The Debates Continue

What’s new Today

Story #1 is about the continue lies of the left regarding the TEA Party.  #2 tells us what Obama is trying to do.  #3 looks at the Gingrich Romney campaigns.  Watching the debate last night, I think these have been very good for both of them. 

1.  What the Left is Actually Telling Us

Many in the media and all of the Democratic punditry salivate at the concept of the Tea Party picking the GOP nominee. The groupthink/convention wisdom is that a Tea Party-ordained nominee is akin to picking Sharon Angle in Nevada or Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. Of course it's not, but no sense in letting them in on that.

Let the left think that the Tea Party is "dying out" (Harry Reid) or that the nominating process is a "disaster" (James Carville). These are the same sort of comments made about conservative GOP candidates or platforms prior to 1980, 1994, and, most recently, 2010.

The clear analysis is actually that when the left gets this loud, this angry and hateful, this emotional, and this certain, it is because the left is running scared. It ought to be. Any attempt at sober analysis cannot come to a conclusion that "Occupy" is an important and influential movement and that the "Tea Party" is a dead soldier in the battle for hearts and minds. Any such conclusion is not just partisan or wishful; it is abjectly wrong.

It is the Tea Party that carries the weight of force. The same conservative base (not yet named the Tea Party) did so in 1980 for Ronald Reagan and for Newt's "Contract" in 1994. To not understand that those overwhelming wins were generated by the exact same voters with the exact same intentions of those who now have a name to them is to be so misguided as to miss the possibility that the election of this fall could become a rout.

The left's angst is not really an issue to most conservatives. What is disconcerting is the anxiety within the institutional leadership of the GOP. It's stated concern is that a "Tea Party" candidate (read: Newt Gingrich) would be a down-ballot disaster that would cost the GOP any shot at control of the Senate and might cost it its current control of the House. That thinking is as narrow as the liberal joy over the concept of a strong conservative push is simple-minded.

The path to victory for the GOP. Check that -- the path to a blowout victory in 2012 runs through the core of the intensity of the Tea Party. This is not to say that Gingrich is the only answer. Rick Santorum surely has strong appeal among Tea Party partisans, and Mitt Romney surely could win them over. Make no mistake: conservatives will strongly back Romney if given a man who will step up, say he hears us, and grab the flag….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/the_gop_must_be_on_the_attack.html#ixzz1kZ6WpGQX

We keep hearing pundits on the left telling us that Gingrich is too flawed.  They tell us they most fear Romney and are celebrating that Newt is the front runner.  Yet if they really “feared” Romney wouldn’t a sane person down play his candidacy to the people who will chose who will be the candidate?  And wouldn’t they tell you not to “throw them in the briar patch” (Ba’er Rabbit in Uncle Remus is a great example).  And the apparent real fear of Gingrich comes out from the right’s elite which to me is better than an endorsement.  Things need to change. 

2.  Obama’s America 2.0

…When our country's constitution went into effect in 1788, the U.S. established a relationship between the individual and the State that was unique in history: the individual was in charge, the State would serve the individual, and there would be an arm's-length distance between the two. It is this unique relationship -- not our continental size, or our natural resources -- that propelled the U.S. into becoming the strongest, richest, freest, and most opportunity-oriented country the world has ever known.

If you think of this relationship as a kind of operating system -- like the operating systems that drive our computers and our cell phones -- you can see how it's been steadily modified and upgraded throughout our history. In this sense, each new law enacted by Congress has been an effort to improve the operating system. At times in our history, for instance during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, the changes have been so substantial that it's less like an upgrade and more like a wholly new version of the operating system that's been installed. But never in our history have we replaced the original operating system -- that extraordinary, uniquely American relationship between the individual and the State -- upon which our country was founded.

Until now.

From the moment President Obama took office in January 2009, he and his Democratic allies in Congress have worked to replace this operating system with one in which the State is dominant, the individual is subservient to the State, and the relationship between the two is halfway between intimate and suffocating. This isn't version 2.0; this is revolution….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/01/why_precisely_is_america_so_great.html#ixzz1kZ9qA4KY

An interesting way of looking at what BHO and the Democrats are attempting to do. 

3.  Gingrich and Romney campaign in Florida

The two leading Republican presidential candidates came to Central Florida on Wednesday, and their events — and reception by voters — couldn't have been more different.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney showed up at factory in Orlando on Wednesday morning, telling a politely enthusiastic crowd of about 400 that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night showed that the president is out of touch with America.

"We have a president who is detached from reality. He's detached from the people. He's detached from his own words. He's so detached people are surprised and shocked," said Romney, the longtime front-runner who polls show is now in a statistical tie with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Florida.

Gingrich made an afternoon appearance before an enthusiastic, overflow crowd of 700 in Cocoa, offering an expansive vision for the U.S. space program in a region that has lost nearly 10,000 jobs with the retirement of the space shuttle.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be American," Gingrich said. He repeated the promise an hour later to a panel of Space Coast aerospace and space leaders.

The two appearances, almost 50 miles apart, underscored the differences between the two men. Romney was orderly, scripted and focused on his criticism of Obama. Gingrich, by contrast was disheveled, extemporaneous and seemed to feed off the energy of the crowd….

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-newt-mitt-central-florida-20120125,0,357710.story

This race is actually fun.  The Democrats think that the two candidates will weaken each other while I think they will strengthen each other.  Wait until they turn their guns on Obama in earnest. 

Why isn't it working?

What’s new today

Our # 1 story is an excellent look at Keynesian economics and why it isn’t working.  #2 has one of Obama’s cabinet secretaries demeaning the TEA Party and using a sexual slur in referring to them. #3 tells the story of how the Russians have tried to get a spy into close connection with the Obama Administration.  #4 relates how Nancy Pelosi thinks Boeing should either unionize their new plant in South Carolina or shut it down.  I guess you have to be a union member to have a job in Nancy’s America.  #5 shows how despite what you hear from the left, school teachers make more than their counterparts in private industry and if you include fringe benefits, a lot more.  #6 shows the hypocrisy in the left.  While the OWS are out protesting Wall Street, we see Fannie and Freddie executives getting millions in bonuses even after the Federal government has had to come up with hundreds of billions in bailouts.  Finally in #7, we find that the British government is cutting the subsidy to solar in half and the predictions are that the industry will fold as a result. 

1.   Four Reasons Why Keynesians keep getting it Wrong

…FIRST, BIG INCREASES IN SPENDING AND GOVERNMENT DEFICITS RAISE THE PROSPECT OF FUTURE TAX INCREASES. Many people understand that increased spending must be paid for sooner or later. Meanwhile, President Obama makes certain that many more will reach that conclusion by continuing to demand permanent tax increases. HIS DEMANDS ARE A DETERRENT FOR THOSE WHO DO MOST OF THE SAVING AND INVESTING. Concern over future tax rates is one of the main reasons for heightened uncertainty and reduced confidence. Potential investors hold cash and wait.

