Saturday, February 28, 2009

Paul Harvey Dead at 90

Paul; Harvey, a truly great American. Rest in Peace and meet your beloved, Godspeed.

Rush on Fire

The man is truely right 98.7% of the time. Watch a replay of his complete speech at the CPAC convention at 8PM ET on C-SPAN.

It will remind you of why we are conservatives.

Top Scientists - Warming Is Not Caused By Human Activity

These guys better not leave Japan lest they be arrested.
A major scientific report by leading Japanese academics concludes that global warming is not man-made and that the overall warming trend from the mid-part of the 20th Century onwards has now stopped.

Unsurprisingly the report, which was released last month, has been completely ignored by the Western corporate media.

The report was undertaken by Japan Society of Energy and Resources (JSER), the academic society representing scientists from the energy and resource fields.

The JSER acts as a government advisory panel, much like the International Panel on Climate Change did for the UN.

The JSER’s findings provide a stark contrast to the IPCC’s, however, with only one out of five top researchers agreeing with the claim that recent warming has been accelerated by man-made carbon emissions.

The government commissioned report criticizes computer climate modeling and also says that the US ground temperature data set, used to back up the man-made warming claims, is too myopic.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Palin on Top of Heap for Now

Obviously it's waaaaay early but interesting nonetheless to see Sarah Palin garnering the most support.
As the obvious Republican contenders for president in 2012 gather at a Washington conference, a new poll finding released today found that three are ahead of the pack.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, conducted last week, asked Republicans who they would be most likely to support.

The results: 29 percent said Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate last year; 26 percent said former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who sought the nomination last year; and 21 percent said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who also ran last year.

Huckabee spoke Thursday to the Conservative Poliitcal Action Conference, where he called for "family conservatives," "fiscal conservatives," and "freedom conservatives" to unite as "compentent conservatives." Romney is scheduled to speak this afternoon. Palin cancelled her appearance, saying she was too busy as governor.

Stupid Headline of the Week

An Obama spokesman stated the administration agrees.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Gloating Rapist Pants on Fire

Ain't justice grand.
Spanish mother has taken revenge on the man who raped her 13-year-old daughter at knifepoint by dousing him in petrol and setting him alight. He died of his injuries in hospital on Friday.

Antonio Cosme Velasco Soriano, 69, had been sent to jail for nine years in 1998, but was let out on a three-day pass and returned to his home town of Benejúzar, 30 miles south of Alicante, on the Costa Blanca.

While there, he passed his victim's mother in the street and allegedly taunted her about the attack. He is said to have called out "How's your daughter?", before heading into a crowded bar.

Shortly after, the woman walked into the bar, poured a bottle of petrol over Soriano and lit a match. She watched as the flames engulfed him, before walking out.

Stevie and The One

Blind leading the blind.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Plurality Say Bailouts a Boondoggle

Bailouts, bailouts everywhere, and not an end in sight.

The automakers want more, the banks want more, even the nation’s biggest insurance company is back because its $150-billion bailout last year wasn’t enough. And what about the people who can’t pay their mortgages? Taxpayers are beginning to wonder if the U.S. Treasury is going to run out of money.

So what do Americans think about all these bailout requests?

Given the choice between federal bailouts for the auto companies, the finance industry and financially trouble homeowners or no bailouts for any of them, 54% say no bailouts period.

Just 26% support bailouts for all three, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twenty percent (20%) aren’t sure which course is better to follow.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Obama Job Approval Dips Below 60% for First Time

PRINCETON, NJ -- For the first time since Gallup began tracking Barack Obama's presidential job approval rating on Jan. 21, fewer than 60% of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president. In Feb. 21-23 polling, 59% of Americans give Obama a positive review, while 25% say they disapprove, and 16% have no opinion.
President Bush didn't sink to this level until two years in.

NASA global warming satellite lands in ocean

Must have been the huge concentrations of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmospere that brought her down...
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP)—A NASA satellite designed to track carbon dioxide emissions failed to reach orbit early Tuesday in a mishap that could jeopardize its mission to better understand climate change.

The Taurus XL rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off as planned at 1:55 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's Central Coast.

