Thousands Show Up for "Red White and Brave" Parade in Colorado Springs (29 August)

Maj. General Perkins of 4th Inf. Divison (Fort Carson)






One photographer underneath a gigantic American flag the Navy guys were carrying.

You Can Kiss These Freedoms Goodbye

Shawn Tully, in a Fortune/CNN article, wrote that these freedoms will be wiped out under socialized medicine:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan.
2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs.
3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage.
4. Freedom to keep your existing plan.
5. Freedom to choose your doctors.

Another Best Buy Horror Story

The Consumerist has just put out this report:

I am writing to you because my husband and I are really getting the run around from Best Buy.

We bought a PC about 5 years ago, which has become our children's computer. It was in good condition, except the CD player in it was broken. We bought the extended warranty for the computer so we brought the tower in to the (redacted), NH store to get the CD replaced over 3 weeks ago. We declined backing up the data (a $100 charge) since replacing the CD drive is not a big deal, and does not require any work to be done to the hard drive. My husband would have replaced the CD drive himself, but then it would invalidate the warranty.

We found out this week that there was actually more work done to the computer than just what we had requested. In fact, our entire hard drive was replaced, thus all of the data is now gone! Apparently there were other things wrong with the computer than what we thought and the Geek Squad thought it would be in everyone's best interest to replace the hard drive. In fact, the Geek Squad replaced so much on the computer that the value of the work that they did is well over the amount of money that the computer is even worth!!! If we thought there was even a chance that our data was in jeopardy, we definitely would have backed it up ourselves, or paid the $100 to have it backed up.

So, to make a long story short, the Best Buy Geek Squad is asking that we pay about $1,700 in for lab fees, an external hard drive and labor in order to MAYBE aquire about 80% of the data from my computer. When we called their corporate office, after a 2 hour phone call, my husband was told that the corporate office, "does not negotiate fees". Corporate Office called the GM from the Best Buy in (redacted), NH and they are giving us a $200 gift card that we can use to pay towards the fee.

We need your help! We do not have an extra $1,500 to get our data back! We are losing thousands of photos of our children, and a lot of personal and professional files. I now know that we should always back up our data, but honestly, we were just getting the CD drive changed! We didn't want anything else done to the computer! It was working just fine! We truly feel like we are being wronged here.

I just need to know what to do next? Do we pay the fee and then sue them? We could put it on our Best Buy credit card (interest free for 18 months) although I really don't want to.

But the Japanese Lost the War!

The recently-concluded "Cash for Clunkers" program proved to be a bonanza for Japanese manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, which racked up 41% of new-car sales, according to this USA Today article.

A Tacky Stunt in Denver

Rush Limbaugh read the following news report on his show, largely based on a Denver Post article:

I mentioned before the break that the Democrats have faked a vandalism crime against themselves. Hee,hee. I told you when these town halls started, when they got all raucous, I said, "Don't be surprised," after the White House says you're nothing but an unruly mob and Nancy Pelosi said that everybody's out there wearing swastikas and so forth, I said, "don't be surprised if at the next town hall meeting you go to, a Democrat shows up and tries to act like an extreme, angry conservative, to give everybody on our side a bad name," and it has now happened in Denver. A 24-year-old was arrested yesterday morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at the Colorado Democrat Party headquarters. "The person tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions. Maurice Schwenkler [also known as transgendered activist "Ariel Attack"] wore a shirt over his face, a hooted sweatshirt and latex gloves before he and another man fled the scene on bicycles. Maurice Schwenkler was apprehended after a short chase. The other suspect remains at large.

...State Democrat Party Chairwoman Pat Waak initially blamed the vandalism on animosity surrounding the health care debate and then she dialed back on that." The Denver cops declined to comment on motives, but the suspect is a Democrat! The Democrat went out, committed vandalism against the Democrat Party headquarters in Colorado, tried to make it look like an angry Republican over health care. And there's a picture of this Maurice Schwenkler here in the story who broke 11 windows. It's in the Denver Post. Just the sort of thing we've been talking about here, the Democrat Party faking vandalism crimes against itself.

UPDATE: The Denver Post reports that Schwnkler is free on bail.

Senator-for-Life Kennedy, 77, Dies of Brain Cancer!

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) passed away quietly in his sleep last night. While we at "Bloodthirsty Warmonger" often disagreed with his policies and personal conduct, he was a shrewd politician with over 40 years of experience. His endosement of Sen. Barack Obama was a key element in helping him win the presidential election last year.