SECOND, most of the government spending programs redistribute income from workers to the unemployed. This, Keynesians argue, increases the welfare of many hurt by the recession. What their models ignore, however, is THE REDUCED PRODUCTIVITY THAT FOLLOWS A SHIFT OF RESOURCES TOWARD REDISTRIBUTION and away from productive investment. Keynesian theory argues that each dollar of government spending has a larger effect on output than a dollar of tax reduction. But in reality the reverse has proven true. PERMANENT TAX REDUCTION GENERATES MORE EXPANSION THAN INCREASED GOVERNMENT SPENDING OF THE SAME DOLLARS. I believe that the resulting difference in productivity is a main reason for the difference in results….

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576651532721267002.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

Well worth your time to read the entire article. 

2.   Carrying Water for Obama, Hilda Solis Picks a Fight with the Tea Party

With the team behind President Barack Obama targeting the Sunshine State in their bid for a second term in 2012, the White House sent U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to speak to the Florida Democratic Convention on Saturday.

A day after Vice President Joe Biden told the convention at Walt Disney World that Obama needed to carry Florida to win in 2012, SOLIS ATTEMPTED TO RALLY DEMOCRATS FOR THE ELECTIONS AND URGED THEM TO PUSH FOR THE OBAMA JOBS PLAN WHICH, with Republicans controlling the U.S. House, has no chance of passing Congress.

Speaking at a luncheon event on Saturday, Solis carried water for Obama, bashing Republicans and praising the administration’s economic policies.

Solis offered harsh words about conservatives. Looking at 2012, SOLIS SLAMMED THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT, CALLING THEM “TEABAGGERS” and promising the Obama administration will take them on.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/carrying-water-barack-obama-hilda-solis-picks-fight-tea-party

These people are simply ignorant bigots.  Calling TEA Partiers what she did is the equivalent of a racial slur.  It’s time for Solis to resign. 

3.   Russian Spies come close to infiltrating Senior Obama Administration

The FBI rounded up a network of deep-cover Russian spies last year after the group came close to placing an agent near a Cabinet official in the Obama administration, a senior FBI  counterspy said Monday as the bureau released once-secret documents on the case.

Frank Figliuzzi, assistant FBI director for counterintelligence, did not identify the Cabinet official, but OTHER U.S. OFFICIALS SAID IT WAS SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON.

Mr. Figliuzzi said in an interview that the FBI decided to end its more than 10-year-long counterspy investigation of the network because of concerns that THE SPIES WERE “GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THEIR OBJECTIVE.”

“These 10 Russian officers were sent to the U.S. on a specific mission to get close to U.S. policymakers and leaders in our government,” he said, noting that one had developed a friendship with someone close to a Cabinet official.

Mrs. Clinton’s spokesman at the time the case broke, P.J. CROWLEY, SOUGHT TO DISTANCE HER FROM THE CASE, BUT DID NOT DENY THAT SHE WAS THE PERSON MENTIONED IN COURT PAPERS. “There is no reason to believe that the Secretary of State was a special target of this spy ring,” Mr. Crowley said in an email….

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/31/fbi-says-russian-spies-got-close-to-cabinet/

The lesson here is that we need to be ever vigilant. 

4.   Nancy Pelosi:  Government should shut down non-union manufacturing

In an interview late last week, House Minority Leaeder Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNBC that BOEING SHOULD EITHER UNIONIZE ITS PRODUCTION FACILITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA, OR SHUT THEM DOWN ENTIRELY.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” asked host Maria Bartiromo. Pelosi’s reply: “Yes.”

THE MINORITY LEADER QUICKLY ADDED THAT SHE WOULD RATHER IT SIMPLY UNIONIZE AND STAY OPEN. BUT BARRING UNIONIZATION, BY PELOSI’S REASONING, IT SHOULD SIMPLY SHUT DOWN…

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/11/01/pelosi-heck-yeah-the-government-should-shut-down-that-scab-plant-in-south-carolina/

Freedom and liberty aren’t Democratic values at least they aren’t if you believe what former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said. 

5.   Public school teachers make more than private sector workers

We can already hear the anguished, angry protests of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. But our headline captures the essence of an important new study being released today by Jason Richwine of the Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis and American Enterprise Institute's Andrew Biggs. RICHWINE AND BIGGS FOUND THAT WHEN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS AND PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS ARE COMPARED OBJECTIVELY ON THE BASIS OF COGNITIVE SKILLS -- RATHER THAN YEARS OF SERVICE OR EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT -- THE EDUCATORS ENJOY HIGHER COMPENSATION -- contrary to the claims of union officials in public debate and in negotiations with school boards.

This is seen most dramatically WHEN WORKERS SWITCH FROM NON-TEACHING JOBS TO TEACHING JOBS. SUCH A MOVE TYPICALLY RESULTS IN A WAGE INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY NINE PERCENT. "TEACHERS WHO CHANGE TO NON-TEACHING JOBS, ON THE OTHER HAND, SEE THEIR WAGES DECREASE BY ROUGHLY 3 PERCENT. This is the opposite of what one would expect if teachers were underpaid," Richwine and Biggs said….

…"More generous fringe benefits for public-school teachers, including greater job security, MAKE TOTAL COMPENSATION 52 PERCENT GREATER THAN FAIR MARKET LEVELS, equivalent to more than $120 billion overcharged to taxpayers each year. Teacher compensation could therefore be reduced with only minor effects on recruitment and retention," Richwine and Biggs conclude….

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/10/public-school-teachers-make-more-private-sector-workers#ixzz1cSZmj9ZL

This certainly puts a hole in the underpaid, overworked meme by the NEA. 

6.   Crony Socialism at Work at Fannie And Freddie

The Obama administration’s efforts to fix the housing crisis may have fallen well short of helping millions of distressed mortgage holders, but THEY HAVE LED TO SEVEN-FIGURE PAYDAYS FOR SOME TOP EXECUTIVES AT TROUBLED MORTGAGE GIANTS FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC.

The FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, THE GOVERNMENT REGULATOR FOR FANNIE AND FREDDIE, APPROVED $12.79 MILLION IN BONUS PAY AFTER 10 EXECUTIVES FROM THE TWO GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED CORPORATIONS LAST YEAR MET MODEST PERFORMANCE TARGETS TIED TO MODIFYING MORTGAGES IN JEOPARDY OF FORECLOSURE.

The executives got the bonuses about two years after the federally backed mortgage giants received nearly $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts — and despite pledges by FHFA, the office tasked with keeping them solvent, that it would adjust the level of CEO-level pay after critics slammed huge compensation packages paid out to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and others.

