"We're Out of Money"

Obama made the announcement that America is "out of money" during an interview with C-SPAN as reported by Matt Drudge.

While this drop in the dollar precedes the above interview, I imagine it can also be seen as a glimpse of our future.

Thanks a lot Obama. If we're out of money, its because you spent it.

75 Movies Every Man Should See

Over at Esquire magazine and in no particular order.

I have to agree with Reason's Hit & Run (hat tip), by the way. The absence of Transformers does seem very wrong indeed!

Must Be Doing Something Right

You know we must be doing something right when Liberals start crying foul over Conservative attacks on Pelosi, claiming as this Politicos article does that the RNC "hit below the belt" when it released the Democrats Galore video.

While I agree it is in poor taste, what's worse is the democrats regular and vile attacks on conservative women - Sarah Palin comes to mind as particularly ugly and vicious.

At least the RNC is being truthful about Pelosi's lies, the DNC countenanced claims that Trig was not Sarah's con but an incestuous child of Bristol's. Disgusting.

But waaa, waaa, waaa when Democrats get some of their own back.

Tough stuff, Democrats. We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore.

(Still that's no reason to be rude either. I'm looking at you, RNC.)

Whack A Kitty

Follow this link for a video of the game "Whack A Kitty".

It's almost as good as Cat Juggling. (I'd have a link but NBC are being jerks.)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I miss you Grampie!

God Bless our Veterins and all the men and women serving today.

Thank You.

Folks Riot When They Feel Helpless

Reading this warning of "A Rising Anti-Government Tide" from Newt Gingrich in The Washington Post reminded me of some things I tell my kids.

1)People yell when they think they aren't getting heard.
2)Be courteous to everyone so that no one has a reason to be rude to you.
3)When people think they're helpless they get angry and sometimes violent.

So when I read this from Mr. Gingrich's article...

The elites ridiculed or ignored the first harbinger of rebellion, the recent tea parties. While it will be harder to ignore this massive anti-tax, anti-spending vote, they will attempt to do just that.

Voters in our largest state spoke unambiguously, but politicians and lobbyists in Sacramento are ignoring or rejecting the voters' will, just as they are in Albany and Trenton. The states with huge government machines have basically moved beyond the control of the people. They have become castles of corruption, favoritism and wastefulness. These state governments are run by lobbyists for the various unions through bureaucracies seeking to impose the values of a militant left. Elections have become so rigged by big money and clever incumbents that the process of self-government is threatened.

Sacramento politicians will now reject the voters' call for lower taxes and less spending and embrace the union-lobbyist-bureaucrat machine that is running California into the ground, crippling its economy and cheating residents. This model of high-tax, big-spending inefficiency has already driven thousands of successful Californians out of the state (taking with them an estimated $11 billion in annual tax revenue). The exodus will continue.

It reminded me of life lesson number 3 above.

You see, my daughter and son and I were watching a TV program that showed some rioters in Germany. My daughter asked me why they were rioting and I answered with #3.

I explained to her that under socialism (or even social democracy), the government takes an ever increasing authority over individuals lives. And since, even in freedom-loving countries like Great Britain, the people do not have as direct representation as Americans, the folks who live in such countries feel helpless and are far more likely to riot than Americans.

Let's face it, there are regular destructive riots in Europe, not so here. Americans, generally feel and are more empowered to make changes in their lives and to their government than virtually all other democracies.

So when voters get angry, smart politicians pay attention. And politicians who are attempting to take America further Left than they wish to go, may risk the Europeanization of America in many rather disagreeable ways.

Obama In Bush's Clothing

The excellent Charles Krauthammer has an Op-Ed in The Washington Post titled "Obama in Bush's Clothing" which seems to be to be an insightful description of what Obama is doing - disguising Bush's policies in his own rhetoric.

Well, I always did think of Obama as an empty suit.

Anyways, Mr. Krauthammer ends his piece with this choice closer...

That's happening before our eyes. The Bush policies in the war on terror won't have to await vindication by historians. Obama is doing it day by day. His denials mean nothing. Look at his deeds.

Obama Made Kindergarteners Cry

From NBC news, this article describes how Obama left a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds in front of the White House crying. Smells like hope and change to me.

A lot of preparing had gone into the trip. Conway Elementary teachers had been planning the trip for months, each child paid $20 for a seat on the chartered bus, and names were submitted to the White House for clearance.

Parents say they tried to make it on time, but their chartered buses hit heavy traffic that slowed them down substantially. They thought they were supposed to show up by 10:15, but they say they arrived at 10:25 instead, and couldn’t get in.

"The person who headed this White House trip up came out and said, 'I’m sorry, the White House tour's off.' There were a lot of crying kids," parent Barbara Stine said.

The White House tells a slightly different story. A spokesperson said the group was actually supposed to be there at 9:30, but they held the gates for the group until 10:30, 15 minutes longer than they told the group, but when they still hadn't arrived, they had to draw the line.

Paty Stine said the White House staff should have made an exception. She feels the kindergarteners were snubbed for the Steelers.

"Here we have President Obama and his administration saying, 'Here we are for the common, middle class people,' and here he is not letting 150 5- and 6-year-olds into the White House because he’s throwing a lunch for a bunch of grown millionaires," Stine said.

Year Of the Bible Reporting

I'm not going to bother to weigh in on the actual topic but rather the completely biased reporting on it with this article from Politico as being a polite but extremely disdainful bias against the legislation to declare 2009 the Year of the Bible.

Here is a sample from the first few paragraphs...

“Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?” mocked Rep. Barney Frank ­(D-Mass.), who is Jewish. “What is 2012 the year of? The Quran?”

“That’s an endorsement of religion by the federal government, and we shouldn’t be doing that,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), even though he has introduced his own legislation dealing with religion.

“Republican lawmakers with apparently too much time on their hands and no solutions to offer the country are pushing a resolution that will not address the nation’s problems or advance prosperity or even untangle their previous governing mistakes,” blogged the Progressive Puppy.

Okay so your "sources" are Frank who is a world-class ass, Nadler who is a hypocrit, and Progressive Puppy who clearly is the thinker of the bunch.

Then the article ends with these thoughts. Note that the claim of no legislation is rebuked by the last sentence of the article.

A search of Thomas, the online congressional database, for “Bible” yields just one other bill: a resolution to have the “Lincoln-Obama Bible” on permanent display in the Capitol Visitor Center.

The resolution specifically asks the president “to issue a proclamation calling upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of the Holy Scripture which has profoundly influenced and shaped the United States and its great democratic form of government.”

