Nightly Ramble Thursday

Welcome one and all to this most intense nightly read anywhere on the ‘sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble

• THE REALITY OUTSIDE OSLO: So,  even thouigh most people don’t think he deserves it, President Obama, has gone and accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.  In his acceptance speech, he talked to us all about a ‘just war’…. depite the fact that many of his crazy supporters are convinced there IS no such animal. The reality, of course, is that there is in fact such an animal despite the denials of Obama and his erstwhile supporters during the campaign.  The political reality of this is that Obama has managed to anger his base while also angering those with common sense.  That  is a unique accomplishment, and is noted as such, herewith.  I mentioned yesterday that the president’s polling numbers are at record lows, both for him, and for any president at this stage in presidency.  The reality outside Oslo is those numbers are going to go down even further, and now.  We will revisit and confirm this next month.
• BYE BYE, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: After something like 125 years to publications, “Editor and Publisher ” is to be no more.  I think we can consider this another indication of the way the print media is going, going, gone.
• MCCONNELL V LIMBAUGH: Over at The Hill, Alex Bolton mentions how senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is being targeted for not putting up a strong enough fight to put a halt to the government takeover of health care.  He goes on to point out that Rush Limbaugh has questioned McConnell’s strategy a few times this week.  Frankly, I think the questions are justified, and the answers are not forthcoming in anything resembling a manner of which I would approve.  you’ll recall, perhaps, that in a recent Ramble, I mentioned that the republicans need desperately now to be the party of “NO”. Apparently, senator McConnell didn’t get the memo.  There is no possible way to make a government takeover of health care better by adding amendments to it.  It needs to be defeated outright.  It needs to be stopped.  Now.
• GORE THE LIAR RIDES AGAIN: Andrew Bolt has the details.
• HABBY BIRTHDAY: Wishes go out to Billy Beck. (OK< actually that was supposed to go out on the 27th, but we were down for the server swap that day).
• THE DANGERS OF BEING CRITICAL OF OBAMA: Jen Rubin:
  

  

  Jenifer Rubin

  This is not an administration that takes bad news well. Or to put it more precisely, this is not an administration that takes in bad news. The president pretended not to hear the Tea Party protesters outside his window in April. The administration brushed off ordinary citizens who turned out to object to ObamaCare at town-hall meetings in August as stooges of the insurance industry or ignoramuses. It went to war with Fox for refusing to toe the sycophantic line. And in December it’s reduced to screeching at Gallup for bearing bad polling news.

  Jennifer then goes on to point out that this administration has the strategy of doubling down on its nasty rhetoric keep turning left on politics and left on policy, blame the media for missing the “real story and admit no errors whatsoever.  I would further that comment by suggesting to you that the same is true of the democrats in Congress.  Indeed, that strategy seems to me to be the only point on which they are all agreed.

• THE TRUCK: You may have heard that we managed to get a little snow around here today.  About fifteen miles down the road to the west, the snow piled up to 20in. or so.  This afternoon.  You can imagine what it’s like for a first time tractor trailer driver to ply their trade in such weather.  Such was my lot this afternoon.  I must say, I did rather well in it, I didn’t wreck the truck, I didn’t smack into anybody, I have not been asked to not come back to school.  All told, a successful day.  I may have some pictures to post later.  No, I won’t bother posting any of the pictures that we took this afternoon, given that we were driving in nearly whiteout conditions, and there really isn’t all that much to see as a result.  Here, though is a pic I managed to take from the cab of my truck this morning.

“Barack Obama’s trip to Oslo to pick up his Nobel peace award is in danger of being overshadowed by a row over the cancellation of a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner.  Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit.  The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children’s event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an exhibition in his honour at the Nobel peace centre.  He has also turned down a lunch invitation from the King of Norway.”  Read more at Guardian News & Media!

