Whither thou goest

With so little to say I figure 140 characters ought to suffice.

As Good As It Gets... Maybe

James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal points out that candidate Obama was against a federal mandate requiring citizens to buy health insurance. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, was in favor of a mandate and so Obama opposed it.

At a debate in February 2008 Senator O said:

"Sen. Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. And my belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it."

Of course when the House ramrodded the Senate version of Obamacare through in the dead of night it contained the mandate. Obama cheered the bill and the outrageous Pelosi maneuver that would eventually cost his party 63 seats and control of the House.

And now it's clear that the mandate may be the undoing of the whole miserable law. Republicans don't seem particularly cheerful these days, but just think of what their opponents have done. They passed a bill so wildly unpopular it gave Republicans an electoral tidal wave that was unimaginable in 2008. And, even better, the law they passed may very well be Dead On Arrival.

The tired phrase WIN-WIN leaps to mind.

Then... Can We Have Our Money Back?

A little look at why we love Nikki Haley.

DeMint Says NO

"I’m glad the President recognizes that tax increases hurt the economy. I mean, I guess that’s progress... most of us who ran this election said we were not going to vote for anything that increased the deficit. This does. It raises taxes, it raises the death tax. I don’t think we needed to negotiate that aspect of this thing away. I don’t think we need to extend unemployment any further without paying for it, and without making some modifications such as turning it into a loan at some point."
-Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) on The Hugh Hewitt Show

Our favorite Senator points out how lacking the tax compromise with Obama is. He won't vote for cloture and he won't vote for the bill should it make it past filibuster.

The Morning After O's Hostage Tape

Reviewing this morning's TV/Radio chatter, news sites, and the more important twitter activity, it's clear that Republicans are generally happy this morning regarding the tax deal President Obama announced last night. As best as I can tell the happiness stems mainly from the fact that the Democrats are furious with Obama for "caving in" to the Republicans. If Dems are spittin' mad, the center-right should be happy I guess.

That seems like a pretty poor line of reasoning. I admit it's fun to see the party of the left ripping apart, but that doesn't mean we should be excited about the "deal" as it has been portrayed.

Here are a few reasons why I think this way...

1. The idea that the current tax rates are being extended for two years promotes the ridiculous notion that there are some normal tax rates and that those normal rates are higher than the current rates. In my lifetime I can't count how many different federal tax rates have existed. The "correct" rate is the lowest possible, paid by everyone at an equal percentage, that covers the legitimate revenue needs of Washington DC. I assure you, the rates that are being extended aren't "correct". Not even close.

2. Currently there is no federal estate tax. Rather than leave this as it is the Republicans have apparently agreed to a return of the death tax, albeit at rates better than what they would have been January 1st if no action was taken. This misses the point entirely-- a federal estate tax is immoral. Bringing this immorality back at any rate is simply wrong. By what right does any government raid the purse of a dead woman or man? To applaud that it will tax every penny beyond $5M at a 35% rate rather than every penny beyond $1M at a 55% rate is just sick. What happened to "No Taxation Without Respiration" ?

3. The language has been a disaster from the very beginning for the right. Even the supposedly conservative FOX News has consistently portrayed this as an "extension of the Bush tax cuts." Republicans seldom corrected this misnomer. In fact when one pointed out to Clueless Bob on "Face The Nation" this past Sunday that there was no tax cutting on the table it actually became news. But the horrible language issue for Republicans didn't stop there. R's stood on the Senate floor arguing forcefully one after another that when the economy is struggling it's no time to allow tax rates to go up. Of course this assumes that when unemployment is under 5% and GDP is growing at 4% annually it's A-OK to jack up tax rates. Republicans really need to get their language straight.

Now I know that Republicans got something done here despite the fact that Dems control the House, Senate, and White House. My point is that if they think this dog's breakfast of a deal is something to throw a parade over they will be leaving DC in January of 2013 by the carload.

7 December

Pearl Harbor survivors still get together after 69 years.
God Bless each and every one of them.

Left Or Right? Whatever.

OK. It could happen to anyone.

Maybe.

But Slow Joe botched the swearing in of the Republican who won Obama's old Senate seat.

It's not too good for the White House when a major American daily paper routinely identifies the VP of the US as "gaffe prone."

Stuxnet Part 2

The assassination.

While we're going crazy over wikileaks there is a big game afoot.

