Thomas Jefferson

AN AWESOME REMINDER TO EVERY PERSON WHO CONSIDERS HIM/HERSELF AN "AMERICAN

 

How did Jefferson know?  Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

• At 5, began studying under his cousins' tutor.
• At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
• At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
• At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
• At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
• At 23, started his own law practice.
• At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
• At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and retired from his law practice.
• At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
• At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
• At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
• At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Pat rick Henry.
• At 40, served in Congress for two years.
• At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
• At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
• At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
• At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party
• At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
• At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
• At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
• At 65, retired to Monticello .
• At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
• At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
• At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams.

 Thomas Jefferson knew what he was talking about because he-himself studied the previous failed attempts at government.   He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man.  That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff.  A voice from the past to lead us in the future.  John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Some noteable quotes:  

• When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe .
•  The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
•  It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.  A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
•  I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
•  My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
•  No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
•  The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves  Against tyranny in government.
•  The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
•  To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

 Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

 

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by Deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

 That's something to think about, especially in light of the Federal Reserve's current policies.  Keep in mind...Mr. Jefferson founded the Democratic Party...a party that has wandered far from his principles today.

 

Request for Congressional Foreclosure Panel to Examine Foreclosure Lawyers

I received the following and a request that I post it...so here it is.

Although increasing numbers of courts are continuing to reject improper and fraudulent foreclosures, the Congressional Foreclosure Panel examination of mortgage services and foreclosure practices did not include foreclosure lawyers.


Lawyers are officers of the court; knowledge of applicable laws and civil procedure is not required from mortgage lenders. In states that require judicial foreclosures, lawyers are the ones who file lawsuits to seize and sell property; and lawyers are responsible for filing and recording foreclosure property deeds.

An investigation could prove helpful to sorting out whether improper and illegal foreclosure proceedings are linked to any self-dealing conduct disadvantaging lenders, investors, homeowners, and city governments. . .
Request for fraudulent foreclosure

Thanks so much for the help!
Barbara Ann Jackson
Law & Grace, Inc

I understand that an uncomfortably large percentage of forclosures in Louisiana are fraudulent...but the courts don't know they're fraudulent...something to think about.

THE TEN POOREST CITIES IN THE USA

City, State, % of People Below the Poverty Level

1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29..9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9
6. St. Louis , MO 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%

Those statistics are from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007

What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common?

• Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961.
• Buffalo, NY (2nd) hasn't elected Republican mayor since 1954.
• Cincinnati , OH (3rd) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1984.
• Cleveland , OH (4th) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1989.
• Miami , FL (5th) has never had a Republican mayor.
• St. Louis , MO (6th) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1949.
• El Paso , TX (7th) has never had a Republican mayor.
• Milwaukee , WI (8th) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1908.
• Philadelphia , PA (9th) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1952.
• Newark , NJ (10th) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1907.

Einstein once said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'

It is the poor who habitually elect Democrats yet they are still POOR!

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage-earner up by pulling the wage-payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them,  what they could and should do for themselves." --Abraham Lincoln

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.--Thomas Jefferson

Oregon Terror Suspect Was...Secular?

It's interesting to note in ALL of the media coverage of the foiled Oregon terrorist's attempted attack on a what is essentially a Christian religious observance (lighting a Christmas Tree is honoring Jesus), conveniently leaves out his religious background.  They give all sorts of details on who he is, where he is from, Somalia, and what he does for a living...yet leave out his motivation.  They give details on his wanting to go to Pakistan and Jihad against the West....but not one word of his religious affiliation.

Have we become to politically correct that we've lost sight of just what we are fighting about?  Have we lost sight that Al Quieda is a religiously based movement that desires to see not just the overthrow of the West, but the utter destruction of our way of life, and religions?  AQ seeks world domination (under their aegis, of course) and the destruction of all other religions.  Our media has conveniently glossed over this.  They've left out that the Underwear bomber, whose father repeated warned the State Dept in Nigeria that his son was a threat,  was Muslim.  That the Time Square bomber was Muslim.  That Major is Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army major serving as a psychiatrist, who shot dozens of soldiers at Fort Hood, was a Muslim, .  That the North Carolina Jihadists, plotted violent Jihad against America, were Muslims...the list goes on and on, yet the Media refuses to "label" them for what they are.

Muslims who see to destroy American and our way of life.  Yet, we continue to welcome more such as they to our shores...and then do our utmost to see that they thrive and...permit them to attempt violent acts.  It's only through luck that we've not had far more acts of terror on our shores.  Fortunately, the FBI is usually in top form and has prevented most such acts from happening.  On the other hand, the incompetent Deft of "Homeland Security" (the formation of which I will never forgive Geo. Bush for) is hapless and has yet to prevent ANY attacks at all.  As yet, they have not apprehended even one terrorist, but they do give their air port employees the chance to fondle men, women and children alike...

"Who The Hell Do You People Think You Are..."

Here is a MEP (Member European Parliament) for Southeastern England, Nigel Farage.



Here's the money quote, 

“Just who the hell do you think you people are? You are very, very dangerous people indeed. Your obsession with creating this Euro state means that you are happy to destroy democracy.”

First Butts...

Left to right - Princess Letizia of Spain, French first lady Carla Bruni and, yep, you guessed it.

Now...here's the loaded question...which one do you think is telling us how (and what) to feed our kids?  Do you think that just  might be a classic case of projection?  I'm just saying...

World's Luckiest Train Track Inspector

This guy used up all his luck in the space of 10 seconds.

The King Of Speed

You have to have flown, either as a crewman or as a pilot to understand the humour behind this story.  It's written by Brian Schul

There were a lot of things we couldn't do in an SR-71, but we were the fastest guys on the block and loved reminding our fellow aviators of this fact. People often asked us if, because of this fact, it was fun to fly the jet. Fun would not be the first word I would use to describe flying this plane—intense, maybe, even cerebral. But there was one day in our Sled experience when we would have to say that it was pure fun to be the fastest guys out there, at least for a moment.


It occurred when Walt and I were flying our final training sortie. We needed 100 hours in the jet to complete our training and attain Mission Ready status. Somewhere over Colorado we had passed the century mark. We had made the turn in Arizona and the jet was performing flawlessly. My gauges were wired in the front seat and we were starting to feel pretty good about ourselves, not only because we would soon be flying real missions but because we had gained a great deal of confidence in the plane in the past ten months. Ripping across the barren deserts 80,000 feet below us, I could already see the coast of California from the Arizona border. I was, finally, after many humbling months of simulators and study, ahead of the jet.

