Why FOX continues to kick CNN and MSNBC's ass - Swagga !!!

Click here for the full effect.

Sheriff Joe plays Chicken Little

Biden warns people to avoid planes and subways.

Vice president Joe Biden said today he would tell his family members not to use subways in the U.S. and implied schools should be shuttered as the swine flu outbreak spread to 16 states. His remarks quickly caused a stir, drawing a rebuke from New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and later leading the White House to apologize.

The uproar began when Biden appeared on NBC's "Today" show and said he would advise against riding the subway or taking commercial flights and implied schools should be shuttered amid confirmation of the first swine-flu relation death in the U.S.

"I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said when Matt Lauer asked whether he would advise family members to use public transportation.

"I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. "

The vice president also implied that schools should be closed as the threat of swine flu increases.

I guess Joe wasn't content to just terrify NY with a low altitude jet run.

Enough !!

Enough of this "the Republican party has moved too far to the right" nonsense. The party nominee last year was John McCain (R - media) for Christ's sake. He won't be mistaken for Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan. Hell he won't even be mistaken for Pappy Bush.

And what exactly did having such a "moderate" get: a 53%-45% beat down.

The Republican party hasn't perceptively moved to the right on social issues. If there has been any movement, it has been to the left on the role and size of government.

More good news !!!

Swine flu alert level raised to five (out of 6).

The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert for swine flu to the second highest level, meaning that it believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent.

WHO says the phase 5 alert means there is sustained human to human spread in at least two countries.

At least it's not at 11!!

100 days of expired campaign promises

Jim Geraghty has a list of 17; and growing.

4. "Now, what I’ve done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut."

5. "If we see money being misspent, we're going to put a stop to it, and we will call it out and we will publicize it."

Good Question

Overheard in Philadelphia:

If the UAW will essentially own GM and Chrysler, won't Ford have to negotiate directly with it's competitors in forming contracts with its own employees ???

UAW to take over GM

Larry Kudlow is not impressed.

What is going on in this country? The government is about to take over GM in a plan that completely screws private bondholders and favors the unions. Get this: The GM bondholders own $27 billion and they’re getting 10 percent of the common stock in an expected exchange. And the UAW owns $10 billion of the bonds and they’re getting 40 percent of the stock. Huh? Did I miss something here? And Uncle Sam will have a controlling share of the stock with something close to 50 percent ownership. And no bankruptcy judge. So this is a political restructuring run by the White House, not a rule-of-law bankruptcy-court reorganization.

Does Benedict Arlen's switch make a difference ??

It didn't in trying to block the porkulus. Maybe it's just the optimist in me but I think there are more than a few Dems who are a little uncomfortable with this development; particularly Dem senators in red states.

Polls continue to show that even though Obama is well regarded by most Americans, his policies are not. As long as there was the threat of a potential filibuster some of the over-reaching policies could be scaled back to make them more politically palatable. Now the political safety-guards have been removed. Some Dems may now find themselves in the position of having to vote for extremist legislation or be the vote that blocked their own President's agenda.

Specter to GOP: Kiss my old, wrinkly ass

The news service are all abuzz that Senator "Scottish law" has decided to switch parties. However, his ideology remains the same -- political self-preservation.

Specter faced the serious prospect of losing the Republican primary to Pat Toomey. Rather than face potential defeat, he chose the politically expedient. Nevertheless, Specter will try to paint this as an act of political virtue. Although I think Michael Steele sums it up accurately here:

Let's be honest-Senator Specter didn't leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record. Republicans look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don't do it first."

Of course, if it were really a matter of principle, Arlen could follow Ace's advice:

If you want to switch parties, that's fine but there's an honorable way to do that. Phil Gramm did it in the early 80's when he resigned so he could run as a Republican.

If Specter can't stand the idea of being a Republican, why not resign and let Rendell reappoint him? Or simply run for the seat against whoever did get the appointment?

Of course, he couldn't pass on one last chance to stick his thumb in the eye of the base.

I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year record in the Senate be decided by the Pennyslvania Republican electorate.

Classy!!

Senator Virtue has said that the switch will not change his position on Card-check. Of course he also said just weeks ago that he had no intention of switching parties while extolling the virtues of checks-and-balances.

Despite promises from Democrats now, Specter has to know there is a very good chance that he will face a a pro-labor Democratic challenger in the primary unless he changes his position. Anyone want to wager on whether Specter finds some reason to back-track to his original position in favor of card-check.

Bye-bye Arlen. We won't miss you.

WTF ?!? - Obama administration terrorizes downtown Manhattan

A little over seven-and-a-half years ago, terrorists decided to turn commercial airliners into missiles. They successfully struck the Pentagon as well as the twin towers. There is still a giant whole in the ground where the towers once stood and the psychic wounds are still relatively fresh.

I am pretty certain that the administration probably was familiar with the event; sometime in September 2001 if memory serves. I know the boy prince is clearly a narcissist but he must have heard about it. It was on all the channels. Plus Rev. Wright brought it up; "chickens coming home to roost" -- oh right, Barry missed that sermon.

So what better city could you choose to buzz with a commercial jet (and trailing F-16 in hot pursuit dor good measure) for photo op ? That's right, a frickin photo op!!

An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty.

This official said the White House Military Office told the Federal Aviation Administration that it periodically updates file photos of Air Force One near national landmarks, like the statute in New York harbor and the Grand Canyon.

Updating file photos !!! Couldn't possibly make do with the old ones; who knows maybe Bush was on the plane in some. That would be beyond the pale.

The result -- thousands fleeing in panic.

Workers in lower Manhattan were stunned by what they saw.

John Leitner, a floor trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building, said about 1,000 people "went into a total panic" and ran out of the building around 10 a.m. after seeing the planes whiz nearby.

"We were informed after we cleared out of there," Leitner said. "I kind of think heads should roll a little bit on that."

Schumer: "No need to scare'
Employees of the Wall Street Journal also left their desks to see what was going on.

Kathleen Seagriff, a staff assistant, said workers heard the roar of the engines and then saw the planes from their windows.

