What’s new Today

Story #1 is on the book, The Tyranny of Cliches.  #2 is the current Gallup Poll.  #3 shows a tie but with Romney ahead with independent voters.  #4 is a video of George Will on a Sunday talk show where he really gives it to BHO.  #5 talks about the consequences of low expectations.  #6 looks at what the President has to worry about regarding jobs. 

Today’s thoughts

The picture today is of an abandoned station of the NYC subway system.  You can read about it here:

http://www.travelettes.net/new-york-city%E2%80%99s-hidden-subway-station/

The Elizabeth Warren minority story seems to have legs.  I think it is because it demonstrates the worst features of affirmative action.  Here we have a blond white woman gaming the current system for personal benefit.  This is not a good sign for the Democrats. 

After fooling Soledad O’Brien, Brian Leonard Creekmur’s claim to be a retired Navy Seal and sniper has been shown to be completely false.  Sometimes a story or a source is just too good to check up on.  BTW, my roommate from college was a Navy Seal.  Not me.

1.  The Tyranny of Clichés

…“Of course they have an ideological perspective. There’s nothing wrong with having an ideological perspective. They just simply lie about it.”

The founding editor of The National Review online and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute said that despite assurances in his inaugural address, President Barack Obama does care about ideology.

“His administration was built from the beginning about a transformational, liberal agenda and the lie is simply that he doesn’t have the agenda,” he said. “He campaigned on green energy and his education program and on socialized medicine, and then we have a huge financial crisis and what a huge coincidence, it turns out that socialized medicine, green energy and all the rest are exactly those things we need to fix the economy. It’s just nonsense.

“Europe had all of these programs that Obama says America desperately needs to get back on track. Europe is in a worse position than we are today and socialized medicine didn’t help them fight off a financial crisis. It’s all a big con, a Trojan horse that allows them to pretend they don’t have ideology when they’re really pushing one.”

Goldberg said that liberals are not more open about their ideology because they know that it is unpopular in America, adding that it sells their own voters short and is an “incredibly condescending way to go through life.” He said the worst cliché and lie of Obama administration is that he has “no ideological agenda….

Author Jonah Goldberg: Liberals Lie About Ideological Perspective

Liberals are lying, but they are lying first of all to themselves.  They pretend to themselves that they are non-ideological, when they are fundamentally ideological.

2. Gallup has a tie

These are the results when registered voters are asked: "Suppose the presidential election were held today. If Barack Obama were the Democratic Party's candidate and Mitt Romney were the Republican Party's candidate, who would you vote for Barack Obama, the Democrat or Mitt Romney, the Republican?" Those who are undecided are further asked if they lean more toward Obama or Romney and their leanings are incorporated into the results. Each five-day rolling average is based on telephone interviews with approximately 2,200 registered voters; Margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150743/Obama-Romney.aspx

A tie among registered voters means Romney is ahead by at least 4%.  Add to that number the undecided and you have an 8 point victory coming up in November.  Right now Romney is ahead by 1 point.  

3. More good polling news for Romney

Mitt Romney leads President Obama slightly in this morning’s Politico/GWU poll of likely voters, which may not mean a whole lot at this point. But, during a time when Obama should be at an advantage (his opponent just came out of a bruising primary battle), Romney’s lead with independent voters and the fact that Republicans are quickly coalescing behind him is promising for his campaign:

The former Massachusetts governor has opened up a 10-point lead, 48 percent to 38 percent, among independents in a poll conducted Sunday, April 29 through Thursday, May 3 and a 6-point lead among those who describe themselves as “extremely likely” to vote in November. Obama led Romney by 9 points overall in Politico’s February’s poll. …

A full 91 percent of Republicans support Romney, slightly exceeding the percentage of Democrats who support Obama.

The concern that Romney’s moderate record would hamper party unity hasn’t played out, at least not according to this poll. Another good sign for Romney: He now leads by nine points with independent women voters, a significant shift from Obama’s 23-point advantage in February. Those who cautioned Romney to avoid identity politics with women seem to have given wise advice….

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/05/07/promising-signs-for-romney-in-poll/

This is not unexpected.  Obama’s record is disastrous and we can only hope the MSM keeps feeding the Democrats the news they want to believe. 





4.  George Will Vaporizes Obama

http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/06/george-will-if-you-strike-first-person-pronouns-from-obamas-vocabulary-he-would-fall-silent/

Listen carefully.  Will tells us if we struck the word I from Obama’s vocabulary, it would be a gift to us and to him. 







5. The Tyranny of Low Expectations

Remember that teacher you grumbled about back in your school days, the really tough one who made you work so hard, insisted you could do better, and made you sweat for your A's? The one you didn't appreciate until after you graduated and realized how much you had learned?

Minority students in the U.S. might have fewer of those teachers, at least compared to white students, and as a result they might be at a significant learning disadvantage.

A major study, led by Rutgers-Newark psychology professor Kent D. Harber, indicates that public school teachers under-challenge minority students by providing them more positive feedback than they give to white students, for work of equal merit. The study, which is currently available online in the Journal of Educational Psychology (JEP), involved 113 white middle school and high school teachers in two public school districts located in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state area, one middle class and white, and the other more working class and racially mixed.

Teachers read and commented on a poorly written essay which they believed was composed by a student in a writing class. Some teachers thought the student was black, some thought the student was Latino, and some thought that the student was white. Teachers believed that their feedback would be sent directly to the student, in order to see how the student would benefit from their comments and advice.

In fact, there was no actual student, and the poorly written essay was developed by Harber and his team. The real purpose was to see how teachers would respond to subpar work due to the race of the student who composed it. As Harber and his team predicted, the teachers displayed a "positive feedback bias," providing more praise and less criticism if they thought the essay was written by a minority student than by a white student….

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120504143023.htm

What is the greatest advantage that white males possess today?  They have no one to blame but themselves if they fail.  Minority, women, etc. have people telling them they are being discriminated against and that hurts them. 

6.  President Obama Is Running Out of Jobs Excuses

Friday's Employment Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was so bad that the Obama administration didn't even bother to tout the reported 0.1 percentage point decline in the "headline" (U-3) unemployment rate. They knew that to do so would just make them look completely out of touch.

