Happy New Year

On Virginity and Whacked Weenies

Without the important monies contributed to scientific research, we would never know that teens who skip breakfast lose their virginity earlier:

Specifically, researchers found that people in their early teens who regularly skipped breakfast lost their virginity at an average age of 17.5 years old, versus an average age of 19 for breakfast eaters. The study, funded by Japan's health ministry, looked for ways to curb unwanted pregnancies. Researchers concluded that a stable home life — one that encourages breakfast eating — discourages early sex.

Another study from the UK says that little boys who whack their weenies on the toilet seat need some advice from the experts:

Parents of newly toilet-trained boys should take a few simple steps to keep their sons' penises safe when they go to the bathroom, a team of UK urologists advises. There's evidence that crush injuries due to falling toilet seats may be on the rise, Dr. Joe Philip of Leighton Hospital in Crewe and colleagues warn in a letter in BJU (British Journal of Urology) International.

In other news, there is still no cure for cancer, AIDS, breast cancer, ALS, or muscular dystrophy.

Dave Barry's Year in Review: He is Not Making This Up

You really should read the whole thing:

On the Democratic side, the surprise winner is Barack Obama, who is running for president on a long and impressive record of running for president. A mesmerizing speaker, Obama electrifies voters with his exciting new ideas for change, although people have trouble remembering exactly what these ideas are because they are so darned mesmerized. Some people become so excited that they actually pass out. These are members of the press corps.

Heh. He has words for just about everyone and everything, including OJ Simpson. It’s worth reading.

Songs That Get My Motor Running for No Apparent Reason

A Bunch of Skinny, Skanky Dudes: Riding on the bike with nowhere to go, I like to hear this. Just makes me want bring out a deck of cards. It's an interesting juxtaposition between poker and STD's.



His Hotness, the ClintMeister ala Merconi...the intensity of the clarinet, the open "o" of the vocals:




More Skinny, Skanky Dudes. You gotta give 'em credit for longevity.




But my very favorite (and Chainsaw’s too….he hollered, “Turn it up !”) ..who knew?

Slice of Life: LOL

We're mostly hanging around in our jammies today. Lovely and lazy.

We live in a building with four apartments: two on top, two on the ground floor. We're on the bottom. We've had our share of noisy neighbors, but for the last year or so it has been pretty quiet. Maybe too quiet. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of our neighbors maybe hiding out from the law or at least do not want to attract any attention. Whatever. As long as it is quiet, we're happy. Live and let live. As long as they're not running a meth lab, it's cool.

So the old man is working on his website, and I'm piddling around in the kitchen and he walks in on me and says, "Oh My God, I think I'm going to be sick."

What? I felt a moment of concerned panic, wondering if it was something that I made over the last few days that caused him to get sick. Maybe the pigs in a blanket?

Nope, it seems as though our quiet neighbors up above us seized the moment (around noon) to get frisky....quite frisky, as a matter of fact, and since they were right above the old man's computer let's just say he got quite the earful. He said, "I don't know if it's just the guy by himself or the two of them, but damn, I'm gonna get sick. "Oh My God !", he says.

I laughed and laughed and said, "Well, it's just natural, I mean what the heck." I thought I would come in and give a listen and I heard some grunts and bed-squeaking but by this time Chainsaw had ZZ-Top tuned up to the MAX. "Oh My God !"

LOL, what a prude ! For heaven's sake, chill out. Did you think they were a couple of nuns or something? Jeez.

I said, "Well, after they're done, do you want to play some online poker?". Heh. "Yeah, I guess so," he says. OMG.

Then I'm wondering if they ever hear us. OMG ! Awww, friggit.

It didn't last long. I hear the shower running now.

Let's play some poker !

Should Joseph Cao be in the Congressional Black Caucus?

Joseph Cao, the newly-elected Republican Louisiana Representative who beat William “Cold Cash” Jefferson in a tight special election says:

“I'd join any caucus that would have me."

Cao’s district is over 60% African-American. You would think he would be welcomed into the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). But the CBC has never had a non-black member, and the one and only (former) Republican member, Gary Franks of Connecticut found that:

“…..despite paying $5,000 in dues, he was never informed of some of its meetings and was locked out of others by Democrats who wanted to keep what they discussed in those meetings secret from Republicans.”

Another black Republican, J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, declined CBC membership, calling them “race-hustling poverty pimps”.

But the CBC site itself says it is above board and totally non-partisan.

The Congressional Black Caucus is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that is dedicated to supporting key causes.

Really? There is nothing in your simplistic mission-statement that says you have to be black. There is nothing that says you have to be Democrat.

Commenters from the area say:

“I started reading this article trying to figure out why on earth he would even WANT to join the CBC, but the argument that its because of the makeup of his district makes sense to me. As a minority himself, I'm sure Cao is perfectly aware of the difficulties facing people of color. I admire the fact that he's reaching out to the Congressional Black Caucus in an effort to grow his understanding of the needs of his district. It's extremely unlikely, apparently, that they'll let him, which is a shame, but Kudos to Congressman Cao for the attempt.” Cao is at least making an effort to include or partner with people who are representative of his district. However, he should have known that the Black Caucus is an exclusive group that would never allow an outsider to join. Let him join!! As an American who is also black, I think Cao should be allowed to join. He is representing a district that is mostly black. I know we are in 2008, but there are still some racial issues we need to tackle. With that said, it is still up to the individuals and family to make a change in their lives. Government should be the very last place for help. This might be off the topic, but I notice the Vietnamese and Black community has always exisit side by side for many years. I think Cao in the Black Caucus would be a good fit.

Eh, but those in the know say it ain’t gonna happen:

"I don't expect it to work out, but if it doesn't, to me the caucus will look bad on this."

The Most Politically Correct Car. EVAH !

Delaware Watch alerts us to the ultimate fuel-efficient vehicle.

The ultimate? Eh, not so fast. IowaHawk has this beat hands down with the Pelosi GTxi SS/RT, the penultimate Green Machine:



Hehehe, take that, Tree Huggers !

Christmas Day Odds and Ends

A Merry Christmas to all.

It was great to see Paul Falkowski and John Flaherty at the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial last night. There was a good turnout, and the weather smiled upon us. Good folks all. I even sang the Christmas carols out loud and with some gusto (until they got to a really high part, then I just mouthed the words). I’m not usually much of a singer, but I was in the mood and to heck with what I sounded like.

One of the organizers talked about how when the memorial was being built over 25 years ago, they had to have a contingent of a few guys to guard the site 24/7, as it was in danger of being vandalized. Times have changed. Does it heal? I dunno. Not all wounds are visible.

Remember all those who served and continue to serve. Keep in your heart those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and for all MIAs and POWs.

Speaking of those in active service, our friend Gunther is selling his 2003 BMW K1200 LT with a Hannigan sidecar. Hit the link for all of the details. Gunther had this rig for the sole purpose of tooling around with his Dad, but now that his Dad has passed, he doesn’t have a need for it anymore. I imagine the two of them had some cool trips together. Chainsaw made the page and is right now in the process of putting it on every website imaginable where motorcycles are bought and sold. This rig is cherry; someone would be real lucky to be able to buy it. It is also a major chick-magnet, for what that is worth.

