Quote of the Day

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money”.

Margaret Thatcher

GOP Lawmakers Want Explanation of Draft Memo on Amnesty for Thousands

Well the Judiciary has been usurping the legislative branches sole authority to draft law for years, now it appears that the executive branch wants to get in on the act.

A group of Republican senators has written to top immigration officials in the Obama administration asking them to reveal whether large-scale plans are under way to provide a so-called non-legislative version of amnesty.

The lawmakers cite an 11-page draft document written by staff to the director of the Citizenship and Immigration Service that says they are reviewing several executive orders and other mechanisms that effectively would serve as a substitute for comprehensive immigration reforms.

The objective would be to promote “family unity, foster economic growth … and reduce the threat of removal for certain individuals present in the United States without authorization."

Among the suggestions, the document offers proposals for rewriting legal opinions to allow unaccompanied minors, victims of human trafficking or extreme hardship and others who've overstayed their visas to remain in the U.S.

RCP Obama Poll Approval/Disapproval Average

President Obama hits yet a new low in RCP's poll average at -3.8%. Total approval stands at 45.7% while disapproval jumps to 49.5%.

That is the lowest approval/highest disapproval yet recorded in his time in office and surpasses his previous low by almost 2 percentage points. OUCH!

Wikileaks Afghanistan: Taliban 'hunting down informants'

The Taliban has issued a warning to Afghans whose names might appear on the leaked Afghanistan war logs as informers for the Nato-led coalition.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said they were studying and investigating the report, adding “If they are US spies, then we know how to punish them.”

The warning came as the US military's top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen said that Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, may already have blood on his hands following the leak of 92,000 classified documents relating to the war in Afghanistan by his website.

"Mr Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family," he said.

But,but Obama said the leaks were "no big deal".

Pic of the Day

LET'S GET READY TO RANGEL.

Thanx to GalaxieFiveHundred at FR

Wedding Night Blues?

If she's been a bad girl it may be no issue. If, however, Mark Mezvinsky sees Chelsea naked for the first time on their wedding night, he'll likely realize that the money was just not worth it.

Durable goods orders fall 1 percent in June

An increase of 1% had been expected.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell broadly in June as the fragile recovery continued to slow.

Demand for durable goods dropped 1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $190.5 billion, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the second straight monthly decline and the largest drop since August 2009.

Orders for commercial aircraft were down by more than a quarter in June. Without the volatile transportation sector, orders fell by 0.6 percent.

Wait! There's even more dirt on Rangel

Corrupt just isn't a strong enough word.

WASHINGTON -- Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday that investigators have unearthed new allegations of misconduct against him, while House Democratic leaders increased the pressure on him to reach a settlement before a congressional trial starts Thursday.

"We waited almost two years, and they finally investigated, and guess what -- they have some more alleged violations," Rangel said.

The embattled pol did not reveal whether the latest accusations were previously unknown to the public or were related to the original charges that prompted the probe by the House Ethics Committee.

The alleged misdeeds include Rangel using House stationery to solicit contributions for a self-named center at City College, failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, and not paying taxes on rental income from his Dominican villa -- all first reported by The Post. He also kept four rent-regulated apartments in Harlem.

Oliver Stone Reaches a New Low

Man this guy is some piece of work.

Oliver Stone is at it again. I previously wrote about him months ago. Stone, now in London to do publicity for his agitprop film on Hugo Chavez, took the opportunity to do some advance publicity for his forthcoming Showtime TV series, The Secret History of America. In his new gem, he will show us how Hitler, Stalin, and Mao were all unappreciated in their own time, since they were “vilified” and he wants to show — particularly in the case of Stalin — how he “has a complete other story.”

Well, if Stone wants to really let us know that it is not just Fidel and Hugo Chavez he loves, but all previous monsters in the 20th century past, he is certainly free to do so. But in his new interview with Camilla Long in the London Sunday Times, he certainly ups the ante. Added to his list of the misunderstood is Iran’s leadership. First, he informs Long that although “Iran isn’t necessarily the good guy,” the fact is that “we don’t know the full story!” Since Stone was given access exclusively to Ahmadinejad when he visited Iran, we can be certain we won’t have to wait long to see the results.