How bad was it? The number of people with jobs (BLS Household Survey) declined for the second month in a row, falling by 169,000 in April after easing by 31,000 in March. This means that there were 200,000 fewer Americans with jobs in April than there were in February.

The exodus of discouraged Americans from the workforce, which is the big ongoing story of Obama's so-called economic recovery, continued in earnest during April. Labor force participation, which is the percentage of working-age adults who either have jobs or are looking for work, fell to 63.6%, which is the lowest level since December 1981.

A total of 342,000 American's gave up looking for jobs in April. Because our working-age population increased by 180,000 during the month, the ranks of discouraged workers increased by at least 463,000 during April. These numbers spell "recession", not "recovery"…

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2012/05/07/president_obama_is_running_out_of_jobs_excuses_99657.html

These are the reasons Obama will not be reelected in November. 

Wisconsin and other liberal nightmares

Charlie Cook lays out a grim future for Democrats in the US Senate


http://www.nationaljournal.com/video-charlie-cook-looks-into-senate-s-future-20110228


Here’s a video when Charlie explains the obvious.



Walker warns missing Democrats

REPUBLICAN GOV. SCOTT WALKER ON MONDAY GAVE ABSENT DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS AN ULTIMATUM TO RETURN TO WISCONSIN within 24 hours and vote on a proposal to reduce the power of public sector unions or the state would miss out on a debt restructuring.

Walker stepped up the pressure on 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state to avoid a vote on the bill as he prepared to unveil on Tuesday a two-year state budget that he said cuts $1 billion from funding to local governments and schools.

What began as one small state trying to rewrite the rules of labor relations has blown up into what could be THE BIGGEST CONFRONTATION WITH AMERICAN LABOR UNIONS SINCE THEN PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN FIRED STRIKING AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS IN 1981.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/28/us-wisconsin-governor-idUSTRE71R51620110228

Teachers and other government employees are going to be fired and it's going to be the Democrat's fault.  But don't expect to hear that fact on the MSM.


Obama slapped down by the Wisconsin Governor’s office

Gov. Scott Walker on Monday afternoon responded to comments President Barack Obama made earlier in the day about the protests in Madison:

Walker's office issued this statement:

"I'M SURE THE PRESIDENT KNOWS THAT MOST FEDERAL EMPLOYEES DO NOT HAVE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR WAGES AND BENEFITS WHILE OUR PLAN ALLOWS IT FOR BASE PAY. AND I'M SURE THE PRESIDENT KNOWS THAT THE AVERAGE FEDERAL WORKER PAYS TWICE AS MUCH FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AS WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR IN WISCONSIN. AT LEAST I WOULD HOPE HE KNOWS THESE FACTS.

"Furthermore, I'm sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

"I'm sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn't acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another."

http://nation.foxnews.com/gov-scott-walker/2011/02/28/obama-gets-smackdown-gov-walker


Wow! This one is a devastating blow to President O. Sometime simply stating the facts can destroy a liberals arguments.



High Speed Insolvency

“Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency’s importance to a small, smooth pebble in the stream of history, people will still marvel that its defining trait was a mania for high-speed rail projects. This disorder illuminates the progressive mind. . . . TO PROGRESSIVES, THE BEST THING ABOUT RAILROADS IS THAT PEOPLE RIDING THEM ARE NOT IN AUTOMOBILES, WHICH ARE SUBVERSIVE OF THE DEFERENCE ON WHICH PROGRESSIVISM DEPENDS. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. AUTOMOBILES ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO THINK THEY—UNSUPERVISED, UNTUTORED, AND UNSCRIPTED—ARE MASTERS OF THEIR FATES. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make.”

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/27/high-speed-to-insolvency.html


Don’t you just love George Will? He basically shows you why the automobile is so despised by leftist. It obviously is a subversive instrument of the right.



Unstoppable: The Runaway Federal Budget

The General Accounting Office is preparing to drop a devastating financial report on Congress, identifying hundreds of billions in government waste due to “duplication, overlap, and fragmentation.” Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is not surprised. “Go study that report,” he advised Trish Turner of Fox News. “It will show why we’re $14 trillion in debt. Anybody that says we don’t look like fools up here hasn’t read the report. We don’t know what we’re doing.”

More precisely, every aspect of a gigantic bureaucracy does only what it knows, unto eternity. I read about this report right after I watched the movie Unstoppable, in which Denzel Washington and Chris Pine try to halt a runaway locomotive that so huge and powerful it simply obliterates everything in its path. Government bureaucracies are all runaway trains.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=42061

If you’ve seen the movie, President Obama is the Engineer who jumps off the train to switch the tracks after failing to connect his airbrakes. He is unable to get back on and the train becomes a time bomb heading to a population center.



Union Power, By the Numbers

Responding to my piece, Jonathan Chait writes that unions are paltry players compared to the big, bad business lobby when it comes to buying influence in Washington and state capitols.

HERE ARE THE TEN LARGEST DONORS IN U.S. POLITICS AS OF FEBRUARY 7, according to OpenSecrets.Org:

ActBlue: $51 million

AT&T: $46 million

AFSCME: $43 million

National Association of Realtors: $38 million

Goldman Sachs: $33 million

American Association for Justice: $33 million

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $33 million

National Education Association: $32 million

Laborers Union: $30 million

Teamsters Union: $30 million

THAT’S FIVE UNIONS TO TWO BUSINESSES AND THREE OTHER GROUPS. Five out of ten is half, by my always-suspect English-major math. And who are those other groups? ACTBLUE IS A DEMOCRATIC CLEARINGHOUSE, THE TRIAL LAWYERS ARE SUPER-LOPSIDEDLY DEMOCRATIC, AND FOUR OUT OF FIVE OF THE REALTORS’ TOP CAMPAIGN-CASH RECIPIENTS ARE DEMOCRATS.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260943/union-power-numbers-kevin-d-williamson

It’s fun to have these kinds of arguments. The left will have some way to spin this as the corporations “way outspend” us poor little unions.



Civility: Liberal style

Keep calm and carry on, right? Only if you’re on the right and are a member of the Tea Party movement. Otherwise, THERE’S A WHOLE OTHER SET OF RULES TO PLAY BY.