I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Walter in the back seat. There he was, with no really good view of the incredible sights before us, tasked with monitoring four different radios. This was good practice for him for when we began flying real missions, when a priority transmission from headquarters could be vital. It had been difficult, too, for me to relinquish control of the radios, as during my entire flying career I had controlled my own transmissions. But it was part of the division of duties in this plane and I had adjusted to it. I still insisted on talking on the radio while we were on the ground, however. Walt was so good at many things, but he couldn't match my expertise at sounding smooth on the radios, a skill that had been honed sharply with years in fighter squadrons where the slightest radio miscue was grounds for beheading. He understood that and allowed me that luxury. Just to get a sense of what Walt had to contend with, I pulled the radio toggle switches and monitored the frequencies along with him. The predominant radio chatter was from Los Angeles Center, far below us, controlling daily traffic in their sector. While they had us on their scope (albeit briefly), we were in uncontrolled airspace and normally would not talk to them unless we needed to descend into their airspace.

We listened as the shaky voice of a lone Cessna pilot who asked Center for a read-out of his ground speed. Center replied: "November Charlie 175, I'm showing you at ninety knots on the ground." Now the thing to understand about Center controllers, was that whether they were talking to a rookie pilot in a Cessna, or to Air Force One, they always spoke in the exact same, calm, deep, professional tone that made one feel important. I referred to it as the "Houston Center voice." I have always felt that after years of seeing documentaries on this country's space program and listening to the calm and distinct voice of the Houston controllers, that all other controllers since then wanted to sound like that and that they basically did. And it didn't matter what sector of the country we would be flying in, it always seemed like the same guy was talking. Over the years that tone of voice had become somewhat of a comforting sound to pilots everywhere. Conversely, over the years, pilots always wanted to ensure that, when transmitting, they sounded like Chuck Yeager, or at least like John Wayne. Better to die than sound bad on the radios.

Just moments after the Cessna's inquiry, a Twin Beech piped up on frequency, in a rather superior tone, asking for his ground speed in Beech. "I have you at one hundred and twenty-five knots of ground speed." Boy, I thought, the Beechcraft really must think he is dazzling his Cessna brethren.

Then out of the blue, a navy F-18 pilot out of NAS Lemoore came up on frequency. You knew right away it was a Navy jock because he sounded very cool on the radios. "Center, Dusty 52 ground speed check." Before Center could reply, I'm thinking to myself, hey, Dusty 52 has a ground speed indicator in that million-dollar cockpit, so why is he asking Center for a read-out? Then I got it, ol' Dusty here is making sure that every bug smasher from Mount Whitney to the Mojave knows what true speed is. He's the fastest dude in the valley today, and he just wants everyone to know how much fun he is having in his new Hornet. And the reply, always with that same, calm, voice, with more distinct alliteration than emotion: "Dusty 52, Center, we have you at 620 on the ground." And I thought to myself, is this a ripe situation, or what? As my hand instinctively reached for the mic button, I had to remind myself that Walt was in control of the radios. Still, I thought, it must be done—in mere seconds we'll be out of the sector and the opportunity will be lost. That Hornet must die, and die now. I thought about all of our Sim training and how important it was that we developed well as a crew and knew that to jump in on the radios now would destroy the integrity of all that we had worked toward becoming. I was torn.

Somewhere, 13 miles above Arizona, there was a pilot screaming inside his space helmet. Then, I heard it—the click of the mic button from the back seat. That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew. Very professionally, and with no emotion, Walter spoke: "Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?" There was no hesitation, and the replay came as if was an everyday request.

"Aspen 20, I show you at one thousand eight hundred and forty-two knots, across the ground." I think it was the forty-two knots that I liked the best, so accurate and proud was Center to deliver that information without hesitation, and you just knew he was smiling. But the precise point at which I knew that Walt and I were going to be really good friends for a long time was when he keyed the mic once again to say, in his most fighter-pilot-like voice: "Ah, Center, much thanks, we're showing closer to nineteen hundred on the money."

For a moment Walter was a god. And we finally heard a little crack in the armor of the Houston Center voice, when L.A. came back with, "Roger that Aspen. Your equipment is probably more accurate than ours. You boys have a good one." It all had lasted for just moments, but in that short, memorable sprint across the southwest, the Navy had been flamed, all mortal airplanes on freq were forced to bow before the King of Speed, and more importantly, Walter and I had crossed the threshold of being a crew. A fine day's work. We never heard another transmission on that frequency all the way to the coast. For just one day, it truly was fun being the fastest guys out there.

It's a great story.  H/T BlackFive

Balancing The Budget...

Here's a video on how to balance the budget without increasing taxes...

What We Believe, Part 7: American Exceptionalism

Here's the next installment of Bill Whittle's What We believe.

GOP: We're Watching You...

Terms Limits & Political Incumbency, (bumped)

Here's my own take on a possible 28th amendment: I hereby propose the following as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the House of Representatives to more than four (4) consecutive, two (2) year terms to office.
2. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the United States Senate for more than two (2) consecutive, six (6) year terms of office.
3. No citizen of the United States shall receive any retirement benefits from serving in either the United States House of Representatives or the United States Senate.
4. Congress shall not exempt itself from any laws of the United States of America, in whole or in part.
5. Congress shall be in session for a period of not less than 90 60 consecutive days in the Spring, and 90 60 consecutive days in the Summer Fall of each year. Each sitting of Congress may be extended by the President for a period not to exceed 30 15 days. The Spring session shall start on the first Monday of March. The Summer Fall session shall begin on the first Monday in August. An additional 15 day session to begin on the 2nd Monday of November shall may be called by the President if so deemed necessary by declaration of a national emergency and voted so by a 2/3rds majority of the sitting Congress and may not be extended. session may not be extended unless a period of National Emergency is formally declared by the President. {This section I think is necessary to basically force Congress to actually work...in the past decade they generally only spend 2 1/2 days per week actually working in Washington, DC. Most often only from Tues afternoon to Thurs afternoon!}

UPDATE: 11-16-2010: I added the underlined part and changed it from 45 days to 15 to limit damage that a lame duck Congress could do...and on

UPDATE: On Thanksgiving Day, I altered the the length of the sessions to 60 days, as I've come to the conclusion that having a "full-time" legislature, since that gives them far too much time to screw around with the country. Because, by having a full-time, year round legislative assembly, they ten to pass all sorts of crap that isn't necessary and merely becomes a way to spend/waste the people's money on useless and uncessary crap. Additionally, by mandating that a Fall session is to start in August, it would force Congress to actually work harder, as it limits the amount of time an incumbent would be able to actively campaign prior to each election day.