White House backed release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi

How long before the MSM ignores this story, 5,4,3,2,1...

THE US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be "far preferable" to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya.

Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.

The intervention, which has angered US relatives of those who died in the attack, was made by Richard LeBaron, deputy head of the US embassy in London, a week before Megrahi was freed in August last year on grounds that he had terminal cancer.

The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama's claim last week that all Americans were "surprised, disappointed and angry" to learn of Megrahi's release.

Saturday Funny

Iran Says It Has 100 Vessels For Each US Warship

President Obama Job Approval

New new low water mark.

Obama hits yet another negtive milestone as his Real Clear Politcs poll approval average falls to a -1.6. That surpasses his previous low by almost a full percentage point.

Mass. Sen. Kerry docks yacht in RI, saving $500K

What an unbelievable poser.

BOSTON – Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to the cash-strapped Bay State.

If the "Isabel" were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket, or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes.

Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something of a nautical tax haven.

Rep. Charlie Rangel charged with ethics violations

Appears that crazy Uncle Charlie may finally get his (partial) comuppance

WASHINGTON — A House investigative committee has charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with multiple ethics violations.

The charges were announced Thursday. The panel’s actions sends the case to a trial on the allegations. A separate ethics panel will decide whether the alleged violations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

The Democrat led the tax-writing committee until he stepped aside last March after the ethics committee criticized his conduct in a separate case.

Sources said the committee and Rangel’s attorney attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement to end the case.

Jobless claims jump 37,000 to 464,000

Looks as though the temporary blip downward in unemployment claims was just that.

The number of people applying for initial state unemployment insurance benefits rose 37,000 to 464,000 in the week ended July 17, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected an initial claims level of 450,000. The four-week average of initial claims - a better gauge of employment trends than the volatile weekly number - rose 1,250 to 456,000.

Continuing claims in the week ended July 10 fell 223,000 to 4.49 million. Recent volatility in this number is due to seasonal adjustment issues, according to the Labor Department. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 21,500to 4.57 million. A federal extension of benefits has expired, and an estimated 2.5 million people will have been cut off from benefits by July 17.

NAACP President Was In Attendance at Sherrod Speech

This story just keeps getting better and better.

On Monday July 19th, video was released of Georgia Director of Rural Development Shirley Sherrod admitting in a speech at an NAACP banquet in March that she discriminated against farmers because of their race. Sherrod was appointed last year by Obama’s Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. After the video was released, where Sherrod told NAACP members that she refused to fully assist a white farmer because of his race, the Obama Administration forced her to resign.


Following the release of this inflammatory tape NAACP President Ben Jealous released a statement denouncing not only the racist remarks by Shirley Sherrod but also the reaction of the crowd to her speech. NAACP President Ben Jealous even promised to look into the disturbing behavior of those in attendance. [snip]

But, President Jealous forgot to mention one thing. He was in the audience.

Obama Approval Hits Yet Another New Low

Go figure.

President Obama's approval rating has reached a new low according to a national Quinnipiac survey released this morning. The poll finds that just 44 percent of registered voters approve of the job he's done as president, and 48 percent disapprove. Two months ago, 48 percent approved and 43 percent did not.

Obama now barely has a positive approval rating in the RCP Average of recent national polls.

On the issues: 56 percent of voters disapprove of his handling of the economy; by a 46-43 percent margin, voters disapprove of his handling of foreign policy; 51 percent disapprove of his handling of the Gulf oil spill; and 58 percent disapprove of his handling of illegal immigration, including 60 percent who said the federal government's lawsuit against Arizona was a bad idea.

USDA worker quits over racism charge from video

WASHINGTON — A black employee who resigned from the Agriculture Department over racially charged comments at a Georgia NAACP meeting says her remarks are being intentionally misconstrued by conservative groups stoking racial tensions.

Shirley Sherrod says she was forced to step down by the White House even though her comments, in which she says she withheld support for a farmer because he was white, were really part of a story of racial reconciliation. In an interview, Sherrod said the White House's wishes were relayed by an Agriculture Department undersecretary.

