July 10, 2009
Oh Great
Just what I want to happen right by my house
TRENTON — President Barack Obama will appear at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel … not New Brunswick … when he comes to New Jersey for a campaign rally for Gov. Jon Corzine next week.The Corzine campaign announced on its Web site Thursday that the rally would be moved from Rutgers University in New Brunswick to accommodate a larger crowd.
Corzine campaign manager Maggie Moran says in a Web video the move was made to accommodate the anticipated crowd.
More than 50,000 people have signed up through the governor's Web site hoping to go. About 17,500 will be allowed to attend the July 16 rally.
The Garden State Parkway will be completely shut down for hours on a Thursday in the height of the Summer Shore season.
What could possibly go wrong?
$20 says this costs Corzine more votes than it gains him.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:28 AM | Comments (4)
July 09, 2009
A "Mission Accomplished" Moment?
Schmaybe, schmaybe not. But you might as well play it like one.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:31 PM | Comments (1)
July 06, 2009
Doncha Just Hate It
...when somebody lays numbers out that way/people can SEE what's going to happen?
Obama's Budget: Almost $1 Trillion in New Taxes Over Next 10 yrs, Starting 2011President Obama's budget proposes $989 billion in new taxes over the course of the next 10 years, starting fiscal year 2011, most of which are tax increases on individuals.
Man, I **HEART** me some Tapper.
But I'd steer clear of buses if I were him...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:16 AM | Comments (5)
July 05, 2009
The Smartest, Most Brilliant, Most Saavy Administration EH-vah
And they can't read...
U.S. misread scale of Honduran rift
Zelaya's ties to Venezuela's Chávez was source of concern for opponents
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Although the U.S. government knew for months that Honduras was on the brink of political chaos, officials say they underestimated how fearful the Honduran elite and the military were of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his ally President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela.
...a damn thing right?
Biden: ‘We misread how bad the economy was’
He stands by stimulus package, says jobs will be created in months aheadWASHINGTON - Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" but stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up.
Schmaybe we need to have czar created to insure Barack and Co. revisit the basics before they blow anything else for lack of cognizance and comprehension. We'll call it:
"No Chider Left Behind"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:57 PM | Comments (4)
July 02, 2009
Get Ready For Some Serious Spinning
Let's see how The One and his worshipful followers in the Media spin this
WASHINGTON (AP) - Out-of-work with no place to land, the legions of America's unemployed are growing. The Labor Department is scheduled to release a report Thursday expected to show the nation's unemployment rate edging closer to double digits. Wall Street economists predict the jobless rate will rise to 9.6 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. That would mark a 26-year high.The rising rate comes as recession-weary companies continue to cut workers. Economists expect a loss of 363,000 jobs in June, up from 345,000 job cuts in May.
Mind you you, this is during the promised "accelerated" stimulus spending that has "created or saved" some 30 million jobs since January as the unemployment rate continues to, er, climb to 26 year highs.
Damn you Chimpy!
Oh, and there's this
Even if companies slow the pace of layoffs, they will be reluctant to hire until they feel certain the economy is back on its feet. That's why economists are forecasting a continued rise in the unemployment rate over the next year. It's expected to hit 10 percent this year.Many think it could rise as high as 10.7 percent by the second quarter of next year before it starts to make a slow descent. Some think the rate will top out at 11 percent. Others think the peak will lower — around 10.5 percent — by the spring of 2010.
Yep, there's going to be some serious spinning coming out of DC over the next few days.
My guess is, much like they do when their education or welfare polices fail, they will respond that the problem is not the policy but the scope, so we need to spend even more.
Gulp.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:03 AM | Comments (5)
June 30, 2009
This Guy Is Just Pathetic
You know the old saying about what to do when you're in a hole?
"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.
... In early 2009, after Jenny Sanford discovered the affair, the couple went into counseling. She has told The Associated Press that he asked her several times to visit the mistress and she refused.
But the governor claims he wanted to end the affair in person and, with his wife's permission, went to New York with a "trusted spiritual adviser" serving as chaperone. The three went to church and dinner together and parted ways the same night.
Oh what a circus.
Oh what a show.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:23 PM | Comments (9)
The New Jersey "Budget"
Lawhawk has a good summary on this bit of delusional insanity and fiscal disaster. Corzine and every single Legislator who voted for this should be pounded in the polls and thrown from office.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:59 AM | Comments (7)
June 23, 2009
As Dear Dave E. Notes in My Previous Post
...(on the subject) our Precedent will, indeed, be on the telly YET AGAIN, at 12:30 EST. It seems he's "scheduled" a news conference vice his EVERY FREAKIN' DAY telly sneak attacks, ergo committing an error of epic proportion: advance warning. And I have planned accordingly.
At 11:30CST, I'll be watching the bullriding on Versus instead of the bullshitting on the networks!
(Cowboys wear brain buckets now...? Is NOTHING sacred?)
Take that, Precedent
Yes I CAN!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:55 AM | Comments (9)
June 18, 2009
U.S. Senate Apologizes for Slavery
By unanimous consent, the Senate passed a resolution a short time ago apologizing for slavery and racial segregation.Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, one of the sponsors, said the measure was no “panacea,” but could help trigger “reconciliation.”
“I am pleased that Congress has officially offered an apology for slavery and it’s long overdue,” he said. “The formation of my home state of Kansas was centered around slavery and came to be known as ‘Bleeding Kansas.’ I believe that this official apology will enable our nation to begin healing our racial wounds rooted in the institution of slavery.”
Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, was the other sponsor.
The passage coincides with Juneteenth, a celebration which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
I'm wondering how Robert Byrd voted on that particular resolution, or is he still in the hospital? They probably shot it through while he was gone.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:36 PM | Comments (12)
What A Pompous Twit
Via Allah, here's Barbara Boxer, pompous twit extraordinaire.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:19 AM | Comments (14)
June 17, 2009
Our Dear Precedent
...is on the TV YET again ~ for the fifteenth frickin' time today. Announcing YET another agency to take-over whatever use to pass as free markets, which has ruined the American dream and caused him YET more sleepless nights.
Only 3 1/2 more years. Thank God I remember most of those Lamaze breathing techniques for the pain caused when his mug appears YET again on the tenatively free airwaves.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:10 PM
Quote of the Day
..."It appears to suggest that I was removed because I was disabled -- based on one occasion out of hundreds," he said."I would never say President Obama doesn't have the capacity to continue to serve because of his (statement) that there are 56 states," Walpin said, adding that the same holds for Vice President Biden and his "many express confusions that have been highlighted by the media."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:51 AM | Comments (2)
All Your Biz Are Belong To Us
Well, actually, not "us" but "him"
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration this week will propose the most significant new regulation of the financial industry since the Great Depression, including a new watchdog agency to look out for consumers' interests.Under the plan, expected to be released Wednesday, the government would have new powers to seize key companies -- such as insurance giant American International Group Inc. -- whose failure jeopardizes the financial system. Currently, the government's authority to seize companies is mostly limited to banks.
Look, I think there needs to be clear regulation of a lot of the financial industry, and I think that limits need to be in place so that no one company's demise could wreck the entire economy. But there's no way in hell the government should have the power to go around seizing companies.
On Monday, Obama administration officials sketched the outlines of the plan the president is to unveil Wednesday. They said it would seek to reduce gaps in regulatory oversight, rein in the use of mortgage-backed securities and other complex derivatives, reduce incentives for companies to take excessive risk and give the government new power to quickly intervene during any future crises.
The government should regulate the derivatives market in a simple way: amend the rules of incorporation so that the traders who initiate these trades, and the executives who sign off on them, are personally liable for any losses that occur. These huge losses occurred in part because the people who came up with and approved these trades didn't understand them, and no one had the stones to say :you know, I don't think we've thought this through all the way" and put the kibosh on the trades. If, however, these folks faced the threat of personal financial ruin if these things tanked then maybe they'd take a closer look at the risks involved.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:12 AM | Comments (1)
They Are Simply Insane
It's beyond Monopoly money
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate sources say the latest cost estimates for health care legislation are around $1.6 trillion over 10 years. Two Senate staffers, one Democratic and one Republican, said Congressional Budget Office estimates put the cost of the Finance Committee version of the bill at around $1.6 trillion.
In-freakin-sane.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:10 AM
June 15, 2009
Gosh, I Really Love This New "Smart Diplomacy"
...that's undoing all the damage that Chimpy McHitler did to our relationships with key allies.
Key allies like, say, Britain
Senior aides to President Barack Obama accompanied four Uighur prisoners as they were flown from Guantanamo Bay to the British colony of Bermuda, without the UK being informed, it was revealed yesterday.In an escalating diplomatic row over the transfer of the former terrorist suspects, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the transfer with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in what was said to be an uneasy conversation. Privately Whitehall officials accused America of treating Britain, with whom it is supposed to have a "special relationship", with barely disguised contempt.
One senior official said: "The Americans were fully aware of the foreign-policy understanding we have with Bermuda and they deliberately chose to ignore it. This is not the kind of behaviour one expects from an ally."
Feel the love.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:41 PM | Comments (4)
What's This "Guessed" Crap?
I thought noted tax cheat Geithner was the smartest fellow in the world, the only one who could lead Treasury and follow the divine wisdom of the One and his faithful sidekick Wile E. Biden? Now Biden's telling us the Most Competent Administration Evuh was just...guessing?
"No one realized how bad the economy was. The projections, in fact, turned out to be worse. But we took the mainstream model as to what we thought -- and everyone else thought -- the unemployment rate would be.""Everyone guessed wrong at the time the estimate was made about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed."
So for $1 trillion we've gotten, what, 4 new government jobs and a pack of Juicy Fruit.
Change you can believe in.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:30 AM | Comments (3)
June 12, 2009
The One's Trek Towards "600,000 Jobs Saved Or Created"...
...just got a little tougher
Olympic Airporter, an airport shuttle service that has carried thousands of Shore travelers to Newark and JFK airports for more than 30 years, will close on June 19 because of rising expenses and slowing demand, company officials said Thursday. AdvertisementIts decision devastated customers, who viewed the service as an inexpensive alternative to a taxi or parking at the airport.
"It's going to be a tragedy for me, I'll tell you that much," said Kathy Brown, 63, of Red Bank, who uses the service four times a year. "The price is right, and it's convenient."
Wall-based Olympic Airporter operates 19 trips a day, with stops in Toms River, Wall, Middletown, Keyport and Newark Liberty International Airport. It also shuttles passengers to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
...It started the airport shuttle service in 1987. It purchased the Princeton Airporter in 2006, adding service from Princeton to Newark Liberty and changing its name to the Olympic Airporter. Today, it has 128 full- and part-time employees and a fleet of 90 vehicles.
And next week it has zero. I'd love for the article to delve into the burden that Washington's and especially Trenton's regulatory mania has placed on the company.
But I ain't gonna get that from the APP.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:40 AM | Comments (9)
June 09, 2009
Every Evening I Go to Bed, Thinking There's NOTHING Left Our Precedent Can Do to Shock Me
And EVERY freakin' morning, the SOB proves me wrong, bless his little pointy head. File this new jaw dropper under "You GOT to be shittin' me?!?!?!"
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged Congress to pay for new increases in federal benefit programs as it goes rather than sink the nation deeper into a debt, calling it a matter of public responsibility. Republicans lashed back that Obama is no voice of fiscal restraint as the deficit soars.The president's plan would require Congress to pay for new entitlement spending, such as health care, by raising taxes or coming up with budget cuts — a "pay-as-you-go" system that would have the force of law. Under the proposal, if new spending or tax reductions are not offset, there would be automatic cuts in so-called mandatory programs — although Social Security payments and some other programs would be exempt.
Ohohohohoh, wait. I see.
..."It is no coincidence that this rule was in place when we moved from record deficits to record surpluses in the 1990s — and that when this rule was abandoned, we returned to record deficits that doubled the national debt," Obama said, flanked at the White House by supportive Democratic lawmakers.
Bush did all this to us. I am at the point where I barely have any molars left in my head from the teeth gnashing that occurs every frickin' time I see his smug, pretentious mug on the telly. Which, of course, seems like it's fifty
And it's only been four months.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:00 PM | Comments (4)
Oh Yeah? Well My Plan...
...will save or create (in my mind) at least one trillion jobs
(CNN) -- As the nation's unemployment rate inches toward double-digit territory, the White House insists that job creation is on the way.Vice President Joe Biden on Monday is presenting to President Obama the "Roadmap to Recovery," a plan to accelerate the implementation of the $787 billion stimulus plan in its second 100 days.
Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February, vowing the program would create or save 3.5 million jobs. So far, 150,000 jobs have been saved or created by the plan -- fewer than that 345,000 jobs lost in May alone.
The White House says as a result of the expedited pace, the recovery plan will create or save more than 600,000 jobs in the second 100 days.
So there.
Notice how they say with a straight face that "So far, 150,000 jobs have been saved or created by the plan" even though there's absolutely no data to support this, and one might *think* that their very next line, "fewer than that(sic) 345,000 jobs lost in May alone", might make them maybe kind of sorta perhaps question the One's math.
But really, trust me on this: I will create or save, my option, One Trillion Jobs.
Or not.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:25 AM | Comments (4)
Why Is It A "Coup"...
...when Republicans in the NY Senate do it
COUP IN ALBANY: GOP Takes Over NY State Senate Malcolm Smith Ousted As Senate Majority Leader; Dems Turn Off Lights, Cut Internet Power In Attempt To Stop Coup Paterson Goes Ballistic: I'm Here To Stand Up For Democracy Reporting Marcia Kramer ALBANY (CBS) ―Who's in charge of New York?
That was the big question Monday night following a political standoff in Albany.
The Republicans said they pulled off a coup, snatching power away from the Senate majority, but the Democrats said it was illegal and that they're still in control of the Legislature.
And the whole thing has Gov. David Paterson lashing out at lawmakers.
It was a carefully crafted coup -- five weeks in the making, with independent Tom Golisano in on the plotting.
And when it was over Republican Sen. Dean Skelos of Rockville Center was back in power as Senate Majority Leader. Dumped was former Democratic leader Malcolm Smith.
but when Democrats in the US Senate do it it's a "courageous and wonderful display of our democracy in action"?
Just wonderin'.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:18 AM
June 08, 2009
Dear President Sarkozy
As an American citizen I am dreadfully embarrassed by my President's snub of you and your nation, one of our longest-standing allies.
While it may be of little consolation, please be aware that any time you and your Bride are in New York you have an open invitation to dine at our house.
It's the least I can do.
best regards,
Mr. Bingley
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:08 AM | Comments (19)
Good News From Europe
Labour takes it on the chin
Labour has suffered its worst post-war election result as it was beaten into third place by UKIP and saw the BNP gain its first seats at Brussels.Labour's share of the vote at the European elections was just 15.3% - worse than party bosses had feared.
The Tories won with 28.6%, beating Labour in Wales but failing to increase their total share significantly.
The results have sent shockwaves through UK politics and led to renewed calls for Gordon Brown to quit as PM.
tick-tick-tick
You hear that Gordon? It's time to go.
(mind you, the BNP is not a party that I support)
June 7 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy led pro-business parties in defeating socialists in European Parliament elections, lessening the pressure for more stimulus measures to fight the deepest recession since World War II.Amid signs the economic slump is bottoming out, the continent’s top two leaders escaped the drubbing in European Union-wide elections that was handed to U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and socialists in smaller countries including Spain, Austria, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia.
Boy Obama really has some wide coat-tails in Europe, doesn't he?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:20 AM | Comments (2)
June 05, 2009
Obama's Rebuilding That Overseas Love...
...One dinner snub at a time
The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys.President Obama’s reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D-Day anniversary has come as an embarrassment to the Elysée Palace.
America’s First Family will not be dining with President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, even though they are staying at the residence of the US Ambassador, yards from the Elysée apartments where the Sarkozys spend their weekends.
Mr Sarkozy’s staff were trying yesterday to arrange another private moment between the couples. Mr Obama is due to fly back to Washington tomorrow night or on Sunday.
Good gawd almighty, this guy is the most arrogant SOB we've ever had.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:14 PM | Comments (12)
Barack O Borg?
"Resistance is futile."
(image from GraniteGrok)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:44 AM
June 04, 2009
Will The Last One Out Of Downing Street...
...please turn off the lights?
In a move that left the Prime Minister fighting for his political future, rebels claimed that as many as 50 Labour MPs were prepared to put their names to an email demanding that he step down.Details of what party insiders described as an attempted “cyber coup” emerged after his authority was dealt a potentially critical blow by the resignation of Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary.
It's been frankly mind-boggling watching the disintegration of Parliament brought on by this expensing scandal; if only such a thing could happen here and we could clean house in DC!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:53 AM
June 03, 2009
Allahzeimers
It's that crippling disease that causes you to forget you were a Muslim.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)
If the Precedent Wasn't So Preoccupied With Posing in the Mirror and Our Being a "Muslim" Nation
...he might just have time to be pissed about these puny efforts to thwart his masterful plans.
The federal circuit court granted a request by a group of Indiana pension funds that hold a small portion of Chrysler's secured debt to "stay" the sale order to allow the circuit court to hear the expedited appeal.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:05 AM
Obama Won't Release Memos Showing What We Learned From Terrorists...
...but he will release the secret list of all our nuclear sites and facilities potentially to terrorists
The federal government mistakenly made public a 266-page report, its pages marked “highly confidential,” that gives detailed information about hundreds of the nation’s civilian nuclear sites and programs, including maps showing the precise locations of stockpiles of fuel for nuclear weapons.The publication of the document was revealed Monday in an online newsletter devoted to issues of federal secrecy. That set off a debate among nuclear experts about what dangers, if any, the disclosures posed. It also prompted a flurry of investigations in Washington into why the document had been made public.
...David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks nuclear proliferation, said information that shows where nuclear fuels are stored “can provide thieves or terrorists inside information that can help them seize the material, which is why that kind of data is not given out.”
The information, considered confidential but not classified, was assembled for transmission later this year to the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of a process by which the United States is opening itself up to stricter inspections in hopes that foreign countries, especially Iran and others believed to be clandestinely developing nuclear arms, will do likewise.
"...in hopes that foreign countries...will do likewise." Yes, pointing out where you store your jewels and valuables in your house has long been known to be a deterrent to thieves.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:53 AM | Comments (2)
June 02, 2009
The "New" Math
...Spokesman Robert Gibbs, keeping the White House press corps in stiches, as he always does, said the Obamas would have preferred using a commercial airline shuttle to New York and back, but the Secret Service would not allow such unprotected travel (ba da bing).And that was that. No further probing; asked and answered; time to move on.
Giving lie to:
..."You can't get corporate jets. You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas, or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."
Yes, we CAN!!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:19 AM | Comments (3)
May 29, 2009
Yes We Can Build A New Relationship With Our Allies
One based on, say, calling their press a bunch of lying bastards
Politico has an extraordinary report on Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, launching a furious broadside against the British press. Here are Gibbs' sneering and condescending remarks:"I want to speak generally about some reports I've witnessed over the past few years in the British media," Gibbs said. "In some ways, I'm surprised it filtered down."
"Let's just say if I wanted to look up, if I wanted to read a write-up of how Manchester United fared last night in the Champions League Cup, I'd might open up a British newspaper," he continued. "If I was looking for something that bordered on truthful news, I'm not entirely sure it'd be the first pack of clips I'd pick up."
Barack's gonna have to send over a few more dvds and iPods...
Seriously, have you ever seen a more arrogant bunch than those controlling Washington these days?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:39 PM | Comments (11)
May 22, 2009
Is This One of His Feints?
Or for reals...?
Governor plans to completely eliminate welfare for families... The proposals would completely reshape the state’s social service network, transforming California from one of the country’s most generous states to one of the most tightfisted. The proposals are intended to help close a budget deficit estimated at $21.3 billion.
If 'for reals', I would offer some will be saying "it's about effin' time", but they won't be heard over the screams.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:35 AM | Comments (3)
May 21, 2009
Darth Cheney Speaks
The Force is strong in this one
...Our government prevented attacks and saved lives through the Terrorist Surveillance Program, which let us intercept calls and track contacts between al-Qaeda operatives and persons inside the United States. The program was top secret, and for good reason, until the editors of the New York Times got it and put it on the front page. After 9/11, the Times had spent months publishing the pictures and the stories of everyone killed by al-Qaeda on 9/11. Now here was that same newspaper publishing secrets in a way that could only help al-Qaeda. It impressed the Pulitzer committee, but it damn sure didn’t serve the interests of our country, or the safety of our people.
That's some serious smack-downage.
Read the whole thing.
It's important.
(link via Allah)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:47 PM | Comments (18)
It Does NOTHING For My Sense of Well-Being Nor My Confidence in the Future
...when I watch our president yet AGAIN on the telly, and ~ for all his prosing, posing and posturing ~ the ONLY descriptive word that springs immediately to mind?
"Pissy".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:53 PM | Comments (2)
May 19, 2009
House Speaker To Step Down
Sadly, it's the House Of Commons' Speaker
Michael Martin is set to announce he will stand down as Commons Speaker in a statement to MPs at 1430 BST.Mr Martin has been criticised over his handling of the furore over MPs' expenses and a motion of no confidence in him has been backed by 23 MPs.
He also faced open challenges to his authority in the Commons on Monday.
It is understood he plans to step down "soon" rather than immediately. It is the first time in 300 years a Speaker has been effectively forced out.
Well, it's a start.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:36 AM | Comments (6)
May 15, 2009
TARP: Taxpaying Americans Rear-ended Purposely
In times like these, it's good to know who's on your side. We can eliminate a couple agencies, Congress and the President right off the bat, thanks to articles like this. And recent testimony from bail-out-ees like AIG's Liddy, which tells us more about the AIG machinations than we EVER wanted to know. Basically "The Fed made me do it!" Do what, you ask? Overpay to close out AIG's credit default swaps, perhaps?
..Counterparties received 100 cents on the dollar for the CDOs, even though the prices paid by the Federal Reserve suggest that the bonds were actually worth 47 cents on the dollar.“The latest admission from the (defunct yet living) company [AIG] is that well over $100 billion in taxpayer monies has gone to counter-parties at 100 cents on the dollar - no haircut, no penalty, no cost to those who made bad bets or chose their counter parties poorly,” notes Barry Ritholz, one of the sharpest minds on Wall Street who runs the must-read website the Big Picture Typepad.
I watched David Faber from CNBC go after this yesterday morning. He notes $180B of taxpayer moneyto AIG and asks how much went "NOT to bail out AIG, but it's counterparties?...When the Fed went in and AIG took the money and closed out these credit default positions, why did it do so at par, when many of them were trading at steep discounts and could therefore have been unwound at numbers that would have been a lot less cost" to AIG and, ergo, the American taxpayer. Faber was listening when AIG's Liddy testified before Congress Wednesday and was asked that exact question...and the answer to that is just horrific.
Liddy: "The FEDERAL RESERVE decided that we should pay a hundred cents on the dollar...that a hundred cents on the dollar should be paid in the settlement.."
Congressman Issa (R-CA): "But these were credit default swaps that I could have bought for a fraction of that on the open market, to the extent that somebody was floating them at the time, right? So we paid more than their current value at the time we paid them off."
Liddy: "I believe that's what the FEDERAL RESERVE decided was in THE BEST INTEREST OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM."
Note to self: Geithner was the NY Fed president during all this. Another interesting footnote: Goldman Sachs was one of the beneficiaries of the Fed's generous repayment policies in our name. For starters, 'interesting' because...
..Even more intriguing is Geithner’s informal brain trust, loaded with Wall Street luminaries. Since coming to the Fed in November 2003-recruited by then-New York Fed chairman Pete Peterson, co-founder of the Blackstone Group-Geithner has learned the ways of the financial industry at the feet of some of its biggest legends. He was almost immediately taken under the wing of Gerald Corrigan, a gregarious former New York Fed chief who is now a managing director of Goldman Sachs.
...especially when you consider...
...Digging deeper, it was likely Paulson who orchestrated the entire show and made the decision to pay claims at par, knowing that it would be a simple yet effectively hidden manner of further re-capitalizing Wall Street (and Goldman) without pesky questions from Congress. We have been told there were 4 attendees at the meeting to decide AIG's fate: Paulson, Lloyd Blankfein (CEO of Goldman Sachs), B-52 and Geithner. That is Paulson's crew, and any decisions emanating from this meeting are ultimately his responsibility, no matter how it is spun to Congress months later.
If I thought money in the mattress would do any good, I'd say go for it.
But the way things are now, it won't be even be worth the effort to stuff it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:36 AM | Comments (3)
Spending Is Bad, M'Kay?
...says the man who's spent more than anyone, ever
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”
Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”
This is the guy who is currently spending $150 for every $100 of projected revenue.
With all due respect...what an ass.
“Most of what is driving us into debt is health care, so we have to drive down costs,” he said.
No, it's rampant, out-of-control-drunken-sailor spending by the bastards in government, on both sides of the aisle.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:42 AM | Comments (4)
May 14, 2009
As Stewie Says: "This is So Deliciously Evil..."
Hoyer Declines to Back Up Pelosi's Claim That CIA Misled Congress
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer does not vouch for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusation against the CIA.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy in the House declined to back her up on her stunning claim Thursday that the CIA misled Congress about its use of enhanced interrogation techniques.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, panned the recent criticism of Pelosi as a "distraction" during a verbal tangle with Republican Whip Eric Cantor on the House floor.
But when asked directly whether he shares Pelosi's belief that the CIA misled Congress, he backed off.
"I have no idea of that. I don't have a belief of that nature because I have no basis on which to base such a belief," Hoyer said. "And I certainly hope that's not the case. And I don't draw that conclusion."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:31 PM | Comments (8)
Your Tax Dollars At Work
Bailing out the Chinese
DETROIT (AP) - As thousands of General Motors workers await word on more U.S. plant closures, reports that the company plans to import Chinese-made vehicles to the U.S. have created a political problem for the automaker and the White House.The reports, which GM will neither confirm nor deny, could mean trouble because GM is supported by $15.4 billion in U.S. government loans, largely due to the Obama administration's desire to preserve the company's 90,000 U.S. jobs.
The United Auto Workers charged last week that the Detroit automaker intends to almost double over the next five years the number of vehicles it imports to the U.S. from Mexico, South Korea, China and Japan.
"GM should not be taking taxpayers' money simply to finance the outsourcing of jobs to other countries," Alan Reuther, the union's Washington lobbyist, wrote in a letter to U.S. lawmakers.
Pinch me hard sweet baby jeebus, because I find myself agreeing with the UAW.
I also feel like barfing.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:54 AM | Comments (10)
May 12, 2009
WHERE Do They GET This?
The Obama administration is defending its claim that the $787 billion economic stimulus plan will save or create 3.5 million jobs before 2011...
From the economic school of: "There is no
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:25 AM | Comments (5)
So, While We All Know
...this is true...
..."Blaming George" still makes a tingle run up the legs of all the hymn-singing true believers, but outside the embrace of the cult, that tingle is beginning to sting instead.This is Mr. Obama's government now.
...the bet's on when they finally admit it.
I say they try to take the...
...Anticipating D-Day, Peter Orszag, the president's budget director, said Monday that the scarier than expected economic news - the deficit out of control, tax receipts down and costs of bailouts and "stimulus" plans up - is all the fault of George W. Bush:"It's an economic crisis President Obama inherited."
...line clean through at least 2010, especially if things go as south as they're looking to right now.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:24 AM | Comments (3)
May 05, 2009
Play Ball!
Nevada turned blue for Barack Obama and Joe Biden last November, but there hasn’t been much love since the election.First, Obama was criticized for telling companies not to schedule junkets in Las Vegas and now the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is taking a swipe at Biden’s retracted statement that people should avoid flying because of the swine flu.
The full-page USA Today ad reads...
“Mister Vice President, if you had said it here no one would have known,”...a reference to the famous “What Happens Here, Stays Here” slogan.
(A Swill salute to the Campaign Spot.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:58 AM | Comments (1)
May 01, 2009
Not That I Would Ever Even Consider That The MSM Might Have An Agenda
I mean, goodness! Perish The Thought. But I do find it...shall we say somewhat curious that there is something lacking from their diligent and impartial reporting now
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three U.S. troops were killed in Iraq on Thursday, making April the deadliest month for U.S. servicemembers this year.Two Marines and a sailor were killed during operations against militants, according to a U.S. military news release. The military did not release the names of the troops.
In April, 18 U.S. troops died in Iraq, according to a CNN count of reported troop fatalities. Sixteen of those troops died in combat.
March's nine fatalities was the lowest death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq since 2003.
April was also the deadliest month this year for Iraqi civilians. At least 290 Iraqi civilians died in April, compared to 185 in March, according to an Interior Ministry official. Nearly 80 Iranian pilgrims were killed in suicide bombings last week.
April has seen a rise in attacks, most of them targeting Shiites. A series of suicide bombings last week killed almost 160 people and left almost 300 wounded.
Six car bombings struck Shiite areas of Baghdad in the span of four hours on Wednesday, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 100 people.
Notice what's missing? What has been included in every, and I do mean every, single story from Iraq by the MSM from moment one until, oh, say early November last year?
The Grim Milestone-O-Meter, that running tally of US deaths.
Gee, what could have possibly changed that the Fourth Estate feels it can move on to its next project?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:21 AM | Comments (1)
April 30, 2009
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ~ The Reaction's Understandable
When Elizabeth Edwards learned of her husband's affair, she went into a bathroom and "threw up," she writes in her new memoir to be published in May."I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up," Edwards writes in her book "Resilience."
Edwards said her husband, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, admitted to the betrayal just days after declaring his run for president in 2006...
What's NOT is that you didn't give your fellow Americans a chance to feel the same about the this-close-to-president-silky-lyin'-sack-o'-shit.
That pretty much pegs my sympathy meter.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:04 AM | Comments (5)
April 29, 2009
Yeah, So...
Holder urges allies to take share of detaineesHow's that working out for ya?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:09 PM | Comments (14)
April 28, 2009
"Updating A File Photo"
Goddamned sorry Most Competent idiots evuh
WASHINGTON – An administration official says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty.
How much did they (and by "they" I of course me "we") spend on this?
As my Bride asked last night, how many kevlar vests would that have bought for the soldiers overseas?
The New York Mercantile Exchange shut down because they evacuated everyone; how much money was lost on that?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:17 AM | Comments (13)
April 27, 2009
From The Dept of "WTF Were You Thinking?"
Really, guys, we appreciated this this morning:
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL April 27, 2009, 10:27 AM EST By WSJ StaffA plane circling Lower Manhattan escorted by two fighter jets is part of a "photo op," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters. The event caused some evacuations of office buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City, N.J., on Monday morning.
Mr. Peters said the Defense Department is conducting a photo op that involves deploying two F-16s and escorting a Boeing 747 in the vicinity of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. He said the maneuver is not an emergency and was coordinated in advance with the FAA and state and local officials.
"They'll do two or three spins... and be done by 10:30," Mr. Peters said.
Who would have thought that maybe it might have been a good idea to let people know this was going to happen. I didn't have to evacuate, but I know several people whose buildings were emptied.
As Insta says, the country's in the very best of hands...
Update: From WCBS
David Frank of Jersey City wrote: "I work in 30 Hudson, which is the largest building in NJ and is right on the water facing the Statue of Liberty. I ran out of the building after a stampede of people began running out of the building as they saw the jumbo jet being followed by two fighter planes veer sharply towards our building and climb right over it. By the time I got outside, it was coming around for its THIRD pass, and I watched it level off below building height over the water and then once again veer sharply towards the building. Several hundred of us began to run away fearing for our lives before it climbed steeply and flew over our building. Whoever thought that this 'photo op' was a good idea should be removed from command...why couldn't this simply be done with Photo Shop? Hollywood can create an entire armageddon on film but the US military can't photo shop a plane by the Statue of Liberty?"
Damn right.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:17 AM | Comments (6)
Swine Flu
Drudge is in full porn mode. And CNN, while saying "there's no reason to panic," devoted essentially their entire broadcast to it last night.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- Health officials around the world worked to contain what appears to be a spreading swine flu outbreak early Monday, while one out of every five residents of Mexico's most populous city wore masks to protect themselves against the virus....The United States stepped up preparations for a possible epidemic of the virus after 20 cases were confirmed, and Canada announced its first cases of the virus Sunday -- six mild cases.
But for me, I ain't worried, because I know there's no way that anyone who is infected could possibly get past our secure border.
You know, the one that the Government promised us we'd have.
On a related note, I made some kick-ass pulled pork yesterday, smoked over cherry for 12 hours or so. Yum yum yum.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:47 AM | Comments (4)
April 23, 2009
Most Competent Administration Evuh! Part 807
Way to mend our relationships with other nations there, Janet
The U.S. Homeland Security chief has clarified earlier remarks that suggested the 9-11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada.Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the comments during a media interview earlier this week, much to the chagrin of Canadians on both sides of the border.
In a release Tuesday night following the interview, she called Canada a "close ally and an important partner" and said she was simply misunderstood.
See, it's your fault, you right-wing terrorist, you simple minded veteran you! But what was "misunderstood", you ask?
Well...this
The furor began when Napolitano was asked to clarify statements she had made about equal treatment for the Mexican and Canadian borders, despite the fact that a flood of illegal immigrants and a massive drug war are two serious issues on the southern border."Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on, it didn't have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year," she said.
"Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there."
When asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists, Napolitano added: "Not just those but others as well."
Clearly, when specifically asked if she was referring to the 9-11 terrorists and she said "not just those" she was, er, um, uh ...misunderstood.
Yeah, that's it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:10 AM | Comments (9)
April 15, 2009
So, I Made the Smaller of P-cola's Two Tea Parties
It was a GORGEOUS day and this turned out to be a great little crowd considering the weekday/workday time frame. Three or four hundred folks together in this humble burg is nothing to sneer at. Our narrow old downtown streets were slammed with traffic.
The signs were a' waving and everyone seemed to be in a convivial mood, in spite of the theme of the day.
Or maybe because of it. They really started coming in around 3 and the flow picked up steadily until well after 4. Then everyone marched down to the waterfront and back to the park: more speechifying and the grand finale.
Up at University Mall ~ the site of the rally whose organizing missteps caused much consternation this week ~ thankfully, there were about a thousand folks, give or take a couple hundred, and everyone was completely charged! (Well, everyone NOT sitting in the massive traffic jam it caused.) All in all, a damn fine, amiable turnout for a working class county. Made our point? Schmaybe. Made us feel better?
Oh, yeah.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:41 PM | Comments (4)
"What's That Smell in This Room?"
"Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?"
Apparently young Ronulan Mr. A* turned "Can you watch my mail?" into a Paul-nut manifesto/organizing drive and now there's no time to even partially undo the damage. That stinks.
Hello, I am back and discovered what has happened. A* is no longer with the Pensacola Tea Party. He was asked to simply acknowledge receipt of emails inquiring about the Tea Party. I did not know him that well but met him on my first and only visit to a Republican Club meeting. I was desperate for someone to answer the emails as they were coming in around 75 to 100 per day. I was incapacitated for two days and wanted everyone to receive answers.
Please accept my sincere apology for allowing him access to our incoming information.
Thank you, J*
Coordinator
Tea Party Pensacola
What a damn shame.
UPDATE: Never one to leave well enough alone, A* has seen fit to grace our comments in another post. I'll share them here, with no further narration.
You did not stand guard for the past few years, you allowed a "conservative" to pass "socialist" laws (PD-51) and you did not hold the feet of our elected officials to the fire. You are a Johnny-come-lately, so do not claim to be active, do not claim that our country was fine until late January, Wake up and become an active part of the solution, or continue being part of the partisan problem. You are on the path of blind partisan ignorance... A pervert with a [R] behind his name is OK in your book, and a Statesman with a [D] is still classified as "the problem". Return the Republican Party to its foundation of limited spending, pro-life(not pro-war), the Constitutional Rule of Law, and truly Free markets, not regulated for Corporate profits.BTW, I challenge you to find 1 factual error on the http://MeetTheTruth.com website, if you have the fortitude to look at the truth.
-A*
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:38 AM | Comments (10)
April 14, 2009
Since I'm the SLANDER Panda Du Jour
...lemme just toss some more greasy bad peanuts on the fire. The Ronulans sliding in off of Facebook in the comments have kindly (See? I can be polite!) confirmed something my sneaky, slanderous cerebrum had been stewing on.
The aforementioned young organizer Mr. A*, while directing us Tea Party types to the decrepit mall the previous organizer had designated as the site, STILL had the Federal Courthouse on the corners of Palafox and Garden on HIS "Pensacola Campaign for Liberty" webpage. (And a pre-protest meeting with local John Birchers scheduled for tonight.) Curious. Perhaps he hadn't changed the venue, since we're all being sent to the mall. I found that unlikely because his RSVP'S were quite recent ( up to yesterday, in fact). Could it be that they would shunt all us average types off to the back of beyond, so the young, how'd he put it...~ "If you are afraid to take a stand for what you believe, because I am involved then you have surrendered already." ~ NOT afraid guy gets the primo location and press for his "ganster banker" rally?
Naw. NO ONE would be so underhanded, so duplicitous...especially someone who was so HURT by the questions concerning his MeettheTruth background...would he?
Here's where our Facebook friends come in:
Oh and, for the record, the original organizer is the one responsible for the meeting change, not the current one.
There will be 2 events; one at the mall and a march downtown.
Yup. He would. Somehow that news hasn't made it to the Pensacola Tea Party email list.
Hijacked like a big dog.
UPDATE: A redux from comments just added to the original post:
There is posting on the taxdayteaparty site and also under florida groups in the We Surround Them for the change of location. They have been there for a week and a half.Posted by: clementine at April 14, 2009 09:46 AM
Really? How interesting considering Mr. A*'s email that started this whole brouhaha, saying "I am thankful to J B for getting the location organized and getting notice to the TV and newspapers..." went 'round to the list only FOUR days ago.
And, since I'm sure a majority of the group is depending on email updates, there have been no corrections emailed to the contrary in that time.
Puh-LEEZ.
MORE: I just got off the phone with Rep. Jeff Miller's office. (I wouldn't have that girl's job for anything.) I guess it's been pretty blistering since the email war broke out and people ~ in light of Mr. A*'s claim that Miller would be there and inference that Miller is a Paul fan "You should know Rep. Miller is a co-sponsors to HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 as authored and introduced by Dr. Ron Paul." ~ calling to let them know exactly WHO Mr. A* represented and things like their meeting with the Birchers scheduled for tonight. She was lovely and polite and non-committal. Bascially "Mr. Miller's a busy guy and I can't say what he's doing tommorrow..." Since I got queried in the comments concerning Miller's plans (I did say I would call his office.), I thought I'd clarify that.
MORE REDUX: In regards to this claim in the comments:
The people we're working with in the Republican Executive Committee appreciate us as well. They have access to the MeetTheTruth site and know we're "Ron-Paulers". It's not a big deal. All of us are working together because this goes far beyond petty party talking points and personal disagreements.
...I spoke with the (quite delightful, mind you) ECREC Chairman and she said, "The ECREC is not sponsoring or affiliated with either local Tea Party." That clears that up.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:55 AM | Comments (3)
April 13, 2009
If I Say It and I'm On TV
...[Mexican Ambassador] Sarukhan has claimed that Mexico seizes 2,000 guns a day from the United States, or 730,000 a year.
But the official statistic from the Mexico attorney general's office says Mexico seized 29,000 weapons in all of 2007 and 2008.
Facts?!? We don't need no steakin' facts!!
And that pinche abogado generale? Hasta la vista...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:08 AM | Comments (3)
April 10, 2009
Ronulans Attack!
So, me and Leigh bond in snarling last night over our mutual Tea Party hijacking outrage. Apparently, the Ronulan operative A*-hole (snicker) doesn't realize who he's dealing with. He sent a disingenuous, smarmy slap directly at her this morning...
Unlike the nameless hcquilts I will address your concerns individually.
"NOBODY has any business telling demonstrators what to say or why they're participating. This is the sort of "message control" leftist gangs like ACORN engage in.
I agree, which is why I did not tell anyone what their sign should say. And you are right, it was shamefully "leftist" of me to share sign making tips.
"Unlike Mr. F A*-hole I am NOT "protesting private banking institutions." I am demonstrating against *our elected representatives*.... I am demonstrating in favor of free markets and individual responsibility."
My letter very clearly stated we are protesting the Legislative branch... our elected officials, and if you are not protesting banks, you are not paying attention. My personal view is that a regulated market is not free, and until we return to the intent of our forefathers we will not we truly have free markets.
"Most disturbing: ... antiglobalist, antiwar conspiracy-theory group. Among its tamer claims is that the 9/11 attack was an inside job done by "Zionists.""
I do not make any claims about Zionism or 911, but I must ask you, how can you not be opposed to globalism? For the sake of our kids we must stand against one world global courts, taxes, and laws.
"It's hard enough being a conservative without this kind of baggage."
Being conservative is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it difficult. When a "conservative" is in office it does not negate our responsibilities of holding their feet to the fire. We must be conservative with the life of others, the money of others, and also the words of others. So please next time you would like to mis-quote me, be more conservative with your outgoing group emails.-A*hole
Sweet baby Jesus, then she pwned him SO exquisitely. And in a group email no less (which included the above F A*-hole chiding for reference), takes him apart:
F A*-hole is either a bad reader or a libeler. Either way, his latest email unfortunately demands a response.He calls me "nameless". This is false. My name, Leigh Fumpteephrats, appears automatically right next to my email address (which he had no trouble finding).
He accuses me of calling "sign making tips" "leftist". This is false. My actual words: "It is perfectly appropriate to suggest that signs be legible and coherent and their messages peaceful."
He says he "very clearly stated we are protesting the Legislative branch... our elected officials". This is false. His actual words: "...please refrain from attacking political personalities....We will be protesting the private banking institutions such as the Federal Reserve and its "Inflation Tax" and the bankster gangsters and their unconstitutional bailout as allowed by the Legislative Branch."
(1) Private banks. (2) The Fed. (3) The "bankster gangsters" (what is this, junior high?). (4) "Their" bailout. And like an afterthought, waayy down there at the end of his sentence, the "Legislative Branch" - whose members he's already warned us not to mention by name. Seems that in F A*-hole's world, an anonymous Congress merely "allowed" the bailout. They didn't write the law that created it, impose the taxes that fund it, or bully banks into accepting it with threats the economy would crash if they didn't. Just sat there and passively "allowed" failing businesses to impose a nefarious plan to Rule! The! World!!!
Good grief. If F A*-hole loaded, aimed, and fired a gun, would he say he "allowed" it to go off, then accuse the target of stealing the bullets to monopolize the world's lead supply?
But set all that aside. Let's say I'm "not paying attention." Here's the real point: F A*-hole HAS NO BUSINESS TELLING ANYBODY WHAT THE'RE PROTESTING. As Tonto said to the Lone Ranger: "What do you mean, 'we'"?
He says he did "not make any claims about Zionism or 911." I never said he did. In fact, I noted how coy he's been about the nature of his "activism." Only his email address reveals his association with a crackpot blame-America-and-the-Jews website. Either he espouses that site's beliefs, or he's not very selective about his friends. If Fannin hoped to discourage suspicions that an organized fringe group is trying to co-opt this grassroots demonstration, he's doing a lousy job.
But he has achieved one thing. By letting his mask slip, he's spared me the shame of unwittingly associating with his crowd. If I hold a sign on the 15th it'll be on the other side of town. From my emails, it looks like I would not be alone.
So schmaybe there'll be at least 2 of us peacefully holding signs down by the Courthouse? PLUS, she's a Rachel Lucas fan AND a SWILLER!!!! WHAT'S not to love?!
Can't WAIT to meet her in person!
UPDATE: Argh. Another email, more of the same;
...To everyone on the list, do not let your participation be based on one mans personal political views.
This event is about taking a collective stand to say we are not happy with the spending.
Please do not mass email the group with dis-info, or unsolicited content.
To Leigh, If I have said anything to offend you let me know, and stop putting words in my mouth.
...but I answered this time:
I notice "your good name" no longer includes your affiliation email address. Curious thing, that ~ considering a simple Google search shows your Ron Paul affiliations (and a very nice picture of you with "the man" himself ) which, in turn, leads one to "Meet Up" and all the whackjob pages their website provides. You yourself may be a saint, but your choice of movements (where you conveniently ignore whence Leigh's objections sprung) to align yourself with leaves doubt about your motives, considering the well publicized and controversial stances of "Meet" and Ronulans in general.
Leigh Fumpteephrats is hardly being divisive. I prefer to think of her as "Paul Revere-ish".
And supporting YOUR cause by appearing at ANY gathering YOU are "organizing" would betray my personal convictions and, indeed, the entire spirit of the "Tea Party".
Is Rep. Miller aware of your connections and still planning to attend? I'm curious.
(And he's got all these links to Glenn Beck forums. I wonder if Beck would be thrilled with that, were HE aware.)
I imagine he'll be along shortly.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:13 AM | Comments (18)
April 09, 2009
Real Leadership
What we got here is a failure to communicate
Obama was asked to comment on the situation several times by reporters at a White House event on refinancing for homeowners. Obama, however, stuck closely to the script and replied that he wanted to remain focused on housing.
I'm willing to bet that Capt. Phillips wanted to remain focused on piloting his ship, too.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:02 PM | Comments (8)
How's This For A Negotiating Stance:
"Release the Captain or you die. Harm the Captain and you die"
(CNN) -- A U.S. warship arrived before dawn Thursday near a 28-foot lifeboat holding four pirates and the kidnapped captain of a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, officials said.Also nearby was the Maersk Alabama -- which had been seized early Wednesday off the Horn of Africa. All 20 of its remaining crew members were in good physical shape, said Ken Quinn, second officer of the ship, in a satellite call placed by CNN.
"There's four Somali pirates, and they've got our captain," Quinn said.
Maersk spokesman Kevin Speers said the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge was near the Maersk Alabama and that its crew was talking to the Navy.
Maybe I'm missing something, but four pirate bastards in a 28-foot lifeboat should not be in a "stand-off" with a 508-foot destroyer. They should be in little pink pieces surrounded by splinters if they don't do what they are told.
But certainly these strong words will shiver the timbers of these sea-scoundrels:
Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said while Washington was focused on the latest incident, “more generally, we think the world must come together to end the scourge of piracy”.
I'm sure every sailor in the US Merchant Marine fleet is sleeping easier after hearing that.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:23 AM | Comments (9)
April 08, 2009
Great News!
Not surprisingly, the government feels it hasn't spent enough money that it, er, doesn't have
Though some economic measures are improving, the financial crisis "is far from over" and "appears to be taking root in the larger economy."This, despite the government's commitment to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars on a massive bailout of the financial system.
These were the findings released in a report today by the Congressional Oversight Panel, the body charged with overseeing the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion plan aimed at bailing out the country's financial sector.
...The panel reported that the government has spent, lent or set aside more than $4 trillion through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
...The panel criticized the Treasury Department for failing to identify what measurements it will use to determine whether its rescue programs are working.
"If you don't articulate what the metrics are going out ... you can't know if anything succeeded or failed," Warren said.
Gee, ya think?
When has the government ever said "You know, throwing more money at this isn't the solution"?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:15 AM | Comments (2)
April 07, 2009
This Tells You All You Need To Know
Emergency humanitarian aid for Hamas: $300,000,000
Emergency humanitarian aid for Italy: $50,000...and an iPod thoughtfully loaded with some essentials and a gift card for 4 from the Olive Garden.
Hamas gets $300 million from Obama for scum like this.
Italy gets $50,000 from Obama for men like this.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:11 AM | Comments (4)
April 06, 2009
Admittedly a Handsome Offer. Thanks [Senator] Bill [Nelson]
...but, no.
Follow Me on Twitter and YouTube
Bad enough Barack's yammering at me from the tube 24effin7. I don't need you tweeting in the background.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:27 AM
April 02, 2009
Told Ya
He should've stayed home.
President Obama is holding a solo press conference Thursday afternoon in London to shape the message coming out of the G20 summit, as he appears to be losing ground on economic policy among traditional allies....[world] Obama appears to be struggling to hold the gavel and drive the policy debate.
White House aides told FOX News the president is holding a solo press conference to drive his own message and give foreign reporters access -- which keeps Obama and his global policy platform visible around the world. The rest of the G20 nations are holding a separate news conference prior to the president's.
It's lonely for a newbie out there...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:11 AM | Comments (10)
We Support The Military...
...as long as they remember they exist to move our entourage
Air ObamaPresident Obama's European visit this week has strained Air Force heavy-airlift capabilities and obliged the military to hire more foreign contractors to help resupply U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, according to military sources.
The large delegation traveling with the president in Europe required moving several transports, including jumbo C-5s and C-17s, from sorties ferrying supplies to Afghanistan to European bases for the presidential visit, said two military officials familiar with the issue. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid any misunderstanding with White House officials.
The Air Mobility Command, part of the U.S. Transportation Command, was ordered to provide airlift for the president's entourage of nearly 500 people, including senior officials, staff, support personnel, news reporters and some 200 Secret Service agents for the European visit, and an iPod, which began Tuesday in London.
Airlift for the traveling entourage also was used to move the president's new heavy-armored limousine and several presidential helicopters used for short transits.
To make up for the shortfall, the Air Force had to increase the number of Eastern European air transport contractors hired to fly Il-76 and An-124 transport jets into Afghanistan loaded with troop supplies, the two officials said.
What a shock! His Magical Mystery iPod Tour is adding millions to the deficit.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:02 AM | Comments (4)
Well, Thank Goodness
When I first heard about the amazingly thoughtful and appropriate gift that President Obama gave to the Queen of England I was somewhat afraid they would leave out some timeless and vital examples of towering American thought and expression that would inspire Her Majesty even in her darkest hours, but thanks to The Most Professional And Experienced Administration Evuh my fears were, of course, groundless
Uploaded onto the iPod:* Photos from President Obama’s Inauguration
* Audio of then-state senator Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and
* Audio of President Obama 2009 Inauguration Address
If only she had this during the Blitz to provide her with Hope!
Instead she had to muddle through with that boor Churchill.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:15 AM | Comments (9)
April 01, 2009
This Guy is Really Pissing Me Off
If he's not clogging up the TV, he's on the road.
Obama accepts invitations to visit China, RussiaPresident Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to visit China later this year.
...The White House also announced that Obama was accepting an invitation to visit Moscow this summer.
I've got a novel idea! Stay home and get some work done instead, why doncha?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:46 AM | Comments (9)
Unlike Bingley's "Box", They Tinker With the Drinker
...in an attempt to sink 'er.
State legislator wants to scuttle 'floating box' that serves alcohol..."It's not a boat," Roberts said Monday. "It looks just like a floating box. People sit on stools and they're served liquor."
Roberts owns a condo right next door to the marina, and he's an evangelical Christian, but he said both of those factors are unrelated to his problems with the Fish House.
"I know that people want to make this about me, but although I have first-hand knowledge, it's nothing personal," he said.
Right. It never is with these people. ("Footloose" syndrome detection feelers are twitching..."CLOSE it for the CHILDREN!!!!") Fortunately, the owner is poetic in his dismissal of concerns related to "alcohol from a box".
...When the Fish House launches, it floats out into a congested area where the east and west lakes come together, Roberts said. Whenever he sees it operate, it looks very unsafe, he said.Raise one for the box guy. Looks like a fun place to me."It's just that, goodness, you look at this and what do you do, just ignore this?" Roberts said.
"He's totally full of crap.""...It's one of the safest boats that's on the lake," responded ["box" owner] Parks, who added that the Fish House has railings and life jackets.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:18 AM | Comments (3)
March 30, 2009
"T'anks a Lot"
...is no longer just for expressing gratitude.
GM CEO forced out; stocks likely to plunge
Since January 20th, it's more of a "result".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:12 AM | Comments (2)
While We Carpool And Take The Bus To Work
To save money and such, our Dear Leader is going to London...with Five Hundred People
Britain will get its first chance to see Barack Obama this week when a White House cavalcade - complete with armoured limousines, helicopters, 200 US secret service staff and a six-doctor medical team - sweeps into the UK.Obama will fly into London for his first visit to the UK as president of the United States on Tuesday to take part in the G20 summit in the capital's Docklands area. He will not be travelling light.
More than 500 officials and staff will accompany the president on his tour this week - along with a mass of high-tech security equipment, including the $300,000 presidential limousine, known as The Beast. Fitted with night-vision camera, reinforced steel plating, tear- gas cannon and oxygen tanks, the vehicle is the ultimate in heavy armoured transport.
In addition, a team from the White House kitchen will travel with the president to prepare his food. As one official put it: "When the president travels, the White House travels with him, right down to the car he drives, the water he drinks, the gasoline he uses, the food he eats. America is still the sole superpower and the president must have the ability to handle any crisis, anywhere, any time."
That's one hell of a carbon footprint; hell, it's a full-fledged carbon body slam.
Look, I know he's the President and all that and needs to be protected yadayadayada...but 500 friggin' people?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:30 AM | Comments (11)
March 29, 2009
While I Wish He Had Thought to Ask
...for UAW President Ron Gettelfinger's resignation while he was cleaning house, I really don't think Wagoner was the problem. Has this ever happened?
GM CEO resigns at Obama's behest...The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government's behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.
My first response would have been "bite me". But then Barney Frank would be after whatever pittance I'd received as compensation and, considering Wagoner was only making $1 salary in 2009, he probably DID say something.
Like, "Blow me. 
And you can keep the dollar."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:37 PM | Comments (6)
March 25, 2009
Politicians: Why Not Bail Out Newspapers?
Hey, they've always been there to bail out certain politicians
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks."This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
It seems to me the reason they are "struggling" is because they have already in fact become "non-profits." We have an old joke in my office: "we're a non-profit corporation; we didn't intend to be..."