Securities and Exchange Commission documents show that Ed Haldeman, who announced last week that he is stepping down as Freddie Mac’s CEO, received a base salary of $900,000 last year yet took home an additional $2.3 million in bonus pay. Records show other Fannie and Freddie executives got similar Wall Street-style compensation packages; Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams, for example, got $2.37 million in performance bonuses.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67292.html#ixzz1cSeBDJnJ

This is a major scandal.  The cause of most of the economic problems remains unchanged and even the compensation packages are completely out of whack with the real world.  It’s time to dissolve Fannie and Freddie. 

7.   UK cuts Solar Subsidy

HUNDREDS OF SOLAR COMPANIES ARE LIKELY TO GO BUST BY CHRISTMAS AFTER THE DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE CONFIRMED IT IS LOOKING TO HALVE SUBSIDIES FOR NEW PANELS.

Greg Barker, minister for climate change, said the "feed-in tariff" subsidies are currently too generous, because the cost of installing solar panels has fallen.

The proposed cuts, due to come into force from December, will see the amount earned from each panel fall FROM 43.3P PER KILOWATT HOUR OF SOLAR POWER TO 21P. This will save energy customers around £23 a year - or £700m in total - because the subsidies are funded through electricity bills.

However, the industry warned that many home owners and companies may immediately back away from the flagship scheme because IT WOULD NOW TAKE UP TO 25 YEARS TO EARN BACK THEIR INVESTMENTS.

Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said: "The installation rate is likely to fall drastically, and many of the 25,000 newly-employed in this industry may end up joining the dole queue."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8859934/Government-accused-of-destroying-25000-green-jobs.html

This is the problem with green energy.  It is unreliable and expensive.  Without subsidies it is unworkable.  So when people talk about cutting government subsidies to all energy, it’s a good idea and it means the death of solar and wind energy.

Biden and the TEA Party

Biden Calls TEA Party “Terrorists”

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN JOINED HOUSE DEMOCRATS IN LASHING TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS MONDAY, ACCUSING THEM OF HAVING “ACTED LIKE TERRORISTS” in the fight over raising the nation’s debt limit, according to several sources in the room.

Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.

“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “THIS SMALL GROUP OF TERRORISTS HAVE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SPEND ANY MONEY.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60421.html#ixzz1TrcFASz9

Well at last we know what strikes terror in Democrats. It isn’t threats of violence to Americans, but they not being able to spend money.

DC Adults Top Alcohol Abusers in Country

A new report says that ADULTS IN WASHINGTON D.C. ABUSE ALCOHOL MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.

According to a new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 8.1 PERCENT OF ADULTS AGE 26 OR OLDER IN D.C. ARE ALCOHOL DEPENDENT. Looking at a long-term sampling, alcohol abuse rate is on the rise for the District, according to the survey….
….D.C. was ALSO AMONG THE 10 STATES WHERE RESIDENTS MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED SMOKING MARIJUANA within the last month. Alaskan residents inhale the most, according to the survey, with 11.5 percent of residents saying the lit up with four weeks of the survey.

COCAINE USE IN THE DISTRICT WAS ALSO HIGH.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-DC-Adults-Top-Alcohol-Abusers-in-Country-126507408.html?dr

I’m thinking its democrats who are frustrated because they can’t spend money anymore.


What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means

…DEMOCRATS LOST ON VIRTUALLY EVERY ISSUE OF PRINCIPLE (TAXES, A CLEAN DEBT BILL, REAL SPENDING CUTS) BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT INSISTED ABOVE ALL ELSE ON GETTING HIMSELF TO THE NEXT ELECTION WITHOUT ANOTHER SHOWDOWN. (That position became more sympathetic to those who agonized through the last week or so.)

Republicans should be cautious. THE HOUSE HELD OFF THE PRESIDENT AND THE SENATE. It refused to raise taxes, and thereby maintained a stark and compelling distinction between the parties. It made some real, if not overwhelming, cuts. MORE WAS NOT POSSIBLE. You can’t get Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform bill with only the House. You can't insure an adequate level of defense spending with only the House. You can’t get Medicaid and Social Security reform with only the House.

RELIEF IS THE PREVALENT EMOTION FOR CONSERVATIVES — relief that the Tea Party didn’t divide the party, that the speaker maintained the affection and loyalty of his caucus, that taxes weren’t raised and that at least we are moving in the right direction….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/debt-ceiling-bill-passes-the-house/2011/03/29/gIQAfUvJoI_blog.html

If this was World War II, the allies just landed and took North Africa. D-Day is still over a year away and it’s in Fortress Obama.

What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means as Seen From Europe

In both Britain and America, THE LEFT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO HOPING THAT CUTTING PUBLIC SPENDING ON THIS SCALE WILL SNUFF OUT ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PLUNGE OUR RESPECTIVE ECONOMIES BACK INTO RECESSION. Not only will the Coalition be turfed out as a consequence, but if Obama can somehow blame the Tea Party for the “double dip” he might be able to persuade the people to grant him four more years. WHAT THE LEFT HASN’T GRASPED – AND WHAT OBAMA HAS – IS THAT FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE NO POLITICAL CANDIDATE OR PARTY WILL BE ABLE TO INCREASE PUBLIC SPENDING AND WIN RE-ELECTION. Socialist welfare programmes have become politically toxic. A sea change has taken place within the West’s most developed countries and last night’s debt deal is a reflection of that.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100099357/the-real-story-of-the-us-debt-deal-is-not-the-triumph-of-the-tea-party-but-the-death-of-the-socialist-left/

The left is dying and most don’t realize it yet.

The Veil Slips

…White House press secretary Jay Carney was clearly in an upbeat mood during today's press briefing. Many of the reporters in the room, however, were not feeling the love.

Specifically, CBS'S NORAH O'DONNELL PEPPERED CARNEY WITH TERSE, ACCUSATORY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LACK OF TAX REVENUE (read: tax increases) in the debt ceiling deal. O'Donnell complained about how many GOP demands were met by the deal, and then said to Carney: "YOU GAVE THEM EVERYTHING THEY WANTED AND WE GOT NOTHING." That "we" is very telling. It was a tense moment in the room, and O'Donnell seemed to give voice to frustrated liberals who feel that the deal gave significantly more to Republicans than Democrats, and included no tax increases-something President Obama had demanded be included for most of the negotiations.

