The Ramble for 8/5/11

Horseheads, NY– It’s Friday. I’m about 70 miles from home. I have some work to do on the the truck, once I get back to the shop, some paperwork…(A constant) and then home. Short week next week for me, I’m taking a couple days off. So, I’ll likely start early this week.

• Electoral College 2012 – Ridiculously Early Handicapping: Or so James Joyner calls his post.   James, for his part is echoing Steven Green’s post.  JAmes seems reluctant to bring it up, but unlike James, I ‘m not convinced it’s too early to start watching these things, frankly, because there are a number of remarkable factors, now that are not likely to change between now election time. Says Green:
  

  Instead, fives rules of thumb:1. President Obama will not win any states he didn’t win in 2008.

  2. North Carolina and Indiana are gone for the Democrats. Indiana was a fluke — due to proximity to Illinois, lack of enthusiasm for McCain, and the economic panic. North Carolina was won by a scant 14,000 votes against a demoralized GOP. Both states will go red this time around.

  3. Virginia is traditionally GOP-friendly, but has been trending purple. Also, there’s been a huge influx of money and power and more money into the Northern VA ‘burbs around DC. That helps the state’s economy (at the expense of the rest of the nation), and makes Virginia a tough state for the GOP to pick off of Obama’s 2008 column.

  4. Obama put together an amazing ground game in the Mountain West last time around, and intends to rally Latino voters to do it again. The region should be all-red, given the state of the economy and Obama’s negatives — but a billion dollars can buy a lot of ground game.

  5. There’s a wave of disgust and despair in the industrial Great Lakes and Midwest. I believe this wave hurts both parties, making the region the battleground for 2012.

  Who wins? Hell if I know. But I’m certain I’ve picked the right battleground states.

  I think he’s right, far as he goes. But as I tell one of James’ readers:

  There seems little question that the Democrats are being regarded at best as damaged goods, given the state of the economy, and the degree to which they decided to march to the left.Since the economy is not likely to get any better between now an election day, that makes this next election the GOP’s to lose. What predicting this next election comes down to is whom the Republicans decide to offer. As I’ve said before, should the Republicans offer a real conservative, (and the McCains and Romenys of the world simply do not qualify as such) then the GOP will have a landslide that makes Carter’s defeat at the hands of Reagan look like a close race. Absent that, we’ll have a second Obama term.

  And, I’ll add, no America, by the time it ends.

• SHOULD OBAMA RESIGN?  That is the question on Roger Simon’s mind, yesterday:
  

  A CEO with such a disastrous first three years as our president has had probably would already have been called upon to resign or been pushed out by his company’s board of directors — more than likely for some time.Obama has failed in virtually every direction, foreign and domestic. His policies indeed are almost non-existent. He is completely rudderless, unless you accept the view that he is following the prescription of Cloward-Piven and has set out to destroy American capitalism from within.

  If that is so — and I don’t really accept it for a variety of reasons — he has failed even at that, because his reelection becomes less likely with every passing day. A Cloward-Piven strategy could not be successful in only four years. America is far too strong for that. In the case of Obama, his policies are leading to something quite the opposite — an epic disaster for the Democratic Party and (modern) liberalism in 2012.

  Look, Roger, you don’t need to destroy the whole tire to create a flat. As UBL decided, all you need to do is poke a hole or two in it.

  Make no mistake that’s what he’s about… destroying America.

  Look at it this way, Roger…. Since being immaculated as Rush calls it, Obama has done as you say everything wrong. Everything he’s done…. 100%, right down the line…. has been an abject failure.
  But that’s only if and I say again only if, we define success as a booming economy and an America that is strong and free,  and respects the rights of the individual first.

  I dare to submit, Roger, that one does not get to that level of consistency without both talent, and intent.  It’s time to give up this myth of Obama incompetence. He knows damned good and well what he’s doing… and he’s doing as he intends. It’s time for reality, here.  The only logical conclusion to draw is that he and his backers, including George Soros, intend nothing less than a destroyed America.

Dirty Harry Reid calls ‘pubs hostage takers, from John,  Verum Serum:

Over at the Daily Caller, C.J. Ciaramella has a story about a testy press conference held yesterday by senior Democrats. The ostensible issue for the presser was the FAA shutdown, but during the 30 minute appearance, which included Sen. Reid, Sen. Schumer, Rep. Hoyer, Sen. Rockefeller and Sen. Boxer, it became apparent the real issue was pushing a political meme, i.e. Republicans are hostage-takers. This became explicit during the Q&A.

Then pays ransom:

Harry’s bluff has been called. After this disastrous press conference yesterday, Sen. Reid has suddenly decided to pass a short term extension which was already on offer. Coincidence?

How in the heck are the ‘rats ever going to defend out nation from a hostile enemy, it they cower  in front of little old ladies with placards?

Are mere tools racist, from  John T. Bennett, American Thinker:

Guns are responsible for violence in the same way that pencils are responsible for bad test scores.  Those of us who embrace the notions of character and accountability would say that the person himself is responsible for how he uses his gun.  If an individual or group tends to use guns in a murderous manner, then we point to defects in character and hold those individuals or groups fully accountability for their actions.

However, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has a different idea: he recently asked a church to consider “federal gun laws that facilitate the flow of illegal firearms into our urban centers, across this country, that are killing black and brown children.”  So laws should be blamed, to some significant degree, for minority violence.  This may come as a surprise to those with a more traditional view of free will and human dignity.

Notice in Mayor Emanuel ‘s gun free paradise real human beings with the right to vote are deemed not to be responsible.   Whereas mere inanimate objects such as guns are deemed responsible.

The City of Angels must be remarkably crime free, from Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office:

LOS ANGELES – A Ventura County farmer, one of her employees and the owner of an unlicensed Venice market were arrested today on criminal conspiracy charges stemming from the alleged illegal production and sale of unpasteurized goat milk, goat cheese and other products.

It is now a fracking federal offense to sell milk in Loa Angeles.

More,  Reason.TV.

I mean the LA law enforcement establishment has nothing better to do that persecute private food vendors.    Look this is simple, if you don’t like unpastuerized goat cheese, don’t eat it.