Several minutes into the flight, launch managers declared a "contingency plan" after the payload fairing failed to separate from the launch vehicle. The fairing protects the spacecraft as the launch vehicle flies through the atmosphere.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Rassmussen on Mortgage Bailout

Obama still "relatively" popular, his policies, not so much.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of American adults say the federal government would be rewarding bad behavior by providing mortgage subsidies to financially troubled homeowners. Among investors, 65% hold that view.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that, among all adults, just 32% disagree.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Republicans and 60% of those not affiliated with either major political party believe the mortgage help subsidizes bad behavior.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Americans are not willing to pay higher taxes to help people who cannot afford to make their mortgage payments. Fourteen percent (14%) say higher taxes for this purpose are okay with them.

Harry Reid: Economy starting to turn around

Oh I feel better now, do you?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Monday that the banking industry is “very close” to being stabilized and the nation's economy is starting to rebound.

“We tend to talk about the negative....Things are beginning to turn and I think the American people are going to feel that very soon,” Reid said during an appearance on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” show.

Reid’s comments contrast with recent remarks of President Obama, who has repeatedly said the economy will get worse before it gets better.

Reid said, “We're getting very close to stabilizing the banking industry.” He added that he's traveled around the country last week and been impressed with what he's seen, noting he was in Dallas to see firsthand what AT&T has invested in broadband technology.
What could possibly lead him to believe this? It's obvious that Wall Street, which is a vastly better indicator of future economic performance, does not concur.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

'No US Rights' For Bagram Inmates

And this differs from Gitmo how???
Detainees being held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan cannot use US courts to challenge their detention, the US says.

The justice department ruled that some 600 so-called enemy combatants at Bagram have no constitutional rights.

Most have been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of waging a terrorist war against the US.

The move has disappointed human rights lawyers who had hoped the Obama administration would take a different line to that of George W Bush.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

NSIDC Misrepresents the "Loss" of 193,000 mi. of Arctic Ice

These AGW goofs are giving junk scientists a bad name.
As some of our readers have already noticed, there was a significant problem with the daily sea ice data images on February 16. The problem arose from a malfunction of the satellite sensor we use for our daily sea ice products. Upon further investigation, we discovered that starting around early January, an error known as sensor drift caused a slowly growing underestimation of Arctic sea ice extent. The underestimation reached approximately 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles) by mid-February. Sensor drift, although infrequent, does occasionally occur and it is one of the things that we account for during quality control measures prior to archiving the data. See below for more details.

We have removed the most recent data and are investigating alternative data sources that will provide correct results. It is not clear when we will have data back online, but we are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

BBC: Iran offered to end Iraq attacks for nuke deal

And Obama plans to turn the other cheek, raw as it already is.
Iran offered to stop attacking troops in Iraq if the West dropped opposition to its nuclear programme, a top British official said in comments to be broadcast on Saturday.

Sir John Sawers, Britain's current ambassador to the United Nations, told the BBC that Iranian officials had privately admitted their role in roadside bomb attacks on British and US troops.

But the proposed deal, floated in teatime meetings at London hotels, was rejected by the British government.

"The Iranians wanted to be able to strike a deal whereby they stopped killing our forces in Iraq in return for them being allowed to carry on with their nuclear programme," Sawers told the BBC.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Nepotism on Parade

Now what on God's green earth could possibly qualify this women to be a United States Senator?
Report: Kennedy Might Not Return to Senate, Speculation Grows That Wife Vicki May Succeed Him

Ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy may not return to the Senate, and speculation is brewing that the veteran Democratic lawmaker is setting up his wife, Vicki, to succeed him, according to a report Friday in the Boston Herald.

The article quoted friends of the family who said the Massachusetts senator's brain cancer has worsened and that he is resting at an undisclosed location in Florida.

Netanyahu to form Israeli government

If Imindeedanutjob isn't sweating, he ought to be.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli President Shimon Peres has chosen hard-line Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government.

Friday's announcement means Netanyahu now has six weeks to put together a ruling coalition.