As for the economy, health care, global warming and all the other issues on Congress’ plate?

“While we must focus on fiscal policies that provide relief to families during these tough economic times, an endeavor I have been working tirelessly towards in this Congress, we must also not forget to protect and celebrate our fundamental freedoms that the Bible has influenced,” Broun said.

Broun has gathered 15 co-sponsors, all Republicans, but says he’s looking for more and hopes Democrats will sign on, as well.

“This is not a partisan issue,” he said. “I want it to be bipartisan.”

Whether he’s successful or not — the same measure didn’t go anywhere last year — at least Broun and his fellow supporters can take heart in one fact: They already had a “year of the Bible.”

Ronald Reagan designated 1983 as one, with Congress’ blessing.

While I respect everyone to have the right to their own religious (or nonreligious) views, the Bible, particularly the Old Testiment is the founding document of the three monotheistic world religions and only the most close-minded athiest would say the Bible has no value as a document considering it is the foundation stone of many philosophies too.

Get A Grip

I am sick and tired of misguided liberals promoting organic food and un-"sustainable development" as better than conventionally raised food.

The claim that pesticides and bovine growth hormones are bad for you has NEVER been proven in any credible scientific study.

So the next time some liberal tells you that pesticides cause cancer or BGH is making kids "develop" too quickly, ask them this - If that is true, why hasn't Greenpeace sued the FDA?

If that is true, why haven't farmers who handle pesticides daily all died of cancer?

If that is true, then how come the FDA and the EPA haven't banned these substances?

Environmentalists run to the courts faster than a fat man hits the fridge, yet there hasn't been a single (successful) court case against these products. I mean if the enviros can take down asbestos which has been in use since the Ancient Greeks, then surely if pesticides were bad, they'd have a case.

The only "success" has been the ban on DDT which is a travesty of justice as the science has since repudiated Racheal Carson and said DDT ban now kills millions of African woman and children EVERY YEAR. But enviromentalists defend that DDT ban tooth and nail because if the truth were known then the lynchpin of their entire worldview collapses.

Pesticides, good. Science, good. Bans on life-saving products, bad.

Energy For All

I would like to see the Southern Hemisphere as well lit as the Northern Hemisphere by encouraging the development of energy infrastructure via power plants so the residents in the poorer Southern continents can enjoy the same lifestyles we do.

The Silence of the Regulated

Speed Traps Ahead

The National Motorists website has published a list of the states from worst to best for driving in, through or to. My state is in the top ten!

They used 17 criteria to assemble this ranking...

List of Criteria Used To Generate Rankings (no particular order)

1) Speed Traps Per Capita (# of speed traps listed on www.speedtrap.org indexed to population)
2) Does the state have "driver responsibility" fees?
3) Does the state have mayor's courts?
4) Does the state authorize the use of roadblocks?
5) What are the freeway speed limits?
6) Does the state have red-light cameras?
7) Does the state have speed cameras?
8) Are there toll roads in the state?
9) Is a jury trial available for traffic violations?
10) Is trial by declaration (asserting a defense in writing without appearing in court) available?
11) Is the state a member of the Non-Resident Violator Compact?
12) Is the state a member of the Driver's License Compact?
13) Are radar detectors banned in the state?
14) Does the state have a primary seat belt law?
15) Are there adult helmet laws in the state?
16) Are there move-over laws in the state?
17) Is cell phone use banned?

What I want to know is, what is the "wrong" answer to these questions. Is it a good thing or a bad think to have seat belt law.

I love Reason TV

Check out this Hit & Run article on Obama's plan to tax us all and definately watch the video.

Good fun and yet horrifying! (Warning: salty language) Check out this random paragraph...

Seriously, isn't there a Portugese water dog re-gifted from Ted Kennedy that we can and should be talking about? (And btw, the one non-negotiable in a pet or a mistress for the Duke of Chappaquidick is swimmability; who says we can't learn from our past mistakes?).

I’m All Right, Barack

I’m All Right, Barack
The perils of a nationalized car maker.

By Iain Murray

President Obama’s takeover of General Motors is a disaster in the making. Not only is it bad for GM, it also sets terrible legal precedents and rewards the president’s political allies in a brazen display of political patronage. Taken as a whole, the so-called rescue belies the president’s promise to end politics as usual and undermines the values of the free-enterprise system that has fueled American prosperity.

Last year, GM’s management team argued strenuously that the company could not go through normal Chapter 11 bankruptcy, because no one would buy a car from a bankrupt company, and therefore a bailout was needed. This proved to be a terrible mistake. It was like an individual trying to avoid bankruptcy by going to a loan shark; the federal government has taken a shark-like, extortionate bite.

GM has been forced into a change of ownership by the administration’s auto task force, which was supposedly set up to negotiate a rescue plan but instead has imposed one of its own design. Virtually the first thing it did was to fire former GM chief executive Rick Wagoner. Since then it has done everything it can to impose political control over the company.

What we now face is a nationalized car maker, with the government owning 51 percent of the company and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union holding a stunning 38 percent of shares. Bondholders, who normally have first claim on a company’s assets, receive only 10 percent instead, and the current stockholders get the remaining 1 percent.

Consider that for a moment. The government and the current administration’s political fellow-travelers own 89 percent of an American company. This is a terrible precedent. Just ask the domestic British auto industry. Unfortunately, it won’t answer, because most of it went out of business when the British government tried the same tactic in the 1970s. The government attempted to save a dying domestic industry by nationalization and heavy investment in R&D to produce a “product-led” recovery. That recovery never emerged, because the unions put saving jobs before producing good vehicles (as I detail elsewhere). With the UAW now owning 38 percent of the company, should we expect anything different from GM?

The GM nationalization ignores the lessons of history, and its terms are plainly unjust. The UAW, acting for its members who are former workers and GM pensioners, did indeed represent something like $20 billion worth of GM’s liabilities. So the idea that the union should get an equity stake in return for that is fair enough. However, the UAW is getting three times as much as the bondholders, who represent $28 billion of GM’s outstanding liability. When the bondholders protested, the administration refused to meet with them.

This injustice cannot be dismissed on the grounds that union retirees are poor and bondholders rich. There are over 10,000 GM bondholders, many of them individuals like Chris Crowe, who describes himself thus:

I’m a retired electrician from Denver, Colorado. I’m not rich and I’m not a Wall Street bank. These bonds finance my son’s college tuition and my retirement. I’m actually very concerned about not getting a check on May 15 from my bonds because I need this money to pay my property taxes. When the administration refuses to meet with the bondholders or chooses to wipe them out, they’re wiping me out, and lots of others like me.

