Thursday, January 29, 2009

2010 Chevrolet Camaro spotted down under


EGM Car Tech has the scoop.

It reportedly drew crowds whenever it appeared in public, which is certainly an encouraging sign.

Taxpayers should demand a "Rangel Rule" exception


Writing at The Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru describes an exciting new proposal from Rep. John Carter (R-TX).

All U.S. taxpayers would enjoy the same immunity from IRS penalties and interest as House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Obama Administration Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, if a bill introduced today by Congressman John Carter (R-TX) becomes law.

Carter, a former longtime Texas judge, today introduced the Rangel Rule Act of 2009, HR 735, which would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from charging penalties and interest on back taxes against U.S. citizens. Under the proposed law, any taxpayer who wrote “Rangel Rule” on their return when paying back taxes would be immune from penalties and interest.

If I write "Dodd Rule" on my refinancing documents, I wonder if I could get a loan that's fifty basis points lower than market?

Update: Parkway Rest Stop suggests a "Pelosi Rule"!

"Stimulus" package will send government checks to Illegal Aliens


The Associated Press reports that the Porkulus bill may stimulate one thing and one thing alone: illegal immigration:

The $800 billion-plus economic stimulus measure making its way through Congress could steer government checks to illegal immigrants, a top Republican congressional official asserted Thursday.

The legislation, which would send tax credits of $500 per worker and $1,000 per couple, expressly disqualifies nonresident aliens, but it would allow people who don't have Social Security numbers to be eligible for the checks.

Undocumented immigrants who are not eligible for a Social Security number can file tax returns with an alternative number. A House-passed version of the economic recovery bill and one making its way through the Senate would allow anyone with such a number, called an individual taxpayer identification number, to qualify for the tax credits.

A revolt among GOP conservatives to similar provisions of a 2008 economic stimulus bill, which sent rebate checks to most wage earners, forced Democratic congressional leaders to add stricter eligibility requirements. That legislation, enacted in February 2008, required that people have valid Social Security numbers in order to get checks...

This pork package -- the SS Titanic of Stimulus Packages -- is like an onion. Peel a layer and start crying anew. It's a slap in the face for every American taxpayer.

Update: Gateway Pundit reports that the vote-fraud consortium known as ACORN remains a huge recipient of the wealth redistribution program.

Kurtis the Stockboy and Brenda the Checkout Girl


Amy sent this one in.

Here's the Story: In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over asking for a carry out at check register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.

Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible. He pressed and and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.

That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, lets take the kids with us." She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had a older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair.

He was born a paraplegic with down syndrome. Kurtis asked Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities. Just like her first husband and father of her children did.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the rest room, he picked him up out of his chair, took him, brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with. A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children . Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to the stock boy and check out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner, now live in St. Louis, where he is employed by the St. Louis Rams and plays quarterback.

Touching story.

And what's crazy is that the real scoop, at least according to Snopes, is even more surprising.

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Let's call it 'greenboarding'!


The Democratic Porkfest Bill of 2009: Hot Air
The stimulus is a fiscal straitjacket: Financial Times
Obama and Adviser "B": QandO

House Democrats' top 100 broken promises: GOP leader
The day America lost the War on Terror: Townhall
The 'Rangel Rule': National Review

GOP holds the line. It's a Dem Crap Sandwich: Malkin
A 40-year Wish List: WSJ
A useless exercise in government economic intervention: Strata-Sphere

Ohio charity threatens lawsuit over exposé: Pajamas Media
Mossad foils Hizbullah attack in Europe: JPost
Nothing's changed: a cartoon from 1956: Elder of Ziyon

Giving Russia no respect: QandO
What if Mexico collapses?: Hot Air
Congratulations, kids: you each now owe the government $50K!: Macsmind

A disgrace: Phil Gingrey: Organized Exploitation
Death Spiral: NY Times earnings plunge 48% in Q4: Jammie Wearing Fool
Searchable text version of Senate Generational Theft Act; House Dems’ package tops $1.1 trillion: Malkin

Pathetic 'Message': Obama's odd Islamic outreach: New York Post (Amir Taheri)

THE truth is that the Middle East is not much better off than at any time since its emergence as a geopolitical unit after World War I. Thanks to the transformation of America from a power guaranteeing the deadly status quo into one that supports reform and change, the region has started to experience new currents of democratization.

