"News" to some, confirmation of reality to others, we learn today that Barack Obama's mentor, Harvard's Larry Pride, wrote a letter to the dilettante-in-chief, warning him that this Sonia Sotomayor chick was not brilliant judicial mind she claimed to be.
Here's an excerpt:
Bluntly put, she’s not nearly as smart as she seems to think she is, and her reputation for being something of a bully could well make her liberal impulses backfire and simply add to the fire power of the Roberts/Alito/Scalia/Thomas wing of the Court on issues like those involved in the voting rights case argued last week and the Title VII case of the New Haven firefighters argued earlier, issues on which Kennedy will probably vote with Roberts despite Souter’s influence but on which I don’t regard Kennedy as a lost cause for the decade or so that he is likely to remain on the Court.
Sotomayor could be an Obama clone. Not quite as bright as advertised, they both resort to bullying and nonsensical rhetoric when logic fails them. Sotomayor, the self-proclaimed "wise Latina", prioritizes first racially and then ideologically, rather than legally and rationally - again, much like Obama.
How's this bad choice going to affect policies in the United States for the next generation? Who knows, but long after Obama is finished, his ideology will live on in the persons of Sotomayor and Kagen, both of them philosophical doppelgangers of the president.
If you even needed an additional reason to vote Republican on Tuesday...
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Illinois 2010: A Training Ground For Obama 2012?
'Cause this is how they do it in his 'hood...
One group of Americans are disenfranchised:
The president's home state gets a pass from the Justice Department on ensuring its soldiers overseas can vote. An administration obsessed with gays in the military doesn't care about voting rights for GIs.
You can call it a tragedy of errors, a perfect storm of incompetent and uncaring bureaucrats, or you can call it a deliberate attempt to steal what looks to be a close race for both governor and U.S. senator in President Obama's home state by disenfranchising its servicemen overseas, votes likely to tilt Republican.
While others, perhaps - just perhaps - a bit less worthy have their franchise guaranteed:
....Meanwhile, the Chicago Board of Elections hand-delivers ballots to inmates in Cook County Jail. The board doesn't even wait for the inmates to apply — it brings the applications with the ballots! More than 2,600 inmates have cast ballots — strikingly similar to the 2,600 soldiers who will likely not receive a ballot for Tuesday's election.
If this experimentation in election engineering proves successful on Tuesday, expect to is it rolled out nationwide - yes, in a city near you! - in 2012....
One group of Americans are disenfranchised:
The president's home state gets a pass from the Justice Department on ensuring its soldiers overseas can vote. An administration obsessed with gays in the military doesn't care about voting rights for GIs.
You can call it a tragedy of errors, a perfect storm of incompetent and uncaring bureaucrats, or you can call it a deliberate attempt to steal what looks to be a close race for both governor and U.S. senator in President Obama's home state by disenfranchising its servicemen overseas, votes likely to tilt Republican.
While others, perhaps - just perhaps - a bit less worthy have their franchise guaranteed:
....Meanwhile, the Chicago Board of Elections hand-delivers ballots to inmates in Cook County Jail. The board doesn't even wait for the inmates to apply — it brings the applications with the ballots! More than 2,600 inmates have cast ballots — strikingly similar to the 2,600 soldiers who will likely not receive a ballot for Tuesday's election.
If this experimentation in election engineering proves successful on Tuesday, expect to is it rolled out nationwide - yes, in a city near you! - in 2012....
Yeah, this about nails it:
Had Joy Behar lived a century ago, she would have been a lewd barmaid somewhere. Now she is an important Democratic "opinionmaker," browbeating this or that public figure. She stomped off the set in an elephantine huff the other week after Bill O'Reilly failed to pay sufficient homage to Islam. But this week the defender of religions of peace cast Sharron Angle into the fires of "hell" and called her a "bitch."
Had Joy Behar lived a century ago, she would have been a lewd barmaid somewhere. Now she is an important Democratic "opinionmaker," browbeating this or that public figure. She stomped off the set in an elephantine huff the other week after Bill O'Reilly failed to pay sufficient homage to Islam. But this week the defender of religions of peace cast Sharron Angle into the fires of "hell" and called her a "bitch."
Some Tidbits From Obama's Chat With Liberal Bloggers...
....these are taken from the transcript, helpfully provided by Daily Kos, of a round table discussion help by President Obama with five prominent left-wing bloggers. Some glimpses into the future, some things to hold him to, some insights, and some laughable instances of a shocking lack of self-awareness - like this one:
Q. ...What’s your feelings on the thought of a Rand Paul supporter actually stepping on the neck of a female MoveOn supporter?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, I think that one of the things that I’ve always tried to promote is civility in politics. I think we can disagree vigorously without being disagreeable.
This from the guy who was out last week urging Hisoanics to vote against their "enemies", aka Republicans and any Americans who are oppsoed to open borders. really, has there been anyone more "disagreeable" on the campaing trail in the last few election cycles than Barack Obama? None come to mind, save Alan Grayson...
On being asked about his desire/ability to work with a likely Republican Congress:
THE PRESIDENT: Look, the -- I’m a pretty stubborn guy when it comes to, on the one hand, trying to get cooperation. I don’t give up just because I didn’t get cooperation on this issue; I’ll try the next issue. If the Republicans don’t agree with me on fiscal policy, maybe they’ll agree with me on infrastructure. If they don’t agree with me on infrastructure, I’ll try to see if they agree with me on education.
We'll see. remember in the last two years, he hasn't even attempted to work with Republicans at all - shutting them out of the stimulus planning, the health care debate....hey, this is a guy who met Mitch McConnell for the first time last week!
We've also learned that he lives in a bubble:
A concern I have right now is that the main economic idea that the Republicans seem to have is continuing the tax cuts for the top 2 percent, and then a vague statement about cutting spending without identifying what those spending cuts might actually be. And I don’t know any economists who would say that’s a recipe for more job creation.
Well, actually, there are hundreds who say it is a recipe for job creation. You just ignore all of them because you're an ideologue. Are we clear on that?
And here come the tax hikes! On Social Security:
Social Security is something that can be fixed with some modest modifications that don’t impose hardships on beneficiaries who are counting on it.
And so the example that I used during the campaign was an increase in the payroll tax, not an increase -- let me scratch that. Not an increase in the payroll tax but an increase in the income level at which it is excluded.
Bullsh*tting much, Mr. President? Currently,you stop paying Social Security once you've earned approximately $108K. If the president raises it to, say, $200K, or eliminates it, working Americans will fork over thousands of dollars in additional taxes to the government - money that most of them use for Christmas shopping. But it's not a tax increase! When Obama's deficit panel proposes it, watch for the media to chant the same line, while millions of Americans who count on a 2-3 paycheck "tax holiday" to buy presents wail and gnash their teeth...
And again, he complains about American democracy, and pines for a more...European style:
And that’s a problem, because unfortunately we now have essentially a 60-vote requirement on every single issue, including trying to get judges confirmed who’ve passed through the Judiciary Committee on a unanimous basis.
...But I guess I’d make two points. The first is, I’m President and not king. And so I’ve got to get a majority in the House and I’ve got to get 60 votes in the Senate to move any legislative initiative forward.
... If we had a parliamentary system, then this critique would make sense to me because you do as much as you can to negotiate with the other side, but at a certain point you’ve got your platform and you move it forward and your party votes for it.
...But that’s not the system of government we have. We’ve got a different system. I will say that the damage that the filibuster I think has done to the workings of our democracy are at this point pretty profound. The rate at which it’s used just to delay and obstruct is unprecedented. But that’s the reality right now.
Well, maybe if her wasn't so hard-left, he could get a few Republicans to vote with him, and wouldn't have to work just to keep all 60 of his members in check. But that would be compromise, something the president talks about at length (see above) but doesn't really actively engage in...
I'll leave you with an idea of what will be pushed in a lame-duck session: The abolition of Don't Ask, Don't Tell:
Well, can I ask you just about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” just following up? (Laughter.) I just want to follow up. Because you mentioned it -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sure. Go ahead.