In many cases, the union retiree and the bondholder are one and the same. Take, for instance, Gary Thomas, a retired auto mechanic from Kingston, Tenn. He speaks for many when he says:

I spent a good portion of my life working on GM cars and decided to buy bonds in GM because I believed they would be a solid investment for my future. I use the interest from the bonds for everyday living expenses and I cannot afford to see GM go bankrupt. After doing the math, I have realized that if I were to accept the administration’s current offer, I would only have $10,000 per year to live off of. That is barely enough to live a decent life and I doubt anyone would deny that.

What possible reason can there be for the administration to refuse to meet with these bondholders’ representatives after imposing such an unfair settlement? The only one that makes sense is simple political favoritism: rewarding political supporters and punishing private investors.

Britain became the “sick man of Europe” because of the cozy relationship between free-spending government and labor unions. The phrase “I’m all right, Jack” came to symbolize the auto unions’ attitude toward those who suffered by their actions. By the same token, when taxpayers and GM bondholders protest, the UAW can say, “I’m all right, Barack.”

— Iain Murray is director of projects and analysis and senior fellow in energy, science and technology at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Originally posted at the National Review website which you can visit here.

Still Fighting To Keep Us Safe

Terrorists attempting to blow-up a New York City Synagogue were thwarted by a year-long investigation of their activities by the FBI and NYPD according to this New York Post article here.

Apparently, the terrorist were under surveillance during that time and they ended up buying inert C4 from agents rather than the real stuff. That is why their bomb never exploded, no one was hurt at the synagogue and the terrorists were caught.

Only The New York Post is reporting this right now because apparently ongoing terrorist threats do not fit The New York Times' (or Obama's) narrative.

Thank you FBI and NYPD for continuing to save lives.

The Climate-Industrial Complex

The excellent (and hot) environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg has an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal about the evolution of the environmentalists and industries seeking to profit from "green" laws.

The only green here is the cash these rent-seeking industries hope to make. Not one of these so-called environmental laws, policies or treaties will create any significant change in our climate. Not one.

But various industries are falling over themselves to lobby politicians to enact these laws so they can make money. It is all profit-motivation.

And while I have no trouble whatsoever with Capitalism, this isn't Capitalism. It is government intrusion into the marketplace to raise prices for us so that certain poised and "compliant" companies can soak us all.

Below is a (large) sample of Mr. Lomborg's article but I urge you to read the whole thing!

We are told that very expensive carbon regulations are the only way to respond to global warming, despite ample evidence that this approach does not pass a basic cost-benefit test. We must ask whether a "climate-industrial complex" is emerging, pressing taxpayers to fork over money to please those who stand to gain.

This phenomenon will be on display at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen this weekend. The organizers -- the Copenhagen Climate Council -- hope to push political leaders into more drastic promises when they negotiate the Kyoto Protocol's replacement in December.

The opening keynote address is to be delivered by Al Gore, who actually represents all three groups: He is a politician, a campaigner and the chair of a green private-equity firm invested in products that a climate-scared world would buy.

Naturally, many CEOs are genuinely concerned about global warming. But many of the most vocal stand to profit from carbon regulations. The term used by economists for their behavior is "rent-seeking."

The world's largest wind-turbine manufacturer, Copenhagen Climate Council member Vestas, urges governments to invest heavily in the wind market. It sponsors CNN's "Climate in Peril" segment, increasing support for policies that would increase Vestas's earnings. A fellow council member, Mr. Gore's green investment firm Generation Investment Management, warns of a significant risk to the U.S. economy unless a price is quickly placed on carbon.

Even companies that are not heavily engaged in green business stand to gain. European energy companies made tens of billions of euros in the first years of the European Trading System when they received free carbon emission allocations.

American electricity utility Duke Energy, a member of the Copenhagen Climate Council, has long promoted a U.S. cap-and-trade scheme. Yet the company bitterly opposed the Warner-Lieberman bill in the U.S. Senate that would have created such a scheme because it did not include European-style handouts to coal companies. The Waxman-Markey bill in the House of Representatives promises to bring back the free lunch.

U.S. companies and interest groups involved with climate change hired 2,430 lobbyists just last year, up 300% from five years ago. Fifty of the biggest U.S. electric utilities -- including Duke -- spent $51 million on lobbyists in just six months.

The massive transfer of wealth that many businesses seek is not necessarily good for the rest of the economy. Spain has been proclaimed a global example in providing financial aid to renewable energy companies to create green jobs. But research shows that each new job cost Spain 571,138 euros, with subsidies of more than one million euros required to create each new job in the uncompetitive wind industry. Moreover, the programs resulted in the destruction of nearly 110,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy, or 2.2 jobs for every job created.

"Duelling" Speeches

Former Vice President Dick Cheney's speech at AEI is here.

Obama's speech is here.

Compare and contrast.

California's Sorry State Points To America's Future

(Originally posted on FoxForums by Iain Murray and William Yeatman Energy Policy Experts, Competitive Enterprise Institute)

As goes California, so goes the nation. Nowhere is this adage truer than in environmental policy, thanks to Democrats’ eagerness to impose the Golden State’s radical eco-agenda on all Americans. Yet it is exactly such policies that have helped lead California to financial ruin.

—————

California’s energy policy is an unmitigated disaster.

—————

On Tuesday, for example, President Barack Obama announced his intention to apply California’s fuel efficiency regulation to all 50 states. You might think that the Constitution reserves such lawmaking to Congress. After all, there is a robust interstate trade in automobiles and in 2007 Congress revised the Department of Transportation’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to require cars and trucks sold in America to become 40 percent more fuel efficient by 2020.

The 2020 CAFE standards are ambitious—they require efficiency improvements at nearly two-and-a-half times the historical rate. Yet they weren’t ambitious enough for liberal California legislators, who passed a law to accelerate Congress’s time line by four years.

Of course, it doesn’t make any sense for automakers to conform to two different fuel efficiency regulations which is why the Bush administration refused to allow California to set its own standard. President Obama simply substituted Congress’s 2002 CAFE targets with California’s.

An automobile’s carbon footprint is proportional to vehicle weight, so the new regulation will make larger cars more expensive—work trucks will cost a lot more for blue collar Americans in the country’s heartland. But that’s of little concern to Prius-driving coastal urbanites.