UPDATE: No story of Kennedy's passing would be complete without a picture of the woman who presumably had a lot of questions for him when he passed over to her side of existence - Mary Jo Kopechne.

Good News: American Generosity Survives Recession

Source: Parade magazine, 23 August 2009
http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/090823-american-generosity-survives-recession.html

Two new studies confirm that when times are tough, Americans pull together. A recent study from the Rand Corporation found that more people provided financial assistance than received it, with 30% of American households giving $500 or more to friends or family. Even among those who were struggling themselves, 29% came to the aid of others. The most frequent givers: parents. Likewise, a report from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) found that, despite financial difficulties, more people volunteered in 2008 than in 2007. Like the Rand study, the CNCS report said Americans are lending a hand close to home: 20 million people reported working with neighbors to solve a community problem, up from 15 million the year before.

Assistance from friends and family can have a profound psychological effect beyond the temporary impact of a few hundred dollars or a few hours of volunteerism. “The economic crisis has made us more aware of our own vulnerability,” said Robert Kenny, associate director of the Center for Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College. “Just knowing someone is there for you can be as valuable as the assistance itself.

Contributor: J. Scott Orr

Sign of Recovery?

Follow the Money (Yawn)

The western world is in an uproar over the fact that Scotland released Abdel Baset al Megrahi of Libya, the one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing which claimed 270 lives. His cover story was that he had terminal cancer and wanted to return to his homeland to die. Reality Check: he showed no compassion at all to the victims of that ill-fated Pan American flight, and now he received a hero's welcome. Incidentally, commercial contracts with the oil-rich North African state were riding on his release. FBI director Robert Mueller, who as a US Justice Department lawyer led the investigation into the 1988 bombing, said the decision to release Megrahi made a "mockery of justice".

New Guidelines for Treating Depression in Pregnant Women

One of the dilemmas expectant women face is conflicting advice as to when and when not to take antidepressants. ABC News posted the following story:

...Past guidance on depression during pregnancy has been mixed, with obstetricians and psychiatrists often offering conflicting advice on management. But a new report that combines recommendations from obstetricians and psychiatrists may mean that women are poised to receive better prenatal mental health care.

Today, the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a collaborative report that sums up past research and is the first to offer concrete guidelines for treating depression in pregnant women. The report was co-published in the journals Obstetrics and Gynecology and General Hospital Psychiatry....

EDITORIAL NOTE: Having lost a sister to postpartum depression, I take a personal interest in any new developments in the treatment of pregnant women or mothers of newborn children.

Is China Pushing for the Balkanization of India?

A Spero News article reported the following Chinese scheme:

The government of New Dehli made an official protest for the content of an article appeared on a Chinese site that aims to divide India in “20-30 small states” giving support to guerillas and nationalist movements present on the territory of the great nation or abroad.

Posted on April 8 on the website, iiss.cn (International Institute for Strategic Studies) the article detailed a roadmap for breaking up India. There it is stated: “To split India, China can bring into its fold countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, support ULFA in attaining its goal in Assam’ independence, back aspirations of Indian nationalities like Tamil and Nagas, encourage Bangladesh to give a push to the independence of West Bengal and lastly recover the 90,000 sq km territory in southern Tibet.”

The Government of India made inquiries about how much this website has the support of the Chinese Government and logged a protest. The Indian media spoke of a “quasi-official Chinese website”.

This idea of balkanization of India is old as the Indian state itself. After independence, in 1947, in the political circles of Europe many observers were predicting that India, after the tragic start with partition, will not hold together. After all India had never been a single political unit. The British Empire put it together and marked the boundaries from east, north and west. India does not have a common language. Immediately after independence there were internal fighting to redraw the boundaries of the different Indian states. The criterion of division according to the different languages was accepted. But many states are still quarrelling for the boundaries and for the utilization of rivers water....

EDITORIAL COMMENT: One reader of Free Republic wrote that the Chinese government had better be careful what it wishes for, because "more than one nation can play that game."

American Liberty Tour Starts 10 September

The American Liberty Tour is a collaborative project of the American Liberty Alliance, American Majority, and Americans for Limited Government.

Join "Joe the Plumber", Lloyd Marcus (The Tea Party Song), Ned Ryun (American Majority), Eric Odom (TaxDayTeaParty.com), Ken Marrero (American Liberty Alliance), Adam Bitely (NetRight Nation) and many others at an American Liberty Tour stop near you!