"They went down the Hudson, turned around and came back by the building," she said. "It was a scary scene, especially for those of us who were there on 9/11."

Maybe NYers are a little over-sensitive. You can judge for yourself with the video below but I am pretty sure I would have been a little "anxious":




And, in typical Obama style, HE is not responsible. But he is pretty steamed. In fact, he's "furious".Not with himself of course. These thing that his administration does are not his fault. He's too busy being President to be responsible even if his own White House approved it. He's too cool, too hip, to unflappable to be responsible.

But all's well that ends well. Barry got his pretty pictures.

Another first for Obama - 1st Asian-American President

The Obamadulation continues.

Barack Obama made history as the first African-American president but in his first 100 days he has also shown himself to be America's most Asian leader yet, community members say.

Obama appointed a record three Asian-Americans cabinet members and quickly focused his attention across the Pacific. He invited Japan's prime minister as his first guest and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to Asia on her maiden trip.
.....
Obama has a deep personal connection with Asia, having spent part of his childhood in Jakarta. His sister is partly of Indonesian descent; her husband in turn is of Chinese heritage.

Why not, since Bill Clinton beat him to the punch by being America's first black President.

Saint Obama, the humble

Okay, this is just blatantly stolen from Ace's site.

According to the recently released epilogue of Harry Reid's book, Obama knows exactly why he is just so fantastically awesome.

Reid, D-Nev., writes: "'That speech was phenomenal, Barack,' I told him. And I will never forget his response. Without the barest hint of braggadocio or conceit, and with what I would describe as deep humility, he said quietly: 'I have a gift, Harry.'"

Not content with McCain losing...

the liberal media still has to bash his presidency that never happened.

Asked about his testy relations with Congress during his lone prime-time press conference (which scored near-record low ratings) in late February, McCain retrieved one of his musty jokes from mothballs as he cracked, "To quote Chairman Mao, `It's always darkest before it's totally black.'" The beleaguered McCain congressional relations team printed up T-shirts, which they still periodically display on trips to Capitol Hill, with the inscription, "Is it totally black yet?" It is ironic that McCain, the first president elected directly from the Senate in 48 years and a legislator known for his willingness to work with Democrats in the quest for compromise, is well on his way to becoming the most veto-prone president since Harry Truman, casting 13 during his first 14 weeks in office.

Talk about sore winners. Whatever happened to simply gloating??

Obama's teleprompter is once again disloyal

Video link here.

So smart he's practically retarded.

How serious is swine flu??

Who knows. The media has played chicken little in the past: i.e. Y2k, global warming, shark attacks.

On the one hand, the US has declared a public health emergency. It has also recommended people wear paper masks and the CDC has suggested preparations be made for school closings.

On the other, although it is believed that this strain has originated in Mexico, the government has decided not to close the border and is not currently screening air travelers entering the country from Mexico.

Maybe it's because the outbreak is currently not that serious but the potentially dangerous situation warrants caution. Maybe politics is compromising health safety. Since the initials after my name are "Esq." not "M.D.", I don't pretend to know. In any case some common sense precautions are in probably in order. The CDC recommends:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.

British pol okay with murdering Miss California for her religious views

A member of Parliament (and shadow leader of the House of Commons no less) called Carrie Prejean a "silly bitch" for opposition to gay marriage while appearing on a BBC comedy show. But not stopping there, he then "joked"

"If you read that Miss California is murdered you will know it was me".

Classy.

Maybe someone should pass this on to the Secret Service since, as noted earlier, there is no difference between the gay marriage positions of Carrie Prejean and Barack Obama.

100 Days, 100 Mistakes

Compiled by The New York Post.

Just a few examples:

26. "Obama thanked CIA employees for their work and said they're invaluable to national security. He explained his decision to release the memos, then told everyone not to feel bad because he was now acknowledging potential mistakes. Theirs, not his. 'That's how we learn,' Obama said, as though soothing a room full of fourth-graders." -- The Oklahoman, 4/23

27. By releasing the torture memos, Obama opened American citizens up to international tribunals. A UN lawyer said the US is obliged to prosecute lawyers who drafted the memos or else violate the Geneva Conventions.

Slurp, slurp. slurp - CNN fawns over boyfriend

Bill Schneider at CNN ponders whether Obama is the "Superpresident". My take is more Clark Kent. Here is the link for the whole nauseating piece. If you have the stomach for it.

Wrong spelling on signs for Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

Not really a story of much significance, but it does give you a reason to write "Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg".

Try it; say "Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg". It just glides off the tongue.

Many residents in the small town do not even try to pronounce its name, simply referring to it as Lake Webster.

Plays hell with spellcheck too!

Good news in PA !!

Senator "Not Proven" trails in the Rasmussen poll.

Latest poll numbers: Toomey 51% - Specter 30%.

Any volunteers to help plan the retirement party???

Obama wants to make more anti-US terrorists

That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from this news that the Obama administration will no longer fight the ACLU's attempts to publish photos of "detainee abuse".

In a letter from the Justice Department to a federal judge yesterday, the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration.
........
But some experts say the move could have a chilling effect on the CIA even beyond President Obama's decision last week to release the so-called "torture memos."

Calling the ACLU push to release the photographs "prurient" and "reprehensible," Dr. Mark M. Lowenthal, former Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production, tells ABC News that the Obama administration should have taken the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

"They should have fought it all the way; if they lost, they lost," said Lowenthal, who retired from the Agency in 2005. "There's nothing to be gained from it. There's no substantive reason why those photos have to be released."

Now if I recollect correctly, the view from the left was that the Abu Ghraib photos were a recruitment boon for jihadis. If so, what can be the logical point of release a new batch of photos?

Feeling safer??

Frozen baby mammoth

Photos from National Geographic.

Obama and Miss California hold same beliefs on gay marriage

From Brutally Honest who recalls the Obama interview with Rick Warren.

Rev. Warren: "Define marriage."

Sen. Obama: "I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Now, for me as a Christian, it's also a sacred union. You know, God's in the mix."

