Readers: If you have a “Betcha didn’t know it but….” item send it in If we use it, we’ll credit you in this column. We search the Net for every interesting item we can find, but we know there are more out there. Don’t keep your item a secret. We all need to see what you find.
Thanks
Coach

July 19

BLOCK PARTY

The season of SB 1070 lawsuits is upon us. Friends and foes of Arizona’s immigration law – set to take effect in less than two weeks – are in full warrior mode. Seven lawsuits challenging the legislation are already in federal court. The Obama administration has filed a preliminary injunction to block the law. Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and David Vitter of Louisiana have crafted an amendment meant to block the White House maneuver. It was deftly attached to a small-business bill set for floor debate next week.
Now Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, the man who actually wrote the legislation in language consistent with federal law, has filed a “motion to intervene,” also intended to block the White House.
“The purpose of SB 1070 is to protect the citizens of Arizona from the devastating and deadly impact of rampant illegal immigration. And it is outrageous that the Obama administration would attack Arizona for simply protecting its own citizens, especially when it has failed so miserably to do its constitutional duty and secure the border. This is a legal battle of epic proportions,” Mr. Pearce says.
“In many ways, this comes down to a fight between those who want to enforce the law and those who do not,” says Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, the conservative legal watchdog that will represent Mr. Pearce.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/15/inside-the-beltway-380569664/

STRONG BREW

“Calls for reconciliation between the NAACP and the grass-roots “tea party” have come from Newt Gingrich and others following a week of controversy between the two sides over charges of racism. But the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is still taking the hard line and says tea partiers have “failed to repudiate elements within the movement who use racist or bigoted language.”
“The riff continues; CAIR is now tracking incidents it says shows that tea partiers are “Islamaphobic,” says communications director Ibrahim Hooper.
“If the ‘tea party’ wishes to be taken seriously by mainstream Americans, it must repudiate all those who express or promote extremist, racist or bigoted views while claiming to be affiliated with the movement,” Mr. Hooper says.”
N.B. Does this guy have some nerve?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/15/inside-the-beltway-380569664/

The following come from http://www.youdontsay.org/Aroundworld.htm a great site you should visit each Monday:

Obama has killed Public confidence

“Public confidence in the U.S. government is at the lowest point in more than 50 years, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Pew said only 22 percent of Americans believe they can trust the government most of the time, while nearly 80 percent said they cannot.”

Nervy Muslims

“Muslim students at the Presbyterian-linked Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, want the words ‘year of our Lord’ stricken from their diplomas, arguing that the phrase is insufficiently multiculturalist and offends them.”

Castro a big fan of Obamacare; it must remind him of his wonderful system

“Cuba’s Communist former ruler Fidel Castro declared passage of President Barack Obama’s socialized health insurance legislation as ‘a miracle,’ indicating that the U.S. was finally catching up to Cuba.”

July 12

And this is just one mid size state

Citing new numbers released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, conservative hopeful Charles Lollar — who aims to unseat House Democratic Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer in the 2010 midterm elections — says his home state of Maryland spends $1.1 billion a year to educate children of illegal immigrants, $167 million on unreimbursed health care for the group, and another $29 million annually to incarcerate the wrongdoers. “When we are willing to pay illegals to remain illegal, what is the point of legal immigrants trying to do things the right way?” Mr. Lollar asks. “Nobody is disputing that legal immigration has been beneficial to the United States. The issue is that the people being discussed are here illegally.”
National Review

A Socialist program by any other name..

A little known, but absolutely true fact is that Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC when “fried” became synonymous with “unhealthy”.
Now National Public Radio has decided to officially change its name to NPR. And we suspect they’re doing it because “public” has become synonymous with “flushing money down the toilet”.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2010/07/07/AR2010070704578.html

The electric car joke

“Remember how the Obama administration’s Car Czar told us that General Government Motors path to future prosperity was hybrid cars? Turns out that pronouncement was about as accurate as the rest of the forecasts from this gang of economic incompetents.
“PlanetGore has the sobering sales stats:
“June’s weak vehicle sales were more bad news for the president’s Magical Summer Stimulus Recovery Tour. But they were also bad news for Greens — as sales of hybrids tanked, slipping under 2 percent of market share and well below their 3-percent-of-market high in the $4-gas summer of 2008.
“Even conservative industry analysts like J. D. Power had predicted three years ago that a 5 percent hybrid market share by 2010 (one top analyst predicted 17 percent of market by this year!), but the latest figures are a further indication that hybrids are a small-vehicle niche and call into question Washington’s decision to pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into hybrid and electric-vehicle production. Hybrid models across the board were in free fall — even the iconic Prius.
“Meanwhile the dreaded SUV continues to rebound — now totaling 49 percent of sales to 51 percent for cars. The result is good news for Detroit’s bottom line (trucks are more profitable than cars) even as auto execs publicly — and perversely — sing the praises of the small cars Washington wants.
“Just a wild guess, but we’d guess that a chart showing hybrid sales would look like a clone of a chart showing Obama’s approval ratings.”
www.http://ihatethemedia.com

July 5

How much did this schmuck get paid for this “idea”?

“As a result of this brilliant scheme, Patagonia is being renamed Paintagonia.
“The Telegraph UK reports…..
“By painting the mountains, Eduardo Gold hopes to replicate the effect of Andean glaciers, which reflect back sunlight and hence heat back through the atmosphere.
“The technique is scientifically plausible and, according to some scientists, may be the only method of lowering global temperatures in a crisis.
“A white surface reflects the sun’s rays back through the atmosphere and into space, in doing so it cools the area around it too,” said the 55-year-old activist. “In effect in creates a micro-climate, so we can say that the cold generates more cold, just as heat generates more heat.”
“It is hoped the project will slow the melting of the glaciers.
“Four workmen have been given the task of painting three peaks, starting with Peru’s Chalon Sombrero peak, which lies 4,756 metres above sea level.
“We know what you’re thinking. “But the paint, the paint. Won’t the paint upset Mother Gaia?” Hell, no. Those crafty Peruvians have thought of everything.
“The workers use an environmentally-friendly mix of lime, industrial egg white and water, which is known to have been used since Peru’s colonial times.
“When they’re done painting the Andes white, maybe they can begin painting the Gulf of Mexico blue. We suspect it will be equally effective.”
http://www.nationalreview.com/planet-gore/230431/painting-andes-white-combat-global-warming/greg-pollowitz via ihatethemedia.com

Help wanted: 1080 virgins, must be able to start immediately (15 jihadists just blew themselves up with their own bomb)

“Another 15 jihadists have requisitioned their allotment of virgins
“The demand for virgins is considerably higher in Afghanistan than it is in, say, Al Gore’s hotel room. And as long as idiot jihadists keep blowing themselves up with their own bombs, that situation should remain unchanged.
“MonstersAndCritics.com has the details on the jihadists’ latest virgin requisition:
“15 Islamists, including foreign fighters, have blown themselves up when the bombs they were building detonated prematurely inside an Afghan Mosque.
“Eight Arab, five Pakistani and two Afghan militants were killed when bombs they were making exploded prematurely inside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
“The insurgents were assembling bombs in Desi Mosque of Yousifkhela district in the south-eastern province of Paktika on Friday, the ministry said.
“Pakika borders the Pakistani town of Wana, where Taliban militants are said to have training bases. Afghan officials have repeatedly blamed Islamabad for not doing enough to clamp down on cross-border infiltration by insurgents.
“Got that? They blew themselves up while making bombs in a mosque. But if our troops were to storm that mosque, we would undoubtedly hear the dreary refrain that it was one of the holiest sites in all of Islam.
“And holy it would appear to be, at least for those who worship wanton death and destruction.”
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1566665.php/15-insurgents-killed-by-their-own-bombs-in-Afghan-mosque? Via ihatethemedia.com

We interrupt this page to bring you some wonderful news you won’t get from broadcast newscasts

Broadcast Evening Newscasts Lose More than 1 Million Viewers in Past Year

“Even as the oil continues to gush from the sea floor, and the networks shuttle their anchors to points along the Gulf coast, NBC Nightly News, ABC World News and the CBS Evening News continue to lose viewers. All three broadcasts were down in Q2 2010 compared to the same period last year.
“In numbers released today[June 29], NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams lost -440,000 viewers (-140k in A25-54 demo) compared to Q2 2009. ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer lost -260,000 viewers (-80k demo) (Charlie Gibson was anchor in 2009). The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric lost the most, based on a percentage, losing -340,000 viewers (30k demo) compared to Q2 2009. ABC and CBS were also down when Q2 2008 is compared to Q2 2009.”
Numbers for Q2 2010:
NBC ABC CBS
• Total: 7,620,000 6,990,000 5,210,000
• A25-54: 2,260,000 1,980,000 1,600,000
Numbers for Q2 2009
NBC ABC CBS
• Total: 8,060,000 7,260,000 5,550,000
• A25-54: 2,400,000 2,060,000 1,630,000
“Q1 2010 was not kind to the evening newscasts either. World News and Evening News saw their lowest averages ever for the first three months of 2010. And it was ’round about this time last year those two broadcasts hit all-time ratings lows. It should be noted the anchors, CBS’ Couric and ABC’s Gibson, were off that week.”

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/evening_news_ratings/broadcast_evening_newscasts_lose_more_than_1_million_viewers_in_past_year_166058.asp

$1.44 million of our money spent to study Viet Namese male prostitutes “Social Milieu”

“The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has so far awarded $1.44 million in federal funds to a project that, among other things, is estimating the size of the population and examining the “social milieu” of male prostitutes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

““In Study 1, formative ethnography will be used to describe the settings, venues, and overall social milieu in which male sex work is being situated,” says the NIH abstract for the grant. “In Study 2, we will conduct a Capture-Recapture Survey to estimate the size of the male sex worker population in each city.”

“The grant project began in July 2008 and is scheduled to run through March 2012. In fiscal year 2008, the NIH awarded the project $534,201 in federal funds. In fiscal year 2009, the NIH awarded the project $465,974; and in fiscal year 2010, the NIH awarded the project $442,340. So far, a total of $1,442,515 in federal funds have been awarded to the project.

“The NIH abstract for the grant says the study of HIV infections in Vietnam has only recently begun to pay attention to “men who have sex with men.”

““This study seeks to address an important public health question: what is the impact of male sex work on the growing HIV epidemics in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?” says the NIH abstract. “HIV rates in Vietnam are rapidly increasing, and yet there are limited data on the role that different populations play in this increase. Existing data are based on the assumption that HIV is found primarily in injection drug users and female sex workers, with only recent attention being paid to men who have sex with men.”

“The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is listed by the NIH abstract as the grant recipient. UPR’s Michael Clatts, the study’s principal investigator, and NIDA did not respond to CNSNews.com’s requests for comment”.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68628

Administrator of $20 Billion Compensation Fund for Gulf Oil Spill Will Not Make Payments to Illegal

“Administrator of $20 Billion Compensation Fund for Gulf Oil Spill Will Not Make Payments to Illegal Aliens
“ The man who will administer the claims process for individuals and businesses seeking compensation from the $20 billion fund established by BP in the wake of its oil rig explosion and ongoing spillage said he will follow federal immigration and tax laws when deciding the eligibility of claimants, meaning he will not make payments to people who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.
“ When CNSNews.com asked if the claims process would include requiring proof of U.S. citizenship, Kenneth Feinberg said it would.
“Of course,” Feinberg said. “Required by law. I can’t violate federal law.”
“Federal law says I’ve got to follow the law governing immigration,” Feinberg said. “I’ve got to follow the law governing the Internal Revenue Service – people who get a check for wage loss – 1099.”
“That’s the law of the land,” Feinberg said.

“Feinberg made his first appearance before Congress on Wednesday at a House Committee on Small Business hearing. Members of the committee questioned Feinberg about how the claims process would work, but Feinberg said he was still in the process of designing the program that he will oversee for distributing BP’s $20 billion compensation fund.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68797

June 28

Democrat congressional candidate calls for Obama’s impeachment

“At first glance, Kesha Rogers, who just won the Democrat nomination for Congress in Texas’ 22nd District, seems to be everything the Democrats could want in a candidate for congress.
“She’s female. She’s black. She’s attractive. She’s well-spoken.
“So far, so good.
“Unfortunately, she also thinks President Obama should be impeached. She’s against ObamaCare. She’s against the dismantling of NASA. Oh, and did we mention that she often campaigns with a sign that compares Obama to Hitler?
“Finally, we have a Democrat we feel good about supporting.”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/kesha-rogers-houston-we-have-a-problem

Another Lefty bites the dust

“Australia got rid of Rudd in 944 days. Unfortunately, it will take us at least 1461 days to boot Obama.
“Tell us if this tale sounds familiar:
“A charismatic leftist gets elected in an overwhelming rout that decimates his country’s conservative party. As soon as he takes office, he begins pounding money down a rat hole with one crazy spending scheme after another, proposes a complete overhaul of the country’s healthcare system, institutes immigration policies that allow unparalleled numbers of illegal aliens to flood the nation, and proposes a hugely unpopular “excess” profits tax. After a euphoric period of initial popularity, his poll numbers drop precipitously.
“Despite what you may have thought, this is actually the sad story of Kevin Rudd, Australia’s leftist Obama-wannabe Prime Minister for the last 944 days.
“Wednesday, in what we can only hope is a preview of coming attractions here in the United States, Rudd was booted out of office by his own party.
“The Sydney Morning Herald has details that the Obama administration should pay attention to:
“Julia Gillard has become Australia’s first woman prime minister after Kevin Rudd stood down from the position during a Labor Party leadership spill.
“Ms Gillard has been elected unopposed to the position and Wayne Swan will become deputy prime minister.
“The spill came after a newspaper report claiming Mr Rudd had instructed his chief of staff Alister Jordan to ring around the caucus to see whether MPs were still behind him.
“944 days. Just about two-and-one-half years. It’s days like this we wish we had a parliamentary system in the United States.”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/australia-boots-kevin-rudd

Kagan an Ex gay?

“Elena Kagan has steadfastly refused to divulge her sexual orientation, despite a CBS News blog item claiming that Miss Kagan is known in Harvard circles as a lesbian. In response, the White House blasted CBS for its ‘lies.’ But if Kagan is a lesbian, why would the White House insist otherwise when President Obama made gay rights part of his platform for change?” asks Greg Quinlan, president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays, a nonprofit group.
“Could it be that Kagan is ex-gay? That would explain the White House insistence on Kagan’s heterosexuality and Kagan’s silence about her past sexual preference. As an ex-gay myself, I sympathize with Kagan and the Obama administration. I have faced taunts, threats, and phone calls demanding I be fired. There is no hate like that against the ex-gay community. And President Obama knows it,” Mr. Quinlan says. “But aren’t ex-gays part of diversity? Why can’t we have the same tolerance that gays enjoy? So Ms. Kagan, don’t be afraid to come out of the closet. Ex-gays like me, and maybe you, should be able to live openly, just like when we were homosexuals.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/23/inside-the-beltway-288039919/

Only conservative leaning laws are “controversial” to the media

“The networks love to report on the drama of “controversial” laws. Trouble is, the laws deemed “controversial” are often conservative laws, says the Culture and Media Institute, which analyzed 110 news transcripts from ABC, CBS and NBC from the past five years. The researchers found that laws reflecting conservative ideology were called “controversial” 30 times as often as those representing the liberal side.
“The Arizona immigration law, however, was pigeonholed the most, deemed controversial 56 percent of the time in total broadcast coverage.
“The recent health care reform law, which 55 percent of likely voters would like to see repealed, wasn’t labeled ‘controversial’ once,” says researcher Alana Goodman. “Neither was the auto bailout package, which 53 percent of Americans believe was a bad idea.”
“The only two “liberal laws” described as controversial were Oregon’s assisted suicide policy and a California law requiring serial numbers on bullets, in single reports, both on ABC News.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/24/inside-the-beltway-112853992/?page=2

His former pimp wants to be on Client Number Nine’s new show

“Inquiring minds want to know. Does Kristin Davis – the “Mayflower Madam” who once supplied former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer with call girls – approve of his new gig as CNN talk-show host? Ms. Davis has entered politics herself, and is now running for governor of the Empire State as a libertarian candidate.
“I am disgusted that CNN has given Eliot Spitzer a spot hosting a show. I feel very very strongly that this man should not be put in the position to influence the lives of others. He should not be in any position of power,” she tells Inside the Beltway.
“I, personally, have no desire to have a cable talk show. Although, I would love, love to sit across a table as a guest on Spitzer’s show. Its about time someone asked the real questions,” she adds.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/24/inside-the-beltway-112853992/

June 21

Gun control is fading

The public’s taste for stricter gun-control laws is fading. In 1998, about seven out of 10 Americans – 69 percent – favored more stringent control. The number now stands at 45 percent, according to a new Harris Poll of 2,500 adults, conducted in mid-May and released Wednesday. There’s a partisan divide, of course. Currently, 22 percent of Republicans favor stricter laws, compared with 70 percent of Democrats.
“Large majorities” of the public overall have little problem with gun ownership: 80 percent say Americans should be able to own rifles or shotguns, 74 percent approved of handgun ownership. Half approve “open carry” weapons, 46 percent gave the nod to concealed weapons while “significant minorities” approved ownership of an unlimited number of guns (38 percent) and semi-automatic weapons (30 percent). Ninety-two percent, however, do not approve of gun sales to anyone on the FBI’s terrorist watch list.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/16/inside-the-beltway-760027597/

Funding the death of babies

A spate of Republican lawmakers and pro-life advocates are not happy with the Government Accountability Office’s first ever report on federal funding for “abortion advocates,” released Wednesday. The analysis had been requested by Rep. Pete Olson of Texas, with support from 31 other Republicans.
The new report revealed that six key organizations, including Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Population Council of the United States, received $967 million between 2002 and 2009. While the groups can’t use federal funds to provide abortions at taxpayer expense, they can cover the procedure through grants or donations.
“A majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for groups that promote or perform abortions. With the national debt over $13 trillion, we must apply strict scrutiny to every federal dollar allocated,” Mr. Olson says.
“When taxpayer money goes to abortion groups for any reason, it supports the work of the abortion industry,” says Family Research Council senior fellow Ken Blackwell.
“Members of Congress defy their constituents by voting to channel tax dollars to abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood. Women, the unborn and the American people deserve better than this,” says Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser.
All of them are keenly interested, meanwhile, in the passage of “Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act”, introduced in 2009 by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, which would amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Service from providing federal family planning assistance to groups unless they certify they are not associated with abortion services.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/16/inside-the-beltway-760027597/

What we think about the Gulf oil spill

• 83 percent of Americans say the U.S. economy “will be hurt” by the Gulf oil spill.
• 79 percent say gas prices will increase for Americans because of the spill.
• 79 percent say food prices for Americans will increase.
• 59 percent say Gulf wildlife will “never” recover from the spill.
• 20 percent say wildlife recovery will take 10 or more years.
• 49 percent say Gulf beaches will “never” recover from the spill.
• 26 percent say beach recovery will take 10 or more years.
Source: A Gallup poll of 1,014 adults conducted June 11 to 13.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/16/inside-the-beltway-760027597/

If you don’t like us, stay home

Amor, si si? Well, actually, no, no. The Arizona immigration law has taken a big bite out of Mexican affection for Americans, says the massive new Pew Global Attitudes poll – which plumbed the attitudes of more than 24,000 people in 22 countries.
“The only nation in which the image of the American people declined was in neighboring Mexico. Overall, 49 percent of Mexicans voice a positive opinion of Americans, down from 57 percent last year. Mexican public opinion was very different before and after the passage of the Arizona immigration law. Prior to the law’s enactment, 55 percent held a positive view of Americans, but this plummeted to 39 percent afterwards,” according to the Pew people
Three-fourths of the Mexican respondents had negative reviews of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, while 54 percent did not approve of President Obama’s stance on immigration issues. We’ve got big fans in surprising places, though. The largest increase in favorability toward Americans took place in China, where positive views of Americans jumped from 42 percent in 2009 to 61 percent this year. Sizable increases were also recorded in Poland (up 8 percentage points), Russia (up 7 points) and Spain (up 7 points), the poll says.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/17/inside-the-beltway-94884465/

DENY DENY DENY

Politicians caught with their moral lives in disarray appear to be changing tactics.
“We’re entering an unlikely phase of sex-scandal politics: the deny-it stage. This follows the caught-in-the-headlights phase – the Eliot Spitzer-John Edwards-Mark Sanford phase,” says Newser.com founder Michael Wolff.
The newfound audacity could have begun, he says, after first lady Michelle Obama literally laughed off rumors that President Obama had an affair with a campaign worker in 2004. South Carolina Republican gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley flatly dismissed press reports of her romantic liaisons. And of course, celebrity environmentalist Laurie David strongly denied a tabloid report that she dallied with Al Gore.
“Not long ago, the scandal playbook would have counseled that any acknowledgment at all of such a rumor would invite the kind of scrutiny which invariably diminishes you,” Mr. Wolff reasons.
“Political life, which has been separate from real life – full of artifice, spin and flagrant fakery and inauthenticity – has been, rather miraculously, reduced to the real and transparent. That’s the joke: Politicians are ordinary fools,” he says. “Curiously, this leveling or reduction may deal a big blow to scandal. If we believe all politicians are having affairs, there’s no story.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/17/inside-the-beltway-94884465/

June 14

Surgery not required to change gender on passports

“ Transgender travelers no longer will need surgery in order to change their stated genders on U.S. passports, the State Department said Wednesday.
“Beginning Thursday, a transgender person applying for a U.S. passport will just need to show a physician’s certification that the applicant has “undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition” to declare a new gender on a passport, the department said.
“Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said appropriate treatment could mean surgery for some patients and non-surgical care for others.
“The State Department said there are guidelines detailing what the certification must include, but no other medical records are required. The government also said it’s possible to obtain a temporary passport if a physician’s statement shows that an applicant is in the process of gender transition.
“Under previous rules, the State Department would only change the sex on passports if travelers had completed sexual reassignment surgeries, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.
“But Keisling said that policy put some transgender people in jeopardy when they traveled through countries where changing genders is dangerous.
“The State Department says the new policy is based on standards and recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.”

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2010/06/surgery-not-required-to-change-gender-on-passports.php

Hispanics flee Arizona ahead of immigration law

“Arizona’s tough new immigration enforcement law is fueling an exodus of Hispanics from the state seven weeks before it goes into effect, according to officials and residents in the state.
“Though no one has precise figures, reports from school officials, businesses and individuals indicate worried Hispanics — both legal and illegal — are leaving the state in anticipation of the law, which will go into effect July 29.
“Schools in Hispanic areas report unusual drops in enrollment. The Balsz Elementary School District is 75% Hispanic, and within a month of the law’s passage, the parents of 70 students pulled them out of school, said District Superintendent Jeffrey Smith. The district lost seven students over the same one-month period last year, and parents tell Smith the Arizona law is the reason for leaving….”

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-08-immigration_N.htm

POLL DU JOUR

• 85 percent of Americans believe that maintaining freedom of the press is more important than “supporting the newspaper industry.”
• 71 percent oppose a “government bailout” of the newspaper industry.
• 69 percent say it’s likely journalists would not criticize officials and policies if their newspaper received government funding.
• 64 percent say it’s likely the government would place limits on coverage if it provided funding to newspapers.
• 60 percent oppose government involvement to “save” newspapers and other traditional media in some form.
• Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults conducted June 6 and 7.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/10/inside-the-beltway-536873026/?page=2

A RARE MOMENT

“The public expresses far more trust in the news media for information about the Gulf oil leak than it does in either the federal government or BP,” says Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, who notes that a survey of 1,002 adults conducted June 3 to 6 revealed that 67 percent of Americans trust news organizations, compared with 51 percent who trust the federal government and 39 percent who believe BP.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/9/inside-the-beltway-793063361/?page=3

POLL DU JOUR

• 83 percent of U.S. voters disapprove of BP’s response to the Gulf oil spill.
• 76 percent fault the federal government’s response to the spill.
• 66 percent say the spill will cause long-term environmental and economic damage.
• 85 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans agree.
• 52 percent overall say offshore drilling is safe, reliable and cost-efficient.
• 20 percent of Democrats and 88 percent of Republicans agree.
Source: A Zogby International poll of 2,062 likely voters conducted June 4 to 7.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/9/inside-the-beltway-793063361/?page=3

June 7

The following three items come from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/2/inside-the-beltway-894515959/

OH, THE HUMANITY

Let the hand-wringing begin. Though Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have announced a separation rather than a divorce after four decades of marriage, much of the press already has ramped up the tragedy. Hey, maybe they’ll get back together. Or, maybe not. Still, many journalists already are in mourning over the loss of the “storybook couple,” with a few daring ancillary stories drawing attention to Mr. Gore’s impending single status and the couple’s division of property.
Which brings us to business writer and Anxiety Institute founder Alan Caruba, who believes the “separation” is a ruse to protect those assets should there be a federal investigation of certain environmentally minded activities. Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, already has called for the Justice Department to have a look-see.
“Al Gores big, big problem these days is something dubbed ‘Climategate,’ the revelation that the science of global warming is entirely fabricated and utterly false,” Mr. Caruba says, noting that Mr. Gore established the $1 billion Generation Investment Management LLP to invest in assorted green technologies, assisted by Goldman Sachs veteran David Blood.
“There was, Mr. Gore told everyone, a climate crisis, and in the process, he grew rich, hailed [as] the first ‘carbon billionaire’ for his various investments,” Mr. Caruba continues. “As bad as the bursting of the housing bubble has been, the next bubble will be a very green one. And, at the heart of it will be the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore, and his partner in crime, the U.N. climate change program.
“If Al Gore and Tipper are legally separated, it will likely provide a measure of protection for the millions he has. This, I suggest, is probably the real reason for the separation. It is as coldly calculated as his global-warming lies. Even their forty-year marriage must be sacrificed,” Mr. Caruba says.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Thursday: The first scheduled press conference by the new supergroup Citizens Against Religious Bigotry, to condemn Comedy Central’s “JC,” a cartoon show about Jesus Christ living the urbane life in Manhattan.
Manned by: Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell, Parents Television Council President Tim Winter , Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Catholic League President Bill Donohue, American Alliance of Jews and Christians President Rabbi Daniel Lapin and talk-radio host Michael Medved.