Itinerary:

Sacramento - September 10th
Salt Lake City - September 12th
Denver - September 13-14th
Kansas City - September 16th
St Louis - September 17th
Nashville - September 18th to 19th
Memphis - September 21st
Little Rock - September 22nd
Dallas - September 24th
New Orleans - September 28th
Tallahassee - September 30th
Tampa - October 1st
Orlando - October 3rd
Jacksonville - October 6th
Columbia - October 8th
Charlotte - October 10th
Atlanta - October 12th to 13th

The Flash of Death: Volkswagen/Audi Recalls 16,000 Vehicles

Volkswagen and Audi are recalling not less than 16,000 (the number could rise) new vehicles due to a flaw in the DSG [direct shift gearbox] which can cause the car to stall or lose power. Although the U.S. government has been investigating this problem for the past month, ABC News' "Good Morning America" claims credit for getting this manufacturer to start recalling their cars.

The Doughnut Wars, Round 2

WJHG.com reports that Dr. Jason Newsom wants his job as director of the Bay County (Florida) Health Department back. The county commissioners failed to take any action on the request, which we interpret as a sign of indifference.

Seven Secrets of Highly Obese People

The Washington Post ran an article about this, citing another article in the journal Obesity. Here's the list:

The Seven Secrets of Highly Obese People
By David Zinczenko
August 19, 2009; 7:00 AM ET

They use larger plates. When offered two plate sizes, 98.6 percent of those with the highest BMIs took the larger of the two plates to the buffet. A bigger plate tricks your eye into thinking you're not eating as much, and stuffing more food onto your plate -- and into your mouth. Use a smaller plate, get a smaller belly.

They eat while looking at food. 41.7 percent of those with high BMIs took seats that overlooked the buffet, instead of sitting in a booth or facing in a different direction. The site of food tends to make our minds think we have more work to do, eating-wise. Keep your food stored in the fridge or the pantry, not out on the countertops.

They eat with maximum efficiency. While Chinese buffets offer chopsticks, 91.3 percent of obese patrons opt for forks. That just makes it easier to shovel in the food!

They clean their plates. Of those patrons who were heaviest, 94 percent cleaned their plates so there was nothing left. Ignore Mom's advice -- let a little linger.

They chew faster. Researchers actually monitored the chewing habits of the buffet-goers and discovered that the heaviest 1/3 among them chewed their food an average of 11.9 times before swallowing. The middle 1/3 chewed an average of 14 times, and the leanest 1/3 chewed 14.8 times.

They dive in. The leanest people in the study typically took a lap around the buffet first, to plot out what they wanted to eat. But the more overweight group charged right in; doing so means you may fill up on some less-appealing items, then have to go back to snag that one nosh you have to have, but missed the first time.

Oh, and one more habit the overweight have that we've been reporting on for years:

They skip breakfast. Doing so raises your risk of obesity by a whopping 450 percent!

David Zinczenko is the editor-in-chief of Men's Health and the editorial director of Women's Health. The Eat This, Not That! book series has sold 3.5 million copies since December 2007.

A First-Hand Account of the Grand Junction Protest

This is an abridged version of an anonymous letter written shortly after President Obama's visit to Grand Junction CO, presented on Michelle Morin's Facebook page. You will not find this in the legacy media.

For those of you that don't know Grand Junction, it is the largest town in western Colorado with a population of 48,000. It sits about halfway between Denver and Salt Lake City, both of which are about a four-hour drive. Between Grand Junction and SLC, there is basically nothing. Between Denver and GJ, there are small mountain and resort communities about every twenty to thirty minutes. In other words, there is not a huge population base from which to draw protestors.

From 10 am to 11:30 yesterday, the Grand Junction citizens held a well organized rally at a park a couple miles from the high school where the townhall was held. They asked everyone to sign a registration card so they could have an accurate count of attendance. There were 4,000. (That's huge for a town with 48,000 residents.) This is hearsay, but I later heard that out of those 4,000, only three "won" tickets to the townhall.

I did not see any reporters from the national or Denver news organizations. There appeared to be a reporter from a GJ station. There were also newspaper reporters, one of which I know was from SLC. However, the big players did not appear to be there.

