Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Get your free Barney Frank blog widgets here!


It's our fifth annual going-out-of-business sale! Free blog widgets for everybody!

Copy and paste this code to express your support.


Barney's exceptional stewardship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proves he's the right man to lead us out of the wilderness.

Linked by: Kevin Dayhoff. Thanks!

Those who say we have only 3% of the world's oil are lying


Richard Baehr writes "Every time some Democrat says we need to immediately shift to renewable fuels, because we only have 3% of the world's supply of oil in this country, that person is lying." He points us to evidence supplied by the United States Geological Survey earlier this year.

3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation — 25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate

...A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil...

...The Bakken Formation estimate is larger than all other current USGS oil assessments of the lower 48 states and is the largest "continuous" oil accumulation ever assessed by the USGS. A "continuous" oil accumulation means that the oil resource is dispersed throughout a geologic formation rather than existing as discrete, localized occurrences. The next largest "continuous" oil accumulation in the U.S. is in the Austin Chalk of Texas and Louisiana, with an undiscovered estimate of 1.0 billions of barrels of technically recoverable oil.

But let's not drill, Nancy Reid O'Schumer. That would help the economy improve, reduce our foreign trade deficit and drop overall reliance on Middle East oil.

And maybe if the New York Times reported this kind of news once a decade, they wouldn't be headed into the crapper faster than Michael Moore's Cheesy Double Bean Burrito lunch from Taco Bell.

The Gray Lady's not dead, she's just restin'


If there's an upside to the stock market meltdown (formerly known as Obama's "Age of Plenty") it comes in the form of devastating news for the New York Times.

QandO points us to a shocking analysis of the Times' balance sheet.

What NYTCo. has:
• $46 million of cash
• $366 million owed to it by advertisers
Total: $412 million

What NYTCo. owes:
• $398 million of short-term debt (due in May)
• $161 million of accounts payable (newsprint, travel, etc.)
• $100 million of payroll (salaries)
• $159 million of other expenses
• $50 million owed on long-term debt and rent
Total: $865 million

Bottom line, short term: NYTCo. owes $453 million more than it has.

Worse yet, total advertising revenue for the newspaper industry -- of which the Times is a bellwether -- was expected to drop 11.5% this year. It could be decidedely worse given the current state of affairs.

To add insult to injury, The American Thinker's Ed Lasky spotted a spate of short-sellers seemingly placing bets against the very survival of the Times.

Bloomberg publishes a list (for subscribers) of the top companies with largest percentage of shares sold short. The New York Times Company is currently number thirteen, with 17.5% of the shares sold short. This means that these investors are betting that the shares will continue to slide. No other media companies appear on the top 60 list.

Perhaps Executive Editor Bill Keller should rehearse his next public statement: "Would you like to super-size that value meal?"

Hat tip: Larwyn. Linked by: Tim Blair. Thanks!

Shoddy Management + Corrupt Union Bosses = Auto Industry Disaster


A single glance at today's opening stock prices of the major auto companies tells us all we need to know. Combine pathetic management practices with corrupt union bosses and we get, well, pretty much what we've got.

The role of unions with OSHA, the EPA, and a hundred other government agencies protecting workers? Eh, you got me.

As for bailing out Chrysler? Give me a break. Cerberus, its owner, is a private equity concern. And I drive a Chrysler.

The real cure to our economic woes? Reliapundit channels Mark Levin:

To solve the crisis, get government out of the way:

* Slash income tax rates
* Slash capital gains tax rates
* Eliminate corporate taxes
* Suspend automotive CAFE standards
* Suspend non-safety-related regulations on nuclear power plant construction
* Suspend regulations which impede drilling and mining.

The economy would rebound almost immediately.

And that's precisely why the Democrats won't do any of those things. They want more people reliant on big government, which expands their own power base.

It's really just that simple.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Get yer "Draft Jamie Gorelick for Attorney General" Blog Widgets Here...


...get 'em while they're hot!

Just copy and paste the code into your blog template and within seconds you'll be showing your staunch support for the masterful leadership skills of Ms. Gorelick.



Linked by: American Digest and Fausta. Thanks!

Crazy floor and ceiling murals


Dave W. sent this one in.

A painted ceiling in a smokers lounge...

...and a painted floor in the bathroom of a tenth-floor apartment.

Yeah, I know Snopes said this was crap, but don't tell Dave cause it hurts his feelings.

Breaking: Obama agrees to a bailout of the New York Times


Only hours after Mediapost reported that The New York Times had a negative net worth, President-Elect Barack Obama announced a $5 billion bailout rescue package for the media concern. In a hastily arranged press conference at the newly constructed Office of the President-Elect, Obama noted the importance of the Times' ability to influence public opinion.

