Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I wonder why?

Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a new poll out Tuesday.

A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network.


Read more at the link.

Pro Abortion weenies whining

Apparently killing babies is not enough for these people. They would like to kill free speech as well.

The University of Florida campus is slowly catching wind of Tim Tebow’s decision to star in a Super Bowl ad slated to air on CBS on Feb. 7, and some say the ad’s message is bound to spark controversy.

The ad spot was purchased by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization that places emphasis on marriage and parenthood.

The Associated Press reported this week that the ad’s theme will be “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life,” with Pam Tebow sharing the story of her difficult 1987 pregnancy -- instead of getting an abortion she decided to give birth to Tebow, the now-famous quarterback who went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner, leading the Gators to two BCS wins. Link here.

"This organization is extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un-American agenda," said Jehmu Greene, director of the Women's Media Center, which is coordinating a campaign to force CBS to pull the ad before it airs on Feb. 7.

"Abortion is very controversial, and the anti-abortion vitriol has resulted in escalated violence against reproductive health providers and their patients," Greene said. "We've seen that clearly with the murder of Dr. George Tiller," the late-term abortion provider who was gunned down in his Kansas church in May 2009. Link here.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Top draft pick....for the Vatican

Many Priests who I know are often asked about things they have given up to pursue their vocation. The answer I have always heard is that they are gaining much more than they were "giving up". Here is a good illustration of that belief from a story by ESPN.

As a top prospect for the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Grant Desme might've gotten the call every minor leaguer wants this spring.

Instead, he believed he had another, higher calling.

Desme announced Friday that he was leaving baseball to enter the priesthood, walking away after a breakout season in which he became MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

A lifelong Catholic, Desme thought about becoming a priest for about a year and a half. He kept his path quiet within the sports world, and his plan to enter a seminary this summer startled the A's when he told them Thursday night.


May God continue to bless this young man as he pursues his vocation.

Gimme Shelter

May be time to pull some money out of the market for a while....

Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. investors overwhelmingly see President Barack Obama as anti-business and question his ability to manage a financial crisis, according to a Bloomberg survey.

The global quarterly poll of investors and analysts who are Bloomberg subscribers finds that 77 percent of U.S. respondents believe Obama is too anti-business and four-out-of-five are only somewhat confident or not confident of his ability to handle a financial emergency.

Carlos Vadillo, a fixed-income analyst at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in San Francisco, said Obama has been in a “constant war” with the banking system, using “fat-cat bankers and other misnomers to describe a business model which supports a large portion of America.”


Anyone want to guess who thinks his plans for our financial system are just spiffy?

When it comes to his ability to manage a financial crisis, 55 percent of Europeans say they are either mostly or very confident; Among Asian respondents, 59 percent say they are somewhat confident or not confident; 38 percent expressed confidence.

The story is here.

More ethnic treasures

Compliments of my large and gentle Irish friend....

After reading your last blog update I have come to realize that if you changed a few things you could be writing about growing up Irish. First trade "babcia" for “Nana” and "dziadziu." For “Papa” or “Grandda”. Second at least one uncle name Mike or Patrick. Third we know who Kosciuszko and Pulaski were, because we crossed their bridges every other Sunday to get to Woodside, Queens. Ditto on Virgin, Democrats and Pope.(Even the Dago ones). Ditto on Crucifix and Palm. Double ditto on Highballs and bar. As far as peirogies and Kielbasa, we are a little short changed. The culinarally challenged thing! On a whole we could be brothers. Ah to be Irish!!

More inconvenient truth

Oddly, the President of the United States who just a year ago swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States is attacking the very court who is charged with its interpretation. In a 5-4 decision this week the Court upheld the clever idea that the free speech guaranteed in the Constitution applies to everyone. The thought that speech, no matter how offensive, is a protected right of citizens seems to irritate the President and his party.

President Obama on Saturday promised to fight a Supreme Court decision easing limits on political donations by corporations and unions, saying he couldn't "think of anything more devastating to the public interest."

Wonder why they are so irritated? Here is a hint.

"This is a victory for Citizens United, but even more so for the First Amendment rights of all Americans," said Citizens United President David Bossie. "The fault line on this issue does not split liberals and conservatives or Republicans and Democrats. Instead, it pits entrenched establishment politicians against the very people whom they are elected to serve."


The link.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

For my fellow Poles

From my drumming friend Donner.

