Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf post small December sales

If you build it they will pass.

DETROIT (AP) -- This was the year General Motors Co. and Nissan made good on their promise to bring mass-produced electric cars to the market. But don't count on seeing one in traffic soon. Sales so far have been microscopic and they're likely to stay that way for some time because of limited supplies.

GM sold between 250 and 350 Chevy Volts this month and Nissan's sales totaled less than 10 Leaf sedans in the past two weeks. Production for both is slowly ramping up.

It's still unclear just how large the market for electric cars will be once those early adopters are supplied. The base sticker price is $40,280 for the Volt and $32,780 for the Leaf, much higher than most similar-sized, gas-powered cars. If those prices rise, it could make them even more of a niche product than predicted. Buyers also are worried that advertised lease deals may not last, and a federal tax rebate of $7,500 could disappear if Congress decides battery-powered cars are no longer a priority.

Pinstripe Bowl a Joke

I have seem some ridiculous excuses for a bowl game in my life but this POS takes the cake.

The officiating was suspect thoughout but the call of "excessive celebration" after the Kansas State score with 42 seconds left was surreal. The player simply saluted the crowd and was penalized 15 yards which essentially took them out of the possibility of a 2 point conversion to tie the game. Absolutely disgusting.

The ref that made that call should be fired for life.

It's bad enough that so many bowls have become a "home team" playing on their home field against a team usually out of the midwest and calling it fair is ludicrous. (Illinois-Baylor, Army- SMU) etc etc. Home fields all.

I am an Iowa fan so I've got no dog in the race but I'm so sick and tired of the biased commentators and the the crap that is presented, it's unbelievable.

Bowls are supposed to be 2 equally matched teams on a neutral field. It's become anything but.

US revokes Venezuela ambassador's visa amid Chavez row

Lovers quarrel or Kabuki Theater?

Washington has revoked the visa of the Venezuelan ambassador to the US, the US state department has said.

The move comes amid a diplomatic dispute between the two countries over President Barack Obama's choice of ambassador to Caracas, Larry Palmer.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been angered by comments Mr Palmer made about the country this year, and withdrew his approval of Mr Palmer.

The US move in effect expels Venezuelan envoy Bernardo Alvarez Herrera.

Al Gore Blasts Fox News Over Global Warming 'Bias'

Former Vice President Al Gore is picking a fight with Fox News over a year-old management memo that he says betrays a bias against global warming science.

"Fox News has consistently delivered false and misleading information to its viewers about the climate crisis," Gore wrote on his website. "The leaked e-mails now suggest that this bias comes directly form the executives responsible for their news coverage."

Gore was referring to a Dec. 8, 2009 memo attributed to Fox News' Washington Managing Editor Bill Sammon and posted by the liberal-leaning website Media Matters, according to The Hill newspaper. In the memo, Sammon wrote, "Given the controversy over the veracity of climate change data, we should refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question. It is not our place as journalists to assert such notions as facts."
Media Matters said the memo went out just after a Fox News correspondent reported that the United Nations World Meteorological Organization had said 2000 to 2009 was the warmest decade on record.

The prevailing view in the scientific community is that it's getting hotter -- and the warming is due to human activities such as energy production from coal-fired power plants. But there are dissenters, some of whom suggest that the warming is cyclical and not man-made.

"There's no legitimate debate," Gore insisted. "The planet is warming. Moreover, man-made global warming pollution is the principal cause."

So, making sure that both sides are represented is deemed bias. How typical of the left to brand any reported disagreement with THEIR views as prejudiced.

Had missed this article when originally published, thank you to presidio9 at FR for bringing it to my attention.

Fox Crushes Competition

Any wonder why the left despises Fox?

In 2010 Fox News Had More Total Viewers Than MSNBC, CNN, And HLN COMBINED.

The ratings are out for 2010.

Perhaps not surprisingly Fox News continued its march of dominance through the cablesphere, clocking its second-highest rated year ever in total viewers.

It was also the only news channel to hit the top 10 in cable networks, ranking fourth in Primetime behind USA, ESPN and TNT.

Want some context for that? Fox News' total viewers for the year exceeded MSNBC, HLN, and CNN combined.

That dominance came primarily at the expense of CNN which lost 29% of its total viewership in 2010 and 34% of its prime time viewers.

Home price plunge is widespread

More great news from Obamaville.

NEW YORK -- Home prices took a shockingly steep plunge on a monthly basis, an indication that the housing market could be on the verge of -- if it's not already in -- a double-dip slump, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

Prices in 20 key cities fell 1.3% in October from a month earlier, an annualized decline of 15%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. Prices were down 0.8% from 12 months earlier.

Month-over-month prices dropped in all 20 metro areas covered by the index. Six markets -- Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Miami; Portland, Ore.; Seattle and Tampa, Fla. -- reached their lowest levels since the housing bust first began in 2006 and 2007.

"The double-dip is almost here," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "There is no good news in October's report. Home prices across the country continue to fall."

Foreclosures Still Dragging Down Housing, Economy

Plain and simple, untill this turns around the economy will continue to stink.

The housing market has remained at the center of the nation's economic troubles throughout 2010. The housing market started the year flat on its back, and it's ending the year in nearly the same condition.

Home sales are still depressed, home-building remains near a 50-year low, and home prices are still about 30 percent below their peak.

Part of the problem this year has clearly been high unemployment. But the ongoing foreclosure crisis also keeps glutting the market with unsold homes. Meanwhile, the government's efforts to prevent foreclosures over the past year were a pretty big disappointment to many people.

'Octomom' Faces Eviction From California Home

Better have a few more.

LOS ANGELES - The man who sold his Southern California home to "Octomom" Nadya Suleman said Sunday that he's going ahead with eviction proceedings because she hasn't made a long overdue $450,000 payment.

Amer Haddadin said he'll evict Suleman if she and her lawyer Jeff Czech don't pay the balance on the house by Friday. A balloon payment was due Oct. 9.

"I think they have money, but they are hiding the money," Haddadin said.

Oprah says America would’ve had breadlines if Barack Obama wasn’t elected

Well Ms. never skipped a lunch in my life, foodstamps are the modern form of breadlines and last time I checked their usage had skyrocketed.

Oprah Winfrey says America would’ve had breadlines if Barack Obama wasn’t elected. That overpaid queen of daytime TV is opening her mouth again—and when she does, it usually includes praise for President Obama. In a new interview with Parade magazine, the talk show queen, who recently refocused the priorities of America by denying in an interview that she was a lesbian, offers nothing but support for Obama.

Winfrey says that she is pleased as can be with everything that number 44 has thus far accomplished in his first two years. Declaring that she’s not been disappointed in anything Obama has so far done in office, Winfrey also took the time to scold her fellow Americans by reminding them that they should instead be grateful for everything Obama has done.

Merry Christmas

American Muslim indicted for wanting to join US military to kill soldiers

I wonder what excuse the MSM will come up with for this guy. Oh wait, they just won't report it.

A US-born Muslim from Staten Island, New York, has just been indicted for lying to the FBI about his true intentions to join the US military and then start killing US soldiers. 21-year-old Abdel Hameed Shehadeh faces three terrorism-related charges that involve his plan to join the US military only so he could fight against US soldiers.