Q Is there a strategy for the lame-duck session to --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q -- and you’re going to be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Will Secretary Gates be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to tip my hand now. But there is a strategy.
There's plenty more in there; read it all. And weep...
Q. ...What’s your feelings on the thought of a Rand Paul supporter actually stepping on the neck of a female MoveOn supporter?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, look, I think that one of the things that I’ve always tried to promote is civility in politics. I think we can disagree vigorously without being disagreeable.
This from the guy who was out last week urging Hisoanics to vote against their "enemies", aka Republicans and any Americans who are oppsoed to open borders. really, has there been anyone more "disagreeable" on the campaing trail in the last few election cycles than Barack Obama? None come to mind, save Alan Grayson...
On being asked about his desire/ability to work with a likely Republican Congress:
THE PRESIDENT: Look, the -- I’m a pretty stubborn guy when it comes to, on the one hand, trying to get cooperation. I don’t give up just because I didn’t get cooperation on this issue; I’ll try the next issue. If the Republicans don’t agree with me on fiscal policy, maybe they’ll agree with me on infrastructure. If they don’t agree with me on infrastructure, I’ll try to see if they agree with me on education.
We'll see. remember in the last two years, he hasn't even attempted to work with Republicans at all - shutting them out of the stimulus planning, the health care debate....hey, this is a guy who met Mitch McConnell for the first time last week!
We've also learned that he lives in a bubble:
A concern I have right now is that the main economic idea that the Republicans seem to have is continuing the tax cuts for the top 2 percent, and then a vague statement about cutting spending without identifying what those spending cuts might actually be. And I don’t know any economists who would say that’s a recipe for more job creation.
Well, actually, there are hundreds who say it is a recipe for job creation. You just ignore all of them because you're an ideologue. Are we clear on that?
And here come the tax hikes! On Social Security:
Social Security is something that can be fixed with some modest modifications that don’t impose hardships on beneficiaries who are counting on it.
And so the example that I used during the campaign was an increase in the payroll tax, not an increase -- let me scratch that. Not an increase in the payroll tax but an increase in the income level at which it is excluded.
Bullsh*tting much, Mr. President? Currently,you stop paying Social Security once you've earned approximately $108K. If the president raises it to, say, $200K, or eliminates it, working Americans will fork over thousands of dollars in additional taxes to the government - money that most of them use for Christmas shopping. But it's not a tax increase! When Obama's deficit panel proposes it, watch for the media to chant the same line, while millions of Americans who count on a 2-3 paycheck "tax holiday" to buy presents wail and gnash their teeth...
And again, he complains about American democracy, and pines for a more...European style:
And that’s a problem, because unfortunately we now have essentially a 60-vote requirement on every single issue, including trying to get judges confirmed who’ve passed through the Judiciary Committee on a unanimous basis.
...But I guess I’d make two points. The first is, I’m President and not king. And so I’ve got to get a majority in the House and I’ve got to get 60 votes in the Senate to move any legislative initiative forward.
... If we had a parliamentary system, then this critique would make sense to me because you do as much as you can to negotiate with the other side, but at a certain point you’ve got your platform and you move it forward and your party votes for it.
...But that’s not the system of government we have. We’ve got a different system. I will say that the damage that the filibuster I think has done to the workings of our democracy are at this point pretty profound. The rate at which it’s used just to delay and obstruct is unprecedented. But that’s the reality right now.
Well, maybe if her wasn't so hard-left, he could get a few Republicans to vote with him, and wouldn't have to work just to keep all 60 of his members in check. But that would be compromise, something the president talks about at length (see above) but doesn't really actively engage in...
I'll leave you with an idea of what will be pushed in a lame-duck session: The abolition of Don't Ask, Don't Tell:
Well, can I ask you just about “don’t ask, don’t tell,” just following up? (Laughter.) I just want to follow up. Because you mentioned it -
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sure. Go ahead.
Q Is there a strategy for the lame-duck session to --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q -- and you’re going to be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Will Secretary Gates be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to tip my hand now. But there is a strategy.
There's plenty more in there; read it all. And weep...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Is Joy Behar now Sharron Angle's bitch?
Ah, those wacky liberals. I think deep in their heart, they want a Republican victory. Case in point - Joy Behar's hate-filled diatribe against Sharron Angle led to the following:
In response to Joy Behar’s vicious remarks on The View, the Angle campaign sent a lovely flower arrangement with a note enclosed.
“Joy, Raised $150,000 online yesterday. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Sharron Angle”
In response to Joy Behar’s vicious remarks on The View, the Angle campaign sent a lovely flower arrangement with a note enclosed.
“Joy, Raised $150,000 online yesterday. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, Sharron Angle”
That's gotta hoit! But wait, there's more! Joy's has ginned up the female base, all right...so much so that the liberal partisan is now under attack by the very feminist groups that should support her are now condemning her. The Daily Caller reports:
Amy Siskind, president of the feminist group The New Agenda, told The Daily Caller she was appalled by Behar’s language calling it sexist and insulting.
“I think the remarks are completely and utterly unacceptable and I think she should — by tomorrow — be on the air with an apology to Sharron Angle and to the women of this country,” Siskind said. “The ‘b-word’ has no place in our national dialogue, and especially when she was using it in a very pointed way here to demean another woman.”
The president of a more conservative women’s group, The Kitchen Cabinet, Sonja Eddings Brown, was similarly distressed by The View co-host’s language, chalking her sentiment up to politics.
“We thought Joy Behar was a classier act than this,” Brown wrote in an e-mail to TheDC. “What is it that makes conservative women, who work inside and outside of the home, such a threat to liberal women like Joy? What has Sharron Angle done to deserve being described so profanely by Ms. Behar?”
More calls for an apology came from blogger Joni Hudson-Reynolds, a self-described African-American mom. Her recent post, scolding Behar for her words, has been bouncing around the Internet.
“Behar should be reprimanded for her outburst,” Hudson-Reynolds wrote. “She has a right to disagree with the positions Angle takes on the issues but calling her a bitch crosses the line that too many people are crossing.”
“She should be ashamed of herself. She truly should…And if she cannot apologize I think The View should really consider whether she is appropriate for that kind of show,” Siskind concluded.
Sorry Joni, but liberals have no shame. Nor do they have honest disagreements with those who hold opposing views. Cross the line, and the hate spews forth like polluted water from an abandoned urban fireplug. Part of the plan, don't you see, to make sure you keep your mouth shut...
What's that? You still dare to speak? Whoops. Guess Joy missed on that one as well. To repeat my opening remark, maybe she does secretly crave Republican victory next week. Maybe she epitomizes the sentiment expressed by Sideshow Bob Roberts:
"...Your guilty conscience may force you to vote Democratic, but deep down inside you secretly long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king. That's why I did this: to protect you from yourselves...! "
UPDATE: Via Michelle Malkin, we learn that Joy Behar has double-downed on stupid - after receiving the flowers, our potty-mouthed petunia had the following to say:
“I would like to point out that those flowers were picked by illegal immigrants & they’re not voting for you, bitch.”
Well, actually, Joy, they're not voting at all. Unless you know something we don't...in which case this young man from the FBI would like to have a few words with you...
Chris Christie Campaigns For Jon Runyon, Mocks Hecklers
NJ-3 has been a battle field all season long, and finally it looks as if ex-Eagles lineman and Republican Jon Runyon is leading one-term incumbent John Alder. Actually, it looks as if Runyon has picked up a fumble and is rumbling towards the end zone:
The lead has switched in the race for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Republican challenger Jon Runyan now leads Democratic incumbent John Adler by 48% to 43% among likely voters in this district. In a poll released on September 30, Adler held a nominal 42% to 39% edge.
Runyan has a sizable 50% to 37% advantage among independents.
Chris Christie came out to campaign for Runyon in South Jersey the other night, and as usual, his talk is full of notable quotables. Best is how he addressed the 50-odd protesters screaming their heads off outside of the Elks Club last night:
Everyone in the room knew Christie had arrived because the protesters outside were suddenly screaming. The governor is accustomed to this and, in fact, it gives him fodder for his nearly 20-minute-long speech:
[Jon Runyan] is running against a guy who wants to make his entire life about putting forward those interests of the special interests rather than of all of you. You can see it tonight. What are they reduced to? To send a whole bunch of knuckleheads outside. [The crowd roars.] You know, I come in, they're yelling and screaming, "We are not the problem! We are not the problem!" Listen, here's the thing. That is the kind of leadership you get with John Adler.
