Nightly Ramble: The Root Beer Edition

We inturrupt this blog to bring you the most intense nightly read anywhere on the ‘sphere..The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble

This is the Root Beer Edition

• Someone noticed: Amusing that BitsBlog managed to make The New York Times over the weekend.  And here, I thought they weren’t paying attention.  I wonder; since this whole Madoff thing under discussion was about a Ponzi scheme set up over a period of decades, where the rich government got richer and the rest get screwed, I wonder what would have happened with that  clip in the Times had I made reference to the bigger crime in terms of Ponzi schemes ….”Social Security “. I will guarantee you it would never have seen the light of day.
• The Palin Saga: Amusing also, that there is so much speculation regards the future of Sarah Palin.   Most of it wrong. Particularly, her political future. The smell of desperation from the left about this woman  has long since become overpowering.  The ones gleefully predicting/proclaiming her political demise… both Leftists and Republican centrists… are the ones who most desperately need it for their own political futures to prosper… ones that will not do well in a race with a hard line conservative.  (Note to the Weekly Standard… are you listening?) I would urge you not to fall into the trap of taking some sources at their word, that she’s done for with her recent resignatuion from the Govenor’s office. Unlike those sources, I actually made some phone calls over the weekend to a few contacts in Alaska, and discussed it with some people both inside and outside that circle, to say no more.  For all appearances what’s going to be happening is that Palin is going to be concentrating on her aspirations as president.  Longtime readers will know full well that I have a small ocean of respect for the observational powers and analytical prowess of Charles Krauthammer.  So isn’t it amusing, that less than a couple of days after Krauthammer makes his pronouncements as regards what Palin should be doing,  (And all the folks who jumped on that bandwagon following those comments) she turns around and does it? Long-term readers will remain that I have been critical with her on occasion .  But I’m beginning to suspect that Sarah Palin has a quality about her that most politicians lack; particularly liberals….the ability to learn from previous mistakes, and adjust. That, notably, is something the current White House Occupant lacks.
• Muzzled? No, just Ignored. Speaking of Palin, let’s get a shout out to Shannyn Moore…. When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging. Idiot.
• Honduras at the tipping point: … says the WSJ. To which I add Obama’s dropping bannana peels and pushing where he can… making the world safe for socialism. Wait… this is an American president?
• Grounds for divorce? The MI6 Chief has his cover blown on facebook by his wife, of all things. Not. Smart. At. All.
• As goes California:  Glenn Reynolds says: “IN CALIFORNIA, renewable energy shortfalls. I’m not sure they’re a good model for the rest of the country, on this or many other issues . . . .”  Oh, I’m sure.  See, it depends on how you look at it. I figure, they’re a good model for us to avoid.
• Moran Comes Around: Speaking of Glenn, he also notes: “RICK MORAN: Tea Parties build on April success. He used to be quite unimpressed with the tea parties, so I guess that’s something.”  Well, look. Rick might get annoyed with me here… a bad place for me to be since he edits my Pajamas Media articles… But therein lies a clue. I’ve observed in the past that the man’s got some integrity about him… on a level I’ve found in few people. I’ve flayed Rick on other occasions and other topics in the past,  and found him to be not only very much the gentleman, but also very open to facts that run contrary to his current path. As such I never figured this would go down any other way. So, I dont’ recall having made much in the way of comment about him and the topic of Tea Parties.  m( With all the hip-shooting I do around here, I may have, I just don’t remember it) I figured the situation would repair itself.  His defenses on this topic always seemed more than a little thin to me. I think he knew it, too, if you want my honest reaction. I had the idea from the off that the contrary facts would keep piling up to the point where he’d find his position indefensible, and his integrity would take over.  Long time readers will understand that I don’t pass out such comments lightly, or for reasons of being politic.  Do the math.
• Independence Day?  I don’t suppose it’s occurred to any of you that we just celebrated our Independence day,  while we have a government which is trying rather desperately to make us as dependent as possible on government?  Sadly, they’re succeeding, too.  To give you an idea of how successful those efforts are, consider that we’ve just passed a bill to create a tax on ‘global warming’…. in a period when we’ve had the coolest summer in half a century.  And a good quarter of us are still complaining we’re not doing enough to respond to this ‘crisis’.  If that doesn’t give you a clue on how badly screwed America is, I don’t know what will. What are you going to trust? What government tells you, or are you going to trust your own eyes? There is one encouraging note in all of this. You’llr ecall Michelle Obama proclaiming when her Husband was elected POTUS she was proud of ‘her country’ for the first time. It’s encouraging to note that most  people don’t agree with her, today mostly on the basis of what her husband has done to the country.
  