–Schenectady,NY– I’m at a warehouse unloading a truckload of rice. A load of pepsi from the plant near here to a warehouse down on the southern border of NY state, and then home.

• What business folks think our prospects are with Obama: Remember we were told that we had to avoid default, because among other evils, the market would fall like a stone if we didn’t? Well, what happened, once the “deal” was done? The market went off around 500 points.  That’s around 5% of it’s total value. As of right now, what little gains we’ve made (Remember the administration touting them as being so earthshaking?) for the year are now gone.  Nice to see Limbaugh now agrees with what I said days ago:
  

  The Republicans are acting in total fear, “We can’t default, we will be blamed for it, the stock market will plummet, oh, my God, oh, my God.” Well, we got the deal, most Americans disapprove of the deal and the stock market’s plummeting. We may as well default. It’s going to happen at some point down the road.

  I judge that we will not see default as such. As I suggested the other day however, we will see the government printing money. And you know what that means. Inflation. Have you looked at the price of gold of late? Welcome to hope and change, folks. ANd I toss the Bush graphic in not because I was an avid supporter of Bush, but to demonstrate how much worse Obama is.

• OBAMA HASN’T A CLUE WHAT TO DO:  As if we needed this to come to that conclusion.
• MORON:  I see Ezra Klein still trying to put a good face on Obama’s failures. It’s not working, though, and Klein makes himself out more of a fool than I thought him. What he misses, and I think intentionally so, is that the world economy has always been driven by the Economy of the United States… in both directions. Shut up, Ezra.

Obama has lost that loving feeling, from Dr. Milton R. Wolf, Washington Times:

Is President Obama really a different man today than he was before he entered the Oval Office? The same Illinois legislator who voted “present” 129 times is now the debt-crisis-AWOL president who refused to present a specific plan of his own. The same presidential candidate who wanted to “spread the wealth” has unleashed redistributionist, collectivist policies on everything from health care and energy supply to runaway Keynesian spending and ever-increasing taxes. Should we be surprised?

More, from Insider, News Flavor:

The one thing that almost everyone did agree with was how “idiotic”, “moronic”, “pathetic”, “self-serving”, “arrogant”, and “scary” President Obama’s role was during the process. Those are actual descriptions used against the president, and most of them came from Democrats. Everyone stunned over how little Barack Obama understands about anything. Told Harry Reid came out of a meeting with Obama over the weekend “visibly shaking” he was so angry at how little the president seemed to care about the process and related details of the agreement, and how flip and dismissive he was toward Senator Reid. “Just get something for me to sign Harry…” The primary concern of the Obama White House was the possibility of the debt ceiling issue carrying forward into the 2012 election cycle. The president and his people made that abundantly clear to anyone who would listen time after time after time.

Hat tip:  Nice Deb.

Hint to the libtards, Gods didn ‘t  need a teleprompter to create the Heavens and Earth.  Barack Obama our most uneducated president ever.

Enough with the pivots.  How how about some jobs, Ben Smith provides a follow-up to yesterday’s Scramble, from Politico:

Mike Allen’s note this morning that “Dems plan pivot to jobs” sounded awfully familiar to me, as it apparently did to the Republican National Committee, which promptly turned out a list of 15 occasions on which the White House had allegedly announced a similar pivot.

[…]

And the story of the Administration is, in no small part, one of a constant attempt to pivot formally to jobs. Emily and I identified what seem like six really attempts at it, with the seventh starting now:

Sarah calls out leftarded hypocrites, from Right Scoop:

Sarah Palin says that she isn’t just going to roll over and say to the left “hit me baby one more time, call me a terrorist again, call me a racist”, but rather she’s going to call them out on their hypocrisy. That includes Obama, of course, who she said wouldn’t have a problem with the Tea Party if they were really domestic terrorists:

To quibble with Mrs. Palin, Dumbo,b/k/a Barack Obams, does not endorse terrorism per se. Rather Dumbo has no problem with terrorism when used to advance his particular political agenda. Witness launching his poltical career in Bill Ayers home. attending the Reverend Jemimah Wright’s church for what twenty years and his blind support for Planned Parenthood.

Is this what the left really wants?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

John F. Kennedy

New York Slimes wages last ditch war on sanity, from Joe Nocera, via Confederate Yankee:

You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them.

These last few months, much of the country has watched in horror as the Tea Party Republicans have waged jihad on the American people. Their intransigent demands for deep spending cuts, coupled with their almost gleeful willingness to destroy one of America’s most invaluable assets, its full faith and credit, were incredibly irresponsible. But they didn’t care. Their goal, they believed, was worth blowing up the country for, if that’s what it took

Nocera and his ilk, at the Slimes and elsewhere  are addicts.   They are addicted to your tax dollars.

Reax from CF:

• You don’t solve your cash flow problems by raising your credit limit. That only makes your inevitable bankruptcy that much more traumatic
• You don’t cure an addiction by feeding it

Nocera has two choices.   Either he can peacefully agree to end his addiction to our tax dollars, or he can be made to do it otherwise.

Enough with the phony job pivots, from Puffington Post:

Today 1:44 PM Obama: Let The Pivot To Jobs Begin
Speaking just minutes after the Senate passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling — removing the last political hurdle for that bill’s passage – President Obama delivered a speech in the Rose Garden in which he once again pleaded for a renewed focus on jobs.

Sounding at times exasperated that the political conversation had veered so swiftly to the topic of austerity, Obama urged Congress to present him with job-creating bills as soon as it returned from its August recess. The specifics were pretty much the same as the White House has pushed for weeks if not months: free trade agreements, patent reform, an infrastructure bank, regulatory changes and the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits.

Points:

• One, enough with the farging pivots. Give us a plan.
• Two, isn’t one those what forty-three White House czars capable of coming up with a plan to actually create jobs without having to wait for Dirty Harry Reid to come back from watering his pomegranates?

What goes around, comes around, from DeWayne Wickham, Useless Toady:

What should be clear to the whole world watching the debt-ceiling battle is that the Republicans are far more intent on taking the president’s scalp than balancing the nation’s books. They had ample opportunities to do the latter during the eight years of George W. Bush.