The incident occurred some 24 years ago when she worked for a nonprofit aid group.

For a story of "racial reconciliation" it was surprisingly gleeful in it's presentation and noticeably absent in remorse.

Offline Teporarily

Sorry, we're down, will resume shortly.

Imbecilic Quote of the Week

When CBS's Bob Schieffer was challenged on Sunday why he didn't ask Attorney General Eric Holder about the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case on last week's "Face the Nation" he said:

"I was on vacation that week, [this happened] ... apparently it got very little publicity. and, you know, I just didn't know about it"

Good grief. It appears that being guilty of total incompetance is preferable to bias with today's MSM. Too bad that they are guilty, to the extreme, of both.

BP says it plans to keep gulf oil well cap closed

Maybe BP pushing back?

After 90 days, BP's gushing oil well may now be as good as dead.

In a press conference Sunday morning, a BP executive said that a mechanical "cap" used to shut off the geyser still seems to be holding. As a result, he said, the company now plans to keep it closed permanently -- or at least for a few more weeks, until a "relief well" can plug the leak near its underground source.

"We're not seeing any problems, at this point, any issues with the shut-in," said Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer, referring to the closure of the well. Because of that, Suttles said, "we'll continue to leave the well shut in."

Suttles' announcement seemed to alter the strategy that Coast Guard Admiral Thad W. Allen (ret.), the federal government's point man in the disaster, had described on Saturday. Allen had extended a two-day "integrity test" on the well until Sunday. But, Allen said, when the test was eventually done, it would likely be re-opened and connected to pipes that would siphon the leak up toward ships on the surface.

Pic of the Day

Guess who's taking credit.

BP: Pressure tests indicate Gulf well sound

History tells us not to pop the cork yet but so far so good.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Friday that preliminary test results indicate that a new cap on the broken oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is keeping the oil underground in a reservoir that was probably depleted more than initially thought.

No oil has visibly leaked out of the well since the cap was sealed Thursday and the pressure in the well is high enough to indicate that the well isn't leaking, said BP Vice President Kent Wells. Preliminary seismic surveys indicate that the seafloor around the well hasn't ruptured, although more surveys, by BP and government scientists, are underway to ensure that no oil or gas is leaking from the well or the seafloor, Wells said.

"There is no evidence that the well does not have integrity," Wells said, speaking during a teleconference. He added that BP and government scientists won't draw any conclusions until more testing and measurements are done.

Temperature measurements show that no oil is coming out of the well, Wells said. When oil and gas were flowing through the well, they heated up the well bore, but after the hydrocarbons were sealed under the cap, the temperature of the well bore dropped to the same level as the seawater around it, Wells said.

Friday Funny

We are all "Joe the Plumber" come November 2nd 2010.

Dirtbag of the Day

Wanna bet if she voted who she voted for?

A Mount Orab woman has entered two guilty pleas in Brown County for separate crimes... admitting to stealing more than $8000 worth of Girl Scout cookies from a troop and $26,500 from an elderly man. 35 year old Donya Waits is in the Brown County Jail awaiting sentencing.

The Brown County Sheriff says in January, Donya Waits turned in Girl Scout cookies sheets for her daughter, which showed she sold 2,359 boxes of cookies. The total worth of the cookies was $8,256.50. Waits received the cookies... but never paid the Girl Scouts for them. She is charged with theft.

Donya and a family member, 44 year old Michael Waits, also pled guilty to bilking a 76 year old man out of $26,500 during a six month period in 2009. The two told the victim they were waiting on a large inheritance to be processed by their attorney and were going to pay him back. In this case, they are charged with theft by deception, misuse of a credit card, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Wednesday Funny

Setback: BP cap in limbo over gov't questions

What happened to "PLUG THE DAMN HOLE"?

BP's work on capping the Gulf of Mexico gusher was frozen Wednesday after the federal government raised concerns the operation could put damaging pressure on the busted well that could make the leak worse.

An administration official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks with BP, said the government was acting out of "abundance of caution" and didn't want potentially dangerous pressure tests on a tighter containment cap that has been placed over the well to go ahead until BP answers questions about possible risks.