And the blog post also makes a great point on character and courage:

Despite the STUNNING callousness of his answer that night, and the young man's obvious lack of compassion for the gay community, Mr. Illinois somehow managed to win the crown.

Of the two, Prejean's reply took a good deal more courage. She was being questioned by a gay judge and a gay-friendly jury, after all. She surely knew that the response of her heart was not the answer this audience was looking for.

Obama, on the other hand, was speaking before a largely conservative audience in an evangelical church when he endorsed the traditional view of marriage. How hard was that?

Closing Gitmo not so easy

I remember a certain cowboy-type President suggesting the same thing. But of course he was soooo stooopid, we just needed somebody scary smart to figure it out. So, as the media cheered on their shiny new boyfriend, PrezBO decided to close Gitmo; kinda, sorta.

There still remained one trivial detail; what to do with the maniacs therein. But smooth Barry had a plan. He had to have a plan. He wouldn't just shut down the facility housing "the worst of the worst" without a plan; would he??

Sure he had a plan. Gosh, everybody just loves Barry and if he just asked really nicely (and apologized on behalf of the US for everything that has gone wrong since the dawn of time) other countries would just fall over themselves to take the prisoners to win favor with the Great Man. Heck during his European apology tour he even got the French to take one detainee.

It seems that Yemen hasn't gotten caught up in Obamadulation as the Gitmo closing has hit another snag.

The Yemeni government has asked Washington to return its detainees and has said that it would need substantial aid to rehabilitate the men. But the Obama administration is increasingly skeptical of Yemen’s ability to provide adequate rehabilitation and security to supervise returned prisoners. In addition, American officials are wary of sending detainees to Yemen because of growing indications of activity by Al Qaeda there.

The developments are significant for the Obama administration because the 97 Yemeni detainees make up more than 40 percent of the remaining 241 prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. The question of what to do with them “is integral to the process of closing Guantánamo,” said Ken Gude, an associate director at the Center for American Progress who has written about closing the prison camp.

The standoff over the Yemeni detainees comes on top of other difficulties that have emerged since President Obama announced his intention to close the prison that has drawn international criticism for years.

Have no fear. He's "got this". Surely someone with the colossal intellect of Obama has a backup plan. He's the chess master while the rest of us are playing checkers. So, what's plan B??

“We’re at a complete impasse,” said one American official who is involved in the issue but was speaking without authorization and so requested anonymity. “I don’t know that there’s a viable Plan B.”

Hope and change, hope and change.

Nancy Pelosi as Sgt. Schultz

"I see NOTHING" "I know NOTHING"

Granny McBotox now claims she knew nothing about waterboarding.

Pelosi says she was briefed by Bush administration officials on the legal justification for using waterboarding — but that they never followed through on promises to inform her when they actually began using "enhanced" interrogation techniques

"In that or any other briefing…we were not, and I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used. What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel ... opinions that they could be used," she told reporters today.

Who's to say otherwise?

Well, the Washington Post for one.

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

"The briefer was specifically asked if the methods were tough enough," said a U.S. official who witnessed the exchange.

Happy Earth Day

Let's just take a moment to acknowledge one of the founders that has been quietly (and so conveniently) forgotten:

Ira Einhorn:



As the Philadelphia Bulletin explains, Einhorn has an interesting history that seems to be ignored:

But Mr. Einhorn has another line on his resume. In addition to being a environmental guru, he is the Unicorn Killer.

While a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Einhorn dated a Bryn Mawr College graduate by the name of Holly Maddux. When the affair ended in 1977, Mr. Einhorn went into a jealous rage and murdered her.

He concealed his crime for 18 months by stuffing Ms. Maddux’s body in a trunk that he kept in his apartment. The foul odor of the decomposing corpse coming from Mr. Einhorn’s Powelton Village apartment caused neighbors to complain. In 1979, police found the trunk stored in a closet in Mr. Einhorn’s apartment.

The articles notes this additional irony:

Ira Einhorn was arrested for murder March 28, 1979, the day the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident occurred. Ira Einhorn, environmentalist, was charged with murder during the same period as one of the greatest environmental accidents in United States history.

But the real irony is that more people died in the apartment of Ira Einhorn, co-founder of Earth Day than at Three Mile Island. The environmentalist killed more people than the so-called environmental disaster.

Happy Earth Day.

Some kick-ass Lego art

Here's an example



Here is the link for the rest of the slide show.

iowahawk's 2009 Earth Week Virtual Cruise-In

Link here.

Let the carbonating begin!

Fight, fight, fight !!! I love dueling lefties!!!

ABC News reports that RFK Jr. calls out Barry O. as an "indentured servant" of the coal industry.

"Clean coal is a dirty lie," says environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who calls President Barack Obama and other politicians who commit taxpayer money to develop it "indentured servants" of the coal industry.

The increasingly irrelevant Al Gore also piles on:

"Clean coal is like healthy cigarettes, it does not exist," says former Vice President Al Gore.

To quote Terrell Owens: "Get ya popcorn ready!"

Transparency ?!?

Obama white washes DNI memo to remove language indicating that interrogation techniques work. The NY Times notes:

Admiral Blair’s assessment that the interrogation methods did produce important information was deleted from a condensed version of his memo released to the media last Thursday. Also deleted was a line in which he empathized with his predecessors who originally approved some of the harsh tactics after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“I like to think I would not have approved those methods in the past,” he wrote, “but I do not fault those who made the decisions at that time, and I will absolutely defend those who carried out the interrogations within the orders they were given.”

Keep this in mind when lefties argue that Obama isn't interested in playing politics but only seeking the truth.

Maybe Janet Napolitano really is just a dumbass

The clueless DHS chief incorrectly claims that the 9-11 hijackers entered the US via Canada.

Her agency is tasked with protecting our borders. And the agency itself was created out of the ashes of 9/11; an event that happened less than eight years ago. Any reasonably competent head of such an agency would at least have a working knowledge that the Canadian border plays no part in the events of 9/11. So would almost any literate American.

As noted yesterday, she has publicly stated that, contrary to the US Code, illegal immigration "isn't a crime per se"; she has called for ideological profiling of right-leaning protests groups and cast aspersions on veterans.