Stuxnet

An amazing story about Iran's nuclear progress.

Slowed by a worm. A worm described as similar to sending a modern jet fighter to a World War I battlefield.

What A Hoot

Humor.

The best way to point out how unhinged they are.

Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Apparently Conyers only reads the articles.

Look at this: Mr. Smut Goes To Washington

Really makes you proud of our elected officials.

Miggy Comes in Second

The most dangerous hitter in the American League came in second in MVP voting.

He got better news than that, however. His team is signing a power hitting switch-hitter

to bat behind him in the lineup.

The signing of free agent relief pitching stud Joaquin Benoit last week was a major move as well.

With the loss of so many great old Tigers this past year or so: George Kell, The Bird, Mr. Harwell, and Sparky, it's good to look to the future. These are some hopeful signs in The D. Time to bounce up off that .500 season and contend. How long 'til pitchers and catchers report?

Take Off The Party Hats

And put down the noisemakers.

IBD has something to say about that "successful" GM IPO.

Here's The Knife

Joel Kotkin, no knuckle-draggin' right-winger he, suggests that historians will cite the 2010 midterms as the official end of America's California era and the start of her Texas era.

Insights here.

Yee-Haw!

Worth a Thousand Words

h/t Maggie's Farm

A Fall To Forget

It was an interesting time.

And I mean that in the sense of the old curse, "May you live in interesting times."

Around 1 PM on Saturday September 18th I experienced a stab of pain in my abdomen. It was abrupt and painful enough that I sat down and opened my pants a la Al Bundy to relieve the pressure. I had no idea what it was but decided to treat it like bad gas-- antacid tablets. When that did nothing I tried a laxative thinking if I just got everything out of my system relief would come.

I didn't find relief but I did spend that evening in the worst pain I've ever felt while also experiencing chills and fever. By the middle of the next day, Sunday the 19th, I was still in pain. My wife and I headed off to the sparkling new emergency center about 10 minutes from the house. After a wait of about an hour they checked my vital signs and got me into a bed and on a morphine drip for my pain. Late Sunday evening I drank the dye solution, an hour plus process, that would allow them to do a CT scan of my guts. When that scan was read everything went into high gear.

I was told that an ambulance would be speeding me to Carolinas Medical Center where my surgeon was already waiting. He had seen my scan and knew what he would be doing. The ER doctor didn't tell me what exactly the problem was, only that speed was needed. She said that my surgeon would explain everything. However, she did ask me if I knew that I had diverticulitis. I didn't. Oddly enough I had a colonoscopy scheduled for the end of September. An appointment I now wouldn't make.

We met with the surgeon just outside the operating room and he explained that I had a perforated intestine and my abdomen had filled with gas, fluids, and the contents of my intestines. Peritonitis had set in and it was extremely important to open me up and get that infection under control. At 1 AM on September 20th my surgeon began a successful two hour operation. I spent another 5 days at CMC and then recovered at home. Recovered enough strength to endure a second surgery on November 6th.

That surgery, just eleven days ago, was also successful. I remained at the hospital for 6 days before coming home. The first days at home have been difficult-- the second surgery was actually tougher than the first emergency one. But this past weekend I turned the corner and can now see my way to a healthy future. Since the doctor removed a foot and a half of colon he assures me that I will never have to worry about diverticulitis again.

The sudden nature of this was, of course, striking. One moment you have no major health concerns and the next moment you are in real trouble. It does strike you how fleeting life is and how important it is to not waste the time you are allotted. More importantly it reminded me how much I cherish my family and my home.

2010 Census Will Change The House...

... and the electoral college.

Twelve seats are expected to change from one state to another. Interestingly, the states that will gain seats are lower tax/ right-to-work states while the states losing seats are higher tax/ union control states. Who could have seen that coming?

Here are the latest projections:

Gainers

Texas will add 4 seats, Florida gets 2 more, while one each will be added to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington.

Losers

New York and Ohio will both lose 2 seats while these states will each shed 1: Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Smilin' Faces, Beautiful Places

Governor-elect Nikki Haley

Congressman-elect Mick Mulvaney (R-SC05)

Fearless

On election eve, we predict:

--Republicans will gain 74 seats in the House of Representatives-- the biggest such win since the 1920's

--Republicans will gain 10 seats in the Senate to narrowly take control 51-49

Close to home, the SACK SPRATT signs come true and Mick Mulvaney wins by 8 points

--------------------
UPDATE:
Looks like the Republicans will have 65 plus pick-ups in the House and 6,7, or 8 pick-ups in the Senate. Ten governorships flip to the R's and many state legislatures. What a massive change.

