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February, 2012

FLORIDA SUN RISES FOR MITT ... IS SANTORUM THE NEXT NEWT?
... POLS FLUNKING TUNE TEST

With Romney's big win in Florida and Gingrich's desperate flailing becoming more obvious, the door may -- MAY -- be opening for Santorum to be the next -- and probably final -- not-Romney candidate.

The major polls, by the way, were mostly right about the Florida outcome.

Ron Paul will doubtless stay in the race but not with any hope of winning. If it's even fairly close to a tight race between Romney and ... somebody ... Cong. Paul obviously hopes to trade his delegate votes for a promise of support on some of his key issues.

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The latest handicapping from the Rasmussen poll ...
    Daily Presidential Tracking Poll: Obama 47% Romney 42%.
    Daily Presidential Tracking Poll: Obama 50% Gingrich 37%.

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Jon Corzine, Obama buddy and supporter, was head of MF Global, the big brokerage that went bust with $1.2 billion of customers' money unaccounted for. This might be a clue as to where some of it went. The Obama campaign's own website shows that Corzine raised a half-million dollars for the Big O's 2012 campaign.

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Jonah Goldberg in the LA Times suggests the real reason for Democrat hysteria over Obama's self-provoked dust-up with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer ...
     "As even some Democrats in Washington concede, Obama can't run on his record. That's why he's running against a 'do-nothing Congress' and unfairness in the tax code. That's simply not exciting enough for his supporters, particularly given the fizzling of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
     "And nothing excites the base of the Democratic Party — or gets more free media — than wildly implausible hysterics over racism, even when there's so little evidence to support the claim."

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Survey says ... these are some events Americans would miss rather than not watch the Super Bowl game ...
     21% would play hooky from work.
     20% would skip a close friend's wedding.
     19% would miss the funeral of a loved one.
...AND...
     15% of men would miss their own child’s birth for the Super Bowl.

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Burt Prelutsky addresses the obsessive fear that grips ...
     "... liberals, every time you hear one of them wail against photo IDs for voters, you know what they are really grousing about is that it would make it harder to cheat at election time. As usual, they, along with Eric Holder, try to pass off their criminal activities as compassion for young people and members of the black and Hispanic communities, pretending that photo IDs would disenfranchise millions of potential voters. On the face of it, it’s such blatant hypocrisy that only born liars and cheaters like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, would even pay it lip service.
     "After all, as everyone knows, photo IDs are required if you want to drive a car, get on a plane or buy a six-pack of Bud. But the other day, the liberals in the Illinois legislature drove the point home when they passed a state law requiring that anyone who wanted to buy drain cleaner or any other caustic substance provide a photo ID.
     "While it figures that in Illinois, the state where governors regularly wind up in jail and dead people get to continue voting for Democrats, honest elections would not be a priority. Still, even in Chicago, it requires a monumental dose of cynicism to suggest that maintaining eternal vigilance over the sanctity of the hardware store trumps that of the voting booth."

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California's chief bean-counter, Controller (Comptroller) John Chiang says the state's money-well goes dry in less than six weeks. What else could be expected in a state whose voters persist in electing crazy people?

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When will Republican campaign organizations learn to research the music they use for campaign songs?
     Now it's Gingrich being sued by the owner of the theme song from the Movie "Rocky III" for unauthorized use. Earlier examples of bungled song choices: "Born in the USA", picked by someone in the Reagan campaign organization in 1984. Anyone who'd ever heard it knew it actually carried a vitriolic anti-war message.
     McCain was forced by the composer to stop using "My Hero".
     If memory serves correctly, it was one of the Bush Sr. campaigns that used "The Best of Times," until someone finally noticed that the bouncy song from "La Cage Aux Folles" was virtually the national anthem of the gay movement.
     Perhaps it would be wise for every presidential campaign team to hire an old Top-Forty disc-jockey as a consultant to prevent embarrassment.

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James Robbins, Senior editorial writer for the Washington Times, with a reminder of the delusion that is/was the "Arab spring" ...
     "A minority group’s neighborhood was torched because of a perceived slight to a woman belonging to the majority. No, it isn’t the Old South; it’s the New Egypt.
     "Violence ensued last Friday in the town of Kobry el-Sharbat when a rumor spread that Mourad Samy Guirgis, a Coptic Christian, had an 'intimate picture' of a Muslim woman on his cell-phone. Rioters looted and burned shops and homes of local Copts. Mr. Guirgis fled to the police for protection. Military units were dispatched to quell the disturbance, but they were slow to respond. By the time they had arrived the damage was done. Similar attacks on Coptic communities are a weekly occurrence."

More murderous Muslim maniacs. But, of course, libs and the Big Media would have us believe, as always, such events are "exceptions", since Muslims are peaceful. After all, didn't even George W. Bush try to gull us into believing that "Islam means peace?"

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One of the standard measures for economic growth is monthly freight-car loadings.
Compared with the just-released statistic showing alcohol consumption by Americans is up by 2.7%, there's an obvious conclusion: More people than freight cars are getting loaded.

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Marina e-mails from Idaho ...
     Great post about no global warming!  Talked about it a lot this morning with my husband, Tom, (also a fan and reader of your blog) and he came up with this gem: "There is no evidence of man-made global warming,  just man-made evidence."

Perfect.

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World Net Daily about a persistent challenge to Obama's legitimacy in office ...
     "An administrative law judge in Georgia could decide as early as this week whether voters in the state convinced him Barack Obama’s name should be removed from the 2012 presidential ballot because he is not qualified to hold the office.
     "But win, lose or draw, the fight isn’t going to be over, as other cases are erupting across the nation, with challenges being raised anew even in Obama’s own adopted political network in Illinois.
     "Whatever the outcome in Georgia, the issue is gaining traction in other states, too, including Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona, New Hampshire, and even Illinois, Obama’s home political base."

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More media mangling of the language ...
     You see it often in print: reference to someone being given "free REIGN". Wrong.  It's "free REIN". Meaning not being controlled by reins, as a horse might be directed.  Reign is the period of power exercised by royalty.

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Twenty-one-year-old  Dalton Pierson was visiting a friend's apartment in Bremerton, Washington, then left and mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment ... peed on the floor ... then climbed into bed with an 80-year-old woman.
     Authorities believe alcohol may have been involved.

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A profundity from Katherine ...
      "Don't worry about old age--it doesn't last that long."

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Reader Sam with a classic ...
     A woman who had been married three times walked into a bridal shop one day and told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her fourth wedding.
     "Of course, madam," replied the sales clerk, "exactly what type and color dress are you looking for?"
     The bride-to-be said: "A long frilly white dress with a veil."
     The sales clerk hesitated a bit, then said, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate for brides who are being married the first time - for those who are a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean? Perhaps ivory or sky blue would be nice?"
     "Well," replied the customer, a little peeved at the clerk's directness, "I can assure you that a white gown would be quite appropriate. Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain as innocent as a first-time bride. You see, my first husband was so excited about our wedding, he died as we were checking into our hotel.”
     "My second husband and I got into such a terrible fight in the limo on our way to our honeymoon that we had that wedding annulled immediately and never spoke to each other again."
     "What about your third husband?" asked the sales clerk.
     "That one was a Democrat," said the woman, "and every night for four years, he just sat on the edge of the bed and told me how good it was going to be, but nothing ever happened."
"POOR" POLITICKING ...
CALIFORNIA CRAZINESS CONTINUES...
GIVING UP--AGAIN

It is illustrative of the low opinion of the American voter obviously held by both Newt Gingrich and the Obama claque that they expect to exploit a blatantly out-of-context partial quote by Mitt Romney to their advantage. Romney's remark about the poor already having a safety-net whose defects could be fixed was selectively edited by Newt and Barack in a clumsy effort to present Romney as uncaring.  Shameless.  Or, to use Gingrich's favorite word, "Fundamentally ... a lie."

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So Donald Trump is expected to endorse Gingrich today.  Has Ryan Seacrest been heard from yet?

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A warning sign to watch. The Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll, which asks people if they strongly approve or disapprove of Obama's performance as president has been negative toward the incumbent for a long time, but the margin continues to slowly shrink. There's been a 20-plus point gap on the "disapprove" side. Now it's down to a 12% margin, with 25% strongly approving, 37% strongly disapproving.
     This trend may stop when the Republican primary-race bloodletting stops. Or it may not.

Let me state it again: If the Republican Party somehow finds a way to lose an election to the worst president in history (smile, Jimmy Carter) it should disband. Go out of business. Forever. Make room for a return of the Whigs. Or somebody.

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Now that the Obama administration has leaked the unsurprising news that we're going to effectively quit and give up on Afghanistan NEXT YEAR -- and remember, this is the war Obama and the Democrats said we should be engaging more forcefully, rather than the Iraq conflict -- we have reached the time ... again ... when Americans who have lost loved ones or seen them mutilated, to ask, "For what?" The answer, of course, is, "For absolutely nothing."
     As was the case in Iraq, the Obama maladministration has announced to the enemy, "We're going to quit and let you win in a year or so. Meantime, just kill or maim some more of our people, secure in the knowledge that you're going to prevail in the end."
     Time repeat the mantra: "We truly do ... live in a land run by morons." Morons who've forgotten history's lesson that, if you're going to get into a war, it is essential to get in it to win it. Totally and completely, with all goals fulfilled. If you're not willing to do that, don't get involved in the first place.
     It is also time to revisit another dismaying reality. With the exception of a couple of minor skirmishes in Panama and Grenada, the United States has not won a serious war since World War II. Sixty-seven years ago.
     Korea, still unresolved by an actual peace treaty, got thousands of Americans killed for what, at best, could be called a tie and North Korea is still run by a murderous dictatorship, now nuclear-armed.  Vietnam was a give-up loss in a war we should never have entered.  Iraq appears to be sinking back into the abyss.  And now we've told the world we're going to bury our dead and quit in Afghanistan.  
     Next, Obama plans to further reduce our military by cutting men and women who will find it difficult -- or impossible -- to find work in the jobless economy he continues to cripple. Thus, instead of paying those men and women to be part of a potentially vital defense force, he will send them unemployment checks.
     Time to re-read the history of the collapse of the Roman Empire? Yes.

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Paul Greenberg visits a dismal recurring theme ...
     "It happens every between-the-wars period. It happened in the 1920s and '30s, then in the post-war 1940s. ... Now it's happening again in the 2010s. War-weariness sets in. A new chorus of isolationist voices arises. America cuts back on its defenses. Which explains why these are between-the-wars periods. American weakness invites the next war. The way appeasement invites aggression.
     "We never seem to learn. The dream never dies. It is reborn after every war. Now it's Ron Paul's turn to revive it.
     "If we'll just smile at our enemies, offer an outstretched hand in peace-and-friendship, all will be well.
     "The end of the dream can come abruptly. As on December 7, 1941. Or on June 25, 1950, when the Korean War was suddenly upon us. Or in our time, September 11, 2001.
For the moment, this administration dreams on. Want peace and security? Show our enemies they have nothing to fear from us. Reach out to the forces of tyranny in the world. If that doesn't work, and it hasn't under this administration, why, cutting our defense budget surely will.
     "Yes, standing up to threats can be dangerous, too.  Almost as dangerous as not standing up to them."

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Today's serious food for thought ... at National Review Online ... "A Campaign Dictionary," by Victor Davis Hanson.
     It'll make you an even more thoughtful voter.

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The utterly incompetent boob in the White House is running us another trillion dollars into debt, and the Democrat hyenas in Congress shout, "More spending!"  Meantime, as the fruit of another Government Motors brainstorm, the Detroit News reports that in the month of January, GM sold exactly 603 of their Volt electric cars. In the entire month. In the entire nation. Even with huge government subsidies for the overpriced piece of flaming junk.

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And the winner of the Deranged Chutzpah award, with a capital CH, is Democrat Congressleech Jim Moran of Virginia.  Moran is white and calls Congressman Allen West, Republican of Florida and black, "not representative of the African American community."
     Like you'd know, race-monger!

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Economics professor Walter Williams addresses the increasingly obvious use of race by Obama in the effort to continue his failed presidency and the assistance given by black members of Congress ...
     "Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said white presidents must be "pushed a great deal more" to address black unemployment than would a black president. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said that argument over the debt ceiling is proof of racial animosity toward Obama. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said that Republicans are trying to deny blacks the vote. Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., said the tea party wishes to lynch blacks and hang them from trees. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Perry's job creation in Texas is "one stage away from slavery."
     "Should Obama lose, I wouldn't put it past leftists, progressives, the news media and their race-hustling allies, as well as the president, to fan the fires of hate and dissension by charging that racists somehow stole the election, thereby giving support and excuses for the kind of violence and lawlessness that we've witnessed in flash mobs and Occupy Wall Street riots."
     -- (Professor Williams is black. His full column is at Townhall.com) --

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The American public has repeatedly rejected one-dollar coins, yet some dopes in the U.S. Congress refuse to learn the lesson. The latest crackpot attempt to replace the dollar bill with a heavy coin are Senators Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, and John McCain, loser from Arizona.
     The country must have no real problems, since two Senators have nothing more important to do than try to revive a stupid and repeatedly rejected currency-killing plot.

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Argentina's president Christina Kirchner, recently re-elected, must fear the ultimate consequences of her Peronist (i.e., fascist) economic policies, because she's again beating the nationalistic war drums over Britain's possession in the South Atlantic, the Falkland Islands.  Perhaps she's hoping that her citizens have forgotten the total butt-kicking they received the last time they tried to invade that desolate cluster of islands. Or perhaps her overload of makeup has caused some destructive chemical to penetrate her brain. The woman looks like a character in a John Waters movie.

By the way, I've been to the Falklands. One tip: don't bother.

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Don Cornelius is dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his California home. I worked briefly with Don at WIND in Chicago where he was a newscaster. He obviously had larger projects in mind, and brought a big one to fruition as the creator of "Soul Train", which quickly developed a huge black television audience.
     No early indication why he chose to end his life. He was 75.

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Kenneth Green of the American Enterprise Institute takes on the latest California silliness ...
     "Once again, the regulators in California have decided to lead the nation in terms of vehicle emission standards, proposing to require that 15.4 percent of all vehicles sold by 2025 must be electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars, or (currently non-existent) fuel cell cars.
     "In case you're wondering why this all sounds familiar, it's because California is re-running the same delusional program that it ran in 1990 (Yes, 22 years ago) when "Specifically, the Air Resources Board (ARB) required that at least 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of new car sales be zero-emitting by 1998, 2001 and 2003 respectively."
      "At the time, battery-car rent-seekers were putting out the same propaganda that they are today: that electric cars will produce jobs, and that mandates can "force" technology to evolve exactly as planners want it to.
     "It is long past time (about 100 years past) that planners drop the fatal conceit that they can plan the automobile market, predict technologies, predict consumer preferences, and pick winning and losing technologies in the marketplace. Of course, then they'd have to find a real job."

For the record, the company that was trying to develop cars powered by fuel cells has quit the effort.

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Eight of the ten cities with the highest rate of unemployment in the nation are in California. Yet the electorate in the formerly-Golden State continues to vote lunatics into office.

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Reader Dan contributes ...
     While suturing  a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, whose hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his role as our president.
     The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'Post Turtle''.  
     Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
     The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.
      The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain.
"You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, he's elevated beyond his ability to function, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there to begin with."

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Re yesterday's item about ill-chosen campaign songs, Wes adds ...
     "Some advertisers could also use a little sense in picking their songs.  I believe it is State Farm using the theme song from Cheers, a bar, to advertise their car insurance."

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Conan O'Brien --
     “Obama goes for the youth vote answering young peoples’ questions on YouTube. As result, Obama's new poll numbers are 55% ‘LOL’ and 45% ‘Totally Gay.’”

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Cindy Adams (NY Post) caught it ...
     "Costa Cruises, in the wake of its Concordia having crashed, sunk, lost passengers and its captain arrested for being quick into a lifeboat and abandoning ship, recently mailed a promotional pitch to American Express card-holders. It reads: 'IMMERSE yourself in a truly European experience.'  It also says: 'Costa Concordia’s next sailing date is February 25.'
     Wanta bet?

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# How do they serve alcoholic drinks on Italian cruise ships?   - On the rocks.
# What vegetables do you get with dinner on Italian cruise ships?  - Leeks.
# What's the fastest way to get off an Italian cruise ship?  -  Follow the captain.
# The Costa Concordia is probably the most expensive thing to go down in Italy since (former Prime Minister) Berlusconi's last hooker.
        -- Thanks, Dan! --
GINGRICH GOOFY OVER TRUMP ...  OBAMA BACK-STABBING ISRAEL
... HOLDER HANGING ON?

Why did Gingrich's campaign people put out word that they expected Trump to endorse their increasingly erratic and obviously flailing candidate, only to wind up with him -- and them -- ending the day with egg on their faces?
     Newt's steady fall in the polls has to be a symptom of more Americans recalling or realizing the kind of manic behavior that led to his first downfall as Republican leader in the House. It's becoming more and more obvious that this political Lazarus is unlikely to rise from the dead a second time.
     Romney's hardly an ideal candidate  (IS there such a creature?)  but he isn't prone to the kind of goofiness that's become the trademark of the Gingrich campaign. And it ill-behooves a man with a half-million-dollar line of credit at Tiffany to keep the lovely Callista decorated with jewelry to take pot-shots at someone else's wealth. Especially wealth not accumulated via government connections, unlike that of the former Speaker of the House.

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Is a Trump endorsement a blessing or a curse? If anything, probably the latter. But Romney would have doubtless thought it would be rude to refuse to join the hair-apparent onstage.
     I repeat: Has Ryan Seacrest yet been heard from?  I, for one, will be heavily influenced by his view. And those of Kim Kardashian. And Snooki, from "Jersey Shore". And PeeWee Herman ...

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R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. of The American Spectator offers his analysis of the Newt Gingrich implosion in Florida ...
     "Newt's failure is part of a larger failure, the infantilism of the 1960s generation. In his narcissism, impulsiveness, and deviancy he is at one with the Clintons. Mitt, and for that matter Santorum, are just the opposite. They are straight arrows and duty-bound. They would not be a riot of scandals in the White House, but is it not about time that we leave the scandals to Hollywood?
     "This country is facing its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. President Obama offers us what Romney calls Crony Capitalism. Romney is right and Crony Capitalism means more Solyndras. Congressman Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has served up a budget to cure the nation's ills and head us on a course that will not end like Greece has ended. Romney is not far from the Ryan budget and he can move even closer. Newt can be forgotten."

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Would anyone be surprised if the beleaguered Attorney General Eric Holder, biased and incompetent even beyond the standards of the ludicrous Janet Reno of Clinton-era infamy, decides to resign "to spend more time with my family" before the election?  He's one of the higher-profile embarrassments of the Obama regime.

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You might want to keep this in mind as there will be a continuing line of polls taken and emerging as the presidential season heats up.  The polls that came closest to predicting the Republican primary outcome in Florida, all within two percentage points or less, were Rasmussen, Quinnipiac, Survey USA and Marist.

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     "On the campaign trail Mr. Gingrich regularly asks people to vote for him because he can out-debate President Obama. But it turns out that Florida Republicans aren't even convinced that he can out-debate Mr. Romney.
      "Either that, or people are less concerned with rhetorical skills per se than Mr. Gingrich realizes. We already have a president who talks a good game. The problem is that he's all talk. The Florida results indicate, among other things, and a large chunk of the GOP electorate is wary of another blowhard-in-chief.  Beating Mr. Obama in November will require more than being able to turn a phrase or engage in name-calling. Given that the next debate isn't until Feb. 22 in Arizona, Mr. Gingrich has plenty of time before then to show us his other qualifications."
     -- Jason L. Riley, Political Diary, Wall Street Journal --

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Why is the Obama administration, with a consistent history of pandering to the murderous Muslim regimes of the Middle-East, getting specific about the time-span during which it expects Israel to attack Iran's nuclear weapons facilities? The first and obvious answer is that it's a crude attempt to pre-empt such an attack by a nation regularly threatened with extinction. What does the Marxist-leaning, Muslim-favoring president expect Israel to do? Quietly await its own destruction?

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 Thomas Sowell reminds us how the mindless American voter let the barbarians inside the gates ...
      "The current Occupy Wall Street movement is the best illustration to date of what President Barack Obama's America looks like. It is an America where the lawless, unaccomplished, ignorant and incompetent rule.
      "It is an America where those who have sacrificed nothing pillage and destroy the lives of those who have sacrificed greatly. It is an America where history is rewritten to honor dictators, murderers and thieves.
      "It is an America where humans have been degraded to the level of animals: of defecating in public, having sex in public, devoid of basic hygiene.
     "It is the America that Obama and the Democrat Party have now created with all the willing assistance of the American media, Hollywood, unions, universities, the Communist Party of America, the Black Panthers and numerous anti-American foreign entities.
      "Barack Obama has brought more destruction upon this country in three years than any other event in the history of our nation, but it is just the beginning of what he and his comrades are capable of."
 
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It now costs $450 to renounce your U.S. citizenship. That's the cost of the paperwork involved, according to the State Department. If America's voters choose to continue the plague that now overhangs Washington, it may increasingly appear to be a worthwhile investment.

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Can Ron Paul really believe that the "plight" of Hispanics in the U.S. today is comparable to that of Jews in Nazi Germany? Really? As Mark Krikorian, head of the Center for Immigration Studies puts it in NRO ...
     "While his campaign website says, sensibly enough, 'Enforce Border Security — America should be guarding her own borders and enforcing her own laws instead of policing the world and implementing UN mandates,' he said in his speech that he doesn’t want “barbed-wire fences and guns on our border.” What’s he going to guard the borders with, lollipops and unicorns? If you want truly open, unmonitored borders, like between North and South Dakota, then say so. But to call for enforcement of the borders, and then oppose the means to do so, is just gibberish."

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Good news. Peyton Manning has been cleared  by doctors to play football again. Count on it: it won't be for the Colts.

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Going to be a busy day. Returning those Groundhog Day gifts, you know ...

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Marjie contributes a classic test consisting of two questions ...
      Question 1:
If you knew a woman who was pregnant,
Who had 8 kids already,
Three who were deaf,
Two who were blind,
One mentally retarded,
And she had syphilis,
Would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.

     Question 2:
It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three candidates.

     Candidate A:
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
     Candidate B:
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.
     Candidate C:
He is a decorated war hero, a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never committed adultery.

Which of these candidates would be our choice?

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B is Winston Churchill.
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question:
If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven.

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Conan O'Brien --
    "The government may be legally required to release the video of Osama bin Laden's killing. President Obama said this would be unhelpful, inflammatory, and 'Could you please release it two days before the election?'"

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The latest communique from the Sky-guy ...
     My wife and I were downtown last night, we walked past a swanky new restaurant, called "Six Chairs with One Missing"
     My wife said as we approached, "Honey, did you smell that food?"  The aroma is over the top, makes my mouth water."
     Being the nice guy that I am, I thought, "Well what the heck, I'll treat her!"
     So we walked past it again.
ISRAEL ATTACK SOON? -- OR SOONER? ... YOUNG & DUMB
... THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE SHAKEDOWN

Since the Obama administration, in an apparent effort to forestall an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, has leaked (thru Leon Panetta) a probable spring timetable for such an attack, it shouldn't be a surprise if Israel decided to advance that timetable and hit much sooner.  The morning news may get very interesting tomorrow ... or next week ... or ....

One might ask what kind of idiot would you have to be to believe it's possible to reason with a nation run by the likes of Ayatollah Khamenei, the REAL boss of Iran, who says things like, “In light of the realization of the divine promise by almighty God, the Zionists and the Great Satan (America) will soon be defeated.”  The answer, of course, is ... one like Barack Obama, who's either so dumb he refuses to recognize the threat or, alternatively, secretly supports the destruction of Israel, the only democracy in that Godforsaken part of the world.

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What??!! The Iranian madman, Ahmadenijad, is calling for a "new world order"? Who's advising him? George Bush, Sr.?

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With the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reporting that federal government employees are paid almost 50% more than workers in the private sector for the same work, it is vividly clear that the alliance between Democrat politicians and government employee unions is based on the premise that these "public servants" have a vested interested in living much better than the peasants who pay the taxes and support them ... and have a right to do so.
     Want a look at the REAL one percent? Take a look at this coterie! But it's a lot larger than one percent.

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How can Nancy Pelosi profess her Catholicism while simultaneously supporting a government policy that would force Catholic institutions like hospitals to provide abortion-inducing products and services to employees? Can hypocrisy possibly be more blatant?

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The gutless Komen Foundation will do as it chooses in the matter of support for Planned Parenthood, but in the interest of candor, let's at least be honest enough to call PP what it is: an abortion mill camouflaged as a "women's health" service.

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More on hypocrisy ...
I'll be willing to listen to Warren Buffett's views on taxes after he pays the long-overdue millions in taxes owed by his Berkshire Hathaway company.