I Want To Do Apollo Again...

This makes a hell of a lot of sense...



The point is, there are cheaper, easier ways to get back to the moon, without having to recreate the entire, monsterously expensive Apollo program all over again.  "The Ol'man" (my father, designed space suits and later life support systems for the Air Force & NASA) always maintained that we made  a mistake make the huge leap straight to the moon.  He used to talk about what many in the Air  Force in the 1950's and 1960's had planned upon...

1. Reach Low Earth Orbit...to build an interim temporary (several years duration) space station
2. Use that as a steping stone to build a high earth orbit permanent station.  A station that used "spin" or centrivical force to maintain at least 1/2 G (gravity).
3. Only then, make the leap to the Moon...but not as a short term only days long duration...but to plant permanet colonies and infrastructure/factories to build much larger (it's vastly cheaper to launch from the Moon's surface than from Earth's) vehicles in which to explore first the solar system, then beyond...

But that was tossed aside for the great "leap" to the Moon.  But it was a great political stunt...and got America to the Moon first...

H/T on the video from Instapundit.

Ground Zero Mosque To Get Federal Funding?

It seems that the Saudi funding for the Ground Zero Mosque has fallen through due the the profound unpopularity of the proposed site.  John Avlon of the Daily Beast is reporting that the organizers of the proposed Mosque near ground zero are seeking Federal Grants to pay for their project.  This money is available from multi-billion dollar trust fund that was set up to revitalize the area around the World Trade Center.

Developers of the controversial Park51 Islamic community center and mosque located two blocks from ground zero earlier this month applied for roughly $5 million in federal grant money set aside for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.  The application was submitted under a “community and cultural enhancement” grant program administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation (LMDC), which oversaw the $20 billion in federal aid allocated in the wake of 9/11 and is currently doling out millions in remaining taxpayer funds for community development. The redevelopment board declined to comment on the application (as did officials from Park51), citing the continuing and confidential process of determining the grant winners.

If this money is granted, I expect that the hue and cry that will be raised will show the previous anger to be a mere bump in the road.  No Federal, state or local money should be used in a private religious center for any faith!  I wouldn't support a Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist center, much less a Muslim Mosque or even a "non-denominational" centre.

Government Officials Exempt From Airport Groping

The TSA has announced that elected, appointed and top bureaucratic officials will be exempt from airport groping by during the security kabuki theatre when they fly commercially.  This is utterly against the basica principles of a republic.  Everyone who flies on commercial airlines MUST be subject to the same indignities that the "little people" must endure.  This was announced by the TSA today.

Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially.

If you want to avoid being groped by illiterate cretins, then fly privately or government air.  But if you fly commercially, then you must be exposed to the same bullshit that everyone else has to endure.  Glenn Reynolds comments that this will go over well with the proles...

Stimulus Payments...

This is rather amusing...

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive another 'Economic Stimulus' payment.

This is indeed a very exciting program, and I'll explain it by using a Q & A format:

Q. What is an 'Economic Stimulus' payment ?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q.. Where will the government get this money ?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money ?
A. Only a smidgen of it.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment ?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. Economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

* If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China or Sri Lanka .
* If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs.
* If you purchase a computer, it will go to India , Taiwan or China .
* If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala ..
* If you buy an efficient car, it will go to Japan or Korea .
* If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan .
* If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.

Instead, keep the money in America by:
1) Spending it at yard sales, or
2) Going to ball games, or
3) Spending it on prostitutes, or
4) Beer or
5) Tattoos.
(These are the only American businesses still operating in the U.S. )
Conclusion:
Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day !
No need to thank me, I'm just glad I could be of help.

TSA Will Excempt Muslims From Pat downs....

This is by an unknown author.  I received it from a regular reader.

Government, which grows not out of necessity but by insisting upon itself, needs to slow down. We need to revisit the balance among freedom, cost and security and not continue to double down on bad policies.

The latest is the TSA's (stands for "Thousands Standing Around") directive to be more intrusive in its new "enhanced pat-down" policy. Maybe the TSA seeks to expand its self-serving role, or maybe the unionized agents of the behemoth TSA were just getting bored and wanted a better way to feel up women and explore some new boundaries. Either way, it is unnecessary.

This is the part that will scare Juan Williams: the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has told the government - and Muslims - that this procedure violates their religious rights. Now it looks like our government will back off from frisking and even body scanning Muslim women. When female Islamic terrorists blow themselves up, I don't think they are rewarded with 72 virgin men in Paradise. I think they would prefer one good man who cuddles and picks up after himself. We have these in America; they are called gay men.

Since the TSA won't be able to aggressively pat down Muslims, they will now have more time to pat down Irene Smith, the 62-year-old, retired school teacher from Canton, Ohio. Irene, this is your lucky day! If you are subjected to ten "random" pat downs in a row, the eleventh one is free!

In a feeble attempt to justify her decision, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said "women can opt for a same gender pat-down," no doubt something she would like to do herself to other women. So ladies, your choice of who gets to feel you up is either a creepy male who has not even bought you a cocktail yet or a woman in comfortable shoes.
The new body scans are no less troubling. It was recently reported that the U.S. Marshals Service admitted to storing images from courthouse body scans. The TSA is suspected of doing the same, so when the Obama administration started its big push against obesity, it was because they wanted to look at better bodies.

In lieu of full body scans or pat-downs, and to accommodate Muslims, Nancy Pelosi will have her personal California feng shui guy look passengers in the eye and read their Karma. As we know, liberals are OK with their policies being a disaster as long as their stated intentions are good.

To recap the new TSA intrusion, Muslims will be subjected to less security, we average Americans will get more and, as an added bonus, even longer lines at airports.

When the TSA was formed, mall cops from all over our nation had their salaries and job security tripled by becoming government union workers and Democratic voters.

The TSA seems accountable to no one. Increasingly big brother-ish airports have been running a scary message over their PA systems which begins ominously, "Effective immediately: By order of the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration, liquids or gels weighing more than three ounces cannot be carried on planes." Why have they run that for over four years now? This from the same TSA that does not provide shoe horns, and which brought us the confusing color-coded threat levels. If I have it straight, we are supposed to worry when we hit the "lavender" level, but that could be wrong.