AHHH … TO BE POLISH

Uncanny how many of these are true for us. But I think we're the last generation for whom they will be true; I guess the kids are becoming more "Americanized". But those Polish weddings, polkas and highballs were fun!!

If you come from Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Rochester, Detroit or Milwaukee there is a large church called "Saint Stanislaus," or "Saint Hedwig," within one block of your childhood home (that is, unless you're one of those suburban exiles, in which case the church is within one block of your babcia's house!)

You wear red on St. Patrick's Day.
Your knowledge of the Polish language is limited to 'naughty' words ie:., dupa, gowno, kurwa, etc, names for food ie: pierogi, kapusta, etc, and drinking toasts ie: na zdrowie ,
sto lat, etc.

You call your grandma "babcia" or "busia" and your grandpa "dziadziu." You know how to dance the polka, but you only do it at weddings after kicking back a few generous shots of vodka.

When frustrated, you slap your forehead, shake your head, and say "O Jezu Marija!" (ouch!)

You have one grandma that wears a babushka and galoshes every single day of the year and another grandma that wears a lot of jewelry and too much make-up.

You have at least one uncle named "Stan," or "Stas."

Your relatives have strong devotion to saints, the Blessed Virgin, the Pope, the Democratic Party, the U.S. Steelworkers, etc.

Your grandma has a shrine complete with votive candles and a picture of "Our Lady of Czestochowa" or "Infant of Prague."

Your parents have at least one crucifix or religious picture mounted on a wall in their house with palms tucked behind it.

You get your food blessed at Easter and your house blessed at Christmas time.
Your family has a wigilia meal on Christmas Eve at which you share oplatki and kiss everyone.

You always prefer rye bread to white or wheat. Your dad has forced you to eat horseradish, claiming that it will "put hair on your chest", even If you're a female!

You know the words to "Sto Lat" and sing it at all birthday parties.

You can out drink all of your friends.

You have waited in line at a church or bakery to buy pierogi or paczki.

Words like kiszka, kielbasa, and kolaczki actually mean something to you.

You actually know who Kosciuszko and Pulaski are, and why they're important.

You have at least one relative who plays the Accordion.

You're completely overdressed for every occasion.

Your idea of "healthy" is boiled pierogi then fried in butter w/onions, light beer, and filtered cigarettes.

You have at least one bar in your house - usually in the basement.

Your family always has an excuse to hold a "poprawinie" - e.g., when someone dies, or when someone gets married.

You've never been to Poland , but you have mysterious relatives there to whom you send gifts and money every Christmas.

You collect "prayer cards" from funerals.

You often visit cemeteries, light votive candles for dead relatives, and generally spend an unhealthy amount of time obsessing about death.

People often have trouble pronouncing your last name.

You think having a "highball" is high society.

Ah, to be Polish!

An incomplete education

An old friend of mine who I had lost track of popped up recently on Facebook. I was happy to glean from his postings that in addition to his Masters degree he had gone on to complete Law School and now works for the Federal Government. I could not have been happier for him. But now I find that he has taken complete leave of his senses.

I am accustomed to polite disagreement. I have very strong political views that are not shared by everyone. When I am make statements of a political nature either in conversation I make every attempt to make sure the statements are accurate and truthful. So I was taken aback when I read a post of his trying to tie the recent drop in the Dow to the election of Senator Brown in Massachusetts. In a fit of pique he pointed his finger in a most accusatory fashion in an effort to portray the Democrats loss of Uncle Ted's seat as some sign of a coming apocalypse. Totally ignoring the fact that on that very morning the Federal Government released unemployment statistics that would account for the drop. It boggled my mind.

I will admit I am not a political sophisticate. But I can recognize when a plan is not working. Obama's plan is not working. The populace is revolting against their plan. Yet, like a Kamikazee dodging certain death from anti aircraft fire the continue to fly ahead at full speed. And their supporters still think Dick Cheney is hiding under the bed in the Lincoln Bedroom. I wonder who they will find at fault when the House begins to change hands in the mid term elections.

Irony

HUNTINGTON -- Andy Dick, in town for weekend performances at the Funny Bone, was arrested around 4 a.m. by Huntington Police.

The 44-year-old is charged with two felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse. He is being held at the Western Regional Jail until his arraignment later Saturday.

The link.