Afghanistan and Iraq have been liberated, their peoples given a chance to build new systems of their own choice. The Syrians have been kicked out of Lebanon. Libya has been disarmed. Egypt has been forced to allow multiparty presidential elections. More than a dozen Arab states have adopted constitutions and introduced some form of electoral politics. Kuwaiti women have won the right to vote and get elected.

Iran's democratic forces are encouraged to launch their campaign against the mullahs. The Islamists have been roundly defeated in Algeria, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

For the first time, the question of democracy is top of the political agenda in virtually every Muslim state...

Dennis Miller: Waterboarding needs a marketing makeover: let's face it, the water cuts down on CO2 with fewer terrorist exhales... let's call it greenboarding.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

New Mercedes Gullwing has some surprising features


AutoExpress has the rundown on a new Mercedes Gullwing that just happens to be a 40mpg hybrid: it's reported to be the new SLK flagship and could outstrip the SL itself.

[the] SLK variant will use battery packs located in its side sills. Because the sills need to be high to accommodate the packs, designers hit on the idea of turning a potential flaw into a virtue, combining them with the roof-mounted doors to create a baby brother to the SLC.

It’s likely the range-topping SLK will use the same advanced lithium-ion battery technology as the Blue Zero E-Cell concept which debuted at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this month. It has batteries that drive an electric motor, and the model can run for around 120 miles before needing to be recharged.

In the SLK, this combination will be teamed with a petrol engine, possibly a development of the 3.5-litre V6 used in the current car. With a brake-energy regeneration system – like the KERS set-up on this season’s Formula One cars – plus stop-start, the SLK Gullwing would be extremely efficient, with fuel economy of around 40mpg and CO2 emissions of 150g/km.

Performance will be superb, too. Combined with the V6 engine, the petrol-electric set-up would have as much torque as a regular V8. And with the electric motor assisting the engine under full throttle and up hills, owners could expect awesome acceleration, with 0-60mph in five seconds and a top speed of 155mph. Fine-tuning of the performance and handling is likely to be carried out by Mercedes’ AMG division.

Word is that it won't be ready until 2011. AutoExpress has all of the details.

Hat tip: AutoSpies.

Bell & Ross' 2008 Press Wrap-up


Watchmaker Bell & Ross -- no relation, unfortunately -- published its 2008 press roundup.

Click the image or here to check it out.



The SS Titanic of Stimulus Packages


The inventory of items in the Obama stimulus package is truly shocking.

The 647-page, $825 billion list of boondoggles is a blistering slap in the face to the American taxpayer.

The Wall Street Journal called it four decades of pent-up Democratic demands and concludes, "[w]e've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it."

The litany of lunacy includes the following gems:

• $83 billion in welfare payments (the earned income credit for people who don't pay income tax)
• $81 billion for Medicaid
• $66 billion on "education", more than the entire Department of Education required just ten years ago
• $36 billion for expanded unemployment benefits
• $20 billion for food stamps
• $8 billion on "renewable energy" projects, which have a low or negative return
• $7 billion for "modernizing federal buildings and facilities"
• $6 billion on urban transit systems, dominated by unions and which, almost universally, lose money
• $2.4 billion for "carbon-capture demonstration projects"
• $2 billion for child-care subsidies
• $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that's run in the red for 40 years
• $650 million for "digital TV conversion coupons" (on top of billions already spent)
• $600 million on new cars for government (added to the $3 billion already spent each year)
• $400 million for "global-warming research"
• $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts

The Journal notes that "only $90 billion out of [the] $825 billion, or about 12 cents over every $1, is for something that can... be considered a growth stimulus."

Quid pro quo tributes are paid throughout the document to various unions. On page 257, for exmple, it states that "No recipient . . . shall use such funds to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools." Put simply: no non-union teachers need apply.

This list is many things (a pile of manure strikes us as one possible description), but "stimulus" ain't one of them.

Some of these social programs will, like the ill-fated Social Security and Medicare debacles, will be impossible to remove until its too late.

Congressional Republicans suggested two simple tax cuts for the lowest brackets: cut the 10% bracket to 5%. Cut the 15% bracket to 10%. They were turned down.

Obama calls the package a "jolt to the economy." That's one of the few statements he's made with which I completely agree.

Democrats own this cluster****: lock, stock and barrel.


Related: Thomas Sowell asks "What are they buying?"
Hat tips: Brutally Honest and Larwyn.

He's the President. He has a Presidential Seal. So why would he continue to use the Obama logo?