"It's not overstating things to say that I owe my presidency to the New York Times," he stated in his perfectly pitched, baritone voice. His hand smoothed a crease in his tailor-made Canali suit, which was precisely matched with a cream Ike Behar shirt and baby blue tie. "The Times' prowess at non-investigation and their matchless creativity related to John and Cindy McCain stories were, no doubt, critical to the process."

"Losing the Times would be like losing a father or, in my case, a preacher. Therefore, I'm happy to announce that the Federal Government will be writing Bill Keller a check for $5 billion dollars to keep the Times afloat for at least another four years."

The press conference was briefly marred by Maureen Dowd fainting and Paul Krugman experiencing "a thrill going up my leg."

Hat tip: Larry. Linked by: Mitchell Langbert. Thanks!

Graphing stock market performance since 1900: better under Dems or GOP?


Which party is better for stock market performance? Looking at a graph that tracks performance since 1900, my reaction is that both parties are equally bad.

Although Barack Obama's widely heralded "Age of Plenty" may set a new standard for destruction of value.

MarketGuru -- an excellent "community investment" site by the way -- has the detailed analysis.

Google celebrates Veterans Day


Good on them.

SavannahWinslow suggests they may still be hungover from Election Day.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Obama's plans to dismantle the Second Amendment disappear down the memory hole


Moments after the election the media breathlessly reported that gun sales had hit record levels. What the media did its best to obfuscate is the vigor with which President-Elect Obama will pursue egregious restrictions like the "Assault Weapons" Ban (AWB).

The Kansas City Star was one of many newspapers laying down covering fire for the AWB.

It... is unclear whether a serious push for regulation is likely from Congress. The number of Democrats there who support gun rights has increased. Also, the party fell short Tuesday of winning a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, leaving Republicans leverage against laws they don’t like.

What the Star "forgot" to note is that Obama's new Change.gov website had explicitly described the desire for an assault weapons ban ("Making the expired federal assault weapons ban permanent") -- along with a host of other gun-ban tactics.

However the offending page -- http://change.gov/agenda/urbanpolicy/ -- quickly disappeared down the memory hole after staff realized their plans had been revealed just a bit too soon.

The NRA-ILA has a PDF snapshot of the page held by the Google cache prior to its disappearance. And it completely explains the duplicity of the Obama campaign when it comes to the Second Amendment.

Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan, "the audacity of hope," should have instead been "the audacity of deceit." After months of telling the American people that he supports the Second Amendment, and only hours after being declared the president-elect, the Obama transition team website announced an agenda taken straight from the anti-gun lobby--four initiatives designed to ban guns and drive law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers out of business...

Read the whole thing. And for those of you citizens represented (or should I say "ruled"?) by "Blue Dog Democrats", a few telephone calls and emails might be in order.

Of course, the proposed ban wouldn't apply to the ruling class; only to the rabble like us. This is evidenced by a recent photo of U.S. Secret Service agents protecting the President-Elect on a visit to the gym.


Whereupon commenter Jay.Mac dryly observed, "And look -- they're armed with the type of weapons that Obama wants to permanently ban for the rest of America because 'such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.'"

Be warned: you can be sure that the offending page only went on a temporary hiatus.

Update: Instapundit links (thanks!) and points us to David Hardy:

OBAMA GOING AFTER RIGHT-TO-CARRY LAWS? "His people are seriously considering a federal ban or restriction on 'right to carry' laws. Exactly where the constitutional power to enact such a measure is to be found is less than clear to me. But so are a lot of other things like that." That seems like it would be a major mistake to me. Plus, the missing assault-weapon ban language reappears. I can think of nothing more likely to generate a nasty backlash than a move like this.


Hat tip: Gary.

Be the first on your block with the Electra for America blidget!


Many readers have asked, nay begged, for an Electra for America blog widget ("blidget"). With a staff of eleven working nights and weekends for well over five minutes, we can happily report the official availability of said blidget.

Want to install one on your blog?

Just copy the following code to help support the lovely Carmen Electra for the office of President in 2016.

Teh Epic Fail








All of this crap courtesy of Failblog and Chrissie.

A coalition to fight media bias: 50 Million Americans


The mainstream media could have destroyed Barack Obama's campaign with a single 60 Minutes segment and a John Stossel ABC Special. Their failure to report on Obama's background and associates represents one of the fundamental flaws of today's political scene: complete lack of balance.

For that reason, a group called 50 Million Americans is forming a citizens' coalition to fight media bias.

We the People have been duped. It is painfully apparent that many of the largest media and news organizations in this country are corrupt and are incapable of being straight with us. These organizations have rejected their ethical obligations and now serve as voluntary propagandists to an openly biased political and social agenda.

