
Yes, it's come to this.
The GOP Crappy Meal: It's Better Than Nothing!: MalkinQOTD: "He is dividing us as a nation. He's not bringing us together. He's willfully dividing us. He's petulant... He is not acting presidential. He is behaving in a way designed in my opinion to divide us, to make us look at each other with skepticism, with suspicion. That is the end of America as we know it. The destruction he is inflicting by his behavior will carry on long after we settle the debt limit." --Ken Langone, former director of the NYSE
The Obama Administration tomorrow will announce new auto efficiency regulations that will create stricter miles per gallon (mpg) standards for cars and light-duty trucks for the model years 2017–2025. The target would be an average of 54.5 mpg by 2025 standard, slightly down from the initial proposal of 56.2 mpg. White House press secretary Jay Carney said the new regulations will “result in significant cost savings for consumers at the pump, dramatically reduce oil consumption, cut pollution and create jobs.” As nice as all that sounds, this is bad news for the American consumer...
...The government acknowledges that increased fuel efficiency standards will increase the upfront cost of a vehicle... Higher prices reduce demand and force people to hold onto their older vehicles longer. Reduced demand means fewer cars produced, which means automakers have to shed jobs. The Michigan-based consulting firm Defour Group projected that a 56 mpg standard would destroy 220,000 jobs.
The Center for Automotive Research which warned that overly stringent standards could add $10,000 to the cost of a new car...
... [and] a 2002 National Academy of Sciences study concluded that CAFE’s downsizing effect contributed to between 1,300 and 2,600 deaths in a single representative year, and to 10 times that many serious injuries.
10. Hasbro’s “Spastic” TransformerPeople might think that such a long-standing company as Hasbro would do some elementary market research to make sure that their product names don’t have people staring at the toys in disbelief. Apparently not, as they decided to name one of their Transformer toys “Spastic with Stunticons” in 2010, apparently unaware that the term “spastic” is a derogatory term used in the United Kingdom to refer to people with disabilities. When contacted about this cross-cultural blunder, Hasbro denied ever having planned to release the toy in the UK — though some reports say such plans were scrapped. They declined to rename the figure in the US.
9. Primark’s Padded Bras for ChildrenThe cut-price UK fashion retailer, Primark, caused a wave of public outrage in 2010 when it emerged that they were selling padded bras and bikini tops for little girls. The products sparked calls for a boycott of the store and were widely condemned by those opposed to the sexualization of children, including parent groups and the British Prime Minister David Cameron. After a whole lot of angry recrimination, Primark not only stopped selling the clothing, but pledged to donate any profits they had made from this sexual targeting of children to charity.
8. Mattel’s Oreo BarbieA toy company partnering with a company that sells sugary treats might be seen as problematic in the first place, but Mattel took such a union into the realm of the unacceptable when they partnered with Nabisco’s Oreo cookies to produce a black Barbie back in 1997. Clearly there was not a single black or even somewhat socially aware person in the room when this decision was made, nor through the lengthy design and marketing stage. If there was, they probably would have mentioned that “Oreo” can be used as an ethnic slur to describe a black person who is “white in the middle.” The dolls were met with outrage and disbelief, and as soon as Mattel understood the nature of the problem, they quickly pulled all the Oreo Barbies from stores… and, one would hope, instituted racial sensitivity classes for their employees.
7. Twin Towers Attack ToysSomeone would have to be from another planet to not realize that they really shouldn’t make light of the September 11th terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. And yet, in 2004, toys depicting the attack and a man appearing to be Osama bin Laden at the Twin Towers began turning up in bags of candy. Consumers and Lisy Corp, the company that distributed the candy, were shocked. The distributor had bought the toys from an importer as part of a mixture, where the offending figures had been labeled as plastic swing sets. Lisy quickly sprang into action, recalling the candy, and doubtless directing extremely sharp words the manufacturers’ way.
6. Dick Tracy Tramp FigureOne of the action figures from the 1990 movie Dick Tracy depicted a character called “Steve the Tramp.” Somewhat insensitive already, this toy became downright offensive towards the homeless when parents read the packaging, which stated such nasty sentiments as “Ignorant bum… You’ll smell him before you see him,” and proclaiming him to be “Stinking up the city sewers.” At least one church leader contacted the manufacturers to explain to them why this was not the kind of thing children should be taught about the homeless, protests were held, and thankfully the manufacturers were shamed into withdrawing the product.
5. Mattel’s Teen Talk BarbieMattel has often been criticized by those who feel that Barbie gives little girls unrealistic ideas about women, but Teen Talk Barbie really took the biscuit. While each doll could only say four of a possible 270 phrases, there was a chance that they would say such harmfully stereotypical phrases as “Will we ever have enough clothes?”, “I love shopping!” and “Math class is tough!” This led to criticism from the American Association of University Women and was even satirized by the pop-culture institution that is The Simpsons. In a matter of months, Mattel altered production so that the phrase “Math class is tough!” was not part of any of the dolls’ verbal repertoire, and offered to swap any which had been programmed with it.