“SO far, the journey of Michaele and Tareq Salahi from unknown arrivistes to notorious party crashers has focused on the apparent slipups of the Secret Service and the White House social secretary. But to fully grasp the ongoing conniption inspired by the episode, you need to understand that when Ms. Salahi strutted onto the South Lawn in that bright red lehenga, she and her husband breached far more than a secure perimeter. They also trampled countless protocols that are the social, business and networking bedrock of official Washington. Essentially, the couple used the mixed martial arts approach to upward mobility in a town that still cherishes the Marquess of Queensberry rules. And it looks like the town will be spluttering about it for quite some time.”
“Washington is a small ‘c’ conservative kind of society, in which people are aware of the traditions and boundaries of appropriate behavior,” said Wayne Berman, a Republican lobbyist. “It’s a city about rules, about conventions and if there’s no keg at the party, it doesn’t get crashed.”  Read more at NY Times Fashion & Style!

Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read anywhere on the sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble

• HEALTHCARE AND SALESMANSHIP: I notice where Harry Reid says that he’s got a deal going to resolve the impasse on the “public up shun” which, in reality is nothing more than a complete government takeover of health care.  First of all, regardless of how that is, the fact of the matter is he doesn’t have 60 votes. That, my friends, is because the American people are starting to stand up, and be counted.  They don’t want a government takeover of health care.   Period. What we’re seeing is salesmanship.  Or, in the vernacular, hype.  Harry Reid is trying to create a bandwagon effect here by saying that the conflict is over, when in fact it is not.  (Gee, isn’t that the same thing the left is trying to do as regards the “global warming” myth? )Bruce McQuain points out there are several functional problems with the deal Harry says solves all our problems:
  

  hat in the world are the Senate Democrats thinking?  Isn’t this supposed to be about “health care reform”?  Apparently their idea of reform is to take a system that has trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities and expand it without ever addressing the underlying reason for the huge future debt?

  Brilliant.  Just brilliant.

  But apparently winning the process (passing something called “health care reform”) has become more important than the original purpose of “reform”.

  Frankly, I have a quibble with Bruce on this point.  At least, with the way this is worded.  I understand, sarcasm, and all that.  The fact of the matter is, however, that this was never really about improving health care in this country, and as such actual improvement of Healthcare delivery is not on the agenda, now.  What is on the agenda is the centralization of power within the halls of fhe Federal government, and the centralization of power within the Federal government to the Democrat party. as for the rest, since when have Democrats ever worried about balanced budgets?

• SPEAKING OF HARRY: James Toranto today asks:
  

  How did such an unappealing man who says so many foolish things get so far in politics?

  James you answered this one yourself a couple paras up:

  It’s hard to imagine what Reid could be hoping to accomplish, other than perhaps rallying the Democratic left with a little partisan hate speech.

  You see, James, that kind of thing is what passes for “substance” amongst the left anymore.  That’s always managed get elected. He keeps getting elected, because he knows how to play to his base.  Your problem, James, in your analysis, is that you attempt to tie something slightly more sensible than this to Harry Reid.  Bad move.

• NOTE TO MEDIA MATTERS: Generally, it is difficult if not impossible to defend a charge of falsifying records, by using falsified records as fact.  As in this case. You for example cite global temperatures published in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2001 report… And yet, amazingly, we have no indication whatsoever that this chart is any more accurate … IE less falsified…than any of the rest of what’s been fed our way for the last 30 years.  CLUE: To convince the world that the earth is warming, you’re going to have to prove your case on the evidence.  The evidence you are using is tainted, and thereby inadmissible.   It also tends to ignore the idea that we are at the moment in a large cooling trend.  How when convenient some facts are, eh?  And please spare us the sanctimony about articles being written by “actual climates scientists”.  Let’s remember, the emails which everybody saw just recently, were also written by “actual climate scientists” and exposed them as liars.  And that evidence is still coming in…. A lie you are now willingly a party to.  Media Matters, but apparently not facts, if they run afoul the leftist spew.  Oh…. Required reading on this topic: David Solway.
• AS PREDICTED: George Stephanopoulos will anchor of “Good Morning America”
• RATINGS TROUBLE FOR OBAMA: Ben Smith today tells us that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having Obama as president versus 44% for the supposedly unpopular President Bush.   The fact of the matter is that The Chosen One actually has the lowest first year approved all rating that has ever been recorded for any president at all, at this point in their presidency.  Ponder that for just a moment.  Oh… and according to Gallup now, only 26% figure that The Anointed One should have received that Nobel prize.   Frankly, it’s might take, that most people don’t really understand that the Nobel prizes and about actual accomplishment anymore, and hasn’t been in several years.  It’s how sleeve tow the leftist political line, that gets you nominated.