On Monday, Milwaukee AM 620 WTMJ radio host Charlie Sykes detailed an encounter between DEMOCRATIC STATE REP. GORDON HINTZ, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN BUSTED IN A PROSTITUTION STING, and Republican State Rep. Michelle Litjens, in which the rules of civility were completely ignored after a vote to “engross” a state budget repair bill.

“After the vote to engross, HE TURNS TO A FEMALE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, WHO IS ALSO FROM THE OSHKOSH AREA, LOOKS AT HER AND SAYS, ‘YOU ARE F—ING DEAD,’” Sykes said. “He didn’t say ‘f—ing,’ he said the whole thing. He says to a female colleague, ‘You are f—ing dead.’”

http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/28/prostitute-patronizing-dem-wisconsin-state-represent-to-female-gop-colleague-you-are-fucking-dead/#ixzz1FLamGPIk

Another liberal reveals his true stripes. But you have to wonder about his electorate. How in the world did he get reelected when he had previously been busted in a prostitution sting?



Is Democracy Viable?

Those who see hope in the Middle East uprisings seem to assume that they will lead in the direction of freedom or democracy. There is already talk about the "liberation" of Egypt, even though THE BIGGEST CHANGE THERE HAS BEEN THAT A ONE-MAN DICTATORSHIP HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP THAT HAS SUSPENDED THE CONSTITUTION.


Perhaps the military dictatorship will be temporary, as its leaders say, but we have heard that song before. What we have also heard, too many times before, is the assumption that getting rid of an undemocratic government means that it will be replaced by a freer and better government.

History says otherwise. AFTER RUSSIA'S CZARS WERE REPLACED BY THE COMMUNISTS, THE GOVERNMENT EXECUTED MORE PEOPLE IN A DAY THAN THE CZARS HAD EXECUTED IN HALF A CENTURY. It was much the same story in Cuba, when the Batista regime was replaced by Castro and in Iran when the Shah was replaced by the Ayatollahs.

It is not inevitable that bad regimes are replaced by worse regimes. But it has happened too often for us to blithely assume that overthrowing a dictator means a movement toward freedom and democracy

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/03/01/is_democracy_viable_109065.html


Some common sense from Thomas Sewell.



A Look at what you can expect with Obamacare

Their requests have been rejected by regional health authorities who were accused of operating covert “blacklists” to restrict dozens of treatments to save money.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has uncovered more than 80 cases in which desperately sick NHS patients have been refused the cancer drugs their doctor sought, in the four months since a £200 million fund was introduced to stop health authorities rationing treatments.

The fund was a key move by the Coalition so that those suffering from cancer would never again be refused drugs on grounds of cost.

Ministers were responding to years of anger over a system which meant patients were unable to secure life-extending drugs because central NHS rationers had decided the treatments were not “cost effective”.

Announcing the fund last summer, Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, promised to end “the scandal” of cancer patients being refused the drugs that their doctors sought, because of restrictions by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8349297/Cancer-sufferers-refused-life-extending-drugs-despite-Government-pledge.html

Will Wisconsin spread?

Obama’s Attempt to Distance Himself From Wisconsin Rally Fails

In a good indication that the Wisconsin PROTESTS HAVE BECOME A LIABILITY FOR DEMOCRATS, the White House and the DNC have clumsily attempted to distance themselves from the event in the New York Times:

Administration officials said Sunday that the WHITE HOUSE HAD DONE NOTHING TO ENCOURAGE THE DEMONSTRATIONS IN WISCONSIN — nor was it doing so in Ohio, Florida and other states where new Republican governors are trying to make deep cuts to balance their budget. …

And, officials and union leaders said, reports of the involvement of the Democratic National Committee — specifically ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA, THE GRASS-ROOTS NETWORK BORN OF MR. OBAMA’S 2008 CAMPAIGN — WERE OVERBLOWN TO START WITH.…

“This is a Wisconsin story, not a Washington one,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. “False claims of White House involvement are attempts to distract from the organic grass-roots opposition that is happening in Wisconsin.”

But apparently someone forget to tell the DNC’s communication director BOB WOODHOUSE TO SCRUB HIS TWITTER FEED to reflect this new strategy. Doug Ross has pointed out a Feb. 17 Tweet from Woodhouse saying that THE WHITE HOUSE WAS “PROUDLY” PLAYING A ROLE IN THE PROTEST.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/02/21/obama%e2%80%99s-attempt-to-distance-himself-from-wisconsin-rally-fails/


It sounds as if the President is doing the political hokey pokey. “You put you left foot in you take your left foot out….”


New poll: Public sides with Wisconsin governor over union

A new national poll just released by pollster Scott Rasmussen shows that 48 PERCENT OF THOSE SURVEYED SUPPORT WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN GOV. SCOTT WALKER in his showdown with the state's public-employee unions, while 38 percent support the union. Broken down by party, Rasmussen found that 68 PERCENT OF DEMOCRATS SUPPORT THE UNIONS, WHILE 68 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS SUPPORT WALKER. Among the POLITICALLY-CRITICAL INDEPENDENTS, 56 PERCENT SUPPORT THE GOVERNOR. And in a showdown in which teachers have abandoned the classroom to protest against Walker's budget bill, 38 percent said they believe that teachers, along with firefighters and police, should have the right to strike, while 49 PERCENT SAID THOSE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO STRIKE

.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/new-poll-public-sides-wisconsin-governor-over-union#ixzz1EgyW4TbQ

And this story may tell you why President Obama is doing the hokey pokey.



Our reactionary President

…..In a noisome bit of body snatching, THE MADISON PROTESTERS ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH THE DEMONSTRATORS IN EGYPT. If we must use Egypt analogies, THIS ONE HAS IT BACKWARD. Tapping into new technologies empowering individuals, the anti-Mubarak protesters overthrew a sclerotic political system that no longer fit the times. In their aims, THE ANTI-WALKER THRONGS ARE MORE LIKE EGYPT’S COUNTERDEMONSTRATORS WHO RODE IN ON CAMELS TO TRY TO SAVE A DECREPIT, 30-YEAR-OLD POLITICAL DISPENSATION.


