....Just For The Record

LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL & THEN WALK AWAY

2010-01-15T08:18:00.003-05:00

The White House on Thursday cut a deal with its closest labor allies to blunt the impact of a new tax on high-cost insurance policies — and blunt their protests against the health reform plan.
Democrats couldn’t eliminate the tax on union members’ high-cost insurance policies altogether but did put off the effective date until 2018, but only for labor agreements and state and local government workers. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31527.html#ixzz0cgeCVtYl

Wow, That's fair isn't it?

GREAT MOVE, JUST A LITTLE LATE

2010-01-05T11:17:00.003-05:00

C-SPAN Challenges Congress to Open Health Care Talks to TV Coverage

Anybody remember how our Fearless Leader made this "transparency" issue a cornerstone of his campaign? Especially during the debates??

"The head of C-SPAN has implored Congress to open up the last leg of health care reform negotiations to the public, as top Democrats lay plans to hash out the final product among themselves.
C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb wrote to leaders in the House and Senate Dec. 30 urging them to open "all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings," to televised coverage on his network.
"The C-SPAN networks will commit the necessary resources to covering all of the sessions LIVE and in their entirety," he wrote."

Anybody think that Barry and the Dems will actually allow this?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/c-span-challenges-congress-open-health-care-talks-tv-coverage/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fpolitics+%2528Text+-+Politics%2529

Maybe when hell freezes over.

IT JUST GETS BETTER EVERDAY

2010-01-05T10:03:00.002-05:00

Obama gives Interpol free hand in U.S.

Pay attention boys and girls, we're making history again, and not in a good way.

"There are multiple reasons why this Obama decision is so deeply disturbing. First, the Obama order reverses a 1983 Reagan administration decision in order to grant Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, two key privileges. First, Obama has granted Interpol the ability to operate within the territorial limits of the United States without being subject to the same constitutional restraints that apply to all domestic law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Second, Obama has exempted Interpol's domestic facilities -- including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice -- from search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens. Think very carefully about what you just read: Obama has given an international law enforcement organization that is accountable to no other national authority the ability to operate as it pleases within our own borders, and he has freed it from the most basic measure of official transparency and accountability, the FOIA."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obama-gives-Interpol-free-hand-in-U_S_-8697583-80291137.html

CIVILIAN TRIALS FOR ENEMY COMBATANTS

2010-01-01T22:25:00.005-05:00

Some salient points from Charles Krauthammer:

'This is all quite mad even in Obama’s terms. He sends 30,000 troops to fight terror overseas, yet if any terrorists come to attack us here, they are magically transformed from enemy into defendant.

The logic is perverse. If we find Abdulmutallab in an al-Qaeda training camp in Yemen, where he is merely preparing for a terror attack, we snuff him out with a Predator — no judge, no jury, no qualms. But if we catch him in the United States in the very act of mass murder, he instantly acquires protection not just from execution by drone but even from interrogation.'

Read the whole article http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWI2MGE2YTE4MzM4M2QyMTE5ZWE0OWI0Y2E3OTZiMGU=

When this moron was dragged off the plane, he should have been taken straight to GITMO.

Don't Worry

2009-12-30T12:24:00.003-05:00

Hope-N-Change

We're With The Union, We're Here To Help

2009-12-26T22:09:00.002-05:00

The Labor Movement strikes again!

Michelle Berry runs a private day-care service from her home on the outskirts of this city, the birthplace of General Motors. "The Berry Patch," as she calls the service, features overstuffed purple gorillas, giant cartoon murals, and a playroom covered in Astroturf. Her clients are mostly low-income parents who need child care to keep their jobs in a city that now has a 26% unemployment rate.
Ms. Berry owns her own business—yet the Michigan Department of Human Services claims she is a government employee and union member. The agency thus withholds union dues from the child-care subsidies it sends to her on behalf of her low-income clients. Those dues are funneled to a public-employee union that claims to represent her. The situation is crazy—and it's happening elsewhere in the country.

Check the rest of the article out courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703478704574612341241120838.html

Hope-N-Change Baby!!

PIC OF THE DAY!

2009-11-24T21:26:00.007-05:00

LOOK AT WHAT HE'S READING....

On his way to play 18.

Wow, this "free world leadin' shit" is stressful.

narcissism: love of or sexual desire for one's own body

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/11/obama-departs-white-house-with-favorite.html

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO........

2009-11-20T07:55:00.001-05:00

This year it's a lock for best actor!

CREATED OR SAVED VS. JUST PLAIN BULLSH$T

2009-11-16T18:43:00.004-05:00

Ya gotta give him credit for being consistent, he's been at the wheel of this economic Edsel for less than a year and every single thing he's accomplished so far has dug a far larger hole than than he started with while "speechifying" every damn day the exact opposite.

Things are pickin' up in all 57 states!

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jobs-saved-created-congressional-districts-exist/story?id=9097853

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 4 YEARS MAKES

2009-11-08T18:43:00.005-05:00

Fancy Nancy Pelosi was able to shepherd the house bill on wealth redistribution aka socialized medicine through immediately.

Of course, in 2005 that was an outrage.

http://www.breitbart.tv/flashback-pelosi-says-not-giving-members-three-days-to-read-bill-is-absolute-outrage/

Most ethical Congress EVAH! The Queen has a short memory.

Of course none of the bills passed yet under

"Teh One" have been posted on the web as promised either, and his Lordship was very clear about that on the campaign trail.

Remember Barry? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5t8GdxFYBU&feature=player_embedded

Most transparent administration EVAH!

My ass.

TOTUS: NEVER GIVE A SPEECH WITH OUT ONE!

2009-11-06T18:40:00.002-05:00

Another classic example of "Teh One" lost without a his "right hand" TOTUS.

It was appalling enough The Precedent felt the need to ramble on and "give a shout out" to his cronies while the whole nation was anxiously watching & listening for him to specifically address the mass murder at Fort Hood, then he didn't even get his "shout out" right.

"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor* winner. It’s good to see you. (Applause.)"

Short memory ya got there Barry. It was just last August when you bestowed upon the good Doctor the Congressional Medal Of Freedom. Those are two very different honors champ!

Exit Question: Will ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, NYT, etc. even mention it?

H/T via newsbusters http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-bates/2009/11/06/obama-gives-shout-out-congressional-medal-honor-winner-who-isnt

LIKE MOM ALWAYS SAID YOU'LL BE KNOWN BY THE COMPANY YOU KEEP!

2009-10-27T21:12:00.006-05:00

Thomas Sowell on Dismantling America

Read the whole article at RCP by clicking the title above!

Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to "change the United States of America," the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country.
Jeremiah Wright said it with words: "God damn America!" Bill Ayers said it with bombs that he planted. Community activist goons have said it with their contempt for the rights of other people.
Among the people appointed as czars by President Obama have been people who have praised enemy dictators like Mao, who have seen the public schools as places to promote sexual practices contrary to the values of most Americans, to a captive audience of children.
Those who say that the Obama administration should have investigated those people more thoroughly before appointing them are missing the point completely. Why should we assume that Barack Obama didn't know what such people were like, when he has been associating with precisely these kinds of people for decades before he reached the White House?
Nothing is more consistent with his lifelong patterns than putting such people in government-- people who reject American values, resent Americans in general and successful Americans in particular, as well as resenting America's influence in the world.

WHAT IF GWB HAD DONE THAT?

2009-10-27T10:23:00.003-05:00

A four-hour stop in New Orleans, on his way to a $3 million fundraiser.

Snubbing the Dalai Lama.

Signing off on a secret deal with drug makers.

Freezing out a TV network.

Doing more fundraisers than the last president. More golf, too.
President Barack Obama has done all of those things — and more.

Teh One get's a pass on everything. Read the full story at Politico

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28764.html

H/T to HotAir

IT WAS A PRESIDENTIAL FAILURE IN 2004, BUT NOW?

2009-10-25T16:33:00.003-05:00

Here's a quote from Lurch back in 2004 opining about vaccination shortages being GWB's fault. How about todays vaccine shortage, wouldn't that be "Teh One"'s fault as well, Lurch?

"Kerry Ad Says Flu Vaccine Shortage Is Typical of Bush’s Policy Blunders"
Sen. John F. Kerry jumped on the flu-vaccine shortage yesterday with a new television ad blaming the situation on President Bush.
In what may be the first presidential campaign commercial dealing with the flu, the Democratic nominee is trying to portray the vaccine squeeze as typical of the president’s mishandling of health care.
In the ad, a narrator says:
“Seniors and children wait. Not enough vaccines for pregnant women. A George Bush mess.”
Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton [said] “The American people want flu shots, not more excuses why George W. Bush dropped the ball.”
Howard KurtzOctober 17, 2004http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38743-2004Oct16.html

DOUBLE STANDARD? BIASED MEDIA? OBAMA LOVING SYCOPHANTS??? Just the MSM doing it's duty to it's Messiah.

HOLY FRICKIN' MOLY

2009-08-20T21:39:00.003-05:00

10:45 P.M. Thursday... I just watched Anderson Cooper on CNN ask Ron Paul in an interview if Congressman Paul though it was "productive" when protesters held up signs of Barack Obama with a "Hitler" mustache......Mr Paul ( to his credit) didn't think it was productive.

I don't recall Anderson Cooper ever being the least bit concerned, or ever mentioning the numerous times GW Bush was depicted in print as "Bushhitler" do you???????

What a fucking hack. Bought and paid for "hack".....hope an change baby!!!

OBAMA APPROVED POLITICAL SPEECH

2009-08-09T22:33:00.011-05:00

REMEMBER!! HILLARY SAID:

DISSENT IS PATRIOTIC!!

UNLESS OF COURSE YOU'RE A SENIOR CITIZEN THAT DOESN'T WANT OBAMACARE! IN THAT CASE YOU ARE UN-AMERICAN.........

FUNNY HOW THAT WORKS ISN'T???

DEMOCRAT PROTESTERS ARE PATRIOTIC, BUT REPUBLICAN PROTESTERS ARE UN-AMERICAN.....

HOPE-N-CHANGE YOU CAN'T LIVE WITH.

JUST CUZ I HAVE TIME NOW

2009-07-24T20:03:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure if anybody still checks on this blog, or even gives a shit, BUT, I have some some extra time on my hands as of today so WTF...

In these perilous, awful, economically "crippling" times, let me share some in-sight as to why the country is a fucked up mess.

As most of you know, I'm in the real estate biz, and since April 1st, I have sold 7 properties in Northeast Indiana. Oddly enough, people still have jobs, still have kids, and still want and need to own their own home.