If you are losing money because people aren't buying your product, well, either you change or go under; don't expect to be transformed into some quasi-governmental agency. This is crap.
A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.
Ooh, there's a shocker. Expect lots of investigative stories about government corruption now.
Not.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:21 AM | Comments (4)
March 24, 2009
If I Were An AIG "Executive"...
I'd tell Congress to get stuffed
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Executives at American International Group have started giving back their bonus cash in full, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.On a conference call with reporters Monday, Cuomo said that of the top 20 executives who received the biggest bonuses, 15 have given them back in full. The amount returned so far is about $50 million. Of the top 10 highest earners, 9 have returned their bonuses.
According to Cuomo, the investigation into the distribution of the bonus cash continues. "I am trying to get the money back because I believe that is what the American people deserve," said Cuomo.
"I am hopeful that more AIG employees will heed the example set by their colleagues and pay the money back," said Cuomo.
To those bonus earners who have returned the bonus cash, the attorney general said they have "done the right thing."
...Cuomo said that the Attorney General was going through the executives and calling them one by one, in collaboration with AIG.
Cuomo also said that for those AIG executives who returned the bonus cash, there was no "public interest" in making his or her name public.
This is mob rule and Darkness At Noon-esque legal intimidation and thuggery is disgusting. Whatever the faults in business acumen these folks have displayed, and clearly these are legion, they have a contract and it was created before any of these bailouts were ever even thought of. Noted tax cheat Geithner and his crack staff of 2 geriatric hamsters and an arthritic python were fully aware that these contracts existed, or they should have been, had they exercised anything approaching due diligence in the discharge of their duties. This is after-the-fact ass covering and a political ruse to distract the Public's attention from the mind bogglingly insane amount of money The One, Congress and noted tax cheat Geithner are flushing away here.
Here's an idea. If "getting the (taxpayer's) money back is what the American People deserve" when it is paid as salary who performed very poorly in their jobs, an idea which sounds all stirry and patriotic and lump-in-the-throat inducing I freely admit, I hereby demand that every Member of Congress be required/shamed/humiliated a la the AIG folks to give back every penny they've been paid for the past 20+ years.
Let's hold them to the same standard.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:00 AM | Comments (15)
March 23, 2009
Hardee Har Har
Yep, you keep yucking it up as you're mucking it up
President Barack Obama said he believes the global financial system remains at risk of implosion with the failure of Citigroup or AIG, which could touch off “an even more destructive recession and potentially depression.”His remarks came in a“60 Minutes” interview in which he was pressed by Steve Kroft for laughing and chuckling several times while discussing the perilous state of the world’s economy.
“You're sitting here. And you're— you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this and say, ‘I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money—’ How do you deal with— I mean: explain. . .” Kroft asked at one point.
“Are you punch-drunk?” Kroft said.
“No, no. There's gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day,” Obama said, with a laugh.
Can this guy go one frickin' day, just one, with out appearing on some talk show?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:42 AM | Comments (10)
March 20, 2009
You Have to Ask Yourself
With all the success we've had lately utilizing native languages to impress our allies, do we REALLY want Hillary's Babelfishers at State attempting Farsi captions to impress the Iranians?
President Barack Obama told Iran's people and leaders that the United States wants to engage with their country and end decades of strained relationship, but not unless their officials stop making threats.Obama on Friday released a video message with Farsi subtitles that urged the two countries to resolve their long-standing differences. His video was timed to the festival of Nowruz, which means "new day." It marks the arrival of spring and is a major holiday in Iran.
What Obama thinks he said:
What the Farsi translates to:
UPDATE: HotAIr has the video.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:22 AM | Comments (5)
Most Gifted Orator Ever
He just continues to impress, doesn't he?
Sigh. One almost gets tired of saying it, but one must say it, still: Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would do with that, had Bush said it. Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would have done with the Irish PM Teleprompter gaffe (the press has helpfully embargoed the video, so Obama doesn’t have to see it playing 24/7, as Bush would have - had Bush so gaffed). Can you IMAGINE what the press and the Dems would have done if Bush had given the Prime Minister of Great Britain a lousy pack of 50 “Classic” DVD’s that didn’t work in the UK?
Go read the Anchoress for the current (but ever growing, it seems) list of horrorsgaffs examples of this Administrations sheer intellectual and cultural brilliance.
As I think someone at Ace's said first:
"Boy, we really dodged a bullet with that Palin chick, didn't we?"
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:22 AM | Comments (2)
March 19, 2009
Holder: Antitrust Aid OK For Newspapers
My, this is brilliant
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday preserving a healthy newspaper industry was important and he was open to adjusting antitrust policy if it could help."I'd like to think 20, 30, 40 years from now people will still be reading the newspaper," Holder told reporters.
He was responding to a call by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging the Justice Department to give newspapers more leeway to merge or combine operations.
The industry is reeling from declining circulation, economic recession and a shift in advertising and reader attention to online media. Venerable newspapers have closed or -- such as the Hearst Corp's Seattle Post-Intelligencer this week -- gone to Internet-only editions with reduced staff.
It seems to me the problem that has led to the newspaper's decline is indeed anti-trust: people don't trust the papers. So they don't buy their product.
And Holder's suggestion that the government let them get even bigger is foolish. Yes, let's allow and encourage money-losing operations to get even bigger and lose even more money, maybe to the point where they're "too big to fail."
That worked so well for Fannie Mae and AIG.
That's one way for the Left to get it's "Fairness Doctrine": nationalize the media.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:46 AM | Comments (9)
"Honestly? I Lied"
This Dodd is some piece of work. I love how he's twisting in the wind. And give CNN some credit for nailing his ass
(CNN) -- Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN Wednesday that he was responsible for language added to the federal stimulus bill to make sure that already-existing contracts for bonuses at companies receiving federal bailout money were honored.Dodd acknowledged his role in the change after a Treasury Department official told CNN the administration pushed for the language.
Both Dodd and the official, who asked not to be named, said it was because administration officials were afraid the government would face numerous lawsuits without the new language.
Dodd, a Democrat, told CNN's Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer that Obama administration officials pushed for the language to an amendment designed to limit bonuses and "golden parachutes" at those companies.
"The administration had expressed reservations," Dodd said. "They asked for modifications. The alternative was losing the amendment entirely."
On Tuesday, Dodd denied to CNN that he had anything to do with adding the language, which has been used by officials at bailed-out insurance giant AIG to justify paying millions of dollars in bonuses to executives after receiving federal money.
So he goes from saying "I did not do it" to saying "They made me do it!" in one day.
And now he's using the Flip Wilson Defense:
"Obama made me do it!"
Oh yes, Obama, the One who promised us to hit the ground running, to be the most readiest, most smartiest, most teleprompterist evuh, well right after Dodd issues his Obama-culpa President Obama says
(CNN) -- President Obama said Wednesday he'll "take responsibility" for AIG executives receiving controversial bonuses while the company took $173 billion in government bailouts."We didn't draft these contracts. We've got a lot on our plate. But it is appropriate when you're in charge to make sure stuff doesn't happen like this," Obama told a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, California.
Yes, yes, who could have possibly predicted that someone who had never held any sort of executive position might be somewhat overwhelmed by the Presidency? Yes, you do have a lot on your plate, Mr. President. Poor bubsie.
Like choosing an appropriate gift for visiting heads of state.
Like filling out your NCAA bracket.
Like attending a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa.
Like choosing someone to help out noted tax cheat Geithner with all that hard math at Treasury.
Here's a bold suggestion. How about requiring Members of Congress to actually read all legislation before they are allowed to vote on it?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:00 AM | Comments (4)
March 18, 2009
Out Of Thin Air
As feared, this is how Obama and noted tax cheat Geithner will "solve" the budget mess
WASHINGTON: Saying that the recession continues to deepen, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it would pump an extra $1 trillion into the economy by buying mortgage-backed securities and long-term Treasury issues."Job losses, declining equity and housing wealth, and tight credit conditions have weighed on consumer sentiment and spending," the Fed said, adding that it would "employ all available tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability."
As expected, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate virtually at zero. But in a surprise, it drastically increased the amount of money it will create out of thin air to thaw out the still-frozen credit markets that have cramped lending to consumers and businesses alike.
Just print more money.
That worked so well in Weimar Germany and Argentina.
The dollar goes totally in the toilet.
We get screwed.
Change you can believe in.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:45 PM | Comments (3)
Oh, Yeah. He Needs to Be on Leno
...like AIG needs bonus cash. I do take issue with this line of thinking...
...Critics accused him of dumbing down the presidency and of blurring the line between politics and entertainment.
That's already a done deal.
Try staying home and reading a bill, or all those sticky notes you get from Geithner, yo.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:19 PM | Comments (6)
If We Lose CNN...
Remember just a few short months ago how all the media were agog about the wonders of "The First 100 Days" of the Age of Obama? CNN had a big splashy fawning banner "Obama: The First 100 Days" with the benevolently smiling photo of The One prominently displayed on their main page.
But here we are barely 60 days into our National Renaissance and that's down the memory hole, squirreled as a smallish button on their "Politics" page.
Curious, no?
"If we lose CNN we've lost the war..."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:32 PM | Comments (3)
The AP Should Read The Swilling
If they did they could have published this yesterday
WASHINGTON – If not distancing itself from Treasury Secretary and noted tax cheat Timothy Geithner, the White House is placing firmly on his shoulders responsibility for how the government handled the $165 million in bonuses paid to about 400 executives and traders at American International Group Inc....Then he volunteered the answer to a question being asked all over Washington: Did noted tax cheat Geithner still enjoy President Barack Obama's confidence, given the whopping bonuses the failed insurance giant paid Friday after receiving taxpayer bailout money?
"The president has complete confidence" in noted tax cheat Geithner, Gibbs said.
Is Obama satisfied that noted tax cheat Geithner informed him of the impending bonus payments in a timely fashion?
"Yes, the president is satisfied," Gibbs replied.
Those, of course, are statements that wouldn't need to be made if noted tax cheat Geithner's status were clear. Not just a president's confidence, but his "complete confidence" can be a well-worn political signal that the person allegedly enjoying it should start circulating a resume.
Update: Maybe this is how the AP found us. Hehehe.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:40 AM | Comments (2)
It's Called "Class"
Something that is sorely lacking in the new inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Former President George W. Bush says he won't criticize President Barack Obama because Obama "deserves my silence," and says he plans to write a book about the 12 toughest decisions he made in office. Bush's speech Tuesday at a luncheon in Calgary, Alberta was his first since leaving office.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:47 AM | Comments (2)
March 17, 2009
I ::HEART:: Me Some Tapper
The man can ask some questions...
...TAPPER: Well, I guess, just the question I have is, if you said that you have confidence -- the president has confidence in Secretary Geithner. Are you confident that the oversight process is working, if these bonuses had been -- the Treasury Department had known about these bonuses since September -- Secretary Geithner didn't act on it until last week?
GIBBS: Well, again, I don't -- let me make sure -- I mean, obviously, you and I understand this, but let's make sure everybody understands that there was a change in administration between September of 2008 and what we're talking about even at some point last week.
TAPPER: OK, right. That's what I'm saying.But clearly somebody dropped the ball.Somebody didn't tell Secretary Geithner about this or Secretary...
Oh, man ~ reading it? He eats Gibbs for a fatty snack. There IS a video attached to Jake's post, but I couldn't watch. It's like knowing the crocodile's gonna bite the wildebeest at the water's edge when he stops to take a sip. I always turn away.
Tapper's been doing a whale of a job for a long time. Normally I would wonder how long before ABC's "1000%" behind him, but World News has been a place for mostly honest news as well. (Witness their series on the changes in Iraq all this week.)
There's hope. How refreshing.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:39 PM | Comments (2)
Noted Tax Cheat Geithner...
...is toast
President Barack Obama has "complete confidence" in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and any suggestion he bungled over the AIG bonuses storm is "unfair" the White House said Tuesday.
He's gone in a week.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:07 PM | Comments (7)
I Was For Bonuses Before I Was Against Them
...or, at least until folks found out about it
Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Monday night floated the idea of taxing American International Group (AIG: 0.9629, 0.1828, 23.43%) bonus recipients so the government could recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial products unit. Within hours, the idea spread to both houses of Congress, with lawmakers proposing an AIG bonus tax.While the Senate constructed the $787 billion stimulus last month, Dodd unexpectedly added an executive-compensation restriction to the bill. That amendment provides an “exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009,” which exempts the very AIG bonuses Dodd and others are seeking to tax. The amendment is in the final version and is law.
Oh, and did I mention
Also, Sen. Dodd was AIG’s largest single recipient of campaign donations during the 2008 election cycle with $103,100, according to opensecrets.org.
You can't make this stuff up.
But they can make you pay for it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:17 PM | Comments (4)
Finally, A Senate Plan I Can Agree With
Here's some legislation that should be 'fast tracked'
In an interview with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT-AM today, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said executives of AIG should consider following what he described of the Japanese model of shamed corporate executives: apology or suicide...."I suggest, you know, obviously maybe they ought to be removed, but I would suggest that the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better towards them [is] if they would follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say I'm sorry and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide."
Grassley added, "In the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology."
Of course, I would also not mind if many of our Congressional Members followed this example.
But that would require they have honor.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:58 AM | Comments (2)
However Much I Try to Stay Optimistic
...the Obama team seems hell bent to remind me that it's really amateur hour, with the most self absorbed, self indulgent, pissiest little monsters in the neighborhood on stage. The smirky beasts whose mere appearance makes your palm itch, because you just want to smack the crap out of them.
White House Ridicules Cheney After Criticism
..."Well, I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy," Gibbs said to laughter during his daily briefing with reporters. "So they trotted out the next most popular member of the Republican cabal."
The Bush White House was unfailingly...mum in deference to former Presidents/Vice-Presidents running their jibs (For example...) ~ a combination of respect for the office (which shouldn't be part of a new administration's learning curve) and natural class (which, obviously, can't be learned). The Obama Administration's response to anything seems entirely built on...
"I know you are, but what am I?"
...rather than a solid course of action coupled with a "sticks and stones may break my bones...etc." attitude.
You know. Like "adults" would.
We're doomed.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:29 AM
Some Dems Starting To Chafe At "Crisis Legislating"?
Perhaps. I don't want to get too hopeful, but maybe a few of these goddamnedincompetentidiots very busy Legislators might actually start reading the bills before they pass them?
WASHINGTON -- Eight Senate Democrats are opposing speedy action on President Barack Obama's bill to combat global warming, complicating prospects for the legislation and creating problems for their party's leaders.The eight Democrats disapprove of using the annual budget debate to pass Obama's "cap and trade" bill to fight greenhouse gas emissions, a measure that divides lawmakers, environmentalists and businesses. The lawmakers' opposition makes it more difficult for Democratic leaders to move the bill without a threat of a Republican filibuster.
The budget debate is the only way to circumvent Senate rules that allow a unified GOP to stop a bill through filibusters.
"Enactment of a cap-and-trade regime is likely to influence nearly every feature of the U.S. economy," wrote the Democratic senators, mostly moderates. They were joined by 25 Republicans. "Legislation so far-reaching should be fully vetted and given appropriate time for debate."
This cap-and-trade horse dung will only screw our economy more and drive more jobs overseas.
Of course, since no one here will be able to actually afford anything, anyway, it might not matter.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:28 AM
March 16, 2009
Only Half as Much of the Project Done?
Like the song used to say: "Look for the Union label."
State governments that contract jobs paid for with stimulus money will be required to pay workers on construction projects union wages rather than market rates -- good news for workers but good news for not as many of them....Los Angeles County officials who received $8 million in Community Development Block Grant money to weatherize homes for low-income people said they typically bid the job low and pay about $15 an hour for a worker to caulk windows. However, under union scale, that job pays $25 an hour and $5 in benefits, so instead of repairing 100 homes, they might do 50 homes for the same price.
Elsewhere, the union wage for a plumber in Long Island is $45 an hour, the market rate is $30. In Las Vegas, the Davis-Bacon wage for a glass worker is $57 an hour, a job the Nevada State Housing division currently pays $15 to do.
...In the past, cities and states got around the Davis-Bacon provision by diluting federal money with local cash, but with the stimulus, that's not allowed. One think tank estimates that with about $200 billion in the stimulus set for construction projects, Davis-Bacon raises costs by about $17 billion.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:37 PM | Comments (1)
Only Half as Much of the Project Done?
Like the song used to say: "Look for the Union label."
State governments that contract jobs paid for with stimulus money will be required to pay workers on construction projects union wages rather than market rates -- good news for workers but good news for not as many of them....Los Angeles County officials who received $8 million in Community Development Block Grant money to weatherize homes for low-income people said they typically bid the job low and pay about $15 an hour for a worker to caulk windows. However, under union scale, that job pays $25 an hour and $5 in benefits, so instead of repairing 100 homes, they might do 50 homes for the same price.
Elsewhere, the union wage for a plumber in Long Island is $45 an hour, the market rate is $30. In Las Vegas, the Davis-Bacon wage for a glass worker is $57 an hour, a job the Nevada State Housing division currently pays $15 to do.
...In the past, cities and states got around the Davis-Bacon provision by diluting federal money with local cash, but with the stimulus, that's not allowed. One think tank estimates that with about $200 billion in the stimulus set for construction projects, Davis-Bacon raises costs by about $17 billion.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:37 PM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2009
Restoring Our Place In The World
After last week's brilliant and suave handling of Gordon Brown, the Most Competent Administration Evah now welcomes Brazil in their own unique style
RIO DE JANEIRO -- His meet and greet with the U.S. president was bumped to Saturday, and when the White House announced his official visit, they misspelled his name.But when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva becomes the first Latin American leader to sit down with President Barack Obama this weekend, he brings undisputed clout.
...Brazil has become a major U.S. trading partner, with cautious economic policies that have helped it weather the crisis better than almost all other major economies. With huge new offshore oil finds and abundant ethanol, Brazil could be key to helping wean the U.S. off Venezuelan crude and shift to cleaner energies.
Still, the White House made several moves interpreted as snubs by the Brazilian media.
Silva aides said the trip was pushed forward from Tuesday because of the St. Patrick's Day holiday - making Latin America once again look like an afterthought. Then, the White House announcement misspelled his name as "Luis Ignacio" and put "Lula" - a nickname that decades ago became a legal part of the Brazilian leader's name - in quotes.
The White House quickly corrected the mistake.
Gosh, I really sleep like a baby* at night knowing that our country is in such competent hands.
(h/t HotAir)
*meaning I wake up crying every two hours and reach for a bottle...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:24 PM | Comments (5)
March 12, 2009
As the Weeping Grandfather in "Moonstruck" Says
"I'm confused!"Isn't this quote today...
Obama: Economic crisis 'not as bad as we think'...from the same prophet who said this...
In his first prime-time news conference, U.S. President Barack Obama called this "the winter of America's hardship."Fresh off a daylong visit to a town in the state of Indiana that has been devastated by job losses, Obama said the country is in a "full blown crisis" and warned if Congress doesn't pass his economic plan immediately, the results could be catastrophic.
...just 3 weeks ago? (What? We're better already? Strange. Why do I feel so bad, then?)
Or...is our Prezzy O a prankster, like the punk who yells "PSYCHE!" outside the girl's locker room...after pulling the fire alarm?
I'm tired.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:34 PM | Comments (6)
March 07, 2009
A Grim Milestone For Obama
Reuters uses the "G" word twice
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama tried to highlight some good news and tout his economic plan on Friday, but the grim reality of plunging employment and faltering stock markets once again stepped on his message.... For the White House, the grim economic news has made it hard to find the right balance of blunt talk about the present and optimism for the future.
"As the president has often said, it's going to get worse before it gets better," spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Air Force One as Obama headed to Ohio to tout a minor victory for his plan.
That last line was a little snarky, wasn't it? Someone is going to get a talking-to from an editor...
Wait! Yet a third "grim" sighting!
Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, pointed to another 168,000 manufacturing jobs lost in February."This is a grim moment for American workers," he said. "The economic recovery package passed last month was a good first step, but more needs to be done."
When your grip on Reuters starts slipping...
(h/t Insta)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:27 AM | Comments (2)
March 05, 2009
Is There a Doctor in the House?
The one we had...just left.
Gupta opts out of surgeon general considerationDr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, has withdrawn his name from consideration as surgeon general of the United States, CNN confirmed Thursday.
Man. It's not even my gig and I'm embarassed at the rate the potential Cabinet newcomers...go.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:19 PM | Comments (8)
"All By Myself"
Understaffed Geithner can't keep up, critics say...With an awkward first television appearance, a bank rescue plan that lacked promised specifics and two restructured bailouts that raised taxpayer risk, Geithner has failed to calm financial markets desperate for answers.
Critics say part of the problem is that Geithner is flying solo: Not one of his top 17 deputies has been named, let alone confirmed. And without senior leadership, lower-level Treasury employees can't make decisions or represent the government in crucial conversations with banks and others.
Remember this guy? We were told he's Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius ~ TurboTax excepted ~ and we had to confirm him 'cause he's THE ONLY ONE who could do it all.
Now he's lonely.
And we're f*cked.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:14 AM | Comments (3)
Noted Tax Cheat Tim Geithner Goes Green
He wants to make sure other people pay more taxes so Obama can spend it to help Gaia
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. oil and natural gas producing companies should not receive federal subsidies in the form of tax breaks because their businesses contribute to global warming, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Wednesday.It was one of the sharpest attacks yet on the oil and gas industry by a top Obama administration official, reinforcing the White House stance that new U.S. energy policy will focus on promoting renewable energy sources like wind and solar power and rely less on traditional fossil fuels like oil as America tackles climate change.
"We don't believe it makes sense to significantly subsidize the production and use of sources of energy (like oil and gas) that are dramatically going to add to our climate change (problem). We don't think that's good economic policy and we think changing those incentives is good for the country," Geithner told the Senate Finance Committee at a hearing on the White House's proposed budget for the 2010 spending year.
Hell, I don't think anyone who has the nerve to exhale should get any tax breaks! I mean, that shit is just loaded with CO2 when it comes out of your mouth! We need strict government policies to dis-incentivate exhalation; it's for our own good.
These guys are the scariest bunch of tools to come along in a long, long time.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:28 AM | Comments (2)
March 04, 2009
Leadership?
My Bride and I were talking last night about how low and, well, petty Obama is. Seriously. With all the insanity and uncertainly in the world at the moment what is required is a calm, reassuring, firm hand on the tiller. And what do we have? A Doomsayer In Chief. Henny Penny Goes To Washington. A president who singles out media pundits for specific criticism and attack. Good god. What has been said about Obama so far has been nothing compared to the invective and vitriol hurled at Bush and Clinton over the past 16 years. Did you ever once hear a journalist or pundit singled out in a Presidential news conference or briefing the way we've seen Limbaugh and now Cramer just yesterday? Of course not. Those men, regardless of the rightness or wrongness of their actions knew that such petulant childlike behavior was beneath the dignity of their office, their nation...and themselves.
But now we have a President who's never faced criticism before, who's never had his ideas and plans given anything but fawning praise before, and like any spoiled adolescent he's lashing out instead of considering that perhaps maybe there's the slightest of chances he might be, er, um, how does one put this gracefully...wrong? It's almost as if he's never had any executive experience, really, but that can't be: he was after all a community organizer.
"Obama": It's Kenyan for "thin skinned"
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:13 AM | Comments (15)
March 01, 2009
Rahm Emanuel on "Face the Nation" This Morning
...just reinforced my original "what a lying, sack o' shit this asshole is" opinion of him.
Wait'll the transcripts are are out and you'll see what sort of "change" hath been wrought.
UPDATE: Trust HotAir to gather all the pertinent elements before mere mortals can.
At least I wasn't mistaken in my initial impression.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:05 AM | Comments (2)
February 27, 2009
I'll Give Him That
...To all you loyal PWB readers who make up America’s best hope for a legitimate third party, thank you for the concerned emails asking where we had gone and when we’d be back. To be truthful, I gave the staff and interns a couple weeks off while the site was being redone.Meanwhile, I spent my time holed up at Buzzy’s trying to figure out how I ended up living in a socialist country.
It is confusing.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:53 AM
Constitution? What Constitution?
All that matters is what the Democrats want.
The Senate passed a bill yesterday that would give the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, but lawmakers attached language strongly opposed by city leaders that strips most local gun-control laws.The gun amendment complicates the D.C. vote bill's passage into law, because the legislation will have to be reconciled with a companion bill in the House with no gun provisions that is expected to be approved next week. Some D.C. officials said it was ironic that the Senate bill granted the city full representation in the House while also overruling the District's decisions on a key local issue.
Well, actually, what "complicates" this bill is a little thing called the US Constitution. Only Representatives from States are members and may vote. DC is not a state, last time I checked. For DC to get voting rights requires a constitutional amendment; acts of Congress simply are not sufficient. Let's not forget, if DC gets a vote for its one Representative, how can it be denied TWO Senators by this rogue Congress?
As Ann Althouse says
I don't know how even to articulate an argument that it's constitutional to give a vote to a D.C. representative in the House.
Shredding the Constitution. It's not just for the Bush administration anymore.
Pure, naked power grab.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:22 AM | Comments (7)
Hope And Change: Getting The World's Love
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Argentina on Thursday blasted the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for saying the country, along with Ecuador and Venezuela, could be pushed into instability by the global economic crisis.Lumping Argentina together with Ecuador and Venezuela, both led by leftist anti-Washington firebrands, raises concern in this country, where center-left President Cristina Kirchner is trying to keep the economy from stagnating.
Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana called the comments made on Wednesday by CIA Director Leon Panetta "unfounded and irresponsible, especially from an agency that has a sad history of meddling in the affairs of countries in the region."
Taiana said he will meet on Friday with U.S. Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne to demand an explanation. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
Thanks god we've got these seasoned professionals who hit the ground running in charge now, eh?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:04 AM
February 26, 2009
Yes, We Really Want To Follow Down Europe's Path
I mean, just look how swimmingly State-Sponsored Everything is working over there
The vast imbalances that have been allowed to build up under the seductive protection of EMU leave German taxpayers facing bail-out liabilities that exceed the cost of reparations after the First World War, in proportional terms. The political ground has not been prepared for this. EMU was foisted on the German people without a referendum, in the face of deep public scepticism and scathing criticisms by the professoriat. This failure to secure a mandate for such a revolutionary undertaking is coming back to haunt them.Berlin is at last having to deliver on the Faustian bargain made by Germany's political class when it swapped the D-Mark for French acquiescence in reunification. It must either go the whole way towards EMU fiscal union and take responsibility for Italy's public debt (111pc of GDP by next year), Austria's loans to Eastern Europe (70pc of GDP), the adventures of Ireland's 'Canary Dwarf' (€400bn or so in liabilities), and Spain's housing collapse (1m unsold homes), or jeopardize its half-century investment in the political order of post-war Europe. Letting EMU fail at this stage would have far higher costs than never having launched the project in the first place.
Remember, bureaucrats who've never run any business know much more about how to run yours than you do.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:47 AM | Comments (3)
February 25, 2009
Whoa, The AP Checks Out Obama's Assertions
Somebody's gonna get a talking to at the AP's offices for this display of stones
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama knows Americans are unhappy that their taxes will be used to rescue people who bought mansions beyond their means.But his assurance Tuesday night that only the deserving will get help rang hollow.
Read the rest but make sure you are sitting down first.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:31 AM | Comments (5)
A Modest Mortgage Proposal
The more I read about stories like the one below, where the guy in the cave house has to sell, the more annoyed I get. Look, as Ed at HotAir pointed out the other day, you do not get foreclosed because your home has "lost" appraised value. You get foreclosed because you are not making the payments. This can not be repeated enough. Certainly there are people who have lost their jobs, and if the Government feels it 'must' help some folks then these are the ones that it should consider. But they are the only ones. The VAST majority of people who are being foreclosed (ok, I am making a complete guess on this, but based on anecdotal evidence, i.e. every story I see in the MSM that's the conclusion I've reached, and since it's my blog I feel free to make shit up if it advances my point, and that includes crafting sweeping generalizations) are being foreclosed because they took one of two gambles when getting their mortgage. The traditional mortgage is at a fixed rate for 30 years. You know exactly the amount you're going to pay every month; it doesn't change. People with these mortgages aren't defaulting. They budgeted based on their incomes and they're making their payments.
The folks who are in trouble, on the other hand, got themselves into a mess in a couple of ways, all of which involved poor investment decisions that in no way shape or form should we be required to bail them out of. Look, this is not hindsight talking; these were risky, hell, crappy, ideas back when the folks did them. We bought our house in 1999 and prices were literally rising daily on the houses that we looked at; we looked at these alternative mortgages and thought "why the hell would we want to do that? We want to know exactly what our payment will be every month." One of these bad ideas is that, caught up in the speculative housing bubble, they saw houses not as a long-term place to live that also happened to be a decent investment but rather as a chance to make a lot of short-term profits. So they bought a house using one of these stupid-ass "balloon" mortgages, where the payments are relatively low for 5 or 6 years and then you have to pay the entire balance off. This works great if the market stays hot and you can sell the house, but you are totally dead if the housing market even stagnates, let alone drops. As the market has indeed dropped the flippers are screwed.
Another group who has been killed by the downturn in house values are the ATM-ers, the people who used their houses as ATMs to finance lifestyles way beyond their means. People who had owned their houses for a while, had reasonable payments and perhaps even had paid off their mortgages got seduced by the easy money to draw out hundreds of thousands of dollars in the "equity" that their houses had built up by taking out home equity loans or re-mortgaging the house based on the new inflated appraisals. And they spent that cash on cars, cruises, furniture, electronics, fancy meals; all sorts of toys and that spending in large part drove our economy's bubble for the last decade. These folks needed the housing market to keep rising so they could keep re-financing basis the higher home equity to support their living beyond their means. They are like speculators in stock or commodity markets; they guessed wrong and now the margin payments are due. Go watch "Trading Places" again for the Duke's margin call.
There is no reason to bail any of these folks out; that would only encourage more of this behavior. I mean, hell, if we bail these people out we might as well bail out the stupid, poorly-run banks who abandoned any sense of fiscal prudence in loaning them the money too, right? Oh poop....
There's also another group of folks who are in a bind here, and that's the people who took out Adjustable Rate mortgages. Again, these people were gambling. They thought that interest rates would go down (even though they have been near historic lows for the past decade) and thus their monthly payments would go down as well when the rates adjusted. Many of them were wrong. Again, why should we bail them out? When we bought our house in 1999 we budgeted based on the fixed rate at the time and got the fixed mortgage accordingly; it was around 7.25% I believe. In fact rates did go down and I was able to re-finance at 5.125% about 4 years later which was a bonus for us. I certainly didn't take on a higher initial payment than I could afford on the gambler's hope that rates would go my way, which is in effect what these people did. Again, why should I be forced to cover someone else's gambling debts?
So here's my proposal. We need to get away from thinking of houses as liquid, short-term assets and eliminate flipping so that people will budget and only buy houses that are within their means to afford for the long-haul. Certainly from the banking side they need to use due diligence and not make loans to people who can not be reasonably expected to pay them back; home ownership is not a "right" but an economic privilege that one earns through work and proven credit reliability, so all the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac inducements that have caused many of these problems need to go. But also I think that balloon loans and ARMs need to be eliminated to cut down on the gambling, speculation and unpleasant surprises; the only mortgages that can be done should be fixed-rate.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:27 AM | Comments (8)
February 24, 2009
Some Thoughts For Us Chumps
You know, us simple folk who didn't use our houses as ATMs
You played by the rules.Invested conservatively. Looked for company names you could trust, like Lehman Bros. (LEHMQ, news, msgs). Didn't sell out at the first or even second downturn in the markets.
Saved up for a down payment. Paid your bills on time and kept your credit card balances down so you could build up your credit rating. Shopped around for a fixed-rate mortgage. Didn't buy more house than you could afford.
Managed your company for the long run. Built up trust with your bank. Earned the trust of your suppliers and customers. Kept debt to a minimum even if it meant growing more slowly.
Now, don't you feel like a chump?
Your retirement portfolio is worth 40% less than at the end of 2007. Your house is worth 20% less. Your company is scrambling to stay afloat because your oh-so-friendly banker has cut your credit line.
But the worst is that you see people all around who behaved like fools, people who lied on their mortgage applications, who piled on debt like there was no tomorrow or who ran their companies into the ground and who are now getting bailed out by the federal government. With your money.
This gets to the core of the groundswell of anger folks are feeling. Those of us who scrimped and saved and bought modest houses after carefully budgeting are getting royally screwed by the bastards who kept re-mortgaging and flipping houses to support extravagant lifestyles and new cars every three years. Why should I support these people? Why should I support companies whose products consumers have stopped buying? Why should my child be put into debt to support these people?
Obama said yesterday
"I refuse to leave our children with a debt they cannot repay," he said in remarks opening the one-day summit at the White House. "We cannot and will not sustain deficits like these without end. ... We cannot simply spend as we please."
Which I guess sounds somewhat noble until you think...why the hell are we burdening our children with any debt for our failure to live within our means? Wouldn't a proper response be to take the bitter medicine now, take the pain now and give our children a chance to live better? But no, Obama wants to burden our children with a debt they can pay, a debt caused by this generations refusal to accept responsibility for it's fiscal insanity.
If there ever was a case for the following generation to hate the previous, he's building it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:42 AM | Comments (5)
February 23, 2009
In One Of The Most Disgusting Corruption Cases I've Seen
It's no surprise that politics reign as usual. Yes, CNN loves to play "Name That Party" don't they?
(CNN) -- At a friend's sleepover more than a year ago, 14-year-old Phillip Swartley pocketed change from unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood to buy chips and soft drinks. The cops caught him.There was no need for an attorney, said Phillip's mother, Amy Swartley, who thought at most, the judge would slap her son with a fine or community service.
But she was shocked to find her eighth-grader handcuffed and shackled in the courtroom and sentenced to a youth detention center. Then, he was shipped to a boarding school for troubled teens for nine months.
"Yes, my son made a mistake, but I didn't think he was going to be taken away from me," said Swartley, a 41-year-old single mother raising two boys in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
CNN does not usually identify minors accused of crimes. But Swartley and others agreed to be named to bring public attention to the issue.
As scandals from Wall Street to Washington roil the public trust, the justice system in Luzerne County, in the heart of Pennsylvania's struggling coal country, has also fallen prey to corruption. The county has been rocked by a kickback scandal involving two elected judges who essentially jailed kids for cash. Many of the children had appeared before judges without a lawyer.
Judges, elected judges, who are so corrupt and debased that they are giving kids harsher sentences and sending them to reform schools in exchange for kickbacks. You'd *think* that the party affiliation might be newsworthy of such elected scum.
CNN doesn't think it's worthy of mention.
But lookee here
...Ciavarella edged Giovannini by 378 votes (18,759 to 18,381) for the Democratic nod.
These "judges" should be put away for ever.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:31 PM | Comments (5)
February 21, 2009
Pretty Vacant
The Depart of Energy's own website says it better than I ever could
Wile E Chuyote, Super Genius
In the comments to my post yesterday reader "pmp" chides moi for taking a "cheap shot" at Dr. Chu
Y'know, you'd think that with all the genuine mess-ups being committed by this administration on a daily basis, you wouldn't have to resort to cheap shots.
First off, my dear fellow, I like cheap shots. Oh sure, sometimes I pride myself on a skillful parry with a foil or some daring Errol Flynn-esque derring-do with a witty rapier thrust, but heck, sometimes when the softball's been tossed slowly right down Main Street ya' needs to just whack at the damn thing, you know?
But to defend myself against this worrisome charge let's look again at the situation in question. Dr. Chu, aka "Wile E Chuyote, Super Genius," was named to his post on December 15th, 2008, well over a month before President Obama was to be inaugurated. So one would reasonably expect that a Cabinet Member, especially a "Nobel Prize Winner," of an Administration that was pledging to "hit the ground running," especially one who is "charged with helping implement President Obama’s ambitious agenda to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs" (and to boldly go where no man has gone before!)...I don't know, is it a "cheap shot" to be upset that the Point Man for our Glorious Leader's Ambitious Energy Agenda, the man who is the Official Spokesman for US Energy Policy, after eight weeks of preparation can do no better than this:
At a forum with reporters on Thursday, (Steven Chu) the head of the department that has traditionally taken the lead on global oil-market policy, was asked what message the Obama administration had for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at its meeting next month."I'm not the administration," the Cabinet secretary replied. "I will be speaking and learning more about this in order to figure out what the U.S. position should be and what the president's position is."
...The day before, reporters asked him about OPEC output levels after a speech to a group of utility regulators. He responded that the issue was "not in my domain."
I'm sorry, that is simply gobsmackingly incompetent. I can not possibly fathom how one could characterize this as "cautious, circumspect, and reassuring." You find it reassuring that after two months the Secretary has no idea what his policy positions are, what his boss's positions are, or even what subjects fall in to his own portfolio? I mean, gosh, "OPEC output levels" might possibly be of concern to the Secretary of Energy? Who could ever have imagined such a thing! Is this some secret right-wing plot?
Yes, it's illustrative/indicative/representative of damn near every other appointment and nearly every decision that Obama has made...which is sadly not surprising for a guy who has zero executive experience.
You're better than that.
Dude, you're talking about a guy who writes posts titled "Sorry Guys: No More Hummers"
No I'm not.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:26 AM | Comments (8)
February 20, 2009
A New Situation Comedy: Obamarama and the Keystone Cabinet
President Obama's transportation department slapped down a suggestion by its own secretary Friday that the government tax motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn.
The laughs NEVER end!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:36 PM | Comments (4)
Quote of the Day
"My husband and I always discuss, 'Why do we try to better ourselves, when it seems if you do nothing, you get all the help in the world?'”
I'm SO there, ma'am.
As my hero Rick Santelli says, "Tea party!"
UPDATE: Gracious goodness, HOARDES of disgruntled...Instapundit mortgage/tax payers!!! A Warm Swill Welcome to you all and our fervent thanks to the Blogfaddah, who should be aware that his box o' tea and war paint is waiting at the rail on the starboard side of our tipsy ship o' state.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:20 PM | Comments (8)
You Know, If We Weren't Getting So Totally Screwed By These Clowns...
I'd be laughing my ass off
At a forum with reporters on Thursday, (Steven Chu) the head of the department that has traditionally taken the lead on global oil-market policy, was asked what message the Obama administration had for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at its meeting next month."I'm not the administration," the Cabinet secretary replied. "I will be speaking and learning more about this in order to figure out what the U.S. position should be and what the president's position is."
...The day before, reporters asked him about OPEC output levels after a speech to a group of utility regulators. He responded that the issue was "not in my domain."
Read the rest of the post at Ace's and weep in your bathtub gin tonight, friends.
Good lord.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:13 PM | Comments (8)
February 19, 2009
The Artful Doddger
Look who keeps getting his name left off these kinda lists!
Analysis: Democrats self-destructing over ethics
Everybody and his mother except HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED...
...laughing all the way to the bank.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:27 AM | Comments (8)
February 18, 2009
"A Nation Of Cowards"
And not only that, but we actually have the nerve make private decisions in our private lives
(WASHINGTON) Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.
Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."
I am so sputteringly mad at this, at the sheer arrogance of it, that I can't think straight.
How DARE we have private lives. How DARE we "cowards" decide who we will associate with, if anyone, on the weekends.
How DARE we racist cowards elect a black man to be our President.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:43 PM | Comments (11)
February 17, 2009
Japan's Finance Minister Gets Saki-ed
Oops! Sorry! Make that sacked
Japan's Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa has resigned, amid claims that he was drunk at a recent G7 meeting.Mr Nakagawa said earlier that he would wait until parliament had approved a supplementary budget to step down.
But he brought forward his departure after calls for his immediate exit escalated.
...Footage showed Mr Nakagawa slurring his speech and closing his eyes repeatedly as if he was dozing off.
At one point, he mistook a question aimed at the governor of the Bank of Japan as one intended for him.
Frankly, getting completely trashed is a reasonable response to the economic policies of Japan and the US; hell, it's my preferred option.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:35 AM | Comments (9)
California Dreamin'
Well, maybe a better term is nightmare
Reporting from Sacramento -- With lawmakers still unable to deliver a budget after three days of intense negotiations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger prepared to lay off 10,000 government workers and his administration said it would halt the last 275 state-funded public works projects still in operation.The projects, which cost $3.8 billion and include upgrades to 18 bridges and roads in Los Angeles County to protect them from collapsing in earthquakes, had been allowed to continue as others were suspended because the state was running out of cash.
Remember how a few years ago everyone was all a gaga about Ahnuld, and how we should change the Constitution so he could become President? Puh-lease. Sadly, California is a mini version of where the US as a whole is heading due to complete financial negligence and treasury-raiding, done not to "help people" or any such blather but simply to win votes. It's disgusting, and the very reason why things at all levels of government are so screwed up.
This quote from this article sums it up perfectly
"It's unconscionable that we let this state go over the cliff," Adams said in an interview. "My job is to get the best possible deal for Republicans."
No, you corrupt little turd, your job, your duty, is to do the best possible thing, the right thing, for the citizens of your state; for it is for them that you 'serve,' not for your party.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: both Parties are now so horribly corrupt, so firmly ensconced that they only exist to keep themselves in power. If things are to change we need to start electing some independent folks to office to break this monopoly of power.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:20 AM | Comments (6)
February 13, 2009
Senate Intelligence
Yes, it's still a contradiction in terms
Reporting from Washington -- A senior U.S. lawmaker said Thursday that unmanned CIA Predator aircraft operating in Pakistan are flown from an air base in that country, a revelation likely to embarrass the Pakistani government and complicate its counter-terrorism collaboration with the United States.The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.
...Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, said Feinstein's comments put Pakistan's government on the spot.
"If accurate, what this says is that Pakistani involvement, or at least acquiescence, has been much more extensive than has previously been known," he said. "It puts the Pakistani government in a far more difficult position [in terms of] its credibility with its own people. Unfortunately it also has the potential to threaten Pakistani-American relations."
As chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Feinstein is privy to classified details of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts. The CIA does not publicly acknowledge a campaign against Pakistan-based extremists using remotely piloted planes, making Feinstein's comment all the more unusual.
Gosh, I feel so much better knowing that secret information is securely held in her hands.
(h/t to HotAir)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:57 AM | Comments (7)
Gregg Wakes Up
Good for him
Sen. Judd Gregg abruptly withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, telling Politico that he “couldn’t be Judd Gregg” and serve in Barack Obama’s Cabinet.The White House — where some aides were caught off guard by the withdrawal — initially responded harshly to Gregg’s announcement, portraying the New Hampshire Republican as someone who sought the job and then had a “change of heart.”
Mee-owww. Getting a little testy, aren't we?
“Once it became clear after his nomination that Sen. Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Sen. Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways,” Gibbs said.
Maybe because his policies......suck? I'm just tossing that out, mind you.
And maybe he is objecting the the unconstitutional power grab by Rahm and Obama, as they seek to impose Chicago-Style machine politics on the US: the President has no business trying to grab control of the Census. The Census is clearly and unequivocally a function of the Legislative, not the Executive, Branch. Article 1, Section 2:
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct.
Of course, this should be no surprise since our President is a "constitutional scholar" of the type who believes
But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can't do to you. Says what the federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.
Which is a gobsmacking inversion of the entire spirit and intent of the Constitution, which is to limit the naturally tyrannic impulses of every government. But I guess one can not expect this noted scholar to have read and understood the 10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
When he clearly has never even made it to the Second.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:49 AM | Comments (1)
February 12, 2009
Quote Of The Day
When a political lightweight is out of his depth, he seeks to compensate by counterfeiting the certainty he is far from feeling. Obama's rantings in defence of his stimulus plan have assumed an apocalyptic intensity. Unless Congress agrees to flush almost $1 trillion of Joe Citizen's hard-earned bucks down the sanitation, "Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse."So, America had better listen to the man who "screwed up" over Tom Daschle because he alone has the wisdom to extricate the US of A from financial disaster. The instrument of salvation is the biggest barrel of pork that the undeserving needy have ever seen in American history, from sea to shining sea. The financial crisis may seem complex, but the solution - the real solution - depends on one simple premise: tax cuts revive economies, handouts do not.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:21 AM | Comments (2)
Sounds Like The EU Needs...
...a tax cheat Treasury Secretary like we've got
“Estimates of total expected asset write-downs suggest that the budgetary costs – actual and contingent - of asset relief could be very large both in absolute terms and relative to GDP in member states,” the EC document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, cautioned."It is essential that government support through asset relief should not be on a scale that raises concern about over-indebtedness or financing problems.”
The secret 17-page paper was discussed by finance ministers, including the Chancellor Alistair Darling on Tuesday.
National leaders and EU officials share fears that a second bank bail-out in Europe will raise government borrowing at a time when investors - particularly those who lend money to European governments - have growing doubts over the ability of countries such as Spain, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Britain to pay it back.
16.3 trillion pounds.
Ouch.
More here.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:09 AM
February 11, 2009
An Update To Sis' Post Below
Attacked by the Greens, guess whose house is still standing
THEY were labelled law breakers, fined $50,000 and left emotionally and financially drained.But seven years after the Sheahans bulldozed trees to make a fire break — an act that got them dragged before a magistrate and penalised — they feel vindicated. Their house is one of the few in Reedy Creek still standing.
The Sheahans' 2004 court battle with the Mitchell Shire Council for illegally clearing trees to guard against fire, as well as their decision to stay at home and battle the weekend blaze, encapsulate two of the biggest issues arising from the bushfire tragedy.
...Although Liam Sheahan's 2002 decision to disregard planning laws and bulldoze 250 trees on his hilltop property hurt his family financially and emotionally, he believes it helped save them and their home on the weekend.
"The house is safe because we did all that," he said as he pointed out his kitchen window to the clear ground where tall gum trees once cast a shadow on his house.
"We have got proof right here. We are the only house standing in a two-kilometre area."
But the Greens care more about Gaia than people.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:25 PM | Comments (4)
February 10, 2009
So The "Stimulus" Will Pass
Thanks to three Republicans who are fearful that we must do "something." Did you see that article in Bloomberg yesterday that totaled up the money spent so far?
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government’s commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation’s home mortgages.The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have lent or spent almost $3 trillion over the past two years and pledged up to $5.7 trillion more. The Senate is to vote this week on an economic-stimulus measure of at least $780 billion. It would need to be reconciled with an $819 billion plan the House approved last month.
Only the stimulus bill to be approved this week, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program passed four months ago and $168 billion in tax cuts and rebates enacted in 2008 have been voted on by lawmakers. The remaining $8 trillion is in lending programs and guarantees, almost all under the Fed and FDIC. Recipients’ names have not been disclosed.
Scary scary stuff. How dare we "Little People" question the Noted Tax Cheat at Treasury about where OUR money is going.
How is half of such a sum ever to be paid back? And so these 60s Generation Live For Today, Avoid Responsibility At All Costs Self-Centered asshats, these bastards, both in the business world and the government, have saddled our children with an enormous level of debt, one that will crush them for many many years.
And now we have this "stimulus" package which Obama declares
"The plan that we've put forward will save or create 3 million to 4 million jobs over the next two years."
Let's say it will be 4 million; hell, I'm feeling generous. $820 Billion for 4 million jobs. That's $205,000 per job. You want to really stimulate the economy? Pick four million names out of a hat and give each of them 200 grand, no government strings attached.
That will do a lot more for the economy than this dung heap will.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:29 AM | Comments (4)
February 08, 2009
So, Our Senator ~ Bill Nelson ~ Talks to Chris Wallace This Morning
...and admits his phones have been deluged with calls that are running 7 to 1 AGAINST the stimulus.
7. To. 1.
So Wallace asks him "How do you justify to those constituents voting FOR the stimulus, when they so obviously are against it?"
"Well, first," he says, "You have to ask yourself 'is this an emergency?' And it is." Well, shut my ignorant mouth. I hadn't realized that.
How nice to be so much smarter than the average bear. Thanks for the "representation", bub.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:24 PM | Comments (6)
February 07, 2009
Sounds Like A Date With Eliot Spitzer
Senator Inhofe's description of the Generational Theft Act of 2009
"While I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues to bring down the price tag of this bill, the fact is we still face a trillion dollar spending bill. Making it worse, the bill is 93% spending and only 7% stimulation."
GTA 2009: making video games seem like bastions of reasonable behavior since 1/20/09.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:07 AM
February 06, 2009
Dear Teddy
Please show some respect for yourself, history and the TRUTH and demur with enthusiam when your 11th hour return to Washington to cast a vote ~ via Obamacon hyperbole ~ is converted to an epic journey the equal of Caesar Rodney's. 'Cause you know they will.
And you DAMN sure know it ain't.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:32 PM | Comments (1)
Go Figure
"Your call has been transferred.......The mailbox for Senator Martinez is full. Goodbye."
I'll keep calling Mel the Mushroom and Bill Nelson any old way. Y'all oughta give your own critters a shot if you haven't already.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:47 PM | Comments (2)
More Stimulating Stimulustude
Via Ace here's a handy list of more details about the beast that science calls Stimulantus Gigantus
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts $380 million in the Senate bill for the Women, Infants and Children program $300 million for grants to combat violence against women $2 billion for federal child-care block grants $6 billion for university building projects $15 billion for boosting Pell Grant college scholarships $4 billion for job-training programs, including $1.2 billion for “youths” up to the age of 24 $1 billion for community-development block grants $4.2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization activities” $650 million for digital-TV coupons; $90 million to educate “vulnerable populations” $15 billion for business-loss carry-backs $145 billion for “Making Work Pay” tax credits $83 billion for the earned income credit $150 million for the Smithsonian $34 million to renovate the Department of Commerce headquarters $500 million for improvement projects for National Institutes of Health facilities $44 million for repairs to Department of Agriculture headquarters $350 million for Agriculture Department computers $88 million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building $448 million for constructing a new Homeland Security Department headquarters $600 million to convert the federal auto fleet to hybrids $450 million for NASA (carve-out for “climate-research missions”) $600 million for NOAA (carve-out for “climate modeling”) $1 billion for the Census Bureau $89 billion for Medicaid $30 billion for COBRA insurance extension $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits $20 billion for food stamps $4.5 billion for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $850 million for Amtrak $87 million for a polar icebreaking ship $1.7 billion for the National Park System $55 million for Historic Preservation Fund $7.6 billion for “rural community advancement programs” $150 million for agricultural-commodity purchases $150 million for “producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish” $2 billion for renewable-energy research ($400 million for global-warming research) $2 billion for a “clean coal” power plant in Illinois $6.2 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program $3.5 billion for energy-efficiency and conservation block grants $3.4 billion for the State Energy Program $200 million for state and local electric-transport projects $300 million for energy-efficient-appliance rebate programs $400 million for hybrid cars for state and local governments $1 billion for the manufacturing of advanced batteries $1.5 billion for green-technology loan guarantees $8 billion for innovative-technology loan-guarantee program $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects $4.5 billion for electricity grid $79 billion for State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
If you've read more than 4 lines of the above than congratulations: You're read more of this Bill than most members of Congress!
My goodness, with all this Government-supplied stimulus no wonder the porn industry is feeling the pinch.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:24 AM | Comments (3)
De-Stimulated?
Well, certainly this stimulus disaster has slowed in the Senate, so let's hope the rising public opinion against it will finally kill it. I think it will be an unmitigated disaster. People are finally taking a serious look at the very similar approach that Japan tried in the mid 80s: the real estate market crashed, causing a massive economic downturn, the government slashed interest rates to near zero, and when that didn't work the government unleashed a massive spending/stimulus program.
In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close to Japan’s Lost Decade. This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations.In the United States, it has also led to calls in Congress, particularly by Republicans, not to repeat the errors of Japan’s failed economic stimulus. They argue that it makes more sense to cut taxes, and let people decide how to spend their own money, than for the government to decide how to invest public funds. Japan put more emphasis on increased spending than tax cuts during its slump, but ultimately did reduce consumption taxes to encourage consumer spending as well.
Economists tend to divide into two camps on the question of Japan’s infrastructure spending: those, many of them Americans like (noted tax cheat) Mr. Geithner, who think it did not go far enough; and those, many of them Japanese, who think it was a colossal waste.
Among ordinary Japanese, the spending is widely disparaged for having turned the nation into a public-works-based welfare state and making regional economies dependent on Tokyo for jobs.
Not that economists or noted tax cheats like Mr. Geithner give a rat's ass what ordinary citizens think about the plans, mind you; we exist solely to fund them.
When you look at the provisions of this monster, which of course one is most certainly not encouraged to do, one is overwhelmed by the naked rampant pork, and not in a good "the other white meat" sort of way. Unless my memory is failing, it seems to me that one of the reasons we're in this mess is that people racked up way to much debt, so of course it makes perfect sense that a Michigan Senator adds a provision to this beast to make the interest on car loans deductible. Stealth Auto Bailout, baby! It's a brilliant plan, actually: reduce reckless debt accumulation by making it cheaper.
But I don't expect this calm to last. There are too many Chicken Littles running about screaming that we "Have To Do Something!!!" and that something invariably means more government spending, more government regulation, more government intervention in more aspects of our lives.
We need drastic changes in how our government is run and in what we expect from it, but that requires us to vote for people who will cut it down to size, and to hold them accountable...and ourselves if we refuse to act against them.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:06 AM | Comments (1)
February 05, 2009
A Change I Can Agree With
Sure it's a populist sop (but I'm a populist sap), sure it's a ploy to distract attention from all the disastrous pork in the stimulus crap sammich', sure it's a ploy to distract attention from the complete laughable/cryable mess that is his nominees and their tax issues but I don't care; in fact, it doesn't go far enough in my book
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took on bailed-out Wall Street firms on Wednesday, setting a $500,000 annual cap on pay for top executives at companies receiving taxpayer funds and tapping popular anger over financial sector excesses.Obama said more measures would be outlined next week to overhaul the crisis-hit U.S. financial sector, which has been propped up with billions of dollars in public funds.