Obama’s transformative agenda has largely consisted of accelerating already-present trends. WE HAD ALREADY TRIED A STIMULUS AND DEFICIT SPENDING — OBAMA GAVE US MORE OF BOTH. WE ALREADY HAD SUBSIDIES TO GREEN ENERGY — OBAMA CREATED MORE. WE ALREADY WERE SPENDING MORE THAN EVER ON EDUCATION — OBAMA ADDED MORE. WE ALREADY HAD MASSIVE GOVERNMENT HEALTH-CARE PROGRAMS crowding out the private sector and tipping the federal government toward bankruptcy — Obama added yet another one….

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/260307/our-reactionary-president-rich-lowry


Progressive? It doesn’t really look like it. In fact, the left has grown lazy and moribund in regard to ideas. When challenged on what they are doing they tend to resort to name calling using racist, bigots, homophobe, sexists, etc instead of explanations. These are not the actions of a dynamic and thoughtful movement.



The Left’s Assault on Democracy in Wisconsin

LEFTIST RADICALS DON’T BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY IN THE WAY THE TERM IS USED IN AMERICA. If they win, it’s democracy in action, a noble rendering of the wise judgment of the people. If they lose, democracy has been undermined and usually some cabal of corporate villains in a smoke-filled backroom somewhere is to blame for the injustice.

The union goons and paid protesters wreaking havoc in Madison, Wisconsin believe in the radical left-wing un-American conception of democracy.

They’re being cheered on by the REV. JESSE JACKSON who dropped by to outrageously compare the ongoing disruptions to the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. “THIS IS A MARTIN LUTHER KING MOMENT, this is a Gandhi moment,” he said without chuckling.

They’re also being praised and encouraged by the nation’s foremost leftist guru, professor Noam Chomsky. CHOMSKY TOLD DEMOCRACY NOW! RECENTLY THAT HE HOPES THE PROTESTS BEGIN TO RESEMBLE THE VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN EGYPT. “It was heartening to see that there are tens of thousands of people protesting in Madison day after day in fact. I mean that’s the beginning maybe of what we really need here, a democracy uprising. Democracy’s almost been eviscerated

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/02/22/the-left%E2%80%99s-assault-on-democracy-in-wisconsin/


We’ve seen a lot of hypocrisy going on over the past week. I guess the phrase “We won,” is only applicable if it is a leftist who won the election.


Howard Dean and the $100,000 Wisconsin Slush Fund

YOU CAN CALL THEM "DEAN DOLLARS."

Former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a one-time presidential candidate, is the founder of a group that by mid-day of President's Day HAD RAISED OVER $100,000 IN A SLUSH FUND TO "BACK" THE ON-THE-LAM WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATORS.

The Dean Dollars are being specifically funneled to the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee (SSDC) -- AN APPARENT VIOLATION OF WISCONSIN ELECTION LAW that pointedly says, according to the Wisconsin Election Board's Legal Counsel in a 2005 decision, that the "SSDC may not accept a contribution of more than $6,000 from a single committee in a calendar year."

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/22/howard-dean-and-the-100000-wis


It appears we have welfare for elected officials who are on the lam.



Missing Democrats: A spreading problem

Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.

A source tells the Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

The House was came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.

With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/NEWS/110222004/House-Democrats-flee-Indiana-stop-votes?odyssey=mod

It appears we have a new Democratic phenom.  The case of the disappearing Democrats.  Actually it is more like the spoiled kid who if he doesn't get his way threatens to take is ball and go home. 


George Will dissects Wisconsin

…He does, however, think there is sincerity unleavened by information: MANY PROTESTERS DO NOT REALIZE THAT MOST WORKER PROTECTIONS - merit hiring; just cause for discipline and termination - ARE THE RESULT NOT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BUT OF WISCONSIN'S UNIQUELY STRONG AND CENTURY-OLD CIVIL SERVICE LAW.

"I am convinced," he says, "this is about money - but not the employees' money." IT CONCERNS UNION DUES, WHICH HE WANTS THE STATE TO STOP COLLECTING FOR THE UNIONS, just as he wants annual votes by state employees on re-certifying the unions. He says many employees pay $500 to $600 annually in union dues - teachers pay up to $1,000. Given a choice, many might prefer to apply this money to health care premiums or retirement plans. And he thinks "eventually" most will say about the dues collectors, "What do we need this for?"

SUCH UNIONS ARE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED AS AN INTEREST GROUP TO LOBBY ITSELF TO DO WHAT IT ALWAYS WANTS TO DO ANYWAY - GROW. These unions use dues extracted from members to elect their members' employers. And governments, not disciplined by the need to make a profit, extract government employees' salaries from taxpayers. Government sits on both sides of the table in cozy "negotiations" with unions.

A few days after President Obama submitted a budget that would increase the federal deficit, he tried to sabotage Wisconsin's progress toward solvency. THE WASHINGTON POST: "THE PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL MACHINE WORKED IN CLOSE COORDINATION . . . WITH STATE AND NATIONAL UNION OFFICIALS TO MOBILIZE THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS TO GATHER IN MADISON and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals." Walker notes that in the 1990s, Wisconsin was a trendsetter regarding school choice and welfare reform. Obama, he thinks, may be worried that Wisconsin might again be a harbinger….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022103190.html


One of the truisms of Unions is that they will sacrifice many of the promises they made to organize a group to get a check off clause (the company collects union dues from the members for the union) in that first contract. Of all the things being proposed by Walker, doing away with this is most likely the biggest problem for the Unions.


Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently

TWO-THIRDS OF THE EIGHTH GRADERS IN WISCONSIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS CANNOT READ PROFICIENTLY ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—ONLY 32 PERCENT OF WISCONSIN PUBLIC-SCHOOL EIGHTH GRADERS EARNED A “PROFICIENT” RATING WHILE ANOTHER 2 PERCENT EARNED AN “ADVANCED” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/two-thirds-wisconsin-public-school-8th-g


This sounds like those teachers really need to be back in the classroom explain what is happening since it appears 66% of their students will have a tough time reading about it.



Wisconsin labor unrest spills across Lake Michigan

MICHIGAN UNION LEADERS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISTS WILL JOIN WITH COLLEAGUES IN WISCONSIN AND OHIO ON TUESDAY AS THE AFL-CIO PLANS STREET PROTESTS IN LANSING against Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's attempt to balance the state budget on the backs of public employees.