The question is whether Netanyahu will form a narrow hard-line coalition government or a broad government along with his centrist rival, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Putin warns US to eschew socialism

No, this is NOT satire.
Pat Dollard reports the Russian leader warned the US against adopting socialism because it doesn't work: Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin has said the US should take a lesson from the pages of Russian history and not exercise “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence”.

“In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute,” Putin said during a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.”[Snip.]

Sounding more like Barry Goldwater than the former head of the KGB, Putin said, “Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state.”
The former commies still have a pretty good recollection of just how bad things can get under a state run economy. It's too bad our ruling elite couldn't have spent a few of their formative years in the old USSR.

Quote of the Week

Eric Holder at a "Black History Month" observance:
"In things racial we have always been and continue to be essentially a nation of cowards"
No Mr Holder we're a nation of hyperbolic politicians and shameless demagogues.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

5 Undeniable Truths About AGW

Pay attention, there will be a quiz.
1. There is no correlation between the anthropogenic emissions of GHGs and global temperature.

2. Change to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is observed to follow change to global temperature at all time scales.

3. Recent rise in global temperature has not been induced by rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The global temperature fell from 1940 to 1970, rose from 1970 to 1998, and fell from 1998 to the present (i.e. mid-2008). This is 40 years of cooling and 28 years of warming, and global temperature is now similar to that of 1940. But atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has increased at a near-constant rate and by more than 30% since 1940.

4. Rise in global temperature has not been induced by increase to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide. More than 80% of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide has been since 1940, and the increase to the emissions has been at a compound rate of ~0.4% p.a. throughout that time. But that time has exhibited 40 years of cooling with only 28 years of warming, and global temperature is now similar to that of 1940.

5. The pattern of atmospheric warming predicted by the AGW hypothesis is absent.The AGW hypothesis predicts most warming of the atmosphere at altitude distant from polar regions. Radiosonde measurements from weather balloons show slight cooling at altitude distant from polar regions.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Jury says rancher didn't violate migrants' rights

It's so refreshing when the courts act with sanity. Lucky it was a jury trial as a judges verdict is purely a crap shoot.
TUCSON, Ariz. — A jury in Tucson has found that a southern Arizona rancher didn't violate the civil rights of a group of illegal immigrants who claimed he detained them at gunpoint in 2004. The federal jury also found Roger Barnett wasn't liable on claims of battery and false imprisonment. But the jury did find him liable Tuesday on four claims of assault and four claims of infliction of emotional distress. The jurors ordered Barnett to pay nearly $78,000 in damages. The bulk of that is punitive.

Former El Paso Border Patrol Agents Free From Prison

A real wrong has been righted.
At 3 a.m. mountain time, former Border Patrol agent Jose Compean was released from the Elkton Federal Prison in Elkton, Ohio. Former agent Ignacio Ramos was released about five hours later from the Phoenix Federal Prison in Phoenix, Ariz.

Ramos and Compean will officially be released from Federal Bureau of Prison custody on March 20th, but on Tuesday both were allowed to rejoin their families. They had been in prison since January 2007.

Ramos and Compean were in prison for shooting drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila and then trying to cover it up.

On President Bush’s last day in office, Jan. 19, 2009, he commuted the sentences of the two former Border Patrol agents.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Obama Approval Lowest to Date

Reality is setting in.

Chávez Decisively Wins Bid to End Term Limits

I would be shocked that a people could vote away their own democracy if we hadn't done the same thing ourselves a few months back.
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez handily won a referendum on Sunday that will end presidential term limits, allowing him to run for re-election indefinitely and injecting fresh vibrancy into his socialist-inspired revolution.

The results, coming after voters had rejected a similar effort by Mr. Chávez just 15 months ago, pointed to his resilience after a decade in power, as well as to the fragmentation of his opposition, which as recently as November had won key mayoralties and governorships.

The vote opens the way not only for Mr. Chávez to run for a new six-year term when his current one expires in 2013, but could also bolster his ambitious agenda as an icon of the left and a counterweight to American policies in Latin America.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Beheading in Buffalo - at Muslim TV Station

Religion of Peace update #2,347...
Muzzammil “Mo” HASSAN, the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, a Buffalo, NY based Islamic television Network he helped pioneer in 2004 amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light, reportedly admitted to police that he beheaded his wife at the television station yesterday afternoon.The victim was identified as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37, who just last month, filed for and received an order of protection against her husband.