At the same time that the president was announcing the Californication of the country’s automobile fleet, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) was working to push through an anti-energy bill designed to export the Golden State’s failed energy model to the rest of the country. The bill, the Clean Energy and Security Act, borrows liberally from California’s climate initiatives, including a cap-and-trade scheme, a renewable energy requirement, and a low-carbon standard.

That should worry all Americans, because California’s energy policy is an unmitigated disaster. California’s expensive energy has driven industries out of the state. According to the Energy Information Agency, California has some of the highest electricity prices in country, due in part to the laughably-misnamed “deregulation” of California’s electricity industry. Californians were actually left with an over-regulated energy supply that cannot deliver energy at the affordable prices the rest of the country can. No wonder, then, that it has exported most of it electricity generation to other states.

The Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was left bemused recently when it became apparent that he cannot even build a solar power plant in the middle of the Mojave Desert, due to the federal Endangered Species Act which prohibits any construction that disturbs the habitat of species designated as endangered. The state’s remaining hydro-power plants are offline because of the drought, so rolling blackouts like those of 2005 will be inevitable. This is the energy policy that President Obama in now trying to impose on the rest of the nation—to cut out all affordable sources of energy and cause bills to, as he once famously said, “skyrocket,” to encourage development of alternative energy sources.

The effect on California’s economy has been disastrous. Heavy manufacturing in the state is dead. The industries it has left—entertainment in Hollywood and technology in Silicon Valley—are not enough to supply the tax base the state needs to support its expansive social welfare programs, which in turn have seen demand spike because of high unemployment caused by the energy policy.

Voters have decisively rejected Proposition 1A, which would have raised taxes to cover spending. The Governator will therefore have to become the Terminator again if he wants to avoid the state going bankrupt.

In the past California certainly had some golden years, culturally and economically and America becoming more like California might once have been a good thing. If the president still believes that, he hasn’t been paying attention.

Iain Murray and William Yeatman are energy policy experts at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and contributors to Globalwarming.org.

By Any Means Necessary

This enviro bill must be killed. The republicans are trying to have the massive chunk of garbage read on the floor to delay a vote but the democrats are countering with ...

A speed reader.

That's about as intelligent as voting yes for a stimulus bill you never read.

The Wall Street Journal has the article here.

As Glenn Reynolds likes to say, the country is in the best of hands.

ObamaMan Can

Thank you Greg Morton! Finally a comedian is standing up and making fun of Obama. Didn't think it was EVER going to happen.

Re: The President's New Cars

(Originally published by my husband over at NRO-The Corner)

Jerry, you and Corner readers might be interested in this review of the new Honda Insight from Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson — a man who has come in for a bit of stick here in the past. Some highlights:

It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more...

The Honda’s petrol engine is a much-shaved, built-for-economy, low-friction 1.3 that, at full chat, makes a noise worse than someone else’s crying baby on an airliner. It’s worse than the sound of your parachute failing to open. Really, to get an idea of how awful it is, you’d have to sit a dog on a ham slicer...

The nickel for the battery has to come from somewhere. Canada, usually. It has to be shipped to Japan, not on a sailing boat, I presume. And then it must be converted, not in a tree house, into a battery, and then that battery must be transported, not on an ox cart, to the Insight production plant in Suzuka. And then the finished car has to be shipped, not by Thor Heyerdahl, to Britain, where it can be transported, not by wind, to the home of a man with a beard who thinks he’s doing the world a favour...

But let me be clear that hybrid cars are designed solely to milk the guilt genes of the smug and the foolish. And that pure electric cars, such as the G-Wiz and the Tesla, don’t work at all because they are just too inconvenient...

The only hope I have is that there are enough fools and madmen out there who will buy an Insight to look sanctimonious outside the school gates. And that the cash this generates can be used to develop something a bit more constructive.

Welcome to the worrrrrld of tomorrow!

Frank is Blaming Bush for ACORN

This is just pathetic. Sad and pathetic.


He is such an awful man. Why Newton Massachuesetts? Why?

Retire Dodd

Donate now to Rob Simmons to help "retire" Chris Dobbs. Hilarious!

221B Baker Street

When other girls were reading Teen Beat, I was deeply enthralled with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Watching Saturday morning airings of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes movies goes a long, long way to explaining my attraction to tall, thin men with big noses, thin lips and British accents (love you honey).

I also own a brick from the original 221B Baker Street building that was torn down in the early eighties to build a Sherlock Holmes Museum.

So it is clear, I'm a fan. And I predict I will be a fan of this version of Sherlock Holmes coming soon to a theater near you. (By the way, between Tropic Thunder and Iron Man, who isn't happy Robert Downey Jr. is doing well?)

Obama-Owned Industry Is Bad

The Wall Street Journal has a terrific opinion piece up titled "Why Government Can't Run a Business (Politicians need headlines. Executives need profits)" which makes strong, clear points about how government regularly fails at running any business.

I especially like the seven bullet points that clearly explain why Obama's attempt at socialism/nationalization will profoundly hurt America. The quote below is also a strong example of government hijinks that would get a private citizen tossed in the clink.

It is government's job to make and enforce the rules that allow a civilized society to flourish. But it has a dismal record of regulating itself. Imagine, for instance, if a corporation, seeking to make its bottom line look better, transferred employee contributions from the company pension fund to its own accounts, replaced the money with general obligation corporate bonds, and called the money it expropriated income. We all know what would happen: The company accountants would refuse to certify the books and management would likely -- and rightly -- end up in jail.

Diversity Training Day

The Weekly Standard has an article titled "Where Everybody Is Disadvantaged - Postcards from the diversity follies" by Matt Labash.

The article is long but Mr. Labash is very amusing and its well worth the read. I found this quote below especially revealing.

The Washington Post reported last year on a study led by Alexandra Kalev, a sociologist at the University of Arizona, which comprehensively reviewed 31 years of data from 830 mid-to-large U.S. workplaces. The findings: Diversity training exercises at companies were followed by a 7.5 percent drop in the number of women in management. Black female managers declined by 10 percent, and black men in top positions fell by 12 percent, with similar numbers for Asians and Latinos.

Now I'm all about variety being the spice of life but choking off someone's career for the sole sake of "diversity" doesn't seem all that smart.

President Bush's Policies Work

According to this New York Post article, women have made major election gains in Kuwait!

But President Bush was evil and wrong to enact the policies he did that led to this election result.

Yeah, right.

Can We Get A Piece of That Action

Hey - World's Richest Men! Over here.