At the same time, BP on its own halted the drilling of two relief wells that are designed to be a more permanent solution to plug the well.

The delays were a stunning setback after the oil giant finally seemed to be on track following nearly three months of failed attempts to stop the spill, which has sullied beaches from Florida to Texas and decimated the multibillion dollar fishing industry.

Commerce Dept Report: Retail Sales Drop for 2nd Straight Month

If this is "recovery", make it stop!

WASHINGTON – Retail sales fell in June for the second straight month, more evidence that the recovery will slow in the second half of the year.

Retail spending dropped 0.5 percent in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That followed a 1.1 percent fall in May. Excluding autos, spending was down 0.1 percent in June.

Much of the weakness last month came from a drop in auto sales and a decline in gasoline prices. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales would have risen 0.1 percent in June after having plunged 1 percent in May.

Americans are spending less and that could threaten the pace of the recovery. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. But consumers have held back because of high unemployment and other signs that have dampened their confidence, such as the volatile stock market and a struggling housing market.

And then this: US Home-Buying Applications Sink to 13-Year Low

IBD/TIPP Poll: Economic Optimism Lowest Since February 2009

Failure breeds failure.

Consumer gloom in July reached its highest level since the recession was near the bottom amid fears that the expansion remains too weak to create many jobs, according to the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index out Tuesday.

The IBD/TIPP gauge fell 3.2% in early July to 44.7, the lowest since February 2009. Readings below 50 signal pessimism. The six-month outlook sank 3.2 points to 42.8, a 16-month low. It's down 16% since May.

Success.....For the Moment

Now comes the big question, well casing integrity.

BP has successfully placed a new cap over the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well.

The success was revealed on murky live pictures from an underwater camera and broadcast on BP's website.

They show the "Top Hat 10" device hovering and then lowering completely over the well that had been gushing a mile (1,600 meters) beneath the surface.

The valve has been designed to be a much tighter fit than its predecessor, so as to completely contain the oil.

Once it is screwed into place, BP plans to perform an "integrity test" lasting between six and 48 hours. The US government and BP are due to decide by Thursday whether the valve can stay in place to seal the well shut.

North Korean soldiers defect to China fuelling fears of imminent military clash

Gettin while the gettin's good.

Previously considered to be among the regime's most important assets, the North Korean People's Army has always been well provisioned in order to ensure the troops remain loyal.

But a poor harvest and the disastrous revaluation of the North Korean currency in November of last year has worsened the nation's already dire economic straits.

The defectors have claimed that senior members of the party and the armed forces were stockpiling provisions, another indication that the regime is steeling itself for a military confrontation.

Jackson: Gilbert Sees LeBron As A “Runaway Slave”

If that's slavery, show me my "Massa"!

On Sunday, Jesse Jackson criticized Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert saying his remarks in the open letter he released to the people of Cleveland after LeBron James announced he’ll be leaving to join the Miami Heat was akin to calling James a “runaway slave.”

Jackson says the comments were “mean, arrogant, and presumptuous.”

“He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” the reverend said in a release from his Chicago-based civil rights group, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship—between business partners—and LeBron honored his contract.”

Building a better cap

Appears they'll have this thing licked just about the time the relief wells are operational.

The ramping up of the Helix comes as BP is also trying to bolt a new and better fitting cap to the top of the blowout preventer.

The old cap, which was removed Saturday, was fitted atop the sawed-off stump of the riser pipe. Using remotely controlled robots, engineers will try to unbolt from the blowout preventer that stump of the riser pipe and in its place affix the new cap assembly, which weighs 100 tons and is 30 [sic] stories tall.

BP officials were hopeful that the cap could be in place as soon as Monday. If it works, the cap – along with the Helix and Q4000 – is expected to collect virtually all the oil leaking from the well, though trickles could still escape if the seal is not perfect.

With all these efforts set to succeed or fail in the next few days, this week is shaping up to be one of the most important since the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank in late April. That’s partly because hurricane Alex is forcing BP’s hand.