Duck, duck, goose

If you heard the President's recent speech in Ohio as he attempts to do damage control you might think he is a conservative.

"I'll never stop fighting for an economy where hard work is rewarded, where responsibility is honored, where accountability is upheld, where we're creating the jobs of tomorrow."

Well, he is certainly talking the talk. But how about walking the walk. Lets see. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck....

Obama acknowledged that communities like Elyria are still not feeling a recovery and renewed his call for Congress to pass a second economic recovery package, which aides say he will push hard for in his State of the Union address on Wednesday.

The proposal includes more infrastructure spending, the "cash-for-caulkers" program to make homes more energy efficient, and small-business tax breaks.

Nope, still an ass. The rest here.

Hey, who put out the light?

Just when you thought you have seen even the most ridiculous attempts at spin control ever concocted we find this little gem.

Ellie Light sure gets around.

In recent weeks, Light has published virtually identical “Letters to the Editor” in support of President Barack Obama in more than a dozen newspapers.Every letter claimed a different residence for Light that happened to be in the newspaper’s circulation area.

President Barack Obama has both detractors and fans. A curious number of his fans are named Ellie Light.“It’s time for Americans to realize that governing is hard work, and that a president can’t just wave a magic wand and fix everything,” said a letter from alleged Philadelphian Ellie Light, that was published in the Jan. 19 edition of The Philadelphia Daily News.


Go here to see the rest of this ridiculous manipulation.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Turning the corner?


Starting off the day looking forward to coverage of Chris Christie's inauguration as New Jersey Governor.  Also will be watching the special election that will replace the ghost of Ted Kennedy with particular interest.  All in all I am hopeful for a good day.

We do not serve the law

Earlier today I posted briefly about Dr. King. A bit later while surfing I stopped by to see what my favorite friar had posted this morning and came across this excellent and timely post. Just a taste....

Few of us get out of bed in the morning thinking of ways to commit criminal acts. It's safe to say that most of us never give it much thought at all. We are law-abiding citizens here in Italy and in our own countries. We do not seek out opportunities to cause trouble nor do we do out of our way to look for unjust laws. So long as we are left alone to study, pray, enjoy our basic freedoms, and flourish as children of God, we are happy to go along with whatever parliament or Congress orders. As governments grow bolder and bolder in their attempts to infringe on basic human rights through legislation that violates the natural law, our peace with the legal status quo grows more and more uneasy. It may not be inevitable that we find ourselves in jail for civil disobedience but it seems that the chances grow with every time parliament meets. How do we respond?

Make it a point to pop over and read the thing. Warning, reading this post will require brain cells. Please intake appropriate morning caffeine before clicking. That is all. Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: We do not serve the law

A Daughter's love

The nice thing about having a daughter is that until a certain point they think you are a genius and everything that you do is right. Sadly, but appropriately, there is a correction that occurs and they begin to see you for who you really are, warts and all. Sadly I think Jon Corzine's daughter missed the boat.

I admit I am not in the political field, but I do believe that his nine years in public life speak to the ways in which government can make a real difference in people's lives. My father cut state spending every year and reduced the size of state government for the first time in over six decades.

You should love your Dad. But if you are a bit more than nine or ten you should be grown up enough to recognize his shortcomings. At least the public ones. The rest here.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Remembering

I can't really say that the Martin Luther King holiday has had any great personal effect on me.  Well, at least it hadn't until recently.  A product of aging I suppose is the increasing need to reflect.  While I was very young during the turbulent sixties I can still remember many of the events that shaped the era.  I can remember watching Dr. King and the march on Washington.  I can also still see in my minds eye the sadness of his funeral.  And then there were the awful riots.

This country has come a long way.  Injustice of the past is slowly rectified.  For whatever personal shortcomings he had Dr. King deserves to be remembered for the way he forever altered the national landscape.  May he rest in peace.

Why Mom and Dad will get sicker from Obama Care

Thanks to the intrepid H. Carl Farvman for pointing this story out to me. We all worry as Mom and Dad get older.  The blue collar families among us (I am one) thought we were fairly set for life.  While compulsory Medicare becomes our primary coverage at sixty five, health benefits won through our unions has left many of us with secondary coverage.  It was thought to be more than enough to ensure good health care until we leave this world.  Apparently we were wrong about this.