According to the complaint, Shehadeh plotted to deploy with the US military to Iraq, but once there to desert the military and then fight alongside Islamic terrorists against the US. Shehadeh is also an operator of multiple, radical and violent Jihadist websites that promote terrorism against the west.

Parcel Bomb Explodes at Swiss Embassy in Rome

And so it begins...

ROME — Diplomatic missions in Rome were hit by a coordinated assault of parcel bombs on Thursday, officials and news agencies reported, seriously injuring at least one person and injecting Europe with a new atmosphere of anxiety about possible terrorist plots ahead of the Christmas holiday. Police were conducting checks at all embassies in the capital, The Associated Press reported.

The first attack, a parcel bomb at the Swiss Embassy, exploded at midday. Shortly after, a second parcel bomb exploded at the Chilean Embassy here, wounding an employee, Reuters reported, and a suspicious package was reported at the Ukrainian Embassy in Rome.

Katie Couric, CBS Discussing Pay Cut as Contract Talks Begin

Considering her ratings performance, a pay cut isn't the answer.

Katie Couric is in early talks on a new contract with CBS Corp. that could see the CBS Evening News anchor take a pay cut while expanding her role at the company, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

The network began meeting with Couric's agent at CAA early this month, according to Bloomberg, which reported that both parties have agreed that Couric must take a pay cut to remain at CBS, whose evening news lags behind NBC and ABC in the ratings with a nightly average of 5.7 million viewers.

In addition, viewership for CBS' news program has dropped by 24% from when Couric took over in 2006, a bigger drop than both NBC and ABC have experienced during that same period.

Muslim Immigrants Get Santa Cancelled in Minnesota

Santa's such an infidel...

Santa will not be visiting students in St. Peter, Minnesota this year. Muslim immigrants got him cancelled. The MinnPost reported, via Pat Dollard:

Santa Claus, as portrayed by Dennis Jackson, won’t be visiting students at the Head Start classes in St. Peter this year.

Jackson has made appearances the past four years at the classes for students who need help preparing for school, but this year officials said, “No, no, no.”

The reason: The classes have many immigrant children who don’t celebrate Christmas, says the Mankato Free Press.

Another Judge Seems Poised To Declare ObamaCare Mandate Unconstitutional

This is a big one folks

This has been a busy week when it comes to legal challenges to the national health care law. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson ruled that the law's requirement to purchase health insurance was unconstitional... And on Thursday, another district court judge, Roger Vinson, heard oral arguments in a separate case launched by Florida and 19 other states.

While a judge's posture in oral arguments isn't an ironclad indication of how he intends to vote, several news accounts of the hearing suggested Vinson -- a Reagan appointee -- was extremely skeptical of the administration's argument that the Commerce Clause gave the federal government the authority to regulate inactivity.

"It would be a giant leap for the Supreme Court to say that a decision to buy or not to buy is tantamount to activity," Vinson said, according to the Wall Street Journal. The judge noted that when he was in law school he was uninsured when his first son was born and paid out of pocket.

FWIW Judge Vinson is a Reagan appointee.

Sunday Funny

Dream Act fails to move forward 55-41

A pandering piece of crap legislation if there ever was one.

A measure that would have offered provisional legal status to some adults (and their families) who came to America illegally as children failed to advance in a Senate vote Saturday.

Democratic backers of the legislation fell short of the 60 votes to move the DREAM Act legislation forward. Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jon Tester of Montana, Max Baucus of Montana, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska voted against bringing the bill to the floor; Republican Sens. Richard Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, and Robert Bennett voted for it.

Backing off an arsenic-eating claim

Between the bias and manipulated "Global Warming" crusade and this, the once great and respected NASA has become a largely diminished caricature of itself.

Amid a flurry of criticism, a NASA-funded team on Thursday backed off the more extravagant, textbook-changing claims they'd made about a bacterium that had allegedly substituted arsenic for phosphorus in its DNA.

The original announcement, made at a NASA news conference Dec. 2, seemed to break a cardinal rule of biology that all organisms need some phosphorus to survive. NASA researchers claimed to have discovered an exotic organism in California's Mono Lake that lived instead on arsenic, thus broadening the types of life that may exist in the universe.

The news made headlines worldwide including a New York Times story that ran in The Inquirer on Dec. 3.

On Thursday, the researchers issued a more modest claim. Instead of saying the microbes had completely substituted arsenic for phosphorus, a new statement says the arsenic replaced "a small percentage" of the phosphorus.

A number of biologists say they'll be surprised if even this stands the test of time.

Hundreds Of Toys For Needy Kids Stolen In Orangevale

Scumbags.

ORANGEVALE (CBS13) – Hundreds of toys set aside for kids in need have been stolen just days before Christmas.

The toys were taken from the lobby of the Orangevale Chamber of Commerce Monday night.

They were donations to the Toys for Tots program.

'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Director Blake Edwards Dead at 88.

A superb Director, he will be missed

A spokesman for Blake Edwards says the filmmaker has died in Southern California at age 88.

Publicist Gene Schwam says Edwards died from complications of pneumonia at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. His wife, Julie Andrews, and other family members were at his side.

Edwards directed "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Pink Panther" and many other popular films.

Congress' Job Approval Rating Worst in Gallup History

Which MSM knothead will be the first to blame the Republicans for this even though they don't assume control untill after the first of the year. Please report.

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' assessment of Congress has hit a new low, with 13% saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job. The 83% disapproval rating is also the worst Gallup has measured in more than 30 years of tracking congressional job performance.

'All Hell' breaking loose in Senate over budget

There better be.

An unidentified GOP source told Fox News Tuesday that "All hell is breaking loose" in the Senate over a 1,924-page spending bill that includes 20,000 earmark requests.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) will likely demand the omnibus bill be read in its entirety on the Senate floor prior to a vote.

Fox News reported the bill - described as "a total mess" - is intended to cover the rest of the current fiscal year. If passed, the bill would become law without any debate in the Senate.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the bill must pass:

"The twelve bills included in this package fulfill the Congress' most basic responsibility, to exercise the power of the purse," he said in a statement. "This measure reflects a year's worth of work by members of both parties. Together, we have closely scrutinized the president's budget request, held hundreds of hearings, thousands of meetings, and asked literally tens of thousands of questions to each and every federal department and agency seeking justification for how taxpayer dollars are being spent."

Senate spending bill contains thousands of earmarks

Republicans either stand up to this travesty or face squandering ever bit of political capital given them in the November elections.

Senate Democrats released a massive spending bill Tuesday that contains money for thousands of lawmakers' pet projects, setting up a fierce debate over so-called earmarks in the waning days of the lame-duck congressional session.

Leaders of the Appropriations Committee combined a dozen spending bills into a single measure with more than $1.2 trillion in appropriations to fund the federal government for a full year. The committee said the bill is $29 billion below the budget proposed by President Obama.

The House took a different approach this month in passing an alternative spending bill, known as a "continuing resolution," that would keep funding level through September and contains no congressional earmarks.