The hilarious part of it is, all of the government programs in place to "help" every slug and their idiot brother buy there own "twiced-wide" have actually caused so many layers of regulation that the average family can't get a mortgage without ALL the money down, and even then, they'll have 120 days worth of scrutiny that is akin to Dr. Mengele's inquiries into your ethnic heritage.

Of ALL 7 transactions SOLD since April 1st, I have CLOSED 1. YES ONE. All clients have over 700 credit scores, all have impeccable credit, all have debt to income ratio's less than 40% and all have money down ranging from FHA (cuz the rate is artificially subsidized and low so it steals from regional banks) 3.5 % to 20%.... None of the other 5 has closed BECAUSE of 4 months worth of burdensome regulations on lending and respa (real estate settlement procedures act) as investigations go on as to the authenticity, financial veracity, and of course ethnic background of sellers & buyers. Thank GOD we have the Government to help us streamline the real estate sales process. All my mortgage loan business (until now) has gone to a major player in the biz that ryhmes with "Fells Cargo". Draw your own conclusions why I do not, and will not do business with them, 5th 3rd, Chase, etc. ever again. There is NO maor lender that isn't beholden to FEDERAL HORSESHIT.

Any major bank that has (or has had foisted upon them) any kind of TARP money is sucking major dick as of this point to satisfy layers upon layers of fed horseshit.

My wife and I have both been annual multi-million producer for years in the mortgage & real state business and have NEVER encountered ANYTHING as onorous as this.

You can be a Rockefeller with HALF the money down, an 800 FICO, and a 20 year job and it will take you 120 days to close on a $50 property.....

If you think waiting 120 days to close is a pain in the ass, just wait until your Messiah and Democratic Congess passes Cap & Trade (energy bill) whereby EVERY home sold will have to meet new "energy efficient" criteria (like 90% furnaces, double glazed windows, etc)...

Hope and fuckin' change baby,

Let's just KILL the real estate business so we can all live in the fuckin' projects...

THE GUILT WRACKED AMERICAN MESSIAH

2009-05-11T09:58:00.004-05:00

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/10/world-stage-obama/

The following is a list, in reverse chronological order, of the Obama administration's overseas apologies and clarifications to date:

April 18: "We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations."-- President Obama, at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad

April 16: "Too often, the United States has not pursued and sustained engagement with our neighbors. We have been too easily distracted by other priorities and have failed to see that our own progress is tied directly to progress throughout the Americas. My administration is committed to renewing and sustaining a broader partnership between the United States and the hemisphere on behalf of our common prosperity and our common security."-- President Obama, in an op-ed that appeared in U.S. and Latin American newspapers prior to the Summit of the Americas

April 6: "I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that the trust that binds us has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at war with Islam."-- President Obama, in Ankara, Turkey

April 3: "In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive. But in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad. On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. ... They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated."-- President Obama, in Strasbourg, France

April 2: "It is true, as my Italian friend has said, that the (economic) crisis began in the U.S. I take responsibility, even if I wasn't even president at the time."-- President Obama, at the G20 in London, as reported by Germany's Der Spiegel

April 2: "I would like to think that with my election and the early decisions that we've made, that you're starting to see some restoration of America's standing in the world."-- President Obama, at G20 summit in London

April 1: "If you look at the sources of this crisis, the United States certainly has some accounting to do with respect to a regulatory system that was inadequate."-- President Obama, at a press conference ahead of the G20 in London

March 25: "I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility (for drug-fueled violence in Mexico). ... Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."-- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, en route to Mexico City

Jan. 26: "All too often the United States starts by dictating ... and we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen. And I think if we do that, then there's a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs. ... My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect."-- President Obama, in an interview with Al Arabiya

The Obama administration has also expressed plenty of regret stateside as it rolls back some of Bush's counter-terrorism policies. The president, for instance, acknowledged potential "mistakes" as he addressed CIA employees April 20 and discussed his ban of enhanced interrogation techniques.
"Don't be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we've made some mistakes. That's how we learn," Obama said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Let's just give up now. Why prolong it.

Yes!

2009-04-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

Seriously?

2009-04-07T16:03:00.003-05:00

Did I actually hear Obama use the phrase "They're gonna hafta" today while referring to the onus of self governance being placed upon the Iraqi people?

Out with the old brain surgeon, in with the new brain surgeon....I guess.

I was not too worried about Obama getting elected because he could make pretty (yet completely meaningless) speeches and could keep the nation's morons pacified (because everybody knows the secret to winning elections is simply to master the art of converting the "brain dead" into the "brainwashed"). However, now he's trying to "do things."

I wish someone (ahem, RINO morons)....and I mean ANYONE (AHEM....RINO MORONS...) would rise to the challenge and kick this administration directly in the proverbial "stones." They sure as hell deserve it.

Pretty much

2009-02-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Serengetti sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?'

The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure, why not?'

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, Connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA Page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation System to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany .

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel Spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.'

'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says the Cowboy.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?'

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'

You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government', says the cowboy.

'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie, 'but how did you guess that?'

'No guessing was required.' answered the cowboy. 'You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows...this is a herd of sheep.

Now give me back my dog.

I THOUGHT DEMS WERE AGAINST THIS? OH WAIT, THIS IS OBAMANATION

2009-02-23T10:57:00.004-05:00

Obama defends Bush-era secrets

(see, it's ok now, Barry said so)

President Obama’s administration is moving aggressively to protect what the government insists are “state secrets” from a Bush-era wiretapping program. Justice Department lawyers filed an emergency motion Friday with a federal appeals court in an effort to block a lower court’s order that the government must show lawyers for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation a copy of a document indicating that the group’s communications were being intercepted. The document has been the subject of a running legal battle since the papers were accidentally sent to attorneys for the group in 2004 and subsequently retrieved. “Disclosure of the material at issue here would cause exceptionally grave harm to the national security and result in irreparable injury to the United States,” the Justice Department wrote. It said information about the surveillance program is considered “Top Secret — Sensitive Compartmented Information.” The government wants the wiretapping lawsuit thrown out on the basis of the state secrets privilege, but a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the privilege is overruled by a law Congress wrote, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Attorney General Eric Holder promised during the confirmation process to conduct a review of the Bush administration’s frequent use of the state secrets privilege. However, the emergency appeal in the al-Haramain case signals that Holder concluded the controversial privilege was correctly asserted there. Earlier this month, civil libertarians were disappointed when the Justice Department stood by the “state secrets” tactic in opposing a suit brought by men who claim they were abducted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Courtesy of http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19114.html

NOT SCARED YET?? WATCH THIS!

2009-02-22T12:44:00.003-05:00

http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/21910345/non-profit-pickets-for-foreclosure-victims.htm#q=OR+ACORN+OR+%22Association+of+Community+Organizations+for+Reform+Now%22

Absolutely astounding. Our tax dollars originally funded ACORN to literally EXTORT banks into giving poor people, with poor credit histories, low cost (to them) loans to buy homes they couldn't afford. Sweet.

Now that the circle is complete, and the homes that everyone knew would go sideways, do in fact go sideways, who is the champion of the non-foreclosure cause? Why, it's your taxpayer funded friends again at ACORN leading the charge to let these people stay in their homes that they couldn't afford to begin with, much less afford them now.

Welcome to 2009 and The New New Deal. You are no longer responsible for a fucking thing.
The Federal Government and it's Leaders have said so, therefore, it is so.

I'll be honest, I couldn't make it through the entire interview. I would never have believed such a person or such an organization could garner so much support in a country like this.

We are sooooo farked.

WILL THE LEFT CALL BARRY A WAR CRIMINAL NOW??

2009-02-21T10:05:00.005-05:00

The justice department ruled that some 600 so-called enemy combatants at Bagram have no constitutional rights.
Most have been arrested in Afghanistan on suspicion of waging a terrorist war against the US.
The move has disappointed human rights lawyers who had hoped the Obama administration would take a different line to that of George W Bush.

Now that The Obama Justice Department has decided to retain and enforce THE EXACT SAME POLICY AS THE BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, it would seem reasonable that those calling for War Crimes Charges against GWB for doing this, should be just as incensed at Obama, right??

Let me put this in terms even liberals can comprehend: Barack Obama is holding detainees without benefit of counsel just like George Bush.

That makes Obama a war criminal too, just like Bush, right???

The US military considers Bagram detainees unlawful combatants who can be detained for as long as they are deemed a threat to Afghan national security.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7903005.stm

WILL GM & CHRYSLER FILE BANKRUPTCY?

2009-02-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

My guess is they won’t have to file for bankruptcy. Odds are much better they’ll continue to receive gobs of dough from congress which in turn will be mandating what cars they build, where they build them, and who builds them (UAW, duh).
This a democrat congress dream come true, they have the big three (at least Chrysler & GM) by the balls and they will not squander the opportunity to get the cars built THEY know are best for us, and you can bet your ass they’ll still be built by UAW workers, and they will NOT be making any concessions, as they won’t need to, we’ll be subsidizing their wages just a little more directly is all.
What we’ll end up with is a “nationalized” or “subsidized” auto company with subsidized well paid UAW members making little teeny Pelosimobiles. So if you want to buy what you actually like or need in the near future, you’ll need to look to Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, etc. for a good product. (kinda reminds me of the 70’s)
When you need a new car, you’ll get a goverment owned (and taxpayer subsidized) bank loan, on a government manufactured car, and odds are good you’ll insure it with a government owned insurance policy (AIG or similar). While you’re there at the dealership, chances are the F&I guy will be able to access your health records electronically as well.
It’s a damn shame, GM is finally building a real quality product, world class in fact, in my opinion, and the US Congress is gonna turn it back into turd motors. Swell.
Now, that’s not exactly change you can believe in, but it IS change you better get used to.

WHAT'S THE REASON AGAIN FOR THE $790 BILLION?

2009-02-12T13:26:00.003-05:00

It sure as hell ain't stimilus. Just billions of dollars thrown down a fricking rat hole for absolutely no reason whatsoever, other than to move us one step closer to socialism. What a fricking shame. Why rely on history when you can rely on fear. Hope-n-Change my ass.

The history of anti-recession efforts is that they are almost always initiated too late to do any good. This chart, based on recession timelines from the National Bureau of Economic Research, shows the enactment of stimulus plans is a fairly accurate indicator that we have hit the bottom of the business cycle, meaning the economy will improve even if the government does nothing.

Courtesy of Reason:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/131636.html

POETIC JUSTICE

2009-01-30T20:10:00.005-05:00

A merry band of Gazans, having a little peaceful flagburning (American & Israeli flags) accidently set fire to their own cameraman covering the impromptu "Jew Barbecue".