This frickin' thing is like a bad penny.

It keeps turning up in the strangest places.

Barack Obama is the President. He has a Presidential Seal. Why would he still need the inspiration for the new Pepsi logo?


Why would he need his own youth group? A group named for him, not his political party.


A group operating outside the auspices of the U.S. Government, but with its implicit approval.

Why?

To satisfy someone's ego?

To build a cult of personality?

Why?

Perhaps before the New York Times closes its doors for the last time, they could devote a couple of hours of investigative journalism to discover the motivation behind the continued use of this odd symbology.

Larwyn's Link Kerplosion: Spending like drunken liberals


Succinct: Paul Krugman is a lying a****le: Ace o' Spades
The Great Unifier attacks Rush: EIB
Fools Rush In: Jules Crittenden

Ob Ed: Soccer Dad
Stand Tall: Don Surber
Drunken Liberal Spending Bill: Gateway Pundit

200 economists call Obama a liar in full-page ads: Cato
Ya'alon: No more retreats: Arutz Sheva
Change: two more Putin critics take bullets to their heads: WaPo

Egyptian TV cleric prays for another Holocaust: LGF
Israel tells UN to shove it's war crime accusations: STACLU
The complete guide to UNRWA: Elder of Ziyon

Does Foreign Aid Fuel Palestinian Violence?: Middle East Quarterly
Ten things Hollywood can do to save the planet: Big Hollywood
Crash Course Chapter 15: Bubbles: Chris Martenson

Fun with Timothy Geithner: OTB
Obama nominee: Taxpayer-funded abortion is a free speech right: Michelle Malkin
Obama already pushing to ban 'assault' weapons: ECR

Faked Antarctic data another "honest mistake"?: Flopping Aces
The Ten: GM's Place
Obama's first week: 153 dead; media silent: Flopping Aces

Iran close to nuclear weapon; US looking forward to discussing it with them: Ace o' Spades
Low-level employee rips off Oak Ridge: American Thinker (Thomas Lifson)
Thrift store has good deal on MP3 player , US secrets: Prairie Pundit

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Obama rips Limbaugh, extends hand of friendship to Iran's genocidal mullahs


We are in deep, deep trouble. What other reaction might a citizen have when informed that President Obama's criticism of Rush Limbaugh is more severe than his words for Iran's genocidal Mullahs.

I've culled several interesting tidbits from the full transcript of President Obama's interview with Al Arabiya. Interestingly, the White House did not deign to reprint the entire transcript, choosing just a few paragraphs. My comments are italicized.

Q: You’ve been saying essentially that we should not look at these issues — like the Palestinian-Israeli track and separation from the border region — you’ve been talking about a kind of holistic approach to the region. Are we expecting a different paradigm in the sense that in the past one of the critiques — at least from the Arab side, the Muslim side — is that everything the Americans always tested with the Israelis, if it works. Now there is an Arab peace plan, there is a regional aspect to it. And you’ve indicated that. Would there be any shift, a paradigm shift?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, here’s what I think is important. Look at the proposal that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia... I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage... to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace.

The Saudi intiative offers Israel Arab recognition in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from territory it occupied in the 1967 war, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and a "just solution for the problem of Palestinian refugees." Consider that for every one acre of land Israel has, Arab nations have 510, begging the question: why do the Muslims even want this miniscule bit of desert?

THE PRESIDENT: ...we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress... Now, Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel’s security is paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side.

Six decades of war just to survive isn't, apparently, enough of a sacrifice. Is there a word that means "naive", only multiplied by a million?

THE PRESIDENT: I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state — I’m not going to put a time frame on it — that is contiguous, that allows freedom of movement for its people, that allows for trade with other countries, that allows the creation of businesses and commerce so that people have a better life...

Which would mean opening Israel's tiny sliver of land to another wave of suicidal terrorists. Brilliant! Why didn't anyone think of that before?

THE PRESIDENT: Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.

Countries? We knew about Indonesia, but do tell.

Q: Tell me, time is running out, any decision on from where you will be visiting the Muslim world?

THE PRESIDENT: ...We’re going to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital. We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do a more effective job of reaching out, listening, as well as speaking to the Muslim world.

And you’re going to see me following through with dealing with a drawdown of troops in Iraq, so that Iraqis can start taking more responsibility. And finally, I think you’ve already seen a commitment, in terms of closing Guantanamo, and making clear that even as we are decisive in going after terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians, that we’re going to do so on our terms, and we’re going to do so respecting the rule of law that I think makes America great.