“The US government has agreed to pay $3.4bn (£2.1bn) to settle a long-running case over Native American land.  The Cobell case, filed in 1996, alleged the government had mismanaged billions of dollars in income from natural resources on Native American land.  Under the deal the interior department will share $1.4bn (£859m) among 300,000 tribe members as compensation and set up a $2bn fund to buy land from them.”  Read more at BBC News!

Biology is not a mortal sin.    We can not be held to account over those actions for which we have no control.   I that light, I reject the Jimmy Carter standard that it is a sin to have lust in your heart.   Rather I hold the standard for sin is the Teddy Kennedy standard,  lust in your zipper.

Further, I hold that sexual attraction is not a matter of an acquired taste, but reflects hard coded biological wiring.    If you are attracted to same kind of girl that your father was, it it more than likely that you inherited the preference from your father.  Moreover, women do not use makeup to change the look of their personality.   Rather, they use makeup to appeal to a male’s biological wiring.

Having said that, I consider Eugene Robinson to have gone off his freeping rocker.   Robinson writes in reference to Tiger Woods’ s choice of mistresses, from the Washington Post:

But the world is full of beautiful women of all colors, shapes and sizes — some with short hair or almond eyes, some with broad noses, some with yellow or brown skin. Woods appears to have bought into an “official” standard of beauty that is so conventional as to be almost oppressive.

Maybe Robinson is new to being male?    He fails to consider that what revs his motor may not rev Tiger’s.   What revs Tiger’s motor is based on his own individual biological wiring.   For Robinson to suggest an affirmative action program for bimbos is racist.

Man bite dog, and I link to Barbara Walter    Jenny Sanford on her husband chronic infidelity, from Brad Larosa and Lauren Sher, ABC News:

“It’s been a crazy year. … Certainly his actions hurt me, and they caused consequences for me, but they don’t in any way take away my own self-esteem. They reflect poorly on him,” she said, in an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters.

While I do not claim to be an expert on the subject, Mrs. Sandard’s husbands peccadillos seemed like small potatoes, by politcal standards.   That Mr. Sanford was linked to one girl friend, was never accused of rape, and did not try to put his girl friend on the payroll.

In contrast, B.J. Clinton has had more girls friends than anybody can count, but Mrs. Clinnton steadfastly defended her cad of husband.   So republican women simply have higher standards?

• MESSAGE TO RICK SANTORUM: Go home. You’re neither wanted nor needed. Particularly, as POTUS.
• ACORN: NO ILLEGALITY? The Politico:
  

  An outside review of the beleaguered community group ACORN has found “serious management challenges,” but no pattern of illegal activity.

  The review, commissioned by ACORN in the wake of a hidden video expose that showed a few of its employees appearing to offer tips on how to break the law, also largely absolved the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now’s current management, laying much of the blame on founder Wade Rathke for lax oversight and dangerously rapid growth.