Yet she is has been placed at the helm as a glowing example of the peter principle in a action. Feeling any safer??

Will Obama prosecute Pelosi for torture??

Of course not but he should if he is to be logically consistent. Today, the apologist-in-chief announced that he is open to the possibility of prosecuting Bush administration officials for their roles in drafting the memos on the legality of various coercive interrogations. I will not use the "T" word in this context.

That this statement is not met with derision from legal scholars and commentators on both the left and right is a testament to how far the partisan divide has become and represents the left's ability to compromise principle to promote their agenda. Obama is not contemplating prosecuting the individuals who employed these methods. Instead he is criminalizing thought and is prepared to prosecute ideology. It is simply outrageous to even suggest criminal prosecutions for people who drew up an analysis of whether certain conduct was legal.

However, if one is to believe that such behavior is criminal aren't the members of Congress who were routinely briefed on such matters equally culpable ??

Illegal immigration is NOT illegal ??

That is the position of none other than DHS Secretary, Janet Napolitano.

As head of DHS it is her job to secure the nations borders. It is implied that she would have, at least, some vague familiarity with our immigration laws. Yet here is what she had to say during an interview on Sunday discussing Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff Joe Arpaio's calls for greater enforcement of immigration laws:

BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTRY, ARIZONA: I want the president, I want the politicians to say, we are going to enforce all of the illegal immigration laws and if you come into this country illegally, you're going to be prosecuted and put in jail.

Let them say that. I'm waiting for them to say that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A lot of Democrats in Congress want to you investigate him. They think he is over the line. He says he is just enforcing the law and the problem is the federal government.

NAPOLITANO: Well, you know, Sheriff Joe, he is being very political in that statement, because he knows that there aren't enough law enforcement officers, courtrooms or jail cells in the world to do what he is saying.

What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are exploiting human misery.

And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well. (emphasis mine)

Pssst, Janet. It is. That's why they call it illegal immigration. It is also frowned upon by statute.

Waterboarding saves LA

The CIA confirms that waterboarding Khalid Sheik Mohammad led to intel that caused al Qaeda from launching an attack against Los Angeles similar to 9/11.

Before he was waterboarded, when KSM was asked about planned attacks on the United States, he ominously told his CIA interrogators, “Soon, you will know.”

According to the previously classified May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that was released by President Barack Obama last week, the thwarted attack -- which KSM called the “Second Wave”-- planned “ ‘to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner into’ a building in Los Angeles.”
.......
Before they were subjected to “enhanced techniques” of interrogation that included waterboarding, KSM and Zubaydah were not only uncooperative but also appeared contemptuous of the will of the American people to defend themselves.

“In particular, the CIA believes that it would have been unable to obtain critical information from numerous detainees, including KSM and Abu Zubaydah, without these enhanced techniques,” says the Justice Department memo. “Both KSM and Zubaydah had ‘expressed their belief that the general US population was ‘weak,’ lacked resilience, and would be unable to ‘do what was necessary’ to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their goals.’ Indeed, before the CIA used enhanced techniques in its interrogation of KSM, KSM resisted giving any answers to questions about future attacks, simply noting, ‘Soon you will know.’”

After he was subjected to the “waterboard” technique, KSM became cooperative, providing intelligence that led to the capture of key al Qaeda allies and, eventually, the closing down of an East Asian terrorist cell that had been tasked with carrying out the 9/11-style attack on Los Angeles.

So who's ready to pickup the pitchforks and prosecute those heinous bastards responsible for waterboarding ???

And the more poignant question: Is Obama ready to trade a city, and American lives, to score cheap political points??

Some visual perspective of the Obama budget deficits

via Instapundit

Obama slashes the budget to help reduce deficit

By $100 million. BWAHAHAHAHA - how draconian. So Obama's budget is $3.6 trillion. So this belt-tightening will take it down to $3.5999 trillion.

As usual with liberals, the nobility of the enterprise lies in the goal, not the effect:

Although the budget cuts would amount to a minuscule portion of federal spending, they are intended to signal the president's determination to cut spending and reform government, the official said.

David Freddoso at National Review has a reader do the math:

[I]n a $3 trillion budget, a $100m spending cut is equivalent to a person who makes $50,000 a year declaring proudly that he will cut a whopping $1.67 from his expenses.

Remember, this is the President that promised net spending cuts.

Is Obama the new Gorbachev ??

AP considers the possibility.

While historic analogies are never perfect, Obama's stark efforts to change the U.S. image abroad are reminiscent of the stunning realignments sought by former Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev. During his short—by Soviet standards—tenure, he scrambled incessantly to shed the ideological entanglements that were leading the communist empire toward ruin.

Anyone remember how that worked out for the USSR??

More empirical evidence that al Gore is a jackass.

Antarctic ice growing, not shrinking.

Ice is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.

Obama's gift-giving gets more thoughtful

After essentially snubbing the Brits, Boy Blunder actually takes some time to come up with appropriate gifts for foreign heads of state. And what could be more touching to Hugo Chavez than a book about how the U.S. has exploited Latin America.

At President Obama's meeting with the heads of South American countries this morning, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stood, walked over to him, and presented him with a copy of "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano.

Obama politely posed for a photograph with Chavez, shook his hand, and accepted the gift.

The book, first published in Spanish in 1971, offers a critique of the consequences of 500 years of European and U.S. colonization of Latin America.

Not content to denigrate America in Europe PrezBO has decided to extend this to a world tour. Nuance!!!

NYT coverage of the April 15th Tea-party protests

As covered in the April 16th edition:














That's right --- not one frickin' word.

All the news that's fit for fishwrap.

Obama shreds the Constitution and tramples civil liberties.

That's what they would say about Bush if his administration put out a similar controversial DHS report warning against left-wing extremists (there's a term you'll rarely see in the MSM). Especially if the report was issued after civil liberty officials at DHS raised concerns.

Civil liberties officials at the Homeland Security Department flagged language in a controversial report on right-wing extremists, but the agency issued the report anyway.

