Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Medal of Honor

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris


Citation:

Lt. Norris completed an unprecedented ground rescue of 2 downed pilots deep within heavily controlled enemy territory in Quang Tri Province. Lt. Norris, on the night of 10 April, led a 5-man patrol through 2,000 meters of heavily controlled enemy territory, located 1 of the downed pilots at daybreak, and returned to the Forward Operating Base (FOB). On 11 April, after a devastating mortar and rocket attack on the small FOB, Lt. Norris led a 3-man team on 2 unsuccessful rescue attempts for the second pilot. On the afternoon of the 12th, a forward air controller located the pilot and notified Lt. Norris. Dressed in fishermen disguises and using a sampan, Lt. Norris and 1 Vietnamese traveled throughout that night and found the injured pilot at dawn. Covering the pilot with bamboo and vegetation, they began the return journey, successfully evading a North Vietnamese patrol. Approaching the FOB, they came under heavy machinegun fire. Lt. Norris called in an air strike which provided suppression fire and a smoke screen, allowing the rescue party to reach the FOB. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership, undaunted courage, and selfless dedication in the face of extreme danger, Lt. Norris enhanced the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.


Lt. Norris: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Hat tip Home of Heroes





There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.

Quote du jour

My first column, more than 30 years ago, was titled "The Profits of Doom." Recent news stories about the millions of dollars that Al Gore has made out of his "global warming" hysteria suggest that some things haven't changed much in three decades.

-Thomas Sowell

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Quote du jour

Barack Obama hopes his famous health care victory will mark him as a transformative president. History, however, may judge it to have been his missed opportunity to be one.

-George Will

Monday, March 29, 2010

Breitbart and the Egg (Sucking, Egg) Throwers



This video is for all the boneheaded liberal sockpuppets who initially accused Breitbart of throwing the eggs, manufacturing poor quality video and "hiring" someone else to throw the eggs.
Which of those SEIU types do you think is on Andrew Breitbart's payroll?

H/T Weasel Zippers

Cross Posted at Say Anything

Barack the Chicago Robbin' Hood

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


H/T Blonde Sagacity

Quote du jour

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

-George S. Patton

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Because Only Republicans are Brick Throwing Anarchists...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Jonah Goldberg, author of Liberal Fascism, is demanding that the Democratic Party disavow their hate-filled rhetoric after an incident of bricks being thrown through the windows at a county Republican headquarters.

Think this will shame them into ceasing their hypocrisy? Nah. Me neither!

(I should probably point out that Mr. Goldberg seems to have his tongue firmly in his cheek with his "demand".)

This Last Week's Poll

This last week's poll: What do you think of the blog's new title/logo?

I like it ! 80%

I liked the old one better! 0%

Is there a third choice? 13%

What's a logo? 6%


Multiple choices and Obama's crack budget office accountants may account for totals greater than 100%

Thank you for your participation!
Not a scientific poll. Respondents are self selecting. Questions are drawn from fortune cookies, hieroglyphics and tomorrow’s New York Times.

Please make your opinion known in this week's poll.

Ann Coulter and the Tea Party Express: Henderson Pt. 3

In this segment, we'll look at some of the people who spoke at the Tea Party Express rally and a little of what they said.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, candidate running against Barbara Boxer (and others) for a California senate seat, showed up with a bit of a stem winder. Sounds like he's got the fire in the belly. We'll see if he survives the primary.

Wayne Allyn Root, onetime Libertarian vice presidential candidate was there. I believe it was he who alluded to a story from New York, that OTB (Off Track Betting) was going bankrupt there. He then reminded us of when the Federal government took over management of the highly profitable Mustang Ranch and bankrupted it within a year.
He made the point that if the government can't make money with prostitution (legal in Nevada) and gambling, what hope did we have that they could run health care at a profit?

I believe it was he who also dubbed Obama, Reid and Pelosi: "The Axis of Taxes"

Root graduated from Columbia the same year as Barack Obama. He related the anecdote that he was in a poly-sci class the day Reagan was shot. At the premature news, "Reagan's been assassinated", he said that the reaction was "Cheers and high fives".

Off the stage, tea partiers gladly modeled their protest wear. It was not unusual to see someone "strike a pose" so that someone else could take their picture. One I thought was clever:
"Seven out of ten terrorists prefer the New York Times.
...The other three can't read!"


Saturday Night Live alum, Victoria Jackson was there singing about a "Communist in the White House". She says, "I have a master's degree in Obamunism."

And Andrew Breitbart gave an impassioned speech of the deceitful, egg throwing, scum sucking liberals at the Searchlight affair (my words, not his). If your mind is not totally closed, you can hear his account on that here.

I'm leaving out a few people. Thousands attended. Dozens spoke. Thousands listened.

All in all, it was a good trip. I came back home with a small Gadsden flag and a lot of memories. Didn't meet up with everyone there I thought I would, but the year's still young. Maybe there'll be another tea party in the offing I can get to?

Moonbattery has some great pics of the Arizona event.

Ann Coulter and the Tea Party Express: Henderson Pt. 2

"Queen Ann Rules!"