Two weeks ago the Mayo Clinic shocked the nation when it closed the doors of one of its Arizona clinics to patients on Medicare. Just this past June President Obama himself praised Mayo as a model of medical efficiency noting that Mayo gives “the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.” If Mayo feels compelled to walk away from this government-run program, others will surely follow. The nation must understand why.

It is worth your time to read this article and discover that physicians are not price gouging.  In fact, they are paid a bare minimum when providing their services to Medicare patients.  And it is going to get a lot worse if the Obamacrats have their way.  This very important article is here.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Let's here it for the United Nations



Encouraging Massachusets news

Old Ted must be whirling in his grave.

Here in Massachusetts, as well as in Washington, a growing sense of gloom is setting in among Democrats about the fortunes of Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley. "I have heard that in the last two days the bottom has fallen out of her poll numbers," says one well-connected Democratic strategist. In her own polling, Coakley is said to be around five points behind Republican Scott Brown. "If she's not six or eight ahead going into the election, all the intensity is on the other side in terms of turnout," the Democrat says. "So right now, she is destined to lose." Link to article .

Could be a good day on Tuesday.  Stay tuned.


Celebutard

Famous actor Danny Glover has publicly stated he believes the earthquake that has devastated Haiti is a result of world leaders failing to address global warming at the recent summit in Copenhagen. Several points to ponder here.
1) Danny Glover is a very talented actor.
2) Gatherings of socialists have never been scientifically linked to earthquakes.
3) It has been one of the coldest winters on record.
4) Global warming is a sham.
5) If you have enough money you can express any random, stupid thought on television.
6) Danny Glover should shut his pie hole and send any money he has accumulated beyond that needed to maintain a middle class existence to Haiti to atone for his stupidity.


Maybe he can move in with his buddy Hugo.

Explanation of the Banking Crisis

Found over at the Bloviating Zepplin.

Common cents

As I drove home this morning from work I heard a news report that said President Obama is determined to recover every last cent the government gave to banks during the height of the financial crisis.  On that point we agree.  The problem is I would apply the money to the deficit.  It is likely he will just give it to someone else.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Remember Georgetown?

Some of my more moderate friends cast me as a bit hysterical when it comes to my repeated warnings about the rising tide of socialism in this country.  I hope that they are right and that I am just a paranoid weenie.  But then I find things like this:

Obama's faith council is finalizing its draft report this week, and one of the key debates that emerged from the phone conference yesterday was whether there should be rules requiring religious groups to cover up religious symbols if they receive federal funding for services. For example, if a church gets money for a soup kitchen, would it have to remove or put a cloth over all crosses, pictures, etc., every time it gets ready to feed the hungry?

Remember when President Obama spoke at Georgetown University a few months back?  You might be familiar with the university.  It is a Jesuit Roman Catholic school where a crucifix should be displayed prominently.  Yet when the anointed one Barack Obama chose to speak at the school the White House staff requested that the prominent crucifix usually present in the room where he was to deliver his speech be covered.  The gelatinous backbone of the Georgetown trustees collapsed and it was covered. Seemingly they were ashamed of their Catholic identity.  Now the socialists are taking their next logical step.  Don't say you were not warned. 

You can read the article here.  Father Z gives the issue a thorough fisking here.

Failure

The floor of a Weight Watchers clinic in Sweden collapsed beneath a group of 20 members of the weight loss programme who were gathered for a meeting. 

As the dieters queued to see how many pounds they had shed, the floor beneath them in the clinic in Växjö, in south-central Sweden, began to rumble, according to a report in Sweden's English-language newspaper.
"We suddenly heard a huge thud; we almost thought it was an earthquake and everything flew up in the air.

Some things are just funny.  The rest here.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Just desserts?

The bile rises in my throat every time I contemplate the proposed excise tax President Obama wants to levy on working Americans who have the benefit of health insurance.  Apparently organized labor is figuring out that they have been sold out by their messiah.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Labor leaders are pushing hard on President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats to drop a proposed new tax on high-value health insurance plans, warning of political consequences.
The White House has indicated the tax may change so it hits fewer workers - but it's not going away.
A Monday evening meeting at the White House between Obama and about a dozen heads of the country's biggest labor unions capped a day when two union leaders fired broadsides at Obama and Senate Democrats over their plans to pay for overhauling the nation's health care system with a tax union leaders fear could hurt their workers.
The 40 percent tax would fall on employer health plans worth more than $8,500 for an individual or $23,000 for a family. Although Obama terms them "Cadillac" plans, union leaders say numerous working-class Americans who've negotiated good benefits in exchange for lesser pay would be hurt.