What Obama describes is a return to lawfare -- the treatment of terrorist acts of war as law enforcement issues. It's almost as if 9/11 never happened. At least for Democrats, that is.

Q: President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people — Islamic fascism. You’ve always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is this one way of –

THE PRESIDENT: I think that you’re making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations — whether Muslim or any other faith in the past — that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name.

He has a point. Whether it's nuns quietly passing SBDs in church, or Jewish dentists performing dental surgery with insufficent anasthesia, or even militant Quakers engaging in random cow-tipping, religious extremism in any form is completely unacceptable.

And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down.

Because only those carrying laminated Al Qaeda Life Member cards can be targeted. We know that Hezbollah, Hamas, Al Qaeda-in-Iraq, Ansar al-Islam, Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah, Fatah and Darul Islam have nothing to do with one another and can only be targeted with a complete police investigation after a crime has been committed.

Q: Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran... Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful.

But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us...

Diplomacy... not conducive to peace... pursuing nukes... setting off an arms race... supporting terrorists... all of that is "not helpful". So let's extend a hand.

Correction: is there a word that means "naive", only multiplied by ten trillion? Oh. Yeah. "Jimmy Carter".

We are in deep, deep, deep manure.


Update: Dan Riehl's reaction.

Hat tips: Gateway Pundit and Bob McCarty. Linked by: McClatchyWatch. Thanks!

The new Mad Magazine is here!


A sneak peak at the new issue of Mad Magazine.

Here's a closeup of the desk:

Thank goodness Obama acted quickly by closing Gitmo, spreading the practice of abortion across the world, criticizing Rush Limbaugh and cozying up to the Mullahs.

Change!

Global warming alarmist James Hansen has "embarrassed NASA" according to his former boss


NASA global warming climate change scientist -- and Al Gore ally -- James Hansen received a harsh public reprimand from his former supervisor at NASA. Dr. John S. Theon joined over 650 climate scientists who dispute the anthropogenic (man-made) theory of global warming.

Retired senior NASA atmospheric scientist, Dr. John S. Theon, the former supervisor of James Hansen, NASA’s vocal man-made global warming fear soothsayer, has now publicly declared himself a skeptic and declared that Hansen “embarrassed NASA” with his alarming climate claims and said Hansen was “was never muzzled.”

..."I appreciate the opportunity to add my name to those who disagree that global warming is man made," Theon wrote to the... Committee on January 15, 2009. "I was, in effect, Hansen's supervisor because I had to justify his funding, allocate his resources, and evaluate his results," Theon, the former Chief of the Climate Processes Research Program at NASA Headquarters...

"Hansen was never muzzled even though he violated NASA's official agency position on climate forecasting (i.e., we did not know enough to forecast climate change or mankind's effect on it). Hansen thus embarrassed NASA by coming out with his claims of global warming in 1988 in his testimony before Congress," Theon wrote...

NASA scientist Hansen has attracted worldwide media attention by calling for trials against scientists who dispute global warming. Does the name Galileo ring a bell?

The UN's pathetic Global Warming bunko scam is unraveling before our very eyes and, with it, Al Gore's plans to monetize the carbon trading industry.

Update: Al Gore's Congressional testimony on global warming will likely be postponed due to inclement cold weather.

Hat tips: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Men are just happier people


Papa B sent this one in.

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE

NICKNAMES

* If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
* If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT

* When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
* When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY

* A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
* A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS

* A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
* The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 336. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

* A woman has the last word in any argument.
* Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

* A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
* A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

* A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
* A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

* A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
* A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

* A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
* A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

* Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
* Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

* Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
* A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Exclusive look at the rear of Mount Rushmore


Dave W. sent this one in.

Will their online sites save newspapers? Not so much.


The newspaper in printed form is swiftly approaching obsolescence, as evidenced by Detroit's decision to curtail daily delivery.

One school of thought contends that online news sites will save the day, albeit at greatly reduced revenue levels.

Editor & Publisher has the bad news, which refutes that notion. Online news sites are rapidly deteriorating.

...most newspaper Web sites experienced a drop-off in the number of unique visitors [from November to] December. The same can be said for the average time spent per user... Politico and the Detroit News suffered. About four minutes were nicked off Politico’s average time spent from November to December while Detroit was down about 5 minutes.

