Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Signs


Jan sent this one in.

Turd-licious!

Holy crap!

A master stroke of branding.

They better not suck.

A place where you can have a drink and vent.

They are going for the upscale crowd.

Pronounced with a French accent.

So good, it's s-ick.

What better name for a gas station-slash-convenience store?

Literally.


Larwyn's Linx: Legitimate Criticism

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

Legitimate Criticism: Doc Zero
The Community Is Restless: Steyn
Eureka! The solution to the health care debate: Kesler

Conyers goes after the felon vote: BlogProf
Smokin' Video on Obama's Trojan Horse: Ace
Five Myths About Health Care ‘Reform’: PJM (Emanuel)

60 Videos from 25 State Protests Against Obamacare: Instapundit
Panel sees race bias in health care bill: Times
NEA gives money to "pervs" for twisted fun: Examiner

Linda Douglass admits White House is breaking the law: RWN
Government-run health care killed my father: Examiner
Are Conservatives Being Too Mean To Liberals?: RWN

Economy

Deficit grew by $181 billion in July alone: The Hill
Dodd and Frank rape consumers -- again: Denninger
Tax Havens: the Economic Case: OrgExp

America's NOD: Denninger
The marginal cost of life: Classical
Blue Dog Driehaus lauds 60 'saved' jobs at $265K per pop: Virtuous

California: You Owe Us Taxes On Those IOU's We Paid You: Morrissey
Video Tour of Post-Apocalyptic Detroit: Vicious

Climate & Energy

Green Jobs, Brown Economy: NC Times

Media

Will Media Investigate Astroturf Recruitment At Craigslist?: NewsBusters
GOP Rep. Booed for Telling People to Turn Off Glenn Beck: NewsBusters
MSNBC: They Disapprove Of What You Say And Will Defend To The Death Their Right To Smear You For It: Driscoll

'I am the mob': Vid from Tucson debunks Krauthammer, Kondracke: MoneyRunner
Kiss my A.P.A.: Psych Today
Total Douchebaggery Achieved: POWIP

Obama’s OFA ‘cooked up plan’ to astroturf community organize Congressional offices: ProWis

World

British Health Service: 3rd largest employer IN THE WORLD, Behind Chinese army, Indian rail: BlogProf
Success! Cuba's economy officially regresses to 19th century: Power Line
IED Planting Terrorists Die Due To Lack Of Wellness Programs And Helicopter Delivered Munitions But Mostly Helicopter Delivered Munitions: Ace

A vicious Saudi cleric is welcomed with open arms in London: PJM (Weiss)
LIFE Magazine in Israel, 1948-1967: Ben Atlas

SciTech

More Saturn ring awesomeness: Discover
Not-So-Secret Deal: Big Pharma Will Spend Up to $150 Million in Ads to Push ObamaCare: Ace

Cornucopia

Finally, a bumpersticker that brings us together!: AmerDig
In my inbox: TrogloPundit

Quotes o' the day:

"If you discount the illegitimate opinions of all those insurance company shills, Republican party operatives, and racists thronging the town hall meetings, why, ObamaCare enjoys overwhelming support!" -- Doc Zero

"Obama has awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve." -- Grizzled


Monday, August 10, 2009

July Nominees for the 2009 Contractor Awards













Related: 2008 Contractor Awards.
January 2009 Nominees
February 2009 Nominees
March 2009 Nominees
June 2009 Nominees

Hat tip: FailBlog.

Green Jobs, Green Shoots... Brown Economy


While the Associated Press and NBC excitedly report on an incipient and miraculous economic recovery, the real signs of a turnaround have yet to be seen by those outside Washington. Consider:

Bankruptcies just hit their highest monthly total in four years, 126,434 in July. This represents a 34% increase year-over-year and an 8.7% increase from June.


Unemployment is rising, despite the slight drop in the official U-2 rate (9.5% to 9.4%). As the accompanying Calculated Risk graph illustrates, the employed percentage of the population continues to drop like Michael Moore in freefall.

Job losses continue at a horrific pace: "Over 400,000 people disappeared from the workforce last month - they gave up, dropping the participation rate. That's where the 'improvement' in the jobs number came from."