Reaping what they have sown.  The rest here.

Prayers for Haiti

On a good day these people live a life of abject poverty and misery.  In charity please send up a quick one for their benefit.

Corzine to Treasury?

There has been a persistent rumor for the last week or so here in the Garden State that our soon to be former Governor (the bald one, not the gay one) will be taking over as the US Treasury Secretary.  I hope it is not true.  That would do for the national economy what a two for one Krispy Creme sale does for a diet.

Wonder how the hat will look on me

I think I might be Amish.

WASHINGTON — Federal health care reform will require most Northern New Yorkers — but not all, it turns out — to carry health insurance or risk a fine. Hundreds of Amish families in the region are likely to be free from that requirement.

Although the Amish consist of several branches, some more conservative than others, they generally rely upon a community ethic that disdains government assistance. Families rely upon one another, and communities pitch in to help neighbors pay health care expenses.

"Disdains government assistance".  They may be on to something here.  The rest here.

The dividends of Hope and Change

A co-worker brought this article to my attention.  The US Department of Justice has filed suit against the State of New Jersey regarding promotional testing practices regarding the position of Police Sergeant.

New Jersey’s civil service test for police officers seeking a promotion to sergeant discriminates against African-American and Hispanic candidates, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday.

"This complaint should send a clear message to all public employers that employment practices with unlawful discriminatory impact on account of race or national origin will not be tolerated," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department will take all necessary action to ensure that such discriminatory practices are eliminated and that the victims of such practices are made whole."

For those of you unfamiliar with how police promotions are obtained in New Jersey let me explain the process.  Many county and municipal agencies rely on the state to conduct promotional testing.  In doing so there is an established standard by which candidates are judged.  Some municipalites use alternative testing.  This practice gives the municipality greater latitude in who gets promoted.  In the Civil Service testing model candidates are scored based on a highly competitive written examination.  Authorities must appoint a candidate from the top three on the list.

The subject matter these tests are based on typically include topics like, criminal law, search and seizure law, Attorney General's guidelines and the US and NJ constitutions.  These exams are multiple choice and are comprehensive.  There are also questions regarding basic supervision.

To adequately prepare for these examinations a successful candidate will have to read and comprehend several thousand pages of written material.  Preparation usually starts as early as February for testing in September or October.  Many candidates will attend promotional groups which are in many ways as challenging as graduate school level classes.  In my experience these exams are an accurate measure of knowledge in these areas and the topics tested are essential elements of the job.  Apparently the DOJ disagrees.

The Department of Justice is arguing the state has violated Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination, because it hasn’t proved that the test, which some departments require for promotions to sergeant, is an essential tool for determing fitness for the job.

Why must the state prove that this test is not discriminatory.  It would stand to reason that if a party feels they are being discriminated against it would be their burden to prove it.  It would seem that under the current administration this is no longer necessary.

The lawsuit says the state and the Civil Service Commission "have pursued and continue to pursue policies and practices that discriminate against African-American and Hispanic candidates and that deprive or tend to deprive African Americans and Hispanics of employment opportunities."

This is a bunch of crapola.  I can tell you from experience.  Any candidate willing to bunker down for an entire summer at the expense of time with his family to prepare for this exam will do well.  Any candidate.  This is a clear case of looking for a convenient excuse to explain away failure.  It is the ant and grasshopper tale set in the Obama Nation.  Except the grasshopper has the DOJ on his side this time.  Looks like as usual, the ant will have to work twice as hard to support someone else.  I guess I should not have chuckled so loudly at Chicago PD for contemplating the elimination of their written entrance exam.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Sarah Palin to Fox

I am glad.  Though I really liked her I thought she was not the right candidate.  With a few more years of polishing she would have been a great choice but her folksy ways kind of made me feel she was assuming most of us were a bit dim.  However, I am sure she will be a great ratings magnet for Fox and after some on air experience, who knows.  I would rather be supporting her for her intellect rather than as an alternative to a socialist.

Corzine's yard sale

I read in the local paper today that the lame duck New Jersey legislature has approved 44 million more in state aid to several cities.  Money, might I add that we don't have or at least will desperately need to pull this state back from the fiscal brink.  With the exception of 3 million destined for food banks the remaining 41 millions dollars represents the legislatures commitment to drop tons of money on places like Camden at the expense of working class New Jersey citizens.  It is shameful.  I hope someone takes the time next November to remind voters who was responsible for this latest round of waste so the culprits can be held accountable.

