth now? You have an hour or so of time for the helicopter. Expense wages for the pilot, the co-pilot, the guy who's dropped into the raging river, the guy in the back of the helo supervising the hoist. Worker's comp to pay for the cut on the guy's hand when Fido bit him. Not in the picture--upon rescue Fido was greeted by what looked like a fire engine and at least two police cruisers whose crews, I suppose, were all being paid union wages. Why wasn't the mayor there for the photo op?

But look at the good side: finally, it's Lassie who gets to be rescued. Everyone involved gets to be on TV. People get to FEEL GOOD. Someone gets to adopt Spike. Fox News gets feel-good filler on a slow news day.

The only problem is that CALIFORNIA IS BANKRUPT. Hey Aaaarnold, if you want to balance the budget, you might start with an executive order that we don't send helicopters to rescue stray dogs. Instead, let's spend the fifty grand on libraries or schools or debt reduction. And he wants the rest of us to bail Cauli-fornia out?

That's the problem with government. No one is held accountable. And now they want to run our health care.

Crackin' up

I've never watched this show but I love this guy's song.

"lookin' like a fool"

My Chuckle of the Day

"When I work places everyone knows I don't tolerate corruption." Bill Clinton on Special Report with Bret Bair, 1/16/10

That just cracks me up.

Military Tribunal Footage Released

Here's some rare, recently declassified footage of a Gitmo military tribunal hearing.



At least a dozen Gitmo prisoners who were released have reappeared, as free as so many jailbirds, in Yemen. One hundred percent of terrorists "convicted" for bombing the USS Cole have either been been released or have busted out of Yemeni prisons.

"Okay then."

Say What?

Barry O'B needs to take a step back and listen to himself.

"How Cold Is It?"

It'll be 30 years next month that I pledged Phi Delt. One of the more humorous things we did as pledges was memorize a little list of poems and limericks. Walking across campus, brothers would sneak up behind us and ask, "How cold is it, pledge?" to which we'd have to respond,

It's cold as the rim on a cocktail glass,
Cold as the hair on a polar bear's ass,
Cold as the handle of an out house door,
Cold at the tits on a Norfolk whore.
It's pretty damn cold, sir.

Catchy little ditty that makes me chuckle even today. Worthy of being saved for posterity.

It certainly is cold out there.