"This is America, we don't disparage wealth. ... What gets people upset, and rightfully so, is executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers," he said.
The president won support in Washington, with some Republicans who were critical of the financial sector bailout praising the move. But Wall Street critics said the compensation cap was a political gambit that could prompt a talent flight from affected firms.
Talent flight? Talent flight? You mean as in the same greedy bastards that in large part got us into this mess in the first place? That talent?
"This is pure political grandstanding. If the limit has bite, it will be counterproductive and the unintended consequences will hurt the U.S. as skilled and bright senior managers make choices," said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors.
Yeah, like all those "skilled and bright senior managers" made choices like...giving Madoff all the money that they were supposedly investing with their Mad Money Skilz. Or all those skilled and bright choices they made with credit default swaps. Or all those bright and skilled choices they made with real estate trusts. Or all those bright and skilled choices they made with...
Screw
Them.
As I've said before many times, I am completely opposed to these bailouts, but since they are happening one clear provision should have been that the entire executive boards and boards of directors of these companies should have been FIRED before they got one single dime of taxpayer money. These creatures pissed away billions; they are not "valuable talent." They are incompetent losers and in many cases outright thieves.
We must STOP privatizing profits and publicizing losses, which is all this bailout mania has done so far.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:19 AM | Comments (12)
February 03, 2009
Well, There's A Shock!
I mean, really, who could have possibly predicted that the successful candidate for the most high pressure executive position in the world, a candidate who had no executive or managerial experience, would have trouble leading once he took office?
Never saw this one coming, no sirree.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:18 PM | Comments (9)
Fox Just Characterized Daschle's Withdrawal
...as "Emotional". Oh, I'll bet! Emotional as in:
"I'm out $140+ grand and now no job!"
Times're hard, dude.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:08 PM | Comments (7)
January 30, 2009
Blago's Impeached
I'm certainly not crying any tears for him, but it always makes me a little nervous when elections can be so easily overturned. The man certainly seems to be a coarse, er, punk, but the Good People of Illinois twice elected him, and they certainly have had more exposure to him than any of us. The Illinois Constitution is to my reading way too vague on impeachment
SECTION 14. IMPEACHMENT The House of Representatives has the sole power to conduct legislative investigations to determine the existence of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a majority of the members elected, to impeach Executive and Judicial officers. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose, Senators shall be upon oath, or affirmation, to do justice according to law. If the Governor is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators elected. Judgment shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold any public office of this State. An impeached officer, whether convicted or acquitted, shall be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.
It seems to me a majority of members can impeach someone for anything if they feel like it, as there's no "high crimes and misdemeanors" guidance.
That's a pretty low and arbitrary bar; hell, there is no bar; and that just doesn't seem right.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:49 AM | Comments (6)
January 29, 2009
GOP Finally Shows Some Spine
In a frankly shocking display of principle the GOP managed to get every single member to vote against the Insane Spending Act of January 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young adminstration's revival plan for the desperately ailing economy. The vote was 244-188."We don't have a moment to spare," Obama declared at the White House as congressional allies hastened to do his bidding in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Please note that I am calling this the January Insane Spending Act, because I greatly fear that this Congress will come up with even more reckless cash spewing as the year progresses. Strike that: I know they will come up with the spending.
I don't see how this is 'stimulus' for the economy. It is simply throw-a-lot-of-money-at-it, see what happens, panic we-must-be-seen-as-doing-something-ism. It's disgusting, short-sighted, and will saddle all of us with an incredible amount of debt forever. If rampant spending and speculation are what got us into this mess, this is the equivalent of trying to put out a fire by dumping on a lot of gasoline.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:31 AM | Comments (7)
January 28, 2009
In Defense Of Governor Paterson
Look, I'm certainly no fan of his. It is frankly ridiculous that it took so long for him to decide upon a replacement for Clinton. But for the media to keep hammering him over how Kennedy was "treated" detracts from the real scandal here
Criticism of Gov. David Paterson's handling of the Caroline Kennedy fiasco continued unabated Tuesday."I'm going to address this issue for the last time," Paterson said.
Slim chance. With the New York Post comparing his ability to tell the truth to Pinocchio, Paterson was on the hot seat again Tuesday over his administration's handling of Kennedy...
..."Are you going to apologize to Caroline Kennedy?" one reporter asked.
Sweet baby jeebus, the one person who really should apologize in this whole circus is that pampered let-them-eat-cake "um, I don't know, like wow" spouting skeletor moron Caroline. Who the hell does she think she is? Acting as though she deserves the Senate seat because of her bloodlines? What has she ever done, other than spend money? She's certainly never actually, you know, worked. I mean, sure, she's probably ordered one of her servants to fix Nuncle Teddikins another double; there is that. Oh, and I forget: there's Tragedy! And Camelot! in her family. Well, tough shit; lots of families have had a lot tougher times than that collection of smug self-righteous bastards, and with a lot fewer resources to get through it all.
She should apologize to the people of New York for her insulting behavior.
The people of New Jersey, on the other hand, well we thank her for the high entertainment value she has provided.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:38 AM | Comments (10)
January 26, 2009
Thief Confirmed
Will now be given keys to Treasury, authority to dole out taxpayer monies to other thieves
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Senate lawmakers voted Monday to confirm Tim Geithner as the next Treasury secretary amid ongoing uncertainty about the nation's economic future.Geithner, who will spearhead President Obama's response to the financial crisis that threatens to unravel economic growth around the globe, won approval by a vote of 60 to 34.
Democrats on Capitol Hill had been pushing for a quick confirmation of Geithner, arguing that the threats facing the economy required immediate action.
"Actually, Senator, I just found that W-2 right here up my sleeve! My bad!"
Democratic lawmakers have been growing increasingly concerned in the past few weeks that corporate giving for Party causes was down dramatically, a worrisome trend they feared would only accelerate unless some one was found to funnel large amounts of taxpayer-funded crack directly to the firms who had lost the most. "Thank god we've got our man now," they sighed.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:50 PM | Comments (8)
I Gotch 'Yer Stimulus Right Here
It's disgusting how pork-bloated this stimulus package is. A couple hundred million for Planned Parenthood. A couple hundred million for people to get digital tv converter boxes. Over 800 billion dollars of complete crap. And of course we're told "it may not be enough." Every Democratic spending wish list of the last 8 years now gets rushed through because we "need to do something."
"Cutting spending" obviously is not "something."
Well, it's not something that the Government can conceive of, mind you; they leave that for us, because soon all of our income will go towards paying interest on these great follies.
Here's a little item that sums things up beautifully: because one can never burn through $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money fast enough, Citigroup is getting a new $50 million dollar jet
Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed.Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm against these bailouts but if they are going to happen one condition must be that the entire executive management and the entire Boards of Directors of all of these companies have to resign immediately. It is INSANE to give billions of our money to the very same people who got us here.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:25 AM | Comments (7)
January 20, 2009
Good Luck, Mr. President
So in a few short hours Barack Hussein Obama will take the oath of office and become our 44th President. Well, best of luck to you, Mr. President. You step into a job that little can truly prepare you for, and the responsibility of 300 million lives now falls squarely on your shoulders. I pray that you will lead with wisdom and have the courage to make the unpopular decisions that are best for our country, not for any one party or interest group. I pray that you and your family are kept from harm. And I pray that our wonderful country and her wonderful, wonderful people continue to cherish the ideals that make such a day like this possible and never take such freedoms for granted.
O' beautiful, for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.O' beautiful, for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!O' beautiful, for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
'Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!O' beautiful, for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:41 AM | Comments (13)
January 19, 2009
The Gack Factor Gets Worse
Lincoln this, Barack and Michelle that...sweet Mary, Mother of God, get the coronation over as quickly as possible. I love the thought of a black man as president. I love the thought of little girls in the White House again. For the sake of the country, I want him to just be damn fantastic ~ part the waters, cure the common cold and all that ails us. I hope he's the right guy. I truly do.
But I am sick of the annointment (Ebola this evening, "I can't drink this!!! Pepsi's changed their f*cking logo to Obama's!"), the cultishness, the terrifying wave of mindless idol worship that's enveloping the air around me. There's this very personable, accomplished guy...and the lunatic fringe is a pace ahead...and behind...and swirling in clouds of their own making over his head, each gasping and grasping in fevered anticipation, each trying harder than the last to raise their hyperbole to mythic proportions ("I'll see you two Lincolns and raise you a Martin Luther..." "SHIT! We got anything to beat what Bryan Williams just said? WRITE, damn you!!!!"), that their heroic poesy might be remembered above the others.
Nobody was singing songs about Beowulf until after he iced Grendel. Worth remembering.
And I suppose, crank monkey that I am, that I could forgive in some measure the ludicrousness of the madness were it ONLY confined to our President Elect, Office of. But no. License breeds license, ergo deeds attributed to doers who ~ at least in the confines of my admittedly narrow sphere ~ never did. Re: tonight's concert...
...The musicians did the real inspiring. Bruce Springsteen, backed by dozens of chorale singers, performed "The Rising," the title cut of his album that helped the healing process after the 2001 terrorist attacks.
¿QUE?!?!?! I remember Bono at the Super Bowl ~ THAT was a healing moment for all time, by God. But I got no clue WTF this Springsteen thing is. First I've heard of it, without actually hearing it. And old mumble chop's warblings are pretty hard to understand anyway ~ like Ozzie Osbourne ordering coffee without the personal charm ~ so I'd have probably missed the healing message regardless. (In my defense, I completely got the drift of Toby Keith's "We'll put a boot up your ass" song. His elocution's excellent.)(Heh.)(I felt better after I heard it!)
::sigh::
Oh, well. It's all coming to a head right quick. For all the bullshit on the airwaves and print pages, your average Americans are pretty levelheaded and, while rolling their eyes now, will get tired of the euphoria gloria if it exceeds its allotted party time.
Here's to you, Mr. President-elect. My President-elect. Ours. I wish you nothing but the best, and want only the best, from and for both you AND us. That's the trust incumbent with the office. Rise above everything Chicago ever taught you, what be honest, steadfast and from the heart. An AMERICAN heart.
It reminds me of something. Years ago I queried about something I got drilled at me routinely ~ airline captains having one of the highest stress levels of any job, hence all the cardiac cases. Was that true, I finally asked the Grinch himself? Did the responsibility of all those lives every day eat at him?
He said, "No" and I was incredulous. What I got back was an exasperated, "Think about it..."
"They don't get there if I don't."
I hope you can get us there, President Obama. I truly do.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:15 AM | Comments (4)
This Requires a Quote From One of My Favorite Movies
Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.What's all this insensitivity in response to, you ask?
"Grumblings in the ranks", I respond.
...Tony Plana, who plays Betty's father in the television series "Ugly Betty," said he was ecstatic about President-elect Barack Obama's victory. He said an Obama administration could improve the lives of all minorities.But he also said Hispanics deserved a better spot on the inaugural festivities list.
"It's a concern this event tonight is not an official event of the administration. It's a little sad for me Latinos had to organize their own event," Plana said. He said he hoped it did not mean Hispanics would be relegated to a back seat. The event was organized by the National Council of La Raza and other Hispanic organizations.
Usted quiere some queso with that vino, señor?
I suggest you get used to the feeling.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:04 AM
January 14, 2009
New Jersey And You: Screwed Together
Lawhawk has got a perfect round-up of yesterday's blathering
The state budget is bigger this year than it was last year; and the upcoming fiscal year plans on being no different. All the talk about cuts is just that. They're not actually cutting budgets, but reducing the increase in spending year over year. It's still increasing, but just not as much as various groups have wanted.This is a shell game, and state taxpayers are paying through the nose.
Read the rest for other choice tidbits. What a complete disaster our state is, and there's no real relief in sight. Sure, a lot of folks are putting their hope in Christie, who may in fact turn out to be good if he in fact gets the nomination. But evidently he's run awful campaigns in the past and this column from December makes a brilliant point about what he'll be facing if elected
And then there's the fact that Christie would be likely to base his campaign on the fight against corruption. That's a great credential, but the real problem in New Jersey is not what the Trenton crowd is doing illegally. It's what it does legally. The bankrupt pension fund, the out-of-control spending on urban schools and the taxes that have business fleeing the state are almost entirely the result of programs that are not only legal but in some instances the direct result of state Supreme Court rulings.
(emphasis added by me)
We've got to radically overhaul Trenton.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:34 AM
January 13, 2009
Gosh Darn It! Don't Ya Just HATE It?!?!
These little misunderstanding kerflufflepuffels are such a bother, dadgumdarnit.
Geithner made honest mistakes on taxes, Obama spokesman says
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:23 PM | Comments (7)
Gosh Darn It! Don't Ya Just HATE It?!?!
These little misunderstanding kerflufflepuffels are such a bother, dadgumdarnit.
Geithner made honest mistakes on taxes, Obama spokesman says
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:23 PM | Comments (7)
The State Of The State
"Better days ahead"
Yes, because we'll be rid of you.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:28 AM | Comments (6)
January 09, 2009
NJ News: Christie Is Running
And thankfully the rest of the name ain't "Whitman"
TRENTON — Former federal prosecutor Christopher J. Christie, who built a reputation as a political corruption-buster during seven years as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, announced his intention to run for governor Thursday, setting up a potential showdown with Gov. Jon S. Corzine.In an e-mail to supporters, Christie, a Republican, said he was filing papers to run and intends to make a formal announcement the first week in February.
...The filing with the Election Law Enforcement Commission allows Christie to start raising money for the 2009 race, an important step since multimillionaire Corzine — who dumped more than $40 million of his own money into the 2005 gubernatorial race — plans to seek re-election.
Though Christie faces a financial disadvantage, the 46-year-old has a solid reputation after putting several of New Jersey's high-profile politicians behind bars. He's been flirting with a gubernatorial bid since resigning as U.S. attorney Dec. 1.
Undoubtedly the best hope for the Republicans, it seems to me.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:30 AM | Comments (6)
January 06, 2009
DAMmit!!!
I'm pissed.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:38 PM | Comments (12)
Senate Farce
Well, today we'll see how the Burris and Franken farces play out in the US Senate, that august body of pure statesmanship.
What a national embarrassment.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:59 AM | Comments (13)
January 02, 2009
A Tune
(With apologies to The Limeliters.)
In Illini's fair city,
Where pols are so pretty,
There once was a gub'nor named Roddy Blago.
He strolled halls of power,
And charged by the hour,
Crying, "Cough up the moolah!
To D.C. you'll go!"A lie, a lie, oh!
A lie, a lie, oh!
Crying, "Cough up the moolah! To D.C. you'll go!"He's like a whoremonger,
And sure 'twas no wonder!
For so were the gub'nors in his chair before.
He threatened and pleaded,
For cash that he needed,
Crying, "Cough up the moolah!
To D.C. you'll go!"A lie, a lie, oh!
A lie, a lie, oh!
Cryin, "Cough up the moolah! To D.C. you'll go!"But Patrick Fitzgerald,
Chicago's Tribune and Herald,
All knew of the plans of Slick Roddy Blago.
They stepped on his pee-pee,
And made Roddy weepy,
Crying, "No moolah for Senator,
Your choice cannot go!"Ho, ho, ho, ho!
In case you don't know!
Crying, "We're on to you, scumbag!
Your choice cannot go!"Now Rod's apoplectic!
His arrogance, electric!
Well, he goes and picks him one anyway! So...
Reid blows a gasket,
The pick's copasetic,
Crying, "Always wanted this gig,
And he picked ME, so blow!"Get over it, yo!
Get over it, yo!
Crying, "Bite me, you racists!
To D.C. I go!"This sets up a impasse:
A MacKinney-like morass.
Does he rush the gate guards,
To let himself in?
And back in Chicago,
Sits smug Roddy Blago,
Crying, "Graft, greed and cunning,
In the end always wins!"I told you all so!
All so smart, think you'd know!
Crying, "Graft, greed and cunning!
Chicagoland wins!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:53 PM | Comments (8)
Well, This Will Be...Interesting
There may be some excitement in DC on Tuesday
(CNN) -- The man tapped by Illinois' embattled governor to fill an open U.S. Senate seat will be turned away if he arrives for Tuesday's inauguration of new members, according to two Democratic aides.Roland Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, will not be allowed on the Senate floor, according to the aides -- one who is familiar with Senate Democratic leaders' plans, and the other an aide to the Senate Democratic leadership.
Democrats in the Senate have twice this week said they have the authority to refuse to accept anyone appointed by Blagojevich, who was arrested December 9, accused by federal authorities of corruption, including allegedly trying to sell Obama's seat for personal gain.
The Democrats are right, they do have the authority. Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution sets out the minimum standards for a Senator:
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
And as a form of protection against scoundrels (well, blatant ones, at least) the following specific passage is found in Article 1, Section 5
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members
The meaning could not be any clearer: even if someone meets the minimum requirements and is elected or chosen to fill a seat the final decision on whether they will be allowed to or not rests with the body they are trying to join.
Now I "know" that the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in Powell v. McCormack that Congress in fact does not have that power. But the Court was wrong; certainly we can all think of examples when the Supremes have made wrong decisions, and this is one of them. Let's also not forget that there was simply no way that the Warren Court was going to allow itself to be seen as "denying" an elected Africa-American, even one as corrupt as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., in the explosive months following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Oh, and here's some interesting trivia for you: guess who beat Powell in 1972 and sits in his seat to this day? Why only that paragon of virtue Charles Rangel.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:33 AM | Comments (10)
December 14, 2008
Today's Reading: A Lesson From the Book of Jonah...
...There's the enormous I-should-have-had-a-V8! moment as the mainstream press collectively thwacks itself in the forehead, realizing it blew it again. The New York Times - which, according to Wall Street analysts, is weeks from holding editorial board meetings in a refrigerator box - created the journalistic equivalent of "CSI: Wasilla" to study every follicle and fiber in Sarah Palin's background, all the while treating Obama's Chicago like one of those fairy-tale lands depicted in posters that adorn little girls' bedroom walls. See there, Suzie? That's a Pegasus. That's a pink unicorn....Goldberg. Amen.
And that's a beautiful sunflower giving birth to a fully-grown Barack Obama, the greatest president ever and the only man in history to be able to pick up manure from the clean end.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:53 PM | Comments (1)
December 13, 2008
Shocking Development!
The Office Of The President Elect makes a bold and innovative and Changey Hopey Cabinet choice for HUD: someone who...served in the Clinton Administration
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Shaun Donovan, New York City's former housing commissioner, to be his secretary of Housing and Urban Development.Obama used his weekly radio address to announce the selection.
"As commissioner of housing preservation and development in New York City, Shaun has led the effort to create the largest housing plan in the nation, helping hundreds of thousands of our citizens buy or rent their homes," Obama said.
He said HUD is essential in the effort to address the mortgage crisis, which he said "not only shakes the foundation of our economy, but the foundation of the American Dream."
"To stem the rising tide of foreclosures and strengthen our economy, I've asked my economic team to develop a bold plan that will dramatically increase the number of families who can stay in their homes," Obama said. "But this plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated federal effort to make it a reality."
Donovan has experience working in business, academia and at HUD during the Clinton administration.
So far it seems that Obama's priority has been the Full Clinton Employment Act of 2009...
Look, these folks all may be competent and well meaning and do a terrific job; for the sake of our country I pray they do, in fact.
But for someone whose core message was "Change We Can Believe In"...where's the change?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:38 AM | Comments (9)
December 09, 2008
More From The Land Of Lincoln
The Smoking Gun has some of the criminal complaint.
It makes The Sopranos look like members of the Better Business Bureau.
Sickening.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:01 PM | Comments (1)
Illinois Governor Arrested
Hmmm, he must be an Independent* because nowhere in the article does CNN say if he's a Democrat or a Republican
(CNN) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in federal custody on corruption charges, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Rod Blagojevich is currently serving his second term as governor of Illinois.Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Both men are expected in U.S. District Court in Chicago later Tuesday.
A news conference is expected at noon ET.
Federal prosecutors say Blagojevich, Harris and others conspired to gain financial benefits in appointing President-elect Barack Obama's Senate replacement, according to the statement.
"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They allege that Blagojevich put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism."
Once again, the corrupt nature of our entrenched machine politicians comes to the fore.
*that's a joke, obviously. He's a Democrat.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:49 AM | Comments (14)
November 17, 2008
I'm Shocked!
Really. Stunned, even
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Saturday that Congress was not told the truth about the bailout of the nation's financial system and should take back what is left of the $700 billion "blank check'' it gave the Bush administration."It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,'' the Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World.
"It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know. There is no way of knowing.''
..."I have learned a long time ago. When they come up and say this has to be done and has to be done immediately, there is no other way of doing it, you have to sit back and take a deep breath and nine times out of 10 they are not telling the truth,'' he said.
"And this is one of those nine times.''
Damn straight.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:37 AM | Comments (7)
November 13, 2008
A Billion Here, A Billion There...
and pretty soon it add up to real money
For all the fury over Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion emergency economic relief fund, it seems downright puny when compared to the running total of the government's response to the credit crisis.According to CreditSights, a research firm in New York and London, the U.S. government has put itself on the hook for some $5 trillion, so far, in an attempt to arrest a collapse of the financial system.
The estimate includes many of the various solutions cooked up by Paulson and his counterparts Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve and Sheila Bair at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as the credit crisis continues to plague banks and the broader markets.
Nice, huh? We're on the hook for trillions, and they're still running up the tab. And in the interest of open government they have put the Fannie and Freddie trillions off budget. Our children are so screwed.
David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights, says it looks as if government is left holding the bag, and of course that translates into everyone."The losses have to be taken, but no one wants to take them," Hendler said at a conference Wednesday, speaking about the banks and their handling of troubled assets. "It seems like the taxpayers are going to be taking a good portion of that."
We need to take control. Take back our local and state offices from these entrenched parties; Repubs or Dems, there's no difference. Get rid of all of them.
Change this course why we still can.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:10 AM | Comments (4)
November 07, 2008
What A Classy, Inspirational Orator
In his first press conference as President-Elect
Obama says in his first post-election press conference that he's spoken to all the former presidents — Carter, Bush, Clinton, as well as the current Bush — and, looser than he's been in months, dares a joke at the expense of the widow of a deceased one."I have spoken to all of them who are living," he says. "I didn’t want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any séances," he says.
Nice reaching across the aisle kind of talk.
Hey, I've got some lines for your next presser, you know, just to relax the mood a bit!
"When I see the budget projections I know how Jackie Kennedy's dry cleaner must have felt in Dallas"
or
"The Detroit Automakers' stock has gone down faster than Monica Lewinsky"
always helps to get your point across in that smooth Cicero-like style of yours.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:04 PM | Comments (7)
November 05, 2008
You Know, I Like Minnesota
My Bride grew up there, and it's a lovely place. Nice, sweet people and, for me, a wonderful climate.
But I never want to hear any of them ever again say a disparaging word about Ronald Reagan. I mean, good god, first they elect Jesse Ventura Governor, and now they may put Al Franken in the Senate?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:02 AM | Comments (8)
So It's President Obama
Congratulations to him and his supporters on a successful campaign. As Allah wrote last night
So in that spirit, congratulations to Barry O on a race superbly run and to our country for not having let the wrong reasons deter it from making the wrong choice. I’ll never be a fan, but I swear I’ll never take a nutroots posture either in relishing his failures because it helps my party. Like it or not, he’s my president. As a great man once said, country first.
Damn straight. The idea that the winner of an election, if they're not the person you voted for, is somehow illegitimate is one of the most pernicious memes that the Left has promulgated over the last eight years. It is horribly divisive and corrosive to our entire system, and the blame for this is solely theirs. Barack Obama is my President now, and I hope he leads our country to better days.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:33 AM | Comments (15)
November 04, 2008
Thank You Sweet Blessed Baby Jeebus
That this Election Day has finally come. I am so tired and disgusted by this whole thing. The Republicans frankly deserve a drubbing for how they've screwed things up; the Democrats are chomping on the bit to impose 'Fairness' and societal leveling and criminalize political disagreements. There's no winning here, only a way to try and limit the damage until we can find a way to get rid of both of these parties.
The parties have had glorious, shining moments in their past of which they can be rightly proud; both of them have. But as it stands now they, like any human institutions, have become corrupted by their power and have morphed into creatures mainly concerned with their own survival, their own continued hold on political power. I think both parties are ready to fracture. The Republicans are dispirited by how their leadership has abandoned most of the principles they claim to hold dear; Democrats are a roiling bucket of special-interest pandering held together only by their hatred of Bush. Assuming he wins I think that President Obama will be stunned by the vitriol that will flow his way from his own side when his followers discovery that he is not, in fact, able to control the tides and introduce eternal Spring.
Closer to home, for my fellow NJ voters we have some ballot questions.
On Question 1, I recommend a "Yes" vote, as I want as much spending/bond issuing as possible to require voter approval. Trenton needs to be reined in; it's our money. Now I understand the loophole that people are complaining about with this, that the concurrent legislation allows them to refinance old debts and slip that under the radar, but guess what? We're stuck paying that no matter what; the bastards have put us on the hook for billions and the only way to solve things is to get rid of the people doing the spending. This is a step in the right direction.
On Question 2, I recommend voting "No." As much as I am a big proponent of local involvement and control, and I really am in favor of having the locals involved in their town's concerns, there needs to be some level of oversight at the State level to counter balance entrenched local machines. There's definitely a dynamic tension here, and I prefer that the Governor and the Legislature retain some review of pan-municipal appointments.
So go vote, crack open a bottle or three of wine and toast the future.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:36 AM | Comments (24)
November 03, 2008
Boo Says "BOO!" to Obama's "Spread the Wealth"
Boo figures he's already ponying up enough.
...Milton High graduate Boo Weekley said he isn't sure whether he'll follow suit. What happens on Election Night may sway him one way or the other."That might be something I look into," said Weekley, who will be heading to Disney World to play in the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart starting Thursday. "I'm not 100 percent on what I'm going to do yet.
"If the economy stays the way it is, I'll pack up and head over there (and get joint membership)."
...Weekley earned almost $2.4 million on the PGA Tour in 2008, placing him 25th on the money list. In the current tax system, Weekley estimates that he only sees about half of his winnings.
Obama's tax plan is expected to raise the taxes of families making $2.87 million or more by an average of 11.7 percent according to a study by the Tax Policy Center. If in place in this season, that increase would have cost Weekley an additional $280,000 in earnings alone, not counting endorsements or appearance fees.
Save us a seat on the QE II, will ya, buddy?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:49 PM | Comments (1)
A Day at the Office With ths Can Be Pretty Cool
Bud McFarlane and several of his friends stopped by, and what a lovely, delightful gentleman he is!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:08 PM | Comments (1)
A GREAT Story Called
"Sunday: Live From Scranton"I am at Democrats for McCain Headquarters in downtown Scranton [ths: and SHE'S from FLORIDA!] and this place is buzzing. There are a LOT of people in this little office. We are waiting for the canvassers to return. Harriet Christian is trying to catch McCain at the airport. She and her bus posse tried to get into his rally here in Scranton earlier this afternoon but were turned away by the fire marshall. The place was overflowing.
...I recognize a lot of the volunteers here from Denver. They are the die hard PUMAs who were determined that the DNC were not going to get the best of them. But the manager of this office, Carol, made her decision when Hillary suspended her campaign.
...As a Pennsylvanian from the Scranton area, she was offended by Obama’s remarks regarding bitter small towners who cling to God and guns. Obama hasn’t reached out to the working class and the sexism really got under Carol’s skin. She decided in McCain’s favor. Then, this former Hillary supporter approached the McCain campaign and convinced them to open an office for Democrats for McCain because she felt this area of Pennsylvania would be receptive to McCain’s message.
PUMA !!!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:27 AM | Comments (2)
If I Were To Ask God For A Favor
It would be that the election indisputably ends tomorrow. The electorate is pretty evenly split as the last few elections have shown, and the last thing we need is more drawn-out questions and debates and legal challenges out the yin-yang. Wednesday morning we have a new President-elect and we move along.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:39 AM | Comments (3)
November 02, 2008
Sophomoric
...Barack Obama has the kind of cocksure confidence that can only be achieved by not achieving anything else.... The kind of self-righteous self-confidence that has become Obama's trademark is usually found in sophomores in Ivy League colleges-- very bright and articulate students, utterly untempered by experience in real world.
The signs of Barack Obama's self-centered immaturity are painfully obvious, though ignored by true believers who have poured their hopes into him, and by the media who just want the symbolism and the ideology that Obama represents.
The emptiness of One.
UPDATE:
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:44 PM | Comments (1)
Just to Clarify "Coal Belt"
You know, all those filthy folks that need bankrupting. Seems to be a fair amount of territory.
Maybe someone oughta let those folks know what he and Joe have in mind.
UPDATE:
"I think this clearly shows the attitude the Obama-Biden ticket has toward coal," Ben Beakes said Sunday. "Rhetoric is cheap, but behind closed doors what they tell their supporters - that's what we have to take as gospel."
I wish the same light would dawn on all those veterans and Bible Belt grannies planning to vote for him. And dawn QUICKLY.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:07 PM | Comments (5)
Just About 48 Hours Left
...and sister feels the needs to paraphrase a famous lefty actor playing a famous American hero.
The OBAMACANS Are the ENEMY!WADE into them!
Chill THEIR blood!
Put fear in THEIR bellies!
When you put your hand into a voting booth,
That a moment before had an Obamacan in your place...
You'll know what to do.Now, there's one thing that you all will be able to say when you get back home, and you may thank God for it. Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, "What did you do in the great '08 election?" -- you won't have to say,
"Well, I didn't do shit for you, me or your gramma."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:38 PM
November 01, 2008
Ebola Thinks He's Heard Obama's "National Security Force" Schtick Somewhere
...before.
These are not the droids we're looking for...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:39 PM
October 30, 2008
Well, I Guess You Could Say We Done Made the Big Time
...since our office got us our own protester today. His message is a little garbled...
...as Cam the Man said, "Like three different people had ideas, but they could only afford one piece of cardboard." He's young and stupid, so there's still time to hope. We kept him hydrated and fed. Before he left for the day, he actually made the rounds inside thanking everyone for taking care of him. Pleasant, huh?
He'll be back tomorrow.
Hopefully he won't realize what the older gents taped to the window just behind him right before he struck a pose...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:10 PM | Comments (15)
Where Would You Be Safer?
So far this year 276 US soldiers have died in Iraq...and 426 people have been murdered in Chicago.
CHICAGO (AP) - During the same weekend that county pathologists conducted autopsies on the bodies of actress-singer Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother, they also examined the bodies of six other people who'd been gunned down or beaten to death.
Five of them died in Chicago, as did the Oscar winner's mother, Darnell Donerson, her brother, Jason Hudson, and 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, whose body was found Monday. Like Hudson's relatives, three died on the city's South Side.The deaths are yet another reminder of the bloodshed on Chicago's streets this year - when the city has seen more homicides than both New York and Los Angeles. And they go a long way toward explaining why residents of Hudson's childhood neighborhood say it's not surprising that people may have heard gunfire coming from her family home but didn't bother to call police.
"You hear gunshots day and night, that's nothing new," said Ken Rasheeda, 38, who grew up in the neighborhood, Englewood, where he and his wife are now raising three children. "There's been times I heard gunshots and I didn't think twice about it, it's so common."
More homicides than NY or LA.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that Chicago is outpacing New York and Los Angeles in 2008 murders, even though the population here is much lower. Chicago had 426 murders through last Tuesday, compared to 417 in New York and 302 in Los Angeles.
2007 populations:
New York: 8,274,527 people, 417 murders in 2008 so far
Los Angeles: 3,834,340 people, 302 murders in 2008 so far
Chicago: 2,836,658 people, 426 murders in 2008 so far
Chicago has twice the murder rate of LA and three times the rate of NY. One would think that an aspirant for national office from this area should have a clear list of impressive achievements from his time as a state legislator, let alone a "community organizer", fighting to protect his constituents' very lives, no? Something that shows the kind of Hope! and Change! he's been able to actually bring into peoples' lives, so we can get a glimpse of what he'll do for the rest of us as President.
Here are the crime statistics for the home cities of each of them:
Obama
McCain
Biden
Palin (the closest city)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:24 AM | Comments (5)
October 29, 2008
"Grrrrrrrrrr"
Rassroles.
A photographic walkabout.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:52 PM
In His Own Words
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:38 PM
Did Campbell Brown Get Struck by the Truth Fairy?
I really have no other explanation for the sudden rash of commonsense spouting from her ruby reds.
...On this issue today, former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, an Obama supporter, writes in The New York Post, "a hypocrite is a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue -- who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. And that, it seems to me, is what we are doing now."For this last week, Sen. Obama will be rolling in dough. His commercials, his get-out-the-vote effort will, as the pundits have said, dwarf the McCain campaign's final push. But in fairness, you have to admit, he is getting there in part on a broken promise.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:26 AM | Comments (11)
Just to Expand on Crusader's Post Below
...I'll share a little 'happening' from the campaign office yesterday. First, let me remind you what our facade looks like:
Got that? Well, I guess the three well dressed, middle-aged ladies who came in mid-afternoon didn't. They asked in ~ ALL SINCERITY
~ if "this was the place for early Democratic voting?"
And were really embarrassed when we pointed out two things...two GLARING, SHOULDABEENOBVIOUS things:
1) The larger than life McCain photos they had to pass to get in the door, not to mention the John and Sarah cut outs that greet everyone.
2) The unfortunate fact that, by law, Republicans and Democrats ALL vote in the same place, at the same time and THAT building is two blocks down on the right.
We're doomed.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:31 AM | Comments (5)
October 28, 2008
So I'm Walking Around Midtown Yesterday
Up by Columbus Circle, going to meet a client at a bar for an important off-site meeting, and this young lady walks up to us and says "Can I talk to you about Barack Obama?" I smiled and said "no thanks" and she wandered off, and I thought to myself my, what an admirable act of political courage; such boldness! Such audacity! To volunteer as an Obama shill in Manhattan.
The heart flutters, it does.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:00 PM | Comments (6)
October 27, 2008
Considering the Obama Headlines This Morning
2001 OBAMA: TRAGEDY THAT 'REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH' NOT PURSUED BY SUPREME COURT...and his contention that the Constitution is a “charter of negative liberties”, I find this command on Obama's front page to be...unsettling. Don't you?
I'll "Skip the Offer" for $5, Alex...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:19 AM | Comments (2)
October 26, 2008
Ah, I Love the Smell of Downtown Pensacola
...in the morning. Strolling along the brick sidewalks, I pass the beer trucks unloading and wave at the early risers heading...
...to the nifty little coffeeshop down from the office.
It's a lovely place...
...in spite of the globs of dried-on spittle the Obama kids leave every night and our kids get to clean off every morning.
A beaming Sarah and somber John are always there before I wander in.
John always looks a little glum and I wonder why. Right up to when someone pops out of the back to say "Good morning" in his own unique and inspiring fashion...
...and I wink in sympathy at John, as if to say, "Oh, yeah. HIM." John brightens up imperceptibly.
The luminaries aviators running the joint are already swapping the flying exploit du jour...
...while legions of happy snuffies do the actual grunt work and listen with half an ear.
I occupy what's referred to as "First Chair". It's quite the bossest job in the place, since we're front and center when you come through those doors. I get to say "What can I do ya for?" to every soul coming in, hand out the cool-ass buttons we design and make here, answer the phones, cheerlead for the other volunteers who show up to make buttons, phone calls ~ whatever the heck we need ~ listen to folks earnestly ramble on like I had a direct line to John (Honest to God, I wish I did.), catch up on the GOP proper gossip about what insane outrage the other campaign's local reps have perpetrated THIS week and make cookies for the incredible core group we have. It's a GREAT gig.
And my happiness must be catching because THIS good lookin' convert...
...is a producer for a national NBC news team that interviewed the admiral and shot us busy politicking in the office. (Watch for it Election Day ~ even got my Sarahcuda gear on camera.) Man, we worked him over HARD, but he broke eventually. Begged, BEGGED me to take his picture.
As you can tell, Sarah wasn't happy about it one bit.
I told her to suck it up.
It's a big tent.
John's reaction? Well. Steady as she goes and solid as a rock.
I'm votin' for that guy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:59 PM | Comments (9)
October 24, 2008
Oh, KEEEEEEERYST!!!
Not ONLY do they blame her for LUNATICS not yelling things during a 10,000 person rally, NOW she's hazardous to that most DELICATE of creatures, the...NHL GOALIE!!!
Sarah Palin got a big welcome from St. Louis Blues fans when she dropped the ceremonial first puck. And when the first on-ice fight broke out, the Republican vice presidential nominee returned the enthusiasm....Palin’s appearance might have been costly to the Blues as goalie Manny Legace left the game after one period with an injury that possibly occurred when he tripped over the carpet placed on the ice for Palin and her family to walk on.
Just before the ceremony, Legace was the first player onto the ice for St. Louis. A team official pointed to the carpet, but as Legace stepped onto it with his skate, he fell, then gingerly made his way to the crease.
Pick up your skate, you flippin' CLOD!!!
Nuts. The media is FUCKING nuts.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:33 PM | Comments (3)
October 23, 2008
Didn't He Say "Get in Their Faces?"
See? The problem with rhetoric like that is the assholes who take it as permission.
A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.
...Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim's car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter "B" into her face, Richard said.
Yeah, I SO want this guy to be my president and bring all his friends along with him for the ride.
Stupid, IGNORANT little bitch. I hope they throw the book at her LYING ass.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:26 PM | Comments (16)
There's Something Just Weird...
about this guy's seeming endless need to speak before adoring masses
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Construction is underway for a massive stage in Chicago where Barack Obama could declare victory on election night. Tens of thousands are expected to gather in Grant Park just 13 days from now. One way or another, that huge crowd will witness history.CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that 1996 was actually the last election night when both major party candidates did speak publicly. In the close elections of 2000 and 2004, that did not happen. Preparations to accommodate a big crowd in Grant Park are already underway.
A lot of work remains on platforms for speakers, risers for cameras and security barricades. Earlier Wednesday, construction crews at the south end of Grant Park were assembling what they said would hold a giant video screen for the election night gathering.
No one really knows how many people will come to the lakefront's Grant Park on Nov. 4. Weather will likely play a role. It was warm and sunny a few days ago in St. Louis when Barack Obama drew an estimated 100,000 to the banks of the Mississippi River.
The whole Berlin thing, the Temple bit at the convention, and now this?
Look, clearly the poor guy's early life sucked, totally totally sucked. But I'm more than a little troubled at the prospect of having as President a person who seems to have this unending need to make people like him. I want a President who is not afraid to make the tough, unpopular decisions for the good of America, not his self-esteem or standings in international media polls. A President who's not afraid to tell other countries to piss off. I disagree with most of his policies but that doesn't really concern me; that's what politics and opinions are all about. What concerns me is his character.
Obama has never, not once, in his entire career, however long you care to define it, shown the slightest inkling or ability to swim against the tide, to take a brave, unpopular stand. Not once. He has made one important decision so far...and he chose Joe Biden. He's the first candidate of my generation, those of us born in the 60s, but he really seems to me to be a precursor of the generation following ours, the Self-Esteem I Am Special generation that WSJ referred to as the "Trophy Kids" just the other day. But whereas this next generation has been coddled from birth Obama certainly has not, but since his teens evidently he has basked in this glow of greatness to come, this expectation that he was intended for higher things, so folks around him hopped on board and passed him along, never testing him along the way. I mean, has he ever actually had a job? Seriously. Has he ever flipped burgers, worked at a fruit stand, cleaned toilets, sat in a cubicle looking at paper for 40 hours, whatever? Has he ever had a boss say "Barack, this sucks. Do it again and you're fired"? All of that is vital to building character, to instill some humility...which he seems to lack. This is what to me ties him to this "Trophy Kid" entitled generation. Every time he's been criticized he gets petulant and lashes out at his critics and/or tosses old friends and relatives under the proverbial bus; this is exactly how these 20-somethings entering the workforce now react. They can not handle criticism, they can not even accept the possibility of it being valid. It is, rather, a vicious personal attack with out any basis in the not-at-all-even-remotely-possible-so-don't-even-think-of-it-you-racist/sexist/genderist/ageist/misogynist reality that they did, indeed, screw up...like we all do all the time (well, those of us who are mere mortals, at least). Has he ever once said "I screwed this up"? No, all we hear is "That is not the _____ (fill in the name here) I knew" or wave his "I don't look like other candidates" line. For once in his career I'm afraid Biden may actually be right, that a President Obama would be severely tested early on in office.
And given how he's reacted to minor tests in the past I find that prospect unsettling.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:04 AM | Comments (12)
I Musta Missed That Part
You know, where folks were all polite about Palin.
...There was, of course, a time when Democrats tiptoed around Palin.
But since...
...Mean old John Lewis called us racists, which hurt our feelings. So now, we're going to ... play the race card.
...aka Reverend GODDAMNAMERICA, chickenroostin' Wright, and since...
...Polls seem to be tightening, and the election is going to be decided by a white, male plumber named Joe.
...anyway, the author's suggested Democratic
They should respond with Palin.
Oh, by all means. Start slamming old girl again.
...If Democrats are still worried about offending women, they can ask Clinton to tape the TV ad attacking Palin. If she won't, I betcha Tina Fey will. In a heartbeat.
Heh. Now THAT sounds like a winning strategy...for somebody...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:54 AM | Comments (3)
October 22, 2008
More "If You Disagree You're A Racist" Crap
So now the word "socialist" is actually code for "black;" in fact, it's an "old code word." Who knew? It really is stupidity beyond belief, well, it should be beyond belief; I'm not sure anything is beyond belief these days, and not worthy of much of a response. I think I like this fromVolokh best:
The funny thing is that if indeed Hoover referred to Du Bois, Robeson, and Randolph as socialists, it was not because they were black,but because they were, well socialists. Robeson, in fact, was a Communist, as was Du Bois in his later years.
Are there still 'racists' in the US? Of course. But this constant hue and cry over racism has become pretty much a red herring now, where every disagreement with Obama over policies is decried as racist, which frankly gives the impression that his supporters do not want any policy discussions at all. Can someone please tell me a legitimate thing to criticize him on?
And I suppose I can't say "red herring" now, because obviously "red" is code for "communist" which is code for "socialist" which is code for "black."
Well lookee here, using this political version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon let's prove that anyone is in fact racist. Here's an easy one: Conservative bastions are called "Red States." As we've shown above, "red" is code for "communist" which is code for "socialist" which is code for "black." Therefore via our perfect logic they are in fact racist. And socialist.
Which makes as much sense as any other political analysis you're likely to see.
So in the meantime have fun with The Oracle of Bacon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:12 AM | Comments (3)
October 18, 2008
Poetry Night at Ace's
I haven't drunk enough yet. The inspiration poem is as follows:
...Obama is kind.
Obama is gentle.
Obama is intelligent.
Obama is a leader of men.
Obama is honest.
Obama is a family man.
Obama is the future.
Obama will win by the greatest land slide of all time.
The days of racism and hate are numbered.He is the ONE.
Racism will END in 2009.
Hate will END in 2009.
Terrorism will END in 2009.
Goverment crime will END in 2009.
Wall street crime will END in 2009.
Poorness will END in 2009.
Oil company crime will END in 2009.
Gas station price crime will END in 2009....
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:35 PM | Comments (7)
You, Me and Joe the Plumber?
We are SOOOO fucked.
Barack Obama lines up a cabinet of stars as John McCain struggles on...A host of well-known figures, including some Republicans, have indicated they would be willing to serve in some capacity as Obama begins to acquire a winner’s glow. From Senator John Kerry, the 2004 presidential candidate with hopes of becoming secretary of state, to Larry Summers, a former US Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator who has been tipped as defence secretary, there are plenty who have signalled their availability.
And I read this before dinner.
Blech.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:03 PM | Comments (4)
Our Treat in the Local Fishwrap
...almost every day.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:11 AM
October 17, 2008
As I Enjoy Fomenting Controversy and Curiosity
...I made a little broach to wear to the campaign office today.
I'll be glad to explain it to anyone who asks. And encourage them to make their own.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:15 AM | Comments (6)
October 16, 2008
Lots of Laughter
...from some really stupid people...
...who haven't a clue that he's dissing them. At least someone in that crowd has to have a blue collar job, right?
Right?
Thanks to ninjapirate over in the comments.
UPDATE: More assness, courtesy of the Vice Chairman for Education, Hope and Opportunity, People's Republic of Obama. Let me reiterate the update from the post below...
...Mr. Wurzelbacher was playing football in his front yard with his son, Joey, on Sunday afternoon when Mr. Obama made an unscheduled stop to go door to door greeting voters and asking for their support.
In his own yard. Minding his own business. And then the JoeHole gets a shot at you, too? Jeez.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:15 PM | Comments (6)
Joe, the Proctological Plumbing Parable
So. I think even a long dead Aesop would have eschewed the use of small rodents to tell the story of the plumber unlicensed, tax dodging drain cleaner from Ohio, who had the simpleness of mind...the TEMERITY... to...ask a question. The truth needs no embellishment for effect. He dared ask.
Heretic. Unbeliever. Filthy untouchable.
And now? He's probably unemployed, thanks to the media's predilection for roto-rootering the assets of any infidel who questions the annointed one. Obscene as the smears against my girl are...she's running for office. Disgusting as the lies and innuendos swirling around McCain are...he's running for office. We can gnash our teeth against the hatefulness of the attacks, in the end, what we are left with is Eddie Murphy's philosophy, "You brought that shit on yoself, man!" Bless their hearts, it's the name of the revolting game and you may be surprised by the viciousness of the attack, but there's no way you can say you "didn't know it was going to be like that!"
But Joe? He's a nobody, like the rest of us schmucks. No plans other than making a living, no agenda other than hangin' in there and schmaybe reaching "comfortable" at some time in his life. Even that ordinaryness is open to a faint whiff of snark from those annointed to report:
...Wurzelbacher also acknowledged that he had no specific plans for buying Newell’s business, saying he and Newell had simply talked about the idea from time to time. He might have difficulty making the purchase: Court records from his divorce show that Wurzelbacher made $40,000 in 2006.
He doesn't have anyone to get him a million dollar mortgage for less than prime rate, or buy the lot next door and sell it to him cheap, once he can afford it.
Nah.
He just asked for a little clarification from the horse's mouth...
...and got the "inYOUendo" from Obama's media bodyguards instead.
Will the media cover Joe as he makes his way to the unemployment line? I mean, it's the least they could do, since they sent him there.
For respectfully asking a question.
We all need to share the parable of "Joe and the Questions That Should Not Be Asked" as far and wide as humanly possible.
And be very afraid.
UPDATE: CHA!
But why is it that political reporters only get curious when a conservative Joe America storms onto the scene? Why aren’t they just as curious when liberals trot out, say, a 12-year-old boy to give a national radio address?
It only gets worse!
...Mr. Wurzelbacher was playing football in his front yard with his son, Joey, on Sunday afternoon when Mr. Obama made an unscheduled stop to go door to door greeting voters and asking for their support.
DAMN!
Minding your own business. Words escape me.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:18 PM | Comments (5)
October 14, 2008
MUST See TV...From CNN?!
Whooda thunk it? But it's damning.
Swill salute to Instapundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:11 PM | Comments (4)
October 13, 2008
This is EXACTLY WHY We Need the Fairness Act
To stop racists and bigots and brownshirted thugs from using a political candidate's...real name.
...In urging voters to choose John McCain in the November election, Scott used Barack Obama's middle name - "Hussein."
Activate pee-pee whacking, to commence...
Both the Obama and McCain campaign's immediately criticized the statement. McCain's camp said it distracted from their message, while Obama's office said Scott was trying to stoke the fires of a whisper campaign claiming Obama is a Muslim, which is not true.
And you know what? Let's make sure he knows just how SERIOUS his transgression and regrettable utterance was.
Feds investigating sheriff after 'Hussein' remark
Oh, yeah. HATCH ACT that, pal.
A Swill salute to Ace, where a commenter said that Barrack Obama is becoming Voldemort aka "He who shall not be named".
Come to think of it, they do bear a faint resemblance...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:12 PM | Comments (4)
October 08, 2008
Dateline: Pensacuda, FL Tuesday, October 6th ~ The Weather Outside was FRIGHTFUL
We'd had thunderstorms since 0230 and over 6 inches of rain by 1000 and it was STILL pouring, but no matter. Getting inside seemed tantalizingly deLIGHTful.
And we weren't disappointed. The stage was set...
Happy, HAPPY fellow Veterans for McCain volunteers were practicing cheers (and grateful for the days of volunteering that had us inside at 1030 instead of waiting in line since 0730, like some faithful had, bless their hearts)...
...while others were snapped modeling really Swill "Sarahcuda" t-shirts (Which were also mentioned in the local fish wrap this morning!!!!) !!
Check out the seats filling as folks trickled in through the tight security. Two hours later and nosebleed is lookin' to be the only seat left. And they went FAST
Lights down! Camera! Action!!
Medal of Honor winner Bud Day strutted through the throngs, took the stage and started firing up the crowd. He ended with a rousing Pledge of Allegiance. ( I hope I look that good in FIVE years, less mind at his age.) Local congressman Jeff Miller, whom with I have never been truly enamored, took the stage next and...well...DAMN! That boy was fire and BRIMSTONE good! He had a great voice and terrific delivery, opening up by asking if there were any "bitter gun and bible clingers in the Civic Center?"
The answering roar was astonishing. I was laughing out loud. Thinking, "So THIS is what 'that old time religion' feels like!"
Dead time ensued, but we were hyper by then and hardly noticed. Someone's husband had relayed via cell phone that she'd left Jacksonville and then someone else heard she was at the airport, and THEN...? As one of the 3000 people still outside, my sweet Ebola texts me simply...
"She's here."
...as he sees the motorcade drive up. Everyone ERUPTS as I shout the news. And I'm crying, because I know he's not going to make it inside. I'm just sick.
"Sa-RAH! Sa-RAH! Sa-RAH!!"
Deafening.
About 3 minutes later, lights down, spots up and Charlie Crist works the crowd on his way to the stage. He's pretty damn great in person, too, but you know what? We're all suffering brain freeze because we. Want. SARAH!! And then we hear "...the governor of the great state of Alaska and the next Vice-President of these United States ~ Sarah PALIN!!!"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is stunning. Oh, Lord, girl crush hits HARD. In every one of the 10 or 12 THOUSAND hearts in that arena. She's gracious and shaking hands and then climbing on to the stage and waving her heart out. I don't know why but "neat as a pin" pops in my brain. And I want her shoes. Next to us, some of the ARC Gateway staff and kids were sitting with beautiful, yellow "Give Trig a Kiss for Us" t-shirts. Somehow, she saw them and stopped. She clasped her hands to her chest, then kissed her fingertips and offered them in the group's direction.
She got to the microphone and, eventually, got to the stump speech.
DAMN. She's good. And sly like a fox. The delivery's amazing. She didn't really seem to use the teleprompter. It was all on yellow legal pad and she hardly needed it at that.
Holding up the cell so Bingley can hear. And wish he was me.
Obama and Ayers took it on the chinny chin chin...
"HUH?!?! He didn't know he'd launched his career in the living room of a domestic terrorist? He didn't know...until he did know. And then he continued to be in anyway associated with that person. The story keeps changing and the claims keep getting more and more curious."
...or just Obama.
"Our opponent doesn't seem to get the economy problem we're in. He wants more spending and more taxes. But HOW do you get out of the hole you're in? You STOP digging!
It was simply captivating and her local touches were perfect.
"Man, I LOVE you, Florida! You guys just GET it!"
Roar of the crowd explodes and how the walls stay up, I have no idea. This place is crazy wit d' Palin heat.
Then she was through, waved bunches and hotfooted it down the stairs to shake as many hands as she could. First at the foot of the steps and then around every inch of the stage, starting with the side furthest away from us. And do you know what else she'd done as soon as she'd finished the speech? She sent the Secret Service up to get the kids next to us and bring them down to her. Organized them herself for a group picture and the ARC staff members were beside themselves. There wasn't a dry eye left in the house.
We left then.
Only way to have been more perfect was if my baby boy had gotten to the seat we were saving for him. It was one of those moments you didn't want to be by yourself. You WANTED to have someone dear to share the excitement with. The moment with. In the middle of the revelry, one of the three elderly ladies sitting behind us ~ who had driven all the way from Panama City to be there ~ leaned over and grasped my arm.
"You know, " she said with earnest conviction, "We're part of history today."
I knew.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:26 PM | Comments (7)
Racist BASTARD!!
Sarahcuda trots out William Ayers and NOW?! Now a WHITE guy claims...wait for it....
Obama's plane smells BAD...
The McCain campaign plane is better than Obama's, which is cramped, uncomfortable and smells terrible most of the time.
Will the slander never cease? Filthy LIES, all of them. It smells like VICtory.
I'll bet you anything he's a plant for The Corner.
Oh, yeah.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:34 PM | Comments (1)
PBS Asks the Tough Question
Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to serve as Vice President of the United States?It's a shame they don't have an "■ Yes EXCLAMATION POINT" option. I would have preferred that.