Venezuelans oppose Chávez attempt to nationalize private food company

It's a wonderful thing when the masses finally realize that socialism/communism sucks.As in all major government takeovers of private companies in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez declared that seizing beer-and-food giant Polar's facilities here would mark another victory for the poor in the country's march toward socialism.

"Why is it that Polar has so much money?" Chávez asked in a February speech

Except this time, the president's plans went badly awry,

Polar [fought] back by taking its case to the Supreme Court, [and] its employees have risen up, too, rallying in opposition to Chávez's edict and holding all-night vigils to prevent a takeover.

Court Rejects US Bid To Keep Drilling Moratorium

Obama takes another hit.

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected the federal government's effort to restore an offshore deepwater drilling moratorium, opening the door to resumed drilling in the Gulf while the legal fight continues.

The ruling is not the final word on the Obama administration's fight to suspend new drilling projects so it can study the risks revealed by the disastrous BP oil spill.

The same appeals court is expected to hear arguments on the merits of the moratorium case in late August or early September.

While it's possible that 33 exploratory wells suspended by the moratorium could resume drilling, companies might not bother with the expense while the ultimate future of the projects hangs in the balance.

Quote of the Day

Representative Gabrielle Giffords, (D/AZ): "We Need More Boots On The Ground, Not More Lawyers In The Courthouse”

Amazing what a pending election can do.

Mohammad Omar Captured?

The Taliban’s number one in command, Mohammad Omar, has been apprehended in Pakistan, The Woodward Report has learned. The information was confirmed by a Marine Officer operating on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.

Rumors began to surface about the arrest on Monday, when a U.S. blogger that goes under the screen name Bred posted on his blog that the Taliban leader had been arrested sometime in March. The authorities of the United States and Pakistan refused to confirm the allegations.

The Marine officer, who wished to keep both his name and rank confidential said, “I was there when we initiated the raid on his safe house. The mission was outlined as an attempt to apprehend Omar, who was believed to be hiding out in a safe house buried in the mountains of Pakistan. I do not know why the Department of Defense will not confirm this report.

We shall see.

Update:Sorry folks, the post has been removed, looks like another BS trolling for hits fraud.

DOJ Lawyer Fighting Arizona Immigration Law Once Represented Terror Suspects

Color me shocked.

The federal prosecutor tasked with quarterbacking the Obama administration's high-profile case against Arizona's immigration law is no stranger to controversy or the limelight.

Justice Department attorney Tony West is a member of the so-called "Gitmo 9" -- a group of lawyers who have represented terror suspects.

West, the assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Division, once represented "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, a controversial move that West feared would derail his political ambitions and helped delay his nomination to the department for three months in 2009.

Gulf oil spill breakthrough? Cap collecting 'majority' of oil

Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Early reports suggest that BP is on the verge of its first significant success in the Gulf oil spill.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward told the BBC Sunday that the cut-and-cap maneuver is now collecting 420,000 gallons of oil a day - 40 percent more than it was collecting Saturday.

The improvement raises hope that the containment cap now fitted atop the well might successfully collect as many as 630,000 gallons of oil daily - the highest amount that tanker vessels on the surface can collect.

Mr. Hayward bullishly said he thought the cap was now collecting "the majority, probably the vast majority of the oil."

Wednesday Funny

Former NASA Director Says Muslim Outreach Push 'Deeply Flawed'

Yea, I'll say. ...

The former head of NASA on Tuesday described as "deeply flawed" the idea that the space exploration agency's priority should be outreach to Muslim countries, after current Administrator Charles Bolden made that assertion in an interview last month. fox news

The former head of NASA on Tuesday described as "deeply flawed" the idea that the space exploration agency's priority should be outreach to Muslim countries, after current Administrator Charles Bolden made that assertion in an interview last month.

"NASA ... represents the best of America. Its purpose is not to inspire Muslims or any other cultural entity," Michael Griffin, who served as NASA administrator during the latter half of the Bush administration, told FoxNews.com.

Bolden created a firestorm after telling Al Jazeera last month that President Obama told him before he took the job that he wanted him to do three things: inspire children to learn math and science, expand international relationships and "perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering."

Welcome to the Double-Dip Recession

It's Baaaaaack!