Mr. Wickham, respect is not a right.   Rather it is earned.    While respect may be typically extended on s provision basis, it has to earned to be retained.    Barack Obama is a moron, a socialist, a liar and incompetent.   And you wonder why so few people actually respect him?

Where has the black wealth gone?  From Thomas Sowell, Townhall:

Recent statistics on the average wealth or net worth of blacks are a painful reminder that rhetoric favoring blacks does not mean that politicians using such rhetoric are actually helping blacks. The media seized upon the statistics published by the Pew Research Center to show that whites averaged far more net worth than blacks, and that this disparity was now greater than it was in years past. But what is even more revealing is that the net worth of blacks in 2009 was less than half of what it was in 2005.

I can not in fair use quote Doctor Sowell’s conclusion. However I can sum it up: government programs.

Now granted the federal goovrnment and liberals did not set out to destroy black wealth. Destruction black wealth was not the federal government’s intent, only their result.

Dumb Dickie Durbin, from Elise Foley, Puffington Post:

WASHINGTON — The Republicans are killing Keynesian economics with their attempt to cut spending as the economy rebounds from a recession, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a floor speech on Sunday.

“I would say … that symbolically, that agreement is moving us to the point where we are having the final interment of John Maynard Keynes,” he said, referring to the British economist. “He normally died in 1946 but it appears we are going to put him to his final rest with

Reac, Stacy McCain, Other McCain:

Oh, if only it were so! Most sane people had thought Keynesianism died in the “stagflation” debacle of the 1970s, and yet for the past three years the ghost of Lord Keynes has haunted us again. Despite the discrediting of Keynes’s theories, liberals still believe in him and so, any time liberals wield decisive influence, we can expect to see the same disastrous deficit-spending policies pursued.

That is a neutral objective fact!

More dumb Durbin, via Tina Korbe, Hot Air:

Sen. Durbin said on FNS this morning that Dems haven’t passed a budget bc of 60-vote threshold. Odd he doesn’t know you only need 51.

Alas the theory of Keynesian economics will not be truly dead as long there are brain dead voters stupid enough to continue to ele3ct morons,  sorry Ace, to Congress like Little Dickie Durbin.

Obami flunk economics, and medicine, yet again, from Jennifer Pereiba and Kevin Dolar, ABC News:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced sweeping new guidelines for women’s health care which will change everything from distribution of birth control pills to administration of breast exams — and will mean insured women will no longer pay anything out of their own pocket.

[….]

As for who is picking up the extra cost, White House advisors say they don’t believe the changes will impact premiums — but ultimately, that decision will be made by insurance companies.

One, as I see, normal pregnancy is not a medical issue but rather a life style choice. See Roe. v Wade.

Two birth control is a commodity and a commodity, as product of human endeavor, can never be free. The insurance companies are sure not pick ofo the cost. That leaves the premium payers.

Three, the ‘rate pretend to be in favor of choice, but they forcing everybbody to pay for birth control, whether or not they are sexually active and without regard to their desire to actually start a family. Mone dare call this progress.
Say good night Jon.  Why Huntsman is not in the hunt.  No foods need apply from Philip Elliot, Bloomberg Businessweek:

Touting a record that could complicate his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman challenged his party Thursday to protect the environment and acknowledge climate change as a real threat.

Huntsman, who is trailing in the polls but is working to build a campaign that could deny front-runner Mitt Romney the nod, criticized those who question the science behind climate change and loathe government’s role in fighting it. His tough message was unlikely to endear him to conservatives who hold great sway in the party’s nominating process.

Anthropogenic Global Warming is fraud. Anybody so stupid as believe Algore line manure is too stupid to be president. No better example than our current president.

College Point, NY— I’m across the water from Manhattan, with Laguardia between myself and there. It’s a pretty sight in the early evening, at least from this distance. I’ll be back here tomorrow morning,  with another load of drinks. Apparently the hot weather is good for someone’s business, anyway.

I have an older truck today,  because my usual truck… the blue one I’ve been driving, is having a problem with the emissions systems and needs repair.

My little Hotrod Truck

Just for laughs, I’ll show you my usual rig….255

It’s an ’06 International 9400-i Eagle, with a Cummins ISX engine and a 13 speed tranny, 300 gallon tanks. With around 500 horsepower and a torque rating of just under 1900 ft lbs, it’ll move right along, even with a serious load.

It’s all leather inside,  (yes, heated seats!) grade one stereo system, and is complete with a fridge, microwave, coffee pot and slow cooker.  I also keep a charcoal burner on the back porch.  I have it equipped with mobile internet streaming, (with internet radio who the bleep needs XM?… It also allows me to write to BitsBlog…) and a killer CB…(A Galaxy 929) and  about a week’s worth of clothing and food.  Lots of storage space in this thing.

It also has an auxiliary power unit, which runs when the truck isn’t moving, to generate AC power, heating and cooling, as well as the ability to run AC powered stuff, like power tools and whatnot.

With 300 fuel gallon tanks, I have an effective range of about 1500 miles, or two or three days worth of driving, depending on load and hills. I get compliments on the thing all the time, on the road. A real sweet truck to say the least. I’m working on polishing the aluminum and touching up the paint where needs be. It’s starting to really look good. Yeah, maybe there’s a lot of effort involved, but I have to spend days at a time in this thing; I may as well have some fun with it and be comfortable.

A spare truck I'm driving for now

The one I’m using to get me by for the next day or two ( i hope) is not nearly as nice, of course.   Here it is; It’s a 1998 version of pretty much the same model. Cummins N14-425, Super-10 tranny…(Which I like).Double sleeper. Huge inside, but with a million and a half miles on it, we have to sell it as a used truck. (grin) Actually, it drives OK, (The tranny shifts smooth as glass!) … and doesn’t look bad after I gave it some serious TLC. I won’t deny I’ll be happy to get my truck back.