Before I get to la belle Coulter, a brief word about the event that took place in Searchlight, NV. earlier in the day. What CNN reported as "dozens of protesters":

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Some of the people I talked to in Henderson, had either gone to or tried to get to the Searchlight event. Many were turned off by the eight mile long traffic jam in and out of Searchlight. That crowd would have been bigger if Harry Reid had seen to better road construction around his home town! Heh.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


The keynote speaker was Ann Coulter. Ms. Coulter was like red meat to the lions! At one point, she quipped that she didn't even need to write jokes for this crowd, because they were cheering and applauding nearly everything she said!

She got off some good one liners. For comedy to really work, it needs to have an element of truth. Ms. Coulter was right on the mark. Recording equipment was not permitted during the speech, either audio or video, so I presume that this may be a "stump speech" that Ann plans to reuse, or possibly use in an upcoming book or column.

Therefore, I shall not go into exactly what she said, other than to rally the troops with a rousing dose of liberty loving rhetoric, and a liberal helping of helping out the liberals...which way did they come in? (Old joke! Not Ann's!)

I'll try to get into some of what was said and who was saying it next post.


H/T Threedonia for the pics!
Cross posted at Say Anything

Ann Coulter and the Tea Party Express: Henderson Pt. 1

Image search at PicPoke.com

The doors were supposed to open at 3:15. I got there a little after two, and there were already long lines to get in. I found my way over to the VIP/donor line (VIP that I am!) and found myself behind a nice couple from Escondido, CA. and in front of a nice lady, apparently from just across the street!

It was a festival/ rock concert kind of atmosphere, but the demographic definitely trended older than most rock concerts (The Rolling Stones and Who notwithstanding!). A lot of energy in the crowd. Lots of veterans. Lots of kids. The was a family a little way in front of me with some really cute little kids. He had some bright yellow "Ron Paul Tea Party" balloons. The back side of which read "NO NOECONS", which I took to mean "No neocons" with the Paulbots' usual flair for accuracy and persuasion!

The gates were opened at 3:15 and we started filing in. The crowd was well behaved and orderly. There were persons of color in the crowd and on stage, but never once did I hear a racial epithet muttered. The crowd even sat politely later that evening when a hip hop rendition of a tea party ditty was performed, though I suspect it was not the majority of the crowd's "cup of tea"!

Opening for la belle Coulter was a band called "Sin City Surfers". They weren't bad, but they weren't great either. I could see them making an excellent bar band, because if I'd had a couple drinks in me, I probably would have enjoyed them more. Their lead singer played sax, and turned in a fairly credible "Harlem Nocturne".
At one point, he was wandering up and down the aisles with a wireless mic on the sax.
Adequate showmen, but too much sax and not enough violins! They were game enough to stick around and keep the group entertained when the bus was delayed, so, over all, high marks!

Next: Queen Ann rules!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Happy Blogiversary, Proof Positive!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


It's that time of year again! The second blogiversary of my solo blog, Proof Positive. This time last year, there were about thirteen hundred posts, and twelve thousand hits from seventy-two countries around the globe. Nine days after I started, I added the widget from Sitemeter, which started off at about three hits a day,and one of them was me!

Today, over twenty six hundred posts, with thirty seven thousand plus hits from one hundred and fourteen countries, averaging around a hundred or so hits a day. (And one of them is still me!) Heh. Plus, we've got a fresh coat of paint on the blog logo, with a couple of fields where I can change the text around to liven things up when ever I feel like it, and even my own clothing line!
(I wonder if Yves Saint Laurent started this way???)

A little "inside baseball": Technorati ranks this blog overall at 5750 (out of over one point one million)that's in the top five tenths of one percent of all blogs everywhere. (This means I beat out your Aunt Sally's blog on crocheting for cats by a sizable margin!)
Wikio is at 3464. Beltway surveys about 800 blogs on just US politics, and my ranking there is in the high 340's. Not too shabby for a blog that was pulling in single digit hits just two years ago!

I want to thank everyone who comes by to visit. When you know that company's coming, you like to put a little extra shine on things. To paraphrase the immortal words of Sally Fields, I want you to like me, really like me! But, I'll settle for not disappointing you. (Much.)

To those of you who care enough and are brave enough to comment, I appreciate the feedback and the encouragement. I don't say that to mock those readers who do not comment. It is somewhat akin to the ubiquitous fear of public speaking, and some simply do not have the desire to engage perfect strangers in conversations. (Well, nobody's perfect! ) Heh.

Many of you are like minded individuals who want to see done what is best for our great country. From your keyboards to God's email! Some of you come by solely to see a living Medal of Honor recipient honored each week, and some of you, I'm sure, are just here for the babes! In that case, at least you have good taste!

I'm also open to suggestion on what you want to see here. My primary consideration is that Proof Positive be the kind of blog I enjoy reading myself! (So, if you think that any of the posts are less than profound, as least you'll know I'm easily amused!) I've been offered and accepted nominees for Friday Night Babe (a grueling exercise of selection I put myself through every week just for you!) and Saturday Night Music. But, even if I don't take your suggestions (some of them are anatomically impossible!) I still appreciate them!