O'Donnell asked Carney about this a couple times, in a confrontational tone. FOX'S ED HENRY BROKE THE TENSION BY FOLLOWING O'DONNELL'S QUESTIONS BY JOKINGLY ASKING, "BUT JAY, WHERE IS THE TAX REVENUE?" to laughter from the room (and especially from a relieved Carney, suddenly more comfortable with Fox than he usually is). The moment encapsulated the left's reaction to the deal. The New Republic's John Judis wrote this morning: "Democrats in Congress, and any Republicans who have not lost their senses, should turn this deal down."…

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/08/cbs_partisan_complains_we_got_nothing_in_debt_deal.html

Obama got what he wanted, an extension that goes beyond the 2012 election, so CBS was wrong when O’Donnell said, ‘You gave them everything they wanted and we got nothing.”


What Good is Obama Now?

PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS HAD A GOOD TWO-PLUS YEARS, HANDING OUT DEFICIT-BUSTING GOODIES TO ALL THE FAVORITE DEMOCRAT CONSTITUENCIES. The EPA has become the monster it always threatened to be, the unions are stuffed full of automakers and have the mighty Boeing trembling at their power. The insurance companies are wards of the state, the medical profession has been saddled and broken. The symbiosis of Washington and Wall Street is complete, each too big to fail and utterly, sickeningly and dangerously co-dependent.

But YESTERDAY’S DEBT DEAL SHOWED THAT OBAMA’S GOODIE BAG IS EMPTY. There’s nothing more to hand out. Santa Claus has left the building, and the Grinch has taken his place.

“HONESTLY,” THE DEMOCRATS MUST BE WONDERING, “WHAT GOOD IS HE TO US NOW?”

BERNIE SANDERS SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL A WEEK AGO, WHICH IS WHY HE CALLED FOR A PRIMARY CHALLENGER — and Obama might yet get one. Oh, no one to make the few surviving Obamanoids sweat their simple little brows; incumbent Obama almost certainly can’t be beaten in a Democratic primary race. And I doubt he has the magnanimity to pull an LBJ and refuse to seek reelection. In fact, on the off chance the President reads this, I bet he’d have to look up the word “magnanimity.”

And then he’d probably chuckle at it. Anyway.

Today, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS A SHRUNKEN EXECUTIVE, UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING TO INFLUENCE THE DEBT NEGOTIATIONS OTHER THAN TO SCOLD THE GROWNUPS DOING THE NEGOTIATING. And a nation mired in debt and out of work and with little remaining hope for the future, is tired of being scolded….

http://pajamasmedia.com/vodkapundit/2011/08/01/the-obama-administration-a-brief-pre-post-mortem/

The incredible shrunken man! Perhaps Hollywood should make a new movie with that title.


Lessons from Match.com

… It is a subtle shift, but one with profound implications. "Before, matches were based on the criteria you set. You meet her criteria, and she meets yours, so you're a good match," Thombre explained. "But when WE RESEARCHED THE DATA THE WHOLE IDEA OF DISSONANCE CAME INTO FOCUS. PEOPLE WERE DOING SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE THINGS THEY SAID THEY WANTED ON THEIR PROFILE."

As a result, Match began "weighting" variables differently, according to how users behaved. For example, if conservative users were actually looking at profiles of liberals, the algorithm would learn from that and recommend more liberal users to them. Indeed, says Thombre, "THE POLITICS ONE IS QUITE INTERESTING. CONSERVATIVES ARE FAR MORE OPEN TO REACHING OUT TO SOMEONE WITH A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW THAN A LIBERAL IS." That is, when it comes to looking for love, conservatives are more open-minded than liberals….

http://www.slate.com/id/2300430/pagenum/all/

Not an article I would normally post, but the one tidbit I posted fits and I’m not surprised by what they found. However it is an interesting article about human behavior and desires.

Obamacare Strikes Again, Violating Conscience Rights

While everyone was watching the debt-ceiling debate, the Department of Health and Human Services announced mandatory coverage of contraceptives (including ones that may act as abortifacients) and sterilization in new insurance plans, with the narrowest of conscience protection.

In a statement in response to the move, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, who is chairman of the pro-life office of the bishops’ conference in Washington, explained that “under the new rule our institutions would be free to act in accord with Catholic teaching on life and procreation only if they were to stop hiring and serving non-Catholics.”

He asked: “Could the federal government possibly intend to pressure Catholic institutions to cease providing health care, education and charitable services to the general public? Health care reform should expand access to basic health care for all, not undermine that goal.”

The cardinal continued: “HHS says the intent of its ‘preventive services’ mandate is to help ‘stop health problems before they start. But pregnancy is not a disease, and children are not a ‘health problem’ — they are the next generation of Americans.”…

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/273389/obamacare-strikes-again-violating-conscience-rights-kathryn-jean-lopez

Just more examples of Liberal intolerance to ideas other than their own. Perhaps we should require them to date conservatives.

Keynes is Dead! Thank God

THE REPUBLICANS ARE KILLING KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS WITH THEIR ATTEMPT TO CUT SPENDING AS THE ECONOMY REBOUNDS FROM A RECESSION, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a floor speech on Sunday.

"I would say ... that symbolically, that agreement is moving us to the point where we are having the final interment of John Maynard Keynes," he said, referring to the British economist. "HE NOMINALLY DIED IN 1946 BUT IT APPEARS WE ARE GOING TO PUT HIM TO HIS FINAL REST WITH THIS AGREEMENT."

Keynes argued that aggregate demand was not always enough to spur full employment and that outside structures, such as governments, could influence the economy to create jobs and regulate business cycles. His thinking influenced later New Deal spending by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Durbin said the economy is too weak for major cuts in spending, a view that is shared by many economists.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/31/durbin-debt-deal-keynes-deficit_n_914356.html

Keynes is like any other medicine. In small doses it may help, but an overdose can be fatal. Better Keynes dies than the American economy.

Why Obama is doomed

…. "OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE BEGUN REBUILDING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, A PROJECT THAT HAS MEANT THOUSANDS OF GOOD JOBS FOR THE HARD-HIT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. Tonight, I'm proposing that we redouble these efforts._ We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what's best for the economy, not politicians._ WITHIN 25 YEARS, OUR GOAL IS TO GIVE 80 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED RAIL, which could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car."

THE PRESIDENT IS DAZZLED BY THE VISION OF THOSE SHINY HIGH-SPEED RAIL TRAINS -- AND BY SOLAR PANELS, ELECTRIC CARS AND OTHER PET PROJECTS THAT HAVE CAUGHT HIS IMAGINATION. What he has been unwilling to do is to permit the vast private sector to make its own decisions -- to follow its own ideas.

Instead, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN SADDLING THE PRIVATE SECTOR WITH A STIFLING LOAD OF REGULATIONS. The burden of Obamacare, most of which does not take effect until 2014, is mostly in the realm of fear and uncertainty. Employers do not know how much each new hire will cost under the new health care regime. Nor can they estimate how the 129 new boards, commissions and agencies will affect the business world.