Christie was just getting started:
The question is clear. You can boil it down to this for your friends, some of whom may still be on the fence.... You say to them, "You vote for John Adler, you vote for that, outside [he points to the parking lot], the special interests first, the me-first crowd that says, 'Pay me my raise first, pay me my free health insurance first, pay me my pension first, and if there's anything left for the people of New Jersey they can have the crumbs that are left.' That's the pay me first crowd standing outside. Or you can vote for someone like Jon Runyan...." That's the difference: The selfish me-first crowd for John Adler or the shared sacrifice team, all-for-one, one-for-all crowd that is being led by Jon Runyan. I know who I'm with. I'm with Jon Runyan....
The crowd erupts. Runyan is smiling. And the tide is turning...
The lead has switched in the race for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Republican challenger Jon Runyan now leads Democratic incumbent John Adler by 48% to 43% among likely voters in this district. In a poll released on September 30, Adler held a nominal 42% to 39% edge.
Runyan has a sizable 50% to 37% advantage among independents.
Chris Christie came out to campaign for Runyon in South Jersey the other night, and as usual, his talk is full of notable quotables. Best is how he addressed the 50-odd protesters screaming their heads off outside of the Elks Club last night:
Everyone in the room knew Christie had arrived because the protesters outside were suddenly screaming. The governor is accustomed to this and, in fact, it gives him fodder for his nearly 20-minute-long speech:
[Jon Runyan] is running against a guy who wants to make his entire life about putting forward those interests of the special interests rather than of all of you. You can see it tonight. What are they reduced to? To send a whole bunch of knuckleheads outside. [The crowd roars.] You know, I come in, they're yelling and screaming, "We are not the problem! We are not the problem!" Listen, here's the thing. That is the kind of leadership you get with John Adler.
Christie was just getting started:
The question is clear. You can boil it down to this for your friends, some of whom may still be on the fence.... You say to them, "You vote for John Adler, you vote for that, outside [he points to the parking lot], the special interests first, the me-first crowd that says, 'Pay me my raise first, pay me my free health insurance first, pay me my pension first, and if there's anything left for the people of New Jersey they can have the crumbs that are left.' That's the pay me first crowd standing outside. Or you can vote for someone like Jon Runyan...." That's the difference: The selfish me-first crowd for John Adler or the shared sacrifice team, all-for-one, one-for-all crowd that is being led by Jon Runyan. I know who I'm with. I'm with Jon Runyan....
The crowd erupts. Runyan is smiling. And the tide is turning...
A 70+ Republican Wave ??
Hey, don't take it from me - take it from "the experts" at The Hill:
The Hill 2010 Midterm Election poll, surveying nearly 17,000 likely voters in 42 toss-up districts over four weeks, points to a massive Republican wave that, barring an extraordinary turnaround, will deliver crushing nationwide defeats for President Obama’s party.
The data suggest a GOP pickup that could easily top 50 seats (the party needs 39 for control of the House).
We didn’t even poll in about 15 districts that are already too far gone for Democrats,” said Mark Penn, whose firm, Penn Schoen Berland, conducted the poll. “So that, along with our entire series of polls, points to something in the range of a 50-seat gain for Republicans.”
Republican voters are also more likely to have made up their minds, according to the data.
The Hill’s data confirm other public polling and expert predictions, some of which put the historic wave even higher than the 52 seats Democrats lost in 1994 and the 71they lost in 1938.
70+ seats would be neat. As a fan of many teams (the Mets, the Jets) who have been perennial whipping boys, I like to see them run up the score when they're winning, with a little "payback is a bitch" smirk...
But, you know, I'd be happy with a 53 seat gain. Just to see if the media uses the word "historic" to describe the American people's repudiation of Barack Obama and his liberal policies, the way the used the same word to describe health care reform, the stimulus, cap & trade...
The Hill 2010 Midterm Election poll, surveying nearly 17,000 likely voters in 42 toss-up districts over four weeks, points to a massive Republican wave that, barring an extraordinary turnaround, will deliver crushing nationwide defeats for President Obama’s party.
The data suggest a GOP pickup that could easily top 50 seats (the party needs 39 for control of the House).
We didn’t even poll in about 15 districts that are already too far gone for Democrats,” said Mark Penn, whose firm, Penn Schoen Berland, conducted the poll. “So that, along with our entire series of polls, points to something in the range of a 50-seat gain for Republicans.”
Republican voters are also more likely to have made up their minds, according to the data.
The Hill’s data confirm other public polling and expert predictions, some of which put the historic wave even higher than the 52 seats Democrats lost in 1994 and the 71they lost in 1938.
70+ seats would be neat. As a fan of many teams (the Mets, the Jets) who have been perennial whipping boys, I like to see them run up the score when they're winning, with a little "payback is a bitch" smirk...
But, you know, I'd be happy with a 53 seat gain. Just to see if the media uses the word "historic" to describe the American people's repudiation of Barack Obama and his liberal policies, the way the used the same word to describe health care reform, the stimulus, cap & trade...
Chris Christie Comments on "Teachers Gone Wild"
Christie is great, as usual - funny, on target, and serious - when talking about the O'Keefe video shot undercover at a NJEA conference. Via the Daily Caller:
"The arrogance...the greed...the self-interest...the lack of introspection...the lack of standards...and it hurts the great teachers as much as it hurts the kids....
"This is their leadership conference...singing songs together about kicking the governor in his "toolbox"....I wonder what they mean by that..?"
(sorry - see video at the Daily Caller link above....was slowing down my blog considerably while loading....)
"The arrogance...the greed...the self-interest...the lack of introspection...the lack of standards...and it hurts the great teachers as much as it hurts the kids....
"This is their leadership conference...singing songs together about kicking the governor in his "toolbox"....I wonder what they mean by that..?"
(sorry - see video at the Daily Caller link above....was slowing down my blog considerably while loading....)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
NJ-12: Rush Holt Humiliated At Debate With Scott Sipprelle
So how is the liberal's favorite "rocket science" doing against Republican Scott Sipprelle in New Jersey CD-12? Not good, if you believe the polls, and even worse, if you believe the reporting out of his most recent debate.
What's the worst thing you can do to a congressional liberal who supported the 2,400-page Health Care Reform Act monstrosity, with "Pelosian passion fervor"?
Mock them:
...the audience - it seems, largely local Jewish citizens in a crowd of 400-500 - at several times murmured audibly and three times they laughed aloud at silliness or obvious gaffes by the visibly irritated Holt. Now most folks - comedians, clowns and raconteurs — covet laughter, but to someone like "Respected Rush," it was the kiss of death.
How so? Well folks, whereas Holt defended his record most often by stressing what he had co-sponsored or voted for in the past two years, Mr. Sipprelle ably and incisively refuted Holt's defenses with cutting facts and more intelligent counter ideas and opinions.
Big Laughter No. 1: Holt made firm with the claim that when Obama came into office in January 2009, the nation was losing 700,000 job-workers a month (and it mounted to more than 3 million total). But he credited the sappy "stimulus" with a turnaround that suddenly created many new jobs in a recovery climb.
So Scott turned to Holt and mildly asked "How many jobs?" Holt looked stunned and stood silent for many seconds, so Scott asked again. Then Big Man of Congress seemed to wilt, squirmed a bit and meekly just said — "thousands." At that, the room roared with deserved laughter at the man of facts — not any specific number that was well researched, rehearsed or even supported by the National Chamber of Commerce, just a quiet, tiny reply after a 10-second sweat: "thousands."
....So much for the congressional expert who continued to wilt in the audience's estimation, for they laughed out loud in huge bunches at Holt's comments two more times. And yes, plus one time Mr. Sipprelle made such a cogent remark on a different subject that half the audience broke into a brief, clapping applause.