Obama fatigue? Press room half empty for president

Should've invited Clinton back.

The White House Briefing Room was half empty when President Barack Obama delivered a statement Monday afternoon on a Senate vote related to the tax cuts legislation he's pushing.

Reporters filled the first three rows for the president's appearance -- though a few were taking vacant seats. And almost every seat in the back four rows was empty.

That kind of sparse attendance for a president's personal appearance is unusual, particularly for a president in his first term and one engaged in a high stales tax debate with Congress.

Judge in Va. strikes down federal health care law

Very big in the sense that it's now on the fast track to SCOTUS.

A federal judge declared the Obama administration's health care law unconstitutional Monday, siding with Virginia's attorney general in a dispute that both sides agree will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson is the first federal judge to strike down the law, which has been upheld by two others in Virginia and Michigan. Several other lawsuits have been dismissed and others are pending, including one filed by 20 other states in Florida.

Sources: RNC Chairman Steele to Announce He Won't Run for Second Term

Good bye, see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is expected to announce he will drop out of the highly contested race to keep his post, multiple RNC sources told FoxNews.com on Sunday.

Fox News has confirmed Steele sent an e-mail to committee members Saturday night with the subject line, “conference call.”

In the note, he asked members to join him "for a private conference call" Monday evening.

Republicans picked up 63 seats in the House, narrowed the gap in the Senate and picked up 19 state legislative bodies in the November midtem election, but pressure has been mounting all year for Steele to step down from the position.

I actually pushed for this guy, well, I was dead wrong and I'll be the first to admit it. What a huge disappointment he has been.

Sunday Funny

Explosions kill 1, injure 2 in central Stockholm

Appears the Swedes have a problem with the Amish as well.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A car explosion and what appeared to be a suicide attack injured two people, killed the apparent bomber, and caused panic among Christmas shoppers in Stockholm Saturday.

Stockholm Police spokeswoman Petra Sjolander said a car exploded near Drottninggatan, a busy shopping street in the center of the city. Shortly afterward, a second explosion was heard higher up on the same street, and a man was found injured on the ground.

He was later pronounced dead.

Sjolander said it was unclear what caused the second explosion and whether the two blasts were linked, but said a police bomb squad has been sent to the site.

Pic of the Day

The amazing vanishing President. Something right out of the Twilight zone.

November federal budget deficit highest on record

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal budget deficit rose to $150.4 billion last month, the largest November imbalance on record. And the government's deficits are set to climb higher if Congress passes a tax-cut plan estimated to cost $855 billion over two years.

The Treasury Department says the November budget deficit was 25 percent higher than the $120.3 billion deficit in November 2009. Some of the jump, though, was due to a quirk of the calendar determining when benefit checks are mailed.

Tax cut? What tax cut are they referring to?

'PA to cancel all security commitments to Israel'

Big deal, it's not like they were honoring them anyway.

Al Quds al-Arabi reports that PLO, Fatah plan to push for a unilateral abrogation of all Oslo and Road Map commitments, including fighting terror, in response to failed peace talks.

The Palestinian Authority will stop coordinating its security with Israel, in response to the US's official announcement that peace talks have failed, Al Quds al-Arabi reported on Friday.

Khana Amira, a PLO official, told the UK newspaper that the PA is also considering canceling its other commitments to Israel, including the Oslo Accords and the Road Map, which demand that terror organizations will stop.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior PLO official and an adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly plans to convene a meeting with the PLO and Fatah central committees on Friday afternoon, in order to make a new plan for the Palestinians.

House blocks US trial of Guantanamo detainees

Another Obama campaign promise bites the dust.

In a setback for President Barack Obama, Democrats still controlling the House have approved legislation to prevent Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to the U.S. for trials in criminal courts.

USA Stinks In International Education Test

Yet we still spend more per student then any country in the world.

The results are in for the 2009 Program for International Students Assessment test of 15 year olds students from 65 different countries.

The assessment included math, science, and reading tests. So how did the the United States of America do in the results tally? Not well at all. Here is a look at our placement in the tests and a few countries that embarrassingly scored better:

Reading – 17th: Shanghai and Hong Kong, china, Belgium, Estonia, Iceland

Science – 23rd(One Point Above Average): Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao, China, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Hungary

Math – 31st (Below Average): Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao, China, Taiwan, Liechtenstein, Estonia, Iceland, Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg...

Wikileaks: WMD program existed in Iraq prior to US invasion

Well you could knock me over with a feather...

The release by Julian Assange's web site Wikileaks of classified documents reveals that U.S. military intelligence discovered chemical weapons labs, encountered insurgents who were specialists in the creation of toxins, and uncovered weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. However, Washington, DC officials and the news media have ignored this information.

One of the WikiLeaks document dumps reveals that as late as 2008, American troops continued to find WMD in the region.

There are numerous mentions of chemical and biological weapons in the WikiLeaks documents, however the U.S. media appear only interested in those portions of the leaked material that highlight actions that are viewed as embarrassing for the U.S. military such as the accusation that U.S. commanders were aware of abuse and "torture" of prisoners by Iraqi soldiers and police officers.

Fort Lauderdale breaks cold record for Dec. 7

Won't be long before some nimrod from the MSM spins the cause of this on "global warming".

South Floridians woke up Tuesday morning to temperatures hovering around the very low 40s that sometimes felt like the mid-30s because of the wind chill factor.

In Fort Lauderdale, a low temperature record of 42 degrees for Dec. 7 that had been in place for 169 years was broken, said Dan Gregoria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.

"It was at 7:24 a.m. when the temperature reached 40 degrees," Gregoria said.

Al Gore's climate group shrinking

The more people know the less they believe his bullshi!.

One of Al Gore's campaigns to save the planet has scaled back its field operations since climate legislation failed earlier this year in Congress.

The Alliance for Climate Protection was operating in about 25 states at its peak, including Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

But the group now has field offices in just seven states.

"We've always believed it’s a mobile and nimble operation," said Sean Sarah, the non-profit group's spokesman. "We move to areas where it’s most effective. Of course the situation in Congress has changed. So our strategies and tactics have changed along with it."

Sunday Funny

Ford, BMW, Toyota Took Secret Government Money

How this could possibly be construed as Constitutional is beyond me.

In the depths of the financial collapse, the U.S. Federal Reserve pumped $3.3 trillion into keeping credit moving through the economy. It eventually lent $57.9 billion to the auto industry — including $26.8 billion to Ford, Toyota and BMW.

The Fed on Wednesday was forced to reveal the identity of the companies it aided during the crisis, after contending to Congress that keeping their identities and the details of such lending secret was essential. Much of Wall Street, and corporate giants such as General Electric, Harley Davidson and McDonald's, took advantage of the Fed's help. We've done the math on how the Fed propped up the auto industry.

While Chrysler and General Motors had to go to Congress to beg for cash in 2008, every other automaker's finance arm was having trouble as well. Typically, once they lend money to a buyer, they sell the loan, get the cash upfront, then pump the proceeds back into the business. They also take out short-term loans called commercial paper that keeps the day-to-day business afloat. The crash cut the circuit, raising the chances the automakers couldn't make loans to buyers and keep selling new vehicles.