POLL DU JOUR

46 percent of U.S. voters say the “tea party” is good for the country, 31 percent say it is bad.
41 percent have a favorable view of the tea-party movement, 35 percent have an unfavorable view, 23 percent are not sure.
70 percent of Republicans look on the tea party favorably.
66 percent of Democrats look on it unfavorably.
27 percent of voters say they are likely to attend a tea-party rally.
Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted May 28-29.

OPENING THE ‘GATE

Forget that convenient phrase, “BP is Obama’s Katrina.” The term “Oilgate” has bubbled to the surface now that partisan ramifications of the Gulf oil spill could supercede ecological concerns. Indeed, President Obama must now confront a murky, malodorous, sticky political landscape as well as a murky, malodorous, sticky oil slick. “Oilgate” – used in the British press to describe a 2004 political scandal in South Africa – has much potential for American journalists. It has appeared in the Radio Patriot, a blog by Florida talk-radio host Andrea Shea King. The Hill also flirted with the term last week. Oddly enough, it was showcased Monday by the Hindu – India’s national newspaper – which asked: “Will Oilgate stain the Obama presidency?”
But Mr. Obama has a “gate” or two already in progress. So far, Fox News, Redstate.com, Pajamas Media founder Roger L. Simon, Op-Ed writers Pat Buchanan and Jeffrey T. Kuhner, plus Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, are among the many who used “Obama’s Watergate” to frame Rep. Joe Sestak’s claims that he was offered a job in the Obama administration if he would drop out of the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.
But wait. Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, called White House ties with ACORN “bigger than the Watergate scandal” And that was five months ago.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/31/inside-the-beltway-928857640/

ARIZONA LITMUS

Many states are keenly interested in the trajectory of Arizona’s new immigration law, which could become a litmus test for politicians whose turf is troubled by immigration issues and racial divides. Ninety percent of California voters, for example, say they’re closely following Arizona’s legislation, which has sparked vigorous “anti-S.B. 1070″ rallies and prompted Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to ask the White House to send unmanned drones for border patrol. A majority of Californians side with her get-tough tactics: 50 percent favor the law, and 43 percent oppose it, says a University of Southern California poll of 1,506 registered voters conducted May 19 through 26 and released Monday.
There’s a partisan divide: 60 percent of Democrats oppose the law, while 77 percent of Republicans favor it. Meanwhile, 71 percent of Hispanic voters and 57 percent of Asian voters are in opposition. Black voters are evenly divided: 44 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed. Among whites, six in 10 favor the law and 35 percent are opposed.
“Opponents of the law seem much more emotionally engaged than supporters: our poll shows that a candidate’s position on this issue is more likely to motivate an opponent of the new law to change their vote than a supporter,” says Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist and now a political communications professor on the campus.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/31/inside-the-beltway-928857640/

May 31

Is Obama Wrong to Skip Arlington on Memorial Day?

“Anger over President Obama’s decision to skip tradition and not pay his Memorial Day respects at Arlington National Cemetery or the Tomb of the Unknown is not going away now that the White House has announced he will visit the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery for veterans an hour from Chicago. [See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.]
“Conservative bloggers like Rory Cooper of the Heritage Foundation writes that the event was added because it’s close to where the Obama family will be vacationing, back home in Chicago. “It is true that the heroes laid to rest in this cemetery are equally deserving of presidential attention. However, is President Obama attending services here because of the honor of this particular location, or the geographical proximity to his other plans? The memorial at Arlington serves as a national celebration, which is why past presidents have made special efforts to attend, when possible.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/27/is-obama-wrong-to-skip-arlington-on-memorial-day.html

“Congressman will be just fine”

“The first woman to be elected to Congress from Tennessee’s 7th District, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, says she prefers “congressman” to the more PC “congresswoman” or “congress member.” At a recent benefit for women in politics, she recalled her first run for Congress in the late 1990s, when she told a constituent that if she could handle being both a mother and scout leader, she could handle Congress. The man asked, “Little lady, what should we call you then?” “Sir,” she replied, “Congressman will be just fine.” Organizers at the benefit were careful to note her preference in her introduction.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/26/rep-marsha-blackburn-says-no-to-congresswoman-.html

Kerry to Angry Voters: D.C. Isn’t to Blame

“Times are tough, especially among those still looking for good jobs, but Sen. John Kerry doesn’t think Washington’s to blame. In fact the former Democratic presidential candidate, concerned with the anger voters are aiming at Washington, says that his party and President Obama are doing a ship-shape job. [See which industries contribute to Kerry's campaign.]
“We’ve come back,” he says of the nation, Wall Street, and the economy. “This is an amazing resurgence.”
Kerry talked about the voter anger during a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor called to give him time to pitch his expansive climate and energy bill. He was asked if he’s ever seen such anger with Washington, in part inspired by the Tea Party movement named after the Boston Tea Party in his home state.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/26/john-kerry-says-voter-anger-at-washington-is-hypocritical.html

Birth tourists

“Korean women have come here as ‘birth tourists’ for years, and now Turks are doing it. An industry has sprung up to cater to the more than 12,000 Turkish birth tourists since 2003. ‘We found a company on the Internet and decided to go to Austin,’ says Selin Burcuoglu, who had a daughter last year. ‘It was incredibly professional. They organized everything for me.’ As for her daughter, ‘American citizenship has so many advantages.’ [. . .] The United States is one of the few countries in the world that still grant citizenship to anyone born on its soil. Britain and Australia stopped the practice in the 1980s, and India did so in 2004.”

“Birth Tourism,” American Renaissance, May 2010, page 16 via youdontsay.org

RAISING ARIZONA

“Public support for beefing up security along the U.S. border with Mexico and deporting all illegal immigrants has grown significantly,” says a new CNN poll, which reveals that 88 percent of Americans favor putting more Border Patrol and federal law enforcement agents on the U.S. border with Mexico and 82 percent say they would not participate in the much ballyhooed public boycott of Arizona because of the state’s new immigration law. (See the complete figures in Poll du Jour, at this column’s end.)
“Support for more crackdowns on employers who hire illegal immigrants is high and also on the rise, from 58 percent four years ago to 71 percent now,” says CNN polling director Keating Holland. “Seven in ten would support a federal ID card that everyone would have to show to an employer.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/26/inside-the-beltway-89678634/

May 24

ARIZONA METTLE

“Three-fourths of them support their new immigration law and remain loyal to their state, come hell or high water. Arizonans have dug in their boot heels and circled the wagons, even as caterwaul over their legislation continues at the White House, in Congress and on the streets May 29, when Hispanic activists will stage the “National Day of Solidarity” to protest the law, in the Grand Canyon State and elsewhere.
“Arizona voters now support the state’s new immigration law more than ever and are still more inclined to think the law will be good for the state’s economy rather than bad,” says a Rasmussen Reports survey revealing that 71 percent of the voters favor the immigration law – up from 64 percent in April. More than half – 55 percent – are not concerned by President Obama’s repeated warnings that the law could lead to racial profiling.
“Some Arizonans are not taking kindly to calls for boycotts of their state, either. About half – 47 percent – say the new immigration law will benefit their economy. Forty percent say Arizona itself should boycott any city, state or organization that boycotts the state. Forty-six percent say they will avoid traveling to any city or state fomenting a boycott. And a stubborn 89 percent simply plan on “staying put” as the situation unfolds.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/21/inside-the-beltway-86513919/

Why we can’t trust Democrats

• 5 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Democrats favor “bank bailouts.”
• 25 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats say the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was necessary.
• 15 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats say TARP helped stabilize the economy.
• 85 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats say the government “should never buy” private bank equity.
• 26 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Democrats say TARP will be a success “if money is recouped.”
Source: A Zogby Interactive poll of 2,063 likely voters conducted May 14 to 17

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/21/inside-the-beltway-86513919/

POLL DU JOUR

• 72 percent of Americans say the Mexican Embassy’s plans to file friend-of-court briefs in support of lawsuits challenging Arizona immigration law is not appropriate.
• 67 percent say the Mexican government does not want to stop its citizens from illegally entering the U.S.
• 58 percent say the Mexican government should compensate U.S. taxpayers to offset the costs of illegal immigration.
• 27 percent say Mexico is an ally of the U.S., 14 percent say it is an “enemy” and 53 percent say “somewhere in between.”
Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults conducted May 17 and 18

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/20/inside-the-beltway-25264357/?page=2

CNN’s Campbell Brown out — AP laugher reports on CNN’s failure a result of being so unbiased

“This one is so ridiculous you just have to say “huhh?” Campbell Brown has been a dismal failure on CNN and trails not only prime time leader Bill O’Reilly, but also Keith Olbermann and Nancy Grace. Olbermann averages less than a third of the viewers that O’Reilly brings in, but Brown is down around a sixth…. To spin Brown’s resignation the AP explained that CNN has low ratings because it is “so unbiased.” .

http://www.liberalwhoppers.com/

No wonder we’re in trouble

“…It’s a majority. 51 percent of voters believe the United States is “the last best hope of mankind.” Twenty-six percent disagree, and 24 percent are not sure. This is according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,000 conducted Wednesday and Thursday [May 12, 13] .”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/17/inside-the-beltway-25884695/

May 17

Small business lobby joins challenge to health law

“The nation’s most influential small business lobby is joining a court challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, arguing that Americans cannot be required under the Constitution to obtain insurance coverage.
“The National Federation of Independent Business will announce Friday it is joining a federal lawsuit filed in Florida by 20 state attorneys general and governors, NFIB President Dan Danner said in an interview. All but one of the state officials are Republicans, and the case coincides with an election year.
“NFIB’s involvement ensures that constitutional arguments for overturning the health care law — even if they fail to sway federal judges — will be extensively aired in the fall campaigns. With 350,000 members, the group boasts a far-reaching network of local activists.
“Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a leader of the legal challenge and a GOP candidate for governor, said he has “received a lot of strong response and reaction in support when I have spoken of this subject. I think voters as a whole are concerned.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100514/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_challenge;_ylt=AkMU4adBzrGJdji68xVvgFGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNvbGZlb2tsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNTE0L3VzX2hlYWx0aF9jYXJlX2NoYWxsZW5nZQRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9

And you thought America’s labor unions were pro American

“In the hotly contested “Stupidest PoliticallyCorrect Phrase Imaginable”, new SEIU President Mary Kay Henry (who, judging from the video is no relation to the cosmetic queen Mary Kay) has added her little band aid to the bruised egos of the illegal alien population by rebranding them “New Immigrants.” Nothing illegal about that.
“So which is the more ridiculous euphemism – “New Immigrant” used to describe illegal aliens or “Anti-choice” used to describe pro-life believers?”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/seiu-president-mary-kay-henry-says-illegal-aliens-are-new-immigrants

What do People fear most?

The item orginially in this slot has been challenged by a reader. Upon further research we have decided to remove it and extend our apologies to anyone who was offended by it.
We rarely make mistakes, but when we do and we discover them we take corrective action.
Thank you
Coach

LORE OF GORE

“Not a happy graduation weekend for Al Gore, perhaps. He’s been labeled “the world’s first carbon billionaire” by the Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow. The nonprofit will stage several rallies in Knoxville, Tenn., to protest an honorary degree Mr. Gore will receive at the University of Tennessee’s commencement ceremonies.
“Al Gore is setting a new standard for undeserved honors. He got a Nobel prize although he didn’t bring peace, now he’s getting an honorary degree for scaring Americans with flawed science,” said spokesman Dillon MacDonald. “He flies in private jets, just bought another mansion, yet tells working people their houses are too large, their showers too warm, their cars too fast and our economy too free. We should give him a [doctorate] in hypocrisy.”
Editor’s note: Gore got an Oscar for a movie showing the same lies that got him a Nobel Peace Prize.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/14/inside-the-beltway-40972033/?page=2

BREWER’S REVENGE

“Despite shrill news reports to the contrary, most Americans are not at odds with Arizona’s immigration law. The public “broadly supports” the state’s new legislation to manage illegal immigration, says a new survey from the Pew Research Center. There are some partisan divides, of course. Fully 73 percent of the respondents say they approve of requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status should police ask for them. Among Republicans, the number was 86 percent; among Democrats, 65 percent.
“Two-thirds overall also approve of allowing police to detain those who can’t verify their legal status; 81 percent of Republicans agree, compared with 55 percent of Democrats. Sixty-two percent approve of allowing police to question people they think are in the country illegally; the number was 79 percent among Republicans and 50 percent among Democrats.
“Overall, six out of 10 Americans ultimately support “SB1070,” signed into law by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23. And the party split? Eighty-two percent of Republicans agree, compared with 46 percent of Democrats. President Obama got only tepid reviews, meanwhile, for his immigration policy. Overall, just 25 percent approved of it (8 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats). The poll of 994 adults was conducted May 6-9.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/13/inside-the-beltway-55893292/

May 10

Boehner: GOP House Majority Would Repeal Obama’s Healthcare Bill

“House Minority Leader John Boehner last night vowed to pass a bill repealing President Obama’s healthcare reform plan if the Republicans win control of the House in the fall elections. “If we win the majority we will have a bill on the floor to repeal the bill and replace it with common sense reforms,” he told Whispers. “I don’t know what happens in the Senate or the White House but we’re going to do everything we can that this bill never, ever goes into effect,” he says.
“Of particular concern is the bill’s language allowing for some public funding of abortion practices and advice. “We haven’t had publicly funded abortion for 30 years. This is a very big change, it’s unfortunate,” he said.
“Boehner took aim at the abortion provision because he was the recipient last night of the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award presented annually by Americans United for Life. The group’s president, Charmaine Yoest, heaped praise on Boehner who has rarely tried to make abortion a political cornerstone of his career or profile. “John Boehner has joined to take a stand for life,” she said, noting that he prefers to work in the less “glamorous” area of legislation than grab headlines. For his part, Boehner said that he doesn’t look at the issue politically.
“It’s never been a political issue for me. It’s been a moral issue.” During the ceremony and afterward in an interview, he choked back tears as he recalled his friendship with the late Rep. Hyde and how his mother gave birth to 11 kids “one at a time.” He added: “She didn’t have to do that,” but still Boehner said that he “was glad I was second.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/06/boehner-gop-house-majority-would-repeal-obamas-healthcare-bill.html

Gulf Oil Spill: Obama Can’t Blame it on Bush

“With President Obama now facing his own Hurricane Katrina moment in the Gulf of Mexico, Republicans are relieved that for once the White House can’t blame the disaster on the usual suspect: Former President Bush.
“For now, the Republicans are united in backing the oil cleanup in the Gulf, but they are also readying an assault on the administration’s handling of the crisis which some compare to former Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. “This is a disaster of epic proportions that the administration is not going to be able to blame George Bush for,” said one GOP official…”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/05/republicans-prepare-to-attack-obama-for-oil-spill-response.html

New Term-Limits Twist

There’s a new campaign to put some teeth into term-limit promises politicians make—and then break. The idea: a bonded term limit. It would require candidates to set aside cash or personal property before they enter office that would pass to charity if the vow is broken. “The credibility of a politician’s promise is directly proportional to the loss he might suffer by breaking it,” says Bob Neff of the new Alliance for Bonded Term Limits. “Good intentions can be abandoned when there is nothing to lose by doing so.” Neff isn’t only chasing term limits. To get Congress on the right track, he wants those up for re-election tossed out and replaced with new members not drunk on seniority or the “lush trappings” of Capitol Hill. ABTL Director Bob Hansen adds: “Vote every single one of them out.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/05/04/a-new-push-for-term-limits.html

POLL DU JOUR

• 92 percent of Americans say “there is a God.”
•83 percent agree that “this God answers prayers.”
• 80 percent of Americans say prayer is effective “no matter what a person believes in.”
• 62 percent say the National Day of Prayer “should publicize and promote Christian prayer.”
• 61 percent say prayer can be “effective” no matter how often one prays.
• 57 percent favor a National Day of Prayer, 5 percent oppose it.
• 38 percent say “it doesn’t matter either way.”
Source: A USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,049 adults conducted May 1 and 2.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/06/inside-the-beltway-67947151/?page=3

WEEKEND READING

Tough job, but somebody has to do it: The American Conservative Union has singledout “defenders of liberty and the true liberals in Congress” – rating 10 senators and 56 representatives among those who consistently stand up for conservative values.
The list is “widely regarded as the ‘gold standard,’ the definitive conservative assessment of the federal legislative branch,” says the group’s chairman, David Keene.
See the stats here: www.conservative.org/ congress-ratings. Names are listed in sections called Standouts.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/07/inside-the-beltway-36598509/?page=2

May 3

GOP not worried

“In the face of stories and Democratic charges that they are scared of looking pro-Wall Street in their refusal to OK financial services reform, Republicans say they feel confident that the public is starting to get behind their effort to modify the legislation to help small businesses. Top Senate GOP leadership aides showed Whispers polling and anecdotal information that the public isn’t fully onboard the Democratic reform freight train.
“One official noted that Gallup has the Republicans even with Democrats on who can best handle the economy. Both are at 44 percent, a 5 percent drop for Democrats. “And meanwhile, back at the farm, Democrats are talking regulation reform and thinking they’re making big gains,” says one of the Republican leadership aides. “But we think they vastly overestimate the public’s focus on this issue and they’ve squandered so much credibility ramming healthcare through that they can’t just say, ‘This bill is good, the Republicans are bad,’ and have people reflexively believe it like they did a few years back.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/27/gop-not-worried-about-financial-reform-backlash.html

Janine Turner Is an Actress Turned Constitution Activist

“Northern Exposure and Friday Night Lights actress Janine Turner has played Martha Washington and Alexander Hamilton’s mom. But now she’s fulfilling her lifetime role: Queen of the Constitution. “I’ve always had this fascination with the revolution,” says the quirky actress who started Constituting America, which aims to get kids interested in the Constitution. “We live it every day, we just don’t know it,” she says. And Turner has proof that kids care. She and her daughter studied the Federalist Papers over spring break. Says young Juliette: “It’s cool.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/27/janine-turner-is-an-actress-turned-constitution-activist.html

Give a Cluck! Stick Up For Chickens!

The White House “nerd prom” is not the only spectacle in town. United Poultry Concerns will demonstrate in front of the White House from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday to honor International Respect for Chickens Day and publicize its new motto, “Give a Cluck! Stick Up For Chickens!” which will be displayed, incidentally, on 100 area bus posters. Signs and banners provided, organizers advise.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/30/razing-arizona/?page=2

READY TO RUMBLE

Local tea partiers hail him as the “Maryland miracle.” His motto is “A new day for Maryland,” and he’s taking on House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer. Conservative Republican Charles Lollar formally files his candidacy at high noon in Annapolis on Thursday; the U.S. Marine Reserve major, Iraq war veteran and father of four has garnered support from former Gov. John Sununu of New Hampshire and fellow Marylander Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., among others.
“Some people cast this race as David and Goliath. But it’s not a bad idea to remember who won that match,” notes a source familiar with things.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/29/inside-the-beltway-47339090/

POLL DU JOUR

• 79 percent of U.S. voters say illegal immigrants are not entitled to “the same rights and basic freedoms” as U.S. citizens.
• 72 percent say “major immigration reform” is needed.
• 71 percent support “guest-worker” programs for those here illegally.
• 66 percent say their congressional representatives should support “more restrictive” immigration regulations.
• 60 percent say U.S. law should protect “basic human rights” of illegal immigrants.
• 64 percent of conservatives and 60 percent of Republicans disagree.
• 49 percent say illegal immigrants are “a burden”; 33 percent were undecided;16 percent say immigrants are a benefit.
Source: A Zogby Interactive poll of 2,108 likely voters conducted April 16 to 19.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/29/inside-the-beltway-47339090/?page=3

April 27

Hoyer feels the heat

“Nationally-recognized election prognosticator Charlie Cook isn’t the only one who sees the majority for House Democrats slipping away. Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer agreed, but said that he and others will mount a strong campaign to try and convince the public that better times are right around the corner. In his recent analysis, Cook suggested a 30-40 seat lost in November for House Democrats, adding it could be worse if the current anti-incumbent and anti-Democrat trend continues. Republicans need to pick up 41 seats to take back the majority. Asked about it at a media breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor today, Hoyer says, “It’s an accurate view of what the polls reflect right now. Yes. I have great respect for Charlie Cook.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/22/hoyer-sees-election-trouble-for-house-democrats.html

Pollster sees Palin getting GOP nod

“Sarah Palin’s roller-coaster ride from GOP darling to dunce is speeding up the track again. Not only has the respected National Journal made her their cover girl with a headline of “No Dummy,” but now even Democrats are starting to worry about her influence. “Don’t count her out yet,” says Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. Why? While many GOP-ers think Palin could win the Iowa GOP presidential caucus in 2012, some think her luck would end there because conservatives don’t do as well in the following primaries. But Lake says Palin could also do well in more liberal New Hampshire, giving her the Big Mo to win the nomination. Her reasoning: New Hampshire Republicans like to vote for women. “It’s one of the most pro-female Republican primaries,” says Lake.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/21/how-sarah-palin-will-win-the-gop-presidential-nod–.html

Republicans doubt Reid’s comeback plan

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s effort to portray polls showing him losing reelection as flawed is receiving the expected brush off, and laughter, from Republicans closely watching the race in Nevada.

“Reid’s associates last week suggested that the polling done on his race has been inaccurate and flawed because it hasn’t factored in the long list of opponents he expects to face on the fall ballot and the availability of “None” on the ballot. Reid’s team believes that with many voters angry at Washington, “None” will score high as will third party candidates, leaving him enough support to beat the leading Republican, party boss Sue Lowden.

But Republican sources are heckling that claim and providing polling data showing that Reid still loses to Lowden, 47 percent to 37 percent, when the full ballot of eight candidates and the “None” option are offered poll recipients. They have been shopping around that Mason-Dixon poll, published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “There have been 30 different polls going back to late 2008 and every single one of them has Reid losing,” said a Republican official closely watching the Reid race.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/20/gop-dismisses-harry-reids-comeback-plan.html

Congress takes good care of itself

“Congressional pay has grown 15 times faster than Social Security checks, says the Senior Citizens League, noting, “Seniors who retired in 1990 with the average Social Security benefit have seen their annual payments increase by just $4,967 over the past 20 years. During the same time period, members of Congress have awarded themselves pay raises totaling $77,400 per year – a whopping 1,458 percent more than seniors.”

“This is a perfect example of the two types of rules we’ve gotten too used to seeing – those that politicians make for themselves, and those they make for the rest of us,” says Daniel O’Connell, chairman of the nonpartisan group.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/22/inside-the-beltway-91303173/?page=3

75% of Americans don’t want a liberal judge appointed to USSC

19 percent of Americans say President Obama should nominate a “very conservative” candidate for Supreme Court justice.

• 19 percent hope that person will be “somewhat conservative.”

• 37 percent hope for a “moderate.”

• 17 percent want someone who is “somewhat liberal.”

• 8 percent hope for someone “very liberal.”

• 61 percent say Mr. Obama will nominate a liberal, 16 percent say he will opt for a conservative.

Source: A CNN/Opinion Research poll of 1,006 adults conducted April 9-11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/22/inside-the-beltway-91303173/?page=3

April 20

All of these items come from the great site youdontsay.org

Why can’t they deliver the mail?

With about 2.0 million civilian employees, the federal government, excluding the Postal Service, is the nation’s largest employer.”

Obama’s change

[Barack Obama] is the first [U.S. president] to appoint white men to fewer than half — 42 percent to be precise — of cabinet positions. Although whites are 66 percent of the total population and closer to 75 percent of Americans aged 42 to 60, they make up only 53 percent of all Senate-confirmed Obama appointments.”

Falling White support

“Mr. Obama’s white approval rate has dropped from 61 percent at the time of his inauguration to the mid-30s as this article goes to press. His approval ratings among blacks remain over 90 percent. As the prominent liberal commentator Thomas Edsall notes, ‘White, middle-class voters ceased to think of Mr. Obama as a protector of their interests.’ Perhaps they have begun to notice that, as black New York Times editorial board member Brent Staples likes to point out, Mr. Obama uses the pronoun ‘we’ when he talks about blacks.”

Obama’s wasteful spending

“Several watchdog groups are blowing the whistle on President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan — showing billions of taxpayer dollars designated for zip codes and congressional districts that don’t exist in the United States.”

Christians attacked?