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One factor in my choosing to leave San Francisco, which I affectionately call "the world's largest outdoor lunatic asylum," and moving to  Arizona ten years ago is reflected the latest Rasmussen poll, which has Romney with double the support of nutty Newt-the-moon-man, 48% to 24%. That doesn't mean there's unlimited affection for Mitt; just a widespread determination that Obama shall not be re-elected with Arizona votes.

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Jonah Goldberg (Townhall.com) with words of comfort to those who fear having to "settle" for Romney ...
     "A President Romney would be on a very short leash. A President Gingrich would probably chew through his leash in the first 10 minutes of his presidency and wander off into trouble. If elected, Romney must follow through for conservatives and honor his vows to repeal ObamaCare, implement Rep. Paul Ryan's agenda, and stay true to his pro-life commitments.
     "Moreover, Romney is not a man of vision. He is a man of duty and purpose. He was told to "fix" health care in ways Massachusetts would like. He was told to fix the 2002 Olympics. He was told to create Bain Capital. He did it all. The man does his assignments.
     "In this light, voting for Romney isn't a betrayal, it's a transaction."

- - - - -

The recurring quadrennial chorus of complaint grows louder and louder from Republicans frustrated because their candidates seem bent on destroying each other and, it is feared, the party's chance to regain the White House.
     Such complaining is, as always, an exercise in wheel-spinning.  Despite their virtues, real or imagined, people who seek the most powerful office in the world are not likely to be modest shrinking violets imbued with an abundance of good sportsmanship.  They are ambitious and power-seeking, for reasons good or evil, on a scale most of us mere mortals cannot imagine.
     To believe that, having set out upon such an ambitious project, they are going to decline the use of whatever weapons come to hand is delusion of the highest order. So the bloodletting will continue -- and worsen during the final presidential campaign.

- - - - -

Burt Prelutsky continues to be perplexed by the endless Obama lies ...
     "During his State of the Union address, he had the gall to say that it’s not fair that Warren Buffet’s secretary, Debbie Bosanek, pays more in income taxes than billionaire Buffet. I don’t recall hearing any of the Party faithful call him on it. As we all know, tax rate is not the same thing as tax obligation. Even Ms. Bosanek, whom Obama had planted in the royal box with Michelle, knows she doesn’t write a bigger check to the IRS than her boss. We also know, as does Obama, that folks like Buffet and Romney already paid income taxes on the money they earned at a rate of 35% before getting to invest whatever was left and then pay an additional 15% on those capital gains. The IRS, a gang of ghouls who would cheerfully pry the gold from the teeth of the deceased, then gets a third crack at their money in the form of death taxes.
     "The notion that rich people don’t pay their fair share of taxes is such a blatant lie that only that half of the population that pays nothing, while in some cases collecting 'refunds,' would be hypocritical enough to turn it into their favorite mantra.
     "One of the other gargantuan lies that leapt off the TV screen during Obama’s address was that, thanks to him, the U.S. has greater influence and garners more respect around the world than ever before.
     "The fact of the matter is that he has about as much respect and influence on the world stage as Dennis Kucinich."

- - - - -

I seriously doubt that Barack Obama, in pronouncing divine backing for his economic policies at the National Prayer Breakfast, knows what Jesus would have thought.  Allah, maybe ...

- - - - -

The London Daily Mail newspaper finds ample reason to ridicule American public "education" ...
     "Students in U.S. high schools spend their days studying history, geography, and mathematics. But one intrepid student reporter who wanted to know how much basic knowledge his classmates had experienced a comically tragic response.
     "Most of his classmates didn’t even know who the vice president of the country was. One student guessed Osama bin Laden, while another proudly stated that it was Bill Clinton.
     "He asks them basic general knowledge questions, like asking them to name what war won the U.S. its independence. The majority of students responded with dead air. When prompted, one chirruped in, ‘The Korean War!’ and another thought the Civil War was when America declared its freedom."

Small wonder the U.S. is taking a serious butt-kicking in the world economy, with our "educators" producing an endless outpouring of utterly ignorant dopes.

- - - - -

This is how silly it gets in the world of Big Media. At NBC, Brian Williams and Matt Lauer are in a rancorous feud over which will get to do the "interview" with Obama when he makes his prediction on the Super Bowl winner.
     I'm sure Las Vegas oddsmakers are trembling in anticipation.

- - - - -

Jeffrey Kuhner of the Washington Times has a few reminders for those infatuated with a "conservative" Newt Gingrich ...
     "His rhetoric notwithstanding, Mr. Gingrich is not an insurgent.  In fact, he is less electable and less conservative than Mr. Romney.  The former House speaker’s record is littered with betrayals on a wide range of issues - he supports massive ethanol subsidies, something even Al Gore concedes is a clean-energy boondoggle; he championed a health care individual mandate for more than a decade, including publicly praising Romneycare in 2006; he backed caps on carbon emissions and demanded government action to combat climate change, including filming a TV ad with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; he voted to create the Department of Education; he believes in some form of (illegal alien) amnesty; he took $1.6 million from Freddie Mac; and he wants to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in massive projects, such as building a space colony on the moon.  In short, Mr. Gingrich is a big-government corporatist masquerading as a conservative populist."

- - - - -

Dick Green calls my attention to this item in the Daily Crux; a reality-check ...
     "Counterfeiting is illegal because it is the false creation of value. The counterfeiter takes low-value paper and turns it into high-value money, which is fundamentally a claim on the real productive value of the economy that issues the currency and recognizes it as a proxy means of exchanging that productive value.
     "If this is illegal, then would somebody please arrest the Board of the Federal Reserve for counterfeiting? The Fed has blatantly printed money without creating any real value to back up their added claims on productive value. Hence they are counterfeiting, pure and simple."

- - - - -

Len, the haiku guru, strikes again ...
      An Italian cruise.
      Eat, drink, dance, get real sweaty.
      Then, wash up on shore.

- - - - -

... and in sports ...
     The $3,000 prize-winner in a Michigan ice-fishing tournament was the man who caught a 4 1/2-pound perch. Among all four hundred entrants, it was the only fish caught.

- - - - -

The sign on the lawyer's office door reads ...
     "When there is a will, there is a way; where there is a way, there is law; where there is law, there is a rule; where there is a rule, there is a loop hole; where there is a loop hole; there is a lawyer; and so here I am."

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     Donald Trump announced that he’s endorsing Mitt Romney for president. It was really nice. Trump was like, “There’s only one man with the brains, the skills, and the charisma to be president — but since I’m not running, you might as well vote for Mitt Romney.”

MITT'S NEVADA JACKPOT ... NEWT SULKS ... MUSLIMS' ROLE
 IN "AMERICA'S STORY"

Lasting messages in today's Super Bowl ...
If fate didn't give you a head start in the world, remember that superstar quarterback Tom Brady was the 199th player chosen in the year 2000 NFL draft.  And Victor Cruz, who's emerged as the hot wide receiver for the Giants, wasn't drafted at all when he emerged from that legendary football powerhouse, the University of Massachusetts.

- - - - -

Leading the non-news: Romney wins as expected in Nevada. Gingrich a sore loser, also as expected.
Prediction: Mr. Adelson, the billionaire gambling tycoon, will soon stop writing checks to support Newt.

- - - - -

Interesting pickings from the Rasmussen Reports poll.
1.- Obama's job approval among uncommitted voters is a meager 20%.
2.- Rick Santorum is emerging as the possible "not-Romney" candidate as Gingrich faces a money-drought.

- - - - -

As the bloody, backstabbing Republican campaign evolves, it reminds us of the wisdom of Sir Winston Churchill and his observation that "Democracy is the worst form of government -- except for all the others."

- - - - -

Wes Pruden of the Washington Times has observations about the Gingrich implosion ...
     "Newt is learning the painful lesson that once your campaign begins losing altitude, nothing works.  Newt ...  feels driven to saying ever more absurd things, like statehood for the moon (which might be 'paired' for admission with the District of Columbia), dogs on the roof, no more kosher brisket in the Jewish nursing homes, Mitt forging campaign alliances with George Soros and Goldman Sachs. The absence of grace and tact in politics accelerates. When Rick Santorum left the campaign after the Florida primary to be with a gravely ill daughter, Newt suggested it would be a good time for him to drop out permanently and endorse Newt. This absence of grace is of a piece with his treatment of his wives and other women he leaves wounded in his wake.
     "Newt can’t help himself. The ego and narcissm that crippled a first-rate mind is the legacy of the ‘60s. The rest of us are paying now for the damage inflicted by that dreadful decade."

- - - - -

The Obama administration's unemployment claims must have been created by a Mafia accountant adept at "cooking the books." They are phony thru-and-thru.

- - - - -

The Big Zero tells Congress not to "muck-up" his economic strategy. So ... he can't spell, either.

- - - - -

Further ruminations on Obama's much-discussed address at the National Prayer Day event in which he said that Jesus would approve of his economic policies. The president seems to have confused the biblical admonition to "render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's" with a command to "render unto Obama."

- - - - -

It's very nice that we now have a ban on "insider" trading by members of Congress; i.e., the use of information gained in the course of their duties to invest profitably. But ... does anyone believe that their family members -- or other allies -- won't use such information? Is it even possible to make such a regulation air-tight?  No.    

- - - - -

Are there people so naive that they didn't think Russia and China would veto the pitiful attempt to urge action in the U.N. to halt the massacres in Syria?

- - - - -

Note to any relative, friend or acquaintance who might be tempted to call me during the Super Bowl game:
I have employed mercenaries with backgrounds as CIA operatives. They are under orders to trace any such calls, locate the perpetrators and -- in the language of their former employer --  "terminate them with extreme prejudice."
     (One exception: I won't be exactly riveted to the screen during Madonna's half-time performance.)

- - - - -

Herb asks us to consider this ...
     Barack Obama said, "I know that Islam has always been a part of  America 's story."
 AN AMERICAN CITIZEN'S RESPONSE:
     Dear Mr. Obama:
Were those Muslims that were in America when the Pilgrims first landed?  Funny, I thought they were Native American Indians.
     Were those Muslims that celebrated the first Thanksgiving day?  Sorry again, those were Pilgrims and Native American Indians.
     Can you show me one Muslim signature on the United States Constitution? Declaration of Independence ? Bill of Rights? Didn't think so.
     Did Muslims fight for this country's freedom from England ?  No.
     Did Muslims fight during the Civil War to free the slaves in America ?  No, they did not.  In fact, Muslims to this day are still the world's largest traffickers in human slavery.
     Where were Muslims during the Civil Rights era of this country?  Not present.
     Where were Muslims during this country's Woman's Suffrage era?  Again, not present.  In fact, devout Muslims demand that women be subservient to men in the Islamic culture.  So much so, that often they are beaten for not wearing the 'hajib' or for talking to a man who is not a direct family member or their husband. Then there are those "honor killings" of daughters.
     Where were Muslims during World War II?  They were aligned with Adolf Hitler.  The Muslim grand mufti himself met with Adolf Hitler, reviewed the troops and accepted support from the Nazis in killing Jews.
     Finally, Mr. Obama, where were Muslims on Sept. 11th, 2001?  If they weren't flying planes into the World Trade Center , the Pentagon or a field in Pennsylvania killing nearly 3,000 people on our own soil, they were rejoicing in the Middle East -- and some Muslim neighborhoods in America.
     And THAT, Mr. Obama, is the "rich heritage" Muslims have here in America.
     We can also add November 5, 2009 - the slaughter of American soldiers at Fort Hood by a Muslim major who is a doctor and psychiatrist who was supposed to be counseling soldiers returning from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan. That, also, is the "Muslim heritage" in America.

- - - - -

Wondering out-loud ...
     How can even an 85-year-old Fidel Castro look back upon six decades of communism in Cuba, which has created nothing but poverty, repression and murder and believe this idiotic philosophy can succeed? The message should be equally clear for America's stupid, misguided "progressives" who also refuse to see it. Starting with the "Occupy" scum.

- - - - -

There is more economic intelligence among the restaurateurs along Halsted Street in Chicago's Greektown than in all of Athens. Or the White House.

- - - - -

Oprah Winfrey's cable-TV network is still struggling. She brought in her friend Rosie O'Donnell to do a talk-show that was supposed to "save" the enterprise. Instead, the ratings are minuscule -- about what a morning drivetime radio program on one radio station in one large city would reap in terms of total audience. So thirty staff people have been laid off and the show moved to a smaller studio with no audience, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

- - - - -

My father was an identical twin, so I grew up surrounded by evidence of the extraordinary connections between such siblings. Therefore, I'm hardly startled by the news about twin girls from Indonesia who were separated at birth and have been reunited 30 years later after both moved to neighboring towns in ... Sweden.
    Emilie found sister Lin with help from her adopted parents and  discovered they are both teachers, both married on the same day and both danced at their respective weddings to the song “You and Me”.

- - - - -

Arnold asks ...
     "Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?"

- - - - -

Conan O'Brien --
     "Super model Gisele Bundchen wants people to pray for her husband Tom Brady to win the Super Bowl. In response, God said, 'You know what, I think I’ve done enough for Tom Brady.'”
INDIANA BREAKS RANKS WITH RUST-BELT ... BRADY BUNCH BEATEN
 ... REASONS TO VOTE DEMOCRAT

Football.  Over.  And now begins the long ... Winter of our Discontent.

- - - - -

Now that Indiana has broken the stranglehold of unions, it's going to be very interesting to watch the economic trends in the Hoosier State compared to its rust-belt neighbors, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. Let's revisit that subject in, say, five years.

Just to be clear, I am NOT anti-union. In fact, as a union representative I once negotiated a contract that turned out to be highly profitable for both employees and management.  (Full disclosure: Later, in a management role, I was involved in negotiating a contract from the management side. Again, both sides prospered.)
     I see unions as vital in situations where employers are habitually exploitative and abusive. I am, however, opposed to government-employee unions and to unions run by people who exploit their members for self-aggrandizement, personal enrichment and who use pension funds as a slush-fund.

- - - - -

Are my senses mistaken, or are growing numbers of real (and potential) Republican voters growing weary of Newt's inclination to pretend that there was an equal "Reagan-Gingrich" partnership?

- - - - -

The astute Burt Prelutsky, who's written many of the classic TV shows (Dragnet, McMillan & Wife, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Bob Newhart, Family Ties and others); shows we enjoyed when that medium actually presented creative entertainment, explains his reservations about Newt, even though he'd vote for him over Obama ...
     "Lest anyone conclude that just because he isn’t my first or second choice, I would not vote for Newt Gingrich if he were to garner the GOP nomination, let me assure one and all that I will vote for any Republican running against Obama, and that includes Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley.
     "Granted, there are a number of things that I don’t like about Mr. Gingrich, but the main one is that I think he would have a tougher time defeating Obama than either Romney or Santorum. I also think that all the talk about the way Newt would manhandle the ex-community organizer in a debate is a whole lot of hooey. In the aftermath of those events, Democrats inevitably think their guy wins, Republicans think our guy wins, and independents, whose votes unfortunately determine the election, are busy watching “The Kardashians” or alphabetizing their canned goods.
     "For my part, I think Gingrich’s strengths would be wasted in the White House. Being quick-thinking and verbally adroit can certainly come in handy, but they happen to be skills I possess and I know only too well that I shouldn’t be allowed to come within a mile of the Oval Office.
     "With his short fuse and excess baggage, Newt Gingrich really isn’t cut out to be the president of the United States. Instead, if he came to me for vocational guidance, I’d tell him to host a radio talk show or go be a judge on American Idol."

- - - - -

Accept or reject it, but the Investors Business Daily formula for predicting presidential elections has a superb record.  Whenever the stock market has a gain of 6% or more in January of an election year, the incumbent loses. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it's worked thirteen times in a row. This January, stock were up 8%.

- - - - -

Mark Steyn (National Review Online) evaluates "diversity" and "tolerance" as practiced by liberals ...
     "Modern 'liberalism' is strikingly illiberal; the high priests of 'tolerance' are increasingly intolerant of even the mildest dissent; and those who profess to “celebrate diversity' coerce ever more ruthlessly a narrow homogeneity. Thus, the Obama administration’s insistence that Catholic institutions must be compelled to provide free contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients. This has less to do with any utilitarian benefit a condomless janitor at a Catholic school might derive from Obamacare, and more to do with the liberal muscle of Big Tolerance enforcing one-size-fits-all diversity."

- - - - -

From the "Wonder Why it Took so Long" department ... this report from Newsmax ...
     Jewish voters have been turning away from the Democratic Party and moving toward stronger support of Republicans over the last three years, a new poll from the Pew Research Center reveals.
     In 2008, 72 percent of Jews identified themselves as Democrats or said they leaned toward the Democratic Party, giving Democrats a 52 percentage point advantage over Republicans.
     "But in 2011, support for Democrats had dropped to 65 percent, and GOP backing had risen from 20 percent to 29 percent, meaning Jewish voters prefer Democrats by a “significantly smaller 36-point margin,” Pew observed.

- - - - -

If, as insider speculation has it, Iran has developed a missile with the range to hit the U.S. from Iran and decides to use it, we who advocated turning Tehran into a pile of radioactive ashes on 9/12/2001 are going to look a helluva lot smarter.

- - - - -

China has flatly ordered all its airlines to refuse to follow the European Union's demand for a "carbon tax" on operations over Western Europe. Now let's see what the EU proposes to do about that.  Best guess: nothing.

- - - - -

Dan Sorkin forwards 11 Reasons to Vote Democrat ...
     When your friends cannot explain why they voted for Democrats, ask them to choose from this list.
     1. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.
      2. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.
      3. I voted Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.
      4. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.
      5. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
      6. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about millions of babies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
      7. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.
     8. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Democrats see fit.
     9. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.
     10. I voted Democrat because I think that it's better to pay billions to people who hate us for their oil, but not drill our own because it might upset some endangered beetle or gopher.
     11. I voted Democrat because, while we live in "the greatest, most wonderful country in the world," I was promised "HOPE AND CHANGE".

- - - - -

My usual practice since my close brush with the Grim Reaper a little over a year ago has been to hit the gym every morning at 5:30 for a serious workout with the weights and various resistance machines. Yesterday I sensibly waited until after a leisurely breakfast before doing my cardio regimen. Did everything I usually do, but feel a mite guilty about not doing it in the pre-dawn darkness. So I suspect I'll again be perspiring -- no, dammit, sweating --ere the rising of the sun.

- - - - -

Unless I missed something -- and I don't think I did -- there were no spectacularly creative commercials in the Super Bowl telecast. The dog bribing the human witness to his "crime" with a payoff of Doritos was probably the best. Others appeared to have been created by -- and for -- high school sophomores. I even remember the name of the product being sold.
     Madonna, doing the halftime show for free exposure, was paid nothing for her efforts. They got their money's worth.

- - - - -

My office wall still holds, among a few other memorabilia, the San Francisco Chronicle's award of their "Best Radio Personality" plaque, based on their readers' poll.  It still warms my heart to recall the morning the Chronicle executive, who'd doubtless drawn the short-straw, came to the ABC studios to deliver it.  His gracious delivery speech basically consisted of, "Here," as he grudgingly handed it over and made a hasty exit from the lair of the evil conservative-monster, scourge of San Francisco "progressives".

- - - - -

The Sky-guy strikes again ...
     After three years of marriage, his wife was still questioning her husband about his lurid past.
"C'mon tell me," she asked for the 1000th time. "How many women have you slept with?"
     "Baby," he protested, "If I told you'd throw a fit!"
      His wife promised she would not get angry, and convinced him to tell her.
     "Okay," he said, "One - two - three - four - five - six - seven - then  there's you - nine - ten - 11 -12 -13... "
 
OBAMA'S "VALUES" ON DISPLAY ... AN OBAMA SUPREME COURT
... CLINT'S PRO-BAILOUT COMMERCIAL

How clear must Barack Obama make his deepest values for Americans to understand just how un-American he is?
     He opposes Israel defending itself against a determined Iran whose leader makes it abundantly clear that the extermination of Israel and all the world's Jews is his goal ... he attacks the very core of Catholic doctrine ... and is obviously obsessed with taking from the productive to reward the unproductive in the name of some perverted interpretation of "fairness".
     Of course, when almost half of Americans pay no income taxes  (indeed, some get a "refund" of taxes never paid!)  the freeloader vote is virtually guaranteed to make the election closer than common sense would suggest.

- - - - -

Obama's negative "strongly approve vs. strongly disapprove" gap in the Rasmussen Reports poll is now down to minus-ten, after being as high as the low-twenties. And this comes as news of his own staff's failure to pay their income taxes becomes public knowledge on top of his other multitude of failures and general malfeasance.
     Proof again of the wisdom of the late, great H. L. Mencken when he observed that "nobody ever went broke by UNDERestimating the intelligence of the American public."
     Mindless cattle do get the kind of government they deserve. Unfortunately, the rest of us also get it, too.

- - - - -

If you believe the Obama "official" unemployment numbers, I have a bridge that runs from San Francisco to Marin County that I'd like to sell you. And the relevant government agencies are being urged to recruit more people to apply for food stamps and other forms of government aid. They're glad to do it; after all, such "clients" provide the justification for their own jobs.
     Always remember that any government agency organized or assigned to solve a problem will NEVER solve it, because to do so would put the people assigned to the task out of work, themselves.

- - - - -

If you have in your circle of family or friends someone who is undecided on a presidential vote in November, you might want to suggest that careful consideration should be given the impact of another Obama term on a much-longer-lasting appointment to the Supreme Court, of  which he might have several.
     It is a certainty that any appointees will have a pro-Marxist seal of approval from George Soros.

- - - - -

Your "public servants" in action ...
A Los Angeles teacher facing charges for molesting school children, including allegations that he forced students aged six to ten years old to drink his semen, is being allowed to keep his (taxpayer-paid) lifetime health care coverage.

- - - - -

Re the "singer" who calls herself M.I.A. and her middle-finger gesture on-camera at the Super Bowl halftime show ...
     When are the NFL and the television networks going to wise-up to the reality that publicity-seeking showbiz scum will do anything that will gain them attention?

- - - - -

Another Super Bowl PS ...
     What was that crap Clint Eastwood was peddling about Chrysler Corporation and the bailout that cost taxpayers a fortune to rescue a company now owned by Fiat of Italy?  Loss to U.S. taxpayers -- $1.3 billion. And we're supposed to be PROUD of this?
     Turns out the commercial, purportedly about Detroit's comeback, was mostly shot in -- New Orleans!
     Well, at least the film crew ate better.

The same Clint Eastwood: "I’m a big hawk on cutting the deficit. I was against the stimulus thing too. We shouldn’t be bailing out the banks and car companies. If a CEO can’t figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn’t be the CEO.” Quoted in the Los Angeles Times only three months ago.

- - - - -

And this, forwarded by Dan Sorkin ...
     I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten — straight up, no styling.
     Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don’t make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification.
     Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love — not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician.
     Sing “The Star Spangled Banner” with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America, not you.”

- - - - -

What ever happened to Keith Olbermann?

- - - - -

Always good to hear from Carrie ...
     "I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing.  If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!"
SLOW-BUT-STEADY SANTORUM'S BIG NIGHT ... CLINT CONNED?
 ... OBAMA'S ANTI-CHRISTIANITY

With a big anti-Romney sweep by Rick Santorum in yesterday's three primaries/caucii, he's clearly staked out his position in a race that sees Gingrich fading fast. Romney still has the inside track to the nomination, but the threat he faces now is from an opponent who isn't burdened with nearly as much personal and political baggage as Newt. There's obviously still a large "anybody but Mitt" cohort in the electorate.
     For Gingrich, two big questions lurk after a poor result yesterday. First, will his money supply drastically diminish. Secondly, can he pull bigtime results on Super Tuesday, March 6, when ten states cast ballots. If he doesn't score well then he's toast, barring a deus ex machina. (I long for opportunities to toss in that piece of Latin pretentiousness.)

- - - - -

It's astonishing that there are actually Americans so naive -- or outright dumb -- that they express surprise upon learning that members of Congress have spent billions of taxpayer dollars on ear-marked legislation that enriches them personally. Streets renewed, highways built, neighborhoods improved adjacent to politician-owned properties; these provide just a few of the more obvious examples.
      It has always been thus, and always will be unless there is an unlikely to move toward harsh punishment for pols who even propose such projects. Perhaps an execution of two of flagrant abusers of the public trust would send a worthwhile message.  Congressman Duke Cunningham's jail sentence for bribery was obviously insufficient for the purpose.

By the way, look for Rick Santorum's history of earmark legislation to be spotlighted as he gains prominence.
There are no virgins in the political bordello.