In scenes that US Rep. Paul Ryan (R) has likened to the massive recent protests and clashes in Cairo, Wisconsin public sector employees and union activists staged a seventh day of protests in Madison Monday as Gov. Scott Walker (R) refused to budge on his plan to gut collective bargaining, the behind-closed-doors process by which civil service workers, including teachers, secure pay, health, and pension benefits.

FIGHTING SIMILAR PROPOSALS, OHIO UNION ACTIVISTS PROTESTED IN COLUMBUS LAST WEEK, as well, and now Michigan union protesters are planning a morning protest in Lansing. In Tennessee, a Republican-backed plan to end collective bargaining for the state's 52,000 teachers has drawn sharp rebukes from the education establishment. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has also proposed curbing collective bargaining rules in the Hoosier State….

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110221/ts_csm/364791


Wisconsin is only the first place you will be seeing this struggle. Stand bye.


Mika Makes Excuses For Vile WI Signs—Till She Sees Them

Mika Brzezinski learned a life lesson this morning: look before you leap to defend liberals . . .


At the top of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough referenced the hateful emails he and Mika had received from the left and the similarly ugly signs held by Wisconsin union protesters. MIKA REFLEXIVELY DEFENDED THE VILENESS, SAYING THAT PEOPLE WERE "HURTING AND REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING HEARD."


Aww. But later, the show rolled video of some of the Wisconsin signs, including one with crosshairs on Gov. Walker, another calling him Hitler, one accusing him of rape, and of course that great old standard "death to tyrants."



TO HER CREDIT, MIKA DID CHANGE HER TUNE. VIEW VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP.

Admitting that she hadn't previously seen those signs, MIKA AGREED WITH JOE THAT IF TEA PARTIERS HELD UP SOMETHING SIMILAR, "THEY'D BE ON A [MSM] LOOP."

View the video and watch Mika's change of heart as she runs headlong into the hard reality of what's happening in Wisconsin.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2011/02/21/mika-makes-excuses-vile-wi-signs-till-she-sees-them#ixzz1EgpGKtH1


An admission that the MSM treats the TEA Party more harshly than it does Public Employee Unions. Who would of thought it?



GOP can cut spending without closing government

Washington Democrats and liberal mainstream media journalists have been wearing out their tongues for a week PREDICTING HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL FORCE A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN JUST AS THEY DID IN 1995, WITH THE SAME DISASTROUS RESULTS FOR THE GOP. They are framing the issue this way because they want a government shutdown, thinking IT WILL BLUNT THE DRIVE BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO CUT FEDERAL SPENDING, which voters demanded last November. Unfortunately, many Republicans have bought into the fallacy that the only way to achieve their goal is through a political stalemate that forces a suspension of government services.

In fact, THIS IS NOT AN "EITHER/OR" PROPOSITION, as congressional Republicans can show this week by taking two steps. First, HOUSE GOP LEADERS SHOULD INTRODUCE AN ALTERNATIVE CONTINUING RESOLUTION THAT ENSURES NO SLOWDOWN IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES, including the delivery of Social Security checks and Medicare payments for medical treatment, keeping the military at full strength and funding agencies charged with maintaining the public safety. House Speaker John Boehner should make clear that this alternative continuing resolution will be approved if Senate Democrats and/or President Obama refuse to accept the $61 billion in spending cuts approved last week by the lower chamber. Just as Cato the Elder ended his every Roman Senate speech by demanding that "Carthage must die," BOEHNER SHOULD CONSTANTLY DEMAND THAT DEMOCRATS STOP OBSTRUCTING THE DEFUNDING OF OBAMACARE, WHITE HOUSE "CZARS," EPA'S REGULATORY CAP-AND-TRADE, AND OTHER MUCH-NEEDED SPENDING CUTS…..

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/02/examiner-editorial-gop-can-cut-spending-without-closing-government#ixzz1Eh9uvyg9

I do think the democrats think this is 1995, not 2011. There seems to be a giggly anticipation that this will do the Republicans in and revive the Democrats. I don’t think this is the case.



Time Magazine: Greens move on from 'climate change' to organic food movement

THESE ARE DARK DAYS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT. A year after being on the cusp of passing landmark legislation to cap greenhouse gases, greens are coming to accept the fact THAT THE CHANCE OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BECOME MORE REMOTE THAN EVER. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under attack by newly empowered Republicans in Congress who argue that the very idea of environmental protection is unaffordable for our debt-ridden country. Accustomed to remaining optimistic in the face of long odds, the environmental movement all at once faces a challenge just to stay relevant in a hostile political climate. In 2004, authors Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus faced a harsh backlash from the greens when they released a polemic essay called "The Death of Environmentalism," but now it appears they might have been ahead of their time.

EVEN AS TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTALISM STRUGGLES, ANOTHER MOVEMENT IS RISING IN ITS PLACE, ALIGNING CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, THE MEDIA AND EVEN POLITICIANS. IT'S THE FOOD MOVEMENT, AND IF IT CONTINUES TO GROW IT MAY BE ABLE TO CREATE JUST THE SORT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE FAILED TO ACHIEVE IN RECENT YEARS. That would mean not only changing the way Americans eat and the way they farm — away from industrialized, cheap calories and toward more organic, small-scale production, with plenty of fruits and vegetables — but also altering the way we work and relate to one another. TO ITS MOST ARDENT ADHERENTS, THE FOOD MOVEMENT ISN'T JUST ABOUT REFORM — IT'S ABOUT REVOLUTION…..

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-magazine-greens-move-on-from.html


As AGW falls new green movements are afoot. This is a new one on me. I had heard that bio-diversity was the next big green assault.

Cohen and the climate of hate

Cohen comments: How the rest of the world see them

IN WHAT HAS TO BE A LEADING CANDIDATE FOR THE MOST INFLAMMATORY, IGNORANT AND DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE POLITICAL STATEMENT OF THE YEAR, CONGRESSMAN STEVE COHEN (D-TN) compared Republican opposition to President Obama’s health care reforms to the tactics of Adolf Hitler’s henchman Joseph Goebbels and the genocidal regime in Nazi Germany. In A DEEPLY INSENSITIVE AND TASTELESS MANNER he also invoked the Holocaust to hammer home his point, in a speech to an almost empty House of Representatives on Tuesday evening, comments which have already drawn a sharp rebuke from the National Jewish Democratic Council. The video of the Congressman’s bizarre rant can be viewed here. CBS News Political Hotsheet has transcribed some of his remarks :

“They don’t like the truth so they summarily dismiss it. They say it’s a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like [Nazi propagandist Joseph] Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That’s the same kind of thing.”