4. Morrisons’ Misspelled Toddler ToysEducating a child starts with teaching them to read. It’s one of the best things a parent can do for their child, so the last thing any parent needs is to be undermined by the learning tools on which they’ve shelled out their money. British supermarket Morrisons was left red-faced in 2009 when they discovered that educational toddler toys that were supposed to help small children with their letters and spelling were themselves rife with spelling errors (“yacht” misspelled as “yatch” and “umbrella” as “umberlla”). At first, the supermarket chain refused to withdraw the toys until existing stock had run out, but complaints from concerned parents forced them to pull them from the shelves and issue an apology.
3. Mattel’s Harry Potter Nimbus 2000 Vibrating BroomstickMattel were yet again in the firing line, this time for the release of a toy that sought to capitalize on Harry Potter mania
The idea of a real Harry Potter broomstick would appeal to any child, but one would have thought that Mattel might have realized that a long vibrating stick that was designed for children to put between their legs might raise some eyebrows. Tongue-in-cheek rave reviews for the product from adults quickly sprang up online, and a contrite Mattel pulled the vibrating broomsticks from the market.
2. Costco’s Cuddle With Me DollsDiversity in hiring isn’t just a good PR exercise; it can help stop companies from releasing products whose inappropriateness seems blindingly obvious to anyone with even an ounce of real-world experience. It’s shocking, then, that Costco didn’t realize that packaging a black doll (wearing a hat proclaiming it to be a “lil’ monkey”) with a small monkey teddy would cause concern and upset in the African-American community. They couldn’t even claim that the dolls simply liked monkeys, as no dolls representing other ethnicities were packaged with them (while panda bears were an equal-opportunity accessory). At first, many parents were simply shocked, but the growing outrage led to an apology from Costco and the dolls’ manufacturer as well as a recall of the product from stores.
1. Tesco’s Peekaboo Stripper PoleAnyone who does not believe that companies target children with inappropriately sexual toys should simply be pointed towards this product. While many women (and some men) are now taking up pole dancing as exercise, the fact is that it is still, and probably always will be, linked with stripping for money. In fact the Peekaboo Pole even comes with a “sexy garter” and fake money. After some pointed questions and utter disbelief from the media, parents and family organizations alike, British retail giant Tesco moved the product from the “Toy” to the “Fitness” section of their store, but refused to admit that they had targeted children, maintaining that it was for “adult use.” Funny that it was put in the “Toy” section then...
• Raise the debt ceiling with no real cuts - check...next time Obama or his allies in the press go back to the well and recite the well-worn verse that spending is all the other guy’s fault, take a look at the facts...President Obama has steered a fiscal course that will lead to more spending and deeper deficits and ultimately to vastly higher taxes...
...If you want to know the real cause of our deficits today, the answer lies primarily with Obama. If you want to know the real cause of our deficits in the near future, the answer lies in entitlement spending, which Obamacare increases.
Cut, Cap & Balance addressed both issues.
The Man Without a Plan: PJM
Historian Victor Davis Hanson is far more optimistic than I regarding the aftereffects of the impending debt implosion here in the U.S. We are approaching $15 trillion in national debt, which does not even take into account the $60+ trillion entitlement programs that will soon overtake our ability to pay. In that light, Hanson asks:...the dogma that a teenager with dyslexia or a mature man with a bum knee will receive years of Social Security disability benefits will be assessed as an historical aberration of the last twenty years. A decision by an insurance company or government agency that a 62-year old must settle for arthroscopic surgery on a chronically torn meniscus rather than a complete knee replacement will not be interpreted as social cruelty.
Almost everything that can be said has been said about illegal immigration — and about the sustainability and morality of millions of Mexican and Latin American nationals crossing the U.S. border unlawfully and plugging into the American entitlement system. But an insolvent state like California, despite the liberal protestations, cannot continue to house 50,000 Mexican nationals in its penal system at a per capita cost of nearly $35,000 a year, or to extend free tuition in its broke university system to those without legal residence, or to provide social services to illegal aliens that may well cost the state nearly $10 billion a year. Even to suggest such limits was once considered illiberal. Now, not to state the obvious — that those without education, English, and legality have been expecting far more than what they could contribute in return — will be considered derelict.
Rather than hand-written notes, here are a couple that you can print:
Of course, the notes don't have to be this fancy.A new report redoubles calls by oil and gas interests for the federal government to speed up permitting of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The report, issued Thursday by IHS Global Insight and sister energy research firm IHS CERA, says that oil and gas companies are ready to invest, and that faster approvals by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement could create 230,000 jobs nationwide in 2012. The report also warns that continued slow permitting will reduce domestic oil and gas production and could drive energy companies to shift their investments to other countries, permanently shrinking the American oil industry.