When we got home last night, we splurged a little on some finger food. My favorite is bleu cheese on Town House crackers with caviar. I got a little jar of caviar for about $10 and was in seventh heaven. I also made up some pigs in a blanket using sausage instead of hot dogs. Today, after we get back from my brother’s house, we’ll finish up that stuff and I’m going to make some scallops wrapped in bacon. Heh, when Chainsaw got the scallops he told the dude behind the counter, “I want a pound, but Shirley says there should be at least 12, so you can just make it 12 and call it a pound.” The dude laughed. We got exactly one pound for $12.99. Looks like there’s at least 10 in there. That’s about as much splurging that we’ll be doing. Having each other is gift enough for us.

I had a pact with Chainsaw not to buy each other any Christmas gifts this year. I upheld my end of the bargain, but he did not. Luckily, he not only got a few things for me, but for himself as well (the tags all read “From Santa”), so I didn’t feel quite as bad. He, er, I mean Santa got each of us a pair of safety glasses as well as ear muffs (not the kind for winter, the kind of ear muffs you put on to block out the sound when you are shooting). Santa also got us a heating pad (sigh) and a much-needed watch for me.

I’m a little bummed about an upcoming milestone birthday in January, but I’m trying to put it out of my mind. It is not working. I feel like I am coming up on the last lap in life, and I need to get together inside of myself what I want to make of it.

I have had many thoughts of Ashley Nicole Vadala, and also of her family. Dominque, Leo, and Matt please know that you are in my prayers. I tear as I write this, but your family is strong and you will survive.

I wish all of the blogosphere and their families many blessings and good cheer. From wherever you may get your strength, be it religion and faith or some indescribable gumption in the pit of your gut, take 2009 and make it your own.

I know I'm going to try .....

Bowie Meets Crosby: 1977

Baby Nathan

My grand-nephew, Nathan, is hanging in there.

Cherish your loved ones. Hold them tight. Nathan will always have a bum heart, but besides that, who knows what he will accomplish? Who knows what he has to offer the world?

Jackie and Dunlap Talk About Rick Warren

Congressional Oversight Panel over TARP Funds

They now have a website, and their goal is lofty:

The Congressional Oversight Panel was created to oversee the expenditure of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds authorized by Congress in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA). Panel is required by law to review the "current state of the market and the regulatory system" and provide reports to Congress and the American public on the effectiveness of the Treasury Department's management of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and offer recommendations for regulatory reform.

Ah-ite, y'all, then give me a gander on this one:

But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it. "We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."

Oh, you're declining to, are ya now?

If this doesn't start a revolution, nothing will.

Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), let me know what is happening here. Forget your lofty hearings and your volumes of reports that no one will ever read and that only serve to justify your own existence (which is probably being paid for with TARP funds).

Give me a gander on that, COP. Screw your recommendations, and screw your assessment of effectiveness. Just tell me why we don't know where our money is going, and why these people can have such a high-handed attitude with our monies.

A few succinct sentences will do. It ain't that hard.

Are You Annoying?

Stay out of Michigan:

Ticking someone off could get you a ticket in one Michigan city. The Brighton City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance allowing police in the Livingston County community to ticket and fine anyone who is annoying in public "by word of mouth, sign or motions." The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell reports the measure is modeled on a similar ordinance in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. A city attorney says there could be situations where the measure would violate freedom of speech, but that those cases will be reviewed by the city. The ban takes effect Jan. 2.

So, you might want to take stock of your annoying habits, lest you get a ticket.

Personally, I can think of quite a few people I would like to do a citizen's arrest on.

Hokey Pokey as a Hate Crime

I'm not that great of a dancer, but take my pleasures where I can. I failed miserably in the disco era, never did quite get "The Macarena", and the "JFK Walk" had me tripping over my shoelaces. After a couple of martinis I can manage a half-assed "YMCA", but my dancing skills for the most part consist of the white-girl shuffle.

But there is one dance I could always do, sloshed or not. The Hokey Pokey. Who doesn't love The Hokey Pokey? It's even better than The Chicken Dance, which requires a certain level of coordination that I am sorely lacking.

But now The Hokey Pokey, that last resort of the rhythm-impaired is now under attack as a possible hate crime:

According to the Catholic Church and some Scottish politicians, singing the popular tune that begins with the words “You put your right hand in, your right hand out,” may constitute an act of religious hatred. A spokesman for the leader of the church in Scotland said the song had disturbing origins. Critics claim that Puritans composed the song in the 18th century in an attempt to mock the actions and language of priests leading the Latin mass. Now politicians have urged police to arrest anyone using the song to “taunt” Catholics under legislation designed to prevent incitement to religious hatred.

Wha-a-a-a-a-t? This ????



As Little Green Footballs opines:

We’ve always known it as an expression of profound despair, in which all of existence, indeed, all of life itself, is reduced to a series of jerky ritualistic moves in a macabre nihilistic parody of “dance” ... culminating in a statement of ultimate bleak emptiness: That's what it's all about.

Yanno, you never know; the Hokey Pokey might really be what it is all about. Then, we're all screwed.

The Ultimate Ponzi Scheme

Ron Paul's weekly column:

Billions of dollars were recently lost in the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s self-described Ponzi scheme, in which too-good-to-be-true returns on investments were not really returns at all, but the funds of defrauded new investors. The pyramid scheme collapsed dramatically when too many clients called in their accounts, and not enough new victims could be found to support these withdrawals. Bernie Madoff was running a blatant fraud operation. Fraud is already illegal, and he will be facing criminal consequences, which is as it should be, and should act as an appropriate deterrent to potential future criminals. But it seems every time someone breaks the law, politicians and pundits decide we need more laws, even though lack of laws was not the problem.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

I Will Fight...I Will Fight....I Will Fight....

There is something oddly fascinating about this guy.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My Leg is Getting All Tingly

Esteemed Washington Post comumnist Ruth Marcus says:

"On the question of Caroline Kennedy for Senate, my head says no, on balance. My heart says yes! Yes! ... What really draws me to the notion of Caroline as senator, though, is the modern fairy-tale quality of it all."

And Prohibition Failed Because ????

Buyer's Remorse?

There has been quite a stir in the self-proclaimed progressive/liberal blogosphere over the selection of Rick Warren for the inaugural invocation. From Firedoglake:

"President-elect Obama chose eliminationist hate preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's Inaguration. With this choice, Obama sends three destructive messages. Number one: In Obama's America, equal rights and reproductive freedom aren't for everyone. Number two: President-elect Obama likes sharing the national stage with hate. Number three: While Obama enjoys his equality before the law, LGBT Americans can go to Hell. Literally. Gee. Is this change we can believe in?"

Oh, and that 16-month timetable for leaving Iraq? Not so fast.

A new military plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq that was described in broad terms this week to President-elect Barack Obama falls short of the 16-month timetable Mr. Obama outlined during his election campaign, United States military officials said Wednesday.