“A team of Christian activists and pastors filed a civil rights lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder over the ‘hate crimes’ law that President Obama signed into law last year, alleging it violates their civil rights, The complaint states Christians now can become the target of federal investigations, grand juries and even criminal charges for no more than opposing the activism of homosexuals.”

April 12

Scientists find new species of lizard with double penis

“…The lizard has unique markings and an unusual sexual anatomy, according to the study. Its scaly body and legs are a blue-black mottled with pale yellow-green dots, while its tail is marked in alternating segments of black and green.
“Males have a double penis, called hemipenes, also found in some snakes and other lizards.The two penises are often used in alternation, and sometimes contain spines or hooks that serve to anchor the male within the female during intercourse.The inappropriately named African dik-dik has only one penis.”
Who knew?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7560391/Scientists-find-new-species-of-lizard-with-double-penis.html via http://ihatethemedia.com

A B C E F G H I…. hey what happened to the “D”?

“ABC ran news stories totaling one hour and 23 seconds about former Senator John Edwards’ adulterous affair and love-child, but the ABC anchors never once mentioned that Edwards is a Democrat. [. . .] [In] November 2008, the network’s 20/20 show interviewed the prostitute who had sex with New York’s then-governor, Eliot Spitzer. The news show never mentioned Spitzer is a Democrat.”

http://www.wnd.com/ via youdontsay.org

Here it comes part one

“China replaced the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market in 2009, ending a century of America’s reign as home to the most car buyers.”
http://www.manews.org/ via youdontsay.org

Here it comes part two

“Four of the top-five most highly investor-valued international banks are now in China, according to a report in the Financial Times of London.”
http://www.manews.org/ via youdontsay.org

Wouldn’t this be a hoot?

“The Republicans shouldn’t even be playing in the Hawaii special election for the House seat opened when Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie decided to run for governor. But it’s a sign of the poisonous political atmosphere for Democrats that a GOP candidate has a chance at seizing what is arguably President Obama’s hometown House seat. Helping the Republican candidate, Charles Djou, is the fight between the two leading Democrats in the May 22 winner-take-all election. Fears are so high they’ll split the vote that some Democrats are quietly urging Obama to ask either former Rep. Ed Case or state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa to get out. No signs he’ll do that yet.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/08/democrats-face-trouble-in-hawaii-special-election.html

Americans want Democrats to stop spending

Nearly two-thirds of the nation has had it with Washington’s spending under President Obama, but the other third stands eager for one more big program to help create jobs. Our new Washington Whispers poll finds that 31 percent of those surveyed by Synovate eNation would be cool with Congress passing a big new jobs bill, a sign that many Americans want some help with their stubborn unemployment.
Topping that, however, was the 34 percent who registered their demand that Washington sit on its hands and stop spending.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/06/americans-to-washington-no-more-spending-except-for-job-creation.html

April 5

Carville hears the footsteps

The election environment has turned so ugly for Democrats that one of their most celebrated election advisers is suggesting days of prayer and pure luck to hold off a fall disaster.
Asked what he’d advise Democrats up for election to do, James Carville says, “I’d probably get them to say—being a Catholic—a couple of Novenas,” a reference to the Catholic nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions.
Democracy Corps partner and pollster Stanley Greenberg explained why: If the House election were held today, “we’d have a change election.” Meaning the GOP would take control.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/03/31/carville-to-democrats-pray-now-to-avoid-disaster-in-november.html

Americans finally recognize Bush is gone and not to blame for the mess Obama is making

If rumors that the administration is eyeing a 3 percent tax slapped on everything but food are true, a new poll finds that a European-style value added tax would be DOA. A new Democratic poll, from Democracy Corps, puts a VAT near the bottom of choices Americans like as a solution to reduce the out of control federal deficit.
Of 14 choices given, the 3 percent tax ranks 11th. Some 57 percent oppose it, 42 percent strongly, and 40 percent favor the VAT, just 17 percent strongly. That finding is much wider than the overall view of Americans toward paying more taxes to fund the deficit. Overall, the nation is split, with 48 percent saying they can’t afford higher taxes and 47 percent ready to write a check.
Interestingly, the public doesn’t blame the Bush tax cuts for the deficit like most Democrats do. The largest group at 36 percent blame the wars for the growing deficits. Last on blame list are the Bush tax cuts, with just 9 percent. That could make it more difficult for the Democrats to end the tax cuts starting this fall, say Republicans.
Talk about a VAT was sidelined as the administration fought for and won healthcare reform. Aides worried that people would think the VAT would pay for the reforms. Now that the healthcare package has passed, there has been renewed talk about a VAT, enough so that Democracy Corps included it in their deficit poll conducted jointly with Tulane University.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/index.html

We’re paying the salary of this self important jerk

In his bid to get state governments and local police to enforce laws barring drivers from texting behind the wheel and using phone devices, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has started to do some policing on his own.
The former Illinois congressman was working out recently in the House of Representatives gym, where he still has a pass, and saw a new Ford ad promoting its Sync system for hands-free calling and navigation. The ad featured a 20-something girl bragging on the Sync system as she drove down the road, looking out every window but the front one. After his workout, LaHood called Ford CEO Alan Mulally to complain. “He thought it was promoting distracted driving,” says a LaHood aide.
It worked. A few days later, Ford called LaHood’s chief of staff to say it was taking the ad off the air. A Ford spokeswoman told Whispers: “We didn’t take it down totally. We modified it to address a concern he expressed.”
That was enough. “I think it’s safe to say that the secretary really appreciated Mulally being responsive on this,” says LaHood’s spokeswoman.
But LaHood’s not totally satisfied. He tells us that he’d still like the Sync system removed from cars.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/04/01/lahood-targets-fords-sync-ad-for-distracted-driving.html

Telling it as it is

MOUNT DORA — A doctor who considers the national health-care overhaul to be bad medicine for the country posted a sign on his office door telling patients who voted for President Barack Obama to seek care “elsewhere.”

“I’m not turning anybody away — that would be unethical,” Dr. Jack Cassell, 56, a Mount Dora urologist and a registered Republican opposed to the health plan, told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. “But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it.”

The sign reads: “If you voted for Obama … seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years.”

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-mount-dora-doctor-tells-patients-go-aw20100401,0,6040296,full.story

CONSERVADUDE

”A rising young conservative star? Eagle Publishing has announced the appointment of Jason Mattera as the new editor of Human Events.
“Jason’s ability to understand what is truly important, not just repeat D.C.’s echo chamber, plus his unique ability to put facts into understandable, interesting – and even fun – stories and videos is remarkable. His wisdom and talents are far beyond his years,” says Joe Guerriero, vice president of Eagle’s GeoPolitical division.
“Mr. Mattera, only 26, has already authored “Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation” and was spokesman for Young America’s Foundation. He joins Human Events on April 12 and will also contribute to RedState .com, the Newt Gingrich Letter, and Guns & Patriots – all part of the Eagle stable.
“It is utterly refreshing to see a young journalist with Jason’s intellect and feel for the zeitgeist have an opportunity to inject new energy into one of the old stalwart publications of the conservative movement,” says Andrew Breitbart, founder of BigHollywood.com “

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/01/inside-the-beltway-54946665/?page=3

March 29

Iraqi Bonds Now on Par with California

This is probably bad news for California, but it is certainly good news for Iraq:
Traditional Wall Street investors have taken note. Iraq is now considered a safer bet than Argentina, Venezuela, Pakistan, and Dubai — and is nearly on par with the State of California, according to Bloomberg statistics on credit default swaps, which are considered a raw indicator of default risk.
“Compared to California, I’d rather bet on Iraq,’’ Daher said. “Iraq is a country where there are still bombs going off and people getting murdered, but they are less indebted than the United States. California is likely to have more demands on its resources, and there is no miracle where California is going to have more revenue coming out of the sky. Iraq has prospects for tremendously higher revenues, if they can manage to get their act halfway together, which they seem to be doing.’’
Perhaps Sacremento needs to start contemplating a Surge strategy.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MzZhOTljMGM5NWRhYzY5OGM5ZGRiZjBhNDU4ZDZmYTk

NEARLY 95,000 descendants of Mohammed are going to sue 10 newspapers for publishing “blasphemous” cartoons of the prophet.

Faisal Yamani, a Saudi lawyer acting for the descendants, claims that the cartoons – which first appeared in 2005 and caused violent protests by Muslims around the world – are defamatory.One of the 12 cartoons depicts Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban.
The Sunday Times said that although the cartoons were published by Danish newspapers, Mr Yamani plans to pursue legal action in England, where libel laws are weighted towards the plaintiff.
English lawyers expect that he will argue that the cartoons were published in Britain via the internet and are a direct slur on his clients, who live in the Middle East, north Africa and even Australia.
Mark Stephens, a British lawyer who saw Mr Yamani’s missive to the newspapers, told The Sunday Times: “Direct descendants of the prophet have a particular place within Muslim society … By effectively criticising and making fun of the prophet you are, by implication, holding them up to scandal, contempt and public ridicule.
Just a little unsolicited advice from the legal wizards at IHateTheMedia.com: If the dynamite vest fits, you must acquit.
http://www.news.com.au/world/descendants-of-mohammed-to-sue-over-blasphemous-cartoons/story-e6frfkyi-1225843489852 via http://ihatethemedia.com

The Canadian media is full of skunks as well..

Think of us as equal opportunity haters, because we hate the Canadian media, too. Here’s why.
Susan Cole, a Canadian communist columnist explains to Megyn Kelly on Fox News that it’s good to stop Ann Coulter’s potential hate speech by massing protesters and threatening physical violence.
According to Cole, the Canadians are simply trying to develop a “safe place to think and learn” and she doesn’t feel “Ann Coulter contributes to” such an environment. In other words, this safe place to think and learn does not include thinking and learning about conservative points of view.
So not only are Canadians suffering through nationalized health care, they have to deal with the freaking liberal media also.
Our condolences to our friends in the Great White North. And we apologize in advance if calling it “white” is interpreted as hate speech.

http://ihatethemedia.com

8 million illegal aliens hold jobs Americans could be doing

“How do you explain to 15 million jobless Americans trying to put food on the table that their government is still adding 125,000 foreign workers a month? [. . .] An estimated 8 million illegal workers hold jobs [in the U.S.] today. [. . .] More than 900,000 visas were issued last year alone to foreign temporary workers. [. . .] Of the 1.1 million immigrants admitted to the U.S. last year, 3 of 4 were potential job seekers while Americans were losing jobs.”

www.nanews.org via http://ihatethemedia.com

TEA BASHERS

“Could they be getting a little, uh, nervous? The press has declared war on the “tea party,” just as it did on former President George W. Bush during his time of office, says Media Research Center founder L. Brent Bozell III.
“During the Bush years, the news media were the promoters of protest, the champions of dissent. Denouncing the president as a brain-damaged warmonger was the most patriotic thing you could do – just ask the Dixie Chicks – and it was guaranteed to please the press,” Mr. Bozell says, recalling that antiwar dissenters got considerable glorification from news organizations at the time, cast as morality-minded heroes in many cases.
“My, how times – and standards – change. On the weekend of the vote for a massive government intervention in the health-insurance market, these same reporters had a different take. The ‘tea party’ protesters were not going to be hailed for their courageous and patriotic use of their free time. They were going to be smeared for daring to be,” Mr. Bozell adds. “To listen to the press, the tea party’s presence in Washington was violent, dangerous, uncivil and unprecedented, and their protests threatened to ruin the Republican image – as if that isn’t at the top of the liberal media’s ‘To Do’ list every day.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/25/inside-the-beltway-60597719/

March 22

Gay Catholic ex-stripper awaits the birth of his twins carried by his “sister – in – law.”

We’ve been waiting for a good “Gay Catholic Ex-Stripper Awaits Birth of Twins Carried by Husband’s Sister” love story
“The Village Voice reports the stranger than fiction story:
“Tom Marino’s husband’s sister is carrying his babies.
“They used his husband’s sperm and a donor egg to conceive their babies through IVF.
“Previously, they used Tom’s sperm to conceive their now two-year old son-using the same surrogate (the sister) and donor eggs.
“On the outside, Marino is a buttoned up white collar dad who is a regional banking manager, monogamous husband, devout Catholic, former altar boy and former Civil Air Patrol member.
“However, he is also a former exotic dancer and author of Tomorrow May Be Too Late–a very honest and gritty memoir about toxic homosexual love and living a life of debauchery.
“With your audience, Marino can share intimate accounts and devastating real-world incidences about how he spent the last two decades rebuilding his ‘tomorrow’ after a unflattering series of events–including a messy (heterosexual) divorce, one-night-stands, white collar crime, heartbreak, spiritual intervention and the birth of a child-to become a real-life example of a modern American family.”
“A toxic homosexual love affair and living a life of debauchery. ” Big deal. Just sounds like an average day in the office of New York Democrat Eric Massa.”
Village Voice via ihatethemedia.com

The letters of his name

“Re-arrangement of the letters in ‘President Barack Hussein Obama,’ gives the shockingly appropriate result: ‘A Democrat speaks inane rubbish.’

http://www.manews.org

Wasting our money

“President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package has cost taxpayers $246,436 for every new job the administration claims to have created, according to a top economic analyst.”

http://wnd.com

Whites need not apply in Chicago

“The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scraping its entrance exam for new hires, according to a report by NBC in Chicago. The reason? Because non-whites have trouble passing it, and the city doesn’t want a police force of white guys.”

http://wnd.com

This is Obama’s Congress

“[T]he president set a new all-time record for having his way with Congress during his first year, according to Congressional Quarterly. A CQ study found that Obama won 96.7 percent of the votes on which he staked out a clear position.”

http://newsmax.com

March 15
NB This week’s items all come from http://youdontsay.org a great site you would enjoy.

The Tulip gang

“After facing a secret indictment by the Fish and Wildlife Service for making a mistake on tulip importation forms, Kathy and George Norris’ home was raided by a six-member SWAT team. The house was ransacked, and their computers were taken away and examined. George Norris spent two years in a federal penitentiary because he could not produce all the paperwork for the orchids he had imported.”

http://youdontsay.org

Somali Community Organizers?

“Somali pirates have set up an investment cooperative to finance their high-seas hijinks. The sea gangs have made tens of millions of dollars in ransom money from raiding the waterways linking Europe and Asia — and now they’ve become community organizers.”

http://youdontsay.org

Globalony

“More than 30,000 American scientists, including over 9,000 with Ph.D.s, have signed a petition stating: ‘There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.’”
www.wnd.com via http://youdontsay.org

N1H1 hoax as reported here

“World Health Organization scientists are suspected of accepting secret bribes from vaccine manufacturers to influence the UN organization’s H1N1 pandemic declaration, according to Danish and Swedish newspapers. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical profits from swine-flu-related drugs have soared — with earnings between $10 billion and $15 billion in 2009, investment bank JP Morgan estimates.”
www.wnd.com via http://youdontsay.org

Obamacare regulations

“In the 2,078-page [health-care] monstrosity being considered by the Senate right now, the word ‘regulation’ appears 181 times, ‘fees’ 103 times and the words ‘shall’ or ‘must’ a whopping 3,000 times! The House version contains an estimated 450,000 words of new regulations, mandates, penalties, price-controls, and new taxes.”

http://youdontsay.org

March 8

New McLaughlin polling spells big losses for the Democrats in the South

Just released McLaughlin & Associates polling data is grim news for House Democrats representing southern states.

While McLaughlin’s national generic ballot survey shows Republicans with a seven point 42/35 edge, which is a considerable number for the GOP which usually trails in this measure by anywhere from 2 to 12 points, its eleven point lead in the south is stunning.

Where will this southern state “generic ballot” sword strike?
When combined his Barack Obama’s low approval ratings in each of these states it is hard many of the 12 Blue Dogs from the Old South surviving.
With Obama registering some of his lowest approval ratings in the South Democrats below the Mason Dixon line are in for a long Election Night.

http://mclaughlinonline.com/lib/sitefiles/NatCitizensUnitedObamaMemo03-05-10.pdf

Tea Party Expects Big Second-Year Growth

“Groups associated with the tea-party movement expect to see far more supporters at planned April 15 antitax rallies than they saw at the birth of the movement a year ago. The reasons, say organizers: continued building of the federal deficit and Democratic moves to pass healthcare reform despite public opposition.
“Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who heads FreedomWorks, says President Obama’s policies will help energize the movement and depress Democratic turnout at the polls later this year. He called the president an “Obamatross” around the necks of Democrats.
“As the one-year anniversary of the movement nears, organizers like Eric Odom of Liberty First PAC are predicting that the hundreds of rallies planned for April 15—income tax day—will draw thousands more supporters than were seen last year in 850 cities because people sense progress on their issues. “The movement has been able to slow the rate of government growth, no doubt, but there is a danger lurking that we should be very mindful of. Government is still growing, and Congress is still working to destroy the voice and liberty of the people,” he said in an organizing E-mail.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/03/03/tea-party-expects-big-second-year-growth.html

Gingrich Begins Balanced Budget Campaign

“Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is making good on his suggestion to put the election focus on debt: He’s opened a campaign to win approval for a balanced budget amendment.
“Just a few days after suggesting to Washington Whispers that such an amendment is an issue the Republicans should play up in the fall elections, the potential 2012 presidential candidate is taking up the cause through his group, Renewing American Leadership. “I can confirm that Gingrich’s group Renewing American Leadership is launching a campaign to do just that,” said Rick Tyler founding director of ReAL.
Z”Gingrich has been raising the issue as the debt has surged to historic levels because of the bailouts of the auto and financial industry and other government spending. Some Republicans believe that pushing a balanced budget amendment might help them win back some of the fiscal conservatives who abandoned the GOP in the 2004 and 2006 elections as Washington spent more and more. The debt is also a key issue for the tea party movement of independent voters.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/03/02/gingrich-begins-balanced-budget-campaign.html

Promising news, hopeful news, not to be overlooked

Operation Moshtarak, under way in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan since Feb. 13, is “progressing extraordinarily well” and is moving from the “clearing phase to the holding phase,” says Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
“Moshtarak” means “together” in the Dari language. The operation in this drug-smuggling and insurgent stronghold involves 15,000 U.S., Afghan, British, Danish and Estonian troops, and is bolstered by a strategic public outreach that seek allies among tribal elders and local law enforcement. “The combined force and the people will defeat the insurgents and bring a better life,” say leaflets distributed across local neighborhoods.
“There are still pockets where we believe there to be some Taliban hiding out, perhaps lying in wait. We are determined to clear out those pockets, as well,” Mr. Morrell says.
“The Afghan flag is flying over Marjah for the first time in Lord knows how long. Markets are open; they’re well-stocked. Commerce is flowing. Displaced persons are returning to their homes. There is a greater sense of security. There is widespread participation in community meetings. So things are trending in the right direction there.”
Way to go.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/04/reach-to-impeach/?page=2

POLL DU JOUR

• 44 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of independents say they do not “trust the federal government.”
• 61 percent of Democrats, 95 percent of Republicans and 82 percent of independents say government spending is “out of control.”
• 67 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of Republicans and 91 percent of independents are “fed up with the federal budget deficit.”
• 50 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents are “fed up with the heath care reform debate.”
• 82 percent of Democrats, 80 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of independents are “fed up with partisan bickering.”
Source: A Fox News poll of 900 registered voters conducted Feb. 23-24.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/02/inside-the-beltway-91553957/?page=2

March 1

Laffer is speaking so we’d better listen

“Arthur Laffer, creator of the Laffer Curve that shows how low tax rates boost economic growth, is warning anyone who will listen that the economy is headed for a ‘train wreck’ in 2011 that will make the recession look tame by comparison.”
humaneventsonline.com via youdontsay.org

America freedoms slipping

“For the first time in the history of the Index for Economic Freedom, the United States is no longer in the top category of economically free countries and is even second in the North American region (behind Canada). This year’s score of 78, though high by global standards, is 2.7 points lower than last year and bumps the U.S. to a second-tier country of freedom.”
– “U.S.A. Now Less the Land of the Free,” by the Heritage Foundation, Human Events, February 1, 2010, page 3. Address: 1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Phone: 202-216-0600. Website.
humaneventsonline.com via youdontsay.org

The LED light bulb fraud

“Many U.S. towns have installed ‘energy-efficient’ LED traffic lights, to enhance their green credentials. Besides, they are so much cheaper than the old incandescent traffic signals. ‘With LEDs we have energy savings in excess of 80 percent,’ about $750,000 a year statewide, Wisconsin Transportation Department Director Dave Vieth told AP. There’s only one problem. Winter. Turns out, LED lights are so energy efficient they throw off very little heat — and can’t melt snow or ice. So in a snowstorm, with traffic conditions at their most hazardous, the traffic lights are useless. The result: dozens of accidents and at least one death, according to AP.”
elrushbo@eibnet.com via www.youdontsay.org.

Braying jackasses part one

“[A]t a 2008 meeting of Dallas County, Texas, commissioners, Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, complained about the number of traffic tickets that got lost in the central collections office, comparing it to a black hole. ‘Excuse me!’ said black commissioner John Wiley Price very loudly, and insisted that the office was a ‘white hole.’ Another black, Thomas Jones, demanded an apology. There was no apology, but several days later, Mr. Price explained there were other expressions whites must not use, such as ‘angel food cake’ and ‘devil’s food cake.’”
Amren.com via www.youdontsay.org

Braying Jackasses part two

“When one computer controls the operations of another, the two machines are called ‘master’ and ‘slave.’ A black employee in the Los Angeles Probation Department said these terms were offensive, so the department ordered all outside vendors to start using the terms ‘primary’ and ‘secondary.’”
Amren.com via youdontsay.org

“We need to get the inspector generals involved. … Then we send that to the Justice Department.”

“Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, announcing his call for three federal agencies to investigate “ridiculous” global warming claims by Al Gore and others, to Fox News.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/25/inside-the-beltway-15284160/?page=3

February 22

White House Still Can’t Say if Obama Knew in Advance on Christmas Day That Underwear Bomber Would Be Mirandized

Almost two months after the attempted Christmas Day terror-bombing on a Northwest airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, the White House still cannot say whether President Barack Obama knew in advance that the suspect would be read his Miranda rights.

http://www.cnsnews.com/home

South Carolina unrest growing

South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts has introduced legislation that would mandate that gold and silver coins replace federal currency as legal tender in his state.
As the Palmetto Scoop first reported, Pitts, a Republican, introduced legislation this month banning “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin” in South Carolina.
In an interview, Pitts told Hotsheet that he believes that “if the federal government continues to spend money at the rate it’s spending money, and if it continues to print money at the rate it’s printing money, our economic system is going to collapse.”
“The Germans felt their system wouldn’t collapse, but it took a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread in the 1930s,” he said. “The Soviet Union didn’t think their system would collapse, but it did. Ours is capable of collapsing also.”
CBS News: via http://cryptogon.com/

GOPers are listening

“Republicans are “better positioned for 2010″ and more in touch with their constituents than Democrats, at least according to an emerging demographic: palm device and social media freaks.
“Based on the responses of 60,000 iPhone, BlackBerry, Google Android, Windows or Facebook users in 50 states collected over the past six months, Republican senators vote along with their home state constituents on legislation more often than Democrats says Visible Vote, a Chicago-based group that provides free applications for the survey.
“The top three senators whose voting record most matches their constituents are Republicans George LeMieux of Florida, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Jon Kyl of Arizona. Senators voting “least often” in sync with voters are all Democrats: Al Franken of Minnesota, Jim Webb of Virginia and Kay Hagan of North Carolina.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/15/formal-tea-party/?page=3

Tired of the media telling you you’re a bigoted homophobe? Read this

“The researchers from SmithGeiger, who had been hired to assess talk shows, convened to tell a group of six [TV] executives that “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was, for the first time, on par with “The Oprah Winfrey Show” (and, in some cases, exceeding “Oprah”) in the minds of viewers.
“How is this possible? How can racist, homophobic, sexist Americans possibly choose a fat, black woman and a lesbian as their favorite television talk show hosts?
“The research is obviously faulty.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/business/media/12ellen.html?ref=business via http://ihatethemedia.com

Donald Trump gets one right

“Donald Trump thinks Al Gore should be stripped of his fraudulently-obtained Nobel Peace Prize, an opinion that will not endear him to any of Hollywood’s greenies.
“Naturally, the love Al Gore in the land of make believe. So a couple more comments like this one and they’ll run the star of television’s “The Apprentice” right out of Tinseltown.
“The New York Post reports Trump’s comments:
“With the coldest winter ever recorded, with snow setting record levels up and down the coast, the Nobel committee should take the Nobel Prize back from Al Gore,” the tycoon told members of his Trump National Golf Club in Westchester in a recent speech. “Gore wants us to clean up our factories and plants in order to protect us from global warming, when China and other countries couldn’t care less. It would make us totally noncompetitive in the manufacturing world, and China, Japan and India are laughing at America’s stupidity.” The crowd of 500 stood up and cheered.
“Next time you’re out in Hollywood, Donald, maybe you could suggest that Gore return his Oscar, too.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/global_cooling_7njz5ZtpFblMuF5Vf7LJmN%3Cbr%20/%3E via http://ihsatethemedia.com

February 15

That’s “Ambassador Huge Penis” to you

“This is is the kind of story you can’t make up. Akbar Zeb is a Pakistani diplomat with a big problem. In Arabic, his Urdu name sounds more like the name of a porn star.
Fox News reports the flaccid details:
“The Arabic transaltion of Akbar Zeb to “biggest d**k” has overwhelmed Saudi officials who have refused to allow his post there.
“Zeb has run into this problem before when Pakistan tried to appoint him as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, where he was rejected for the same reason, according to Foreign Policy.
“We must admit that we are surprised to learn that Akbar Zeb means “big prick.” We thought that’s what Rahm Emanuel meant.

http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/andrewbolt/index.php/couriermail/comments/but_woger_is_still_not_weleased/%20http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584807,00.html via http://ihatethemedia.com

Conservatives are impractical irrational and immoral, so says a Leftist professor

“Typical conservative as viewed by typical pointy-headed liberal professor:
“That’s the only logical conclusion to draw from comments made by Jere P. Surber, a pointy-headed professor of philosophy at the University of Denver, as he explained why academics are liberals:
“It is because we liberal-arts professors … have carefully studied the actual dynamics of history and culture; and we have trained ourselves to think in complex, nuanced, and productive ways about the human condition that so many of us are liberals …
“We’re here and mostly liberal by practical deliberation, factual investigation, and rational and moral conviction.
“Shut the hell up, Surber.
“Because in addition to being impractical, irrational and immoral, we conservatives are also a little testy.”
http://chronicle.com/article/Well-Naturally-Were-Liberal/63870/ via http://ihatethemedia.com

Bill Nye, the shcmoe with the bow tie they call the science guy says you’re unpatriotic if you don’t believe in global warming

“What could possibly make for better entertainment than Rachel Maddow giving a forum to pop science icon Bill Nye?
“Nye reveals a unique scientific theory that says believing in the science behind global warming is patriotic. And vice versa.
“…there’s more energy in the atmosphere and this is stirring things up,” Nye said. “If you want to get serious about it, these guys claiming that the snow in Washington disproves climate change are almost unpatriotic. It’s really, they’re denying science. So they’re very happy to have the weather forecast be accurate within a few hours, but they’re displeased or un-enchanted by predictions of the world getting warmer. It’s really, it shakes me up.”
“We think Rachel Maddow may have said something, too, but we had really kind of checked out by that time.”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/

Is it November yet?