2010 should be a good year for us politically, so stick around and see what happens next. It's still the best of times and the worst of times! Let's scare the "Dickens" out of the Democrats, shall we? -Proof

And since some of you just come here for the babes (and you know who you are!) a little vintage babeage, from our inaugural Vintage Babe of the Week:

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Breitbart Falsely Accused By Liberal Egg Throwers and Their Defenders

Okay. I feel guilty for the tease. Chew on this for awhile:


Breitbart related this tale at the Henderson rally. Aside from the deceit in trying to misdirect the Tea Party crowd, then they threw eggs at the Tea Party Express bus, then they tried to accuse Breitbart of throwing the eggs! Unbelievable!


Cross posted at Say Anything

Tea Party Dispatch: Henderson, NV

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


You know how, when the news comes on or some radio host tells you about all the wonderful things they are going to tell you later? In the business, that's known as a "tease".

Just got back to my hotel from the Tea Party doings in Henderson, NV. It was supposed to last until 7:30, but the bus was delayed, so they went a little over an hour long.

Lots of energy. Lots of good speakers: Ann Coulter, of course, was there, as was Andrew Breitbart, Melanie Morgan, and as they say in the business: "Lots, lots more".

And since I've been up since 3:30 this AM, I will sort through the notes and give you a bird's eye view of what went on...tomorrow!

Good stuff. I promise!

Quote du jour

“Obama, Pelosi and Reid may have awakened a sleeping giant.”

-Proof, paraphrasing Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Navy

Saturday, March 27, 2010

A Little Saturday Night Music

Colin Hay - Overkill

You Can't get Anything You want!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


It has been suggested to a few of the creative minds over at Say Anything, that we come up with a parody for Obama's health care debacle, set to the tune of "Alice's Restaurant.

I'm sitting here in the airport waiting for my flight to Vegas and they just changed the gate, so let me kick things off with a chorus:

"You can't find a bigger scam, than Obama's health care plan!
You can't find a bigger scam, than Obama's health care plan!
You start paying taxes the very first day,
Any benefit is still four years away!
You can't find a bigger scam, than Obama's health care plan!"


Cross posted at Say Anything

Vegas, Baby!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Leaving for the airport in about an hour. Blogging may be slow today, but I hope that I'll have some good stuff by day's end. -Ciao!

Quote du jour

Was walking through an airport the other day, and saw one of those Accenture posters — one of those Accenture ads. As you may know, Accenture has dropped Tiger Woods as a spokesman, or endorser, or model, or whatever he has been. But the ads are still around. This particular one showed Tiger in a predicament, on the golf course. His ball was in a very difficult spot. And the words were, “It’s what you do next that counts.” That is so very true.

-Jay Nordlinger

Friday, March 26, 2010

Reason's Three Reasons "Obama Care" Won't Cut the Deficit



H/T Nice Deb

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Aurélie Claudel
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Obamacare Taxes Sick People

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


We know that the massive Government Care, er, Health care bill recently passed by Congress and signed by President Obama has provisions for tax increases. Lots of tax increases.
One of the most insidious of these increases is the tax on "medical devices".
The blog prof has a column today dealing with the economic impact on smaller medical device companies (it may put them out of business, further increasing unemployment).

And as to what constitutes a "medical device", it could range from that tampon you ladies use for your "treatment" every month, to possibly even the toothbrush you use for your daily prophylaxis!
(For you folks in Port St. Lucie, that's "brushing your teeth"!)

But, since Obama wants to include free preventative visits in his plan, who better to pay for them than those who are already sick or injured? If you need a wheelchair, or crutches or catheters, a pacemaker or a CPAP machine, hell, even a bedpan could be subject to a 2.3% excise tax to feed the government beast!

Consequently, those who require the most medical devices will end up paying for those who don't. Gosh. That certainly sounds liberal and fair, doesn't it? Not at all like those nasty insurance companies who took money from a large pool of perfectly healthy people and distributed it to those specifically who were sick or injured!

Glad this administration has its priorities straight! /sarcasm

I just thought of something else: Think about all those non-profit hospitals. The price of nearly everything they buy just went up over 2%! That should help them keep the doors open! Who utilize those hospitals? Sick and injured people. Go figure!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

"Medical device maker Medtronic warned that new taxes on its products could force it to lay off a thousand workers"

-WSJ

You see...our problem is that when we heard that the President was "focusing like a laser" on jobs, we thought he meant creating them! -Proof

Thursday, March 25, 2010

"They're Trying to Smear People who Disagree with the Bill"



Michelle Bachmann on the "rash" of threats and violence.

H/T Gateway Pundit

President Jar Jar

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Quote du jour

Every promise made by President Obama comes with an expiration date.

-Ed Morrissey, Hot Air

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Green Advisory Council in Health Care Bill?

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
Tilting at windbags


According to George Will, the "health care reform" bill that just passed:

...creates an Advisory Council on Green, High-Performing Public School Facilities, and grants for "retrofitting necessary to increase the energy efficiency and water efficiency of public school facilities."


If that is true, and it certainly seems too implausible to be a lie, could someone please tell me what in the bloody blue blazes "energy efficiency and water efficiency of public schools" has to do with health care???

Miss Me Yet?