  Moronmobile

• So, where’s your Obama Sticker?  I’ve noticed many folks having removed therir Obama stickers. Of course there are a few die-hards…. who would never admit they were wrong and are still trying to sell us Obama as being the best thing since Lenin. You know, I must say, it’s one thing to be so bloody stupid as to have supported Obama in the last election. It’s quite another to advertise your stupdity this way. Of course, look at the car it’s on.  One of the options on this thing, I hear, is a kool-aid dispenser. It’s the kind of attitude that makes you wish you had a monster truck.  But how’s all this hate for anything to the right of Fidel castro working out, guys? Oh, about the same as it did in Cuba. And anywhere else socialism has been tried. I mean, aside from 10% unemployment and climbing, aside from countries that were supposed to love is the moment the Obamamessiah crossed the threshold of the Oval Office… aside from the quadrupling of debt Obama has loaded on our shoulders in the first six months of being in office… aside from a new bit of job killing legislation evey single week…    is there anything this moron has brought that we can actually celebrate over?
• Oil is down: … to $64. Gee… almost like it was on some kind of schedule, or something. Oil drops the weekend after July 4th.
• The Palin Saga is really about the press and the left:  The amazing part about all of this is that the real story isn’t Palin’s actions, the bigger part of the story is the reax fromt he left and the press.  (But I repeat myself)  Roger Kimball notes it too, and writes about it at Pajamas Media, today.
• China and Islam: Apparently, China’s having issues with Islamic Extremists… IE; Terrorists. Gee, I wonder; Will China step up in the war on Terror NOW? I’m betting they would if Obama wasn’t in office trying to tell the world Islamic Terrorists are all a figment of our imagination.  140 people killed so far, and that’s what they’re telling su about. You KNOW it’s higher. And they’ve cut the internet off. Not. Good.

Fox News is reporting:

Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has died.

McNamara, 93, died at home in his sleep Monday morning, his wife Diana told The Associated Press. She said he had been in failing health for some time.

Known as a policymaker with a fixation for statistical analysis, McNamara was president of the Ford Motor Co. when President John F. Kennedy asked him to head the Pentagon in 1961.

 

A great piece from Mary Grabar at Pajamas Media today. Here’s a bit of it:

But those streets, once havens for displaced persons, soon were destroyed by the utopian plans of collectivists and their agitators who urged the mobs to violence. The neighbors of my working-class neighborhood in Rochester, New York, complained from their front porches of increasing taxes, as they watched their property values deteriorate from the urban “renewal” and social decay of Johnson’s Great Society program. While a job at Kodak or a stint at the community college was the aspiration for the graduates of Benjamin Franklin High School in the mid-seventies, we believed that nonetheless it was possible for someone of talent to make it big. Like the Partridge Family, they could take to the road, or at least enjoy owning a Camaro or Firebird — before the burdens of suburban family life took precedence.

We are seeing even those small marks of personal pride and independence — the freedom to rev up the engine on a Friday night — taken away. The muscle cars, under the diktat of the president and head of General Motors, are simply being eliminated and replaced by Yugo-style cars. The common retort to my lament is that such a boost to the male ego is silly in light of global warming and the greater good. What I find alarming, though, is that today’s generation submits to such authority.

And what about those from the upper-middle classes who had dreams of becoming doctors, executives, or entrepreneurs? As our president defies history and the Constitution by firing executives, citizens applaud.

Perhaps the most disturbing sight for me during the campaign — even more than Obama before the mobs in Berlin — was the corn-fed Midwestern couple starring on one of Obama’s commercials. Those were the people that I grew up with — salt of the earth. But I winced as I heard them tell Obama about their personal problems with bills and health care while soft music played in the background creepily.

They wanted him to take care of them. True to form, while North Korea conducted nuclear tests, Obama hailed his credit card reform — as if we are incapable of reading the fine print or making a phone call on our own. While young protesters longing for fair elections died in the streets of Tehran, Obama signed a bill to protect us from cigarettes. Now Obama wants to tell us what medical procedures we should have, how much we should earn, and what kinds of cars we should drive.