The reaction to Clinton’s nomination for Secretary of State was tepid at best, leading to a bit of buyer’s remorse, leading some to say that It’s Time to Take Back Barack:

And while I respect Hillary, and was largely impressed with her candicacy during the Democratic primary, I was - and remain - worried that sending her out as America's chief diplomat will not represent enough of a Change for America's standing in the world. So I got a little worried. And then more announcements and leaks trickled in. Dubya's SecDef Robert Gates was staying. McCain's national-security advisor during the campaign was going to be Obama's national-security advisor in the Oval Office. I was - and still am - worried, as is progressive columnist Ted Rall, that the people Obama is surrounding himself with will change him, more than he will Change them. He's not picking progressives. And beyond that, he's picking Establishment people - not even non-progressive outsiders, generally speaking. Deirdre Fulton and I detail some of these concerns - as well as a few bright-ish spots - in our story this week in the Portland Phoenix and at thePhoenix.com. And Obama owes the progressive movement - and the generally progressive American population - much more than he owes the Establishment. We Want Change. We voted for change. We backed Obama because of his promise as well as his promises, because of his idealism as well as his ideas. We kept him alive in the primary, and our energy electrified this nation during the general election. It is time to make sure that Obama does what we want - not what he wants, nor what his advisors want, nor even what he thinks we want. We need to tell him, loud and clear, the same things he told us: Change will be difficult. It will take time. But we need to start now, and we need to move fast. But we want Change. And we won't settle for anything less. It is time to Take Back Barack. Yes, We Can. And, we must. This is our country. He is our president. He works for us, not the Establishment, not the corporations, not the Democratic Party. He's ours. Take Back Barack!

The author of this blog, Jeff Inglis of The Portland Phoenix, says in his introductory article that "it's time we reclaim the man we put in the White House."

We? Heh.

Me? Meh. I am of the mind of Instapundits who opines quite wisely:

You know, as I’ve noted before, the reason not to get too excited about elections is that the guy you like generally turns out to disappoint you, and the guy you don’t like generally turns out not to be as bad as you feared. A lot of Obama voters are encountering the downside of this phenomenon. . . .

There is still a lot to learn about how Obama will lead. I for one have been impressed by his organizational skills. His political acumen is obviously top-rate: he throws a bone to just about everyone.

He has yet to have one day in office. He has yet to make one executive decision. These largely symbolic gestures and appointments in the end will mean little. The government has a life of its own…a power beyond that of any one leader, one agency, or one philosophy.

My gut feeling?

The federal government will continue to extend its powers and largesse and will be into every nook and cranny of our everyday lifes.

The government will become the company store:

You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul to the company store...

It’s going to be every man for himself.

Liberal Blogger Mugged

Help save Mike's eye:

As our loyal readers who hang on our every word know already, a few weeks ago Mike was the victim of a brutal mugging while taking out some cash at an ATM to go Christmas shopping for his family. As I previously noted, this happened in freaking Ft. Dodge, Iowa. Anyway, Mike got his hand broken and in the process of getting his head kicked in damaged his retina, requiring an operation. As a result, Mike has missed a lot of work and now, even with insurance, faces some hefty bills in order to have this operation to save his sight in that eye.

Eh, yeah, I know he's a liberal, but in the end we are all in this together in some perverse way.

If you can pony up, do it. If not, maybe give a shoutout to Iowa Liberal with some good wishes and moral support.

h/t Conservatism Today and Common Sense Political Thought

Al Sharpton on Card Check

Amazing. He gets it.

“….why wouldn’t those of us who support workers being protected, why would we not want their privacy protected. I mean why would we want them opened up to this kind of possible coercion?”

Employees should be free from intimidation from both management and unions, but in the real world we know that it exists whether it is subtle or flagrant. The employee’s right to decide on his own and to make that decision without fear of reprisal or of being ostracized is a basic right….a fundamental principle of democracy.

Secret ballot. It should not be denied.

Why is Government So Incompetent?

Britain has had its share of government bugaboos lately.

The Department of Work and Pensions has been over-paying public sector retirees for decades, resulting in a waste of $216 million. Cabinet Officer Liam Byrne said there was “no single cause” and that the error seemed to have resulted from a “string of administrative errors”.

In other words, there is no one to blame.

A new computer system at the Department of Transport had been touted to save $88 million in administration is going to actually lose the department over $125 million. The Department has been accused of “stupendous incompetence” but:

'Despite the extent of mismanagement in this case, no individuals have been dismissed or properly held to account.”

And last summer, the Department of Education was embroiled in an SAT scandal. Due to what is described as lack of oversight, and a “culture of complacency”:

Blunders included poorly-organised training of markers, boxes of completed test papers lying unmarked in warehouses, missing papers and marked papers being sent to the wrong schools. …..the failings had a 'detrimental' impact on children's education because teachers were unable to pass on information about their performance. Some were put into the wrong sets at secondary school as a result.

Yet, even while fiasco after fiasco continues to wreak havoc in Jolly Olde England, there are still plenty of civil servants with absolutely nothing to do:

Nearly 200 civil servants sat around for months doing nothing, a Whitehall watchdog has admitted. They had finished one project and failed to find another, said David Bell, a permanent secretary. .

Why is there so much incompetence? Too many civil servants:

“…..bureaucrats can always believe that somebody else will check for errors or sort out mistakes. With our swollen public sector - our hosts of bureaucratic nerds, all tapping away at their IT systems but having no idea of what is going on - we have allowed a monstrous self-perpetuating, self-satisfied culture to take root. And it is strangling our nation's life. It is not just guaranteeing that we have a country which is inefficient. It is a moral drain, too, because it has removed from public life the idea of personal responsibility and accountability.”

It is not so much different here, if not worse. I am convinced that the government is simply too huge to be properly and efficiently managed. That is why government-run health care will never work. It is why so many agencies at the federal level have little or no impact; what impact they have is usually counterproductive rather than helpful.

And in related good news from the United States:

The five-member board of the FDIC, which is in charge of unwinding failed banks, voted Tuesday to increase the agency's 2009 budget to $2.24 billion, an increase of $1 billion, compared with 2008, and said it planned to beef up its bank-examination and supervisory staff by more than 500 to 6,269. It would pay for the increase by levying higher fees on banks..

Government is just too damn big. There is no possibility of controlling it. The States need to start making a stand before they lose all control over their destinies and the country is run by thousands of anonymous bureaucrats with no identify and no accountability.

No More Books?

Very scary.

While the past months have seen the US retail sector taking sharp hits, recent news developments have been no less startling in the publishing world. According to a November 24 report in the industry paper, Publishers Weekly, "Josef Blumenfeld, vice president of communications for HMH [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt], confirmed that the publisher has ‘temporarily stopped acquiring manuscripts' across its trade and reference divisions." A number of literary agents consulted by Publishers Weekly said they had never heard of a major publisher instructing its editors to stop buying manuscripts. "I've been in the business a long time and at a couple of houses I worked at, when things were bad, we were asked to cut back," said agent Jonathon Lazear. "But I've never heard of anything so public." Another agent termed the action "very scary."