After the rally, there was a break until 3:00. I went to lunch with several representatives of 912 groups from the Front Range area. Then a member of the local group that sponsored the protest invited us to her home until the protest began. On the way to the protest, we saw Air Force One land. It was a strange feeling to see this American icon while detesting the occupant inside.

It was obvious to me the way it was set up that the motorcade wasn't going to drive down a road lined with counter protestors. The thing that made me angry was they told the Central High School Band they were going to play for it. The kids sat there in the hot sun waiting, and he sneak in another entrance. Those kids were dejected. Many of them walked to their cars wit their heads hung down. It's one thing to sneak past demonstrators but to lie to those kids like that shows what type of character he has.

I don't know how many protestors were there as the rally people split up to different parts of town to protest the motorcade. I do know there were several people there from Denver that missed the earlier rally. There were lots of people filming it, but once again, I didn't see any major players from the media.

So this is where it got funny. Since the ACORN people (which is what we called the opposition) were bussed in from Denver, they didn't know the high school. Our side had the real protestors who had graduated from there, so they figured out which entrance he used. We all wanted to move to that entrance so when he left he would see us. However, we didn't want ACORN to follow us. So over a 45-minute period we slowly trickled over there. The front line of our group would keep chanting while the others left. (It was a bit like the Sound of Music.) They had no idea. We were trying to make it look like people were slowly going home. A GJ couple from our side who hadn't been informed of the plan said all of a sudden no one on our side was there. (They were smart and realized we had all moved to another location, so they went looking for us. The ACORNers were too dumb to realize what we had done.)

Anyway, after our little covert operation we had restaged ourselves with a few socialist demonstrators at the entrance. We were pretty proud of ourselves. :-) This made it perfect for when he came out in his motorcade. We shouted over and over "No you can't!" which turned into the most loud, emotional boo I've ever heard. It was great. It was such a wonderful feeling to be so close to him and to know that he could hear us booing him.

Another thing I wanted to note was a rather strange experience between the police and us. After we had restaged ourselves, the local police guarding the parking lot all of a sudden lined up in a row, riot style (legs spread apart, arms behind the back). It was odd, and the angry mob became silent and turned their bodies to look at them. The thing was we intimidated them by our reaction. They all looked at each other and you could see they realized they were us. We were not the enemy. We were their friends and neighbors. Then they quickly retreated and went into a circle.

Finally, I would like to give some hints to others who may protest BO in the future. They set us up by stating which entrance he was coming in and planting his supporters and the marching band there. They aren't going to drive a presidential motorcade down a street lined with protestors. They are going to bring him in an entrance where the entire block (including sidewalks) is blocked off. Before a protest, have organizers scout the location and see what areas are COMPLETELY blocked off from pedestrians and where there is a substantial higher amount of police. One woman I met when we restaged (who had been at the entrance the entire time) said they had done that and that's how they figured out which entrance he was using. Be in charge of the situation. We were laughing after restaging because we know (there and across the country) we are always one step ahead of them.

It was a great day, and I met a lot of wonderful people. It made me proud to be an American.

Short = The New Black

This is a story I (all 5'4" of me) can personally relate to. According to this ABC News story, "...a new University of Michigan study published this week in the journal Pediatrics suggests short people are not victimized at any higher rate than their taller peers -- at least not in the sixth grade, the period covered by the researchers."

Not so, says "Jeff," who remembered most about being short throughout school was the constant bullying and name-calling. In gym class, he was always the last one picked for the team.

"I feel embarrassed shopping for clothes, as I have to get my pants in the teen and young sections," he told ABCNews.com. "I still get carded for beer and cigarettes."

"The worst thing about being short is there is nothing I can do about it," said Jeff. "Fat people can diet and exercise, skinny people can eat and lift weights, ugly people can have plastic surgery. Being short is more akin to being disabled...."

But Could She Sing and Dance Like Michael Jackson?

The Field Museum in Chicago released this picture of a limestone Egyptian bust, not less than 3550 years old, that bears an uncanny resemblance to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

The C-Word

President Obama may be forced to make some compromises on his healthcare proposal package, according to this FOX News story. A widespread grassroots movement and pressure from constituents of Blue Dog Democrats offer some hope that he may not be able to ram through his original program without modifications. Dr. Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont and recently-retired Democratic National Committee chairman, quickly issued a statement that the public option is essential to healthcare reform.