According to police, HASSAN walked into the Orchard Park police station shortly after 6:00 PM yesterday and admitted that he murdered his wife earlier in the afternoon. While Erie County, NY District Frank A. Sedita III stated about the murder that “”…this is the worst form of domestic violence possible,” it is more pertinent to understand that the act of beheading in Islam is frequently and closely associated with “honor killings.”
Irony sure can be ironic.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Afghan President Karzai hopes Obama will "settle down," show "better judgment"

So do we Mr Karzai, so do we.
President Barack Obama is moving up in the world in terms of picking fights. Or walking into them.

First came a disagreement over the impact of the administration's economic stimulus package in East Peoria, Ill., with Jim Owens, the man who runs Caterpillar. The Ticket reported that one here this morning.

Now, it seems the new U.S. president has a problem with another president, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, which Obama has long maintained is the actual central front in the ongoing global war on terror.
But don't count on it.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Friday Funny

Feinstein Comment On U.S. Drones Likely To Embarrass Pakistan

Are these people complete imbeciles???
Reporting from Washington -- A senior U.S. lawmaker said Thursday that unmanned CIA Predator aircraft operating in Pakistan are flown from an air base in that country, a revelation likely to embarrass the Pakistani government and complicate its counter-terrorism collaboration with the United States.

The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.

At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border.
Kiss another effective program in the WOT goodbye because some goofy loud mouth politician can't keep her freakin mouth shut.

Democratic Senator Predicts None of His Colleagues 'Will Have the Chance' to Read Final Stimulus

The largest most potentially dangerous piece of legislation in decades and nobody save a select few have any clue what's in it.
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) predicted on Thursday that none of his Senate colleagues would "have the chance" to read the entire final version of the $790-billion stimulus bill before the bill comes up for a final vote in Congress.

“No, I don’t think anyone will have the chance to [read the entire bill],” Lautenberg told CNSNews.com.

The final bill, crafted by a House-Senate conference committee, was posted on the Website of the House Appropriations Committe late Thurday in two PDF files.

The first PDF was 424 pages long and the second PDF was 575 pages long, making the total bill 999 pages long. The House is expected to vote on this 999-page bill Friday, and the Senate either later Friday or Saturday.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Sen. Gregg Withdraws Nomination as Sec. Commerce

Appears that Obama's scheme to criminally corrupt the Census was too much for even Gregg to stomach.
Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.

“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

'Apocalyptic climate predictions' mislead the public, say experts

It's taken awhile but it appears that the truth is finally beginning to percolate to the top....
Experts at Britain's top climate research centre have launched a blistering attack on scientific colleagues and journalists who exaggerate the effects of global warming.

The Met Office Hadley Centre, one of the most prestigious research facilities in the world, says recent "apocalyptic predictions" about Arctic ice melt and soaring temperatures are as bad as claims that global warming does not exist. Such statements, however well-intentioned, distort the science and could undermine efforts to tackle carbon emissions, it says.

In an article published on the Guardian website, Dr Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, calls on scientists and journalists to stop misleading the public with "claim and counter-claim".

She writes: "Having to rein in extraordinary claims that the latest extreme [event] is all due to climate change is at best hugely frustrating and at worse enormously distracting. Overplaying natural variations in the weather as climate change is just as much a distortion of science as underplaying them to claim that climate change has stopped or is not happening."

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

MSM BS Headline of the Week

Stocks rebound on agreement on stimulus bill

The stockmarket was down 400 yesterday and it's up 50 today and their calling that a rebound? It's a dead cat bounce made up purely of bargain hunters. This making up facts as they go in the name of cheerleading for Obama is really getting ridiculous.