It turns out the issue with my truck was a bad EGR sensor, and a bad EGR valve. The sensor was masking a real issue with the valve and made it hard to diagnose.  I had initially thought there was a problem with the turbo, and so did the wrench, as I gather it.  The actual problem cost a little less, but not much. The electronics in these things are even more complex than what you’d find in your car.  OK, lots going on, lets get to it:

• IT’S POLITICS, PURE AND SIMPLE: If anyone doubted that the Democrats are in a political battle, doubt no longer.  First,  Byron York points out….
  

  “The pattern of Reid’s and Durbin’s voting is difficult to miss: If Republicans control the Senate, they vote against raising the debt ceiling. If Democrats control the Senate, they vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling. It is a fact of life on Capitol Hill that the party in control of Congress bears the responsibility of raising the debt ceiling. That can become a difficult task when control of the House and Senate is split between Republicans and Democrats, as it is now. One might think it would make leaders who have voted along strictly partisan lines think twice before denouncing the other party as partisan. But it has not prevented Reid, Durbin, and Obama from doing just that.”

  Exactly so. But, there is more, of course, in the way of indication.  Example: When they start objecting to their own debt bill…. you know there’s something more than reality, afoot here.

  And here again, we see where the Democrats are unwilling to compromise. Yet, we see nobody in the press, and certainly very few in the sphere, willing to insist that the Democrats are the cause of the lack of compromise. It’s as GOP CHair Steele says:

  “For the second time, the House has passed a reasonable, common-sense plan to raise the debt limit and cut spending and, for the second time, Sen. [Harry] Reid [D-Nev.] has tabled it,” spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement. “The responsibility to end this crisis is now entirely in the hands of Sen. Reid and President Obama.”

  Indeed so. The fact is that for the blame for this crisis has always been there and there alone. I have long since begun to suspect that the reason we are in crisis mode right now is the Clintonian axiom, about how one should never waste a good crisis.  I suggest that the left has created this crisis, because it will provide them cover for increasing taxes ; an action which they would never be able to do without such cover as a crisis would provide.  It would certainly explain all of their actions in this matter to date, no?

  The American voter apparently is not convinced of the value of the deal they’ve coughed up.

  Oh… and , um, gang? Lets remember that Obama still intends to raise taxes regardless of any deal here. And, you can forget about any actual cuts. Remember, Congress does not operate in a zero-base budget world like everyone else. Rather they assume 8% growth per year, and anything less than that 8% growth of spending, they call a “cut”.  The Democrats have never actually cut any program other than defense. Never, Never, Never… and they’re not about to start now. Further, let’s recall, that the expiration of the Bush Tax cuts is looming. The Democrats have no intention of letting that stand, regardless of what damage is caused by it’s removal.

  So what, then was this all about? Well, let’s try it this way; Look at the amount of sound smoke and fury over getting the Democrats to agree to even consider a miniscule cut in the growth rate of government spending, and the growth of government itself, and you’ll begin to see what the American people are up against, with Democrats in any kind of position of power.

• • IT’S THE SPENDING, STUPID: Continuing this discussion on the debt deal;  Ira Stoll makes a rather important point:
    

    You can fool around with inflation and with the percentage of GDP and with the revenue side of the equation, but the bottom line is that the federal government is spending about double what it was at the end of the Clinton administration. For all the clamor on the left to bring back the Clinton-era top tax rates, there are few, if any, politicians in Washington talking about bringing back the Clinton-era spending levels.

    Well of course not. That’s because the Democrats are still in power. You’re never going to get spending cuts with ANY Democrats in power, or even so called ‘moderate” Republicans. It’s never happened, and never will. I say again, as I have on this site and other countless times….what we need s real conservatives in an overwhelming number.

    If this is, as the charge goes, a made up crisis, , then it was made up by the Democrats, who recognized early on that they would not be able to slip a tax increase by the American public in any other way. Even with that as a crutch, it’s very questionable as to whether they’d survive any tax increases at the next election I suspect they will not. But as I suggested above that’s what they intend to do.

    The spending the Democrats and centrist GOP types have done has done us in.  What we are now engaged in is an argument as to whether not we can hide the consequences of that spending, with more spending, and more taxes.   We cannot.  Let’s be clear, here….The debt the Democrats have forced on us, will crush us, regardless of what anyone does now.

    The fact is, we can either face cuts now, or after the default.  Either way, the default is coming, because with the tax increases the daeconomy won’t be able to continue gathering revenue.  But either way cuts… and huge ones, must happen. The spending is so large that we are not on a path we can sustain even assuming the unlikely scenario that they could take in taxes 100% on every dollar earned. It’s that simple.  And as I say, this economy will not withstand tax increases. You increase taxes, you lower tax revenue.   You may recall Obama saying you don’t raise taxes in the middle of a recession?

    In August 2009, on a visit to Elkhart, Indiana to tout his stimulus plan, Obama sat down for an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, and was conveyed a simple request from Elkhart resident Scott Ferguson: “Explain how raising taxes on anyone during a deep recession is going to help with the economy.”

    Obama agreed with Ferguson’s premise – raising taxes in a recession is a bad idea. “First of all, he’s right. Normally, you don’t raise taxes in a recession, which is why we haven’t and why we’ve instead cut taxes. So I guess what I’d say to Scott is – his economics are right. You don’t raise taxes in a recession. We haven’t raised taxes in a recession.”

    But that’s exactly what  the left is proposing… raising taxes.  It’s popular with the usual suspects.  Why they don’t just send in their money without being forced to by law, is a mystery to me, really. That aside, lets get back to reality; What we have, is spending problem. It’s time the credit cards were cut up. And yes, I can hear the usual suspects already…. it is so immature of us not to write a blank check to allow  Obama to continue spending us into oblivion, huh?

    And listen, gang.. the only people who are desperate to raise the debt ceiling, are the Democrats, particularly the Obami. We have serious damage that’s been done by this spending. The only way to cover the Left’s backside on this ….they suppose…. is to get more money into the coffers so they can avoid the consequences of the unsustainable spending path they have us on. Or, so they think. It won’t work, of course, but that’s what motivates them. The Republicans are fools if they let the Democrats up from the mat, now.