A warm Swill salute to the delightful Susan Moore, Chair, FL Women for McCain-Escambia.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:10 AM | Comments (9)
October 07, 2008
Thou Shallt Not Mock Soros
Goodness, Georgy-porgy made a call and NBC jumped like a slavish puppy
NBC is furiously erasing its tracks. Any attempts to upload the forbidden SNL bailout skit skewering George Soros and his left-wing subprime schemer friends Herbert and Marion Sandler will likely be squashed. So, I transcribed the whole comedy sketch for you and provided screenshots for the 7-minute video that has disappeared from NBC and Hulu. (You can see it as of 1:08am Eastern here on YouTube, though I doubt it will last long. Pat Dollard’s blog has posted the full clip on its server. Thanks to Ms. Underestimated for the .wmv file.)
Down the memory hole with that skit! The only possibly objectionable element of it was the 'people who should be shot' graphic that was displayed; other than that the skit was shockingly spot-on.
Which I guess is why NBC is so quick to 86-it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:04 AM | Comments (6)
If You Disagree You're Racist. Duh.
That seems to be their go-to response these days, isn't it? If you dare to question The One's record or policies, well you're a racist, natch.
And if you dare to question the wisdom of the folks who "encouraged' banks to begin giving mortgages to people who had no money, if you say, "you know, maybe just maybe that wasn't so brilliant a policy," well, obviously, you, sir, are a hooded Klansman
BOSTON (AP) - Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated.The Massachusetts Democrat, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the GOP is appealing to its base by blaming the country's mortgage foreclosure problem on efforts to expand affordable housing through the Community Reinvestment Act.
He said that blame is misplaced, because those loans are issued by regulated institutions, while far more foreclosures were triggered by high-cost loans made by unregulated entities.
"They get to take things out on poor people," Frank said at a mortgage foreclosure symposium in Boston. "Let's be honest: The fact that some of the poor people are black doesn't hurt them either, from their standpoint. This is an effort, I believe, to appeal to a kind of anger in people."
Frank also dismissed charges the Democrats failed on their own or blocked Republican efforts to rein in the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The federal government recently took control of both entities.
I think it's a bit much to expect Barney to exercise any oversight in Congress, let alone admit to failed policies, when he's never been able to exercise any control over his boy-toys at home.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:35 AM
October 06, 2008
Dear GOPUSA ~ You MIGHT Want to Rethink the Tenor of Your Emails
Because a subject line like this...
Alert: Will You be Ready When the Depression Hits?
...doesn't do a THING to cheer up the party faithful.
How stupid can you possibly be?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:40 AM | Comments (3)
October 05, 2008
Here We Go
WASHINGTON (AP) - By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.
William Ayers: unrepentant domestic terrorist
Obama: Ayers associate on numerous projects, possibly dating back as far as 1985.
What's "unsubstantiated"? Maybe that word does not mean what the AP thinks it means.
Jake Tapper said the Obama camp would be premptively attacking, but he didn't say the Associated Press would do it for him.
Of course, it's not just them starting. The Atlantic attempted to put up an Obama defense...
In response to Gov. Sarah Palin's invocation of Barack Obama's "terrorist" "pal" William Ayers, Democrats have settled on a rhetorical response that inquires, innocently enough, whether Todd Palin's association with anti-American secessionists is fair game, especially in light of Palin's charge that Obama "is not a man who sees America as you and I do."Todd Palin, a former member of the Alaska Independence Party, might well have seen America unlike his wife did -- that is, an America that one can secede from. He was comfortable belonging to and being associated with a political party whose founder seemed to delight in denouncing the principles that hold our union together.
Can somebody get Todd Palin's firebombing domestic terrorist mugshots for me? I couldn't find one.
Weird. I mean, that such an august entity is comparing the two. There HAS to be...something.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:56 AM | Comments (4)
I Haven't Heard It Put Quite That Way Before
...But YEE HAW!!!
...To wit: the Washington Post reports that Sen. John McCain's campaign -- convinced that the maverick thing alone isn't working -- is about to open up a can of whoop-ass on Obama with a focus on his personal associations.
May I also add, "And not a blanketyblankblankblank moment too soon."
...I was only nine then, the year Ayers’s Weathermen tried to murder me.In February 1970, my father, a New York State Supreme Court justice, was presiding over the trial of the so-called “Panther 21,” members of the Black Panther Party indicted in a plot to bomb New York landmarks and department stores. Early on the morning of February 21, as my family slept, three gasoline-filled firebombs exploded at our home on the northern tip of Manhattan, two at the front door and the third tucked neatly under the gas tank of the family car. (Today, of course, we’d call that a car bomb.) A neighbor heard the first two blasts and, with the remains of a snowman I had built a few days earlier, managed to douse the flames beneath the car. That was an act whose courage I fully appreciated only as an adult, an act that doubtless saved multiple lives that night.
Via Instapundit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:23 AM
October 04, 2008
Nothing To See Here, Folks
Move right along
WASHINGTON — Unqualified home buyers were not the only ones who benefitted from Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank’s efforts to deregulate Fannie Mae throughout the 1990s.So did Frank’s partner, a Fannie Mae executive at the forefront of the agency’s push to relax lending restrictions.
Now that Fannie Mae is at the epicenter of a financial meltdown that threatens the U.S. economy, some are raising new questions about Frank's relationship with Herb Moses, who was Fannie’s assistant director for product initiatives. Moses worked at the government-sponsored enterprise from 1991 to 1998, while Frank was on the House Banking Committee, which had jurisdiction over Fannie.
..."C’mon, he writes housing and banking laws and his boyfriend is a top exec at a firm that stands to gain from those laws?" the aide told FOX News. "No media ever takes note? Imagine what would happen if Frank’s political affiliation was R instead of D? Imagine what the media would say if [GOP former] Chairman [Mike] Oxley’s wife or [GOP presidential nominee John] McCain’s wife was a top exec at Fannie for a decade while they wrote the nation’s housing and banking laws."
I guess this is who Frank took up with after his previous boyfriend got in trouble for running a prostitution ring out of his apartment.
His taste in men ranks up there with Anne Hathaway's.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:29 PM | Comments (11)
October 02, 2008
Margaret?
...This one should matter, given that the next president may be a 72-year-old, four-time cancer survivor who lately is behaving more like a cocky fighter pilot than captain of the ship of state. Palin could be president on Day Two, Three or Four, before she had time to learn on the job, if such learning is possible.Palin with a prepared text on a large stage does fine. Without a script, not so fine. Expectations for her at the debate in St. Louis are at about curb level because of some rocky interviews. The press complains that John McCain's handlers have kept Palin in a cocoon when actually she's been spending every waking minute with Katie Couric, an inexplicable decision whose proponent may be looking for other work now.
...In case she bombs, the campaign has an excuse ready. Although the campaign signed off on PBS's Gwen Ifill well after it was known she has a book on race and the '08 campaign coming out in January, aides now contend that renders her a poor choice to moderate.
...Bush quietly made the elite more so by tending to their economic interests while playing up his love for Nascar Dads and barbecue. As long as you drop your g's, you can be way wealthier than Wal-Mart patrons (the Palins earn more than $200,000 a year) as long as you aspire to the same cultural class.
I'll betcha Sarah's happy to disappoint ya.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:51 PM | Comments (1)
AND...
I GET TO SEE HER TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:30 PM | Comments (2)
I'm Just Gonna Git Me A Brew...
And hang with some of my "Bosniac" homeboys.
'Cos Biden says they're cool.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:00 PM | Comments (2)
True Confessions: After Watching the Debate? ::sigh:: I ::giggle::
...have a girl crush.
::blush::
Sister :: hearts:: Sarah.
In a BIG way.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:45 PM | Comments (4)
Wowsers ~ Berg v. Obama aka WTF?
UPDATE: HOLD ON: I've noticed in the comments of other threads referencing this one that it's being debunked by this ObamaCrimes post:
ALERT: Contrary to Internet Rumor, No Court Ruling Yet On Obama / DNC Motion to Dismiss in Berg v. ObamaOn Mr. Berg's behalf, I am posting this to state clearly the Court has not yet ruled on the Motion to Dismiss in Berg v. Obama.
Here's the status:
1. Last week Senator Obama and the Democratic National Committee filed a Motion to Dismiss the Berg v. Obama lawsuit.
2. On Monday, Mr. Berg filed an answer requesting that the suit not be dismissed and that the Court order production of documents proving Senator Obama's consitutional qualifications to serve as President of The United States.
3. As of 1 AM EST today, October 2nd, 2008, the Court has not ruled on the Motion for Dismissal in Berg v. Obama.
The PDF appears to be something called a "RESPONSE in Opposition", where a plaintiff's lawyer drafts something he wants a lawyer to sign. (Any lawyers in the house? Did I describe that correctly?) If so, let's lay to rest that the judge has ruled. He HAS NOT. However, my post stands as written concerning my reaction to the circumstances of Mr. Obama's life vis a vis citizenship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the initial complaint at the beginning, toodle on down to page 5 of the PDF. And read. I swear to God, your eyes will bug out of your head.
I SWEAR.
Not only was the dismissal denied, but Obama, by order of the court, has THREE DAYS to turn over the documents.
Wowsers...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:22 PM | Comments (12)
Hoist Them By Their Own Petards
Words of wisdom by our Masters
Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.): I worry, frankly, that there's a tension here. The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the Treasury, which I do not see.
Read the link for more gems, and sleep soundly tonight knowing such foresight is working for you.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:23 AM
Que Horror!
McCain is sarcastic with a Reporter; modern era of peace and love ends
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, once renowned for his jocular sessions with journalists, appeared irritable and at times sarcastic in an interview in which he defended running mate Sarah Palin's experience and campaign ads critical of rival Barack Obama.... When it was suggested that Palin's lack of experience worried voters, McCain turned sarcastic.
"Really? I haven't detected that in the polls, I haven't detected that among the base," he said. "If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck. I don't dismiss him. I think the American people have overwhelmingly shown their approval."
At another point, McCain was asked if he's strayed from his "straight talk" image with advertising that some have labeled deceptive. McCain dryly responded, "It would be valuable if you gave some examples for an assertion of that nature."
Harry Reid repeated his calls that McCain be given a "time out for his behavior." An aide later clarified that Reid was not in fact referring to any particular Senator when he spoke.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:05 AM | Comments (1)
October 01, 2008
Greta! Greta!
For asking this question and getting this response I swear never ever to make a catty comment about that horrible eye job you had again (h/t to Ace)
PRICELESS
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:03 PM | Comments (7)
The Harry Reid Follies
Wise leader Harry says
"We don't have a lot of leeway on time," Reid told reporters in the Capitol. "One of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company -- a major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows that's on the verge of going bankrupt. That's what this is all about."
What he meant to say was
...later in the day Reid spokesman Jim Manley said the senator was speaking broadly and not referring to anything specific."Senator Reid is not personally aware of any particular company being on the verge of bankruptcy," Manley wrote in an e-mail to ABCNews.com. "Rather, his comments were meant to refer to the conditions in the financial sector generally. He regrets any confusion his comments may have caused."
Amazing.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:44 PM | Comments (3)
We Watch "The News Hour" Every Evening
...anticipating the occasional blood pressure spike. But we know that. On last Monday's broadcast, they did the first of their candidate "leadership style" profiles: McCain. And it was pretty stunning, even by their standards. There were the obligatory GOP fellows who worked for and with McCain, natch. Quick enough, they switched to noted McCain supporter...um...Gary Hart.
GARY HART: I have hesitation, probably would have were John McCain a Democrat, about a personality in the Oval Office who is more impulsive and intuitive, if you will, than analytical and thoughtful.Now, John McCain is not seat-of-the-pants. I'm not -- I don't want to give the impression that he just -- whatever he had for breakfast makes the decision of going to war.
It's not quite like that. But I think, again, on a scale, I'd prefer somebody who's a little more thoughtful, a little less impulsive, and a little more analytical.
Okay. Fair enough, I guess, to point out that people feel that way. Don't want to be thought of as "in the tank" for the Republican, now do we? But next there was this guy (only more rumpled and kicking back in his office at the time). ..
...and he's the "Oh, HELL no!" to in-the-tank.
His name's Norman Ornstein (worked with McCain on campaign finance) and this is what he had to say:
NORMAN ORNSTEIN, American Enterprise Institute: John McCain is a fighter pilot. A lot of his persona comes from being a fighter pilot.This is a man who not only constantly questions authority, but is fond of making last-minute, from-the-gut, impulsive, risk-taking decisions, and believing to his bones that there may be a risk here, but it will pay off.
An impulsive decision-making style is fine if you're riding a jet. An impulsive decision-making style is fine if you're piloting a jet in combat. It's fine if you're a senator where the consequences are not going to be that long-lasting. It's a real question mark when you move into the presidency.
Hammer that message home, PBS. McCain's a finger-on-the-hair-trigger-whackdoodle.
Stunning.
Catch your breath and head for calmer waters. Like the Obama "leadership style" profile the very next day.
Confidence, Openness Mark Obama's Decision Making Style
Ah. Soothing is it not? I'd sense a trend if my brain wasn't filled with visions of children's choruses.
And now Authoress Ifill gets to moderate a debate? Oh, BLISS.
What election...?
UPDATE: Ace notes the commission's "What book?" confusion and links. A WARM Swill welcome to all, including those debonair VodkaPundit visitors. Thanks guys!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:06 AM | Comments (5)
It's Kind Of Telling
That one has to go to the UK to find an article like this about Joe Biden
Dominic Lawson: Why should anyone trust Joe Biden?The Democrats' candidate for VP doesn't deserve to be called a sage
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Joseph Robinette Biden – known to all as "Joe" – was once the most talked about American politician in Britain. Unfortunately for the senior Delaware Senator, all the talk was accompanied by incredulous laughter.
Read the rest for a convenient reminder of just how 'ready' and 'intelligent' and 'experienced' Joe is...and imagine how the US MSM would be screaming if Palin had done any of this stuff.
I forget where I read it, probably somewhere in the comments at Ace's, but I agree with the person who said that they really really hope that at some point in the debate tomorrow Sarah turns to Biden and says "That's a really good line, Joe; Neil Kinnock write that for you?"
Hehehehe.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:45 AM | Comments (2)
September 30, 2008
I Swear to God
It's like a scene out of one of those 60's apocalypse movies.
But it's freakin' for real.
Thanks bunches, 'Tini Boy. I'm so depressed I could knock a couple back easy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:40 PM | Comments (8)
September 29, 2008
Ouch.
This is gonna leave a mark
"Having a former chairman of Goldman Sachs preside over disbursing hundreds of billions of dollars to Wall Street is a terrible concept and inevitably will lead to crony capitalism and the appearance of - if not the actual existence of - corruption," says Gingrich in his statement. "The Bush Administration has now provided three case studies in arrogance, isolation, and destructiveness: Michael Brown during Hurricane Katrina, Ambassador Jerry Bremer in Baghdad, and Secretary Paulson at Treasury.""It is a tragic and very expensive legacy," he continued. "No conservative and no Republican should doubt how much it has hurt our cause and our party."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:39 PM | Comments (3)
September 26, 2008
I'm Sorry to Put It In Common Terms, But the More He Opens His Mouth
...the more all I can think is...
"Senator McCain has no need to be fearful about a debate," Obama told reporters.
..."What a weaselly little prick!"
Sorry.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:31 AM | Comments (4)
September 17, 2008
Magnanimous Meglomaniac
The one thing that I want to insist on is that, as I travel around the country, the American people are a decent people. Now they get confused sometimes. You know, they listen to the wrong talk radio shows or watch the wrong TV networks, um, but they’re, they’re basically decent, they’re basically sound....mouths more mucilaginous mush. We're confused, bitter clingers, who mean well, but continually get sh*t wrong because we just can't keep our little pinheads from listening to the wrong stuff.
(Of course, he wouldn't dare say that this year, but he's come close...) To quote Mr. Levin:
"Gee, thanks."
Via Ace.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:26 AM | Comments (2)
September 13, 2008
Once Again, MSNBC Shows Absolutely
...no bias and NObama. It's all McCain/Palin on the home page tonight, scattered amongst the hurricanes and trainwrecks. Considering what they chose to report, maybe they felt it was time for a "theme night".
If I was a betting girl, I might wager the line circled in green has something to do with it.
Considering who they're working so hard for, I guess that WOULD qualify as a "disaster".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:51 PM | Comments (2)
September 12, 2008
Why The Hellllllllll...
...might they use my tax money to bail out these bastards
The investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. spent Thursday energetically shopping itself to potential buyers -- among them Bank of America Corp. -- just a day after insisting it had found a way to patch up its massive real-estate-related losses.Given the firm's deep financial troubles, a deal of any sort is far from certain, according to people familiar with the situation. In addition, prospective buyers, which also could include Barclays PLC, would likely want the U.S. government to help shield them from future losses from any such transaction, these people said, as happened in March, when Bear Stearns Cos. was forced into a deal to be acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. In that deal, the federal government agreed to absorb as much as $29 billion in potential losses.
The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have been working with Lehman to help resolve the bank's troubles, including talking to potential buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. Federal officials currently aren't expected to structure a bailout along the lines of the Bear transaction or this past weekend's rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
It ticks me off to no end that the Government (i.e. you and me) are bailing these guys out. Somehow I think that if my company made a boatload of risky business decisions Uncle Sam wouldn't be standing there with a check for us.
But then again we don't contribute millions to corrupt folks in Washington.
Silly us.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:30 AM | Comments (4)
A Request To Politicians Of All Stripes
Due to the various street closings related to the service at the WTC yesterday the pick-up point for my bus home got moved to the West Side Highway...right next to the WTC. Brilliant planning, I know. Anyhow, so we're crowded down there waiting for our bus to show up when suddenly there's a big hub-bub and an influx of black Suburbans (strictly hybrids, I'm sure) and I see Obama go by not 15 feet from me, followed by another Suburban or two then a large mini-bus loaded with disciplesmedia personnel. Of course all other traffic is at first stopped, then forced to move and run red lights by screaming cops. Not 5 minutes later here comes a far smaller number of Suburbans, fewer than half the number Obama had, and I see McCain go by the same few feet away, and then the group tottered off into the WTC site as you've all seen by now.
Now, I don't have any problem with politicians making these appearances that they're politically obligated to do, but for god's sake I wish for once they wouldn't do it around rush hour and completely screw up peoples' commutes. I'd love to find the advisor who said "you know, 4 pm in Manhattan is a great time to shut down streets!"
I mean, I really hate to cut short Obama's lunch with Clinton, but why couldn't they have gone to the WTC at 1 pm?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:08 AM | Comments (4)
I'm Not The Most Sophisticated Media Fella
I freely admit it. But does it make sense to attack your opponent on these grounds
NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out Friday from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career...."1982, John McCain goes to Washington," an announcer says over chirpy elevator music. "Things have changed in the last 26 years, but McCain hasn't."
...Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said the campaign was not making an issue of the 72-year-old McCain's age, but the time he's spent in Washington.
when the man you picked as your running mate has been a Senator since 1972?
"1972" as in "in 1972 Joe Biden was a US Senator in Washington while John McCain was a prisoner in Hanoi" 1972.
That 1972.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:52 AM | Comments (2)
September 10, 2008
So, Say I Designed a Pro-"Rhymes With BarraMuda" HOTPINK Bumper Sticker
...that ROCKS so hard, it had people stopping me on the street today to ask whence I got it. (It's a fundraiser for the volunteers at a certain group o' veterans working for a certain veteran running for office who get no funds since they're way down the party food chain) And I need people to BUY them, but NOT land Bingley in jail because of campaign laws passed by that very same veteran running for office.
So there's our hypotheticals. Our sea and bona fide lawyers in the group wanna take a stab on HOW I can show them off?
Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:48 PM | Comments (4)
Just When Things Were Getting Somewhere Just North of Reasonable
...the "who's your buddy, who's your pal" cartel helps out the Republicans. I think.
OPEC oil ministers agreed Wednesday to trim overall output by more than 500,000 barrels a day in a compromise meant to avoid new turmoil in crude markets while seeking to bolster falling prices.The news sent oil prices rising. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 97 cents to $104.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Drill here, drill now, people. SHeiky kisses aside, they're not in it for US, duh.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:10 AM | Comments (2)
I've Been Anxiously Awaiting Camille Paglia's Take On Palin
And she doesn't disappoint
...Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment.
Read the whole thing. To my mind Paglia is the most astute cultural observer we have right now; while I certainly do not agree with many of her positions her insight and candor are second to none.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:27 AM | Comments (4)
September 09, 2008
CNN Bites on "Palin Hates Retarded Kids" Meme
Palin's budget choices praised, criticized
Blah, blah, blah ~ nice stuff, evenly handed...
...some Alaskans see Gov. Sarah Palin as a modern-day Robin Hood who has slashed government spending and given money to the people."She has helped to balance our budget. She has done a very good job," Alaskan Kim Brink said of the GOP vice presidential nominee. "She gave, she fought to get us a little bit of extra money in these hard economic times."
...right up to this zinger buried at the end.
... As governor, Palin has used her line-item veto to cut funds for special interest programs called earmarks.But Democrats criticize her for slashing programs, even for people with disabilities -- a group she's vowed to defend.
Sort of intimating...
"Even for SPECIAL NEEDS!!!! WHAT kind of MONSTER....? Doesn't she have a retarded baby of her own?!?!?!?!"...wouldn't you say?
They don't bother to explain that all sited "slashing" was in the 2006 budget of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski. Palin signed into law a "dramatic reform of the state's educational financing" that somehow STILL resulted in a 175% increase in the very same "special needs" area that's she's accused of cutting.
...A second part of the measure raises spending for students with special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
"Raises spending". Dang. Just no way to spin THAT and still disparage her. Think, think, think...and a light went off at KosQuarters. As the Weekly Standard points out:
So the Netroots and CNN allege that Palin cut special needs funding by 62 percent, by crediting her with the budget proposed by a political opponent.
Well, shoot! If you can get it repeated sans context on CNN, why not just throw it out there?
UPDATE: In yesterday's article called "Sliming Palin", Factcheck.org lays this baby to rest pretty succinctly:
Palin did not cut funding for special needs education in Alaska by 62 percent. She didn't cut it at all. In fact, she tripled per-pupil funding over just three years.
CNN taking up MSNBC's slack or what? Unforgivable, when it only takes about 16 seconds to check it out and either leave the quote off, or add the truth for context. What a concept.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:50 PM | Comments (14)
I'm Not Sure I Would Have Counted on Them
...quite so much, considering everything.
...But the campaign is struggling to meet ambitious fund-raising goals it set for the campaign and the party. It collected in June and July far less from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's donors than originally projected. Moreover, McCain, unlike Obama, will have the luxury of concentrating almost entirely on campaigning instead of raising money, as Obama must do.
Sounds like they were some pretty pie-in-the-sky-high projections for a campaign with 'women' problems. WHAT have the Hillary supporters EVER done to give the impression they'd been mollified enough to open their Prada purses?
He and his acolytes are pretty tone deaf, aren't they?
UPDATE: When it's not only Hillary types dissin' you, but your (and Oprah's, mind you) Chicago HOME BOYS?
...Even Obama's fund-raisers in Illinois were admonished in an e-mail message last Thursday to step up their efforts to "show the other regions that his home state still has it." The donors, who were also reminded they had each promised to collect $300,000 for the campaign, were asked to raise $25,000 each for an event on Sept. 22 at a Chicago museum.The new state-by-state goals unveiled by campaign officials in Denver stunned at least some in the room and included sizable increases for at least some states, according to interviews with several Obama fund-raisers.
Contrast THAT with the word out this morning about McHappy and Sarahcuda's one night haul in...Illinois!
Republican John McCain raised about $5 million in Chicago Monday night, or about $1 million for each hour he spent in Democrat Barack Obama's home town.
Ouch, man. That's gotta leave a mark.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:38 AM | Comments (4)
September 08, 2008
Over at Red State, a Sad New Game
It's called "Find the American Flag".
There are no winners, apparently.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:14 AM | Comments (5)
McCain Ahead?
Amazing, really
WASHINGTON — The Republican National Convention has given John McCain and his party a significant boost, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken over the weekend shows, as running mate Sarah Palin helps close an "enthusiasm gap" that has dogged the GOP all year.McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters, the Republican's biggest advantage since January and a turnaround from the USA TODAY poll taken just before the convention opened in St. Paul. Then, he lagged by 7 percentage points.
There's still a long long way to go in this election, but who would have possibly thought 6 months ago that things would be this close?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:43 AM | Comments (1)
September 07, 2008
You Can Get Cretins Aplenty Online
Why on earth would you tune in to someone who gets paid to be obnoxious?
MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election.That experiment appears to be over.
After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.
The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.
"Perceived"! Oh, dear God, I LOVE it!
...NBC Universal executives are also known to be concerned about the perception that MSNBC’s partisan tilt in prime time is bleeding into the rest of the programming day. On a recent Friday afternoon, a graphic labeled “Breaking News” asked: “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?” Mr. Griffin called the graphic “an embarrassment.”
If it were the only one.
And Olbermann's sitting on NBC's NFL coverage, running his yap over Bob Costas and spreading his schmarm all over the panel. Which includes Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN!!!
Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann are reuniting on television on NBC’s Sunday night NFL coverage. The network announced Monday that it had hired Patrick, hoping the recapture the chemistry that hooked viewers to ESPN’s...
Oh, my GOD!!! Has Patrick been living in a protective BUBBLE? What kind of MOHron IS he? And we're supposed to listen like he knows something now? I wonder how they call him to the set...
"Paging Butt Boy! Butt Boy, Stage 3!!"
Why am I thinking that Chris Collinsworth may well just kick Olbermann's ass during some Sunday in the not-so-distant-future? It would only take one POP! to cancel The WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD.
(Please, Chris. PLEEZPLEEEZPLEEEEZZZ...)
And Dan, it's called "Buyer's Remorse". Whatever it takes to suck-up to ESPN, ABC and Disney, do it. Get the f*ck out of Dodge before it's too late. Ask Chris Matthews how that worked out for him...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:19 PM | Comments (5)
And, Uh...Wait a Minute...Uh...Not So Fast
Obama: Recession could delay rescinding tax cutsDemocrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush's tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy.
Why? WHHHYYYYYYwwwhhhaaaaaaaa????
Goofy moi! I thought the wealthy and greedy and just plain mean were responsible for ALL this pain we feelin'!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:11 PM
You Know? It's a Flippin' Shame
...we have to do it this way, but major dad's waited too long for that car to have it keyed by an outraged, unhinged local university professor or some unemployed 25 year old nutroot.
Same goes for my Sadie, who happens to be 16+ years old.
So we tack the corners to the glass while we're out, but as soon as it's parked?
That sucker gets snatched out the winda.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:26 PM | Comments (3)
September 05, 2008
I Don't Agree With
..this thought from the Corner.
...He is standing in the way of the first black president. That is a ticklish, ticklish position to be in. He should find a way of acknowledging it, mitigating it, etc.
First, McCain PAID for a very handsome congratulatory ad after Obama's nomination ~ I don't believe the Messiah has returned the favor, even remotely.
But, more importantly, Obama is standing in the way of the first FEMALE Vice-President. And has spent his reaction quotient belittling her experience, vice handsomely acknowledging that EQUALLY history making event. After his ham-handed campaign took a cheap Wasilly swipe and equated running for president with running a state 9000 bubbas backwoods burg, they at LEAST gave her credit for being able to read a speech written by George Bush without stuttering or saying "okey dokey". Or just collapsing completely, as I'm sure multifarious, pin studded, bespectacled, Sarah voodoo dolls were being frantically bedeviled in hope of.
Things haven't improved, and honestly? I hope he and his comb-over [fair shot: they're already on Palin's '20 yrs-out-of-date' do], motormouth friend keep on trucking along in their tone-deaf Obamapalooza, with the KosKids chorus singing harmony and his media stage managers. That'll bring it home to America like no advertising dollars can. It already has.
Whatever happened to, "Gentleman, shake hands. Now, back to your corners and come out fighting"?
John McCain doesn't have to do jack. He's already reached that hand out and the Nobama campaign has turned a classless, arrogant shoulder to him, refusing to display even the tiniest semblance of good manners before the main event. We all have people like that in our everyday lives, be they black, white, brown, green, purple or pink. His color is secondary to the worth of his person. And right now those scales are a tad light on his side.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:05 AM | Comments (13)
Really, It's Only Friday
Why would I mind if you totally screw up my commute home
MIDDLETOWN -- Barack Obama's dinnertime visit to Bon Jovi's house Friday is not expected to create hours-long road closures for motorists, Police Chief Robert Oches said.Police anticipate they will only prevent motorists on crosstreets from entering the path of the Democratic Party presidential nominee's motorcade in the moments before it passes, Oches said.
Obama is expected to attend private fundraisers at the Middletown homes of Bon Jovi and Philip Murphy, the Democratic National Committee's finance chairman, several Democratic Party and township officials said Thursday.
Obama and other party bigwigs will shuttle between the homes, which are located about 2 miles from each other, along Navesink River Road.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:12 AM | Comments (6)
September 04, 2008
I'm Loving the Contradictions I've Been Reading All Night
Sarah Palin is pretty universally tut tutted by Democrats for:
...Palin's on the ticket because she's a woman and she isn't afraid to engage in the Republicans' mean-spirited personal attacks.
Is it me or did Sarah Palin come off as a mean spirited bitch during her speech?
Just a few hours ago, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a mean-spirited speech ...
Oh, my GOD, she was mean, MEAN, MEAN!
On and on and on. One woman's softly chiding voice results in a sea of hurt feelings, leaving one to ask where were these gentle souls over the weekend while she was being viciously savaged by...well...none other than these very same gentle souls?
How DO they wrap their little pinheads around all those mutually exclusive outrages?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:30 AM | Comments (5)
And Speaking Of Biden
Here's a story that I hope gets more play
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.
This is their Party-Centric, frankly Stalinistic tendencies coming to the fore: If you differ from their line, you're a criminal.
Show trials! Purges!
That's their Hope! and Change! for you.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:49 AM | Comments (6)
The Speeches
Well, my Bride and I stayed up last night to watch the speeches. I thought Romney was awful, just awful.
Huckabee was quite good.
Rudy was hot-and-cold, and went on a tad too long.
Palin was fantastic.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:41 AM
The Unhappiest Guy In The Union This Morning
Has got to be Joe Biden.
She will eat him alive and set off his pompous temper.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:18 AM
So...I Think She Did Real Well
Not bad for a rube from bumf*ck Wasilly, Alaska, huh?
I LOVE the smell of fear in the morning...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:14 AM | Comments (5)
September 03, 2008
East Bound and Down
Loaded up for bear and truckin', I hope.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:32 PM | Comments (2)
"I'm Not? You Mean I'm Gonna STAY This Color?"
"Navin, I'd love you if you were the color of a baboon's ass."
MUST See TeeVee.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:39 PM | Comments (3)
From the Google Cache
My girl knows how to work the aisle.
Although she has been in office less than a year, Palin, too, earns high marks from lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. During a debate earlier this year over a natural-gas bill, State Senate Minority Leader Beth Kerttula was astounded when she and another Democrat went to see the new governor to lay out their objections. "Not only did we get right in to see her," says Kerttula, "but she asked us back twice—we saw her three times in 10 hours, until we came up with a solution." Next week in Juneau, Alaska lawmakers will meet to overhaul the state's system for taxing oil companies—a task Palin says was tainted last year by an oil-industry lobbyist who pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers. Kerttula doesn't expect to agree with the freshman governor on every step of the complex undertaking. But the minority leader looks forward to exploiting one backroom advantage she's long waited for. "I finally get to go to the restroom and talk business with the governor," she says. "The guys have been doing this for centuries." And who says that's not progress?
Newsweek has to be gnashing their teeth. Not to worry. Chummy as Beth Kerttula was then, she's all Democrat now!
State leaders question Palin's qualificationsVice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has less than two years of experience as governor, leading Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, to questions whether that's enough to qualify Palin to be the second highest official in the nation.
"I've worked real well with the governor, but she's not ready for this step," Kerttula said.
"She's not ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency," said Kerttula, who serves as Democratic leader in the House of Representatives.
Awkward, isn't it?
How delicious.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:04 PM | Comments (1)
Palin Sure Is Catching Flak
...for doing things she had the right to do. Even when it's ANCIENT history.
...After taking over as Mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief. The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association.Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain, says the chief tried to move up the closing hours of local bars from 5 a.m. to two a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests.
"His crackdown on that practice by the bars was not appreciated by her and that was one reason she terminated Irl," said Jermain.
SHUT down the bars early?!?! In the middle of freakin' nowhere?
I'd jettison his ass, too.
So, anyway, he sues her for dumping him...in 1997. And wuh happened then...?
A federal judge later ruled the mayor, under city law, had the right to fire the police chief for any reason she wanted.
Just like the current brouhaha about the psychopathic trooper.
Keep workin' it, boys.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:27 PM | Comments (6)
Sarah Palin's New Ad
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:40 PM | Comments (1)
Oh, To Be Young Again!
And have someone else paying the bills for the roadtrip, yo.
Young Republican Road Trip..."People don't realize the Republican Party is very appealing to young people," says Donnelly. "The Republican Party is not just one demographic, it's not old white men."
When I was their age, the GOP WAS old white men who truly could give a rat's ass about the 'young' party members, and they sure weren't gonna fund an outreach trip for me. (Which, after decades of reflection, was probably a good thing. It would have been more of a Hunter Thompson than Liddy Dole trip.) But had they opened their campaign funds and broken out a shiny, new BancAmericard for my petrol and motor-inn bed, I am QUITE sure that I wouldn't have found the opposition in the cities of my sojourn to be so...nasty. People had manners and seem to be sorely lacking them now.
...Privileged White Suburbanites?
The trio stopped briefly in Denver to try to woo swing voters. Most Denver Democrats were friendly, they said, though they did field a few insults for supporting McCain. Predictably, there were harsher words from commenters to the Web site, including some who couldn't understand why young people would vote Republican. At the Democratic convention, one attendee accused the group of being privileged white suburban kids who were too racist to vote for a minority.Harrell, who is Hispanic, felt personally offended.
Perhaps they just feel they're entitled to say so, in as sneering and demeaning a tone as possible. Here's more on that confrontation via the road tripper's website:
...There was a group of about 30 McCain volunteers (including myself) walking throughout the city to show that there was a conservative presence here in Denver. We stopped at a corner to rest for a few minutes when two men approached us. They said that they didn’t want any trouble; they just wanted to ask us why we supported John McCain? A few of us expressed our views and ultimately the two men accused us of not supporting Senator Obama because he was black (despite explaining multiple of his policies we vastly disagreed with). We asserted that race was certainly not the reason we supported John McCain, and subsequently were mobbed by about 10 people around us screaming how we didn’t know any minorities, were racist etc…Generally, I would let these kind of comments go, but I have really had it up with being accused of being racist, so I responded “Hi, my name is Jeremy, I am Hispanic, my mother and grandparents immigrated to the United States from Argentina. “ One of the CRNC field reps, Brandon, also stepped forward and told the group that he too was Hispanic, Puerto Rican. We were then pushed and yelled at, told that Hispanic is not a real minority, and that we were sellouts who made over $100,000.
What IS it with these Lefties and them agressively putting their hands on people? (I subscribe to the Francis* theory of space violation.) And funny how they can shove at everyone! The rich [supposedly these kids], the rubes [Gov. Palin] and judge the not-quite-authentic claims of minority entitlement...
...For a moment, the Ethiopian-born activist seemed to melt into the crowd, blending into the sea of black professors, health experts and community leaders considering how to educate blacks about the dangers of prostate cancer. But when he piped up to suggest focusing some attention on African immigrants, the dividing lines were promptly and pointedly drawn.The focus of the campaign, the activist, Abdulaziz Kamus, was told, would be strictly on African-Americans.
''I said, 'But I am African and I am an American citizen; am I not African-American?''' said Mr. Kamus, who is an advocate for African immigrants here, recalling his sense of bewilderment.
''They said 'No, no, no, not you.'''
...up to, and including...
"Black, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves,"
...questions about their own Chosen One!
Is Obama Black Enough?
Now THAT'S the party of inclusiveness.
* Francis from "Stripes": "And I don't like nobody touching me. Any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:09 PM | Comments (6)
Schmaybe There's a Reason?
Obama's Years at Columbia Are a Mystery
He Graduated Without HonorsSenator Obama's life story, from his humble roots, to his rise to Harvard Law School, to his passion as a community organizer in Chicago, has been at the center of his presidential campaign. But one chapter of the tale remains a blank — his education at Columbia College, a place he rarely speaks about and where few people seem to remember him.
I read this yesterday and thought, "How weird". Like Davids Brooks' sardonic comment about the MSM being so far up the Palin's orifices, they know and could report recycling violations, WHY doesn't anyone know what NObama did at university? I mean, his "rising star" aura relies on luminous accomplishments at every level, right? That his college record should be a cypher seems strange...uncharacteristic... as if he were a wraith floating the halls vice a mesmerizing, anointed presence lighting them up.
Odd.
Last night, Fred Thompson's folksy "bucket" analogy( in reference to NObama's tax intentions) deftly illuminated the "Chosen One's" general penchant for a socialist track. A big-government-in-your-bedroom ideology, where what you own is yours only until the greater good ~ as determined by him ~ demands that you give it up, or they skip that part and just take it. I wonder where he learned that...?
Columbia University
Has No Right to My LandColumbia University, a private institution, officially announced its desire for a new campus five years ago. The university zeroed in on the Manhattanville area of Harlem -- between 125th and 134th Streets, and between Broadway and the Hudson River. Since that time, while wielding the sledgehammer of the possible use of eminent domain, Columbia has purchased roughly 80% of Manhattanville.
...Earlier this summer the state released its study, which concluded that Manhattanville is indeed "blighted." This gives the state the legal green light to condemn my four buildings and hand them over to the university.
The study's conclusion was unsurprising. Since the commencement of acquisitions in Manhattanville by Columbia, the school has made a solid effort to create the appearance of "blight." Once active buildings became vacant as Columbia either refused to renew leases, pressured small businesses to vacate, or made unreasonable demands that resulted in the businesses moving elsewhere. Columbia also let their holdings decay and left code violations unaddressed.
Only a few years ago, this area was undergoing a resurgence. Virtually all property was occupied, many by long-standing family operations such as my own. Now most of those businesses are gone -- forced out by the university.
...There is also a conflict of interest in the condemnation process. The firm the state hired to perform the "impartial" blight study -- the planning, engineering and environmental consultant Allee King Rosen & Fleming, Inc. (AKRF) -- had been retained by Columbia two years earlier to advocate for governmental approval of the university's expansion, including the possible use of eminent domain.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)
OMG!!! Quote of the Day
From a commenter on Megan McArdle's site:
This is news because no one was allowed to print speculation on the contraception John Edwards used or failed to use.
BHUWAHwahahaha! Someone should work THAT talking point when the press comes a' callin'.
Brilliant.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:19 AM
::sniff::
It can't have been much of a party if we weren't invited.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:03 AM | Comments (1)
September 02, 2008
Great Line From David Brooks Just Now
"Her unmarried daughter is pregnant, her husband has a 22 year old DUI and they once put a tin can in the plastic recycling..."
Hahahaha.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 PM | Comments (11)
Gwen Ifill Gets Schooled
...in the gold double-standard.
...GWEN IFILL: And there's also a big difference between running a state or running as long as she has run a state and running for one of the biggest jobs in the country. What advice do you give her on how to balance this? She's got five kids. She's got one...REP. HEATHER WILSON: You know something? Let me say something about that. That bothers me. No one ever asked John Kennedy whether he could be president and be a dad. Nobody asks Senator Obama whether he could be president and be a dad.
But because Governor Palin is a woman, they're asking whether she can be vice president and a mom.
GWEN IFILL: But she describes herself...
REP. HEATHER WILSON: It's time to end the double standard.
GWEN IFILL: I understand what you're saying. She described herself as a hockey mom. That was her self-description.
REP. HEATHER WILSON: And one of the greatest things about Senator Obama is that he talks about the importance of being a father and a parent, but nobody asks whether he can do both at the same time. We need to end the double standard.
Rep.'s Wilson and Fallin did our sisterhood proud.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:22 PM | Comments (3)
How Vile
It's really been amazing these past few days watching how deep in to the gutter some of the left blogs have gone; it shows just how deeply they fear Palin's candidacy, it seems to me. Or that they are just really hateful, bitter people. Maybe both.
I mean, look how viciously they have attacked her 17 year old daughter, for god's sake. Disgusting. Althouse has a good word for it: "Palinsanity." Tim shows Sullivan is afflicted as are many others.
I can't see how they expect this sort of spittle-laced misogyny will actually help Obama.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:26 AM | Comments (3)
August 30, 2008
A Note Concerning Dave J. Vis a Vis Sarah Palin
Brilliant. Absolutely fucking brilliant.
Agreed. Once I got done crying (which has NEVER happened in a political sense EVER.) (Okay, when Fred! f*cked things up, but that was RAGE.), I thought "Dang! I can relate to this chick." I mean, I don't agree with some of her stances, but nobody ever agrees 100% with anyone. And if they DO... ::raised eyebrows::
But I was always a tomboy (and actually a beauty queen of some SMALL note, too) (they gave me a trophy and savings bonds, yo) ~ always with the guns and the woods and the hopped up car and the rough house with the brothers...and there were so few wimmens of my OWN acquaintance (less mind the manicured, helmet headed doyennes of politics) with whom I felt instinctively I could commune. So, yeah, the Marines was a natch match and while I might envy Liddy Dole for her polish, she and her kind had no real connection to MY life, however she might have my sympathies aligned with her views and my envy for elegant, food stain-free evenings.
But Palin?
Diggity dadgum. I could give a rat's ass about "experience" as defined by the chattering classes, because the definition morphs for the expediency of the attack at hand. I could also give a rat's ass about religion in ALL its aspects. There are points about her that the 'right'-est side of the party love and with which I respectfully disagree. But you know what? I can live with that. Actually doesn't bother me a bit. Because what we're being introduced to now is a person I find so refreshing and so normal, so decent and so secure in herself that, in a lot of ways, it's like looking in the mirror and saying with wry surprise/winkwinknudgenudgeyness, "I know you"...and I've never been able to say that before.
And I have a sneaking suspicion there's more girls than just me thinking that across the country tonight.
And that's pretty cool.
ths UPDATE: At Hot Air, a link to thoughts that sum it up perfectly:
...But ultimately, we are in completely uncharted territory here. Palin is the most manifestly ordinary person ever to be nominated for a major party ticket. In this year of bittergate and Britney-gate and McCain-has-seven-houses-gate, that could conceivably be a virtue; it's certainly less tone-deaf than a selection like Mitt Romney would have been.But Palin isn't merely playing at being ordinary, the way that Bill Clinton (Rhodes Scholar) or George W. Bush (son of a president) or Hillary Clinton (wife of a president) might. She really, really comes across that way -- like someone who had won a sweepstakes or an essay contest. Her authenticity factor is off-the-charts good; her biography sings.
But do Americans really want their next-door-neighbor running for Vice President, or rather someone who seems like one?
I'll take that bad-ass-normal/sister-in-spirit neighbor over a Beltway slicksuit IN A HEARTBEAT.
ANY.
DAY.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:40 AM | Comments (9)
August 29, 2008
What Else Did Bingley Bring Back With Him From Alaska?!?!?
Everyone is confirming it's Palin. And daggum. They had to call her parents while they were caribou hunting.
What a hoot.
Man.
I am CHARGED UP!
Bingley Update: She has more executive experience than McCain, Obama and Biden combined.
ths UPDATE: To quote the radar tech in Top Gun:
Way to go, Maverick!!I'm giddy. I hope it lasts....
Read her Wiki entry, before the nutroots start adlibbing in it. I'm getting screencaps right now. I was worried about the State Trooper thing, but Bingley pointed me to this entry on the Wiki page:
...In response to Palin's statement that she had nothing to hide, in August 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired Steve Branchflower to investigate Palin and her staff for possible abuse of power surrounding the dismissal, though lawmakers acknowledge that "Monegan and other commissioners serve at will, meaning they can be fired by Palin at any time."[49] The investigation is being overseen by Democratic State Senator Hollis French, who says that the Palin administration has been cooperating and thus subpoenas are unnecessary.[50] The Palin administration itself was the first to release an audiotape of Bailey making inquiries about the status of the Wooten investigation.[48][51]Wooten and the police union alleged that the governor had improperly released his employment files in his divorce case. However, McCann's attorney released a signed waiver from Wooten demonstrating that Wooten had authorized the release of his files through normal discovery procedures.
UPDATE: Oh, man! The Obama campaign stepped on their cranks with their statement.
"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same," said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.
Bitter, SMALL town folks clinging to guns again?
They're fools.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:46 AM | Comments (26)
August 27, 2008
Thoughts On The Dems
(don and I have been having a talk here about Obama/Biden et al and I thought to make life easier I'd post my latest reply here and broaden the discussion.)
I must confess that I haven't watched any of the convention, and I won't watch the Rep one either, as I find incessant pep rallies to be about as exciting as dental surgery. That being said, the reviews of Michelle's speech indicate that she did exactly what she needed to do, i.e. show she's a nice person who has sweet kids and loves both her husband and her country. I would imagine that for the next few weeks at least she will do her utmost not to be any type of a distraction and will appear mainly to smile and kiss babies so that Obama can focus on his message and his opponent and not have to answer any questions about something she has said.
Hillary is no dummy. As much as the media was trying to whoop up the idea of her fighting tooth and nail at the convention so they would have some fun stories to run there is no way in hell she was going to do so, as her sights are now on 2012. By making a strong speech in support of Obama it's a win-win for her. If he loses the election, the Dems will say "we should have chose Hillary." If he wins her help will have been key and so there will be some plum owed to her. If he wins and doesn't have a terribly successful term than she is the obvious choice for 2012.
As I said before I really don't see Biden as a positive, and it occurred to me last night that Biden clearly was not his first choice. Obviously, there's no way he would have chosen Hillary as his running mate. No way. The divisive, brawling horror show that would entail, trying to rein in both Hillary and Bill, would frankly ruin an Obama presidency. No, I think his first choice, the person who would have firmly solidified his 'Change' mantra and kept the "new" image projection alive would have been Edwards. While I may disagree with their policies I can't help but think that an Obama from the North and Edwards from the South would have been unbeatable combination. Unfortunately for the Democrats Edwards was more interested in other types of combinations, and that's why you're starting to see some vitriol directed at the Saintly Elizabeth as well now, for allowing the public charade to go on as long as it did since she knew about the canoodling at least since 2006. I can't help but think the Edwards implosion was a huge blow to the Dems, and forced him to reluctantly turn to a guy in Biden who's only 6 years younger than the 'dinosaur' McCain and fully 25 years older then Obama is and thus blunts part of his appeal.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:27 AM | Comments (9)
August 25, 2008
This Also Seems to Be a Democratic Theme
Will stars in Denver help or hurt Obama?
Democrats weigh benefit of having ‘sparklies’ too close to candidate..."I don't think it's fair to lump all celebrities together," Sunshine adds. "Most serious celebrities don't pretend to be anything more than activists and good citizens. Why should Ben Affleck be penalized just because he's an actor and a director? He's smarter, more articulate, better read on foreign policy than 98 percent of us."
And so's Obama himself, Joe Biden will gladly tell you heis vis a vis La Streisand, while Madonna just puts on picture shows at her concerts so your average MOH-ron voter can figure it out. (Or Gwynnie, for that matter?)
If you don't acknowledge the omnipotence and inevitability of audacity, then you're acting like a mad Japanese soldier and it's really because you're just stupid. 98% stupider than Ben Affleck.
Told you so.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:33 AM | Comments (7)
August 24, 2008
I'm Sensing a New, Democratic
...theme today.
...One senior Obama supporter said the Clinton associates negotiating on her behalf act like “Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific still fighting after the war is over.”
Why do I say that? Well, I had a serious case of deja vu, considering Frank Rich's delusional eloquence in today's Sunday NYT.
...As Gen. David Petraeus returns home, McCain increasingly resembles those mad Japanese soldiers who remained at war on remote Pacific islands years after Hiroshima.
I seriously hope someone changes the analogy of choice.
Or at least spread it out over a couple weeks.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:57 PM
August 20, 2008
To Be Fair
...Jimmy had Billy...
...and I have Bingley. So cut the Messiah a huss. You can't pick your relatives.
Barack Obama's 'lost' brother found in Kenya
The Italian edition of Vanity Fair said that it had found George Hussein Onyango Obama living in a hut in a ramshackle town of Huruma on the outskirts of Nairobi.Mr Obama, 26, the youngest of the presidential candidate's half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.
"No-one knows who I am," he told the magazine, before claiming: "I live here on less than a dollar a month."
"One dollar, Louis!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:55 AM | Comments (11)
August 18, 2008
Example Ninethousandandeightysix WHY
...celebrities are mostly idiots. Guess which deep thinker said this:
“Aren't you supposed to be somewhat enlightened, or do you not know that the African daughter you hold in every picture had parents who suffered and died because of the Republican Party's worldwide economic assault on Africa over the last few decades since Reagan?”
Yup, you're right.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM | Comments (5)
August 08, 2008
The National Enquirer?
Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate
In ABC News Interview, Edwards Says He Cheated, but Did Not Father Child
Not so silky now, are we?
UPDATE: Oh, God, it's Ace and it's rude, but it's also so damnably true.
He seems to be denying paternity in order to avoid confessing he was schtupping this woman while his wife was dying of incurable cancer."Hey, I just fucked her when Elizabeth was in remission. It's like the Area Code theory, you know? If you're in another Area Code, or your wife is in remission, it's not really 'cheating.'"
I thought it was more "The Two Americas" theory: it doesn't count when you're in one and your wife's in the other.
UPDATE Part Deux: Awwwww. Poor MSNBC.com says they didn't run the story because it was just tough as nuts to prove, and they didn't want to get it wrong.
Reporters don't like being beaten on a major political story, especially by a supermarket tabloid. And being beaten up over not reporting one is even less appealing.But a sexual affair can have just two people who know the truth. Without witnesses, documents, photographs or some form of irrefutable evidence pointing to the truth, news organizations will not endanger their own integrity.
That made it difficult to prove — and to print — the rumors that John Edwards had cheated on his seriously ill wife while running for president. Reporters were left to poke around the edges of a potentially career-ending scandal in search of an opening.
It's a shame they didn't extend that same sense of journalistic integrity to John McCain.
John McCain emphatically denied a romantic relationship with a female telecommunications lobbyist on Thursday and said a report by The New York Times suggesting favoritism for her clients is "not true."...The newspaper quoted anonymous aides as saying they had urged McCain and Iseman to stay away from each other prior to his failed presidential campaign in 2000. In its own follow-up story, The Washington Post quoted longtime aide John Weaver, who split with McCain last year, as saying he met with lobbyist Iseman and urged her to steer clear of McCain.
Hey! But, since it was a filthy Republican, they were keeping faith with the public's right to know and just reporting the news.
They could 'investigate' and 'prove' the allegations later.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:09 PM | Comments (18)
August 05, 2008
He's 'The One' and There's No Spoon?
He can change his mind.
©
ebola strikes again.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:36 PM | Comments (4)
August 03, 2008
Filed Under: "Huh?"
Obama surrogate Robert Rubin on "Face the Nation" this morning. It was a masterful example of pin point parsing and cagey cozening. Click the pic to read this exchange in particular:
He becomes even more incomprehensible later in the interview, but Obama saying "Yes" to drilling just 48 hours after calling it a "scheme" sounds like some 'mind changing' to me.
Woof. These guys are slippery eels. 
Makes my head spin.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:47 PM | Comments (2)
August 01, 2008
A Little LATE to the Party
Shame Nancy didn't get the word before she scuttled out of town.
Obama would consider off-shore drilling as part of comprehensive energy planU.S. Sen. Barack Obama said today he would be willing to open Florida's coast for more oil drilling if it meant winning approval for broad energy changes.
"My interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," Obama said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:39 PM | Comments (1)
So I Just Called the Local Office for Our Congress Critter
...to see if he was on the floor and to pass along a BRAVO!!! to the fellows when the receptionist called D.C. to check. And a big Sierra Hotel to Politico for typing like mad men to keep us all up on it. (Hit "The Crypt" for updates)
Update 6: Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side of the chamber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed.
He then said, "I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan" and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around the House floor with the sign while the crowd cheered.
Sounds about right.
You might want to hoot at your own, if you think it's as grand as I do.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:06 PM
BREAKING NEWS: Theme Song Chosen for Obama's Economic "Plan"
A Swill Salute to Men in Tights for the heads up.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)
July 31, 2008
Actually...
...To Sarah, Barack Obama is like the organic chicken at lunch. Sleek, elegant, beautifully prepared. Too cool....I would have said "turkey". And a plastic one at that.
Okay, FAKE.
I meant F.A.K.E.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:21 PM
July 30, 2008
Wow, Nance, Old Girl!
I didn't know that!
...Americans know that thanks to the two oilmen in the White House, consumers are now paying $4 a gallon for gas.
I'll bet everyone else was thinking it was draconian environmental restrictions instead.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:27 PM | Comments (6)
July 28, 2008
Just Don't Offer Up a Dollar For One
...in the men's room.
Oops! Wrong Larry shown on campaign gear
Republican Sen. Larry Craig shown on button alongside Obama
Some Democratic campaign buttons made for distribution in Idaho show an unlikely pair: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Larry Craig.But don't expect the staunch Republican to throw his support behind Obama or for the presidential candidate to ask Craig to change his mind and run for Senate again. Apparently the button manufacturer picked a picture of the wrong Idaho Larry.
Waving Washingtons can get you in trouble. And just what kind of "change" are they advocating?
