What's Soros Trying To Do?

DailyPundit (the guy who named the blogosphere) is wondering if Soros is talking down the economy because he's shorting the stock market.

George Soros is the scum of the underbelly of sludge, so it wouldn't surprise me if DailyPundit is right to wonder what Soros is up too....

By the way, scroll down and read the first few comments - very educational. Nice readership you've got there DailyPundit!

At Least They Admitted It

Global Warming Scientist spun out on some ice when they had to announce that thanks to "drift" in the satellite data, they had underestimated the amount of sea ice in the artic.

A glitch in satellite sensors caused scientists to underestimate the extent of Arctic sea ice by 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles), a California- size area, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center said.

The error, due to a problem called “sensor drift,” began in early January and caused a slowly growing underestimation of sea ice extent until mid-February. That’s when “puzzled readers” alerted the NSIDC about data showing ice-covered areas as stretches of open ocean, the Boulder, Colorado-based group said on its Web site.

The IPCC has stated that it has gotten colder since 1998 and just a while ago, the global warming alarmists were waving around this sea ice data to justify their existance. Now, it was all a glitch.

BWAHAHAHAH!

Socks-the-Cat has Died

I'm actually a little sad about this - especially since we have a tuxedo cat now too.

May kitty angels sing Socks to his rest (yes, I know but it makes me feel better).

Can't Spend Your Way Out of This

Or talk your way out of it apparently.

AP has an analysis of the Obama plan and just how sucky it is as well as how badly Obama's dismal strategy of doom and gloom talk is effecting the economy.

Hope and change has morphed into dismay and repetitiveness. So much for the new New Deal.

Shocked, Shocked!

Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group who expected Obama to press China on Human Rights announced that they were "shocked and extremely disappointed" by Clinton's saying, "our pressing on those issues can't interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis."

Really? Even now, you are "shocked" that Obama isn't keeping any of his promises? I can tell you I am "extremely disappointed" but not by Obama - his behavior is exactly what expected, if perhaps only a little worse.

I am all for human rights. I do not always agree with all of Amnesty International's positions or tactics but I abhor the continued oppression and enslavement of human beings.

But Obama isn't out there to help others. He and his administration are only interested in the power grab for themselves. Mark my words, this will be an "I told you so" posting.

Good Sportsmanship for a Grieving Son

This story of good sportsmanship, kindness, and support made me cry. This story rightly deserves to be celebrated and my condonlences go out to the son who lost his mother. Our prayers are with you because I am certain your mother is looking down on you with pride and with gratitude to the demonstrations of support you have received.

Re: Who Needs Congress?

[Originially posted at The Corner by my husband]

Jerry, it is instructive to note that in the UK, the powers the executive gets via delegation from the legislature are called "Henry VIII Powers," after the monarch who strong-armed Parliament into starting off this practice. I suspect it is one of those practices the Founding Fathers found so abhorrent that they saw no need to prohibit it in the Constitution, as no self-respecting American legislature would do it. Unfortunately, now when we need it spelled out constitutionally it is exactly the time when such an amendment would have no chance of success, so useful does Congress find the practice.

It's nice to see Obama abusing our Constitution so early into his reign.

Futile Foreclosure Plan

[Originially posted at The Corner by my husband]

One of the most important things to note about the new Obama forclosure plan is that we know it won't work as advertised. As John Berlau points out here, people who have their loans modified to help them out actually redefault for the most part. The latest figures indicate that 36% redefault after just three months, and by eight months it's almost 60%. There is no evidence to suggest that this new mortgage restructuring plan will be any more successful. In that respect, Obama is doing just what he said he wouldn't do, throwing good money after bad. Moreover, by delaying the "clean break" that foreclosure actually represents, the plan actually subsidizes harm with taxpayer money. For those who will redefault, that is a bad thing.

Durban II - Conference of Racists

America walked out of the first Durban conference because of its overt anti-Semitism.