  Well, now wait a tick. I mean, is anyone even faintly surprised that a review commission by ACORN would paint ACORN as innocent?go ahead, tell me about how this isn’t all just for public relations, and in an attempt to put out the fires that have been burning around the place lately. The response of ACORN to their current situation is not unlike that of another “community organizer ” Barack Obama, who given a choice between creating jobs and creating a public relations smokescreen chose the latter course and set up a “jobs summit”.  It appears both the value public relations gimmicks and fancy words over actual accomplishment.

• POLITICO ELECTED TO PULITZER PRIZE BOARD? Well, that’s what Greg Sargent’s reporting:
  

  Wow, methinks this press release, just out, will stir up a bit of discussion:Jim VandeHei, executive editor and co-founder of Politico, a new media company covering national politics and governance, has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, Columbia University announced today.

  VandeHei, 38, is the first representative of a primarily online news organization to serve on the Pulitzer Board…

  The company, with more than 100 employees, blends the old media values of fairness and accuracy with the speed and immediacy of new technologies.

  What’s interesting is that this decision may not sit well with some old media types and new media types alike. New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, you may recall, recently blasted Politico for relying heavily on frivolous scoops and playing the “inside game” to a fault. Meanwhile, the criticism of Politico from bloggers and new media denizens is too familiar to recount here.

  I don’t know.  I’ve had my problems with them over the years, but I have to say that if there is any indication that Politico has gone to the dark side, it’s when they start brown nosing it around the Pulitzer Prize prize people. Kellers objections, are eminently understandable, given the number of times that his newspaper has gotten caught with its pants down by bloggers, including  Politico.  The bloggers that Sargent refers to are mostly left leaners, as well, and their complaints can be found on the same stable floor as that of Keller.  I must wonder, though,  if Politico in general, and Jim VandeHei in particular, understand just who it is they’re seeking approval from. Given that we’ve already mentioned the New York Times, does the name Walter Duranty ring any bells? I’ve not heard of Keller offering to return  that Pulitzer prize, despite the fraudulent nature of the whole thing.  Are you getting all this?

• OBAMA’S APPROVAL RATINGS DROP STILL FURTHER: This whole thing is eminently predictable, to the point where all I have to do is cut and paste from the last time the subject came up, and change the numbers, and the dates.  Today’s number, another new record low, is 47%. Oh, Hopey Changitude.
• HARRY AND THE RACE CARD: you know liberals are losing the argument over health care when we see their much vaunted leadership making comparisons between opposing the government take over thereof and slavery.
  
  I’m firmly convinced that Godwin himself should have created a corollary for the rule about Hitler being mentioned in a conversation.
• THE SHAM AT COPENHAGEN CONTINUES: I’ve been predicting this all along.  1200 limos, Most of which we are told had to be driven in from Germany , something on the order of 150 private planes, to ferry the delegates who are telling everybody else that they are to carpool and ride in wheeled thimbles to save the planet? Sure, that’s sending the “right” message.  Unsurprisingly,the Saudis are at least a little bit suspicious of the whole thing. Justifiably so, in my opinion.  And the head of the amusingly named Environmental Protection Agency is still out there on the front lines trying to minimize the damage of the little peek behind the curtain we were afforded a few weeks ago.  Apparently, denial, is an environmental value.
• SPEAKING OF GLOBAL WARMING…. o the people in Illinois and Iowa who have been under blizzard conditions for the last 24 hours.  As I gather it, that storm is headed up the slot ports us here in western New York.  Wonderful.  Of course, this is the time when I’m going to be doing a little truck driving.  Speaking of which …
• PERSONAL NOTES: I thought I’d pass along this picture, taken yesterday, of one of the tractor trailers  the school uses to teach its students.  I will doubtless be driving this thing by the end of the day.

Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly read anywhere on the sphere… The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble

I hear it’s cold… VERY cold in Montanna.  So, in honor of their freezing their backsides off up there, I’ll post this pic of the Nightly Ramble Regional Headquarters somewhere outside Glasgow. (Snicker)

By the time you read this, I’ll be driving the School’s truck for the first time, as I make the transition from IT pro to driving pro.  But let’s look around the political landscape before I worry about that much, OK?