Here at home, ol' John Spratt was indeed sacked by a 10 point margin, 55-45, by Mick Mulvaney.

Republicans won every single race on the statewide ballot, most notably Nikki Haley our great new Governor.

The Congressional delegation now consists of 2 Republican Senators, 5 Republican Representatives, and 1 lone Democrat, Jim Clyburn. Even our state Representative, the longest serving legislator in Columbia, lost re-election to his Republican opponent.

Not Ferris

We've seen the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, even a "Tea Party" but this weekend we get to see the Pity Party. It's kind of sad to see the old radicals who believed they were cooler than Bueller revealed to be as out-of-it as Dean Wormer.

Mock on.

Tuesday's coming.

What A Hoot

Everyone knows the old saw about how media lefties, when venturing from their coastal enclaves, need a visa to visit the rest of the country. A few years back this was brought to life by the internal memo warning reporters to make sure they had their shots up to date before venturing off to Alabama and North Carolina to observe those odd creatures, NASCAR fans, in their natural habitat.

Now we have a real screamer: left wing academics gathering in Berkeley, CA to figure out the "Tea Party". This is one of the most (unintentionally) amusing things I've read in a long time.

I'll offer something that may help. There is no such thing as the "Tea Party". It doesn't exist. It's like Francis Marion... a ghost... The Swamp Fox.

H/T: Maggie's Farm

Trillions

A Google gaggle gathers for Lordy O.

Ssshhhhhhhh

Don't expect to hear much about this but the cases against Blackwater operators are all falling apart.

Lots of media yak yak yak when charges are filed, not so much when the haters are losing the effort to prosecute.

Don't Look Now, But...

People are saying that Barney Frank's seat isn't safe.

Apparently Barney is worried about his seat as well.

We can all agree that when Barney Frank's seat isn't safe, no Democrat's seat is safe.

Smugly Is As Smugly Does

By now you've probably heard that the "Tea Party" Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware has been mocked endlessly for correctly pointing out in a debate that the "separation of church and state" is NOT in the US Constitution or the amendments thereof.

But did you hear about the lefty pig pile on Sarah Palin about 1773? Yep, the lefties don't even know when the Boston Tea Party took place.

Smug is ugly. Idiots who are both wrong and smugly arrogant are especially offensive.

Under 2 Weeks To Go

Michael Barone writes clearly from DC about some of the races around the nation.

Somehow he sees what other Northeast political writers miss.

Marching To Oblivion

Gee, I wonder why, on a national level, we hear so much about the Senate race in Delaware and the Governor's race in New York? Partly because the Northeast based dinosaur media cares much about its own backyard. But also, these are normally safe Dem seats that will, likely, remain Democrat so it's a way to report happier news to their cocktail party pals.

But meanwhile in the bigger world... 99 Democrat held House seats are in play. So... what's the real story of the day?

Rasmussen believes 55 seats will flip to the R's... but it could get bigger. Every day a poll shows another reliably safe Dem seat is up for grabs.

Losers In The Process of Losing

The White House Enemies List is evolving.

Apparently Team Axelrod believes that the only problem Lordy O has is a lack of public focus on the nefarious schemes of Limbaugh, Cheney, Bush, Boehner, Rove, Gillespie, and... um... er... The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

As CBS (AKA: Clueless Bob Schiefer) might say, "Is that all ya got?"

UPDATE: The POTUS has added the voters to the list. Apparently voters are too scared by the world of today to see clearly. Of course, if they were thinking straight they'd vote for Democrats. Now that's a shrewd political strategery-- telling voters they're scaredy cats.

Bless Prof. Lewis

Hal Lewis of UCSB clocks the Warmists and their corruption of Physics.

Energy

One state leads the way-- the economy of North Dakota is in expansion.

You Say You Want A Revolution...

From The Aspen Times, Gary Hubbell writes:


Average Americans who have quietly gone about their lives, earning a paycheck, contributing to their favorite charities, going to high school football games on Friday night, spending their weekends at the beach or on hunting trips — they've gotten off the fence. They've woken up. There is a level of political activism in this country that we haven't seen since the American Revolution, and Barack Obama has been the catalyst that has sparked a restructuring of the American political and social consciousness.