Obama has foolishly sent an American delegation to the Durban II conference and the delegates sat quietly while anti-Semitism and other racist vices were enshrined in a so-called human rights document.

Countenancing anti-Semetism is disgusting and I am disgusted with Obama that he allowed the delegates to do so.

SHAME on Obama and the US Durban II Delegates.

Go Rick Go!

He's got my vote!!!



Here's an interview with National Review and Rick done later today.

Shame is Good

While I do deeply believe in positive re-enforcement, shame is also good.

Megan Mcardle agrees with me in this post here.

Let's face it, all carrot, no stick is pretty pointless and only seems to create a grossly inflated sense of entitlement. No carrot, all stick would be awful as well. But that's not the point of embracing shame.

A well-balanced mix of shame and praise helps people remain positively socially connected. Being free to act without shame leads to sociopathic behavior. Believing you deserve a constant diet of praise creates narcessistic tendencies.

But a clear understanding of where the praise stops and shame slowly builds keeps all of us from straying out of bounds. That is why Shame is good.

Burris Cover-Up?

RightWing NutHouse (gotta love the honesty of that blog name) has laid out a very thoughtful argument that in order to pass the so-called stimulus bill, certain democrats sat on the Burris Affidavit exposing his links to Blago.

Hmmmm.

Cry for Liberty In Britian

Dr. Sean Gabb of Libertarian Alliance gave a speech in the UK recently as reported by The Volokh Conspiracy. Apparently it was good. Real good.

The text of the speech is here and it is well worth a read.

I especially like his position that liberals (in UK they are socialists, here they are "liberals") are the Establishment and must be "torn down". I love this man!

Defending Milton Friedman

Reason does a good job here. This is the man who stood on the idea of "who will spend your money better, you or the government?" As true then as it is today.

The post has a whole episode of "Open Mind" from PBS featuring an interview with Milton Friedman. Sweet! It is 28+ minutes long but I found it very edifying so I embeded it below. Enjoy!

Good God Above!

When NPR turns on the liberals and points out all of their corruption, you just know it has got to be bad! Yikes!

I Liked Down Periscope

Read the accompanying article too. I love Kelsey Grammer. He is always terrific.

Read the 1st Comment

The Daily News has a strong piece about Christopher Dodd and how his Senate career may be winding down.

Dodd has done a lot of damage to this country and I think the first in the comments section is right on.

I Wish I Were Texan

This declaration is so good, I am copying it in full and now wish I had some birth or home connection to Texas since clearly those Texans are so very sensible.

Perhaps all 50 state congresses should pass such legislation - Let's start lobbying them now.

By:A A Creighton H.C.R.A No.A50
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people";and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States;

now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.

H.C.R.A No.A50

So Much for Transparency

Below is a post taken from The Corner by Jonah Goldberg and my husband's response.

So Much for Transparency [Jonah Goldberg]

From the Politico:

In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor’s system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policymaking bodies and extended economic sanctions against parties to the conflict in the African nation of Cote D’Ivoire.

Despite the intense scrutiny a president gets just after the inauguration, Obama managed to take all these actions with nary a mention from the White House press corps.

The moves escaped notice because they were never announced by the White House Press Office and were never placed on the White House web site.

They came to light only because the official paperwork was transmitted to the Federal Register, a dense daily compendium of regulatory actions and other formal notices prepared by the National Archives. They were published there several days after the fact.

A Politico review of Federal Register issuances since Obama took office found three executive orders, one presidential memorandum, one presidential notice, and one proclamation that went unannounced by the White House.