Government Spending Has Skyrocketed: "Annualized, the $181 billion deficit increase in July alone is approaching one half of the full year 2008 deficit - in one month - and Treasury has announced it is going to sell almost half that much again this week in new Treasury issuance - that is, yet more deficit."

Meanwhile, Tax Revenues Have Plummeted: "Tax revenue for the first three quarters of 2009 has fallen by approximately $350 billion, or 17 percent compared to the same period last year... Unemployment benefits have more than doubled, Medicaid spending has grown by a quarter and Medicare spending has increased by 11 percent."


The S&P 500 is wildly overvalued using any conventional measure: The S&P 500's price-to-earnings (PE) is over 140 today. It was over 100 during the first quarter of 2009, "a level never before reached in the index's history".

'Cash for Clunkers' is a Disaster: While the sycophants of stimulus are crowing about an 11.5 million unit annualized sales rate for (for July and August), 80% of the top-selling models are foreign. Typical of Politburo-style, centralized planning efforts, the unintended consequences of the program have yet to be felt; "..what of the lower-income Americans who depended on those cars - the clunkers - to be able to afford any transportation at all? Are they supposed to walk - or starve? When I was younger I was one of those individuals; today, this program would have left me unable to afford a car so I could get to work. I'm sure all the college students and recent grads, struggling to find a job, are saying 'Thanks Mr. President for destroying all the cars we could afford to buy.'"

The 'Green Jobs' Myth: "...experts in economics and the energy industry say having more people work in alternative energy will actually lower our standard of living, by making energy more expensive." James Hamilton, a professor of economics at UC San Diego, calls the assertion that funding green jobs will improve employment a "pretense".

The following is not an overstatement: the current Democrat leadership is on course to bankrupt the United States of America.

No cuts in the size of government: it keeps growing. No cuts in federal spending: all of the programs just keep growing. No cuts in federal hiring, salaries, bonuses or benefits: their workforce just keeps growing, on the taxpayer's dime.

Democrats are destroying the economic future of this country, piece by piece; mortgaging the next generation without permission of those affected; nationalizing industry after industry; spending like drunken liberals; and issuing edict after edict, regulation after regulation through dozens of unaccountable 'czars' who are literally strangling the real economy.

The hard left wing of the Democrat party must be politically punished in 2010 if we are to save this country.


Related: America's NOD. Linked by: BizzyBlog. Thanks!

Cliff Asness' word-mincing days appear to be over


Cliff Asness' word-mincing days appear to be over. If he ever had any, that is.

From: StumblingOnTruth Comments
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 11:54 AM
To: 'flag@whitehouse.gov'
Cc: 'flagmeobama@gmail.com'
Subject: Flag me!

Dear Leader and Minions,

The only thing more un-American, anti-freedom, and hypocritical from this administration, that dared to campaign on the prior administration's respect of the Constitution, than your attempt to socialize vast swaths of the American economy, is your new attempt to silence your legitimate critics. You have (collectively with your party) called them Nazis, you have lied about their generally peaceful demonstrations while ignoring the incredible hypocrisy of your own brown-shirt like efforts (New Black panther thugs let off the hook by Holder, Code Pink, SEIU and ACORN vigorously disrupting free speech; and just try to give a speech offending the Left on our academically "free" campuses?). Now this explicit effort to have Americans, who happen to disagree with the current people in charge, inform on other Americans to this email address. You all have no shame.

Is anything more certain than if Bush called for this fascist surveillance that the liberal press from the New York Times to the network news to a smirking Jon Stewart (for about 3 weeks straight along with out of context clips) would have skewered him at witch-burning levels even they had not reached, and congressional democrats would have been so apoplectic you'd have seen Nancy Pelosi's face move? Bush asked to have DANGEROUS behavior reported, not dissenting behavior, and you all wanted him impeached.

So, I am a small fish, but a few thousand people read and commented on this essay I've attached a link to... And I've copied them all.

Please print the essay. Read it and learn something and stop your attempted coup d'etat of our free system that will lead to pain and suffering for all the people, but power for yourselves, so I understand giving it up may be tough for you.