If you're all meeting in NYC in order to decide where to donate your money, why not consider the free-market think tank - Competitive Enterprise Institute.

At least when you donate to CEI you are donating to an organization that fights tooth and nail to defend every one's right to their pursuit of happiness and company's right to earn a profit.

In crappy financial times like this, a donation to CEI is an investment in you and your business's future.

Take Hope Conservatives

There's gold in them there hills! California voters sent a message to their state government and hopefully to our federal government as well - "We're mad as hell and we're not going to be taxed any more."

Here is an article from the LA Times and also a also below a post about it from the NRO.

What I find interesting and the most hopeful is that the Teacher's Union back Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposals to the hilt spending $30 million to back this referendum. And the union and the governor were defeated. Perhaps the Teacher's Union (and other unions) that hold so many democrats and republicans in thrall is losing its ability to deliver and can be safely ignored?

Conservatives should take heart and take action now because this is clearly a signal that even liberal Californians are sick of these tax shinanigans and deficits and politicians. Now is the time to get out the message of fiscal responsibility Conservatives used to be known for.

And would it kill anyone to make it more known that our RNC leader is an African-American? I'm tired of liberals claiming Conservatives are racist. I really am.

California Voters Voice Outrage [Joshua Culling]

The results are finalized in California, and taxpayers finally took a stand. Propositions 1A through 1E were soundly defeated last night. Here’s a rundown:

— Proposition 1A would have been the most damaging to taxpayers, as it would extend tax hikes on sales, income, and vehicles for two years, to the tune of $16 billion. It was disguised as a spending cap, but that cap was weak. Voters sniffed out the tax hikes and overwhelmingly opposed them 66-34.

— Proposition 1B didn’t fare much better, as it was rejected by a 62.5 to 37.5 vote. This measure was Gov. Schwarzenegger’s bow to the all-powerful teachers unions. It would have thrown an addition $9.3 billion toward education. It hoped to draw that money from the rainy day fund 1A would have established (so much for a spending cap). Thankfully for taxpayers, both measures were defeated.

— Proposition 1C would have allowed the state to borrow against future lottery revenues, about $5 billion. You have to give state government credit for creativity — they’re tops when it comes to new and innovative budget gimmicks that ignore the reality that they consistently spend outside their means. Voters recognized that Prop 1C ignored this fundamental reality and rejected it 65-35.

— Proposition 1D would have shifted almost $2 billion from the California Children and Families Program into the general fund to close the budget gap. This is more budgetary maneuvering that would have left taxpayers on the hook when the program’s funding was inevitably restored. It lost 66-34.

— Proposition 1E failed by the same 66-34. Like Prop 1D, it would have diverted funds from elsewhere in the budget to shore up general-fund overspending (about $230 million annually from Proposition 63 — a tax on the rich).

— Proposition 1F was the only measure to pass. It imposed a weak limit on pay raises for legislators, theoretically disallowing them during budget deficit years. Regardless of its actual teeth, the results show true populist outrage in California: The measure passed by a resounding 74-26.

While all of this was going on, Schwarzenegger, one of the most disappointing Republican governors of my lifetime, was biding his time in Washington, D.C. He refused to be in the same time zone during the certain bloodbath, and even cast a “last-minute absentee ballot.” He’s back in Sacramento today, holding closed-door meetings with the leadership of both parties on how to fix this mess. That’s the same leadership, mind you, that gave us this massive special-election failure.

Proponents of the measure, backed by teachers unions, spent $30 million to ensure its passage. They outspent those opposed 10 to 1.

California taxpayers did the right thing yesterday. They sent a loud-and-clear message to Schwarzenegger and the legislature. Public hearings on how to fix the budget begin on Thursday. Grab some popcorn — this is going to get very interesting.

— Josh Culling is the state government affairs manager for the National Taxpayers Union.

The Pelosi Defense

Let's say you go to a dinner party and have one glass of wine on a full stomach.

Your host happens to have a home Breathalyzer because he's a careful host and it appears you are okay to drive.

So you head home only to be stopped by the police at a checkpoint. The police seem to be waving compact cars and hybrids right through the checkpoint but are stopping all Cadillacs and SUVs.

The police arrest you for DUI even though you're certain you are not drunk-driving.

The judge begins to lecture you on your evilness before the trial even begins. You could lose your driving priviledge and therefore your ability to work if you can't get this trial dismissed.

Thankfully, your lawyer cab prove that the lecturing judge has a history of drunk-driving which the police have let pass without arrest.

Wouldn't you be insane not to attempt to have your trial declared a mistrial because of judicial misconduct and police profiling?

So why is it insane for the Republicans to do the same.

Simply substitute Republicans for you, the media for police, Pelosi for judge, and lawyers for the CIA and you've got yourself the situation as it stands right now.

Republicans should stop allowing liberals to frame the attacks on Pelosi as some kind of misdirection.

It is not!

Liberals are the ones attempting the misdirection when they defend Pelosi. A judge must NEVER be above the law and can NEVER preside over a trial that presents a conflict of interests.

But any "truth commission" in this Congress will be run by tainted judges presiding over a conflicted trial. But that's what all Republicans in Congress will face if a Democrat-run "truth commission" headed by Pelosi is enacted. All Repubicans and conservatives have the duty to point this out, otherwise our justice system becomes a travesty.

If Obama, Pelosi and/or Congress wanted any truths to be revealed to the American people, then they should release all relevant papers and memos related to torture from both themselves and the CIA (in a responsible manner) so that the American people can see for themselves if they've been lied to or defended honestly and well.

Defending Pelosi is like defending a drunk judge taking DUI trials.

Fear of Flying

This article here from News8 oughta scare you right out of the skies.

Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics who can't read English.

Twenty-one people were killed when U.S. Airways Express Flight 5481 crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. The plane went wildly out of control on takeoff.

One reason for the crash, investigators found, was that mechanics incorrectly connected the cables to some of the plane's control surfaces in the repair shop. The FAA was cited for improper oversight of the repair process.

Repairing airplanes is a complicated business. Airplanes have many manuals. Typically, when mechanics repair a part, they open the manual, consult the book, and make the repair step-by-step, as if it were a recipe book.

They make a list of every action they take, so the next person to fix the plane (as well as the people who fly it) will know exactly what has been done.

If mechanics don't speak English, the international language of aviation, they can't read the manual and they can't record their activities.

There are more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in Texas, according to the FAA's Web site. News 8 has learned that hundreds of the mechanics working in those shops do not speak English and are unable to read repair manuals for today's sophisticated aircraft.