Whether or not the National Bureau of Economic Research ultimately agrees, we are now entering the second dip of a double-dip recession. This is because jobs are what really matter to most Americans, and the employment situation is getting worse, after a scant four months of getting better.

From a theoretical point of view, another recession is what we should expect right now. This is because both GDP and employment are driven by private business investment, and huge tax increases on both business income and capital investment are now only six months away. However, the oncoming recession is also visible in the numbers.

In terms of total employment (BLS Household Survey), there have been nine recessions since 1950. The current downturn is the worst by far. Total employment declined for 25 months from its peak in November 2007, and the total job loss in percentage terms (5.93%) was nearly twice as great as that of any previous post-war recession. The recovery from the employment downturn has also been the most anemic. If the average rate of increase in total employment seen in the past six months were to be sustained (which it probably will not be), it would take until March 2013 to get back to the number of jobs that we had in November 2007. In the meantime, the number of working-age Americans would have increased by almost 10 million.

NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World

Sounds like this man, along with his boss, are in the wrong job.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. fox news

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his "foremost" mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world.

Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him. He said better interaction with the Muslim world would ultimately advance space travel.

Census worker taken to court for trespassing

Private propery rights still exist in Hawaii, go figure.

HONOLULU – Census worker Russell Haas has come to expect a little resistance when he goes door to door to count the residents of the rugged communities near Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. He didn't expect to get arrested.

An attempt to get one resident, a county police officer, to fill out Census forms landed Haas in the back of a patrol car with a trespassing charge.

The case is now in federal court, the latest example of disputes this year between Census workers protected by federal law and residents who don't want to deal with them. It has created a rare instance in which federal prosecutors have stepped in to serve as criminal defense attorneys.

OUR Declaration of Independence

Lest we forget.

“IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America: When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

.....ALL HERE.

Happy Independence Day

Robbers pick wrong target; two shot, one killed by gun-toting victim

The single greatest deterrent to crime yet devised. Are you listening Chicago???

Two would-be robbers forgot to ask their victim a key question:

Do you have a gun and know how to use it?

The 21-year-old Bartlett man's answer might have prevented the two 16-year-olds from being shot.

Instead, an exchange of gunfire between the Bartlett man and the robbers Wednesday night left one teenager dead and the other wounded.

Alyssa Moore, a spokeswoman for Memphis police, said authorities have not released the names of the robber who was killed or the other teenager, who was in noncritical condition.

The robbery portion of the case is still under investigation and charges are pending. State prosecutor Thomas Henderson said Friday the office will not prosecute the potential robbery victim, saying his actions appear justified.

Pelosi: Unemployment Checks Fastest Way to Create Jobs

Pure Keynesian insanity.

Unemployment benefits are creating jobs faster than practically any other program, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. fox news

Unemployment benefits are creating jobs faster than practically any other program, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.

Talking to reporters, the House speaker was defending a jobless benefits extension against those who say it gives recipients little incentive to work. By her reasoning, those checks are helping give somebody a job.

"It injects demand into the economy," Pelosi said, arguing that when families have money to spend it keeps the economy churning. "It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name."

Pelosi said the aid has the "double benefit" of helping those who lost their jobs and acting as a "job creator" on the side.

Thursday Funny

The Triumph of Progressive Public Policy

A virtual template for ruination

Imagine a city where all the major economic planks of the statist or "progressive" platform have been enacted:

* A "living wage" ordinance, far above the federal minimum wage, for all public employees and private contractors. * A school system that spends significantly more per pupil than the national average. * A powerful school employee union that militantly defends the exceptional pay, benefits and job security it has won for its members. * A powerful government employee union that does the same for its members. * A tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the poor and to government bureaucracies.

Would this be a shining city on a hill, exciting the admiration of all? We don't have to guess, because there is such a city right here in our state: Detroit

Detroit has been dubbed "the most liberal city in America" and each of these "progressive" policies is alive and well there. How have they worked out?

In 1950, Detroit was the wealthiest city in America on a per capita income basis. Today, the Census Bureau reports that it is the nation's 2nd poorest major city, just "edging out" Cleveland.

Read the whole thing, it's well worth the time.