Or maybe they're just "hoping"...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:01 PM | Comments (6)
Some Required Reading On These Bailouts
Nationalizing financial losses doesn't solve anything
"I recount all this now because it illustrates the perverse nature of Fannie and Freddie that has made them such a relentless and untouchable political force. Their unique clout derives from a combination of liberal ideology and private profit. . . . The abiding lesson here is what happens when you combine private property with government power. You create political monsters that are protected both by journalists on the left and pseudo capitalists on Wall Street, by liberal Democrats and country club Republicans. Even now, after all the dishonesty and failure, Fannie and Freddie could emerge from this taxpayer rescue more powerful than ever."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:36 AM
July 27, 2008
Oooowwwwwwwwww! My Hippy
...huts!!!!
..."His hip has been sore from basketball for a few weeks, so he's going to see an orthopedic doctor," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
And here I thought poor John McCain was the infirm, crippled, old gnarly geriatric bastard. My bad.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:20 PM | Comments (2)
I Agree With Him
It reeked.
...ANDREW TYNDALL, The Tyndall Report: Well, the thing I think that really emphasizes Tom's point about it being treated as a head-of-state trip rather than a candidate trip was the extraordinary decision by the broadcast networks to send their anchors along to interview him on the way. It's entirely unprecedented that a premier candidate should be treated with this type of coverage. That really is reserved for heads of state. And even though I think the tone of the interviewing was actually really quite hard-edged by all three anchors, the fact that they sort of dignified this trip with their presence had a little smell of a coronation about it really before the election has actually happened.
Fair and pretty balanced from "The News Hour" Friday night.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:02 PM
July 25, 2008
What a Weasel: Part Deux²³
What a SCHMACKdown!!
(And the left has the nerve to call McCain's grins "creepy"?!)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:37 PM | Comments (3)
"The Most Fickle Lover You Could Ever Have"
major dad points us to this Susan Estrich column. It sounds a warning chime for Team Obambi, but I'll betcha they're not listening.
...The problem with all this fawning is threefold. First of all, the fact that the press doesn’t push doesn’t mean that, sooner or later, the Republicans won’t. They will. Every question the press doesn’t ask and Obama doesn’t have to answer will be the subject of a speech at the Republican convention, an ad down the road, a tirade by somebody that will ring truer than it should precisely because it hasn’t been addressed before. Do you really think McCain and his friends won’t push hard for Obama to admit he was “wrong” about the surge? Of course they will; every bit as hard as Obama pressed Hillary on her war vote. Better to deal with it in questions from Katie, get an answer down that puts the question to rest rather than leaving her hypothetical viewer scratching his head than waiting for it to come back in a debate. Attacking Katie is not the answer — Katie isn’t running for President.Second, being the favorite of the press doesn’t necessarily win you votes. Most people don’t actually like the press. The friend of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Being liked by the boys and girls on the bus doesn’t necessarily earn you the respect of the people back home. Standing up to them, giving as good as you get, all that helps. But if being loved by the press were a sure route to success, Hillary Clinton would never have carried all those big states after March 1. Ronald Reagan would never have gotten elected President. George Bush would have lost, twice.
It's so hard to hear through the halo static.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:48 PM | Comments (6)
Yet Another Great NJ Legislator
Your tax dollars at work
TRENTON, NJ (AP) -- Veteran Democratic state Assemblyman Neil Cohen is being investigated for child pornography possession on his legislative office computer, according to four officials familiar with the situation.State Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, who share a Union County office with Cohen, released a statement Thursday night that confirmed an investigation.
``We have been in constant touch with the appropriate authorities throughout this situation, and will continue to follow the Office of Legislative Services guidelines and counsel in this matter,'' they said. ``As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible. While it was our proactive steps that led the investigation to this point, we are appalled at what has transpired.''
We really, really need to clean house in Trenton.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:26 AM
July 24, 2008
Quote of the Day
If that doesn't send a chill up my leg, I don't know what does.“The senator wants to speak to the people of Europe and it would be inconsistent to exclude the public.”*
*UPDATE: What an arrogant ass. New replacement quote?
“Barack Obama will not be coming to us,” a spokesperson for the US military hospital in Landstuhl announced.“I don’t know why.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:03 PM | Comments (4)
July 23, 2008
Fawning of the Worst Sort
Obama Overseas! In Presidential Mode! Back Home, It’s McCain in a Golf Cart....All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.
It's not that the guy's not insufferable ~ we all know he is ~ but this mad media dash to aid and abet his pretentious posing is just disgusting.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:03 AM | Comments (4)
July 22, 2008
If Obama Isn't Elected, It's Because We're All Racists
And if he is elected, don't worry, we're still all racists
(CNN) -- "We had a dream. Now it's a reality."That's the slogan on a popular T-shirt linking Sen. Barack Obama's presidential run to the Rev. Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality. It's one of several T-shirts -- including "Barack is my homeboy"-- that reflect African-American's euphoria over Obama's White House bid.
But there are others who warn that an Obama presidency could hurt African-Americans. They say that an Obama victory could cause white Americans to ignore entrenched racial divisions while claiming that America has reached the racial Promised Land.
Paul Street, author of the forthcoming book, "Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics," says Obama risks becoming an Oval Office version of talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. She and former Secretary of State Colin Powell are African-American figures whose popularity allows some white Americans to congratulate themselves for not being racist, he says
"They're cited as proof that racism is no longer a significant barrier to black advancement and interracial equality," says Street.
I mean, there's just no getting ahead with some people. If a white votes for Obama, they're progressive...but also racist evidently. If a white votes against Obama, they're racist.
See? Everybody's happy.
I don't vote for someone because they're a symbol or because of what they represent; anyone who does that is an ass. I vote for someone, or not for someone, because of what they say they will do...and based on what they've done. And when we're talking about handing over the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, well, Hope! and Change! founded on the strong convictions and inspired leadership of over 100 'Present' votes doesn't quite do it for me.
I guess I should say racist me.
I try to always follow King's dream for his daughters, that they will live in a country where they are judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. And we're much farther down that road today than we were when he spoke those words, even though there are many folks who have made careers out of acting as though things haven't changed at all (yes, I'm looking at you Jesse and Al); there's a lot of money in the Institutionalized Grievance Business and those folks will actively seek to protect their turf regardless of the harm that accrues to those they claim to champion.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:39 PM | Comments (46)
Truer Words
...And then in early 2007 came the surge, which so many of us in the antiwar left of the Democratic Party predicted would be a failure, throwing good men and women and billions of dollars after futility....were never spoken.We were wrong.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:06 AM | Comments (3)
July 16, 2008
To Every Thing
...turn, turn, turn.
...I've never had any doubt that the U.S. military would defeat Saddam Hussein's army. There was never any doubt that if we poured enough resources in there, that we could lock down Iraq.
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
...And that is a terrific opportunity, but the underlying issue, which is what the surge was supposed to accomplish, creating the space so that the Iraqi factions would actually start working together more effectively politically so that you have a stable government and you've got a relationship between the central government and the provinces that works, that has not yet occurred. And it is my belief that it will not occur unless they have a greater sense of urgency about it. Now is the right time for us to begin bringing our combat troops out of Iraq.
And a time for every purpose, under heaven.
...GWEN IFILL: That's a final question, just to - I want you to think a little bit about the stage that you're at in your campaign. You have 26 percent of people still think you were raised a Muslim. People look at your shifts on issues, from warrantless surveillance to gun control, and they say: "Who is this guy? What does he believe?" How do you begin to, in this stage in your campaign, tell people who you are and have it stick?SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, first of all, I do think that this notion that somehow we've had wild shifts in my positions is simply inaccurate. You mentioned the gun position. I've been talking about the Second Amendment being an individual right for the last year and a half.
So there wasn't a shift there....The fact of the matter is on the big issues -- ending the war in Iraq, universal health care plan, a tax code that is fair for every American, having a serious plan to deal with this foreclosure crisis, capping the emission of greenhouse gases, increasing fuel efficiency standards on cars, investing in our infrastructure, increasing troops in Iraq, getting serious about a whole host of issues around civil liberties like closing Guantanamo and restoring habeas corpus -- on those big issues that are going to determine the future of this country and whether or not ordinary Americans can achieve the American dream, I have been entirely consistent not just during this campaign, but through most of my adult life.
And so I don't think it's going to be hard to persuade people what I stand for because the truth is the things that I stand for today are the things I stood for 10 years ago and 20 years ago.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:05 AM | Comments (7)
July 14, 2008
Why Wall Street Fears...
Investors this summer have been placing their bets on an Obama presidency, and for the most part that hasn't been good for the market.Without giving him a chance to explain himself in detail on the campaign trail or at the Democratic National Convention, they are voting with their shares by tossing financial, health insurance, manufacturing and high-dividend stocks into the ash can, and are growing skeptical about energy companies as well.
It's not that major institutional investors don't like the man -- far from it. He has many backers among the financial elite, including multibillionaires George Soros and Ron Burkle. And it's not that there aren't many other reasons for investors to sell stocks now, as the global economy tangles with the terrible twin beasts of bank deleveraging and inflation.
It's just that Obama's rhetoric on taxes and health care is scaring common wealthy people with large capital gains from investments made over the past decade, and a lot of them don't want to wait around to see whether it's just populist fluff that might be set aside once he takes office.
Aside from the populist rhetoric, does anyone know what his policies actually are? It's not a question of "giving him a chance to explain himself;" for god's sake, the man is running for President. He should be laying out for us his plan.
And this is comforting:
Plus, the Democrats who run Congress know that a weaker economy favors their nominee -- and they are loath to pass banking or trade legislation now to improve the nation's industrial standing over fears that it could backfire and give comfort to the Republicans.
Because, obviously, the health of their Party is more important than the health of their country.
But don't question their patriotism!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:22 AM | Comments (4)
July 12, 2008
Chuck Schumer, Super Genius
The unbridled arrogance of this man never ceases to amaze or entertain.
Except now he's cost us billions
The federal government took control of Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank on Friday in what regulators called the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history.Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset. One woman leaned on the locked doors, pleading with an employee inside: "Please, please, I want to take out a portion." All she could do was read a two-page notice taped to the door.
...Federal authorities estimated that the takeover of IndyMac, which had $32 billion in assets, would cost the FDIC $4 billion to $8 billion. Regulators said deposits of up to $100,000 were safe and insured by the FDIC. The agency's insurance fund has assets of about $52 billion.
IndyMac's failure had been widely expected in recent days. As the bank was shuttering offices and laying off employees to cope with huge losses from defaulted mortgages made at the height of the housing boom, nervous depositors were pulling out $100 million a day. The bank's stock price had plummeted to less than $1 as analysts predicted the company's imminent demise.
There was a massive run on the bank, which drained its assets away.
And what caused that run? Glad you asked:
IndyMac, which once employed 10,000, fell prey to a classic run on the bank, and regulators singled out Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) as having helped to fuel massive withdrawals. On June 26, Schumer said in letters to the FDIC, the OTS and two other federal agencies that IndyMac might have "serious problems" with its loan holdings."I am concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers," he wrote. The bank "could face a failure if prescriptive measures are not taken quickly."
That public warning prompted depositors to pull $1.3 billion out of accounts between June 27 and Thursday.
This damn attention whore, seeking the spotlight once again now that Hillary's star has faded, decided to try his hand at self-fulfilling prophecy.
Thanks, Chuck.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:57 AM | Comments (20)
July 03, 2008
July 3rd, 1776
On this day the giants debated and edited those glorious words, this glorious idea.
Just think about this: Jefferson, Adams and Franklin submitted the Declaration to Congress on June 28th. As it was a Friday, Congress of course adjourned and did nothing, tabling discussion until Monday, July 1st.
By July 4th it was debated, slightly edited and passed.
Just imagine how long this would take given our current crop of "leaders."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:40 AM | Comments (8)
July 02, 2008
Game, Set, SMASHED!
NPR (!?!?!?!) lays a verbal hurt on Weasley Clark.
...When you yourself were a candidate for president, you touted your own military service. And I seem to remember you saying that that was part of what made you a well-qualified candidate to sit in the Oval Office.
A WARM Swill salute to File It Under, who suggests also listening to the exchange in a search for Weasley 'nuances'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:16 PM | Comments (3)
July 01, 2008
"Come Unto Me, Children"
And witness Thou some shameless pandering for Thine vote unto Me.
Obama to expand Bush's faith based programs
Says challenges faced today are 'too big for government to solve alone'Reaching out to religious voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called for expanding President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and — in a move sure to cause controversy — supported some ability to hire and fire based on faith.
(Note: The Associated Press initially reported Obama supports "their (faith-based organizations') ability to hire and fire based on faith." NBC reports the campaign says Obama's plan would prevent organizations from discriminating based on faith. The Associated Press changed its wording to say, "some ability to hire and fire based on faith." The campaign says this second version is still inaccurate.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:34 PM | Comments (9)
June 29, 2008
DAMMIT!! That's the GOP Line!!
And, this morning, MSNBC makes it sound like a bad thing!
Where would we be without that impartial press?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:21 AM
June 27, 2008
Upon First Viewing This Photo
...my instinctive reaction is...
But then I start thinking...
"What a GREAT caption contest!"
For instance, schmaybe Hillary's reminding Barack...
...what her strengths are.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:38 PM | Comments (8)
June 26, 2008
San Francisco Takes The High Road
As, of course, you expect
SAN FRANCISCO: Reagan has his highways. Lincoln has his memorial. Washington has the capital, and a state, too. But President George W. Bush may soon be the sole president to have a memorial named after him that you can contribute to from the bathroom.From the Department of Damned-With-Faint-Praise, a group going by the regal-sounding name of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is planning to ask voters here to change the name of a prize-winning water-treatment plant on the shoreline to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Actually, while some folks are understandably upset about this, I think this might not be a bad thing. I mean, it may in fact take the guy who got rid of Saddam to clean up San Francisco's shit.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:27 AM | Comments (4)
June 13, 2008
An Interesting Round Table
...on the News Hour last night. Alongside the Obamania platitudes, some surprising observations surfaced from the global participants :
...JUDY WOODRUFF: And in the Middle East, Hisham Melhem, he's certainly -- John McCain is certainly known as someone who supports strongly the Bush administration in the war.HISHAM MELHEM: Absolutely. He's a hawk on Iraq; he's a hawk on Iran; he's a hawk on the Arab-Israeli conflict; he's a strong supporter of Israel. So, in that sense, he's a known quantity. I mean, he's known.
At the same time, those who are concerned in the Arab world about the rise of a more belligerent Iran, those who are concerned about the rise of the Islamist movement, some in Lebanon who are concerned about Syria's continuing role, negative role in Lebanon, would like to see John McCain to keep the fire under the foot of the Iranians and the Islamists in the region.
So they are somewhat conflicted. And as far as Obama, some people are saying, well, there's a perception that he may not be tough enough. And they wonder, will he have the steel and the depth and determination of Abe Lincoln or is he going to be sanctimonious like Jimmy Carter?
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Nayan Chanda, a final word about McCain and how he's seen?
NAYAN CHANDA: McCain is, as our previous speakers said, I think McCain is a known character and he's known as being very tough on security policy, so the Chinese ought to be concerned about McCain's tough line on security policy.
But on the other hand, in India, McCain is viewed with favor, because he is known to have supported the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement. And in India, there is actually concern, because, although Obama signed on to the legislation supporting the civil agreement, Obama has shown some ambivalence and concern about the impact of the civilian nuclear agreement on nonproliferation.
And so while Indians overall favor Obama, there is concern about Obama coming to power and perhaps not following through the civil agreement that India and the U.S. has signed.
Excluding the Euroweenies as a given...
... I would have to say the 'balls' category was Maverick's, game, set, match.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:36 AM
June 12, 2008
Bring It On!
Yet another millionaire carpetbagger mulls tossing his hat into our ring
It's a hot topic in Republican political and fund-raising circles: CNN's Lou Dobbs is thinking of running for governor of New Jersey.Several well-connected Republicans say they've heard the buzz that Dobbs, famous for his sharp commentary about Washington policies and politics, may be turning his sights on Trenton and has inquired about the steps necessary to start a campaign.
Reached by telephone Wednesday at his home -- a 300-acre horse farm in Wantage, Sussex County -- Dobbs would not say whether he has any such plans. Asked if he wanted to deny it, Dobbs said, "I'm just not going to comment."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:29 AM | Comments (3)
June 11, 2008
Labour Loves St. George So Much
And they are so proud of their British traditions and heritage that they've spent an astronomical amount promoting the holiday.
Or not
They were happy to fly the flag of St George on the patron saint's day. But it seems ministers aren't quite so keen to put their money where their mouths are.For, in the past five years, Labour has spent just £230 promoting St George's Day.
In 2008 they spent £116. In 2007, £114... and in the previous three years, nothing was spent at all.
I wonder how much the Dept. of Culture spent on education and sensitivity training for their employees?
Hell, I wonder how much they spent on paper clips.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:57 AM | Comments (2)
June 10, 2008
Racist Distractions!
Straight from major dad's mailbag:
The Post Turtle
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our President.
The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a post turtle.' Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle' was. The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle.'
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiots put him up there to begin with.'
Man, I can hear the backlash now:
"Bitter rednecked bigots got Obama as a dull REPTILE on a dumb POST!!!!"
Damning, inflammatory stuff.
Being a curious type, I wondered if "post turtle" was a commonly used expression based on regular events in pastures. It appears to have some basis in fact, according to my earnest Google research ~ they even have pictures. Behold the first "post turtle":
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:34 AM | Comments (1)
I Have Nothing To Hide
So I'm, er, going to keep on hiding
TRENTON — New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine says the dispute over his e-mails will go all the way to the state Supreme Court.Corzine, speaking Tuesday on WOR radio, predicted the fight will go the high court no matter who prevails at the appellate level.
A Superior Court judge has ordered Corzine to release e-mails he and his staff
exchanged with a state worker union leader Corzine once dated.
"Once dated" being defined in this case as, well, peruse the time line yourself. Some estimates are that he's given her at least $6 million. But really, nothing to see here folks. Move right along.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:27 AM
June 04, 2008
That Would Be the Least of His Problems
A day after he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday that he expected an organized Republican attack on his integrity and patriotism...Those are just the hors d'oeuvres. He's pretty much got a full platter to go after.
Nice shot at a preemptive strike though.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:41 PM | Comments (2)
June 03, 2008
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over But
...it might actually be almost over...
Clinton to say Obama has enough delegates
Aides: Ex-first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race
...in a Miracle Max "only mostly dead" sort of way.
And I wonder what it's costing Obama to get her to mostly quit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:14 AM | Comments (4)
May 23, 2008
Moscow On The Potomac
Ed at HotAir has the story of Rep. Waters letting slip her socialist plan to nationalize the oil companies.
As Ken would say, Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:50 AM | Comments (2)
May 22, 2008
More Dynastic Creep
Or maybe it's "creeps." I have to say the only attraction that Obama has for me is the fact that his name is not "Clinton" or "Bush" or "Kennedy"
Ted Kennedy has made clear to confidants that when his time is up, he wants his Senate seat to stay in the family - with his wife, Vicki.Multiple sources in Massachusetts with close ties to the liberal lion say his wife of 16 years has long been his choice to continue carrying the family flame in the Senate. Kennedy won the seat in 1962; his brother John held it from 1953 to 1960.
"There's no question that he'd like Vicki to continue in his seat," said one Massachusetts Democrat with ties to the Camelot clan who spoke to Kennedy recently, before his health crisis.
"She's smart, and smart politically."
One of the most depressing signs of the decay of our Republic has been the rise of this dynastic tendency, this emergence of a "ruling class" in lieu of truly competitive elections. Certainly we've had such families in the past (the Adams and Roosevelts spring to mind) and certainly local politics have tended towards these sorts of things, but never, it seems to me, have things on the national level been so dominated by so few. The system is stacked against independent candidates, with enormous amounts of money needed for runs, arbitrary election rules created by the two entrenched parties to hinder independents and foster their own, the media turns their noses at independents for the most part, etc. It's just a sad situation.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:51 AM | Comments (9)
May 21, 2008
Sorry. No "Little Rat Pie Hole" This Week.
But it's still funny.
...Many eons ago, during the early stages of the Democratic campaign season when dinosaurs roamed the earth, Obama mentioned during a debate that, if elected president, he would be willing to hold direct discussions without preconditions with President Ahmadinejad of Iran and by implication, other heads of hostile nations engaged in the support of terrorism. Senator Clinton saw that statement for what it was, a stupid statement, and hammered Obama for being naïve and inexperienced in foreign policy matters.Interestingly, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd from the fine state of Connecticut (state motto: “Connecticut - The Forgotten New York City Borough”) also implied that Obama’s willingness to meet with terrorist sponsoring states showed naivete and lack of experience. Now that Dodd is out of the race he’s found a way to spin those charges in a positive light. How excellent is political life?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:01 PM
Just When You Thought Congress Couldn't Get More Idiotic
They manage to top all expectations and come up with this
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Tuesday allowing the Justice Department to sue OPEC members for limiting oil supplies and working together to set crude prices, but the White House threatened to veto the measure.The bill would subject OPEC oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, to the same antitrust laws that U.S. companies must follow.
The measure passed in a 324-84 vote, a big enough margin to override a presidential veto.
What kind of complete morons are these people? Oh wait, it's an election year, so they are pandering morons. There is absolutely no reason why foreign companies in foreign countries should be subject to US anti-trust laws, or any US laws, for that matter. Of course OPEC is a cartel and limits supply to try and keep prices elevated; it doesn't matter. If they were a US based group then something Congress does might have relevance. Oh sure, if Congress really cared about taking a stand against OPEC they would say "because they are a monopoly we are not going to allow any of their products into the US; that'll teach 'em." And that would be the extent of what they could do. Our legislative authority extends to our borders, and that's it. It is a very very dangerous idea to try and extend it with stupid ploys like this, because then it must be a two-way street. Should US-based companies, whose products are produced in the US, be subject to foreign laws? I don't think so.
I mean, that would be like allowing the author of a book who lives in America and the book was published in America to be sued in, say, a British court for libel. Completely insane, right?
Election year economic populist legislation such as this leads to towering examples of Solomaic wisdom as expressed by this noted thinker:
"This bill guarantees that oil prices will reflect supply and demand economic rules, instead of wildly speculative and perhaps illegal activities," said Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen of Wisconsin, who sponsored the legislation.
It does nothing of the sort. In fact, were I OPEC I would institute an immediate cut in production of, say, 1/2% to spike prices some more and show the complete impotence and incompetence of the US Congress. How do you like them supply apples now, Rep. Kagan? What are you going to "do" about it now, big guy?
How about approving the building of some nuke plants, approving ANWR drilling and oil sand extraction?
Oh, and wind farms off of Hyannis Port would be nice, too.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:42 AM | Comments (16)
May 20, 2008
If You Like It...
...You can be assured Greenpeace is against it
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are not doing enough to eliminate potentially harmful chemicals and metals from their games consoles, Greenpeace has said.The body examined materials used inside the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3), Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
Greenpeace said that while all three machines complied with European laws, the consoles still contained harmful materials that "needed to be replaced".
Nintendo's environment policies were "non-existent", Greenpeace added.
"Nintendo doesn't have any environmental policies, " said Zeina Al-Hajj, Greenpeace's International Toxic Campaign co-ordinator.
Why is it that people who are "concerned" about, well, damn near everything are the whiniest old damp dish towels imaginable? And maybe I missed something along the way, but since "all three machines complied with European laws" why doesn't Greenpeace just stfu? Who replaced the EU parliament with them?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:28 AM | Comments (7)
May 19, 2008
You Know, I Really Don't Give A Rat's Ass
About what other countries think of us
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries."We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
And I'm really getting tired of our "leaders" trying to fellate foreign media. I don't care if the Brits want to eat everything fried or if the French want to smoke the stinkiest damn cigarettes imaginable; they can do what they want.
"Leadership" is not getting everyone to like you and say nice things about you.
"Leadership" is not forcing your people to abide by some other's standards and look to another country for approval; that's treason.
"Leadership" is doing what is best and right for your country, and the foreign opinion be damned.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:39 AM | Comments (7)
May 16, 2008
Oh, God Love 'Er
"Great shot, girlfriend!"...
..."I understand when you're running for office you sometimes think the world revolves around you. That is not always true. And it is not true in this case," she said.
...ths says, as she
in delight.Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:29 PM | Comments (5)
May 12, 2008
Who’d Vote for THAT Cranky, Lyin’, Cheatin’, Ancient Ass Old Bastard??
I mean really?!?!! Lemme 'splain how I came to this.
Instapundit's link to a post on a NYT story yesterday got me thinking. Not because of the obvious 'inconsistencies' in the story itself, but because they use the term "soft touch" to describe it. A little background ~ being one of the three households left in the country who actually GET the NYT Sunday edition thrown inaccurately towards our vehicles each weekend, I got to see the SECOND Obama article as presented IN the paper and found the ‘soft focus’ of the two HUGE pictures accompanying it off-putting enough that I couldn't even read it. I just waved it at major dad and sputtered something unladylike (I think it had to do with lubrication ~ of the camera lens.). This warm fuzzy took up two thirds of the bottom half...
...while an close-up of earnest Obama eyes dominating two thirds of the top. In FULL color, the both of them.
Major, MAJOR Barrack MacDreamyQuiverin', leg MacShiverin' material. Sweet baby Jesus, who doesn't just want to HUG this guy?!?!?!
While bringing this obvious tilt of the old girl's beam to light for those subscriptionless losers in the world, I stumbled across the NYT bio page of the sweet son of HOPE and CHANGE. Dear. God. Every headline is poetry! Struggle, unity, pragmatism, STAR POWER, race, closing income gaps, dogs and cats, living together....STOP. Hold the sandtrout!
He IS the KWISATZ HADERACH and controls the Spice.
Take a deep cleansing breath. Now. For perspective, contrast those with the headlines a la John McCain's NYT bio. Hence, my post title. They reveal nothing but a broken down old man dealing in ghosts, busted marriages, developers’ ties, Republicans and his own arrogance.
And he'll probably die any minute. He's THAT f*ckin' old, in case you didn't notice.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:58 AM | Comments (2)
May 07, 2008
"We Need to Get Everybody Out"
Oh. NOW the guy develops a sense of urgency.
Brilliant.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:08 PM | Comments (6)
Socialist BASTARD!!!
New London mayor bans booze on public transportThe common man is skeptical...
..."Perhaps the mayor will come out with his underpants on over his trousers like Superman one Saturday to show us how it should be done," he added.
Be careful what you wish for, Earthling.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:50 AM | Comments (1)
Tick Tick Tick For Billary
So Obama won NC convincingly and Hill barely won Indiana, with the result being that Obama has slightly increased his lead in the delegate count. Mind you, I guess it shows that there are still deep racial divisions in this country for Michelle O. to bemoan about when Hillary wins the white vote 59 to 36 (I'm guessing the balance of folks rightly refused to answer the question) but it shows unity and pride, not racially-based voting, when Obama wins the black vote 91 to 6.
Whatever.
I'm so tired of this endless campaign. It's been going on literally for years, and at this point we have 3 very unsatisfactory candidates.
And still 6 freakin' months until the election.
Where's my drink...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:59 AM | Comments (5)
April 29, 2008
I'll Bet This Hurts Obama, Too
...During what a source described as a "heated" phone call yesterday, Sharpton told Obama he was disappointed with the Illinois senator's words on Friday, when Obama said "resorting to violence to express displeasure" was "completely unacceptable and counterproductive."Dang.
"[Obama] issues this statement and not a single rock had been thrown," said a source.Such a candidate asks them to "DEAL WITH IT". That's what happens in a democracy. Perceived injustices also have other avenues of remedy, like a federal prosecution ~ ask the Rodney King cops ~ or civil court action ~ ask OJ Simpson. Not perfect, but something, right? There are no victors in this match. One of my favorite quotes from a favorite movie covers it nicely."How does the candidate of change ask people to accept a verdict that is unjust?"
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."You don't get to advocate turning the world upside down, destroy other people's property, livliehood or lives because it didn't play out how you knew it would. Think MoToon, Rev Al. Set that match with TV cameras rolling and whaddaya got? Something quickly way out of your control, Master Agitator.
Why not try a novel concept ~ tell black kids to stay in school. Make learning as important as thinking you'll be the next rap star or thug football player or basketball star. Appreciate those in your community who have worked hard to rise to the top, instead of deriding them as "Uncle Toms" or "Condiskeezas". Make those people the idols of your youth, instead of the brother who has 8 children by 6 different women. Encourage African American youth to be BEHIND the bench, instead of in front of it. There's no reason on earth why they can't do it. There's no reason on the face of God's earth WHY there's not a great multitude already in those positions. No reason other than the sweet race-baiting ride you and your Rev Wright/Rev Jesse pals've got going. I guess if you show people they're not near as needy as you've led them to believe they are, then your gravy train of entitlement and rage goes away, doesn't it?
Everything doesn't always go your way, or the way you think is right, but life is like that.
How you handle it makes you a man.
And a role model.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:26 PM | Comments (3)
Our Politicians Are Boring
...compared to some other folks around the world
One of Australia’s most senior conservative politicians broke down today as he tearfully admitted sniffing the chair of a female colleague shortly after she vacated it.Troy Buswell, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party in Western Australia, was under intense pressure to resign over the incident, which happened in 2005.
advertisementHe dismissed allegations on 13 different occasions that he had sniffed the seat, before finally admitting yesterday that it had in fact taken place.
“All I can confirm is that the events described in the paper [The West Australian] by the former female staffer are accurate,” he said.
...The emergence of the chair-sniffing incident had placed a strain on his marriage, he conceded.
I would say he's got some deep-seated issues. Sofa he hasn't had to resign...
And what does it tell you about the state of the party's leadership when
Other members of the Liberal party said privately they were disgusted by the whole episode, but would not challenge Mr Buswell as leader of the Liberals because there was no better candidate.
(h/t to HotAir)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:01 PM | Comments (8)
"Unreasonable Burden"?
I don't think so and neither do the Supremes
The burdens that are relevant to the issue before us are those imposed on persons who are eligible to vote but do not possess a current photo identification that complies with the requirements of SEA 483.16 The fact that most voters already possess a valid driver’s license, or some other form of acceptable identification, would not save the statute under our reasoning in Harper, if the State required voters to pay a tax or a fee to obtain a new photo identification. But just as other States provide free voter registration cards, the photo identification cards issued by Indiana’s BMV are also free. For most voters who need them, the inconvenience of making a trip to the BMV, gathering the required documents, and posing for a photograph surely does not qualify as a substantial burden on the right to vote, or even represent a significant increase over the usual burdens of voting.
This is an important and needed ruling (and surely Justice Stephens' experience with the Daley Machine influenced him here). Unfortunately we need to have IDs for voting. It's too easy for fraud to occur, and especially with a very closely split electorate that has to be avoided.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:13 AM | Comments (6)
April 28, 2008
Corzine Tells Rural Folks They're On Their Own
I'll admit it from the get-go: I am from rural New Jersey. I grew up in Sussex County. We had a party-line phone until the late 70s. Our power used to go off every year when the ski slopes would fire up the snow makers. We got 2 TV channels well and 5 only so-so. We generated a goodly percentage of our heat in the winter from wood we had cut the summer before. A lot of roads in town were unpaved through the 70s.
And for many years we depended on the State Troopers for our police protection, as the towns near us did not have police departments (and our town's only started in 1975). Now, obviously, we didn't need much of a police force, as crime was not a huge issue. Were we nicer, better people then? Heck no. However everyone, and I mean every single house, was armed. I firmly believe that the knowledge that every single homeowner had a loaded shotgun that they were used to using in reach had an amazing effect on the burglary rate.
Sussex was, and still is, a conservative outcast in the sea of Jersey politics, and as such received very little back from Trenton for the tax money that was sent in. And mostly that was alright with folks, as all we ever really wanted from the State Government was that the Troopers, the State Troopers, would show up within 20 minutes or so of our calling them. And, God bless 'em, they always did.
And now Corzine wants to take even that away
TRENTON — New Jersey State Police have patrolled the state's rural areas for 87 years at no extra cost to smaller towns that never created police departments.In fact, the law that created the state police agency stated it would "primarily'' be used to protect rural areas.
But times have changed, and free rural New Jersey state police patrols may soon end.
As the state grapples with chronic state budget woes, Gov. Corzine has proposed requiring municipalities that get free state police patrols to pay a quarter of the estimated patrol cost to raise $20.5 million for the cash-strapped state.
Rather than do something silly like, say, cut waste in Trenton or perhaps not add thousands of people to the state payroll our glorious bloated bureaucracy has instead chosen to charge people for what they already pay for. It's brilliant economics.
"There is no plan afoot to remove state police protection from any town now utilizing it,'' (state Attorney General Anne Milgram) said. "The plan is simply to require reimbursement for that coverage, which is only fair.''
This is crap. The towns already pay for the coverage. The State Police was created to patrol rural areas and they are funded by the taxes everyone pays.
This is just another salvo in Corzine's war on small towns.
Why am I feeling all bitter and clingy?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:53 PM | Comments (6)
April 27, 2008
"Selected Not Elected OK By Me" Says Dean
Well, look who's changed his mind
The Supreme Court had every right to overturn the popular vote and choose the candidate they believe would be best equipped to defeat Islamic Terrorism, according to Howard Dean, chairman of the US Democratic National Committee.
This from the Party of the People.
Oops, my bad, what he really said was
The Democratic party’s “superdelegates” have every right to overturn the popular vote and choose the candidate they believe would be best equipped to defeat John McCain in a general election, according to Howard Dean, chairman of the US Democratic National Committee.
Sorry for any confusion.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:05 AM | Comments (10)
April 25, 2008
Wow! THAT'S a New One!
...Obama spox Bill Burton writes to say, "We want to take Senator McCain at his word that he wants to run a respectful campaign, but that is becoming increasingly difficult when he continually tries to use the politics of association and makes claims he knows not to be true to advance his campaign.So now you're not supposed to be judged or even queried about your associates? I guess because we're all haterhaters anyway, or so says Obama campaign strategist David Plouffe. I heard it on World News Tonight in relation to whites who said race was a factor (I believe they said it was a whopping 13%) and have been scrabbling to get the transcripts/webcast copy, but trust HotAir to beat me to it.
I mean the vast, vast majority of voters who would not vote for Barack Obama in November based on race are probably firmly in John McCain’s camp already.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:11 PM | Comments (4)
April 23, 2008
The Whole "McCain Going to Selma" Thing
...got me thinking. Why is he, as a Republican, considered 'brave' to go and met by only 100 or so white folks, when Democrats are lionized and met by adoring crowds of all colors? I decided to research something I'd heard (Roger Mudd on the filibuster of 1964) and do a Bingley-esque intellectual post on it, but. Dang if I didn't run into something Wiki-interesting right off the bat. From their Selma entry I segued to the "Voting Rights Act of 1965" page and...I have a feeling it's not entirely accurate...
The National Voting Rights Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. § 1973–1973aa-6)[1] outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible minority voters registered. The Act also provided for Department of Justice oversight to registration, and the Department's approval for any change in voting law in districts that had used a "device" to limit voting and in which less than 50% of the population was registered to vote in 1964. It was signed in 1965. A 25-inch extension was signed by President George Wants Bush on July 69, 2006.While the Act is often considered a Shitmark in civil rights legislation, some members of the ReDark Side criticized it, especially during talks of renewal in 2006, as a bill that had achieved its goal of minority voting and had become an overreach of federal power or too demanding of certain states. Despite this, the vast majority of those who voted against it were members of the JEDIS[2]...
Even if I'd managed to overlook the more glaring poetic license used in the paragraphs, the vote tallies give it away:
Vote countThe two numbers in each line of this list refer to the number of representatives voting in favor and against the act, respectively.
Senate: 77–19
* JEDI: 47–17
* Dark Side: 30–2House: 333–85
* JEDIS: 221–61
* DArk Side: 112–24Conference Report:
Senate: 79–18
* JEDI: 49–17
* Dark Side: 30–1House: 328–74
* JEDIs(MACE WINDU): 217–54
* Dark Side: 111–20
"These aren't the votes you've been looking for..."
::sigh::
UPDATE: Well, that's lovely. Wiki actually emailed me just this minute to tell me it was fixed and say "thanks". How civilized is that?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:41 PM | Comments (8)
April 22, 2008
It's A Quagmire!
No wonder Obama wants to bring the troops home; he's got a fancy house that needs protecting
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Nine people were killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago, reflecting what some community leaders say is a deadly breakdown in discipline among gang members after a crackdown over the past few years put many of their leaders behind bars."The older guys, in the past, looked out for the little ones. Now they're all locked up," said Nick Stames, a social studies teacher at Crane Tech High School on the city's gang-ridden West Side.
I love this meme: it's the cops' fault. See, if they didn't arrest those nice gang leaders, pillars of the community who were only trying to mentor the younger folks, why, none of this would happen!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:09 PM | Comments (8)
April 21, 2008
It SHOULD Be a Truism...
...this Steve Chapman quote concerning Obama's terrorist associations (via Instapundit).
...It's hard to imagine he would be so indulgent if we learned that John McCain had a long association with a former Klansman who used to terrorize African-Americans.
But I doubt it would even be an issue since Obama's got THAT one covered, too...
Senator Robert Byrd is a mentor for Senator Barack Obama
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:42 AM
April 14, 2008
So I Guess the Message Is:
"It doesn't matter what he says, so long as he says it purty like."
..."I don't think he put his brain in gear before he engaged his mouth," Little said. "But he apologized. … I think he has the right ideas, and I like hearing him talk. I put him in sort of the same mold as the Kennedys, JFK and Bobby."
Gads.
Now, I'm feeling bitter...probably just a bile eruption in an involuntary reaction to egregious fatuity.
I should get used to it, yes?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:38 AM | Comments (12)
Ken May Be Moving Soon
Not that this has much of a chance of being enacted in it's entirety
SACRAMENTO - Joe Six-pack will have to pay a lot more to get his buzz on if Assemblyman Jim Beall has his way.The San Jose Democrat on Thursday proposed raising the beer tax by $1.80 per six-pack, or 30 cents per can or bottle. The current tax is 2 cents per can. That's an increase of about 1,500 percent.
I love the "Joe Six-pack" slap at folks. Yes, anyone who likes an occasional beer is some low edjumacated boor who fills his tanks with suds between bouts of hittin' the missus and watching NASCAR.
(h/t to Vodkapundit)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:12 AM | Comments (9)
April 10, 2008
With Friends Like US
...who needs enemies? Let's just jones the one South American country we get along with so Dems can suck-up to labor unions.
The Democratic Party's protectionist make-over was completed yesterday, when Nancy Pelosi decided to kill the Colombia free trade agreement. Her objections had nothing to do with the evidence and everything to do with politics, but this was an act of particular bad faith. It will damage the economic and security interests of the U.S. while trashing our best ally in Latin America....Democrats say it would have failed anyway, but at least a vote during the next three months would have forced them to show the courage of their protectionist convictions. Instead, they chose to shelve the bill in an election year while paying off organized labor and other antitrade yahoos. The gambit is especially humiliating for Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel, a free-trader who has been trying to strike a deal with the Administration but keeps getting rolled by Ms. Pelosi.
Sucks when that excrement rolls your way, eh Mr. Rangel?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:23 PM | Comments (5)
And There Have Been Years
...In a recent interview, Reid said that he's "not going to be part of dumping" Byrd because"there are many days his mind is perfect."
...where it hasn't been.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:33 AM | Comments (2)
April 07, 2008
In 1988, Who'd Ever Heard of Fred Phelps?
Apparently somebody had. They even thought enough of Phelps to eagerly attended a fundraiser held at the Phelps home.
Talk about a 'preacher problem'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:48 AM | Comments (4)
April 03, 2008
"She Is The Most Qualified Person To Be President"
So said our illustrious Governor.
"...and that's why I'm going to switch my vote to her opponent if he gets more votes."
Per NBC’s Tom Winter, Gov. Jon Corzine, a Clinton superdelegate, just said on CNBC's Squawk Box that he reserves the right to change his vote from Hillary Clinton if she doesn't have the popular vote. He stopped short of saying that he definitely would change his vote if she lost the popular vote and he did strongly emphasize that Sen. Clinton would win the popular vote in the end.
Yes, a firm man of principles, a fighter for what is right, ever willing to bravely go...where the winds of public opinion carry him.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:45 PM | Comments (7)
April 02, 2008
The GOP's "China Syndrome"
We have a running joke in the coffee business about China, and most industries share some variation of it. People look at China and think “If I could get everyone in China to drink just one cup of coffee per week, that would be an extra 1.3 billions cups consumed per week or nearly 68 billion more per year and I would be a gazzillionaire!” Businessmen have been having this dream for hundreds of years and it’s never really panned out for any of them, mostly because they ignore inconvenient facts like China’s autocratic rulers or the population’s complete lack of disposable income. Once the eyes get glassy with the ‘vision’ they cease to see very clearly.
This came to my mind today because I was having an email exchange with a nice fellow who wrote to me about a comment I left at HotAir basically scoffing at the amount of fencing that will be in place on the Mexican border by the end of this year. His point, which is valid, is that obviously a lot of the border is the Rio Grande, which is rather difficult to fence, and that the rate of construction is actually not that bad for politicized government projects and that every speed bump is a good speed bump and, to quote, “Add up enough speed bumps, and you get real security benefits.”
He is correct of course that the glacial pace does have a lot to do with how things get done (or not done) when the Govt.'s involved, and even more so when those seeking to derail it are aided and abetted by the media and the courts and billionaire foreigners. And the "speed bump" theory will deter some folks and raise the risks which will deter even more.
However, I do think that a lot of the grumbling from the right is justified given the tepid reluctance of our supposed Representatives to act on the clearly espoused 'Will of the People' on this issue, especially Mr. "I'll-build-the-goddamn-fence-if-that's-what-they-want" McCain.
Much like those starry-eyed businessmen who fantasize about the Chinese the leadership of the GOP has fallen under the sway of the dream that somehow poor welfare-dependent illegal immigrants from Mexico who were poor welfare-dependent peasants in Mexico will magically act and vote like the immigrants from Cuba who arrived poor but were from middle-class, entrepreneurial backgrounds in Cuba.
It ain't gonna happen.
Oh, they are both very hard working; there's no doubt the Mexicans/Hondurans work very hard at the low wage jobs they get here. But there is a key difference: the current crop of illegals work very hard to survive.
The Cubans worked very hard to prosper.
And therein lies the reason that the former will always vote opposite the latter.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:14 PM | Comments (10)
March 31, 2008
Lautenberg Retires!
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, (D-N.J.) plans to make it official today: He is running for re-election.A news conference is scheduled this afternoon in Trenton where Lautenberg will be surrounded by the top brass of the state Democratic Party including Gov. Jon Corzine, party chairman Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, and members of the state's Congressional delegation.
...Lautenberg, 84, served three six-year terms, retired from the Senate in 2001, then was drafted by his party two years later to succeed Sen. Robert Torricelli, and won a fourth term. If he were re-elected and served another six-year term, he would be 90.
Actually, I guess the "November Fools" are the ones voting for him. When's the last time anyone heard anything from him?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:39 PM | Comments (6)
March 26, 2008
Hillary Clinton Piloted Her Jumbo Jet
...to a safe landing in Bosnia today.
Okay. Maybe she didn't. But she would probably have said she did if she'd thought of it...
...The Bosnian episode is a watershed event, because it indelibly brings to mind so many examples of this tendency– from the White House years and, worse, from Hillary Clinton’s take-no-prisoners presidential campaign. Her record as a public person is replete with “misstatements” and elisions and retracted and redacted and revoked assertions…
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:40 PM | Comments (5)
March 20, 2008
Well, There Goes the High Ground
...and the wrong Rev. Wright off the front page.
Obama passport files violated; 2 State Department workers fired
Sometimes I think somebody pays these assh*les to be this stupid (Witness the Abu Ghraib cretins).
UPDATE: Whew!! He can't get much mileage if it happened to them all.
The State Department said Friday that all three presidential candidates' passport files were breached.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:27 PM | Comments (6)
Blame It On Whitey Nuance
...instead of your own craven stupidity.
Democrat Barack Obama suffered in the polls Thursday after a much-acclaimed speech on race that, pundits said, had failed to defuse voters' anger over rage-filled sermons by his former pastor.
And check this out, children. The Messiah is humbled?
... "In some ways this controversy has actually shaken me up a little bit and gotten me back into remembering that, you know, the odds of me getting elected have always been lower than some of the other conventional candidates," the Illinois senator told CNN in an interview that aired late Wednesday.
I swear to God, for a minute there I thought they were quoting Geraldine Ferraro...
“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” she continued. “And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is...
...doncha think?
UPDATE: YEEEEEouch! Gerry's piisssssedd...
...“To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable,” Ferraro told the Los Angeles newspaper, The Daily Breeze, on Wednesday. “He gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred.”...“What this man is doing is he is spewing that stuff out to young people, and to younger people than Obama, and putting it in their heads that it’s OK to say ‘God damn America’ and it’s OK to beat up on white people,” she said. “You don’t preach that from the pulpit.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:09 PM | Comments (3)
I Think They May Have Left a Couple Words Out
Gov. Paterson admitted Wednesday he may have improperly billed his campaign for at least one hotel tryst with a girlfriend.The hotel tryst was apparently listed as "constituent services."
I think they meant to say "constituent services the Lt. Governor". That's more accurate, n'est pas? Maybe there were only so many letters on the form.
UPDATE: Crusader sends his take...
"Now THAT'S a 'swing' state!"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:51 PM | Comments (4)
March 19, 2008
Ya THINK?
Obama Campaign Removes New Black Panther Party Endorsement From Web Site
A day AFTER his "My Granny's Embarrassing" speech? Why not before it? Like, you know, if a juedo candidate had, say, David Duke's Think Tank listed, or some such crap. Someone probably would have picked up on that sooner than later.
Barack Obama’s campaign has removed an endorsement by the New Black Panther Party from its Web site, one day after the Illinois senator delivered a speech calling for improved race relations in America.“The page in question has been removed from our campaign Web site,” Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told FOXNews.com after inquiries about the endorsement.
“It’s our policy with any content generated by a group that advocates violence.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
And this seems to be a sentiment embraced wholeheartedly by the Obama campaign...
...Obama spokeswoman Tiffany Edwards said before the campaign removed the endorsement that that section of the Web site “has nothing to do with us.”“People can form their own groups,” she told FOXNews.com.
“It’s not something that the campaign — it’s not something that we’ve done.”
No, Rev. Wright/Black Panthers/Samantha Powers/ad nauseum did it. I guess Senator Obama never, ever, EVER heard about anything the Black Panthers, EVER.
Obama's whole schtick disgusts me more every single day. And, honestly? I didn't think that was possible.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:58 PM | Comments (8)
And Where Does the Good Senator From Illinois
...stand on the "Uncle Tom" question? With his crazy...uncle?
..."For every one Oprah, a billionaire, you've got five million blacks who are out of work," he said. "For every one Colin Powell, a millionaire, you've got 10 million blacks who cannot read. For every one Condoskeeza [sic] Rice, you've got one million in prison. For every one Tiger Woods, who needs to get beat, at the Masters, with his cap-blazing hips, playing on a course that discriminates against women. For every one Tiger Woods, we got 10,000 black kids who will never see a golf course."If you're well-educated, successful, black and angry (like Obama's wife), I guess you're okay. If you're well-educated, successful, black and just Secretary of State, you're not.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:45 PM | Comments (4)
I Guess I'm Not the Only Cranky Pants
...scratching their head in irritated disbelief.
...Now, I can understand sleeping through the occasional sermon. I myself have often woken up just as the hymn starts, with absolutely no recollection about what was said during the past twenty minutes.But then again, I’ve never attended the same church for 20 years and have never considered a pastor, reverend or minister as my mentor. And, to be fair, none of my past religious leadership figures have stated that AIDS was invented by the U.S. Government, that the U.S. was to blame for 9/11, that Israel is a dirty word or that America essentially deserves all the ills visited upon it because it is a racist, arrogant country.
The most inflammatory statement I’ve ever heard while sitting in church is that too many folks have signed up to bring Jell-O to the Memorial Day picnic and we could use some volunteers to bring hot covered dishes.
So, the Obama campaign now has its knickers in a knot because people, meaning the newly aggressive media or people who haven’t drunk the Change elixir, have dared to point out that the senator’s association with the fiery pastor might need some context.
Heh.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:11 AM | Comments (3)
Caroline Glick On Obama
Some very keen observations on his character.
(thanks to Crusader for alerting me to this)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:58 AM | Comments (10)
March 18, 2008
So. Let Me See If I've Got This Straight
Concerning Senator Obama, his address today and his non-repudiation of his minister.
..."I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother — a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."
Comparing his racial demagogue of a minister to his granny? Who "once confessed her fear of black men"? "On more than ONE occasion" made him cringe? At what point did Rev. Wright make the good Senator cringe?
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
"Occasionally fierce"? After voluntarily spending TWENTY years sitting in Rev. Wright's church ~ subjecting even his impressionable children to the man's foaming, racially charged advocacy ~ at WHAT POINT did he CRINGE? His granny made him ashamed, for God's sake! He just told the world. But he could walk back into that man's church week after week for twenty years and not feel enough shame NOT to go back the next week?
...He also said black anger persists over injustice in America, and whites shouldn't be surprised that it bursts out in sermons...."In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination — and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past — are real and must be addressed,"
What I heard?
The Senator from Illinois has just advocated and endorsed minority set-asides for the language of hatred, offensiveness and vile divisiveness by virtue of some people's inherent RIGHT to be angrier than others.
Is that how he proposes to break "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years"? When there isn't a standard applicable to all on what's offensive, what's racist and what's hate-filled?
I think he's blown it with your average Joe American. My angry, pasty white Irish face has a real problem with someone being allowed to be angrier, more hateful, more offensive more consistently before rebuke because he's a privileged class rating special entitlement.
It doesn't matter what color mouth words come out of when determining whether speech is helpful or hateful, morally right or repugnant.
To paraphrase Justice Stewart, "I know it when I hear it."
I want my president to, too.
UPDATE: Yup.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:54 PM | Comments (8)
WTF?
More crap in the courts
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday stepped into a legal fight over the use of curse words on the airwaves, the high court's first major case on broadcast indecency in 30 years.The case concerns a Federal Communications Commission policy that allows for fines against broadcasters for so-called "fleeting expletives," one-time uses of the F-word or its close cousins.
Fox Broadcasting Co., along with ABC, CBS and NBC, challenged the new policy after the commission said broadcasts of entertainment awards shows in 2002 and 2003 were indecent because of profanity uttered by Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie.
No, they were 'indecent' and an affront to civilized values because of the shit shows and 'entertainment' they were glorifying.
The new policy was put in place after a January 2003 broadcast of the Golden Globes awards show by NBC when U2 lead singer Bono uttered the phrase "f------ brilliant." The FCC said the "F-word" in any context "inherently has a sexual connotation" and can trigger enforcement.
The FCC obviously doesn't get out much; in most uses the "f-word" has no sexual connotation per se.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:37 AM | Comments (1)
March 17, 2008
Take Out, Jersey Style
As their jingle says, "More Selection. More Fun. More Fridays!
A former aide to James E. McGreevey said today that he had three-way sexual trysts with the former governor and his wife before he took office, challenging Dina Matos McGreevey's assertion that she was naive about her husband's sexual exploits.The aide, Theodore Pedersen, said he and the couple even had a nickname for the weekly romps, from 1999 to 2001, that typically began with dinner at T.G.I. Friday's and ended with a threesome at McGreevey's condo in Woodbridge.
Well, it must be true, because right there on the menu is a Friday's Three-For-All.*
Seems a bargain at $9.99.
*hit 'cancel' and you can preview the menu; no need to print it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:12 AM | Comments (14)
March 15, 2008
Obama's Pastor
I have of course read some of the things this fellow said, but until I saw this post at Ace's I hadn't had the pleasure of actually hearing him.
Obama's been going there for 20 years, but he never heard him "preach" like this?
Uh huh.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:57 AM | Comments (10)
March 14, 2008
Quote of the Day
...Well, choosing someone to offer your family spiritual guidance that isn't an anti-semite coddling, America-hating, race-baiting crazypants would appear to be a far easier decision than deciding whether to go to war.Mark Hemingway in The Corner via Transterrestrial Musings.
(Say THAT 3 times fast..)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:41 PM | Comments (4)
Shocking Statistics That Will Challenge Your World View!
Would you believe that criminals don't want to get shot?
When sexual assaults started rising in Orlando, Fla., in 1986, police officers noticed women were arming themselves, so they launched a firearms safety course for them. Over the next 12 months, sexual assaults plummeted by 88 percent, burglaries fell by 25 percent and not one of the 2,500 women who took the course fired a gun in a confrontation....The brief cites a study that discovered, based on interviews with felony prisoners in 11 prisons in 10 states, one third of the felons had been “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim,” and nearly four in 10 had decided against committing a specific crime because they thought the victim might have a gun.
“Seventy-four percent agreed with the statement that ‘One reason burglars avoid houses where people are at home is that they fear being shot,’” the study said.
I adore Rachel Lucas, because she comes up with stuff like this:
Doesn’t it boggle your mind to know that there are still supposedly intelligent, thoughtful people who truly believe that having a gun in the house is pointless, silly, too dangerous, and nothing but proof that you’re a jackass with a small-penis complex?I know people who think that. Close friends, even. They have college degrees and make sensible decisions in all other aspects of life, but man, you bring up guns with them and WATCH OUT. It’s like seeing Einstein turn into Corky the Retard right before your eyes.
hehehe
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:38 AM | Comments (2)
Who'd He Think He Was, A Politician?