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


(Inspired by Moonbattery)

How to Greet Your Census Worker

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Okay. You sent your census form back (or maybe you didn't) and you may not have answered the questions in the Approved Government Manner™, and if they cannot get you on the phone, they may send a live, warm census worker to your door.

And I got to thinking... the census sends out forms in English, and sometimes English and Spanish and sometimes a multitude of different languages. But, I doubt that the Census workers, for the most part, are widely multilingual, and I thought that this might be a good opportunity to put that language we studied back in high school to good use.

To my knowledge, there is no law that compels anyone to speak solely in English. So, I've been thinking how I might greet any Census worker who came to my door auf Deutsch!

I imagine that the conversation might go like this:

Doorbell rings.

Me: Ja? (Yes?)

Census worker: Hi. I'm with the Census Bureau and I'm here to ask you a few questions.

Me: Können Sie Deutsch sprechen? (Can you speak German?)

Census worker: Excuse me, but do you speak English?

Me: Warum sind Sie hier? (Why are you here?)

Census worker: Is there anyone here who speaks English?

Me: Ich spreche ein bisschen English. (I speak a bit of English.) More than some, less than others! If I said, "Ich spreche nur ein bisschen English", that is, I only speak a little English, that would be a lie. I'd never lie to a Census worker!

I figure he or she will get tired of the game before I do! I'm sure some of you studied French or German, Russian, Italian or Japanese. Or if you've taken a Berlitz course or Rosetta Stone or maybe you just grew up in a bilingual community.

What's the worst that could happen? They send an interpreter over to your house? You run out of high school French before the census worker runs out of questions?

I'm not advocating that everyone do this. I'm just saying, you could...

Cross posted at Say Anything

The Medal of Honor

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Major Robert J. Modrzejewski


Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 15 July, during Operation HASTINGS, Company K was landed in an enemy-infested jungle area to establish a blocking position at a major enemy trail network. Shortly after landing, the company encountered a reinforced enemy platoon in a well-organized, defensive position. Maj. Modrzejewski led his men in the successful seizure of the enemy redoubt, which contained large quantities of ammunition and supplies. That evening, a numerically superior enemy force counterattacked in an effort to retake the vital supply area, thus setting the pattern of activity for the next 2 1/2 days. In the first series of attacks, the enemy assaulted repeatedly in overwhelming numbers but each time was repulsed by the gallant marines. The second night, the enemy struck in battalion strength, and Maj. Modrzejewski was wounded in this intensive action which was fought at close quarters. Although exposed to enemy fire, and despite his painful wounds, he crawled 200 meters to provide critically needed ammunition to an exposed element of his command and was constantly present wherever the fighting was heaviest, despite numerous casualties, a dwindling supply of ammunition and the knowledge that they were surrounded, he skillfully directed artillery fire to within a few meter* of his position and courageously inspired the efforts of his company in repelling the aggressive enemy attack. On 18 July, Company K was attacked by a regimental-size enemy force. Although his unit was vastly outnumbered and weakened by the previous fighting, Maj. Modrzejewski reorganized his men and calmly moved among them to encourage and direct their efforts to heroic limits as they fought to overcome the vicious enemy onslaught. Again he called in air and artillery strikes at close range with devastating effect on the enemy, which together with the bold and determined fighting of the men of Company K, repulsed the fanatical attack of the larger North Vietnamese force. His unparalleled personal heroism and indomitable leadership inspired his men to a significant victory over the enemy force and reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service.


Maj. Modrzejewski: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Hat tip Home of Heroes





There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.

I Have a Dream, that Someday We Will be Taxed by the Color of our Skin!

Indoor tanning salons will charge customers a 10 percent tax beginning in July in one of the changes Americans will see as a result of the U.S. health-care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama.


Of course, people wealthy enough to own their own tanning beds will be unaffected by this tax. The middle class? Sca-roo 'em!

Wow! I feel healthier already! My wallet? Eh. Not so much!

Cross posted at Say Anything

King George III Campaign Logo

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


I'm thinking of doing this on a t-shirt with today's Quote du jour on it. Whaddaya think?
Update: It's a done deal. You can buy the shirts at Zazzle. (See column right)
Or here: http://www.zazzle.com/king_george_obama_iii_obama_is_our_president_tshirt-235207130146270567

Also mugs, keychains, stickers, mouse pads, totes...Who knew I would be in the fashion/ merchandising bidness?

You can even get a coffee mug with my favorite WFB, Jr. quote here:

http://www.zazzle.com/i_am_lapidary_but_not_eristic_when_i_use_big_wo_mug-168971198961998763

Quote du jour

"Obama is our President in 2010, the way George was our King in 1775."

-Proof

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

This just in...

Obama's next project is said to be to do for housing what's he's done to health care (or vice versa)!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

The More You Know...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Remember that NBC public service series, "The More You Know"? That was my impression this morning sifting through all the potential horrors of the Obama care Debacle.

The more you know, the less you like it.

I seldom do linkarounds. In fact, I've never done a "linkaround", but I'm making an exception today.

Five Reasons Why Obama Care is worse than you thought.