• A DAY WHICH SHALL LIVE IN INFAMY: Of course, I’m referring to December 7, 1941.  I still marvel at the comparisons that have been drawn by several over the years between that event at pearl harbor, and the events of the world trade center and the pentagon and in that Pennsylvania field on September the eleventh, nine years ago.  I suppose that in the world of 1941, we as a nation could be forgiven for underestimating the power of those sworn enemies we had in that day to attack us directly. America of 1941 was very strong.  We had a military that was second to none in that day, and there were all shins that between us and our sworn enemy.  Not many considered that such an enemy would have the ability to cross those Alicia’s in order to attack us. It was a lesson that cost us many lives, and some of the victims of that underestimation of our enemy still lie under the water at Pearl Harbor, nearly 70 years on. September 11th, is also a day in which America paid the price for underestimating its enemy.  As with Pearl Harbor, there were many who considered that the chances of being attacked by a group of ragtag fourteenth century throwbacks, was so small as to not be worrisome.  Of course, that turned out to be the wrong answer.  Alas, that it doesn’t take very long for corporate think so prevalent in the American left to on the basis of time conclude that we’re no longer in danger from attacks by our sworn enemy.  Given the power that those who think that way now have, I can’t help but consider the idea that they and their wishes to withdraw from the field of battle against our sworn enemy will prevail, thus leaving us open for yet another attack.  In short, I fear the return to the September 10 mentality that the left has all too often shown in this country the last ten years or so.  The America of the late forties and early fifties could afford to think that they were once again say from their enemy , having defeated them.  Or, could they?  America no more than caught its breath from world war two , when they found themselves embroiled in the Korean conflict, and communist expansionism .  The lessons of the decade from 1941 to 1951 in terms of foreign policy and defense policy are clear.  The question becomes, whether not we as Americans are willing to apply those lessons to worker situation.  Speaking for myself, I suggest we had better do so.  That is, assuming our survival is on the menu.
• HEALTHCARE AND THE ECONOMY… & JOBS: Boortz gets it, saying it simply and directly….. The best quick move to improve the economy is…
  

  … For Democrats to announce that they’re abandoning all attempts at health care “reform” until the economy is back on its feet. People – knowledgeable people – are scared to death about what these Democrats may dream up. If they stick with this scheme it just cannot end well.

  Just so. But you know they’re not going to back down.  See, saving the economy is not what they’re about. They’re after more power for government, and thereby for themselves. Obama was up on the hill over the weekend trying to salvage the socialist wet dream of government healthcare. Bloomberg:

  Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama heads to the U.S. Capitol to press Senate Democrats to agree on health legislation as lawmakers struggle to resolve disputes over issues including a proposed government-run insurance plan.

  Democrats met throughout yesterday to seek an alternative to Senate Majority Harry Reid’s plan to create the new national program to cover the uninsured. Opposition within his party leaves Reid at risk of falling four votes short of the 60 he needs to pass the legislation, the most sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health-care system in more than four decades.

  At risk, hell. There’s only one thing this visit shows….The Democrats  simply don’t have the votes, and they know it, else Obama wouldn’t be up there trying to twist arms, and trying with that “Jobs Summit” the other day, to separate the two issues. He’d rather we didn’t see clearly that the reason jobs aren’t happening and jobs are going away is government with Democrats in power is growing.   The reason they don’t have the votes is simple; The American people are starting to rise up and say government intervention they don’t want… particularly if it raises taxes on an already overburdened economy. And sending the message also, that assuming he doesn’t get that message clearly and act accordingly, there won’t be Democrats in power in Washington past the next election.