If authorities want to assist the flying public, they should taser anyone behind you who is a seat-kicker. Flying is hard enough. I don't like being around kids on airplanes. With all the whining, drooling, fidgeting and childishness, I just feel I am setting a bad example for them.

Why we are so afraid to try to change the TSA? The high-handed, Obama/Pelosi/Reid-like, "it's for your own good" attitude they display somehow discourages inquiry into what the heck they are really doing. Such is the nature of a government bureaucracy or a corrupt church: avow your moral justification and superiority and let no one question what you do.

Sadly, our government, founded on liberty and tasked with "providing for the common defense," is being slowly taken down by deluded notions of political correctness while bestowing equal rights on our enemies. Common sense - and our safety - are being sacrificed.

If there is a simpler, less intrusive and more efficient way to do something, we should try it. Our country was founded by a bunch of folks who thought there was a better way

Grope & Change!

There's a great analogy on just why we don't want a government bureaucracy taking over our health care system to be found in the TSA fiasco.  When a mindless bureaucracy is placed in charge of ANYTHING...especially when political correctness forces security screeners to grope grandma's, children and nuns looking for "explosives" is exactly why we don't want our government involved in health care.

To put it bluntly, governmental bureaucrats just don't give a shit about you, as long as their rules and regulations are being followed.  They only have the power to say NO! and use that power whenever and where ever they can.  This is from Legal Insurrection:

In a nation already revolting at the ballot box against overly intrusive government, the prospect of having your junk fondled out of bureaucratic inflexibility and political correctness is feeding the anger. Providing security at airports and generally is a perfectly appropriate role for government. But the seemingly mindless TSA screening procedures show what happens when bureaucracy takes over.

 Because bureaucracy doesn't care about you...only that it's rules be applied to EVERYONE...except politicians.  Even Hillary Clinton has said she wouldn't take the "pat down" fondling...but then as one of out "political elite" she wouldn't have to.  But as Glenn @ instapundit points out this is far from over!...

BTW Glenn, thanks for the post title...I couldn't help it.

Ron Paul to TSA: Enough is Enough!

I don't often agree with Ron Paul...but once in a while he does get it right.

The Last Walk Home...

This morning on top of everything else...I had to take one of my beagles, Radar, to the animal shelter to have him put to sleep.  He'd been very ill for the past month, losing almost 1/3 of his body weight.  He'd earned his nickname, "Butterball" the hard way by always clearing his plate.  My wife took this picture of him this morning, on his last walk home...

We had to put him "down" at 1 PM this afternoon.  They kindly allowed us to stay when they gave him the shots...so that the last people he saw were those who loved him most...

From  an email I just sent to a friend in California...

Radar was the "defender." I trained him to defend the house, the wife and the kids. He took his job so much to heart that when my wife and I would "play" he'd bite me because he was "protecting the mommy..." seriously, I have bit mark scars on my legs and ankles from where he'd bite me! Once, may years ago, when our eldest daughter decided that she'd pick a fist fight with Cheri, (and C and our daughter were wrestling on the ground...I had to grab him keep him from attacking our daughter...because he "was protecting the mommy").

He was a great dog, and did what I taught him to do...protect my family and home at all costs (he deterred at least 2 burglaries that I know of)...putting him down today was saddened me far beyond what I would ever have thought it would.

I miss him now...

UPDATE:  Here's a picture of Radar & Reilly, our other beagle in better days...

But I can't resist just one more...this is my favorite...

Reilly and Radar...

UPDATE Jan 21, 2014.  I still miss him terribly...even more than 2 years later...

The Recession Is Over? Says Who?

If you listen to the network news (I have to, I can't afford cable any more), you'd think that the recession was over.  It's not.  Despite "a growing economy" no one is actually hiring.  Because of all the uncertainty, there really aren't any jobs around.  Most of those are merely seasonal for the holidays.  The competition for those is so fierce that it's almost frightening.

How do I know?  I'm working all of 14-16 hours a week...for a catering company.  That's all the work I've been able to find.  I have 10 years experience as a cabinetmaker/carpenter and 22 in restaurant, but the best I've been able to find is part time work as a bartender...no tips straight hourly wage.  My wife isn't doing much better.  She works 22 hours a week for a big box department store as an HR clerk.  That's despite having 23 years experience in retail management. 

On Tuesday, November 23, at 10 am, we are scheduled to be evicted unless we can raise $873.50 to pay October's rent.  I don't know what I'm going to do about November's rent at this point either.

With the largest tax hike in history looming come January 1st, I don't think I'm going to be able to find a job any time soon. We tried applying for food stamps.  But here in Maryland the system is so screwed up, we were notified that we would have a "telephonic hearing" two days after the hear was scheduled.  Needless to say, our application was denied. 

I worked for just under 30 days as with a company as a cabinet maker, but what I thought was a permanent position, was only to finish a deadline job...and was laid off as soon as that work was completed.  To compound it all, I didn't work long enough to qualify for unemployment!  What makes it  even worse, is that I turned down a position with a new restaurant in downtown Baltimore that just opened in October as "Service Lead" (head waiter in prepolitical correctness days).  About the only good news I have is that I do have a job interview on Tuesday morning with a company that assembles office furniture. A friend has recommended me to a couple of the incoming Congressmen and I am supposed to undergo an FBI background check in the next few weeks, but I've not heard anything directly on that as of yet.

I this point I don't know what to do.  We can't even afford to rent a storage unit to what few things we have left since I closed my cabinet shop in December of 2008 when we lost the house.  So we'll pack up this weekend, and hope we can find someone who will allow us to use their garage to store our things.

I don't want a free ride, I want to work...but what do you do when there's no work to be found?  It's not like I'm not putting our 20-30 resumes a day.  I've long since begun applying to jobs all over the eastern US...but so far I've only had "thanks for applying if anything meeting your qualifications opens up we'll..." 

If you can afford to do so, I'd appreciate you're hitting the tip jar to the right.

UPDATE:  I would like to thank everyone who has been so kind and generous to help my wife and I.    I will be contacting everyone who donated, directly in the next day or two, but wanted to get something up here now.   Thank you again for all your generosity, you have no idea how much it means to us.