What are the responses to complaints about such violations of our “unalienable right” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? Frequent proclamations by the White House press secretary, by the secretary of state, and by the president himself of “we won.” And during his June 23 press conference, when presented with criticisms about his response to Iranian protests, Obama royally proclaimed twice, “I’m president.” So much for “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Now it’s only the “people” who voted for Obama.

Here’s someone who knows what’s what. Go and read.

I’ve been noting some page resolution times that are longer than I’d like to see.

To get the performance where it belongs, I’ll be moving BitsBlog to another, more powerful server sometime in the next few weeks. When, I don’t know yet.  What that means, is the site will be down for most of a day, while the move is made, and while the new IP address cascades down to the various Dynamic Name Servers. Again, when I’m not sure yet.

I’ll keep you posted.

Word from Channel 4 (NBC)  in the DC area

D.C. councilman and former mayor Marion Barry was arrested Saturday night and charged with stalking a woman, police said.

The United States Park Police said Barry was arrested in Washington after a woman flagged down an officer and complained that Barry was stalking her.

Barry was charged with misdemeanor stalking and released.

Ward eight, the area that keeps returning this turkey to the council, might eventually get the message.

But, I doubt it.

Let’s face it, they been returning and for so long, because he’s been busy promising everybody everything.  As long as it comes out of somebody else’s dime, what do the denizens of Ward eight care? Corruption? I don’t care, so long as I get my government cheese.

The thing that is remarkable about this, is that nobody’s noticed Barry is emblematic with what has gone wrong with our government the last 30 years or so.  You can drop him in the politics, and the outcome of that politics, in any major city in America, and he’d fit right in.  For example, Detroit.  Philadelphia leaps to mind.  And Atlanta.  East Saint Louis. New Orleans.

You get the idea. Where else but in heavily Democrat party dominated, union dominated  districts, could somebody have a record the likes of Marion Barry, and say out of jail, much less retain elective office?

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, the men of the Second Continental Congress made a bold gesture as they sought to uncleave themselves from their ties with Great Britain.  A gesture intended to convey that they were serious about the war that was already raging on the American Continent.  A gesture intended to tell the world, and perhaps garner the support of other countries, that the American Colonies could not and would not continue to live under the yolk of a tyrannical King and Parliament.  A gesture that could cost them all, and indeed did cost some, their lives and their properties.  The Declaration of Independence was written primarily to formalize the decision to separate the colonies from British rule.  It also sought to communicate the importance of concepts of liberty that were lacking in the current arrangement with the Britsh Monarchy.  Subjected to Britain’s control though they were, equal to other British Subjects living in the homeland they were not.  Even in attempts to seek the kind of autonomy eventually considered standard within the British Empire were at that time brushed aside… self-government was not in the best interest of Britain at that time.  Many know that the original Jeffersonian draft of the Declaration included a statement that could not be agreed upon by the 13 “free and independent states”… that is, regarding slavery.  Incredible that the words “…all men are created equal…” would remain in a document that could not hold the words:

“He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivatng [sic] and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of INFIDEL powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce.” (Washington State University Web Site: Original Draft of The Declaration of Independence)