- - - - -

George Neumayr in The American Spectator rips away the veil from Obama's disdain of Christianity ...
     "Obama worked hard to con the religious into voting for him in 2008. He "valued" religion, particularly the votes of the religious. On his campaign web page, 'people of faith' enjoyed their own special slot, a mere two tabs down from the 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.'
     "Obama cast himself as a 'post-partisan' politician on matters of the spirit. He found fawning dupes in the religious community to provide him with pulpits and platforms for faux-pensive addresses on his newly conceived 'connection between politics and religion.' This pretentious throat-clearing amounted to nothing more than Alinsky-ite advice to his fellow Democrats that they exploit religion for secularist and socialist purposes."

- - - - -

Keep repeating it to every wavering independent or Democrat voter you know: Gas prices at record highs ... and the Big Nothing turns away oil from Canada by killing the Keystone (privately funded!) pipeline project. Instead, the pipeline will go west to a Pacific port in Canada -- for shipment of oil to China.
     By the way, oil industry analysts say we can expect a spike to over $4 a gallon -- or worse -- by May. Thanks, Obama!

- - - - -

With Nebraska Democrat Senator Ben Nelson retiring at the end of his term, it was widely believed that the party's only chance of holding that seat was a run by former Senator Bob Kerrey.  Kerrey's decided not to run, virtually guaranteeing a Republican takeover of the seat.

- - - - -

If Clint Eastwood wants to repair his severely tarnished reputation for doing that Obama suck-up ad for Chrysler at halftime of the Super Bowl, he needs to admit -- quickly -- that he made a mistake and allowed himself to be used. Otherwise it can only be assumed that he's become a willing shill for an ultra-leftist politician.
     The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the creative people at the advertising agency that produced the spot were also involved in creating the advertising for Obama's 2008 campaign. Biiig surprise ...

- - - - -

Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal has questions for the president who's obsessed with "fairness". A few excerpts ...
     Is it fair that the richest 1% of Americans pay nearly 40% of all federal income taxes, and the richest 10% pay two-thirds of the tax?
     Is it fair that the richest 10% of Americans shoulder a higher share of their country's income-tax burden than do the richest 10% in every other industrialized nation, including socialist Sweden?
     Is it fair that American corporations pay the highest statutory corporate tax rate of all other industrialized nations but Japan, which cuts its rate on April 1?
     Is it fair that President Obama sends his two daughters to elite private schools that are safer, better-run, and produce higher test scores than public schools in Washington, D.C.—but millions of other families across America are denied that free choice and forced to send their kids to rotten schools?
     Is it fair that roughly 88% of political contributions from supposedly impartial network television reporters, producers and other employees in 2008 went to Democrats?
     Is it fair that wind, solar and ethanol producers get billions of dollars of subsidies each year and pay virtually no taxes, while the oil and gas industry—which provides at least 10 times as much energy—pays tens of billions of dollars of taxes while the president complains that it is "subsidized"?
     Is it fair that some of Mr. Obama's largest campaign contributors received federal loan guarantees on their investments in renewable energy projects that went bust?
     Is it fair that federal employees receive benefits that are nearly 50% higher than those of private-sector workers whose taxes pay their salaries, according to the Congressional Budget Office?

- - - - -

The only rational response to the European Union's attempt to pull a shakedown of all the world's airlines with a "carbon" tax is that of China: "Go ... to ... hell!"
     The projected cost of an additional $35-per-passenger for a long-haul roundtrip price is simple extortion for the benefit of European bureaucrats.

- - - - -

There is a movement afoot by a local official in Shreveport, Lousiana, to ban the wearing of pajamas in public. Conversely, we are trying to confirm a rumor that officials in San Francisco are planning to make it mandatory.

- - - - -

Heard -- again -- on a news broadcast: "The (candidate) was ... jubUlant." No. Jubilant. There's no second "u".

- - - - -

Mr. Hill with further additions to Murphy's Laws of Probability ...
     It is never wise to let a piece of electronic equipment know that you are in a hurry.
     If you are not thoroughly confused, you have not been thoroughly informed.
     When working on a motor vehicle engine, any tool dropped will land directly under the center of the engine.
     Your new software version up-grade always manages to change the one feature you need most.
     If it works in theory, it won't work in practice.
     All things mechanical/electrical will catastrophically fail right after the guarantee has expired, unless an extended warranty has been purchased.
     The cost and availability of a replacement part are in inverse proportion to the cost of the whole system: For example: a $1500 device will fail because of the burnout of a 25¢ capacitor.  But the 25¢ capacitor is either...
1. No longer manufactured.
2. Manufactured only by a company in Outer Mongolia with an 18-month backlog.
3.  Available only as a part of the $1450 sub-assembly.
     ... and finally ...
Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches.

- - - - -

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "Supermodel Gisele Bundchen criticized her husband Tom Brady’s teammates. She really wanted the Super Bowl ring so that she could wear it as a belt."

- - - - -

Sam strikes again ...
      She was standing in the kitchen, preparing our usual soft-boiled eggs and toast for breakfast,wearing only the 'T' shirt that she normally slept in.
     As I walked in, almost awake, she turned to me and said softly,  "You've got to make love to me this very moment!"    
     Not wanting to lose the moment, I embraced her and...
     Afterwards she said, "Thanks," and returned to the stove.                          
     Happy, but a little puzzled, I asked,"What was that all about?"
     She cheerfully explained, " The egg timer's broken."
GAY DIVORCE? OF COURSE! ... MITT & RICK BOOT NEWT?
... THE DOPE VS. THE POPE

Several years ago my longtime colleague Officer Vic said on the air that if he were an attorney, he'd prepare himself to specialize in gay-couple divorces, anticipating enormous growth in that field.
     Robin Tyler and her mate, Diane Olson, were the poster-couple in the campaign to legalize gay marriage in California. They were in the first group of gay couples to be married in June of 2008. Their marriage was allowed to stand even after the passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage but was just found unconstitutional by a Ninth District federal court, a decision sure to be challenged.
     But to return to the original premise for this item: Robin Tyler and Diane Olson have filed for divorce.
   
- - - - -

Mitt Romney continues to create problems for himself.  For example, it's impossible to square his purported conservative economic expertise with the utterly idiotic idea of indexing minimum wage rates based on the inflation rate -- which would only aggravate inflation and make it more difficult for unskilled workers to get jobs. It sounds like Obama-lite. Hard to believe a non-drinker could dream up such foolishness.
     Mitt's country-club image is getting seriously in the way of his electability. For all his inconsistencies, fibs and personal peccadilloes, Gingrich does know how to push conservative buttons.  It's a skill Romney's never acquired.
 
- - - - -

It remains to be seen whether -- or how -- Rick Santorum survives the inevitable harsh scrutiny that will quickly follow his Tuesday triumphs in three states. One unpleasant item sure to arise is the fact that, when the detestable turncoat Senator Arlen Specter, Santorum's fellow member from Pennsylvania, was challenged by a real conservative, Pat Toomey, Santorum supported ... Specter. That, plus his earmarking of taxpayer money, will be targeted by Romney.

- - - - -

     "Liberals are disgusted by people who made their own money, as Romney did at Bain Capital. But they admire ill-gotten gains, which is how John Kerry, John Edwards, Jon Corzine, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and innumerable other spokesmen for the downtrodden amassed their fortunes.
     "Democrats are very proud of the rich, patrician FDR -- who inherited all of his money and then launched a series of federal entitlements designed to bankrupt America 60 years later.
     "JFK also inherited his wealth, from a father who made his money as a bootlegger and stock manipulator. (In their defense, both men went on to create lots of jobs for bartenders and prostitutes.)"
     -- Ann Coulter, HUMAN EVENTS --

- - - - -

The latest from Obama's "What the Hell are They Doing Now?" club ...
     The collection of anti-American subversives that make up the Obama administration have now created -- as Dave Barry says, "I am NOT making this up!" -- a "public advocate" office within the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An office dedicated to protecting illegal aliens' "rights" from ... the U.S. government! This is so stupid, it sounds like a background plot for a Woody Allen movie, when Woody was actually funny.
     Next thing you know, they'll be forcing Catholic institutions to provide abortions. Oh, wait -- they're doing that already!

- - - - -

Liberal Catholics who see Obama undercutting basic doctrine of the church ... liberal Jews who see him back-stabbing Israel -- just how smart do you feel NOW about supporting Mr. "Hope & Change"?

- - - - -

David Harsanyi with a dissection of the ridiculous Clint Eastwood Super Bowl commercial ...
     "In a series of vapid non-sequiturs, Clint Eastwood's gravelly voice pinned the promise of a city -- no, a nation -- to government dependency, claiming that 'the people of Detroit' lost almost everything but because 'we' pulled together and the 'Motor City is fighting again' -- punching, roaring, imbued with American grit -- we survived.
     "Or, some might argue, after screwing stakeholders, discarding legal contracts, rewarding failed business models (while punishing those who employ better ones) and sticking taxpayers with the unions' fat pension tab, America got a heaping spoonful of the Obama administration's economic policy."
     --  (Townhall.com)  --

- - - - -

     Proof that many American voters are either (A) stupid or (B) liars: Rasmussen polling finds that 43% of likely voters surveyed say better members of Congress would be selected by picking them at random from the phone directory.
     If they were serious, then one might project that 43% of incumbents would not be re-elected. This will not happen. Thus the enormous gap between their stated beliefs and their actions. They detest Congress, but re-elect their own. It was ever thus.

- - - - -

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, newsstand sales of magazines are down significantly. Biggest loser: Oprah Winfrey's magazine. It's down 32% in the past year.

- - - - -

Professor Walter Williams (Townhall.com) addresses the formula for getting ourselves out of the economic hole dug by irresponsible politicians and a childish electorate ...
     "The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it's possible to sustain today's level of federal spending and even achieve a balanced budget. All that Congress would have to do is raise the lowest income tax bracket of 10 percent to 25 percent and the middle tax bracket of 25 percent to 66 percent and raise the 35 percent tax bracket to 92 percent. That's a static vision that assumes that people will have no response and they'll work just as hard and send more money to Washington. If Congress did legislate such tax increases, it would be the economic equivalent of committing national hara-kiri."

- - - - -

How did the otherwise level-headed electorate of Kansas ever bring itself to elect the current Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, as their governor? Aside from being a willing tool in Obama's idiotic and evil health care machinations, she has the demeanor of the school principal that every child hated.

- - - - -

Two unsolicited observations from a former football broadcaster (I did a"Game of the Week", major college level broadcast) ...
     Let us hope that the sports gossip-mill is correct regarding the future of the Pro Bowl game; i.e., that it's going to be cancelled. I've seen more serious football played by elementary-school girls. The game is a bad joke.
     Don't count out the relentlessly mismanaged Arizona Cardinals in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. The Kevin Kolb acquisition was a total waste, while memories linger of the rescue of Kurt Warner from the scrap-heap resulting in a Super Bowl trip and near-win. The inept Bidwill ownership proves the adage that occasionally even a blind pig finds an acorn.

- - - - -

A pleasant way to spend a dead-of-winter day in southern Arizona. Watching the sun rise over the Santa Rita Mountains and the snow falling down to about the 7,000-foot level of the larger peaks from my window at 3,100-foot level where the snow seldom reaches. But the pool IS still a bit chilly for swimming.

- - - - -

Family ties ...
     It happened in a Philly suburb. Cops picked up a young man for drunk driving. Young man calls dad. Dad drives to the police station.  Drunk.  Also gets busted.

- - - - -

Travel tip: New Orleans has a well-run cruise port. In my considerable experience, San Francisco's is the worst domestic port ... Buenos Aires the worst major foreign port.

- - - - -

Cindy Adams --
     "FASTEST way to get off a cruise ship? Follow the Costa Concordia captain."

- - - - -

Bad taste, but you'll probably laugh, anyway ...
     A man in a bar was about as drunk as it's possible to get. A group of younger men notice his condition and decide to be good Samaritans and take him home.
     First, they stand him up to get to his wallet so they can find out where he lives, but he keeps falling down. He fell down eight more times on the way to the car. After they get to his house, he falls down another four times getting him to the door.
     His wife comes to the door, and one fellow says, "We brought your husband home."
     The wife asks, "Where's his wheelchair?"
HEROES & FEET OF CLAY ... KENNEDY A HORN-DOG? GASP!
... CATHOLICS' HARD CHOICES
                            
It's not the political system -- any political system -- but human nature itself that makes unrealistic expectations doom us to disappointment in our election choices.  We are seeing the same old cycle play out again in the current Republican race for the presidential nomination. We've seen a parade of candidates assume the mantle of the "non-Romney" alternative.  It has evidently been widely forgotten that four years ago many saw Romney as the "conservative alternative" to John McCain.
     Yet, from Michele Bachmann thru Cain and Perry and Newt to the current hot-property, Rick Santorum, candidates been imbued with sterling qualities by suddenly-acquired supporters who know little about them. I've heard from many of those misguided enthusiasts over many elections: "Don't say or write anything bad about my new hero! He/she is going to save us!" My considered reaction: Bull-bleep!
     Then, for many of those supporters, comes disappointment as they learn that the new hero may not be infallible, after all.    
     We never learn. Just in the past two presidencies, George W. Bush was elected as a "conservative". He wasn't. Although his economic failures have been wildly exaggerated by the Democrats, he did, in fact, launch some of the spendthrift policies that put us on the path to today's crisis.
     That crisis has been multiplied many times over by the utter incompetent who succeeded him and whose electoral success depended entirely upon totally unrealistic expectations raised among people who should have had more sense than to believe in the fairy-dust being peddled by a Marxist-leaning "community organizer".
     Perhaps it is more realistic to take heed of the cynics' motto: "Blessed are they who expect nothing ... for they shall not be disappointed."

- - - - -

Another example of the hardship of poverty in America. Last year, a federal program paid out $1.6 billion to cover free cell phones and the monthly bills of 12.5 million people who wanted -- and got -- cell-phone service but said they couldn't afford it. Many, of course, were lying to get another government freebie.
     Can we next expect government-paid giant flat-screen TVs for those who want them but say they can't afford them?

- - - - -

Victor Davis Hanson offers a history lesson and reality check for delusional liberals ...
     "On the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama once called for a "reset" policy with Iran. Supposedly, the unpopularity of the Texan provocateur George W. Bush and his administration's inability to finesse "soft power" had needlessly alienated the Iranian theocracy.
     "In contrast, Obama proclaimed himself to be a more sophisticated sort of president. His left-wing politics, postracial appeal and his father's Muslim heritage supposedly might win over the heretofore needlessly alienated Iranians -- and most others in the Middle East as well. At no point did candidate Obama stop to consider that the Iranians could view his loud politicking and opportunistic criticism of Bush's hostility toward Iran -- identical to standard U.S. bipartisan policy under at least the four prior presidents -- as weakness to be manipulated rather than magnanimity to be appreciated.
     "The result of Obama's Iran 2.0 policy? Failure on every front. The Iranians sped up work on the bomb. They snubbed every deadline we issued.
     "The ironic result is that war is now far more likely with Iran than it ever was under George W. Bush."
     -- (Townhall.com) --

Prediction: Obama, desperate to be re-elected, is likely to launch an attack on Iran by the end of October -- if Israel hasn't made a preemptive strike even sooner.
     Meantime, Obama will continue his ostrich-like "head in the sand" evasion of the Iran threat.

- - - - -

Wonder how many professed Catholics working in the Obama administration are losing sleep, wondering just what their priorities really are and how totally they're willing to sell out for their earthly diety, Obama?
     Nancy Pelosi is a total sell-out, of course. But even nutty Joe Biden seems to be ... torn.
     Remember: Nobody's telling women they can't have access to either birth control or abortion. Only that they cannot rationally expect Catholic institutions to pay for them in violation of church doctrine.

- - - - -

Perhaps more people are now recalling, as they observe Obama's attack on the Catholic Church, that this is the man who spoke disdainfully of the peasants who held onto their beliefs in "guns ... and God."

- - - - -

Linda Chavez has it dead-right ...
     "Second-term elections are always a referendum on the incumbent, not the challenger. And when Americans have chosen to turn out a sitting president, it has rarely been because the challenger was so much more appealing. The qualities of the challenger aren't irrelevant; they're just not as decisive as the perceived success or failure of the incumbent."

- - - - -

Can it be that there are adult Americans so naive as to be shocked by the revelations of a teenaged virgin exploited by John F. Kennedy, playing bouncy-bounce with her in the bed he shared with the adulterous (but less blatantly so) Jackie? Where have these gullible idiots BEEN?

- - - - -

The Patriot Post carries this eye-opener about the budding Obama dictatorship ...
     "The FBI held a press conference this week on a terrorist alert bulletin, which it sent to every federal, state and local law enforcement agency across the country. Unfortunately, that bulletin continued a trend of "terrorist profiles" issued since Barack Hussein Obama has been in office. This particular alert identified such broad ideological characteristics that it can be construed to include the activities of tens of millions of law-abiding Americans.
     "The FBI counterterrorism division report concluded that those who believe that our government has exceeded its constitutional limits or are protesting for restoration of constitutional integrity might pose a threat."

And there's more from the Department of Homeland Security, reported by InfoWars ...
     "The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) recently obtained close to 300 pages of documents, as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, detailing the federal agency’s “intelligence gathering” practices on the web.
     "Among the documents were guidelines from DHS instructing outside contractors to monitor the web for media reports and comments that 'reflect adversely' on the agency or the federal government.

- - - - -

"Go figure" department ...
     Michigan was wallowing in debt with a wretched economy thru the tenure of a Democrat dope and Obama suck-up, Jennifer Granholm,  in the Governor's office.  Finally, voters elected a Republican Governor, Rick Snyder who made necessary changes. Now that bedraggled state has a $457 million budget surplus.
     And how, you might ask, have Michigan voters reacted? The latest polling shows 53% want to re-elect Obama. No wonder that state is a basket-case.

- - - - -

During the frigid weather that has gripped much of Europe (tell THEM about "global warming"!) the owner of a legal bordello in Vienna has invited the homeless to use the bedrooms in his establishment. A fine gesture by a ... layman.
     (Profuse apologies for that post-script.)

- - - - -

C'mon Clint ... admit it.  That Chrysler commercial in the Super Bowl proves that you were a dupe. The only question is ... willing, or not?

- - - - -

When -- if ever -- will the reality-averse Obamunists realize that the housing market crisis will not be resolved until real market forces are allowed to operate without further do-gooder meddling by the Washington stumblebums?

- - - - -

Jay Nordlinger (National Review Online) gets to the heart of the matter regarding Syria's dictatorship and its supporters ...
     "I was stopped by a sentence in this article: 'Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said outside forces should let Syrians settle their conflict ‘independently.’
     "Say you are jumped by a gang in a back alley. The gang is armed to the teeth, you have virtually nothing. The wise non-interventionist says that you and the gang must settle your conflict independently."

- - - - -

... and this quote from Italy's horn-dog former Prime Minister ...
     “I have nothing against homosexuals, let it be clear. Quite the contrary. I always thought the more gay people around, the less competition.”
     Tasteless, perhaps ... but I've heard straight males in San Francisco say the same thing.

- - - - -

A heart-warmer from the Sky-guy ...
     Last week I went in for my annual check-up.  This was the first time I was given a "Bathtub Test."  "Something new for seniors," I was told.
     Our family doctor informed me of the new medical rules for 2012 and a test to determine whether or not a person of my age should be put in a home.
     "So what is the test I asked?"
     "Well,"  My doctor said, "For this test we fill up a bathtub, then offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to empty the bathtub."
     "Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup."
     "No," My doctor said. "A normal person would pull the plug."
     Then he said, "Do you want a bed near the window?"

- - - - -

Jay Leno reflects on the New York Giants' Super Bowl championship ...
     "Eli Manning now has two rings. Two!  But that's still one less ring than Newt Gingrich.”

- - - - -

Conan O'Brien --
     "In an interview, Joan Rivers said she's had 739 surgical procedures. In fact, she started out as a man from Kenya."
 
OBAMA'S DEVIOUSNESS ... WOMEN IN COMBAT ...CPAC SILLINESS

Obama's contempt for the intelligence of the American public and the Big Media (justified in the case of the latter) is evident again. How stupid and simple-minded would a person have to be not to see through his latest dodge to try to extinguish the public outrage caused by his attack on the Catholic Church, and by extension, all religions?
     Now he says Catholic institutions will not be compelled to provide for birth control or abortion in their health plans; that the insurance companies will have to pay for it, instead.  And they'll get the money to do so from???  Gee, you think maybe from those Catholic institutions that buy insurance from them? Such arrogant nonsense! And couched in the usual liberal BS terms; the insurance industry should "reach out".
    Obama obviously believes most Americans are so dumb, they really do think there IS such a thing as a "free lunch."  Of course, considering that they elected this incompetent anti-American, he has good reason to believe it.
     If deviousness and outright lying were grounds for impeachment, this phony blowhard would have been gone long ago.

- - - - -

In a piece of commentary with real bite,  Don Surber of the Charleston, WV Daily Mail suggests that, after his stupid attempt to force the Catholic Church to subsidize birth control and abortion, perhaps the would-be dictator will next try to force Amish people to buy the Chevy Volt.

- - - - -

The stupid are always with us.
     One man likens Catholic institutions' objection to providing abortion and contraceptive services to a Muslim's claim that by committing "honor killings" -- i.e., murdering sisters and daughters -- they could also claim to be "practicing their religion."
      This simple-minded dope apparently is unaware that believing Catholics are not trying to prevent others from using birth control, or even having abortions. They're simply saying, "We don't want to PAY for something that violates our religious principles."
     And this idiot is allowed to vote!
     No wonder the nation is in deep, deep trouble.

- - - - -

Another piece of Obama craziness prompts the following observation.
     Throughout human history societies, with few exceptions, have made an effort to limit the exposure of women to the risks of combat. Despite the (again rising) chorus of "women's rights" activists, the rationale for trying to limit the risk to women is based on simple, obvious human biology: While a society can replenish its population after lives are lost in combat with relatively few men, the life cycle dictates that a woman's reproductive capacity is far more limited. In other words, it takes more women than men to rebuild.
     The irrational feminists and the misinformed have, for decades, fallen back upon the fallacious argument that tough little Israel, beset by enemies since its formative days, uses women in combat roles. Wrong. While some women are assigned military roles that could potentially put them at hazard, there are still a tiny minority in potential combat jobs.
     Israeli women did perform in front-line combat in that 1948 war for the very survival of the nation against genocidal  Arab neighbors. However, a post-war study found that male soldiers would instinctively try to protect women and thus sometimes lose momentum in combat. They put their own lives and those of other members of their units in greater jeopardy by doing so, and seeing women killed or severely wounded was devastating to troop morale. After all, civilized men are acculturated to protect mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.
     It is understandable that many young women would like the career and education opportunities made available via military service and can readily fill many of those jobs.  Nevertheless, confronted by the realities of the battlefield, especially in an era when our enemies largely come from misogynistic societies where women are regarded as chattel and infidel (i.e., non-Muslim) women are seen as no better than whores and legitimate targets for torture and rape, this subject deserves more serious thought than that given by the pandering Obama.
    
- - - - -

John Kass in the Chicago Tribune, writing about a (one-time) fellow Chicagoan ...
     "The way President Barack Obama has started a war with Roman Catholics, you might think Obama never set foot in a predominantly Catholic town like Chicago.
     "Oh, he learned about playing the empty vessel to the yearning throngs of journalists and other mythmakers desperate for something secular to believe in. He endorsed the politicians they told him to endorse, he voted absentee rather than challenge authority and he climbed his ambition to power.
     "But then, recently, he decided to challenge the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It demonstrates to Americans that their government is not only willing but eager to dominate faith, by telling religions how to practice their beliefs. And if they refuse, then the faithful will feel the federal wrath".

- - - - -

Jesse Jackson has joined the chorus of pessimistic leftists who want to preemptively blame the expected Obama loss in November on -- what else? -- white racism. Yes. Despite the obvious fact that Obama would never have been elected without millions of white votes.
    Of course, to the Jesse Jacksons of the world, racism is the universal excuse for all black failures.
     And we must not be reminded that, during the 2008, a live microphone picked up the good Reverend saying he'd like to cut Obama's balls off.

- - - - -

Jay Leno --
     "Romney's campaign is in such bad shape, today he moved the part in his hair farther to the right."

- - - - -

I'd be a lot more interested in CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) were it not for the fact that the big winner of their straw-poll the past two years has been Cong. Ron Paul, who never did and doesn't now stand a snowball's chance in hell of being nominated, much less elected President.
     Even Mr. Paul obviously doesn't think it too important, either. He skipped it to campaign before a few people and many moose in Maine.
     CPAC'ers, lord love 'em, are engaged in a form of political masturbation.

- - - - -

Ann Coulter to CPAC attendees ...
     "When it would be ok to admit we elected a man based on the color of his skin?  I’m talking, of course, about John Boehner.”
     Ann also observed that “all pretty girls are right-wingers.” Bingo!