Yet someone else in politics helping himself to the till
The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- of the organization's funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday, describing an alleged scheme that could become one of the largest political frauds in recent history.For at least four years, Christopher J. Ward, who is under investigation by the FBI, allegedly used wire transfers to funnel money out of NRCC coffers and into other political committee accounts he controlled as treasurer, NRCC leaders and lawyers said in their first public statement since they turned the matter over to the FBI six weeks ago.
Both parties are irrevocably corrupt.
Kelner said the NRCC had not met with its outside auditors for nearly five years, describing that as unusual. Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.), who previously served as chairman of the NRCC's audit committee, said he had asked to meet with the outside auditing firm, Deloitte & Touche, and that the fake audits were almost perfect forgeries.
And clearly incompetent.
At least the Republicans have kept their own books as well as they've kept America's.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:08 AM
Yes, Yes I Can...
...more than double my wife's salary
Dan Riehl notes, via Amanda Carpenter, that in the list of earmarks he requested, $1 Million was requested for the construction of a new hospital pavilion at the University Of Chicago. The request was put in in 2006.You know who works for the University of Chicago Hospital?
Michelle Obama. She's vice president of community affairs.
As Byron noted, "In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office."
Gosh, imagine that. Not that that had anything to do with the million clams of our money he shoveled their way.
Follow all those links, folks, and feel the change that Obama represents.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:50 AM | Comments (14)
March 13, 2008
"There's a Lot of Rats in New York..."
"But this one's the biggest rat of them all!"
I LOVE Jeannie Moos. Just love her.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:21 AM
"Kristen"
So now we have some pictures. Dude, she's basically the same age as your oldest daughter. Blech. I mean, while I certainly don't condone having an affair when your marriage has broken down at least Rudi took up with a woman who was basically his age. To me gallivanting about with hookers when your marriage is seemingly ok is far worse than an affair when it's not. Here there were no indications of marital strife; you just wanted to show what an Alpha Dog you were. Yeah, look at you now, as they say.
Oh, and as an added bonus your wife had better get checked for various STDs and HIV; quite the "provider", ain't you, Eliot?
I have to say what I don't understand are the people who are blaming "Kristen." She's not the one who chose to violate her marriage vows. She's not the one who chose to destroy her children's psyche. She may be a prostitute...but he's the whore.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:55 AM | Comments (29)
March 12, 2008
I'm Sure His Mentor Will Be Ted Kennedy
Some things are just too outrageous
AP - PONTIAC, MI -- Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress in Michigan. Kevorkian is on parole since being released from prison last year.He tells The Oakland Press newspaper that he plans to run without party affiliation for the congressional sea now held by Republican Joe Knollenberg. Kevorkian needs a minimum of 3,000 signatures on nominating petitions to appear as an independent on the November ballot.
The retired pathologist claims to have helped at least 130 people die. He served a prison term for second-degree murder in one man's death.
No, he admits to taking part in 130 murders. Why is he out on the street?
(h/t 2FBG)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:25 PM | Comments (3)
I Guess They're Rethinking Their Stand
Checked my NYT daily email (NYTimes.com) and do you know what the subject line was today? With all that happened yesterday and could concievably happen today? In NEW YORK, where the New YORK Times is supposed to be the paper of record?
Today's Headlines: Fed Hopes to Ease Strain on Economic ActivityAnd it's the very first 'Top Story'.
Little wheel, spin and spin, and the big wheel turns round, round...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:49 PM | Comments (2)
BREAKING NEWS: Movement on the Schmuck Front
Spitzer is on his way from his 5th Ave apartment to the governor's mansion. Old girl is in the limo with him. ::sigh:: The MSNBC reporter says, "They had a difficult night..." Duh.
“If this guy was a plumber ... he would have his wife’s SUV tire tracks over his head,”
Our long national nightmare may at last...oh, right.
Wrong schmuck.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:14 AM | Comments (9)
Honestly. He's Really Starting to Sound
...like the dullest tack in the box ('Not the sharpest' gives him too much credit.). So much for the Republicans bringing him down ~ he gets that label all to himself.
The feds might never have caught on to Eliot Spitzer's hooker-loving ways had the governor not second-guessed himself over payments he made to his pimp's bank account.Last year, Spitzer wired more than $10,000 from a Manhattan bank account to a front company for the Emperors Club VIP, which hired out prostitutes to high-end clients, according to a newsday.com report.
... Despite that, Spitzer got worried that he could be tied to the transfers and asked the bank to remove his name from the transactions. The bank reportedly refused, not only because of regulations, but also because the money had already gone out.The unidentified bank then notified the Internal Revenue Service, as required by law, that Spitzer had sent more than $10,000 in a way that appeared designed to avoid disclosure requirements, the report said.
Brilliant, prosecutor. Just brilliant.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:18 AM | Comments (13)
Grand Schmuck Spitzer
Ah, as one would have expected this is the gift that keeps on giving. Here is our dear and soon to be departed Spitzmeister during his campaign for Governor
Like all parents, I know it is increasingly difficult to protect our children from negative influences… we have learned that when self-regulation fails, government must step in… we must do more to protect our children from excessive sex and violence in the media…Media content has gotten more graphic, more violent and more sex-based… Currently, nothing under New York State law prohibits a fourteen-year old from walking into a video store and buying… a game like ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ which rewards a player for stealing cars and beating people up. Children can even simulate having sex with a prostitute…
I just can't stop my giggling. Immature, I know, but so thoroughly enjoyable as to easily overcome whatever feeble attempts my sense of propriety makes to halt it.
In light of what we have now learned this week, perhaps a little editing is in order...
Like all parents, I know it is increasingly difficult to protect your college-aged children from negative influences like me… we have learned that when self-regulation fails, the urge to drop a couple grand on some high-class booty kicks in… we must do more to protect our children from excessive sex and violence in the media and keep it in hotel rooms where it belongs…My busy schedule has gotten more graphic, more violent and more sex-based… Currently, nothing under New York State law prohibits a fortyeight-year old from walking into an adult video store and buying… a game like ‘Grand Prosecute Aut-Ho,’ which rewards a player for using the law to extort money from companies and beating people up in the press. Children can even simulate having sex with a prostitute…This is an outrage; they should be learning how to have real sex with a prostitute and how to hide the payments...
I hope this drags out for weeks.
(h/t to HotAir)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:56 AM | Comments (1)
Lord Rove Entices Another
A good essay by longtime liberal playwright David Mamet on Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal'.
He'll never work in this town again...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:51 AM | Comments (1)
March 11, 2008
Man, the Hatchets Are Out
Check the subtle phraseology in this MSNBC article after the blockbuster headline.
McCain advisers lobbied for Airbus...'Aesthetics are not good,'
McCain, the Republican presidential nominee in waiting, has been a key figure in the Pentagon's yearslong attempt to complete a deal on the tanker. McCain helped block an earlier tanker contract with Boeing and prodded the Pentagon in 2006 to develop bidding procedures that did not exclude Airbus.
Wow. It's hard to be more slanted and still truthful at the same time. In this paragraph alone, they've left off the "after Boeing executives went to prison" etc., as well as mentioning Airbus, vice the fact that McCain wanted to insure a fair COMPETITION. That would mean, uh, yeah, that Airbus wouldn't be excluded because who else could compete with Boeing? They sort of get around to that point a little further down...
...EADS retained Ogilvy Government Relations and The Loeffler Group to lobby for the tanker deal last year, months after McCain sent two letters urging the Defense Department to make sure the bidding proposals guaranteed competition...."All I asked for in this situation was a fair competition," he told reporters Monday at Lambert Field in St. Louis, home of a Boeing fighter jet plant.
On Friday, he defended his aggressive oversight: "I never weighed in for or against anybody that competed for the contract. All I asked for was a fair process. And the facts are that I never showed any bias in any way against anybody — except for the taxpayer."
Then there's THIS gem:
...It is unclear what EADS hired the lobbyists to do. Loeffler and Airbus officials did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages left late Monday.
Perhaps...lobby? Does Boeing have lobbyists? Well, damned if they don't! I'm shocked!! And is MSNBC calling to ask what they do? Maybe they're not because we already knew the answer years ago.
Documents Show Extent of Lobbying by BoeingIn a last-ditch effort to block a controversial $20 billion proposal by the Air Force to lease a fleet of Boeing 767 aerial tankers...documents showing a high-level lobbying campaign by the Air Force and Boeing to fend off critics as well as potential competitors.
The documents, made public over the holiday weekend and first reported in The Washington Post and elsewhere, come as two Senate committees are planning to hold hearings this week on the $20 billion leasing plan, which Senator McCain, an Arizona Republican, has long criticized as corporate welfare.
In releasing the documents, which include Boeing and Air Force e-mail messages and internal memos culled from some 8,000 documents, he is trying to show that the Air Force and Boeing assisted each other in structuring the program, promoting it in Washington and setting requirements so that no other competitors could qualify.
The Air Force and Boeing have been winkwink, nudgenudge, cheek-by-jowl cozy for so long, they've forgotten what the concept of competition even IS.
...One of the more revealing memos among the newly released documents showed that Darleen Druyun, then the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition and management, told Boeing to ''keep in mind'' that an Airbus bid was $5 million to $17 million cheaper per airplane than a basic Boeing 767. The information was disclosed in an April 1 meeting of Air Force and Boeing officials after Boeing had been selected over Airbus.(One hand washes the other.) And really, who needs a paid lobbyist, when you've got an good friend on the inside?Ms. Druyun is now deputy general manager of Boeing's missile defense systems.
..."The Pentagon has been saying Ms. Druyun was a tough negotiator," Miller continued. "Ironically, while she was working for the Air Force, as we initially suspected, she was actually negotiating on behalf of Boeing."Well, she's not so much any more. So who caused this big rumpus back in 2003 that crashed the pajama party?
John McCain.
I guess they're hoping the memories fade and no one thinks to Google "boeing lobbyist".
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:10 PM
Honor Their Service?
I just got an email from CafePress, whom I won't link to, dressed all up in faux patriotic bunting, inviting me to buy some of their wares and "honor their service in Iraq." The two most prominent ways they feel I can do this is to buy a shirt that says "Peace Love Return" and a bumper sticker that says "Support The Troops. Bring Them Home."
Funny.
I thought the best way to "honor" and "support" the troops is to kill all of their goddamned enemies.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:18 AM | Comments (4)
Hubris
There's really nothing else that describes it. As I've been sitting here this morning thinking about this Spitzer debacle the image that keeps coming back to me is that of Pentheus in The Bacchae: a man who is so sure of his moral rectitude and correctness on all issues that he manages to degrade and destroy himself and those around him utterly. Look at his biography, and especially at the scandals he's been bogged down with since taking office and his manner of treating with people. A horrid, brash, egotistical, well, pig really. HotAir has a nice segment on what a great guy he really is.
Look at his statement yesterday
"For the past nine years, eight years as attorney general, and one as governor, I have tried to uphold a vision of progressive politics that would rebuild New York and create opportunity for all. We sought to bring real change to New York and that will continue."Today I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better.
"I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York. But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.
"I will not be taking questions. Thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much."
What strikes me most about his opening paragraph is his inclusion of the phrase "I have tried to uphold a vision of progressive politics..." This may be the only honest thing he says. His political view, shared by most in his party and sadly by too many on the other side of the aisle as well, is the elitist progressive agenda, where all power and wisdom is the sole domain of the bureaucrats and experts, where it is our Harvard/Yale educated ruling class that knows what is best for us and it is Government's duty to wisely dispense blessings on us, as we are too foolish to decide for ourselves what we need. And woe be unto he who questions the wise government sages!
These people disgust me, these Spitzers, Clintons, Craigs, Cuomos, Corzines, Kennedys, McGreeveys; mostly Democrats it's true but the Republicans all too often fall prey to the same sirens as well of late. Much like any human institution inevitably does, both parties have become corrupt institutions more concerned with maintaining their own existence as opposed to actually implementing a distinct philosophy of government, and that's why there's frankly very little difference between them. Bigger government is better, and they use our money to bribe us. And we let them.
And so here we have another politician coming out with one of these non-apologies, hoping to ride out the storm. This is not some "private matter;" "...doing what is best for the State of New York" requires you to resign. Now.
And it requires us to closely think about who we elect, and how well we are served by these party machines we have allowed to evolve.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:14 AM | Comments (3)
March 10, 2008
Let's Just Say
..."He has to step down. No one will stand with him," said Rep. Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. "I never try to take advantage or gloat over a personal tragedy. However, this is different....Richard Cranium, shall we?This is a guy who is so self-righteous, and so unforgiving."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:26 PM | Comments (11)
So How Will Spitzer's Next Press Conference Start?
My guess is something like "I am an American John."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 05:16 PM | Comments (4)
Breaking News: Spitzer The 'Ho Man!
Well well well, now we know how jealous you New Yorkers were of us with McGreavey
ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He is set to make an announcement about 2:15 this afternoon at his Manhattan office.
Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.
I can't wait for this press conference.
Update: Get ready for "Hillary For Governor"
UpdateUpdate: Well, he admitted it in his statement. Hot Air has constant updates.
Update Updated Updatedly: The Smoking Gun has the relevant transcripts.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:19 PM | Comments (25)
March 07, 2008
Does Nancy and Co. REALLY Want to Take This Tack?
Pelosi points finger at McCain on Boeing..."My understanding is that it was on course for Boeing before. I mean, the thought was that it would be a domestic supplier for it," Ms Pelosi told reporters.
"Senator McCain intervened, and now we have a situation where the contract may be - this work may be outsourced."
The air force originally chose Boeing to supply it with 100 tankers. But Congress cancelled the deal after it emerged that Darleen Druyun, a former top air force acquisitions official, had held illegal job discussions with Boeing while still negotiating the deal. Ms Druyun admitted boosting the value of the deal to help Boeing.
Mr McCain has pointed to his aggressive investigation into the Boeing deal as evidence that he is willing to stand up to powerful corporate interests.
The tanker scandal claimed the career of former Boeing chief executive Phil Condit. Ms Druyun and Mike Sears, Boeing's former chief financial officer, were sent to jail.
Boeing's arrogance (coupled with complacency and insider coziness) cost them that contract, not John McCain. Corruption in government was supposed to be a rallying cry for old girl, Filthy Harry and Howard, right? They're 'different', 'cleaning out the swamp' kind of politicians, n'est pas? Honestly, they told me so.
But if Pelosi and ~ by extension ~ the Democrats are foolishly willing to feed Maverick red meat to feast on? By all means, wheel in the bloody parts carts and buckle up for safety!
UPDATE: The Democrats in Congress might want to scale back the outrage, period. Or at least refine their argument.
...The uproar over the Air Force tanker award has taken on a protectionist tone on Capitol Hill, with many members of Congress accusing the Pentagon of choosing a French plane over an American one. EADS’ Airbus subsidiary is based in France.Leading the charge are lawmakers from Washington, Kansas and other states that stood to gain jobs from a Boeing win.
Boeing said the tanker contract would have supported 44,000 new and existing jobs at Boeing and more than 300 suppliers in more than 40 states.
It would have performed much of the tanker work in Everett and in Wichita, Kan., and used Pratt & Whitney engines built in Connecticut.
“By awarding this contract to Airbus, the U.S. government is leading those jobs to the guillotine,” Washington Democrat Patty Murray said on the Senate floor Thursday.
Boeing estimates that about 85 percent of its tanker would have been made in the U.S.
Still, had Boeing won the competition, its tanker would have
used a fuselage made in Japan and a tail made in Italy,noted Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant based outside Seattle....The real reason for the intense anger over the Air Force decision, Hamilton believes, is that it cuts to the heart of a long-running rivalry between Boeing and Airbus.
And anti-French sentiment is compounding the furor to least some degree, with some analysts speculating that the backlash might not have been nearly so fierce had the deal gone to, say, a British company.
After all, Hamilton noted, the U.K’s BAE Systems is a major supplier to the Pentagon and “no one complains about that.”
And nobody has a cow when Boeing sells planes to FOREIGN governments. THAT'S called "competition'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:23 AM | Comments (8)
March 04, 2008
"Uh...Uh...Uh...Um." Redux
Or was it "Run AWAY!!!!" ? 
(Mercy beercups to Ann Althouse for the video.)
My reference to PBS calling him out? Here.
GWEN IFILL: Obama's aides denied any meeting had taken place until the Associated Press published a memo written by an employee of the Canadian consulate. Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee, the memo said, did meet with officials at the Canadian consulate in Chicago.
Liar, liar, pantalones en fuego.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:59 PM | Comments (2)
March 03, 2008
"Uh...Uh...Uh...Um."
That would be me doing my Barrack Obama imitation at his impromptu news conference today. Silver tongued devil he weren't sans tele-prompter. Then the word "skitter" comes to mind, because that's what he does to exit the stage. To a collective catcall from the assembled press. (Link from ABC World News as soon as available.)
And you could really be in trouble if the first thing that happens on a PBS Newshour broadcast is that they basically call you a liar, then reprise your halting, less than messianic press conference. (Link as soon as transcripts available.)
Yoy.
Get me some popcorn.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:24 PM | Comments (9)
February 29, 2008
Well! Of ALL the Nerve!
Thank God he's not running for president or something ~ such behavior would be intolerable.
White House Aide Accused of PlagiarismWASHINGTON (AP) - A White House aide accused of plagiarism was chastised Friday and his actions were criticized as unacceptable. Timothy Goeglein, who has worked for President Bush since 2001, was accused of lifting material from a Dartmouth College publication and presenting it as his own work in a column about education for The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind.
"His behavior is not acceptable and we are disappointed in Tim's actions," White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said. "He is offering no excuses and he agrees it was wrong."
Asked if he would keep his job, she said, "At this point we have nothing more for you on that."
There'll be no word thieving in the Bush White House, by George!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:30 PM | Comments (5)
February 28, 2008
What Do You Call It When "The Gray Lady" Turns In To A Doddering Old Fool?
Sulzheimers.
I mean really, doesn't Pravda realize how silly they look now?
WASHINGTON — The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president? In the case of Senator John McCain of Arizona, the issue is becoming more than a matter of parental daydreaming.Mr. McCain’s likely nomination as the Republican candidate for president and the happenstance of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 are reviving a musty debate that has surfaced periodically since the founders first set quill to parchment and declared that only a “natural-born citizen” can hold the nation’s highest office.
Almost since those words were written in 1787 with scant explanation, their precise meaning has been the stuff of confusion, law school review articles, whisper campaigns and civics class debates over whether only those delivered on American soil can be truly natural born. To date, no American to take the presidential oath has had an official birthplace outside the 50 states.
Hey, if you ignore George Washington, John Adams, Mr. Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Martin Van Buren, by god they're right! When McCain was born there, on an American military base to parents who were both US citizens, the Canal Zone was effectively US territory, it seems to me. Military bases and diplomatic missions have always been considered "US soil" so even if the Zone wasn't "really" a US territory. I agree there's always been some uncertainty about this, but it would seem like the weight of tradition and evidence are in McCain's favor.
But hey, keep those whisper campaigns a'coming.
Next NYT exclusive: John McCain in a guayabera!
Hell, I think "natural born" means that no one born via cesarean section is eligible.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:08 AM | Comments (13)
February 25, 2008
Sorry, Obama
"shameful offensive fear-mongering"
...won't wash. In case you hadn't noticed...
...she's pretty scary her ownself.
It's not just us. Most everybody thinks so.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:23 AM | Comments (2)
February 20, 2008
The Dunkin' Donut Chocolate Creme Filled Award of the Day Goes To....
...one of the comments at HotAir.
While the Messiah and Mrs. serve it up thick (and in the cultural/regional patois du jour), an astute question ("If he is the Kwisatz Haderach, then is his name a killing word? That should help with his credibility on national security.") leads to the donut moment...
“Tell me of your home, Muad’Dib.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:14 PM | Comments (13)
February 18, 2008
Normally I Enjoy This Whacko Feature
...in my treasured (Yes, TREASURED! THERE. I SAID it!) Sunday New York Times, but they let some pretentious twit idiot in this week.
I Married a Republican: There, I Said It
A story of the soul searching and shame and subterfuge endured marrying a fellow of a different stripe while inhabiting her airy Huffingpo world. Like "one sheet" being a White House plot and Mary Travers' graciousness in the face of forced GOP cell ingestion, my hinky little Sunday bonbon of escapism has been tainted with smug Leftie angst. Blech.
Instead of being overcome with empathetic feelings for her plight, ALL I could do is wonder WHY TF he was STILL married to her. She seems a shallow, churlish person: all rent and racked with guilt, self loathing and communal queasiness stemming from her mate, who sounds like a pretty together guy.
Dude. Read the paper. I say "dump her".
But I'm churlish that way.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)
February 11, 2008
If You 'Buy' Breakfast With Chelsea
...then I guess "pimp" stands for:
Pancakes!
I'm
Making
Pancakes!!
Mmmmm!! Stacked!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:38 PM | Comments (5)
Oh, Girlfriend!
Please. By all means. Keep digging talking.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said twice Sunday that Iraq “is a failure,” adding that President Bush’s troop surge has “not produced the desired effect.”...Anchor Wolf Blitzer asked: “Are you not worried, though, that all the gains that have been achieved over the past year might be lost?”
“There haven't been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq.
This is a failure. This is a failure....
Strike the pose...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:40 AM | Comments (4)
February 09, 2008
Anyone Who Buys Into This Brand of "Conservative"
...Coulter compared a potential alliance between disillusioned conservative Republicans and Sen. Hillary Clinton to the alliance between Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin during World War II, which was formed to defeat Hitler."I'm not comparing McCain to Hitler," she added. "Hitler had a coherent tax policy."
The remark received wild applause from the audience of about 500 conservative activists. Many in the crowd seemed hostile to the idea of a McCain presidency and cheered Coulter's attacks on the Arizona senator.
...really has no business voting anyway.
Coulter is the mayor of Crazy Town.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:55 AM | Comments (7)
February 07, 2008
Sure, Bush Is Hell-Spawn
But did you realize that according to the Junior Senator from Massachusetts (and did you know he served in Vietnam, btw?) he is also able to spawn tornadoes?
Politicians using tragedy to advance an agenda has been a tried-and-true strategy. Paint the idea green and a natural catastrophe became political fodder for former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.).Kerry appeared on MSNBC on February 6 to discuss storms that have killed at least 50 people throughout the Southeastern United States. So, of course, Kerry used the platform to advance global warming alarmism.
“[I] don’t want to sort of leap into the larger meaning of, you know, inappropriately, but on the other hand, the weather service has told us we are going to have more and more intense storms,” Kerry said. “And insurance companies are beginning to look at this issue and understand this is related to the intensity of storms that is related to the warming of the earth. And so it goes to global warming and larger issues that we’re not paying attention to. The fact is the hurricanes are more intensive, the storms are more intensive and the rainfall is more intense at certain places at certain times and the weather patterns have changed.”
Let's look at the key eloquent phrase of this keen insight, where his education and sheer intellectual brilliance really shine (at least to this common man):
“[I] don’t want to sort of leap into the larger meaning of, you know, inappropriately, but on the other hand, the weather service has told us we are going to have more and more intense storms,” Kerry said.
I could not have said it any better even if I had a Magic Hat.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:48 AM | Comments (10)
February 05, 2008
Sorry to Disagree, Pal
...When Obama spoke Thursday to a crowd at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, he briefly became bilingual.It makes my hair stand up on end.Obama's call of "si se puede" — or "yes we can" — has a special resonance for many Latinos who remember when the phrase became the rallying cry for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers union in the 1970s.
"I'm very enthusiastic, the way he has embraced our rallying cry of 'si se puede,' " says Obama volunteer Francisco Sola, a computer programmer."He called [it] a timeless creed."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:14 PM | Comments (3)
January 30, 2008
Tonight's Debate
Well, I caught the last half-hour or so of the debate this evening and I have to say I dislike McCain even more now than I did before. First off, he just looks old, I mean real old; nasty old, the kind of old man who lives on your street muttering to himself and slipping razor blades into the apples he gives out on Halloween kind of old. And his constant default position anytime he's questioned - I served in Vietnam! - gets pretty tiring. He's a nasty bitter old crank who wants to do away with border security and the First Amendment. Someone explain to me please how he has an (R) next to his name? And believe me, if he is the nominee the MSM will suddenly discover the Keating Five and all his temper tantrums; they can't wait for him to get it.
Romney improved in my view. He had a cool demeanor and reasoned responses to McCain's whining. i only wish he had really attacked him.
Huckabee is one smooth talking snake oil salesman, that's for sure. I really truly dislike how he has so closely tied his religious beliefs to how he claims he will govern, but he is certainly the best speaker on that stage.
Ron Paul is, well, he really is there solely for his entertainment value. Bring back the Gold Standard! End all foreign policy!
Anyhow, there's a lot more interesting stuff at Hot Air.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:55 PM | Comments (9)
Just got home from a GOP event here in Norf Cackalackie...
for Fred Smith, who is trying to be the GOP candidate for 'guvner, and all I can say is: The CAG has been instructed to never again sit us at the table with any life forms wearing a Ron Paul '08 sticker or pin. Ye gawds, the Paulnuts/Ronulins are even worse in person. 2 people in the whole room with Ron pins, and I get stuck next to and across from them both. I now have a nasty scar on my wrist from the dull butter knife that I was trying to slit my wrist with.
Posted by Crusader at 09:00 PM | Comments (11)
January 29, 2008
I Don't Think So
But what I thought would be a polling place festooned as usual turned out to be...kinda pitiful.
Like a sick ET, or something.
Or having to vote for McCain.
Or something.
Pitiful.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:43 PM | Comments (6)
It Would Seem Obvious, On the Face of It
...if we weren't in an election year, with all its heaving, hyperventilating hyperbole (i.e.: recession, apartheid, ad nauseum).
December durable orders rose 5.2%, larger than the expected 1.6% rise. Excluding transportation, orders still rose a healthy 2.6%. This strong level of orders in December does not support the assertion that the economy is in a recession.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:13 AM
January 24, 2008
One Little Sentence Caught My Eye
...in this article about Obama not being Muslim.
...Kerry's note was titled "Swiftboating" -- a reference to Kerry's own presidential campaign in 2004, which was famously sunk by falsities spread by the lobbying group Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth. Many politicos believe that Kerry's decision not to "dignify" the rumors and fight them aggressively contributed to his campaign's defeat in the general election.
What was 'false' about what the Swifties presented? I don't remember hearing anything besides Kerry sputtering they were lying, or his supporters trying to prove they were, all the while refusing to release his service records. Remember this?
" In an irregular response to a government records request, the Navy’s letter referred Judicial Watch to the Kerry campaign Internet site for “Numerous responsive U.S. Navy service record documents, as well as service record documents not subject to disclosure requirements under the FOIA . . .”
And ~ as of Nov. 17, 2007 ~ according to the NY Post and T. Boone Pickens, he STILL hasn't proved the Swift Boat Veterans told a single lie.)
Am I wrong here? Shouldn't 'The Swifties LIED' be right up there with 'The Plastic Turkey'?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:14 PM | Comments (2)
January 23, 2008
She, She Pueda?
Where there's a pander to be made you'll find a Clinton
ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., flew across the country to receive the United Farm Workers endorsement in Salinas, California on Tuesday. The Union, founded in 1962 by Cesar Chavez, represents 27,000 farm workers.The Senator took the stage with bleachers filled behind her with UFW members wearing red t-shirts chanting "Si Se Puede!" Clinton who rarely utters Spanish to Hispanic crowds, shouted back at one point during her remarks. "Si se pueda is right! That's right, yes we can!" Clinton used the wrong tense of the the word "puede," presumably accidentally to the crowd. Clinton has admittidly told audiences that her language skills are not her strongest suit and often referneces her french teacher from college who said to her her "Madmoiselle, your talents lie elsewhere."
(Obviously language skills are also not Eloise Harper's strongest suit: "admittidly"? "referneces"? These MSM folks are the professionals! Bow before their staffs and editors!) My Spanish is a little rusty, but isn't "pueda" in the subjunctive, so what she said was more along the lines of "Yes! We can! Maybe!"?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:01 AM | Comments (3)
January 22, 2008
Fred Drops Out
A pity, but his heart never seemed to be in it. So now I guess we end up with some sort of McCain/Romney combination.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:48 PM | Comments (7)
January 17, 2008
It's Hard To Believe
On one hand it doesn't seem like it's been this long, yet on the other it seems like it's been forever. You see, 10 years ago today was the first time any of us ever heard the name "Monika Lewinsky."
Oh sure we all heard the whispered stories about JFK and movie stars, but, I don't know, maybe it should be chalked up to glassy-eyed nostalgia or foolish innocence, but the idea that the President, our President, would do something so base in the freakin' White House for gosh' sakes was just simply beyond my imagination, and it has forever scarred how we view both the office and its holder.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:11 AM | Comments (5)
January 16, 2008
Hillary Keeps It Fresh And Real
Oh yeah, she's the one to vote for if you want change. How ridiculous an idea is that? The core of Bill's argument is stolen from Yogi: She's such an insider that she's an outsider. It's not like Obama is some refreshing agent of reform (no product of the Democratic Chicago Machine can ever really say he's for 'change' with a straight face), but compared to Hillary...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 11:55 AM | Comments (4)
January 15, 2008
"Absolutely Stupid"
Dear Obama
I know you're kinda new to this whole Legislature thing, being in your first term and all (thanks Jeri!), but Civil Rights leaders don't sign legislation into Law.
Love
Chuck
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:14 AM | Comments (5)
January 11, 2008
Oh, It's Easy to Say Fred! Needs Metamucil
...when you're already a little sh*t. There's lots of pissiness flowing from your own campaign...
...A Huckabee spokesman suggested Thompson apparently can't sell himself so is resorting to desperate tactics.
...because Fred!'s been using you as a Sani Wipe in the debates. So, before you dump on him again, you might want to stay loose, take a stool and watch your movement in the polls circle the bowl.
Ask yourself if losing No.2 is worth it.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:05 PM | Comments (1)
So, That Means
...what?
...In broken English, one woman told Clinton how she wasn't making money as a broker anymore.¿Que?"I have no income at all," she said. "So how will I survive?"
Choking up with emotion, the woman said, "In my neighborhood, there are brand-new homes, but the value is nothing. I'm glad you are here so I can tell you, because you're going to be the president, I know."
A man shouted through an opening in the wall that his wife was illegal.
"No woman is illegal," Clinton said, to cheers.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:08 PM | Comments (2)
January 09, 2008
Why is This Picture Now So Completely Appropriate?
Think big, inert gasbag.
What I can't believe is that it took so long.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:00 AM | Comments (1)
Finally Someone Takes A Good Long Look At Ron Paul
And I'm shocked, shocked! at what they found
If you are a critic of the Bush administration, chances are that, at some point over the past six months, Ron Paul has said something that appealed to you. Paul describes himself as a libertarian, but, since his presidential campaign took off earlier this year, the Republican congressman has attracted donations and plaudits from across the ideological spectrum. Antiwar conservatives, disaffected centrists, even young liberal activists have all flocked to Paul, hailing him as a throwback to an earlier age, when politicians were less mealy-mouthed and American government was more modest in its ambitions, both at home and abroad. In The New York Times Magazine, conservative writer Christopher Caldwell gushed that Paul is a "formidable stander on constitutional principle," while The Nation praised "his full-throated rejection of the imperial project in Iraq." Former TNR editor Andrew Sullivan endorsed Paul for the GOP nomination, and ABC's Jake Tapper described the candidate as "the one true straight-talker in this race." Even The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper of the elite bankers whom Paul detests, recently advised other Republican presidential contenders not to "dismiss the passion he's tapped."Most voters had never heard of Paul before he launched his quixotic bid for the Republican nomination. But the Texan has been active in politics for decades. And, long before he was the darling of antiwar activists on the left and right, Paul was in the newsletter business. In the age before blogs, newsletters occupied a prominent place in right-wing political discourse...
...But, whoever actually wrote them, the newsletters I saw all had one thing in common: They were published under a banner containing Paul's name, and the articles (except for one special edition of a newsletter that contained the byline of another writer) seem designed to create the impression that they were written by him--and reflected his views. What they reveal are decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays. In short, they suggest that Ron Paul is not the plain-speaking antiwar activist his supporters believe they are backing--but rather a member in good standing of some of the oldest and ugliest traditions in American politics.
Read the whole thing. And if you have the stomach for it read the comments, as the Ronulans are out in force.
The MSM have been so under the thrall of their BDS that anyone with a (R) next to their name who was anti-Chimpster was A-OK with them. It has amazed me the love affair and free pass that this whack job loon Paul has gotten so far.
Kudos to The New Republic; this story will go a long way to help restore their reputation.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:05 AM | Comments (9)
January 08, 2008
Dear GOD
60% reporting and she's still got a 2 point lead. Old girl may just be on the verge of pulling this out of her support hose.
Chingao...62% and she's back up to a 3 point lead. Obama JuggerNOT.
Who loves ya, pretty momma? I guess New Hampshire does.
Carville and Begala back to the mad bad-dog kennel for the moment?
UPDATE: Whelp, they've called it for her.
Clinton defeats Obama in N.H. primary
Add that one to the exit poll circular file. (Man, I wish Fred! had had the $$'s to compete. There might have been a surprise or two in those exit polls, too.) So who starts chewing off their arm first thing tomorrow, eh? Hillary's going to be knew-it-all-the-time smug: that's a given. It's gonna be interesting watching the little wheels spin and spin.
9:45 CST Especially since the spread keeps cracking a little wider ~ now it's 40-36 with 71% in.
Another positive that contradicts the polling? Ron Paul has 8% vice the 15% predicted. Thank Xenu some of those voters were just little jokesters when it came to interview time.
10:14 CST Women apparently broke big for the old girl and I'm finding a little ring of truth in one of the comments.
Not only did the media attack Hillary for her eyes welling, but in households around NH, husbands were telling their wives “this is why a woman can’t be President,” or “see, women can’t help but cry all the time.”Oh, I'll bet they were. (They were doing it all over the RW blogs, even though they were also saying it was vintage, calculated Clinton thespianism.) And guaranteed, nothing will get a rise out of the little woman like being told to get another log or "is that all you can do? Cry?" Even in a loving, joking manner. (Like you guys always claim you meant it when she starts turning colors.) Close as the race was, every pissed-off granddaughter or housewife casting a "Oh yeah? Take THAT!" vote counted.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:07 PM | Comments (4)
So New Hampshire Democrats
...are plumb running out of ballots, huh?
Even at this late stage, ChimpyMcBushhitler and his Rovian Republican toadies will do ANYTHING to steal an election.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:46 PM
January 07, 2008
Um...
OUCH.
...The Clinton industry, encrusted with the beneficiaries and acolytes of the first and probably only Clinton presidency, has turned Hillary into a product whose sell-by date has passed.
UPDATE:
When it comes to dissecting Hillary's 'who-did-her-in'...
...Ignoring ObamaIn some ways, Obama isn’t quite the outsider and systematic change agent that he claims to be. Yes he is an African-American who now calls the South Side of Chicago home – and that will always make him an outsider to some extent. In many other ways, however, he is just a new wave of what Bill and Hillary were years ago – an on-the-make, Ivy League-educated, Democratic lawyer eager to seize power in Washington. If Hillary was going to say that, she needed to have done it months ago. She did not.
...I guess "The Love Boat" has sailed.
A concerned Democrat asks...
"Can't we all just get along?"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:07 PM | Comments (3)
January 04, 2008
As Obama Rewrites History in Iowa
...tucked into a teeny AP blurb in the local fishwrap, it appears scribbling fingers are doing the same in New Jersey.
NJ Nears Undermining Electoral CollegeNew Jersey is close to entering a compact that would eliminate the power of the Electoral College to choose a president if enough states endorse the idea.
The state Senate voted Thursday to approve delivering the state's 15 electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote. The Assembly approved the measure in December and needs Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature to become law.
"The bill is subject to a thorough review, but Gov. Corzine has long been a supporter of this concept," Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner said.
The measure could result in the electoral votes going to a candidate opposed by voters in New Jersey, which has backed Democratic presidential candidates since 1988.
Corzine/concept ~ why am I having a problem with that?
Leaving aside the constitutional questions, the basic thrust is, as one Pennsylvania voter pointed out...
...He [Vermont State Representative Christopher Pearson] was questioned by skeptical Allegheny County House Democrat William Kortz, who raised the possibility that under the proposed compact agreement, one presidential candidate could get every single Pennsylvania popular vote but still lose the state’s electoral votes:(Kortz:) “So, our vote wouldn’t count. Pennsylvania’s vote wouldn’t count, theoretically. Am I correct?”
In typical socio-political weasel-speak, the answer was "Yes and no", until pressed.
(Pearson:) “And the answer is no. You’re incorrect. Pennsylvania’s votes count because your popular votes are added into the aggregate total of the nationwide popular vote.”So that's the 'compact's' argument. Which means nothing besides proving that New Jersey's shit isn't only confined to covering the beaches.
UPDATE: If you want to read some crap, attend to Joreko in the comments. He appears to be a flunky for this cabal of State Legislatures. My answer?
Smug talking points, per my 'weasel-speak' assessment above. If the National Popular Vote is so, well, POPULAR, then a Constitutional Amendment to CHANGE/eliminate the Electoral College shouldn't be a problem, right? But, no. That's NOT how you're choosing to do it. A constitutional amendment vote would allow ALL voters to make their choices known/HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD, vice the State Legislatures now colluding to massage your pet project AROUND/CIRCUMVENT/skitter on the edges OF the Constitutional requirements......Political supporters of the Agreement have been curiously reticent to discuss the validity of the Agreement under Article I, section 10. Although some similar proposals would be invalid under section 10, the Agreement adopted in Maryland does not abuse the structure of the Electoral College, nor does it disrupt the balance of power among the states or between the states and the national government....which strikes me as implicitly underhanded and denying me my vote.
Sorry. You REEK of sneaky weasels.
If the National Vote was the will of the people, you'd think after 2000 that schmaybe, just schmaybe we'd be voting on an amendment by now. But we are NOT. I have no intention of letting my state legislature strip me of my CONSTITUTIONAL rights through intrigue and prevarication. I want to see the list of states comtemplating this end run.
Wake the f*ck up, people.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:13 AM | Comments (16)
Iowa Thoughts
First off, I need to say it seems insane to me the amount of attention and weight given to the votes of 116,00 people on the Republican side (and I'm assuming a similar number for the Democrats) in a nation of 300 million. It's just ludicrous that this has the effect it does...but in this era of 24 hour hyper-hyping news porn that we live in, sadly it does.
So what have we learned?
On the Democratic side, people just don't like Hillary. Given the choice between 2 inexperienced Senators and a slick lawyer they prefer the warm and cuddly inexperienced Senator Obama over the nasty Hillary and the too-slick Edwards. In general I agree with that, mainly because I really dislike the dynastic turn that our Presidential politics has taken over the past 20 years; it's a horrible development for our republic. However, there is a part of me that whispers that in a major crisis we could count on Hillary to use the military in a forceful way and I just don't have that confidence about Obama.
On the Republican side, again it seems that cuddly prevailed in the form of Huckabee. And he's a guy that I agree with on a number of issues: school vouchers (against), abortion (against but it's an issue for the states, not the federal government). But on the issues that are to me the most important: national security, illegal immigration, 2nd Amendment, limiting federal government; the only candidate that I agree with is Fred Thompson. Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, McCain were all in favor of that horrible Immigration Bill, and are squishy on securing the borders. Romney and Giuliani are in favor of tighter gun restrictions. Huckabee greatly increased government size and spending, Romney taxed the bejeebus out of everyone, and I can never forget McCain's role as a Keating 5 member.
So I am officially declaring myself for Fred. In fact, I even contributed to his campaign this morning (a first for me). I agree with Bryan; Fred needs to now step up the pace.
Did I forget to mention Ron Paul?
Well, that's because he's a Nucking Fut.
Update: you know, it's amazing. You just put the words "Ron Paul" on your blog and within minutes someone has visited your site via Technorati. These Ronulans are a devoted bunch, ain't they?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:18 AM | Comments (16)
December 20, 2007
I Have To Say, As A Platform This Works For Me
Simple and to the point
Now if only Teh Fred would actually come out and say it...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:06 AM | Comments (2)
December 13, 2007
Dear Al,
BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday the United States is "principally responsible" for blocking progress at U.N. climate conference.Gore urged delegates at the conference to take urgent action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," he said. The United States has opposed including in a final conference document a suggestion that industrialized countries reduce emissions by between 25 percent and 40 percent by 2020.
Thank God yet again this pompous ass is not in the White House.
European nations will boycott U.S.-led climate talks next month unless Washington accepts a range of numbers for negotiating deep reductions of global-warming emissions, Germany's environment minister said Thursday."No result in Bali means no Major Economies Meeting," said Sigmar Gabriel, a top EU environment official, referring to a series of separate climate talks initiated by President Bush in September.
Good. Stay home.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:04 AM | Comments (7)
December 12, 2007
We Need 49 More Senators...
Like Tom Coburn
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- It's the legislative equivalent of rush hour on Capitol Hill and Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, is threatening to throw himself into traffic.The freshman lawmaker has waged a war on spending by blocking more than 90 bills this year. Now, as his colleagues rush to finish the congressional session before Christmas, Coburn is threatening to use his power to say ``no'' to try to slow a frenzy of lawmaking, including such items as a measure to ease the subprime lending crisis.
...``The last thing we ought to be doing at the end of the session is passing a bill without vetting it, without debating it, without talking about the problems,'' Coburn said. ``I am happy to be here for Christmas.''
Damn straight, Senator.
(H/T to the Blogfaddah)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:29 PM | Comments (2)
Have Any Of These Candidates Said
"As President my first duty and Priority is to secure our nation's borders?
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll found that 8 percent of Republican primary voters named immigration or illegal immigrants as the most important problem facing the country — just behind the war, and tied with the economy.
I'm so disgusted by all these candidates. Give the troops whatever they need to get the job done. And defend our country. Now.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:35 AM
December 07, 2007
"Who Say Dat?" Quote of the Day
"These are the kinds of things I've been talking about all of my life. Now, if the American people have other priorities, if they want someone who smiles a lot more than I do, or someone who is a better quipster than I am, who has no experience in these areas, that's for the American people to decide."!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:57 PM | Comments (4)
December 05, 2007
Next Time ~ BeFORE You Put Your Sharpie
...to the cardboard box your copy of "You Might Be a Redneck" came in ~ Google the guy.
...One man was carrying a sign calling Thompson a "carpetbagger," but when he realized Thompson is from Tennessee, he put it away.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:06 PM
Stay Tuned for: "The Surge Hasn't Accomplished It's Goals
...and the war economy is lost" from our feckless Senate leader.
Futures jump on strong economic dataWall Street rose sharply higher in early trading Wednesday after a pair of reports indicated the economy is in good shape but also left open the possibility of an interest rate cut.
...Investors were also encouraged Wednesday after the department reported worker productivity advanced by an annual rate of 6.3 percent in the summer, the fastest pace in four years, while wage pressures eased.
Along with...
Private employers added 189,000 jobs in November, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday, much higher than market expectations and the biggest monthly increase in a year....The ADP report suggests Friday's closely watched payrolls report from the government, which includes public and private sector hiring, could be much stronger than expected.
One prescient presidential candidate...
...warned Sunday that the U.S. economy would collapse unless Americans learned to make economic sacrifices."I think the economy is standing on a trap door, and I don't know that we necessarily hold the levers,"...
...After blasting the president for the exploding national debt, the top Democrat boasted that his predecessor - her husband - "did it just right."
"The deficit reduction act didn't get one single Republican vote. He took on the gun lobby with the Brady bill. He took on health care," she declared.
...got it wrong in 2005, but is still singing the same tune today.
Ailing Economy Needs Steady, Experienced Hand (Me), Clinton Says
Actually, it seems to be a choral arrangement...
..."It's time for that to change. It's time for Americans to have a president in the Oval Office who makes decisions based on their interest, not the special interests."
...led by the nation's premier doom and gloom impresario.
If anyone knows 'lost', it's Harry.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:50 AM | Comments (7)
November 26, 2007
More Bush Attacks On Our Democracy
When will people say "enough is enough?
(CNN) -- A Federal judge sentenced Democratic leader George Clooney to five days in jail Sunday, a day after the actor-turned-politician and other protesters were arrested at a pro-democracy demonstration in Washington.Clooney was charged and sentenced Sunday for organizing an unsanctioned procession, resisting arrest and chanting anti-government slogans.
The actor said his conviction is part of a government effort to harass him.
"Everything you heard here is a lie," he told reporters outside the courtroom. "All my rights were violated from the outset, from the moment of my detention."
Clooney said his arrest was intended to ensure that President George Bush's party holds on to power. Bush is slated to step down next year at the end of his second consecutive term in office.
Though America's constitution prohibits a third consecutive term, Bush is expected to attempt to retain power in some form.
It disgusts me how democratic freedoms and rights have been trampled by this regime. No wonder the world is justified in crying out as one against such abuses of basic civil rights.
Oops, silly me, it was that rascal Putin fellow. Well, that's all right then.
Nothing to see here, folks...cultural differences and all that.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:29 AM | Comments (2)
November 16, 2007
"I'm willing to lose my job..."
..."if that's necessary to set our fiscal house in order." So says our illustrious Governor Corzine, in yet another effort to paint himself as some type of fiscally responsible defender of the common man.
In a speech Thursday to hundreds of officials gathered for the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference, Corzine said addressing the state's financial problems would be among the most important things he does as governor."It's time for we elected officials to stop being afraid and cautious and do something bold to right the ship," Corzine said. He later added: "I'm willing to lose my job if that's necessary to set our fiscal house in order."
Along with paying down debt, Corzine said his plan will provide permanent funding for transportation needs and will include new restrictions on state borrowing. He said the full details will come out in his Jan. 8 State of the State speech.
As is usual when Daddy Warbucks speaks, however, not once does he mention spending less. Nowhere does he mention freezing, let alone cutting, the number of state employees; well, no surprise on that, I suppose, given his dating history.
If I may mangle his quote a little, it's necessary for him to lose his job if we are to have any hope of setting our fiscal house in order. I'm more and more convinced that we really need a shakeup in NJ politics; the last thing we need is another millionaire carpetbagger riding in to 'solve' our problems as some pre-retirement vanity project (yeah, I'm looking at you, Mr. Bon Jovi. Yes, you were born in NJ. Yes, you own a lovely house just a couple miles from mine in Middletown. Yes, you've done wonderful and fantastic charity work in NJ. But you've decided to move with your family to Soho. I've got nothing against that, if that's where you want to live and raise your kids, great. But you live in New York now, not New Jersey, and if you disrupt the kids' life again by making them move back here so you can do your vanity project you're a schmuck. Besides, there may be a job opening in Albany pretty soon...).
The state of politics here is simply horrific. How many officials are under investigation? Our Senators are a joke: the only time you hear from "Silent Bob" Menendez is when his staff responds to new rumors of impending indictments, and as for Lautenberg...is he still even alive? I'm serious; when is the last time you actually even heard him mentioned?
Pathetic.
Update: Lawhawk was looking at this last night.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:50 AM | Comments (3)
November 15, 2007
Quote of the Day
"When it takes two weeks and six different positions to answer one question on immigration, it's easier to understand why the Clinton campaign would rather plant their questions than answer them."ROTFLMAO.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:38 AM
Adeebada-deebada-deebada...That's All, Folks!
Spitzer sputters again
In a second major policy reversal in less than a day, Governor Spitzer is backing down from a plan to require Amazon.com and other online retailers to charge state and local sales taxes on all purchases from New York.Yesterday, just hours after The New York Sun reported on the new revenue collection scheme, the Spitzer administration announced that it was burying it for the time being — at least until after the Christmas shopping season. The move saved New York City shoppers from having to pay an additional 8.375% on many Amazon.com goods.
"Governor Spitzer believes that now is not the right time to be increasing sales taxes on New Yorkers," Mr. Spitzer's budget director, Paul Francis, said in a statement. "He has directed the Department of Tax and Finance to pull back its interpretation that would require some Internet retailers that do not collect sales tax to do so."
His Megalomaniacness is discovering that he doesn't quite have the same freedom from question as Governor as he did in his previous job. What with his dirty tricks scandal and the drivers license fiasco and now this, one is almost tempted to think he is a Corzine plant to divert attention away from New Jersey...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:39 AM
November 10, 2007
"Why Don't You Shut Up?"
Juan Carlos to Hugo Chavez.
God save the King!
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:54 PM | Comments (2)
November 08, 2007
Presidential Candidate Selector
From Volokh, an interesting quiz
My results below the fold.
1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%) 2. John McCain (80%) 3. Alan Keyes (72%) 4. Mike Huckabee (69%) 5. Rudolph Giuliani (65%) 6. Fred Thompson (64%) 7. Tom Tancredo (64%) 8. Stephen Colbert (campaign ended) (63%) 9. Al Gore (not announced) (62%) 10. Duncan Hunter (62%) 11. Mitt Romney (62%) 12. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (61%) 13. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (60%) 14. Joseph Biden (59%) 15. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (58%) 16. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (58%) 17. Hillary Clinton (55%) 18. John Edwards (54%) 19. Chuck Hagel (not running) (52%) 20. Barack Obama (51%) 21. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (51%) 22. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (51%) 23. Bill Richardson (50%) 24. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (45%) 25. Christopher Dodd (43%) 26. Ron Paul (40%) 27. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (32%) 28. Dennis Kucinich (28%) 29. Mike Gravel (26%) 30. Elaine Brown (9%)
As much as I decided not to vote for anyone named Clinton or Bush or who was from Arkansas, Texas or Massachusetts this year due to my complete fatigue with the politicians they've produced I may have to read up a bit more on Mr. Huckabee.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:22 AM | Comments (3)
November 07, 2007
Batting .500 Ain't So Bad
Well, for the first time in ages NJ voters defeated a ballot question, two of them in fact
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey voters on Tuesday rejected borrowing $450 million to pay for stem cell research grants in the state for 10 years.With 95 percent of the vote counted, 53 percent of voters opposed the spending.
The rejection was a defeat for Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who campaigned heavily for the measure. He argued the money would help find cures for conditions such as spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, sickle cell anemia and multiple sclerosis while also luring leading scientists and research firms to the state.
But the measure was opposed by anti-abortion activists, conservatives and the Roman Catholic Church because it would pay for research that destroys human embryos and would increase state debt.
Well, I know folks love to raise the 'religious right' bogeyman every time something they don't like happens, but that certainly was not the reason I opposed it. In fact, I find myself agreeing with Dick Codey on this one
Senate President Richard J. Codey, a leading stem cell supporter, pinned the defeat on chronic state fiscal problems and mounting state debt."The taxpayers of New Jersey are not against stem cell research," said Codey, D-Essex. "It's clear. The message we're getting is put your fiscal house in order and then do these things."
I'm against the state paying for it.
Now here's the laugh of the morning:
Said Corzine spokeswoman Lilo Stainton, "The public understands the state has serious financial issues that must be addressed first."
Yes, the public does; the problem is that the Governor doesn't, and neither does the Legislature.
As an aside, someone at the Associated Press needs some, shall we say, sensitivity training; look at this next paragraph in the story:
Scott Simpkins, a 36-year-old Williamstown resident who broke a vertebra and was left paralyzed after a bicycling accident in Colorado in late August 2000, was crushed. He hopes stem cell research might help him walk again.
Anyhow, so that was voted down, as was the sales tax/property tax shell game scheme; the $200 million Open Space and Let's Have Nice Words In The Constitution measures both passed.
All in all a better day than might have been expected, but on the radio this morning there was already talk that Corzine might try and put more Stem Cell money in the budget...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:44 AM | Comments (5)
November 05, 2007
NJ's 4 Ballot Questions
So we've got some ballot questions to vote on tomorrow and I thought I'd give you my view on them. Here's the short answer: "no."
Here's basically what they are:
-- Permanently dedicate all money earned from last year's sales tax increase to property tax relief.
This is amazingly insane, and yet so typical of how our government 'works.' People scream they want lower property taxes, so does Trenton do what you or I would do: spend less? Heck no! They make a new tax and take that money and give it to folks as a 'property tax rebate'. As a bonus they've created a new bureaucracy to collect and distribute this, so spending and government obligations rise which means...they need more taxes. You really have to admire the creative genius at work here. "No."
-- Approve borrowing $450 million for stem cell research.
This might in theory be a good idea, and I'm certainly not opposed to government underwriting scientific research but the priority right now is to reduce government spending. This is more debt that we need to pay off, so No.
-- Approve borrowing $200 million for open space preservation.
"No" for the reasons above.
-- Revise language outlining when voting rights can be denied by deleting from the state Constitution the phrase "idiot or insane person'' and replacing it with the phrase "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting.''
I don't know, there's something that warms my heart about having that language in our state Constitution; perhaps therein lies our new motto: "New Jersey, where idiots can't vote but they can be elected!"
I say "No" to this as well. "Idiot" has a precise medical definition, and while the PC crowd may find it offensive it does clearly denote those poor folks who lack the mental horsepower to make basic decisions for themselves, and sorry, but they should not be allowed to make decisions for the rest of us. The same with insane. This would create a huge backlog in the court systems as well, it seems to me, for these competency adjudication hearings that need not take place and necessitate the creation of a whole new bureaucracy to manage them. So "No."
So that's my stand and I'm sticking to it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:56 AM | Comments (9)
November 01, 2007
Tough Noogies
So the poor widdle petulant babies at State, who seem to think that it is they who are in charge of US foreign policy as opposed to our elected officials, don't like their potential new assignment?