The point of my report is that the positions of Holt were indefensible, even laughable three times.
And the people of New Jersey seem to be getting it. No one talks about Holt's seat as one of the 100 that are up for grabs, but if he is being mocked in front of his "home crowd" - hundreds of Jewish liberals - than he is in way, way worse trouble than anyone on the national scene can even imagine.
And perhaps it is best if we keep it that way. Nothing like a few surprises to knock the wind out of the Democrats on Tuesday...
What's the worst thing you can do to a congressional liberal who supported the 2,400-page Health Care Reform Act monstrosity, with "Pelosian passion fervor"?
Mock them:
...the audience - it seems, largely local Jewish citizens in a crowd of 400-500 - at several times murmured audibly and three times they laughed aloud at silliness or obvious gaffes by the visibly irritated Holt. Now most folks - comedians, clowns and raconteurs — covet laughter, but to someone like "Respected Rush," it was the kiss of death.
How so? Well folks, whereas Holt defended his record most often by stressing what he had co-sponsored or voted for in the past two years, Mr. Sipprelle ably and incisively refuted Holt's defenses with cutting facts and more intelligent counter ideas and opinions.
Big Laughter No. 1: Holt made firm with the claim that when Obama came into office in January 2009, the nation was losing 700,000 job-workers a month (and it mounted to more than 3 million total). But he credited the sappy "stimulus" with a turnaround that suddenly created many new jobs in a recovery climb.
So Scott turned to Holt and mildly asked "How many jobs?" Holt looked stunned and stood silent for many seconds, so Scott asked again. Then Big Man of Congress seemed to wilt, squirmed a bit and meekly just said — "thousands." At that, the room roared with deserved laughter at the man of facts — not any specific number that was well researched, rehearsed or even supported by the National Chamber of Commerce, just a quiet, tiny reply after a 10-second sweat: "thousands."
....So much for the congressional expert who continued to wilt in the audience's estimation, for they laughed out loud in huge bunches at Holt's comments two more times. And yes, plus one time Mr. Sipprelle made such a cogent remark on a different subject that half the audience broke into a brief, clapping applause.
The point of my report is that the positions of Holt were indefensible, even laughable three times.
And the people of New Jersey seem to be getting it. No one talks about Holt's seat as one of the 100 that are up for grabs, but if he is being mocked in front of his "home crowd" - hundreds of Jewish liberals - than he is in way, way worse trouble than anyone on the national scene can even imagine.
And perhaps it is best if we keep it that way. Nothing like a few surprises to knock the wind out of the Democrats on Tuesday...
Peter Beinart: NPR Will Save America From Its Stupidity...
....or something to that effect. Jeez, I realize I'm not as smart as your average liberal, but I still don't see how calling everyone who doesn't agree with you "stupid" will endear them to your cause (or make them watch you on TV).
Still, maybe I'm wrong, as these guys seem so supremely self-confident about their superior intelligence. Oh, well. November 2nd is just a week from today, and we'll see if denigrating those who disagree with you translates into electoral success for the Democrats...
So here's Beinart, making his case for why Juan Williams deserved to be fired, and why NPR must survive. Apparently, it's to save us from ourselves:
...since America is increasingly buffeted by decisions made in other countries, our national ignorance is becoming a threat to our national security...folks like Palin want America to grow more and more economically integrated with other countries and they want America to keep invading them. That being the case, shouldn't we keep funding NPR, so someone can tell Americans where those countries actually are?
Hmmm...if Beinart really believes Americans are too stupid to find most nations on a map, maybe he ought to put his increasingly shrill voice towards the establishment of more charter schools, since his precious public schools apparently aren't up to the task.
One would expect, though, that Beinart's definition of idiocy isn't just localized to those who can't find "country x" on a map, however few that might be. Don't be surprised if - even were you able to point out one of Beinart's mystery nations - the tag "stupid" was still applied to you, should you see the same set of facts and dare to come to a different interpretation than that of the liberal intelligentsia...
Still, maybe I'm wrong, as these guys seem so supremely self-confident about their superior intelligence. Oh, well. November 2nd is just a week from today, and we'll see if denigrating those who disagree with you translates into electoral success for the Democrats...
So here's Beinart, making his case for why Juan Williams deserved to be fired, and why NPR must survive. Apparently, it's to save us from ourselves:
...since America is increasingly buffeted by decisions made in other countries, our national ignorance is becoming a threat to our national security...folks like Palin want America to grow more and more economically integrated with other countries and they want America to keep invading them. That being the case, shouldn't we keep funding NPR, so someone can tell Americans where those countries actually are?
Hmmm...if Beinart really believes Americans are too stupid to find most nations on a map, maybe he ought to put his increasingly shrill voice towards the establishment of more charter schools, since his precious public schools apparently aren't up to the task.
One would expect, though, that Beinart's definition of idiocy isn't just localized to those who can't find "country x" on a map, however few that might be. Don't be surprised if - even were you able to point out one of Beinart's mystery nations - the tag "stupid" was still applied to you, should you see the same set of facts and dare to come to a different interpretation than that of the liberal intelligentsia...
Tell Us How You Really Feel, Katie....
....about Americans who live west of the Hudson River, and east of the California badlands:
Couric has spent recent weeks in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is touring what she calls “this great unwashed middle of the country” in an effort to divine the mood of the midterms.
Well, Katie C. I live in Jersey, and I shower. Daily. More often if I'm doing heavy lifting. Before you call me unwashed, I invite you to come over my place anytime for a sniff. My armpits, my bod, my crotch. Then try to call me "unwashed".
What? You didn't mean it like that? OK, so when I call you a "stupid bitch", it's not personal, I'm just using your own penchant for making "smell" references to a female dog who does the same. Although perhaps I do the dog a disservice here; I have met many with more loyalty and smarts than your average registered Democrat...or MSM news anchor...
Couric has spent recent weeks in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is touring what she calls “this great unwashed middle of the country” in an effort to divine the mood of the midterms.
Well, Katie C. I live in Jersey, and I shower. Daily. More often if I'm doing heavy lifting. Before you call me unwashed, I invite you to come over my place anytime for a sniff. My armpits, my bod, my crotch. Then try to call me "unwashed".
What? You didn't mean it like that? OK, so when I call you a "stupid bitch", it's not personal, I'm just using your own penchant for making "smell" references to a female dog who does the same. Although perhaps I do the dog a disservice here; I have met many with more loyalty and smarts than your average registered Democrat...or MSM news anchor...
The New York Times Sees The Electoral Steamroller...
...and finally gains insight and understanding, much like a dying man sees the light in the last few moments of his life. Too late to save him, to late to undo what has been done, the truth is revealed with tears, for all that which has been unnecessarily lost.
The State of Conservatism is the name of the Sunday book review of Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoe's new book, MAD AS HELL: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System. The Times' Chris Caldwell first reaches some conclusions about Rasmussen - long the left's polling punching bag:
Lately, Rasmussen’s polling, more than others’, has favored Republicans. Not coincidentally, perhaps, it has picked up certain recent shifts earlier and more reliably — like the surge that won the Republican Scott Brown the late Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat in January.
But here is the great awakening:
It is often said in the president’s defense that Republican obstructionism left him no choice. Today, this is true — and it has put an end, for now, to the productive part of his presidency. But it was not true at the time of the stimulus in early 2009, when the president’s poll numbers were so stratospherically high that it appeared risky to oppose him on anything. Republicans certainly cannot be blamed for the way Democrats passed their health care bill. Whether or not the deal-making and parliamentary maneuvering required to secure passage was unprecedented, it was unprecedented in the era of C-Span and blogs, and many voters found it corrupt. The president’s legislative program has been bought at a huge price in public discontent.
And the light shineth:
It is vital to understand where this steamroller is coming from. According to Gallup, support for Obama has fallen only slightly among Democrats, from 90 percent to 81 percent, and only slightly among Republicans, from 20 percent to 12 percent. It is independents who have abandoned him: 56 percent approved of him when he came into office, versus 38 percent now. The reason the country is getting more conservative is not that conservatives are getting louder. It is that people in the dead center of the electorate are turning into conservatives at an astonishing rate.