- - - - -

"Is America sliding toward autocratic rule? This is the essential question of Barack Obama’s presidency. Mr. Obama vowed to “fundamentally transform” the United States. Despite his incompetence and economic failure, the president is making good on his central promise: the destruction of our constitutional republic. He is trying - piece by painful piece - to reverse the legacy of the Founding Fathers. Conservatives have underestimated him at their peril. For Mr. Obama is not simply an inept, liberal president in the mold of Jimmy Carter. He is an ideological revolutionary who seeks to sweep away traditional America." -- Jeffrey Kuhner, Washington Times

- - - - -

Another big tear in the fabric of the Big Lie about "Global Warming".  Contrary to the myths perpetrated by the con-artists, satellite information shows that the biggest snow-packed peaks on the planet, the Himalayas, have lost NO ice in the last decade. And the melting rate of polar ice is minuscule and well within the normal range of temperature cycles. Remember: This entire charade was assembled for one reason. To make money from government grants and government contracts for scams to "reduce global warming."  And the stupid and gullible actually bought into it! Another reminder that we're surrounded by dummies. Who vote.

- - - - -

Anybody who's surprised at Obama's fervent support of abortion, even at the potential political cost of alienating believing Catholics, should not be taken unawares. As an Illinois legislator, he went beyond abortion to advocate the killing of babies who were so arrogantly troublesome as to be born alive.
     For details, today's recommended reading in NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE is Andrew McCarthy's column under entitled "When Obama Voted for Infanticide," complete with direct quotes.  Enter the article title in the "search" box, upper right side of the opening page.

By the way, could we please cut through the PC horse-pucky and dismiss the nonsense that the biggest abortion-factory in the nation, Planned Parenthood, is somehow about "women's health"?
     This isn't about debating either the legality or desirability of abortion, but simply a vote in favor of candor and honest labeling.
    
- - - - -

Airheads abound, and Israel is evidently no exception. A group of Madonna fans, whose poor taste is equaled by their idiotic order of priorities, is urging Prime Minister Netanyahu not to launch an attack on  Iran in response to its threat to destroy Israel and kill all Jews ... until AFTER the May 29 Madonna concert.

- - - - -

We who have spent thousands of hours on the air know that these things will happen, but there was an unfortunate -- but amusing -- double-mangling at the opening of the 5AM hour on Fox News yesterday. The blonde lady, who clearly hadn't even glanced at the ill-chosen lead story before air-time, announced that the actress who will play Princess Diana in a movie was "Australian-born ... born in Britain." Say WHAT?! Then one of the male co-hosts further confused the issue with his well-intended try at bailing her out by saying that Australia was part of the United Kingdom. Hardly. The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
     As a longtime broadcaster, I can say from experience that there are days when you just want to quit, back up and start over.

- - - - -

Cindy Adams (NY Post) has a noble wish ...
     "I want Westerns back. Where the he-man has knockdown, drag-out fights. The hombre’s whipped, tripped, raced, chased, smashed and bashed. Loses his cattle, his ranch, his rifle, his lady — but never his hat."

- - - - -

Denise sends a photo of a tee-shirt that says ...
     "Obama loves America like O.J. loved Nicole."   

- - - - -

Just for fun ... have a pun ...
     Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
     Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
     When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
     Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.

I'll leave now ...


A GREAT VOICE GONE ... PAID FOR PROTESTING ... IRAN'S THREAT

We've seen it again. Drug addiction has no happy endings. RIP, Whitney Houston.

- - - - -

     Many who follow the news are expressing surprise at the revelation that the "Occupy" protesters at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) meeting didn't even know what CPAC is or WHAT they were protesting. They just wanted the $60-per-day payment.
     Paid protesters are a common tool used by the left to get media advertising for their "cause". As a longtime San Francisco resident, I can tell you that it's common to find classified ads in the major newspapers, offering not only pay but fringe benefits to people who want to be full-time, for-hire protesters.
     And the media whores pretend that these "protests" are a legitimate expression of public will.

- - - - -

Andrew Breitbart of Big Journalism: "Our battle may be perceived as being with President Obama but in reality, he’s already defeated. The media has him on life support, and its their false narrative that we must overcome."

- - - - -

     So Iran is going to make a "major announcement" about its nuclear program within the next few days. Does anyone believe this heralded announcement is going to involve renunciation of their weapons program or their acceptance of the existence of Israel and the "great Satan" -- us?
     Yet in the face of a clear statement by the ruling madman of Iran that he and his fellow Muslims are absolutely determined to destroy Israel, kill all Jews everywhere, and wreak vengeance upon the U.S., the American public has a foolishly-elected affirmative-action president who -- through incompetence or more sinister motives -- babbles nonsense about resolving our differences with Iran via "diplomacy"!
     To re-state a dismal conclusion that is further solidified with every action and inaction on the part of Obama ...this nation may be too silly to survive.

- - - - -

Mark Steyn makes the historical connection to Obama's attempt to bulldoze the Catholic Church on supplying abortion and birth control via insurance plans paid for by Church-owned institutions ...
     "Announcing his support for Commissar Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' edicts on contraception, sterilization, and pharmacological abortion, that noted theologian the Most Reverend Al Sharpton explained: 'If we are going to have a separation of church and state, we're going to have a separation of church and state.'
     "Thanks for clarifying that. The church model the young American state wished to separate from was that of the British monarch, who remains to this day Supreme Governor of the Church of England. This convenient arrangement dates from the 1534 Act of Supremacy. The title of the law gives you the general upshot, but, just in case you're a bit slow on the uptake, the text proclaims 'the King's Majesty justly and rightfully is and ought to be the supreme head of the Church of England.' That's to say, the sovereign is 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church' and he shall enjoy 'all honors, dignities, pre-eminences, jurisdictions, privileges, authorities, immunities, profits and commodities to the said dignity,' not to mention His Majesty 'shall have full power and authority from time to time to visit, repress, redress, record, order, correct, restrain and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offenses, contempts and enormities, whatsoever they be.'
     "Welcome to Obamacare."

- - - - -

     There are always people who, being unable to segregate logic and reason from their own personal interests and prejudices, are incapable of believing anyone else might behave differently.
     Knowing this from extensive media experience, I was not at all surprised when my expressed outrage at Obama's attack on Catholic Church-owned institutions' policy toward health care brought some response along the lines of, "A-ha! I knew you were Catholic!"
     Wrong. Am not ... never have been.
     (However, some of my best friends...  You know the rest.  Also Jews, Buddhists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Baha'is, Taoists and others too numerous to mention. I was pleased to learn, however, that when I was in a coma and declared near-death a bit over a year ago, a Catholic cleric did see fit to give me the Last Rites. Three times. Maybe it was unwitting karmic payback for leading a fund-raising drive for a Catholic pre-school my daughter attended many years ago when a handicap caused other pre-school programs to reject her.)
     I see it purely as a constitutional issue, and am not impressed by the specious argument that all women have a right to "free" birth control and abortion-inducing medications. Part of growing up is, or should be, developing an awareness that NOTHING is "free". Somebody ALWAYS pays. And Catholics should not be coerced into paying, thru Church-owned institutions, for behavior that violates a basic tenet of their faith.
     Religious institutions should be able to practice whatever the tenets of their church dictate ... PROVIDED they bring no harm to others and don't require non-believers in their faith to pay for those practices.

- - - - -

There is ignorance. There is stupidity.
     Ignorance is lacking knowledge. Stupidity is not knowing what to do with knowledge one has.
     Both are factors in one of the larger frauds perpetrated upon mankind in recent decades.
     Global warming, which serious scientists now admit was a minor trend that actually reversed a dozen or so years ago to a cooling of the earth now underway.
     This winter has been milder in some parts of the U.S., which has brought forth the usual idiots' chorus bewailing "global warming," presumably from morons who enjoy driving on ice-covered roads.  These are also people who are so small-minded they think the localized weather on their small piece of the planet is "global", despite the fact that Europe is having one of the coldest winters in history  (more than a hundred people have frozen to death in Ukraine alone) and Fairbanks, Alaska, has had record cold and snow.
     The ignorance is either the fault of our failed joke of an education system or reflects willful disdain for the facts, motivated by political considerations. The fact that this ignorance is exploited by so-called "scientists", most of whom have to know better, has discredited that entire profession in much same way earlier "scientists" refused to acknowledge that the sun did not revolve around the earth.
    Their motivation is largely greed; keeping those government-grants coming, in exchange for giving politicians bogus justification for wasting taxpayer money on fraudulent projects sponsored by friends and contributors. And the teachers' union always needs more dues-payers, qualified or not.
     Both educators and "scientists" have much for which to answer.

- - - - -

Jonah Goldberg takes a real-world view of the giant extortion ring called the UN ...
     "The governments in Russia and China very much want to uphold the principle that every now and then the state must crush people who want freedom. That is why they worked together to veto a fairly toothless United Nations resolution condemning the regime in Syria and calling for President Bashar Assad, the lipless murderer who runs the place, to step down.
     "I've never quite understood the idealistic enthusiasm people have for the United Nations. U.N. members vote for stuff, so people think the U.N. is somehow democratic in more than a procedural way. But that's not true. There's nothing in the U.N. Charter -- at least nothing that has any binding power -- that says a government has to be democratic or even care for the welfare of its people. When the ambassador from North Korea claims to speak for his people at the U.N., it has no more moral legitimacy than a serial killer speaking for the victims he has locked in his basement."
     --  (Townhall.com)  --

- - - - -

I'm sure it's happened to you. A song suddenly pops into your mind for no reason ... and lingers.
     It happened to me yesterday.
     I suddenly thought of my old friend, the late Don Ho. Susan and I had a long, lovely lunch with Don and his wife, Hau'mea, in an unpretentious little family-run Chinese restaurant in Honolulu, well off the tourist trail, not long before he died almost five years ago.
     The song that came to mind was one written by his friend, Kui Lee, and which Don sang often. It's the hauntingly beautiful, "I'll Remember You."
     On a whim, I looked for it on YouTube and found many versions. The best is the duet Don did with Robin Wilson. She sings, "I'll Remember You" as Don sings "She's Gone Again" in counterpoint.
     If you want to hear a simple, beautiful piece of music, go to YouTube ... click on "music" ... then enter "Don Ho Robin Wilson" and there it is. My gift to you today, in memory of one of the great entertainers.
      And friend.

- - - - -

Rick offers a test with a lesson in priorities ...
      You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.
     Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? Think before you continue reading.
     This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.
     The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: 'I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.'
     However, sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to 'Think Outside of the Box.'
     So ... the CORRECT answer is to run the old lady over and put her out of her misery because Obama's health care won't pay for her hospital visit anyway ... have sex with the perfect partner on the hood of the car ... then drive off with the old friend for a few beers.

- - - - -

Reader Cathy provides a heartwarming tale that removes "dumb" as a prefix for "blonde" ...
     A lawyer boarded an airplane in New Orleans with a box of frozen crabs and asked a blonde flight attendant to take care of them for him. She took the box and promised to put it in the crew's refrigerator for safekeeping.
     He advised her that he was holding her personally responsible for them staying frozen, mentioning in a very haughty manner that he was a lawyer,and proceeded to rant at her about what would happen if she let them thaw out. Needless to say, she was annoyed by his behavior.
      Shortly before landing in New York , she used the intercom to announce to the entire cabin, "Would the lawyer who gave me the crabs in New Orleans please raise your hand?"
      Not one hand went up, so she took them home and ate them.
OBAMUNIST SPEAKS ... WHITE HOUSE SPOKES-LIAR
 ... OIL TO CHINA
 
Credit black actor Samuel L. Jackson, who specializes in menacing roles, with candor for his interview remarks in Ebony Magazine in which he bluntly explained why he voted for Barack Obama ...
     "I voted for Barack because he was black. 'Cuz that's why other folks vote for other people — because they look like them ... That's American politics, pure and simple. [Obama's] message didn't mean [bleep] to me."
     Jackson used the N-word several times when discussing Obama, telling Ebony, "When it comes down to it, they wouldn't have elected a [bleep].  Because, what's a [bleep]?  A [bleep] is scary.  Obama ain't scary at all. [Bleeps] don't have beers at the White House. [Bleeps] don't let some white dude, while you in the middle of a speech, call [him] a liar. A [bleep] would have stopped the meeting right there and said, ‘Who the [bleep] said that?'  I hope Obama gets scary in the next four years, 'cuz he ain't gotta worry about getting re-elected."

- - - - -

Democrats just can't keep themselves from blatantly lying, secure in the knowledge that there are so many ignorant dopes among the public that lies will prevail.  Jack Lew replaced Bill Daley as White House Chief of Staff after Daley was shoved out, obviously after disagreeing with Obama's plot to try to undermine the Catholic Church.
     Lew, equally obviously assigned to lay the groundwork for the next Obama attempt to over-spend, told the gullibly willing newswhores that a budget couldn't be passed with fewer than sixty votes in the Senate, implying that the evil Republicans would prevent the noble Democrats from reaching that number.
     That ... is ... a ... lie.  A filibuster-proof majority of sixty votes is NOT required to pass the budget; only a simple majority consisting of fifty-one votes will do it.

- - - - -  

George Neumayr explains why repeated power-grabs by Obama, including his attack on the Catholic Church, should have come as no surprise ...
     "On one level, Obama is nothing more than a glib and empty pol, who careens from focus group to pollster. But on another level, buried deep within his cold and rootless personality, he is a man of perverse tenacity, a convinced socialist and secularist who was trained long ago to run the ball into the end zone for radicalism.
     "For all his joshing and superficial charm, he remains the creepy child of post-Enlightenment liberalism -- the infant demigod presented between sets of oversized and plastic Greek columns at the Democratic National Convention in 2008, who as the proceedings concluded crawled back into the shadows to watch mutely the adoring crowds below.
     "Such a deluded Democratic president was bound to overreach disastrously. Obamacare is a 'big f -- king deal,' Joe Biden whispered into his ear.  And it is -- an unconstitutional coup disguised as altruistic legislation that was rammed through Congress by reckless partisan hacks who hadn't even read it."
     -- (The American Spectator)  --

- - - - -

The Big Media have pretty much ignored it, but Canada has fulfilled its pledge to stop screwing around with the phony in the White House and go ahead with the China oil deal. The oil that would have come across the border in a pipeline to refineries on the gulf coast will instead go to China. This will ultimately be a major part of the lurid legacy of the blatantly anti-American that voters stupidly put in the White House. They'll pay for it at the gas pump, of course -- but so will the rest of us who had better sense than to vote for a leftist with zero real-world work experience.

- - - - -

Take a look at news coverage of the riots in Athens. They are a direct result of economic mismanagement -- government over-spending.  At the rate the U.S. government is going, the trend-line shows we'll be in similar condition within ten years, with likely similar results. People get accustomed to "free" services from the government, and become outraged when those "freebies" are taken away. But most politicians are content to buy short-term popularity with money they don't have.  And lie to a largely ignorant public while they do it.  Obama provides the outstanding example.
      In the meantime, look for wage and price controls, which NEVER work, as one likely but very temporary stop on the way to an economic collapse and a repeat of the Great Depression if we don't get MUCH, MUCH wiser leadership in Washington -- and not just in the White House.
     Of course, those who try to repair the damage by inflicting pain upon freeloaders will reap the blame that properly would be assigned to Obama, Reid, Pelosi and Republicans who were willing to "go along to get along."
     If you think the manic effort by Obama and his party to make more and more Americans recipients of -- and ultimately dependent upon -- government subsidies of things like housing, abortion, college tuition, etc., aren't aimed at buying votes, you are beyond naive.

- - - - -

Try to comfort yourself with these historical facts during this election year:
Presidents seldom turn out to be as good as their supporters expect.
Presidents seldom turn out to be as bad as their detractors expect.
     Except for Obama, who has more than fulfilled the worst expectations.

- - - - -

Sometimes its restful not to have to think about an issue. For instance, if Nancy Pelosi announces that tomorrow the sun will rise in the east, at dawn I'll have my sunglasses on -- looking west.

- - - - -

Rich Lowry (National Review) raises some points left-wing feminists should consider -- but won't ... about the Kennedy "legacy" ...
    "Mimi Alford’s account of life at the White House as a 19-year-old intern who caught the president’s eye is a vividly personal portrayal of the ugliness behind the alluring images. Alford’s belated tell-all, Once Upon a Secret, should be assigned in women’s-studies classes as an illustration of the power imbalances in employer-employee sexual liaisons, especially those involving commanders-in-chief and their interns.
     "Ultimately, though, she was a plaything at the sultan’s court. He never kissed her. During a White House swim, she says, JFK commanded her to perform oral sex on (presidential pal Dave) Powers, and, to her humiliation, she complied. Later, he prodded her to do the same for his 'baby brother,' Teddy."

     Classy bunch, those Kennedys ...

- - - - -

They come, they go ...
     Anyone heard from Herman Cain lately?

- - - - -

More media mangling of the language ...
A CRITERION is one vital element necessary to achieve a purpose; an essential standard.
More than one such element are CRITERIA, which is the plural word. For example, "Experience is a CRITERION for an important job," not a CRITERIA."
     And no matter how often it's misused by people in the communications industry itself, MEDIA is a plural; MEDIUM is the singular. Television is a medium. Radio is a medium. Newspapers constitute a medium. TV, radio and newspapers collectively are MEDIA.
     Saying or writing, "The media is ..."  is as correct as saying or writing, "My parents is ..."
     I know -- it's a hopeless battle against mass ignorance.

- - - - -

From Britain's Telegraph newspaper ... winners in the Joke of the Year competition ...
     "I had a car crash the other day. A dwarf got out the other car and said, 'I'm not happy'. To which I replied, 'Which one are you, then?'"
     I was playing chess with my friend and he said ‘Let’s make this more interesting’. So we stopped playing chess.
     "My wife went out shopping and brought home the escalator. It was marked 'down.'"
     “Conjunctivitis.com – that’s a site for sore eyes.”

OBAMA'S GIFT TO AMERICA-HATERS ...
JUDGE'S "TEACHING MOMENT"...
WAGE-PRICE CONTROLS AGAIN?

Let's see how the scoreboard is looking so far on the "Arab Spring" ...
     Egypt, where it came to full flower, has seen the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood as the major power in the country.  Yemen has had its pro-American president ousted by Muslim fundamentalists. The situation in Libya appears thus far to be the exchange of one murderous regime for another.  The usual fanatic groups -- Hamas, Hezbollah, etc., -- have aligned themselves with the opposition to Syria's murderous President Assad, pointing roward the replacement of one tyranny with another.
     And what does Obama propose in his budget plan for our own bankrupt nation? To spend almost a billion more dollars SUPPORTING the so-called "Arab Spring", thereby giving more of your tax dollars to people who vow to destroy western civilization!
     This, like much of Obama's vaunted "change", is insanity at the highest level.

- - - - -

Quote of the (still young) week: Rudy Giuliani to Fox News regarding Obama's pitiful reaction to Iran's threats:
"He's like someone who is 15 years old and totally immature, and you don’t know power politics, and you have never faced evil in your life. We’ve seen what happens when you beg dictators — they take advantage.”

- - - - -

Matt Barber cuts to the chase ...
     "Karl Marx once said: 'The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.
     "When Karl Marx speaks, Barack Obama listens.
     "Despite two pathetic feints at 'compromise,' Obama’s illegal requirement that faith-based groups pay for policies providing immoral 'reproductive services' remains in full force.
     "America: this arrogant, narcissistic, amoral man thinks you’re stupid. Who do you think pays for the insurance policies that provide “free” birth control, sterilizations and abortifacients to employees? Why, the very religious organizations doctrinally prohibited from paying for these 'services' in the first place, of course.
     "This is nothing but a South Side Chicago shell game, dressed up as a concession. Obama’s unprecedented attack on the First Amendment continues full steam ahead."
     -- (Townhall.com) --

- - - - -

An ancient shibboleth has it that "a conservative is a Democrat who got mugged last night."  
     Time will tell if that is the case with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, liberal to the core, who just got robbed by a bandit wielding a machete at his vacation home on the Caribbean island of Nevis, where jet-setters go to play.

- - - - -

As predictably as sunrise, my observation made yesterday regarding the likelihood of wage-price controls being one future stop on the way to financial chaos brought objections from people who thought such government-mandated controls were a good idea. To believe such nonsense, you have to believe that the immutable laws of supply and demand have been repealed.
     Such controls will ALWAYS be evaded, and always have been, thru such devices as (A) a black-market for goods in short supply, (B) disguised payoffs, (C) every way the inventive human mind can conceive. Or ... businesses that produce a purchase a product for a dollar and are forced to sell it for ninety cents will simply go out of business.
     Yet, in times of fiscal stress, such silliness will be tried -- even by Republicans like Nixon. Such fiscal witchcraft may work in the short term, and earn kudos from the sheeple, but in the longterm are inevitably doomed to failure. For further evidence, re-visit the history of caps on gasoline prices under Carter. Long lines wasting hours of otherwise-productive time, frustration and even fist-fights. Reagan immediately removed the controls, prices spiked briefly, then the gasoline flowed and prices eventually lowered. So much oil was discovered by renewed drilling that oil dropped to ten dollars a barrel.

- - - - -

Simpletons at play: Gene Sperling, a Clinton retread who now is head of the White House's national economic council, thinks we need a GLOBAL minimum tax. Next we can probably expect a detailed plan of just how such an idiotic scheme could be organized and enforced. And, of course, who could be expected to get rich from it.

- - - - -

Anybody surprised that the taxpayers are taking a haircut at the Senate barbershop?

- - - - -

Here's what happens when people get fed up with feeble law enforcement. In Detroit, the rate of JUSTIFIABLE homicide is more than three times the national level. If the police and the legal system won't do anything about crime, at some point vigilantes will -- and do.

- - - - -

Dan Sorkin shares some political wisdom ...
     "Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." ~Plato
     "When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it." ~Clarence Darrow
     "Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel." ~John Quinton
     "Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other." ~Oscar Ameringer
     "There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators." ~Will Rogers

- - - - -

There is no such word as "cos". As in, "He did it cos he wanted to." I understand the need for abbreviations in twitter messages because characters are limited in number. To use "cos" in other communications is a sign not only of illiteracy, but stupidity.
     Also ...
CHILE is a South American nation. CHILI is a food.
     A few years ago, as we were organizing a cruise for listeners, a printing company did a bit of misinformed proof-reading and cranked out hundreds of brochures announcing various ports-of-call in ... Chili. Crackers extra, of course ...

- - - - -

More word stuff ...
On the subject of the misuse of plural words -- which I've probably beaten to death ("media", for example), Mike in Washington (state) reminds us that if there is just one item on a list of things that need to be done, it's not an AGENDA; the singular is AGENDUM. And how often have you seen or heard that word used correctly? AGENDA is another plural.
     
We will now don our caps and gowns and do a stately march to "Pomp and Circumstance."

- - - - -

Overheard at the golf course ...
     "What's your handicap?"
     "Oh, I'm a scratch golfer," O.V. replied.
     "Really?!"
     "Yes, I write down all my good scores and scratch out the bad ones!"
WHAT'S THE BREAKING POINT? ...
ABORTION VS. CONTRACEPTION ...
CORRUPTION 101

The economy is in shreds and is NOT recovering, propaganda to the contrary notwithstanding. The debt has zoomed to unheard-of levels, the gasoline to run your car has nearly doubled, even as Obama rejects a Canadian oil source just over the border, food prices have skyrocketed, he's decimating our military and threatens to drastically reduce our nuclear arsenal even as he imposes those cuts to defense personnel, etc., etc.
     What kind of president does this, and more?  
     The question answers itself.

- - - - -

Something Republican primary voters need to consider very carefully:
     While opposition to abortion has not been an insurmountable barrier to presidential candidates, none so opposed have actually DONE anything about it and are limited as to what they might possibly do, anyway. Such laws cannot be imposed by presidential fiat (although Obama may be breaking new ground in that area).
     Perhaps the knowledge that any opponent of abortion is unlikely to actually achieve abolition of it is a reason why many voters who don't share that view have nevertheless been willing to vote for anti-abortion candidates.
     However, Rick Santorum is on record as being opposed to contraception, as well. It would be wise to wonder if even non-Catholics who support that church's right to reject even indirect payment for abortions would make a political decision to support a candidate with a professed opposition to contraception even if his ability to ban it is probably not a realistic fear.
     If Mr. Santorum is the nominee, prepare to hear much, much more about this.

- - - - -

I have no trouble containing enthusiasm for Mitt Romney; his greatest appeal is that he isn't Obama.  However, it is wearying to hear the constant refrain from the Republican right that "the establishment is FORCING candidates like Dole and McCain upon us."
     Wait a minute. How did these two -- both of whom I opposed, by the way -- get to BE the Republican candidates?  Because voters in Republican primaries ELECTED them to the role. And last time I looked, no armed Eastern Establishment "moderate" thugs were accompanying us into the voting booth.
     (That tactic is copyrighted and owned by the Democrats' left-wing.)