Rich Vail
Pikesville, MD

‘Veterans paid the price, cut debt elsewhere,’ says The American Legion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

INDIANAPOLIS (November 18, 2010) – “There they go again,” said The American Legion’s National Commander Jimmie Foster about the recommendations of two debt reduction commissions which would decrease military retirement benefits. “Every time Washington wakes up with a deficit hangover after decades of spending binges, those who study the serious problems of our national debt can’t resist the easy but unfair route of trying to balance the budget on the backs of veterans. It is unfair and if these ridiculous proposals are passed into law, it will hurt America’s ability to defend itself from our enemies.”

One panel, chaired by former Sen. Pete Domenici and Clinton administration Budget Director Alice Rivlin, calls for changing the formula to calculate military retirement pay and delaying payments until the eligible veterans reach age 57. Another panel, chaired by former Sen. Alan Simpson and retired Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, recommends that military retirement checks be delayed until age 60.

“Tell it to the Marines!” was Foster response to the proposals. “I want these commissions to look a 22-year-old Marine in the eye and say that if you retire at age 40, after 20 years of service and three, four or even more tours of being shot at in Afghanistan, that you still have not done enough to receive your retirement. I want these commissions to tell the soldiers in Iraq that the benefits they are receiving are too much. America has a huge debt all right. And it is owed to these men and women who protect our freedoms every day. It is a debt that must be repaid.”

The panels have also recommended cuts to military weapons systems that could hurt American efforts to fight the Global War on Terrorism.

The Simpson/Bowles Commission suggested slashing $100 billion from the defense budget in 2015, closing one-third of the U.S. bases overseas and freezing noncombat military pay. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned that cutting even 10 percent or $55 billion from his budget would be “catastrophic” for the military.

“Cutting the military’s budget while it is engaged in two wars is unconscionable,” said Foster. “When you send American troops to war, you must pay the cost of those wars. Freezing pay and cutting benefits, whether in combat or in garrison, will also make young people think twice before volunteering to serve their country. The United States would not exist if not for the sacrifices of the men and women who have served in our military throughout our history. It is only because of their sacrifice, that beancounters have the freedom to argue about how to balance the budget to begin with.”

With a current membership of 2.4-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

Media contacts: Indianapolis: Joe March, (317) 748-1926; John Raughter (317) 441-8847; Washington: Marty Callaghan, 202-215-8644. A high resolution photo of National Commander Foster is available at www.legion.org.

Where White Man Went Wrong

Personal Ad From Savanah Tribune

Here's an interesting personal adverstisement from the Savanah Tribune submitted by a regular reader.

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me In Downtown Savannah night before last.

Date: 2010-05-27, 1:43 a.m. E.S.T.

I was the guy wearing the black Bur berry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives. You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings. I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment; I didn't expect you to actually crap in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason. My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 ....45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head ... isn't it?!

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from with that brown sludge in your pants. I'm sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done. Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station, -- on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb ... after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell phone. Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what 's going on with that? Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target.

The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you, but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider, the career path you've chosen to pursue in life. Remember, next time you might not be so lucky. Have a good day!

Thoughtfully yours,
Alex

It doesn't get much better than that.

OIL

I don't know who wrote this particular story...if you know please send me the link.  But a friend of mine who is a retired journalist has done a great deal of research on this and asked me to publish this story.  He hasn't said he wrote it or not but he says the fact contained herein are accurate and true.  What I find so disturbing is that our government has done nothing at all about it except to block any and all exploration and exploitation  of this vast resource.

Here's an interesting read, important and verifiable information: About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much oil does the U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "more than all the Middle East put together." Please read below.

 

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana.

 

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American idependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource

 

base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

 

"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea." says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial analyst.

 

"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years," reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation known as the Williston Basin, but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.' It stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada.

 

For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves.... and we now have access to up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

 

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years straight. And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from 2006!

 

U. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World Stansberry Report Online - Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this mother load of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?

 

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:

• 8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
• 18-times as much oil as Iraq
• 21-times as much oil as Kuwait
• 22-times as much oil as Iran
• 500-times as much oil as Yemen
• and it's all right here in the Western United States.

HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy.....WHY?

 

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.

 

Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to. Think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?

 

Got your attention yet? Now, while you're thinking about it, do this: Pass this along. If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you complain about gas prices - by doing NOTHING, you forfeit your right to complain.

 

Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you sent this to every one in your address book. By the way...this is all true. Check it out at the link below!!!

 

This makes sense, and I believe this. Look how much oil spewed forth continuously in the Gulf from April thru August. We have untapped resources in our hemisphere!

GOOGLE it, or follow this link. It will blow your mind.

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

It's All Bush's Fault, Part 3

Let's think about just what Mr. Bush is at fault for.  He did push the toxic TARP legislation which was passed at the very end of his term...Mr. Obama hasn't allowed us to forget that pretty much was his fault.  It's been his mantra for two years now.  However, here's what Mr. Bush did right. 

We’ll undoubtedly be treated to more of the Bush blame game. Forget for a moment that Bush held average unemployment at 5.3%, saw the strongest productivity growth in four decades, and witnessed robust GDP growth. Set aside the fact that he oversaw this growth despite an inherited recession, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Focus instead on the simple fact that the last budget that a Republican Congress had control over had a deficit of approximately $162 billion dollars — a large number to be sure, but not so large that the Democrats and our “progressive” president couldn’t expand it in under two years by nearly a factor of ten. Under the Obama administration and with the Democrats in complete and total control, we have record debt, record deficits, record unemployment, record underemployed, record foreclosures, record bankruptcies, and soon, record tax increases.

That bolded section is something to take a long hard look at.  The first budget passed by Congress after the Democrats took control in 2007, had a budget deficit of $462 billion dollars.  The first budget signed by Mr. Obama was $1.7 TRILLION DOLLARS!  More than 10 time that of Mr. Bush's last GOP Congress.  Last year's budget was $1.6 Trillion dollars...so in two years of complete Democratic control of both the legislative and executive branches of government they added $3.3 Trillion dollars to the debt...that leaves off the $1.3 Trillion dollars of the last budgetary year for Mr. Bush that was passed by Congress AFTER HE LEFT OFFICE and it was then signed by the newly sworn in President Obama...so just what has Mr. Bush wrought?

That's rather difficult to quantify, but with the plethora of these:

sprouting around the country, I'd have to say that he probably will fare far better through the lens of history than the current occupant of the White House will.  On the other hand, on January 1, 2011, the largest tax increase in history will go into effect.  Pretty much everyone's taxes will go up by 13%.  Some businesses will see a 28% increase while other only see a 23% increase.  Death taxes will double...and all sorts of fees, taxes, etc., will kick in under ObamaCare...no wonder business has been very nervous the past year or so.  They worry about just what it will cost them to hire each individual "new" employee...much less how much it will cost them to continue to employ "old" workers.