Meanwhile, THE EPA IS REGULATING CARBON DIOXIDE AS AN AIR POLLUTANT. THE NLRB IS ATTEMPTING TO PREVENT THE BOEING CORPORATION FROM OPENING A NEW PLANT IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THE FCC IS SEEKING TO EXERT CONTROL OVER INTERNET COMMERCE through the deceptively named "net neutrality" policy. THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IS STRICTLY ENFORCING RACIAL AND GENDER QUOTAS. And the Federal Reserve, along with the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (created by the Dodd-Frank law) is practically freezing small-business lending.

This president has spun fantasies about the industries of tomorrow, while punishing the industries of today. His fulminations against "millionaires and billionaires" and his wrath about "corporate jets" BETRAY A FUNDAMENTALLY CHILDISH URGE TO PUNISH SUCCESS. UNDER HIS ECONOMIC STEWARDSHIP, THERE IS LESS AND LESS OF THAT AROUND.
http://townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/2011/08/02/why_obamas_economy_wont_improve/page/full/

Let me see here. Obama has taken away NASA’s space vehicles, but plans to win the future with trains.

7 Examples of Liberals Unfairness

…3) THE RICH AREN'T PAYING THEIR "FAIR" SHARE. It's easy to take shots at rich people. There usually aren't enough of them to swing an election with their votes, nobody really feels sorry for people who have a lot of money, and as often as not, they give contributions to both parties as "protection money." But here's a thought: HOW CAN THE RICH NOT BE PAYING THEIR "FAIR SHARE" WHEN THE TOP 10% OF AMERICANS PAY 69.9% OF THE MONEY WE TAKE IN FROM THE INCOME TAX WHILE 47 PERCENT OF AMERICANS DON'T EVEN PAY A SINGLE DOLLAR A YEAR? Arguing that people -- who probably pay for all the services they'll get from the government in an entire lifetime over any given month -- aren't paying their "fair share" while so many people pay nothing at all, seems more than a bit....."unfair."…

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2011/08/02/7_examples_of_liberal_unfairness/page/2



The 10% Phenomenon

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that WHEN JUST 10 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION HOLDS AN UNSHAKABLE BELIEF, THEIR BELIEF WILL ALWAYS BE ADOPTED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE SOCIETY. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.

"WHEN THE NUMBER OF COMMITTED OPINION HOLDERS IS BELOW 10 PERCENT, THERE IS NO VISIBLE PROGRESS IN THE SPREAD OF IDEAS. It would literally take the amount of time comparable to the age of the universe for this size group to reach the majority," said SCNARC Director Boleslaw Szymanski, the Claire and Roland Schmitt Distinguished Professor at Rensselaer. "ONCE THAT NUMBER GROWS ABOVE 10 PERCENT, THE IDEA SPREADS LIKE FLAME…”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110725190044.htm

Interesting.  It may speak to why the TEA Party has become so influential. 
Spread the word…

Another Exhibitionist Politician

A politician who emailed a woman nude photos of himself that were posted on a GOP activist's website has resigned and said he will consider all legal options to have the pictures taken down.
NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT LOUIS MAGAZZU, 53, ADMITTED SENDING THE PHOTOS TO THE WOMAN HE SAID HE HAD BEEN CORRESPONDING WITH ONLINE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

He claims she requested the pictures but was working with an 'avowed political enemy' at the time and that he did not know.

In an email statement, THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY FREEHOLDER APOLOGISED TO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND CONSTITUENTS BUT INDICATED THAT HE THOUGHT HE WAS BEING SET UP.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2021715/New-Jersey-democrat-Louis-Magazzu-resigns-naked-photos-email-online-girlfriend.html#ixzz1TvYKAUtz

I swear anyone stupid enough to take nude photos of themselves and then send them to anyone is not smart enough to represent anyone in any elected office.

Polls and more

Post Racial or Black Spoils System?

Barack Obama found his first sermon at Jeremiah Wright's church so inspiring he quoted from it for his book, The Audacity of Hope: "WHITE FOLKS' GREED RUNS A WORLD IN NEED." But when he took his first step on the national political stage during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, HE TOOK A DIFFERENT TACK FOR THE MASSES WATCHING ON TELEVISION: "THERE'S NOT A BLACK AMERICA AND WHITE AMERICA AND LATINO AMERICA AND ASIAN AMERICA; THERE'S THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

SO WHICH BARACK OBAMA IS THE REAL ONE? The one who had no qualms attending with his wife and young daughters the church of a race-baiting minister whom Obama called his moral compass, or the one who downplayed race during the campaign and promised to unite us all as Americans, regardless of the color of our skin?

After two and one-half years of the Obama presidency, the real Barack Obama has emerged: one who hands out tax dollars, pushes policies, and formulates rules and regulations TO GIVE PREFERENCE TO BLACK AMERICANS….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/obamas_racial_spoils_system.html

The irony of this is while Obama is giving government handouts to blacks, they need it more because these same policies have hurt black Americans in the private economy more.

Obama’s Defining Moment

There comes a time and a point in history which indelibly define a President. Oftentimes the event may not be of major import in the greater scheme of things but the management of it is of such prominence that the success or failure in the handling of the issue is permanently attached to the individual. Such a moment has happened to Barack Obama. HIS INCOMPETENCE, INABILITY TO LEAD, PREVARICATIONS, PETULANCE AND IMMATURITY IN THE DEBT CEILING CRISIS HAVE INDELIBLY CREATED AN IMAGE OF ABJECT FAILURE IN THE MINDS OF A CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE GLOBE. He will never be able to overcome the portrait that has been etched in too many minds.

BARACK OBAMA'S ONLY INTEREST IN THE DEBT CEILING DEBATE WAS TO RAISE THE BORROWING LIMIT SUFFICIENTLY TO GET BY THE NEXT ELECTION, and as a cudgel to denigrate the Republicans. His concern was not for the American people and the impact of overwhelming national debt, nor an impending and inevitable credit downgrade. Rather, he was determined that raising the debt ceiling would not become an issue during the presidential campaign. Thus, spending cuts created out of whole cloth, combined with tax increases aimed at stoking the embers of class envy, were bandied about by his party in order to justify an increase in the debt ceiling of $2.4 Trillion.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/08/obamas_failed_presidency.html

I will disagree with one point here. Obama’s didn’t just have one interest (getting the debt ceiling raised beyond the next election) but a second one as well. The gyration the Democrats went through was to try to blame the Republicans for any failure in the process.

So How’s That Hopey-Changey Thing Working Out For Obama?

…As one result, not only did Obama's overall job approval sink to 40%, lowest of his 923 days in office.