In just the last few days we've witnessed several different reports where mainstream-media (MSM) representatives have dropped any pretense of objectivity and have openly admitted working with an institutionalized bias. They have confirmed purposely attacking people who do not fit this bias, and confirm failing to do their duty to adequately investigate those people who best fit the bias...

Check it out and report back here when you're done.

Update: Oregon Live's David Reinhard has called it quits.

...my chief reason for leaving [is that] I want to be part of a team that shares a common goal and commitment. I want to work with folks who share my basic values. I no longer want to be the odd man out. I don't want to start my mornings with a running argument about politics that I'll almost invariably lose by virtue of the stacked numbers. Sad to say, today's newspaper business is not that place. Its fierce diversity efforts don't seem to extend to broadening the range of acceptable opinions in the trade. So much "diversity," yet so much monolithic thinking.

That's a damn shame.

Hat tip: Pat Riotic.

Happy Birthday, Marines!


Some motivational posters sent over by Master Gunnery Sergeant Kirk, reprinted here in recognition of the 233rd birthday of the Corps.








Update: KB listed the 233 reasons to love the Corps.

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Bill Ayers cries to the press


Carolina Journal: Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts: "Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration."

NRO: Mark Steyn: "[I disagree with] conservatives who think the Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Frank liberal behemoth will so obviously screw up that they'll be routed in two or four years' time. The President-elect's so-called “tax cut” will absolve 48 per cent of Americans from paying any federal income tax at all, while those that are left will pay more. Just under half the population will be, as Daniel Henninger pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, on the dole. By 2012, it will be more than half, and this will be an electorate where the majority of the electorate will be able to vote itself more lollipops from the minority of their compatriots still dumb enough to prioritize self-reliance, dynamism, and innovation over the sedating cocoon of the nanny state. That is the death of the American idea — which, after all, began as an economic argument: “No taxation without representation" is a great rallying cry. 'No representation without taxation' has less mass appeal. For how do you tell an electorate living high off the entitlement hog that it's unsustainable and you've got to give some of it back?"

The Real Revo: Spreading the Wealth at Plymouth Plantation. Just because it hasn't worked in half a millenium doesn't mean it can't work now! Hope! And Change!

Guardian (UK): Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes: "Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos, the US government laboratory... The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, contain no weapons-grade material, have no moving parts and will be nearly impossible to steal because they will be encased in concrete and buried underground... The US government has licensed the technology to Hyperion, a New Mexico-based company which said last week that it has taken its first firm orders and plans to start mass production within five years." How come I always have to read the really interesting news in foreign papers?

Powerline: Secede from the mainstream media.

The Star: Bill Ayers says he's been the target of a "terrorist attack". Chutzpah.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

David Axelrod's Project 2016: Electra for America


BUMPED. An attractive but inexperienced candidate who can read beautifully from a teleprompter? Can do!

The Carmen Electra for America Agenda: 2016

Economy: After eight years of depression, falling real estate prices, and a stagnating stock market, it's time to take our minds off the economic malaise. We need a candidate with a vivacious, flirty attitude and an All-American can-do spirit that can take the reins of Wall Street, ball-gag the investment community, and whip them into a hot, steaming frenzy of money-making ecstasy.

Foreign Affairs: We need to take our minds off the tragic Iranian-Israeli nuclear war that destroyed half the world's oil supply and killed 750 million people. And nothing gets attention at a diplomatic affair like an Oscar de la Renta low-cut dress with sparkles and a slit so high up the thigh that men and women alike get vertigo.

Global Warming: Good News! The nuclear winter brought on by the thermonuclear exchanges between Iran and Israel, Pakistan and India, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, China and Tibet and the UAE and Kuwait has completely healed Planet Earth of Global Warming. It has also increased the world's supply of glass five-hundred fold!

Negotiation: There are few tests of diplomatic skills like the ones I've been through. My administration will be the only one tempered in a fiery relationship with Dennis Rodman and molded by David Hasselhoff on the blistering, sandy beaches of Baywatch.

Experience: While some will say my resume is thin, I won't hesitate to point out my six year stint as a honorary Sheriff's Deputy in Beverly Hills; my day-long visit to the Capitol Building in 2011; and 100% completion of a difficult online tutorial entitled Mavis Beacon teaches Government.

Healthcare: Yes, waits for MRI's have now reached 18 months and that's why I've announced a plan to create a United States Department of MRIs! This new government agency is sure to streamline the process of gaining access to these crucial tests and save thousands of lives each year!