“The House of Representatives voted 233-187 to increase the debt limit by another $1.9 trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a “t.”
“Every one of the 217 votes in favor of marching headlong toward national bankruptcy was cast by a Democrat.
“As soon as the vote total was announced, they stood to applaud themselves.
“Is November here yet?
The House of Representatives voted 233-187 to increase the debt limit by another $1.9 trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a “t.”
“”Every one of the 217 votes in favor of marching headlong toward national bankruptcy was cast by a Democrat.
As soon as the vote total was announced, they stood to applaud themselves.
“Is November here yet?”
http://www.bluegrasspundit.com/2010/02/video-house-dems-stand-and-applaud.html via http://ihatethemedia.com

Chuck Todd does stand up: accuses Fox of undermining media’s alleged credibility

“Chuck Todd, NBC’s political director and chief White House correspondent really didn’t like it when Fox News Washington managing editor Bill Sammon appeared on Fox News Sunday and said, “…the mainstream media hates the tea party movement almost as much as it hates Sarah Palin.”
“Now any rational person would say that statement is inarguable. Nevertheless, Todd chose to argue the inarguable on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
“Todd: We all know there are a lot of different ways people get news. And then you have straight journalists, you have activist journalists, you have opinion folks. And we know that they’re all out there. I think we believe here at NBC that people are smart enough to figure it out. And that’s why when a news executive goes out there and states a crazy accusation like that, that it ends up, it only ends up probably hurting what they’re trying to do, but it creates, it only denigrates all of us.
“And I’m sorry, there is certain news organizations out here whose agenda is to undermine the 90% of journalists who are just simply trying to cover stories out there. And that’s what really frustrates me about what’s happened in the media landscape. It is a business for some media organizations to undermine the quote-unquote the mainstream media because it’s good for their business. And this is not just on the right, it’s happening on the left as well.
Pardon us while we laugh.
“MSNBC is surely the wrong place to make this argument, Chuck. The ratings-challenged network is doing an admirable job undermining itself with absolutely no assistance from Fox.”
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2010/02/09/nbcs-todd-fox-news-trying-undermine-msm#ixzz0f30BnG5g via http://ihatethemedia.com

February 8

Barney the pig

“Behold: Pork barrel royalty. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) on Tuesday named Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, the “Porker of the Year” by virtue of his “relentless and garrulous role in the failure of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
Mr. Frank won the title in an online poll, garnering half of all the votes.
“The seeds of the government sponsored enterprises meltdown were sown by politicians like Barney Frank. He has no intention of giving up federal control over housing finance,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “Taxpayers can be certain that he is already cooking up a new and obscenely expensive scheme to permanently nationalize housing finance.”
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Republican, placed second. Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat, was in third place, with President Obama “the overwhelming favorite in the write-in category.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/03/inside-the-beltway-94418323/?page=2

Mengele’ diary

“Josef Mengele’s diary, written in exile after he fled the Auschwitz concentration camp as Allied troops advanced in 1945, has been sold to the grandson of a camp survivor who vividly recalls how the “doctor” used to wear white gloves while pointing to prisoners as they arrived, indicating who would live and who would die.
“Auctioneer Bill Panagopulos, who first revealed the document to Washington Whispers, would not disclose the final price or name of the buyer but told us he is confident the rare Mengele document would end up in a Holocaust museum. In a statement, he said, “The Josef Mengele document offered by Alexander Autographs has just been privately sold for an undisclosed sum to a U.S. East Coast Jewish philanthropist who wishes to remain anonymous. The buyer is the grandson of an Auschwitz survivor who personally encountered Mengele at the infamous death camp. He intends to donate the manuscript to a museum devoted to the Holocaust.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/03/family-of-auschwitz-survivor-buys-mengele-diary.html

Obama a ‘Come back kid?’

The conventional wisdom in Washington has President Obama recovering in the polls, much as former President Clinton did after his disastrous start. Democrats like that model because it holds out hope the prez will see his ratings recover in time to win re-election in 2012. But there’s an alternative model for Obama to look at: former President George W. Bush, who never recovered when his polls tanked in 2005. The reason, says a key congressional Republican: “Bush didn’t back down like Clinton, who swung to the middle. Obama looks like he’s hardening his position, too. Problem is, he’s doing it before his re-election.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/03/obamas-approval-ratings-could-stay-low-like-bushs-did.html

Which Scott Brown will he be?

Even before his honeymoon is over, Republicans are giving new Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown a wary eye. “Who does he want to be?” asks a Senate GOP-er. The choices: a senator eager to run for re-election in 2012, who will have to walk a politically moderate line to keep Democratic-leaning Bay State voters happy. Or a potential presidential or vice presidential candidate, who’ll have to tack right to win primary voters. The key to the answer will be how he acts this year, says our tipster. “He’ll speak up if he wants to run against Obama. He’ll lay low if he wants to run for re-election.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/02/scott-browns-options-run-against-obama-or-lay-low.html

GOP’s new commitment

Giddy Republicans might think they can take back the House and threaten the Democratic majority in the Senate this fall with the simple slogan of not being Democrats. But wiser party heads have another idea. Give voters a reason to vote for Republicans, not just against Democrats.
Whispers has learned that the GOP is soliciting ideas from candidates, business people, and voters from around the country for what it is calling a “Commitment to America.” Those involved emphasize that it’s not a warmed-over version of the 1994 “Contract With America,” but the idea is the same: spell out how the GOP would do things differently if put in charge.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/01/gop-to-launch-commitment-to-america-for-2010-election.html

February 8

Barney the pig

“Behold: Pork barrel royalty. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) on Tuesday named Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, the “Porker of the Year” by virtue of his “relentless and garrulous role in the failure of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
Mr. Frank won the title in an online poll, garnering half of all the votes.
“The seeds of the government sponsored enterprises meltdown were sown by politicians like Barney Frank. He has no intention of giving up federal control over housing finance,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “Taxpayers can be certain that he is already cooking up a new and obscenely expensive scheme to permanently nationalize housing finance.”
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Republican, placed second. Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat, was in third place, with President Obama “the overwhelming favorite in the write-in category.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/03/inside-the-beltway-94418323/?page=2

Mengele’ diary

“Josef Mengele’s diary, written in exile after he fled the Auschwitz concentration camp as Allied troops advanced in 1945, has been sold to the grandson of a camp survivor who vividly recalls how the “doctor” used to wear white gloves while pointing to prisoners as they arrived, indicating who would live and who would die.
“Auctioneer Bill Panagopulos, who first revealed the document to Washington Whispers, would not disclose the final price or name of the buyer but told us he is confident the rare Mengele document would end up in a Holocaust museum. In a statement, he said, “The Josef Mengele document offered by Alexander Autographs has just been privately sold for an undisclosed sum to a U.S. East Coast Jewish philanthropist who wishes to remain anonymous. The buyer is the grandson of an Auschwitz survivor who personally encountered Mengele at the infamous death camp. He intends to donate the manuscript to a museum devoted to the Holocaust.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/03/family-of-auschwitz-survivor-buys-mengele-diary.html

Obama a ‘Come back kid?’

The conventional wisdom in Washington has President Obama recovering in the polls, much as former President Clinton did after his disastrous start. Democrats like that model because it holds out hope the prez will see his ratings recover in time to win re-election in 2012. But there’s an alternative model for Obama to look at: former President George W. Bush, who never recovered when his polls tanked in 2005. The reason, says a key congressional Republican: “Bush didn’t back down like Clinton, who swung to the middle. Obama looks like he’s hardening his position, too. Problem is, he’s doing it before his re-election.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/03/obamas-approval-ratings-could-stay-low-like-bushs-did.html

Which Scott Brown will he be?

Even before his honeymoon is over, Republicans are giving new Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown a wary eye. “Who does he want to be?” asks a Senate GOP-er. The choices: a senator eager to run for re-election in 2012, who will have to walk a politically moderate line to keep Democratic-leaning Bay State voters happy. Or a potential presidential or vice presidential candidate, who’ll have to tack right to win primary voters. The key to the answer will be how he acts this year, says our tipster. “He’ll speak up if he wants to run against Obama. He’ll lay low if he wants to run for re-election.”

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/02/scott-browns-options-run-against-obama-or-lay-low.html

GOP’s new commitment

Giddy Republicans might think they can take back the House and threaten the Democratic majority in the Senate this fall with the simple slogan of not being Democrats. But wiser party heads have another idea. Give voters a reason to vote for Republicans, not just against Democrats.
Whispers has learned that the GOP is soliciting ideas from candidates, business people, and voters from around the country for what it is calling a “Commitment to America.” Those involved emphasize that it’s not a warmed-over version of the 1994 “Contract With America,” but the idea is the same: spell out how the GOP would do things differently if put in charge.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/02/01/gop-to-launch-commitment-to-america-for-2010-election.html

February 1

Dear Reader used a teleprompter to speak to sixth graders

“Barack are you smarter than a sixth grader?
“Embarrassing? Pathetic? Sad? Choose your own word to describe this story.
“President Obama recently visited sixth grade students at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia to talk about his “Race to the Top” program.
“The Greatest Orator In History couldn’t talk to them without his trusty Teleprompter at his side.
“The White House has since released raw video that supposedly proves the President didn’t use his Teleprompter. Unfortunately, the raw video ends just as the President finished shaking hands with all the students and before he made any remarks, so it neither proves nor disproves anything.
“”UPDATE: The video embedded in this story proves now pretty conclusively that the ol’ Teleprompter was used. No question that President Obama is going back and forth from one Teleprompter screen to the other as he speaks to the tykes.
“Two words: Empty suit.”
http://www.bluegrasspundit.com/2010/01/how-embarrassing-obama-uses.html via www.ihatethemedia.com

Chavez and the Russian Fleet: U.S. Used “Earthquake Weapon” On Haiti

“Earlier this week, a Spanish newspaper quoted Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez as saying the U.S. Navy caused the Haiti earthquake with a tectonic weapon. The Venezuelan media reported that the earthquake “may be associated with the project called HAARP, a system that can generate violent and unexpected changes in climate.”

http://www.infowars.com/chavez-and-the-russian-fleet-u-s-used-earthquake-weapon-on-haiti/

CNN not “Most trusted name in news!”
“The chant goes up at CNN: “We’re number two! We’re number two! We’re number two!”
“Damn it. Now what’s CNN going to do with all that stationery that says “The Most Trusted Name In News”?
“Politico reports a survey that’s nothing but bad news for the original cable news network:
“A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network.
“Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust Fox, also the lowest level of distrust that any of the networks recorded.
“There was a strong partisan split among those who said they trusted Fox — with 74 percent of Republicans saying they trusted the network, while only 30 percent of Democrats said they did.
“CNN was the second-most-trusted network, getting the trust of 39 percent of those polled. Forty-one percent said they didn’t trust CNN.
“Each of the three major networks was trusted by less than 40 percent of those surveyed, with NBC ranking highest at 35 percent. Forty-four percent said they did not trust NBC, which was combined with its sister cable station MSNBC.
“Thirty-two percent of respondents said they trusted CBS, while 31 percent trusted ABC. Both CBS and ABC were not trusted by 46 percent of those polled.
“The White House is expected to dispute the validity of the survey because, of course, Fox is not a real news network and, therefore, couldn’t possibly be trusted by anyone.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32039.html#ixzz0dlkv9qEB via www.ihatethemedia.com

Let’s try actual cuts

“Use a hatchet, use a scalpel. Just make those cuts, urges the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), which has released the “2010 Prime Cuts,” a compendium of 763 waste-cutting recommendations that would save taxpayers $350 billion in the first year, and $2.2 trillion by 2015.
“Taxpayers now recognize that President Obama and his congressional allies will say anything to sound fiscally rational, but their actions tell a different story,” says Tom Schatz, the nonprofit’s president.
“The guidelines are excruciatingly specific. Among myriad things, the CAGW advises the Department of Health and Human Services to eliminate anthrax vaccine research, which could save $8 million a year. They also recommend that the Department of Defense nix the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the “Future Combat System” and the entire Selective Service System.
“See the whole extravaganza here: www.cagw.org/reports/ prime-cuts/2010/2010-prime-cuts.html.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/28/inside-the-beltway-86329780/?page=2

Sins of omission

“The mainstream news media spent 2009 protecting the Obama administration from the viable findings of bloggers, independent videographers and “new media” mavens.
“Where was the coverage of White House “green jobs’ guru Van Jones, who signed a petition suggesting the Bush administration played a role in the September 11 attacks? Also mostly ignored: The follies of Climategate, of ACORN, and of revelations that White House communications director Anita Dunn appreciated Mao Zedong, but not Fox News.
“Instead of acting as government watchdogs holding the people in power accountable, the nation’s broadcast news networks deliberately suppressed and de facto censored embarrassing scoops — at least until President Obama or Congress took action and made them impossible to ignore,” says Tim Graham of the Media Research Center, which publishes a lengthy study of the trend Monday.
“This resistance to real news extended even to newspapers like the Washington Post and the New York Times, which are supposed to be more substantive and thorough than highly paid TV news talking heads or unpaid bloggers,” Mr. Graham says. “The news was not only slow in arriving, it was fast in disappearing.”
“Both papers didn’t mention Mr. Jones until he resigned. Broadcast networks did not acknowledge ACORN’s willingness to help out a faux “pimp and prostitute” even after NBC’s Jay Leno parodied it all. ABC, CBS, NBC, NPR, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, and the New York Times ignored Ms. Dunn; the major networks also suppressed Climategate.
“The ‘old media’ are in danger of losing even more audience members as long as they refuse to acknowledge news until after Democrats in Congress or the White House decide it’s news,” Mr. Graham says. “During the last administration, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas insisted: ‘Our job is to bash the president, that’s what we do.’ But in 2009, he proclaimed that Mr. Obama was poised above the country, even above the world: ‘He’s sort of God.’ ”
“Mr. Graham adds, “The news media should not see its job as ‘bashing’ the president, but in 2009, it should not have been their job to inflate him into a celestial being, either.”
“See the complete study here: www.mrc.org”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/25/inside-the-beltway-64915953/

January 25

Want higher classroom achievement? Lower the standards

“The National Assessment of Educational Progress Report found that many states are setting educational standards so low that they can claim they made progress when none was made. [. . .] Neal McClusky, associate director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said this will lead to people arguing in favor of stricter federal standards in education, but they won’t get the high standards they desire.”

www.afajournal.com

Islamist spies everywhere in our government

“[A] classified Gitmo briefing, which was prepared in May 2009 for the FBI and CIA, as well as the congressional intelligence committees [. . .] suggests that Islamist spies have penetrated nearly every sensitive U.S. security agency involved in the war on terror, potentially compromising intelligence government-wide. Persons participating in this activity move regularly between multiple contracting companies, various intelligence agencies in the U.S. government [FBI, CIA, DIA, NSA, etc], and every branch of the U.S. military.”

www.wnd.com

Sara Palin’s book sells 1,000,000 copies in two weeks. Chuck Schumer’s sells 10,000 in two years

“Chuck Schumer’s book is available on Amazon.com for a little as $1.95. That’s still overpriced.
“Our first reaction was, “Really? Chuck Schumer wrote a book?”
“Our second reaction was, “Hmmm. Surprised it sold that many copies?”
“And our third reaction was, “This massive rejection by America’s literati may help explain why the New York Democrat’s always in such a pissy mood.”
“The New York Post reports Schumer’s tale of stone cold sales:
“Politicos are snickering at the plight of Sen. Charles Schumer, who holds more press conferences than any other lawmaker but can’t seem to connect with the public. His book, “Positively American,” released in 2007, sold 9,000 copies in hardcover and fewer than 1,000 in paperback, according to Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 75 percent of the nation’s book sales. By comparison, Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” sold 1 million copies in two weeks.”
Far be it from us to doubt the New York Post, but we think its story contains a major error.
We don’t doubt that people are snickering at Schumer. We’re just not sure it has anything to do with his book.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/no_page_turner_A5PkhnlQG4gxsgsfCXE9TI

A dopey liberal’s explanation of Brown’s win

“Is that a forced smile or a pained expression on Steny Hoyer’s face?
“There’s spin control and then there’s all-out delusion. House Democrat honcho Steny Hoyer blew right past the former and landed uncomfortably on the latter.
“The Hill reports:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday said that angst voters have expressed early this election year is the result of GOP obstructionism, not the Democrats agenda.
“Hoyer’s remarks come as Republican state Sen. Scott Brown has surged in the Massachusetts special Senate election in part due to his pledge to be the GOP’s 41st vote to filibuster healthcare reform legislation.
“I think what the public is angry about is they see, first of all, an opposition for opposition’s sake,” Hoyer told reporters.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/76803-hoyer-voters-upset-about-gop-obstructionism-not-dem-agenda

UN inspector is charged as a potential child molester

“Scott Ritter uses sign language to answer the question, “What are my odds of staying out of jail?”
“Scott Ritter, the mouthy U.N. weapons inspector who became a vocal critic of the Bush administration, is a bad man. A very bad man.
“The Pocono Record reports the dirty details:
“A former chief United Nations weapons inspector is accused of contacting what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in an Internet chat room, engaging in a sexual conversation and showing himself masturbating on a Web camera.
“Scott Ritter of Delmar, N.Y., who served as chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991-98 and who was an outspoken critic of the second Bush administration in the run-up to the war in Iraq, is accused of contacting what turned out to be a Barrett Township police officer posing undercover as a teen girl.
“The police affidavit gives the following account:
“Officer Ryan Venneman was posing as 15-year-old “Emily” in an online chat room when he was contacted by someone using the name “Delmarm4fun.” This person, later identified as Ritter, told “Emily” he was a 44-year-old male from Albany, N.Y.
““Emily” told Ritter she was a 15-year-old girl from the Poconos, at which point Ritter asked for a picture other than the one “Emily” had posted on her account. Ritter then sent her a link to his Web camera and began to masturbate on camera.
““Emily” asked Ritter for his cell phone number, which he provided.
“Ritter again asked “Emily” how old she was. Told she was 15, Ritter said he didn’t realize she was 15 and turned off his webcam, saying he didn’t want to get in trouble.
“Ritter told “Emily” he had been fantasizing about having sex with her, to which she replied: “Guess you turned it off …”
“Ritter then said: “You want to see it finish,” reactivated his webcam and continued masturbating and ejaculated on camera.
“Ritter reportedly blamed the incident on faulty intelligence. His own.”

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100114/NEWS/1140319

Janaury 18

Railroading us

“[T]he governors of eight Midwest states have just signed a deal to try to establish a regional high-speed rail system. [. . .] Numerous studies show that nearly everywhere high-speed rail runs, including Europe and Asia, government subsidies keep the systems afloat. This really should come as no surprise. If there truly were enough consumer support for high-speed rail, governments would not be involved. Prime companies would provide the service and pocket the profits. But private investors know ridership is almost always too low and operating costs too high to make a profit.”
www.heartland.org

Three little jerks

“In 2008, a British government-backed awards event banned ‘The Three Little Pigs’ from consideration because the presence of pigs in the classic children’s story might offend Muslims.”
www.wnd.com

More Climate change lies

“Now the Climategate e-mails are showing that the corruption of science in the name of ‘saving the planet’ from the supposed scourge of climate change is far more extensive and egregious than the public or the scientific community realized.”

www.thenewamerican.coc

Lawsuit abuses

“Two issues of Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly were released in September and one in October [. . .] Among the stories: A Michigan man shot by a convenience store clerk while trying to rob the store at knifepoint is now suing the store for damages, including $125,000 in pain and suffering and emotional damages. A class-action suit against Costco may be settled with the class members taking nothing and the lawyers getting $10 million in legal fees. A judge in Queens, New York has dismissed a case because the paperwork was badly stapled. Kellogg’s deceived consumers by selling “Froot Loops” cereal because it doesn’t contain fruit, a San Francisco man alleges in a class-action lawsuit.”
www.heartland.org

Why we can never lose sight of who we are fighting

“In 2002, before the Miss World beauty pageant was to start in Nigeria, a local newspaper columnist named Isioma Daniel wrote the following in praise of the contestants’ beauty: ‘What would Muhammad think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them.’ In response to this ‘dishonoring’ of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims went utterly insane with rioting, killing at least 205 people with machetes, or by beating them to death or burning them alive. Another 500 were hospitalized and 3,000 made homeless. Churches, newspaper offices and hotels were burned to the ground by Muslim mobs enraged by one sentence in a newspaper column.”
www.wnd.com

January 11

Farewell, Janet

“They’re more than annoyed. A group of high-profile conservatives is calling for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, deeming her downright “pathetic” after her reactions to the would-be Christmas Day bombing.
“Among the critics: Rep. Michael C. Burgess, Texas Republican; Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; Craig Shirley, chairman of Citizens for the Republic; David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union; Gary Bauer, president of American Values; Brent Bozell, executive director of the Conservative Victory Committee; and Alfred Regnery, publisher of American Spectator.
“The collective, with a dozen more critics, also called Ms. Napolitano’s decisions “at best highly questionable; at worst erroneous.” The group cites almost a year’s worth of Ms. Napolitano’s activities, including a 2008 terrorism report titled “Rightwing Extremism” and her comments after the near destruction of Northwest Flight 253 by a suspected operative of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“It may well turn out that the bombers own ineptitude may be the only factor that saved those passengers. Given the overwhelming financial and human resources devoted to Americas security and overseen by Secretary Napolitano, the only honorable act left for her is to submit her resignation so the American people can be assured their safety is in capable hands,” Mr. Bozell said”.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/07/inside-the-beltway-32946197/?page=3

Poll du jour

• 75 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats blame Congress for their personal financial troubles.
• 67 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of Democrats blame President Obama.
• 64 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Democrats blame Wall Street.
• 50 percent of Republicans and 75 percent of Democrats blame large corporations.
• 35 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Democrats blame themselves.
• 25 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of Democrats blame their employers.
Source: A Harris Poll of 2,276 adults conducted Dec. 7-14.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/07/inside-the-beltway-32946197/?page=3

All clear sign

“Well, maybe not so clear. Columbia Journalism Review writer Clint Hendler has graded the Obama administration when it comes to transparency and press access. The results:
“State secrets: D. “The Obama administration has held the Bush line on state secrets in a series of cases dealing with the previous administration’s interrogation and intelligence practices. The administration has declined to endorse one popular fix, the State Secrets Protection Act,” Mr. Hendler observes.
Freedom of Information Act: B.
Open Government Directive: Incomplete.
Revealing online government data: D+.
Revealing White House visitor records: A-.
Media Shield Law: B.
Off-record background briefings to the press: F.
See the complete report card here: www.cjr.org”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/06/inside-the-beltway-99040581/?page=2

More Poll du jour

• 47 percent of Americans say their opportunity to “succeed in life” is greater than their parents’ generation.
• 24 percent say the opportunity is the same, 27 percent say it is worse.
• 72 percent are satisfied with their lives, 28 percent dissatisfied.
• 13 percent say a “long healthy life” is their prime ambition.
• 12 percent plan to further their education, 8 percent will change jobs or start a business.
• 7 percent want to work less, 5 percent want to get rich, 3 percent want to marry or travel.
• 1 percent wants to write a book or a screenplay.
Source: A CBS News poll of 1,048 adults conducted Dec. 17 to 22.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/06/inside-the-beltway-99040581/?page=4

Bumper patrol

“Liberals: More mad at Bush than terrorists.”
— Bumper sticker spotted in Warrenton, Va.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/04/inside-the-beltway-41955483/

January 4

The food fascists have struck again!