That's where the Fed stepped in. In normal circumstances, the Fed only lends money to banks, leaving the decisions about who should get credit to them. But when the financial markets started to collapse in late 2008, the Fed set up several programs to lend money directly to corporations, a highly unusual step.

WikiLeaks Cables Reveal How US Manipulated Climate Accord

This will probably get buried just as the Cimategate scandal.

Hidden behind the save-the-world rhetoric of the global climate change negotiations lies the mucky realpolitik: money and threats buy political support; spying and cyberwarfare are used to seek out leverage.

The US diplomatic cables reveal how the US seeks dirt on nations opposed to its approach to tackling global warming; how financial and other aid is used by countries to gain political backing; how distrust, broken promises and creative accounting dog negotiations; and how the US mounted a secret global diplomatic offensive to overwhelm opposition to the controversial "Copenhagen accord", the unofficial document that emerged from the ruins of the Copenhagen climate change summit in 2009.

Friday Funny

Unemployment Rate for November Surges

Non-Farm Payrolls Rise Much Less than Expected, Up 39,000 Pushing Unemployment Rate Higher to 9.8%.

Considering the seasonal hiring, this really stinks.

High School Football Player Gets Penalized For Pointing To God

Clueless refs are unfortunately becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Occasionally we come across a story like this and the injustice can only make you sit back, shake your head, and wonder what we are coming to. A extraordinary young man, Ronnie Hastie, who plays high school football in Spokane, Oregon, always makes it a habit after scoring a touchdown to quickly kneel in the end zone and point to God – in an effort to give him the credit for the score and for his talent.

In this particular game, after a 23 yard touchdown, he took 1-2 seconds to do what he’s always done traditional…quickly kneel and point to God. But this time, the ref didn’t appreciate it and threw a penalty flag directly at his chest- docking the team 15 yards. KOMO-4 writes:

"Hastie said he’s pointed up as a gesture to God after every touchdown he’s scored in every game and never had a problem before.

“It’s usually one or two seconds long,” he said. “It’s something I’ve done as a tradition.”

Hastie said he asked the ref why he was penalized, and the ref responded that Hastie wasn’t supposed to draw attention to himself.

‘Misleading’ Andy Griffith Ads Cost Taxpayers $3 Million, Gov’t Documents Show

It's too bad his persona is not at all like the real person. As a matter of fact, three of the four main characters on the Andy Griffith show are the exactly the opposite of who they portrayed on the screen. Andy Griffith has always been a mean leftist, Opie (Ron Howard) grew up to be everything but what his fictional father taught him to be and Aunt Bea was an absolute witch in real life.

The federal government spent $3.1 million on TV ads featuring actor Andy Griffith touting the new health care law that a non-partisan watchdog group says are misleading.

“Currently, about one in every four beneficiaries is enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan,” said FactCheck.org, a project of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center.

“For many of them, the words in this ad ring hollow, and the promise that ‘benefits will remain the same’ is just as fictional as the town of Mayberry was when Griffith played the local sheriff,” the group said in an article titled “Mayberry Misleads on Medicare.”

Now "Bea" is long dead, Ronny Howard is a 50 year corrupted Hollywood elite pushing every liberal cause that enamours him with his contemporaries and Andy Griffith is a Dinosaur that likely never believed a word he uttered in his signature show. Considering he is now drawing on that "persona" to shaft the American elderly, I have no sympathy for him whatsoever.

Wachovia Bank: No Christmas Trees

Wachovia Bank won't be putting up Christmas trees in their banks this Christmas. FOX 35 news received a call from someone upset after hearing about this policy and we went to check it out. Customer Wilhelmina Cox says, "To be honest with you, that kinda offends me. I might think about changing banks."

We asked Wachovia's corporate office for a statement on why no trees. They sent us this statement, "At Wachovia, we respect the diversity of our customers and team members therefore we are decorating our stores with poinsettia plants so that everyone can be included."

A corporate spokesperson told FOX35 News they don't put up Christmas trees so as not to offend their non-Christian customers.

You bet, offend 80% of your customers to not offend less than 10% of your customers. Now that's a sound business decision.

Home Prices in September Fall Faster than Expected

Damndest recovery I've ever seen.

Prices of single-family homes in September fell more than twice as fast as expected from the prior month, while prices compared to a year earlier rose more slowly than forecast, according to a widely watched index of U.S. home prices released on Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 0.8 percent in September from August on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.3 percent.

WikiLeaks, Hillary Clinton, and the Smoking Gun

More circular artillery from the left, this from Slate...

But what makes Clinton's sleuthing unique is the paper trail that documents her spying-on-their-diplomats-with-our-diplomat orders, a paper trail that is now being splashed around the world on the Web and printed in top newspapers. No matter what sort of noises Clinton makes about how the disclosures are "an attack on America" and "the international community," as she did today, she's become the issue. She'll never be an effective negotiator with diplomats who refuse to forgive her exuberances, and even foreign diplomats who do forgive her will still regard her as the symbol of an overreaching United States. Diplomacy is about face, and the only way for other nations to save face will be to give them Clinton's scalp.

Incompetance does have it's consequences.

Monday Funny

Leslie Nielsen Dead at 84

An absolute virtuoso in the art of deadpan humor, he will be missed.

North Korea Deploys Missiles on Southern Border

Measured yet steady escalation.

North Korea is taking its belligerency to a new height today, as it has deployed surface-to-air missiles on its southern border with South Korea. This raises concern that the North could attack or otherwise become more belligerent in the very near future.

The Russian-made missiles have been deployed since the North's artillery shelling of the South this past Tuesday.

As the hostilities between the South and North seem to mount, the United States is carrying out war games with the South while China is calling for emergency talks. Yet the North seems to refuse to listen to reason.

The reason why North Korea is acting so belligerently is uncertain. Some analysts believe it is to attract attention, others believe it is to test the United States, while more believe it is simply to start a war with the South.

Sunday Funny

First lady loosens up food rules: 'Have pie! Eat the dressing!'

First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged American families to enjoy their food over the holiday weekend and not to worry about "how much you eat."

Obama, who is spearheading a nationwide campaign against childhood obesity, explained to 20/20 host Barbara Walters that "this is the time" to let go a bit.

"I would urge people to use this time to come together, as families and community, and don't take it for granted. Be kind to each other and laugh a little bit. And don't worry about how much you eat. Just enjoy it," she said.

Memo to Thunderbutt, mind your own freakin business! We don't need your permission for squat.....at least for the moment.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, Somali-born US teen, arrested for alleged blast try

One has to wonder how many others are running around out there that are NOT part of a sting operation.

Undercover agents in a sting operation stopped a Somali-born teenager from blowing up a van full of explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland, federal authorities said.

The bomb was a dud supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

Happy Thanksgiving

Carter pushes talks with North Korea

Epic fool.

Former President Jimmy Carter says the Obama administration should "consider responding" to North Korea’s deadly shelling of a South Korean island and other recent incidents by engaging in direct talks with Kim Jong Il’s government.