The Way To Tyranny By The Central Government

"we have to confiscate money from healthy to pay for everyone"

Here's Your Change: Taxes, Fines, Taxes, Penalties, Taxes, Jail, Taxes, Skyrocketing Prices, and Taxes

IBD lists 20 different ways that America has lost freedom today


Ten Obama Promises about Health Care that expired this Morning

Cross posted at Say Anything

Awakening the Sleeping Giant

From one of my favorite cartoonists, Michael Ramirez:
Image and video hosting by TinyPic


On a couple of other threads, I said:

The Hindenburg, the San Francisco earthquake, the Great Depression, the Inquisition, the Holocaust...all "historic".


and:
But, for Conservatives and conservatism, the brain dead, power hungry liberals have provided a rallying point like none other we've had in years.
Tell me,(insert name of brain dead troll here), if any of the following suggest to you a spirit in which we would curl unto a ball and surrender (aside from those you know of your own spineless ilk):

Remember the Maine!
Remember the Alamo!
Remember Pearl Harbor!
Remember 9/11!

Real Americans don't take lightly to attacks on their freedom


To paraphrase somebody or another, "Obama, Pelosi and Reid may have awakened a sleeping giant."

Cross posted at Say Anything

And So it Begins...



H/T Red State

Quote du jour

...computers are ever-present now. We’re either seated at a desk at a computer, in a car with a smart phone, or on our couch or in our commercial airline cockpit with a laptop. It’s like we’re addicted to this information and connectivity — odds are you’re looking at a computer screen right now.

-Frank J. Fleming

Monday, March 22, 2010

The Next Step - Where Do We Go From Here?

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


One commenter asked: what do we do now? The short answer was:

We get active. We take note of the names of those who voted for this travesty and give of our time, our talent and our treasure to elect someone who will uphold the Constitution.

And we don't let set backs discourage us, because even though we lose the skirmishes, the battle and the war are too important to sit by and merely feel sorry for ourselves.


Once upon a time, there was a group of men who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for liberty, over 230 years ago. Their victory did not come without sacrifice. Some of them gave up everything they had to establish this great nation.

Will you be called upon to make the same sacrifices to preserve it? One would hope not, but it should put into perspective the small sacrifices we will make in the coming decade.

We sat at home and let others carry the standard. Oh, sure! We voted. We put up signs. Some of us canvassed neighborhoods and manned booths and phones and some of us contributed to candidates we thought were worthy. We jawboned, too, every chance we got. And looking back, if you had to do it all again, might you have done just a little more? Given a little more? Investigated your candidate as to what he stood for, what your party was standing for and how much was "eye wash"?

Complacency has to be the first casualty. You can't trust your party leaders to "get it right". You can't trust that "someone else" is going to carry the burden across the finish line. You can't sit idly by and watch the inheritance your fathers and your father's fathers gave to you be squandered so that there is nothing for your children or your children's children.

G. Gordon Liddy wrote a book, "When I was a kid, this was a free country." A lot of us can identify with that.
Ronald Reagan said,
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

Perhaps, some of us thought he was exaggerating. After the first day after the vernal equinox of 2010, I don't think we'll make that same mistake.

Our time, our talent and our treasure. That's what we've got. T cubed. Maybe in time, we can boast of own "sacred honor".

Cross posted at Say Anything

"Throw the Bums Out" -Ray Stevens



Don't be surprised if this one hits the top ten!

H/T Left Coast Rebel

Snake Oil: $2500 a Pop!



Are you familiar with the Laffer Curve? When calculating tax rates, 0% taxes brings 0% revenue into the coffers, but coincidentally, so does 100% taxes, because, why would anyone bother to work? The optimum amount of revenue that taxes can raise is somehere between those two points.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


From the talking points above, I believe that the Obama campaign had their own "Laffer Curve", or in the case of economically illiterate Dems, the "Laugher Curve"!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


What do you think? A focus group said promise them $2500 and they'll believe it? Can any thinking person tell me how Obama is going to give every family a $2500 reduction in their insurance premiums and add millions of currently uninsured people into the pool and not have some form of rationing? Frankly, I think the $2500 was snake oil. Nothing more. There are two "L" words that apply to candidate, now President Obama, and only one of them is "liberal".

Cross posted at Say Anything

Update: Listening to this litany of lies again, I noticed that most of the time he said "Up to $2500", which is kind of weaselly in itself. Sometimes he said "lower it $2500", and at least once he said "lower it an average of $2500", which would imply that some folks would have their premiums reduced even more!

Quote du jour

But it’s certainly fair to say that our political leaders believe in two different Americas. They even believe in two different Constitutions.

Democrats insist that health care is a “right.” It’s that conviction more than anything else that is driving their push for Obamacare.

-Jonah Goldberg

Sunday, March 21, 2010

This Last Week's Poll

This last week's poll: Is the House of Representative's "Slaughter Rule":

Un-Constitutional? 21%

Dishonest? 17%

Sneaky and Underhanded? 13%

Reason to vote out anyone who votes for it? 13%

All of the above? 95%


All of the above in a landslide!

Multiple choices and Obama's crack budget office accountants may account for totals greater than 100%

Thank you for your participation!
Not a scientific poll. Respondents are self selecting. Questions are drawn from fortune cookies, hieroglyphics and tomorrow’s New York Times.