The frustration and disappointment of these voters is probably directed as much at themselves as at their president. There were two ways to judge Obama the candidate — by what he said or by the company he kept. The cable-TV loudmouths who dismissed Obama right off the bat were unfair in certain particulars. But, on the question of whether Obama, if elected, would be more liberal or more conservative than his campaign rhetoric indicated, they arrived at a more accurate assessment than those of us who pored over his speeches, parsed his interviews and read his first book.
On the elites:
Republicans enjoy the advantage of running against the party of the elite. This seems to be a controversial proposition, but it should not be. ...broadly speaking, the Democratic Party is the party to which elites belong. It is the party of Harvard (and most of the Ivy League), of Microsoft and Apple (and most of Silicon Valley), of Hollywood and Manhattan (and most of the media) and, although there is some evidence that numbers are evening out in this election cycle, of Goldman Sachs (and most of the investment banking profession)....the Democrats have the support of more, and more active, billionaires. Of the 20 richest ZIP codes in America, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, 19 gave the bulk of their money to Democrats in the last election, in most cases the vast bulk... Meanwhile, only 22 percent of non-high-school educated white males are happy with the direction the country is going in. The Democrats appear sincerely deluded about whom they actually represent....
The only question left, of course, it whether the Times will "go NPR" on Chris Caldwell's ass...
The State of Conservatism is the name of the Sunday book review of Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoe's new book, MAD AS HELL: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System. The Times' Chris Caldwell first reaches some conclusions about Rasmussen - long the left's polling punching bag:
Lately, Rasmussen’s polling, more than others’, has favored Republicans. Not coincidentally, perhaps, it has picked up certain recent shifts earlier and more reliably — like the surge that won the Republican Scott Brown the late Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts Senate seat in January.
But here is the great awakening:
It is often said in the president’s defense that Republican obstructionism left him no choice. Today, this is true — and it has put an end, for now, to the productive part of his presidency. But it was not true at the time of the stimulus in early 2009, when the president’s poll numbers were so stratospherically high that it appeared risky to oppose him on anything. Republicans certainly cannot be blamed for the way Democrats passed their health care bill. Whether or not the deal-making and parliamentary maneuvering required to secure passage was unprecedented, it was unprecedented in the era of C-Span and blogs, and many voters found it corrupt. The president’s legislative program has been bought at a huge price in public discontent.
And the light shineth:
It is vital to understand where this steamroller is coming from. According to Gallup, support for Obama has fallen only slightly among Democrats, from 90 percent to 81 percent, and only slightly among Republicans, from 20 percent to 12 percent. It is independents who have abandoned him: 56 percent approved of him when he came into office, versus 38 percent now. The reason the country is getting more conservative is not that conservatives are getting louder. It is that people in the dead center of the electorate are turning into conservatives at an astonishing rate.
The frustration and disappointment of these voters is probably directed as much at themselves as at their president. There were two ways to judge Obama the candidate — by what he said or by the company he kept. The cable-TV loudmouths who dismissed Obama right off the bat were unfair in certain particulars. But, on the question of whether Obama, if elected, would be more liberal or more conservative than his campaign rhetoric indicated, they arrived at a more accurate assessment than those of us who pored over his speeches, parsed his interviews and read his first book.
On the elites:
Republicans enjoy the advantage of running against the party of the elite. This seems to be a controversial proposition, but it should not be. ...broadly speaking, the Democratic Party is the party to which elites belong. It is the party of Harvard (and most of the Ivy League), of Microsoft and Apple (and most of Silicon Valley), of Hollywood and Manhattan (and most of the media) and, although there is some evidence that numbers are evening out in this election cycle, of Goldman Sachs (and most of the investment banking profession)....the Democrats have the support of more, and more active, billionaires. Of the 20 richest ZIP codes in America, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, 19 gave the bulk of their money to Democrats in the last election, in most cases the vast bulk... Meanwhile, only 22 percent of non-high-school educated white males are happy with the direction the country is going in. The Democrats appear sincerely deluded about whom they actually represent....
The only question left, of course, it whether the Times will "go NPR" on Chris Caldwell's ass...
NPR: Halloween Horror Movies Fueled By Collective Fear of Conservatives
If you ever needed another reason to defund NPR - as if the firing of Juan Williams, and that elitist bitch walking down 7th avenue with an NPR tote bag wasn't enough - here's what passes for deep thought at the taxpayer-financed network: Horror films as metaphors for fear of a Republican planet.
I sh*t you not:
This fall, there are nearly 10 horror films in wide release. And what do today's scary movies reveal about American fears? The social and political dilemmas we face today parallel the concerns of the Vietnam era. Let Me In is a vampire film that, on the surface, is about the horror of adolescence — but remember that vampire stories are often metaphors for life's transitions and the difficulties we have with them, and the sadistic bullying and torture depicted in Let Me In (to say nothing of the Saw franchise) begin to evoke the human-rights abuses of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The Resident Evil franchise, meanwhile, has used zombies to address collective anxiety over the military-industrial complex, terrorism and the host of viruses and cancers we've yet to contain.
But zombies and vampires are malleable metaphors; they've symbolized anxieties over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, environmental holocaust, and technological disaster. And critics and filmmakers both have deployed zombie films as Marxist critiques of capitalism, with the consumer excesses of capitalism symbolized by the mindless, insatiable undead.
Vietnam, military-industrial complex, Marxist critiques of capitalism - really, has anyone outside of perhaps the Obama administration, even used these phrases in the last 10-20 years? And vampire movies as subtle metaphor for Abu Ghraib and Gitmo?
Please. As Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And to the teenage/tweenage audience that gobbles up this scary stuff at Halloween, outrage at George W. Bush and conservatism is somewhere at the very, very bottom of things that they giving a flying f*ck about...
But apparently, at NPR, that's all they ever think about. Explains the Juan Williams debacle. Explains the above article. And explains why every penny of public funding these ideological, intellectual lightweights receive must be cut off.
And the sooner the better. What's next after trying to ruin Halloween? Stealing Christmas? Oh, wait...
I sh*t you not:
This fall, there are nearly 10 horror films in wide release. And what do today's scary movies reveal about American fears? The social and political dilemmas we face today parallel the concerns of the Vietnam era. Let Me In is a vampire film that, on the surface, is about the horror of adolescence — but remember that vampire stories are often metaphors for life's transitions and the difficulties we have with them, and the sadistic bullying and torture depicted in Let Me In (to say nothing of the Saw franchise) begin to evoke the human-rights abuses of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The Resident Evil franchise, meanwhile, has used zombies to address collective anxiety over the military-industrial complex, terrorism and the host of viruses and cancers we've yet to contain.
But zombies and vampires are malleable metaphors; they've symbolized anxieties over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, environmental holocaust, and technological disaster. And critics and filmmakers both have deployed zombie films as Marxist critiques of capitalism, with the consumer excesses of capitalism symbolized by the mindless, insatiable undead.
Vietnam, military-industrial complex, Marxist critiques of capitalism - really, has anyone outside of perhaps the Obama administration, even used these phrases in the last 10-20 years? And vampire movies as subtle metaphor for Abu Ghraib and Gitmo?
Please. As Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And to the teenage/tweenage audience that gobbles up this scary stuff at Halloween, outrage at George W. Bush and conservatism is somewhere at the very, very bottom of things that they giving a flying f*ck about...
But apparently, at NPR, that's all they ever think about. Explains the Juan Williams debacle. Explains the above article. And explains why every penny of public funding these ideological, intellectual lightweights receive must be cut off.
And the sooner the better. What's next after trying to ruin Halloween? Stealing Christmas? Oh, wait...
Monday, October 25, 2010
Did Obama Tell Hispanics To "Punish" Their Republican/Independent "Enemies"?
How else can you interpret this statement?
Latino voters, the president said, would have an opportunity to send a message to Republicans, who Obama accused of "politicizing" immigration reform and the border security debate. Obama said "pressure has to be put on the Republican Party" if immigration reform is to become a reality.
"And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder — and that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2," he said.