The intelligence assessment issued to law enforcement last week said some military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence. That prompted angry reactions from some lawmakers and veterans' groups.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said the report was issued before officials resolved problems raised by the agency's civil rights division about analysts' definition of right-wing extremism.

Barack Obama, protector of civil liberties.

Ignorant cow Jeneane Garafalo: Tea-parties are racist

"It's all about hating a black man in the White House"

NewsBusters has the full quote:

You know, there's nothing more interesting than seeing a bunch of racists become confused and angry at a speech they're not quite certain what he's saying. It sounds right and then it doesn't make sense. Which, let's be very honest about what this is about. It's not about bashing Democrats, it's not about taxes, they have no idea what the Boston tea party was about, they don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up. That is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. And there is no way around that. And you know, you can tell these type of right wingers anything and they'll believe it, except the truth. You tell them the truth and they become -- it's like showing Frankenstein's monster fire. They become confused, and angry and highly volatile. That guy, causing them feelings they don't know, because their limbic brain, we've discussed this before, the limbic brain inside a right-winger or Republican or conservative or your average white power activist, the limbic brain is much larger in their head space than in a reasonable person, and it's pushing against the frontal lobe. So their synapses are misfiring. Is Bernie Goldberg listening?

Nothing like playing the race card when all rational argument fails.

The left's desperation to de-legitimize the Tea-Party movement smells of fear.

No media bias here

CNN newsbabe calls Tea Party unfit for family viewing.

She is also incredulous that the interviewee is not thrilled by his $400 tax break. Of course the irony that Illinois alone is receiving in excess of $50 billion of taxpayer money is lost on her.




Money Quote: "I think you get the general tenor of this. It's anti-government, anti-CNN since this is highly promoted by the right-wing, conservative network, FOX. And since I can't really hear much more, and I think ... uh, this is not really family viewing, I'll toss it back to you Kyra."

And to think this was labeled as "Reporter Roughed Up at Chicago Tea Party" !

It's the most wonderful time of the year !!!

Not tax day. The NHL playoffs.

Let's go Flyers!!!!



Get Flyer-ed up!!

So now I am a threat ???

Apparently DHS is worried about right wing radicals. Now loons come in every stripe and from every walk of life so, no doubt, there are some right wing extremists out there. But what does DHS consider extreme?? Well, from the report:

(U) Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.
.......
Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use.

So any belief in federalism is extremism now. I guess nobody told Thomas Jefferson. There will be no dissent tolerated on abortion or immigration. In fact, any criticism of Teleprompter Jesus' policies clearly are a sign of mental instability.

And of course, no good leftist can resist the obligatory anti-military smear:

U) Disgruntled Military Veterans

(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.

Again, the patriotism of political dissent seems to depend on the party occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But surely after all those years of accusing Bush ChimpHitlerburton of creating fear for political advantage, the Hopey Changey administration would only issue such a "report" based on credible intelligence. Maybe not.

The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues.

So, I am not suggesting that this blatantly political piece of garbage is intended to rain on the Tea-Party parade, but the conclusion seems to sound intentionally ominous:

DHS/I&A will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months to ascertain with greater regional specificity the rise in rightwing extremist activity in the United States, with a particular emphasis on the political, economic, and social factors that drive rightwing extremist radicalization.

Squirrel detonation !!!

That's how they plan on ridding parks of the varmints in Spokane.

The Finch Arboretum is being overrun by ground squirrels, and Spokane Parks and Recreation is bringing in some special artillery.
The agency is using a special machine called the Rodenator Pro to detonate some of the estimated 100 to 150 squirrels tearing up the grounds.
......
The Rodenator Pro pumps propane and oxygen into the tunnels of squirrels, then sends an electric spark that causes an explosion. The shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels — but in a humane way, the agency said.

Of course they could always use a variation on this method:

RIP Harry Kalas

The Phillies' Hall of Fame broadcaster is dead at age 73. Growing up in a time when not every game was televised, Harry's voice was the soundtrack of summer vacation in my neighborhood. He will be sorely missed.

Kudos to Captain Phillips and Navy SEALs

The details are still sketchy but it looks like Captain Phillips was able to escape from the Somali pirates with the aid of a SEAL team that killed three pirates and captured a fourth.

Based on the early reports it looks like Phillips dove overboard in an escape attempt. This is the second time he has tried such action. The man does apparently have some brass ones. Unlike the last time it looks like the navy was ready and lit up the three pirates remaining in the lifeboat. It seems that the fourth was in negotiations when the event occurred. If he were on an American vessel at the time, it would account for his capture. Of course that means the SEALs were 3 for 3 with their targets. Nice!!!

So a happy ending thanks to Phillip's bravery and the SEAL team's know-how.

And, also, Obama deserves recognition for putting the military option into play and not being Jimmy Cater-ized.

Some tax facts to consider as April 15th approaches (From Reason.TV)

It would be funny if it weren't so damn pathetic

Congress needs to use Google to figure out where the stimulus money went.

I am confused. Is this the hope part or the change part??

Remember when dissent was the highest form of patriotism??

That was in the unenlightened days during the Bush reign of terror. Now dissent is divisive; and probably racist too!!

So today, the greatest threat facing America is ... Tea Parties???

In reality, their ‘movement’ is incredibly divisive, a mindset that stands in sharp contrast to Obama’s calls for bipartisanship in this time of great national need. Their arguments have the potential to divide the country along titanic lines not seen since the bloody days of the Civil War.

Think I’m exaggerating here? The Tea Party movement is an incredibly dangerous concept, fuelled by the usual gushes of sycophantic support from the conservative news media (here’s looking at you, Fox). Consider a recent poll posted on Sean Hannity’s website, asking his loyal followers if they thought America was ripe for ‘revolution’. Or perhaps you’ve heard some of the vitriolic treasonous crap spewing forth from the mouth of Fox’s resident white-haired lunatic, He Who Shall Go Unnamed. You can tune in to his show practically any day of the week for an (increasingly) thinly veiled call to arms against the President and his evil liberal cronies.
...