Former FAA inspector Bill McNease told News 8 he regularly encountered applicants for pilots’ licenses who tried to pretend they could speak English — but could not.

"When I was based in Dallas, I had that happen every week," McNease said. "It was not uncommon at all to have foreign flight students. We had mechanics, but I handled the pilot end of it.... and I turned down people every week because they couldn't speak English."

"There are people [where I work] who do not know how to read a maintenance manual as they are spelled out, because they don't have a clue," said one certified aircraft mechanic who works at a Texas aircraft repair station. He wished to remain anonymous to protect his employment.

Read the rest and support immigration controls. It's your life.

Animal Planet

I am oddly relieved to read here that they've found the "missing link" between humans and animals.

I've often felt that humans suffer from too much pride when it comes to our place in the natural world. We are deeply connected to the other animals on this planet sharing vast quantities of our DNA.

I really loved that The Human Animal TV series with Desmond Morris for how he pointed out that even our "human" behavior had animalistic origins.

Nor do I believe this conflicts with my religious beliefs. God can easily have created everything in the manner of God's own choosing. We are merely attempting to understand God when we make discoveries such as these.

So long and short, I'm just darn happy our animal connection to life here on this planet has been made.

It's Official, There Are Too Many Bailouts!

NYT Shields ACORN

First Power Line broke this story about how the New York Times spiked a story about Obama's deep connections with ACORN and fundraising shenanigans.

Then the woman the NYT claimed was lying told this to Power Line.

I would like to state that [Times reporter Stephanie] Strom was set to come to Washington where I planned to hand over emails that showed contact between ACORN and staff of the Obama campaign. I had started not to trust her and would only give them to her in person. I have forwarded them to [attorney] Heather Heidalbaugh and they offer evidence that would have substantiated my story.

So why aren't we seeing more of this story?
UPDATE: Slate.com is talking about this too over here at Kausfiles.

Democrat Fundraiser Convicted of Fraud

Given how Obama's internet donation/money collection scheme worked, it comes as no surprise that this top democrat fundraisier, Norman Hsu was convicted of all sorts of bad doings according to this Wall Street Journal article.

I wonder when Obama will pardon the bastard?

A Tribute to Moms

Ignore the source and just enjoy the love behind this tribute to what a man can learn from his mother.

No Longer Apologizing

According to this CNN report, Micheal Steel is going to stop apologizing and start kickin' butts.

"The era of apologizing for Republican mistakes of the past is now officially over," Steele will say in a speech to the RNC's 2009 State Chairmen's Meeting, according to excerpts obtained by CNN. "It is done. We have turned the page, we have turned the corner. No more looking in the review mirror. From this point forward, we will focus all of our energies on winning the future."

Congressional Republicans, who were loyal to President Bush throughout a majority of his two terms, largely sought to break with him in the 2008 elections because he had become a political liability.Over the past few months, GOP lawmakers have acknowledged that the party moved away from one of its core principles of smaller government and less federal spending during the Bush era.

Steele, who was elected to head the party in January, will say the GOP is now "beginning to rally" at the grassroots level after losing control of the White House and additional seats in the Senate and House in November.

Here's to hoping.

I hope he gets Ward Connerly, Thomas Sowell, and Ken Blackwell to help fight back, too.

By the way, is it bugging you the way it bugs me that President Bush had two African-American Secretaries of State (both first male and female) and a hispanic Attorney General and the RNC currently has an African-American as its leader as well as the above named gentlemen as profoundly respected conservative thinkers and yet, and yet, Republicans/Conservatives get no credit for its diversity in the press.

Why is that?

The English Schindler

Happy Birthday Sir. And thank you so very much.

Re: He Who Pays the Piper

(Originially Posted on NRO by my husband)

There are two other aspects to the new CAFE regulations announced today. The first is that they are predicated on EPA actually making an endangerment finding related to greenhouse gases. That finding is currently open to public comment, so the administration is being particularly brazen in revealing that the comment period is actually a sham and that its mind is made up. Secondly, downsizing of the American fleet has contributed to around 2,000 extra deaths on the road at current CAFE levels, because smaller cars are generally less crashworthy. The National Academy of Sciences confirmed this finding a few years back. Certainly, cars are becoming safer, but they would be safer still if they were allowed to be bigger and consumers given the choice between safety and fuel efficiency. Using the methodology of this CEI study from a few years back, applied to today's fatality numbers in a back-of-the-envelope calculation, the new policy will lead to around 800 more needless deaths on the road each year. Blood for less oil, you could say.

Go Liberty, Libertarians and Gov. Sanford!

Public Support for Cap-and-Trade Bill Collapses

(It's been a busy day for my husband over at NRO- The Corner)

Crikey. A new poll has surfaced that reveals extreme public discontent with what Congress and the administration plan to do to our energy bills in the name of fighting global warming (or "aiding climate recovery" or whatever the new spin is). It should be online soon, but in the meantime, here's the headlines:

* 78% of all respondents saying a $50 increase monthly in utility bills would be a hardship. A recent MIT study said household costs could exceed $3000 per year, or 5 times as much overall costs the $50 per month/$600 per year would mean.

* 58% of respondents say they are unwilling to pay any more than they currently pay for electricity to combat climate change.

* Respondents are aware that climate change legislation will likely cause their electricity rates to go up.

* In addition, one-half (50%) of the country opposes enacting a carbon tax to fund energy research, which represents an amazing 49-point shift (22% drop in agree; 27% increase in disagree) away from supporting a carbon tax for energy research in 2007.

* Interest in protecting the environment and fighting climate change has dropped from a low priority (8%) in 2007 to receiving virtually no attention (3%) in 2009.

Meanwhile, Roger Pielke Jr rightly ridicules Paul Krugman's "it's the best we've got" argument.

Reform ATC for the Economy's Sake

(Originally posted by guess who over at NRO-The Corner)

Over at the DC Examiner, I argue that reforming Air Traffic Control will be a stimulus plan in itself, helping a struggling industry, reducing oil imports, and delivering real benefits to airline passengers. And, if that's the sort of thing you're into, it will also be extremely effective in lowering greenhouse-gas emissions. Sadly, it's also the sort of policy that will never get off the ground without a strong presidential push, so no wonder it hasn't been seriously advanced for over 20 years.

False Lamentations

Dr. Helen talks about how Fathers these days have lost their "status" as the "authority" of the family.

I'm pretty sure this is a false lamentation. I'm willing to argue that since the dawn of humanity, once a pair-bond was formed and children were born, fathers pretty much lost their authority and moms took over - at least in hearth and home.