Very scary, indeed.

World's Maddest Blogger

With a sense of moral outrage rivaling even that of Delaware's own Kilroy, Southwest Philly blogger extraordinaire Brendan Skwire lights a fire under Nutter's ass:

With the glare from the laptop illuminating his face, Skwire looks more like a man possessed than the creative urban professional he is. Throw in the backdrop of a charming picture window overlooking the sometimes perilous Kingsessing ball fields behind him, and it's clear this inner-city blogger is on a mission to force transparency in government by united pissed-off citizens into kicking some political ass.

Read the Philadelphia Weekly article in its entirety HERE (with a great picture of a blogger in action).

Go to Brendan Skwire's blog: Brendan Calling.

Evil Wall Street Fatcats Screw the Little Guy Again ? What Is This?

Bernie Madoff, he of the decades-old Ponzie scheme which is expected to cost investors at least $50 billion, has been named as Progressive Enemy #1 by the liberal/progressive blogosphere:

Madoff, single-handedly, has done more harm to the Progressive cause than almost anyone yet realizes. And, that's because The JEHT Foundation, one of the leading providers of grants for all things Progressive, has just abruptly announced they're shutting their doors at the end of January as a result of having come to the realization that they've lost virtually all their money because it was all under Madoff's management.

Evil Wall Street ! Those greedy whore-mongerers and rapers of widows’ pensions ! They have done it again !

But wait, what is this?

In the 2008 election cycle, Bernie as well as his firm’s employees made a total of almost $91,000 in political contributions, almost all of them for Democrats, including $50,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee straight from Bernie himself ! Frank Lautenberg’s campaign received over $7,000, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign was up there on Bernie’s personal donation list.

I thought all of these Wall Street evil-doers were pitchfork-carrying Republicans ? Is the line being blurred?

In a less-publicized story, New York law firm Dreier LLP has announced it will be filing for bankruptcy after being accused by the SEC of conducting an investment fraud scheme that is expected to cause losses of a relatively paltry $380 million.

Evil, rich lawyers ! A pox upon them ! They prey upon us ! They must be evil Republicans !

The Dreier LLP firm made 54 contributions totally almost $82,000 in the 2008 election cycle. Nearly 100% were to Democratic candidates (Charlie Rangel seemed to be quite popular, as well as Senator Clinton).

The “party of the people”, which touts itself as being for the poor and oppressed and disenfranchised, seems to have its hands in quite a few of the big pots of dough flying around.

There will be more, on both sides of the aisle, as the nature of the economy forces them out into the open.

Do you think that the beneficiaries of such large donations are not beholden in some way to their benefactors? That is a way of life in politics.

So they next time I hear a high-and-mighty Democrat chest-thump on the inherent evil of republicanism, well………just think about Madoff and Dreier and the many more to come.

Kennedy Proposed as Replacement for Hillary

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Palin Stole Obama's Signature Line !

NRO reminds us that Obama was saying “you betcha” back in 2002, way before most of us had even heard of Sarah Palin:

On the Chicago TV show "Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz" on June 27, 2002, state Sen. Obama said, "Right now, my main focus is to make sure that we elect Rod Blagojevich as Governor, we..." "You working hard for Rod?" interrupted Berkowitz. "You betcha," said Obama.

10 Dopiest Leaders of 2008

You really should read the whole list:

Barney Frank. This is a quote, from 2003, that the Massachusetts Democrat would like to have back: "These two entities—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.'' Turns out that the two government-sponsored entities were walking farther and farther out onto thin financial ice. And as late as last year, Frank wanted Fannie and Freddie to take on even more subprime risk. Washington and Wall Street have to share the blame for the financial crisis.

h/t Instapundit

'Tis the Season of Giving

h/t Gateway Pundit

Emanual Gets the Palin Treatment

And he's not too happy about it:

"I'm getting regular death threats. You've put my home address on national television. I'm pissed at the networks. You've intruded too much, " Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.

At least Joe the Plumber didn't cut and run; maybe Emanual can call him for a little advice.

Ed Rendell Says Obama Bungled on Blago

Too much smoke, not enough mirrors:

“They have never been in an executive position before,” Rendell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “The rule of thumb is whatever you did, say it and get it over with and make it a one-day story as opposed to a three-day story. Politicians are always misjudging the intelligence of the American people.”

"Did Rahm Emanuel who took Rod Blagojevich's seat in Congress have contact with Rod Blagojevich? Of course he did," Rendell said. "They may have thought he was the craziest S.O.B. in the world. But you still have to have contact with him.”

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Service - Christmas Eve 2008

For over twenty years the Delaware Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America has held a Christmas Eve vigil and memorial ceremony at the Delaware Vietnam Veterans Memorial at 18th and Baynard Boulevard in Wilmington.

This year is no different. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 pm, and lasts no more than 45 minutes. There are tributes, remembrances, and the singing of carols (with plenty of hot chocolate). Many different veterans groups attend to not only remember brothers and sisters who have fallen, but also to honor those who have served and those who continue to serve.

This will be our fourth year. So far, we have been lucky enough to ride, but if the weather is too bad we won’t be ashamed to drive. Our friends Wolfman and Little Sister have always joined us, and this year we are hoping Thirty-Pack can make it. It is only a few moments of your time on this special night to remember those who can no longer be here and who gave their all in service to our country.

There are 122 names on the Delaware Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Two of these names might be familiar to those who visit the Delaware blogosphere. One is Kevin Gregory Flaherty, 2nd Lt, Army. He is the brother of activist John Flaherty. The other is Edward Arlo Willing, GYSG, Marine Corps. He is the brother of Nancy Willing, author of Delaware Way. Be assured I will have a special thought and prayer for each of these men and their families.

If you can spare some time in this busy holiday season, on a Christmas Eve in little ole Delaware, stop by and participate and let our servicemen and women know they are in our hearts and will never be forgotten.

Believe me, you won’t regret it.

Update: Nancy Willing's brother's middle name is incorrectly spelled as "Arle" on the monument. His middle name is actually Arlo.

In Memory

Bettie Page. 1923-2008. You gotta love it.

Robitussen-Induced Reflections on Snot, Romance, Blago: The Movie, The Confirmation Process, and More Snot

Working in the human-infested cesspool that is called Philadelphia, it was only a matter of time I suppose before I contracted some kind of whatever bug is going around, and it has hit me with a vengeance. I don’t get sick often, but when I do it is as if the virus is exacting its sweet and snotty revenge on me for my relatively illness-free existence.

It started off as just a tickle in the throat, so I loaded up on eucalyptus cough-drops and popped them for a day or two. Then, the nasal drip started, then the sneezing and finally the weight of a thousand anvils in my chest and a horrible cough.

I trudged in the door last night, wet and weary and sniffling, immediately donning a robe and socks and stuffed tissues into my nose to stop the Niagara Falls of snot from dripping onto my keyboard.

What the heck is snot, anyway? Where does it come from and why?

Meh. Not that interested to Google it.