Environmentalists question whether the economic gains of faster permitting outweigh potential ecological and economic harm of additional oil spills. And the report may miss progress that has been made since spring. The study ended April 10, and federal officials have since approved a number of permits.
...A new report projects that the offshore oil and gas industry could create 230,000 jobs in 2012 if permitting is speeded up. Here's a look at jobs projected to be created in the top 11 states:1. Texas 73,944
2. Louisiana 68,319
3. California 14,292
4. New York 8,809
5. Florida 7,497
6. Illinois 6,069
7. Mississippi 5,440
8. Pennsylvania 5,214
9. Ohio 4,539
10. Georgia 3,975
11. Alabama 3,353
Source: IHS Global Insight and IHS CERAThe report says 3,400 jobs could be created in Alabama, 11th-most among the states, and 5,400 jobs could be created in Mississippi, seventh-most. About 60 percent of jobs would flow to Louisiana and Texas, where the offshore drilling industry is concentrated. However, the authors emphasized that employment benefits would spread nationwide.
Unbeknownst to most who live outside the Beltway, there's a silent and furious battle being waged over control of the Republican Party. Earlier this week, arms were being twisted and talking points disseminated in support of House Speaker John Boehner's erstwhile "compromise" plan. You know, the one that cut roughly 0.02% of discretionary spending in 2012.One week ago the entire conservative movement was unified behind Cut, Cap, and Balance [CCB] as was both House and Senate GOP caucus — no small feat to be sure.
Then, because Harry Reid denied CCB a vote through a procedural motion, John Boehner produces a crackpot plan that rips the conservative movement apart at the seams and after taking two stabs at it, still can’t get to the promised $1.2 trillion in cuts he initially claimed it would have.
The bill is being whipped against by Pelosi (which CCB was not) and will likely draw less Dem support than CCB. The bill is said by Reid to be DOA in the Senate.
But Boehner believes that it is strategically smarter to die on this hill and force it down Senate Dems throats rather than try to do that on a bill in which he has the support of all his members, all the movement, and 66 percent of the American people.
These people need to be put in a mental ward.
Precisely.
How Obama Caused The Debt, Downgrade Crisis: RiehlQOTD: "With respect, Rich, your correspondent needs to get out of the House more. The $7 billion that he calls “a real, enforceable cut for FY2012″ represents what the Government of the United States currently borrows every 37 hours.
If the CBO’s scoring is correct – that it reduces the 2012 deficit by just $1 billion – then the ”cut” represents what the United States borrows every five hours and 20 minutes. In other words, in the time it takes to photocopy and distribute Boehner’s “plan”, the savings have all been borrowed back." --Mark Steyn





The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data from 2009.
These lopsided wealth ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009.
How are all of those social engineering programs, ostensibly designed to create "equality of outcome", doin'?After bobbing-and-weaving for nine minutes, Carney finally says what everybody knows: the president won’t put his plan on paper because he doesn’t want it to become “politically charged” before a compromise can be reached. In other words, you’ve got to pass it to find out what’s in it......So POTUS doesn’t have a plan, as such. The Republicans, for their part, have several. But the president’s senior advisers are recommending that he veto the latest.

How did we get to this point?
It's almost like the Medicare Actuaries don't exist; the CBO doesn't exist; all of the economists who've warned that the deficit spending is unsustainable don't exist. Only within the Times' progressive reality field do Obama's massive deficits make fiscal sense.
They Just Aren't Serious: RSQOTD: "“He’s an ex-Marine. He doesn’t put up with a whole lot of nothing.” --Kenneth Kobobel, Jr., describing how his father ran down and killed an armed man who had pointed a gun in his face and robbed him
John Podesta, one of Barack Obama's key 2008 campaign advisers, has laid the "D" card on the table.The U.S. Constitution and the laws of our nation grant the president significant authority to make and implement policy... The ability of President Obama to accomplish important change through these powers [including executive orders and armed forces] should not be underestimated [in] continuing to make progress.
America must balance and integrate all elements of our national power. We can not continue to push the burden onto our military alone, or leave dormant any aspect of the arsenal of American capability. That's why my administration is committed to renewing diplomacy as a tool of American power and developing our civilian national security capabilities.
In July of 2008, Jim Lindren noted a couple of peculiar sentences in a Barack Obama speech.In Barack Obama’s July 2, 2008 speech calling America to national service, Obama proposed “a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as our military... This has prompted some in the blogosphere to raise the specter of a huge new domestic paramilitary organization...
[Obama said] "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
Class warfare! Corporate jet owners! Hedge fund managers! Millionaires and billionaires! Oil companies!
Radical Republicans holding the entire country hostage!
Blame Bush: inherited this crisis... made crisis better... economy is awesome now, and the Republicans are ruining it!
Balanced approach!Balanced!
I will lead from behind!
And may Allah bless these 57 states of America.
Fore!