“Pyongyang has sent a consistent message that during direct talks with the United States, it is ready to conclude an agreement to end its nuclear programs, put them all under IAEA inspection and conclude a permanent peace treaty to replace the ‘temporary’ cease-fire of 1953,” Carter wrote in Wednesday’s Washington Post. “We should consider responding to this offer.”

Sure, you bet, reward this rogue regime for their aggressive contemptuous behavior.

Obama calling Lee over North attack

When you're the most powerful nation in the world and you project weakness, this is what happens. Expect lots more.

Obama is "outraged" by North Korea's attack on a South Korean island, White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said Tuesday.

Obama plans to call South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, on Tuesday, Burton said, adding that Tom Donilon, his national security adviser, called Obama at 3:55 a.m. to tell him of the attack.

"The president is outraged by this action," he told reporters on Air Force One. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with South Korea."

Comment of the day " STOP or we’ll tell you to stop again!”

Thanks to Blueflag at FR.

Barbara Bush: ‘You Can’t Dislike Bill Clinton

Ramblings from the matriarch of a soon to be irrelevant elitist dynasty. Why not go back to Texas you crusty old cow and STFU.

Over the weekend former First Lady Barbara Bush shocked some when she took a jab at Sarah Palin, saying she hopes the former Alaskan governor stays in Alaska. Now she’s following that up with another surprising statement, this time saying that “you can’t dislike Bill Clinton.”

During an interview with Larry King that aired in full Monday night, Barbara admitted that while “it took me a little while” to warm up to the man who beat her husband and won the presidency in 1992, she now has nothing but good things to say about him. “You can’t dislike Bill Clinton,” she said. “He’s very likable. And he was so good to George… he would let George have the bed. I have a feeling Bill wishes he had a father like George, truthfully”.

Monday Funny

Democrat Corruption Part Deux

Expect a double secret probation in her future...

Apparently, the Charlie Rangel ethics trial was just the warm-up act. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the House Ethics Committee suddenly postponed the trial of Maxine Waters on ethics violation because it found more evidence of direct intervention by her office to benefit the bank in which her husband owned a substantial interest. According to new e-mails uncovered by the committee, her chief of staff directly coordinated with other members of the House Financial Services Committee on behalf of OneUnited:

A newly discovered exchange of e-mails led the House ethics committee on Friday to delay its trial of Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat accused of helping steer bailout money to a bank in which her husband owned shares.

The e-mails are between Mikael Moore, Ms. Waters’s chief of staff, and members of the House Financial Services Committee, on which Ms. Waters serves. The e-mails show that Mr. Moore was actively engaged in discussing with committee members details of a bank bailout bill apparently after Ms. Waters agreed to refrain from advocating on the bank’s behalf. The bailout bill had provisions that ultimately benefited OneUnited, a minority-owned bank in which her husband, Sidney Williams, owned about $350,000 in shares.

We May Be Infidels But....

But I thought Cuba had the best healthcare in the world.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi Arabia's aged ruler will fly to the United States for medical tests over a blood clot, according to a Saudi official, in a development that would renew questions about succession in the oil-rich kingdom.

The 86-year-old King Abdullah is set to leave on Monday, three days after he was admitted to the hospital suffering from back pain due to a blood clot, the official said late Saturday. The official didn't say which hospital would receive the king.

On Friday, the palace said that the king had a blood clot, which had created pressure on the nerves surrounding a ruptured disc.

Obama administration plans to pull back National Guard from much of the border

The worst border violence ever and this is his solution?

The Obama Administration plans to withdraw National Guard troops from the Texas, New Mexico and California borders by the end February under a new Southwest security plan, even as turmoil in Mexican border cities grows, according to documents obtained by The Washington Examiner.

A letter sent to various members of the Texas Congressional delegation from Texas' Gov. Rick Perry's office says, "In February, 2011, the Texas, New Mexico, and California National Guard forces that were deployed to the border in September, 2010, under President's Obama's Southwest Border Augmentation Plan, will have 30 days to complete a total draw down of forces."

Give more military assistance to Pakistan: Powell to US

How can someone with such hard core military experience be so unbelievably naive?

Washington : With the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden still elusive, the Obama administration must give Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani adequate mobility or intelligence capability he needs to win the war against terror, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said.

Powell, who recently met Kayani at his home, said the Pakistani Army chief was facing a tough task in the war against terror along the Pak-Afghan border.

"He's got a tough problem. This is the most difficult terrain imaginable. And he has troops, but he doesn't have the kind of mobility or intelligence capability that he needs," Powell said.

Etheridge can't overcome Ellmers' lead in recount

You folks remember this jerk.

Republican Renee Ellmers has unseated veteran Congressman Bob Etheridge, according to unofficial results of a recount in the tight race.

Etheridge, a seven-term Democrat, picked up six votes on Ellmers after voting results from 10 counties were tabulated a second time, but it was nowhere near enough to overcome her 1,489-vote lead following the Nov. 2 election.

Senate Democrats vent anger with Barack Obama

A classic illustration of co-dependence.

Senate Democrats – including typically mild-mannered Bill Nelson of Florida – lit into President Barack Obama during an unusually tense air-clearing caucus session on Thursday, senators and staffers told POLITICO.

Nelson told colleagues Obama’s unpopularity has become a serious liability for Democrats in his state and blamed the president for creating a toxic political environment for Democrats nationwide, according to two Democrats familiar with his remarks.

“It was a raucous caucus,” said one Democratic senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity because closed-door sessions are not supposed to be discussed with outsiders.

TSA Chief admits full body screening is invasive, but says it's necessary anyway

I don't know what all the hullaballoo is about, we've had these for at least 50 years.

At a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill, TSA chief John Pistole defended the airport screening procedures and said they were necessary in, "the face of a persistent and evolving terrorist threat,"

Thursday Funny

Virginia High School Allows Cheating Students to Retake Tests

Liberal/Progressive thinking on parade...

(CNSNews.com) – A Fairfax County high school last month told teachers to let cheating students retake tests so they wouldn’t receive zeros, the Washington Post reported.

In a Nov. 5 e-mail to teachers, West Potomac High School Principal Cliff Hardison said cheating should "result in a disciplinary consequence separate from an academic consequence."

This is the same Fairfax County high school that asked teachers to mostly banish F's from report cards, the newspaper said.

According to the Washington Post, Hardison – responding to complaints from parents and teachers – later reverted to the old policy of giving zeroes to cheaters, at the same time giving teachers the option of offering retakes.

Wednesday Funny

Pelosi elected Democrat House minority leader

Good news for Republicans.

Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco was elected the party’s Minority Leader for the House session that begins in January in a closed caucus meeting that took several hours. Pelosi moves to the Minority Leader position after having been elected the first woman Speaker of the House in 2006, and presiding over the biggest turnover in House seats since 1947.

If I have to explain why, you shouldn't be reading this blog.

U.S. housing starts fall 11.7% in October

More terrific news from Obamaville.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Construction of new U.S. homes sank 11.7% to an annualized rate of 519,000 in October, the lowest level in 18 months, but permits rose slightly, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The last time starts were that low was in April 2009. In addition, housing starts in September were revised down to 588,000 from an original reading of 600,000.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected housing starts in October to drop to an annual rate of 600,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Permits for new construction, viewed as a more accurate gauge of home building, rose 0.5% in October to an annualized rate of 547,000. Permits were also revised slightly higher in the prior month.