Liberal feeding frenzy?

I have noticed in the last few weeks that even the most stalwart liberals in the media have been taking their cracks at the Obama Administration.  While the more orthodox among them are only taking little bitch slaps some of the media elite could be accused of actually doing their job and calling the govenment's bluff on health care "reform".  Even CNN's Jack Cafferty has taken some serious swipes.  Are the rats scampering off the sinking ship of socialism?  Have even the most entrenched liberal pillars in the media discovered that the emperor really has not clothes?  It is hard to say but a year ago I could not have imagined any of them sticking their neck out to question the annointed one or his cadre.  Time will tell.  For once I am feeling hopeful.

It does not pay to show off

NEW YORK — A famed strongman who once lifted 3,200 pounds at Coney Island during its heyday and was still bending quarters with his fingers at age 104 died Monday after he was hit by a minivan.


Joe Rollino was struck as he crossed a major street in Brooklyn, and suffered a broken pelvis, head trauma and broken ribs. He died a few hours later at an area hospital.


During his storied life, Rollino hobnobbed with Harry Houdini, watched Jack Dempsey knock out Jess Willard and was friendly with Mario Lanza. He even had a bit part in "On the Waterfront."


Rollino would have been 105 on March 19, and was the model of health, according to friends. A vegetarian for life, he didn't drink or smoke, his friends said, and he exercised every day. He was a lifetime boxer and was part of the Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen, an organization of men who can still rip book binders at the seam.

Lesson to be learned.  Loosen up a bit.  Eat a cheeseburger, have a bourbon and shut your pie hole.  Life may be a bit shorter but it will be less miserable.  The rest here.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Texas death camp

(CNSNews.com) – A coalition of pro-life advocates and religious leaders plan to gather in Houston on Jan. 18 to oppose what is expected to be the largest abortion clinic in the country.

Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions.


“It’s an abortion super center,” Lou Engle, founder of the pro-life group The Call to Conscience, which is organizing the rally, told CNSNews.com.

This just boggles my mind.  Read the rest of this here.

Stupid human tricks

Funny how his apology to Sarah Palin's daughter was less than heart felt.  Watch how Dave jumps through hoops in answer to this complaint and compare the response.

The country's largest gay-rights group today demanded an apology from David Letterman, for making what it called "inappropriate and incendiary remarks" regarding President Obama's appointment of a transgender woman to the Commerce Department.

The rest here.

Municipal stupidity

The Chicago Police Department is seriously considering scrapping the police entrance exam ......

Dropping the exam would bolster minority hiring and avert legal battles, according to one source, while others confirm that the exam could be scrapped to open the process to as many people as possible.

Great.  Maybe we should just have open enrollment in Engineering and Medical Schools.  Hire public school teachers without a high school diploma.  Just another in a long line of stupid, stupid ideas.

The rest here.

La Mano Nera


Anyone feeling an unusual pressure in your pocket?  You should be.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama signaled to House Democratic leaders Wednesday that they'll have to drop their opposition to taxing high-end health insurance plans to pay for health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans.

In a meeting at the White House, Obama expressed his preference for the insurance tax contained in the Senate's health overhaul bill, but largely opposed by House Democrats and organized labor, Democratic aides said. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

In a nutshell.  As expected the gradual crawl toward socialism and the redistribution of wealth in this country continues.  Springing from immigrant poverty and working hard on the foundations built by our parents and grandparents many of us have carved out a reasonably comfortable niche in society.  Good blue collar jobs with good benefits.  Not satisfied with taking roughly fifty percent of your money through income and property taxes, the Democrats will now tax your healthcare plan as income and take a bit more from you to give to someone else.

As I have written repeatedly in this blog, I am not against charity.  There are a great many people out there who need our help.  They need the governments help.  Hungry children, the developmentally disabled or the physically devastated.  But as long as people in this country with latex allergies or carpal tunnel syndrome can be considered totally disabled this is nothing but outright theft.

The rest here.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Thanks Jon!

In the waning days of his Administration NJ Governor Jon Corzine has decided to drop a few bombs on his way out of Trenton.