Think of the crap we've slowly learned to tolerate over the past 50 years as liberalism sought to re-structure the America that was the symbol of freedom and liberty to all the people of the world. Immigration laws were ignored on the basis of compassion. Welfare policies encouraged irresponsibility, the fracturing of families, and a cycle of generations of dependency. Debt was regarded as a tonic to lubricate the economy. Our children left school having been taught that they are exceptional and special, while great numbers of them cannot perform basic functions of mathematics and literacy. Legislators decided that people could not be trusted to defend their own homes, and stripped citizens of their rights to own firearms. Productive members of society have been penalized with a heavy burden of taxes in order to support legions of do-nothings who loll around, reveling in their addictions, obesity, indolence, ignorance and “disabilities.” Criminals have been arrested and re-arrested, coddled and set free to pillage the citizenry yet again. Lawyers routinely extort fortunes from doctors, contractors and business people with dubious torts.

We slowly learned to tolerate these outrages, shaking our heads in disbelief, and we went on with our lives.

But Barack Obama has ripped the lid off a seething cauldron of dissatisfaction and unrest.

All of it is here.

Stay Cocky, My Friend

35-21

Time To Bid Spratt Farewell

Our Club For Growth has a TV ad ready for SC-05, the battle to unseat John Spratt.

Meanwhile, the NRCC has been up for a few weeks with their "John Spratt is Pelosi's Rubber Stamp" ad.

Who Ya Got?

Every day on sports radio/ TV talking heads make bold predictions about who will win the upcoming games. Nobody can tell the truth, which is, "I don't know." Instead they have to be certain to the point of belittling anyone who picks the opposite way. It is as worthless an exercise as anything on TV and yet, as sports fans, we watch.

At the start of this baseball season I made my own bold predictions. Unlike many of the TV pickers, I will tell you how I did. It wasn't purty.

Of the eight teams going to the baseball playoffs I only picked 3 correctly.

I got the Phillies winning the NL East and the Braves taking the NL wild card right while

picking the Tampa Bay Rays to be the wild card from the AL--- they actually won the East.

My World Series contenders were Boston (winning over) St. Louis. Neither even made the playoffs. Colorado and Detroit also came up shorter than I predicted.

But my worst pick was the Seattle Mariners to win the AL West. They were eliminated sometime in the spring. Ugh-lee.

But the playoffs start this week and new hope springs eternal.

Of course, I have no idea who will win, but I'd enjoy a Giants v. Rangers World Series. The worst matchup for my interest would be New York v. Philly. So, the Yanks & Phils will probably meet in the World Series.

Under Pressure His True Nature Is Revealed

Brian Wesbury listens to the president's speech in Wisconsin and is appalled:

Emancipation from Capitalism?

C Ya

Mr. Classy bails out of the sinking USS Obama.

Best of luck in your limited future, punk.

Different Goals

One of the mistakes Americans continually make when it comes to foreign policy is the assumption that everyone in the world has the same aspirations and goals as we do. Republicans make this mistake just as readily as Democrats. We seem to never grasp that our nation is unique. Our goals are not necessarily those of our allies, let alone our enemies.

This essay by Bruce Thornton gets to the heart of the problem very well.

h/t, Maggie's Farm

Washington DC Area Tops In Income

When the leeches grow to be bigger than the host organism.

Uh Oh, One Of Them Finally Gets It

Stanley Fish:

"The Greek mythological figure Antaeus won victory after victory because his opponents repeatedly threw him to the ground, not realizing that it was the earth (in the figure of his mother, Gaia) that nourished him and gave him renewed strength. The Tea Party’s strength comes from the down-to-earth rhetoric it responds to and proclaims, and whenever high-brow critics heap the dirt of scorn and derision upon the party, its powers increase."

Read it all here.

Don't Throw Darts

"It has been our purpose all along to have a sort of a periodical potpourri to cover all of this flotsam and jetsam that flies through the media that can get nailed down on a regular, periodic track. So in a sense, that can be interpreted as open sesame, but don't throw darts."
-Chicago Mayor Harold Washington (1922-1987)

We lived in Chicagoland during the Harold Washington era 1983-87. As a spectator sport (from a safe distance) there is nothing more entertaining than Chicago politics. Harold held off a primary challenge from former Mayor Jane Byrne but died in office just into his second term. There are buildings named after Washington in Chicago. That can be interpreted as "open sesame, but don't throw darts."