Rangel Guilty of 11 House Ethics Violations

This will result in nothing more than a tersely worded letter of reprimand. Or, in other words, an exercise "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Other bloggers can analyze it better than I so I leave the blog roundup to StoptheACLU.

Senate Leader Deals Blow to President on Arms Treaty

Another of Obama's misguided signature priorities appears to be in deep doo doo.

President Obama’s hopes of ratifying a new arms control treaty with Russia this year appeared to unravel on Tuesday as a Senate Republican leader moved to block a vote in what could be a devastating blow to the president’s most tangible foreign policy achievement.

Mr. Obama had declared ratification of the New Start treaty his “top priority” in foreign affairs for the lame-duck session of Congress that opened this week. But the chances of winning the two-thirds vote required for passage of the treaty appeared to collapse with the announcement by Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and the party’s point man on the issue, that the Senate should not vote on it this year.

“When Majority Leader Harry Reid asked me if I thought the treaty could be considered in the lame-duck session, I replied I did not think so given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to Start and modernization,” Mr. Kyl said in a statement. The senator added that he would continue to negotiate with administration officials for a possible vote next year.

The Color of Murder

Considering the dropout rate and the percentage of children born out of wedlock in the first two groups, this is absolutely no surprise.

Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims are most frequently Black (67.0%) or Hispanic (28.1%). White victims account for (3.2%) of all Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims while Asian/Pacific Islanders account for (1.8%) of all Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter victims.

The Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrest population is similarly distributed. Black arrestees (53.8%) and Hispanic arrestees (36.4%) account for the majority of Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrestees while White arrestees (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.2%) arrestees account for the remaining portions of the Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter arrest population.

Shooting victims are most frequently Black (73.8%) or Hispanic (22.1 %). White victims account for an additional (2.6%) of all Shooting victims while Asian/Pacific Islanders victims account for (1.2%) of all Shooting Victims.

The Shooting arrest population is similarly distributed. Black arrestees (70.9%) and Hispanic arrestees (25.8%) account for the majority of Shooting arrest population. White arrestees (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%) account for the remaining portion of the Shooting arrest population.

NY Times columnist Confirms Palin comments on Death Panels Accurate

When you consistently devalue life for decades as the Democrats have done, this is simply inevitable:

A New York Times Columnist, Paul Krugman, touched the third rail of Obamacare Sunday, while on ABC's 'This Week' when he made a statement confirming the need for 'death panels' as a means of containing health care costs (see video). Krugman is not the first person who has advocated the use of 'death panels' and yet liberals excoriated Sarah Palin for pointing out that the Obamacare bill contains what many on the left have said needed to be done.

During the discussion, which was about the Deficit Commission's recent recommendations on cutting expenses, Krugman made his statement in response to when discussion would take place concerning the commission's recommendations. He stated, 'Some years down the pike, we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sale's taxes. Its going to be the; we're actually going to take Medicare under control and we're going to have to get some additional revenue from a VAT.'

Krugman's statement was not the first time he has suggested the use of death panels as a cost saver. He made a similar statement on 'This Week' earlier this year and the panel received his statement with laughing in affirmation that death panels would save money. The interesting thing is that he went on to say that economists that he talked to agreed that death panels would have a 'major cost saving.'

New York state manufacturing plunges: NY Fed

Double dip anyone?

New York state manufacturing unexpectedly plunged in November, the first contraction since July 2009 when the US economy exited recession, official data showed Monday.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported its manufacturing activity index dropped to minus 11.1 points in November, from a positive 15.7 points in the previous month.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey index is considered a bellwether of the manufacturing sector which has been a key strength in the economic recovery.

Tensions flare with reporters

Freakin lightweight.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – The scene after President Obama’s meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard showed just how long of a trip his nine-day Asia excursion has been – for all involved.

A reporter thanked Obama at the end of he and Gillard's remarks. Obama, who scolded White House reporters on Friday for their coverage of his trip, was informed that it was a member of the Australian press who delivered the thanks. "I knew it must have been an Australian because my folks never say thank you," Obama replied

With that, the White House press pool, in unison, gave him some sing-songy gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. President...” they said, with a tinge of sarcasm.

Sunday Funny

Administration: Mrs. Obama was powerful in India

Quote from the article:

For that, Mrs. Obama won glowing praise Saturday from administration officials who said the events she did on her own in India were among the most successful of President Barack Obama's 10-day, four-country tour of Asia.

I can't disagree with that.

Obama May Face Left-Wing Primary

You can bet on it.

Democrats do not forgive defeat very easily. In the week after his "shellacking" in the midterm elections, Democratic approval of Obama's performance as president dropped from 88 percent to 81 percent in the Zogby Poll, bringing his overall approval down to 43 percent. When a president starts to shed members of his own party, a vicious cycle has set in which can lead to a primary challenge.

Not from Hillary. At least not yet. She is far too cautious and intertwined with the administration to be the first to move against Obama. Just as Bobby Kennedy needed a Eugene McCarthy to test the waters for a primary challenge to Lyndon Johnson in 1968, so Hillary Clinton will look to others to try out Obama's vulnerability to a liberal challenge. As with Kennedy, if it works, she'll probably jump in. If it doesn't, she'll stay on as secretary of state.

There are three possible contenders who might enter Democratic primaries against Obama: Russ Feingold, Dennis Kucinich and Jerry Brown.

Friday Funny + Article

The Incredible Shrinking President

Obama bid to pick Iraq leader spurned

Just another example of repercussions of the Obama policy of negotiating from a position of decreased power and prestige.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, one of America's closest allies in the country, has rebuffed the personal request of President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to relinquish his post as Iraqis form a new government in Baghdad.

Iraqi leaders announced Thursday a new government in which Mr. Talabani remains president, Nouri al-Maliki remains prime minister and Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya party, which won the most votes in March's election, controls the speakership of Parliament and the presidency of the National Security Council.

Mr. al-Maliki and his top rival Mr. Allawi sat next to each other in the parliament chamber in an apparent sign of unity after a contentious, eight-month political fight over the formation of the government, the Associated Press reported. But that didn't last long, as he later joined a walkout of the Iraqiya members in protest.

Veterans Day 2010

God bless those that have served for they are truely the best among us.

Obama...All Hat, No Cattle

Just goes to show you what a community organizer can and cannot accomplish.

SEOUL, South Korea — For President Obama, the last-minute failure to seal a trade deal with South Korea that would expand American exports of automobiles and beef is an embarrassing setback that deprives him of a foreign policy trophy and demonstrates how the midterm elections may have weakened his position abroad.

Mr. Obama has made free trade a central theme of his 10-day mission to Asia. From Seoul to Washington, business leaders, foreign policy analysts and diplomats were convinced that the president would wrap up the accord during a meeting with President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea on Thursday. Instead, the two leaders emerged empty-handed, arriving at their joint news conference to say that they had instructed their negotiators to keep at it a little while longer.