American's for Tax Reform has published this:

First Wave 

Bush Tax Cuts Expire. Congress didn’t even have the strength of character to stay and vote on extending the Bush tax cuts before running home to protect their professional political careers. These tax cuts all expire on January 1, 2011. Thereafter, the top income tax rate will rise from 35% to 39.6%, the same rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed. The lowest rate will rise from 10% to 15%. All the rates in between will also rise. Somewhere I seem to recall a promise about tax cuts for 95% of “working families.”

• Higher Taxes on Marriage and Family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) starting with the first dollar of individual income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
• Death Tax Returns. 2010 is a great year to die; there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, however, there is a 55% top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind a home and a 401k could easily pass along a death tax bill to their family.
• Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15% this year to 20% in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15% this year to 39.6% in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8% in 2013.

 The second wave — summarized by Joan Pryde, senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters — will follow closely on the heels of the first.

Second Wave

 

Obamacare will be the focus of congressional wrangling over the next two years, but it is unlikely to be repealed in that time. There are over 20 huge and completely new taxes contained within the new health care law which was hurried through Congress without being read and passed against the will of the American people. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011.

 

They include:

• The “Medicine Cabinet Tax.” Under Obamacare, the ability to use pre-tax dollars from health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, or health reimbursement accounts to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicine will be a thing of the past.
• The “Special Needs” Kids’ Tax. There will be a new cap on flexible spending accounts of $2500 where there currently is no limit. This will hit parents of special needs children particularly hard. Tens of thousands of parents with special needs kids currently use FSAs to pay for their kids’ educations — which can add up to tens of thousands of dollars per year.
• The HAS Withdrawal Tax Hike. The health care bill Nancy Pelosi told us we’d have to pass to see what was in it increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from a health savings account from 10% to 20%, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10%.

The third wave will ensnare an additional 28 million Americans and countless small businesses.

 

Third Wave

• The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes. The AMT, which was originally intended simply to make sure that wealthy taxpayers didn’t use tax shelters and other tactics to avoid having to pay any taxes at all (a good start for an argument for a flat tax), affected nearly 4 million families last year. Starting in 2011, it will affect over 28 million families. According to the leftist Tax Policy Center, Congress’ ineptitude and failure to index the AMT will result in an explosion of AMT taxpaying families, each of which will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.
• Small Business Expensing Is Slashed and 50% Expensing Disappears. Obama doesn’t understand that small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.” The effect is a huge tax and an additional expense to the businesses which create jobs.
• Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Slashed. The deduction for tuition and fees will no longer be available. Tax credits for education will be limited and teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut, as will employer-provided educational assistance. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
• Charitable Contributions From IRAs Disappear. Under current law, an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity without penalty. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” Not any more, thanks to a compassionate and ultra-liberal Congress.
• The Health Care Tax That Wasn’t. Remember when your president told you straight-faced that when Americans are required to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty it wasn’t a tax? He lied. In defending the Obamacare mandate in court, Obama and his army of lawyers are now defending the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.” How’s that hope and change working out for everybody? I thought everybody making less that everybody making less than $250,000 per year wouldn’t see an increase in their taxes.

This is what we face in 2011...the largest tax increase in our history...and it's all Bush's fault, right?

My journey into the belly of the beast

Here's a terrific column from the Washington Times by Milton R. Wolfe, MD.  He's a political neophyte from Chicago who became active in the Tea Party movement out of anger and disgust with Washington DC...

I told them I will be the first to defend Barack or anyone from personal attacks. Besides, I'd rather win in the marketplace of ideas. But for the sake of our republic, I would launch the mother of all family feuds, if that's what it takes, and take my cousin Barack to task not for some petty, spun-up inference, but for his actual policies. It would be an epic showdown for the heart and soul of America.


I would make him defend the bank bailouts, the failed $814 billion stimulus, double-digit unemployment and the auto-industry takeover. Make him defend the disastrous health care takeover, the 16,000 new IRS agents. Make him explain why he broke his eight pledges to hold health care hearings in public.

I'd make him explain why he became our appeaser-in-chief, bowing (sometimes literally) to the demands of dictators. Make him explain why he abandons Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East, but won't "meddle" in Iran while it is racing for a nuclear bomb. Make him explain why he wants to grant constitutional rights to the Sept. 11 terrorists but disregards his own constitutional obligation to defend America's borders from invasion.

I'd make him explain why taxpayers should pony up for yet another borrowed-money stimulus when the first one failed so miserably. Why he gave a second round of permanent big-bank bailouts but ignores Main Street businesses that actually create jobs. Make him explain why he broke his pledge not to raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000 and, for that matter, why he thinks families making more than $250,000 - the people who actually create jobs - aren't already taxed enough. Make him explain why each baby born today is welcomed into America with the shackles of more than $40,000 of debt.
I'd make him explain why a government that can't even plug an oil leak can somehow manage the complexities of our lives better than we can ourselves. It's time he explained why he or any president should exercise the unholy power to choose which Americans will be winners and which will be losers.

It's not a smear to say Barack Obama is just flat-out wrong. To disagree with him is not racist, and it's not a personal attack to say he's got some explaining to do. But even that's not the point.

The Tea Party movement exists, I told them, not because of the Democrats. We know who they are, with their tax increases, endless spending and Washington-knows-best takeovers. No, the Tea Parties exist because of the failures of the Republican Party. We were supposed to be the ones Americans could trust.

For too long, the Washington establishment - including Republicans - has been more interested in growing its own power than honoring the ideals upon which generations before us have built the greatest nation in history.

I realize that other serious issues exist. Some of those, in fact, are very important to me. But our nation is in a collapse of our own making because we have violated these basic principles, and if we don't get them right and do it now, we won't survive long enough to fight for those other causes. There comes a time when we must be Americans and take a stand, not for party, but for nation. That time is now.

Incidentally, he's a cousin of Barack Obama...but more importantly this is just the average heretofore, not been involved politically.  He's the typical Tea Partier...but all of his points are exactly what our "political elites" have done (on both sides of the aisle) to screw up our country.  I'm not sure if it will be possible to unfuck the mess that they, collectively have made.  The highlighted/bold is my emphasis, not the author's.

Sometimes the targets shoot back!!!