Oops.

Now THAT'S entertainment!

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2009/01/gaza-cameraman-burned-literally.html

MORE MIDDLEAST FUN!!! WITH PIC'S & WORDS

2008-12-29T23:23:00.003-05:00

SORT OF.......

Pic taken in Manhattan New York today. Gotta love those American Educated Palestinians. Glad to see American Colleges are being fair and educating them as well as our own home grown fricksticks.

WHAT MUSLIMS DO WHEN BORED

2008-12-29T21:18:00.002-05:00

Don't watch this if you are faint of heart.

For what it's worth, I hear it's a religion of peace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gWf_l4N9m0&eurl=&feature=player_embedded

Hope, Change, Gee....I wonder how this will all work out. I know, if we have a "dialogue" with them they won't kill innocent children (of their own village no less), or raise their anger toward us. Rest easy, it's new era.

Merry Xmas

2008-12-24T17:21:00.001-05:00

Ho ho ho.

Suckers

2008-12-18T22:55:00.010-05:00

Click the picture for the ad in all of its glory.

I Didn't See That Coming

2008-12-18T07:16:00.003-05:00

As disappointed as I am "The One" was chosen as our "Supreme Leader" I have to give him "props" for some of the choices he's made to date, namely choosing Rick Warren to give the invocation at his coronation/inauguration.

I'm not an overly religious kind of guy, nor a devout disciple of Rick Warren and The Saddleback Church, but Warren is a guy that does a lot of good without slingin' a lot of arrows, and having him deliver the invocation will go a long way at salving some wounds of conservatives. Barry didn't have to do this by any stretch, and while I think it's politically savvy to do so, I think it's also a genuine effort on his part to be a decent guy.

Of course it is sending the "tolerance seeking" left wing factions of the gay community into freakin orbit, which is really ironic because that 2% of the population that screams desperately for acceptance and tolerance of their lifestyle, will vilify, condemn, and seek to censure anyone that doesn't agree with them 100%. Be prepared for a humongous protest by the "We're Here And We're Queer" contingent to disrupt what should be the dignified annointing of THEIR own choice for President.

Now THAT'S IRONIC.

IF IT WASN'T SO TRUE IT'D BE FUNNY

2008-12-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

I ran across this analogy on a Town Hall Blog, and I just had to pass it on as I found it to be priceless!

A Modern Parable: Ford vs. Toyota
A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on a river. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale-boosting programs and teamwork posters.The next year the Japanese won by two miles.Humiliated, the American management laid off one rower, halted development of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses. The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India.Sadly, the End.Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.Ford folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses...

DOES'NT GET MUCH SIMPLER THAN THAT, NOW DOES IT??
H/T to impact at Town Hall.

http://impact.blogtownhall.com/

OF BAILOUTS AND BAD DECISIONS

2008-12-09T08:32:00.003-05:00

As most readers of this blog know, I am dead set against any bailouts, for ANY industry, period. There comes a time when you (as an industry) must bite the bullet and move on. Bankruptcy is a viable and sensible solution designed specifically for situations just like these.

The problem with GM, Ford and Chrysler is no longer an inferior product, that particular problem has pretty much been solved. The problems they face now are two-fold.

Firstly, the legacy, retirement, and UAW costs are untenable and cannot be sustained any longer. It's simple math, if you have a Malibu sitting next to a Camry and the Malibu costs $3000 more to produce than what it sells for, and the Camry costs $3000 LESS to produce than it sells for it shouldn't take long to figure out who's going down the tubes first.

Secondly, just like the Fannie & Freddie housing industry, and the "no payments for 2 years" retail industry, and of course the car industry, we have relied on a completely "made up" market. Years and years of "no money down, we'll finance the tax, no payments til spring, bad credit no credit no problem" has finally caught up with all of us. GMAC and all the rest will still loan you money for a new car, it's just that now, you have to be credit worthy. Good Lord, FMCC put more deadbeats on the road with Red Carpet Leases than anybody. If you were breathin' you were drivin'! Even though loss ratios climbed, the new car sales made up for it, but everybody knew it couldn't last forever.

Most of us in the car biz 15 to 20 years ago knew 17 million new cars & trucks sold per year was unsustainable forever. We were just robbing sales from the next month or the next year with goofy incentives and marginal credit customers.

What is kind of funny to watch now, is dealerships scrambling to change their advertising campaigns from attracting credit criminals they can hose, to attracting good old regular people with money and good credit. That and retraining their sales people to stop selling "payments" and start selling cars again. Credit is not, was not, and will not be frozen for people with good credit, that is bullshit, ask a banker.

It's not very often I get to say "I Told You So" on such a grand scale.

UPDATE!!! STATS OF THE DAY ADDED!!
December 10, 2008 Stat of the Day
In 2007, Toyota sold 9.37 million vehicles.

In 2007, General Motors sold 9.37 million vehicles.

In 2007, Toyota made $17.1 billion.

In 2007, General Motors lost $38.7 billion.

H/T Courtesy of Crossing Wall Street
http://www.crossingwallstreet.com/archives/2008/12/stat_of_the_day_1.html

Quandary

2008-12-03T22:40:00.004-05:00

I have always been perfectly straight with my kids regarding the exact nature of "the Santa Claus." More specifically, I've always emphasized to them that Santa is a load of BS.

Every child in my son's preschool class apparently believes in the complete and utter real-ness of Santa, so now my son is emphatically arguing the merits of the falsehood to me.

Yes, you read that right. I've always been perfectly honest with my kids, and they don't believe me. How am I supposed to feel confident about the "Hey, Whitney, here's why you shouldn't be a teenage slut...." or "hey, Alexander....it's probably best to steer clear of drugs..." conversations if they think I'm full of shit about such a frivolous topic?

Faaaaahk.

OK, LET'S TALK ABORTION

2008-11-29T00:50:00.002-05:00

I have no link for this or any recent "happening" other than Indiana's chapter of Planned Parenthood decided to give out "gift certificates" for "reproductive rights" which I find appalling. It may very well have to do with tonights wine and the anniversary of my twin daughter's early demise.

My daughters, Courtney Lynn Zank and Erica Adele Zank were born prematurely at just under 3 months many years ago, before the amazing technology we have available today, else they'd be alive. They were born alive, and I had the pleasure of holding them (thank you Dr Lewis & Parkview) for their very short lives. They both fit in my one hand, and were perfectly developed (though tiny) and the Doctor allowed me to hold them both before they died. They were NOT masses of tissue, nor "lumps" of "after birth". They were breathing (albeit shortly) living daughters of mine, yet by todays reproductive rights standards (and advocates) they didn't amount to human life. They would have been dispensible, disposable and just so much trash in a medical waste bin. Legally, they could have simply used a forceps to crush their skulls.

NOW:

I've got NO problem with Planned Parenthood when it advocates birth control, be it pills, condoms or that hopelessly outdated notion of celibacy and common sense. Yes, I was a teenager too, and I had my share of foolish follies and I was grateful for planned parenthood, but it NEVER included, nor would it have included the taking of an innocent life.

Call it whatever you like, but if you have ever had an ultrasound done on a pregnant spouse, partner or whatever, and watched the "fetus" (gawd I hate that term) move around with arms, legs, etc. you really don't have a leg to stand on.

If you can, hug your children.

Bombs, Bullets & Boneheads In Walmart

2008-11-28T22:42:00.004-05:00

I'm not normally this philosophically inclined, but with the recent terror attack in India being blamed (by the MSM) on everyone from us (The U.S.) to Mickey Mouse to Pakistan and beyond and the trampling of a Walmart employee to death by bargain shoppers today, I had to just stop and think for a moment about the "herd" mentality we all subscribe to today.

In all the examples above, if I pull the trigger, light the fuse, or toss the grenade, or trample some poor clerk to death, who is responsible? ME??? ....nahhhh

The gun manufacturer, the explosives maker, the grenade manufacturer, or the retailer who held the sale has the responsibility. We're just hapless victims wandering through life with absolutely (it would appear) no conscience whatsoever.

Are none of us to blame anymore for our own actions?

Not to be abrupt, but what the fuck do you people tell your kid's???

In our quest to find an answer for the unthinkable things that happen on this earth, we have now completely ignored the answer and just settled for the simple " It isn't/wasn't my fault.

Responsibility used to be answer, the norm, the way to "own up" and do the right thing. As of now, none of us owes any answers to anyone, it's just "shit happens".

What a tremendously sad reflection of our world in 2008.

Hope your "Thanksgiving" was filled with joy as you passed the yams and collectively watched your civilization circle the porcelain bowl.

IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, TRUST US

2008-11-25T12:16:00.002-05:00

A good read by Frank Gray from todays Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on how the Ft Wayne smoking ban is improving the lives of area citizens.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081125/LOCAL0201/811250316

Some folks would call this the result of "The law of unintended consequences". I would call it the obvious result of a city council that doesn't have a f&%king clue.

Congratulations, you didn't succeed in getting anyone to actually quit smoking, but you sure were successfull in changing their behavior, economically speaking that is. Nice job!

FOR THEE BUT NOT FOR ME

2008-11-21T22:04:00.002-05:00

Though he's vowed and promised to improve our educational system and public schools, it looks as though itll be the Sidwell private school for America's Hope & Change President! Even while having the massive backing of the teachers unions, Obama still feels his girls deserve better than the DC Public Schools. And of course the teachers union already gave him a pass on it.

While I support his decision to send his kids wherever the hell he prefers, I think he has missed an immeasurable opportunity to "cement" his message of "Hope and Change" with his fellow Americans.

The most obvious claim is, security must be of paramount concern and the Sidwell would be an easier location to protect the children. I think that's disengenous at best. The secret service is extremely good at what they do, and they can do it anywhere. My thought is, if the Obama children were to attend DC Public Schools, they could not only be protected just as well as at Sidwell, the mere presence of the secret service at the schools would cause the ordinary violence and mayhem associated with public schools to plummet enormously. Now there's a plus!

In addition to that, can you imagine the positive effect it would have on the school population? Imagine kids from modest means in inner city schools being taught alongside the children of The President Of The United States. You think that might enthuse some kids that would otherwise not like school very much, or even drop out? Can you imagine those kids being friends with, sitting beside, playing sports with and growing up with the children of the first African-American President? For 4 years and maybe even eight? How many lives would be different forever after experiencing that?? How many lives would those students go on to change after graduating????

I know he'll never do it, but I think he's missing a hell of an opportunity to actually walk the walk.