Steve's Got Your 1st Amendment Right Here

While the dinosaur media was propelling Rev. Terry Jones into worldwide infamy everyone, no matter what their position was on what he proposed to do, said that he certainly had the "right" under the 1st amendment to burn a Koran.

Well, Supreme Court of the United States Justice Breyer says, not so fast. Breyer thinks that in the Internet age an act like that is the equivalent of yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theater.

Breyer was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994. Elections have consequences.

Belly Floppers

The first week of the NFL season ended last night and something very interesting has happened.
Four of the teams that figured prominently in pre-season Super Bowl prognostications have lost.

Looky here:
San Diego dropped by KC 21-14
Dallas flopped at Washington 13-7
Indianapolis got clobbered by Houston 34-24
The J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets l-o-s-t to Baltimore 10-9

Throw in a dark horse like SF getting their clock cleaned by the PeteHawks 31-6 and it was a bad opening week for a bunch of supposedly strong teams.

Of course two of the squads above can take some consolation in the strength of their opponents. The Texans might be very good this year, so Indy might be better than they looked Sunday. Baltimore is almost certainly a force in their conference so the Jets might not be too bad. But the Chargers can't point to a Kansas City squad and claim they're a contender. And the Cowboys failed to beat the team that will almost certainly be the doormat of their division. Key injuries on the O-line? So what. You still have to win.

"It's a long season" is a cliche because it's true. It also is something that an under performing team can't use later than, say, week 1.
----

Around here though we're concentrating on the Gamecocks being ranked 13th in the nation with the freshman sensation of the SEC, Marcus Lattimore toting the 'skin. And we're pleased that Clemson has started out 2-0. It's good to have football back.

Why?

Every day, all across America, people of faith do great things in their communities. They do these works because they love their God, family, community, church, and nation. Seldom, if ever, do these activities get attention from the local media, let alone from the national press.



Lately an unknown preacher in Gainesville, Florida, with a congregation numbering fewer than 50 souls, has captured the attention of the world press. Not just attention-- he's become the headline story.



Why?



The answer has nothing to do with the preacher and everything to do with the aims and goals of the legacy media. If you've followed their lead you've fallen for their game.

Still Rockin'

Two years ago Elizabeth Dole found herself in a tough battle as she tried to hold onto her seat in the US Senate. A cipher named Kay Hagen was polling well and Liddy was in trouble of being swept under in the Obama tide. Chuckie Schumer and the DSCC threw some money into the race for an attack ad against Dole-- what was known as the rockin' geezers at Wally's fillin' station ad. Take a look here.

Well, these are different days. The same two boys are in a new ad for Republican Senator Richard Burr, and it's a winner.

"Boy we sure got it wrong last time!"

"Some hope and change!"

And, thankfully, they are on their front porch and not down at a place that exists only in a Washington DC/ New Yorker's stereotype of the South.

Now that Andy Griffith has seen his favorability numbers in NC drop by 25 points thanks to his touting the Bev Perdue for Governor campaign and then Obamacare, these two old boys are now the go-to source for elderly wisdom in the Old North State.

I appreciate it!

Bury The Dead. Shoot the Wounded.

How bad is it for the D team in November?


According to Michael Barone, very bad indeed.


Looks like A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall...

Meet Thug Trumka

At the Big Bad Union rally the President attended Monday he shared the stage with a rotund blowhard with a rat on his head.

Whoa! Who is this fresh new thug on the scene? Well, as it turns out, he's A Real Thug. Read up on him here.

Excerpt:

The mainstream press gave these remarks, along with those of the president, prime coverage. What they downplayed was that Trumka, now 61, during his years as United Mine Workers president and then as AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, became a rising star in the organized labor firmament by enabling union violence and corruption. In other words, his tacit and at times open encouragement of intimidation and deception as union empowerment tactics may have helped him win his current job.