The NYTimes.com shed about three minutes from November to December.

...Those sites where visitors lingered longer on average: Washingtonpost.com, Boston.com, SFGate.com, and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, among others...

Site -- Dec. ’08 -- Nov. ’08
NYTimes.com -- 0:33:03 -- 0:36:32
USATODAY.com -- 0:15:26 -- 0:15:58
washingtonpost.com -- 0:15:02 -- 0:14:15

LA Times -- 0:07:36 -- 0:07:07
Wall Street Journal Online -- 0:10:48 -- 0:11:57
Chicago Tribune -- 0:07:27 -- 0:07:12

New York Post -- 0:10:44 -- 0:09:55
Boston.com -- 0:16:55 -- 0:13:27
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle -- 0:14:44 -- 0:12:05

Chicago Sun-Times -- 0:06:14 -- 0:06:47
Politico -- 0:06:47 -- 0:10:45
The Houston Chronicle -- 0:19:20 -- 0:22:15

Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- 0:11:35 -- 0:11:08
The Detroit News -- 0:08:41 -- 0:14:02
Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- 0:08:34 -- 0:08:58

DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News -- 0:06:08 -- 0:06:10
Star Tribune -- 0:32:20 -- 0:20:32
The Washington Times -- 0:03:40 -- 0:03:46

Baltimore Sun -- 0:11:30 -- **
NJ.com -- 0:06:07 -- 0:06:37
MLive.com -- 0:08:40 -- 0:06:12

Editor & Publisher has the complete list.

Larwyn's link kerplosion: old dogs, new tricks, all change


That $355 billion in spending isn't about the economy: WSJ
Pelosi: contraception stimulates the economy: EIB
States of Distress: the ill-fated bailouts: WSJ

Old dogs, new tricks, all change: Just One Minute
Obama's first week of undoing: Dr. Sanity
Pliability Journalism: James Taranto

The best heath care is reserved for Congress: AlterNet
CNN's Howard Kurtz renames MSNBC "The Obama Network": NewsBusters
The slobbering sycophants of the MSM: Big Hollywood

A User's Guide to 21st Century Economics: Discussion Leader
Social Media Trends 2009: ReadWriteWeb
The face of Facebook, Q42008: TechnoMarketer

Senate confirms tax cheat for Treasury Secretary: Gateway Pundit
UNIX Koans: catb
Ten great Facebook Connect implementations: Mashable

Limbaugh slams Obama: New York Post:

"He's more frightened of me than he is of John Boehner, which doesn't say much for our party," said Limbaugh.

He then said Obama's comments didn't matter, arguing that the president is "sprinting so far to the left" during his first week in office.

"The Republicans haven't been listening to me, anyway," Limbaugh said. "It's a moot point."

Monday, January 26, 2009

Blue Dog Democrats: It's either your constituents or Pelosi. You make the call.


Bloggers: Get your Blue Dog Blog Widget, below

So you Blue Dog Democrats got elected to the House of Representatives by claiming to be conservatives. Fine. Now it's time to prove it.

Will you serve your constituents -- or Nancy Pelosi?

Pelosi wants to spend $355 billion that is nothing but useless pork, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Pelosi wants a bailout for her horrifically mismanaged state -- California -- and other primarily Democratic-governed states.

Readers, I encourage you to email this post or use the blog widget, below, to spread the word. Call them, email them, fax them. Be polite, but firm. It's time for the Blue Dogs to pick sides.