Israel Election

Kadima party 28 Livni
Likud 27 Netanyau
Labour 13 Barak
Yisrael Beiteinu 15 Lieberman

Essentially Netanyau is in an excellent position to cobble together an effective conservative front when he picks up the endorsement of Lieberman and some additional smaller constituencies. Perez (Pres) could possibly name Livni as PM but the chances of her putting together a workable government are slim.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Generic Congressional Ballot

Are Republicans winning the public relations battle over spending in the $800-billion-plus economic stimulus package? Democrats and Republicans are nearly even in this week's edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys found that the Democrats’ lead is down to just one percentage point. Forty percent (40%) of voters said they would vote for their district’s Democratic candidate while 39% said they would choose the Republican (see crosstabs).

This marks the lowest level of support for the Democrats in tracking history and is the closest the two parties have been on the generic ballot.
Go figure.

Turd Pie Passes

In an unprecedented advancement of bigger government, waaaaay bigger government, the Senate passed the Porkulus bill 61-37. Way to go Collins, Specter, and Snowe.

Time will prove this to be one of the most ill conceived and foolhardy moves the government has made since the "Great Society" and will be an odious burden for the country for a generation.

I worry not for myself but, rather, my kids. It's their future, their options and their success that has been mortgaged.

Octuplets Mom On Welfare, Spokesman Confirms

Now here's a surprise....
LOS ANGELES — The Southern California mother of octuplets receives $490 a month in food stamps and three of her first six children are disabled and receiving federal assistance, her publicist confirmed Monday evening.

Spokesman Michael Furtney said Suleman did not want to disclose the nature of the disabilities, or the type or sum of the payments.

Furtney confirmed the public assistance payments after two sources told The Los Angeles Times that Suleman was receiving food stamps and federal supplemental security income.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Monday Funny

Oh those incorrigible conservatives

16 Illegals Sue Arizona Rancher

Hope this guy is very well off as the fees to defend himself will likely prove to be torturous.
An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.

His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as "the avenue of choice" for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Obama's Approval Continues to Slide

For the first time "The One" falls below a 60% approval and it's only 3 weeks in.
The partisan debate over an economic stimulus package has pushed President Barack Obama’s Job Approval Ratings down over the past week. While the President continues to enjoy generally positive ratings, new survey data shows that the country is evenly divided over his assertion that failure to act on the stimulus package will lead to an economic catastrophe. See our weekly review of key polls to learn “What They Told Us.”

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Sunday shows that 36% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing as President. Twenty-five percent (25%) Strongly Disapprove to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +11.

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).

One week ago today, 44% Strongly Approved and 23% Strongly Disapproved to give Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +21.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

James Whitmore Dead at 87

He was a libby but I enjoyed his performances immensely nonetheless.
LOS ANGELES — James Whitmore, the many-faceted character actor who delivered strong performances in movies, television and especially the theater with his popular one-man shows about Harry Truman, Will Rogers and Theodore Roosevelt, died Friday, his son said. He was 87.

The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor was diagnosed with lung cancer the week before Thanksgiving and died Friday afternoon at his Malibu home, Steve Whitmore said.

"My father believed that family came before everything, that work was just a vehicle in which to provide for your family," said Whitmore, who works as spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "At the end, and in the last two and a half months of his life, he was surrounded by his family."
One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes in which he starred is HERE.

Misleading Headline of the Week

"Vote expected Tuesday on stimulus after bipartisan deal"

Two RINO's voting with the Democratic majority is hardly "bi-partisan".

Friday, February 06, 2009

Ga. woman claiming Obama-related arson charged

Surprised she didn't get away with it as the left has playing the victim when they're not down to an art.
CUMMING, Ga. (AP) - A woman who claimed her house was set on fire because she supported President Barack Obama and her boyfriend have been charged with first-degree arson.

Forsyth County Chief Investigator Steve Anderson said Friday that 47-year-old Pamela Graf and her boyfriend, 46-year-old Steve Strobel, are being held in different jails. Graf is in Forsyth County and Strobel in Barrow County, where he was charged with obstruction of justice in the case earlier this week.

Graf's home burned on Jan. 18 while she was in Washington, D.C., to attend the inauguration. Officials found spray-painted graffiti that included a racial slur and ruled the fire an arson.