• TOO STUPID? Look, gang… this is not now to gain voters. Klein is perhaps one of the most dishonest the left has to offer,  but this really shows the underlying contempt for the American people. The message being sent here is that the only people that don’t agree with the government takeover of health care are too stupid to understand it.   The bandwagon argument with spiked baseball bats.
• THE SHAM AT COPENHAGEN: It’s starting this monring and in just the manner I told you it would the other day… From Drudge, this morning:
  

  COPENHAGEN CLIMATE SUMMIT: 1,200 LIMOS, 140 PRIVATE PLANES...
  Spews More CO2 than 60 Countries do in Entire Year -- COMBINED...

  I was going to add comments to that, but I really don’t think I need to.  It appears from here that the hypocrisy involved with these people can speak for itself quite clearly.  Just as I said it would.  And should I mention that the prostitutes in Copenhagen … and by that, I mean the individuals who offer sexual contact for money, not just those who are pushing the global warming mantra… are doing a land office business ? ( Message to Michael Schlesinger…. Gutter reportage, my ass. Your problem is that the reportage is too accurate for your comfort. My advice to you is get used to it.)

• MAX BAUCUS: So, the chairman of the senate finance committee, recommends his girlfriend for appointment as U.S. attorney in his home state.  I’ll bet you haven’t even heard this story.  There’s a reason for that.  The senator involved is a Democrat.
• FREE TRIPS: Before we come down to hard on Senator Baucus and his girlfriend,  perhaps it’s time to look closely at those who would sit in judgment of him should it ever get to that. I’d like you to notice something in the story.  In the opening blurb, the story mentions the first a Republican then a Democrat and then another Republican as having transgressed those laws.  I suppose, to the New York Times, this is “fair and balanced. ” The fact is that the majority of those running afoul of those laws are Democrats.  They also have me be the ones in power, and are therefore running the ethics committee’s in their respective houses.  Notice also that the one topic that the story does not touch is  Charlie Rangel.
• WE’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET: Apparently, this is going to be the story that simply will not die.  Leaving aside the idea that this guy is married to a super model, has a couple of kids, and so on.  The one and that he was supposedly chatting with, as we found out several days ago, was not the only one.  According to the scandal sheets, the count is now a six women who are claiming , that they, too, were involved with Mr. Woods.  At this stage of the game, we’re going to have to admit that at least some of this has to be “me too” syndrome.  After all, there is a pretty substantial amount money involved.  Wherever there’s money, their scandal.  Even absent any sex.  That said, however the, I really have to win this is being pushed as hard as it is, because of the misdeeds in Washington that our press would rather not cover.  Makes a nifty little diversion, don’t you think?
• BIRTHDAT WISHES: Today they go out to Melissa Clouthier
• PERSONAL NOTES: My response to the Obama Economy proceeds apace.  Today, barring any unforseens, I’ll be driving the Trucking school rig for the first time.  The schedule as it now stands has me graduating from the place on or about January the 5th,  and going through the training program of my new employer for about another 4 weeks total, and then getting my own truck come February.  With any luck, I’ll be able to post from the road in short order, since I’m attempting to get a laptop together with an air card.  We’ll see how long that takes.

I’ve been saying for years that GOP candidates are successful in elections in direct and unalterable relationship to how conservative they are. Rasmussen gives us confirmation:

Hat tip photo: Instapundit

Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican.

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.

Are you listening, GOP?

This is rich….

Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network’s top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network’s political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.

So says Josh Gerson at Politico.

Message to NPR: Maybe she ought to reconsider appearing regularly on NPR because of NPR’s well known left leaning?

www.JonesToTheGrindstone.com

Planting a seed of doubt in someone’s head is a very powerful tool of manipulation.The sole motive can be to upset another person for one’s own devilish amusement. Watching the seed grow into a Giant Sequoia overnight is the ultimate prize for those who perpetrate this game.

This sequoia weighs down the victim—he can’t even think anymore. And he  lashes out at the very person he loves the most, often a wife or girlfriend. Then, the evil gardener can wash his hands of the dirt he carefully tilled and walk away to go tend to another plot.