• THOSE POOR POLAR BEARS:
  

  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —

  

  "That poor polar bear will drown!" "Um, no, they can swim about 60 miles at a go."

  Just five years ago, Charles Monnett was one of the scientists whose observation that several polar bears had drowned in the Arctic Ocean helped galvanize the global warming movement.Now, the wildlife biologist is on administrative leave and facing accusations of scientific misconduct.

  Ah, well. Live and learn. Our global Warming fanatic made a pretty good living off of propagating lies that supported the leftist myth of global warming. The facts are now in and they do not support the myth of global warming. Will people who were swayed by his fraud change their minds toward the truth of the matter?  More importantly, will our policies change, and will we end this war on reliable energy? In the short term at least, I tend to doubt it. In the longer term, say after the next election? Another matter.  I suspect that the groundswell of anger about the left in general will take over, about then.

• GEORGE WILL FINALLY GETS IT: I’ve said it often enough; the man needs watching. But now at last, hes starting to understand:
  

  

  George Will

  America is moving in the libertarians’ direction not because they have won an argument but because government and the sectors it dominates have made themselves ludicrous. This has, however, opened minds to the libertarians’ argument.

  Every once in a great while a crack of light shows through the stupidity of the man. Gives one hope he’s finally awakened to reality. Don’t worry, though, he’ll be back on the GOP establishment bandwagon next week, if past be prologue. Which means that as usual, he’ll be trying to get along with the left again instead of confronting them.

• OBAMA CONTINUES GUN COVER-UP: Time someone started investigating this.  Time to frog-march Obama administration in front of the cameras over this one. It’s that bad.
• OBAMA NOW AT LOWEST APPROVAL RATING IN HISTORY:  Gee, I wonder why, huh?

Where’s your plan Dirty Harry? Dirty Harry Reid owns default, from Paul Conner, Daily Caller:

The Senate voted down a House-approved bill to raise the debt ceiling, leaving the ball in the court of Senate leadership to produce a deficit reduction bill, with just days before the Aug. 2 deadline. The vote was 59-41.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid followed through on his promise to kill the bill, pushed through the House a day late by House Speaker John Boehner. The White House, which has thrown its weight behind a Reid proposal, had promised to veto the bill had it miraculously passed the Senate.

Brave stand for a leader who has not passed a budget in over two years.   The ‘pub made one mistake.   They should have adjourned the House and hidden out it Rockford, Illinios.    The House has passed two debt ceiling increases.  It time the Senate to pass one.

So how’s that first black president working out for ya? You can’t eat empathy. Sure empathy is nice, but sure does not trump competence. While Dumbo may have plenty of the former, for some, he surely lacks the latter for all, from John Robers, Fox News

The unemployment situation across America is bad, no doubt. But for African-Americans in some cities, this is not the great recession. It’s the Great Depression.

How’s that Tweeter thing working for ya, Mr. President?   From Jon Bershad, Mediaite:

Yeah well, today, President Obama’s campaign staff is kind of like that as they’ve initiated a day-long project to tweet out the Twitter names of every Republican Congressmen state by state…in individual tweets.

Great idea to help people contact their representation, right? The 10,000 people who have unfollowed Obama in the past few hours seem to disagree

Hat tip and more:  Professor William Jacobson, Legal Insurrection:

This is laughable and childish.  But it’s what passes for presidential leadership these days.

I’d suspect this was just the Tweet that broke the donkey’s back.

Moral support from Barney Frank?  Sure!  From a clearly confused Ben Smith, Politico:

With the Massachusetts Democratic Party attacking Senator Scott Brown for refusing to film a video for the “It Gets Better Project,” which offers moral support to gay teens, the National Republican Senatorial Committee came to Brown’s defense today with a shot at the project’s founder, Dan Savage.

So how does sending the message to sexually confused youth that they doomed to end up like Barney Smith be considered as moral support?   On what planet? View the video:

Just how many parent really want to see their teenager grow up to be like Barney Frank, and run their own house of prostitution, male or otherwise?

Warmists full of hot air, a twofer from Ed Morrissey, Hot Air:

Two stories have dropped that may blow big holes in the anthropogenic global warming argument — one of which is literally sky-high. Forbes reports on a peer-reviewed study that uses NASA data to show that the effects of carbon-based warming have been significantly exaggerated. In fact, much of the heat goes out into space rather than stay trapped in the atmosphere, an outcome that started long before AGW alarmists predicted.

[…]

Spencer’s study rebuts some poor but probably sincere assumptions from AGW theorists. Not every researcher falls into that category, however. The AP reports today that one researcher whose work “galvanized” AGW hysteria over the fate of polar bears has suddenly been suspended as his work on that claim has come under scrutiny for potential scientific misconduct:

Lamers’ double standards, from Mike McNally, Pajamas Media:

However, in one sense yesterday’s attacks are the exception that proves the “BBC rule.” If the gunman (who is also thought to be responsible for the bombing) had been of Middle Eastern appearance, and had shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he mowed down his victims, today many in the media would still be speculating about a possible motive, and the authorities would be urging us not to jump to conclusions, as was the case with Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. But Norwegian police and media were reporting the “right-wing” connection within hours of the attacks, and by first thing this morning officials were describing the perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, as “a right-wing fundamentalist Christian.”

The rush to get Breivik’s profile out their suggests an eagerness to exonerate Muslims by the authorities, and the regularity with which the “right-wing” connection is being repeated by the media suggests both relief and relish: not only do we not have to report bad things about Muslims, we get open season on right-wingers.

Caution need not apply if the suspect is a white male Christian,  who was ever seen once in church.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Religion of Peace strikes again, from Andrew Malcolm, Los Angeles Times:

Texas police say a newly arrested Muslim American Army private has admitted planning to attack fellow troops at the famous Ft. Hood Army base in Killeen.

Following a tip from a suspicious retired police officer now working at a local gun shop, Killeen police arrested Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo on Wednesday during a traffic stop.
He’ll probably face federal charges after FBI agents reported finding a large amount of bomb-making materials in his hotel room not far from the base.