According to Metro News New York, 55% of soup kitchens were not able to meet the demand of the homeless and hungry in New York City. However, despite that basic fact, these same soup kitchens have been turning away perfectly good food simply because it has trans fat in it. That is right, New York City’s trans fat ban has meant that at least 5% of the donated food has to be thrown away.
When a small church comes to the Bowery Mission bearing fried chicken with trans fat, unwittingly breaking the law, they’re told “thank you.” Then workers quietly chuck the food, mission director Tom Bastile said.
“It’s always hard for us to do,” Basile said. “We know we have to do it.”
Astonishing! Ideology trumps feeding the hungry! When I saw this story, I was amazed at the inhumanity of those who claim to believe in a nanny state and progressivism. It reminded me of other stories, such as the fact that organic farming actually has been killing more rain forests (source, source), and the inhumane ban on pesticides in developing countries that actually could use the help in agriculture. Organic farming has a lower yield, and thus many argue it cannot feed the world. (source)
It really does not matter if progressives want to eat organic food and ban trans fat for themselves. But when they mandate that others follow their dietary regime (including banning genetically modified food), they are thus causing people to go hungry (see Exhibit A: Zambia). Yet this is all done in the name of “humanity.”
We can all do our part to make the world a better planet, including looking for realistically sustainable living. But banning trans fat from soup kitchens, and requiring that third world countries suffering from famines cannot allow in genetically modified food means that humanity suffers in order for progressives to get some hollow ideological victory.
And so the homeless go hungry in order for progressives to make their point.
I hope they are happy, because humanity surely is not.

http://www.theblogmocracy.com/2009/11/25/new-york-city-allows-homeless-to-go-hungry-in-zest-to-enforce-trans-fat-ban/

Aint it the truth?

“Is it not remarkable that the press can find every woman with whom Tiger Woods has had an affair in the last few years, with photos, text messages, recorded phone calls, and so on? They know not only the cause of the family fight but also which club from his golf bag Elin, his wife, used to break out the windows in his Escalade. Not only that, they know which number club she used. This is the same press that cannot locate Obama’s birth certificate or any of his papers while in college. Truly remarkable!”

It’s been said page: youdontsay.org

The numbers say Obamacare is a dog that won’t hunt

“Rasmussen’s health-care polling results since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid orchestrated the Christmas Eve vote are full of undeniably bad news for Democrats. In roughly ascending order of bad news (if one is a Democrat) …” Jeffrey H. Anderson writes in a blog at Weekly Standard.com.
- “Likely voters oppose Obamacare by more than the (18-point) margin by which Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale: 58 percent to 39 percent.
- “There are far more likely voters who ‘strongly’ oppose Obamacare (46 percent) than there are likely voters who support it even ‘somewhat’ (39 percent).
- “Only 24 percent of likely voters think that the quality of health care would get better under Obamacare, while 54 percent think it would get worse – a gap of 30 percent.
- “Only 13 percent of likely voters think that the cost of health would go down under Obamacare, while 63 percent think it would rise – a gap of 50 percent.
- “Seniors oppose Obamacare by more than 2 to 1: 63 percent to 31 percent.
“And the worst news of all for Democrats …
- “Independents oppose Obamacare by the head-turning tally of 66 percent to 28 percent.
“Lest Democrats try to console themselves with the thought that perhaps Rasmussen has got it wrong, CNN’s latest poll, from just a few days before the Christmas Eve vote, showed Americans opposing Obamacare by a similar tally: 56 percent to 42 percent,” Mr. Anderson said.
“In light of these numbers – and in light of the extreme difficulty that the Democrats had in squeezing a bill tailor-made for the House through the House, and one tailor-made for the Senate through the Senate – anyone who thinks that either the passage or the subsequent implementation of Obamacare is anything remotely resembling inevitable, is forgetting that Tocqueville’s book wasn’t called ‘Monarchy in America.’

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/31/inside-politics-4433796/?page=2

2010 Census already spelling bad news for Democrats

“The Democrats are counting on their friends at ACORN to “help out” with the 2010 census. And if this analysis is correct, they need all the help they can get.
“The Washington Times reports the depressing details for Democrats:
“… in the final pre-count estimate just released by the Census Bureau, we already have a broad idea of where the results are headed and what they will mean politically.
The numbers are cause for alarm for Democrats.
“Of the states gaining House seats — Texas (three) and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington — only Washington is reliably Democratic, having last voted for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984.
“Of the states losing seats and electors — Ohio (two), Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — only Louisiana is reliably Republican. And the fact that there are 170,000 fewer residents of New Orleans than before Hurricane Katrina has made the state even more reliably red…”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/

Lying Algore exposed

“The cover of Al Gore’s new book, ‘Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis,’ features a satellite image of the globe showing four major hurricanes – results, we’re meant to believe, of man-made global warming. All four were photoshopped. Which is nice symbolism, because in a sense the whole hurricane aspect of warming has been photoshopped,” Michael Fumento writes at Forbes.com.
“True, both greenhouse gas emissions and levels in the atmosphere are at their highest, but this year had the fewest hurricanes since 1997, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For the first time since 2006 no hurricanes even made landfall in the U.S.; indeed hurricane activity is at a 30-year low,” Mr. Fumento said.
“None of which is really all that remarkable. What’s remarkable is that the hurricane hysteria essentially reflects a ‘trend line’ comprising a grand total of two data points in one year, 2005. Those data points were named Katrina and Rita.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/31/inside-politics-4433796/?page=2

BEN NELSON’S WOE

“The Scriptures refer to reaping the whirlwind. That certainly describes Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson after the first statewide poll since the controversial deal he cut in exchange for his deciding vote on the Senate health care bill,” John Fund writes at OpinionJournal.com.
“A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that if he were running for re-election today, Mr. Nelson would lose to Nebraska’s GOP Gov. David Heineman by a stunning 61 percent to 30 percent. Only three years ago, Mr. Nelson won his current term with a solid 64 percent of the vote,” Mr. Fund said.
“Clearly, the senator’s fall in public esteem is a direct reaction to his having voted for the health care bill as part of a deal in which Nebraska was exempted from the costs of new federal Medicaid mandates. The ObamaCare bill was already unpopular enough in Nebraska, but became even more so when state residents discovered they would be saddled with it anyway, plus exposed to national ridicule over Mr. Nelson’s sweetheart deal. Now 53 percent strongly oppose the bill, while another 11 percent somewhat oppose it. Only 17 percent favor the deal that Mr. Nelson struck in order to vote for the bill.
“But the poll also shows a path to redemption. Asked how they would vote in the 2012 election if Sen. Nelson changed his vote and prevented the health care bill from becoming law, Nebraska voters give Gov. Heineman a lead of only 47 percent to 37 percent.
” ‘The revote results are nothing short of amazing,’ says Democratic pollster Pat Caddell, who notes that simply reversing his health care vote immediately reduces Mr. Nelson’s deficit by two-thirds. ‘The poll suggests the anger of Nebraska voters is deep and unusually intense, and not likely to dissipate quickly.’
“No doubt it was precisely his concern about the unpopularity of the bill back home that prompted Mr. Nelson to hedge his bets when he announced he would support it – he made clear at the time he might not vote for it again if the final compromise between House and Senate versions tilts too far to the left.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/01/inside-politics-64753167/

December 28

All of this week’s items come to us from the great web site youdontsay.org

Time magazine loves Obama

“Time magazine has gone intellectually ga-ga over President Barack Obama, putting his mug on the cover seven times since his election, and putting first Lady Michelle Obama on the cover once. Time did the same for Bill Clinton in 1993 with seven cover stories, and a cover for Hillary Clinton. [. . .] Ronald Reagan made the cover three times; George Herbert Walker Bush, twice; and George W. Bush, twice. The other glaring double-standard is that most of the Obama and Clinton cover stories touted their top policy issues while the Republican presidential covers were either critical of their policies or focused on the person.”

Media doesn’t report what it doesn’t like: part one

“CBS and NBC skipped reporting on a new study that shows spending by the Obama administration averages $34,000 per household in 2009, up from $26,000 per household in 2008.”

Media doesn’t report what it doesn’t like: part two

“ABC somehow managed to report on the sweeping arrests of 44 people in New Jersey [. . .] without mentioning that all the major players involved in the corruption scandal are Democrats.”

OnStar or Big Brother?

“Some drivers may not be aware that OnStar actually has the ability to slow down a moving vehicle on the highway. This security feature was originally designed to help owners retrieve a stolen car. But what if the Department of Transportation decides that everybody should optimize their highway fuel efficiency by driving no faster than 55 MPH? Somebody at [now government-run] OnStar can press a button and make that happen.”

Government taking care of government

“It has been reported that President Obama recently approved a 2% salary increase for all federal employees effective January 1, 2010. Members of the executive, legislative and judicial branch are due for an automatic 20% pay increase in January as well. All this on the backs of seniors who will not incur any COLA increases for several years. For the first time in history, the Congress will not allow an increase in the social security COLA (cost of living adjustment). In fact, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation predicts there may not be any COLA for the next three years. However, the per person monthly Medicare insurance premium, part B, will be increased from the 2009 premium of $96.40 to $104.20 in 2010 and to $120.20 for the year 2011.”

A Communist by any other name would still stink the same

“Though global communism has been defeated, there remains a strong contingent among us, whose nerve center is the Democratic Party leadership under President Obama, committed to obliterating America’s free market. [. . .] Both his father, Barack Obama Sr., and his mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, were communists. His church of choice was one of black liberation theology, whose Marxist roots are inarguable. He associated with far leftists on the ‘organizing’ streets of Chicago, including Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.”

December 21

Why Democrats believe in “Hope and Change”

“Did Bill Ayers really write the President’s books? Is Barack Obama a Muslim? Where was the President born? Will ObamaCare bankrupt us?”
Break out the Ouija Board and find out if they believe in the tooth fairy, unicorns and Santa Claus (no, no Santa Claus. He’s a symbol of Christmas, that racist, sexist, homophobic holiday celebrated by intolerant Christians).
Here’s the story of a new Pew Research study from Byron York in the Washington Examiner:
“Conservatives and Republicans report fewer experiences than liberals or Democrats communicating with the dead, seeing ghosts and consulting fortunetellers or psychics,” the Pew study says. For example, 21 percent of Republicans report that they have been in touch with someone who is dead, while 36 percent of Democrats say they have done so. Eleven percent of Republicans say they have seen a ghost, while 21 percent of Democrats say so. And nine percent of Republicans say they have consulted a fortuneteller, while 22 percent of Democrats have.
There’s more. Seventeen percent of Republicans say they believe in reincarnation, while 30 percent of Democrats do. Fourteen percent of Republicans say they believe in astrology, while 31 percent of Democrats do. Fifteen percent of Republicans say they view yoga as a spiritual practice, while 31 percent of Democrats do. Seventeen percent of Republicans say they believe in spiritual energy, while 30 percent of Democrats do.
Ihatethemedia.com

Never forget Biden is an idiot

Why, to hear Joe Biden tell it, he’s a regular job creating dynamo.
Here’s how Bloomberg reports the story of this walking, talking economic miracle:
President Barack Obama’s clean- energy initiatives will help create more than 700,000 jobs and allow the U.S. to double its renewable-power generation in three years, according to a report by Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden, in a memo on administration efforts to shift to a clean-energy economy, said projects in the $787 billion economic stimulus package are contributing to “unprecedented growth” in renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and improving manufacturing for new clean-energy technology.”
Ihatethemedia.com

Obama taxes coming

“Obamacare will hit millions of consumers with massive ‘indirect taxes’ in the form of sharply higher insurance premiums — some, more than double, studies show.”

http://www.newsmax.com/.

Mileage taxes coming?

“According to the Newspaper.com, [Washington DC] regional officials want to implement a ‘mileage tax.’ Instead of taxing gas, they’d tax every mile driven. Vehicles would be fitted with a GPS-type transponder to record vehicle type, distance traveled, and time and location of travel — in essence, converting every local street into a toll road.”

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com

Will this happen here? Don’t bet it won’t

“[A] guy is driving his rig in Ontario along 401, Canada’s busiest highway. Lights up a cigarette. For that, reports the Toronto Star, he was pulled over by the Ontario Provincial Police and ticketed. The 48-year-old trucker now faces a $305 fine for violating the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which forbids smoking in the workplace. That’s right, the driver alone in a vehicle he owns, driving down a public highway — is considered by Canadian law to be in his workplace.”
.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com

War with Iran coming?

“Many observers believe the decision [to attack Iran] has already been made. With Obama unwilling to confront Iran on its nuclear facilities, it’s just a matter of time before Israel goes ahead and bombs them.”
Youdontsay.org

December 14

DEMOCRATS decline by the numbers

“It’s hard to imagine more dire news for the Democratic Party than the results of the most recent Ipsos-McClatchy poll,” Tom Bevan writes in a blog at www.realclearpolitics.com.
“According to the survey, the Democratic Party has suffered a serious decline in favorability over the past year. At the end of November, 2008, Democrats had a net +27 favorable rating (61 favorable/34 unfavorable). Today the gap is just +5, with 51 percent holding a favorable view of the Democratic Party and 46 percent holding an unfavorable view,” Mr. Bevan said.
“Things look especially bleak on economic-related issues. Consider:
“In the past year, the Democrats’ substantial lead over Republicans on the question of which party can do a better job of handling the economy has completely evaporated. Last November, Democrats held a 21-point advantage on that question, 58 to 37. Today their lead is down to just a single point, 40 to 39.
“On the issue of taxes, Democrats are now running 2 points behind Republicans after leading last year by a 17-point margin, 52-35.
“Ditto the issue of economic growth. A 30-point Democratic advantage last November is now a 3-point deficit to Republicans, 38 to 41.
“On the issue of making America competitive in the world economy, the Democrats’ 20-point advantage last November is down to just three.
“The biggest shift of all comes on the question of who can better deal with the federal budget deficit. Last year Democrats lead Republicans 56 to 26. Today, Republicans lead Democrats on the issue by a 41 to 34 margin – a net 37-point swing in just over twelve months.
“Lastly, on the issue of which party can do a better job of reforming the United States health care system, Democrats’ advantage over Republicans has gone from 39 points (62-23) last year down to just 4 points today (40-36).”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/10/inside-politics-58548062/?page=2

Obama doesn’t get it, never has, never will because he’s not one of us, never has been and never will be

“Once and for all, did the Nativity creche get left out of the White House “holiday” decorations? The entire twinkling array took 92 volunteers a total of 3,400 hours to set out, and the mix includes a Bo Obama replica and a 400-pound gingerbread house.
“When The New York Times indirectly revealed on Sunday that President Obama and his family were planning a “non-religious Christmas” sans Nativity scene, critical reaction was swift.
“The Obamas would like to neuter Christmas,” says Catholic League President William Donahue. “If the Obamas want to deprive their children of celebrating Christmas, that is their business. It is the business of the public to hold them accountable for the way they celebrate Christmas in the White House.”
“Messing with the creche is not wise, says Tim Graham of the Media Research Center: “This goes in the same file folder of holiday bumbles as the plans to cut the White House Hanukkah party guest list in half.”
“But let us now cut to the chase. The Nativity scene is in its traditional spot in the East Room, and the White House is emphasizing the “universality” of the Christmas message. The United Nations climate summit, however, is an official Christmas-free zone. No Tannenbaums, no Kris Kringle, no nothin’ – though the global warming extravaganza will include motocross racing, a fashion show, an official “Copenhagen” cocktail and gender studies.
“As for the numbers, A Zogby poll released Tuesday revealed that 81 percent of Americans plans to put up a Christmas tree.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/jennifer-harper-inside-beltway/

POLL DU JOUR

“*83 percent of Americans say public schools should celebrate religious holidays; 14 percent disagree.
“*76 percent say religious symbols should be allowed on public property; 13 percent disagree.
“*68 percent of public or government workers approve of religious symbols on public sites.
“*72 percent of Americans prefer signs that say “Merry Christmas,” rather than “Happy Holidays.”
Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 adults conducted Dec. 7-8.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/jennifer-harper-inside-beltway/

ROLL OUT THE (PORK) BARREL

“Woe is us. The most notorious congressional pork barrel projects of the year will be named Thursday on Capitol Hill, and they are all doozies. Among the “Top 11″ honorees:
“$380,350 to encourage West Virginians to grow ginseng and shiitake mushrooms; $500,000 for “fish food” – a program to help Missouri fish farmers; $578,000 to combat homelessness in a New York town that reported no homeless problem; a $1.5 million “bet” on renovating the streetscape outside a Detroit casino; and $3.8 million for an urban art trail in upstate New York.
“Last year, Congress approved more than 10,000 earmarks, exceeding $19.6 billion in taxpayer dollars,” notes Rep. Tom Price.
“The Georgia Republican presents the dishonors, along with Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, Illinois Republican, and Tom Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/10/inside-the-beltway-68906398/?page=2

Apparently Newsweek doesn’t know math or geography

“In “Drill, Comrade, Drill” (Scope, Nov. 30), the Leading Indicator explains that China will account for 19.1 percent of the $2.4 billion global construction market by 2020. The value of the market should be $2.4 trillion. Also, in “Is the Coalition Still Willing?” (Back Story, Dec. 7), the map labeled Iraq depicts Iran. NEWSWEEK regrets the errors.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

December 7

Don’t like something about a news story? Why just leave it out silly goose!

“News flash: Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is a Democrat (Damn it, there goes our Pulitzer Prize)
“Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was convicted Tuesday of “misappropriation by a fiduciary.” That means the classy lady ripped off money meant for poor people.
“Of course, we all know that if Dixon had been a Republican the story’s headline would have been “Republican mayor convicted of theft.” But she’s a Democrat. So the liberal media either buries that fact or completely ignores it.
“The Associated Press – to its credit – mentioned it in the second paragraph of its story, but other coverage was spotty at best.
“For example, ABC2news.com didn’t bother to mention Mayor Dixon’s party affiliation in its 10-paragraph story.
“The New York Times finally got around to mentioning it in the 12th paragraph.
“WBAL-TV mentioned it in the 22nd paragraph.
“NPR’s story didn’t mention Dixon’s party affiliation.
“The Baltimore Business Journal didn’t mention it at all. And neither did NBCwashington.com.”
ihatethemedia.com

Obama’s “I’ll end the war as soon as I get into office.” lie

“Way back on October 27, 2007 Candidate Obama told his supporters, “I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank.”
“This week, December 1, 2009, he promised to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Of course, it’ll take nine months to get them there and he also promised to begin bringing them home as soon as they all arrive.
“White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will undoubtedly tell us that President Obama’s actions are unprecedented, because that’s this administration’s favorite word.
“But this speech may truly have been unprecedented. Because it may be the first time one speech was able to piss off liberals who don’t want to fight the war and conservatives who actually want to win the war.
“And you can take that to the bank.”
ihatethemedia.com

2009 hurricane season and Al Gore’s credibility expire simultaneously

“An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning science fiction movie, attempted to scare the bejeebers out of you by claiming that global warming would inevitably lead to increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes.
“Sadly, Gore’s credibility peaked in 2005 and so did hurricanes.
Atlantic Hurricane Season Has Fewest Named Storms in 12 Years
“The Atlantic hurricane season ended today after producing the fewest named storms in 12 years. It was the first time in three years that no hurricane struck the U.S. mainland.
“The story continued:
“The calmer season was expected and reflected the development of a mid-year eastern Pacific warming pattern called El Nino, said Gerry Bell, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, in Camp Springs, Maryland.
“Unfortunately, the Insurance Journal reported a different reality: In its December (2008) forecast, the Colorado State University team predicted 14 named storms. That included seven hurricanes and three big ass major hurricanes.
“Ahhh, but alas. It was not to be.
‘In reality, the 2009 season that ended as December began saw storms that barely qualified as storms. It featured storms that formed and dissipated so quickly that it’s almost surprising they were even noticed. We even had a couple oddball storms that formed far north of the typical hurricane track. It was the first time in several years in which no hurricanes hit the United States. And we even had a late hurricane that barely qualified as one. To sum it all up, 2009 was one of the quietest hurricane seasons in decades.
“And so we simultaneously bid a fond adieu to the 2009 hurricane season and to Albert Gore’s tattered credibility.
“We know there will be another hurricane season in 2010, but the return of Gore’s credibility is far less certain.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aTBmDJKjkbTs via ihatethemedia.com

“Even you Auntie Zeituni?”

“Auntie Zeituni lives in Boston. Maybe John Kerry can find a spare room in his mansion for her.
“This is a sad story. A very sad story, indeed. It looks like President Obama has abandoned his beloved Auntie Zeituni in her hour of greatest need.
“The Associated Press tells the tragic tale:
“President Barack Obama’s aunt buried her face in her hands and sobbed as she described her anguish over no longer having contact with him and his family after the revelation she had been living illegally for years in the United States in public housing.
“Zeituni Onyango (zay-TUH’-nee awn-YAHN’-goh) told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that she is troubled that her immigration woes have made her a political liability to her nephew.
“Onyango, the half sister of Obama’s late father, said she has exiled herself from the family after attending Obama’s inauguration because she didn’t want to become fodder for his foes. Obama and his family have not reached out to her either, she said.
““Before, we were family. But right now, there is a lot of politics, and me, I am not interested in any politics at all,” said Onyango, whose appeal for asylum from her native Kenya is before an immigration judge in Boston.
“The Obamas are her only family in the United States, she said.
“It is very sad when such a thing happens. There are people, outsiders, you know, they come in between, they divide a family,” she said last week. “It’s not easy.”
“In related news, Obama has also abandoned every one of his campaign promises”.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_aunt via ihatethemedia.com

Hondurans provide preview of 2010 American elections: Leftist thug out, conservative in

“Muy bien, compadres! Honduran voters lined up to vote for the conservative candidate.
“Honduras held its long awaited presidential vote on Sunday. It’s estimated that an amazing 70% of eligible voters may have turned out.
“Despite the fact that Barack Obama and the region’s leftist dictators supported legally ousted former President Manuel Zelaya, the conservative candidate handily won the election.
“Here’s how the Wall Street Journal reports the story:
“Neither of the two men claiming to be president during the past five months – Mr. Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti – were on the ballot.
“Instead, Hondurans picked between Mr. Lobo of the conservative National Party and Elvin Santos of the Liberal Party – to which both Mr. Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti belong.
“Voters were expected to punish the Liberal Party for the crisis and hand power to Mr. Lobo, who was narrowly beat by Mr. Zelaya four years ago.
““It’s going to be Pepe this time,” said Higenio Garcia Ponce, 74, an agricultural laborer who said he had just voted for Mr. Lobo. “There was a rupture in the Liberal Party over what happened with Zelaya.”
“We love the words “Voters were expected to punish the liberal party” and predict that they will be repeated here in 2010. And if we’re all lucky, again in 2012.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125952888258868607.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories via ihatethemedia.com

November 30

Because felons vote Democrat, that’s why!

“Maine is only one of two states that allow criminals to vote while behind bars (Vermont is the other one), so the NAACP is busy making sure the crooks and thugs cast ballots. It has launched a major voter registration drive to get felons on the voting rolls. The reason? The NAACP knows that the criminals will vote the same way as the NAACP.”
www.manews.org via youdontsay.org

Cutting sex ed classes

“At Paul Robeson High School, part of Chicago’s public school system, 115 of the 800 female students are pregnant. The school system’s progressive education leaders can’t figure out why all of their sex education classes didn’t prevent the pregnancies.”
www.manews.org via youdontsay.org

Home schooled kids do 40% better

“[S]ome two million children are currently involved in home schooling, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association. Results of their recent study could be quite disturbing to NEA groupies when they learn that home-schooled kids score nearly 40% higher on standardized tests [. . . .] Since homeschoolers spend an average of $500 a year vs. the average of $10,000 spent on kids in public education, homeschooling is one of today’s biggest bargains.”
www.academia.org via youdontsay.org

Bed bugs brought by foreign visitors

“[The] city of New York [is] now home to a majority foreign-born population — and bed bugs. [. . .] Bed bugs, which were virtually eradicated in the U.S. back in the 30s and 40s, have returned, arriving with immigrants and foreign travelers, thanks to free trade and open borders.”
www.manews.org via youdontsay.org

NEWS BLACKOUT

“The Media Research Center’s Rich Noyes reports that the broadcast networks have been silent about revelations of scientific fraud by leading advocates of global warming.
“As of Tuesday morning, the broadcast networks still haven’t uttered a single word about the revelations late last week of e-mails showing scientists on the left-wing side of the global warming debate plotting to hide data and silence those on the other side in an effort to prop up the notion of a ‘consensus’ on the issue,” Mr. Noyes said at www.mrc.org.
“But when the liberal side of the debate charged that their opponents were involved in a ‘conspiracy’ to tilt the debate in their favor, those same networks eagerly jumped on the story and castigated the evil ‘deniers.’
“In 2007, as Brent Baker chronicled at the time in the MRC’s CyberAlert, the broadcast-network evening newscasts jumped to hype a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing meant to publicize a report from two far-left groups about how the Bush administration supposedly suppressed science about the dire threat of global warming – as if that view wasn’t getting plenty of play in the mainstream media. …
“On Monday, the New York Times ran a front-page story about the exposure of the censorious tactics of left-wing climate scientists, but that night the networks refused to notice. Double standard, anyone?”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/25/inside-politics-26920492//print/

November 23

ACORN got money from the Department of Justice

“Although the Department of Justice is not yet investigating the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), its Inspector General has looked into whether ACORN got any DOJ money. According to a new report from Justice’s Inspector General, the controversial liberal activist group got $200,000 in all, counting one direct grant to an ACORN affiliate and sub-grants from three DOJ grantees between 2002 and 2009.