My fogged-up head was looking for pity. Lord knows if my significant other gets one little sniffle he is certain that it is the onset of the bubonic plague and it is gangbusters to the drugstore for every over-the-counter remedy available.

Me: “Oh, man I feel like shit and I look like a piece of crap. Do you still love me even though I have a bulbous nose with tissues hanging out of it and sound like Tallulah Bankhead on codeine?”

Him: “Yeah.”

Me: “Well, I’m sorry I look so shitty.”

Him: “That’s OK, I just won’t look at you.”

Ah, sweet romance.

Today it is no better, in fact worse. Between Mucinex, Robitussen, and Ibuprofen I am certain that my self-diagnosis of “some kind of bug” is spot-on and I can kick this over the course of today and tonight. All I have to do is keep up with the snotrags lying around.

Heh. Snotrags. As a youngster I had terrible allergies and would go for days sneezing every minute. I can hear my Dad saying,

“Shirley, clean up your snotrags.”

My Dad also called all of us kids “rug rats”, but I guess that is politically incorrect now. I’m not sure. I can’t keep up. I still call kids “rug rats”. I’ll probably get in trouble some day.

So, I’m home today in my OTC-infused state and have time to reflect on the goings-on in the world.

I love the Blagojevich story. Love it. He is the best thing since Larry Craig. I read somewhere, and I can’t remember where or who wrote it, something to the effect that Republicans are in some kind of orgiastic glee over Blago’s indictment and are licking their chops at the politically salacious revelations to come.

Methinks the Dems may need to look in the mirror on that charge. I recall some rather idiotic blather about Sarah Palin, so what goes around comes around. If this charge is true on the Republican side, they had better watch their step; these types of politicians are hidden away on both sides of the aisle and if it was up to me we would clean them all out, D and R alike.

But Blago makes great copy. His Jimmy-Johnson helmet head alone is enough for a treatise. And his name ! Blowjobovitch. Heh. I can’t wait to hear the tapes, because I am I sure he has a distinctive ChiCAWgo accent which will make them all the more entertaining. The transcripts just can’t do it justice. If people start showing up sleeping with the fishes in Chicago, well, I wouldn’t be surprised.

It appears as though Obamacons are a little nervous and are censoring the hopey-changy site. Heh. How’s that for transparency? There are lots of dealings in Crook County, Illinois that may come to light and I imagine there is some sweating going on, but in the end nothing much will come of it except…… Blagojevich: The Movie. I nominate Joe Pesci for the lead role (NSFW, 1:53).



In other news, I see where they want Willy to testify at Hillary’s confirmation process over potential conflicts of interest, and Arlen Specter is saying “not so fast” on Holder’s nomination for Attorney General. All good questions, but what I would ask of any confirmation process is that the interrogators eschew the opportunity to pontificate in front of the cameras in order to get a prime soundbyte for their next election. Question, yes, but don’t do a Joe Biden in the Clarence Thomas hearings and make it a platform for your own aggrandizement. Ask and answer.

After all, we still have absolutely no clue what the president-elect is all about, do we? Let’s find out, whoever the ultimate players are.

Eh, gotta do an oil change on these tissues. Later.

Name That Goon

Test your thug-knowledge with this handy quiz.

Sample:

Who said, "You got no fuckin' idea what it's like to be number one. Every decision you make affects every facet of every other fucking thing."

All alleged, of course.

h/t TPM

And We're Bailing Them Out Because......?

An interesting statistic of the day.

h/t Hot Air

Merry Christmas, Chainsaw-Style

Since we are too cheap to send snail-mail cards (exceptions are my Dad and nieces and nephews), Chainsaw built a Merry Christmas page from the both of us. I liked the tunes he picked out.

To all of our friends near and far, in these troubled times we wish you and yours nothing but the best. If you have family and friends, I don't imagine there is anything you cannot conquer. Believe in yourself. Ignore the negatives...no, I take that back: tell those negative things to STFU !

Remember what is really important, and believe you me it isn't in the headlines. That's beyond all of us and to tell you the truth nobody cares what you or I think.

Pat your dog, kiss your significant other, do what you can to help those who are in a bigger pile of shit than you are, and have a nice strong hot toddy on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas from Chainsaw and GirlGeek (my road name) !!!!!!

Hope N Change, Obama-Style

Leave it to NRO to report on what the MSM misses.

From a March, 2008 piece:

Dan Riehl notes, via Amanda Carpenter, that in the list of earmarks he requested, $1 million was requested for the construction of a new hospital pavilion at the University Of Chicago. The request was put in in 2006.

You know who works for the University of Chicago Hospital?

Michelle Obama. She's vice president of community affairs.

As Byron noted, "In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office."

Looks like that raise was worth it.

The Obama team is now claiming that David Axelrod "misspoke" when he said in a 11/23/2008 interview that he (Obama) "has had contact with the Governor" and that names came up concerning the Senate appointment.

Ace opines:

Obama's getting pretty good at denying any contact whatsoever with people known to be close associates.

Another one under the bus, and politricks go on as usual.

I personally think that Obama was wisely keeping his distance, at least publicly, from the shenanigans in Illinois, but this bit of obfuscation is a bit ominous, isn't it?

Where is it Written in Stone That We Need the Big Three?

From The Cato Institute. (1:34)

Attention Bloggers: Keep it Upbeat....OR ELSE !

I once knew a girl from Latvia. She was very nice, but also quite serious and a bit taciturn.

Maybe this is why:

Hammered by economic woe, this former Soviet republic recently took a novel step to contain the crisis. Its counterespionage agency busted an economist for being too downbeat.

"All I did was say what everyone knows," says Dmitrijs Smirnovs, a 32-year-old university lecturer detained by Latvia's Security Police. The force is responsible for hunting down spies, terrorists and other threats to this Baltic nation of 2.3 million people and 26 banks.

Now free after two days of questioning, Mr. Smirnovs hasn't been charged. But he is still under investigation for bad-mouthing the stability of Latvia's banks and the national currency, the lat. Investigators suspect him of spreading "untruthful information." They've ordered him not to leave the country and seized his computer.

So, uh, warning to bloggers everywhere: let's be nice. Don't worry, be happy !

It's all good, huh?

Despite the Recession, the Inauguration Will Be Rockin' !!

The projected total costs of the Obama inauguration is either tightly under wraps or a work in progress, but most agree it will be the most expensive inauguration in history:

Federal budget officials said the inauguration will cost taxpayers about $50 million. Millions more will have to come from donors…..

Some are estimating that the total cost could be more than $100 million. Some of this cost will be the extra security needed for the expected record number of attendees. Some of this security will come from the ranks of Philly’s finest:

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has agreed to send 250 officers and 40 supervisors to help Washington law enforcement officials manage crowds expected to exceed 1.5 million for Obama's swearing-in ceremonies. Ramsey, who as Lanier's predecessor in Washington managed the 2001 and 2005 inaugurals, said the inaugural organizers would reimburse Philadelphia for the cost of transporting, housing, feeding and paying the officers on the three-day assignment.