Bam AWOL on Vets Day

Perverted loyalties...

Not that Obama doesn't appreciate the sacrifices of veterans. He absolutely does. Just ask the Indonesians.

He was in Jakarta for their Heroes Day this week to honor their veterans "who have sacrificed on behalf of this great country."

"This great country," of course, being Indonesia.

"When my stepfather was a boy, he watched his own father and older brother leave home to fight and die in the struggle for Indonesian independence," Obama told the audience.

And the White House wonders why so many people think there is something foreign about this guy.

Clyburn knocks Hoyer's tactics as Democrats' leadership race intensifies

Democrat infighting, get the popcorn.

The leadership race between Reps. James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer took a sharp turn Tuesday when Clyburn criticized his opponent’s tactics and said they were making other Democrats uncomfortable.

The comments are the first hint of criticism between Clyburn (S.C.) and Hoyer (Md.) as the two Democratic heavyweights vie for the No. 2 Democratic leadership spot in the next Congress. The contest was initiated after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she wanted to keep her position as party leader despite the Democrats’ trouncing in the midterm elections.

Clyburn, currently the majority whip, said Majority Leader Hoyer’s strategy of releasing the names of his supporters is threatening a process that is historically “about respecting and honoring” fellow Democrats.

“This is not about playing the numbers game,” Clyburn told The Hill outside Washington’s Newseum when asked about his whip count . “This is about respecting and honoring the members of our caucus in such a way that they will be comfortable with the process.

“I don’t see how you maintain a comfort level for all of our members by rolling out these names. I don’t think it does the process any real good. I’ve never done it; I’m not going to do it.”

Interior Inspector General: White House skewed drilling-ban report

Hope, change, honesty, tranparency, bi-partisanship; Lies all lies.

The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a new report.

In the wee hours of the morning of May 27, a staff member to White House energy adviser Carol Browner sent two edited versions of the department report’s executive summary back to Interior. The language had been changed to insinuate the seven-member panel of outside experts – who reviewed a draft of various safety recommendations – endorsed the moratorium, according to the IG report obtained by POLITICO.

Fed Pushes U.S. Economy Into An Inflationary Death Spiral

This is honestly the first time in my life that I have been intensely worried about the financial future of this nation.

It seems the Fed has given up on the idea that the country can build a viable and stable economy through the conventional means. Instead, our central bank has resorted to once again growing GDP and increasing employment by the creation of asset. This is a dangerous game that no one, least of all the Fed, knows how to play.

We learned this past Wednesday that the FOMC decided to increase its purchases of longer-dated Treasuries by $600 billion within the next eight months. That means the Fed is on course to fund about 75% of our annual deficit! Such figures are the stock in trade of banana republics. While most of the rest of the world is fighting inflation and strengthening their currencies, we are doing everything in our power to end the dollar's status as the world's reserve.

Canada, China, India, Brazil, and Australia have all recently taken steps to raise interest rates and/or curtail bank lending. Compare that to the US, which has left interest rates at near-zero for almost two years. While other central bankers are tamping down expansionary rhetoric, Fed Chairman Bernanke is on record saying that he will do everything in his power to push up inflation (which he considers too low) and dilute the dollar. Foreign central banks and other investors may soon reconsider their plans to park cash in dollar-denominated assets. In fact, there has been a series of angry statements from top economic policymakers in Beijing, Berlin, Moscow, and Sao Paolo that show rising discontent with Washington.

Why Black Americans Didn’t Vote

Black Americans voted with their feet in the 2010 midterm elections: they stayed home in record numbers and were one of the biggest reasons Democrats lost a record number of seats. Nor should anyone be surprised why so many Blacks decided to sit this one out. Black American voters may be becoming increasingly disillusioned with government, disillusioned with President Obama and his promises of job creation, disillusioned with his promises of change. And so they stayed home, a statistic supported by a recent CBS News report that cites lower turnout in most minority segments of the U.S. population than in 2008, but especially within the Black community.

But why is this surprising? Consider: unemployment is greatest among African Americans, with the Bureau of Labor (BLS) statistics reporting in Table A-2, unemployment of 29% for Black American adults. It is interesting to note that this recent mid-term election also saw a downswing in the number of newly registered Black American voters/students voting for the first time. But, if you consider that BLS reported that for Black Americans between the ages of 16-19, the unemployment rate is a stunning 48%, this kind of disenchantment with an administration that promised so much, but delivered so little, should be expected.

Less appreciated and not yet fully understood is the growing African American small business community. These Black Americans, often women and highly educated, are a very entrepreneurial segment of the population that have been hurt by Obama’s anti-small business policies and the hostility to business that emanates from senior Democrats in Congress. Furthermore, legislation such as healthcare reform, financial reform and the small business jobs creation act, championed by the old guard of the Democrat party, actually placed additional cost and time burdens on minority businesses. The uncertainty surrounding the extension of the Bush tax credits also affects the African American business community as it becomes hard for these businesses to plan for future growth.

Take the time to read the entire article, it's well worth it.

Sunday Funny

Blacks struggle with 72 percent unwed mothers rate

Unfreakinbelievable!

Seventy-two percent of black babies are born to unmarried mothers today, according to government statistics. This number is inseparable from the work of Carroll, an obstetrician who has dedicated her 40-year career to helping black women.

The black community's 72 percent rate eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans were born to unwed mothers in 2008, the most recent year for which government figures are available. The rate for the overall U.S. population was 41 percent.

KO KO'd

Well it's finally happened, the most blatantly biased jerk on cable was suspended for [get this] the "appearance" of journalistic bias. But what's even more surpring is it's not because of anything he said on the air.

Jobless claims surge to 457,000

And so the legend of Obamaville continues.

More than 450,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance last week, a discouraging sign ahead of the government's highly anticipated monthly jobs report due Friday.

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits surged to 457,000 in the week ended Oct. 30, up 20,000 from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The number was higher than economists' forecasts of 445,000, according to consensus estimates by Briefing.com, and it fell in a range that analysts say points to continued weakness in the job market.

What the Election Was Not About

Victor Davis Hanson's take on the elction and what it did and did not mean. Would have excerpted but it's ALL good. Read HERE.

Quote of the Day

Former state Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah commenting on last nights rout:

"America coughed up Nancy Pelosi like a fur ball".

How Sweet It Is

Time to give it back.

Election Day Funny

Final Gallup enthusiasm gap: 19 points

One can only vote and keep our fingers crossed that this plays out.

Gallup released its final polling on voter enthusiasm today, and the bottom line is that it’s record-breaking for midterm elections. In fact, for Democrats and their leaners, it’s the second-best enthusiasm level in a midterm election Gallup has seen at 44%, only topped by 2006′s 53% and their nine-point lead over the GOP in that wave election. The bad news for Democrats? Well …. Americans’ enthusiasm about voting exceeds the recent midterm election high set four years ago, with 50% of Americans and 53% of registered voters saying they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in 2010. …

The record level of overall enthusiasm is primarily the result of Republicans’ heightened excitement — 63% of Republicans (including Republican-leaning independents) say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting. That not only greatly exceeds Democrats’ expressed enthusiasm this year, but also is substantially higher than what Gallup has measured for either party’s supporters on the eve of a midterm election. The high level of Republican enthusiasm has led to the largest gap in enthusiasm by party of any recent midterm elections, 19percentage points. The prior highs were nine points in favor of the Democrats in 2006, and nine points in favor of the Republicans in 1994.