But these and more words were removed by a Congress that was unwilling to do the right thing, as it would have an impact on the economy of some southern states.  So our beginnings were not perfect.  We moved forward tolerating one form of tyranny so that we could at least extricate ourselves from another.  Sad, though, that the British Empire managed to eliminate this “opprobrium” (yes, I had to look it up… it means “something that is a disgrace”) many years before the this new and freer nation could.  And very nearly cost us our independence and existance in doing so.  And true, that in dislodging ourselves of this opprobrium, we managed to substantively alter the power of the federal government in such a way as to make the states now more subservient to the federal branches.  This was probably not bad on the face of it, but the ideal of the soveriegnty of the states was, by necessity, reigned in.  The benefit has been a very stable national existence, a growing consistency of liberty (at least, on paper), and a greater sense of national unity.  But the trauma of economic concerns, once again, stirs the federal government (and some state governments) to consider, nay act upon, ideas that will doubtless impinge our liberties at some point.  Already, the highly successful in business are suddenly targets for all kinds of collectivist scrutiny.  Suddenly, it is the public at large, the media and the government who believe they should decide upon and dictate the actions and values of private business, beyond the appropriate levels of regulatory controls that help ensure that integrity in business dealings is not abandoned.  We continue to see laws and rumors of laws that would squelch our right to protect our lives and property.  And as the government takes ownership of and props up businesses that should by rights be bankrupt, the government instead bankrupts us and our children.  At least it is within the bounds of representative government (help, my tongue is stuck in my cheek!).  But seriously, we are fortunate to be operating under the umbrella of the US Constitution.  That could change, but I would never want that to be so.  We must constantly be on guard to protect the Constitution and the country it serves, we must watch for those that would diminish the integrity of that document, and ensure that our leaders continue to abide by its intent.  And within those bounds, we must work feverishly to ensure that our national existence remains secure and that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” remain the measure of our success as a nation.  The Declaration of Independence is meant for us as much as those that carved it out in 1776.  We must never allow ourselves to be constrained by tyranny.  We must continue to fight for our liberties and freedom for all Americans!

This article is cross-posted from The Conservative Reader

Watching fireworks at Henrietta ny

Fox News is reporting:

DEVELOPING: Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was killed Saturday in a shooting in Nashville.

A medical examiner confirmed to local FOX affiliate WZTV that McNair was found dead after police responded to a shooting in the city, though the circumstances of the shooting weren’t immediately clear, as Nashville police continue to investigate.

Apparently, there were others shot as well, including an as yet unidentified woman.

Nashville? Since when does this happen in Nashville?

I notice, by way of Fox news and a few other places, that both John McCain and President Obama have delivered speeches on this Fourth of July, that sound on similar themes.

I suppose these kind of platitudes are to be expected, given the day.  But at what point, did all this about freedom, liberty, and the individual, become mere platitudes? I ask, because neither one of them, apparently, feels that government and freedom are the polar opposites they always have been. Or, as Ronald Reagan once put it, the government isn’t the solution, government as the problem.

As I said in a recent Pajamas Media article,

In the long list of things done and said by Barack Obama since walking into the Oval Office, is there any one thing you can think of that would suggest he believes freedom is the answer for the human condition?

There’s certainly nothing I can think of, but I suppose there are those who would consider me to be less than fair when talking about such issues. But I am confident you won’t be able to think of anything, either.

I raise the question because the answer is key when analyzing his words and actions responding to the Iranian situation.

I go on:

At every turn since becoming president, as various problems have presented themselves, Barack Obama has raised the power of government over people (usually the least accountable government possible, his pledge for transparency notwithstanding) and eschewed the free market solution. He’s taken over the banks and the auto companies. He’s now working on taking over health care. He’s appointed “czars” who are not accountable to any elected authority and who even Democratic Senator Robert Byrd insists are unconstitutional.

These are not the actions of someone who thinks freedom paramount. Clearly government, and not freedom, is Obama’s panacea.

With this is mind, why are we so shocked and amazed when he refuses to stand up for freedom for the people of Iran? He’s already made it consistently clear that he doesn’t support freedom. Rather, he thinks government is the solution for every problem.

That quote makes an excellent link, because Iran was precisely the issue brought up by John McCain in his speech today..  McCain can hardly chided for bringing the subject up at all, in relationship to Obama and his dedication to freedom, since I did also, but I am also forced by something called the truth to suggest that Mr. McCain’s dedication to freedom over government has been something less than stellar, as well.

Indeed, the truth is that the only reason that we have a Democrat in the White House right now, is because Mr. McCain decided to project himself as a Democrat lite, as opposed to coming out strongly for controlling government growth and in fact reversing it. McCain never did, and offered only half as much  governmental increases than Obama… and no reduction at all.

Without that dedication, any reference to  “freedom” and “liberty” takes on the status of meaningless platitude. That means both of ’em.

So, you’ll pardon me if I don’t stand up and salute when such gets mouthed from these two. See, if I thought for a second that either one of them actually believe what they were saying, I’d stand up and salute.  As it is, I’ll mark both of their speeches with one finger. Guess which one.

The media, the left, (but I repeat myself ) and the Rockefeller Republicans (there I go repeating myself again ) are all majorly busy trying to come up with  “the answer” as regards Gov Sarah Palin’s announced resignation yesterday.  It should be no surprise to anyone that each of these answers are rather neatly within their respective world views.