If not convinced, roll up the essay, stick it where the collectivist sun does not shine, and then put your name on the waiting list to see the government provided "free" proctologist in 6-12 months. It will give you some small insight into how the American tax-payer feels.

The existence of this monitoring and “informing on thy neighbor” effort is embarrassing to America.

Mr. Obama, tear down this firewall (firewall makes no sense here but the pentameter is beautiful and it's vaguely related to the internet).

- Cliff Asness

Via: Zero Hedge.

Larwyn's Linx: Palin's 'Death Panel'

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

Democrats continue 'listening' tour: GWP
Community organizer: “Get in their face”: Surber
Congress is playing us for fools: MYODBP

Our Unconstitutional Census: WSJ
Palin's 'Death Panel' remark: AT (Feldman)
Obama as Wizard of Oz: AT (Lewis)

Michigan crowd vents health care fury: Times
Don't fret your 'fishy' complaints about health care reform: PJM (Feldman)
Pelosi/Hoyer - Obamacare Protesters "Un-American": CF

An Inconvenient Truth About The "Death Panel": LegalIns

Economy

The Exploding Cost of ObamaCare: WSJ
Fannie Mae: We have $900 billion in troubled loans: Zero Hedge
The Wheel of Misfortune: PJM

Cash for Clunkers Driving Up Prices: LegalIns
Killing it (private health insurance) softly: Times
Cash for Clunkers Bust: Riehl

Climate & Energy

Long debate ended over cause, demise of ice ages: Science
Climate data: top secret!: PJM (Tipler)

Media

Clinically insane commentator compares protestors to Hezbollah: GWP
Mitch Albom Dissected: BlogProf
Cynthia Tucker At MSNBC: 45-65% Of Townhall Protesters Are Racists: BlogProf

World

There is a military option for Iran: WSJ
Analysis: Arab States 'Just Say No' to Normalization: Spyer
Just in time for Cuba's toilet paper shortage: Prairie

Chávez: Israeli Foreign Minister “a thug”, claims Colombia is ready to attack Venezuela: Fausta

Cornucopia

The education of a Nigerian in Georgia: PJM (Shelton)

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Tombstone of the Republic


The Bad sent this one in.



ObamaCare, For The Faint of Heart


Dan from New York writes:

The media has changed the subject from the high costs and negatives consequences of ObamaCare to the alleged ill manners, tsk, tsk, of some of its opponents at town hall meetings. According to Keith Olbermann some people are shouting.

Can you imagine?

Fair enough. For those of us who never raise our voices and insist on keeping our napkins in our laps, here and here are two videos featuring two decorous gentlemen in coat and tie quietly discussing the freakin’ socialist disaster Obama is trying to shove down our freakin’ throats!

That's the problem with Dan. His opinions are too guarded and ambivalent.

Real Cars of Genius














Update: Stupid Cars.

Via: TAB, Failblog, There, I fixed it and Vera.

Larwyn's Linx: Are you paying attention now?

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email or reply via Twitter.

Nation

Are you paying attention now?: Greenroom
An Inconvenient Truth About The "Death Panel": LegalIns
Nancy and the Astroturfers: LATL

Nancy's 'Nazis': AT (Lewis)
ACORN, Union Thugs Ruffle Feathers At Town Halls: 760 KFMB
GA: Democrat yells at local doctor over health care: Times

Economy

The Secret Side of David Axelrod: BizWk (3/14/2008)
The History of the Stock Market: Mint
The SEIU's 'Investments': Atlas

Climate & Energy

Lawmakers' Global-Warming Trip Hits All The Tourist Hot Spots: WSJ
Environmental Costs of the Auto Bailout: Instapundit

Media

Disinformation: FreeLight
Dobbs vs Olbermann: Lou Takes the Gloves Off!: OlbyWatch
White House collection of 'fishy' info may be illegal: Fox

John Dingell (D-MI): "Healthcare Bill Won't Fund Abortions." AP: "Oh, Yes It Will!": BlogProf
OzyBama Will Meet The Same Fate: Kesler
Mark Levin: Obama Should be "Held Accountable" if Anti-ObamaCare Protesters are Harmed: FreeLight