- - - - -

Michael Goodwin (NY Post) on Obama's budget proposal ...
     "It is a fraud, a scam, a wooden nickel, pure and unadulterated flimflam.
     "As such, it neatly captures the moral bankruptcy of Obama’s presidency. Trapped by the failure of his policies and the laws of economics and politics, he inadvertently reveals that he is serious about nothing except re-election.
     "Acting like a candidate running in a party primary instead of a president with a duty to govern, he glues reams of fictional numbers to the fantasies of a community organizer. Presto — he’s a man with a vision of utopia he can read from a TelePrompter."

- - - - -

Catholics voted overwhelmingly for Obama in 2008, but that sentiment seems to be changing, bigtime, according to the latest Rasmussen poll. It shows 59% at least somewhat disapprove of his performance in office, while 40% somewhat approve. But, as Rasmussen points out, the passion is on the side of people who dislike him. The numbers show 44% strongly disapprove, while only 19% strongly approve.

- - - - -

Veteran political observer Wes Pruden of the Washington Times says opponents of Obama's attack on the Catholic Church are missing the major point in their response. For example ...
     "Rick Santorum and the president’s critics, so far mostly Catholics, miss the fact that the protest of the bishops would have been more effective if they had focused it on cause rather than effect. This enabled the president and his friends to make it a controversy about condoms and IUDs, not about fracturing the Constitutional guarantees of religious freedom."

Of course, most Americans today are so poorly educated they have no idea what's in the Constitution in the first place, and are more concerned with immediate gratification than enduring principles.

- - - - -

A Joe Biden quote from the past that he might prefer not have recalled ...
     "I'd shove my rosary beads down the throat of anyone who suggested that the Obama administration was hostile to the Church.”

- - - - -

“Today I’m pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we’ve long neglected. But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay — and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control.” -- Barack Obama, February 23, 2009.
 
Just another in a litany of lies.

- - - - -

Doomsayers are never popular, but this excerpt from a Chicago Tribune editorial echoes what's been written here often...
     "One of this nation's plausible futures plays out vividly on a TV screen near you: Fire-heaving mobs enraged by the harsh consequences of rampant public borrowing have torched one of Europe's grossly indebted capitals, Athens. Fretful officials in other capitals — Rome, Lisbon, Madrid and more — must wonder whether the flames will rage in their countries next.
     "None of which evidently dents skulls in Washington, where federal pols from both parties act as if they're weirdly determined to invite Greece's conflagration to leap the Atlantic."

Bluntly, we live in a country being run by irresponsible crazy people -- and America's voters, in their ignorance and downright stupidity, elected them.

- - - - -

Also from Chicago, to be filed under "Ho-hum" ...
     A former Chicago alderman, now political science professor at the University of Illinois, has announced that based on several quantifiable points, Chicago is the most corrupt city in the nation.
     As a two-time resident, I largely concur.
     Ordinary example of how it works: The sidewalk in front of your house is broken. You call the Streets and Sanitation Department to get it fixed. Nothing happens. Then you call your neighborhood "ward heeler" (flunky for your invariably Democrat alderman) ... make a contribution to the Chicago Democrat Party machine ... a crew from that same San & Streets Department is there tomorrow and your sidewalk gets fixed.
     The "ward heeler" also performs tasks like tearing down campaign posters for any candidate who dares oppose "his" alderman or the mayor, intimidates residents and businesspeople for contributions, etc.
     A friend who's operated a small business in Chicago for years has spent thousands of dollars for bribes and payoffs to city officials over the years to get the most routine red-tape paperwork done. Being, say, an appointed (by the machine) building inspector in Chicago has been the road to wealth for many.
     Few big cities are immune to such shenanigans, but Chicago's Democrats have developed corruption to an art form.

PS--In case it's been overlooked, our president is a product of this system.

- - - - -

The National Review, long the virtual bible of American conservatism, says in its online edition that it's time for Newt to hang it up ...
     "Gingrich’s verbal and intellectual talents should make him a resource for any future Republican president. But it would be a grave mistake for the party to make someone with such poor judgment and persistent unpopularity its presidential nominee. It is not clear whether Gingrich remains in the race because he still believes he could become president next year or because he wants to avenge his wounded pride: an ambiguity that suggests the problem with him as a leader. When he led Santorum in the polls, he urged the Pennsylvanian to leave the race. On his own arguments the proper course for him now is to endorse Santorum and exit."

- - - - -

Here's why it would be good to forward the link to this column (RADIORODGERS.COM) to a friend or acquaintance: If they thank you for it, they are deserving of your friendship. If they object, they are not worthy of your time or interest.

- - - - -

Distressing headline ...
     "Suicidal identical twin kills sister by mistake"

- - - - -

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." -- Mr. Hill

- - - - -

This news item may not do much for your faith in human nature ...
     In Florida, April Cottman, 41, has been arrested. Seems Ms. Cottman saw another woman get hit by a car and rushed to her side.
     And asked her how she was doing.
     And when the woman barely mumbled something in response, April is said to have hit her in the face and stolen her purse.

- - - - -

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "The Grammy show lasted 3 1/2 hours. Before it was over, Kim Kardashian married half of the L.A. Clippers."

- - - - -

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning having gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, sheer guts plus arrogance; it's Yiddish and, as Leo Rosten writes, no other word, and no other language, can do it justice. With that in mind ...
      A little old lady sold pretzels on a street corner for a dollar each. Every day a young man would leave his office building at lunch time and as he passed the pretzel stand he would leave her a dollar, but never take a pretzel.
     This offering went on for more than 3 years.
     The two of them never spoke.
     One day as the young man passed the old lady's stand and left his dollar as usual, the pretzel lady spoke to him for the first time in over 3 years.
      She said: "They're a dollar and a quarter now."
  -- John Dillon
LITTLE SNAKES GROW UP ... ABOLISH NUKES? NEVER HAPPEN ...
... RECALLING DOLE AND "WHERE'S THE OUTRAGE?"  

After endless, time-wasting discussions in Washington about when Iran can build nuclear weapons or whether Iran can construct devices so simple even high-school students have mastered the process, lacking only the materials to do it, it appears that the regime in Tehran has used the time so heedlessly given them to accomplish their goal.  So -- now what?
     Picture a nuclear-armed, hostile Iran with missiles than can even reach the U.S. -- and certainly bring our bases in Europe within range. NOW what, Washington?
     Some stupid American "leaders" -- and the rest of us -- may soon re-learn the lesson that little snakes grow up to be big snakes when common sense would have dictated killing them in their nest.
     And Obama's answer to all this? Reduce our military and dispose of most -- ultimately all, he says -- of our own nuclear weapons.
     Americans signed a suicide note when they elected this devious subversive.

- - - - -

In connection with Obama's absurd Utopian pledge regarding nukes ...
Somebody needs to tell the dope in the White House that nothing that has ever been invented has ever been UN-invented. Therefore, his stated goal to "rid the world of nuclear weapons" is childish nonsense. Somebody -- many somebodies -- will always have them, no matter what Utopian treaties are dreamed up by gullible fools.  For the world's largest democracy to even consider destroying its nuclear deterrent -- and with the shrinkage of our armed forces, our ONLY serious deterrent -- is suicidal lunacy.
     Unless, of course, that IS Obama's goal. You may believe that's not a possibility. Good luck -- to all of us.

- - - - -

Ann Coulter (Human Events) has a reminder for Obama & Co. about the real purpose of medical insurance -- and it's NOT about birth control ...
     "Insurance is not supposed to be for normal expenses in the ordinary course of events, such as multivitamins, house painting or oil changes. Insurance is for unexpected catastrophes: fires, accidents, cancer.
     "The basic idea is to spread the risk of unforeseen disasters. Filling up your gas tank, for example, is not an unforeseen disaster (though it's getting to be under Obama).
     "So why is birth control covered by insurance? Birth control pills aren't that expensive -- generics are about $20 a month -- nor is the need for them a bolt out of the blue. Why not have health insurance cover manicures, back massages, carrot cake and nannies?  

- - - - -

The Obama-induced argument over whether women have a "right" to free birth control brings to mind an old but pertinent story about a young woman who asked an older friend how to prevent pregnancy.
     The friend responded, "With a dime?"
      "A dime? How does that work?"
      "You clasp it firmly between the knees."

- - - - -

China's VP to Obama ...
     "Which cheek do you want to kiss, left or right? Upper or lower?"

- - - - -

The pro-Obama Big Media are gleefully touting polls that show Obama beating any of the Republican contenders, head-to-head.  What they fail to take into account is the fact that Republicans are involved in a ferocious primary campaign in which each candidate does his damndest to undercut support for his Republican opponents and that mutually-destructive effort dominates the daily news. Once the nomination is settled, most supporters whose favorites lost will -- however reluctantly -- vote for the survivor as the alternative to four more years of Obama.
     It might also be remembered that the previous holder of the title Worst President in History, Jimmy Carter, had a substantial lead over Reagan in the polls until just before the general election. Reagan was coming off a brutal primary contest (vs. Bush Sr.) and "moderate" Republicans were still hostile toward him. Then, on election day, they remembered why they wanted to get rid of the grinning boob from Georgia, and RR won in a landslide.

- - - - -

Republicans who think that issues of personal morality (e.g., birth control and abortions) should be the dominant issue in a presidential campaign would be well-advised to consider Bill Clinton's second election. It was obvious to all that the man had the morals of an alley-cat, but he won anyway, purely on the state of the economy -- credit for which should have gone in great part to congressional Republicans. We might recall poor, befuddled Bob Dole watch his campaign get crushed by a blatant serial adulterer and adroit liar and crying out, "Where's the outrage?!"
     The outrage simply wasn't there -- at least in sufficient quantity -- and Bob Dole became a trivial footnote to presidential history.

Footnote: My longtime friend Jack Hilton, formerly a key executive at J. Walter Thompson Advertising and a man with much media experience, was hired to coach Dole on his television mannerisms. Jack later told me, on-air, that it was the most frustrating job he'd ever undertaken. He said Dole was a very nice guy, would seemingly accept advice for which his campaign was paying ... then go before the cameras and ignore that advice. Jack couldn't even get him to drop the elitist habit of referring to himself in the third person; e.g., "Bob Dole thinks we should do this ... "

- - - - -

Today's recommended reading ...
At NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE ... "Arab Like Me" by Lee Habeeb, who gets to the real root of Arab hatred for Israel and Jews.
     At root, it comes down to fear and envy.

- - - - -

Prof. Walter Williams asks his fellow black Americans to get serious about education -- or the lack of it -- and violence in the schools ...
     "Many black students are alien and hostile to the education process. They are permitted to make education impossible for other students. Their misbehavior and violence require schools to divert resources away from education and spend them on security, such as hiring school police and purchasing metal detectors, all of which does little for school safety. The violent school climate discourages the highest-skilled teachers from teaching at schools where they risk assaults, intimidation and theft. At a bare minimum, part of the solution to school violence and poor academic performance should be the expulsion of students who engage in assaults and disrespectful behavior. You say, 'What's to be done for these students?'  Even if we don't know what to do with them, how compassionate and intelligent is it to permit them to make education impossible for other students?
     "The fact that black parents, teachers, politicians and civil rights organizations tolerate and make excuses for the despicable and destructive behavior of so many young blacks is a gross betrayal of the memory, struggle, sacrifice, sweat and blood of our ancestors. The sorry and tragic state of black education is not going to be turned around until there's a change in what's acceptable and unacceptable behavior by young people. That change has to come from within the black community."

- - - - -

I am delighted to see the devious, underhanded leftists at Media Matters, the Soros-funded left-wing propaganda mill, get some well-deserved negative attention.  Having been targeted by their lies and deceptions during many years on the air, I know how they operate.

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "Rick Santorum said women might not be suited for military action because their emotions aren't suited for combat.  Which can mean only one thing: He’s never seen an episode of 'The View."

- - - - -

Jay Leno --
     "The vice president of China showed up at the White House. That's what happens when you get behind on the rent. The landlord shows up, starts looking around."

SLIPPERY POLL? ...
REPUBLICANS MIGHT GO FOR BROKE(red) CONVENTION
 ... MORMON CONVERSION CONTROVERSY

A poll sponsored by CBS and the New York Times finds -- surprise! -- Obama's approval rating suddenly up to 50%.
     Cynical old me, I can't help but wonder if the poll-takers posed the question something like this: "Do you dislike Obama so much you'd like to pee on his shoes? No? Okay, then ... I'll put you down in the 'approve' column."

- - - - -

After the Newt Gingrich roller-coaster campaign, which now does appear finally to be dead, I am reluctant to pronounce on the Republican race. Nevertheless, if Mitt Romney can't win the Michigan primary with all the money he is spending there, he falls to long-shot status. Then the question would become, "Can Rick Santorum beat Obama?"
     Unless the voting public undergoes a much larger end even more hostile awakening to what Obama is doing to the country, I wouldn't bet on it.
     If that skeptical view of Santorum's chances  is widely shared by delegates at convention time, the unlikely prospect of a brokered convention then becomes a real possibility. If it comes to that point,  the name of the other Bush brother, Jeb, will loom large and delegates will have to weigh a widespread distaste for the idea of a third Bush presidency against the recognized reality that Jeb was always regarded as the brighter brother and -- even within the family -- as the Bush family political star of the future.

- - - - -

Although Romney had nothing to do with the posthumous (and uninvited) conversion of dead Jews to Mormonism, including the parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, the attention to this widely-criticized event may have been a factor in the further decline of Romney's poll numbers. It has certainly brought scrutiny of Romney's religion among people might otherwise have no particular interest in it, one way or the other.

- - - - -

As you watch Michigan primary results, keep in mind that it is an open primary, i.e., you can vote in the presidential primary by choosing either a Republican or Democrat ballot. Democrats therefore have an incentive to vote for whichever Republican they think could be more easily beaten.

- - - - -

How often it comes down to the car a politician drives.  During his failed attempt at the Republican nomination, Pat Buchanan suffered when voters learned that the "Buy American" candidate drove a Mercedes. Rick Santorum may face similar difficulties now that it's public knowledge that his vehicle of choice is an Audi.
     Why not a vehicle made in America? -- Like, say, a Toyota or Honda or BMW? Or even one made in neighboring Canada, like a Chevrolet? Or a car from just across the border in Mexico, like a Ford? Or Chrysler product from the company owned by Fiat of Italy?

- - - - -

Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have both sent word to CNN that they will not participate in the next debate organized by the left-leaning (and viewer-losing) cable network.
     Good.

- - - - -

How transparent -- even criminal -- does a political action have to get before the Big Media stop their metaphorical beard-stroking and call it what it is? I refer to the "debate" over Democrat objections to state laws requiring voters to provide identification before casting a ballot.
     The reason Democrats object is crystal-clear. Getting votes from people not legally qualified -- even dead -- is the hallmark of Democrat politics. They're crooks, and they don't want anybody impeding the practice.

- - - - -

John Stossel cuts to the chase about Obama's "cuts" ...
     "President Obama said in his State of the Union speech, 'We've already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings.'
     "But what the president was talking about is not even a cut. The politicians just agreed that over the next 10 years, instead of increasing spending by $9.48 trillion, they'd increase it by 'just' $7.3 trillion. Calling that a 'cut' is nonsense."

But all that matters to Obama and the Democrats is that the stupid suckers buy it. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt's advisor, Harry Hopkins, who created the mantra by which Democrat politicians have lived ever since: "We will spend and spend, and tax and tax, and elect and elect."
     Thus are the sheeple led happily to their slaughter.

- - - - -

Today's must reading: REASON.com ... "Warren Buffett: Baptist and Bootlegger" ... by Peter Schweizer.
How Saint Warren and his Democrat friends get rich off the taxpayers.

- - - - -

The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at reality head-on
      "...at some point we wish everyone – the political class, the media, taxpayers of all ideologies – would just accept this as a given: As a nation, we can’t continue spending vastly more than we take in. The Obama plan, if enacted, would add $901 billion to the national debt. This is less than in recent years but still enormous on a historical scale – the U.S. spending 31 percent more than it receives in revenue."

What kind of lunatic voter -- or president -- believes this can go on indefinitely?

- - - - -

If we have an unprincipled government, it reflects an unprincipled electorate. From Rasmussen Reports ...
     "A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters now feel that, looking to the future, it’s more important for the Republican Party to work with the president rather than stand for what it believes in. Forty-four percent (44%) disagree and think standing for what the party believes in is more important."

To put it in street language, it appears we are becoming a nation of whores. Thank you, Democrats.

- - - - -   

With riots flaring anew in Greece and many Greeks angry at Western Europe in general and Germany in particular for being foolish enough to loan money to Athens then having the gall to actually expect it to be repaid, perhaps a personal observation will help in understanding the situation.
     The error begins with the assumption that Greeks are European. They are not. They are far more like their middle-east neighbors in character, absent Islam.
     I came to this conclusion years ago as a result of being a longtime (25 years) partner with a fine ethnic Greek  in the travel industry. His own family roots were deep there, originating on the island of Samos. We did a lot of business in Greece because of the large population of ethnic Greeks in Chicago, the second-largest Greek city after Athens. (We operated a chain of travel agencies there.)
     I've spent time in many foreign countries -- about eighty -- but more in Greece than anywhere. Mine is a subjective judgment, but my late partner totally concurred. Stamatis Tsalikis, you were totally correct.

- - - - -  

The unluckiest pilot in America has to be the guy who inadvertently flew a Cessna 182 into Southern California airspace that was to be kept clear for Air Force One to take off from LAX on a flight to haul Obama to a money-mooching political dinner in San Francisco.
     Radar picked up the intruder and the Air Force forced him to land ... whereupon authorities found he was carrying a cargo of marijuana.

- - - - -

Dan Sorkin recalls Dana Perino (FOX News) and an interview she recently had with a Navy SEAL.
After discussing all the countries that  he had been sent to, she asked if they had to learn several  languages?
He answered, "No ma'am, we don't go there to  talk."

- - - - -

Craig Ferguson --
     "The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue came out on Valentine's Day. That doesn't seem appropriate. Photographs of busty young women. It's like handing out free bacon on Passover."

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "President Obama visited a factory in Wisconsin that brought back 100 jobs from China. It’s got to be tough for the workers in China who lost those jobs — but kids always bounce back."
RADIO DYING ... THE BIG PAYOFF FOR OBAMA SUPPORTERS
... DEMS VOTE IN REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES

The problem with being a "favorite son" in politics is  ... an opponent is sure to finish the phrase.

- - - - -

Not that any rational person doubts the blatant media bias in favor of Obama, but just for the record, the Washington Examiner counted noses and found that no fewer than 19 journalists and media executives, including five from the Washington Post and three each from ABC and CNN, have joined either the administration or groups supporting him.

- - - - -

Speaking of media ...
     I continue to hear from folk both inside my alma mater, ABC Radio, and (former) listeners to those (former) giant stations of talk-radio, complaining about the ravaging of the stations under the new ownership of Cumulus Media. I have no axe to grind with Cumulus; they bought ABC Radio long after I departed. These are simply observations of a business reality.
     The destruction of local on-air product is money-motivated, of course. It's all about "economies of scale", replacing locally-oriented and knowledgeable broadcasters with generic syndicated programming. Instead of paying many individual broadcasters who know the city or region served by the stations, they pay one person to do a talk-show that's fed by satellite -- now pretty cheap to do -- to all their stations, which become nothing more than cut-rate relay outlets.
     In many ways it's a return to the earliest days of radio, when local stations simply transmitted, day and night, programs that originated with NBC, CBS or ABC. Even, at one time, Mutual.  Individual stations could sell a few commercials on station-breaks, but that was the way the business worked. Much like today's TV, which is on the same path to insignificance with audience fragmentation via cable and the internet.
     With the exceptions of a dwindling number of locally-originated morning shows or grinding out endlessly-repeated "news" radio has succumbed to the syndication infestation for one reason: it's cheap. It's a dying industry, despite the pitiful efforts to whistle past the graveyard. Music stations will continue to fall victim to other sources of their mainstay product.
     It all began when the Federal Communications commission in 1992 lifted the previous ownership limitation (a maximum of seven AM and seven FM stations) to allow the ownership of a virtually unlimited number. Thus the companies owning hundreds of stations and programming them all with the same cheap syndicated product fed from a central location. It was the death-knell for variety and creativity. When owners were limited to a maximum of one AM and one FM station per-market, there was fierce competition for listeners. That competition fostered creativity in programming, a factor that is now almost non-existent.

- - - - -

Reality check: The unemployment rate about which Obamunists are now crowing (not that a rate of 8.3%, the officially-reported number, is boast-worthy) is a bogus cooking of the books. It excludes people so discouraged that they've given up on finding a job. Including those unfortunate folk, the real rate is above 15%. Some accounts put it as high as 19%.
     Unfortunately, even purportedly "conservative" media are participating in this fraudulent reporting about how the economy is "improving". Fox, for example, which is reliably reported to be under instructions from boss-man Roger Ailes to "move to the center" now that vanquished CNN is no longer regarded as a serious competitor. So you hear this bull-bleep about the "improving economy" even there.

- - - - -

Only a few weeks ago, "experts" were telling us to expect $4 gasoline by May. We're already past that point in many areas, so the new anticipated spike-level for summer is $5. Thank you, Obama! Alinsky, Marx and Lenin would be SO proud!

- - - - -

Phillip Klein serves up a warning for the Libertarian-inclined ...
     "Nobody expects the Republican presidential nominee to be a libertarian purist, but it helps if he or she at least has a libertarian streak. In Rick Santorum’s case, he’s actively hostile toward libertarianism, and that’s an obstacle not only to him winning the nomination, but also to having a chance in a general election against  President Obama.
     "Santorum [has] explicitly declared, 'I am not a libertarian, and I fight very strongly against libertarian influence within the Republican Party and the conservative movement.'
    "This is a stark departure from Ronald Reagan, who had this to say to the libertarian Reason magazine in a 1975 interview:'If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism'.”
     -- Washington Examiner --

- - - - -

Left-wing websites (Daily Kos, et al) are urging Democrats to vote in Republican primaries in states where such crossover voting is allowed, like Michigan. The openly-stated goal: to try to get Santorum nominated, or at least use him to weaken Romney, on the basis that Santorum would be easily defeated by Obama.

- - - - -

Since "Hope and Change" didn't really materialize, Obama's new anthem for his silly sycophant suckups is: "I hope you DON'T change."

- - - - -

Jim Rogers is co-chair of the host committee for the Democrats' national convention to be held in Charlotte in early September. Mr. Rogers is also CEO of Duke Power, the major utility in that part of the nation. Mr. Rogers has, in past four years, given $210,000 to Democrat candidates and causes. It's been a good investment, for in return Duke Power has gotten more than $230 MILLION in government grant money for "green power" projects. And we know how well such projects have turned out. For further insight, check the Solyndra company.

- - - - -

From Britain's "The Economist", a few words about the silliness of much government regulation ...
     "AMERICANS love to laugh at ridiculous regulations. A Florida law requires vending-machine labels to urge the public to file a report if the label is not there. The Federal Railroad Administration insists that all trains must be painted with an “F” at the front, so you can tell which end is which.  Bureaucratic busybodies in Bethesda, Maryland, have shut down children’s lemonade stands because the enterprising young moppets did not have trading licences. The list goes hilariously on."
     ... and delivers a serious conclusion ...
     "Regulators who make bad decisions should be easily sackable. None of this will resolve the inevitable difficulties of regulating a complex modern society. But it would mitigate a real danger: that regulation may crush the life out of America’s economy."

At the most elementary level, consider all this in light of recent decisions by teacher/morons taking perfectly healthy lunches packed by sane mothers away from little children in order to feed them fast-food style chicken nuggets.
     The only answer to such idiocy is -- FIRE THEM!

- - - - -

Is anyone else sick of the White House phony using the words, "I'm going to ASK this-or-that group to pay more taxes so we can blah-blah-blah?"
     When the government "asks" for something, it means, "You do this, or we'll throw you in jail."

- - - - -

From the "Why Doesn't it Ever Happen to Us?" department, this item ...
     Man, motivated by heaven-knows-what, buys a broken safe on eBay for $122.93. It was sold by a man who didn't have the combination to unlock it and assumed it was empty.
     It wasn't. The buyer busted it open ... and found it contained $26,000.