This was submitted by a regular reader from out west.  It's really increadible.  She says,

Turn your sound up..........so you can hear the bullet head back.   This guy is shooting a 50 cal rifle. Watch the dust when he fires. The target is a steel plate, 1000 yards away.  You can hear the ping of the hit and then hear the bullet coming back. It hits the ground just in front of him, then bounces up, hits the earmuffs, knocking them from his head.  The footage is amazing. You can hear the bullet as it tumbles through the air on its course back toward the shooter. He's lucky it hit the dirt first. He is okay and obviously very lucky.

Far Left Cheering Dem's Electing Pelosi Caucus Leader

Over at the Daily Beast, one of the few blogs that regularly presents articles from both sides of the political spectrum is a peice that lauds Heath Shuler's protest against reselecting Nancy Pelosi to lead the Democratic Party.  Here's a thread from the comments

Snidely70448
Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barak Obama are the Judas Goats that led the Democratic Party to the slaughter. If the caucus wants to be anything but the party of limousine liberals, urban blacks and predatory unions, they will relegate Nancy Pelosi to the back bench where the electoral performance of the party in the 2010 elections show she belongs.

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(1) Show Replies

Collapse Replies7:32 am, Nov 17, 2010

AlanD2
Don't worry, Snidely. In 2013, Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House again, and you can go back to complaining about her.

Flag It                                                                     Permalink
Reply   (3) Show Replies                                                    Collapse Replies11:16 am, Nov 17, 2010

AlanD2
Mattin, I have indeed said in a number of threads that while I was sure a lot of Democrats would lose, I didn't think Republicans would win the House or Senate.

I was half wrong - we lost the House. Happy now?

As for redistricting, I doubt it will be much worse than it was in 2000, when Republicans controlled a lot of states. And when Obama wins in 2012, his coattails will carry a lot of House seats for Democrats no matter how redistricting goes.

Flag It                                                                                Permalink7:45 pm, Nov 17, 2010

rvail136

Alan, it's not just loss of control of the house that is going to hurt the Dems for at least the next 10 years....it's the 680 state legislative seats and control of 22 MORE state legislatures, on top of the 29 governships they now have.

"Republicans now hold about 3,890, or 53 percent, of the total state legislative seats in America, the most seats in the GOP column since 1928. The GOP will now control at least 54 of the 99 state legislative chambers, its highest number since 1952. As a result, state legislatures will likely reflect a more conservative political agenda when they convene in 2011, NCSL reports.

"2010 will go down as a defining political election that will shape the national political landscape for at least the next 10 years," said Tim Storey, elections specialist with NCSL. "The GOP, in dramatic fashion, finds itself now in the best position for both congressional and state legislative line drawing than it has enjoyed in the modern era of redistricting.""

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/11/04/114611.htm

THAT is what Dems should be concerned about. They will control redistricting of not just the US House, but of their states legislative districts as well. Furthermore, in California, redistricting of state legislative/senate districts as well as US House districts has been taken away from the legislature and given by voters to an independent body...in order to eliminate gerrymandering. Think about that for a moment...thus have Nancey Pelosi, Barack Obama and Harry Reid have wrought.

Their far left agenda has driven the Democratic Party to a disaster worse than any other leadership has since 1928, yet 2 of those three were "reselected" by their legislative caucus (Obama's turn comes in 2012). Senator Evan Bayh wrote in the NYT just after the election:

Many of our problems were foreseeable. A public unhappy about the economy will take it out on the party in power, even if the problems began under previous management. What's more, when one party controls everything - the House, the Senate, the White House - disgruntled voters have only one target for their ire. And the president's party almost always loses seats in midterm elections...It is clear that Democrats over-interpreted our mandate. Talk of a "political realignment" and a "new progressive era" proved wishful thinking. Exit polls in 2008 showed that 22 percent of voters identified themselves as liberals, 32 percent as conservatives and 44 percent as moderates. An electorate that is 76 percent moderate to conservative was not crying out for a move to the left...We also overreached by focusing on health care rather than job creation during a severe recession. It was a noble aspiration, but $1 trillion in new spending and a major entitlement expansion are best attempted when the Treasury is flush and the economy strong, hardly our situation today. "

http://thevailspot.blogspot.com/2010/11/election-was-referendum-on-democrat%20s.html

Your party is more cohesive, because every one of the moderates who voted for the party line...were defeated and kicked to the curb by their constituents. Those who bucked, and voted against Cap & Trade, The Porkulus and ObamaCare, survived. Think about that for a moment. The democratic party that is now represented in Congres is going to be at least 63 seats smaller than is was a few weeks ago. With redistricting coming in this year, it will likely lose at least another 20 seats in 2012. By following an agenda that has been roundly rejected by a strong majority of voters, and promising to continue pressing that agenda, how on earth, other than living in a fantasy eduring, echo chamber can you see a recovery in only 2 years? I can't see how that could possibly happen.

You can't depend upon the opposition to FUBAR (though, I wouldn't put it past the GOP to do just that). If they even stick to half of their party's principles, the Democratic party will be in the wilderness for at least a decade. The Democratic leadership in the House, Senate and White House vastly over-reached and led the party off the cliff...we can't get rid of Obama (impeachment would be stupid in the extreme), but reselecting both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to lead in Congress was stupid in the extreme.

For the first time in our history, the party leaders who lead their party to election disasters have been retained in their leadership roles. This basically says that their party's representatives want more of the same, even when a large majority of the country's voters have said...NO!

I'm not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican any more...but having 2 relatively strong parties vie-ing (spell?) one against the other has done well for our country for well over 200 years. I would hate to see that balance upset by stupidity of one party or the other. We as a nation don't do well, when one party gains too much power over the other. We prefer bi-partisanship when ever possible. The past 2 years of Democratic control tossed that out the winder. The GOP was never given the opportunity of particiapate...because "We Won" attitude became pervasive in Dem circles in 2009...now the party, and the country will pay for that stupidity.

Think about it, ObamaCare passed through both houses of Congress without one single vote of the party in opposition. When you look at the major social legislation in history, every singe one was passed with affirmation by the minority party...the Voter's Rights act of 1964, the vote cast that passed it was by a GOP Senator...same with much of the agenda of Lyndon Johnson...but the current leadership chose to pursue a straight, one party agenda. That, and that alone is what cost the Dem's control of so many seats in not just Congress but, "3,890, or 53 percent, of the total state legislative seats in America..." http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/11/04/114611.htm#ixzz15d YVndxj

It's time to wake up and realize that this country isn't a left/right...but more of a centre/right country and a straight liberal agenda will be soundly defeated at the polls. Instead of trying to "Get it all NOW"...a more incremental agenda, one that's been followed for more than 80 years has a better chance of success. But Nancy, Harry and Barack have forgotten that in their hubris of the 2008 election. Now at least 63 (3 more races are pending, with the GOP contender leading) have paid the price...one that will be continued to be paid for at least 10 more years.