TRENTON — Gov. Jon Corzine has signed legislation that clarifies how some transactions are handled under New Jersey's one-handgun-per-month law.

The changes were recommended by a state task force that reviewed the measure, which took effect Jan. 1, 2009. It was designed to deter straw purchases and illegal handgun trafficking, but had unintended consequences for some residents and businesses.

I would not be surprised if he decided to suspend habeus corpus or ban public assembly before he leaves for whatever island retreat he has picked out.

The rest here.

The red, white and blue ostrich

Lately I have started to wonder if it would not be more prudent to have a group of fourth grade students run the country rather than stand on the sidelines and watch imbeciles expose our country to risk.  You may think that is a bit strong but in view of recent inaction and outright bad decisions by the Obama Administration the idea may not be far off the mark.

During the morning news surf today I found the following:

The U.S. does not plan to open a new front in Yemen in the global fight against terrorism despite closing its embassy there in the face of Al Qaeda threats, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said Sunday.

"We're not talking about that at this point at all," White House aide John Brennan told Fox News when asked whether U.S. troops would be sent to Yemen.

Okay, let me get this right.  An unstable Islamic country has been definitively identified as a source of terrorists planning to attack the US and it's interests and the option exercised to deal with it is......inaction.  Some would argue that that is not true.  After all, doubling aid to Yemen is the best way to deal with the problem.  Oh, really?

The U.S. gave Yemen $67 million in training and support under the Pentagon's counterterrorism program last year. Only Pakistan got more, with some $112 million in aid.

Since I am not a math whiz let me try to figure this out.  After receiving 67 million dollars last year, Yemen has failed to get the problem under control.  So we are going to double the amount of money we are wasting on this failed initiative.  So if you pay a guy twenty five dollars a week to cut your grass and he doesn't do it, you double his salary in the hope that next week the grass will be cut?  Is this making sense to anyone outside of the Beltway?  Our President thinks so.

Obama said the money had been well spent: "Training camps have been struck, leaders eliminated, plots disrupted. And all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas must know -- you too will be held to account."

It would appear that they can't even hold them to the current balance in the checking account.  Another empty threat by a paper tiger.  To make matters worse they are releasing terrorists from Guantanamo to Yemen.  No, I am not kidding.  The current anti- terrorism genius had this to say:

"The Guantanamo facility must be closed," he said. "It has served as a propaganda tool for Al Qaeda. We're determined to close it."

Brennan also weighed in on former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the president's anti-terrorism policies, saying Cheney is intentionally misstating Obama's position or is ignorant of the facts.

Cheney is ignorant of the facts?  Lets do a bit of fact checking.  Guantanamo is a propaganda tool for Al Qaeda.  So if we close it and move the prisoners to federal prison, does not the federal prison then become a propaganda tool?  Therefore I propose if anything we do to safeguard our citizens against terrorists will be used as propaganda we should then exclusively employ Predator drones.  Let them, or their survivors rally around that point.

The entire article is here.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Corrupt Politicians 2009

Click here to see the top ten picks by Judicial Watch.  I must confess, there were NO surprises here.

The panic begins

Found this one over at Fox.

A Democratic senator from Nebraska who played a crucial role in getting health care legislation passed in the Senate last month has asked South Carolina's top attorney to "call off the dogs" -- a reference to the state official's threat to challenge the constitutionality of the bill.

The attorneys general are challenging the constitutionality of a Medicaid provision in the bill that they say benefits Nebraska at the expense of other states.
The deal Nelson cut with Senate Democratic leaders to gain his critical vote would exempt Nebraska from having to pay for the coverage of new enrollees into its Medicaid program and leave the tab with the federal government -- a move expected to cost Uncle Sam $100 million over the next 10 years.

Looks like after his crafty back door deal at the expense of the rest of the taxpayers in the Nation is about to fall apart.  Funny thing about the Constitution.  It applies to everyone.  It would appear to the casual observer that the deal struck by Harry Reid to get Nelson to vote for this fiscal abomination might just be contrary to the US Constitution.  Imagine that.  

The rest of this sordid mess is explained here.

Off to a good start

It would seem that early indications for 2010 are that it will be a good year.  I am just home  from my first night shift at the medic job for the year and we did not have one job.  Not even a crackle on the radio.  Despite the warning of my partner who has been having a run of bad fortune as of late we started the new year off with a fizzle.  It was a nice change.