Partisanship: While badly outnumbered, I'll admit our counterparts on the right side of the aisle have made things difficult for us Democrats. Sarah Palin's narrow loss to us in 2012 came down to one state. I was biting my nails and thinking we'd lost the election because of Ohio -- until a timely recount turned up 200,000 ACORN registrations that had been suppressed by the Rethuglicans. Thank goodness for this helpful, non-partisan group! All that being said, I promise to bridge the gap between the aisle while making that skanky Sarah Palin look downright dowdy when I wear my sparkly de la Renta dress!


Linked by: Denny. Thanks!

Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It


BUMPED. The American Thinker's Rosslyn Smith points us to some excellent advice from The Philadelphia Bulletin's James G. Wiles:

And now, a thought experiment: what would Rahm Emanuel do if he had Congressman John Boehner's job as House Minority Leader?

That's easy. Put as many long-range torpedoes into the water aimed at Senator Obama's ship of state before Republicans lose control of the Executive Branch as possible. Here are a few:

1. Appoint U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzpatrick as a special prosecutor so he can pursue his investigation of Tony Rezko and his corrupt dealings with Illinois's governor and other creatures and spoilsmen of the Daley Machine. This will make it politically difficult for a President Obama to pardon Mr. Rezko and impossible for him to terminate Mr. Fitzpatrick as a federal officer come January 21 as a way of de-railing this investigation.

2. Appoint a special prosecutor to investigate ACORN's voter registration methods and its dealings with the Obama campaign.

3. Appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Obama campaign's on-line fundraising operation, including its disabling of the credit card security software on its on-line donations system. File a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding same.

4. Appoint a bipartisan (love that word!) presidential commission to review the candidates' fundraising in this election cycle and to recommend changes in federal election laws.

5. File ethics complaints against Sen. Chris Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank for their relationship with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Countrywide Mortgage.

Be it noted that, in his day, this is probably what Newt Gingrich would have done, too. It was then-Congressman Gingrich's persistent filing of ethics complaints against then-House Speaker Jim Wright, D Texas, which eventually brought Speaker Wright down and made possible the Republicans' re-taking of Congress in 1994 on the platform of the Contract with America.

Let's do this! It's time to stop playing patty-cake with the likes of ACORN, the Fairness Censorship Doctrine, Fannie Mae sleazebags Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, creative credit-card fund-raising scams and the other ethical tactics of the Democrats.

Contact House Minority Leader John Boehner and tell him to get to steppin'. Email: AsktheLeader@mail.house.gov. Phone: (202) 225-6205.

Contact Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and tell him to get crackin' as well. Email: Contact Form. Phone: (202) 224-2541.

Call, email, then call again!

Make a difference: Boycott Kenneth Cole Now!


The People's Cube has the backstory.

Hat tip: Larwyn.

Is that all you've got, Democrats?


That's Don Surber's question in a post that quotes an astounding Bill Whittle column:

On Tuesday, the Left — armed with the most attractive, eloquent, young, hip, and charismatic candidate I have seen with my adult eyes, a candidate shielded by a media so overtly that it can never be such a shield again, who appeared after eight years of a historically unpopular President, in the midst of two undefended wars and at the time of the worst financial crisis since the Depression and whose praises were sung by every movie, television, and musical icon without pause or challenge for 20 months... who ran against the oldest nominee in the country's history, against a campaign rent with internal disarray and determined not to attack in the one area where attack could have succeeded, and who was out-spent no less than seven-to-one in a cycle where not a single debate question was unfavorable to his opponent — that historic victory, that perfect storm of opportunity...

Yielded a result of 53 percent.

And Whittle's tale is that of a peculiar Civil War battle worthy of a bronze plaque in a leafy national park.

It has been a source of delight for me these past few days to see nothing but evidence of this [steely resolve], all across our defeated lines. Nowhere have I heard a shred of defeatism or despair...

On the contrary. In point of fact, the magnanimity and graciousness I have seen in defeat in so many places on the right tells me that this is an eager and seasoned army, one able to look defeat in the face and own up to the errors in tactics and strategy that got us there.

...And nowhere do I see a call to abandon our core principles and sue for terms, but rather that our loss was caused precisely by our abandonment of the issues which we hold dear and which have served us so well on battlefields past.

Republicans are indeed magnanimous and gracious in defeat. We will learn from this experience and return to the battlefield reinvigorated and ready to combat the fraudulent fundraising, the dead voters, the duplicate registrations and the prancing unicorns.

Hat tip: Larwyn.

Electric Mini Coopers will lease out at $850/mo.


500 Electric Mini Coopers are on their way to the States. The cost? A paltry $850 a month, which is still a money-loser for Mini's owner, BMW.

Customers will receive a couple of bonuses, however: a free wall-charger and scheduled "check-ups" at dealerships. Not to mention brown-outs, what with the end of coal-powered electricity generation.