Example, while yes, there was a law in Medieval Europe limiting the size of the rod that a man was allowed to use in order to beat his wife, there are also innumerable legal records of women being hauled before the local magistrate for beating up their husbands. There is even an Ancient Greek play about wives refusing their husband's "privileges" in order to stop a war. (It's funny because its true.)

What was lost was only the semblance of sole male authority. Healthy couples share familial authority, smart healthy couples admit its the mom who rules the roost.

(I know, I pretty much destroy my own argument when I make that snarky comment above.)

Axelrod - Class Act

Calling Miss California a dog.

You stay classy, Axelrod.

Jackass.

Bad Regulation Hurts More Than Deregulation

This article titled "Diminished Returns" in the New York Times magazine makes a complelling argument for the benefits of deregulation.

Human beings are as good at devising ex post facto explanations for big disasters as they are bad at anticipating those disasters. It is indeed impressive how rapidly the economists who failed to predict this crisis — or predicted the wrong crisis (a dollar crash) — have been able to produce such a satisfying story about its origins. Yes, it was all the fault of deregulation.

There are just three problems with this story. First, deregulation began quite a while ago (the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act was passed in 1980). If deregulation is to blame for the recession that began in December 2007, presumably it should also get some of the credit for the intervening growth. Second, the much greater financial regulation of the 1970s failed to prevent the United States from suffering not only double-digit inflation in that decade but also a recession (between 1973 and 1975) every bit as severe and protracted as the one we’re in now. Third, the continental Europeans — who supposedly have much better-regulated financial sectors than the United States — have even worse problems in their banking sector than we do. The German government likes to wag its finger disapprovingly at the “Anglo Saxon” financial model, but last year average bank leverage was four times higher in Germany than in the United States. Schadenfreude will be in order when the German banking crisis strikes.

We need to remember that much financial innovation over the past 30 years was economically beneficial, and not just to the fat cats of Wall Street. New vehicles like hedge funds gave investors like pension funds and endowments vastly more to choose from than the time-honored choice among cash, bonds and stocks. Likewise, innovations like securitization lowered borrowing costs for most consumers. And the globalization of finance played a crucial role in raising growth rates in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, propelling hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

The reality is that crises are more often caused by bad regulation than by deregulation.

You know the drill, read the whole thing.

Biden Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot

Too bad for Obama that he can't convince Biden to go into the bunker.

At least Cheney stayed out of the way.

Like a Teenager with whisky and his father's gun

Glenn Reynolds (aka instapundit) has an opinion piece up in The Wall Street Journal about Obama's stupid IRS "joke" at the ASU commencement.

Just a joke about the power of the presidency. Made by Jay Leno it might have been funny. But as told by Mr. Obama, the actual president of the United States, it's hard to see the humor. Surely he's aware that other presidents, most notably Richard Nixon, have abused the power of the Internal Revenue Service to harass their political opponents. But that abuse generated a powerful backlash and with good reason. Should the IRS come to be seen as just a bunch of enforcers for whoever is in political power, the result would be an enormous loss of legitimacy for the tax system.

I agree with Glenn. That joke was dumb, dumb, dumb. And as I said in a previous post, that joke is not only completely inappropriate for Obama to make but displays incredibly poor judgement.

Just like the poor judgement that impelled him to bow to the Saudi King. Just like the poor judgement that places tax cheats in key cabinat positions. Just like the poor judgment to cheat our allies while hobnobbing with our enemies.

Obama's poor judgement in threatening IRS audits on innocent civilians - even in jest - makes Bush's occassional misproununcations look good. Real good.

Please Ignore the Economy Behind the Curtain

(And again with my husband - my he's busy this morning. Taken from NRO-corner)

With the Waxman-Markey global-warming "cap and trade" bill facing Henry's self-imposed deadline of reporting by Memorial Day (something Rep. Joe Barton says is sure to embarass the Energy & Commerce Committee), expect the usual suspects to be lauding the fact that Europe, which has a cap-and-trade scheme in place, reduced emissions last year.

Of course, the reason for the reduction has precious little to do with cap and trade. Here's the real reason.

Eheu!

(Another by my husband at NRO - The corner. Kinda short)

O tempora, o mores!

Food vs. Fuel, Again . . .

(Originally published on NRO-The Corner by my husband)

Food prices spike again and, surprise surprise, government policies bear much of the blame. Here's two separate experts commenting on the role of the pernicious ethanol mandate:

[Bill Lapp] 1. Reduced availability of corn: Based upon Agriculture Department estimates released on May 12, corn supplies will decline to the lowest level (relative to usage) in 14 years. This largely reflects a 35 percent increase in the use of corn for the production of ethanol over the past two years.

2. Battle for acreage: As more corn is needed to meet ethanol demand, acreage devoted to other crops, such as wheat and soybeans, is reduced, leading to higher prices for those crops as well. A hiccup in weather this summer could drive prices significantly higher for corn, wheat or soybeans.

[Michael J. Roberts] For food prices, specifically, a big factor is whether the U.S. sticks with current (and in my view, ill conceived) ethanol policy. My own research suggests that prices of key food commodities — like corn, soybean, wheat and rice — are about 30 percent higher as a result of U.S. corn-based ethanol production.

We're in a recession. People need to pay less for food. Instead, we have a harebrained fuel policy that pays people to burn corn, which Congress is happy to let lie so that next year we'll pay more taxpayer money to burn more corn. We need a Bread Party or two to go alongside the Tea Parties.

What About Lying To Americans?

The LA Times and Washington Post are publishing House Minority Leader John A. Boehner's call for Pelosi to either present real evidence that the CIA lied or apologize to the CIA.

"Lying to the Congress of the United States is a crime," Boehner said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” "And if the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress, then she should come forward with evidence and turn that over to the Justice Department so they can be prosecuted."

He added: "And if that's not the case, I think she ought to apologize to our intelligence professionals around the world."

If lying to Congress is a crime, what about lying to the American people?

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

I've heard of this but had been terribly lazy.

Calvin Dodge re-invigorated me and now I am watching and laughing my butt off!

Link here!

DC Bag Tax

Somehow charging tourists and residents of DC five cents a bag is going to help DC's economy and save the Anacostia river.

Or folks can do their shopping in Virginia.

Art

My brother-in-law's website. Buy his artwork.