Remember when protest was patriotic?: Reynolds
SOS: Cold Fury

World

What to expect from Obama's dentist office: Kesler
The Chutzpah of the NJDC: PJM (Benoit)
Prospects dim for Obama's Mexican firearms treaty: Times

Gilder Throws Down a Gauntlet: The Israel Test: RCP (Charen)
Honduras has won: IBD

SciTech

Tough material, 1 atom thick, has scientists abuzz: Times-Dispatch
NBA star's Twitter ID crisis rebounds on him and the site: CNet
Carrier Wars: Sprint speed test results: BGR

Cornucopia

Posters: Do Not Spread Fishy Rumors: Cube
Spinning out of control: ATO
Mine Fuhrer: AmDig

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Good news: U.S. goes bankrupt in October unless debt limit is raised to $12.1 trillion


The bill for Barack Obama's massive spending packages -- all approvingly passed by Nancy Pelosi's Democrat Congress -- has come due. The nonsensical $787 billion "Stimulus" package that failed to spur unemployment. The pork-filled budget, criticized by almost every economist because it quadrupled the deficit. The dozens of bizarre, extravagant expenditures such as $200 million for three Gulfstream jets to ferry Congressional royalty around the world. Millions in "bonuses" and "spending money" for Congress and staffers.

These irresponsible bureaucrats have now endangered the full faith and credit of the United States government with the most reckless spending frenzy in history.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner formally requested that Congress raise the $12.1 trillion statutory debt limit on Friday, saying that it could be breached as early as mid-October.

"It is critically important that Congress act before the limit is reached so that citizens and investors here and around the world can remain confident that the United States will always meet its obligations," Geithner said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that was obtained by Reuters.

No cuts in the size of government: it keeps growing.

No cuts in the spending by government: it keeps growing.

The latest request comes as the Treasury is ramping up borrowing to unprecedented levels to fund stimulus and financial bailout programs and cope with a deep recession that has devastated tax revenues.

Tax revenues were destroyed by the Democrats' Politburo approach to managing the economy. Central planning, Soviet-style has never worked. Never!

Only tax cuts, unleashing the full entrepreneurial genius of the American economy, will allow the economy to grow.

Only tax cuts, freeing businesses and individuals to hire, invent, invest, manufacture, create and innovate, will work.

But in good times and bad, these irresponsible Democrats are destroying the economic future of this country.

And they're doing it on purpose. There can be no other explanation.

Why was the United States founded in the first place? Because brave men threw off the yoke of an out-of-control, monolithic government that taxed, regulated and strangled a young colony. The progressives, the Statists and the Democrats appear to have forgotten that lesson.

Habla Astroturf?


Looking at the Left has must-see coverage of Nancy Pelosi's visit to Denver, where anti-ObamaCare protesters faced paid hacks rustled up by "Organizing for America". OFA is Barack Obama's personal "army" of supporters (as an aside, has any President in the history of the Republic had his own personal cadre of supporters that is completely separate from his political party?).

An excerpt from this long, fascinating post:

...[the area] is adjacent to Denver’s day laborer pickup street, Park Avenue. Being fluent in Spanish, El Marco asked these guys “¿hablan ingles?” “casi nada” was the reply from our amigo on the left. I asked him if he could tell me what the signs said. “¿Quien sabe?” (who knows?) was all he said to me, with a big grin. I’m kicking myself for not asking them how much they were getting paid to support the grassroots...

Take note of the lady [in black]. She is holding a sign that reads “Pants on Fire” with Pelosi’s image. The image is repeated three times on her sign. There are no other words. I left the event early but the photo below, from the Denver Post, shows what I missed. The astrozoid on the left below, with the HOPE T-shirt, decided that she didn’t like the Nancy Pants on Fire sign. Not a problem. Just grab it... [This picture shows the] woman in black struggl[ing] to maintain her free speech while calling for help from police nearby...

These two were taking a break while they waited for Nancy to emerge in her SUV. It’s nice when Democrats spend time with their children...

Now that's astroturf we can believe in!

Hat tip: Pundette.