WASHINGTON - Several hundred U.S. diplomats vented anger and frustration Wednesday about the State Department's decision to force foreign service officers to take jobs in Iraq, with some likening it to a "potential death sentence."In a contentious hour-long "town hall meeting" called to explain the step, these workers peppered the official who signed the order with often hostile complaints about the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam. Announced last week, it will require some diplomats — under threat of dismissal — to serve at the embassy in Baghdad and in so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams in outlying provinces.
The solution is very simple, and it is one that those of us in the private sector are quite familiar with: if you don't want to do what your employer requires, you find a new job. Their job is to support and staff embassies, and be the everyday public face of the US abroad. So instead of working on "White Papers" go, you know, do it.
Or find another job.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:24 AM | Comments (7)
October 24, 2007
Gnashing My Teeth
Insta linked to this and comments hadn't really been completely partisan hack-ups. Then I read Bill Bradley's comment:
Bill Bradley* : Jeff, or should I say, dorsai, and I do catch the reference, you're trying to flip Katrina into an anti-Democrat thing. As the saying goes, lotsa luck.Obviously the local Democratic leadership was incompetent.
And obviously the Bush Administration screwed up. As my friends who worked in the White House acknowledge.
That's not so hard, is it?
Oh, the other reason why Florida and Mississippi had an easier time of it.
They didn't get the brunt of the hurricane.**
Oct 24, 2007 03:02 PM
I saw red and responded:
"They didn't get the brunt of the hurricane."Are you joking? Surely you are. Have you even driven on US 90? My God, they were blown ~ BLOWN ~ off the map from Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, and Gulfport to Biloxi. Whatever points you try to score on the administration, deserved or otherwise, don't you DARE try to minimalize the enormity of the destruction AT LANDFALL ~ FORTY FEET of WATER ~ that occurred in MS. New Orleans suffered the AFTERMATH ~ the flooding AFTERWARDS.
Once it brushed over the lower tip of Louisiana (maybe you ought to check THOSE pictures, too) Mississippi BORE the BRUNT.
I'm gobschmacked.
Oct 24, 2007 03:13 PM
The esteemed Mr. Bradley deigned to correct me thusly:
Bill Bradley : Well, "tree hugging sister," and isn't this turning into a waste of my time, I've not only seen pictures, I've run video of the hurricane hitting Gulfport, Mississippi right here on NWN.Oct 24, 2007 03:18 PM
I have manners:
tree hugging sister : Well, "Mr. Bradley", I'd then have to suppose our disagreement is semantics: depends on what your definition of "brunt" is. I read it in the M-W sense: the principal force, shock, or stress. In effect the utter destruction wrought by the storm surge/hurricane winds immediately. New Orleans has born the greater cost as an end result, which is, indeed, the second M-W definition."...and isn't this turning into a waste of my time..."
How awful for you. I stand chastised and haven't called anyone a savage or worn my Bush button like some battling partisans above. Apologies.
Oct 24, 2007 03:39 PM
He showed Gulfport tape right there on his bloggedy blog blog, so he KNOWS. Got me there, my churlish chum. Otherwise known as:
"Katrina: I SAW the Movie"
Damn. And ouch!
Bill Bradley : ... Incidentally, "tree hugging sister" with the anti-Al Gore blog, my name is a real name. It doesn't go inside quotation marks.
Apologies again.
tree hugging sister : I was tweaking you. Cheeky, eh? Apologies again. Especially since you haven't "fake name" anyone else you've answered with a nom de plume. I took exception.An ANTI-GORE blog?! Oh good Lord no, we're not as one note as that! Please. We skewer everyone ~ it's a point of honor not to toe a political line. Gore just makes better faces.
Oct 24, 2007 03:59 PM
* yes, THAT Bill Bradley
**emphasis mine
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:22 PM | Comments (4)
October 21, 2007
In Spite of Everything They Threw at Him
...Bobby Jindal is the new governor of Louisiana.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal became the nation's youngest governor and the first nonwhite to hold post in Louisiana since Reconstruction when he carried more than half the vote to defeat 11 opponents.Jindal, the Republican 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, had 53 percent with 625,036 votes with about 92 percent of the vote tallied. It was more than enough to win Saturday's election outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff.
"My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana," he said to cheers and applause at his victory party.
It looks like he blew the Democrats out of the water. Not surprising considering the filthy stunts they pulled, but heartening considering Louisiana's recent, self induced political travails. I hope he can get something rolling.
Congrats and good luck!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:05 AM | Comments (9)
October 18, 2007
Like the Song Says: "I Want MONEY!"
"OOO! Oo-oo OOO! That's all I want!"
Law firm’s gifts to Democrats bring questions
Despite scandal, top candidates still taking donations from Milberg WeissOver the years, as it became Exhibit A for critics of shareholders’ class-action lawsuits, the law firm of Milberg Weiss often enjoyed the support of Democrats who called the suits an invaluable weapon in the universal conflict between big business and the little guy.
The Democrats, in turn, enjoyed the support of Milberg Weiss and its partners, who together contributed more than $7 million to the party’s candidates since the 1980s.
Last year, the firm was indicted on federal charges of fraud and bribery. But the political partnership has not been entirely severed...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:34 AM | Comments (2)
October 16, 2007
Don't Mess With Hill...
Ayatollah you so
Hillary Clinton today moved to secure her position as the most hawkish Democrat in the 2008 presidential race, saying she would consider the use of force to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear programme.In an article for Foreign Affairs magazine intended as a blueprint for the foreign policy of a future Clinton White House, the Democratic frontrunner argues that Iran poses a long term strategic challenge to American and its allies, and that it must not be permitted to build or acquire nuclear weapons.
..."True statesmanship requires that we engage with our adversaries, not for the sake of talking but because robust diplomacy is a prerequisite to achieving our aims."
She says she would even consider offering incentives to Iran in return for a pledge to disarm. However, she sets out a series of stringent conditions that are virtually identical to current White House policy.
Here's my "incentive": if you build centrifuges we will blow them up.
Hill has always been the most hawkish of the Dems; her domestic agenda will be horrible but she's the only one of them that I think I could trust to defend us. She's much more decisive than Bill ever could be.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:59 AM | Comments (6)
October 12, 2007
The Nobel Peace Prize To Gore
Oh Jimminny H Christmas on a pogo stick, what has he actually done to deserve this?
(CNN) -- Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work to raise awareness about global warming."An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary featuring Al Gore, won two Academy Awards this year.
Gore said he was "deeply honored," adding that "the climate crisis is not a political issue it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity," according to a written statement.
The former vice president said he would donate his half of the $1.5 million prize to The Alliance for Climate Protection, a U.S. organization founded by Gore that aims to persuade people to cut emissions and reduce global warming.
During its announcement, the Nobel committee cited the winners "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."
As my Bride and I were discussing last night, the US Military and specifically the task force headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln have done a hell of a lot more to provide peace and humanitarian assistance in a real way to impoverished people than Globe-Tromping Gorezilla and his "Cannes-Do" lifestyle ever has.
This award has completed its slide into total irrelevance and political feel-goodery. It is a blatant attempt to influence the next US election cycle. Luckily, the good people of the United States are far more interested in the Britney Spears than they are Nobel laureates.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:50 AM | Comments (16)
October 11, 2007
If You Read One Thing Today
Make it this. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is someone we need to listen to.
Thanks to Hot Air.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:33 PM | Comments (2)
October 09, 2007
The Peril Of The Cascade Consensus
A very surprising article in today's Pravda on the way herd mentality and public fear of rebuke, and frankly very sloppy and lazy 'research', led to widely praised "consensus" that was, well, wrong
In 1988, the surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, proclaimed ice cream to a be public-health menace right up there with cigarettes. Alluding to his office’s famous 1964 report on the perils of smoking, Dr. Koop announced that the American diet was a problem of “comparable” magnitude, chiefly because of the high-fat foods that were causing coronary heart disease and other deadly ailments.He introduced his report with these words: “The depth of the science base underlying its findings is even more impressive than that for tobacco and health in 1964.”
That was a ludicrous statement, as Gary Taubes demonstrates in his new book meticulously debunking diet myths, “Good Calories, Bad Calories” (Knopf, 2007). The notion that fatty foods shorten your life began as a hypothesis based on dubious assumptions and data; when scientists tried to confirm it they failed repeatedly. The evidence against Häagen-Dazs was nothing like the evidence against Marlboros.
The article describes quite clearly how this came to be, and how the 'researchers' all either relied on one flawed report or simply caved in to peer/media pressure.
I found it exceedingly interesting that the author never even hints at the 800 pound Gorezilla in the room, as instructive as this story is relative to the current Global Warming climate.
(h/t Insta)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:18 AM | Comments (2)
Today Is...
If you know any Bolivians buy them lunch today, and thank them.
(thanks to Val, FFOT God)
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:20 AM
Dear Vicente
I've got one question for you: is it racist to lock your house?
NEW YORK - Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday that the United States is letting racism dictate its policies, especially when it comes to immigration."The xenophobics, the racists, those who feel they are a superior race ... they are deciding the future of this nation," he said, without naming names, in an interview with The Associated Press.
..."To be so repressive isn't democractic or free ... to be putting up fences, chasing Mexicans, that isn't right," Fox said. "The U.S. needs better answers than repression, weapons and violence."
I'm assuming that Vincente, as well as all the other Open Borderistas don't lock their houses, right? I mean, how could they be so oppressive and discriminatory as to exclude anyone from their living room who wants to walk in, right?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:33 AM | Comments (4)
October 08, 2007
They Said We'd Become A Theocracy If Bush Were Re-Elected
And by god they were right!
During the nearly two hour service that featured a rock band and hip-hop dancers, Obama shared the floor with the church's pastor, Ron Carpenter. The senator from Illinois asked the multiracial crowd of nearly 4,000 people to keep him and his family in their prayers, and said he hoped to be "an instrument of God.""Sometimes this is a difficult road being in politics," Obama said. "Sometimes you can become fearful, sometimes you can become vain, sometimes you can seek power just for power's sake instead of because you want to do service to God. I just want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God in the same way that Pastor Ron and all of you are instruments of God."
He finished his brief remarks by saying, "We're going to keep on praising together. I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth."
Now, imagine the hue and cry if Chimpy McVangelist had said these things.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:11 AM | Comments (3)
October 05, 2007
If It Pains You to Remember...
...the way we were...
Tryphorgetin
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:05 PM | Comments (8)
October 04, 2007
Blair's Law In Action Yet Again
Yes, I'm talking about Tim's brilliant universal rule: "the ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force."
Here's the latest proof of it
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions — New England and the South — are sitting down to talk. ADVERTISEMENTTired of foreign wars and what they consider right-wing courts, the Middlebury Institute wants liberal states like Vermont to be able to secede peacefully.
That sounds just fine to the League of the South, a conservative group that refuses to give up on Southern independence.
...Harry Watson, director of the Center For the Study of the American South and a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said it was a surprise to see The Middlebury Institute conferring with the League of the South, "an organization that's associated with a cause that many of us associate with the preservation of slavery."
He said the unlikely partnering "represents the far left and far right of American politics coming together."
If this doesn't get Tim a Nobel nomination...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:51 AM | Comments (1)
October 01, 2007
Geesh, Rudy, It's About Time
Look who's going to Philly for some Whiz
WASHINGTON (CNN) – It's almost a necessity for any presidential candidate who swings through Philadelphia — making a stop at one of the city's famous cheesesteak shops.But the landmark Philly restaurant former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani plans to stop at later Monday is also famous for another reason: its controversial 'Please speak English' sign.
Joe Vento, the owner of Geno's Steaks, sparked controversy last year when he put up a sign at his store proclaiming, "This is America. When Ordering Please Speak English."
As always, your Swilling hosts are cutting edge trend mongers.
Ummmmmm, tasty.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:24 PM
September 28, 2007
Criminalization Of Thought Advances
To borrow a theme from Insta..."They said if Bush were re-elected the Government would seek to criminalize and control thought, and they were right"
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-led Senate on Thursday voted to let federal law enforcement help states prosecute attacks on gays, attaching the provision to a massive spending bill for the Iraq war and daring President Bush to veto the whole package.
I hatehatehatehatehate "Hate Crime" laws. They are a vile and horrid attack on the First Amendment, end of story. Punish people for their actions, not their thoughts. What you were thinking while you hit me with the baseball bat is irrelevant; the hitting is the crime.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:02 AM | Comments (6)
September 27, 2007
Some Dingell Berries For Your Breakfast
I'm not sure where Gaia is going to spend the money
WASHINGTON -- Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won't like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners."I'm trying to have everybody understand that this is going to cost and that it's going to have a measure of pain that you're not going to like," Rep. John Dingell, who is marking his 52nd year in Congress, said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.
..."This is going to cause pain," he said, adding that he wants to make certain "the pain is shared in a way that is fair, proper, acceptable and accomplishes the basic purpose" of reducing greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels.
...He will propose for discussion:
_A 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and jet fuel, phased in over five years, on top of existing taxes.
_A tax on carbon, at $50 a ton, released from burning coal, petroleum or natural gas.
_Phaseout of the interest tax deduction on home mortgages for homes over 3,000 square feet. Owners would keep most of the deduction for homes at the lower end of the scale, but it would be eliminated entirely for homes of 4,200 feet or more.
He estimates that would affect 10 percent of homeowners. He says "it's only fair" to tax those who buy large suburban houses and create urban sprawl. Historic and farm houses would be exempted.
It's a great One/Two Punch the Democrats are offering: Clinton feels our pain, and Dingell causes it.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:27 AM | Comments (6)
September 24, 2007
No, We Are Not Building Foot Washing Stations
And No, you can not wash your feet in the sink
INDIANAPOLIS -- A proposal to install a foot-washing sink at Indianapolis International Airport is prompting debate over ethnicity, religion and the U.S. constitution.Muslims use the sinks to wash their feet before praying but some say that allowing the sinks on public property violates the separation of church and state, 6News' Cheryl Jackson reported.
Airport officials said they are considering installing a sink because of safety and health issues, with no consideration of religion.
Are they going to spend tax money to install the stations of the Cross? I didn't think so.
The airport officials are 'considering' this because they are ball-less wonders. Just say "no." It's really quite easy.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:27 AM | Comments (12)
September 21, 2007
Where's The Gaff?
Now, I will admit that all I've seen on this is what's contained in this article, but based on this I don't see what's so faux pas-ian about it
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela is still very much alive despite an embarrassing gaffe by U.S. President George W. Bush, who alluded to the former South African leader's death in an attempt to explain sectarian violence in Iraq....In a speech defending his administration's Iraq policy, Bush said former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's brutality had made it impossible for a unifying leader to emerge and stop the sectarian violence that has engulfed the Middle Eastern nation.
"I heard somebody say, Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas," Bush, who has a reputation for verbal faux pas, said in a press conference in Washington on Thursday.
Based on the context al-Reuters provides it seems very clear to me that Chimpy is saying there are no Iraqi Mandelas because all the potential Iraqi Mandelas were murdered instead of being put in jail. He's right. It takes a bit of a creative stretch to read that as him saying 'Nelson Mandela is dead.'
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:25 AM | Comments (9)
September 20, 2007
Language Is Culture
Just whose interests do the "educators" think they are serving?
Some Oregon high schools are adopting Mexico's public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students with textbooks, an online Web site, DVDs and CDs provided free by Mexico to teach math, science and even U.S. history.The Oregon Department of Education and Mexico's Secretariat of Public Education are discussing aligning their curricula so courses will be valid in both countries.
... "Students come to us with such complex issues," said Tim King, director of Clackamas Middle College and Clackamas Web Academy, where a virtual course using Mexico's learning materials got started this week.
"We've had to change in order to fit into each school scene, become more complex and open ourselves up to new situations."
What the hell.
I mean, what the hell!
Which country do school kids in Oregon supposedly swear allegiance too? It's obvious where the Administrators' feelings lie. How can these kids possibly ever be expected to become Americans if they are taught this way?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:39 PM | Comments (6)
September 06, 2007
Hsu, Fly! Don't Bother Me...
I'm sure that's the song Hillary and her fellow Dems are singing in the shower this morning.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:21 AM
September 05, 2007
[Cue: Everly Brothers Music] Dre-ee-ee-ee-eem
....Dream Dream Dree-eem...
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Said to Be Considering Run for GovernorMayor Ray Nagin could be days away from announcing he will run for governor of Louisiana — a move many in this stricken city regard as preposterous.
If Nagin runs, he will do so on his stewardship of New Orleans. But this is a city in great distress two years after Hurricane Katrina, with large swaths still empty, an appalling murder rate and a painfully sluggish recovery. Nagin's disapproval rating stood at 65 percent in a recent poll."He's clearly seeing his election potential differently than most of Louisiana. Statewide, Ray Nagin is dead in the water," said G. Pearson Cross, an assistant professor of politics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "One thing is clear: New Orleans has not had the forceful and dynamic leadership necessary to get recovery on the right track."
...But David Bell, a juvenile court judge and community leader in mostly black eastern New Orleans, said Nagin's efforts are often seen as incremental and misdirected. Bell alluded to Nagin's hiring of planner Ed Blakely as his recovery chief, and Blakely's promise of "cranes in the sky" that have yet to be seen.
"It's great to have large vision. But I think right now the public is more concerned about potholes, and the sewer lines, and the water lines," Bell said. "Those are the things that restore faith."
(That would be the same eastern New Orleans I wrote about.)
There's speculation that Nagin's surreal sense of self might be a calculated attempt to stay in Louisiana politics.
...Privately, some said they suspect Nagin knows he has little chance but wants to use the publicity to ensure a political future in Louisiana.
How sick, self-absorbed and deluded is that? Plus, with Louisiana politics the way it is, I'm not sure that there would be enough left of Mayor Noggin besides bleached bones. They're awful good at stripping the skin off people even when they have to make it up ~ it's a local art form. For instance, trying to derail Republican Rep. Bobby Jindal's run for the governorship, state Democrats have been at their tawdry, pond scummy best. Not content with darkening his facial tones in photos, they've made sure to refer to his given name in a sneering little piece of work...
Piyush (Bobby) Jindal has finally admitted to a partial divine revelation that he wants to be governor.....Instead of Piyush praying for a decision to run for governor which everyone knows he’s made; he ought to pray for humility and maybe even a conscience.
...that makes sure all readers know his ethnicity without ever saying 'Indian' (But mention 'Obama' and 'madrassa' and...oh, wait. He's a Democrat.), as well as releasing an anti-Jindal commercial that, well, backfired spectacularly.
... So far, the campaign's biggest fireworks have come from a Democratic Party commercial that accused Jindal of insulting Protestant faiths in a decade-old article he wrote about Catholicism. The ad drew strong criticism, not just from Republicans but from a wide range of religious leaders and Democratic politicians, including Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.As a result of the party's misfire, Boasso and Campbell are going to have to launch their own attacks on Jindal if they hope to keep him below the magic 50-percent primary tally and force a runoff, said Bob Mann, who was communications director for Gov. Kathleen Blanco and now teaches at Louisiana State University.
"In some ways the Democratic Party has fouled the nest by firing off that really boneheaded attack on Jindal," Mann said. "If I were Boasso or Foster Campbell, I would do everything I could to separate myself from the party and just resign myself to the knowledge that I'm going to have to carry the negative attacks because the party is too inept to do it for me."
You're all gator bait in love and war. I think Nagin himself hands them the rusty scalpels for the evisceration.
However, if he steps down to run, maybe a real LEADER can step UP. Somebody to take control of that piteous mess. It might just be the silver lining New Orleans needs.
Hell. It can't get any worse.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:58 AM | Comments (6)
September 02, 2007
Trotting Out Old Bill the Way They Are
...Hillary's handlers must be happy this slipped through the cracks, notice-wise.
Former NJ Governor's Wife Recalls Ordeal...Matos McGreevey said in the midst of her personal turmoil she called Hillary Rodham Clinton for advice. The former first lady also had been publicly humiliated by her philandering husband, though his indiscretions were with a female intern and did not involve gay sex.
"She said the best piece of advice I can give you is to get your own counsel and do what you think you need to do protect you and your daughter," Matos McGreevey recalled. "And don't let your husband's advisers make decisions for you."
I'll bet she won't be offering advice for a while. Don't want to dink the cash cow.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:52 PM | Comments (1)
August 31, 2007
It's Been Two Years and We've Been Wondering the Same Thing
How long do you get to live someplace else, but still vote in New Orleans?
NAACP Challenges Louisiana Voter PurgeThe NAACP filed a civil rights lawsuit Thursday challenging a purge of Louisiana voters believed to have registered in other states following Hurricane Katrina.
In the federal court action, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People contends that the purge has already begun without the necessary pre-approval of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Because of its history of racial discrimination before the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, voting changes in Louisiana and other Southern states must be approved by federal officials.
On June 15, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne announced that his agency was mailing notices to 53,554 voters saying they must give up their registration in other states or risk losing the right to vote in Louisiana. Dardenne said the state had compared Louisiana voter roles with those of other states and identified people with identical names and dates of birth.
Voters were given one month to prove they had canceled their out-of- state registrations. After that, they had to appear in person at their voter registrar's office with documentation that their non-Louisiana registration had been canceled.
On Aug. 17, election officials said more than 21,192 people had been dropped—the majority from areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Of those, 6,932 were from Orleans Parish, which was majority black before the storm.
I think the answer is as long as the Nagin and Jefferson types still want to keep their office staff. You can BET Nagin wasn't elected by people who'd actually returned to the city ~ I'm sure he had a helluva voting block come out of Houston/points beyond. (AND I'll bet a bunch of those voters are still there.) "All politics AND VOTING is local" is how it should be in New Orleans. If you're not suffering through the hard times alongside the folks in the city, you don't need to be casting votes deciding who their elected officials are gonna be.
We were there last month, for the first time since Ivan in 2004. Take this picture, for example. It's from the window of our room at the Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street. Pretty much the heart of the French Quarter.
The second and third floors of the buildings are empty. And it's not just that block. They're almost all empty. It's like a creepy fantasy village, where most of the street level shops on the main thoroughfares are open (it's a different story on sidestreets ~ two or three shuttered shops in a row at a time), but the floors above are a facade. People work there...but no one lives there.
We've been through devastation here in Bangla-cola and, from personal experience and what we'd seen on the telly, knew in our hearts that NOLA would be back, even though it would be a hundred times harder than our little success story. But now we've BEEN there. Now we've dropped down on the Irish Bayou side of the Pontchartrain I-10 bridge and SEEN NOTHING the whole way into the city. Miles upon miles of bleak abandoned apartments and condos and housing tracks by the thousands. There's nothing scarier than the small, derelict amusement park in horror films. Look to your left and there Six Flags sits...rotting. Those massive, empty rollercoasters black against the sky. It's all still standing ~ all the businesses, buildings, neighborhoods ~ all still standing. But now a ghost town of unimaginable scale. And for it to come back to life, it all has to come down first. UNIMAGINABLE scale. I could not stop the tears. Could. Not. From the interstate, you'll catch a glimpse of blue tarp, the glimmer of siding from a FEMA trailer, or the flash of TYVEC housewrap from the few intrepid souls trying to put their lives back together, but honestly, all you can think is
"WHO is the CRAZY motherfucker out there in the wilderness by themselves?!"
God bless them. Honestly. There are no utilities, no neighbors, no NOTHING. And the desolation runs right up to the back of the Quarter. Locals will sit at the Monteleone bar and ask "Where you from?" and shake your hand and thank you for coming. They will ask every single person in the bar, moving from table to table, stopping to chat, offer suggestions and shaking hands. From the bottom of their hearts.
Really. Before we went, major dad and I thought they'd be fine eventually. Changed, of course. But fine. Like us.
Now we don't see how and we love that city so much, it's visceral. The enormity of it washes over you like a big, grey wave and you cannot visualize where they would even start. Even if they had the resources and the talent and the political will and weren't their own worst enemies, WHERE do they start? WHO starts? Starts WHAT? Sweet Jesus, I wish someone knew, 'cause right now?.
We don't see how.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:16 AM | Comments (5)
August 28, 2007
Sniff Sniff Sniff...Something Stinks here
Much like Al Gore, Hillary's "China Syndrome" problem has nothing to do with lead paint
DALY CITY, Calif. -- One of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton is a tiny, lime-green bungalow that lies under the flight path from San Francisco International Airport.Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, election records show.
That total ranks the house with residences in Greenwich, Conn., and Manhattan's Upper East Side among the top addresses to donate to the Democratic presidential front-runner over the past two years, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of donations listed with the Federal Election Commission.
It isn't obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the 64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative. Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple's grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to "attendance liaison" at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.
The Paws' political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw home as his address, according to public records. Mr. Hsu is one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign. He has hosted or co-hosted some of her most prominent money-raising events.
And don't think there aren't ties to John Huang and the Buddhists in all of this.
Update: Here's the pertinent info from the link above:
Norman Hsu--a $7,500 check was written on Sioeng
San Wong's account to Friends of Norman Hsu on March 11,
1995.90 Hsu is a former president of the Chinese-
American Association.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:22 AM | Comments (3)
No, I 'Da Ho!
So Idaho Senator Larry Craig was arrested in Minneapolis for lewd behavior in a men's room
U.S. Sen. Larry Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct this month after his arrest in a Minneapolis airport men’s room by an undercover officer who said Craig was sending signals that he wanted to have sex.Craig said Monday his actions were misconstrued by police and that he should not have pleaded guilty to the charges.
Now, I love a good scandal as much as anyone, and a conservative republican getting hooked up in some gay sex solicitation in a public restroom is as juicy as a liberal democrat not wanting windmills 10 miles away blocking the view from his beach house in my book. Bring it on!
But when you read just exactly transpired here it sure seems like there's a very loose interpretation of what is 'lewd' going on here, and frankly I think we need to require a bit more substantial evidence before arresting someone for this behavior:
According to the police reports, a man, later identified as Craig, kept watching the undercover police officer through a crack in the stall. Craig then entered the next-door stall and placed his luggage against the opening under the stall door."My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall," said the officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, in the report.
Alright, the 'kept watching' bit is odd. As for the rest of it with apologies to Officer Karsnia but my experience has been that individuals taking a dump also place their bags against the opening at the front of the stall because there's no other place to put them, fer crimminy's sake.
The report continued: "At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area."
Oh my God! He tapped his foot while taking a dump! He must want to scoff my chorizo!
"I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot."
This is the high standards of evidence that Minneapolis holds its police to? Are you kidding me? Do the Minneapolis Vice Police sing "Knock Three Times On The Stall Floor If You Want Me" along with Tony Orlando and Dawn during Talent Night at the Academy?
The report said Craig swiped his hand beneath the stall divider several times, and Karsnia showed his police identification under the stall.
Again, this is odd and weird, and for all I know he was interested in some stinky stall lust. But did he assault the cop? Did he verbally proposition him? No. Did he threaten him? No.
It is ridiculous that someone could be arrested on the basis of this.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:54 AM | Comments (16)
August 24, 2007
Now, Hang On a GolDang Second, Here
HILL: TERROR WOULD BE GOP BOOSTWASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday raised the prospect of a terror attack before next year's election, warning that it could boost the GOP's efforts to hold on to the White House.
Discussing the possibility of a new nightmare assault while campaigning in New Hampshire, Clinton also insisted she is the Democratic candidate best equipped to deal with it.
Cue "Howls of Scare Tactic OUTRAGE!!!!"
Wait. That would only be if a RePUBLICAN said something like that. Which one did. And then they did. (You know ~ HHOOWWWWWLLLLL.)
Cheney: Wrong Vote Invites Attack
Sees Danger 'We'll Get Hit Again' If Voters Make 'Wrong Choice'Vice President Dick Cheney says the United States will risk another terrorist attack if voters make the wrong choice on Election Day, suggesting Sen. John Kerry would follow a pre-Sept. 11 policy of reacting defensively.
"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States," Cheney told supporters at a town-hall meeting Tuesday.
Democrats reacted quickly.
"Dick Cheney's scare tactics crossed the line today, showing once again that he and George Bush will do anything and say anything to save their jobs," said a statement issued by vice presidential candidate John Edwards.
But that was 2004 and this is Hillary, so I guess it's a
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:34 AM | Comments (2)
August 23, 2007
More 'Inconvenient' Video
Newsweek: Angry Bill Clinton Claim of bin Laden Kill Order Not TrueIn a famous interview on Fox News last September, Bill Clinton told Chris Wallace he authorized a finding for the CIA to kill Osama bin Laden. "We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since.” Today, Newsweek's Michael Isikoff told Andrew Breitbart, guest hosting on the Dennis Miller Show, that the new CIA watchdog report reveals that Clinton's claim tends to "stretch reality." The original video clip and the full Isikoff report are in the related links.
Damn, that man waggles his finger more than I guess he should, considering how it turns out to be bullsh*t more times than not.
Make a fist, Bill. Just put it away.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:16 AM | Comments (2)
August 17, 2007
There's No Forest Here Folks; Ignore All Those Trees
What else can one think about these dishonest creatures we have running our state here in New Jersey? Lawhawk has an excellent post up on the gyrations that Corzine et al go through to avoid addressing the key issue: if the existing immigration laws had been followed those 3 Newark residents, citizens, by the way, would still be alive today. Full stop. End of story. We don't need new gun control legislation, we don't need any new legislation. We simply need to enforce the laws that are on the books.
But I guess that's a bit much to expect from our Governor and Senators.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:57 PM | Comments (4)
August 09, 2007
They Can "Censor" You All They Want To
You self-centered idiots, because they are a private company and not the government
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Pearl Jam fans and Internet watchdogs were up in arms Thursday after it was revealed that AT&T Inc. censored portions of the rock band's live concert cybercast on Sunday.While performing "Daughter" during the annual Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, the band segued into a portion of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall," during which frontman Eddie Vedder sang, "George Bush, leave this world alone" and "George Bush, find yourself another home." Those lyrics were missing from the broadcast.
Let's review, shall we?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Private companies can, and should be allowed to, censor whatever the hell they want when it is something they are paying for. If you don't like it then don't take their money.
"This event shows that companies like AT&T will risk the appearance of censorship by turning off the sound on a webcast that's being viewed by thousands of people, just because it works counter to their financial interests," said FOMC executive director Jenny Toomey.
No shit, Sherlock.
Should Coke pay for someone to espouse the joys of Pepsi?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:41 PM | Comments (7)
Vote Now For The 2012 Election
This is so symbolic of how completely retarded our system has become
The first 2008 presidential votes may be moving into 2007 after all, making a race that has started earlier than ever even more intense.South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson will announce that he is moving its primary date ahead of Florida’s Jan. 29 vote, to reclaim his state party’s “first in the South” presidential-nominating banner. But he will do so in New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary. And he will be joined by New Hampshire’s longtime Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who alone has the power to set that state’s date for both parties, now tentatively Jan. 22.
If both were to move their dates up, that likely would force Iowa — always protective of its party caucuses as the first nominating contests of any kind — to consider moving its date from next Jan. 14 into pre-Christmas December.
We're talking about the process of choosing the President of the United States, and these bastards act like 3rd graders lining up for ice cream.
"I'm first!"
"No, meeeeeeeeeee!!!"
They absolutely disgust me.
I guess I missed the part in the Constitution where it says "Thou shalt not caucus before Iowa. Neither shall Thou primary ahead of New Hampshire."
We need new parties. The two we have are so immovably corrupted by their power and inertia that they are completely removed from representing anything but their own self-interest in self-perpetuating. They have completely rigged the game to their own benefit.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:10 AM | Comments (21)
August 07, 2007
Dear China
The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress. Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.
Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.
love,
Bingley
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:24 PM | Comments (6)
I'm Supposed To Care?
That Barack and Hillary are no longer BFF?
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 — They work in the same building. They slog through the same rigorous travel schedule. Along the way, they often cross paths several times a day.But Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have barely spoken to each other — at least in any meaningful way — for months.
The tension between the two Democratic presidential hopefuls, which has spilled into public view in the last three weeks, has been intensifying since January. It is clear that the genteel decorum of the Senate has given way to the go-for-the-jugular instinct of the campaign trail.
As the Senate held late sessions of back-to-back votes before its summer break, the two rivals kept a careful eye on each other as they moved across the Senate floor. For more than two hours one night, often while standing only a few feet apart, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama never approached each other or exchanged so much as a pleasantry.
La-dee-freakin'-da.
Who cares.
But I guess that this is the level of insight and analysis that the "All the news that's fit to print on tiny newsprint" NYT can come up with these days.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:16 AM | Comments (3)
July 24, 2007
Sounds Like It's Gonna Be a Big Tent and Open Doors
...at the Obama Whitehouse.
...In Monday's debate from Charleston, S.C., Obama was asked by a questioner via YouTube if he would be willing to meet — without precondition — in the first year of his presidency with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea."I would," he responded.
Kim Jong Il gonna be ronery no more. The other day, La Raza was assured of unlimited entry to the land of milk and honey for any Latino who wants to walk on over. And cavortin' with Castro's gonna go over real big at a Babalu backyard barbeque. CONGA!!
Can't wait 'til primary time!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:27 PM | Comments (2)
July 23, 2007
Can We Kiss Gorgeous George
...buh-bye?
Galloway Suspended From UK ParliamentThe British Parliament's lower house on Monday suspended a lawmaker accused of concealing his financial dealings with Saddam Hussein's government.
George Galloway, known for his fierce opposition to Britain's role in the invasion of Iraq, was suspended for 18 days, following an investigation which found that a charity he set up was partly funded by the Iraqi dictator.
The decision, which came without a vote, followed a recommendation from a parliamentary disciplinary panel that investigated the charity.
Galloway accused his opponents of hypocrisy.
"Being lectured by the current House of Commons on the question of the funding of political campaigns is like being accused of having bad taste by Donald Trump, like being accused of slouching by the Hunchback of Notre Dame," Galloway said.
Hunchback and bad manners? Pot calling kettle, pot calling kettle!
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:35 PM | Comments (3)
Well, Damn! Ain't the Truth
...a bitch?
A judge dismissed former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit's defamation lawsuit against an Arizona newspaper that said the Democrat had lied to investigators about his relationship with a Washington intern who was later found dead.The Sonoran News, a weekly that describes itself as "The Conservative Voice of Arizona," had included the statement in a 2005 article about Condit's brother.
...Judge Kristin Hoffman ruled that Condit was a public figure, had failed to prove that the statement was false, and had failed to show that the newspaper published it with either knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard as to its truth.
An affidavit provided by Condit did not deny that he lied to investigators, and he balked at answering questions on whether he told investigators that he had a "romantic and-or sexual relationship with Chandra Levy," Hoffman wrote in her ruling, filed Thursday.
I'm a little foggy on the whole concept of suing someone for saying you'd lied, when you're not willing to say you didn't. One should really read that stuff aloud in the mirror before filing papers. Finding out how ridiculous you sound ahead of time saves both time and money.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:37 AM | Comments (2)
July 18, 2007
Congress Is On a Roll
...eerily similar to Jack and Jill after they'd made the hill with the pork barrel pail.
...But the marks for Congress, mired in gridlock over a series of partisan political battles after Democrats took power in the 2006 elections, continued to drop.While 83 percent said Congress was doing a fair or poor job, just 14 percent rated it excellent or good. Last October, in its final days, the Republican-led Congress earned ratings of excellent or good from 23 percent of voters.
"There is a growing sense that people voted for change in 2006 and they aren't getting it," Zogby said.
King Harry fell down and broke his crown, and Nance came tumbling after.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:36 AM | Comments (1)
July 12, 2007
Run Away!!
House votes to pull troops out after Iraq report
White House report cites success on 8 goals, failure on 8, mixed effort on 2Iraq has achieved only spotty military and political progress toward a democratic society, the Bush administration conceded Thursday, an unenthusiastic assessment followed quickly by a House of Representatives vote to withdraw U.S. troops by the spring.
The measure passed 223-201 despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.
...While Bush announced last winter he was ordering thousands of additional troops to the war zone, the full complement has only arrived in recent weeks. "The full surge in this respect has only just begun," the report said.
And they only just got there?! And have acomplished almost half of the goals already? Let's just send a loud and clear to those troops that all that effort makes them losers and those 'losers' of ours are gonna have a bullseye on their backs thanks to these weasels. How much harder is their job going to be when the world knows that Congress wants us to start buggering out in four months ~ FOUR months!
Lord. I'm completely revolted.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:28 PM | Comments (3)
Just Another Case of a State Representative
...who sucks.
State Rep. Bob Allen was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a local park after offering to perform a sex act on an undercover officer in exchange for $20, police said....Titusville police were at Veteran's Memorial Park on East Broad Street on a burglary detail when they noticed an unshaven man acting suspicious, going in and out of the restroom three times, said Lt. Todd Hutchinson.
An undercover officer decided to go into one of the bathroom stalls, Hutchinson said. Moments later, Allen knocked on the stall door and offered to perform oral sex on the officer for $20, according to the police spokesman.
...Allen told a television reporter that what happened was a "misunderstanding."
Well, that blows.
UPDATE: Holeee CRAP! He's a McCAIN aide!
A day after four of Sen. John McCain’s top political strategists stepped down, the Arizona Republican’s presidential campaign was dealt another setback when the co-chairman of his Florida campaign was arrested Wednesday for allegedly offering an undercover police officer money for a sex act, Titusville police said....Allen told CNN affiliate WFTV the incident was “a very big misunderstanding.”
“This is a very gross mistake, a very big mistake,” he said, adding that this is what the judicial system is for.
I'm with him on the 'gross' and it might also explain why he needed the money... I don't think McCain-Feingold covers donation solicitations like this.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:21 AM | Comments (11)
July 09, 2007
Baby, You Can Ride In My Car
Or maybe not.
CORZINE SUV AIDE TRANSFERREDTHE aide to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine who was with him April 12 when he was seriously injured in a car crash was suddenly reassigned last month because the two had become "too close," said an inside source.
Samantha Gordon, a "tall and attractive" 25-year-old, worked for a year as an "intellectual valet" to the governor, traveling with him wherever and whenever he went, much as Huma Abedin is the "body person" who travels with Sen. Hillary Clinton.
"Samantha was extremely devoted to him," said the source.
Gordon was riding in the middle row of seats in Corzine's SUV when his two-car motorcade crashed on the Garden State Parkway, but she emerged unscathed.
Corzine, 60, was rumored to have been sitting next to her and not in the front seat with no seat belt as he claimed, said our source. This would better explain why Corzine was found in the very rear of the vehicle by responders to the scene.
Juicy. An 'intellectual valet'.
And no, major dad, you can't have one.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:56 PM | Comments (11)
July 06, 2007
Couldn't Have Been Much of a Party
...if I wasn't invited.
Former U.S. senator and actor Fred Thompson spent part of his Gulf Coast vacation Thursday night in Pensacola garnering political support for a potential presidential run.Thompson had a private dinner with local supporters at the Fish House restaurant, and then he spent some time meeting and greeting locals.
He said the informal dinner was "testing the waters" and he plans to announce "in the not too distant future" whether he'll run for president.
"People are looking for a new direction for the country," Thompson said. "I will talk straight to them and not be afraid to have a vision for the future."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:20 AM | Comments (7)
July 04, 2007
Tour de Gore
UPDATE REDUX: Honest to GOD, I swear the whole family's smokin' dope. (DOPE being the operative word.)
The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens — and now known as Yusuf Islam — will perform at one of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts. Click here....including links to a video in which Mr. Peace Train expresses his desire for Salman Rushdie to burn at the stake, plus his connections to Hamas.
Via the Blogfaddah.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 07:42 PM | Comments (1)
Between the 'Rock Star' Tour and the '100 MPH' Speedster
...those carbon offsets are gonna cost a bundle.
UPDATE: I guess this (circled in pink) would be a 'mitigating factor'.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:04 PM | Comments (7)
July 03, 2007
Butter Wouldn't Melt in His Mouth
And he's making sure you don't have a choice whether it will in yours.
Trans Fat Fight Claims Butter as a VictimMATTHEW REICH is a baker dedicated to natural ingredients. He prefers butter in the cookies and brioche he turns out at Tom Cat Bakery in Long Island City, Queens, and like many professional cooks he applauds the public health effort to get artificial trans fat out of food.
But, in a twist of science, the law and what some call trans-fat hysteria, Mr. Reich and other wholesale bakers are being forced to substitute processed fats like palm oil and margarine for good old-fashioned butter because of the small amounts of natural trans fat butter contains.
"NO BUTTER FOR YOU!!" ~ Mayor Bloomberg tells the seething masses.
Buttinski billionaire Bloomberg ~ who sees butter as the enemy ~ needs to look elsewhere for votes.
I can't stand the guy already and here's one more log on the fire.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:58 AM | Comments (6)
July 02, 2007
Two Words for Dems
...as they start their pained, Obama-like "These are the politics we must change..." yowling:
Mark. Rich.
And maybe:
Yeah. Right.
UPDATE: A commenter over at HotAir posted this Clintonian PARDON link. Busy guy, our Bill.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:41 PM | Comments (6)
At Last My EEE-ville Plan Comes to Fruition!
You thought I just wanted the black man gone? WRONG-OLA, NOLA!
The whole thing is in the toilet next time.
BBWWAAAhahahahaha!!!
Stronger levees could hurt French QuarterThe government’s repairs to New Orleans’ hurricane-damaged levees may put the French Quarter in greater danger than it was before Hurricane Katrina, a weakness planners said couldn’t be helped, at least for now.
Experts say the stronger levees and flood walls could funnel storm water into the cul-de-sac of the Industrial Canal, only 2 miles from Bourbon Street, and overwhelm the waterway’s 12-foot-high concrete flood walls that shield some of the city’s most cherished neighborhoods.
...“A system is much like a chain. We have strengthened some of the lengths, and those areas are now better protected,” said Robert Bea, a lead investigator of an independent National Science Foundation team that examined Katrina’s levee failures.
“When the chain is challenged by high water again, it will break at those weak links, and they are now next to some of the oldest neighborhoods, including the French Quarter, Marigny, and all of those areas west of the cul-de-sac.”
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:28 AM | Comments (7)
June 29, 2007
In the Dog House
What a schmutz.
Animal lovers hit the roof after it was revealed that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter to the top of his car during a 12-hour family drive from Boston to Ontario, terrifying the hapless dog and causing a health hazard to fellow road-users.
According to the Boston Globe, the former Massachusetts governor placed the dog, called Seamus, in a kennel attached to the roof of his white Chevy station wagon. He and his wife and five sons then set off on holiday.After a few miles, Mr Romney's eldest son, Tagg, raised the alarm. "Dad!" he yelled. "Gross!" A brown liquid was dripping down the rear windscreen.
All his millions and he's too cheap/stoopid to spring for a kennel (and I mean the doggie hotel kind)?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:09 PM | Comments (5)
I Agree With Obama On This
If this becomes a habit well obviously I'm going to the doctor for a complete evaluation but when he's right he's right
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama laid out list of political shortcomings he sees in the Bush administration but said he opposes impeachment for either President George W. Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney.Obama said he would not back such a move, although he has been distressed by the "loose ethical standards, the secrecy and incompetence" of a "variety of characters" in the administration.
"There's a way to bring an end to those practices, you know: vote the bums out," the presidential candidate said, without naming Bush or Cheney. "That's how our system is designed."
The term for Bush and Cheney ends on Jan. 20, 2009. Bush cannot constitutionally run for a third term, and Cheney has said he will not run to succeed Bush.
Obama, a Harvard law school graduate and former lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Chicago, said impeachment should not be used as a standard political tool.
"I think you reserve impeachment for grave, grave breeches, and intentional breeches of the president's authority," he said.
"I believe if we began impeachment proceedings we will be engulfed in more of the politics that has made Washington dysfunction," he added. "We would once again, rather than attending to the people's business, be engaged in a tit-for-tat, back-and-forth, non-stop circus."
He's 100% correct.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:10 AM | Comments (4)
June 28, 2007
Shamnesty Fails
Thank god. And Hot Air has the list of who voted how. As I live in NJ, both of my Senators voted for this abomination. I encourage everyone to remember how these fools voted, and hold these pompous fools accountable.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:30 PM | Comments (3)
June 27, 2007
Do
...tell.
...[Lou] Dobbs contends the Senate has trampled the democratic process. The bill, he notes, has not required a single public hearing or advanced out of committee. "There has been no rigorous research whatsoever by any government agency or department of the economic, social, and fiscal impact of this legislation," the CNN host explained. "This is striking even in Trotsky-like terms in an authoritarian government -- but for it to occur in what is a democratic republic is, to me, absolutely shameful."...And Dobbs noted that when President Bush hosted business and Hispanic activist groups at the White House today to promote the immigration bill, one group was noticeably missing -- there was no representative for America's working middle class.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:28 PM | Comments (3)
June 25, 2007
Can Someone Please 'Splain
...this new Virginia law to me?
Candidates for national office are discouraged from using Virginia to raise unlimited amounts of cash by a new requirement that at least half of what they raise be spent on campaigns for state office in Virginia.
On its face, it's pretty confusing. Why would I raise money for my presidential campaign, when half is already spoken for by the state to fund...what? The governor's race? State rep? Richmond mayor? I mean, do I get to pick the candidate my hard raised cash goes to?
And who determines what "at least half" equates to? What if someone doesn't like someone else's politics and determines more than half is required?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:40 AM | Comments (6)
June 22, 2007
sigh...Let's Go Over This One More Time
...since the Speaker seems to be a little slow catching on.
POP QUIZ
Example A: These are CANADIANS.
Example B: These are not...
Task: Using a No.2 pencil, choose the correct military service who most closely resembles the troops you keep trying to pull funding from while still 'supporting' them.
Bonus Question: If time allows, for five extra points ~ circle the mostest doofiest suit in THIS picture...
"Look! Nuthin' up ma sleeve!"
And no cheating/mirror checking or you're immediately disqualified.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:47 PM | Comments (2)
June 15, 2007
So, I Read This
...on Drudge yesterday morning...
Senators Plan to Revive Immigration Bill
...which, in the oddest coincidence, is also the day I got my RNC survey. So I filled it out.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:53 PM | Comments (8)
Ahnuld's Correct
...But you know they will make him pay for saying it
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a gathering of Hispanic journalists that immigrants should avoid Spanish-language media if they want to learn English quickly."You've got to turn off the Spanish television set" and avoid Spanish-language television, books and newspapers, the Republican governor said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said.
"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say, and I'm going to get myself in trouble," he said, noting that he rarely spoke German and was forced to learn English when he emigrated from Austria.
Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about how Hispanic students can improve academically. Many journalists for Spanish-language organizations in the audience were surprised by the remarks.
He's 100% correct...and incorrect.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:29 AM | Comments (3)
The Most Ethical Congress Ever!
And kids under the age of, um, er, 50 or so fly free!
Pentagon officials are bracing for a fight with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over her desire to allow lawmakers’ adult children to tag along on taxpayer-funded travel for free.Pelosi wants them to be able to fill the role of lawmakers’ spouses when the latter are unable to make a trip because of health issues or work commitments.
Bet you didn't know about this "long-standing policy"
“It has been longstanding policy that, in the absence of a congressional spouse, the adult child of a member of Congress may accompany the member on official U.S. government travel abroad for protocol reasons and without reimbursing the U.S. Treasury,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said. “Speaker Pelosi believes that a modern policy must reflect the professional responsibilities or health realities that might prevent a spouse from participating, and instead permit an adult child to fulfill the protocol needs of the official trip.”
Sorry, that sounds like an aristocratic-class policy to me.
And it's completely disgusting and corrupt.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:21 AM | Comments (2)
June 14, 2007
I Ain't Fallin' for the Old Banana
...in the tailpipe.
President Bush, trying to salvage an immigration overhaul legislation, endorsed a plan Thursday that would lock in money for border security as way to win over conservative lawmakers and a skeptical public.
Shoulda been doing that from the get-go, yo.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:04 PM
May 24, 2007
Hey New Hampshire
Have we in New Jersey got a Governor for you
Concord – The mandatory seatbelt bill hit a bump in the road when the Senate Transportation and Interstate Committee voted to recommend the bill be killed.
And he'd really fit right in, since the main paper is the Union Leader, and we know he has a history of, er, rather close relations with Union Leaders...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:06 PM | Comments (1)
May 21, 2007
I Think Somebody
...Interviewed on the TODAY Show about the comments, Carter said, "They were maybe careless or misinterpreted." He said he “certainly was not talking personally about any president.”When pressed by NBC’s Meredith Vieira as to whether he was saying his remarks were careless or reckless, the former president said, “I think they were, yes, because they were interpreted as comparing this whole administration to all other administrations."
What a blithering idiot. And I'm still wondering why no one has brought up his magnificent brand of diplomacy when he goes off on these tears. I mean, like to his face at the second he opens his mouth...
"Indeed, Mr. Carter. You certainly handled your last batch of raving Islamic lunatics and attack rabbits with aplomb and decisiveness. And, of course, we all know that had no lasting impact on our current state of affairs... "
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:22 AM | Comments (5)
The Daft Immigration Bill
I haven't had much of a chance to look through this beast (hell, neither have any of our esteemed Senators, either) but it looks like a complete mess. Look here if you want to actually wade through the gibberish, and Michelle Malkin has a variety of posts up too. This bill seems to be a complete surrender on every conceivable point.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:34 AM | Comments (7)
May 16, 2007
Sounds Like Fightin' Words
...to me.
GOP threatens to shut down House over rules changeHouse Republicans Wednesday threatened to shut down House business by calling a series of procedural votes until the Democratic leadership assured them that rules governing key parliamentary procedures would go unchanged.
Republicans began their assault in the mid-afternoon after hearing that the Democratic leadership allegedly planned to change the germaneness rule, which would limit the ability of the minority to challenge provisions in a bill on the floor.
“This is an astonishing attempt by the majority leadership to duck accountability for tax-and-spend policies the American people do not want,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). “The majority leadership is gutting House rules that have been in place for 185 years so they can raise taxes and increase government spending without a vote. House Republicans will use every tool available to fight this abuse of power.”
Nancy Amin Dada can try to do anything she wants, since there seems to be no cherishing of tradition in this bunch anyway.
It should be interesting, to say the least.
After losing a string of embarrassing votes on the House floor because of procedural maneuvering, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has decided to change the current House Rules to completely shut down the floor to the minority.The Democratic Leadership is threatening to change the current House Rules regarding the Republican right to the Motion to Recommit or the test of germaneness on the motion to recommit. This would be the first change to the germaneness rule since 1822.
In protest, the House Republicans are going to call procedural motions every half hour.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:14 PM | Comments (6)
May 07, 2007
Oh, Well Said
...indeed!
..."The reason she [Royal] did not have the female vote is not because there was no solidarity but because she was not up to it," said Tita Zeitoun, founder of the Action de Femme group which fights to get more women into top business positions.
"Just because you're a feminist, you don't vote for a women who does not have the ability. We're talking about the presidential election here ... It's too serious to link this to a phenomenon of femininity or feminism," she said.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:16 PM | Comments (1)
May 02, 2007
I Thought 'May Day'
...was a peculiar choice, too.
...I'll bet you know about the illegal alien amnesty marches, but I don't know of a single news organization, electronic or print that pointed out that May 1 is America's Law Day. The cable news networks gave almost wall-to-wall coverage to the illegal alien demonstrations, but they apparently couldn't find any American celebrating Law Day.And no one seems to want to take note that we are first a nation of laws, and that without those laws and their enforcement, the foundation of our great republic turns to sand. What a spectacle on Law Day for demonstrators to demand amnesty for those who broke the law to enter our country, many of whom also broke the law with fraudulent documents.
And what a mess when the president of the United States and the U.S. Congress are pandering to a group of people who are not citizens and refuse to demand enforcement of our immigration laws, our criminal laws, and fails to secure our borders and ports.
I couldn't help but wonder as I watched monitors bringing images of the marches and demonstrations from all across the country, who should really be protesting on May Day. What about the millions of legal residents who followed the long, drawn-out process to secure a visa to enter the United States lawfully? Maybe they should be protesting. What about the seven-figure backlog at the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency of people who are following the rules. Should they demonstrate?
What about all of our fellow Americans who are being marginalized by the massive importation of illegal, low-cost and mostly uneducated labor into this country? Perhaps those citizens should take to the streets. And what about the more than 250 million Americans who make up our middle class and those who aspire to it whose wages have stagnated and who are paying for the social, medical and economic costs of illegal immigration? That's a big march.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:06 PM | Comments (13)
"It's Like Gnats Swarming Around the Warhorse"
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:39 PM | Comments (3)
May 01, 2007
Feinstein Financing
Good thing for her she Chairs the Senate Rule Committee
Anyone who knows much about real power in Congress knows that almost every member of the House and Senate lusts after a seat on the Appropriations Committee and hopes one day to achieve the status of Cardinal. The Cardinals, of course, are the folks who chair the various Appropriations Committee subcommittees and literally control the billions of dollars that pass through their hands.California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) chairs the Senate Rules Committee, but she’s also a Cardinal. She is currently chairwoman of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies subcommittee, but until last year was for six years the top Democrat on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (or “Milcon”) sub-committee, where she may have directed more than $1 billion to companies controlled by her husband.
If the inferences finally coming out about what she did while on Milcon prove true, she may be on the way to morphing from a respected senior Democrat into another poster child for congressional corruption.
The problems stem from her subcommittee activities from 2001 to late 2005, when she quit. During that period the public record suggests she knowingly took part in decisions that eventually put millions of dollars into her husband’s pocket — the classic conflict of interest that exploited her position and power to channel money to her husband’s companies.
These people make me sick.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 03:42 PM | Comments (3)
Hmmmm
I'm sure we won't hear much about this...
Congressman loses taped-call ruling
Appeals court rules McDermott wrong to leak illegally recorded callRep. Jim McDermott had no right to disclose the contents of an illegally taped telephone call involving House Republican leaders a decade ago, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
In a 5-4 opinion, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that McDermott, a Washington Democrat, should not have given reporters access to the taped telephone call.