Consider a multi-state coal miners strike organized by the UMW back in 1993. As union president, Trumka ordered more than 17,000 workers to walk off their jobs. He was determined, among other things, to ensure that nobody would find work in a mine without paying dues or agency fees to the union. He explicitly told strikers to "kick the shit out of" employees and mine operators resisting union demands. UMW enforcers obliged him. They vandalized homes, fires shots at a mine office, and cut power to another mine, temporarily trapping 93 miners underground. Worse yet, a union goon on July 22, 1993 murdered heavy equipment operator Eddie York, a nonunion contractor, shooting him in the back of the head in his pickup truck as he drove past strikers at a Logan County, West Virginia work site; a bunch of goons then proceeded to pelt York's would-be rescuers with rocks. Rather than apologize, Trumka offered the following rationalization: "I'm saying if you strike a match and put your finger in, common sense tells you you're going to burn your finger." In other words, Eddie York had it coming. His widow, Wanda York, saw things differently. She sued the union for $27 million, naming Trumka and other union officials as co-defendants. After a long battle, UMW lawyers quickly decided to settle out of court in June 1997 once federal prosecutors announced they would release evidence from the trial of Jerry Dale Lowe, convicted of conspiracy and weapons charges related to York's murder by a federal jury three years earlier.

President Pee Wee sure can pick 'em.

Awwww...Poor Baby

Overheard at yesterday's Labor Day Big Union pity party:

"... they talk about me like a dog... that's not in my prepared remarks ... but it's true."
-Pres. Obama

Most Americans love their dogs, by the way. So he might want to update that hackneyed phrase. Of course we understand that he's the first American President to be criticized, the poor dear. It's even worse, however, because nobody ever made a nasty remark about his predecessor in his eight years.



Pictured: Chimpy W. Bushitler

There's a lot of discussion about the president's $50 Billion borrow/ tax/ spend proposal. Supposedly another $200 Billion proposal is coming today or tomorrow. It isn't worth the energy to talk about. Spending bills have to begin in the House and San Fran Nan Pelosi can't possibly get enough Democrats to walk the plank for more Obama spending schemes just before the election.

Will they act as a lame duck session in November/ December to pass such junk? Possibly, but doubtful.

Great News!

As she heads off to UC Berkeley, Christina Romer tells us that the Trillion Dollar spending spree called "stimulus" kept us out of a second Great Depression.

Thank goodness! That was a really close call. I mean, things might have gotten really bad for the economy if you, Larry Summers, and the other big brains in the White House hadn't convinced President Pee Wee to push that brave bill.

A grateful nation salutes you, Ms. Romer.

L-R) President Obama, Ms. Romer, the torch they're using to set fire to our tax money, and the horse he road in on.

Facts. Stubborn Things.

Reports this morning inform us that the POTUS read from his Prompter in the newly redecorated oval office last night. Apparently he made it sound as if the miserable economy he presides over was somehow caused by Operation Iraqi Freedom. That's pretty rich stuff.

By the way, the Porkulus Bill he signed into law in the first months of his term cost more than all of the years of OIF.

President Pee Wee

Now I don't want to get all "wee-wee'd up" here at the end of summer vacation, but this morning I realized our young President is clearly getting all Pee-Wee'd up.

I guess Axelrod's Tele-Prompter can't help much when a fella insists on riding a girl's bike with the seat too low. Even Pee wee had a boy's bike fer-cryin'-out-loud. What was the dinosaur media's word for imagery this summer? Oh yeah, "optics". Now those are some seriously bad self-inflicted optics, buddy.

A Little Travelin' Music Please

It's summer. Let's drive.

At Last, A Butt To Boot!

The @$$-kicker in chief finally has a keister sized up for the boot. No, not that one, General McChrystal's.

Before Republicans start holding a parade for the General under the heading of "the enemy of my political enemy must be great" I would suggest reading Byron York's insights this AM.

Now ol' Stan's a reasonably good guy doing a tough job. But, he screwed the pooch on this one and if Lord O cans him he is well within his rights as Commander in Chief.

A Normal Monday

The House of Saud has doubled its gold reserves. The Chinese are tinkering with their currency in preparation for the G-20 meeting. And Malia is still asking her daddy about the oil.

But, more importantly, The Big Ten has 12 teams, The Big Twelve has 10 teams, The Pac 10 has 12 teams and wants 16. These major institutions of higher learning apparently can't even handle first grade math.

And... I'm still waiting for ABC/ESPN ( The Worldwide Leader in Hype ) to send someone to the door with a ten thousand dollar check so I'll watch soccer. That's $10,000 just to watch a minute or two. More than that and you'll really have to pay.

Where's Your Unicorn Now?