WHO WILL THE DEMS PICK IN 2012??

2008-11-15T17:28:00.004-05:00

The question begs to be asked, because code pink, moveon.org, huffpo & kos (to name just a few)are gonna be sooooo pissed at Barry by the end of his 3rd year, they'll be hunting in earnest for a new Messiah.

By the end of his 3rd year, we'll still be in Iraq, we'll still have prisoners in GITMO, and aside from all the new federalized workers picking up trash on the road, we'll have the 20 million or so new citizens from south of the border becoming citizens overnight and the unemployment problem will be huge. The economy will still be circling the commode and that "hopey/changey" euphoria will have worn old. They're already taking bets on how quickly his hair will turn white, though I think that would have happened already what with coming home every night to James Brown in a dress, but I digress....(I love that line)

This is a dangerous world and perilous times, security wise and financially and "The One" has just stepped into a couple of briefings where the only change occuring is Barry's shorts cuz he's shittin' his pants big time. We're not in Illinois anymore Toto, this is the bigs, and for a relatively young man who hasn't been responsible for a whole hell of a lot, the weight of the office of POTUS is hitting him like a ton of bricks. He'll be tacking center right pronto and that's gonna freak the Soros funded leftards right into a frenzy to find the next American apologist......

Who will it be???

WHY NOT ME??

2008-11-04T19:30:00.003-05:00

Courtesy of Cable Gamer:

http://thecablegame.blogspot.com/2008/11/ge-capital-gate-first-scandal-of-obama.html

Now do me a favor, and click the link and peruse the article. Whether you agree with the $700B
bailout or not, can anyone out there give me ANY reason why I shouldn't go out tomorrow and rack up the balances 100% on say $150,000 on my credit cards?????

WTF NOT??

Either it'll be written off as a bad debt, subsidized by the fed, or I can just file bankruptcy on it after having one hell of a good time. Either way, what the fuck, it's all the rage!!! It's pretty clear to me none of us will be held accountable for ANY personal responsibility, as we are obviously all victims.

Anybody else with me? Why the hell fight it, The government is here to help and we can't fight it can we?????? If we're gonna be socialists anyway, why not go out with a bang and get some good "shit" to have around the house we won't have to pay for either.

What a country (it was)

No. Friggin. Way.

2008-10-15T21:39:00.000-05:00

I laughed so hard when I saw this I think I peed a little.

A thought for the day

2008-10-09T22:34:00.003-05:00

Since the whole premise of the traditional "Republicans versus Democrats" shtick has been eroded beyond all recognition, something occurred to me today:

All of this insane political bickering between pundits, bloggers, candidates etc. seems a lot like a couple of newlyweds standing on their front lawn arguing about the colors of the drapes as the house burns to the ground before their eyes.

I want the title of my post to basically be the noise that a human makes when they have the dry heaves, but I don't know how to spell it

2008-10-09T16:13:00.004-05:00

I just spent a quick minute doing a little headline browsing over at Huffington Post.

First off, what a phenomenal waste of time that was!

Second, what the fuck is going on over there? Did John McCain die today and leave Sarah Palin in charge? You'd think by the volume of "Palin material" that is slathered all over the HuffPo home page that the goofy Alaskan pig-bull (or whatever she calls herself) was suddenly perched atop the GOP ticket.

As of 5:25pm EST, the name "Palin" appeared on the HuffPo home page 23 times.

The name "Biden" appeared only twice.

Why in the hell is one vice presidential contender so important and the other is not?

Fucking partisan dickwads.

Liar

2008-10-07T20:45:00.003-05:00

Barack Obama is a fucking liar. I barely made it 5 minutes into the middle of the debate when I hear the dickhead saying something like:

"Not many small businesses make more than $250k per year...so most small businesses won't be taxed."

Horse. Shit.

I know that I personally have worked for a handful of companies that were DEFINITELY "small" businesses (100 or so employees at each) that did $20-50 Million per year.

Apparently Mr. Obama thinks that "small business" means Aunt Shirley's eBay store where she sells pot holders with cats embroidered on them.

Actually, that's just what Obama wants everyone to think. He knows goddamn well that small businesses are generally not pocket change enterprises. What a disingenuous cocksucker.

Grrr. I still hate John McCain, though. More to come on this little problem later. I have more debate through which I must try to hold my vomit.

WHO SAID WHAT?? WHO KNEW WHAT???

2008-10-02T11:44:00.010-05:00

Let's play a little game, shall we?? Match up the following statements about Fannie & Freddie with the correct Asshat. Please make note of the party affiliation and explain to me how in the fuck you can blame ANY of this on ANYONE but Barney "balls on chin" Frank and Chris "Countrywide" Dodd. These two lying thievin bastards are still in control of the Banking & Finance Committee and will be in charge of "oversight" again. How brilliant is that???

1. 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. I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and withstand some of the disaster scenarios.
2. Secretary Martinez, if it ain’t broke, why do you want to fix it? Have the GSEs [government-sponsored enterprises] ever missed their housing goals?
3. I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing.
4. I am just pissed off at Ofheo [Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, regulators for Fannie/Freddie] because if it wasn’t for you I don’t think that we would be here in the first place.
5. However, I have sat through nearly a dozen hearings where, frankly, we were trying to fix something that wasn’t broke. … Mr. Chairman, we do not have a crisis at Freddie Mac, and in particular at Fannie Mae, under the outstanding leadership of Mr. Frank Raines. … Everything in the 1992 act has worked just fine.
6. I believe there has been more alarm raised about potential unsafety and unsoundness than, in fact, exists.
7. And my worry is that we’re using the recent safety and soundness concerns, particularly with Freddie, and with a poor regulator, as a straw man to curtail Fannie and Freddie’s mission.
8. I, just briefly will say, Mr. Chairman, obviously, like most of us here, this is one of the great success stories of all time.
9. I know the press, particularly, keeps saying this is another Enron, which it clearly is not.
10. Mr. Chairman, what we’re dealing with is an astounding failure of management and board responsibility, driven clearly by self interest and greed. And when we reference this issue in the context of — the best we can say is, “It’s no Enron.” Now, that’s a hell of a high standard.

ANSWERS:

1. Barney Frank (D-MA), 9/10/2003.
2. Maxine Waters (D-CA), same date.
3.Frank, 9/25/2003.
4. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), same date.
5.Waters, same date.
6. Frank, same date.
7. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), 10/16/2003.
8. Chris Dodd (D-CT), 2/24-5/2004.
9. Robert Bennett (R-UT), 6/15/2006.
10. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), same date.

TERM LIMITS*******NOW******

THE MESSIAH AND THE WORLD OF HIGH FINANCE

2008-09-30T06:56:00.002-05:00

Here is a quick look into 3 former Fannie Mae executives who have brought down Wall Street.

Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregulaties in Fannie Mae's accounting activities. At the time of his departure The Wall Street Journal noted, ' Raines, who long defended the company's accounting despite mounting evidence that it wasn't proper, issued a statement late Tuesday conceding that 'mistakes were made' and saying he would assume responsibility as he had earlier promised. News reports indicate the company was under growing pressure from regulators to shake up its management in the wake of findings that the company's books ran afoul of generally accepted accounting principles for four years.' Fannie Mae had to reduce its surplus by $9 billion.

Raines left with a 'golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. http://housingdoom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/ . The Government noted, 'The 101 charges reveal how the individuals improperly manipulated earnings to maximize their bonuses, while knowingly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls, misapplying over twenty accounting principles and misleading the regulator and the public. The Notice explains how they submitted six years of misleading and inaccurate accounting statements a nd inaccurate capital reports that enabled them to grow Fannie Mae in an unsafe and unsound manner.' These charges were made in 2006. The Court ordered Raines to return $50 Million Dollars he received in bonuses based on the miss-stated Fannie Mae profits.

Tim Howard - Was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard 'was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a 'stable pattern of earnings' at Fannie. In everyday English - he was cooking the books . The Government Investigation determined that, 'Chief Financial Officer, Tim Howard, failed to provide adequate oversight to key control and reporting functions within Fannie Mae,'
On June 16, 2006, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., asked the Justice Department to investigate his allegations that two former Fannie Mae executives lied to Congress in October 2004 when they denied manipulating the mortgage-finance giant's income statement to achieve management pay bonuses. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earn ings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004.
Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million!

Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. A look at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's May 2006 report on mismanagement and corruption inside Fannie Mae, and you'll see some interesting things about Johnson. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million.' Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae.
Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES - Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD - Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON – Johnson is Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee

OBAMA PLANS ON CLEANING UP THE MESS –
Would you trust these men?

BARRY HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN THIS WHOLE FIASCO, THAT'S CHANGE I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IN.

INTERESTING CONCEPT

2008-09-26T08:23:00.003-05:00

I received this e-mail forward the other day regarding the $85 billion dollar bailout at AIG.

Subject: The Birk Economic Recovery Plan > > This idea sounds just > crazy enough to possibly work, so naturally it won't> be given serious consideration. How great is our bureaucracy!!> I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.> Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We> Deserve It Dividend.To make the math simple, let's assume there are> 200,000,000 > Bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.> Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman > and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..> So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals> $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve> It > Dividend.> > Of course, it would NOT be tax free.> So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.> Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.> That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.> But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.> A husband and wife has $595,000.00.> What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?> Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.> Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads> Put away money for college - it'll be there> Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.> Buy a new car - create jobs> Invest in the market - capital drives growth> Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves> Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else> Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the > Folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is> Cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.> If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do > it...instead of trickling out a puny $1,000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic> incentive > That is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.> If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every> adult US Citizen 18+!> > As for AIG - liquidate it.> Sell off its parts.> Let American General go back to being American General.> Sell off the real estate.> Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.> Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.> Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.'> But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!> How do you spell 'Economic Boom'?> I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion.> We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in> Washington DC.> > And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion > because> $25.5> Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.> Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.> Kindest personal regards,> Birk> T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic> PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good > for> a> laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 > Billion!!>

UPDATE: I JUST DID THE MATH, 85B DIVIDED BY 200M IS ONLY $425 BUCKS.....SO MUCH FOR THAT IDEA...

FINALLY! LEGISLATION I CAN GET BEHIND!

2008-09-24T20:28:00.003-05:00

T.Q. Houlton 202-225-7882
Tancredo Tells United Nations to Get Out
Legislation will seize U.N. property amid continual anti-American, anti-Jewish sentiment
( WASHINGTON, DC ) – U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) introduced legislation today that would effectively move the United Nations headquarters out of the United States. The legislation is being introduced amid incessant anti-American and anti-Jewish political grandstanding from the podium of the General Assembly.