Please make your opinion known in this week's poll.

Obama Administration Misrepresents Insurance Numbers



Why am I not surprised?

H/T John Lott

Hyde and Seek

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


There has been talk about President Obama signing an executive order that would reaffirm the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of public funds for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the woman's life.

And if you give me the money for a hamburger today, I will gladly repay you on Tuesday!
Executive orders can be rescinded. At any time. For any reason.

They are frequently canceled out when a new administration wishes to undo the mischief (or the progress) of the last president. Obama himself could do a "mea culpa" before the end of his term and explain that he was forced to do it, or it was expedient to do so for "the greater good" of health care "reform", and in an (what's the word they like to use about this president? Oh, yeah!)unprecedented move, he could rescind his own executive order. See? He could make history yet again!

Don't expect Obama, who twice voted for laws that were infanticide in everything but name, to give more than lip service to Hyde. And that, only temporarily until he gets what he wants.

I would hope that pro-life Democrats would be sophisticated enough to see that, though I hold out little hope.

If Obama signs an executive order reaffirming the Hyde amendment, don't look for anyone to carve that in stone. It will be written with a finger in the frost of the windshield of Obama's stretch limo. I don't need to tell you which finger.

Cross posted at Say Anything

Health Care Bill Plunges Forward

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
"Not a 'Harry and Louise' moment, but a 'Thelma and Louise' moment!"


“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” That was the response of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL to a question from Chris Wallace on this morning's Fox News Sunday, regarding a specific provision of the health care bill poised on the precipice to pass.

May I suggest that this is emblematic of much of what is wrong with this rush to take over one sixth of the US economy: No one knows exactly what is in it. Two thousand plus pages politics, pork and patronage, doling out favors and exemptions to certain groups and individuals, denying them to others...this bill, or set of bills is about taxes and government control. Health care and sob stories about orphans and people losing their insurance merely provide the "crisis" for a stalking horse for the expansion of government.

The specific question that caused Ms. Wasserman Schultz to blurt out "I don’t even know what you’re talking about", was a provision in the government take over of the student loan program that has been incorporated into this bill. I mean, it's not as if taking over one sixth of the nation's economy and the entire health care system wasn't complex enough, lets throw in a little more complexity and do it as a package deal!

When the Democrats calculate the "savings" that health care reform will bring, they have to throw in savings from the student loan program to prop up their anemic (and questionable) "reform" savings.

Aside from the question if the government should even be in the student loan business, (Where in the Constitution does it say that the Federal government should make loans to students? Probably the same place that it says the government can mandate all its citizens to purchase health insurance!) , the idea of putting control of student loans into the hands of people who favor central planning may not be beneficial to freedom in the long run. Forget "death panels"! If I went to Bank of America or Wells Fargo for a student loan, all they cared about was would I pay them back. Central planning could allow the folks responsible for the "People's Money" at some point, to deny a loan based on your declared major, if they felt there was a glut in that particular vocation.


To recap, the health care proposal spends trillions of dollars, fails to make good on its promise of universal coverage (millions will still be without coverage), fails on its promise of providing an extra "choice" (soon, there will be far fewer choices as they put private insurance as we know it out of business), will take over the entire nation's student loan program (with the exception of one bank in North Dakota), and doesn't attempt to lower costs of actually providing the services, other than the imaginary and historically contradictory evidence of economies of scale with government run bureaucracies.

Sheesh!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Quote du jour

“If the Democrats’ health care bill becomes law, the IRS could have to hire more than 16,000 additional agents, auditors and other workers just to enforce all the new taxes and penalties.”

-Dave Camp (R-MI), member House Ways and Means Committee.

Because nothing says "health care" like new taxes, IRS penalties and enforcement!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

A Little Saturday Night Music

Norah Jones - Don't Know Why

Pinky and the Braindead

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


You know, the "Ides of March Madness" got me to thinking about where I had seen certain members of this administration before. As Rocket J. Squirrel would say, "That face. Where have I seen that face?"

90 Seconds on Why Democrats have to "Slaughter" the Constitution



What may be the most depressing 90 seconds of your life!
Two words, my man: "De" "Caf"!

H/T Moonbattery

"If Congress Wants to Pass this Law,They Should Follow the Constitution"



"If Congress wants to pass this law, they should follow the Constitution"
-Mark Levin

What a novel idea!

H/T Gateway Pundit

Call Congress: 1-877-SOB-U-SOB

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


As Mark Levin noted from one of his callers and Doug Ross posts on his blog, the number to call Congress is:

1-877-SOB-U-SOB (877-762-8762)

Certainly makes it easy to remember!

The Obama Zone

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


President Obama, beginning his final push for a health care overhaul, called Wednesday for Congress to allow an “up or down vote” on the measure


I don't spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or the Senate. -Obama to Bret Baier


In the Obama Zone, the American people deserve an up or down vote on health care. But if they don't get one because of all that procedural stuff...that's okay too, so long as Obama gets his way!

Quote du jour

If Natoma Canfield had been "Joe the Plumber", anyone want to bet that the IRS and MSM would be investigating her for under-reported income?