George Bush was roundly tsk’d-tsk’d by the media and Democrats for the $40 million price tag of his last inauguration:

Critics are calling on U.S. President George W Bush to scale back the glittering multimillion dollar parties planned this week in honor of his second-term inauguration, saying lavish festivities are unseemly at a time of war. His comments echoed those of Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner), who, in a letter to Bush, urged the president to redirect some of the $40 million "towards a use more fitting to these somber times — bonuses or equipment for our troops."

Now, in the midst of a recession, with hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, their homes, and their futures, what is the reaction to the Obama extravaganza?

For the sake of the masses of people expected for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, let's hope so. While Obama must be sensitive to the nation's time of war and recession, there's still reason to expect a rollicking time. "We're mindful of the fact that people in this country are hurting, that they're going through hard times," said Linda Douglass, spokeswoman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee. "On the other hand, we see this not just as a celebration of an election, but as a time for people to come together and celebrate their common values and shared aspirations and goals."

As Slublog opines:

Get that? When Republicans are being inaugurated in tough times, they have to be sensitive so their parties don't offend the sensibilities of the American people. Barack Obama's inauguration, though, is a needed balm for our shattered national psyche. It's a chance to heal and come together.

And it’s amazing that the party of those who support a windfall profit tax don’t raise a whimper of protest at the obvious price-gouging going on a DC-area hotels. As Paul Ibrahim asks, where is the outrage from Pelosi et al?

Hotels in the Washington D.C. area, even ones pretty far out of the city, are charging incredibly high rates for the Obama inauguration. Rooms are going for anywhere in the hundreds of dollars (in the really "cheap" hotels) to the thousands in others. Now, Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic buddies have a history of arbitrarily deciding that certain profits are "windfall profits" that are just "too high" and therefore need to be taxed more. Not to mention their long-standing war against so-called "price gouging" by gas stations and grocery stores (a war that I've rejected as economically ignorant).

It’s funny how opinions change depending on who the players are, and amusing that the Washington DC hotels are given a pass (or maybe that is where the ‘wealth’ is supposed to be distributed to, I don’t know).

I personally think that inauguration festivities are a waste of time and money, and this one will prove to be a slap in the face to anyone who has just come back from their time in the unemployment line. Sure, there will be the feel-good stories about the schoolchildren from Podunk who took a bus ride and are being put up by a Good Samaritan, but in the end the entire thing is an exercise in self-indulgent egoism. Americans are tired of that from a lot of fronts; the last place they need it from is the presidency.

On the Blackwater Indictments

It has been reported today that five ex-Blackwater employees have turned themselves in after being indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and various weapons violations.

This will delight certain elements of the left, embued with a sort of Blackwater Derangement Syndrome and of course certain of the inherent evil of probably any military security operation. As for me, I am not as prescient as some and cannot read the indictment which is still officially sealed. Some people are smarter than me, I guess. Maybe some of them were there, in which case they would certainly know.

I cannot make a judgment. I don’t have the facts. But let me tell you a true story with a Delaware connection. Some minor details have been changed to protect the person’s identity.

I have a friend who I will call Tim. He is Delaware born and bred. A young, fresh-faced kid who looks more like 12 than the mid-20’s that he actually is. His interest is the law, and he was well on his way to achieving his dream of a law degree.

The day before the attacks of 9/11, Tim’s brother “Joe” had just started his new job at the World Trade Center. The rest is history. Joe’s body was never found, and Tim and his parents can only imagine the horror of his last moments. Tim put his education on hold and joined the Marines the next day.

While on duty in Iraq, Tim and his unit were patrolling some empty buildings to ensure that they were clear of combatants. Tim and a fellow Marine were in one such building, looking in corners and nooks and crannies with great care. Out of the blue, from a closet-like crawlspace, a small Iraqi woman who looked to be about 55 years old came out in a flash behind Tim’s fellow marine.

She slashed his throat in one fell swoop as Tim stared hopelessly into his eyes and watched as he gurgled his last bloody breath. There had been no time to react to save him. Within a split second, Tim recovered from his shock.

As for the Iraqi woman: Tim returned the favor post-haste.

My friend did multiple tours. What he experienced during his time there I will never comprehend. He finally returned stateside for good and finished his degree, at the same time tending to his parents and their never-ending grief for the son they lost on 9/11.

I imagine they have lost a bit of Tim by now as well.

So no, I don’t know what happened in the Blackwater incident. Anyone who presumes to know is a fool. They may be guilty; they may not be. Sometimes it is difficult to determine guilt in time of war.

One could say that Tim was guilty as well, and more than likely some do.

I can't understand that. I wasn't there.

Republic Window and Door - Beyond the Hysterical Populism

The news is abuzz with the worker demonstration at Republic Window and Doors of Chicago, which has recently announced that it is closing its doors.

Some cold, hard facts:

In 2006, Republic Windows and Doors of Chicago had nearly 700 employees.

As of December 2008, it was around 300 …a 57% decrease.

At the height of the housing boom, Republic had sales of $30 million to the residential construction market.

In 2008, that amount was $6 million …an 80% decrease.

A major hot-button issue is whether or not they are in violation of the WARN (Worker Adjustmust and Retraining Notification) Act, which requires 60-days notice to employees and/or their representation prior to a plant closing.

It appears to me that they certainly are in violation. An employer is covered by WARN if they have 100 or more employees (under certain conditions). That test appears to be met in this case. There are three exceptions to the 60-day notice requirement:

(1) Faltering company. This exception, to be narrowly construed,covers situations where a company has sought new capital, or businessin order to stay open and where giving notice would ruin theopportunity to get the new capital or business and applies only toplant closings;
(2) Unforeseeable business circumstances. This exception applies to closings and layoffs that are caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would otherwise have been required;
(3) Natural disaster. This applies where a closing or layoff is the direct result of a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, drought or storm.

Although Republic is indeed a faltering company, this exception would not apply, as their line of credit had already been denied and in their announcement of the plant closing they were apparently not seeking other means in order to become viable.

Claiming unforeseeable business circumstances may be loosely applied if they had absolutely no warning that Bank of American would be denying their credit line, but I find this tenuous at best. They had to know that this was a possibility and in that event should have had enough capital to fulfill the 60-day requirement and any severance that they were contractually obligated to pay.

Whatever you may think about the city of Chicago, it is not a natural disaster, it is a human disaster, so the third exception would not apply.

Our bailout buddies at Bank of American are being painted as the villains here. The facts are difficult to find.

I can find no profit-and-loss statement for Republic, so can make no judgment as to their future viability, but let us look at the new construction market and the 80% decrease in sales to this market over the past few years. I have no idea how the management of this 43-year-old company has handled this effect, but let us assume they have operated in with good business judgment, only to be blindsided by the downturn in the housing market.

Are we to ask Bank of America to lend money to an entity where the risk is high for default? And wouldn’t we in the future be haranguing them for making such a poor business decision? And wouldn’t we have to bail them out again?

Shouldn’t we insist that Bank of America make prudent and reasonable loans with the bailout money we so generously gave to them?