San Francisco voters told to butt out of medical affairs. Some small glimmer of sanity in the City by the Bay, from AFP:

SAN FRANCISCO — A US judge ruled Thursday that a proposal to ban male circumcision in San Francisco should not be put to a referendum later this year, despite having secured the necessary support .

The ballot initiative, which made the November ballot after “intactivist” supporters gathered the required 7,000 signatures this spring, would have made the circumcision of minors a misdemeanor except in cases of medical necessity.

To the citizens of San Francisco, if you don’t like circumcision, don’t have one.

Latham, NY— I’m outside Albany, NY. Was at Windsor Locks CT overnight, and will head to Southern NY today. Not quite sure where after that. It’s a bit cooler, the last couple days, and the rain is making a mess of my truck.

• KEEP BABBLING, NANCY:
  

  “This isn’t just about them saying we should reduce the deficit,” Pelosi said, adding: “This is an excuse. The budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government plain and simple. They don’t just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education. They want to destroy your rights.”

  (Hat tip, Fox News, whose biggest offense, apparently is actually reporting what Democrats actually say and do.)Let’s break this down, OK?

  “This is an excuse. The budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government plain and simple.”

  Simple, perhaps, but correct? Ummmmm…. No. If we wanted to destroy government, why on earth wld we be making a point of returning the government to the confines of the Constitution? You know that one, Nancy it’s the one that keeps the Dhttp://bitsblog.theconservativereader.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpemocrats from assuming ditatorial powers, for the most part…. the document you keep trying to sidestep. Let’s continue:

  They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water…

  Yes, Yes, of course. I see it now. We can get votes by poisoning people. Republicans, not

  They want to destroy your rights.”

  What rights would those be, Nancy? Oh, I see. I’ll bet you’re still figuring on the illusion that people ahve a right to government healthcare. Well, with a hat tip to Billy Beck, if you can force me to pay for your healthcare, why is it you can’t force me (yet) to pick your cotton? Where exactly does your definition of slavery begin, Nancy?

  Oh, and by the way, Nancy? Consider the root word of government…. Govern. As in regulate, reduce, etc. Rights don’t come from government, they come from God. All government can do is limit or destroy those rights. That’s something you and your party have been doing for some years now.

• FAST AND FURIOUS SPINNING: I see in the LA TIMES where the FBI reports have some problems with the ATF claims about ballistics tests regarding the agent killed by those guns smuggled by the political operation known as “Fast and Furious”. Let me tell you this;  If a Republican White House were linked to this operation, particularly as close as this White House has been, there would be non-stop congressional bleating, show trials and CNN would be wetting it’s pants 24 hrs a day, “Tingles” Matthews would be screaming,  awe’d have morons marching on the WH. But it’s a Democrat in the WH, soit’s all just fine with these creatures.
• THE NEXT ELECTION IS THE REPUBLICANS’ TO LOSE: Obama’s poll numbers are down overall, in dramatic fashion. But Josh Kraushaar   says they’re particularly bad in the battleground states, and getting worse by the day.  I say this election will go to the GOP if they get an actual conservative to run.  If they don’ Keeping up the pushback on Obama’s socialism is crucial, here, too.  If not the results will be an even bigger disaster than Obama’s first term was. Rand Simberg agrees, saying in part today:<
  

  The best way to enhance revenue is in two ways. First, grow the economy, and increase everyone’s income. This is done not be spending ourselves into oblivion (the failed and misshapen Keynesian theory to which Obama, Pelosi, and Reid cling), but by ending the war on the job creators, in terms of both tax rates and regulations. The second is to increase the number of taxpayers by both putting them to work, and including them in the system (see the comment above on de Tocqueville) by flattening the rates. This has another salutory benefit on the outlay side, as Epstein says:

  Human nature what it is, most ordinary citizens will be tempted by government largesse, despite the potential losses from hamstringing the economy with higher taxes. It is for that reason that whenever there is a revenue shortfall, political forces now clamor to “tax the rich.” In the end, this is a plea for steeper progressivity, which in turn cuts deeper into long-term economic growth.

  The willingness to call for tax increases is dulled, however, when rates are flat. Then, the proponents of tax increases know for certain that they will have to foot their part of the bill for each new program.

  In short, the Democrats’ “progressive” class-warfare nostrums depress revenue as they increase government spending, while the solution is to actually increase revenue and reduce spending by moving to a flatter system in which everyone has a stake. This is the battle that the Republicans seem to be winning for the moment, but only because we are on the verge of fiscal catastrophe. If this really is their Gettysburg moment, they shouldn’t let up now.

  The American voter knows this well, as they do in few instances in the past. One such period of understanding was under Jimmy Carter, who now, tanks to Obama, is not the worst president in history, anymore.

Port Chester, NY– I’m north of New York City, making a very early AM delivery. from here, I’ll drop down into Jersey to make a pickup.

• OBAMA OUT OF CLICHES:  When even the increasingly left-leaning POLITICO takes notice, you know Obama’s got a serious problem. Well, if you’re payong attention, at least. Obama is so busy coughing up the tired cliche, and bitching that the Republicans aren’t agreeing with his plans, that he himself apparently hasn’t noticed he’s not offered anything to agree to.  OK, I’m kidding. He knows it very well. But here’s the reason he’s not offering a plan… he doesn’t want to take responsibility for raising taxes the debt ceiling, etc, etc. Oh, and just so we’re clear, even the New York Times is admitting it’s the Democrats who are blocking a deal. The tactic is frighteningly clear; calling for us all to come together, and calling the majority of the American people stubborn radicals, extremists, etc.  The Huff and Puff, doing it’s normal Obama Butt Kiss number called such people “terrorists”, and then removed the line.
• TAX INCREASES? One point that’s slipped by a lot of folks the last day or two…. the only one still talking about tax increases is Obama himself. And he’s till “refusing to bore us” with what spending he would cut.
• QUESTION OF THE DAY: So why is it OK when Dems won’t compromise?
• WINEHOUSE, ET AL, and the GROUP OF 27: Interesting, who died when…. RIP Amy Winehouse, 27; Jimi Hendrix, 27; Jim Morrison, 27; Janis Joplin, 27; Brian Jones, 27; Kurt Cobain, 27  and so on and so on. Look, Winehouse could sing when she wasn’t blasted out of her mind, which was usually. But was there anyone who couldn’t see this trainwreck coming? Did she actually ahve anyone who wanted to save her life?
• OSLO:When Muslim zealots kill, Muslims celebrate and conservative Christians are angry. Leftists spend most of their time trying to disassociate the religion and the attached culture, from the killer.  When Christian zealots kill, leftists tend to gloat, and go to some lengths to attach the religion and traditional American culture to the killer. Funny old world, isn’t it?