An idyllic setting for this game is a long military deployment in the desert. Certain jobs have extended waiting periods between intense duty responsibilities, like Air Force flight line maintenance jobs. Down time has the guys hanging around and leaves an open fly for gossip and rumors.

For example, Paul, new to the base in Qatar, was on a regular shift with the same group of guys night after night. The beat on that shift was talking about who’s spouse is back at home cheating and how often. The conspiring gardeners noticed Paul’s discomfort. So, Paul’s new work buddies began to team-up against him and incessantly talk about all the unbridled, extramarital sex going on back in the States.

Paul hated leaving his beautiful wife at home, alone, for all those months– neglected. As time goes by and the distance between couples seems to grow daily, a person can forget the true character of their spouse. The seed began to root into Paul’s thoughts— like was she running around town picking up men now? What is she really doing on the weekends? Why, now, all of a sudden does she want a Facebook account?

Of course, for Paul, the temptation to accuse his wife of lying and cheating became too overwhelming to ignore. All of the gardeners’ tender loving care of manipulation had grown roots.  All the other guy’s spouses are cheating on them, so Paul’s must be doing the same. Right? Paul begins to text his wife relentlessly questioning her whereabouts and wants the specs on every single person she has contact with. Paul keeps going through his fact checker list to make sure everything she has said is lining up and staying the course.

Now, Paul is having trouble functioning at work. The roots of the sequoia have strangulated his thought processes. His brain is in a vice grip. Even his superior has noticed that Paul isn’t concentrating enough to keep the work place safe.

For Pete’s sake, will someone get rid of those gardeners? Haven’t they done their job—-Paul is a mental wreck.

The Great Sequoia had reached for the sky with Paul as its earth. Those gardeners cultivated a tower of a tree with the newbie, Paul. On his last leg, he finally asked his supervisor for a shift change. Enough was enough.

Soon after being on the new shift, Paul returned to his regular self. No longer did he routinely attack his wife’s love and fidelity. Amazing what the right manure can do for the gardeners.

Shades of Jack Webb, just the facts ma’am, nothing but the facts.  Carly Fiorina discusses the impact of Obamacare on women,video:

Back at you, Barack Obama, Dirty Harry Reid and Mrs. Pelosi.

Hat tip:  Kathryn Jean Lopze, National Review.

Some parishioners in the Church of Obama discovered last week that their spiritual leader is a false prophet.

Dana Milbank: Washington Post.

G. D. Maxwell, Pique:

Now, now, let’s not get too uppity here. We need to be understanding. We need to be unified. We need to be supportive. We need to be patient. We need to pretend everything’s hunky-dory. We need to be quiet.

Or else.

That seems to be the position taken by (the IOC)

[…]

And really, that’s the shame here. No one has or will come forth with a rational, 21^st century explanation for excluding women ski jumpers from the 2010 Olympics. Jacques Rogge, head rogue at the IOC, “explained” the secret vote to continue banning women from the top level of the sport by saying, “We don’t want the medals to be diluted and watered down, that is the bottom line.”

The last time I checked the International  Olympic Committee was a private organization and had no need to explain their internal  decisions to anybody.    I would be very happy if the IOC could manage their private business at zero cost to the world taxpayers.

If Maxwell is trying to make a lucid argument, it simply eludes me.   Maxwell argument, such as it is, boils down to well this is the Twenty First Century and the ski dudes get Olympic medals for ski jumping, so the ski chicks deserve medals as well.

An analogous argument for us south of the border types, would be as the President, Barack Obama,  can not talk without a teleprompter,  the Secretary of State, Mrs. B.J. Clinton should be forced to use one as well.

How this issue extends beyond the eighty ski chicks who would be competing for medals eludes me.    This not like force female circumcision which mutilates  millions of women a year.  This not abortion which kill women even before they are born.   It is not like the Olympics even matter.

Hat tip:  Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.