So unless you support an open border (Obama's version of immigration reform), you are an enemy of the Hispanic people. And he's urging them to "punish" us.
Wow. Is Obama trying to start a race war?
If so, it will be yet another epic fail of our epically racist president. Hispanics may primarily vote Democratic, but not as slavishly as blacks, or Jews. Hispanics here in America are actually looking for a hand up, not a hand out. And they don't like living next door to an apartment filled, to double its capacity, with illegal immigrants, who may or may not be burglars, murderers, or child molesters.
Hispanics aren't as monolithic as the president thinks, and those who are registered to vote may approve of loosened immigration, but by no means a huge margin. Obama may have turned out at best an additional handful of Hispanics to vote Democratic, but as likely turned off more than double the amount of "enemy" voters (read: those who do not follow him in lockstep), probably for good. Is he even aware how popular Janet Brewer, governor of Arizona, has become since she dared to take this issue (and president Obama) head-on?
Overall, a net loss. And maybe not such a small one.
As is most politics driven by hatred. Would be we had a president smart enough to understand that.
Latino voters, the president said, would have an opportunity to send a message to Republicans, who Obama accused of "politicizing" immigration reform and the border security debate. Obama said "pressure has to be put on the Republican Party" if immigration reform is to become a reality.
"And if Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, we're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us, if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder — and that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2," he said.
So unless you support an open border (Obama's version of immigration reform), you are an enemy of the Hispanic people. And he's urging them to "punish" us.
Wow. Is Obama trying to start a race war?
If so, it will be yet another epic fail of our epically racist president. Hispanics may primarily vote Democratic, but not as slavishly as blacks, or Jews. Hispanics here in America are actually looking for a hand up, not a hand out. And they don't like living next door to an apartment filled, to double its capacity, with illegal immigrants, who may or may not be burglars, murderers, or child molesters.
Hispanics aren't as monolithic as the president thinks, and those who are registered to vote may approve of loosened immigration, but by no means a huge margin. Obama may have turned out at best an additional handful of Hispanics to vote Democratic, but as likely turned off more than double the amount of "enemy" voters (read: those who do not follow him in lockstep), probably for good. Is he even aware how popular Janet Brewer, governor of Arizona, has become since she dared to take this issue (and president Obama) head-on?
Overall, a net loss. And maybe not such a small one.
As is most politics driven by hatred. Would be we had a president smart enough to understand that.
New Jersey Stars in "Teacher's Unions Gone Wild!"
Sigh...and just when Jersey Shore was done for the season, and the residents of our happy little state thought they could roam again unmolested, we have to deal with even more infamy...
This time, it's courtesy of James O'Keefe - of ACORN-busting fame - who went undercover last August as over 1,500 members of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) gathered at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, New Jersey for their Summer Leadership Conference (SLC).
It's loaded with classics from drunken New Jersey teachers, most of it mean-spirit and hateful:
"That's why we're all laughing here - we're playing video games on their dime! (endless laughter follows....then) Screw You!"
"Once you get tenure...you seriously need to be in the hallway f*cking somebody (to get fired)"
"...join me now and let's slander Chris Christie!"
"Everyone wants to take this guy (Christie) out, one way or the other...you know what I mean?"
"I can be a principal...then I can really f*ck with the kids"
Chris Christie is the most popular politician in the state, while the NJEA's popularity is somewhere between Obama bin Ladin and a used-car salesman. Yet these folks feel they can mock the governor with impunity, all while bragging they can do whatever they want - from f*cking in the hallway to abusing kids - and suffer no repercussions.
Well, maybe. And then again, some repercussions may yet be in the offering once this video comes out. And even more retribution may show up next Tuesday, when folks remember on their way to the voting booth exactly which party takes their money and gives it to these types of people...
This time, it's courtesy of James O'Keefe - of ACORN-busting fame - who went undercover last August as over 1,500 members of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) gathered at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, New Jersey for their Summer Leadership Conference (SLC).
It's loaded with classics from drunken New Jersey teachers, most of it mean-spirit and hateful:
"That's why we're all laughing here - we're playing video games on their dime! (endless laughter follows....then) Screw You!"
"Once you get tenure...you seriously need to be in the hallway f*cking somebody (to get fired)"
"...join me now and let's slander Chris Christie!"
"Everyone wants to take this guy (Christie) out, one way or the other...you know what I mean?"
"I can be a principal...then I can really f*ck with the kids"
Chris Christie is the most popular politician in the state, while the NJEA's popularity is somewhere between Obama bin Ladin and a used-car salesman. Yet these folks feel they can mock the governor with impunity, all while bragging they can do whatever they want - from f*cking in the hallway to abusing kids - and suffer no repercussions.
Well, maybe. And then again, some repercussions may yet be in the offering once this video comes out. And even more retribution may show up next Tuesday, when folks remember on their way to the voting booth exactly which party takes their money and gives it to these types of people...
The Ground Shakes As The Landslide Begins...
..while my Yahoo! home page floods my screens with stories about how the Democrats can still win, the meaning of tightening Senate races, and tries to ignite tribal warfare (today it's about the rage of black Republicans, a group the media claimed as mythical up to, oh, fifteen minutes ago), the early vote tells a different story.
That shaking underneath your feet? That's the angry mountain of the American people, and rather than shaking loose rocks and pebbles, we're turning out liberal politicians and other piles of dirt. The landslide cometh:
Just over a week before Election Day, signs of widespread Republican enthusiasm are apparent in the early-voter data, including in some places with highly competitive statewide races.
POLITICO surveyed early voting through Saturday in 20 states, and in 14 of the 15 that have voter registration by party, the GOP's early turnout percentage is running ahead of the party's share of statewide voter registration — whether measured against 2006 or 2008, when President Barack Obama's campaign led to a surge in Democratic voter registration. As a result, Republicans say they're turning the tables on the Democratic dominance of early voting that paved the way for Obama's victory in 2008 — and that independents' lean toward the GOP this year will do the rest.
In Florida, in addition to having a lead in absentee ballots, "incredibly, we are also leading early voting so far, the first time that has ever happened," the state GOP's Daniel Conston said. "We don't expect to win early voting, but any lead at all is shocking at this point and a testament to the incredible enthusiasm amongst Republicans...
Politco goes on to tell readers it's not all bad, the Democrats lead the early voting in Iowa and Ohio, but doesn't mention that their candidates are also down by double-digits in most reliable polling. Please. If Democrats win any of the key contests on those two states, I'll eat my blog.
Politico knows its readership, and is trying to give them reason to hope, the way a teen magazine must report on the engagement of a heartthrob, but whispers every rumor of a "trouble in paradise" type to keep their reader's dreams alive.
There is only so long you can pound the still heart of a dead corpse before you embarrass yourself by refusing to admit to reality. There will be little silver lining for the Democrats this year, and their dream - of a "progressive" America under a generation of liberal Democratic leadership - will be dead on November 2nd, only two years in.
It's only a matter of how much debris will fall that day....
That shaking underneath your feet? That's the angry mountain of the American people, and rather than shaking loose rocks and pebbles, we're turning out liberal politicians and other piles of dirt. The landslide cometh:
Just over a week before Election Day, signs of widespread Republican enthusiasm are apparent in the early-voter data, including in some places with highly competitive statewide races.
POLITICO surveyed early voting through Saturday in 20 states, and in 14 of the 15 that have voter registration by party, the GOP's early turnout percentage is running ahead of the party's share of statewide voter registration — whether measured against 2006 or 2008, when President Barack Obama's campaign led to a surge in Democratic voter registration. As a result, Republicans say they're turning the tables on the Democratic dominance of early voting that paved the way for Obama's victory in 2008 — and that independents' lean toward the GOP this year will do the rest.
In Florida, in addition to having a lead in absentee ballots, "incredibly, we are also leading early voting so far, the first time that has ever happened," the state GOP's Daniel Conston said. "We don't expect to win early voting, but any lead at all is shocking at this point and a testament to the incredible enthusiasm amongst Republicans...
Politco goes on to tell readers it's not all bad, the Democrats lead the early voting in Iowa and Ohio, but doesn't mention that their candidates are also down by double-digits in most reliable polling. Please. If Democrats win any of the key contests on those two states, I'll eat my blog.