CBO: Obama stimulus harmful over long haul

The CBO is non-partisan but they do tend to be anti supply side and favor Keynesian economics. If they are having a problem with the Porkulus bill, you know it has serious flaws.
President Obama's economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing.

CBO estimates that by 2019 the Senate legislation would reduce GDP by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent on net. [The House bill] would have similar long-run effects, CBO said in a letter to Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican, who was tapped by Mr. Obama on Tuesday to be Commerce Secretary.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Quote of the Week

"Expect Obama with Congress to raise taxes on aspirin by 40% being it's white and works."

Etta James Says, 'I Can't Stand Beyoncé'

You go girl!
If you were wondering why Beyoncé and not Etta James was asked to serenade the president and first lady with "At Last" during their first dance at an inauguration ball on Jan. 20, you're not alone.

Etta, 71, whom Beyoncé went blonde to portray in last year's "Cadillac Records," is wondering the same thing, and she candidly expressed her displeasure during a concert stop in Seattle last week.

"You guys know your president, right?" she asked the crowd amid cheers (listen to it here. "You know the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my president, he might be yours, he ain't my president. You know that woman he had singing for him, singing my song -- she's gonna get her a-- whipped. The great Beyoncé ... But I can't stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day ... singing my song that I've been singing forever."
Man that's one gal that takes no sh!t from nobody. You can see her, and by far the best version of "At Last," HERE

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Support for Stimulus Package Falls to 37%

"It's dead Jim".
Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week. For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% favor the legislation, 43% are opposed, and 20% are not sure.

Two weeks ago, 45% supported the plan. Last week, 42% supported it.

Opposition has grown from 34% two weeks ago to 39% last week and 43% today.

Obama: "I Screwed Up"

I've noticed recently that Democrats are awfully quick to admit a botch and then throw themselves on the mercy of the people. It's effective but only once or twice. It's ridiculously early in his tenure to be playing this trump card.
WASHINGTON, (AFP) – An embarrassed President Barack Obama admitted "I screwed up," after his political soul mate and pick to lead health reform Tom Daschle withdrew in a storm over personal tax issues.

On Obama's worst day in the White House so far, he also lost another nominee -- Nancy Killefer, who he had named as government budget watchdog, and termed one of his most "important" appointments -- also over tax issues.

The twin bombshells overshadowed Obama's bid to showcase his economic stimulus plan in a flurry of television interviews and reflected the potential traps he has set for himself by promising a new era of ethical government.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

And The Tax Cheat Beat Goes On

Too bad Democrats aren't half as willing to pay taxes as they are to impose them
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Obama administration official says Nancy Killefer is withdrawing her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government.

The official said the 55-year-old executive with consulting giant McKinsey & Co., will detail her reason for pulling out later Tuesday.

When her selection was announced by President Barack Obama on Jan. 7, The Associated Press disclosed that in 2005 the District of Columbia government had filed a more than $900 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help.
UPDATE:Daschle's history.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Short Honeymoon

Less than two weeks into office and "The One" is no better than GWB 3 months into office.

Social workers hand brother and sister to gay men for adoption

Yet more previews of coming attractions.
Two young children are to be adopted by a gay couple, despite the protests of their grandparents.

The devastated grandparents were told they would never see the youngsters again unless they dropped their opposition.

The couple, who cannot be named, wanted to give the five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister a loving home themselves. But they were ruled to be too old - at 46 and 59.

For two years they fought for their rights to care for the children, whose 26-year- old mother is a recovering heroin addict.
They agreed to an adoption only after they faced being financially crippled by legal bills.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Puppy Bowl is On (with Kitties)

BTW I think the Super Bowl is on today as well.

Nurse suspended for offering to pray for elderly patient's recovery

More previews of coming attractions...
A nurse has been suspended from her job for offering to pray for an elderly patient's recovery from illness.

Caroline Petrie, a committed Christian, has been accused by her employers of failing to demonstrate a "personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity".

She faces disciplinary action and could lose her job over the incident.

Mrs Petrie, a married mother of two, says she has been left shocked and upset by the action taken against her.