The Doughnut Wars, Round 1

MSNBC has this story:

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Dr. Jason Newsom (6 ft. tall, 167 pounds) was fired from his job as head of the Bay County health department for campaigning against fattening foods: fried chicken, sweetened iced tea, french fries, hamburgers, etc. But when he parodied the famous slogan, "America Runs on Dunkin'" to "America Dies on Dunkin'," a county commissioner, two lawyers, and some health department employees decided they had enough, and spearheaded a campaign to oust him.

Union Thugs Attack Town Hall Protestor

That would be the purple-shirted members of the SEIU--the Service Employees International Union—who (literally) swung into action outside a town hall meeting in Missouri and became infamous on YouTube and national media.

“Town Hall Protestor Roughed Up by SEIU Members” read one headline. The legal system will sort out what happened to David Gladney, the victim of the attack. But public opinion will sort out whether SEIU is sending thugs to town halls.

The union “Purps” also turned out in force at President Obama's town hall in New Hampshire. SEIU brought its people in by chartered buses after getting special tickets from the White House.

And why shouldn’t the president give ‘em freebie tickets? He owes them! After all, the SEIU spent $61-million to help elect him. The union also set aside $10-million to push Obama’s agenda in its post-election “Change That Works” campaign, and pledged more, including 30% of the union's resources and hiring over 1,000 workers in 35 states.

Oddly, that level of orchestration goes unremarked by mainstream media, while conservative organizing gets critical coverage. But liberal members of congress are well aware of the SEIU’s resources and commitment....

Visit "The Purple People Beaters" at Human Events for the rest of the story.

UPDATE: If you read even one page of this House healthcare bill, you just might know more than your Congressman who gets to vote on it!

If DiPascali Sings Like a Bird, Will Madoff Tremble Like a Leaf?

It looks as though Bernie Madoff lied again when he claimed that only he knew all the details of his labyrinthine scam. Business Week has the story.

From the start, few believed Bernard Madoff's claim that he acted alone in creating and managing his $65 billion Ponzi scheme. On Aug. 11, in a Manhattan courtroom, that claim was revealed to be just another of Madoff's lies. Madoff's former chief financial officer, Frank DiPascali, pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges relating to his involvement in the scam and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. "I was loyal to him. I ended up being loyal to a terrible, terrible fault," he said in U.S. District Court.

DiPascali's guilty plea is a big victory for prosecutors. As CFO, DiPascali was the face of Madoff's asset management business. When investors had questions, they spoke with DiPascali and it was he who usually explained Madoff's investment strategies to investors. In court, DiPascali said he helped Madoff prepare false documents for investors, accountants, and regulators, shifted money between accounts in New York and London, and otherwise helped make a fictitious business look real. "This guy knows where the bodies are buried," says Robert Lamb, a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business.

DiPascali, 52, said he began working for Madoff in 1975, just after he finished high school, and had joined in Madoff's fraud by the 1980s or early 1990s—when he knew that he and Madoff were promising investors that transactions were being made when they were not....

Did You Know This Is Presidential Joke Day?

Digital City and other news sources are covering this hot story:

Jay Leno must be kicking himself today. His show doesn't premiere until September 14 so he won't be able to tell any jokes about the president today -- at least not on national television.

But Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart and all the other talk show hosts who love to poke fun at America's highest office will be eating up Presidential Joke Day.

Perhaps President Obama should be making jokes today too. He seems to have a pretty good sense of humor even if he does get in trouble every time he gets a chuckle. So maybe he should just play it cool today and let the professionals do the work.

It actually might be Obama's Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton who gets the most teasing tonight though. Mrs. Clinton lost her cool yesterday in the Congo when she was asked for her husband's opinion on foreign politics instead of her own opinion. Clinton answered, "Wait, you want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not the Secretary of State; I am."

Either way, political comedians are sure to have plenty of fodder for their shows -- make sure you tune in so you can laugh, too.

A Brilliant Suggestion (/sarcasm)

True Confession

We are pleased to run this letter received through Facebook:

This is the letter that i sent to the white house site flag@whitehouse.gov.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to turn myself in as one of the people that have been spreading disinformation. Please send me to the re-education camp to show me the wisdom of our beloved leader's way. I have reported to the populace that those that construct the plan on health care will not have that same health care plan that they will suffer under. Barack Obama on July 28 in answering a question from Jane Sturm's mom stated " Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller." This is in such stark contrast when talking about Obama's own grandmother who had terminal cancer and congestive heart failure who was allowed to have a hip replacement. Why did he not endorse treating his grandmother with just a pain pill? Instead in an April 14 interview David Leonhardt of The Times said, "If somebody told me that my grandmother couldn't have a hip replacement and she had to lie there in misery in the waning days of her life, that would be pretty upsetting." On June 24 Obama would not answer the question placed to him by Dr. Devinsky at the health care forum if the president's family would opt out of the program.