Pic of the Day

Recent photos of a bewildered and deranged POTUS: Psycho prez?

Matthews: 2008 Obama Was "Inclusive," Current Obama Is "Elitist"

The "tingle up the leg" is gone. Video HERE.

September consumer spending weak while incomes dip

Well, at least it wasn't "unexpected".

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans slowed their spending in September to the weakest pace in three months and their incomes fell for the first time in 14 months.

Personal spending rose at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in September, the Commerce Department said Monday. That's below the 0.5 percent gains recorded in July and August.

Incomes fell 0.1 percent in September, following a 0.4 percent rise in August that had been pushed higher by the return of extended unemployment benefits.

The drop in incomes was the first decline since incomes fell 0.3 percent in July 2009. The August gain had been skewed by the reinstatement of an extended unemployment benefits program, which had temporarily lapsed in July after Republicans had blocked an extension.

Thin Crowd for Cleveland Campaign Rally

The thrill is gone.

CLEVELAND – President Obama wrapped up a weekend of last-minute campaigning here on Sunday, addressing Democrats in an indoor arena that, in a sign of the “enthusiasm gap” that the president is working so hard to close, was little more than half full.

About 8,000 people attended the Democratic National Committee’s “Moving America Forward’’ rally at Cleveland State University Wolstein Center, a hall that can seat 13,000. The rafters were largely empty.

Organizers noted the president was competing on a Sunday afternoon with church, football and Halloween. And Mr. Obama drew a huge crowd of about 35,000 when he was in nearby Columbus earlier this month. Still, the thin crowd was perhaps a foreboding sign in the waning days of the mid-term races, when Mr. Obama – who was joined Sunday by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. – considers getting Democrats to the polls his most important mission.

CNN Genenic Ballot Poll

Two days before the midterm elections, a new national poll indicates that Republicans have a 10-point lead over the Democrats in a crucial indicator in the battle for control of Congress.

The GOP's 10 point advantage in the "generic ballot" question in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey released Sunday is slightly larger than the seven point advantage Republican candidates had on the eve of the 1994 midterms, when the party last took control of Congress from the Democrats.

According to the poll, 52 percent of likely voters say they will vote for the generic Republican in their congressional district, with 42 percent saying they will vote for the generic Democrat, four percent saying neither and two percent undecided. The GOP's 10-point lead is up from a seven-point advantage in a CNN poll conducted in early October.

CNN does it's best to spin a potential monumental defeat of the Dems. Ten points is massive and btw who in their right mind would consider a 45% increase over 94 levels "slight"?

Real Clear Politics now has the Generic Poll average at Republicans +7.8%. That is a record spread.

Saturday Funny

Crime in Central Park grows by whopping 45% in 2010: NYPD

Heckuva job Bloomy...

Crime in Central Park has jumped by 45% this year, NYPD figures show.

The Manhattan greenspace's precinct recorded 90 major crimes as of Oct. 24, compared with 62 in the same period last year.

Grand larcenies led the uptick, rising to 56 in 2010, up from 35 a year earlier, according to the NYPD.

"It's always a big concern when there is crime in our public spaces," said Geoffrey Croft, head of NYC Park Advocates, which first reported the rise.

Clinton Asked Democrat to Quit Florida Senate Race

I know, Meek says it didn't happen, Clinton says it didn't happen, but does anybody really believe it didn't happen?

Former President Bill Clinton tried to persuade Florida Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of his U.S. Senate race and support Gov. Charlie Crist's independent candidacy in hopes of of thwarting a victory by Republican Marco Rubio.People familiar with the matter said the former president and other top national Democrats worry a win by the charismatic Mr. Rubio, a 39-year-old Cuban-American, would make him a political phenomenon capable of boosting the GOP's chances with Hispanic voters. These people said the conversation occurred during Mr. Clinton's Florida visit on Oct. 19. Mr. Meek wavered for several days—suggesting to some that he could leave the race—but decided against it.

"They had a conversation about the fact that the prospects of him winning had passed him by and that the only way the Republican would be defeated is to jump on board with Crist," said a Florida Democrat familiar with the discussion.

I really don't have a huge issue with the fact that this occurred, politics ain't beanbag. What I do have a problem with is the self righteous, sanctimonous left playing hardball yet obstinately refusing to shoot straight and "TELL THE FREAKIN TRUTH!

U.S. Waiving Penalties for Use of Child Soldiers

WASHINGTON -- In a move criticized by human rights organizations, the Obama administration has decided to exempt Yemen and three other countries that use child soldiers from U.S. penalties under the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act.

In a memorandum to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Barack Obama said he had determined that "it is in the national interest of the United States" to waive application of the law to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Yemen. He instructed Clinton to submit the decision to the Congress with a written justification for the move.

So are a lot of other things that are unconscionable that we refuse to do. Certain things are just completely unjustifiable and this is one of them.

65% Favor Getting Rid of Entire Congress and Starting Over

Let’s face it: Most Americans don’t have much use for either of the major political parties and think it would be better to dump the entire Congress on Election Day.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters say if they had the option next week, they would vote to get rid of the entire Congress and start all over again. Only 20% would opt to keep the entire Congress instead. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Of course, the Political Class strongly disagrees. While 84% of Mainstream voters would opt to get rid of the entire Congress, 64% of the Political Class would vote instead to keep them all.

We all know the old political proverb that if all the wealth in this country was re-distributed equally to every person, within a decade the same people as present would be wealthy and the same people would be poor..... My suspicion is that Congress would look very much like it does now in half that time.

Quote of the Day

Legendary film Director David Zucker comments on his prior contribution to Boxer:

"In the debate with Carly Fiorina, the subject was brought up, but Boxer was quite adept at deflecting it — and still without an apology. Let this video be my apology. Every time I see the public record listing my campaign contribution to Boxer — I wince. I mean, we all have things we’ve done in the past that we’re embarrassed about, but I’d rather have my being restricted to 100 yards away from elementary schools be public knowledge than that $5,000 Boxer campaign contribution."

Dems exit rally as Clinton drones

Appears that Bubba isn't packing em in any better than Barry

Former President Bill Clinton’s ‘get out the vote’ rally for Democrats at a downtown Chicago hotel was the most unenthusiastic WLS veteran political reporter Bill Cameron has ever witnessed.

Clinton was an hour late for the Tuesday afternoon rally at the Palmer House and droned on for another hour, sending dozens of the few hundred Democrats in attendance for the exits.

“Well, all we’re really asking for is two more years, that’s a total of four, to get us out of the hole and get us into the future. That’s half as much time as you gave them to dig the hole. Seems fair to us,” Clinton said.

The state's most popular Democrat Lisa Madigan was conspicuously absent as were state party chairman Mike Madigan and Mayor Richard Daley.