- - - - -

For my friend OV and golfers everywhere, some relevant quotes about the most frustrating game ever invented ...
    I was three over. One over a house, one over a patio, and one over a swimming pool. ~ George Brett
    The only sure rule in golf is - he who has the fastest cart never has to play the bad lie. ~ Mickey Mantle
     Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you're not good at them. ~ Kevin Costner
     Swing hard in case you hit it. ~ Dan Marino
     Professional golf is the only sport where, if you win 20% of the time, you're the best. ~ Jack Nicklaus
     If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball. ~ Jack Lemmon
     You can make a lot of money in this game. Just ask my ex-wives. Both of them are so rich that neither of their husbands work. ~ Lee Trevino

- - - - -

Conan O'Brien --
     "A group of Democratic fundraisers is offering a dinner with the president for $35,000. Unfortunately, the only person in America who can afford it is Mitt Romney."

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "Jeremy Lin led the New York Knicks to seven straight wins. Soon he'll be getting all the benefits of being an NBA star:  He’ll get a salary bump, an endorsement deal, a Kardashian."

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VS. CROOKED ELECTIONS ...
 A PRESIDENTIAL HOBSON'S CHOICE ...
IDOLS WITH FEET OF CLAY    

The cry to abolish the electoral college and decide presidential elections purely on the popular vote comes primarily from Democrats. Their argument might be more credible if they weren't so hell-bent on obstructing voter ID, obstruction obviously based in the fact that they want to continue collecting votes from people who have no legal right to cast them.
     Again this November, be careful in graveyard areas. Thousands of residents will be rushing out to vote.

- - - - -

This year it's going to be more difficult than usual in a presidential election year to limit one's pessimism.Out of a population of over 300 million, our presidential choices are: an incumbent who, on the record, has earned the title "Worst President in History" ... a flip-flopper who fathered socialized medicine as governor of Massachusetts ... a man who objects to the birth control used by a huge majority of Americans ... a re-tread from the past with a ton of personal and ethical baggage ... and the crazy uncle many would keep locked in the attic.
     Keep repeating: "We must lower our expectations ... "

- - - - -

Scratch one conservative idol.  Arizona's Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a favorite on Fox News, is denying that he threatened to have deported a former lover, a Mexican man.  But the attendant publicity about the case is a virtual certainty to sound the death-knell for his congressional campaign. He's already resigned as co-chairman of the Romney campaign in Arizona.

- - - - -

Jonah Goldberg with some insight into the Obama self-obsession ...
     "Obama expects Republicans to vote against his budget — as any responsible legislator would — so he can then demonize the 'do-nothing Congress' while pretending to be serious about fixing our problems.
     "By the way, the only part of Congress worthy of that sobriquet is the Democrat-controlled Senate, which hasn’t proposed a budget in over 1,000 days. Why hasn’t it? To make it easier for the Democratic president to demonize his opponents.
     "Instead of fulfilling his vow to deliver a 'new kind of politics' and an era of idealism, he’s made politics more cynical than ever. The case for Obama has become the case against everyone and everything inconvenient to his success. Don’t agree with Obama’s policies? Well, you can’t have a good reason. So you must be racist, greedy, stupid or corrupt."

- - - - -

What three years of Obamunism have done for -- or TO -- the nation ...
     Rasmussen Reports poll finds that 37% of likely U.S. Voters say the country’s best days are in the future ... but  46% feel America’s best days are in the past.

Unless we get a serious change in leadership, if you want to see America's future just keep following the news from Greece.

- - - - -

Oh, goody!  Michelle Obama and the girls are off on another vacation -- flying at your expense, of course -- skiing at Aspen, Colorado.

- - - - -

Some highly relevant insights from Burt Prelutsky ...
     "We should never lose sight of the fact that Ronald Reagan once said, 'The federal government is not the solution; it’s the problem.' That is especially the case when it’s in the hands of socialist nincompoops who look at what’s happening to the nations of Europe and, with a straight face, say, We should be more like them. Forget the glories of ancient Greece; it’s modern Greece we should be emulating!'
     "Although we keep hearing about the importance of a college education, particularly an Ivy League college education, what is one to make of people like Obama and cabinet members Hillary Clinton, Tim Geithner, John Bryson, Shaun Donovan, Arne Duncan and Eric Holder, all of whom got their degrees from Harvard and Yale? Let’s face it -- if a manufacturing company turned out such shoddy products, you would assume that the only reason they weren’t out of business is because Obama was shoveling billions of tax dollars their way to keep them on life support.
     "The fact of the matter is that every liberal is at heart a Utopian. They believe that if enough laws and regulations are passed, human equality is attainable. As goofy as that sounds, it’s easily explained. Liberals, you see, are morons. That’s why they continue to believe, for instance, that socialism is so much better than capitalism."

- - - - -

Mark it on your calendar. March 24, when a rally of atheists in Washington is sure to get Big Media coverage.
Now -- where is the entrepreneur with the imagination to attend and sell badges and T-shirts proclaiming, "I swear to God I'm an atheist?"

- - - - -

The Washington Times reports on Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old journalist who wrote for the daily al-Bilad in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On Feb. 4, the observance of Muhammad’s birthday, Mr. Kashgari sent out three tweets expressing what he would say if he met Islam’s founder. “On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you,” the first read. “On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more,” went the second. The third tweet said, “On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more.”
     For those messages, his is facing charges of “disrespecting God” and “insulting the prophet.” If found guilty, which seems likely, he will be publicly beheaded.

- - - - -

Wondering out-loud ... why do the brass at NBC think an entire nation is somehow bedazzled by their address at Rockefeller Center in New York  to the extent that they work the name into TV shows? Does anyone west of the Hudson River care?  For that matter, does anyone EAST of the Hudson River care?

Speaking of NBC, even by the standards of Big Media a particularly contemptible leftist suck-up operation ...
     Despite the fact that Chelsea Clinton has no talent and the alleged news program who on which she appears, "Rock Center" (there they go again!), has no ratings, NBC has signed her to another contract to continue to "report".

- - - - -

Derek Hunter (Townhall.com) gives us a valuable language lesson about the lying libs ...
     "Remember when Democrats used to call themselves liberals? Then conservatives showed the world what liberals really were, and no one wanted to call themselves that anymore.
     "Now, they call themselves progressives again – as they did in the early 20th century until their racist/fascist agenda was rejected and they went into hiding under the word liberal. (To you progressives outraged by this truth, read Jonah Goldberg’s masterful book Liberal Fascism and open your eyes to your eugenics-loving, racist roots.)
     "Their name has changed, but their objectives have not. They want an all-powerful federal government with the individual subjected to its will and whims."

- - - - -

After seeing Kyle Busch save his car twice from spin-outs caused by being hit in the left-rear -- a no-no at Daytona as well as other tracks -- I say again without fear of rational contradiction that NASCAR's most unpopular driver is also the most physically-gifted. His reflexes are unbelievable, as demonstrated again when he brought home his battered Toyota for a 1/100th of a second win over Tony Stewart in the Bud Shootout last night at Daytona.
     The younger Busch brother embodies the NASCAR spirit of "checkers or wreckers," meaning, "Beat everyone to that checkered flag at the end of the race, or wreck your car in the effort."

You have to admire those Waltrip brothers. Not only is older-brother Darrell, retired from a spectacular racing career, established as THE TV commentator on race coverage, Michael walked away from a wreck early in the race last night and brought both humor and insight to the broadcast booth.
     The next driver to be a sure-shot on TV following the Waltrip brothers: Carl Edwards.

- - - - -

From my friend Sheila ...
     "According to the Jewish calendar, the new year is 5770.  According to the Chinese calendar, the year is 4707.  This means that the Jews went without Chinese food for 1,063 years. This period is known as The Dark Ages."

- - - - -

The incorrigible Sky-guy communicates ...
     "My wife was at the beauty shop today for two hours... and that was only for the estimate."
SANTORUM'S HOOF-IN-MOUTH DISEASE ... $5 GASOLINE COMING?

“We look at the shape of mainline protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.”-- Rick Santorum, 2008 speech, Ave Maria University, Naples, Florida.

The man is apparently conducting a course for aspiring politicians; a course in "How to Alienate Large Groups of Voters". Those Protestants concerned about Romney's religion now have something else to consider.


- - - - -

Can anyone really believe that a "community activist" with hardly any experience with NOT freeloading either directly or indirectly off the taxpayers is actually the person who's going to solve the economic mess and $4- or $5-per-gallon gasoline?  Are there actually people so simple-minded or downright stupid they believe he's going to get it done?

- - - - -

One of the unofficial slogans of the current Obama campaign for re-election is "Winning the Future," abbreviated "WTF".  Ask any teenager who tweets about the alternative translation for "WTF". The first two words are "What the ----?"

- - - - -

One notable attendee who won't be asked the usual, "Who are you wearing?" question by the oh-so-fashion-conscious reporters during the pre-Oscar show at the Academy Awards: actress Dolores Hart, whose film career as a beautiful young starlet included three movies with Elvis Presley.
     She abruptly quit showbiz 47 years ago to become a nun, but she'll be at the Kodak theater for the awards in order to promote an HBO documentary called "God is Bigger than Elvis."  And yes, she will walk the red carpet. In her nun's habit.

- - - - -

Mark Steyn's observation about Obama's obsession with government-mandated "free" birth control at a time when the economy is a train-wreck ...
     "Like handing out condoms on the Titanic."

By the way ... for the information of liberal bigots ... no, Mark isn't Jewish and his name isn't spelled S-t-e-i-n.

- - - - -

Did you send a card? It's the 14th anniversary of the explosion of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Bill lied and denied, of course; Monica contributed nothing. Orally.

- - - - -

Also in salacious news ...
     There's a job open in New South Wales, Australia -- that's Sydney and surroundings -- for a brothel inspector.
Applicants are required to be unmarried and willing to have protected sex with prostitutes and to provide sworn evidence in court.
     The operations manager in charge of hiring said the job involved visiting suspected illegal brothels and gathering evidence to prove they were offering sexual services.
     "Some jobs require the offering of sexual services, some actually require the partaking of sexual services... because it is considered the most convincing evidence," he said.
     The price for the position is $80,000 a year. Don't jump to conclusions: Unbelievably, they pay YOU, instead of vice-versa. And "vice" was never more appropriately used. Applicants will be required to pass a stiff exam.

- - - - -

Between cruise ship disasters and economic crises, Europe provides fodder for Len the haiku king ...
      Europe is fading.
      They can't sail and they can't cook.
      Too many Greece fires.

- - - - -

Dan Sorkin offers this compilation of good advice ...
     Sex is like air. It's not that important unless you aren't getting any.
     Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.
     Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
     Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
     Some days you are the dog, some days you are the tree.

- - - - -

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "There is one good thing about our students getting fatter. Our teachers are now less likely to want to have sex with them."


 MITT VS. RICK -- NEAR TIME TO PICK ...
$5 GAS WALKING DISTANCE FROM WHITE HOUSE

Both Romney and Santorum must be wondering, "What am I doing right -- or wrong?"  Because while Romney is gaining on Santorum in the Michigan polls, it's exactly the reverse in Arizona, where Romney's once-huge lead is evaporating. Mormons are six percent of the Arizona population. Not large, but it could be critical in a close race.
     Tomorrow night's debate in Mesa, a heavily-Mormon suburb of Phoenix, will be the last of the primary season. It may also be the most critical for the two leaders. A major flub could be catastrophic.
     Santorum, meantime, is playing with fire with his often-divisive comments on religion. Those remarks often bring cheers from his partisan audiences; they could be having the opposite effect among people not committed to his form of faith. Religion was expected to be an "iffy" issue in some voters' consideration of Romney. Now, Santorum seems to be inviting some concern, himself.

- - - - -

The e-mail brings this from James Robbins, the chief editorial writer for the Washington Times ...
     "The price for a gallon of unleaded gas is $4.99.9 at the Exxon station at 2708 Virginia Ave NW, 10 blocks due west of the White House. Premium is $5.19.9."
     Must be Bush's fault!  Or Reagan. Or Herbert Hoover. Or Calvin Coolidge ...

- - - - -  

The self-deluding capability of liberals never ceases to astonish. Obama delays resumption of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico ... rejects the pipeline that would bring badly-needed oil from Canada (it'll go to China instead) ...continues to obstruct domestic energy production in every way possible ... plays patty-cake with an Iran that threatens to block the flow of other nations' oil ... watches gasoline rocket toward $4 per gallon -- and likely much higher. And whose fault is it? Why, the man who vacated the White House more than three years ago!

- - - - -

A man who's made a career of avoiding tough decisions going back to his days in the Illinois state legislature when his usual vote on a controversial issue was "present" invites concern about how he might behave when confronted with a choice that involves more than, "What's good for my political ambitions?"  A decision like, "What do I do about a hostile, threatening, nuclear-armed Iran that hasn't responded to my 'reach out' approach?"

- - - - -

Wondering out-loud ...
     How long before we wake up to news of a major terror attack in our own country, perpetrated by Iran? If such a hellacious event does occur, we can then expect a huge public outcry, asking Obama, "Why didn't you stop them long ago when they repeatedly made their intentions obvious?"

Consider this: If you were under a continuing threat of extermination, who would you rather have making life-or-death decisions -- Barack Obama or Benjamin Netanyahu? One has demonstrated personal courage in the crunch; the other has ... what?
     Not a difficult choice, is it?

- - - - -

News report: Crime is up drastically in Washington, D.C.   And that's just OUTSIDE the White House.

- - - - -

Jeffrey Kuhner sounds the alarm in the Washington Times ...
     "President Obama’s budget puts America on the path toward Greece. It is a reckless document, a stunning betrayal of U.S. economic interests. By its own numbers, Obamanomics leads to national bankruptcy. Unless there is a dramatic course correction, we will share the bleak fate of the Greeks: riots, chaos and internationally imposed austerity measures. We, too, are committing fiscal suicide."

- - - - -

Nancy Pelosi went down to Texas A & M University and spoke kindly of George Bush, Sr.  I'm sure he'll want THAT on his tombstone.

- - - - -

It takes London's Daily Mail newspaper to notice this?! The White House put out a press release announcing that Vice-President Joe Biden would be making a trip to Providence, ROAD ISLAND.

- - - - -

Upon hearing of the deaths of the skiers in an avalanche in Washington (state), I almost allowed myself to be lured into a discussion of the foolishness of such pursuits. Then I remembered that, for years, my main hobby was aerobatic flying -- taking up an open-cockpit airplane and flying it every way but rightside-up. So it occurred to me that some might regard that pastime as risky. My mother certainly did!
     I did have an engine quit on me once during the inverted portion of a maneuver called a "Cuban-Eight". Made for a very interesting thirty-seconds or so. Fortunately, I was aware of my limitations (thank you, Dirty Harry) and had plenty of altitude to get it sorted out.

- - - - -

Zan prepares you for the SAT ...
      Q. What is the main reason for divorce? A-Marriage.
      Q. What looks like half an apple? A-The other half
      Q. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in other hand, what would you have? A-Very large hands.

 ... never mind. Zan, go to your room ...

- - - - -

More words to live by ... from Todd ...
     Leakproof seals..will.
     Self starters..will not.
     Interchangeable parts..won’t.
     If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.
     When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman it will work perfectly.
     Celibacy is not hereditary.
     It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money.
     Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference.
LYING FOR A LIVING ...
WILL TONIGHT'S DEBATE THIN THE FIELD? ...
OBAMA PLANS TO EXPAND THE ELECTRIC-CAR RIPOFF

 A significant part of a presidential press secretary's job is to lie.  Convincingly.  Poor Jay Carney qualifies for Part One, not so well for Part Two. It's hard to imagine his inner turmoil when, as a job requirement, he has to face television cameras and tell a bald-faced whopper like the latest claim that the Republicans FORCED Obama to reject the critical Keystone pipeline, a project that would be built with private funds and bring badly needed oil across the border from Canada.
     Poor, poor Jay. Was that smoke we saw coming from your trousers?

- - - - -

Now the Democrats are arguing that, if they DID allow more development of oil resources to begin, the product wouldn't be on the market for years. That's partially true -- doesn't apply in all cases -- but even if that were the case it misses the vital point. The mere threat of opening more production is and always has been enough to get the exporters from whom we now buy petroleum to lower prices in order to persuade us that it isn't necessary for us to use our own resources. But the White House Moron has made it unnecessary for them to even consider the possibility that we'll do anything about our dependency upon them.
     (Actually, he's only stupid if you give him the benefit of the doubt and believe he DOESN'T intend to undermine the United States as a world power. Your call. I've already decided.)

- - - - -

Want to start an office pool on this one?  The question would be, "Just how many millions of barrels of oil Obama will release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve just before the election?"
     Winner gets a quart of 10W-30.

- - - - -

Last Republican debate. Tonight. Mesa, Arizona.
Our choices have narrowed to:
     Romney, godfather of socialized medicine in America.
     Santorum, who got clobbered in his home state in trying to hold his Senate seat.
     Gingrich, whose desperate flailing led him to propose that a bankrupt nation build a village on the moon and make it a state.
     Ron Paul, who thinks a murderous Iran is entitled to nuclear weapons.

I'll take any of the four over Obama, the racist ("Blacks for Obama"??!) and anti-American Marxist, but I won't be celebrating on election night.

- - - - -

Jonah Goldberg (LA Times) distills the dilemma Republicans face ...
     "Santorum is the religious conservative, but he's a Catholic from Pennsylvania, not a Baptist from Mississippi or Texas. Romney is a devoted family man and business leader running as the authentic outsider, but he's a Mormon from Massachusetts who seems fake enough to be made from Naugahyde. Paul is the long-overdue libertarian in the GOP field, but he's an aging holdover from an ideological backwater of libertarianism that dabbled in bigotry and paranoia.
     "And then there's Gingrich. The former speaker of the House and leader of the Republican Revolution should be the elder statesman, the insider's insider. But he's managed to turn himself into the outsider who wants to fundamentally and profoundly change the world. He's a Southerner who converted to Catholicism with, as Mark Steyn writes, 'twice as many ex-wives as the first 44 presidents combined.'"

- - - - -

One of Obama's giveaway scams doesn't sit well with voters -- subsidizing the electric car boondoggle.
     In his budget, Obama has proposed $10,000 subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars. But voters by a two-to-one margin oppose taxpayer-funding for this piece of idiocy.
      Just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters favor $10,000 government subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifty-eight percent (58%) are opposed to such subsidies.

Let us accept as a blanket policy: Any product that can't be sold on its own merits doesn't deserve a niche in the marketplace. Especially when the obvious purpose for a subsidy is to funnel money to Obama supporters in the "alternative energy" ripoff/business.

- - - - -

Wes Pruden's take on the Republican race ...
     "Mitt Romney continues his run for cover, Rick Santorum throws mangled Scripture, and Newt Gingrich, fortified by new transfusions of fools’ millions, tells the frontrunner it’s time for him to think about quitting. This could have been Harold Stassen’s opportunity to indulge an urge to surge—but, alas, he’s still dead."
     -- Washington Times --

- - - - -

A cynic familiar with their machinations might conclude that the International Olympic Committee is a confederation of whores beyond the wildest dreams of Heidi Fleiss or even  Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Latest example: The International Olympic Committee charter prohibits “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise.”
     Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia and Brunei say women still will not be allowed to participate with their national teams.
     And what will the IOC do about it? Nothing. Nada, Zip. Zilch.

- - - - -

The analytical Burt Prelutsky thinks it time to re-order some priorities ...
     "Although I find Ron Paul’s cavalier dismissal of the threat posed by a nuclear Iran to be irrational, I share a few of his concerns about our role in the world. For instance, I think it is high time that we let Europe protect itself against Russia. No reason on earth why we should be borrowing money in order to do for them what they can do for themselves.
     "I would also suggest that we cut way back on the number of mutual defense pacts we have.  I think we should at least be able to count on the support of a nation when it comes to U.N. votes before we enter into mutual defense pacts that are obviously 'mutual' in name only. For instance, in what bizarre universe do you think we could actually count on the likes of Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Argentina, Kuwait, Bahrain or Turkey, to come to our aid? The answer, I’m afraid, is when hell freezes over or the cow jumps over the moon."

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "Microsoft founder Bill Gates attended a fundraiser for President Obama. He wasn't invited, but in typical Microsoft fashion he crashed it."

- - - - -

Karma strikes again ...
     The dude in the $120,000 Porsche figured he had a privileged way around the San Francisco traffic jam, so he gunned it and snapped over into an empty lane. Then discovered why it was empty when his car quickly sank into newly-poured cement.    

- - - - -

I continue to get e-mail inquiries from longtime former listeners to my San Francisco-based ABC programs regarding the state of the two stations there, KGO and KSFO, taken over by two of the worst broadcasting companies in the nation. First Citadel (now defunct), then Cumulus.
     The latest ratings, just out, show KGO tied with two obscure FM stations for positions #14-15-16 with a 2.9% share of listeners.
     KSFO is in even worse shape, tied with two other stations for positions 23-24-25 with a 1.7% share of the listening audience.
     In San Jose, where KSFO was a major player even with poor signal strength, the story is worse still: a 1.5% share-of-audience. Or, to (slightly) over-simplify ... I have more people locked in my bathroom than listen to either station. Thus passeth two great radio stations that, between them, dominated the Northern California market for more than fifty years.

- - - - -

Dan Sorkin forwards a rational "bucket list" for 2012 ...
     HERE IS ALL I WANT:
Obama: Gone!
Borders: Closed!
Congress: Obey it's own laws
Language: English only
Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!

- - - - -

Mr. Hill chronicles the origin of a tragic case of marital discord ...
     Every night, Harry goes out drinking and every night, his wife, Sara yells at him.
     One day, one of Sara's next door neighbors suggests that she try a different approach. "Welcome him home with a kiss and some loving words," she says. "He might change his ways."
     That night, Harry stumbles back home as usual.  But instead of berating him, Sara helps him into an easy chair, puts his feet up on the ottoman, removes his shoes, and gently massages his neck.
     "It's late," she whispers. "I think we should go upstairs to bed now, don't you?"
     "Might as well," says Harry.  "I'll catch hell if I go home."
REPUBLICAN SHOOTOUT IN ARIZONA ... $6 GASOLINE ARRIVES ...
RICK'S GENDER GAP-- A BITTER "PILL"?
                  
First impressions of the debate ...
Fairly good job all around. The Romney-Santorum exchanges were lively and enlightening ... Gingrich, as usual, had the best lines of the night ... Paul was, well, Paul -- but a little less frenetic than usual.
     Romney took a crucial step, albeit probably unnoticed by most, in announcing that he'd push for repeal of Obamacare; in the past he's said he'd grant every state an exemption. A crucial difference, if overdue.
     Santorum delivered a plausible explanation for one of the black-marks of his career, stating that his support of the despicable Arlen Specter (his then-fellow Senator from Pennsylvania) was a trade-off to get Specter's vital support for the Bush Supreme Court nominees. He was, however, on the defensive most of the night over his congressional voting record.
     Gingrich, again, had the broad philosophical arguments well in hand and some sharp zingers.
     Ron Paul aided Romney with several jabs at Santorum. Rumors that Romney might make him a running mate? Puh-leeze ...  

CNN is obviously part of the Big Media leftward tilt. Nevertheless, they're deserving of kudos for the way last night's debate was structured. Candidates more relaxed sitting, instead of standing like reciting school children. Most importantly, they were given the opportunity to confront each other with arbitrary time limits largely discarded. John King did a creditable job as traffic-cop and mostly stayed out of the way except for the birth-control diversion. Best debate format of the campaign. Let 'em have at it!

- - - - -
    
Latest poll in Arizona (pre-debate) shows Romney beating Santorum among women by 2-to-1. Wonder if has anything to do with Santorum's vocal opposition to birth control? Not that a president could do anything about it, anyway ... which is why it's a stupid topic for the political debate.

- - - - -

A talk-show host's tip to all debaters and public speakers: Do NOT use insider terms (like last night's seemingly endless discussion of "Title 10" and "Title 20") unless you can briefly and clearly explain them. Otherwise, most of your audience won't know what you're talking about, and won't care.
     Bob Dole provides the outstanding example of the futility of using such terms, with his endless babble about "SB 1927", etc. People wondered, "What the hell is this guy talking about?" -- just before they dozed off.

- - - - -

Terry Jeffrey, CNS News, with the latest scores in the education game ...
     "In the most recent round of National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Education, the winners were indeed indisputable. Catholic schools thrashed public schools. It wasn't close.
     "In 2011," says the Department of Education in a report on the NAEP tests, "the average reading score for eighth-graders attending public schools was 19 points lower than the overall score for students attending private schools,and 20 points lower than for students attending Catholic schools specifically."
     "In math, the closest the public schools ever got to beating the Catholics schools was when they lost by only 9 points -- but that was 22 years ago. Since then, the Catholic schools' victory margin in math has gradually grown."

Ah, but if we give the teachers' unions more money, that'll fix it. Won't it?

By the way, Romney was right in attacking the LA teachers' union last night -- but didn't explain it was because teachers charged with molesting young students were allowed to keep their (expensive) lifetime health-care benefits. See previous item re obscure references.