Or, should we insist that they “spread the wealth around” willy-nilly?

The employees of Republic Window have a right to the 60-day notice requirement as well as any severance conditions that are written into their contract.

Beyond that, and as to the reasons for the company’s failure, more facts are needed. That there should be hand-wringing and sadness is for sure, but there are thousands and thousands of these situations occurring all across the country. It is not simply a matter of the big, bad bank or the big, bad company. So when contemplating a bailout for this company or for any of the thousands of others that are sure to come, we must ask ourselves:

Who is most worthy?

And who decides?

Wow ! I Think I'm Going to Have a Cao !

I wrote previously about the election this weekend in Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District between William "Cold Cash" Jefferson and the newcomer, Anh "Joseph" Cao.

I really didn't think Cao had a chance. It is a very heavy Democratic district, and despite Cao's credentials and Jefferson's dubious record, you know how the public is. They tend to vote what they know.

Well, lo and behold Cao pulled it off with 50 percent of the vote to Jefferson's 47 percent.

There is a God.

I think even hardcore Democrats can be happy with this one. It was time for Jefferson to go.

Obama Speechwriters Keeping it Classy on Facebook

Maturity:

For a while there this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama's immensely talented chief speechwriter, 27-year-old Jon Favreau, might have been pondering how to address that question. That's when some interesting photos of a recent party he attended -- including one where he's dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another where he's placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady's chest while a friend is offering her lips a beer -- popped up on Facebook for about two hours. The photos were quickly taken down -- along with every other photo Favreau had of himself on the popular social networking site, save for one profile headshot.

Wait .... is she pregnant?

Do They Do This Anymore?

I sure hope so. Click on image to enlarge. Warning: Major Hot Chick Pic after letter.

Sheesh. GAO Report on "The Bailout"

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its report on the administration of TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). The report is ominously subtitled, “Additional Actions Needed to Ensure Integrity, Accountability, and Transparency.” It can be found here (PDF, 72 pages).

While there are many interesting aspects to the report, I was most interested in the administrative end of it. Who is managing all of this, and how is that management organized?

The Office of Financial Stability (OFS) was established by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. This is the office that will be administering TARP. As of November 21, OFS had 48 employees, and has identified the need for 130 to 200 more. If you look at Page 38 of the GAO Report, you will see are quite a few “Chiefs” of things like Risk, Investment, Finance, Compliance, and Counsel. The head of OFS is called the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability.

Even with the Secretary and all of these Chiefs and their assorted staffs of experts, it is still necessary for OFS to contract with other organizations for assistance. In addition to a Financial Agency Agreement with Bank of New York, the purpose of which is “to provide custodian and cash management services”, the Treasury as of November 25th had the following contracts in place:

Simpson,Thacher & Bartlett - Legal Advisor - $5,000 - $500,000

Ennis Kupp & Assoc - Development /maintenance of investment policies & guidelines - $25,000 - $2,500,000

Price Waterhouse - To help establish internal controls - Amt to date: $191,469

Ernst & Young - General accounting support -Amt to date: $492,007

Huges Hubbard & Reed - Legal services (CPP) - Amt to date: $1,411,300

Squire Sanders & Dempsey- Legal services (CPP) - Amt to date: $1,380,000

Lindholm & Assoc. - Human Resources support - $174,720 for 6 months, total value up to $710,528

GAO indicates that there are three other contracts pending, ranging from about $8,500 to $2.2 million for “budget model, legal services, and leased office space.” (Doesn't the government know how to do their own budget model by now? Just sayin').

It looks to me like lawyers are making quite a bit of money here. I fail to understand why “Human Resources Support” is needed; isn’t there an HR Department in the government? Why would special help be needed? Why would a department of what I would assume to be financial and policy experts need “general accounting support and advice”? These contracts just seem a little redundant to me, aside from the fact that they also seem to be quite open-ended.

BailoutSleuth (which, by the way is a great site) is a little suspicious:

When the Treasury Department announced the contracts early last month, it redacted information on the financial terms from the copies it posted on its web site. BailoutSleuth filed a request for the full details of the agreements under the federal Freedom of Information Act. We were notified last week that the Treasury Department wants more information from us before it can process our request.

The Treasury Department wants more information? Heh.

I predict that OFS will become a monstrosity in and of itself. The government just cannot help itself in this regard. It will grow and grow like The Blob, and no number of GAO Reports will stop it. The territories and the egos need protecting, and the favored contractors need the business.

It will never end. This is where your money is going.

Please Say a Prayer

My niece Julie's newborn son, baby Nathan, is having open heart surgery today.

Please say a prayer for him. If you don't pray, maybe just give a little thought around noon for Julie, Nathan, and my sister Karen.

Are Political Bloggers Lobbyists?

You really need to read the whole thing:

Blogger beware? State regulators are wondering whether online political activism amounts to lobbying, which could force Web-based activists to file public reports detailing their finances. In a collision of 21st century media and 1970s political reforms, the inquiry hints at a showdown over press freedoms for bloggers, whose self-published journals can shift between news reporting, opinion writing, political organizing and campaign fundraising.

All I can say is, if they want a report detailing my finances, they're going to get a helluva chuckle.

Make It Flake !

I have been following Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) for some time, and am convinced that especially in the areas of fiscal responsibility and saying “no” to earmarks, he is an individual that the Republican party can be proud of and represents the future of the party.

As The Wall Street Journal opined in January of this year in a piece called “The Anti-Appropriator”:

Mr. Flake received a 100% rating from Citizens Against Government Waste, and along with Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is the scourge of Congressional earmarkers. In four terms in Congress, Mr. Flake has never sought a special bridge, courthouse, parking lot, or teapot museum for his district. Republican leaders were so incensed at his role in exposing GOP earmarks in 2006 that they booted him off the Judiciary Committee.

Here is an opportunity for Republicans to do the right thing. In a November 20th letter to minotiry leader John Boehner, Jeff has expressed his interest in being appointed to an open position on the House Appropriations Committee:

One of the major factors in our loss of the congressional majority in 2006 and subsequent losses this month is that House Republicans have made themselves indistinguishable from Democrats on federal spending. Voters simply no longer associate us with limited government. Earmarks make up a small fraction of the federal budget, but they receive an inordinate amount of public attention. It is difficult for Republicans to convince voters that we have turned a corner on spending if we continue to use the House Appropriations Committee as little more than a vehicle for securing earmarks.

The easiest way to express your support for Jeff Flake is to sign the open letter to Leader Boehner.

It is time for all Americans, no matter what their party affiliation, to take a stand on fiscal responsibility and stop conducting business as usual with a wink-and-a-nod. By appointing Jeff Flake to the Appropriations Committee, Republicans will be making a statement. Do they have the courage to do it?

Or, the bigger question may be........do you?

An Interesting Race to Watch

This Saturday, there will be a runoff election in Lousiana’s 2nd Congressional District between Democratic incumbent (since 1991) William “Cold Cash” Jefferson and Republican newcomer Anh “Joseph” Cao.