“The U.N. has coddled brutal dictators, anti-Semites, state sponsors of terrorism, and nuclear proliferators – while excluding democratic countries from membership and turning a blind eye to humanitarian tragedies and gross violations of human rights around the globe,” Tancredo said. “The U.N.’s continued presence in the United States is an embarrassment to our nation, and the time has come for this ineffective organization to pack its bags and hit the road.”

The United Nations is hosting dictators from around the world this week, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s brutal dictator. His speech has drawn thousands of protestors in New York City.

Tancredo’s bill, dubbed the U.N. Eviction Act, would direct Attorney General Michael Mukasey to initiate condemnation proceedings against all United Nations properties within the United States, and sell the property to the highest bidder on the open market. The proceeds will be given to the Treasury Department to pay down the national debt. The bill would also bar the future purchase of property in the United States or U.S. territories by the U.N. or any of its agencies, and revokes the diplomatic privileges and immunities that U.N. officials and representatives currently enjoy.

“I refuse to sit idly by while Americans are forced to host Islamofascist dictators, like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, so they can spew anti-American rhetoric just blocks from Ground Zero,” Tancredo continued.

The United Nations, an organization known for its bureaucracy and conciliatory actions, has become a showcase for anti-American dictators like Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and, of course, Ahmadinejad. The organization has also become little more than a rubber stamp for Chinese and Russian foreign policy initiatives – blocking membership by the democratic nation of Taiwan in the world body, and failing to take any meaningful steps to halt the ongoing genocide in Sudan or the illicit nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran.

“If the U.N. is so keen to accommodate the foreign policy demands of rogue nations and dictatorships, perhaps the world body might be more comfortable relocating to one,” concluded Tancredo. “I’m sure Ban Ki-Moon will have no trouble securing a new location in downtown Pyongyang or Tehran.”

# # # #

LONG OVERDUE, LET ANOTHER COUNTRY PUT UP WITH THEIR SHIT....

I SAID WHAT? WHEN?

2008-09-24T07:13:00.006-05:00

"I first want to thank Chairman Gramm and Senator Sarbanes, Chairman Leach, Representative LaFalce, and all of my colleagues who worked so long and hard on this legislation," Mr. Schumer began, "Mr. President, this is a historic moment. We've been working towards it for 18 years ... the future of America's dominance as the financial center of the world is at stake. This bill is vital for the future of our country."

That's Ol' Grandpa Munster espousing the merits of de-regulating the banking industry in 1999. This lyin' thievin' sack O' shit should retire to Charlie Rangels' condo in the Dominican and STFU. If he and The Messiah want to blame Phil Gramm, they better include Chuckie & the 89 others who voted FOR the deregulation.

CAN YOU SAY "TERM LIMITS"?

H/T New York Sun. Read the article http://www.nysun.com/editorials/schumers-straddle/86393/

PLUGS STEPS ON HIS OWN CRANK....AGAIN

2008-09-21T16:07:00.002-05:00

Ol' Lunch Bucket Joe, the gun owners friend espoused yesterday his love for his guns. He spouted off (yes, again) how Barack better leave his beretta alone....He told the crowd how much he loves his little over & under and not to worry about Obama taking away their guns....

Well, here's ol' plugs at the Democratic Debates...courtesy of you tube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9aIb-IplqY

6MB Brings the Noise

2008-09-20T22:56:00.004-05:00

K, This means basically nothing to me, but it shoots countless holes in the discourse as it exists today. Watch every second of this before you knock on my door with your petty bitching. Even then, remember that I'm an agnostic. Thank you, please drive through.

A moot point

2008-09-10T21:10:00.004-05:00

I am getting really tired of hearing scared little Democrats saying "McCain voted with Dubya over 90% of the time..."

News Flash: So did a shitload of other people. It's an unfortunate byproduct of having a president who was in the office for YEARS before he discovered his veto pen. The dumbass signed EVERYTHING into law....so frankly, there are undoubtedly many Democrats and Republicans about whom we could claim the same thing.

Big fucking deal. Certainly there must be some real meat out there to chew on, so go sniff it out you lazy bunch of gas bags.

Hehehe.

2008-09-10T16:01:00.003-05:00

Proving once again that his incredible douchebaggery knows no boundaries, ladies and gentlemen, Joe Biden!

So, what have we learned from all this? Well, for one, Democrats DO have a sense of humor, especially when they're not trying. For example, Barry O'Bama made some "lipstick on a pig" remarks that not only weren't funny, they were interpreted horribly horribly wrong.

The lesson of the story is this: Obiden and O'bama need to just keep flapping their lips. Between the two of them, they're going to just stuff that electoral goose so full of gaffes that it's going to be shitting Republican votes like golden eggs. It's pretty sad that the best plan for a couple of oval-office inspired politicians is simply to be quiet and disappear for 50 days or so.

Let's face it...without the teleprompter, Barry O'bama is basically a buffoon. His campaign is facing an unprecedented loss of interest and momentum, and it's basically all his fault. If he wants to pick up the remaining pieces, he needs to do the following:

1. Lose Biden. Period. I don't care how, but just do it. Blame his failing hairline or something. Just get him gone. He's going to need a 12-pack of depends every time he engages Palin in a debate...and let's face it, Biden has never won an argument with a woman in his life. My 105 pound wife could take him in an arm wrestling contest. How do you suppose he's going to fare against a zealous, moose hunting "hockey mom?" Suffice to say, it will NOT end well.

2. Go get Hillary. She's the only person alive capable of combating the "Palin Effect" politically and intellectually. I could go into great detail on this, but why bother? Anyone with half a brain knows that in order to slay the Palin beast, O'Bamarama needs to have Hillary in his corner. She's basically a calculating, political juggernaut who just happens to be equipped with ovaries.

3. Never...ever....EVER...leave home without the teleprompter. Every time he tries, he sounds like an idiot. I'm not trying to be mean, but it is what it is. He's lost the RockStar aura, so he can't skate by on his substance-free platitudes. He needs answers to problems, or he needs brilliant spin. The speech writers can handle the latter. Forget the former...we all know that's not going to happen.

4. Go back to positive campaigning. Nobody likes a whiner, so whoever does less of it is going to have a better public profile. O'Bamargera sounds like a weenie every time he tries to "counter" the Republican smear bullets. This is probably because he is a weenie, but we'll just let that slide for now.

5. Cancel all scheduled debates. Oblahma's not going to win one, but if he doesn't show up, McCain can't win one either. Winning by concession is kinda like winning at solitaire....nobody cheers.

Above all, Mr. Ooooooobanga, PLEEEZ stop trying to be funny. You're not funny. Your jokes suck. I want you to be our president because I want the most woefully inept candidate to win in hopes of restoring chaos and gridlock to the legislative process. I want a president who wakes up in the morning vetoes legislation just to test his pen. I want a president the world can laugh at so the rest of us can get on with business....uninterrupted by political horse shit. I've had my fill of Presidents with big agendas and so forth. Fuck that. Give me a president with a head full of air and a mouth full of oatmeal. Hell, any old stuffed shirt will do.

McCain's a menace. I can sum-up my position in 3 words:

Feingold
Kennedy
Lieberman

Do some reading, good people, and let me know if you think I'm totally nuts. I'll defend my position all day long.

You know what? Nevermind. I don't give a shit if anybody thinks I'm nuts. GO BARACUS! Or, whatever the fuck your name is. I'll just call you "Not McCain."

Go Not McCain!

A thought for the day

2008-09-05T15:58:00.005-05:00

I wonder if [the jackass formerly known as] Chad Johnson has any idea that "Ocho Cinco" doesn't actually translate to "eighty five" (as in the number embroidered upon his football jersey). No, it actually means "eight five," whatever the fuck that means (nothing, really).

This is the part that is really funny, though: Someone, somewhere along the line, must have informed him that what he was actually looking for was "ochenta y cinco," which is, in fact, the number on his jersey. When he was (undoubtedly) informed of this, I wonder if it gave him pause (for even a second) or if the general embarrassment of the situation fortified his resolve to force the world to call him by this ridiculous nickname. Was his own incessant blathering enough to commit him to see the pot through its grizzly end, even though everyone called his bluff?

What a dumb ass.

Read more about athletes and their identity issues:

Athlete Name Changes: Ocho Cinco Wasn't The First, Just The Dumbest

Oh, that must be it.

2008-09-04T22:20:00.003-05:00

I finally figured out why Obama's "Change change for the sake of change" mantra irritates me. Well, that is, beyond the fact that it's coming from the mouth of a politician....

I think he stole the whole idea from Matt Kelty.

FREE SPEECH HAS TO WORK BOTH WAYS

2008-09-01T17:39:00.005-05:00

As expected, the Republican National Convention brought ought the usual throngs of misguided & beligerent misfits we've all come to know and loathe to the streets of St. Paul.

All in the name of free speech, right? Wrong.

While the ability to gather peaceably and protest is an undeniable right in this country, it does NOT give you right to block delegates from entering a building, or the right to set trash cans on fire, or the right to throw buckets of urine on those you disagree with. One of the drug-addled morons in the attached story bemoans the sight of the uniformed officers with batons and screams "it looks like a police state" not a free country. What this SFB (shit for brains) doesn't seem quite be able to absorb is, the police are their to protect the OTHER GUYS right to assemble peaceably at the convention too.

Free speech is for all, not just for anti-war protesters, but these guys won't let you speak unless you believe as they do.

And they think we live in a police state? Spend a week in Cuba asshat, see if you can SHOUT ANYBODY DOWN.

Light one of Fidel's or Raul's trash cans on fire and toss it at a police car....Block the entrance to Vladimir Putin's next assembly meeting and see what happens.

JUST THE BEGINNING FOR OL' "PLUGS"

2008-08-26T20:23:00.001-05:00

What a treasure trove of quotes to work with!

Obama has said that Saddam Hussein "poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to its neighbors." Biden thought otherwise: "This is a guy who's used weapons of mass destructions. This is a guy who has destabilized the whole neighborhood. This is a guy who in a war with Iranians, over 800,000 people on both sides were killed. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world. And this is a guy who is in every way possible seeking weapons of mass destruction. That case, in and of itself, ought to be sufficient." ("Meet the Press," Aug. 4, 2002)

heh heh heh heh.....what a maroon

MORONS

2008-08-25T07:02:00.003-05:00

This is priceless. Recreate '68 gathers thousands of people in Denver to "make a statement" and voice their opinions about their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs politically.