If the country continues down this dark path, a second Civil War might not just be a cool idea for a sci-fi novel anymore. Can you imagine the potential for chaos if some of these ‘protesters’ decide to exercise the Second Amendment and bring their weapons to these rallies? There’s a thin line between peaceful protest and bloodthirsty patriotic fervor, especially if those protesting are used to being on the side of the mighty status quo.

Taking their cue from Barry "I won" Obama, this faux outrage/hysteria can be easily translated: "We won, you lost, STFU!!" So much for open-minded lefties.

President Pantywaist ???

That's the assessment of one foreign journalist after covering the Barack Obama "We Suck" tour.

So after apologizing for the United States at every stop on his tour, what does Cool Barry have to so for it ?? No real combat support in Afghanistan, no cooperation from Russia with Iran, no help from China with North Korea and the France's promise to take one Gitmo detainee.

But it's okay. The Europeans like us better now. Aahhh...maybe not so much:

So The One retired triumphant, having secured a massive contribution of 5,000 extra troops - all of them non-combatant, of course - which must really have put the wind up the Taliban, at the prospect of 5,000 more infidel cooks and bottle-washers swarming into the less hazardous regions of Afghanistan.

Then came the dramatic bit, the authentic West Wing script, with the President wakened in the middle of the night in Prague to be told that Kim Jong-il had just launched a Taepodong-2 missile. America had Aegis destroyers tracking the missile and could have shot it down. But Uncle Sam had a sterner reprisal in store for l'il ole Kim (as Dame Edna might call him): a multi-megaton strike of Obama hot air.

"Rules must be binding," declared Obama, referring to the fact that Kim had just breached UN Resolutions 1695 and 1718. "Violations must be punished." (Sounds ominous.) "Words must mean something." (Why, Barack? They never did before, for you - as a cursory glance at your many speeches will show.)

President Pantywaist is hopping mad and he has a strategy to cut Kim down to size: he is going to slice $1.4bn off America's missile defence programme, presumably on the calculation that Kim would feel it unsporting to hit a sitting duck, so that will spoil his fun.

Watch out, France and Co, there is a new surrender monkey on the block and, over the next four years, he will spectacularly sell out the interests of the West with every kind of liberal-delusionist initiative on nuclear disarmament and sitting down to negotiate with any power freak who wants to buy time to get a good ICBM fix on San Francisco, or wherever. If you thought the world was a tad unsafe with Dubya around, just wait until President Pantywaist gets into his stride.

Of course this tour was never about America. It's about Obama. It's always about Obama. Now that we have been rid of the evil BOOOOSH, Obama can redeem the whole world, not just the US. Everything is already better with him in charge.

Why the Obama bow is important

Actually, the act, in and of itself, is not important. While it is clearly a breach of protocol, on the grand scale it is merely a diplomatic faux pas. But what is significant is how the Obamaniacs can't acknowledge that The One can ever commit an error; let alone an unforced error.

This is similar to other regimes built upon a cult personality wherein the leader is deified. Kim Jong Il in North Korea is clear example. It is simply inconceivable that Obama could make such an obvious mistake. And, even on those rare occasions when the error is too obvious to deny (and you would think in the age of video that this was such an occasion) we are told that there is some other motive at work or there is a reason for the seemingly obvious mistake that we are just not fit to comprehend.

To do otherwise would be the equivalent of a god who bleeds.

Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes???

Obama's team now claims that he did not bow to King Abdullah.

The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.
“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Really ???

Bawney Fwank's Hissy-fit!!!

That kid better be careful or Barney will scratch his eyes out!!

Cop-killer Mumia to stay behind bars

Mumia Abu-Jamal gets to spend the rest of his worthless life behind bars. The US Supreme Court has rejected his request for a new trial. Hopefully the Supremes will do the right thing and reinstate the capital punishment determined by the original jury.

For those who may not be familiar, including all the Hollywood dolts and other useful idiots, Jamal (really named Wesley Cook)executed Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

And spare me any claims of innocence. He's as guilty as OJ.

For more info, see danielfaulkner.com. Or read the trial transcripts for yourself here.

So, rather place a photo of this despicable piece of human garbage, instead take a moment to think about the 25 year old police officer he murdered. And also remember the pain inflicted upon his widow Maureen.




Officer Daniel Faulkner

So what's next for the Norks

Obama draws a line in the sand by telling them that firing a missile will be seen as "provocative'". They fire one anyway.

So how does Cool Barry respond?? Some scolding and more ineffective rhetoric. And for good measure they are running to the UN Security Counsel. Since Kim Jong Il has already thumbed his nose at the resolution prohibiting the launching in the first place it is doubtful that he has any regrets.

So, what's next after the Security Counsel addresses the issue -- again?!? Anybody think that this administration has a plan. Or do they really think Prezbo's cool persona and calm demeanor can smooth over every crisis??

More importantly, what kind of message does this send to Iran??

UPDATE:
Vodkapundit on the lessons learned:

The White House claims that the missile launch was a failure. We have to take the President on his word on that one, and I will. But I also say: So what? Even a failed test teaches you things — like, how not to fail in the future. A shot down missile would have taught the North Koreans only one thing: We mean business.

Instead, President Obama has taught the Dear Leader an entirely different set of lessons.

1. We have the means but not the will.

2. We will restrain our allies but not you.

3. You can rely on Russia and China at the UN to thwart even our most feeble efforts to sanction you.

4. We’re big effing idiots.

Obama's so cool he even invented a new language...

Austrian!!

At a news conference afterward, Obama said his debut on the international stage had convinced him that “political interaction in Europe is not that different from the United States Senate,” where he served before entering the White House.

“There’s a lot of -- I don’t know what the term is in Austrian -- wheeling and dealing, and people are pursuing their interests, and everybody has their own particular issues and their own particular politics,” he said in response to an Austrian reporter’s question.

So smart he's practically retarded.

H/T: Ace of Spades

Obama fatigue already??

Europe is now beginning to note that the boy messiah is a "bore".

His speeches have long under-delivered, usually leaving a faintly empty sensation in this listener even though I welcomed, moderately, his victory last year as offering the possibility of a fresh start and a boost to confidence.