Long before the Deepwater Horizon blowout disaster we made a decision here at Monkeydart Plantation to NOT buy petroleum products from BP. This is no small statement as a BP station/ liquor store is the closest supplier of automotive fuels/ booze to our home. Why did we not patronize BP? Because of their gigantic TV ad campaign that was about sunshine, lollipops, windmills, solar panels, clean restrooms, rainbow-farting flying unicorns and so on. Anything but the conversion of crude oil found underground to a fuel product found within walking distance of our home. You see, BP was no longer British Petroleum, no by gawd, they were BEYOND PETROLEUM. Well, la-dee-dah. Let's just say we have no respect for a company that apologizes for the product they sell.

Interestingly BP's buddy-buddy relationship with Cap & Trade pushers like John Kerry and Lord Obama doesn't seem to come up much these days.

Meanwhile, if BP wanted to push "green" products they would have pushed oil and gas, as Jonah Goldberg points out at the AEI site.

4 Days of Federal Debt

The shakedown orchestrated by Good Cop Obama and Bad Cop Biden yesterday at the White House netted an opening bid of $20 Billion. Of course, there are thousands of regulations and laws in place regarding drilling for oil and natural gas in the United States. All of that apparently went straight out the door of the Roosevelt Room.

Twenty Billion Dollars is a lot of money. For example, it is equal to four full days of debt created by the Terrible Trio of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. 4 days. Yep, every four days Team Obama drives us $20 BILLION deeper in debt. But we definitely want to put them in charge of energy production.

Killing Business Is Profitable in DC

Remember when the current administration, with help from their union friends at the SEIU, told us we should be angry about Wall Street bonuses?

Are we supposed to be upset about the fact that the Federal Government paid out $408 Million in performance bonuses last year? Was it a really a crackerjack year for the feds?

Believe Me, You Don't

The more I see national coverage of the Alvin Greene issue the more I realize that their ignorance is only eclipsed by their arrogance and condescension.


In Chinatown crusty old Noah Cross (John Huston) tries to let private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) know that he's heading down the wrong path.



"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but, believe me, you don't."


Of course Jake doesn't believe him. But, Noah was exactly right.

I'll give the legacy media one small hint. If you think James Clyburn is leading you towards the truth, well, you may think you know what you're dealing with, but, believe me, you don't.

R.I.P.

At the bottom of that pit lies a big, big man.

The Leader of the Free World?

Puppies desperately need to know who is Alpha in the pack as they grow up to become good dogs. If it isn't clear to them they assume they are the dominant member of the group. (See photo above.) It is very stressful for them to have a bad owner who won't LEAD AND COMMAND but will yell at them and threaten them when they do what to them is a natural part of pack behavior.

It is very distressing to see a decently bred dog maltreated. But, Bo, we know how it feels when the guy who is supposed to be in command doesn't know the first damn thing about leadership.

Day Late, Dollar Short

Even people who aren't part of The Apple Cult are aware of Jobs and Woz. But did you know there was a 3rd founder of Apple? There was. He lives in Nevada, cashes his social security checks and plays penny slot machines. Seriously.

If he had hung on to his 10% stake at the beginning of Apple those shares would be worth $22 Billion today. Easy come, easy go.

That's A Hot One

"I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."

Stop it. My sides hurt.

Primarily

Our primary elections are next Tuesday, June 8th, and in South Carolina we vote on every office. There is no registration by party in South Carolina. A registered voter goes in on primary day and asks for the Republican or Democrat program for the voting computer. (Every precinct in the state uses identical electronic voting machines, by the way.) Voting in the Democrat primary in statewide races is like picking the Washington Nationals to win the World Series: a pointless activity.

So, though I've never been a registered Republican in my 38 years of voting, I'll ask for the Republican ballot and vote among over 30 candidates in a dozen or so races. DeMint for Senate of course, Mulvaney for the right to knock off John Spratt this November, Loftis for State Treasurer and on and on and on.

But the race that suddenly got national attention a few weeks ago is for Governor. Two of the candidates had run and won statewide office before: McMaster the current AG, and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. (In SC the Lt. Gov. does NOT run with the Governor like the US President/ Vice President. I've seen some outside reports that assumed that Andre Bauer was Governor Sanford's "running mate." That's not true.) As statewide office holders McMaster and Bauer polled ahead of Gresham Barrett, a US Representative from an Upstate district, and Nikki Haley, a state representative, on name recognition if nothing else.