… “The Germans said enough about the Jews and the people believed it and you had the Holocaust. You tell a lie over and over again. And we’ve heard it on this floor: Government takeover of health care.”

There can be no doubt that IF A BRITISH POLITICIAN MADE THESE KINDS OF CHARGES in a similar context in the House of Commons THERE WOULD BE WIDESPREAD PUBLIC REVULSION OVER THE REMARKS AND IMMEDIATE CONDEMNATION FROM LEADERS ON ALL SIDES OF THE POLITICAL AISLE, AS WELL AS FROM THE PRESS. Yet the story has barely featured as a major news item in the US mainstream media with a couple of notable online exceptions, and ignored completely by pillars of the liberal establishment such as The New York Times. And as for the White House and the Democratic leadership, which has had a full day to respond to the comments, there has been complete silence.

…THE EXTREME REMARKS MADE BY ONE HIS OWN SUPPORTERS, WHOM NANCY PELOSI IRONICALLY DESCRIBED AS THE “CONSCIENCE OF THE FRESHMAN CLASS” BACK IN 2008. Congressman Cohen’s hate-filled statements represent a new low for American political discourse, and so far America’s liberal elites have been strikingly reticent in denouncing them

.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100072674/democratic-congressman%E2%80%99s-comparison-of-republicans-with-nazis-is-met-with-thunderous-silence-from-president-obama-and-americas-liberal-elites/


Conscience of the Democrat’s freshman class? No wonder they lost so many seats.

Cohen denies comparing GOP to Nazis

DEMOCRATIC REP. STEVE COHEN (TENN.) CLAIMED WEDNESDAY THAT HE DID NOT COMPARE REPUBLICANS TO NAZIS during a floor speech this week, BUT REITERATED MANY OF THE SAME POINTS HE MADE IN THAT SPEECH.

In his first television interview since his Tuesday-night speech, Cohen said he does not think most "reasonable people" would construe his words as a direct comparison between Nazis and the GOP.

But HE MAINTAINED THAT REPUBLICAN RHETORICAL TACTICS DURING THE HEALTHCARE DEBATE HAVE RESEMBLED NAZI PROPAGANDA.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/139007-democratic-lawmaker-i-did-not-compare-republicans-to-nazis


This reminds me of the old saying, "I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but what you heard is not what I meant." The other saying that comes to mind is “Are you going to believe me (Cohen) or your lying ears (normally eyes).”

Was Obama only kidding about civility?

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TENN) IS REFUSING TO APOLOGIZE FOR HIS WORDS ON THE HOUSE FLOOR likening GOP opponents of ObamaCare to Geobbels, and invoking the Holocaust. So far, NEITHER ROBERT GIBBS NOR PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS COMMENTED ON THIS OBVIOUS SLAP IN THE FACE TO THE PRESIDENT'S CALL FOR CIVILITY. This would seem to be an obvious opportunity for the President to triangulate and win over independents - a Sistah Souljah moment. But is he willing to antagonize an ObamaCare supporter?

Meanwhile, even liberal Jewish groups that support Obama are condemning Cohen's words. JTA reports:

"THE NATIONAL JEWISH DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL CRITICIZES THE COMMENTS OF REPRESENTATIVE STEVE COHEN (D-Tenn.), which compared Republicans to the Nazis and unfortunately reintroduced the Holocaust into the health care debate," said the umbrella body for Jewish Democrats. "As we have said repeatedly, INVOKING THE HOLOCAUST TO MAKE A POLITICAL POINT IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE -- on either side of the aisle."

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/01/was_obama_just_kidding_about_c.html

Let’s see, Palin was wrong to have targeted Gabrielle Giffords’ district and even worse she defended herself. Now we have a Democrat making charges against the Republicans and evoking Goebbels and the Nazis and he sees no problem with it. We are getting dangerously close to hypocrisy.



Anderson Cooper takes Steve Cohen to the woodshed over Nazis/Goebbels remarks

He’s not going to be giving the keynote speech at a Tea Party convention anytime soon. But he DID GO TO BAT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF MEDIA PERSONALITIES ARE CALLING FOR LOWER-VOLUME POLITICAL DISCOURSE.

On Wednesday night during his “KEEPING THEM HONEST” SEGMENT, CNN “AC360” anchor Anderson Cooper TOOK ON TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC REP. STEVE COHEN, who had compared Republicans to Nazis in a debate about the repeal of Obamacare on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Cooper offered his thoughts and fired these questions at Cohen:

• Representative Cohen, how can you think that it’s appropriate for a member of Congress on the floor of the House to COMPARE THE STATEMENTS MADE BY REPUBLICANS ABOUT HEALTH CARE TO LIES ABOUT JEWS TOLD BY JOSEPH GOEBBELS AND OTHER NAZIS? HOW IS IT APPROPRIATE?

• IF YOU WEREN’T TRYING TO COMPARE THEM TO NAZIS, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE MENTIONED NAZIS. I mean, you said their statements on health care are the same kind of lies that Nazis told….

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/20/keeping-the-honest-anderson-cooper-takes-steve-cohen-to-the-woodshed-over-nazisgoebbels-remarks/#ixzz1BbUyJ5Yk

This Cohen thing is a big deal. The President asks to tone things down and a star from the Democrats libel Republicans by calling them Nazis.

Report Card on Obama's First Two Years

Two years ago today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. ARE YOU BETTER OFF TODAY THAN YOU WERE TWO YEARS AGO?

And interesting collection of statistics. The ones I found most revealing are:


The number of unemployed Up 24.7%


The number on food stamps Up 35.1%


The National Debt Up 32.1%


The last one is unbelievable. In only two years Obama has increase the debt by almost a third.


Todd: Obama’s approval soaring

Five days ahead of his State of the Union address, President Obama has rising support, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. The President’s approval ratings is now at 53 percent, an eight point jump in one month and the highest ratings for the president since July 2009.