Oslo, from Steven Erlanger,  New York Slimes:

OSLO — The Norwegian police on Saturday charged a man they identified as a right-wing fundamentalist Christian in connection with the bombing of a government building in central Oslo and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together killed at least 92 people.

reax, John Hinderaker, Powerline:

Many facts are still unknown, but at this point it appears that a key ingredient in the tragedy was the fact that the killer had the only gun on the island. It is, really, one of the ultimate horror scenarios: hundreds of kids, accompanied by a relative handful of adults, isolated on an island with a crazed killer. The outcome might have been very different if some of those adults had been armed.

Our sympathy to the loved ones of the victims.

Points:

• Whenever an Islamist nut job goes over the deep end, you have practically extract the information from the lamer streans.
• Yet went a white Christian goes over the the dark side, the lamers are all over his religion and ethnicity  like stink on shit.
• Meanwhile over at the Department of Homeland Security, Janet “The Bitch” Napolitano must have peed in panties in joy.   She finally got a terrorist who fit her white Christian male profile.
• Like the late James Synder, if you make enough lame predictions, sooner or later one of  them will become true.

Dumbo dumps on the economy, from Darrell Issa, via Jeff Dunetz Yid with Lid:

“The Obama Administration has systematically blocked domestic energy production in the Gulf of Mexico, and today’s report puts that action in stark terms. It documents a 250 percent increase in the deepwater exploration permit backlog with a decrease of nearly 80 percent for plan approvals and deepwater drilling. That means a loss of $9 billion dollars in capital investment in 2011, along with a projected loss to the government of $25 billion in royalties and tax payments over the next 3 years, to say nothing of the tens of thousands of jobs lost.

“Our domestic energy resources are the largest in the world. Tapping these resources will create more than 500,000 jobs in the next three years, grow the economy and put us on the path to recovery

Brooks dumps on Dumbo, Barack Obama has now even lost David Brooks, at least for the weekend, from Jeff Poor, Daily Caller:

After Friday night’s presidential press conference, even one of the left’s favorite conservatives is scratching his head at President Barack Obama’s demeanor.

New York Times columnist David Brooks, who once praised Obama for the crease in his pants, said he was upset with Obama for being angry in public in an appearance on PBS’s “NewsHour” on Friday night

What Dumbo does not understand and what he will never understand is that if I can make you lose your temper, I have power over you.   When you display your lose of temper, you are admitting that the other party has power over you.   Speaker John Boehner has power over Obama, and Dumbo lust told the whole world.  So just how smart is Dumbo?

Fat Lady sings the blues, from Patrick B. Pexton, Washington Post:

Hat tip: Syllable Soup

So it was last week when Post readers called and wrote to criticize a blog post and a column about first ladies.

The July 11 Post Politics blog entry on Michelle Obama’s 1,700-calorie excursion to Shake Shack in Dupont Circle for a burger, fries, chocolate shake and a Diet Coke elicited howls. Readers saw it as a trivial, News-of-the-World type story and a lowering of The Post’s standards.

Two points, one the Fat Lady of the United State, one Michelle Obama is fat,and two this fat lady set herself up ad the food police for the nation. If Mrs. Obama wants to to the entire nation what to eat,and what not to eat, then expect scrutiny of her diet to be fair game.

Weiner’s weiner and Mrs.  Clinton, from Daily Caller:

In the aftermath of the Weinergate scandal, former Congressman Anthony Weiner is telling his friends he is most concerned about earning back the trust of the woman who means so much to him. Yes, Hillary Clinton.

“My problem is that I have three women I have to convince that I’m cured: Huma, her mother — and Hillary,” Weiner reportedly told a friend.

Color me befuddled.   Mrs. Clinton clearly has never cared where Mr. Clinton put the family weiner.    So why does she care about the Weiner Family weiner?   You tell me

But when has Obama given progressives any reason to believe they can trust him?

Paul Krugman, New York Times.

Mr. Krugman, meet Barack Obama, a man of extraordinary vanity and rather pedestrian ability.

College Point, NYC,NY— I’m here dropping off a load of iced tea, and such. Just amazingly hot here, and across the region. We had an earthquake of about 3.0 up around Belleville, Ontario,Canada last night, and I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t heat related.

Before we look at the political stuff today, I should explain that my internet connectivity has been a problem here in the truck the last few days, mostly because of a messed up setting that was kind of buried in the setup of the phone. It’s back now, but there’s also been a lingering problem with the charge cables for the phone which I connect with.

I’ve picked up a new 110v charger to get me by, since I have a couple sources of 110 volts n the truck… but I must say I’m not overly happy about that situation, and I wonder how many others have discovered this issue with their cell phones… since they started using USB cables for charging, I’ve discovered that USB cables can be quite finicky.  I have several cables, now, only one of which actually works, and that one doesn’t always work in the places I plug in. I’m working on it.