“A release from the Department of Justice related the findings of the Inspector General’s report, including a $20,000 sub-award for “crime stopper activities in New York City,” a $138,130 grant to an ACORN affiliate to form “ACORN Youth Unions” at NYC schools, and a sub-award to canvass neighborhoods in St. Louis for the “Weed and Seed” program.

“Another $20,000 went as a sub-grant to an ACORN affiliate in Chicago “to address problems of crime, violence, and substance abuse, and to assist in revitalizing communities,” but DOJ audited that grant because the grantee “had mismanaged the grant and did not properly oversee some of its 36 sub-grantees, including the ACORN affiliate…During our audit, neither [the grantee] nor [the ACORN affiliate] provided evidence of what specific activities the sub-award was expected to fund, or the purposes for which the funds were ultimately used.”

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/

Senator Grassley: Americorps firings politically motivated

“Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has released a statement on the new report published by his staff and that of Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking GOP member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “The allegations uncovered by the inspector general [Gerald Walpin] were very serious,” Grassley says, “and they deserve to be fully investigated, not swept under the rug.” Grassley continued:

“It seems a lot of people might have been interested in protecting the AmeriCorps program and the Mayor of Sacramento from an IG who was discovering some unpleasant facts. I’m not sure whether the IG was fired for political reasons. The evidence points in that direction, but since the White House is asserting privilege over its decision-making process, we can’t be sure. The report details everything we were able to learn, so people can judge for themselves.

“Grassley is still trying to get the Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency that oversees AmeriCorps, to release documents concerning communications with the White House over the Walpin firing. To date, the White House has not given any indication that it is willing to give up those documents.
Washington Examiner

New Jersey Democrats PLEASE let them try this!

“In what could become the highest profile game of political musical chairs in the state, Democratic sources claim they are considering replacing U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg with outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine,” according to the Hudson Reporter, a New Jersey newspaper.
“It would work like this: Corzine would resign prior to January, when Republican Christopher Christie takes over as governor. A Corzine resignation would allow state Senate President Richard Codey to serve as acting governor. Then, Lautenberg would retire from the U.S. Senate, leaving Codey to name Corzine to fill the seat until a special election,” the newspaper said at www.hudsonreporter.com.
“This is similar to a move made when Corzine resigned the Senate to become governor, when he named then-Rep. Bob Menendez to fill his own seat.
“The move would prevent Christie from being able to name a replacement for the aging Lautenberg and would give Corzine a leg up as a Senate incumbent in the special election next November.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/18/inside-politics-22639672/

Haley Barbour understand what is happening

“Savvy Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour of Mississippi thinks the “tea party” anti-tax activists of 2009 will be Republican voters come 2010.
“In a teleconference with reporters at the start of the RGA annual meeting in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Mr. Barbour recalled that more than 80 percent of those who voted for independent presidential candidate and budget hawk Ross Perot in 1992 voted for Republican candidates in the Republican congressional sweep of 1994.

“I don’t think there’s anything automatic in politics,” Mr. Barbour said. “Republicans just can’t take it for granted that all those [tea party] people or most of them will vote for us.”
“But he recalled that the national Republican Party worked hard to woo Perot voters in the mid-1990s and predicted the party would have a similar success with tea-party voters unhappy with the Obama administration’s tax and health care policies. With breakthrough victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races earlier this month, Mr. Barbour said he saw a “target-rich environment” for GOP candidates in the 37 governors’ races set for November 2010, with the RGA expecting to spend more than $25 million to back its candidates. With breakthrough victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races earlier this month, Mr. Barbour said he saw a “target-rich environment” for GOP candidates in the 37 governors’ races set for November 2010, with the RGA expecting to spend more than $25 million to back its candidates.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/18/inside-politics-22639672/

Fact check yourself AP

“Excruciating media moment of the day: In a scholarly deconstruction of the Associated Press effort to “fact-check” Sarah Palin’s autobiography, the Columbia Journalism Review managed to mangle its own facts.
“Sarah Palin’s Facts: The Associated Press put 11 reporters on the former vice-president’s new book. The results, says CJR’sGreg Marx, were not all that impressive – for the AP,” the publication said at 12:23 p.m. Wednesday.
“At 12:43, executive editor Mike Hoyt already had fired off a “fact fix.”
“Dear reader. In the promo for the piece about, uh, fact-checking: Sarah Palin was not a vice president, as you know. She ran for the office. Apologies,” he wrote.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/19/inside-the-beltway-90132203/?page=2

November 16

Government intrusion in our lives getting worse

“A New Hampshire family-court judge ruled on July 13 that a 10-year-old home-schooled child must now go to a government school in order to teach her to be less ‘rigid’ and foster ‘tolerance’ in her religious beliefs. The judge made this order despite finding that the child ‘is generally likable and well liked, social and interactive with her peers, academically promising, and intellectually at or superior to grade level.’”

The New American October 26, 2009 via www.youdontsay.org

And worse….

“A San Diego pastor and his wife were interrogated by a county official and warned they would face escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home. [. . . The pastor's wife,] Mary Jones says she was then told she must stop holding ‘religious assemblies’ until she and her husband obtained a major use permit from the county. The permit often requires traffic and environmental studies, compliance with parking and sidewalk regulations, and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.”

www. youdontsay.org

And worse still…

“Although [. . .] soft tyranny has been building for decades, the most brazen and dangerous war against the civil society is being waged [right now] by Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. It is a war against the individual, against liberty, against private property and is being waged on multiple fronts. [. . .] Obama and the Democrats have used both fiscal and monetary policy to turn America into the largest debtor nation the world has ever known. It threatens to destroy our currency through inflation, the full faith and credit of the United States government, and the liberty, opportunity and security of future generations born and unborn; and that is a contemptible disgrace.”
“The Antidote to Tyranny,” by Mark Levin, Whistleblower magazine, July 2009 via www.youdontsay.org

British busy destroying themselves,

“[T]he Brit government is issuing every home a kitchen slop bucket, according to The [UK] Daily Mail. To meet the EU’S ‘landfill reduction targets’ in its war on global warming, the UK government will steer the new food waste collection to recycling plants. Those who fail to use their slop buckets (or ‘kitchen caddies,’ as the government calls them) will face fines up to £SOO [$800]. In a trial at 94,000 homes last year, many reported ‘terrible smells and infestations of maggots, flies, and rats.’”
The Limbaugh Letter, November 2009 via www.Youdontsay.org

Al Gore claims his TV Network is so successful he had to Fire 80 People

“Current Media said it would shed 80 people, confirming earlier reports , and will make its unconventional format more boringly traditional. This might sound bad. But the San Francisco cable network assures us it is evidence of amazing success!
“Current announced it will eliminate 80 jobs while shifting away from its trademark short-form video packages and “towards proven 30-60 minute formats” from more outside sources. This would mean less video production in Current’s Bay Area home base, as reported previously by former Valleywagger Jackson West at NBC Bay Area .
“Which means everything is totally awesome and on track, according to a Current press release:
“This re-organization was not the result of a need to cut costs. Current Media will have its most profitable year. This financial stability will allow the company to re-allocate resources in order to put further emphasis on areas of the business believed to best position Current Media for continued long-term growth.”

http://m.gawker.com/site?sid=gawker&pid=JuicerHub&targetUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fgawker.com%2F5402455%2Fal-gores-tv-network-firing-80-people-due-to-wild-success%3Fop%3Dpost%26refId%3D5402455

November 9

Is this a case of remarkably biased reporting? You be
the judge

“Anne Davies, remarkably impartial Washington correspondent and would-be TV critic
“Anne Davies is the Washington correspondent for Rupert Murdoch’s Australian newspapers, so one might assume she has her biases under control.
But, alas, it was not to be.
“Here, in one remarkable paragraph, Davies clearly demonstrates that liberal media bias is a worldwide phenomenon:
“Fox dominated the news channel ratings. Its top host, Bill O’Reilly, who offers right-wing ideology and belittles liberals, attracted an average 881,000 viewers, while CNN’s award-winning Anderson Cooper, who bills himself as a serious journalist who actually goes to war zones, rated only 211,000 viewers.
“Well, that about sums it up. Thanks for putting it all in perspective for us, Anne.”
www.ihatethemedia.com

Seems like de idiot who wrote this didn’t have a clue
From the Los Angles Times

“Brett Favre: In an NFL column in Monday’s Sports section, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was quoted as saying, “It didn’t seem weird until I got in near the pier,” talking about his return to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. What he said was, “It didn’t seem weird until I got in near De Pere,” which is a town between Appleton and Green Bay.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-farmer-vikings-packers2-2009nov02,0,7748380.column

USA a tax haven?

“[T]he United States is the biggest tax haven in the entire world. Foreigners have more than $4 trillion in the U.S. in bank accounts, brokerage accounts and other accounts. It’s a whole protected economy. The U.S. does not tax interest or capital gains on foreigners and no income tax.”
wwwboblivingstonletter.com via youdontsay.org
We have all the energy we need except the energy to say no to the enviroNazis
“There is no resource problem. The United States is awash in essentially unlimited quantities of all of the fuels — uranium, coal, oil, natural gas and methane clathrates — that [. . .] industries require. The Obama administration and its congressional retainers insist, however, that these fuels not be used.”
Http.wwwwnd.com via youdontsay.org

Twelve Trillion Obamaburgers served?

“McDonald’s, the fast food giant, recently launched a website called ’365Black,’ which it explains as follows: ‘At McDonald’s, we believe that African-American culture and achievement should be celebrated 365 days a year — not just during Black History Month.’”
http://Amren.com via youdontsay.org

November 2

Doctors might quit rather than work under Obamacare

“The headline in Investsor’s Business Daily, Sept. 16, 2009: ’45% of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul.’”

www.Youdontsay.org

They are killing our economy by killing our banks

“A study by the World Economic Forum last month found that Switzerland surpassed the U.S. as having the world’s most competitive economy. The U.S. was ranked second. Trust in U.S. banks fell to 108th position, just behind Tanzania.”

www.youndontsay.org

Ford backs Sharpton with workers’ salaries

“Ford Motor Company gave radical black activist Al Sharpton’s National Action Network $50,000 to help underwrite its annual convention in April. Ford lost $14.6 billion last year, shut 17 production plants, and laid off 5,000 workers.”
www.youdontsay.org

From the “infallible” media, an oops from the Los Angles Times

“FOR THE RECORD:
Newspaper circulation: An article in Business on Tuesday about newspaper circulation said the Oakland Tribune reported a 7.3% gain in circulation to 68,067. Those results were actually reported by the Oakland Press, in Oakland, Mich. The California paper reported a 0.3% gain in subscribers to 92,794.”
Via http://www.regrettheerror.com/

From U.S. News as picked up by the Wall Street Journal

“Orthodox Jews were excluded from a study of marriages among Jews who made “birthright” visits to Israel because they were presumed to have a high rate of marriages within the faith. A U.S. News article about the study in some Monday editions incorrectly said Orthodox Jews weren’t included because they were presumed to have a high rate of interfaith marriages.”
Via http://www.regrettheerror.com/

October 26

NOBODY REMEMBERS OBAMA AT COLUMBIA

Looking for evidence of Obama’s past, Fox News contacted 400 Columbia University students from the period when Obama claims to have been there, but none remembered him.
Wayne Allyn Root was, like Obama, a political science major at Columbia who also graduated in 1983. In 2008, Root says of Obama, “I don’t know a single person at Columbia that knew him, and they all know me.
I don’t have a classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia. Ever! Nobody recalls him. I’m not exaggerating, I’m not kidding.”
Root adds that he was also, like Obama, “Class of ’83 political science, pre-law” and says, “You don’t get more exact or closer than that. Never met him in my life, don’t know anyone who ever met him.
At the class reunion, our 20th reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me.

No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who’s kind of the, as we say in New York, the macha who knows everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him. Is that not strange?
It’s very strange.” Obama’s photograph does not appear in the school’s yearbook and Obama consistently declines requests to talk about his years at Columbia, provide school records, or provide the name of any former classmates or friends while at Columbia.

http://antimullah.com/

Military Channel forbids use of God’s name

On Saturday October 17, The Military Channel ran an episode of its “The Color of War” series dealing with the Normandy invasion. The narrator read General Eisenhower’s D Day message and STOPPED after “Good luck! Eisenhower actually ended his message with “Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”
Apparently the mention of the name GOD is no allowed on the Military Channel which is extremely ironic since so many of our fighting men and women have died defending the right to use God’s name. Sad isn’t it?
www.militarychannel.com/blog/

Mika gets marching orders from the White House while she’s on the air

Remind us again. Isn’t Mika the daughter of Mr. Mxyzptlk, Superman’s enemy from another dimension? But we digress.
Since MSNBC is a real news organization – unlike Fox – it’s only natural that the White House should email Mika Brzezinski while she was on the air.
And voila! Mika rolled over and played dead and delivered the White House’s talking points exactly as they had requested.
“The White House did just e-mail saying that interaction with Jake Tapper was not heated…”
Anita Dunn then placed a biscuit on Mika’s nose, where she obediently let it sit until she was given permission to eat it.
ihatethemedia.com

Obama’s Electric police will be knocking at your door

“[T]he British government is conducting trials with ‘smart meters’ that set off alarms when homes exceed allotted electricity limits. In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell has okayed a law requiring utility companies to cut their customers’ annual electricity consumption by one percent by May 2011, or be fined up to $20 million.”
Youdontsay.org

Rockefeller will force Obamacare on us

“Jay Rockefeller is leading the charge for Obamacare. As chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, he is currently pushing a bill that will strip Congress of all authority over federal health spending. Henceforth, such decisions will be made by a secretive committee of ‘experrs’ modeled after the Federal Reserve Board, if Rockefeller gets his way.”
Youdontsay.org

Global warming? Bull feathers!

These headlines tell the story.
Mid-October Snow Shocks NorthEast
Source: WCBS-TV
October slips to chilliest in 133 years, becomes (Chicago’s) 2nd coldest
Source: WGN-TV
Penn State tailgates cancelled due to snow
Source: GoPSUsports.com
Montana: Record lows smashed by 14 degrees
Source: Daily Interlake
Record cold hits region (north central Washington); snow on the way
Source: WenatcheeWorld.com
Ihatethemedia.com

October 19

Lindsey Graham is still a pain in the ash

“Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, “is on board with the job-killing energy tax bill, but there are many Democrats who won’t walk the plank with him on cap and trade,” Jennifer Rubin writes in a blog at CommentaryMagazine.com.
“Unlike health care reform, which might be jammed through with smoke-and-mirror parliamentary tricks, cap and trade will have to get through the U.S. Senate the old-fashioned way – with 60 votes. According to most counts, the votes aren’t there. As Politico points out, ‘Any climate bill still faces steep obstacles in the Senate.’ Not even the usually pro-environmental John McCain supports the climate bill, because it contains nothing to promote the real green energy source – nuclear power,” the blogger said.
“Then what’s the point of all the legislative angst? Well, for starters, liberal senators need to convince the left-wing base of the Democratic Party that they are doing their best to pass a top agenda item and to build momentum for future climate bills. But in the end, it won’t come to the floor unless Democratic leadership can muster 60 votes. Why? Because the Senate leadership won’t want to be embarrassed and because vulnerable Democrats (including Sens.Blanche Lincoln and Harry Reid) won’t want to face a tough vote that will alienate either their own base or independent and conservative voters.
“So Lindsey Graham annoyed conservatives once again – for nothing? Looks that way.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/13/inside-politics-89298641/?page=2

No longer Gay

“We live in a very complicated world, indeed. Consider the angst of the formerly gay. Yes, “formerly” is the operative term. The formerly gay claim that the currently gay are discriminating against them, according to Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), a California-based grass-roots group.
“They are demanding that the Walt Disney Co. cover former homosexuals in company policies that forbid discrimination against employees.
“Former homosexuals who come out publicly are commonly targeted for ridicule and hate,” says Regina Griggs, director of the group, emphasizing that it seeks “tolerance and safety” in the workplace.
“It is about time Disney treated ex-gays with the respect they deserve,” agrees Bobbie Strobhar, who submitted the demand to Disney and a cited D.C. Superior Court ruling that includes ex-gays as “a protected class” who must be recognized under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws.
“Former homosexuals are true models of courage who have been vilified by gay activists,” Ms. Strobhar continues.
“Ex-gay employees are uncomfortable being open about their sexual orientation with their colleagues because they fear discrimination or unfair treatment in the workplace,” Ms. Griggs adds.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/14/inside-the-beltway-16889979/?page=2

POLL DU JOUR (Part I)

“ 53 percent of Americans overall oppose gay marriage.
- 59 percent of men and 48 percent of women oppose it.
- 52 percent of whites and 66 percent of blacks oppose gay marriage.
- 81 percent of conservative Republicans and 24 percent of liberal Democrats oppose it.
- 77 percent of white evangelical Protestants oppose gay marriage.
- 43 percent of Catholics oppose it.
Source: A Pew Research Center survey of 4,013 adults conducted Aug. 11-27. “

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/16/inside-the-beltway-89685713/?page=3

POLL DU JOUR (Part II)

“• 81 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of Democrats favor the death penalty.
• 65 percent of Americans overall favor the death penalty.
• 57 percent say it is imposed fairly; 37 percent say unfairly.
• 49 percent say the death penalty is not imposed often enough.
• 24 percent say it is imposed “the right amount”; 20 percent say it is imposed too often.
Source: A Gallup poll of 1,013 adults conducted Oct. 1-4.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/14/inside-the-beltway-16889979/?page=2

Republicans are just happier

“Harris Polls, the Pew Research Center, Gallup, and [the General Social Survey] suggest that Republicans and conservatives — including their womenfolk — are happier than their Democratic and liberal counterparts.”
http://www.americasnewspaper.com/ via youdontsay.org

October 12

Horse faced Kerry rooting for a depression

“The lovely Teresa Heinz Kerry and her second favorite condiment
“Massachusetts Democrat Senator John Kerry may have the face of a horse, but he lacks horse sense.
“The Massachusetts Democrat is backing Cap-and-Trade, a mindboggling waste of money designed to combat so-called global warming by slapping taxes on energy.
“Let me emphasize something very strongly as we begin this discussion,” Kerry said. “The United States has already this year alone achieved a 6% reduction in emissions simply because of the downturn in the economy, so we are effectively saying we need to go another 14%.
“C’mon, America. Join John Kerry’s quest to achieve lower greenhouse gas emissions by sinking into a never-ending state of economic depression.
“But, you may ask, how can the country survive when it’s unable to produce anything of any value?
“Simple. We’ll do it the same way John Kerry does it. By marrying a homely, rich widow nation that will give us all the money we need.
“Maybe Norway would like to be our sugar momma.”
Wall Street Journal via Ihatethemedia.com

To Obama all Rasmussens look alike

“Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Or Lars Løkke Rasmussen. Or some other Rasmussen.
“When the President flew into Copenhagen [the week before last] to save Chicago’s bid for the Olympics, he hastily added a few extra diplomatic tasks to his itinerary.
“The White House followed long-standing procedure and issued a press release to let the media know the president’s schedule for the day.
“If the Bush White House had issued this press release, the left would have used it as proof that everyone in the administration was an idiot. Especially George Bush. But we’ve yet to see that argument made about the Obama White House press release.
“Here’s what the press release said:
“The President will arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark in the morning. The arrival at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup is open press.
“The President and the First Lady will then travel to Christiansborg Palace. They will be greeted by HM Queen Margrethe II and HRH Prince Consort Henrik. There will be a travel pool spray. The President will meet Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. There will be a pool spray at the top of the meeting.
“Don’t look now, Mr. President, but that [was] the wrong Rasmussen. Lars Løkke Rasmussen is the Prime Minister of Denmark. Anders Fogh Rasmussen is Secretary-General of NATO.
But you know how it is. All those Danes look alike.”
HotAir.com via ihatethemedia.com

Green scam showing through

“Turn out the lights, Perth. The green party’s over.
“At some point you have to start feeling sorry for the greens. No one wants their cars. No one wants their light bulbs. No one wants their taxes. And most of all, no one wants to be scammed by their government.
“The Sydney Morning Herald tells the story:
“In a move that could cost the Federal Government’s GreenPower scheme public support, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has asked a state government agency and energy suppliers to stop telling customers that using GreenPower will ‘‘make a real difference’’ to the environment. Almost a million households now buy GreenPower, paying extra on their power bills to support renewable energy and shrink their carbon footprint.
“But they will no longer be told it leads to ‘‘significant results for our environment’’.
“Turns out the only thing that’s significant about green power is its cost.”
Sydney Morning Herald via ihatethemedia.com

Don’t trust what the media writes? Read these items from http://www.regrettheerror.com/

From LA WEEKLY:

“The article erroneously reported that former LAUSD Police Chief Wesley Mitchell was pressured to resign after thousands of downloaded porn images were found on his school district-issued computers. In fact, Mitchell retired in January 2002, and the allegations were made the following month. The porn downloads were traced to his son, a high school teacher. L.A. Weekly regrets the error. “
From the LA TIMES:

Death by media

“Iranian aviation: A Sept. 15 article in Section A about the poor safety record of Iran’s civil aviation industry said the managing director of Aria Air and his son were among those killed in a plane crash in late July. The son was not on the flight and was not killed.”

October 5

Whites “elected” Obama by voting for him and staying home

“For all the talk of a ‘historic’ election, the percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in November declined for the first time since 1996 to 63.6 percent. [. . .] The big drop — down 1.5 percent to just under 72 percent — was in whites, of age 45 and over, who usually vote Republican. Black turnout increased by 5 percent to 65 percent, nearly matching the white rate. [. . .] In all, non-whites made up nearly 1 in 4 voters in 2008, the most ever.”
youdontsay.org

MSNBC’s Schultz and Maddow losing viewers

“MSNBC executives must be sweating bullets. Last quarter was a ratings disaster for the also-ran lefty network, and last week was even worse.
“For the first time since her premiere last September, Rachel Maddow failed to top 1,000,000 viewers all five nights of the week.
“And Ed Schultz. Poor Ed Schultz. After his disappointing premiere back in April, networks executives reassured worried advertisers that his ratings would grow. In reality, they’ve actually become more abysmal. Last week the bombastic buffoon’s total audience fell under 500,000 viewers three of the five nights.
“Maddow has a bit of an excuse because Keith Olbermann wasn’t around as a lead-in to her show. But she’s been able to top that magic million mark during previous Olbermann absences.
“Meanwhile, O’Reilly, Hannity and Beck have turned Fox News into the 1927 Yankees of cable news.
“That sound you hear is the gnashing of teeth emanating from MSNBC’s executive suites.”
ihatethemedia.com

Even at the naval Academy?

“Bruce Fleming, an English professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis who served on the school’s admissions board, says that two different sets of standards are used to admit applicants. One set is for whites; another for minorities.”
Youdontsay.org

LIGHT MY FIRE

“California has been burning up as result of raging forest fires, but Congress doesn’t seem to know that. The Senate was all set last week to award $2.8 million of stimulus money for forest fire management to … the District of Columbia,” the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore writes at www.opinionjournal.com.
“Hold on! Washington, D.C. doesn’t have any forests, let alone forest fires. So Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming brought an amendment to the Senate floor to wipe out the funds and reassign the money to the U.S. Forest Service to spend where fires actually are a risk. The amendment passed unanimously so if any senators favored the original funding plan, they apparently didn’t feel like speaking up,” Mr. Moore said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/29/inside-politics-96856817/?page=2

Democrats traveling on our dime

“[T]he Wall Street Journal [. . .] said its study of congressional expense reports found that federal spending on overseas travel by members of Congress is up tenfold since 1995. Hundreds of legislators took trips in 2008 alone at a cost of $13 million, a 50 percent jump since the Democrats took control of Congress.”
Youdontsay.org

September 28

Media bias

“Americans continue to think the news media is mired in favoritism: 84 percent of respondents say news organizations are biased, while nine out of 10 say the national media “played a very or somewhat strong role in helping to elect President Obama,” according to a poll released Wednesday by Sacred Heart University.
“Seventy percent agreed the press is intent on “promoting the Obama presidency,” while 27 percent disagreed. Over half of the respondents – 56 percent – said the press was promoting Mr. Obama’s health care reform “without objective criticism.” And there’s one stand-out bias: 58 percent agreed that the media “appear to be coordinating efforts to diminish the record of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.”
“It is sad,” said Jerry C. Lindsley, director of the Connecticut university’s Polling Institute. “This perception of bias will eventually catch up with the news media outlets. We also found 46 percent of the respondents have permanently stopped watching a news media organization, print or electronic, because of perceived bias.”
The survey of 800 adults was conducted Sept. 8-11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/24/inside-the-beltway-36264420/?page=2

NOW HEAR THIS

“Obama loves to hear himself talk – about himself. In just 41 speeches so far this year, not including this week’s big speech at the United Nations, Obama has talked about himself nearly 1,200 times – 1,198 to be exact. That breaks down to 1,121 ‘I’s and just 77 ‘me’s,” Dan Gainor tells Inside the Beltway.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/24/inside-the-beltway-36264420/?page=2

POLL DU JOUR

• 70 percent of Mexicans living in the U.S. say they have “achieved their goals.”
• 57 percent of Mexicans say they could enjoy a better life in the U.S.
• 39 percent have relatives or close friends living in the U.S.
• 47 percent know someone captured by the Border Patrol and deported.
Source: Pew Global Attitudes poll of 1,000 Mexicans conducted May 26-June 2.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/24/inside-the-beltway-36264420/?page=2

Weep for Detroit

“As people flee the horrors of living in Detroit, student enrollment has fallen by half since 2001, causing 29 new school closings, and thousands of layoffs. Of the remaining high school students, only one-fourth manage to graduate on time. This fall, more than 100 school buildings will be vacant [. . .]”

http://youdontsay.org/Aroundworld.htm

More Homosexual activism

“Homosexual activists want same-sex couples recognized as marriage partners under immigration law. That would allow a homosexual citizen to sponsor his or her foreign lover to come to the United States. About 100 House members and 20 senators have signed on to bills to enact the proposal.”

http://youdontsay.org/Aroundworld.htm

Yes of course we trust the media, why do you ask?