NBC News’ Chuck Todd says President Obama is getting a boost from several factors, including a general sense of optimism among Americans. The poll asked “Will the Economy Get Better or Worse in the Next Year?” 40 percent said better, 17 percent said worse. The “better” answer jumping from just 32 percent in December.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/nbc-news-marks-obamas-first-two-years-in-office-with-soaring-approval-ratings/

This is one of those facts that must be greeted with AMBIVALENCE BY THE LEFT. Obama’s approval has certainly gone up, but only after he started to sound conciliatory and made a deal to extend the Bush tax cuts. It’s kind of like the mixed emotions the guy who watched his mother in law drive over a cliff in his brand new Cadillac.



To the Rescue: Spending cuts from the GOP

A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that WOULD CUT $2.5 TRILLION OVER 10 YEARS, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, will unveil the bill in a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday morning.

Jordan’s bill, which will have a companion bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, would IMPOSE DEEP AND BROAD CUTS ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IT INCLUDES BOTH BUDGET-WIDE CUTS ON NON-DEFENSE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING BACK TO 2006 LEVELS and proposes the elimination or drastic reduction of more than 50 government programs.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/20/house-gop-conservatives-set-to-unveil-2-5-trillion-in-deep-spending-cuts/#ixzz1Ba4VV373


At last, we are seeing some sanity in Washington. After a four year orgy of spending by the Democrats, the Republicans appear to be looking to give us “real change we can believe in.”



Hubris heading for a fall

It takes a worried man to sing a worried song, and in a recent speech that seemed like Larry Summers's swan song, the president's now-departed economic adviser WARNED THAT AMERICA IS "AT RISK OF A PROFOUND DEMORALIZATION WITH RESPECT TO GOVERNMENT." He fears a future in which "AN INADEQUATELY RESOURCED GOVERNMENT PERFORMS BADLY, LEADING TO FURTHER DEMANDS THAT IT BE CUT BACK, EXACERBATING PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS, DEEPENING THE BACKLASH, AND CREATING A VICIOUS CYCLE."

The idea that America's problem of governance is one of inadequate resources misses this lesson of the last half-century: NO AMOUNT OF RESOURCES CAN PREVENT GOVERNMENT FROM PERFORMING POORLY when it tries to perform too many tasks, or particular tasks for which it is inherently unsuited.

Actually, GOVERNMENT IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY DEMORALIZED. The hubris that is the occupational hazard and defining trait of the POLITICAL CLASS CONTINUES TO CAUSE GOVERNMENT TO OVERPROMISE AND UNDERPERFORM. This class blithely considers itself exempt from the tyranny of the bell-shaped curve - the fact that in most occupations a few people are excellent, a few are awful, and most are average.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011905000.html

I love this column. Will hits the nail on the head with this one.



The clash between the left and the right

There was once a time in this country when you could make a movie, or write a book or any essay, DEPICTING YOUR CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ENEMIES AS SUBHUMAN AND WORTHY OF DESTRUCTION. And this was a very healthy thing. Such works of art could provide a catharsis for the audience, letting them express their revulsion at their enemy vicariously. CATHARSIS is a basic idea that goes back at least to the Greeks, and our post-Tucson attempts TO CENSOR OURSELVES WILL ONLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS. Because let’s face it: LIBERALS THINK THAT CONSERVATIVES ARE SUBHUMAN, AND CONSERVATIVES THINK THAT LIBERALS ARE UTOPIAN, BABY-KILLING DESPOTS. Pretending otherwise will just prolong the inevitable clash that can only be resolved with one side winning the debate. And part of that debate means giving vent to just how much the two sides hate each other. THIS CAN BE DONE CRUDELY — I.E. KEITH OLBERMANN’S TANTRUMS — or artistically, with fictionalized characters and dramatic panache. But pretending the hate is not there, and that catharsis cannot help us deal with it, is like treating a boil with a band-aid.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2011/01/19/chris-matthews-marked-for-death/#ixzz1Ba8HrW5f


A very interesting point of view with so many deploring the vitriol in politics today. Most of the people who condemn the level of vitriol don’t have a very good grasp of history. What makes America so great is that we argue our differences freely and then use the ballot to settle them. The argument right now by those on the left is they fear the vitriol will lead to violence. The fact that it hasn’t happened doesn’t seem to stop their missive, “what if?” And once again the solution they seem to be pointing to is more likely to cause problem than to calm things down. The law of unintended consequences it alive and well, but the left fails to recognize that it even exists.

Senate map shrinks for Democrats in 2012

North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad's retirement plans underscore a big problem for Democrats in 2012 and beyond. Farm Belt and Southern voters who prefer a Republican president but have often backed moderate Democrats for Congress seem increasingly inclined to vote GOP in all federal races.

Republicans rejoiced at Conrad's announcement this week, convinced they can win the open seat in 2012 and hold it for years to come. They see it as a replay of last fall's North Dakota election, in which Republican John Hoeven easily won the Senate seat vacated after 18 years by Democrat Byron Dorgan.

They also point to neighboring South Dakota. After Republican John Thune narrowly defeated Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle in 2004, Democrats didn't even bother last year to oppose Thune's re-election. Republicans feel they can hold the seat for many years, and they are eyeing South Dakota's other Senate seat, now held by Democrat Tim Johnson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_farm_belt_replay

Not good news in a year the Democrats will have 23 seats up for grabs while the Republicans will have 10. And the Republicans need to win only 14 of the 33 seats (42%) to take control of the Senate. If they win 50% they will have 53 seats and if they win 62% like they did this year, they will hold 57 seats in the Senate.


Here’s a brief article on the current state of the 23 democrats and 10 republican seats that are up for grabs in 2012. The Republicans have only 10 seats up of which 2 are vulnerable (20%). The Democrats have 23 seats up for grabs of which 13 are vulnerable (57%).