But a new Rasmussen Reports national survey of likely voters out Sunday night REVEALED A SHARP JUMP IN THE NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO FIND THIS DEMOCRATIC CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO BE "TOO CONFRONTATIONAL" IN HIS NATIONAL LEADERSHIP APPROACH.

NEARLY ONE IN THREE (30%) NOW SAY THAT ABOUT THE MAN WHO WAS GOING TO CHANGE WASHINGTON'S HARSH PARTISAN ATMOSPHERE. That's the highest percentage in 16 months and UP NINE POINTS IN JUST FOUR WEEKS.

On his first day in office more than a trillion dollars ago in 2009, 64% CALLED OBAMA A GOOD OR EXCELLENT LEADER. THAT NUMBER HAS SINCE SLID TO 42%. Those who consider him a poor leader have increased to 41%.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/07/debt-deal-boehner-mcconnell-obama-reid.html

The polls are not good for President Obama. Even more worrisome is the state of the independent voter mention in the next story.

The Numbers Don’t Look Good For President Obama

Gallup is the gold standard when it comes to approval ratings for presidents, so last week's assessment by the polling company of the president's standing in the public SURELY SHOCKED THE OBAMA LOYALISTS WHO THOUGHT THAT THE BATTLE OVER THE DEBT CEILING HAD ALLOWED THEIR GUY TO SHINE.

Certainly he had every chance to make his case to the public, with press conference after press conference and a prime-time speech to boot….

….That only 13 percent of Republicans applauded Obama wasn't all that surprising. The president's harsh and hyperpartisan rhetoric had guaranteed that the GOP faithful would give up on the man from "Hope and Change."

THE UNDERWHELMING SHOWING AMONG DEMOCRATS WHERE 72 PERCENT SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT WAS SOMETHING OF A SHOCK. Gallup didn't provide the breakdown of African-American Democrats versus all others, but that underwhelming 72 percent has to be lifted by his still high standing in the black community.

IT WAS THE VERDICT OF THE INDEPENDENTS, HOWEVER, THAT REALLY MUST HAVE ROCKED THE WHITE HOUSE and the Chicago gang that had so carefully crafted the president's endless loop of buzz words about "balance," "compromise" and the "adult in the room": ONLY 34 PERCENT OF THESE VOTERS SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT.

Thirty-four percent of the great middle-of-the-road-undecided-open-to-the-best-man-and-argument Americans. To quote the Bob Dylan song, "Things have changed."

THESE NUMBERS ROLLED IN BEFORE THE PUBLIC GOT WORD THAT THE ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE HAD DIPPED AGAIN TO A SCARCELY VISIBLE 1.3 PERCENT IN THE LAST QUARTER….

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/07/signs-failure-emerging-obamas-poll-numbers#ixzz1TmtFlMDY

Numbers like these are poison, not just to Obama, but to the Democratic Party as well. When a team rolls up a losing streak like they have, the fans quit coming to the games. And that means a depressed turnout for the Democrats in 2012.

Who won? I’ll have a Spot of TEA

IF A GOOD POLITICAL COMPROMISE IS ONE THAT HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE TO HATE, THEN LAST NIGHT'S BIPARTISAN DEBT-CEILING DEAL IS A TRIUMPH. The bargain is nonetheless better than what seemed achievable in recent days, especially given the revolt of some GOP conservatives that gave the White House and Democrats more political leverage.

THE BIG PICTURE IS THAT THE DEAL IS A VICTORY FOR THE CAUSE OF SMALLER GOVERNMENT, arguably the biggest since welfare reform in 1996. Most bipartisan budget deals trade tax increases that are immediate for spending cuts that turn out to be fictional. This one includes no immediate tax increases, despite President Obama's demand as recently as last Monday. THE IMMEDIATE SPENDING CUTS ARE REAL, IF SMALLER THAN WE'D PREFER, AND THE LONGER-TERM CUTS COULD BE REAL IF REPUBLICANS HOLD CONGRESS AND CONTINUE TO ENFORCE THE DEAL'S SPENDING CAPS.

The framework (we haven't seen all the details) calls for an initial step of some $900 billion in domestic discretionary cuts over 10 years from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline puffed up by recent spending. IF THE CUTS HOLD, THIS WOULD GO SOME WAY TO ERASING THE FISCAL DAMAGE FROM THE OBAMA-NANCY PELOSI STIMULUS. This is no small achievement considering that Republicans control neither the Senate nor the White House, and it underscores how much the GOP victory in November has reshaped the U.S. fiscal debate.
No wonder liberals are howling. THEY HAVE COME TO BELIEVE IN THE UPWARD SPENDING RATCHET, UNDER WHICH ALL SPENDING INCREASES ARE PERMANENT. NOT ANY MORE….

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903341404576480653492061150.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

That last paragraph is very important. Obama and the Democrats have proceeded as if the 25% spending level by the feds was permanent; hence the call of revenue increases. God bless the TEA Party. 
Why we should reelect President Obama (Satire)

I think we really have a winner as president, don’t you? BARACK OBAMA HAS BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB RUNNING THE COUNTRY, ALWAYS OUT THERE DOING… STUFF. LOTS OF STUFF. BIG STUFF. PRESIDENT STUFF. We’re lucky we have this guy, and it should be an easy decision to keep him around for another four years.

Now, there are people who say Obama has done an awful job. They go on and on about how he has no idea what he’s doing in the Middle East and cite all these statistics that show how bad the economy is, and it’s all rather dreary and depressing. No one needs that. Plus the suggestion that Obama has done a bad job as president is ludicrous. Quick question: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYONE GO UP TO OBAMA AND SAY, “I WOULD LIKE A DOZEN TULIPS”? NO, OF COURSE NOT. NO ONE THINKS HE’S A FLORIST. IT’S CLEAR FROM THE JOB HE’S DOING THAT HE’S THE PRESIDENT. SO HOW BAD A JOB COULD HE BE DOING AS PRESIDENT IF IT’S SO EASILY RECOGNIZABLE THAT HE IS THE PRESIDENT? LOGIC, PEOPLE.

And the GUY HAS DONE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING HE’S PROMISED… that’s mattered. Like remember how he said HE WAS GOING TO PASS A BIG STIMULUS AND KEEP UNEMPLOYMENT FROM BEING 8%? WELL, HE PASSED HIS STIMULUS, AND NOW UNEMPLOYMENT… IS NOT 8%. It’s an entirely different number than that. If you really didn’t want 8% unemployment, well guess what: You’re not dealing with that level of unemployment. Promise kept. And look at all the work he did for it: He spent $666 billion to bypass 8%
unemployment. COULD YOU SPEND THAT MUCH MONEY? NO WAY. If I sat you down in front of a computer, logged you in to Amazon, and said, “Spend $666 billion,” it would be futile. You’d be clicking “Buy Now” until your mouse broke. BUT OBAMA DID IT; THE MAN’S GOT HUSTLE….