Correction from the Daytona News Journal on-line.com
In two instances in a story Tuesday, victim Rose Crank’s name was inserted where Karen Blosser’s should have been. The story should have stated that Blosser, who was convicted of killing Crank, broke into Crank’s home. And Crank’s daughter said she was pleased Blosser will never walk free

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

September 21
The next time you are tempted to believe what you read in a newspaper keep these items in mind.

Somebody blew it

From The Times (it’s not clear which one but it’s funny anyway):
“Keva McKibbin (“Modern Weddings”, Magazine, August 22) did not say that she was “blown off her face” when she first met her husband, but that she was “blown off her feet”. We apologise for any embarrassment caused by our reporter’s mishearing.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

Lose a word, lose the meaning

From the Seattle Times:
“A previous version of this story incorrectly stated there is that humans who hunt, kill and eat deer have developed chronic wasting disease. It should state, there is no evidence that humans who hunt, kill and eat deer have developed chronic wasting disease.”
Yes, there’s a typo in this correction (”there is that”).

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

All astronauts look alike

From The Washington Post:
“A Sept. 4 Sports item about John Glenn was accompanied by an incorrect photograph. The man labeled as Glenn was another former astronaut, Neil Armstrong.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

Death by media

From the Boston Globe:
“Correction: Because of an editing error, a story in yesterday’s Metro section about Curt Schilling’s possible run for Senate incorrectly referred to former senator Edward W. Brooke III as being dead. Because of a reporting error, his surname was also misspelled.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

Check your head

From the Los Angles Times”
“Robert Rodriguez: An article in Sunday’s Calendar about director Robert Rodriguez misidentified his short film “Bedhead” as “Deadhead.”

http://www.regrettheerror.com/

September 14

Even Democrats know something is wrong

“Why has the Democratic Party become so arrogantly detached from ordinary Americans? Though they claim to speak for the poor and dispossessed, Democrats have increasingly become the party of an upper-middle-class professional elite, top-heavy with journalists, academics and lawyers.”

Camille Paglia in her nationally syndicated column

Drivers can’t speak English and it’s legal

“Only eight states require applicants to take the driver’s license exam in English, according to a study by the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, U.S. English [. . .] with some states offering the exam in as many as a dozen or more languages. That means millions of non-English speaking immigrants are eligible to legally operate motor vehicles on American streets and highways without being able to read traffic and direction signs.”
Middle America News, August 2009, through: youdontsay.org

If you live up north you KNEW this wasn’t going to work

“Last year, Troy, MI officials proudly cut the ribbon for the new $900,000 Community Center. According to The Detroit News, it was ‘a shining example of the green movement — a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.’ It was supposed to be ‘livable year-round, free from the grid’ — with enough solar power to support a home-based business and electric vehicle. [. . .] But sadly, the tours have been cancelled. In fact, the building has never opened to the public. Over the winter, says superintendent of parks Jeff Biegler, ‘the heater drew all reserve power out of the battery, causing the system to back down and the pipes froze.’ Destroying the floors.”
The Limbaugh Letter, July 2009, though youdontsay.org

How can these people teach anybody anything?

“Almost 75 percent of teachers who took the [Massachusetts] state elementary school teachers’ licensing exam this year failed the new math section, with only 27 percent of the more than 600 candidates passing.”
NewsMax magazine, August 2009 through: youdontsay.org

Take that Whitey

“[Bill] Ayers has recently called Barack Obama’s election win ‘a blow against white supremacy.’”
NewsMax magazine, July 2009, through: youdontsay.org

September 7

Obamacare by the numbers

“It’s written by a committee whose head says he doesn’t understand it, passed by members of Congress who haven’t read it but exempt themselves from it, signed by a president who smokes and also hasn’t read it, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s nearly broke.
“What could possibly go wrong?”
Youdontsay.org

Tax cheat Charlie at it again

“Rangel donated to Democrats “ethics” committee members who are investigating him
“Charlie Rangel indicates how many more members of Congress he intends to bribe
“Good ol’ Uncle Charlie Rangel, the New York Democrat who heads the committee that writes the tax laws, is under investigation for a wide range of tax violations.
“So naturally, he decided this would be a good time to make campaign contributions (wink, wink) to some of the other fine, upstanding gentlemen on the committee that’s investigating him.
“The beneficiaries of Rangel’s largesse include Kentucky Democrat Ben Chandler, North Carolina Democrat G.K. Butterfield, and Vermont Democrat Peter Welch.
“And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Rangel’s been spreading the wealth around the House of Representatives at a furious pace, making donations to 119 different Congressmen since the ethics probe was launched last year.
“Rangel, of course, remains nothing if not arrogant.
“I recognize that all of you have an obligation to ask questions knowing that there’s none of you smart enough to frame it in such a way that I’m going to respond,” Rangel told reporters.
“Time for a perp walk here. Ankle cuffs, orange jump suit, the whole shebang.”
ihatethemedia.com

We pay for everybody including illegal aliens

“[TheU.S.] Senate Finance Committee recently created a new preference for illegal aliens by exempting them from Obama’s plan to mandate the purchase of medical insurance. In short, law abiding Americans will be penalized for not obeying the law, but people here illegally are apparently given a free ride.”

Youdontsay.org.

More damage from “Cap and Trade”

“In California, it costs as much as 30% more to build a house than anywhere else due to super-strict building codes. Now environmentalists want to use the new cap-and-trade energy tax bill to federalize building codes. As one bill now before Congress envisions, the Energy Department is to draft new environmental guidelines for all housing construction in the U.S.”

Youdontsay.org.

It won’t be long until only South Dakota offers us freedom forget about the other two

“A comprehensive new study shows that South Dakota, New Hampshire and Colorado offer their citizens the greatest amount of overall freedom, while those living in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California and Maryland bear the greatest amount of government control over their lives.”
Youdontsay.org.

The Audacity Of Dope

“Cops: New York dealers sold heroin branded with president’s name
“Add heroin to the scores of products that have been branded with President Barack Obama’s name. Cops in upstate New York …. broke up a drug ring that allegedly sold heroin under several brand names, including “Obama.” As seen in Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office photos, the president’s surname was stamped in red ink on small glassine wrappers that were peddled by street dealers. Investigators arrested five suspects for their alleged roles in the narcotics distribution activity. “

Thesmokinggun.com

August 31

Is Dukakis is the best they can put up?

“If Massachusetts changes its Romney-era law forbidding the governor to appoint a temporary successor to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, a few prospects stand out,” the Atlantic magazine’s Marc Ambinder writes in a blog at theatlantic.com.
“Temporary appointments can be dangerous for those doing the appointing, particularly when the new guy or gal is replacing beloved, respected politicians. It is tempting to ‘promote’ an up-and-coming pol from your own party – this is what Gov. Charlie Crist might do when he announces Mel Martinez’s temp [Friday] – but Kennedy’s legacy demands a different type of appointment. That’s why the smart money is on former Gov. Michael Dukakis, or someone of his stature, who needs no education in the ways of policy and the Senate, and who would spend his five months faithfully tending to the senator’s concerns and interests – health care reform being paramount. (It’s not clear to me whether the late Kennedy’s wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, wants to serve in this capacity, although she, too, would bring stature.)”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/28/inside-politics-58040044/

It’s Miller Time in a lot of places, but Malaysia isn’t one of them

“The country that alerted us to the spread of H1N1 by homosexuals is now putting the whip down–or the cane down–on beer drinking women.
“Malaysia recently sentenced a woman to caning for drinking a cold, frosty one. But, since Islam is the religion of peace, the Sharia courts granted a Ramadan reprieve.
“Thankfully, for the millions of caning fans out there, the thrashing will happen after the Islamic holiday. Ramadan is a month-long period of fasting. The Islamic judges may be worried that the caners might be a little weak from the lack of food to deliver a good whuppin’ witha rattan rod.
“Amnesty International condemns caning, unless it’s being performed on former Bush administration officials.”

Ihatethemedia.com

Like waiting for operations? You’ll love Obamacare

“In Canada, 27 percent of the people who have surgery wait four months or more. In Britain, 38 percent wait that long. But only 5 percent of Americans wait that long for surgery.”

Youdontsay.org

Zero job growth, now THAT’S change!

“[J]ob losses are [. . .] now equal to the net job gains over the previous nine years, making this the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all job growth from the previous expansion.”

Youdontsay.org

Our tax money buying new union thugs for Obama’s Army

“In New Hampshire, [. . .] it turns out that more than $400 million in federal stimulus money has resulted, as of July, in a grand total of 50 jobs, 34 of them full time (albeit temporary ones) due to expire in 2011. According to the (Manchester) Union Leader, these include five people working for the Office of Economic Stimulus. ”

Youdon’tsay.org

August 24

Democrat congresswoman sets etiquette standards for town hall meetings

“Cowardly but oh-so-refined Democrat Congresswoman Betsy Markey, who’s run out of excuses not to hold town hall meetings, has announced that she will schedule a series of mini-town halls with no more than 20 constituents per.
“Apparently the little princess is so afraid that her constituents will channel their inner mob that each attendee will receive a copy of “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” supposedly written by George Washington.
“Poor, deluded Betsy. If she thinks this angry mob needs lessons in civility, perhaps she needs to recall some of the protesters who challenged President Bush. You know, the ones about whom she said not a word.”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/

Fox News ratings in stratosphere, now second highest rated of all cable networks

“Fox News left its cable news competitors in the dust long ago. Now the network has its sights set on a prize that even Rupert Murdoch would have once thought impossible – number one ratings among all cable networks.
“Here’s how MediaBistro.com describes the situation:
“Last week we reported on Fox News Channel’s primetime programs putting up huge numbers — three nights in a row beating CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and HLN combined in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo.
“Well now the cable news rankings are out and Fox News was the second most-watched basic cable channel in primetime last week, only behind USA. FNC was 5th overall in Total Day viewership.
“MSNBC was 24th in primetime and 32nd in Total Day. CNN ranked 26th in prime and 23rd in Total Day.
“That sound you hear is Keith Olbermann whimpering over in the corner.”

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/

Hey Joe you dope, where’s the 600K jobs you promised in May?

Back on May 13 Vice President Abortion Joe Biden confidently predicted his Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would add 600,000 new jobs or save that many jobs for our economy. He said this would happen in 100 days. Hey Joe, where are the jobs?

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/

President Ronald Reagan said, “Its not that my liberal friends don’t know anything, it’s that so much of what they know isn’t so.”

“What is best in our approach [to health care] is the exceptional quality it provides,” Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman writes.
“Americans grasp that: A 2006 poll found that 89 percent were happy with the medical care they get. But President Obama and his allies in Congress don’t seem to realize how good we have it,” Mr. Chapman said.
“He says though the United States spends more per person on medical care than any other nation, ‘the quality of our care is often lower, and we aren’t any healthier. In fact, citizens in some countries that spend substantially less than we do are actually living longer than we do.’
“That’s one of the favorite rationales for a government-led overhaul. But it gives about as realistic a picture of American medicine as an episode of ‘Scrubs.’
“It’s true that the United States spends more on health care than anyone else, and it’s true that we rank below a lot of other advanced countries in life expectancy. The juxtaposition of the two facts, however, doesn’t prove we are wasting our money or doing the wrong things.
“It only proves that lots of things affect mortality besides medical treatment. Heath Ledger didn’t die at age 28 because the American health care system failed him.
“One big reason our life expectancy lags is that Americans have an unusual tendency to perish in homicides or accidents. We are 12 times more likely than the Japanese to be murdered and nearly twice as likely to be killed in auto wrecks.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/17/inside-politics-99991599/?page=2

REAL CLUNKER

“The video of Hillary Clinton peevishly snapping at a student questioner in the Congo was the meltdown seen ’round the world. But that undiplomatic moment was hardly her worst on the Africa swing,” New York Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin writes.
“The real clunker came with her pathetic attempt to compare Nigeria’s corrupt and violent 2007 elections to the contested 2000 American presidential results,” Mr. Goodwin said.
“In equating the two, the secretary of state echoes President Obama’s sour apologia tours around the globe. Either he’s writing her speeches now or Clinton’s drinking the White House Kool-Aid. Neither is appealing.
“The bended-knee approach abroad shames America and reduces our great nation to the sum of its mistakes and failures. And it seems designed to create the misleading impression that Third-World kleptocrats and genocidal maniacs are, gee, just like us.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/17/inside-politics-99991599/?page=2

AUGUST 17

Cap and Trade pure disaster

“A wide array of credible analyses by groups such as the Heritage Foundation and CATO Institute note cap and trade will destroy $7.4 trillion in national wealth over the next decade, by raising your electricity costs by 90% and gasoline by at least 74%. The plan will cost the average family an estimated $3000 per year.”

The American Sentinel, July 2009, page 4.

Hyperinflation is coming

“The U.S. is far deeper in debt than pre-Hitler Germany was — in fact we are in so deep, even outright confiscation of all citizens’ earnings can’t payoff what we owe. If the government does not dramatically cut social spending, then the only way out of this mess is to print more dollars. [. . .] [T]he preconditions for hyperinflationary money creation are in place.”

The American Sentinel, July 2009, page 8.

GOP chances improving

“Six months ago, the 2010 Senate battlefield looked relatively bare, with a few obvious skirmishes, mostly in states with GOP incumbents,” Stuart Rothenberg writes in Roll Call.
“Three months later, the outlook had brightened dramatically for Democrats, largely the result of a number of GOP retirements and solid Democratic recruiting on those open seats,” Mr. Rothenberg said.
“But now, as the dog days of summer begin, the landscape has shifted again, this time improving significantly for Republicans. Democrats no longer have the momentum they once possessed. Even more important, signs of some Democratic vulnerability have appeared, giving the National Republican Senatorial Committee opportunities to shoot at, rather than forcing it to play an entirely defensive game, as it has the past two cycles.
“Fifteen months before the midterms, Democrats have major problems in two states – Illinois and Connecticut – while a third, Nevada, remains a potential headache. Republicans, on the other hand, have serious vulnerabilities in four states – Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio – and potential problems in two others. But of late, even those Republican vulnerabilities look less daunting than they once did.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/05/bens-toolbox/?page=2

Let me guess: No findings of guilty, except agaisnt Burris

“As Congress heads into its summer recess, some members have more worries to take home with them than others,” Beth Sussman writes at www.nationaljournal.com.
“According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 17 representatives and senators are known to currently be under investigation for breaking ethical standards. Of those under investigation, 13 are Democratic members and four are Republican members,” the writer said.
“Charges range from steering earmarked funds toward associates to tax evasion to receiving preferential mortgage rates.
“The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct does not release information regarding which members are under investigation, but a July committee report stated that 26 investigations had been under way since the beginning of the 111th Congress, 11 of which were carried over from the 110th Congress and 15 of which began this Congress. Four investigations had been resolved in that time period. A Senate Ethics Committee official couldn’t be reached for comment.
“According to CREW’s records, the lawmakers currently under investigation are: Democrats Rep.Sanford Bishop of Georgia, Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois, Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Rep. Allan Mollohan of West Virginia, Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, Rep. Charles Rangel of NewYork, Rep. Laura Richardson of California, Rep. Linda Sanchez of California, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California, Rep. Peter Visclosky of Indiana; and Republicans Rep. Don Young of Alaska, Rep. Jerry Lewis of California, Rep. Gary Miller of California and Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/05/bens-toolbox/?page=2

Quotes of note

“Providing nothing of substance — at great length.” — USA Today’s Jonah Goldberg, on Vice President Joe Biden.
“Why don’t we have cash for refrigerators? Or cash for anything?” — Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican.
“Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura.” — title of new TruTV reality series.
“’Attempting to read every word of every legislative bill would be counterproductive. I think you would slow down the business of Congress to a crawl and it would be hard to get done what needs to be done.” — Rep. Paul Hodes, New Hampshire Democrat, to the Nashua Telegraph.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/05/bens-toolbox/?page=2

September 12 national TEA party in Washington D. C. plan to be there

“There’s been a mighty hubbub about town hall meetings and tea parties. Critics better brace for impact, however. The coast-to-coast “Tea Party Express” tour will depart at the end of the month and visit 33 cities, culminating in a Sept. 12 rally at the U.S. Capitol.
“The tour’s mission – set forth from a snappy looking campaign bus – is to “to encourage Americans to rise up and speak out” against spending, bailouts and socialized medicine.
“The rallies will focus on holding local policymakers accountable for destructive legislation and policy that reeks of socialism and threatens to permanently cripple the American economy,” say organizers, who have some muscle.
“There are 20 sponsors, including the National Taxpayers Union and the Freedom Works Foundation, chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey and former presidential hopeful Steve Forbes.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/10/inside-the-beltway-twt-67064144/?page=2

August 10

RATHER NOT

“Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather recently called upon President Obama to “establish a White House commission on public media” to discourage “sleazy” journalism, preserve a free press and protect “the red beating heart of democracy and freedom.
“The notion does not appeal to Americans, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey. A quarter of the respondents favored the White House commission to bolster journalism; 55 percent opposed it. As far as the public is concerned, the embattled U.S. news media is on its own,” the findings said. The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted Aug. 2-3.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/07/inside-the-beltway-75621643/?page=3

CLUNKER FUNK

“Metal scrap dealers are happy about extended “cash for clunkers” legislation. It means there will be more old Ford Explorers for their larders. Toyota is happy too. Corollas are the most popular replacement for discarded gas guzzlers.
The folks at Kelley Blue Book are not so happy. The $2 billion extension will take a half-million used cars off the market, says senior analyst Alex Gutierrez. Anticipating low stock but high demand, dealers are stocking up on the oldies. A massive clunker price “bubble” is in the works, he predicts.
“Dealerships have reported increased foot traffic, creating a false sense of automotive market recovery,” Mr. Gutierrez says. “If this bubble comes to pass, dealerships will end up with excess inventory and be forced to offer deep discounts, driving values down. Ultimately, there will be the possibility of a severe contraction in auto sales as soon as the cash for clunkers program runs out of funding.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/07/inside-the-beltway-75621643/?page=3

POLL DU JOUR

“50 percent of Americans say immigration levels should be decreased, up from 39 percent in 2008.
32 percent say the levels should be kept the same, down from 39 percent last year.
14 percent say they should be increased, down from 18 percent last year.
36 percent say immigration is a “bad thing,” up from 30 percent in 2008.
Source: Gallup Poll of 1,018 adults conducted July 10-12.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/07/inside-the-beltway-75621643/?page=3

Obamacare will require even more translators

“In May, Democrat Gov. Steve Beshear of Kentucky reversed a decision by Kentucky State Police to offer the written driver’s license test only in English. [. . .] So now Kentucky will offer the license exam in 22 different languages, ensuring that Kentucky’s roads are filled with legally licensed drivers unable to read traffic signs, which are all in English.”

http://manenews.com

Lest we forget some of these people are lunatics

In April, Jordanian immigrant Nour Hadid, 26, was charged with murdering her two-year old niece who died after four days of beatings with a wooden implement, suffering deadly injuries to her brain and kidneys. Police say Hadid has confessed, but local Muslims expressed outrage at the police, not Hadid. Dr. Mohammad Sahoul, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Chicago, was outraged because the police made Hadid remove her headscarf for her mugshot. [. . .] He said the mugshot was an ‘insult to our religion.’”

http://manenews.com

$16 Million of our taxpayer dollars for mice

“$16.1 million from the stimulus program is going to save the habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional district.” [Beneficiaries: Not us. Only mice.]

http://.www.Humaneventsonline.com

A once important Church committing suicide

The U.S. Episcopal Church put itself on a collision course with the rest of the Anglican Communion on July 14 by formally approving the ordination of gay bishops [. . .]”

The Washington Times National Weekly Edition, July 20, 2009, page 14.

UNION MUSCLE

“In the past few days, liberal activists have started to plan their counterattack on the conservative opponents of health care reform; now, the AFL-CIO says it will get involved, too,” Chris Good writes in a blog at TheAtlantic.com.
“In a memo to presidents of national and international unions, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called on affiliate unions to launch a 30-day campaign of activism in support of health care reform – and, perhaps most significantly, to turn out union members to town hall meetings. Part of the plan is to ‘organize major union participation in Congressional Town Hall meetings, both live and virtual Tele-Town Hall Meetings. A list of these meetings will be sent to you as soon as we receive it along with the list of approximately 50 high-priority districts,’ the memo states.
“Labor unions have traditionally provided the foot soldiers in Democratic politics, waving signs, phone-banking and turning out votes. … Now they’ll play in town halls, where conservatives have been outperforming liberals in attendance, shouting down reform and generally dominating both the meetings and the national news coverage of the White House’s reform effort,” Mr. Good said.
“Liberal activists have one significant advantage over conservatives in the race to turn out more supporters to these town halls: They can coordinate attendance with Democratic representatives, and they’ve worked with these lawmakers before. Earlier this week, Health Care for America Now!, a liberal coalition of which the AFL-CIO is a part, issued its guidelines for the new town hall fight; the AFL-CIO’s campaign, however, signifies a targeted effort to win these battles in the swing-vote districts conservatives have gone after.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/07/inside-politics-99990873/

August 3

CLASS WARFARE

“Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom is disturbed over the class-warfare rhetoric coming out of the White House.
“In explaining why it was OK to sock a new 5.4 percent tax on the highest earners in this country – to pay for health care reform – President Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said this: ‘The president believes that the richest 1 percent of this country has had a pretty good run of it for many, many, many years.’
“Ah. So that’s it. The old ‘You’ve had it good enough for long enough’ policy. That’s why a family earning a million dollars a year should now cough up $54,000 of that – in addition to all the other taxes it pays – to cover health care for people who may not pay a penny of new tax themselves,” Mr. Albom said.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/27/inside-politics-97905585/

Savage suspicion

“The Daily Mail of London filed the British equivalent of a Freedom of Information Act request with the British government and discovered that the decision to include talk-radio host Michael Savage on a list of violent “undesirables” was approved by the Prime Minister’s Office and was an effort to “to ensure that the names disclosed reflect the broad range of cases and are not all Islamic extremists.”
“Mr. Savage is Jewish and now suing the British government for defamation. He is also convinced the worst of the situation remains submerged.
“Have you seen this story in any U.S. newspaper, covered on any of the cable channels, discussed by any of the so-called ‘conservatives?’ We are living in a dangerous world of the government-media complex,” Mr. Savage told Inside the Beltway. “Stories are not covered to retain access, to squash media competition. Where is the free press we boast of? And why was Savage targeted and not Rush Limbaugh?” There are worrisome underpinnings, Mr. Savage said.
“Only my continuing legal battle will produce answers. At which point will Limbaugh, et al., thank me? My listeners and defense fund contributors are the last hope I – or we – have to discover who in the American government ordered this strike against my freedom of speech.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/27/savage-suspicion/?page=2

STUPID LIBERAL DEMOCRAT TRICKS

“Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, thinks it’s ludicrous to expect members of Congress to read legislation before voting.
“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’ ” Mr. Conyers said at a National Press Club luncheon last week.
“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” he asked.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/28/inside-politics-53521683/

Fightin’ words

“Former KGB officer Konstantin Preobrazhensky, who defected to the United States in 2003, has these intriguing questions to ask: Who is Russian intelligence targeting in the “Islamic world? Why won’t Russia help the United States in Iran? Why can’t America and Russia fight terrorism together? Yeah. Why not?
“In America, terrorism is something negative. In Russia, it has a very positive image. Terrorism is part of communist ideology, which has not been abandoned in Russia at all,” Mr. Preobrazhensky tells Inside the Beltway.
“There are still streets in Moscow named after 19th-century anarchists Michael Bakunin and Prince Peter Kropotkin. Today’s inheritors of the KGB say they fight terrorism ‘with’ America. But what was the first name of the KGB in 1917? It was called the ‘organ of red terror.’ The KGB was initially a terrorist organization. And it still is today,” he says.
“Mr. Preobrazhensky, now an intelligence analyst at Gerard Group International, will tell all during an appearance at the National Press Club on Thursday, homing in on Russian espionage in the Islamic world and the Middle East.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/28/inside-the-beltway-92419667/

Yes Bush did start this but…

“It took President Bush eight years to run up a $1.9 trillion debt. Obama’s proposals hit $4.8 trillion in 100 days according to the Congressional Budget Office.”