Politico knows its readership, and is trying to give them reason to hope, the way a teen magazine must report on the engagement of a heartthrob, but whispers every rumor of a "trouble in paradise" type to keep their reader's dreams alive.
There is only so long you can pound the still heart of a dead corpse before you embarrass yourself by refusing to admit to reality. There will be little silver lining for the Democrats this year, and their dream - of a "progressive" America under a generation of liberal Democratic leadership - will be dead on November 2nd, only two years in.
It's only a matter of how much debris will fall that day....
Sunday, October 24, 2010
New Jersey Nostalgia...And Hidden Jersey Gold?
Never knew it existed...until today, when way out in the Jersey hinterlands, at Ringeos Station (Hunterdon County), I saw this old girl rusting on a railroad siding:
The Central Railroad of New Jersey (reporting mark CNJ), commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States. Its main line ran from Jersey City west through New Jersey to Phillipsburg and across the Delaware River to Easton and Scranton in Pennsylvania. Branches stretched into southern New Jersey to Delaware Bay...
Ringoes is the oldest known settlement in Hunterdon County. The village grew up around John Ringo's Tavern on Route 179 on the Old York Road. The tavern was the site for many meetings of the Hunterdon Chapter of the Sons of Liberty formed in 1766..
And who was John Ringo? His last descendant tells the tale of pirates, Indians, and the American Revolution:
The Central Railroad of New Jersey (reporting mark CNJ), commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States. Its main line ran from Jersey City west through New Jersey to Phillipsburg and across the Delaware River to Easton and Scranton in Pennsylvania. Branches stretched into southern New Jersey to Delaware Bay...
Ringeos Station, circa 1872:
And today, looking almost identical:
Ringoes is the oldest known settlement in Hunterdon County. The village grew up around John Ringo's Tavern on Route 179 on the Old York Road. The tavern was the site for many meetings of the Hunterdon Chapter of the Sons of Liberty formed in 1766..
And who was John Ringo? His last descendant tells the tale of pirates, Indians, and the American Revolution:
The Ringo Family History Series reflects John Ringo, son of Philip Janszen Ringo, came to an Indian cross road that is now Ringoes, NJ in about 1684. John Ringo was hiding out from some pirates who were after him for hijacking their ship with their loot. John Ringo died there in 1725. The rest of the descendants of Philip Janszen Ringo left New Amsterdam in 1701 and moved to the settlement at Assunpink Creek, now known as Trenton, where Philip Ringo, born 11-2-1682 started a grist milling business. He later moved to what is now known as Hunterdon County, where he continued his grist milling business and purchased a tavern in the village of Ringoes. His son, John Ringo operated the tavern. In 1774 a meeting of the Son's of Liberty" met at John Ringo's tavern where they wrote a petition to King George of England complaining of their treatment. Two years later America and England were at war. The American's won the war.The English lost their colony and stopped spending money in America. The Ringo family lost their farm, tavern and grist mill in a foreclosure by 1785. Almost all male members of the Ringo family served in the Revolutionary War and were given a 500 acre land grant in Kentucky. They all moved to Kentucky or Virginia. The Last Ringo to live in Ringoes, New Jersey, was yours truly, Jim Ringo. I discovered Ringoes in 1981 and bought a house on John Ringo Road, where I lived until 1984
Wild stories are still told to this day (literally) in Ringoes about John Ringo's ill-gotten gold, still allegedly buried within the town. Laughed when I heard it, but I was stunned to read that there was more than a grain of truth to this tale.
Apparently, before his sojourn to New Jersey, Mr. Ringo (already an accomplished sailor) was kidnapped by pirates and put to work on a slave ship; after some time (with the help of the slaves) he managed to overcome the pirates and take command of the vessel:
They sailed from there to New York City, where Ringo sold all the cargo that the pirates had except a heavy chest. After much trouble, he finally succeeded in opening the chest and discovered it to be full of GOLD.
He sold the ship and bought land for the two negroes, who had helped him, but he was afraid to stay in New York for fear of the pirates. He was quite well off due to his business deals and the gold was added fortune; however, Ringo realized that this treasure had been taken from people, who were murdered by the pirates and therefore determined never to use it.
Tradition has it that he decided to settle far back in the wilds of New Jersey, miles from civilization. There he lived to a ripe old age but never during his lifetime used any of the gold, which he had found in the chest. He buried it in the deep of night and died without disclosing the hiding place because he did not want any of his family to taint their hands with this “blood money.”
I'm going back next weekend, with a pick-axe and a metal detector...
NY Governor's Race: If You Have To Elect A Whore...
.
...why not elect a real one, with real-life on-the-job experience, as opposed to all the wannabes on their knees?
Sure, Andrew Cuomo is a whore. Son of a governor, born with a silver spoon up his ass, he has been in the business of government his entire adult life. He will do what he needs to do to get elected, even sneaking through subways to suck up to crooked pols, or trying to destroy Fedex, in order to win union support from their competitor, UPS. Oh - and his tenure as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration has been blamed by many for setting in motion the collapse of the housing market. Hey - it was a good career move for him, though. What else matters?
Carl Paladino, the Republican on the ballot, is an angry man. Not Chris Christie angry but batshit-crazy angry. An upstate businessman, he's taken shots for receiving millions of dollars in tax breaks from a defunct economic development program on buildings he owns and for not creating many jobs with the tax credits he's received. It was a good move for him, though...
So which whore to choose? How about none of the above? If you are look
ing for a professional prostitute, look no further than...candidate Kristen Davis:
Kristin M. Davis, formerly known as the Manhattan Madam, is a former madam and candidate for Governor of New York in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010. She is running on a libertarian platform of legalizing prostitution, marijuana and same sex marriage, and firearms rights. Davis invites contributors to "get FOK'd" by becoming a Friend Of Kristin.
Davis was a madam who competed with the Emperors Club VIP, the escort service at the center of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, and has suggested that Spitzer frequented her services as well...she stated on The Joy Behar Show that Spitzer was blacklisted from her agency for his behavior toward her staff. Davis served four months in prison on Rikers Island for her role in the scandal...
Why the hell not? She is who she is, she's honest about it, and is more
qualified to run a crooked state like New York than Mario's spoiled brat kid or Krazy Carl Paladino. She's run a successful business with no government handouts, was instrumental in exposing the scandals of former governor Elliot Spitzer, and - having been recently sprung from Rikers - is more likely to walk the straight and narrow than either of the two sorry men above.
Perhaps I should refrain from calling Kristin Davis a whore. After all, when it comes to the job she is currently pursuing, her qualifications are both unique and apt.
From now on, I'll call her...Governor Davis.
And I promise...I will take an executive order from you anytime....especially if you keep bringing me the Rule 5 love...
...why not elect a real one, with real-life on-the-job experience, as opposed to all the wannabes on their knees?Sure, Andrew Cuomo is a whore. Son of a governor, born with a silver spoon up his ass, he has been in the business of government his entire adult life. He will do what he needs to do to get elected, even sneaking through subways to suck up to crooked pols, or trying to destroy Fedex, in order to win union support from their competitor, UPS. Oh - and his tenure as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration has been blamed by many for setting in motion the collapse of the housing market. Hey - it was a good career move for him, though. What else matters?
Carl Paladino, the Republican on the ballot, is an angry man. Not Chris Christie angry but batshit-crazy angry. An upstate businessman, he's taken shots for receiving millions of dollars in tax breaks from a defunct economic development program on buildings he owns and for not creating many jobs with the tax credits he's received. It was a good move for him, though...
So which whore to choose? How about none of the above? If you are look
ing for a professional prostitute, look no further than...candidate Kristen Davis:Kristin M. Davis, formerly known as the Manhattan Madam, is a former madam and candidate for Governor of New York in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010. She is running on a libertarian platform of legalizing prostitution, marijuana and same sex marriage, and firearms rights. Davis invites contributors to "get FOK'd" by becoming a Friend Of Kristin.