-Proof

Friday, March 19, 2010

Awesome Photo Gallery by Ben Cooper

Ben Cooper has some amazing pictures of shuttle and booster launches over at Popular Science.

A detail from one of them:
Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Click over and see the rest. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Alana De La Garza
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Quote du jour

Any House Democrat who votes for the rule that allows the Senate bill to be deemed passed will be voting for the Senate bill. A foreseeable consequence of that vote is that the Senate bill may become law while some of the fixes the House votes for do not. It is entirely fair for Republican opponents of any House Democrat who votes for the Slaughter rule to tie him to the Senate bill. Republicans will be able to say, fairly, that such a House Democrat has voted for the Senate bill—kickbacks and all—and tried to hide the fact.

-Ramesh Ponnuru

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Obama on Fox News

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


You may have heard something of the Fox News interview with Bret Baier that President Obama consented to do recently. Aside from the question, if the White House doesn't consider Fox to be a "news organization", as they have famously stated in the past, why would Obama subject himself to a potentially hostile (or at least aggressive) interview with them, if he wasn't in desperate need to pump up his failing health care program?


Of note was a bit of verbal sleight of hand by the President:

BAIER: Let me insert this. We asked our viewers to e-mail in suggested questions. More than 18,000 people took time to e-mail us questions. These are regular people from all over the country. Lee Johnson, from Spring Valley, California: "If the bill is so good for all of us, why all the intimidation, arm twisting, seedy deals, and parliamentary trickery necessary to pass a bill, when you have an overwhelming majority in both houses and the presidency?"

Sandy Moody in Chesterfield, Missouri: "If the health care bill is so wonderful, why do you have to bribe Congress to pass it?"


So, the question is "If the plan is so good, why the hard sell?

OBAMA: Bret, I get 40,000 letters or e-mails a day.

BAIER: I know.

OBAMA: I could read the exact same e-mail --

BAIER: These are people. It's not just Washington punditry.

OBAMA: I've got the exact same e-mails, that I could show you, that talk about why haven't we done something to make sure that I, a small businessperson, am getting as good a deal as members of Congress are getting, and don't have my insurance rates jacked up 40 percent? Why is it that I, a mother with a child with a preexisting condition, still can't get insurance?

So the issue that I'm concerned about is whether not we're fixing a broken system


You catch that? Obama tries to make it a false equivalence: You get a lot of emails, I get a lot of emails. End of discussion.

In reality, the subject of Obama's emails is why haven't you gotten something done, not why haven't you gotten this particular horrible rotten government takeover of the health care system done.

On the fatuous scale, it ranks right up there with "If not us, who? If not now, when?" In 2012, can we elect someone who doesn't speak in fortune cookies?

Questions About the Health Care Bill

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Things that make you go hmmmm!

1) If you start raising taxes immediately for benefits that do not start until 2014, what's to keep Congress from spending the money in the meantime?

2) If one of the rationales for a government take over of health coverage is that "123 people die every day without insurance", what rationale is there to delay implementation until 2014, since an additional 180,000 people will die?

3) If a tax on "Cadillac" health plans is needed to fund the program, and Congress delays raising taxes on Union "Cadillac" health plans to 40 percent until 2018 because of Union objections, what guarantee is there that a future Congress will not roll over then as well?

4) If the hurry was to pass this lemon on Sunday so that Obama could sign it before he left the country, since his trip has been delayed until June, why can't the House take that extra time to debate and vote up or down on the Senate bill?

There are more, but, since I doubt that anyone will answer these four satisfactorily, I'll stop there for now.

Cross posted at Say Anything

A Tale of Two Presidents

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


One wanted regime change in Iraq to remove a ruthless dictator who aided and abetted our enemies.
One wants regime change in Israel to remove the constitutionally elected prime minister of one of our allies and friends.

As has often been said: "What's wrong with this picture?"


H/T The Other McCain

Shredding the Constitution for Fun and Profit

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


The House of Representatives has just passed the Slaughter "Solution" to avoid voting on an odious piece of legislation that none of them would have the guts to take an up or down vote on. Many representatives are opposed to individual elements of the Senate bill (such as the provisions on abortion), and this saves the House from putting their names on a piece of legislation that they would have a hard time defending to their constituents, since most of them vociferously dislike it.

This hypocritical attempt at a fig leaf will not succeed. They think that somehow, a vote for Slaughter and an accompanying vote on a "wishful thinking" piece of legislation that has no guarantee and frankly little hope of being passed by the Senate or signed by the president will give them the deniability that they were responsible for the more odious portions of the bill passed.

Exactly the opposite will take place. The Slaughter "solution" will, quite rightly, be viewed as a tacit vote in favor of the Senate bill, exactly as it stands with no further amendments.

They will be seen as having shirked their sworn duties to the people and the Constitution by allowing (or trying to allow) a piece of legislation taking over one sixth of the US economy to become law without an explicit vote in the House.

This law, this phony "deeming" the law to have been passed is poor political theater at best, and should it pass, I believe will be struck down by the Court.

However, I believe the message that needs to be sent to the House of Representatives, is that every member that voted for "deem and scheme" should deem themselves to be civilians and unemployed come November.