Then a few things happened to upset the old boy network that wanted a Bauer win at best or, at least, a McMaster/ Bauer run-off. And, when you talk about The Old Boys, in South Carolina you're talking about Sanford enemy Jake Knotts and his crew.

Jake Knotts

First a few groups started to throw support and funding behind Sanford protege Haley. That helped her a bit, but nothing like what happened when Governor Sarah Palin left the NRA convention in Charlotte and stopped in Columbia to endorse Nikki.

Polls after the Palin endorsement showed Nikki Haley leaping from 4th to 1st. McMaster was now running second and that meant ol' Jake Knotts had a problem-- his boy Andre was out of the running and wouldn't even make the June 22nd run-off. But, coincidentally I'm sure, slime started oozing out of the dark corners of the state. First a hapless blogger leveled a dirty smear without any evidence. When that seemed to go nowhere a Bauer aide leveled a similar, sad, laughable attack on Haley. Since there was no evidence for this one either the electorate seemed to be seeing through it.

So, desperate, Knotts last night played trump. He intimated, in public on an Internet radio program that Nikki Haley isn't the Methodist she claimsto be, in fact ol' Jake said that like Obama, she's a "raghead." The exact quote: “We already got one raghead in the White House. We don’t need another in the Governor’s Mansion.”

And so this is what the mighty fixer Jake Knotts has come to as he sees Andre Bauer's ascendancy in grave doubt. See, with his boy Bauer in the Governor's chair Jake and his crowd would be dippin' even deeper into the emptying trough down in Columbia. Since the office of Governor is weak by design in South Carolina (see: carpetbaggers and scalawags post- War Between The States for the reason) even a Mark Sanford or Nikki Haley can't keep the oily Knotts crew from their corruption. But the difference between a Haley vetoing their schemes and a Bauer rubber-stamping them is big. Big enough for Jake Knotts to pull out everything his ugly mind can think of-- but will the voters fall for the sleaze and insult campaign next Tuesday?

The days of guys like John Spratt and Jake Knotts are coming to an end. We hope it starts Tuesday June 8th. That would be change we can believe in.

UPDATE: Nikki Haley got 49% of the vote. Her closest competitor, who she will meet in a 6/22 runoff, was 27 percentage points behind. Jake's boy, Andre Bauer, finished dead last.

Heckuva Job

It's CWS Time

The NCAA College World Series Tournament begins this weekend so over Memorial Day weekend the 64 teams and the brackets were announced. Of course, while the NCAA basketball tournament gets extensive media attention, only hardcore baseball fans followthe CWS.

Around these parts we're pretty pleased that FIVE South Carolina teams made the tournament. Throw in the state to the north of us and 8 of the 64 entries are from the Carolinas. Two of the 16 first round tourney sites are in SC: Coastal Carolina U in Conway (over near Myrtle Beach), and USC in Columbia. In fact, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are the #4 seed in the entire tournament-- a tremendous achievement for the Chants.

Good luck to all the South Carolina teams: The Citadel Bulldogs, College of Charleston Cougars, Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers, Clemson University Tigers, and the Carolina Gamecocks.

Carolina Stadium, USC, Columbia, SC

Fighting Back

As the legacy media informs us that the Gaza flotilla was peopled by a bunch of "peace activists" the truth is somewhat different.

Restraint & Courage

Elections have grave consequences.

For example... this.

3 Day Weekend

We all need a break. So, in addition to remembering our fallen heroes, take some time to relax.

Perhaps a delicious dairy treat.

Or grill something good. Like... bacon. Mmmmmmm.

And, after the house settles down for the night, raid that refrigerator, Dad!

But whatever you do this Memorial Day weekend. Do NOT operate an automobile in an impaired state.

Bad Form Turns Into Grave Insult

Many tongues are wagging about Lordy O deciding against laying the Memorial Day wreath.


It seems more than a bit disrespectful, especially given that he's commander-in-chief of forces who are currently in shooting wars. But Captain Cool has turned bad form into a complete insult by sending Slow Joe in his stead.



Geez, sending The Burger King would be better than Slow Joe. Maybe Joey can bring Walter Mitty Blumenthal in from CT to tell the gathered folks some somber, heart-wrenching stories about his days over in 'Nam.

Honestly, the President of the United States can't bother to haul his frame over to Arlington?