Rich Vail
Pikesville, MD
The Vail Spot                  Flag It        Permalink7:40 am, Nov 18, 2010

The rest of the thread is pretty much an echo chamber where Nancy is lauded for all "of her accomplishments...leading the country off the cliff.

GOP To Force A Floor Vote On NPR Funding

Via National Review is a report that the GOP will try to force a floor vote on NPR funding.  Here's the press release.

This week’s winning spending cut is a proposal developed by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) that would eliminate taxpayer funding for National Public Radio. When NPR executives made the decision to unfairly terminate Juan Williams and to then disparage him afterwards, the bias of their organization was exposed. Make no mistake, it is not the role of government to tell news organizations how to operate. What is avoidable, however, is providing taxpayer funds to news organizations that promote a partisan point of view. Eliminating taxpayer funding for NPR is precisely the kind of commonsense cut that we have to begin making if we want to fundamentally alter the way business is conducted in Washington.

It will probably fail...but wait until January...when we just stop funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Big Media - Andrew Who?

Since the MSM doesn't seem interested in publishing information about Andrew Traver, I'm republishing his entire post as well as ALL the pertinent links on just how anit-2nd Amendment he and the Obama Administration really are.  The original post can be found here. 

If one was to depend on the mainstream media or big media to know that Andrew Traver had been nominated by President Obama to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, you'd be out of luck.

Only two of the 25 largest newspapers in the country have any mention of the Traver nomination. The New York Times had a report on Nov. 15th and originally spelled Traver as "Taver". They didn't give much info other than that Traver is the SAC for the Chicago Field Division and that his confirmation would probably be opposed.

Al Kamen had a brief mention of Traver in his In The Loop column yesterday. Kamen's column was where Traver's nomination was first floated as a trial balloon back in August. He had this to say about it:

As we mentioned back on Aug. 4, if approved, Traver would be the first-ever Senate-confirmed ATF director. The position had been filled (at the Treasury Department and more recently at Justice) without Senate input. Since the job became Senate-confirmable in 2006, it seems, no one has made it past the watchful eyes of the gun lobby.


Hard to imagine Traver will be approved by the new Senate.

The only mention of Traver's nomination in the Chicago area was on the WLS-TV, the ABC affiliate. Even then all they did was reprint the relevant parts of the press release from the White House announcing the nomination. No other newspaper or TV/radio station has any mention of Traver on their websites and that includes both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.

So what about the major broadcast and cable networks? Nothing. No ABC, NBC, or CBS. No CNN, Fox, or MSNBC.

One must wonder why Andrew Traver is being treated as such a stealth candidate in the media. Is it because his appointment only matters to the gun culture and the anti-gun rights forces and for the rest of the world it is considered ho-hum news? Or is it because the intent is to sneak Traver through the confirmation process?

Sebastian at Snow Flakes in Hell is of the opinion that Obama is just waiting until Congress goes into recess to make this a recess appointment which wouldn't require the advice and consent of the Senate. Traver would hold the office until the end of the next Congress or until the 112th Congress ends in 2012. We'll just have to wait a few more days and see.

UPDATE: David Codrea agrees with Sebastian on the possibility of a recess appointment for Traver. He goes over the details in his National Gun Rights Examiner column.

UPDATE II: Welcome Instapundit readers and thanks to Glenn for the Instalanche!

Here are links to my earlier posts on Andrew Traver.

NRA on Traver
Brady Center on Traver
Jesse Jackson, Jr. on Traver
Who is Andrew Traver
I Don't Believe in Coincidences
First Post on Traver

Feel free to post any or all of these blog entries on your favorite forum. Since the Big Media isn't going to publicize the nomination, it will take an Army of Davids to do it instead. All I ask is that you include a link back to the original.

So as the author John Richard said, feel free to copy this in it's entirety and post it on your own blog...send the links to anyone who will listen...then call your US Senators and voice your opinion on this.

UPDATE: Via Say Uncle, the NRA has come out to oppose the  appointment of Mr. Traver. 

The National Rifle Association Strongly Opposes the Nomination of Andrew Traver to Head BATFE


Calls on President Obama to withdraw the nomination
Statement from Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action

The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama’s nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a “recess appointment,” in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.

Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) “Gun Violence Reduction Project,” a “partnership” with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists...

Please follow the link above to read the whole thing.

EMAIL WARNING!!!!!

INTERNET WARNING:

If you get an email titled "Nude Photo of Nancy Pelosi,"

Don't Open It . . . . . . .

It contains a nude photo of Nancy Pelosi.

Voters & The GOP

Fox News Panel Laughs About New Palin Series on TLC

Here's video of a Fox News panel laughing and making jokes about Sarah Palin's new series on TLC.

Digging For Gold

Mr. Obama is looking for something to offset all the deficits of the past 2 years...

Bankrupting America

In just about the simplest form, here's an excellent explaination of just why American businesses are sitting on more than $5 trillion dollars right now.  It also shows just why businesses are hiring now, or any time in the foreseeable future.



via Instapundit

TSA Training Film

Here's a training film from the Transportation Security Agency



via Instapundit

Here's some more on TSA's Efficeincy.

The 3 Stooges

Quantitative Easing Explained

Here is a great explanation of just how bad things really are...

Why Grandpa carries a gun

A frequent reader sent this to me...and so I'm posting it here...
PEOPLE ASK WHY?

Why Carry a Gun?

My old grandpa said to me 'Son, there comes a time in every man's life when he stops bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps and usually it's when he becomes too old to take an ass whoopin.' I don't carry a gun to kill people.

• I carry a gun to keep from being killed.
• I don't carry a gun to scare people.
• I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.
• I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.
• I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.
• I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.
• I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world
• I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.
• I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.
• I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.
• I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.
• I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
• I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.
• I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.
• I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.
• I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
• I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.
• I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
• I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.
• I don't carry a gun because I love it.
• I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me..

Police protection is an oxymoron

Free citizens must protect themselves.

Police do not protect you from crime, they usually just investigate the crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess.
Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass whoopin'.....

author unknown (but obviously brilliant)