H/T The Other McCain
Cross posted at Say Anything

Fess Parker, R.I.P.

Best known for his role as Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, Fess Parker was a cultural icon back in the mid to late fifties. The Ballad of Davy Crockett was a best seller, Bill Hayes version making number 1 on the weekly Billboard charts. Coonskin caps were the craze, though I never owned one myself, but I did own my own "Davy Crockett" flintlock and canteen! (Ol' Betsy was his rifle's name. I'd forgotten that until just now.) Fess Parker became so associated with the role of rugged frontiersman, that he went on to play Daniel Boone for six seasons on television. His portrayals of Crockett, Boone and other frontiersmen may not have been historically accurate, but he provided a role model for America's youth, along with good wholesome entertainment. His later life found fulfillment as a businessman: winemaker and real estate developer. He was 85. He starred in other pictures like "The Great Locomotive Chase". His filmography can be found here. Cross posted at Say Anything

"Chicago Math"

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
(Or, in the President's case...unused!)


In light of President Obama telling us he was going to reduce our insurance premiums "3000 per cent", I would like to coin a new term: "Chicago Math".
President Obama was not exaggerating, he was simply using the same calculus by which votes are tabulated in Chicago!

Seems like there are more than a couple "Chicago Math addicts" in this administration!
Heh.

Quote du jour

"Able to leap formerly tall buildings in a single bound."

-Stilton Jahrsberg, on Muslims superheroes "The 99"

Quote du jour

Who would have thought this Congress and this administration would again attempt to ram through this health care bill using a partisan reconciliation process? Simply put, Mr. Chairman, the American people have had enough. They told Democrats “no” in August, “no” in September, they told them “no” at Thanksgiving, “no” at Christmas when they tried to pass this bill, they said “no” when Democrats wanted to do it by the State of the Union, and they’re going to say “no” tomorrow, when thousands of Americans come to Washington again to say, “Enough is enough.”

-Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

As a Doctor, Obama Makes a Good Doorstop

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Mr. Obama's use of Natoma Canfield during his Monday talk in Ohio is a good example. The president spent almost a third of his lecture discussing her case, and he claims he's been talking about her in meetings with insurance companies. Ms. Canfield is a self-employed cleaning lady who dropped her $500-per-month insurance plan because she felt she couldn't afford the insurance premiums, only to discover she suffered from leukemia.

$500 a month insurance policy? From what I've heard, Ms. Canfield only reported $6000 in income last year. Let's all do the math here, shall we? Someone makes $500 a month and spends $500 a month on insurance??? And I suppose she uses what's left over for little things like food, housing, utilities??
Oh, wait!

I understand, too, that Ohio has a state Medicaid program that provides health insurance to anyone who makes $800 a month or less. All she had to do was sign up for it!

Add to that, the fact that Natoma Canfield has been receiving some of the finest care in the world, without having insurance, what kind of snake oil is Obama trying to sell? Lame, tear jerker anecdotes about an 11 year old who loses his mother and flies to DC to shill for healthcare, and other sob stories about people who get sick after losing their health insurance, but still receive health care are all this administration has. They have no principle to stand on, no mandate from the people to pass this monstrosity, and a broken economy that will only get worse as the government attempts to insure additional millions.

And add to all that, a gutless House of Representatives that conspires to pass this whole thing into law without the accountability of an up or down vote, and you have possibly the worst legislation in the history of the republic.

Thank you, Dr. Obama!

The Medal of Honor

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


First Sergeant David H. McNerney


Citation:

1st Sgt. McNerney distinguished himself when his unit was attacked by a North Vietnamese battalion near polei Doc. Running through the hail of enemy fire to the area of heaviest contact, he was assisting in the development of a defensive perimeter when he encountered several enemy at close range. He killed the enemy but was painfully injured when blown from his feet by a grenade. In spite of this injury, he assaulted and destroyed an enemy machinegun position that had pinned down 5 of his comrades beyond the defensive line. Upon learning his commander and artillery forward observer had been killed, he assumed command of the company. He adjusted artillery fire to within 20 meters of the position in a daring measure to repulse ??enemy assaults. When the smoke grenades used to mark the position were gone, he moved into a nearby clearing to designate the location to friendly aircraft. In spite of enemy fire he remained exposed until he was certain the position was spotted and then climbed into a tree and tied the identification panel to its highest branches. Then he moved among his men readjusting their position, encouraging the defenders and checking the wounded. As the hostile assaults slackened, he began clearing a helicopter landing site to evacuate the wounded. When explosives were needed to remove large trees, he crawled outside the relative safety of his perimeter to collect demolition material from abandoned rucksacks. Moving through a fusillade of fire he returned with the explosives that were vital to the clearing of the landing zone. Disregarding the pain of his injury and refusing medical evacuation 1st Sgt. McNerney remained with his unit until the next day when the new commander arrived. First Sgt. McNerney's outstanding heroism and leadership were inspirational to his comrades. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.


1st Sgt. McNerney: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic


Hat tip Home of Heroes





There are fewer than a hundred living MoH recipients today. Their names and their stories should not be forgotten. My mission is to honor one of those heroes here each week, and salute them for their courage and sacrifice.