The hard lefties like “Think Progress”… (a site, I hasten to add,  which involves neither thought nor progress)  insists that some kind of embezzlement scandal is going on.  The Huffington Post is busy engaging in a premature “I told you so” moment.  They also suggest that “Palin will run on the Retardation Platform.”  (Way to stay classy, you idiots. )  BradBlog is busy proclaiming to the world that there’s an iceberg scandal coming.  Bruce Reed, tells us about how a GOP leaders keep quitting and the troubles don’t. and, other assorted fairy tales. Such as, for example, she will never run for elected office again.

Let me be perfectly clear: The context of all of these statements and speculations can be found in lesser amounts on any stable floor. (Do I really have to make it any clearer than that?  )

The indications I get from discussions with people in both DC and  Alaska, is that she’s preparing herself for a presidential run.  I note with interest, Fineman think so as well.  Interestingly, this is precisely what Charles Krauthammer said she needed to do.  He was amazed she hadn’t done it yet.  Click.  Change scene.  Add two days, and she’s doing precisely what he said she needs to do.

Not only is she going to be making a run, but she’s robbing their noses in it, in the process.  I must admit that last part has some attractiveness. Break out your recipe books for crow.

Bill Kristol has this one about right:

After all, she’s freeing herself from the duties of the governorship. Now she can do her book, give speeches, travel the country and the world, campaign for others, meet people, get more educated on the issues – and without being criticized for neglecting her duties in Alaska. I suppose she’ll take a hit for leaving the governorship early – but how much of one? She’s probably accomplished most of what she was going to get done as governor, and is leaving a sympatico lieutenant governor in charge.

And haven’t conservatives been lamenting the lack of a national leader? Well, now she’ll try to be that. She may not succeed. Everything rests on her talents, and on her performance. She’ll be under intense and hostile scrutiny, and she’ll have to perform well.

I suspect, she’ll do exactly that. Melissa Clouthier notes Kristol as well and says:

Do you get the feeling, though, that no matter the reason, she will be loathed, hated, lamented and maligned? This woman inspires such vitriol. It’s astonishing.

(Nod) It is, even for jaded sots like myself.  To the point where it doesn’t make much sense, unless you attribute something they’d never admit to:  Desperation.  The pure desperation coming from the left, which as I say includes the press and the so called moderate Republicans, is palpable.  The stench of desperation is overwhelming. They know what kind of damage to the left a popular conservative can cause.  And so they’ll do and say anything to keep her on the outs.

Consider it this way; If the left, and the so called “moderates”  are so desperate to keep her out she’s worth a very serious look indeed, to be the next president of these United States, come 2102. Like it or not the left and the ‘moderate’ Republicans are  going to be dealing with Sarah Palin as a front runner in 2012.

Sarah Palin has resigned as governor of Alaska, effective 25 July.   The Anchoress has an excellent round up.   Best of luck Sarah.

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

This is the “Getaway” Edtion

• We forgive you already. Not Git…. Over at The Conservative Reader Art Smith discusses Mark Sanford. Ya know,  I’m mindful of Jimmy Carter’s admissions in the Playboy interview. Has anyone noticed the different reactions, here? Oh, I know, 1976 was a different time… but isn’t that part of the point?
• Despite Failure of “Stimulus” to Work as Advertised, President Focuses on Regulatory Schemes, not Economic Recovery So says The Gay Patriot. Don’t think that’s nothing we’ve not been telling you here. Obama’s numbers are going to be at amazing lows by election time. It’s already started.
• The State of Education under Obama: Let’s make this short and not so sweet. Did anyone notice who Obama’s Secretary of Education is? It’s none other than Arne Duncan, who used to be the big hincho in the Chicago city school system.  The conditions in that system after a few years of Duncan should tell the tale of what out schools will be like nation-wide.  We want these morons running our healthcare system why, again?
• The Lori Drew Mysteries: I like the idea that the verdict was overturned. I’ve seldom seen a more emotionally based verdict… one that was absent of any actual law, much less one being violated.
• IowaHawk Ad Agency:Sad part about this is that it’ s so close to the truth.
• The Coup that wasn’t: Octavio Sánchez tells us that what happened in Honduras was not a coup, regardless what Obama tells us. This is about the rule of law. He’s correct, of course. I still find it disturbing, yet not surprising, that Obama is at every opportunity supporting the leftist dictator… Or, the dictator wannabe.
• The Church of the bloody obvious: Nick Gillespie at Reason has a full grasp on the obvious.  That’s a little less snarky than it sounds, given that so few have even that ability, anymore.
• Wrestling Midgets killed by fake prostitutes: Who can resist a headline like that? The location: Mexico city. The lesson: Sometimes tourist traps are not what’s advertised.