- - - - -

Biggest non-surprise of the week: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 38% of Likely U.S. Voters think health insurance companies should be required by law to cover the morning after pill without co-payments or other charges to the patient.
     Of course they do! It has been well and wisely observed that if you took a poll asking people if the government -- or SOMEBODY -- should be required to give them free ice cream, of COURSE many would say "yes!"

- - - - -

"We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections." --John Adams, second President of the United States and founding father.
     You might share this quote with any liberal who objects to requiring identification of every voter to prevent fraud.

- - - - -

Thomas Sowell has a reminder about the BS "fairness" argument Obama loves ...
     "Four years ago, TV interviewer Charles Gibson pointed out to candidate Barack Obama that raising capital gains tax rates had on a number of occasions led to less capital gains tax revenue being collected -- and, conversely, lowering the capital gains tax rates had on other occasions increased the amount of capital gains revenue collected by the government.
     "Obama readily admitted that. But he said that 'fairness' justified a higher tax rate on 'the rich.' Yet how does a higher tax rate on paper, without a real increase in the amount of taxes actually collected, promote fairness? However, raising tax rates on "the rich" pays off politically, even if the government loses revenues when the rich put their money into tax shelters.
     "High tax rates in the upper income brackets allow politicians to win votes with class warfare rhetoric, painting their opponents as defenders of the rich. Meanwhile, the same politicians can win donations from the rich by creating tax loopholes that can keep the rich from actually paying those higher tax rates -- or perhaps any taxes at all.
     "What is worse than class warfare is phony class warfare. Slippery talk about 'fairness' is at the heart of this fraud by politicians seeking to squander more of the nation's resources."
     --  Investors Business Daily --

- - - - -

Gasoline update: Regular has hit $5.79 per gallon in Orlando. Down the road in Lake Buena Vista, home of Disney World, it's $5.89 with premium at $5.99. Coming soon to a gas pump near you ...
     Oh, thank you, Dear Leader!

- - - - -

Jay Leno --
     "Oil prices jumped to well over $100 a barrel, and analysts say it's due to tension in the Middle East. So, luckily, it's just a temporary thing."

- - - - -

     "Obama's done everything he can to limit [oil] production -- slow-walking offshore permits, killing the Keystone XL pipeline, making it even harder to get oil out of federal lands.
     "Instead of aggressively expanding oil production, he offered a set of ridiculous alternatives -- hugely wasteful "green" energy subsidies, a call for a million electric cars by 2014 and costly fuel economy mandates that won't make a dent in consumption for decades.
     "With gas prices up 93% since Obama took office, we're seeing just how well this approach works."
      -- Investor's Business Daily --

- - - - -

Are even Democrats dumb enough to believe this kind of taxation on dividends won't discourage investment in business?  WSJ ran the numbers and it works out that a 35% corporate tax rate and a and Obama's proposed 44.8% dividend tax, the total tax on corporate earnings passed through as dividends would be 64.1%.
     But ... what could be expected from a dope who's never so much as run a lemonade stand? Nevertheless  ... if it looks like it might help destroy eeeevil capitalism, he's all for it.
     Spread the word to any retirees you know who are basically living on their dividend income.

- - - - -

More economic insanity ...
     Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's ultra-left-wing ultra-insiders actually told a college audience that unemployment "stimulates" the economy. No comment required.

- - - - -

The readers also write. From Terry ...
     "As much as the pollsters, pontificators and political hacks like to tell us that politics is complicated, it’s really not. Brain surgery is complicated. Rocket science is complicated. Politics, not so much.
     "Democrats will vote for another democrat, just because there is a ‘D’ next to their name. So there goes almost half the population.
     "Most Democrats will vote democrat because that is where the gravy train is. Nearly every giveaway program, that is unsustainable, is from Democrats. Nearly every union lackey, every deadbeat, every scammer, every con-man, every manipulator of America’s entitlement programs is a Democrat. Democrats don’t know what the term ‘Personal Responsibility’ means.
     "Republicans, unfortunately, are a little confused. We have the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) who cling to their ‘Establishment’ candidates like they cling to their cocktails, then wear blinders all the way to the polling booth. They wouldn’t know a bad Republican if you introduced them to Richard Nixon.
    "And last but not least we have Independents and Conservatives. These are the ones that recognize the last 75 years of RINOs and Liberals have brought us the most spending, the biggest government and least liberty we have had since the ratifying of our Constitution.
     "The only thing left to see is if enough Blue Dog Democrats, Conservative Republicans and Self-Preservation Independents can act to save our Union. But with 60% of our nation either entrenched, enabled or entitled, don’t bet the rest of your life on it."

- - - - -

Going up on restroom walls all over the world ...
     "For a good time, call Dominique Strauss-Kahn"

- - - - -

Does anyone really believe the latest bailout will solve Greece's socialism-rooted problems?

- - - - -

The major reason credit card interest rates are so high is to make up for losses caused by -- among other things -- identity theft. Let's add stupidity to the list; stupidity by some of the banks that indiscriminately offer cards by mail, or e-mail.
     Like the card offered to Spark Sloan by Capital One, telling him he'd be eligible for up to $30,000 credit.
     One problem. Spark is a dog.
     Another problem. Spark has been dead for ten years.

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "A man in China discovered a new kind of fish that looks like it has wings and legs. The discovery has led to questions from biologists — and a bidding war between KFC and Red Lobster."
SILVER LINING FOR REPUBLICANS ... POLITICAL OIL ...
AMERICA UNDERWATER

Looking on the bright side, it could be a (well-disguised) blessing if the ultimate Republican nominee wins the White House with much lingering skepticism among his own voters. There's always a danger among egotistical
presidential winners (and they DO have big egos; it's a job qualification) that they enter office feeling infallible and above criticism or any need to correct errors.
     Look, for example, at Obama. He entered office as an exalted figure among his supporters, some of whom have belatedly figured out that he's not up to the job. But does he listen to critics, even in his own inner circle? No. Exhibit "A": Former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who tried to tell him it was foolish to take on the Catholic Church on behalf of abortion advocates -- and was forced out of his job over it.

- - - - -

For what it's worth ... the latest Gallup Poll numbers ...
     Romney leads Obama, 50 percent to 46 percent, while Obama leads Santorum, 49 percent to 48 percent. Both matchups are within the margin of error.

- - - - -

More sour grapes from a loser. Jon Huntsman, who entered the Republican field as a nonentity and retained that status until his little-noticed departure from the race, now babbles about the need for a third party to run in November. Gee ... wonder if he has any idea who should be the candidate for that party?

- - - - -

We predicted it here -- not that it was a difficult forecast -- and it's already happening.
Senate Democrats pressuring Obama to pull oil from the Strategic Reserve to combat price increases. Not that they needed to push him to do it; it's just a matter of when -- not if.
     This tactic has NEVER worked for more than a few days or weeks, but liberals can't resist. It isn't in their DNA to save up for a rainy day. Compared to a threat to our national security -- the real purpose of the Strategic Petroleum reserve -- $5 gasoline is just a shower; maybe just enough of a drizzle to rid us of the Obama menace in November.

- - - - -

Whether the price of gasoline should be attributed to the cost of oil or the shrinking value of the dollar is a legitimate subject for debate. Either way, the larger share of the blame lies on the plate of our socialist-minded Dear Leader. If, as cynics suspect, his concealed real goal is to weaken the United States, he's doing a helluva job.

- - - - -

Burt Prelutsky wields the old stiletto ...
     "Because of environmental Nazis and their advocate in the Oval Office, we have pretty much shut down the oil and coal industries. It seems to me that should be a constant source of shame for every member of Congress, including those on the right side of the aisle.
     "The very idea that America is still dependent on foreign oil makes about as much sense as Mexico having to import tortillas, Italy having to import olive oil and France having to depend on Luxembourg to supply them with snails."

- - - - -

Is anyone in Washington asking just what it is we're trying to save in Afghanistan? And is it worth getting more Americans killed by our putative "allies" and having to apologize to the ethically-challenged Mr. Karzai? All this as the howling hyenas rage because a few books being used to pass terrorist notes were burned. Apologize? It's insanity.

- - - - -

We have a winner already! The 2012 title of "Stupidest member of Congress" goes to -- ta-da!! -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. If she can demonstrate her incapability to walk and chew gum at the same time, she retires the trophy.

- - - - -

Larry Elder of KABC and Townhall.com runs the numbers for an angry black actor ...
     "What if actor Clint Eastwood gave an interview in which he explained why, in the 2008 presidential election, he voted for John McCain: 'I voted for McCain because he was white. 'Cuz that's why other folks vote for other people -- because they look like them. ... That's American politics, pure and simple.'
     "No, Eastwood did not say that. But actor Samuel L. Jackson did, in explaining why he voted for President Barack Obama -- 'because he was black. Jackson also said his vote had nothing to do with Obama's agenda: '(Obama's) message didn't mean (bleep) to me.' If Eastwood had said stuff like this, a cry to boycott his films would come from everybody from the NAACP to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
     "Jackson insists he just does what every voter does. If they did, Obama could not have been elected U.S. senator from Illinois (15 percent of the state is black, 72 percent white) or the president of the United States (13 percent black, 72 percent white)."

- - - - -

Demands that other people pay their "fair share" is a blatant appeal to deadbeats who pay little or no share at all.

- - - - -

Anyone who's familiar with the concept of the "underwater" mortgage, i.e., owing more on your house than it's worth, should understand where our nation stands in terms of debt and deficits. We're "underwater." Think Greece, on a slightly delayed but much larger scale.
     As Michael Tanner succinctly puts it in National Review Online ...
     "Given this looming disaster, President Obama has just submitted a budget that explicitly rejects “austerity,” avoids any reform of Medicare or Social Security, and adds some $7 trillion to the national debt over the next ten years. And Republicans? They are busy debating the pros and cons of birth control.
     "What is wrong with this picture?"

- - - - -

As we watch video of Afghans expressing their gratitude to us for helping them try to evict the evil Taliban by raging against the U.S. because Qurans that were being used by terrorists to pass messages to each other were burn, we might look again at the hazards of "nation-building" as viewed by George Jonas of the National Journal, looking back on recent history ...
     "Can’t improve the Ten Commandments, but if Moses were to go back for another 10, the next set might include 'Thou Shalt Build No Nation But Thine Own.' Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush was wise when he declared 'no nation-building' during his first campaign for the White House. Had president Bush heeded candidate Bush’s sage advice, he would have disengaged his forces from Iraq after the capture of Saddam Hussein as rapidly as possible. Had he done so, chances are a) most coalition soldiers who lost their lives in the Second Gulf War would still be alive, and b) Mr. Bush’s approval rating would have stayed between 80% to 90% throughout his presidency."

Exactly what a certain talk-show host -- oh, that would be me -- advocated years ago: Kill the SOB (Hussein) and get the hell out, leaving behind a message. A message that would essentially say, "We don't care what you people do with this rat-hole, but don't give us a reason to come back and kill every damned one of you."
     The management of ABC Radio, owned at the time by Citadel Broadcasting, was offended by that observation. Citadel was run by a man named Farid Suleman.  Somehow, I suspected at the time that Mr. Suleman wouldn't like it, but frankly didn't give a damn. His management genius was to run the company into bankruptcy.

- - - - -

Mr. Sorkin with a reminder how Democrats think ...
     "In a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify.
     "His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a party-line vote because, as Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) explained, 'Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it.'"

What a radical concept! People buying only things they can afford!

- - - - -

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "If your co-workers had ash on their heads Wednesday it means they're Catholic or they had too many margaritas and passed out in an ashtray."

- - - - -

The Sky-guy checks in ...
     During an anti-harassment seminar I attended at our local Senior Center, I asked the speaker, "What's the difference between harassment and good-natured teasing?"
     The lady next to me leaned over to me and said, "A million dollars."
OBAMA GROVELS ... HIGHER TAXES, LOWER REVENUE ...
JUDICIAL JIHAD ...  ROMNEY REBOUNDS

Is it not astonishing ... Barack Obama is a lot more concerned about the feelings of a bunch of crazy, American-killing Afghan Muslims than about the feelings of American Catholics?

- - - - -

Is there any other nation in the world with a leader stupid enough to repeatedly make concessions to adversaries and outright enemies in the vain hope that it'll cause outlaw regimes to behave better? The whole idea is ridiculous.
     Even in today's ignorance factories we call "schools" some extraordinarily bright children learn that "quid pro quo" is a vital Latin term meaning, "I give you something, you give me something." Which our idiot "leaders" apparently haven't learned.

- - - - -

Here's a brief lesson in Foreign Policy 101, for simple-minded Obamaunist idiots.
1.-Help your friends.
2.-Hurt your enemies.
     Class is now dismissed.

- - - - -

Andrew McCarthy of National Review Online with a warning about where this country is going with a Muslim-in-disguise in the White House ...
     "A state judge in Pennsylvania has dismissed an assault and harassment case against a Muslim defendant who admitted attacking the victim. Magistrate Judge Mark Martin, a veteran of the war in Iraq and a convert to Islam, ruled that Talag Elbayomy’s sharia defense — what he claimed was his obligation to strike out against any insult against the prophet Mohammed — trumped the First Amendment free speech rights of the victim.
     "Yes, you read that correctly."

Consider it: In America, a Muslim judge decides that a Muslim has the right to attack anyone who speaks ill of the founder of the most murderous, repressive religion in world history.

- - - - -

Not that a rational person would expect Obama and his socialist party, a/k/a Democrats, to learn anything from anybody's experience, but Investors Business Daily reports on developments in Britain that any conservative could have easily predicted ...
     "The British government introduced a higher tax rate on the rich in 2010, promising that it would bring in added revenue. But, as any sensible person could have guessed, just the opposite has happened.
     "Gordon Brown's Labour Party government launched the 50% rate in income taxes allegedly as a means to bring in more revenue.
     "The London Telegraph reported earlier this year that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs estimated the British version of the (Warren) Buffett Tax would 'show a surge' in revenues totaling hundreds of millions of pounds from the first year."
     "The 'surge' wasn't even a trickle. In fact, there was actually a reversal. Collections fell by $800 million compared to income tax payments a year earlier."

But liberals, stupid by definition, are incapable of learning.

- - - - -

Next time you see Obama smilingly bouncing down from Air Force One on an ill-disguised political fundraising trip or vacation (with a little government "business" thrown in) keep in mind this is what it's costing you -- assuming, unlike many of his supporters,  you actually pay taxes:
    The operating cost of that Boeing 747 is $179,750 per flight HOUR. Plus, of course, the hotel bills and other expenses for the crew and assorted presidential hangers-on.

- - - - -

HALF of Americans pay ZERO income taxes; some even get "refunds" of taxes they never paid at all -- and get those "refunds" legally.
     So, Commissar Obama, just what the hell is "fair" about that?

- - - - -

Nancy Pelosi claims the Catholic Church hasn't "enforced" it's doctrine on contraception. Ms. Pelosi obviously believes in what was once called "The Chinese restaurant menu" form of religion; i.e., take a few from column "A", a few from column "B" and simply ignore those you don't like.
     As an outsider, I can't help but wonder, if a person rejects the basic tenets of a religion, why profess to be of that faith in the first place?

- - - - -

Congressman Lamar Smith of border-state Texas unveils (in the Washington Times) some hidden parts of Obama's proposed budget ...
     "President Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget came out this month and again includes the same spending, borrowing and taxing policies that have come to define his presidency. No surprise, this spending blueprint cuts several worthwhile immigration-enforcement and border-security programs.
     "The president’s budget continues his administration’s policies of ignoring laws requiring the removal of illegal immigrants. Last year, the Obama administration issued new deportation guidelines that amount to backdoor amnesty. The spending priorities contained in his budget are no different. At least the president is consistent."

Of course, the mindless cattle who make up either a large minority -- or even a majority -- of the electorate won't notice, won't care, or actively support destroying our sovereignty.

- - - - -

Rasmussen poll has Romney back on top in Michigan, beating Santorum among likely Republican voters, 40% to 34%.  He's also increased his lead in Arizona, 42%-29%. Tuesday is election day in both states.

- - - - -

Jeb Bush says he's "troubled" by Republican candidates appealing to voters' "fears." To which one might reply, "If you AREN'T afraid of what this administration is doing, you don't understand the situation."
     This head-in-the-sand attitude is why many voters are horrified at the prospect of another Bush candidacy developing at a brokered (i.e., horse-trading) convention.

- - - - -

Stupid Campaign Planning, Part Two --
     Never, EVER, schedule a candidate's speech to 1,200 people in a football stadium that holds 65,000 people. The "visuals" are awful. The cameras will inevitably take a wide-shot making it appear the candidate is speaking in a vacant lot.
     For confirmation, see any video or news photo shots of Romney's speech in Detroit.
     The venue for any political speech should always be chosen with the idea that the place is to look packed with supporters.

- - - - -

An aside to Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Sarah Palin and all the other no-shows in the Republican race:
You had your chance ... you rejected it ... so I really don't care what you think about those who DID choose to run.
     I said the same about Fred Thompson four years ago. He was too lazy to make an effort, so he became an instant nonentity.

- - - - -

The American Petroleum Institute has a response to Obama's claim that his policies have led to an increase in domestic oil and gas production: "You're a liar."
     The increase, such as it is, came from projects developed under the Bush administration.

- - - - -

Ho-hum ... Who's surprised to hear that one of Obama's appointed ambassadors, Nicole Avant, who was a big fundraiser for the Big O, is a joke as ambassador to the Bahamas? Seldom shows up for work ... shuttles back-and-forth (at taxpayer expense, of course) to her home in LA, gets no productive work done and has managed to disrupt and annoy actual working employees at the embassy.
     And why do we even NEED an embassy in the Bahamas? It takes less than an hour to fly from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau. Besides, it's hardly a focal point of international intrigue.

(Geography footnote: Nassau's Paradise Island was originally ... Hog Island.)

- - - - -

Armand Bendersky's had enough of  concessions to people who have no right to be in this country ...
     "Let me make this perfectly clear! THIS IS MY COUNTRY! And, because I make This statement DOES NOT mean I'm against immigration!!!
     YOU ARE WELCOME HERE, IN MY COUNTRY! To come here legally:
1. Get a sponsor!
2. Get a place to lay your head!
3. Get a job!
4. Live By OUR Rules!
5. Pay YOUR Taxes!
... And ...
6. Learn the LANGUAGE like immigrants have in the past!!!
... And ...
7. Don't demand that we hand over our lifetime savings of Social Security Funds to you."

- - - - -

Dr. Bud offers a few investment tips for you with any money left.  Be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some big bucks.
    Watch for these consolidations in 2012:
    Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
    3M will merge with Goodyear and become: MMMGood.
    FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become: FedUP.
    Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become: Fairwell Honeychild.
    Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become: PouponPants.
    Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become: Knott NOW!
    Victoria 's Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name: TittyTittyBangBang

Yes, my mother WOULD be ashamed ...
 
- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "Beyoncé and Jay-Z were spotted at a Knicks game this week. They found a last-minute babysitter — the guy who used to play point guard before Jeremy Lin."

- - - - -

Conan O'Brien --
     "During a concert at the White House, President Obama got on stage and performed with Mick Jagger. Apparently, Obama wanted to prove to Republicans that he could work with a rich old white guy."
OIL TURMOIL ... "WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT -- ALGAE?" ...
POLL SAYS SANTORUM SINKING


A tip to the ignorant ... the stupid ... and pathological liars:
Yes, the solution to high gasoline prices IS drill, drill and more drilling. And more still. Only fools and demagogues believe otherwise.

And just how does the Moron-in-Chief think that Strategic Petroleum Reserve that he plans to tap to help his campaign was accumulated?

- - - - -

Reader Warren is optimistic about Obama's latest energy proposal ...
     "Obama says that algae, better known as pond scum, can be processed into fuel, thereby meeting our energy needs in a green and sustainable manner. The concept is a splendid Obama brilliance, like we have come to expect, for Washington DC is an INEXHAUSTIBLE source of pond scum.

- - - - -

There's been much debate as to whether Romney could win the primary in his home state of Michigan. Now, perhaps similar attention will be paid to Santorum's standing in his own home state of Pennsylvania. Rasmussen finds that in a head-to-head matchup in Pennsaylvania, Romney's in a virtual tie with Obama, while Santorum loses by six points.

- - - - -

Romney doubtless hoped to endear himself to auto workers when he said in his Detroit speech that his wife "drives a couple of Cadillacs." Dumb, dumb, dumb for a rich guy already thought to be out-of-touch with regular folks. We KNOW you're rich, Mitt, and most people don't resent it. But must you BRAG about it? You just handed Santorum some more votes. Clever, you are; smart? Not so much ...

- - - - -

For a man who insists he isn't campaigning, the Dear Leader looks awfully busy at it. He, Michelle and Crazy Joe Biden did a total of six campaign fund-raising events on Thursday alone.

- - - - -


Liberal crazies (cont.) ...
     Amazing. Wealthy folk paid up to $10,000 each to attend a luncheon at a Cincinnati hotel to listen to the crazed Michelle Obama tell them how evil they were not to share more of their money with deadbeats.

- - - - -

"If you don't try to generate more revenues through tax reform, if you don't ask, you know, the most fortunate Americans to bear a slightly larger burden of the privilege of being an American, then you have to -- the only way to achieve fiscal sustainability is through unacceptably deep cuts in benefits for middle class seniors, or unacceptably deep cuts in national security." -- Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
     "Privilege?!"
     And just who made this slimy, tax-dodging creep the judge of who should be an American?!

- - - - -

Another reason why it's futile to try to "engage" with savages ...
Another scandal outbreak in Britain because of imported third-world doctors agreeing to abortions of unborn babies found to be female. The usual Muslim misogyny.
     If the world's feminists want something REAL to complain about, they might start with this -- the murder of anticipated girl children.

- - - - -

"Engaging With Savages, Part Two ...
     Iran's top military commander says the only the only thing to relieve the pain of Muslims over having a Quran burned is the burning down of the White House.
     Make sure those smoke-detectors are working, Big Zero!

- - - - -

Another example of how Germany's political leadership is smarter than our own.  Like our own airheads, Germany's left bought into the solar-power scam -- overlooking the fact that their country isn't exactly a sun-belt nation. But at least their current leadership wised up and decided to chop government subsidies to the solar scam-artists. Wisdom still lacking in our own moronic mob in Washington.

- - - - -

Any time you hear a politician or political spokesparrot say that this-or-that course of action is going to "create x-number of jobs," you can be certain of this: He/she is a lying BS artist, making up numbers out of thin air.
     Only the gullible will believe that this person could possibly know with such certainty. They might have some confidence that a particular policy will be a positive or negative in terms of jobs. Beyond that, it's pure guesswork.

By the way, Mr. Soetoro, how's that "green energy" job-growth going? Solyndra hiring again yet?

- - - - -

John Hinckley, the nut-job who tried to kill President Reagan, is upset because people don't see him as an artist and musician.
     Let me put this sensitively. No, dude, you're so crazy you not only tried to kill the President, you did it out of some silly infatuation with a confirmed lesbian.

- - - - -

Credit The Daily Caller for opening this can of worms ...
     "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an organization known for its uncompromising animal-rights positions, killed more than 95 percent of the pets in its care in 2011.
     "The documents, obtained from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, were published online by the Center for Consumer Freedom.
     "Fifteen years’ worth of similar records show that since 1998 PETA has killed more than 27,000 animals at its headquarters in Norfolk, VA.
     "In a February 16 statement, the Center said PETA killed 1,911 cats and dogs last year, finding homes for only 24 pets."

- - - - -

Political campaigns have a bad habit of hiring ignorant idiots. Example: Newt Gingrich's campaign sent out an announcement that he'd be holding an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the "Chattahoochee Choo-Choo Hotel."
     Ask any Glenn Miller admirer what's wrong with this piece of ignorance.

- - - - -

More stupid campaign tactics ...
     Another example of politicians making vague political references that only puzzle most of their audience: Mitt Romney at the latest debate charging Santorum with voting for the "bridge to nowhere" without explaining that it was an Alaska boondoggle.
     Dammit, dopes! Wake up! You can't make political points if most people have no idea what the hell you're talking about!  If you can't explain it -- quickly and clearly -- don't use it!  It's a waste of time.
     Failed politicians always assume that their listeners know more than those listeners actually DO know. Obama is correct on this point: Assume they're a bunch of ignorant cattle, and you'll probably be right about most of them.
     This is just another example of Republican candidates so lacking in common sense it's amazing they EVER win.