Re: So Much for Transparency by my husband as posted at The Corner

It looks like that regulatory review is all about reducing the power of Cass Sunstein's OIRA. CEI's crack investigative team summarizes as follows:

It appears that Obama is rescinding Bush 43's EOs 13258 (drafted by John Graham) and 13422 (drafted by Susan Dudley) in order to revert to Clinton's EO 12866 (drafted by Sally Katzen). The differences are very subtle, but include the following:

a. 13258 and 13422 applied OIRA review to guidance documents as well as rules.

b. 13258 and 13422 required agencies preparing draft rules and guidance docs to "identify in writing the specific market failure (such as externalities, market power, lack of information) or other specific problem that [the rule or guidance] intends to address (including, where applicable, the failures of public institutions) that warrant new agency action, as well as assess the significance of that problem, to enable assessment of whether any new regulation is warranted." Whereas EO 12866 requires agencies to "identify the problem that it intends to address (including, where applicable, the failures of private markets or public institutions that warrant new agency action) as well as assess the significance of that problem. . . . examine whether existing regulations (or other law) have created, or contributed to, the problem that a new regulation is intended to correct and whether those regulations (or other law) should be modified to achieve the intended goal of regulation more effectively. . . . [and] identify and assess available alternatives to direct regulation, including providing economic incentives to encourage the desired behavior, such as user fees or marketable permits, or providing information upon which choices can be made by the public."

c. 13258 and 13422 require the establishment of a Regulatory Policy Office in each agency to pre-clear proposed rules and guidance docs before they get sent to OIRA.

The biggest change is that guidance docs will no longer go through the OIRA review process.

Those were sensible policies that Obama has removed. Between the sneakiness and hypocrisy of his actions and the growing lack of ethics, Obama is really showing his true nature - I Told You So.

Frankly

Eric Holder's speech basically accuses all Americans of cowardice because for some reason known only to himself, he believes that Americans do not talk frankly to each other about our similarities and our differences.

I'm not sure if it is the ignorance or the arrogance of Holder that bothers me most.

Probably a little bit of both.

I mean there's nothing wrong with private citizens talking to each other but isn't there something wrong with assuming most, if not all, Americans are cowards?

Read his speech for yourself and you tell me.

Bleak Economy for Immigrants and US Born

The Center for Immigration Studies has released new study examining the rather bleak employment outlook for immigrants and uneducated US born.

Perhaps the so-called stimulus bill would work better if it taught a man to fish rather than giving out free fish.

Sounds Paranoid, But...

This article from the Tennessee-Gazette seems a little paranoid but then again, taking a stand against encroachment is always a good thing whether it is being "offended" just a little too much to eminent domain.

Paranoid but possibly prudent as well.

Imagine If...

This is a fictional account of Pelosi and the Pope's meeting written by a real and imaginative journalist who has covered the Pope and the Vatican.

Enjoy.

Speaking Hypocrisy to the Masses

Jonah Goldberg points out that journalists pride themselves on "speaking truth to power" which essential means criticize the government but nothing else. Leaving all sorts of factions (gays, Muslims, minorities, etc., etc.) free to shout and act hatefully and without criticism.

This is also known as hypocrisy.

Oh and Jonah originally stated that the phrase "speaking truth to power" was of Quaker origin but on the Corner he corrects himself via a reader's email explaining that all those lefty-liberal journalists are using a phrase first coined by Machiavelli himself.

BWAHAHAHA!

Tactless and Rude and Stupid

I am speaking of course about Obama...

And his decision to return a bust of Winston Churchill (one of the greatest leaders of the English-speaking world) that had been in the Oval Office since 9/11.

When the British government offered to extend the loan of the valuable bust for another four years to Obama, he declined.

How rude! How tactless! And how STUPID!

The British are our best friends on this planet. Winston Churchill should be an inspiration to anyone. That Obama is dumb enough to offend our most consistant and supportive friends is astonishingly clueless.

This is going to be an unspeakably long four years with this dumbass.

Side Note: And the thing of it is, that Churchill bust is one of only three in the Oval Office during President Bush's time. I learned that while watching a documentary about the Queen's most recent state visit. My children are interesting in Churchill because his parentage is the same as their own in that he had and they have an American mother and a British Father. They get a huge kick out of that.