As in UK

I think that this article by my husband and published at www.conservativehome.com makes a good point for both British and American conservatives. While the "political crisis" has not struck America as it has in Britain. It will. And American conservatives should watch the unravelling of the Labour party and start helping liberals down the same path sooner rather than later.

...it strikes me that in the depth of this severe political crisis, there is a genuine opportunity for the conservative movement in Britain. We can capitalize on the anti-politician sentiment most effectively if we adopt, explain and push a series of policies that reduce the power of politicians and their opportunity, not to put too fine a point on it, to rob us blind.

It's Time For The Plan

Save These Children

Visit this site and see what you can do to save children from being kidnapped and forced into armies, kidnapped and sold as slaves, kidnapped and sold as sex slaves, and kidnapped and brutally treated.

Just go. I need to cry now.

TV Party Tonight - Friend Olivia Keeps Day Job!

So totally psyched that Dollhouse is renewed because..
1) My husband and I enjoy all things Joss.
2) An old acquantance is on the show (Olivia Williams)
3) It's a good show (I liked Buffy, Firefly, and Angel too).

Here is the current standing of the Fall TV lineup as published by Entertainment Weekly.

Here's my schedule (yes, I totally like weird stuff)...
ABC
Better Off Ted: Could go either way. Now officially renewed.
Castle: Could go either way. Now a safe bet. Now officially renewed.
Scrubs: Prospects brightening. Now officially renewed.

CBS
The Amazing Race: Already renewed.
The Big Bang Theory: Already renewed.
How I Met Your Mother: Sure thing.
Numb3rs: Safe bet.

FOX
Bones: Sure thing. Now officially renewed for two seasons.
Dollhouse: Now officially renewed for 13 episodes.
Fringe: Sure thing. Now officially renewed.
Kitchen Nightmares: Already renewed.
The Simpsons: Already renewed. [GREATEST SHOW EVER]

NBC
30 Rock: Already renewed.
Heroes: Sure thing. Now officially renewed.

The CW
America's Next Top Model: Already renewed.


These are the shows I'm going to miss!
Reaper - Sock, I'm gonna miss you and The Devil most of all!

Gettin' All Cheney

Jules Crittenden puts up an excellent blog piece on former VP Dick Cheney.

You know, I'm liking the man more and more every day.

Protesting Notre Dame

Gateway Pundit has some excellent links and video clip from the Notre Dame commencement.

Hey Obama, how does it feel to be treated like a republican?



UPDATE: Yahoo news is reporting that nearly 40 protesters were arrested at the Notre Dame Commencement ceremony including "Roe" of "Roe v. Wade"..

At least 39 people were taken into custody on trespassing charges, police Sgt. Bill Redman said. Among those arrested were Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as "Roe" in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. She now opposes abortion.

The Unloveable Press

The Financial Times talks about both the British press and the American one in an excellent and pithy article, here.

One does not have to be a hyperventilating tabloid columnist to expect better behaviour than that which has been revealed.

Revealed, we should remember, by the unlovable press. Michael Schudson, among the best of the academic writers on the media, has seen in the raucousness and hype of newspapers a pearl beyond price: the instinct to create trouble for the establishment, the panjandrums – them. In this collection of essays, the central one – which shares the book’s title – lays out four elements of necessary unlovability. These are: a love of the unplanned and the disruptive; an even greater love of conflict and dissent; a scepticism about the claims of politics; and a willingness to name names and connect the names with crimes and misdemeanours.

Schudson writes: “That is what serves democracy: the irresistible drive of journalists to focus on events, including those that powerful forces cannot anticipate and often cannot manage.” Thus when Matt Drudge began his subsequently richly rewarded career by showing, from his bedroom laptop, that President Bill Clinton was an adulterer; or when bloggers uncovered a speech made in 2002 by Trent Lott, the former Senate majority leader, which pointed to racist views; or, more recently, when Paul Staines, a British blogger operating under the incendiary nom de guerre of Guido Fawkes, uncovered a sleazy plan on the part of prime ministerial aides to tar leading Conservatives with sex scandals – in all of these cases, the people glorying in their ill-gotten power and tearing down the powerful did well by us.

They fulfilled one of the necessary prerequisites of the free press: that it is free. In the words of Walter Meers,a veteran AP reporter quoted in another of Schudson’s essays: “There are too many excursions into trivia,too much play for the public opinion polls, too many words about who’s ahead and who’s behind. There’s a reason. That is what people want to know.”

But here is the rub. Schudson is writing of American newspapers.

Read the whole thing.

My one quibble is the absurd belief that American Newspapers are willing to take down politicians - sadly this "free press" is still too enthralled with its own navel to do its job as stated above.

Still here's to hoping.

Queen Handbags Gordon Brown

You must understand that this is ginormously HUGE for Great Britain.

The Queen of England NEVER allows her views on a politician or government to be known publically or "officially" known. NEVER. She is not allowed to favor one political party or another.

She simply advises the Prime Minister - and given that her first PM was Winston Churchill and her great-grandmother was Queen Victoria, the Queen has got some good advice to give.

So when this article comes out in Britain's Daily Mail with the headline, "The Queen Tells Gordon Brown she is 'deeply troubled' over MP's expenses", that is a big deal.

But OH SNAP, the article goes on to say...

She discussed the explosion of public outrage over the scandal in what is understood to have been a candid exchange of views when she met the Prime Minister for their weekly audience at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

(italics mine)

The phrase "a candid exchange of views" is British press code phrase for the Queen tore the Prime Minister a new one. (Another example of a code phrases is "tired and emotional" which means completely and utterly drunk.)

For the Queen to allow a leak regarding her private meetings with the political leader of her kingdom - and a negative leak at that - means only one thing for Gordon Brown.

Pack your bags my friend, you're leaving 10 Downing Street real soon.

Man predicts own murder on Youtube

Umm, Wow!

UPDATE: Guatemalans protest president-murder.

The Fallen and The Risen

BusinessWeek.com has a wonderful and insightful article on how "the mighty" can rise and fall and rise again - important reading for both corporations and countries!

Destroying Isreal

Obama has figured out a way to destroy Isreal, let the UN handle it.

He can claim to help while the evil/useful idiots at the UN who brought us the hate-fest Durbin II will viciously attack our one Middle Eastern democracy.

Truly trashy diplomacy on the part of Obama.

President Palin's First 100 Days

By the inestimable Victor Davis Hanson. Another excellent parady for your Sunday pleasure.

SOS

Guy Benson is a tad heavy on the irony but this townhall.com "article" about Nancy Pelosi is hilarious.

Enjoy.