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/01/20/assessing_the_2012_senate_battlefield_108599.html


Disparaging the intellect of Conservatives: The 30th anniversary

On the 30th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, David Davis, a Tory member of Parliament, praises the Gipper in the Wall Street Journal‘s European edition:

When the 69-year-old Reagan became president, he encountered A BARRAGE OF INTELLECTUAL SNOBBERY FROM THE EUROPEAN AND EAST COAST ESTABLISHMENTS. The then British ambassador to the U.S., Sir Nicholas Henderson, opined that “Reagan believes there are simple answers to complex problems. THE MAIN WORRY IS NOT JUST AGE, BUT WHETHER HE POSSESSES THE MENTAL VITALITY AND POLITICAL VISION NECESSARY.”

BUT REAGAN PROVED THEM ALL WRONG. He became the first Cold War president to serve two terms without becoming involved in a major armed conflict, despite it being an extraordinarily unstable and volatile period in world history.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/257563/across-pond-robert-costa


And his leadership led to the longest period of peacetime economic expansion up til then, the fall of Communism, and a tax reform making the tax code simpler and better. Up until his presidency, inflation was the government’s friend as everyone was being put in higher brackets due to inflation. Reagan remedied that. But the Democrats seem to be caught in their 1980s playbook. Disparage the intelligence of any Republican who runs against any Democrat.

Palinphobia: Why Sarah Palin Drives Them Wild

If she grants interviews to Oprah or Barbara Walters, she’s accused of wanting to be a celebrity. If she denies those interviews, she’s labeled a coward.

If she’s quiet when viciously attacked, she’s accused of hiding. If she speaks up, she’s described as injecting herself into the story.

If she addresses health care reform, bailouts, and QE2 via columns, Facebook, and Twitter, she’s accused of not engaging in unscripted conversations. In 2008, she was criticized by many for calling it like she saw it and going off script at campaign events.


When she resigned as Governor, she was labeled a quitter. I assure you that if she hadn’t resigned, she would have been painted by many as a self-centered hypocrite who didn’t care about Alaska. They would have argued that she prioritized the preservation of her political future over the fact that frivolous ethics charges against her were draining the resources of the governor’s office.


The truth? MANY ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARE READY AND WILLING TO POUNCE ON SARAH PALIN’S EVERY MOVE. The question is why. And the answer is simple.


She’s just a regular person like you and me. But she’s a regular person who has managed to pack convention halls and book signings, to release two bestselling books, to launch a successful and unconventional television series, to boost the ratings of every television show she has appeared on – and SHE HAS DONE IT ALL JUST BY BEING HERSELF. NO HELP FROM THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT, NO HELP FROM THE MEDIA ELITE, and no help from any you-do-for-me-I-do-for-you deals with big shots. TO TOP IT ALL OFF, SHE’S – HEAVEN FORBID – HAPPY.


The worst part for the elites? While running a city and a state, SHE MANAGED TO KEEP HER VALUES INTACT. She sustained a successful marriage and prioritized her children. She kept smiling and loving life. She even made time for those 5 a.m. runs.


TO THE BUSINESS-AS-USUAL POLITICIAN AND/OR MEDIA HACK, SHE’S SIMPLY MADDENING. So, they respond by saying SHE’S NOT SMART ENOUGH. (TRANSLATION: SHE DOESN’T SPEAK OUR PRETENTIOUS LANGUAGE.) Or they claim she’s too controversial. (Translation: She stands by principle, even when it’s unpopular.) Or they declare she’s not presidential. (Translation: She doesn’t play by our rules, and that scares the crap out of us.) Or they insist that her TV series proves she’s not a serious politician. (Translation: If she pulls a Reagan, we’re screwed. And why didn’t I get offered a TLC show?)


PALIN’S WORK ETHIC, RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT, AND COMMITMENT TO PRINCIPLE INSPIRE MANY AMBITIOUS AMERICANS. Because they get that she’s not a superhero, but a hard worker. And if she can do it, so can they.


But to the insecure, to those who feel the need to tear you down in order to lift themselves up, Palin is an absolute nightmare….

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41284


An excellent article. I especially like the part about her not being smart enough and the translation. As I’ve said many time, she scares the devil out of the left and the establishment right. I like her.



Why is this story a bunch of junk?

2010 was the warmest year since global temperature records began in 1850 - although margins of uncertainty make it a statistical tie with 1998 and 2005.

The WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (WMO) CONCLUDES 2010 WAS 0.53C WARMER THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE PERIOD 1961-90 - A PERIOD COMMONLY USED AS A BASELINE.

The 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1998, it notes.

The WMO analysis combines data from three leading research agencies, and is regarded as the most authoritative.

The three records are maintained by the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), and jointly in the UK by the Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12241692


Here’s the answer as to why this story is a bunch of junk. Suppose you were a school teacher who figure out that the current class you have has the best average grades ever. But then you find out someone hacked into the school computer and lowered the grades of previous classes and raised the lowest grades in this class giving them the average of the C students. That’s basically what’s been going on. GISS has been lowering earlier temperatures even while they’ve taken out the temperatures at the poles and substituted temperatures from as far as 800 miles away (warmer). And even with all these adjustments we are talking about 2010 being .018 degree on average warmer. This isn’t just nonsense, it borders on fraud.




Democrats try to curb Cuccinelli's powers

DEMOCRATS IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ARE TRYING TO CURB THE POWER OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SUBPOENA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN AN EFFORT INTENDED TO LIMIT INQUIRIES like the one Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II is conducting at the University of Virginia.

Under a 2002 statute designed to catch government employees defrauding the public of tax dollars, Cuccinelli (R) has demanded that the university turn over documents and e-mails related to the work of Michael Mann, a former university climate scientist whose research showed that the Earth has been warming.

Cuccinelli has said he wants the documents, including grant applications and e-mails exchanged between Mann and 39 other scientists and university staffers, TO HELP DETERMINE WHETHER MANN COMMITTED FRAUD BY KNOWINGLY SKEWING DATA AS HE SOUGHT PUBLICLY FUNDED GRANTS FOR HIS RESEARCH.

Cuccinelli's demand has pleased conservatives, who say that global warming is a hoax, but has OUTRAGED MANY ACADEMICS, WHO SAY HE IS SMEARING AN HONEST RESEARCHER BECAUSE HE DOES NOT APPROVE OF HIS FINDINGS.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011806201.html

Now if this was just an attempt to smear an honest researcher, wouldn’t the best way to overcome it to simply give Cuccinelli the documents and prove him wrong?