Davis was a madam who competed with the Emperors Club VIP, the escort service at the center of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, and has suggested that Spitzer frequented her services as well...she stated on The Joy Behar Show that Spitzer was blacklisted from her agency for his behavior toward her staff. Davis served four months in prison on Rikers Island for her role in the scandal...
Why the hell not? She is who she is, she's honest about it, and is more
qualified to run a crooked state like New York than Mario's spoiled brat kid or Krazy Carl Paladino. She's run a successful business with no government handouts, was instrumental in exposing the scandals of former governor Elliot Spitzer, and - having been recently sprung from Rikers - is more likely to walk the straight and narrow than either of the two sorry men above.Perhaps I should refrain from calling Kristin Davis a whore. After all, when it comes to the job she is currently pursuing, her qualifications are both unique and apt.
From now on, I'll call her...Governor Davis.
Give 'em hell, Kristin...
And I promise...I will take an executive order from you anytime....especially if you keep bringing me the Rule 5 love...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Texas Rises Again, Defeat "Yankees" In A Rout...
...I just think the way the MLB playoffs are shaping up is fun on a metaphorical level as well as strictly a baseball level. Texas defeats New York, the "intellectual" home of liberalism, that brings us folks like, oh, say...Elliot Spitzer.
Conservative cities like Dallas rise in national prominence and wealth (shoot, all the hot young girls with the bling walking around Manhattan these days are transplanted Texans, using New York as a playground - paid for by daddy's oil ca$h - until they calm down, go home, and get married. The same way the tony New York debutante class once roamed across the great cities of America...), while New York withers and dies under oppressive liberalism.
Oh, come on - poetic justice!!
And the perfect storm still gathers, for who better for the Texas Rangers to face off against than the city of San Francisco? If New York is the brain of the liberal engine, San Francisco is its slutty, decadent, disfigured body, wallowing in the filth of its own fetid philosophy. In the ultimate battle of conservatism vs. liberalism, who will reign supreme? And how will it effect the 2010 midterms? Will the sight of hippies writhing and twirling in The Haight rouse the Democratic base to come and stave off certain defeat at the polls?
Can the great state of Texas save us, one last time?
Conservative cities like Dallas rise in national prominence and wealth (shoot, all the hot young girls with the bling walking around Manhattan these days are transplanted Texans, using New York as a playground - paid for by daddy's oil ca$h - until they calm down, go home, and get married. The same way the tony New York debutante class once roamed across the great cities of America...), while New York withers and dies under oppressive liberalism.
Oh, come on - poetic justice!!
And the perfect storm still gathers, for who better for the Texas Rangers to face off against than the city of San Francisco? If New York is the brain of the liberal engine, San Francisco is its slutty, decadent, disfigured body, wallowing in the filth of its own fetid philosophy. In the ultimate battle of conservatism vs. liberalism, who will reign supreme? And how will it effect the 2010 midterms? Will the sight of hippies writhing and twirling in The Haight rouse the Democratic base to come and stave off certain defeat at the polls?
Can the great state of Texas save us, one last time?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Obama's Woman Problem
Irony abounds as Politico lists Obama's "accomplishments" in the field of...liberal women studies, I suppose:
President Barack Obama helpfully reminded 10,000 supporters at the University of Washington here Thursday that he’s appointed “a couple of wonderful women” to the Supreme Court.
As president, Obama has also signed a law to help women achieve equal pay that had languished under a Republican administration — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — and pushed through a health care reform law that includes nondiscrimination provisions for women.
He’s also lifted a ban on abortion services by nongovernmental organizations that receive federal funds.
Yet despite 22 months of such gender-specific policy moves — and a recent push to energize disenchanted women voters — Obama has steadily lost ground with women, the Democratic Party’s biggest constituency
it's amusing, or perhaps sad, that Politico cause these "gender specific policy moves", without the proviso that these are all subjects that primarily concern liberal women, or liberal women's organizations.
What of the stay at home mom with a one-income family who's husband will not receive pay increases in order to keep him in line with female employees who may have taken years off at a time?
What of the women who do not feel that being "a wise Latina", or who have spent their entire lives in academia, can accurately judge them, or their circumstances?
What of the women - actually, the majority of American women - who are pro-life, and do not want to see taxpayers dollars using to fund more and more abortions?
Maybe it is because of, and not in spite of, Obama's "gender-specific policy moves" that women are abandoning him and the Democratic party in droves.
Obama sounds desperate:
"We believe in a country where we say, ‘I am my sister’s keeper,’” Obama said, amending his usual brother’s-keeper stump speech during another stop in Seattle
And that stampede you hear right now? That's additional women leaving the fold, as the bible-belters come to realize that Obama cannot even quote the Good Book correctly (it never says "I am my brother's keeper", Mr. Smartest President Ever)
[Skinner hyperventilates and faints]
I expect to find Obama in a similar, prone position come November 3rd.
President Barack Obama helpfully reminded 10,000 supporters at the University of Washington here Thursday that he’s appointed “a couple of wonderful women” to the Supreme Court.
As president, Obama has also signed a law to help women achieve equal pay that had languished under a Republican administration — the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — and pushed through a health care reform law that includes nondiscrimination provisions for women.
He’s also lifted a ban on abortion services by nongovernmental organizations that receive federal funds.
Yet despite 22 months of such gender-specific policy moves — and a recent push to energize disenchanted women voters — Obama has steadily lost ground with women, the Democratic Party’s biggest constituency
it's amusing, or perhaps sad, that Politico cause these "gender specific policy moves", without the proviso that these are all subjects that primarily concern liberal women, or liberal women's organizations.
What of the stay at home mom with a one-income family who's husband will not receive pay increases in order to keep him in line with female employees who may have taken years off at a time?
What of the women who do not feel that being "a wise Latina", or who have spent their entire lives in academia, can accurately judge them, or their circumstances?
What of the women - actually, the majority of American women - who are pro-life, and do not want to see taxpayers dollars using to fund more and more abortions?
Maybe it is because of, and not in spite of, Obama's "gender-specific policy moves" that women are abandoning him and the Democratic party in droves.
Obama sounds desperate:
"We believe in a country where we say, ‘I am my sister’s keeper,’” Obama said, amending his usual brother’s-keeper stump speech during another stop in Seattle
And that stampede you hear right now? That's additional women leaving the fold, as the bible-belters come to realize that Obama cannot even quote the Good Book correctly (it never says "I am my brother's keeper", Mr. Smartest President Ever)
He reminds me of one Principal Skinner - from the episode "Girls Just Want To Have Sums", Seymour has lady problems of his own:
...the teachers of Springfield Elementary and other ladies stage a protest outside the school against Skinner’s remark, much to the displeasure of Superintendent Chalmers. Skinner assures him that he will take care of it and holds a conference in the school’s auditorium, inviting all the protesting ladies to attend
Principal Skinner [phonily]: Am I wearing women's clothes? I didn't notice. When I look in my closet, I don't see male clothes or female clothes, they're all the same.
Edna Krabappel [arms crossed]: Are you saying that men and women are identical?
Skinner: Oh, no, of course not! Women are unique in every way.
Lindsay Nagel [arms crossed]: Now he's saying women and men aren't equal!
Skinner [getting nervous]: No, no, no! It's the differences...of which there are none, that make the sameness...exceptional! [desperately] Just tell me what to say!
...the teachers of Springfield Elementary and other ladies stage a protest outside the school against Skinner’s remark, much to the displeasure of Superintendent Chalmers. Skinner assures him that he will take care of it and holds a conference in the school’s auditorium, inviting all the protesting ladies to attend
Principal Skinner [phonily]: Am I wearing women's clothes? I didn't notice. When I look in my closet, I don't see male clothes or female clothes, they're all the same.
Edna Krabappel [arms crossed]: Are you saying that men and women are identical?
Skinner: Oh, no, of course not! Women are unique in every way.
Lindsay Nagel [arms crossed]: Now he's saying women and men aren't equal!
Skinner [getting nervous]: No, no, no! It's the differences...of which there are none, that make the sameness...exceptional! [desperately] Just tell me what to say!
I expect to find Obama in a similar, prone position come November 3rd.
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