Blue Dog Members and Fundraisers

Rep. Mike Arcuri, New York, 24th District, (202) 347-3042
Rep. Joe Baca, California, 43rd District, (202) 488-1528
Rep. John Barrow, Georgia, 12th District, (202) 285-0966
Rep. Melissa Bean, Illinois, 8th District, (202) 204-9050
Rep. Marion Berry, Arkansas, 1st District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Sanford Bishop, Georgia, 2nd District
Rep. Dan Boren, Oklahoma, 2nd District, (202) 454-5262
Rep. Leonard Boswell, Iowa, 3rd District, (202) 547-1334
Rep. Allen Boyd, Florida, 2nd District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Dennis Cardoza, California, 18th District, (703) 536-6881
Rep. Chris Carney, Pennsylvania, 10th District, 202) 737-5877
Rep. Ben Chandler, Kentucky, 6th District, (202) 454-5262
Rep. Jim Cooper, Tennessee, 5th District, 202) 543-5777
Rep. Jim Costa, California, 20th District, (202) 347-3042
Rep. Bud Cramer, Alabama, 5th District, (256) 539-0902
Rep. Lincoln Davis, Tennessee, 4th District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Joe Donnelly, Indiana, 2nd District, (202) 488-1445
Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Indiana, 8th District, (703) 354-7444
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Arizona, 8th District, (202) 454-5262
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York, 20th District, (718) 344-8025
Rep. Bart Gordon, Tennessee, 6th District, 1-800-444-BART
Rep. Jane Harman, California, 36th District, (202) 204-9050
Rep. Baron Hill, Indiana, 9th District, (202) 285-0966
Rep. Tim Holden, Pennsylvania, 17th District, (202) 737-5877
Rep. Nick Lampson, Texas, 22nd District, (202) 544-3151
Rep. Tim Mahoney, Florida, 16th District, (202) 741-7325
Rep. Jim Marshall, Georgia, 8th District, (478) 742-1100
Rep. Jim Matheson, Utah, 2nd District, (703) 354-7444
Rep. Charlie Melancon, Louisiana, 3rd District, (202) 479-2527
Rep. Mike McIntyre, North Carolina, 7th District, (910) 738-8683
Rep. Mike Michaud, Maine, 2nd District, (202) 488-1445
Rep. Dennis Moore, Kansas, 3rd District, (202) 347-3042
Rep. Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania, 8th District, (202) 488-1445
Rep. Collin Peterson, Minnesota, 7th District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, North Dakota, At-Large, (202) 347-3042
Rep. Mike Ross, Arkansas, 4th District, (202) 454-5262
Rep. John Salazar, Colorado, 3rd District, (202) 479-2527
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, California, 47th District, (714) 839-4431
Rep. Stephanie Sandlin, South Dakota, At-Large, (202) 347-3042
Rep. Adam Schiff, California, 29th District, (202) 544-3536
Rep. Heath Shuler, North Carolina, 11th District, (202) 544-3536
Rep. David Scott, Georgia, 13th District, (202) 488-1445
Rep. Zack Space, Ohio, 18th District, (202) 347-3042
Rep. John Tanner, Tennessee, 8th District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Gene Taylor, Mississippi, 4th District, (228) 466-3933
Rep. Mike Thompson, California, 1st District, (202) 543-5777
Rep. Charlie Wilson, Ohio, 6th District, (202) 544-3536

Need a blog widget? Try this one.

Hey, here's an idea, Nancy Murtha O'Reid. How about you bail out the American taxpayer? Instead of swizzling around hundreds of billions in a fruitless central-planning exercise, cut federal income taxes to zero for 90 days. For every taxpayer. I can guaran-dam-tee that less mortgages will fall behind, more cars will be purchased, retail will go nuts, etc.Copy and paste this code to express your support.


Linked by: Republican Liberty Caucus.

If you didn't think we were screwed before this...


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi believes contraception will help stimulate the economy. And that abortion can accelerate our nation's recovery.

The Schnitt Show is offering some moral support for Pelosi's effort.

Operation Reservoir Tip


Mail all "New-Unused" Condoms to:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-0100

Won't you please help?

In all seriousness, if contraception means less geniuses like Pelosi in office, I guarantee it will help the economy recover.

Update: Always the party suckup, Harry Reid models the full-body version.



Reservoir tip: Snapped Shot.

'Gore Effect' Strikes Again! Warming hearing on ice?


Mother Nature just pimp-slapped Al Gore. Again.

GORE HEARING ON WARMING MAY BE PUT ON ICE - Mon Jan 26 2009 17:59:26 ET

Al Gore is scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning to once again testify on the 'urgent need' to combat global warming. But Mother Nature seems ready to freeze the proceedings. A 'Winter Storm Watch' has been posted for the nation's capitol and there is a potential for significant snow... sleet... or ice accumulations. "I can't imagine the Democrats would want to showcase Mr. Gore and his new findings on global warming as a winter storm rages outside," a Republican lawmaker emailed the DRUDGE REPORT. "And if the ice really piles up, it will not be safe to travel." A spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, who chairs the committee, was not immediately available to comment on contingency plans. Global warming advocates have suggested this year's wild winter spells are proof of climate change.

Developing...

Got that? An extreme, brutal and record-setting cold snap is proof of global warming.

Hat tips: Drudge, via Marc.