So what do they do? Do they state their case? Do they offer alternatives? Do they cite specific examples of their greivances? Do they ask America to listen to their ideas??

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

They surround and shout down the reporter for the largest (by far) cable news audience on the air. Just frickin' brilliant, you finally have a chance to address millions of people and instead of discussing what your beef is, you act like a bunch of belligerent toddlers.

Stay classy Dems, stay classy!

H/T Hot Air....click on the title above

A thought for the day

2008-08-12T16:05:00.004-05:00

It seems to me that littering is a shitty thing to do. However, I think that throwing pop cans and beer cans out in the ditch/yard/lake whatever is a good idea. Frankly, the aluminum is a much purer form once the can has been manufactured than when it was a freshly mined chunk (or chunks, I suppose). So basically, throwing a pop can out the window of the car has the net result of returning something to nature in better condition than that in which nature gave it to us. That's the point, right? Return borrowed items in better condition than they were in when you received them...?

That's all.

AS A STAND OFF LOOMS

2008-08-10T23:37:00.002-05:00

Ok boys and girls, take your shots. This picture was taken just a few years ago (okay 8 years ago) and I look even better today!!!

I just felt a pic should go along with my many posts so you have an idea who you are talking to.

In R/E Georgia & Russia:

While I'm not the biggest fan of getting involved in other folks shit, here comes one more GLARING EXAMPLE of why we are the "WORLDS' POLICE FORCE". I hate to commit troops anywhere, but if it at this point in our lives you don't realize how serious it is that we remain the only superpower on the planet, then you my friend are fucking stoooooopid.

Do you want Vlad as the next ruler? Or Ammadinnerjacket? Or Chavez?? Like it or not, there are a lot of stoooooooopid, dangerous, and down right fucked up folks out there waiting to take our position as the leader of the world.

No matter what your politics, history proves (again and again) the biggest dog wins. Don't let your "negotiation politics" rule what could be your very life!!!!!!

I COULD JUST SCREAM

2008-08-10T21:59:00.002-05:00

As I sit here late on a Sunday, I find myself bombarded again with financial pundits and commercials all across the television spectrum imploring anyone who might be behind on their mortgage to "CONTACT THEIR LENDER" as they will surely help you stave off the impending discomfort of facing reality.

Well I have bad news for you boys and girls. Your lender doesn't give a flying fuck if your behind, they've already been paid for your mortgage when they sold it off 2 days after closing. Unless you are one of a handful of folks that has your mortgage with a local savings and loan, the odds are 99 to 1 your mortgage is owned by investors. Investors you can't call. Investors you can't make arrangements with. Investors that live as far and wide as the frickin' Ukraine to Los Angeles.

As many of you loyal readers know, I'm in the real estate biz, and I have had a very good year. Not because of foreclosures, but because of regular folks buying regular houses. Period.

What pains me is the perception that you can call someone, be it your lender, or Uncle Fucking Sam, and somehow dispose of your responsibility. Newsflash....If you buy a car, you gotta pay for it or walk. If you buy a big screen tv and don't pay for it, they'll come and take it away. If you order a pizza from Pizza Hut and show up with no money, you get no pizza. It's not exactly a rocket science kind of concept.....If you can't afford something, admit you fucked up, move along, and don't blame me (or BILL ME) because you are a moron. I'm not your momma, I'm not your banker, and I'm not your frickin babysitter, I'm a taxpayer and I pay more in taxes per year than most of you morons make in a year. I've worked long and hard to eek out a comfortable life and the rest of you assholes can do the same, kapeesh????

A DEMOCRAT I ADMIRE !

2008-08-09T18:41:00.006-05:00

I absolutely adore this woman! (on the left) While we are miles apart politically, she is one of the "talking heads" who actually is civil, bright, entertaining and (I think) extremely fair. Besides that, she's really easy on the eyes too!

Click on the title above and read her take on the Silky Pony! Spot On!

OOPS!!

2008-08-08T16:34:00.003-05:00

Well, yeah, I did. Oops....

See ya silky, it's been a fun ride.

Speaking of horse shit...

2008-08-06T15:17:00.007-05:00

Four U.S. Olympic cyclists issued an apology today (presumably to the Chinese government???) for wearing "smog masks."

Meanwhile, the "Figures from China’s official Environmental Monitoring Centre deemed the air quality to be level two or “fairly good”."

Well, at least passive aggressivism isn't dead.

Of course, neither is irony.

Moral of the story: It's OK to be afraid of something you can't see (SARS), but apparently it's preposterous to be afraid of something visible, like...for example, an ominous floating cloud of toxic gas.

I wish I was making this shit up.

What's next? Detroit Police issue apology for wearing bulletproof vests while on duty?????

Flappity Flap

2008-08-06T13:14:00.007-05:00

So the semi-official Jackass response to the GOP push to reconvene congress for a vote on an energy bill has a couple of unique (and disturbing) attributes:

1. It sounds distinctly like the jowls of an old dog flapping in the hot summer breeze
2. It smells like fish, not unlike the unpleasant aroma of red herring
3. From this steaming pile of poo, one can easily infer that these elitist pricks think that most of us are a bunch of low-functioning face scratchers

How about this: Take my ivory & gold plated Exxon brand tire pressure gauge and stick it up your collective ass, you bunch of limp-wristed dickheads.

LET THEM EAT CAKE! (and pay $4 a gallon)

2008-08-05T18:24:00.005-05:00

Queen Nancy has made it perfectly clear. It is far more important to get Democrats re-elected than it is to embrace a coherent, common sense energy plan.

Click the title above for Charles Krauthammers' deliciously accurate dissection of her glaringly flawed reasoning process.

The Year of "Still Here"

2008-08-01T02:31:00.002-05:00

Just so I'm on record as having said this:

Jimmy Buffett may be getting old and his hair is thinning (worse), but the man still puts on one of the best concerts a person could possibly ask for. I went to see him on Tuesday, and although the entire show was fabulous, I have to say that "One particular harbor" was so damn good, it was better than CD quality.

GREAT NEWS LOSERS! YOU'RE SAVED!!

2008-07-31T16:12:00.003-05:00

In keeping with my current bi-partisan theme, here is another prime example of just how obvious it is that both sides of the political aisle are littered with political hacks whose only interest is keeping their powerful positions and spending my money faster than Michael Jackson at a Toys R Us grand opening.

" We look forward to put in place new authorities to improve confidence and stability in markets," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. He said that the Federal Housing Administration would begin right away to implement new policies "intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes."

I have NO doubt this will become another layer of bureaucratic nightmares costing all of us gazillions of dollars, while promoting America's favorite new meme "You are all victims, you bear NO responsibility for your actions, so don't worry we'll bail your sorry ass out."

Spineless bastards creating even more spineless bastards.

WALK HIM OFF THE END OF THE BRIDGE!

2008-07-29T15:22:00.004-05:00

Lest I be accused of being a partisan, I would like to personally walk this hack off the end of the bridge to nowhere in the hopes he would accidentally land on top of this other theiving, lying prick thereby causing

the well deserved demise of both of these sanctimonius lying cheating asshats!

H/T Hotair

True 'dat

2008-07-28T20:36:00.001-05:00

Good morning

2008-07-28T19:46:00.006-05:00

Howdy. It's been a few minutes since I last posted, but remarkably, I am starting to feel like blogging again. I can honestly say that I will probably be blogging about trivialities, because frankly I'm bored to tears with most of the "news" that has been circulating as of late, up to and including this year's presidential election circus.

Now, I'll warn you all in advance I haven't the slightest inclination to turn into a celebrity gossip columnist, so you'll have to forgive my unwillingness to discuss the relative portliness of Jennifer Love Hewitt's ass or the sordid details of Christie Brinkley's divorce. I just couldn't care less.

I'm thinking that some restaurant reviews are imminent. I'm also going to be reviving the FundyWatch series.

At any rate, I'm asking my small audience to help me out for a second here...if there are any links that are missing from my blogroll that y'all think it appropriate that I add, please drop me a comment with the link and I'll get the blogroll updated. I know I need to get Craig back on there since he's come out of retirement to shock and amaze us once again.

WOW, WHAT A LAPSE!!

2008-07-25T22:47:00.002-05:00

I sincerely apologize I have not blogged a piece in some time. As it happens, in these times of grave economic suffering, I am still wrapping up the remaining 17 deals of the first half this awful awful awful year. Perhaps The Messiah (Obama) can help the economy when elected. Of the 7 deals I have yet to close next week, they are ALL $65,000 and $129,000...the "rich" people of America. If you pay attention to ABC, NBC, CBS or especially MSNBC and believe what they tell you, yes, you are in fact a fucking loser. Do your job, save your money, raise your kids, and for Gods Sake, DON'T SURRENDER TO THE MESSIAH AND HIS MINIONS!

Life is what you make it, not what Obama can promise you!

HOW "PROGRESSIVES" ARE KILLING THIS COUNTRY

2008-04-18T08:37:00.002-05:00

One more example (click on the title above) of the "wussyfication" of America. Everybody is equal, no reason for competition, perfect grades don't matter, tag is to rough, scoreless basketball and T-ball games, rubberized playgrounds, the list goes on and on. All over this country the second generation of "feel good" kids are growing up totally oblivious to their lack of preparation for the real world.

What's your guess, one or two more generations before everyone is a "C" student and graduation is about as important as any other school assembly?

My guess is one.

Way to go, DorkBoy!

2008-04-12T21:50:00.001-05:00

My sister is such an asskicker.

HILLARY SPEARS

2008-04-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

Just too funny NOT to pass on!

A new classification

2008-03-30T00:17:00.003-05:00

Lately, thanks to some new endeavors, I have been exposed to, and subsequently fascinated by some terminology that is used almost exclusively by ONLY two industries: Construction and Porn.

Trivial Pursuit bonus round: See if you can parse the construction terminology from the porn terminology.

Nipple
Hickey
Peckerhead
Money shot
Sill cock
Dirty arm
Filthy Sanchez
Gas cock
Bug nuts
Rigid nipples
Cock
Dirt leg

If you know what some of these things are, good for you! They all make me laugh....heh. Oh, yeah...I almost forgot to share some great news...I guess I'm a plumber now! Here are the rules for plumbing, just in case anybody else wants to take a crack at it:

1. Hot on the left
2. Cold on the right
3. Shit flows downhill

Cool, huh?

Here's a final question for anybody who might know the answer...I'm just curious, no extra points will be awarded:

Does anyone out there have a clue why the great State of Indiana only requires plumbers to be licensed at the State level? To me, it sure seems like electricians could do a lot more damage a lot faster....

Just curious.