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/why-obama-should-be-re-elected/

Sigh, it appears unless you are a left wing extremist, the only thing you can write about Obama deserving reelection is satire.

Losing Faith

Liberals are already licking their wounds from the debt ceiling debate, wondering how it is that Republicans managed to get Democrats to abandon tax increases and shift the terms to spending cuts and entitlement reforms….

…THE LEFT DID LOSE–OR, MORE PRECISELY, IT LOST MORE THAN CONSERVATIVES DID–partly because it has failed to confront economic and financial reality.
In April, when Standard & Poor’s first warned of a possible downgrade in the U.S. credit rating, the White House reacted with denial. President Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, said that S&P’s warning was a “political judgment” that didn’t deserve “too much weight.”…

…But THE REALITY OF OBAMA’S ECONOMIC FAILURE IS FORCING DEMOCRATS TO BACK DOWN FROM TAX HIKES, just as they did when they controlled both houses of Congress in December 2010, and extended the 2001 & 2003 tax cuts anyway….

…THE DEMOCRATS DID THEMSELVES NO FAVORS BY EXAGGERATING THE REALITY OF THAT THREAT. Only some Tea Party Republicans were adamantly opposed to raising the debt ceiling under any circumstances. Yet when Democrats tried to pressure the GOP by casting the Tea Party (falsely) as “extremists” who were prepared to cast the country into default, they actually increased the Tea Party’s leverage and the GOP’s ability to force concessions.

Another reason that the Democrats did badly was they relied too heavily on Obama, who is a very poor negotiator. HIS TACTIC WAS TO USE THE MEDIA AND LEFT-WING “COMMUNITY ORGANIZING” GROUPS–LED BY VAN JONES AND MOVEON.ORG–TO PRESSURE REPUBLICANS TO COMPROMISE. Yet Obama had killed the left’s enthusiasm earlier in the debate when he pretended that he might be willing to discuss changes to Social Security and Medicare.
But finally, and most importantly, DEMOCRATS LOST THE DEBT CEILING DEBATE BECAUSE MANY, AT BOTTOM, DO NOT BELIEVE THEIR OWN IDEAS.

http://biggovernment.com/jpollak/2011/08/01/democrats-lost-the-debt-ceiling-debate-because-they-no-longer-believe-in-their-own-policies-or-their-leader/

China is still called Communist China, but China is no longer a Communist state. It has lost belief in the tenants of Communism just as the liberals seem to mouth the words, but don’t seem to actually believe what they are saying. The liberal prescriptions for the economy have failed badly and they know it. Unfortunately for them, so do the American people.

China on the brink?

The world's biggest computer components vendor plans to replace nearly its entire factory workforce with robots by 2014.

FOXCONN, WHICH MAKES KIT FOR APPLE, SONY AND NOKIA, SAID IT WOULD CUT LOOSE STAFF AND REDUCE LABOUR COSTS BY AUTOMATING SPRAYING, WELDING AND ASSEMBLING JOBS AT ITS FACTORIES IN CHINA, where harsh working conditions have been blamed for a series of suicides at the company.

According to a report on official Chinese news agency Xinhua, which quotes Foxconn founder and chairman Terry Gou, THE FIRM CURRENTLY HAS 10,000 ROBOTS WORKING ON THE PRODUCTION LINE.

FOXCONN PLANS TO INCREASE THAT NUMBER TO 300,000 OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR, AND HOPES TO HAVE 1 MILLION ROBOTS EFFECTIVELY RUNNING THE SHOW BY 2014.

It currently employs 1.2 million meat-based workers, with the majority of them based on mainland China.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/01/foxconn_1_million_robots/

It’s interesting. In Rome in 68 AD, a worker came to the emperor Vespasian with a labor saving device in the building trades (they were building the Coliseum at the time). Vespasian rewarded the worker but killed the idea so as to not take jobs away from Romans. Some people might think of this as enlightened. But I look at Roman technology and see how they failed to exploit it and bypassed what could have moved the world ahead much further earlier than we did (See Heron of Alexandria).


Just for Fun: 25 Things that You Probably Didn’t Know Had Names.

How about Dysania? We’ve all been there. Or Wamble? Another common occurrence.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/25-everyday-things-you-never-knew-had-names

Wednesday: Truth and Liberals

Politics

Another anti-TEA Party movement

….Throughout his speech, he repeated many of the same tropes of the left that we’ve heard before: THAT AMERICA IS NOT BROKE, THAT THE WEALTHY DON’T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE, THAT UNION MEMBERSHIP IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS,THAT WAGES HAVE REMAINED STAGNANT, ETC.
Jones ended by questioning the patriotism of the Tea Party movement. With a nod to Vice President Joe Biden, he discussed the patriotism of paying higher taxes AND TOOK TO CALLING HIS FELLOW PROGRESSIVES THE “DEEPER PATRIOTS,” AS IF PATRIOTISM IS DETERMINED BY HOW MUCH OF OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY YOU CAN SPEND.

But perhaps the major conceit in Jones’s address was the notion that the economy is a zero-sum game where the success of one person hinders your ability to succeed. If you’re not doing well, it’s because someone else is getting ahead at your expense. “We’re not broke,” Jones said early on in his presentation, “We’ve been robbed.”…

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/06/24/why-van-jones-anti-tea-party-will-fail/

Progressives view of economics is based upon evenly dividing up the pie, not in making the pie larger. In fact progressive policies are designed to make the pie smaller in America.

They told me if I voted for McCain, whistleblowers would be fired

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is being accused of retaliating against an agent who helped publicize the agency’s role in allowing thousands of guns to cross the U.S. border and fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs.

The agent, VINCE CEFALU, WHO HAS SPOKEN OUT ABOUT THE ATF'S SO-CALLED "PROJECT GUNRUNNER" SCANDAL, SAYS HE WAS SERVED WITH TERMINATION PAPERS JUST LAST WEEK, AND HE CALLS THE MOVE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.
“Aside from Jay Dobyns, I don't know of anyone that's been more vocal about ATF mismanagement than me,” said Cefalu, a senior special agent based in Dublin, Calif. “That's why this is happening.” Dobyns, an ATF special agent based in Tucson, has appeared several times on Fox News to discuss the scandal.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/27/atf-to-fire-gunrunner-whistleblower/#ixzz1QZEThWMl

I kind of suspect the real crime wasn’t so much blowing the whistle, but appearing on Fox News.

House Democrats feel jilted by the president in budget, debt talks

HOUSE DEMOCRATS FEEL LIKE JILTED LOVERS.