Yet, we are told that he is a great orator and in one way he certainly is. He does have a preternatural calm in the spotlight and a mastery of the cadences we associate with the notable speakers in US history - such as JFK and MLK. But beyond that, am I alone in finding him increasingly to be something of a bore?

His performance at the first press conference in London with Gordon Brown featured moments in which he sparkled - his riff on loving the Queen was a high-point. But most of the serious answers that I listened to were interminable, windy and not very impressive. At points there were pauses so long that it appeared he had simply lost his train of thought.

The oversea press also has quickly picked up on the narcissism that our media have not yet noticed.

But Obama was only warming up. "When I was born," (Everything usually leads back to him, you'll notice)... "the world was divided, and our nations were faced with very different circumstances. Few people would have predicted that someone like me would one day become an American President." (Him again)...

"Few people would have predicted that an American President would one day be permitted to speak to an audience like this in Prague. And few would have imagined that the Czech Republic would become a free nation, a member of NATO, and a leader of a united Europe. Those ideas would have been dismissed as dreams". (Not by Ronald Reagan they wouldn't have been, when most of Obama's Democrat friends thought the then US President's robust approach to the Cold War made him a loony on the loose).

"We are here today because enough people ignored the voices who told them that the world could not change. We are here today because of the courage of those who stood up - and took risks - to say that freedom is a right for all people, no matter what side of a wall they live on, and no matter what they look like... (subtly this time, but right at the end the sentence leads back to him again).

So why haven't the American media picked up on this?? Never mind, we know the answer.

Norks to Obama: Pffftt!!!

Our neophyte President calls for a world without nukes. So, in response the Norks fired their Taepo-dong 2 missile anyway. Seems that they weren't exactly swayed by Teleprompter Jesus' charisma.

Obama had said such a launch would be unacceptable. So now what?? If I were Kim Jong Il I wouldn't be losing much sleep. Seems from the statement put out by Mr. Cool Disposition that he will call on North Korea to abide by UN Security Counsel resolutions. Obviously he misses that irony that his own statement acknowledges that the firing of the missile violates existing UN Security Counsel resolutions.

North Korea’s development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology pose a threat to the northeast Asian region and to international peace and security. The launch today of a Taepo-dong 2 missile was a clear violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly prohibits North Korea from conducting ballistic missile-related activities of any kind. With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations.

We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council. I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions.

So, smart diplomacy requires calling on despots to abide by resolutions that they routinely ignore. It's so clear now that The Obama has explained it.

Maybe we should have done something to prevent the launch in the first place. But what?? If only there were something. Maybe fitting ship with the ability to shoot down missiles? Nah, sounds too "cowboy-ish".

Barack Soprano??

After democrats fan the flames of resentment against Wall St. and CEOs, Obama promises that they need him to shield them from the torches and pitchforks. So now Obama is in the "protection" racket.

You've all seen how this works in mob movies. The thugs enter the neighborhood small business and tell the owner about what a nice store but what dangerous neighborhood this can be. It would be a shame if there were a fire or a break-in or maybe even some labor problems. But they are hear to help. For a nominal fee, they can make sure none of this happens.

Oh, and one other thing, there may be a day where your don asks you for a favor; like fire the CEO...

So the smart thing to do is return the TARP money, right. Nope. Loan sharks don't just want the money, they want the vig. In this case, the vig is that Prezbo still gets to call the shots. And so, the White House will continue to reject repayment of TARP funds.

NYT favors large corporation's union busting tactics

Of course maybe this has to do with the fact that it is the Times that is demanding the union concessions.

The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut the Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions swiftly agree to $20 million in concessions, union leaders said.

Executives from the Times Co. and Globe made the demands Thursday morning in an approximately 90- minute meeting with leaders of the newspaper's 13 unions, union officials said. The possible concessions include pay cuts, the end of pension contributions by the company and the elimination of lifetime job guarantees now enjoyed by some veteran employees, said Daniel Totten, president of the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's biggest union, which represents more than 700 editorial, advertising and business office employees

I don't think the Times would be as sympathetic if GM used such tactics with the UAW.

To celebrate our 100th post...

a musical interlude:




H/t - The Corner

David Paterson - Jackass

Paterson on the Binghamton shooting rampage:

And now here in Binghamton we probably have the worst tragedy and senseless crime in the history of this state. When are we going to be able to curb the kind of violence that is so fraught and so rapid that we can’t even keep track of the incidents?

Hey, dickhead. Remember this:

More fun with POTUS and TOTUS

Barry loses his place


h/t - Townhall

He does have that "United States shares blame" part down pretty well though.

Foreign press not as smitten with Obama's mad oratorical skillz

Maybe because they are not as invested. The Guardian decodes part of the press conference:

Nick Robinson: "A question for you both, if I may. The prime minister has repeatedly blamed the United States of America for causing this crisis. France and Germany both blame Britain and America for causing this crisis. Who is right? And isn't the debate about that at the heart of the debate about what to do now?" Brown immediately swivels to leave Obama in pole position. There is a four-second delay before Obama starts speaking [THANKS FOR NOTHING, GORDY BABY. REMIND ME TO HANG YOU OUT TO DRY ONE DAY.] Barack Obama: "I, I, would say that, er ... pause [I HAVEN'T A CLUE] ... if you look at ... pause [WHO IS THIS NICK ROBINSON JERK?] ... the, the sources of this crisis ... pause [JUST KEEP GOING, BUDDY] ... the United States certainly has some accounting to do with respect to . . . pause [I'M IN WAY TOO DEEP HERE] ... a regulatory system that was inadequate to the massive changes that have taken place in the global financial system ... pause, close eyes [THIS IS GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE A CROCK OF SHIT BACK HOME. HELP]. I think what is also true is that ... pause [I WANT NICK ROBINSON TO DISAPPEAR] ... here in Great Britain ... pause [SHIT, GORDY'S THE HOST, DON'T LAND HIM IN IT] ... here in continental Europe ... pause [DAMN IT, BLAME EVERYONE.] ... around the world. We were seeing the same mismatch between the regulatory regimes that were in place and er ... pause [I'VE LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT AGAIN] ... the highly integrated, er, global capital markets that have emerged ... pause [I'M REALLY WINGING IT NOW]. So at this point, I'm less interested in ... pause [YOU] ... identifying blame than fixing the problem. I think we've taken some very aggressive steps in the United States to do so, not just responding to the immediate crisis, ensuring banks are adequately capitalised, er, dealing with the enormous, er ... pause [WHY DIDN'T I QUIT WHILE I WAS AHEAD?] ... drop-off in demand and contraction that has taken place. More importantly, for the long term, making sure that we've got a set of, er, er, regulations that are up to the task, er, and that includes, er, a number that will be discussed at this summit. I think there's a lot of convergence between all the parties involved about the need, for example, to focus not on the legal form that a particular financial product takes or the institution it emerges from, but rather what's the risk involved, what's the function of this product and how do we regulate that adequately, much more effective coordination, er, between countries so we can, er, anticipate the risks that are involved there. Dealing with the, er, problem of derivatives markets, making sure we have set up systems, er, that can reduce some of the risks there. So, I actually think ... pause [FANTASTIC. I'VE LOST EVERYONE, INCLUDING MYSELF] ... there's enormous consensus that has emerged in terms of what we need to do now and, er ... pause [I'M OUTTA HERE. TIME FOR THE USUAL CLOSING BOLLOCKS] ... I'm a great believer in looking forwards than looking backwards.

Maybe the teleprompter is really the man behind the curtain of The Great and Powerful Obama.

Maybe they didn't get the memo

NATO tells Obama to pound sand on additional troops to A-stan. Seems like their reluctance to commit troops to combat roles isn't necessarily the result of their dislike of George W. Bush. Seems like maybe that was just the excuse de jour to avoid any political risk from casualties. Seems like they just want to continue with being covered under the security umbrella provided by the US of A. In short, seems like they're a bunch of pussies!

Just Craptastic!!!

Today's Wall Street Journal call shenanigans on Obama's claims of no tax hike on those making less than $250,000 a year and points to the tax hikes that are sure to follow.

Every dollar of debt he runs up means that future taxes must be $1 higher in present-value terms. Mr. Obama is going to leave a discounted present-value legacy of $6.5 trillion of additional future taxes, unless he dramatically cuts spending. (With interest the future tax hikes would be much larger later on.) Call it a stealth tax increase or ticking tax time-bomb.

What does $6.5 trillion of additional debt imply for the typical family? If spread evenly over all those paying income taxes (which under Mr. Obama's plan would shrink to a little over 50% of the population), every income-tax paying family would get a tax bill for $163,000. (In ten years, interest would bring the total to well over $200,000, if paid all at once. If paid annually over the succeeding ten years, the tax hike per year would average almost $26,000.) That's in addition to his explicit tax hikes. While the future tax time-bomb is pushed beyond Mr. Obama's budget horizon, and future presidents and Congresses will decide how it will be paid, it is likely to be paid by future income tax hikes as these are general fund deficits.

We can get a rough idea of who is likely to pay them by distributing this $6.5 trillion of future taxes according to the most recent distribution of income-tax burdens. We know the top 1% or 5% of income-taxpayers pay vastly disproportionate shares of taxes, and much larger shares than their shares of income. But it also turns out that Mr. Obama's massive additional debt implies a tax hike, if paid today, of well over $100,000 for people with incomes of $150,000, far below Mr. Obama's tax-hike cut-off of $250,000 (over $130,000 in ten years and over $16,000 a year if paid annually over the following ten years). In other words, a middle-aged two-career couple in New York or California could get a future tax bill as big as their mortgage.

Feelin' all hopeychangey???

Another separated at birth??

Submitted by reader: Lazy Libertarian

TOTUS meets the Queen

From Dan Cleary



H/T: Ace of Spades

Sheriff Joe: quick on the draw; bad with the aim

Riding in to save the day:

Vice President Joe Biden brought a clear message to this tiny Eastern North Carolina town Wednesday: The federal recovery money isn't just for big banks and auto companies.

Biden and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a new wave of $10.4 billion in federal stimulus money for home loans across the country, and billions more for essential services in rural communities such as Pikeville, which is getting money for a new fire station. Biden used the outdated, current station as a backdrop. Pikeville is just north of Goldsboro in Wayne County.

"We're investing in places like this all across the country," Biden said, "to demonstrate the vital role towns like this play in the recovery."

One problem. The money was secured last year, under the Bush administration.

Why you don't want Barry as your secret Santa

After flubbing the gifts to Gordon Brown and family during the Prime Minister's visit to DC, there was no way team Obama was going to botch a gift to the Queen; right? Wrong!! He got her an iPod (even though she already has one).

It is clearly a special gift to celebrate the "special relationship" between the nations. You know, it's not like you could just walk into any mall and get one.

In fairness, there was some though put into the gift as this iPod came with songs already uploaded as well as:

Photos from the Queen's 2007 White House State Visit
Photos from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown, Va., Visit
Photos from the Queen's 2007 Richmond, Va., Visit
Video from the Queen's 1957 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown Visit
Video from the Queen's 2007 Richmond Visit

But to make it extra special it also had:

Photos from President Obama's Inauguration
Audio of then-state senator Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and
Audio of President Obama 2009 Inauguration Address

There has not been so much selfless thought put into a gift since I was nine and wanted to buy my mom a catcher's mitt for her birthday -- she didn't have one. And more importantly, neither did I.

Obama team fails to understand the concept of time zones

The smartest administration (EVAH!! ) schedules his appearance for 5:15 a.m. EDT. This left the 24 hour cable network with plenty of air time for the police-protester clashes.

As the Washington Times notes, even dumb cowboys are more media savvy.

Unlike President Bush's White House communications team, which usually timed press conferences abroad to coincide with the U.S. morning programs, the Obama operation kicked off the president's first day in Britain while most Americans were still asleep. What's more, the president banned most reporters from nearly every event he held on a day busy with bilateral talks with foreign leaders, and even held cameras at bay for his visit to Buckingham Palace to meet the queen.