Colin Powell who never has truble finding his voice to  criticize conservative, trys to muster a some courage to stand up to the one,  Jon Ward, Washington Times:

Colin Powell, one of President Obama’s most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president’s ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.

“I’m concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them,” Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN’s John King, released by the network Friday morning.

In my best R. Lee. Emery:

I – can’t –  hear –  you!

It is a good start Colin, but only one small step.

Trust me when I tell you I will not be turning this website into all Michael Jackson all the time.  At the same time one cannot be bombarded with all the information we have been without at least giving a passing thought.

From Fox, today:

The powerful sedative Propofol — also known as Diprivan — was among several narcotics found in Michael Jackson’s rented suburban Los Angeles mansion, according to a law enforcement source.

Some of the prescriptions also were dispensed under various patient names and doctors, leading investigators to believe aliases were used to obtain the drugs.

Authorities are investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration and California Attorney General Jerry Brown both are helping Los Angeles police investigate the possible involvement of prescription drugs in Jackson’s death.

In looking at this story, and others like it, I can’t help but wonder if it least part of what happened here wasn’t “suicide by stardom”.  or more correctly, removing oneself from stardom by way of suicide.  I know that’s going to annoy some people, but so be it.

Let’s remember that we saw several reports that Jackson’s lungs were so screwed up, that he couldn’t sing.  Estimates were that there was no way in the world he was going to be able to get through half of the scheduled performances already on the books.  Let’s also remember that he was reported to have said that he’d be better off dead.  Granted, we all have thoughts along those lines from time to time.  But time that together with the other reports we’ve been hearing about the amount of drugs he’d been ingesting and about the amount of food that he hadn’t been ingesting, and you begin to detect a pattern that is all too common among uber- stars.  Particularly , troubled ones.

Let me be clear; this is speculation based on reports that I’m getting from 3000 miles away .  But I would be very surprised if some of those factors didn’t at least enter into this.  But, you know… I will be very surprised if we ever get answers to those questions.

Welcome one and all to the most intense nightly read on the sphere: The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble.

Very Punny.

This is the short Edition. We’re leading into a holiday, and I’m a little pressed for time, so… today’s Ramble is a little shorter than some.

• Selling Access That story rarely are today about the Washington Post selling access to its news lines, they are now busily backpedaling from saying that the flier wasn’t properly vetted. The White House is also denying the story, of course.  But as Helen Thomas observed “What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” you’ll forgive me if I’m less than accepting of the denials surrounding this.  Let’s say for the sake of argument that they are selling access to those in power, or they are not.  In either event, would anyone be able to tell the difference?  The mainstream media in this country has been on the pocket of the liberals for so long, there would be no discernible difference in what passes for news .  Amazingly, the MSM isn’t taking too kindly to some of the new media having prepackaged questions at the White House. I guess it’s just a matter of competition.  Rather like the blogger ethics panel we heard so much about a while ago.  Anyone remember that stupidity?
• Question of the Day : Glenn Reyonds asks: “IS OVERREGULATION killing entrepreneurship in America?” Good lord and a quarter!  How can we have arrived at this point, with this remaining a question?
• Cracks in the Facade: Quinnipiac University National Poll says that Obama’s disapproval ratings are going ever higher. Mostly, on the economy.  Again, this was a question?
• Promises not kept: As an example, let’s consider how the stimulus is working out.  Does anybody recall that we were told we had to pass the stimulus right away if we’re going to keep the unemployment runner 6%?  We’re currently at nine and a half percent. conventionally these promises he’s not keeping are going to catch up to in.  With any luck, it’ll be about the time of next year’s midterms.
• The Top Ten: In case you hadn’t noticed, Fox News has the top ten shows on cable news.  All of them.  CNN, for their part, has fallen to third place.