They’re looking down Pennsylvania Avenue for some sign of affection from President Obama in the White House. But all they feel they’re getting in return is the back of his hand.

“How is it that the House Democrats played such an important role [in the majority], and all of a sudden [the White House says], ‘FORGET IT, WE’LL WORK WITH THE SENATE AND THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP?’ ” asked Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), vice chairman of the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee….

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/168713-house-democrats-feel-jilted-by-the-president

It appears the Democrats in the House don’t realize the budget talks Democrats already have two of the three major players.

Obama: Ignorant or incompetent?

….An incomplete report card on his "accomplishments" would include the following:
• the economy worsened
• discretionary military efforts ("kinetic" if you prefer) increased
• an unpopular, flawed health care plan was forced on the public
• inflation increased, especially in critical goods like food and gasoline
• job prospects decreased
• the stimulus failed miserably
• "transparency in government" became a laugh-line for late night TV
• corruption in government accelerated to Chicago-style warp speed
• Housing worsened and shows no sign of bottoming soon
• Government debt and spending spun out of control
• Wall Street was bailed out and continues to enrich themselves
• Main Street was ignored and becomes poorer as bankruptcies and foreclosures mount
• race relations appear to have worsened

There are a plethora of other problems that could be attributed to Obama. IN SHORT, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ASCERTAIN WHAT, IF ANYTHING, HAS IMPROVED OTHER THAN THE DEMISE OF OSAMA BIN LADEN.

Two hypotheses are often cited to explain why things have gotten so much worse:

1. Obama is incompetent.
2. Obama knows what he is doing and is deliberately destroying the country …
.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/06/president_quixotes_legacy_confused_ill-educated_and_not_too_bright.html

An excellent article laying out the problems with the “intelligence” of this president and perhaps the entire left wing. Intelligence doesn’t mean much when it is subservient to ideology.

Obama and the Debt Deal

NEWS REPORTS INDICATE THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS “ENGAGED” ON REACHING A DEAL TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING. Let’s hope so, and about time! The president is the key to getting a deal in the first place, and if he chooses, it can be substantively good, but it will only happen when he chooses to make it happen.

Let’s start with the substance. IT IS CLEAR THAT JUST RAISING THE DEBT CEILING WILL PROVIDE NO REAL COMFORT TO MARKETS. RECKLESSLY RAISING THE DEBT CEILING WOULD PROVE THAT WE ARE ON TRACK TO SAIL DIRECTLY INTO THE TEETH OF A SOVEREIGN DEBT CRISIS. So any real deal has to both raise the debt ceiling and deal with the substance of the problem. Namely, that THE PROJECTED EXPLOSION IN SPENDING OUTSTRIPS ANY REASONABLE EXPECTATION THAT THE U.S. CAN GROW ITS WAY OUT FROM UNDERNEATH AN ALREADY DANGEROUS FEDERAL DEBT OVERHANG. So, a real deal would include near-term (“discretionary”) spending cuts, caps to control medium-term discretionary spending, and real changes to actual entitlement programs that would signal a commitment to controlling the spending explosion.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/270612/obama-and-debt-deal-douglas-holtz-eakin

This is a win/win situation for the Republicans. The Democrats can only lose. They know the debt will have to be dealt with, but they are hoping to put it off until after 2012. The debt ceiling stops them from being able to do this. Their call for tax increases doesn’t really play even for Democrats who know this will be another blow to the economy. So it will have to be spending cuts which is what the TEA Party called for and most of the country agrees with.

Liberals and history

Sigh.

YOU'D THINK LIBERALS WOULD LEARN.

Of course not.

George Stephanopoulos made the mistake of going after Michele Bachmann on history -- and promptly proceeded to get his history foolishly wrong. Said George:

For example earlier this year YOU SAID THAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS WHO WROTE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO END SLAVERY. NOW WITH RESPECT CONGRESSWOMAN, THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE

.

Actually, George, it is true...

http://spectator.org/blog/2011/06/28/levin-stephanopoulos-is-foolis

The article goes on to show how Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and George Mason all tried to eliminate slavery and these people are considered Founding Fathers. Just as with Sarah Palin talking about Paul Revere’s ride and how he announced to the British that they should try to take our arms (which he did after he was captured) the left seems content with grade school history not looking to go beyond that to get the full story. But what should be truly embarrassing to them is that when caught, they try to pretend that it didn’t happen or didn’t count.

More from details on Wisconsin’s Chokegate

…According to one witness, Bradley charged toward Prosser, shaking her clenched fist in his face. ANOTHER SOURCE SAYS THEY WERE “LITERALLY NOSE TO NOSE.” PROSSER THEN PUT HIS HANDS UP TO PUSH HER AWAY. As one source pointed out, if a man wants to push a woman who is facing him, he wouldn’t push her in the chest (unless he wants to face an entirely different criminal charge). Consequently, PROSSER PUT HIS HANDS ON BRADLEY’S SHOULDERS TO PUSH HER AWAY, AND IN DOING SO, MADE CONTACT WITH HER NECK.

At that moment, another justice approached Bradley from behind and pulled her away from Prosser, saying, “STOP IT, ANN, THIS ISN’T LIKE YOU.” BRADLEY THEN SHOUTED, “I WAS CHOKED!” Another justice present replied, “You were not choked.” In a statement following the incident, Bradley maintained Prosser “put his hands around my neck in anger in a chokehold.”
On Monday night, Bradley called Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs to talk to him about the incident. On the morning of Wednesday, June 15, Tubbs joined the justices in a closed-door meeting, where he discussed “issues relating to workplace violence.”

During the meeting, Chief Justice Abrahamson actually reenacted the incident on Chief Tubbs — no doubt an amusing sight, as the diminutive Abrahamson mimicked choking the tall, portly police chief. During her demonstration, Abrahamson emphasized that Prosser had exerted “pressure” on Bradley’s throat.

“THERE WAS NO PRESSURE,” INTERRUPTED THE JUSTICE WHO HAD INITIALLY BROKEN UP THE INCIDENT BETWEEN BRADLEY AND PROSSER. “THAT’S ONLY BECAUSE YOU BROKE US APART,” SHOT BACK BRADLEY. This exchange led several meeting attendees to believe Bradley was making up the charge, as they took her rejoinder as an admission that there was no pressure applied to her neck….

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/270679/more-details-emerge-wisconsin-s-chokegate-christian-schneider

These people are supposed to be judges. Claiming to be choked and then admitting she wasn’t “only because you broke us apart,” and then going to the press claiming to be choked seems to be cause for Bradley to resign. Women making false charges it should be held accountable for it.

Economic Freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1U1Jzdghjk&feature=channel_video_title

Here is a 2 minute video that makes a great point