- - - - -

A brief math lesson for the brainwashed ...
     "The President ordered his cabinet to cut $100 million from the $3.5 trillion federal budget. I'm so impressed by this sacrifice that I have decided to do the same thing with my personal budget.
     "I spend about $2000 a month on groceries, household expenses, medicine, utilities, etc, but it's time to get out the budget cutting axe, go through my expenses, and cut back. I'm going to cut my spending at exactly the same ratio, 1/35,000 of my total budget. After doing the math, it looks like instead of spending $2000 a month; I'm going to have to cut that number by six cents.
     "Yes, I'm going to have to get by with $1999.94, but that's what sacrifice is all about. I'll just have to do without some things, that are, frankly, luxuries – six cents worth.
     "Did this President actually think no one would do the math? (Yes.) People understand how idiotic a $100 million cut is in a $3.5 trillion budget."
      -- Thanks, Mr. & Mrs. Green --
 
- - - - -

Here's what $260 bill buy you in New York ...
     The NY Post was able to buy a phony green card, Social Security card and New York state driver’s license from a stranger on a corner. The cards are frighteningly real — convincing enough to fool creditors, potential employers and security at buildings and even the airport.

We're talking about a shopping-mall for illegal aliens. Or terrorists. Not that Obama would have them deported, anyway.

- - - - -

Facebook rolls are reported to be shrinking; people bailing out of the "social" website. Are sheeple finally beginning to awaken to the fact that it's silly -- and potentially dangerous -- to give away what little is left of their privacy?

- - - - -

Sure you want to vacation in Mexico?
     Mexican security officials say an armed group has robbed 22 foreign tourists who were traveling by bus near the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta. The city's public safety secretary said in a statement that the tourists weren't injured in the attack although their possessions were seized.
     Hawaii, Arizona and Florida DO look a bit better by contrast, don't they?

- - - - -

Some professional athletes are so obviously self-obsessed that they don't realize what they do to their own images with their sour-grapes and cheap-shots at other athletes -- even teammates -- who are, well, different.      Witness the current (and sometimes blatantly racist) criticism of the latest "hot" player, Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks. Some other players clearly resent his success based on race (he's of Chinese descent; uncommon in the NBA) and, like Tim Tebow, is religious. In a sport where irresponsible out-of-wedlock breeding is commonplace, Lin's religious faith makes him a target.
     Tebow himself stirs resentment because he had a string of improbable wins last fall. The latest open attack comes from an overgrown brat named Brady Quinn, who's not only a teammate but the back-up quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He clearly resents Tebow for getting a shot at  the job, although Quinn had his (multiple) chances with the Cleveland Browns and didn't get the job done.
     Tebow may or may not be a long-term success as an NFL QB, but it ill behooves a marginal player like Quinn to gripe about Timmy Terrific's popularity.  Of course, we've seen many quarterbacks who've enjoyed stardom in high-profile programs, only to flop in the NFL. Quinn came from Notre Dame, where an overall powerful team and/or media exposure has many times in the past propelled a QB to undeserved stardom. Such college heroes aren't emotionally prepared to lose out to nobodies like Kurt Warner, who was bagging groceries before he got his shot and Super Bowl stardom. Or, say, John Unitas, who went to the (then) Baltimore Colts from sandlot semi-pro ball where he was making $10 per game.

- - - - -

"American Idol" finally got beaten head-to-head in its time-slot in the ratings. Good. It's about time this nothing show got pasted.

- - - - -

Clarice Feldman in The American Thinker offers a new word for your vocabulary ...
     "This week the White House website announced that the Vice President was traveling to "Road Island," an error typical of the many risible illiteracies that regularly appear there, and of the inattention to detail that is the hallmark of the credentialed MORONACRACY that is this Administration."

- - - - -

Bulletin:
There is conclusive evidence now that Osama bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi are dead. They both are now registered to vote in Chicago.

- - - - -

Just to infuriate liberals ...
     Arlys forwards a " ... went into a bar" joke making the rounds on the web:
A black guy, an illegal alien, a Muslim, and a communist walk into a  bar. The bartender asks ...
"What can I get you , Mr. President ?"

Yes, Arlys, your tax return WILL be audited.

- - - - -

Jay Leno --
     "Rick Santorum says that Satan has his sights set on the United States of America. And Satan said he tries to avoid politics because it makes him feel dirty."
ENOUGH OF AF-gone-ISTAN ... TIME TO BURY OSCAR ...
THE ELECTION: MEDIOCRITY VS. SUBVERSION

How much longer are we going to pretend that even one American in a hundred gives a damn about "saving" Afghanistan? We could get a much larger support for a resolution to get out of the way and let the crazy SOBs all kill each other.
     That ridiculous Obama apology really paid off, didn't it?

- - - - -

One piece of common-sense advice to the current presidential office-holder re the endless applogies to murderous Islam: Shut the (bleep) up!

- - - - -

I tried ... I really tried. But the first ten minutes of the Oscar telecast was all I could stand. Does anybody really watch this self-indulgent tripe any more?
     My age is showing; I even remember when Billy Crystal was funny.

- - - - -

A summation of the whole Oscar fiasco from the NY Post's Page Six ...
     "Dustin Hoffman says being at the Academy Awards isn’t as glamorous as it looks. 'It’s boring,' says the star of HBO’s 'Luck' in Maxim’s March issue. 'It lasts forever. And don’t think you’re seeing spontaneous behavior. You see couples who are suddenly smooching, and, well, there’s a guy sitting on the ground with the camera at their knees' The Oscar-winner once mulled a plan to shock home viewers. 'There was one particular time I knew I wasn’t going to win,' he says, 'and when they’d train the camera on me as one of the losers, I wanted to be able to rip open my tuxedo shirt and just have stenciled on my chest, ‘Oh, [bleep]!’ But my wife wouldn’t let me do it.”

A personal "brush with greatness" story. Long ago, leaving a restaurant on New York's lower east-side after a dinner with friends ... walking back to my hotel ... I rounded a corner and bumped into a man carrying a bag of groceries, knocking it from his hands. As I stooped down to help him gather his purchases, HE apologized to ME, although the incident was clearly my fault. It was Dustin Hoffman.
     The street was dark; nobody else in sight. I guess he thought I was going to rob him.

- - - - -

Perhaps our standards are so high as to invite wishful thinking, but even if we face this November's election with something less than exuberance, let us not forget: This election is first and foremost about ridding the nation of a president who is either totally incompetent or, worse yet, has sinister motives behind his actions that are a threat to the very future of this nation. One can hardly believe any alternative choice for the high office could possibly be worse.

- - - - -

Andrew McCarthy of National Review Online summarizes the latest from the walking embarrassment in the White House ...
     "The New York Times reports that President Obama has sent a formal letter of apology to Afghanistan’s ingrate president, Hamid Karzai, for the burning of Korans at a U.S. military base. — 'I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident. . . . I extend to you and the Afghani people my sincere apologies.'
      "The facts are that the Korans were seized at a jail because jihadists imprisoned there were using them not for prayer but to communicate incendiary messages."

This shameless butt-kissing of a mob of murderers was compounded by repeated further apologies from diplomats, military officers and others clearly having that agenda dictated from the White House. We have yet to hear an apology from any Afghan, from Karzia on down.
     Again: Just what are we trying to "save" in that godforsaken hell-hole? The world's leading supplier of heroin?

- - - - -

Jay Leno --
     "If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates."

- - - - -

Reader Bill points out a bit of presumably-unintended irony from Washington ...
     "The food stamp program, part of the Department of Agriculture, is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of food stamps ever.
     "Meanwhile, the Park Service, also part of the Department of Agriculture, asks us to 'Please Do Not Feed the Animals' because the animals may grow dependent and not learn to take care of themselves."

You mean, just like PEOPLE who get stuff handed to them by the government?

- - - - -

Robert Goldberg in The American Spectator evaluates Obama's professed "friendship" with Israel ...
     "The president really believes -- as a friend -- that Israel should do nothing with regard to Iran except boost its ability to defend against a nuclear attack and focus on reaching a peace treaty with the Palestinian authority. President Obama still believes that the key to neutralizing Iran and its alliance with Hamas and Hezbollah is for Israel to cut itself down to the size and shape of the Palestinians' liking.
     "What is Israel to make of the fact that as the Syrian regime continues to murder people with the help of Iranian technicians and military equipment, senior officials in the administration have said almost nothing about the killing? Instead, the administration is focusing all of its diplomatic and military acumen on discouraging Israel from doing anything to figure out ways to reduce the number of people that could be slaughtered by Iranian aggression.
     "There is one element of the effort to go after Iran that is certain: No one in Israel's chain of command believes the Obama administration will support pre-emptive military operations, whether they be against Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran."

Again: If your personal survival and that of your country were at stake, who would you rather make decisions, Barack Hussein Obama or Benjamin Netanyahu?

- - - - -

The estimable Professor Walter Williams reviews some numbers that may explain why America may have a non-competitive future ...
     "In the latest international tests administered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 32 percent of U.S. students ranked proficient in math — coming in between Portugal and Italy but far behind South Korea, Finland, Canada and the Netherlands. U.S. students couldn’t hold a finger to the 75 percent of Shanghai students who tested proficient.
     "What about our brightest? It turns out that only 7 percent of U.S. students perform at the advanced level in math. Forty-five percent of the students in Shanghai are advanced in math, compared with 20 percent in South Korea and Switzerland and 15 percent of students in Japan, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Canada.
     "During my tenure as a member of Temple University’s faculty in the 1970s, I tutored black students in math. When they complained that math was too difficult, I told them that if they spent as much time practicing math as they did practicing jump shots, they’d be just as good at math as they were at basketball."
      -- Frontpage Magazine --

- - - - -

Mad Mike conveys some thoughts on aging ...
          A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor's office.
"Is it true," she wanted to know, "that the medication you prescribed has to be taken  for the rest of my life?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so,"' the doctor told her.
There was a moment of silence before the lady replied, "I'm wondering, then, just how serious is my condition.
Because this prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS'."

- - - - -

Jimmy Fallon --
     "A new study found that 16 percent of Americans under the age of 24 don’t have a job. There’s even a name for that group: Art History majors."
THE BIRD IS THE WORD ... GOT ANY CHANGE? ...
THE MICHIGAN MUDDLE

The Mugwump is the mythical bird who sits on a fence with his mug on one side and his wump on the other. It's the longtime metaphor for the fence-sitting politician. Now we have Barack Hussein Obama, Mugwump-in-charge. After taking a beating from sane people over blocking the Keystone pipeline project which would bring oil from Canada to our Gulf Coast refineries, which he did in order to appease the enviro-Nazis, now he's decided to turn down the heat from sensible folk at the risk of arousing the ire of his leftist base.
     How? By trying to split the difference, okaying the southern half of the pipeline, which will end in a field somewhere in northern Oklahoma!
     Thus the price the nation pays for electing a socialist lunatic.

- - - - -

Something to teach today's children, in the hope that the next generation will be a little smarter than their forebears: Contrary to the opinion of imbeciles, change is not always a good thing. History is replete with examples of entire societies jumping from the frying-pan straight into the fire in pursuit of "change". For example, huge majorities in Germany and Japan enthusiastically supported dictators who led them down to road to disaster in the 1930's and 1940's. More recently (and more prosaically) there was the change to the new Coke, a 1985 disaster.  "New" and "change" are not always better; frequently worse, as American voters are belatedly learning about Obamunism.

- - - - -

There's little-to-nothing a president can do about either abortion or, especially, birth control practices. Yet Rick Santorum has made himself the center of an ongoing discussion of these issues. According to the latest polling, that may be the factor that kills his chance to win the Michigan primary. It may be for better or for worse, but the political reality is that far more Americans are concerned about jobs and the economy than other people's sex lives. Ronald Reagan, among others, proved that in electoral politics, it's sufficient to announce your pro-life stance, then shut up about it.
     His supporters need to face it: There is nothing Santorum could do about either of those hot-button issues, even if elected. And he probably wouldn't even try, knowing it to be an exercise in futility.

- - - - -

Then there's Romney, who tries to come across as just a regular fella, and as John Podhoretz of the NY Post puts it ...
     "But how then to explain this head-shaking attempt at the common touch when he showed up at the Daytona 500 in Florida to show himself off to the hoi polloi who enjoy NASCAR (staged at a raceway with a staggering 167,000 seats)? Asked how closely he followed the sport of stock-car racing, he said: 'Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners.'
     "Romney flew from Michigan to Florida in the middle of a heated primary to make this appearance, and blew it big time. He went to show he was a regular guy and ended up showing he knows the rich guys who run the sport."

Stupid, stupid, stupid ...

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Republicans who are annoyed by Democrats crossing-over to vote in Republican candidates in "open primary" states may not be thrilled to learn that Rick Santorum is paying for recorded phone-call messages to Democrats in Michigan urging them to do precisely that. Since the Obamunists have made it clear they'd prefer to run against Santorum, this tactic serves them well.

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Michigan. Primary election day. By midnight, the Republican race should be clearer. Or not.

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It's gotten to be an all-too-familiar story. One guy, one gun ... five students shot in an Ohio high school. Some, if not all, the victims could have been spared if a few responsible adults at the school had access to a firearm. But the gun-grabbing goo-goos will never learn, and the scenario will be repeated ad infinitum.
     Just one of the positive results of a death penalty administered to criminals on-the-spot by an armed citizen: the recidivism rate is reduced to zero -- at least for that law-breaker.

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Rasmussen polling finds 39% of Americans favor "free" health-care for everyone. It's yet another sorry comment on the state of American education that these fools think health-care -- or anything else -- is "free".
     What the respondents really mean, of course, is, "I want something, and I want the government to make somebody else pay for it."

More madness ...
Rasmussen also finds 33% of Americans surveyed believe people should be able to buy houses with no money down. One wonders if these imbeciles are aware that allowing the financially unqualified to buy houses they couldn't afford was the root cause of our current economic mess.
     No, of course they aren't. And yet, these cretins vote ...

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Costa Cruise Lines (subsidiary of Carnival) is having a tough season. One ship (Concordia) sunk near the coast of Italy. Now, another (Allegra) adrift without power in the the Indian Ocean after an onboard fire. But their waiters DO sing well.

Tip to Costa cruise passengers ...
     Before sailing you will -- as on all cruise ships -- go thru the lifeboat drill. When it concludes, put on ... or leave on ... your life-vest. Keep it on at all times throughout your cruise.
     You're welcome.

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Just for fun, challenge any Democrat to do an internet search for Obama quotes about gas prices during his 2008 campaign. Smile as you watch them squirm.
     At that time he contradicted his criticism of Bush over high (for then) gasoline prices by stating that he believed high gas prices would be a good thing.

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Wives and the White House ...
     "It is true that most voters don't pick candidates based on spouses. That being said, many voters do at least want to feel comfortable with the woman who might become first lady, and an off-putting presence might play into their decision to look elsewhere. This has been Mrs. (Ann) Romney's strength, in managing the difficult balance of looking secure in her own right, even as she proves herself a loyal helpmeet to her husband. To the extent she's not alienating any of Mr. Romney's potential supporters, she's helping him."
     --  Kim Strassel, Wall Street Journal Political Diary --

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From the Gallup Poll ...
     Next month  the U.S. Supreme Court will hear cases challenging the constitutionality of the Obamacare mandate, i.e., the provision requiring Americans to buy a health insurance policy.
     Among Republicans, according to the poll, 94 percent say the mandate is unconstitutional and 6 percent say it is constitutional. Among Independents, 70 percent say it is unconstitutional and 21 percent say it is constitutional. In contrast to the 56 percent of Democrats who say the mandate is unconstitutional, only 37 percent say it is constitutional. (See quote below)

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The 4th president had an early warning about the 44th ...
     "Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression." --James Madison

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Just asking ...
     Do the words "treason" or "traitor" have any meaning in today's America? How much damage is a person allowed to do to the nation before legal retribution takes place?

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Last laugh,  David Brock of Media Matters, comes from all of us who (for years in my own case) warded off attacks from your Soros supported left-wing propaganda mill.
     So you had to pay off $850,000 to your former lover, William Grey, to keep him from blowing the whistle on your shilling for the Democrats and skirting IRS rules? Too, too bad -- slimeball.

Now it's revealed that Media Matters got major contributions ($365,000) from Bernie Madoff, convicted Ponzi-scheme swindler. Brock, Madoff, George Soros ... and the beat goes on ...the prophets of left-wing lunacy.

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Re Sunday's Academy Awards: I suffer from the twin malaises of ignorance and apathy. #1, I don't know, and ...#2, I don't care.

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Best ventriloquism act on TV: The Amazing David Gregory of NBC! How DOES he manage to talk with his lips perpetually glued to Obama's buttocks?!

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Important letters you never learned about in history class ...

Dear Noah,
     We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
     Sincerely,
     Unicorns
-------------------------------------------------
Dear Twilight fans,
     Please realize that because vampires are dead and have no blood pumping through them, they can never have an erection.
     Enjoy fantasizing about THAT.
     Sincerely,
     Logic
-------------------------------------------------
Dear Icebergs,
     Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a bitch.
     Sincerely,
     The Titanic
--------------------------------------------------
Dear Yahoo,
     I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..."
Just saying...
     Sincerely,
     Google

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Jay Leno --
     "President Obama talked about rising gas prices today. He focused on the positive things his administration has done when it comes to energy prices. So, in other words, it was the shortest speech he's ever given."

MICHIGAN MITT-COUNTRY ... OBAMA BILKED TAXPAYERS ...
PREZ'S PRIORITIES: MUSLIMS VS. MILITARY

Yesterday's primaries in a nutshell:
     Romney wins Big in 'zona ... wins Little in Michigan.
     Santorum reprises the BeeGees' "Stayin' Alive." Inviting Dems to play in the Michigan Republican primary may have been counterproductive, especially since complaining only a few weeks ago that such tactics were polluting the nominating process.
      Ron Paul recalls Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All these Years."  (On Iran; wiser on some other issues.)
     Newt a no-show, now kibitzing from the sidelines.

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Since it was a central issue in Michigan ...
     What did Obama "save" in Michigan? He bailed out (with un-repaid taxpayer dollars) a greedy and short-sighted auto workers union that, in collusion with really stupid management at GM and Chrysler, persisted in turning out junk cars that were outperformed on every level by imports. Imports once disdained by Neanderthals as "pregnant roller  skates."
     Somehow, Ford managed to survive and thrive without the guiding hand of an Obama czar.  And, just for the record, the automobile with the greatest U.S. content -- parts and labor -- is now ... guess what? The Toyota Camry, made in Kentucky. And, by every professional standard, far better than the Canadian-made Chevys or Italian-owned (by Fiat) Chrysler products.


The priorities of Barack Obama become ever more obvious. Consider these two items from this (young) week's news:

#1 -- The administration announces the spending of three-quarters of a million dollars to build a soccer field at our Guantanamo Bay prison for the enjoyment of hard-core terrorists ...
     ... while announcing ...
#2 -- Cuts in medical benefits for U.S. military personnel.

Case closed.

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Worried about $5 gasoline? Nah ... forget about it. Because we're already there in parts of the country. Time to worry about $6 gasoline. Or higher. Or DON'T worry, because any day now Obama will have your car running on pond-scum, a/k/a algae.

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Some folk make the entirely rational argument that high gasoline prices are largely the byproduct of a dollar that continues to fall in value. Then liberals reach farther and proclaim that Obama is therefore off the hook for those high prices.
     Wrong. If you do accept the argument that the problem lies with the weakened dollar, who is responsible for that state of affairs? Obama and his spendthrift, foolish Democrat handmaidens.

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CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, is in a snit over surveillance of some Muslims.
     Let's see ... we have adherents of a faith founded 1400 years ago by a bloodthirsty pedophile; followers who regularly commit murder in the name of that religion and repeatedly threaten to either kill or subjugate anyone who refuses to be coerced into joining them and regularly carry out those threats.
     What kind of suicidal society WOULDN'T want to keep an eye on them?

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One thought on the anticipated Israeli military strike on the Mad Muslims
of Iran ...
     Since much of a largely anti-Semitic world hates you anyway, if you DO hit them, do a thorough job. There is nothing to be gained by a slap that would only delay, instead of eliminate, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. And don't expect any serious help from an unprincipled, pro-Muslim Obama.

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Another guidepost for skepticism: Beware of candidates at any level who promise to solve budget and debt problems by ending "waste, fraud and abuse."
     They all promise it; none have ever succeeded. Minor curtailment is the best to be hoped for.

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My election day (I live in Arizona) pledge made yesterday: I vow to vote against any candidate who is responsible for any of the endless annoying and obnoxious automated phone-calls.

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Thomas Sowell evaluates the Republican campaign process ...
     "The only good news for the Republicans coming out of the seemingly endless presidential candidate "debates" is that some Republican leaders are now belatedly thinking about how they can avoid a repetition of this debacle in future elections.
     "What could they possibly have been thinking about, in the first place, when they agreed to a format based on short sound bites for dealing with major complex issues, and with media journalists -- 90 percent of them Democrats -- picking the topics?"   (Townhall.com)

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Reader Terry views the forthcoming election with dark foreboding ...
     "2012 has given a unique set of circumstances that will test the mettle of our electorate. Unfortunately, it has also revealed some of the dumbest voters in the history of history. You would expect illegal aliens, preschoolers and brain dead prison inmates to not know any of our Supreme Court Justices, Congressmen or even the vice-president. But college students!
     "Not a week goes by that some well known talking head with a microphone goes on the street to ask passers-by to identify top office holders, world leaders or even their own representatives, only to get a shrug and a deer-in-the-headlights look. But by God, they know Snooki, SnoopDog and Justin Bieber."

Of course! That's how Obama got elected!

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Unlike most conservatives, I applaud Juan Williams of Fox News. After all, it takes drive and ambition to build a career based on simply reading the Democratic National Committee's daily "talking points" memo.

By the way, I also get the same kind of memo every day from the Republican National Committee. I never open it; don't need it to form my own opinions.

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Gary DeMar recalls a pertinent quote and some highly relevant history ...
     “To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last — but eat you he will.” — Ronald Reagan
     Ronald Reagan was the consummate collector of great quotations. The one about the crocodile was borrowed and adapted from Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill took a dim view of neutrals. For him there were only two options in the face of Hitler: fight or surrender. Each neutral, Churchill said on 20 January 1940, ‘hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear — I fear greatly — the storm will not pass.’”

What was true of Hitler and Nazism is equally true of radical, murderous Islam. But Obamunists go on feeding the crocodile.

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Happy birthday to all Leap Year babies! I forgot the card this time ... catch you in four years!
And to those born in 1972 ... welcome to the big One-Oh!

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Victor Volsky in The American Thinker borrows from Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might be a Redneck" concept to provide a scoreboard for deluded liberals ...
     If you believe that freedom of expression is sacrosanct but would like nothing better than to deny it to anyone who doesn't share your views, you are a liberal.
     If you believe that the 1st Amendment separates church from state, but not state from church, you are a liberal.
     If you believe that endlessly discussing a problem amounts to actually solving it, you are a liberal.
     If you believe that the results of progressive programs are irrelevant and that only good intentions count, you are a liberal.
     If you believe that a decades-old drunk-driving episode in George W. Bush's biography comes under the "people's right to know" doctrine while the entire past of Barack Obama is protected by his right to privacy, you are a liberal.
     If you believe, with Nancy Pelosi and Valerie Jarrett, that unemployment benefits are a boon to the economy (but without taking this brilliant insight to its logical conclusion: that the path to unprecedented prosperity lies through 100% unemployment), you are a liberal.
     If you believe that Jimmy Carter, who has been working indefatigably over the last three decades to subvert his country's foreign policy, is the best ex-president ever, you are a liberal.
     If you believe that the anarchists, hoodlums, and hobos who make up the Occupy movement are noble idealists who truly represent the 99 percent of America while the Tea Partiers are Nazi troglodytes and racists, you are a liberal.
     - - (Full list on The American Thinker website) - -
     
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I didn't see more than ten minutes of the Oscar telecast, so I have no review. I'll settle for a "me too" with Ben Shapiro of NRO ...
     "This year’s Oscars were just the latest in a seemingly endless trend of boring, self-important evenings on which we are supposed to be reminded of the 'magic of movies,' only to be reminded how shallow the movie business is. Hollywood is afraid to offend those who truly deserve offending, like Islamic dictators (witness their initial hesitance to allow Sacha Baron Cohen on the red carpet dressed like a dictator — this in an industry where people dress up as other people for a living). But they’re all too happy to offend red-state America by having the supremely-straight George Clooney make out with Billy Crystal, or allow the Bridesmaids gals to make raunchy penis jokes."

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Last thoughts on the Academy Awards ...
Craig Ferguson --
     "Forty million people watched the Academy Awards. To give you an idea how many that is, take the number of people who saw "The Artist" and add 40 million."

Jimmy Kimmel --
     "People are talking about Angelina Jolie's dress, which showed off none of one leg and all of the other leg. She's very thin. Uggie the dog from the "The Artist" was behind
Lee Rodgers"...and now, if you'll excuse me..."
radiorodgers1@yahoo.com