UPDATE: No, I am not actually a plumber. Don't call me to retrieve your wife's wig from the septic tank. The above referenced "Plumbing for dummies" bit was a joke. I do, however still wish to know about the weird and arbitrary licensing requirement.

Alternative Fuel Blogging

2008-03-23T19:37:00.002-05:00

I think we (The United States) need to make fuel out of cats. They're free, they self-propagate at a breakneck pace and most people don't like them.

FW: FW: FW: People just don't get economics, do they?

2008-03-14T22:59:00.003-05:00

Tonight I received a forward from a friend (contents below) that just about made me blow my stack. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't mad at my friend for sending it to me, quite to the contrary, I'm glad she did so that I may publicly go on the record with my comments (they follow the forwarded email below).

Forwarded email:

THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of t he gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy gas on a certain day' campaign that was going around last April or May!
It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can Really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.98 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace...not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on ou r cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) .. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!
Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Keep it going

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! I have no idea who Phillip Hollsworth is, but evidently he's a fucking moron. Here was the response I typed to my friend explaining why to totally disregard the forwarded email about this potentially costly and totally f-ed up "plan:"

Economically speaking, this would never work even if you COULD unite mindless Sheeple in to doing it.

Let me explain, if I may:

Gas is basically a comodity. This means that it is generally governed by the principles of supply and demand. The reason I use words like "basically" and "generally" is relatively complex, but I'll summarize quickly. The U.S. Government, thanks to entangling alliances with oil-producing nations (and thanks to the ridiculous environmental hullaballoo over domestic oil drilling) creates a very unusual environment in which the petrol market exists. Plus, the Government is also a massive oil consuming entity, as well as an oil-hoarding pig. So really, words like "basically" and "generally" are used because thanks to taxes and governmental interference, the price and economic nature of petroleum products behave in a manner similar to other commodities, but unquestionably do not exist in a perfect, unmolested market.

I digress. Here is why this "plan" won't work, try to keep up! LOL

The United States' petroleum refining industry operates at about 90% to 95% of its capacity 24/7/365. This means that in a time of crisis, we as a country could only increase our aggregate refined petrol goods output by 5-10% at any given time, and that's it. We literally can't convert crude to fuel any faster than that.

The preceding statement means that our fuel supply in this country is basically fixed. When supply is fixed, the demand dictates the price...period.

The United States also uses a fairly predictable amount of fuel every day. This (as the forwarded email suggested) is just as constant as the supply. People must drive. It's just the way we do things.

Ok, now just to make this easy, let's pretend there are only two gasoline retailers in the whole country; Citgo and Exxon. The email suggests targeting Exxon for the boycott. Soooo, let's assume we could get every person in the country to buy their gas from Citgo (or any other oil company than Exxon). Since the demand on Citgo's fuel reserves basically doubles overnight, their surplus cannot and will not be able to shoulder the burden of the increased throughput. This means that Citgo will then go to the open wholesale market to purchase more refined product (since their refineries cannot produce enough extra to cover their demand)....and I'll be damned....guess who will be the only company sitting on a whole big-ass tub of it? You got it....EXXON. And, since Citgo is in a supply crunch thanks to a skyrocketing consumer-driven demand, Exxon can sell them that refined gasoline for basically whatever price they want. Exxon could feasibly hold that gas hostage until the price hits $10/gallon, and then cash in for record profits.

So, who wins? The consumers? I don't think so. I would certainly hope that out of the thousands of people that have read this email, I'm not the only one who realizes exactly how dangerous and retarded this plan is. This plan would have exactly the OPPOSITE effect that its originator anticipated.

Molly.

2008-03-09T02:46:00.000-05:00

Martha Stewart style "how-to: Episode One

2008-03-08T23:46:00.009-05:00

When it comes to tedious or gut-wrenching tasks, I'm a champion. I will try to find the most effortless method possible for completing boring or nauseating chores. This is the reason that I will publicly pass along this little tidbit for all 11 of my readers.

See this shit? Memorize it. This fantastic bottle of goo will allow you to clean even your most hideous toilets without ever sloshing one of those foul-ass disgusting "bowl brushes" around in the can. Naaah, fuck it, throw the brushes away...you literally don't need them.

I'm not much of a shill for big corporate machines, but this shit works...REALLY WELL. You just coat the toilet bowl with it, and let it sit for an hour. Period. No scrubbing, no sloshing around in the sewage, just apply and flush it down the tube sometime later on when your A.A.D.D allows you to remember it.

End of story.

Oh yeah, it's cheap too...less than three bucks a bottle to NEVER have to scrub your poop catcher again. Well, there is always the alternative:

Gee, am I Suzie fucking homemaker or what? Baaaaah.

A case of overreaction and "Who the fuck cares?"

2008-03-03T23:32:00.003-05:00

Sorry about the brief nature of this post, but I just have to let my opinion be known here.

1. Robert Irvine had a very VERY entertaining cooking show on The Food Network.

2. He apparently lied about his credentials on his resume.

3. I cannot believe anyone actually gives a shit about his credentials, given the caliber of his show and his fantastic on-air presence.

Who exactly was FoodTV trying to appease by firing the chap? The British royal family? Why? I wouldn't fire him if he had lied about serving soup to indigents at St. Paul's.

What a farce.

Give him his job back, he did it well.

I don't get it

2008-02-26T10:41:00.002-05:00

I found this on the WOWO event and business closings page today:

"Safeway Driving School-All lessons and evening classes cancelled (2/26)"

Ok, I'm not sure I understand this one at all. Isn't snow one of the many environmental elements that young drivers will face once they no longer have an instructor in the car? Wouldn't this seem a very appropriate time to give driving students a chance to engage a fairly common road condition with professional instruction?

Here's an even better one:

Typically, the Indiana and Ohio BMV don't offer driving tests when the weather is inclement.

No wonder most people drive like their heads are lodged in their asses as soon as precipitation starts falling.

Too funny!

2008-02-21T01:01:00.002-05:00

The article is funny too...read it here.

IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THIS

2008-02-20T09:38:00.003-05:00

As we draw ever nearer the November elections, there are two questions every voter must ask themselves:

1. Do I want to have MORE money taken out of my check?

2. Do I want to pay for my NEIGHBORS health insurance?

No matter what your political affiliation may be, it's an absolute certainty if you elect The Messiah or The Glacier, the answers to the above questions will be yes.

Was McVain my first choice? Hell no, but I know MY answers to the above questions and that most certainly means a vote for the lesser of the evils available.

Current Status: J4TR

2008-02-18T00:53:00.004-05:00

Just to clear up a few misconceptions, I'd like to officially announce that I have no intention of shutting down this blog. It will remain "open for business" indefinitely.

It should be noted, however, that I also have no intention of posting with any systematic regularity. I have other things that are more pressing, up to and including the launch of my new business (which has turned into a spectacular time consumer).

Trust me, when I feel moved enough by something to post about it, I will do so. I will NOT, however, be posting every whim or nuance that strikes me as I once did. I just don't have the time, and I also don't give a fuck.

Since I have joined the Fort Wayne area blogosphere, I have had a lot of fun, I have vented and released regular truckloads of BS that were weighing heavily upon me, and I have attacked (and have been attacked) countless times, often to my glee, and sometimes to my chagrin.

Overall, it's been lots of fun, and as the upcoming presidential election nears, I can only forsee more monkeyshines in store.

One thing I have to admit is that I can no longer afford the ugly libelous attacks that have been directed at me over the last year or so. It's still amazing to me that some in the blog-o-sphere honestly bought into some of the unwarranted and baseless bullshit that was slung in my direction, but frankly, I can't bring myself to care all that much. The people who were interested enough to ask me, already know the WHOLE stories behind the half-truths and outright lies.

Unfortunately, my blogging style and my resolve to blog were adversely affected by the bullshit. I wish it hadn't been like that, but sadly, that's just the way the dice fell.

On top of that, it has been repeatedly proven that there are people out there who are simply better at blogging than I am: American White Guy (Eric White), Jeff Pruitt, Everett White and Change Fort Wayne just to name a few.

I'd rather read their stuff and regularly comment than to continually "work my ass off" just to turn out some half-cocked literary tripe that doesn't energize readers the way it once seemed to.

Overall, I still enjoy blogging enough to continue doing it occasionally, but I'm not going to devote the time to it that it requires to be a "success" in the Fort Wayne blog-o-sphere. Contrary to popular belief, I actually have a life...so I don't have the extra time it takes to get everyone to "loook at meeeee."

Everyone who has ever had a password to this blog still has one. Nothing is getting "shut down." Anybody who wants a password to the blog, just email me and I'll hook you up.

Nothing is fucked here, dude.

OH MY GOD, HELL HAS FROZEN OVER!!

2008-02-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Just too good not to pass on!!!

Copied in it's entirety From TV Newser:

Tuesday Feb 12, 2008
Clinton: "In Terms Of The Fairness" FNC Treating Campaign Better Than MSNBC
FishbowlDC has the story of Sen. Hillary Clinton's appearance on Washington, D.C.'s ABC affiliate yesterday.
Clinton said that "in terms of the fairness of the coverage," of her campaign, Fox News Channel has been better than MSNBC. The fairness issue came up during a discussion about David Shuster's remarks last Thursday.
"I really am troubled by this pattern of behavior and comments that you hear" on MSNBC, said Clinton. "They need to take a hard look. This is like the third time they've had to apologize and there are lot of things that they haven't had to apologize for that might have merited one."
On Friday, Clinton sent a letter to NBC News president Steve Capus writing, "No temporary suspension or half-hearted apology is sufficient. Politico's John Harris who conducted the interview asked Clinton what she thought would be appropriate.
"That's not my job John," said Clinton. "That's the job of the people who run the network."

DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN THE LEFT EAT THEIR OWN??

Community Service

2008-01-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies, "I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week."

The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, "I cannot accept money from you.. I'm doing community service this week." The cop is happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later that day, a college professor comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, "I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week." The professor is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a 'thank you' card and a dozen different books, such as "How to Improve Your Business" and "Becoming More Successful.

"Then, a Congressman comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies, "I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week." The Congressman is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the members of our Congress.

From the artist who brought us the song "Don't Tase Me, Bro"

2008-01-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

Tom Willett channels Tom T. Hall to bring us this soon-to-be-chart-topping ditty about porn (the last verse is the best....wait for it....wait for it.....wait for it....).

Kucinich/MSNBC Debate Ruling Spurs 13-Year-Old To Sue For Sleepover Invite

2008-01-15T19:52:00.000-05:00

This is just too funny not to share!