• THE SPIN HAS A DISCONNECT:I mentioned yesterday that Obama’s approval ratings have been in John Crapper’s elegant device for the last five quarters running.  Clearly, the American people don’t like the agenda of Obama, and want to reverse their error. So, why is it so many spinner and talking heads insist that the America people want compromise with the agenda they so overwhelmingly disapprove of? Wishful thinking, I suppose. THe majority of the press wants a full-on leftist again, despite the obvious failure of liberalism…. and a lot of the talking heads want another Bush-McCain center-left Republicritter. But I say the American people want neither.We find ourselves at a crossroads, much as we did with Jimmy Carter… where the American people are ready to elect real conservatives because they see clearly now as few other times, what disasters liberals and those who compromise with them, can be to our country. The only outstanding question is will the GOP actually offer up conservatives, including for POTUS, or will they offer us center left again? If the latter, I fear we may not survive the result, as a country.
• WHY IS IT GETTING UGLY OUT THERE? I’ve noted here in the past that the leftyloons are getting restless, and their rhetoric is getting downright ugly.  Why? Simple, says Andrew Klavan:
  

   It’s the increasingly apparent failure of Barack Obama. With the notable exception of Osama bin Laden’s execution, the Obama presidency has resembled nothing so much as an episode of Mr. Bean, one slapstick misadventure after another. The stagnant economy, the rising unemployment, the staggering, soon-to-be-crippling debt—hiked more under Obama than under every president from Washington to Reagan combined—these can no longer be blamed on his predecessor but are his to own.

  True enough, but add to that, I think, understanding that Obama is the purest example of the modern day liberal we’ve seen in politics in a long while, mixed with the slowly dawning realization that his failure is not a matter of competence or personality. Rather, he has failed because his ideology… the one they themselves believe in so fervently, is flawed…. fatally so.  What we are seeing is disillusionment, not unlike what we saw in the 60’s, following the death of JFK, etc. As Klavan suggests:

  This has to be fantastically humiliating for our left-wing media. If you’ve forgotten what they were like during Obama’s 2008 candidacy—the weirdly sexual thrills up their legs, the unreasoning comparison of Obama with America’s greatest men, the pseudo-religious idolatry—you have only to turn to August’s edition of Esquire to find a representative reminder that has to be read to be believed. It’s a column from Canadian writer Stephen Marche hilariously titled “How Can We Not Love Obama?” and subtitled “Because like it or not, he is all of us.” At one point, Marche writes: “‘I am large, I contain multitudes,’ Walt Whitman wrote, and Obama lives that lyrical prophecy.” And later—and I swear I’m not making this up: “Barack Obama is developing into what Hegel called a ‘world-historical soul,’ an embodiment of the spirit of the times. He is what we hope we can be.”

  Of course this embarrassment, this disillusionment, this reaction to reality, is not limited to the media. We’re seeing some of it leaking out into the world at large. Comment sections on blogs, for example. Watercooler discussions.  I’ve seen 400 mile long arguments ensue among truck drivers, which is why this article struck a chord with me. I suppose it is true that often the public needs to be angered to be engaged… And there is sufficient anger now to turn Obama out at the next election.  But some of this defense of the obvious failure of liberalism is getting pretty hairy.

• UH-OH…. Democrat Senator Tom Harkin engaging in witness-tampering? It does look that way. Do not expect it to be investigated, however.

Obama is choking business, from an interview with Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, from Investor’s Business Daily:

IBD: If you could sit down with Obama and talk to him about job creation, what would you say?

Marcus: I’m not sure Obama would understand anything that I’d say, because he’s never really worked a day outside the political or legal area. He doesn’t know how to make a payroll, he doesn’t understand the problems businesses face. I would try to explain that the plight of the busi nessman is very reactive to Washington. As Washington piles on regulations and mandates, the impact is tremendous. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I just think he has no knowledge of this.

reax, Byran Preston, Pajamas Media:

Bingo! Marcus’ comments dovetail with the Heritage report we blogged yesterday, which shows that the recovery got nipped in the bud by the passage of ObamaCare. Marcus is the second CEO to come forward this week, following casino CEO Steve Wynn. Wynn added that business leaders fear reprisals for speaking out, and why wouldn’t they. From the auto dealership seizures to the NLRB’s case against Boeing to the EPA’s assault on Texas energy producers, this administration has all but declared war on American business. Well, not all American businesses. The Obama administration is still chummy with the auto manufacturers it bailed out, and GE. But it seems that everyone else fears finding themselves in the administration’s crosshairs.

More reax,from Bruce McQuain, Questions and Observations:

One can only wish Contessa Brewer was around to ask about economic degrees. Marcus is right about Obama’s lack of knowledge. He’s surrounded by a lack of knowledge in this area if his policies are any indication. As has been pointed out repeatedly, a president who was really concerned about jobs would be green lighting oil and gas exploration as fast as he could make it happen. And he’s certainly made speeches about doing just that, but as usual, his actions betray his words

Hmnn, from Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

American has not bought a foreign airliner in over thirty years.   Now the bulk of their buy goes to Europe.   Suspect a link between Dumbo’s war on business in general and his war on Boeing in particular?  I do.

Dumbo, a/k/a Barack Obama, is a student of Saul Allinsky and not Milton Friedman.

PMSNBC to hire criminal sleazeball as anchor, from Brian Stelter, New York Slimes:

After giving a nearly six-month tryout for the Internet talk show host Cenk Uygur, the cable news channel MSNBC is preparing to instead hand its 6 p.m. time slot to the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Mr. Sharpton’s imminent hiring, which was acknowledged by three people at the channel on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been signed, is significant in part because MSNBC and other news channels have been criticized for a paucity of minority hosts in prominent time slots. Mr. Sharpton, who is black and is a well-known civil rights activist and radio host, has been guest hosting in the 6 p.m. time slot for the last three weeks.

Howsomever, Professor Jacobson, seems to endorse the move, from Legal Insurrection:

Let’s see.  Jew-baiter, unrepentant fraudster, tax delinquent, former Democratic National Convention speaker and presidential candidate.

Yup, he’ll fit right in.

More reax, from Hypervocal:

The hiring of Sharpton as a high-profile anchor is yet another signal that MSNBC is more interested in being the Fox News counterpoint than they are about being a journalistic endeavor. Sharpton is nothing if not a demagogue. He’s the quintessential definition of what a demagogue is, for good or bad.

Daily Caller goes stupid, link:

Consumer advocate and perennial independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader isn’t pleased with President Obama’s decision to appoint Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A consumer advocate would advocate for giving more power and more choice to consumers.   Nader only advocates for those choice of which he personally approves.

Ann Althouse just might not be a redneck, from Althouse:

Drinks served in mason jars…

Just when I  was warming to the professor.  Is there no civilization in Madison?