Another falsehood that i am spreading. In 2003 there must be another Barack Obama that spoke to the AFL-CIO and stated: "I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program...A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that's what I'd like to see." I think that Barack Obama should also be sent to the re-education camp to be taught the truth of Obama is not for a single payer plan. We must be indoctrinated by 'his story' and fight against those who oppose our beloved leader.

Thank you,
Josie Edavettal

Stop and Smell the Fish

A spunky reader at Free Republic submitted the following suggestion:

WH Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is known for sending fish to people who don’t agree with him and now the White House has requested people send them anything “fishy”. We here in Florida have decided to honor their request

We are mailing sardines, anchovies, canned tuna, anything fishy we can think of spread on aluminum foil, folded and inserted inside an envelope. If you dry the idem on paper towels before hand they won’t get the envelope wet and the aluminum foil will keep them intact....BUT NOT AIRTIGHT. They should be nice and ripe by the time they reach DC.

I mailed 12 envelopes of sardines yesterday. The sardines flattened with slight pressure and it only cost one stamp.

Deborah
USNR-R
Right Wing Extremist

Sarah Palin Issues a Statement on the Current Health Care Debate

Today at 2:26pm
This just in from Facebook.com:

As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.

Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.

- Sarah Palin

Rep. Bachmann's speech can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHBvKGmevI

Another Congressional Perk: Exemption from Law Against Insider Trading!

PolitiFact.com has the story:

We hadn't heard the allegation that members of Congress had a leg up for insider trading and wondered if it's true.

Thomas Newkirk, a partner with the law firm Jenner and Block, told us that indeed there's some uncertainty about how insider trading rules impact members of Congress and their staff.

For example, in 2001, a financial consultant meeting with the Treasury Department learned that the department planned to kill off the 30-year bond. In turn, the consultant tipped off traders at Goldman Sachs who proceeded to use that information to make the firm lots of money. It was considered insider trading because the consultant knew he was not supposed to release the information, Newkirk said. Federal regulators settled with Goldman Sachs and the consultant for about $10.3 million in September 2003.

But with members of Congress, it's different. Unless lawmakers have some express confidentiality agreement -- whether it's in writing or in word -- they can do whatever they want with the information they obtain on Capitol Hill, Newkirk said.

So yes, it seems there is a way for members of Congress to engage in insider trading. But whether they are actually doing it is another story all together. So far, there are no specific examples of lawmakers engaging in "secret spending and insider trading," as the e-mail indicates. But for it's factual claim, we give Public Citizen a True.

Seeking the Martyr's Crown

I sent the following e-mail just a few minutes ago:

Add Me to Your Enemies List!!!!!‏
From: Charles Sakai (hammerz@hotmail.com)
Sent: Thu 8/06/09 7:26 AM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov

For: White House Enemies List

My subversive blog, "Bloodthirsty Warmonger," is categorically opposed to socialized medicine and many ignorant, misguided policies of the Obama Administration. This is my bid for immortality in the presidential archives. I got the idea for this communication from the Washington Examiner at http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Obamas-dissident-database-could-be-secret----and-permanent-52571822.html

Charles M. Sakai
Colorado Springs


“I do not belong to an organized political party. I'm a Republican.” – Patrick Albright"
Bloodthirsty Warmonger" blog: http://bloodthirstywarmonger.blogspot.com/

UPDATE: This morning Rush Limbaugh is describing how FreedomWorks and other right-wing extremist organizations are being slimed by the Left. "Community organizers," says the King of Talk Radio, "can't bitch when the community's organized."

UPDATE2: A reader of the Hot Air blog site cited the following United States Code paragraph:

5 U.S.C. § 552a, United States agencies, including the Executive Office of the President shall, “maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.”