Judicial Watch Verdict, June 2009, page 18.

July 27

Support Sgt. Crowley

The Cambridge, Mass. Police Department has website especially designed to take e-mail about the Gates arrest.

Show your support for Sgt James Crowley

http://www.cambridgema.gov/cpd/contact/mailform.cfm?email_id=54&pv=Yes

“Al Qaeda Eyes Bio Attack Via Mexico Border

“”Four pounds of anthrax — in a suitcase this big — carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the U.S. are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there. What a horrifying idea; 9/11 will be small change in comparison. Am I right? There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on. One person, with the courage to carry 4 pounds of anthrax, will go to the White House lawn, and will spread this ‘confetti’ all over them, and then we’ll do these cries of joy. It will turn into a real celebration.”
. . . — Abdullah al-Nafisi, telling a room full of supporters in Bahrain how al Qaeda wants to send terrorists and weapons into the U.S. via the Mexico border.

The Washington Times National Weekly Edition, June 8, 2009

With these numbers how can there be any hope for California?

Rasmussen Reports tells this story:
Nearly two-out-of-three California voters (64%) say illegal immigrants put a significant strain on the state budget as lawmakers struggle to close a $26 billion deficit.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of California voters shows that just 25% say illegal immigrants are not a major strain on the state budget. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure.
The following reality check giving us the facts about the effect of illegal aliens in California were prepared by IHATETHEMEDIA.COM. A big Collinsreport.net thank you goes out to this great site.
Here’s a reality check for that 25% who think illegal aliens are not a strain on the budget and for the 11% who aren’t sure:
40% of all workers in L.A. County (L.A. County has 10.2 million people) are working for cash and not paying taxes. This was because they are predominantly illegal aliens working without a green card.
95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.
Over 2/3 of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers.
Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.
Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.
The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.
Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
There are 21 Spanish language radio stations in Los Angeles.
In L.A. County 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9 million speak Spanish. (There are 10.2 million people in L.A. County ).
70% of the United States’ annual population growth (and over 90% of California, Florida, and New York) is from illegal aliens.
And finally, less than 2% of illegal aliens are picking our crops, but 29% are on welfare.
Despite these horrifying stats, 25% of voters think illegal aliens are just fine and dandy. And another 11% don’t have an opinion.
Unless the Rasmussen people were talking to illegal aliens this is very disturbing stuff.

RasmussenReports.com

Maybe it’s not nature after all

Now this is what you call an inconvenient truth. A very inconvenient truth.
Back in 2005, a leading gay publication called The Advocate named Kerry Pacer its “Person of the Year.”
Pacer, who was just 17 at the time, was featured on the cover of the magazine’s December issue. She was awarded the prestigious honor for her valiant struggle for a “gay-straight alliance” while she attended White County High School in Cleveland, Georgia.
Sad to say, Pacer has now discovered she’s straight. The Washington Blade, another gay publication, reports:
“…today she lives with her boyfriend, a construction worker, and their baby daughter, Marley, who turns 1 year old on Saturday.
“Well, she’s the most beautiful blue-eyed girl in the world and everybody tells me that so I’m not just being biased, I swear,” Pacer said with a laugh.
“I love every minute of motherhood. It’s been a very big challenge, however I love it. I’ve just been trying to work and go to school and take care of my family,” she said.
Oh, those crazy kids. You just never know what they’re going to do next. Nor who.

NewsBusters.org

ALL TIED UP

If the 2012 presidential election were held today, President Obama and potential Republican nominee Mitt Romney would be tied at 45 percent each, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
The president, should he seek a second four-year term, beats another potential GOP rival, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, by 6 points – 48 percent to 42 percent, the pollster said Monday at www.rasmussenreports.com.
In both matchups, 7 percent liked some other candidate, with 3 percent undecided.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/21/wrong-side/?page=2

Lest we forget they are still trying to kill us

Sixty-eight percent of Muslims in Palestinian territory say suicide bombing is “often/sometimes” justified.
Forty-three percent of Muslims in Nigeria agree.
Thirty-eight percent of Muslims in Lebanon say bombings are justified.
Fifteen percent of Muslims in Egypt say it is justified.
Thirteen percent of Muslims in Indonesia agree.
Twelve percent of Muslims in Jordan say it is justified.
Seven percent of Muslims in Israel say it is justified.
Source: Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Poll, conducted among 23,800 respondents in 25 countries from May 18 to June 15.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/24/inside-the-beltway-52139274/?page=3

July 20

Obama has put this sick bastard in charge of our life

“Dr. John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy – better known as the ‘science czar’ – has been a longtime prophet of environmental catastrophes. Never discouraged but never right,” Denver Post columnist David Harsanyi writes.
“And thanks to resourceful bloggers, you can read excerpts from a hard-to-find book co-authored by Holdren in the late 1970s, called ‘Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment,’ online,” Mr. Harsanyi said.
“In it, you will find the czar wading into some unpleasant talk about mass sterilizations and abortions.
“It’s not surprising. Holdren spent the ’70s boogying down to the vibes of an imaginary population catastrophe and global cooling. He also participated in the famous wager between scientist Paul Ehrlich, the now-discredited ‘Population Bomb’ theorist (and co-author of ‘Ecoscience’), and economist Julian Simon, who believed human ingenuity would overcome demand.
“Holdren was asked by Ehrlich to pick five natural resources that would experience shortages because of human consumption. He lost the bet on all counts, as the composite price index for the commodities he picked, including copper and chromium, fell by more than 40 percent.
“Then again, it’s one thing to be a bumbling soothsayer but quite another to underestimate the resourcefulness of mankind enough to ponder how ‘population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution,’ as Holdren did in ‘Ecoscience’ in 1977.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/16/inside-politics-85854002/?page=2

The follow items come from Youdontsay.org run and maintained by Fred Gielow a great researcher and even greater conservative. A big Collinsreport.net shout out goes to you Mr. Gielow. Thank you Sir!

“…..A lulu of an energy crisis is on the way: made in Washington!”

“Shortly after [Obama took] office, the White House began to shut down a decades-long effort to build a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. [. . .] The Obama Energy Department has already begun cancelling oil and shale development leases in Utah and Colorado. Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will likely re-impose the ban on off-shore drilling. [. . .]
The American Sentinel, June 2009,

Would Derek Jeter get a half share of would his White half cancel out his Black half claim?

“Racial reparations move forward under Barack Hussein Obama. [. . .] Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack [stated] reparations claims would be [implemented] ‘expeditiously and fairly.”

The American Sentinel, June 2009

What 52 straight years of Democrat rule has brought Detroit to

“Black-ruled Detroit [. . .] is still the most dangerous place in the country to live, earning the highest crime rate ranking three years in a row based on FBI crime statistics. [. . .] In Detroit, the median sale price of a house is $5,800, down from $66,000 seven years ago.”
N.B. There are more than 16,000 empty foreclosed homes in Detroit!

Middle America News, June 2009

Please explain to me again why we should bail out California?

“In majority non-white California, the State Senate voted 21 to 15 to approve legislation that prohibits ‘discrimination’ based on language. [. . .] ‘No one should be discriminated against simply for speaking their language,’ said State Sen. Leland Yee, the bill’s author. ‘All patrons, English speaking and non-English speaking, deserve to be served’ by businesses, he said. No one knows what legal chaos might ensue if the bill becomes law. Businesses without interpreters for every immigrant customer’s language may find themselves buried under lawsuits.”
Middle America News, June 2009

July 13

In Congress White Democrats don’t hire Black staffers

“Black aides are so scarce on some House committees that the Congressional Black Caucus surveyed the panels. Their conclusion: black staffers are most prevalent when African American chairmen do the hiring.
“The 31-person Democratic staff of the House Agriculture Committee and the 24-person Democratic staff of the House Rules Committee, for example, each have a single black aide. Conversely, the Homeland Security and Oversight and Government Reform Committees—both run by African American chairmen—have Democratic staffs that are 45.5 percent and 44.4 percent black, respectively.”

http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/07/white_committee.php

First Lady requires more than twenty attendants

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service.”
—Michelle Obama
“No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.
“How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Ms. Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by you.”

http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/07/first_lady_requ.php

CAUTIONARY TALE

“Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said that ‘in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.’ Robert S. McNamara, who spent many years thinking about the Vietnam War, first as an architect and then as a critic (and getting it wrong on both ends), was a man who believed mainly in plans,” Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens writes.
“McNamara, who died [Monday] at 93, will go down as a cautionary tale for the ages, and perhaps none more than for the Age of Obama. Whatever else distinguishes JFK’s New Frontier or LBJ’s Great Society from Barack Obama’s ‘New Foundation,’ this too is an era of soaring rhetoric, big plans and boundless self-regard, issued by an administration convinced it can apply technocratic, top-down solutions to huge and unpredictable systems – the banking, auto and health care industries, for instance, or the climate. These are people deeply impressed by their own smarts, the ones for whom the phrase ‘the best and the brightest’ has been scrubbed of its intended irony.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/08/inside-politics-57326088/

OBAMA’S KATRINA?

“The economy is shaping up to be Barack Obama’s Katrina,” James Pinkerton writes at www.foxnews.com.
“If President George W. Bush was blamed for his slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – there was plenty of blame to go around, of course, but the disaster was on Bush’s watch – then Obama will get the blame for his slow response to the current recession. The difference, of course, is that Katrina afflicted a city and a few states, while the recession afflicts the whole country,” Mr. Pinkerton said.
“Unemployment is 9.5 percent and rising fast, certain to go higher than 10 percent. And what is the federal government doing about it? Not much. And so House Republican Leader John Boehner makes a good point when he asks, ‘Where are the jobs?’”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/08/inside-politics-57326088/

NOT SO CRAZY

“The political community’s reaction to Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin’s announcement that she would resign on July 26 was swift, withering and very nearly unanimous,” Charlie Cook writes at www.nationaljournal.com.
“It’s hard to dispute that Palin handled the announcement badly, but was her decision to resign really crazy, or just unexpected, with the press reacting to an unorthodox move by declaring it insane?” Mr. Cook asks.
“First, look at the issue of not seeking re-election in 2010 and work back. A good case can be made that seeking a presidential nomination has become an extraordinarily difficult undertaking in terms of organization-building, fundraising and cultivating the relationships necessary to win. And perhaps doing that well and being an effective governor are mutually exclusive. …
“So assuming Palin would not seek re-election in 2010, what value would she get from spending the next 18 months as a lame-duck governor, having to contend with a recalcitrant state legislature that already has shown little interest in making her look good, while trying to lay the groundwork for a national campaign?”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/08/inside-politics-57326088/

July 5

Unregulated sexual behavior brings down societies

“The late British social anthropologist Joseph Daniel Unwin, famous for his study of world civilizations, discovered that a society ruled by its passions loses the moral fiber necessary to maintain civility. Studying the decline and fall of eighty world empires, Unwin determined that the loss of self-restraint, culminating in unlimited sexual expression, precipitated each empire’s demise. Either the individuals in those societies became personally ruled by their passions, resulting in lawlessness and social chaos, or in their hedonism they lost the moral fiber necessary to successfully protect themselves militarily. America on both fronts has great reason for concern.”

http://www.youdontsay.org/

Green jobs are a fraud

“Estimates for the cost of creating a ‘green job’ range from $30,000 to $100,000 per job.”

http://www.youdontsay.org/

Sotomayor, angry nasty BESIDES a racist

“Lawyers who have argued cases before Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor call her ‘nasty,’ ‘angry,’ and a ‘terror on the bench,’ according to the current Almanac of the Federal Judiciary — a kind of Zagat’s guide to federal judges.”

http://www.youdontsay.org/

ROADKILL

“The rubber hit the road in Congress [June 26, 2009] but it wasn’t a transportation bill or a car-company bailout. It was the House vote on ‘climate change,’ which would still be known as ‘global warming’ if average temperatures had not inconveniently failed to go up over the past 11 years,” former Sen. Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania Republican, [wrote] in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Everyone, of course, wants to be a good steward of our planet. No one wants to be responsible for destroying the rain forests or polar bears. And no one wants his fingerprints on the thermostat if the Earth is warming,” Mr. Santorum said.
“But everything changes when politicians pull the trigger on a program that increases taxes and kills our economy, jobs, and standard of living. The rubber hits the road. “Thus, President Obama had to pull out all the stops – and dish out some healthy helpings of pork – to eke out a slim majority in the House for a ‘cap-and-trade’ program designed to address global warming.
“But getting the needed 60 votes in the more cautious Senate isn’t likely. One reason is that the Senate is preparing for the rubber to hit the road on another contentious issue – health care reform.
“Like global warming, health care reform seems swell in the abstract. Who doesn’t want everyone to have all the highest quality health care he needs?
“But what happens when lawmakers attempt to tax employees’ existing health benefits, replace private insurance with a government plan, ration care based on patients’ utility to society, and limit access to expensive therapies? More rubber. More road. More hitting.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/inside-politics-53660121/

EMBARRASSING dribble from the fakes in the lap dog media

“Before [Wednesday's] health-care town hall in Virginia, reporters asked Robert Gibbs again and again on whether the White House would screen questions for the president. The answer: Of course,” the Economist notes in a blog at www.economist.com.
“The White House press corps, not amused, pointed out that questions ‘from the public’ didn’t mean much if they were screened. ‘I’m confused,’ said Mr. Gibbs, smiling. ‘Are you not a member of the public?’
“Fast-forward to the town hall and you can see why people were worried,” the British news magazine said.
“Question one, a softball from the left: ‘Why are we considering a health care plan which maintains the private insurance companies with their high overhead costs, instead of a single-payer plan, which would eliminate the high overhead costs, saving the American taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars, while covering everyone in our country?’
“Question two, a plea that made the president look like the comforter-in-chief: ‘I’m just trying to figure out how I’m going to make it in nine years until I’m qualified to get my regular Social Security – now that I have a new tumor and I have nowhere to turn.’

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/inside-politics-53660121/

Obama’s foreign policy is radical anti Americanism

“In staking out a seemingly hard-nosed, unsentimental position on Iran, Obama and his advisers would have us believe that unlike their predecessors, they are foreign policy ‘realists,’ ” Caroline Glick writes in the Jerusalem Post.
“… Yet Obama’s policy is anything but realistic. By refusing to support the dissidents, he is not demonstrating that he is a realist. He is showing that he is immune to reality. He is so committed to appeasing the likes of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei that he is incapable of responding to actual events, or even of taking them into account for anything other than fleeting media appearances meant to neutralize his critics.”
The writer added: “If when Obama came into office there was a question about whether he was a foreign policy pragmatist or an ideologue, his behavior in his first six months in office has dispelled all doubt. Obama is moved by a radical, anti-American ideology that motivates him to dismiss the importance of democracy and side with anti-American dictators against U.S. allies” in places such as Honduras.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/01/inside-politics-73836857/?page=2

JUNE 29

Tarp bankrolling ACORN (COI)

“U.S. banks under the federal thumb have stopped making loans to coal mining projects the environmentalists object to. It is the continuation of a process by which federally-commandeered U.S. banks are doling out credit based on what their political masters in Washington want. [. . .] [G]overnment-run banks under TARP are now being pressured to give money to left-wing extremist groups such as ACORN.”

The American Sentinel, May 2009, page 9.

Obama’s ethics problems started on day 1

“Date on which Barack Obama implemented new ethics guidelines restricting former lobbyists’ roles in government: 1/29/09. [Number of days] later that he waived the guidelines for the deputy secretary of defense: 1.”

Americanewspaper.com

What “hate speech” will bring here

“In Sweden, it is now illegal to verbally show disdain for homosexuality because of hate-crime laws, similar to those being pushed by mainly Democrats in the U.S. Congress. A Swedish pastor, Ake Green, was prosecuted for a sermon in which he called homosexuality a ‘cancerous tumor.’ His defense counsel, [. . .] needed to go to the supreme court to have the conviction overturned on the grounds of religious free speech.”

www.thenewamerican.com

Obama double talk

“President Obama’s April announcement that stimulus transportation projects were coming in ‘ahead of schedule’ and under budget seemed pretty amazing for government work. A little too amazing, it turns out. The Transportation Department later admitted to ABC News that work on most of the 2,000 projects cited had yet to begin.”

“Presidential Puffery,” NewsMax magazine, June 2009, page 11

Sotomayor: no bed of roses

“Lawyers who have argued cases before Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor call her ‘nasty,’ ‘angry,’ and a ‘terror on the bench,’ according to the current Almanac of the Federal Judiciary — a kind of Zagat’s guide to federal judges.”

www.americanewspaper.com

June 22

Tax exemption for Pole Dancing

“Administrative Law Judge Catherine Bennett has ruled that Nite Moves, an Albany gentleman’s club, qualifies for New York State’s ‘dramatic arts’ tax exemption. Thanks to pole dancing. After viewing a slew of pole-dance videos, according to The New York Law Journal, Judge Bennett noted the artistic nature of the ‘acrobatic pole maneuvers, splits, and other patterned repetitions [. . .] The pole maneuvers in particular are no small feat to accomplish, and attempting such a performance without the skill and a planned routine of steps could prove dangerous.’ The judge ruled that the tax auditor had an erroneous ‘preconceived opinion’ that cover charges and private couch dances were subject to sales taxes.”

http://www.RushLimbaugh.com

Liberal greed for tax money gone insane

“Mary Pratte, 88, of Rochester, PA is well known at St. Cecilia Catholic Church for her sinfully delicious homemade coconut pie. Going for $1 a slice, Mary’s pies — and those of her fellow parishioners — have raised needed dollars for the church for many years. But now she’s afraid to bring her wares to the church bake sale — lest she be nabbed by the state. According to The Wall Street Journal, selling homemade pies is illegal in Pennsylvania under the state’s food-safety code. Indeed, a state inspector [. . .] told the women the state would only let them sell their pies if they paid $35 to have their kitchens inspected.”

http://www.RushLimbaugh.com

“Green job” fraud

“On Earth Day, President Obama held up a model he wants America to emulate: ‘Denmark produces almost 20 percent of their electricity through wind power,’ he chided. But Denmark rues the day it got into the wind business. Because wind is so volatile and unpredictable, the Danes have had to use 50 percent more coal-generated electricity to cover its power gaps, causing their carbon emissions to go up 36 percent. They have yet to close a fossil-fuel plant, have lost 2.2 jobs for every ‘green’ one they’ve gained, and they have the highest electricity costs in all of Europe.”

http://www.RushLimbaugh.com

Spending, spending and more spending

“So gargantuan is [Barack Obama's] ego and his insatiable lust for absolute power that the Obama administration is already projected to spend over the next 10 years more money than all 43 of his predecessors combined.”

http://www.wnd.com

The biggest haters often come from the Left

Prominent MIT physicist and global warming skeptic, Richard Lindzen, was recently refused the services of a Boston area art appraiser because of global warming.
As Lindzen described in an e-mail:
“In our recent house fire, an 18th century oriental rug was burnt, and we needed an appraisal of its value for our insurance. We were referred to a dealer, [name withheld], who agreed to do the appraisal. However, when my wife, Nadine, brought him the burnt rug, he rudely turned her away saying that he had sent me an email explaining his position…
“Here’s the text of the art appraiser’s e-mail to Lindzen:
“I am sorry to inform you that after some consideration, I’ve decided not to perform the appraisal service that you’ve requested. Your writing on the subject of global warming is offensive to me personally, and I feel that I would have difficulty being an impartial appraiser of value given my view on the subject.
If you’re not familiar with Lindzen, here’s a clip from his bio:
“Prof. Lindzen is a recipient of the American Meteorological Service’s Meisinger, and Charney Awards, the American Geophysical Union’s Macelwane Medal, and the Leo Huss Walin Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. He is a corresponding member of the NAS Committee on Human Rights, and has been a member of the NRC Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and the Council of the AMS.
So maybe the art appraiser should stick to appraising art?”

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12056

WHAT A DEAL! But the French would still have to think about it?

“Months of moral grandstanding and intense diplomacy are finally yielding dividends: President Obama has convinced Palau, a Pacific archipelago and long-standing U.S. ally, to resettle a small group of the least dangerous Guantanamo detainees. All it took was $200 million in foreign aid to a country with 20,000 residents and a GDP of about $164 million,” the Wall Street Journal said Thursday in an editorial.
“Headed to Palau are the Uighurs, ethnic Chinese Muslims who were picked up in 2002 near Tora Bora. …
“Palau deserves credit for its ‘humanitarian gesture,’ as Palau President Johnson Toribiong called it, though the $200 million in aid probably helped. That works out to $11.7 million for each detainee – or about $10,000 for every Palau citizen. At the going per capita rate, it would only cost $615 billion to move Gitmo to France. No doubt the French would still have to think about it.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/12/inside-politics-41135640/?page=2

June 15

WHAT A DEAL but the French would still have to think about it

“Months of moral grandstanding and intense diplomacy are finally yielding dividends: President Obama has convinced Palau, a Pacific archipelago and long-standing U.S. ally, to resettle a small group of the least dangerous Guantanamo detainees. All it took was $200 million in foreign aid to a country with 20,000 residents and a GDP of about $164 million,” the Wall Street Journal said Thursday in an editorial.
“Headed to Palau are the Uighurs, ethnic Chinese Muslims who were picked up in 2002 near Tora Bora. …
“Palau deserves credit for its ‘humanitarian gesture,’ as Palau President Johnson Toribiong called it, though the $200 million in aid probably helped. That works out to $11.7 million for each detainee – or about $10,000 for every Palau citizen. At the going per capita rate, it would only cost $615 billion to move Gitmo to France. No doubt the French would still have to think about it.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/12/inside-politics-41135640/?page=2

“The District of Columbia has come up with a plan to save some money — just let 80 percent of the criminals now in jail go free. The city hopes to save $4.4 million under a plan to grant criminals early release. Officials said about 2,400 inmates would be eligible.”

www.manews.org

Liberals want equal results not equal opportunity

“[T]he City of New Haven, Connecticut [. . .] discarded the results of a test used to identify candidates for promotion to fire department captain and lieutenant because no African Americans passed the test. [. . .] Although great care had been taken to ensure that the examination did not discriminate in any way against minority candidates, the results of the test were unacceptable to the City because the process produced no African American candidates for captain or lieutenant.”

www.mountainstatelegal.com

CAFÉ kills

“A 2002 National Research Council study found that the old Federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandates to build smaller cars contributed to 2,000 U.S. highway deaths per year.” [The CAFE mandates have just been raised, so expect more deaths.]

– The American Sentinel, May 2009

Cap and Tax

“[Democrat U.S. representatives] Waxman and Markey are planning on inserting a provision in a coming energy bill [. . .] to make it easier for lawyers to sue over ‘global warming.’ Look for your local utility company and its customers to soon be paying massive amounts of money defending (and settling) against skin-cancer lawsuits, for example.”

– The American Sentinel, May 2009

Lord Kennedy

“More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is getting from the federal spending bill passed by Congress in March is going to enhance the image of the Kennedy family. Included is $5.8 million for an ‘Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate’; $22 million to expand the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and another $5 million for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a park system in Boston.”

www.manews.org

But there aren’t any talking points

“On Jan. 27, the Politico reported that [ABC's George] Stephanopoulos has daily phone conversations with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, along with Democratic strategists Paul Begala and James Carville. [. . .] [Brent Bozell said,] ‘Stephanopoulos actively helped design and deliver the administration’s strategy and message — which he is then charged with reporting. Will Stephanopoulos be critical of the White House’s plans when he spends every morning helping to craft them? Not likely.’”

http:// www. mediaresearch.com

June 8

Maybe it was the lack of message and McCain’s me too campaign

“If the political party with the most money in its campaign war chest had dominated in November’s elections, then Republicans would be in control of Congress and John McCain would be sitting in the Oval Office.
“Nationally, according to the Federal Election Commission, the Republican Party raised $30 million more than Democrats during the 2007-2008 election cycle – $793 million and $762 million, respectively. But the amount raised by Democrats was a 58 percent increase over the 2006 cycle, while Republican receipts grew 32 percent.
The Republican National Committee spent far more in independent expenditures than the Democratic National Committee in opposing the other party’s presidential candidate. The DNC spent just more than $1 million opposing Mr. McCain, whereas the RNC spent almost $54 million opposing Democrat Barack Obama.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/01/inside-the-beltway-78635156/?page=2

CHENEY’S VICTORY

“A majority of Americans (54 percent) do not want to see the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay closed and will be ‘upset’ with the Obama administration if it continues to move forward with plans to shut down the facility, according to a poll released [Tuesday] morning by Gallup,” Tom Bevan writes in a blog at www.realclearpolitics.com.
Mr. Bevan adds that the write-up of the poll in USA Today “didn’t give the entire picture.”
“A large majority, 65 percent, say the U.S. should not close down Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 54 percent – the number given in the USA Today article – say they will be ‘upset’ if the administration continues its plans to close down the facility, while the additional 11 percent who also believe Gitmo should not be closed down showed more indifference toward the administration pursuing its stated goal … of shuttering Gitmo by next January.
“By an even greater margin of 3-to-1, respondents said they oppose the administration’s plans to move some of t