McDermott’s offense was especially egregious since he was a senior member of the House ethics committee, the panel ruled.
...The ruling upholds a judgment in favor of House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was among several GOP leaders heard on the December 1996 call, which involved ethics allegations against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
McDermott, a Washington state Democrat who was serving on the ethics panel at the time, leaked the tape to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York Times, which published stories on the case in January 1997.
...or, if we do, he becomes a freedom fighter martyr type.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:32 PM | Comments (1)
April 19, 2007
The Breck Boy Speaks!
Here's what he has to say on the SCOTUS decision on PBA:
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement about today's 5-4 Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal abortion ban."I could not disagree more strongly with today's Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake - starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman's right to choose."
I have to agree with you on one point, Mr. Ex-Senator: the ban was ill-considered, most especially by the Former Junior Senator from North Carolina who along with Senators Kerry and Biden were the only Senators who didn't even bother to vote on this bill when it was passed in 2003. I guess it wasn't such a "hard right turn" then, was it?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:01 AM | Comments (4)
This Is A "Legislative Leader"?
Jonathan Adler at the Volokh Conspiracy has an excellent post up this morning about Sen Harry Reid's comments on SCOTUS' ruling on the Partial Birth Abortion Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was among those who denounced yesterday's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Act. Commenting on the decision, Reid said "A lot of us wish that Alito weren't there and O'Connor were there," indicating his desire that there has been a fifth vote to invalidate the statute, as Justice O'Connor had provided the fifth vote to invalidate Nebraska's partial-birth abortion ban in Stenberg v. Carhart.What is curious about Reid's statement, as NPR and some news outlets have noted, is not Reid's criticism of Alito -- Reid opposed Alito's confirmation -- but the fact that Reid supported, and voted for, the federal statute upheld in yesterday's decision. Reid was one of 17 Senate Democrats voting in favor of the bill in 2003. Reid also voted in favor of a ban on partial-birth abortion in 1999 (see here) and , as indicated in this "Meet the Press" interview, Reid was one of only two Democratic Senators to vote against a resolution reaffirming Senate support for the holding of Roe v. Wade.
So, despite his repeated support of legislative restrictions on abortion, Reid's latest comment suggests that he believes the Supreme Court's decision was regrettable and wrongly decided, and that a law that he supported is unconstitutional. To me, the latter is of greater concern. Call me old fashioned, but I believe that if a member of the Senate believes a law is unconstitutional, he or she should vote against it.
Exactly right. But sadly this is indicative of the state of Congress these days, wherein the Legislators have no set beliefs but in fact are constantly engaged in swimming to the latest poll data and positioning themselves with an eye towards future elections. There is seemingly no moral fiber, no vision; just political pandering.
Look at all the gyrations and contortions that these Senators are doing over their war votes. "Oh I was lied to". "If I knew now what I knew then". "My dog ate the CIA briefing so I really didn't get a chance to look at it." "Who knew the war would be unpopular in 3 years?" These folks are so vacuous.
And it is both disgusting and frightening, for these are the people into whose hands we have placed our very lives.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:50 AM | Comments (1)
April 18, 2007
"If He'd Talked Like That Before...
...I went on his show, I might not have gone on afterward."Sew halp me, I think thats wut he sed.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:02 PM | Comments (4)
April 13, 2007
And Speaking Of Guys Whose Girlfriends Get Nice Perks
Seems like someone was not wearing their seatbelt
CAMDEN, N.J - Gov. Jon S. Corzine was critically injured Thursday when his motorcade crashed en route to a meeting between radio personality Don Imus and the Rutgers women’s basketball team, a doctor said.Corzine, 60, suffered numerous broken bones but his injuries were not considered life-threatening, officials said. He was recuperating early Friday at Cooper University Hospital in critical but stable condition after two hours of surgery to repair a seriously damaged leg and other injuries.
Dr. Robert Ostrum, who performed the surgery, said it was successful but noted that the governor would need two more operations on his leg in the coming days. Doctors also inserted a breathing tube that would remain “for days to weeks, until (Corzine) is able to breathe on his own again,” Ostrum said.
I hope you get better soon, Governor.
But wear your goddamned seat belt, you idiot.
With all due respect, of course.
And will he be served with a summons for not wearing his seat belt, like us little folks would be?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:42 AM | Comments (7)
April 11, 2007
Tony Blair Channels Bill Cosby
Some times it's nice to be a lame duck, ain't it gov'ner?
Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture. His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem....Black community leaders reacted after Mr Blair said the recent violence should not be treated as part of a general crime wave, but as specific to black youth. He said people had to drop their political correctness and recognise that the violence would not be stopped "by pretending it is not young black kids doing it".
...Giving the Callaghan lecture in Cardiff, the prime minister admitted he had been "lurching into total frankness" in the final weeks of his premiership. He called on black people to lead the fight against knife crime. He said that "the black community - the vast majority of whom in these communities are decent, law abiding people horrified at what is happening - need to be mobilised in denunciation of this gang culture that is killing innocent young black kids".
I really hope W 'lurches' into some frankness soon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 10:01 PM
April 03, 2007
Straight Scoop and Well Said
...Although no one doubts our forces will prevail over Saddam Hussein's, key regional leaders confirm what the Foreign Relations Committee emphasized in its Iraq hearings last summer: The most challenging phase will likely be the day after -- or, more accurately, the decade after -- Saddam Hussein.Once he is gone, expectations are high that coalition forces will remain in large numbers to stabilize Iraq and support a civilian administration. That presence will be necessary for several years, given the vacuum there, which a divided Iraqi opposition will have trouble filling and which some new Iraqi military strongman must not fill. Various experts have testified that as many as 75,000 troops may be necessary, at a cost of up to $ 20 billion a year. That does not include the cost of the war itself, or the effort to rebuild Iraq.
Americans are largely unprepared for such an undertaking. President Bush must make clear to the American people the scale of the commitment.
Acknowledging a decade's worth of work to do? You'll never guess who...
A Swill Salute to the Futurist.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:44 PM | Comments (2)
April 01, 2007
It's Not Easy Being Green
...if you're Gorezilla trying to buy his way out of the energy guzzling shame his humble abode has brought upon him. Oh, excuse moi. That's a vicious right wing-ruin-Oscar-night smear. Let's rephrase. He's buying his way into "carbon neutrality", which pretty much excuses everything for...um...leftoid global warming excuse makers.
Mike from Lamplighter was kind enough to pass along this post describing President Bush's palatial Crawford crib and the scar it leaves on the Texas plain. Intrigued, I went a' Googling for more. I found this info on a 'progressive' news site...
The 4,000-square-foot house is a model of environmental rectitude.Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this "eco-friendly" dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.
...which still manages a snarky, shitty smack at the President, in spite of the obvious comparison between the ranch house and their Goracle's ostentatious, revolting display of wealth and privilege.
... Heymann [the house's architect and associate dean of the University of Texas architecture department] also termed the house "stunningly small." Really? Would it be stunningly small for a single mother in South Central Los Angeles? How stunningly small would it be for an immigrant Latino family in San Antonio Maybe in the rarified heights where second homes are the norm, 4,000 square feet is small and on a stunning scale as well, but in Main Street America that much elbow room is pretty big for the first and only home.
Because you can buy carbon credits to offset your heavy energy footprint doesn't mean that you should. Because you have the bulk and money to be a bully, should you? And doesn't that finger jabbing out accusingly at the audience point your way in the bathroom mirror? Apparently not in the flying monkey world inhabited by Gorezilla and his merry minions.
It's the liberal version of sin eating or sending the house servant to take your place in the draft ~ unethical, unconscionable, self-serving and conniving. But it IS...
...easy.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 06:16 PM | Comments (1)
March 29, 2007
A Zen Moment
...in the comments at Hot Air.
Could you imagine an independent Thompson/Lieberman ticket?
Well, yes...yes I can. I can imagine quite a bit.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:39 AM | Comments (4)
March 27, 2007
Whoa, DUUUDE!
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.The Justice Department "in a shambles" because of poor management. Congressional leaders calling for the Attorney General's resignation. Chuck Schumer in the middle, on TV. The sixth year of a tired administration.
Alberto Gonzales?No.
Janet Reno.
Sherman re-set the WayBack Machine.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:22 PM
March 23, 2007
READ This
...before it winks out of existence, when someone goes "HOLY SH*T! Who said we could run this?!" I mean, it is tagged 'Web-exclusive commentary'.
So Long, Me-Maw
In New Orleans, they aren’t shedding a tear over Louisiana Gov. Blanco’s decision not to seek a second term. A letter from the Garden District.New Orleans, 18 months after Katrina, is still a city of considerable ups and downs. Tuesday was no different; as usual, the bad news came first. The first e-mail I received informed me that a block and a half from our new house, at 1:30 in the afternoon, two hold-ups occurred in less than 10 minutes—and I live in Garden District, still perceived as a “nice” neighborhood, despite the alarming frequency of similar attacks, along with a recent rash of break-ins of both cars and houses (one of them was mine). First, a gunman wielding a “chrome short nose revolver” relieved a sod delivery man of the $30 in his pockets. Next, he snatched a woman’s purse, jumped into an “unknown black vehicle,” and roared away.
As crimes go in the city with by far the highest murder rate in the nation (96 per every 100,000 people in 2006; more than 40 people overall have been killed so far in 2007), these could actually be viewed as good news—nobody was killed or even shot, after all. But the real good news came in my next e-mail: Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced that she would not seek re-election to a second term.
I will admit to a certain, smug, self-satisfied, smirky snickering through the whole rant, because I thought I'd written it for the first minute there. But over a year ago.
That's me ~ always ahead of trend.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:28 AM | Comments (4)
March 21, 2007
John Edwards' Goes Humminah-Humminah
Mr. "Two Americas", as in there are people who work in big mansions and people who own them, gets a little fumbly when defending his own 28,000 footer
Call it “Dancing with the Stars”: Global Warming Edition. Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards showed his best dance moves trying to avoid questions about how energy efficient his 28,000-square-foot mansion really is and how much the power bill costs each month.The March 20 edition of CNN’s “American Morning” showed Edwards hyping global warming, promoting his energy plan that mandates carbon caps and claiming that his new mega-McMansion was actually being operated in a “carbon-neutral way.” He has recently declared his campaign “carbon neutral.”
Edwards also avoided how he holds himself to one standard but wants to hold businesses to another. As anchor Miles O’Brien put it: “One of the keys to your plan is the so-called cap plan which would institute, as it suggests, caps on the amount of carbon dioxide industry can put into the environment.”
But when it comes to Edwards’ own life, he doesn’t cap his carbon efforts, preferring instead carbon offsets. “We have committed to operate this house in a carbon-neutral way, which means in addition to using energy saving devices in the house itself, to the extent that doesn’t cover it, we’re going to purchase carbon credits on the market,” said Edwards.
...O’Brien asked about Edwards “getting Americans to conserve more.” Edwards responded with talk of conservation and then requirements. “One of the things that’s going to be required is for Americans to be willing to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles and to be willing to conserve and we want to help them do that.”
When O’Brien asked specifically about his house, Edwards turned into a dancing king. Asked about the cost of energy for the home, Edwards tried several answers:
-“It’s actually not bad.” And followed that up with talk of how energy efficient the home was.
-“I’m not telling you. It’s actually, it’s actually not bad. It’s about three or four hundred dollars, the last one I saw.”
-Following that claim, Edwards backed off a bit and said “the power bill is several hundred dollars a month.”
The hypocrisy is staggering...and typical. Look, I have no problem with a rich person building a huge house on his property. That's the American Way, dammit. You earned the money, now go enjoy it. What pisses me off is these rich bastards appointing themselves our Superior All-Knowing Masters and then condemning us little folk as we try to improve our lot while they enjoy all the perks. Remember the Oscars? All those pompous little turds who have made millions of dollars by what? By reciting lines that other people wrote, yet this somehow entitles them to be our philosopher kings. So the preening vanities, these people who fly in their private jets everywhere, who take huge limos everywhere, who have entire staffs devoted to their hair and makeup, these are the people who preach to us that we must be 'green' and 'carbon neutral'. As my Bride remarked, after she in total disgust and contempt turned off the televised fellation of Al Gore at the Oscars by Leonardo DeCaprio, "If Hollywood is truly concerned about The Environment they should immediately stop all filming of movies 'on location' and film everything in the back lot and in the studios rather than fly hundreds of people all across the globe. Or they should just STFU." Have I mentioned I love that gal?
But they won't, of course.
You know, I hope that the next CEO of some Really Big Corporation who is catching all kinds of shit from the media and various posturing candidates for moving jobs overseas because of how expensive Congress has made it to do business here looks the bastard straight in the eye and says "Actually, I'm Employee-Neutral; following the bold leadership of Al Gore and John Edwards and others I've purchased Employee Offsets in the market."
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:35 AM | Comments (15)
March 15, 2007
AG Firings...Yawn.
The WSJ makes some good points today, but really Bryan at Hot Air sums this whole 'scandal' up best in my mind, so go give it a read.
Basketball starts today, so DC can go sink back into the swamp for all I care.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:13 AM | Comments (2)
March 14, 2007
Plastic Lettuce!
Now if I can just find some plastic bread I can make a sandwich...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 12:39 PM | Comments (4)
March 09, 2007
More Stench In The Garden State
Gov. Corzine's $470,000 'gift' to his ex-girlfriend just never seems to go away. Now it seems that Carla Katz, who is paid $102,000 a year as head of the Communications Workers of America Local 1034, is fulfilling some long awaited plans for the house. Good for her; I just had some work done on my house too. She is a much better organizer than I could ever hope to be, however, for on her income she's able to fund a $550,000 'renovation' project:
Katz...began the long-planned renovation of the house in January. It includes a 3,200 square foot addition, a swimming pool and spa and a new septic system.
Her addition is twice the size of my whole house. The septic system is a nice touch, I thought. Maybe it has a marble-lined tank; come to think of it, it's more likely Teflon, given how none of the shit ever seems to stick to her or Corzine.
She must be using Hillary's broker too because on her modest salary, in addition to funding this little half-million dollar bit of handyman work about the house
A month earlier, state and county records show, Katz paid $1.1 million for a condominium in the same Hoboken building where Corzine lives. There was no record of a mortgage or a loan for either property, and Katz has refused to discuss the source of the money or anything about her personal finances.
Nice, huh?
Oh, and what's the most delicious part of this?
Katz, president of the largest local representing state employees, is currently in the midst of a major expansion and renovation of the house in Alexandria Township -- with nonunion labor.The general contractor Katz hired for the job said yesterday he does not usually employ union workers, nor does his contract with Katz require that he do so.
"If she had wanted me to, sure, I would have. I've got no problem with that," Dorsey Reading, the contractor from Erwinna, Pa., said.
Katz said Reading was mistaken: "Of course I asked for the renovations to be made with union labor and the contractor has assured me that he's made all efforts to do so," she said in an e-mailed response to a phone message.
Katz declined to provide a copy of the contract showing the stipulation that union labor be used on the $550,000 project. She would not answer questions by phone.
The contractor later called back and said that upon further reflection he remembered Katz had asked him to use union workers: "I forgot we had talked about that at the beginning of the whole thing, months ago," Reading said. But, he added, because it was not a large project it was difficult to find union workers, and he has not hired any for the job.
Hehehe, I wonder what 'jogged' his memory...
As always, Enlighten NJ has more information on "NOLA on the Delaware".
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:06 AM | Comments (7)
March 06, 2007
Edwards "Heart" Jeebus
Put your hands on the radio, friends, because the Panderin' Prince in the Pompadour is back and feedin' that fiery furnace of pharisean phfun!
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war "when it's not necessary."
"I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," Edwards told the site. "I think he would be appalled, actually."
Edwards also said he was against teacher-led prayers in public schools, but he added that "allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it's a good thing."
Edwards then left in his new official campaign vehicle...
I'm sure this will go over great with his ex-blogging staff...
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:40 AM | Comments (3)
March 05, 2007
I'd Like to Offer a Different Perspective
The ACCENT may be BAD, but she does 'FAKE'...
...really well.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 01:31 PM | Comments (5)
March 03, 2007
Ann Again
I think Bryan has it just right:
“I’d say something about John Edwards, but if you say ‘faggot’ you have to go to rehab.”I’m no fan of John Edwards, but that’s just a stupid joke. It’s over the line. The laughter it generated across the room was more than a little annoying.
Last year it was “raghead.” This year it’s calling John Edwards a “faggot.” Two years in a row, Coulter has finished up an otherwise sharp CPAC routine with an obnoxious slur that liberals will fling at conservatives for years to come.
Thanks, Ann.
Regardless of what you think of Edwards this type of comment in a public forum is uncalled for and should be condemned. I don't care what people say in private, and I don't care if the meaning she intended was more "effeminate" than "homosexual"; it doesn't matter. This is Ann just trying to get Anna Nicole Smith from the headlines.
If I say "Media Whore" does that mean I have to go to rehab too?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:18 AM | Comments (8)
March 01, 2007
Maybe He Should Just Ask Kucinich
And I guess this guy doesn't object to the word "alien"
OTTAWA (AFP) - A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said Wednesday. "I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet," Paul Hellyer, 83, told the Ottawa Citizen.Alien spacecrafts would have traveled vast distances to reach Earth, and so must be equipped with advanced propulsion systems or used exceptional fuels, he told the newspaper.
..."We need to persuade governments to come clean on what they know. Some of us suspect they know quite a lot, and it might be enough to save our planet if applied quickly enough," he said.
But do we really need
when we already have the ACME Mfg Co?
Just look at their products:
Mr. President, why are you hiding ACME products from us?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:24 PM | Comments (6)
February 22, 2007
Ah, Those Wacky College Kids
Ooh, are the knickers all a-twisted at NYU today
A contest called "Find the Illegal Immigrant" - a mock hunt for a student posing as just that - is being met with widespread protest on campus and receiving local and national media coverage.The event, sponsored by NYU's College Republicans, is planned for today in Washington Square Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The student posing as the illegal immigrant will wear a name tag saying so. Other students will try to find him or her, playing the part of border patrol agents and wearing nametags that say "INS," referring to the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.
If they are really playing their part, the 'agents' won't try (or even be allowed to try) too hard to find the 'illegal'.
Of course, Chuck Schumer's panties are twisted
"What I really find obnoxious - and that's how I'd describe what the College Republicans are doing - is it dehumanizes [illegal immigrants]," the senator told WSN during a question-and-answer session after his speech. "A person who's making a dollar a day in Oaxaca, who risks their life to come and make two dollars an hour here in America, is not to be ridiculed. It's not to be despised. So what I think they're doing is obnoxious."
I think having wide open borders is obnoxious. I think ignoring illegal acts is obnoxious. I think denying thousands of educated people who are playing by the rules and trying to emigrate legally but encouraging millions to come illegally so they'll vote for your party is obnoxious.
But that's why I'm not the Senior Senator from NY, I reckon.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:06 PM
February 21, 2007
The Greatest Threat To World Peace Today
Is, of course Israel
...The aggressively photogenic John Edwards was cruising along, detailing his litany of liberal causes last week until, during question time, he invoked the "I" word -- Israel. Perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace, Edwards remarked, was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities...
Makes you think he really was involved in hiring those two charming lasses.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:10 AM | Comments (6)
February 15, 2007
Welcome to Today's
...'Washington Weasel' winner ~ rookie Rep. Keith Ellison!
Smoking has become the hot topic on Capitol Hill....And in the latest installment, staffers for Rep. Keith Ellison tattled to Capitol Police that Rep. Tom Tancredo was smoking a cigar inside his congressional office.
"We already have the biggest air-purifying unit you can get, and I would be happy to try to make sure that it's even less odiferous around here, but I'm not going to stop because we still have the right to do so," Mr. Tancredo, Colorado Republican, told The Washington Times.
An officer investigating the report informed Mr. Ellison, Minnesota Democrat, that smoking is allowed in the private offices, the Hill newspaper first reported yesterday.
Calling his office in the Longworth building "our own little castle," Mr. Tancredo said he would have preferred a personal visit from his next-door neighbor.
That would have been neighborly ~ the polite thing to do, even. What ill-mannered, pissy little people ~ I'll bet there are some noses out of joint now and not from the smoke.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:50 PM | Comments (7)
February 08, 2007
To Stay This Cranky, I'd Have to Guess He's Still Pissed About
...the whole Steny Hoyer thing.
...Late Wednesday afternoon, one of Pelosi's closest allies in the House, Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., chairman of the key Appropriations Committee subcommittee on defense, told CNN that the Pentagon was making "a mistake" by leaking information unfavorable to the speaker "since she decides on the allocations for the Department of Defense."
Blustering gasbag.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:56 AM
February 06, 2007
You Can't Have It Both Ways
You either hand out money willie-nillie in the aftermath of a natural disaster or you keep track of where it's going and get tarred with the 'racist, class warrior' brush.
In the neighborhood President Bush visited right after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government gave $84.5 million to more than 10,000 households. But Census figures show fewer than 8,000 homes existed there at the time.Now the government wants back a lot of the money it disbursed across the region.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has determined nearly 70,000 Louisiana households improperly received $309.1 million in grants, and officials acknowledge those numbers are likely to grow.
Can you imagine that! People got money they didn't rate when the till was open and the dollars flying out like honeybees on their way to fragrant fields.
Oh, well, hell ~ who we kiddin' here? You get tarred, don't make no nevermind what you do.
Mayor Ray Nagin told a Senate committee Monday he doesn't see the will to fix his hurricane-battered city when compared with the billions spent on the war in Iraq."I think it's more class than anything, but there's racial issues associated with it also," Nagin said.
Race, schmace. And as for class...what would Nagin know about that anyway? He's certainly never shown any.
So let's just leave the lucre levee open...
Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Monday that she will ask leaders on Capitol Hill this week to release Louisiana from about $1.7 billion in debt that the state owes to cover the local match for federal recovery grants and repayment of disaster loans....Further, Blanco said she will request forgiveness for roughly $1 billion in community disaster loans that were awarded to local governments so they could keep operating in the wake of unprecedented devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Kopplin said the White House traditionally has converted those loans to grants, ostensibly giving disaster-ridden governments free cash for operations.
...While criticizing the rules governing FEMA reimbursements, Blanco announced a pair of initiatives aimed at speeding up the notoriously laggard process of getting federal dollars to local agencies working restore basic services.
..."I think we're going to have some luck in Congress," Blanco said. "If we don't, God help us all."
...and watch it all drain away. Rules be damned! Accountability be damned! Let's free ourselves from those fiscal chains of integrity that bind! Waste, fraud and entitlement are New Orleans' peculiar institutions and who are we to naysay their right to unlimited funds unhampered by unreasonable restraint?
'Free cash' it says? Well, then, free cash it should be!
No one could doubt our good intentions then. Not even the cannibals.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:07 AM | Comments (1)
January 29, 2007
Sometimes They ALL
...Republicans feel withdrawal of troops must begin in the next six months for their party to have any chance at retaining the presidency in 2008...
By God, when hanging on to the White House is driving policy ~ vice conscience, duty and honor ~ we've doomed ourselves.
I guess no one worries about having to live with themselves afterwards, as long as afterwards, they still get to live in Washington.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:00 AM | Comments (7)
January 26, 2007
Oh, Great
NOW...
...he decides to grow a pair.
UPDATE: In a further spin on this concept, Allah has posted on this WaPo story about the authorization to terminate Iranian agents with extreme prejudice. I would offer that, as major dad has always said, we need to understand that ALL these guys play by "Hama Rules"...
...When Syria's Baath regime feels its back up against the wall, it always resorts to "Hama Rules." Hama Rules is a term I coined after the Syrian Army leveled - and I mean leveled - a portion of its own city, Hama, to put down a rebellion by Sunni Muslim fundamentalists there in 1982. Some 10,000 to 20,000 Syrians were buried in the ruble. Monday's murder of Mr. Hariri, a self-made billionaire who devoted his money and energy to rebuilding Lebanon after its civil war, had all the hallmarks of Hama Rules - beginning with 650 pounds of dynamite to incinerate an armor-plated motorcade.Message from the Syrian regime to Washington, Paris and Lebanon's opposition: "You want to play here, you'd better be ready to play by Hama Rules - and Hama Rules are no rules at all. You want to squeeze us with Iraq on one side and the Lebanese opposition on the other, you'd better be able to put more than U.N. resolutions on the table. You'd better be ready to go all the way - because we will. But you Americans are exhausted by Iraq, and you Lebanese don't have the guts to stand up to us, and you French make a mean croissant but you've got no Hama Rules in your arsenal. So remember, we blow up prime ministers here. We shoot journalists. We fire on the Red Cross. We leveled one of our own cities. You want to play by Hama Rules, let's see what you've got. Otherwise, hasta la vista, baby."
How do we answer to "no rules at all"?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:41 AM | Comments (1)
January 24, 2007
Michael Gerson
...in Newsweek.
...Whenever a politician puts out to the media that he has thrown away the speechwriters’ draft and written the remarks himself (as Webb did), it is often a sign of approaching mediocrity. This was worse. Senator Webb made liberal use of clichés: the middle class is “the backbone” of the country, which is losing its “place at the table.” I am not even sure there is a literary term for a mixed metaphor that crosses two clichés. And Senator Webb’s logic was as incoherent as his language (the two are often related). No “precipitous withdrawal”—but retreat “in short order.” Fight the war on terror vigorously—except where the terrorists have chosen to fight it. It is, perhaps, a good thing that James Webb earned a job as senator. As a speechwriter he would starve.Perhaps the most compelling argument of the day was not made by President Bush or Senator Webb—and it was made in five words. Earlier in the day, General David Petraeus testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. When asked if he could get his job done in Iraq without additional troops, he replied: “No, sir.” When asked if a congressional resolution of disapproval of the “surge” could encourage the enemy, he said, “That’s correct, sir.” ...
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:05 PM
Mi Casa
Federal agents taking a break from an unrelated assignment yesterday arrested 24 illegal aliens at a Fells Point 7-Eleven after the men attempted to solicit "underground" employment from the agents....Of those arrested, 10 were Honduran, eight were Mexican, five were Salvadoran and one was Peruvian, ICE officials said. Six of the men have criminal records in the United States, eight of the men have failed to comply with final removal orders from an immigration judge and one man had been caught at the border on four occasions, ICE officials said.
...CASA sue ?
...The nonprofit immigrant-advocacy group CASA of Maryland called the arrests an "illegal raid" that was beyond ICE's authority.
"Asking a bunch of people about their immigration status is well beyond the confines of a specific warrant," CASA spokeswoman Kim Propeack said.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 02:13 PM | Comments (1)
January 12, 2007
ABC News Asks
No.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 12:20 PM | Comments (6)
January 11, 2007
They're Planning a Huge Rally in New Orleans Today
And ~ in the Bywater/Marigny at least ~ let's just say the 'natives are restless'.
10098. WDSU
by JerseyNOLA, 1/11/07 9:41 ETReports that our Beloved Mayor, Count Chocula, and his minion, Chief "The Life of" Riley will address the rally.....
I suggest that when these Bozos speak, we turn our backs.....Silence might be more effective than expressing what we really feel!
10098.2. Drown him out
by kmsoap, 1/11/07 9:43 ET
Re: WDSU by JerseyNOLA, 1/11/07Chants of
"No more lies."10094. March with tomatoes
by critterSays, 1/11/07 9:30 ETif Nagin shows, well say no more.
(I think you might be hard pressed to find someone willing to admit they voted for this guy.)
On the upside, I've heard the lycopene in tomatoes is good for prostate problems.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
January 10, 2007
Is It a 'Sadr City'
...or a Sadder one.
Police plan to set up checkpoints beginning Wednesday to help curb a crime wave that has claimed nine lives since the start of 2007, Mayor Ray Nagin said, stopping short of imposing a curfew on this tourism- dependent city.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:23 AM | Comments (3)
January 05, 2007
I'm Not Sure How Many of Our Thousands of Swillers
...are from Bangla-cola, less mind Escambia County District 2, but...if you are...call or email this guy (our newly elected commissar) and let him have it. The new guy thinks this...
Escambia eyes fuel-tax hike
Extra 5 cents would raise $7 million for public transitEscambia County could raise its gasoline tax by 5 cents a gallon to help fund its struggling public transit system.
It would require two public hearings and four out of five county commissioners voting for it before the increase could pass. It could not take effect before Jan. 1, 2008.
The county's current gasoline tax is 6 cents a gallon. Adding another 5 cents could be a tough sell as record-high fuel prices remain fresh in commuters' minds.
...is a good idea.
...County officials want to offset the pain at the pump by lowering property taxes by whatever amount they raise the fuel tax."We will not double-dip the taxpayers," County Administrator George Touart said.
...Commissioners Grover Robinson, Gene Valentino, Mike Whitehead and Marie Young said they would vote for the increase if it came with an accompanying reduction in property taxes.
Hmmm, let's see,
* You'll notice that there's not much going on in the upper reaches of the county, as well as our oft neglected West Pensacola. Mr. "Just a Nickel More" Valentino was elected to represent our district by...somebody. God knows who. (For scale, it's just about 60 miles from the Gulf to the FL/AL line and about 662 sq. miles total.) The county's population is just under 300K. 56K or so live in Pensacola proper. Amazingly enough, that corresponds exactly with the yellow bus service outline! The rest of us drive.
I'm sure the Commissioner will be all too happy to let the oil companies take the PR hit for the 5 cents that suddenly appears at the pump. Mr. Touart can take his dip, double it and stick it...anywhere but our backs. Jeez, I can't stand that guy. While I've got him on the phone, I'm telling Mr. "Just Another Nickel" that, too.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:09 AM | Comments (4)
January 04, 2007
Yeah.
That's about the size of it. It's Friday ~ be cruel.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:40 PM | Comments (3)
January 02, 2007
State's Rights...
Without being a state?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After more than 200 years of paying taxes, fighting in the nation's wars and abiding by sometimes arbitrary acts of Congress, Washington residents are close to getting a full-fledged representative in the House.The turning point in this long battle for enfranchisement may be an unlikely partnership with the people of Utah.
The new Democratic majority, in the first months of the new Congress, is expected to take up a bill that would increase the voting membership of the House from 435 to 437, giving new vote each to Utah, a Republican stronghold, and the District of Columbia, dominated by Democrats.
I just don't see (in the case of D.C.) how this is legal.
Some progress was made: The 23rd Amendment in 1961 gave D.C. residents the right to vote in presidential elections. In 1971 Congress allowed the district to send a nonvoting delegate to the House. Currently, along with delegates from American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton can cast votes at the committee level but not on the House floor.Congress also gave the district limited home rule in the 1970s, and in 1978 approved a constitutional amendment extending voting rights. The amendment died when it was not ratified by three-fourths of the states.
Most -- but by no means all -- scholars say an amendment is unnecessary. The Constitution says that the House shall be composed of members chosen by "the people of the several states." But it also gives Congress the power "to exercise exclusive legislation" over the seat of the federal government, interpreted by some to mean that Congress can, if it wants, give D.C. voting rights.
How can an amendment not be necessary? Look, don't get me wrong, I think that all citizens should have all the rights of every other citizen, but the Constitution is to my reading very very clear:
Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.
...but each state shall have at least one Representative;
You sensing a theme here? It doesn't say 'city'. It doesn't say 'territory'. It says quite clearly and solely "state". I don't see how you get around that. Here's the other passage the article references:
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;--AndTo make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
This passage clearly gives Congress the power to issue legislation governing D.C., but it seems a pretty creative read to say that it gives Congress the ability to give D.C. full voting representation in Congress.
If this goes through then how do you deny D.C. 2 Senators, as well?
If the citizens of D.C. desire congressional representation then they should petition Congress to be admitted as a state, or Congress should write an Amendment to the Constitution specifically granting D.C. a Representative but not two Senators and submit it to the states for ratification.
But this unconstitutional method should not be allowed.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 02:02 PM | Comments (8)
December 28, 2006
The Breck Boy Is Back
Don't you just feel better already?
Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is running for president for a second time, his campaign said Wednesday. The former North Carolina senator plans to formally announce his candidacy Thursday from New Orleans' 9th Ward, which was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. But his campaign got a little ahead of itself Wednesday and announced his intentions online.
Seems like his staff is still the klutzkrew they were before.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:08 AM | Comments (5)
December 27, 2006
Thanks, Gerry
He was the right man at the time, and held things together when we needed it.
Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal- shattered White House as the 38th president and the only one never elected to nationwide office, has died. He was 93. "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," former first lady Betty Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."
Rest In Peace.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:54 AM | Comments (3)
December 22, 2006
"Who Will They Come For Next?"
Some lovely hyperbole here
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Hispanic groups and activists on Thursday called for a moratorium on workplace raids to round up illegal immigrants, saying they were reminiscent of Nazi crackdowns on Jews in the 1930s.They accused the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of "racial profiling," or selective enforcement against Hispanics, for arresting 1,300 workers on immigration violations in December 12 raids at meatpacking plants in six states.
"This unfortunately reminds me of when Hitler began rounding up the Jews for no reason and locking them up," Democratic Party activist Carla Vela said. "Now they're coming for the Latinos, who will they come for next?"
Hmm, let's see. Hitler rounded up native, natural born citizens of his country; that's people who were born there and whose families had been there for hundreds of years for you playing along at home. Oh, and then he killed them.
And the people who were rounded up at these plants here? Illegal immigrants who violated laws to get here, who in many cases stole identities to get their jobs. And somehow I don't think Chimpy has put them in rail cars to send them off to AshKKKroftwitz.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 01:44 PM | Comments (6)
December 20, 2006
You Try This...
President Clinton's national security adviser removed classified documents from the National Archives, hid them under a construction trailer and later tried to find the trash collector to retrieve them, the agency's internal watchdog said Wednesday....and let's see what happens to you.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 08:31 PM | Comments (3)
December 19, 2006
Marion Barry Arrested Again
I know. You're shocked. As was I. However, the reason I'm posting is not the report itself, but allll the related Barry links at the bottom of it.
Marion's...
·November 14, 2006: Barry Pleads Not Guilty To DUI
·September 11, 2006: Marion Barry Detained By Police
·August 7, 2006: Barry Facing More Legal Woes
·May 12, 2006: Police: Former Mayor Fails Field Sobriety Test
·March 9, 2006: Marion Barry Sentenced On Tax Charges
·February 27, 2006: Barry Shows Off Gasifier Machine
·February 8, 2006: Federal Judge Postpones Barry Sentencing
·February 7, 2006: Marion Barry Heads Back To Court
·January 11, 2006: Marion Barry Fails Drug Test
·January 3, 2006: Marion Barry Robbed At Gunpoint
·November 11, 2005: Gasification Machine Removed From Anacostia Parking Lot
·November 10, 2005: Energy Machine Demonstration Held Without Fireworks
·November 10, 2005: D.C. Leaders Almost Go Toe-To-Toe
·October 28, 2005: Marion Barry Pleads Guilty To Tax Charges
·October 5, 2005: Mayor Offers Words Of Support For Barry
·October 4, 2005: Barry To Plead Guilty For Failing To File Tax Returns
...been a busy guy. Hell, he'd be in office for life if he'd move to New Orleans.
(And WTF is a 'gasification' machine you ask? An antipollution thingermabobber.)
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:24 AM | Comments (6)
December 14, 2006
Sen. Johnson
First off, I certainly hope he recovers.
But if he doesn't then...
Should Johnson not be able to complete his term, which ends in 2008, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, would appoint his replacement, which could shift the balance of power in the Senate.
Reading the relevant SD statutes here I find these rules:
12-11-1. Special election to fill congressional vacancy--Time of election of representative. If a vacancy occurs in the office of a senator or representative in the United States Congress it shall be the duty of the Governor within ten days of the occurrence, to issue a proclamation setting the date of and calling for a special election for the purpose of filling such vacancy. If either a primary or general election is to be held within six months, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of representative in the United States Congress shall be held in conjunction with that election, otherwise the election shall be held not less than eighty nor more than ninety days after the vacancy occurs.12-11-4. Temporary appointment by Governor to fill vacancy in United States Senate. Pursuant to the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, the Governor may fill by temporary appointment, until a special election is held pursuant to this chapter, vacancies in the office of senator in the Senate of the United States.
12-11-5. Special election to fill senate vacancy. The special election to fill the vacancy of a senator shall be held at the same time as the next general election. The general election laws shall apply unless inconsistent with this chapter.
The kicker in all of this is that there's nothing that defines 'vacancy' or 'unable to complete term'. Oh sure, there's this
3-4-1. Events causing vacancy in office. Every office shall become vacant on the happening of any one of the following events before the expiration of the term of such office:(1) The death of the incumbent;
(2) His resignation;
(3) His removal from office;
(4) His failure to qualify as provided by law;
(5) His ceasing to be a resident of the state, district, county, township, or precinct in which the duties of his office are to be exercised or for which he may have been elected;
(6) His conviction of any infamous crime or of any offense involving a violation of his official oath;
(7) Whenever a judgment shall be obtained against him for a breach of his official bond.
But let's say, god forbid, that he lapses into a coma or vegetative state. He's not 'dead', but can he stil be said to occupy his office, Strom Thurmond notwithstanding? The Senate Rules make no mention of whether the Senator is actually able to attend and function.
And you can bet the Dems will fight tooth and nail that unless he's dead the office ain't vacant.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:46 AM | Comments (16)
December 07, 2006
Betrayal
Jules Crittenden is seeing a betrayal, and he's right.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:20 AM
November 30, 2006
Does This Mean the Honeymoon's Over
...in a "Read My Lips Redux" sort of way?
Democrats Reject Key 9/11 Panel Suggestion
Neither Party Has an Appetite for Overhauling Congressional Oversight of Intelligence
It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. Instead, Democratic leaders may create a panel to look at the issue and produce recommendations, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.
They're the chosen ones and the WaPo is after them already?
Hang on, children. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)
November 29, 2006
Que? Alcee ya Hastings' Dream
...of a chairmanship might be gone, but his law abiding spirit is alive and well in the heart of Dem-o-ville.
Cintas warned against firing immigrant force
A Mississippi Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has warned the nation's largest uniform supplier it faces criminal charges if it follows a White House proposal to recheck workers with mismatched Social Security numbers and fire those who cannot resolve the discrepancy in 60 days.
Rep. Bennie Thompson said in a letter to Cintas Corp. it could be charged with "illegal activities in violation of state and federal law" if any of its 32,000 employees are terminated because they gave incorrect Social Security numbers to be hired.
"I am deeply troubled by Cintas' recent policy change regarding the Social Security Administration's 'no match' letters," Mr. Thompson said in the Nov. 2 letter. "It is my understanding that hundreds of Cintas' immigrant workers have received these letters. I am extremely concerned about any potentially discriminatory actions targeting this community."
Depends what your Dem-finition of 'legal' is, I guess. I feel safer already.
Via Powerline.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:25 AM | Comments (1)
You, Sir, Are An Ass
Just who the hell does this pompous jerk Webb think he is?
At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him."How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.
"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"
"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.
What a goddamned ill-mannered primadona. There is no excuse for such outright rudeness at your first meeting with the President, a social gathering for god's sake, not some policy debate you crass turd.
"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," Webb said in an interview yesterday in which he confirmed the exchange between him and Bush. "No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is."
You have indeed offended the institution of the Presidency, and the Senate, and good manners in general. I hope your mamma bends you over her knees and tans your pasty backside but good.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 09:36 AM | Comments (7)
November 16, 2006
"Total Crap"
Sort of sums up Washington these days, doesn't it (Or at the very least how the Giants played against the Bears last week)? But that's actually what John Murtha, Mr. Abscam - to - Okinawa himself thinks of Nancy Grapes Of Wrath Pelosi's Ethics Bill
On Hardball, Murtha had two strategies on "crap." The first was to try to claim it was the corruption that was "crap." When that didn't fly, he said only meant the bill was "crap" in relation to the more urgent need to act on the Iraq war. Nice try! The problem is in his initial discussion of the issue, Murtha gave away why he really thinks the new ethics rules are "crap"--that they are, in Chris Matthews' words, "Mickey Mouse."
Actually, to me the most revealing thing Murtha said was this:
MURTHA: Let me tell you, I agree that we have to return a perception of honesty to the Congress.
There it is, folks, in black and white, the Congressional Prayer:
Dear Lord, let us, in your merciful wisdom and kindness, go back to those halcyon days where people thought we were honest, as these attempts at actually being honest are too trying for our souls...and wallets. Amen, er, person.
The perception of honesty. Someone oughta write a book about that.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:57 AM | Comments (5)
November 11, 2006
I'm Not Surprised
...but it's delicious they were. (Via Insta)
They had to run that clip because the much of the rest of his speech was an absolute riot.
He started off by mentioning that "tomorrow is an extremely important day for America," and the crowd went wild, thinking he was talking about taking power. But of course, he launched into his praise of the Marine Corps, and the crowd cheered a little less loudly. Then he thanked all the brave veterans and brave men still fighting, and the crowd cheered a little less loudly again.
Then he mentioned that he received a call from Sen. Allen, and the crowd went nuts again. Then he mentioned how pleasant and dignified Allen was, and the crowd grew quiet. Then he said he was having lunch next week with Allen — and the crowd was dead silent. Finally he told the audience that they should all thank Sen./Gov. Allen for his many years of dedicated service to the people of Virginia — and you could almost hear the people gathered looking at each other asking, "What the $#@! did we just do?"
It was priceless.
In the spirit of full disclosure, major dad and I would have voted for James Webb. We have fond memories and tons of respect for him after serving during his tenure as SecNav. He was one guy who had the cajones to actually resign in protest and we were all sorrier than crap to lose him. One Marine breath of fresh air and back to bureaucratic dweebs (the odd one actually had served in the Navy) running the Department. (There's also the matter of that kick ass Scotch Irish book he wrote ~ major dad's always quoting chapter and verse.)
Confessing our turncoatedness in full, we also voted for Bill Nelson and I was delighted to find Florida Cracker sharing our secret little GOP purgatory. And Mark Steyn in concert with Hugh Hewitt looking as if he writes from his desk a la Jason Blair and sounding foolish. A couple pundits obviously NOT knowing the territory. (Wow! How often does THAT happen?)
Hugh made another sharp point, noting that in Florida the Republicans in effect gave away a Senate seat. Given the way the GOP have held the Governor's mansion, and Katherine Harris' House seat, and Foley's seat, it seems clear that almost any credible Senate candidate could have swiped that seat out from under the Dems.
Mother Theresa would have had a hard time beating Bill Nelson. Why send a good guy who does your state proud (he was an astronaut, for God's sake! WOO!) packing? There's NO good reason and the state GOP knew it. Shrewd. As I noted in the comments over there...
Add me and major dad to the 'voted for Nelson' column. Good, decent guy. I think the only major beef I've had with him has been his insistance on the offshore drilling moratorium hard line ~ and I'M the treehugger! Katharine Harris is quite probably the best thing the Republicans could have hoped for. A candidate with no viable political future against a hugely popular real guy and no one hurt who might one day actually BE a contender, like Alan Bense. No harm, no foul, best guy for the job still has it, no future GOP star tarnished.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 09:42 AM | Comments (11)
November 09, 2006
Is This What She Means By "A New Direction For America"?
Via Insta, here's some frankly frightening news about one of Pelosi's potential appointments
With majority status in the "people's house" comes a share in responsibility for the security of the Republic. This is why we are so concerned about a shadow which darkens presumptive Speaker Pelosi's triumphant morning, a shadow which will only grow longer if she allows it to begin appearing prominently in the media coverage of the global war on terrorism, metastasizing into her first "intelligence failure" even before she takes the gavel from outgoing Speaker Hastert. That is the shadow of Alcee Lamar Hastings, the reelected Democratic Representative from Florida's 23rd District.
Mr. Hastings was, in the outgoing 109th Congress, the second-ranked Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. But the Washington Post's Charles Babington first reported more than a year ago, in a story that has never been denied (indeed, it has been confirmed in the congressman's hometown newspaper, the Miami Herald) that Ms. Pelosi plans to replace the committee's current ranking Democrat, California Representative Jane Harman, with Mr. Hastings who would be installed as committee chairman when the 110th Congress begins. The move would be a payback to the Congressional Black Caucus, to whose support Pelosi owes her election as Minority Leader and whose members she angered by picking Ms. Harman to be ranking member over Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop in 2003.
Read the whole thing. Did I say it was frightening? But see, that's because in my outdated outlook I see national security as the most important issue we face; it's not something that can be 'negotiated' or you can 'build bridges' about. You have to fight, hard, and you have to accept, first and foremost, that the only letters that matter next to your name are not "R" or "D" but "USA".
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:59 AM | Comments (6)
November 08, 2006
GOP Loses
Not hugely, mind you, but a few percentage points here and there and the country remains pretty evenly split. The Senate seems to be 50/50 at this point, and in the House it seems to be 52%/48% more or less; not 'historic' or 'epic' as it will be spun, but things were so even beforehand that it was enough. Considering how poorly the GOP has done while in power and how far they have strayed from their professed principles they shouldn't really feel too badly about that. It will be good for them; they were in power too long and it frankly corrupted them. Now we will get to see how the Dems behave for awhile.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:48 AM | Comments (9)
November 06, 2006
Dear ABC News
::sigh:: I hate to keep picking on you pinheads, but you, like Kerry, just won't quit.
The Republican running for governor is...
C-H-A-R-L-I-E
Crist.
CHARLIE Crist.
Who the hell is "Bill"?
UPDATE: Miraculously, his name has changed to "Charlie" on the home page! Boneheads. But I hate to break it to ABC, no matter how they try to spin Crist ducking out on our Pensacola love fest, it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE for him to be here. None. We are as RED as RED can be and if he wants to get elected? He needs to be schmoozling Jewish grandmothers in Palm Beach.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:36 PM
Are You Ready for Some Voting?
They are.
So take your garlic with you.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 04:27 PM
And It Seems Weird to Me
...that the President would be ~ of all places ~ here today. (I'd forgotten and almost got caught in the security crush taking over the motorcade route.)
But that's nice he thought of us. And the faithful are always very appreciative when he shows up ~ Pensacolians are nothing if not warm and welcoming. It's one of the things I like most about this place.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:18 PM | Comments (1)
Pelosi: "Elections Not Needed"
That's what this frankly vile person seems to be saying:
Pelosi cautioned that the number of Democratic House victories could be higher or lower and said her greatest concern is over the integrity of the count -- from the reliability of electronic voting machines to her worries that Republicans will try to manipulate the outcome."That is the only variable in this," Pelosi said. "Will we have an honest count?''
"If indeed it turns out the way that people expect it to turn out, the American people will have spoken, and they will have rejected the course of action the president is on."
You get that? She's saying that the only way the Democrats will lose is if Republicans cheat and steal the election; the possibility that, oh, I don't know, say people don't actually vote for them never enters her mind. Is this the person we want 2 heartbeats away from the Presidency? Someone who will accept that "the American People have spoken" only if they say what she wants to hear? Someone who publically casts doubt on the integrity of our electoral process before it begins?
"That is the only variable in this," Pelosi said. "Will we have an honest count?''
Madame, you disgust me.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:46 AM
November 03, 2006
The Scales of Justice
...hold no water for LAW BREAKERS and FISH THIEVES.
At one otherwise uneventful stop in the closing stages of America's mid-term elections this week, George Allen, who is running for a second term as Virginia's Republican senator, had visibly to rein in his temper.Having been asked about two alleged criminal records from his student days – fishing without a licence and speeding... "I mean, getting a citation for fishing without a licence when I was a student – now that's an important issue."
Yup. That's what they all say when they're trollin' for votes.
Sorry, son, that don't fly here. Hook 'em, Danno.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:32 PM | Comments (6)
MORE BREAKING NEWS: ANOTHER November
...SURPRISE!
Unemployment rate lowest in nearly 5-1/2 years
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a 5-1/2 year low in October as 92,000 jobs were added and hiring in the two prior months was revised up, the government said on Friday, leading financial markets to slash bets on interest-rate cuts.The stronger-than-expected job picture sent shock waves through financial markets. Bond prices fell while stock futures and the dollar moved higher on the signs of unexpectedly robust U.S. hiring.
The Labor Department said 92,000 jobs were added in October, less than the 125,000 that Wall Street analysts had forecast, but it said hiring in September and August was far stronger than it first estimated.
It revised up September's job-creation total to 148,000, or nearly three times the 51,000 it reported a month ago, and said there were 230,000 new jobs in August instead of 188,000.
The unemployment rate fell in October to 4.4 percent from 4.6 percent in September. It was the lowest unemployment rate since 4.3 percent in May 2001.
Well, sh*t. Nobody wants news like that.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 10:21 AM
November 02, 2006
Aw...It's 2 in the Morning
...and even the AP is going after him.
Kerry's '72 Army comments mirror latest
During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes."...The Associated Press was alerted to the historical comments by a former law enforcement official who monitored 1970s anti-war activities
...In 1972, as he ran for the House, he was less apologetic in his comments about the merits of a volunteer army. He declared in the questionnaire that he opposed the draft but considered a volunteer army "a greater anathema."
"I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job.'
Don't ya just hate guys that botch the same old joke over and over?
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:48 AM
And How Sorry
...is this?
...House Democrats have had to deal with investigations of their own, involving Reps. William J. Jefferson (La.), Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.) and Jane Harman (Calif.), but none of those cases have put Democratic seats in jeopardy.
In one case, I guess it depends on what your definition of "cold hard cash" is.
...FOX-8 anchor John Snell, who zeroed in on the issues that have emerged as each candidates' respective Achilles' heel.Snell immediately cut to the chase, pressing eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, on the central issue of the campaign: the $90,000 in marked bills that FBI agents said they found last year in his freezer on Capitol Hill.
"I don't want to pick on you about it," Snell said. "But let's face it, that's why we're here."
..."I've not told you that I had $90,000 in the freezer," Jefferson said. "I ask the voters to trust me based on my long history with them and based on the fact that these are unproven allegations and based on the fact that it's been a long time that (prosecutors have) been fooling around with it."
Posted by tree hugging sister at 03:33 AM
November 01, 2006
Love Means Always Having to Say You're Sorry
I can feel the muskrat love.
Thrust into the midst of the midterm election campaign, Sen. John Kerry apologized Wednesday to “any service member, family member or American who was offended” by remarks deemed by Republicans and Democrats alike to be insulting to U.S. forces in Iraq.
Dick has a problem with rodents...
Vice President Dick Cheney said in remarks prepared for a campaign appearance in Montana. “I guess we didn’t get the nuance. He was for the joke before he was against it.”
...being a hunter and all. Watch for the left to come out swinging because Dick is insensitive.
I think Dick's droll.
Posted by tree hugging sister at 05:41 PM | Comments (3)
Kerry Reconsidered
You know, maybe I'm being too hard on poor JFK for saying this on Monday:
"You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
It turns out he was supposed to say this
A Kerry spokeswoman, Amy Brundage, said Kerry’s prepared text had called for him to say: “Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.”
I'm so glad that has been made clear for us, and, as Florida Cracker reminds us, he knows what he's speaking about when it comes to "intellectually lazy":
WASHINGTON -- During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences. But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago.In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year.
Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D's in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years.
And , of course,
Another of his strongest efforts, a 77, came in French class.
So, please, let's cut Kerry the Slacker some slack and for god's sake study, kids: if you're lazy in college you could end up President.
Or worse, married to Teresa.
Seriously, if "lazy" Bush's Yale average of 77 gets us 'stuck in Iraq', Kerry's 76 would have left us...where, exactly?
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 07:41 AM | Comments (2)
October 31, 2006
Incivility In Charlottesville
This video came out today of some rude moron confronting Sen. Allen in Charlottesville. Allah links to the site where this "Real Man" that JFK talked about today gives us his side of the story:
My name is Mike Stark. I am a law student at the University of Virginia, a marine, and a citizen journalist. Earlier today at a public event, I was attempting to ask Senator Allen a question about his sealed divorce record and his arrest in the 1970s, both of which are in the public domain. His people assaulted me, put me in a headlock, and wrestled me to the ground. Video footage is available here, from an NBC affiliate.I demand that Senator Allen fire the staffers who beat up a constituent attempting to use his constitutional right to petition his government. I also want to know why Senator Allen would want his staffers to assault someone asking questions about matters of public record in the heat of a political campaign. Why are his divorce records sealed? Why was he arrested in the 1970s? And why did his campaign batter me when I asked him about these questions.
I wasn't aware that the 'constitutional right to petition his government' included rushing up to someone in a crowded hallway and screaming in their face. I guess my invite to join Volokh just went out the window...damn.
Evidently this lower-case 'm' Marine was asking Allen if he spit on his exwife. Now that's the kind of kinky info we need to know! What with the peepee-smoking composing exploits of his opponent things are really geting interesting down in the Old Dominion!
This idiot was lucky he wasn't shoved through a plate glass window for his stunt.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 08:32 PM | Comments (1)
"Dirty Republican GOP Playbook Trick!"
If your stomach is strong enough, or if you just need to have your hair dried by a gale-force blast of outraged hubristic blowhardity, mosey on over to the oh-so-appropriately-named-in-this-case HotAir and be amazed.
You see, quoting JFK verbatim is a Dirty Republican GOP Playbook Trick!
Anyone would know that a veteran like JFK (who first rose to national prominence by testifying to Congress about how his fellow soldiers in Vietnam were murderers and rapists) would never speak ill of the troops.
Dirty Republican GOP Playbook Trick!
JFK will not apologize for being wrong! That would be like apologizing to a Secret Service agent for running into him while skiing! The Agent must apologize!
Dirty Republican GOP Playbook Trick!
And our treat, you farce of a human.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at 06:06 PM | Comments (2)