H/T The Nose On Your Face

Click here for the whole ridiculous story!

MAKING THE CASE FOR PROFESSOR SCIENCE

2008-01-12T09:23:00.001-05:00

I gotta tell ya, I have no personal animosity for Ron Paul, but I am absolutely amazed by the fervent following of his disciples. Hell, even our noble and wise blog owner here at J4TR, Andrew has jumped on the Paul bandwagon.

Now, I'm all for smaller government, lower taxes, and a host of other things Paul touches on, but I'm a realist too, and I think Paul is livin' in La La Land and his followers are getting farther out of touch too.

I had been posting bit's and pieces about Paul on various sites when I ran across this from Ace, via Ace Of Spades HQ. Please click on the link and read the post at Ace, it lays out the very questions I've been asking Paul's supporters, but he does it in a much better way. It's well worth the read!
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/251757.php

FundyWatch 2008: New year, same old bullshit

2008-01-09T14:31:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the first 2008 edition of the J4TR.com FundyWatch series! This little turd dumpling was scanned from a workbook for Sunday school children. If the image is too small for you to read, click on it to see the full-size copy.

It's a beautiful thing...indoctrinating children. Filling their wee, impressionable minds with BS not withstanding, how about the underlying not-so-subtle notion that somehow people from India need help, meaning that they are mislead and wrong? Yeah, I get it. There's nothing quite like pretentious propaganda to prepare kids for a lifetime of inhabiting a relatively small planet full of people that are different than they are.

SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT SMOKING LEGISLATION

2008-01-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

Indiana HB 1056 addresses smoking in cars with a child present thereby providing your city, county and state police the power to pull you over and cite you a with a $25 ticket (and of course anything else they happen to find or deem worthy). As many of you have no doubt noticed, this is all the buzz around the local blogosphere here in Indiana with an unusual number of "civil libertarians" mysteriously silent or even in favor of the bill "for the good of the children".

Please answer these questions:

#1. How many citations per parent before somebody see's a pattern and calls child protective services? Do you honestly think citations will be the end of it????

#2. How many children have died as a result of 2nd hand smoke in cars, and could you please list their names?

#3. Will it be 2008 or 2009 when the first court case on behalf of the children is filed to remove them from the "smoking" parents. Foster care has GOT to better than parents that smoke, right?

#4. What year will the first lawsuit appear where the child sues the parents, 2010 or 2011 maybe? Making it an actual law, it then opens the door wide open for civil remedies as well, so cue the lawyers!

#5. Are any of you readers the least bit uneasy about this at all??

Bye Bye Buckeyes.

2008-01-08T00:23:00.001-05:00

Oh, wait, they weren't even supposed to show in the national top ten this year. I guess I can hold on to my OSU swag for another year...

The big loss isn't treating me as badly as I expected.

OH...

....IO!

Big Ten's Big Stand

2008-01-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

As a Buckeye fan, what you're about to witness from me is rare and borders on blasphemy.

Congratulations Lloyd Carr and the Michigan Wolverines.

I was getting Waaaaaaay sick of hearing the TV sports eggheads flap their pie-holes about Tim T-Blow and the Florida Gayders.

Instead of an explosive victory for T-Blow and the Gayders, the recently-woeful Wolverines packed all of those predictions up Florida's ass. Way to go.

Gary Gnu says:

2008-01-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Gnu Year!

Merry Xmas

2007-12-25T01:14:00.000-05:00

...and all that jazz.

Sincerely,

Your friends at www.j4tr.com

Great letter

2007-12-20T15:57:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Mike Kole for pointing us to a feature on the NPR blog that allows people to explain why they are Ron Paul supporters. Mike thought that most of the hundreds of posts were excellent (they are), but I found one that is truly exemplary and is worthy of being brought to the surface for discussion.

I joined the Army in the early months of 2001; my patriotism led me to the recruiter's office. I had grown up in awe of my grandfathers and their stories of World War II, and their reminiscing became my dreams. When I got to basic training I did not talk about missing home like the other recruits around me, I felt at home in ways I never had before.

The weeks after 9/11 found me in Kosovo, part of C co 3/7 Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division, patrolling the border with Macedonia as part of our duties. We had ammunition to defend ourselves with and the authority to apprehend anyone crossing the border illegally. I will get back to why these details are important later.

Fast forward to 2003, I am rolling across the desert in the back of a Bradley fighting vehicle, part of the spearhead into Iraq. Other than those first three weeks of "Shock and Awe" what I remember most about Iraq was the people. Crowds of kids wanting to know about Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, open-minded adults wanted to know about our social freedoms, and ninety some percent of Iraqis just wanted to raise their families in peace and did not hesitate to tell us. I really fell in love with the Iraqi people. My platoon and I played soccer with some of those crowds of kids, we had dinner and shared food with families in their homes, we even went to a few house parties, and my lieutenant and I spent one very memorable afternoon swimming in an irrigation ditch with five young women. It is all of them I think of when anyone tells me we need to turn the Middle East into a sheet of glass or that all Muslims are our enemies.

I remember thinking on this briefly when I was there, but more so since I've returned, usually when I'm day dreaming behind the wheel of my van, but what we were doing when we were doing our jobs, patrolling the streets, conducting road blocks vehicle searches, bodily searching individuals, and searching houses, couldn't be helping our long range plans for winning hearts and minds. I really have to wonder, how long would it take me to move from a position of thanks for my despotic government being removed to feeling like I lived in a conquered and occupied country if I saw foreign troops on the streets of my hometown Tallahassee everyday? Add to this our having bases and troops in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia, ( I may have missed a few, we have approximately 700 bases in 130 countries ) some of them for decades, our Navy of their coast, our fighter jets in their skies , the CIA in business with monarchs, dictators and thugs, and our State Department treating their leaders like irresponsible children, it's no wonder moderate Muslims takes to the streets shouting "Death to America" and a minority takes action against us. I would expect we would be doing the same thing if say, China had bases on our soil, and her Navy patrolled our coastline and Chinese fighter jets streaked across our sky. In short, this is all hard to admit, but our actions do have consequences.

Fast forward again to the present day, I am out of active duty, and in the Army Reserves. (I wanted to stay active duty, but my wife said I would be single, so we had a compromise.)To be honest the reserves has bored me to tears and I haven't felt like I'm giving anything back to my country, so I looked into getting attached to a National Guard unit on our border with Mexico for a tour or two. However, when I learned they don't have the authority to apprehend illegal border crossers and can only call up our overworked and overstretched border patrol when they spot illegal activity, I got myself in trouble again by thinking - about what I had done in Kosovo and about what I knew our military had done to our own people in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina ( disarmed law abiding civilians only trying to protect themselves when the police had failed to do so) . To add insult to injury, our Guardsmen and women on our own border don't have ammunition and have on several documented occasions actually had to retreat when facing fire from Mexican paramilitary groups. Now why would I want to sign up for that? To be witness to the violation of America's sovereignty? No one in the Executive branch of our government is doing anything about it, and it makes me wonder why I am even in the Army at all.

Why are we the worlds policeman when our own country is being openly violated? Why are we borrowing money hand over fist from nations not exactly our friends, just to spend it on our out of control foreign policy? I am starting to feel like the powers that be do not have America's interests in mind at all. It's starting to feel like our ruin is their objective. From our factories closing and moving overseas, to the plunging value of our dollar, America is crumbling. Yet I love her far to much to watch her fall apart.
This is why I am taking my personal revolution and joining forces with Dr. Ron Paul's revolution. His "bring all the troops home" non-intervention foreign policy and plans to put America first again are just what we need at this time in our history. I don't expect you to agree with everything he says, but I do hope we can all put our differences aside and join him in seeing that ALL the troops come home, the Republic is restored and America saved. Thank you and God Bless.
Zakery Carter

There you have it, straight from a die-hard patriot who was willing to put his life on the line to serve you and me. Go ahead, pick apart his logic. Good luck....it's pretty air-tight.

ATTENTION FT WAYNE BAR-OWNERS

2007-12-20T12:31:00.000-05:00

Check this out! A bar owner in Germany cut holes in the wall so you can smoke "outside"!!

INGENIOUS!!!

Sincerest apologies

2007-12-19T23:15:00.000-05:00

I truly apologize for neglecting to thoroughly (or even minimally) analyze the 2008 Presidential races. I have been a complacent slob with respect to all national politics lately, but I have reached a conclusion about where I feel this country needs to progress, and with a clear-cut set of goals in mind, I have found myself in near lock-step with a major party candidate. I have spent a great deal of evening time over the last two days exhaustively researching candidates and their "positions" (if some of them can even be called that), and I keep coming back to one candidate over and over who actually makes any intelligent points at all. Furthermore, this candidate speaks with a passion and wisdom that has been long absent from the annals of mainstream national politics.

I want a President whose ideals are not a bastardization of some partisan playbook.

I want a President who is honest about their motives.

I want a President who actually understands the far-reaching consequences of their actions.

I want a President who is well versed in historical precedent and who can speak to contemporary issues within the context of these historical precedents.

I want a President who is willing to ignore party politics to do what is right for America.

I want a President with a clear-cut plan for how to deal with our nation's most difficult problems.

I want a President who can properly pronounce the word "nuclear."

The candidate to whom I have decided to give my complete and total support comes with the following attributes:

As a congressman, he has:

Never voted to raise taxes.
Never voted for an unbalanced budget.
Never voted for a Federal restriction on gun ownership.
Never taken a government paid junket.
Never voted for a congressional pay raise.
Never voted to increase the power of the Executive Branch.
Voted against the Patriot Act.
Voted against regulating the internet.
Voted against the Iraq war.
Does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
Returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. Treasury every year.

Riddle me this, readers: Can any of you give me an example of any other Presidential candidate who can say that they have the integrity or crystal clean voting record of this man? Good luck. There isn't one. Period.

I, like many of you, bought into the mainstream media's portrayal of Dr. Ron Paul as some sort of tinfoil hat-wearing nutjob. I couldn't have been more wrong. He's an intelligent, well-read modern day prophet who understands the real problems America faces and knows how to make them a thing of the past.

Please take the time to watch the following video if you don't understand. It's 8 minutes of your life for which you will not demand a refund. At the end of watching this for the first time, I was so moved that I wanted to literally go outside and scream and scream at the top of my lungs. We in America live in a cloud of blind optimism, a haze of ignorance, even a blindfold of oblivion. Ron Paul pulled that blindfold from my face, and it embarrassed me every bit as much as it energized me. I am ashamed that I have allowed myself to be duped. No more.

Here's the video.