The District has been historically Democratic, but Jefferson’s margins of victory against challenges from within his own party have been increasingly tenuous over the past few election cycles. He won a runoff election this year with 57% of the vote against Democratic challenger Helena Moreno, but in the initial round he only received 25% of the vote. This does not exactly translate to a wealth of confidence in Mr. Jefferson.

Don’t even think that the fact that he was charged with year by a federal jury with 16 corruption charges (including bribery, racketeering, money-laundering and obstruction of justice) will preclude Jefferson from winning this election. After all, we have Marion Barry as an example of how the public will elect just about anybody and for reasons unknown but obviously not related to their public record or private conduct.

The expected low turnout, the 66% to 11% (23% being “other”) Democrat-to-Republican registration, and that 62% of the voters are African-American could all work together as factors to send Jefferson back to Congress, albeit stripped of most if not all of any real power.

Anh “Joseph” Cao has an impressive and compelling story. He is a South Vietnamese refugee, has a B.S. in Physics from Baylor University, and a graduate degree in Philosophy. He almost became a Jesuit priest, however he later chose law and now….politics. Along the way he has, with his neighbors, managed to survive hurricanes.

He has been endorsed by the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

A former Jesuit seminarian, he is a member of the National Advisory Council to the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He also served on the board and as legal counsel to Boat People S.O.S., an advocacy group for Vietnamese refugees. He opened a private law practice in 2002 and specializes in immigration issues. Post-Katrina he led the fight against a landfill that residents in eastern New Orleans feared would harm their neighborhood and has been an effective and passionate advocate for the area's recovery.td>

Does he have a chance? I would like to think so.

Like I said, it will be an interesting race to watch.

Shocker ! Stalinesque Revisionism by AP

A recent AP article lays the blame for the bank crisis squarely on the laps of the Republican administration:

The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents. The administration’s blind eye to the impending crisis is emblematic of its governing philosophy, which trusted market forces and discounted the value of government intervention in the economy.

Curses upon that evil Bush administration !!!

Not so fast, says Sweetness and Light:

Indeed, the revisionism here is positively Stalinesque. The Bush administration tried numerous times to clamp down on these dangerous mortgage practices, starting in 2001. President Bush pushed for a whole new regulatory agency in 2003. He called for reform 17 times in 2008 alone. There is abundant proof that Bush and other Republicans (including John McCain) tried to call attention to the looming crisis and wanted to do something about it. We even have video of the top bank regulator, Armando Falcon, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, before the Congressional banking committee. We can see how he was slapped down and insulted for even suggesting that anything needed to be done. Compare all of that to this suddenly discovered laundry list of proposals which the AP now claims to have unearthed. But even the AP seems confused as to exactly what these proposals were supposed to be. Were they new regulations, or were they just calling for maintaining the existing rules? The AP writer does not seem to be able to make up his mind. Sometimes these proposals are described as crackdowns. Other times they are calls to not ease up on the rules.

Slublog over at Ace of Spades HQ is not surprised:

The article doesn't mention Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the Community Reinvestment Act. It blames the crisis on lack of government regulation and too much trust in "market forces." As Investor's Business Daily points out, it wasn't the Bush administration who opposed such regulation. It seems the media is not content to simply cover for the Democrats for their role in causing this crisis - they've got to find a way to completely blame George W. Bush even if that means rewriting history. After all, honest reporting would muddle the future headlines singing praise to the Lightworker for solving the crisis those evil, capitalism-loving Republicans left behind.

It is almost no wonder that newspapers are dying. This example of sloppy, incomplete “journalism” is becoming the norm and of course everyone falls for it, especially if it fits neatly into their hopeychangey belief system.

The truth is that there is blame to be had in many quarters: Democrats, Republicans, banks, regulators. It is not as simply as blaming it on Bush.

But it is so easy, isn’t it?

Check Out (S)lower Delaware

I've added a new blog on the Delaware Blogroll: (S)lower Delaware.

(S)lower Delaware has many interests, focusing in recent posts on environmental issues (Isn't 'Clean Coal an Oxymoron?). He (or she?) also loves old pictures of the area, as evidenced in a recent post on the old Sussex Hotel in Seaford.

I was also intrigued by his (her?) take on recent News Journal articles regarding the State Police "superchecks" on gun permit applications and purchases. The post is reasoned and without the usual fanatical hubris one finds on the issue. As a strong 2nd Amendment supporter, I will have to formulate a comment to this particular post, if I can just find the time to do it.

Check out (S)lower Delaware regularly. Quite the interesting fellow (or gal).

Thank You, President-Elect Obama !

The nomination of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to be the new administration's Secretary of Homeland Security has opened the door for Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer to serve the remaining two years of Napolitano's term.

The Republicans control both houses of the Arizona State legislator, and with Republican Brewer in the Governor's office they may be able to pass some of the bills previously vetoed by the Napolitano administration.

Janet Brewer's complete biography is here.

Upon taking office, Secretary Brewer identified immediate ways to save taxpayer dollars and address the ongoing state budget deficit. She had legislation introduced to update antiquated laws and remove unnecessary and expensive publication requirements. Secretary Brewer also consolidated her workforce assignments, eliminated staff overtime, and eliminated various other non-essential expenditures. As chief elections officer, Secretary Brewer made it a priority to introduce and pass legislation which makes it easier for our overseas military soldiers and permanent residents to participate in our election process. This new law specifically assists those men and women serving our country abroad to vote and register to vote by internet or by fax. This most recent 2008 General Election afforded hundreds of Arizona military and overseas citizens with the ability to cast ballots over the internet from over 60 countries throughout the world. Within the first 60 days in office, Secretary Brewer also took the lead on federal election reform by compiling the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) State Plan. Secretary Brewer's quick action placed Arizona second in the nation in accomplishing this federal mandate. Her new plan led to a successful strategy to get rid of punch card voting systems by 2004, create a centralized and uniform voter registration system which adds accuracy to the voter rolls, and have touch-screen voting devices for disabled voters in every precinct by the 2006 elections.

Hmmm, I was thinking about a change of scenery. Arizona is looking good.

Quote of the Day

From Intellectual Conservative:

Government officials lecturing anyone on ethics, greed or financial responsibility is as laden with irony as the latest appropriations bill is with pork barrel spending. So in a show of good faith, I would like to see our federal leaders take the lead in fiscal accountability by refusing to accept a salary until, as they've demanded of the automakers seeking a bailout, they can demonstrate a plan to bring their enterprise into the black and repay their debt. Until then, Congress should just be grateful that, like the fat cat executives that they castigate, their pay is not determined by their performance, and avoid drawing undue attention to the fact with their hypocrisy.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

Two Early Christmas Wishes

First, that Minnesota does not turn into another Florida so that Al Franken can go back to his old Saturday Night Live job and Norm Coleman maintains his victory.

Second, that the Republican-In-Name-Only Saxby Chambliss manages to win the Georgia Senate runoff election tomorrow.

Chances are about dead even on both, but both victories would help dampen the Democratic majority and would help to curb potential excesses of a Democratic majority in a feeding frenzy.