According to the above it appears to be illegal.

chemman on August 6, 2009

UPDATE3: Having nothing better to do, I sent dozens of e-mails to add names to their enemies list. It includes celebrated conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh and his brother David, Sean Hannity, Chuck Norris, Dr. Charles Krauthammer, and many others. Since Chicago politicians graciously allow the dead to vote [as long as it's for the Democrat], I included names such as William F. Buckley, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, etc. There are even uber-liberals such as Keith Olbermann, Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, and the entire staff of the New York Times. When facts are unimportant, imagination has a chance to kick in.

Gulfstreams for Congress

BOHICA (bend over, here it comes again!!) According to NewsMax,

The House has approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite jets for transporting members of Congress and other top government officials.

The Air Force had requested one Gulfstream 550 jet, which cost about $65 million. But the House Appropriations Committee added another $132 million to the 2010 Defense appropriations bill for two more jets, and "specified that they be assigned to the D.C.-area units that carry Members of Congress, military brass and top government officials," Roll Call reported.

It was just last year that lawmakers sharply criticized the CEOs of the Big Three automakers for traveling to Washington by private jet for a hearing about a bailout of their companies.

UPDATE: According to FOX News, it appears that Congress has thought better of their insane scheme, and will not be buying those Gulfstreams after all.

Stating the Obvious About the Economy

FOX News comes out and says what I've suspected for some time about the economic "experts" who can talk for hours without enlightening you about how our economy is doing. Some of them have been saying that we're on the threshold of a recovery, but at the very least, it's too early to tell, because our government has been lacking in fiscal discipline, the automotive and other industries are still basket cases, and job losses continue to mount. Here's a few paragraphs from the article:

What goes up must come down. Unless it goes down further, sideways or moves some other way that no one really predicted.

That's the way economics really works and no matter how many talking heads -- right, left and center -- tell you otherwise, most don't have a clue what direction things are headed. From gas prices to the stock market to jobs, the people who act like they know everything often know nothing.

Sure, many economists -- Greenspan, Geithner, Krugman, Zandi -- are brilliant. Then there are the media types like Williams and Couric and before her Rather. None of them could find prosperity even if it were just around the corner.

Here are the facts. Most of those so-called experts have been wrong about the major economic moves of the past several years. The left treated the robust economy of the George Bush years like it was a Michael Vick puppy mill .

I bet Obama would trade in every czar he owns for a number even approaching the unemployment rates found under Bush....

California Ordered to Get Rid of 40,000 Inmates!

This incredible news flash comes from NBC Los Angeles:

A federal judicial panel has ordered California to reduce its prison population by 40,000 to improve treatment of ailing and mentally ill inmates.

The three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that cutting the number of inmates is the only way to bring the system's medical care up to adequate standards. The number of inmates will have to be reduced from about 150,000 to 110,000 over two years.

Judges said the billions of dollars the state has spent on prisons have not kept inmates from dying regularly from suicides or medical neglect.

Tuesday's action formalized a tentative ruling by the panel in February and follows a federal court hearing that ended in January.

The Schwarzenegger administration said it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Clinton to the Rescue!

Former President Bill Clinton appeared to relish his role as the hero who brought back journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee from 140 days of captivity in North Korea, according to this FOX News report. While in Pyongyang, he talked with ailing "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, who appeared amazingly healthy, as he would not miss a supreme photo-op like this one. The plane arrived this morning in Burbank, CA. Family members and friends of both journalists, former Vice-President Al Gore, and numerous reporters showed up to welcome them, and President Obama delivered a short, televised congratulatory message.

This hot news story knocked other significant events, such as the massacre in a Pittsburgh-area fitness center (which claimed 4 lives), military restrictions on networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, Paula Abdul's imminent departure from "American Idol," and recognition of the world's greatest public bathrooms to the back burner.

Why City Government$ Love Traffic Cam$

Heath, Ohio issued 10,000 tickets (a cash grab of up to $830,000) in only 4 weeks after installing 10 cameras at 6 intersections, according to this Columbus Dispatch article.

Meanwhile, in Knoxville, TN, a judge dismissed charges against Clifford E. Clark III, who shot out a red-light camera.

Before You Join the Stampede for Socialized Medicine...

Here's some food for thought published in Boortz.com, 4 August 2009:

TEN THINGS THE MEDIA WON'T TELL YOU ...
... about American healthcare. An interesting report was prepared by a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor of radiology and chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical School by the name of Scott W. Atlas. He has prepared ten reasons why America's health care system is in better condition than you might suppose. Here's an overview, but the whole thing is worth a read. This is for all of your liberal friends who are convinced that a single-payer, government healthcare system is going to "save" our healthcare system.

1. Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers.

2. Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians.

3. Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.

4. Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians.

5. Lower-income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians.

6. Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada and the United Kingdom.

7. People in countries with more government control of health care are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed.

8. Americans are more satisfied with the care they receive than Canadians.

9. Americans have better access to important new technologies such as medical imaging than do patients in Canada or Britain.

10. Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations.

Give Them an "F" for Public Relations!!

The Colorado Springs Gazette ran an article that began with these words:

Some El Paso County workers are paid so little they qualified for food stamps, county officials say.

For a family of four, the cutoff for being eligible for food stamps is $27,564, Ironically, county workers who determine applicants’ eligibility for social services make less than that — $23,742 to $27,511, about 18 percent less than Teller County pays.

Other county workers also are underpaid, employee benefits manager Imad Karaki said.

The county’s average pay for 90 comparable jobs in a recent multi-agency survey is $54,955, compared to the city of Colorado Springs’ average of $72,129 Those jobs don’t include salaries of elected officials, such as county commissioners who are paid $87,300 annually, and City Council members who are paid $6,250 a year.

The comparison comes from a county analysis of data collected by Mountain States Employment Council, a personnel consulting firm that surveys public employee information.

EDITORIAL NOTE: El Paso County (Colorado) says that it would take $35 million to make county salaries competitive; the City of Colorado Springs catch-up cost is $9.2 million. The question remains, catch up to what? At a time when thousands of residents of El Paso County are out of work, it seems arrogant and insensitive to talk about raising the salaries of government workers, who at least should be grateful to have a job.

Why Is Happiness So Elusive?

John McManamy has done it again! In his Knowledge Is Necessity blog, he writes a fascinating description of a long-term study mentioned in an Atlantic Monthly article by Joshua Shenk, "What Makes Us Happy?" Here's an excerpt from the Shenk article:

"Last fall, I spent about a month in the file room of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, hoping to learn the secrets of the good life. The project is one of the longest-running—and probably the most exhaustive—longitudinal studies of mental and physical well-being in history. Begun in 1937 as a study of healthy, well-adjusted Harvard sophomores (all male), it has followed its subjects for more than 70 years.

"From their days of bull sessions in Cambridge to their active duty in World War II, through marriages and divorces, professional advancement and collapse—and now well into retirement—the men have submitted to regular medical exams, taken psychological tests, returned questionnaires, and sat for interviews. The files holding the data are as thick as unabridged dictionaries. They sit in a wall of locked cabinets in an office suite behind Fenway Park in Boston, in a plain room with beige carpeting and fluorescent lights that is littered with the detritus of many decades of social-scientific inquiry: a pile of enormous spreadsheet data books; a 1970s-era typewriter; a Macintosh PowerBook, circa 1993. All that’s missing are the IBM punch cards used to analyze the data in the early days.

"For 42 years, the psychiatrist George Vaillant (now age 74) has been the chief curator of these lives, the chief investigator of their experiences, and the chief analyst of their lessons. His own life has been so woven into the study—and the study has become such a creature of his mind—that neither can be understood without the other.

"...as Vaillant points out, longitudinal studies, like wines, improve with age. And as the Grant Study men entered middle age—they spent their 40s in the 1960s—many achieved dramatic success. Four members of the sample ran for the U.S. Senate. One served in a presidential Cabinet, and one was president. There was a best-selling novelist (not, Vaillant has revealed, Norman Mailer, Harvard class of ’43). But hidden amid the shimmering successes were darker hues. As early as 1948, 20 members of the group displayed severe psychiatric difficulties. By age 50, almost a third of the men had at one time or another met Vaillant’s criteria for mental illness. Underneath the tweed jackets of these Harvard elites beat troubled hearts. Arlie Bock didn’t get it. “They were normal when I picked them,” he told Vaillant in the 1960s. “It must have been the psychiatrists who screwed them up.”
...

When You Have Too Much Time on Your Hands, Play Mattress Dominoes!

BBC News reported the following incident:

Staff and friends at a furniture depot in Tewkesbury, South-west England have attempted to break the world record for mattress dominoes.

The short film has been a huge hit on video sharing sites on the internet and has even featured on American network news.

The group managed to topple 41 dominoes. It is unclear if that is a record, but it certainly gives a new twist to the phrase "hitting the sack".