Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Obama: "Kiss of Death" to Yet Another "Green" Company

Remember when Barack Obama told us that "Green" energy was the wave of the future, providing the jobs the economy needed while keeping the air cleaner and enabling us to clone unicorns?? Okay. I may have made that last part up!

But, another company that Obama visited, hyped and funneled large amounts of federal money to, is going belly up. I know! Big surprise!

Regulatory and policy uncertainties in recent months created significant near-term excess supply and price erosion,” Solyndra's CEO said.

A California-based solar company that received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will shut down.

The company, Solyndra Inc., said Wednesday it would suspend its manufacturing operations and lay off 1,100 employees effective immediately. The company said it intends to file a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“Regulatory and policy uncertainties in recent months created significant near-term excess supply and price erosion,” Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison said in a statement. “Raising incremental capital in this environment was not possible. This was an unexpected outcome and is most unfortunate.”


Oh, really? "Regulatory and policy uncertainties"? Would those be the regulations and policies generated by the Democrat controlled legislature and governor's mansion, or the would those be the regulations and policies generated by the Democrat controlled Senate and White House?

The mind reels!

Solyndra received the $535 million stimulus loan guarantee from the Energy Department in 2009 to help finance the construction of a new plant to manufacture solar panels.


A half a billion here, a half a billion there...pretty soon it adds up to real money!

What are the odds that the current resident of the White House will take this as a sign that "Green" technologies are not necessarily the engine to drive the economy out of this recession, or do you think he will double down on stupid?

Yeah. Me, too.

H/T Memeorandum

Medal of Honor

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Staff Sergeant Don J. Jenkins


Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Jenkins (then Pfc.), Company A, distinguished himself while serving as a machine gunner on a reconnaissance mission. When his company came under heavy crossfire from an enemy complex, S/Sgt. Jenkins unhesitatingly maneuvered forward to a perilously exposed position and began placing suppressive fire on the enemy. When his own machinegun jammed, he immediately obtained a rifle and continued to fire into the enemy bunkers until his machinegun was made operative by his assistant. He exposed himself to extremely heavy fire when he repeatedly both ran and crawled across open terrain to obtain resupplies of ammunition until he had exhausted all that was available for his machinegun. Displaying tremendous presence of mind, he then armed himself with 2 antitank weapons and, by himself, maneuvered through the hostile fusillade to within 20 meters of an enemy bunker to destroy that position. After moving back to the friendly defensive perimeter long enough to secure yet another weapon, a grenade launcher, S/Sgt. Jenkins moved forward to a position providing no protection and resumed placing accurate fire on the enemy until his ammunition was again exhausted. During this time he was seriously wounded by shrapnel. Undaunted and displaying great courage, he moved forward 100 meters to aid a friendly element that was pinned down only a few meters from the enemy. This he did with complete disregard for his own wound and despite having been advised that several previous rescue attempts had failed at the cost of the life of 1 and the wounding of others. Ignoring the continuing intense fire and his painful wounds, and hindered by darkness, he made 3 trips to the beleaguered unit, each time pulling a wounded comrade back to safety. S/Sgt. Jenkins' extraordinary valor, dedication, and indomitable spirit inspired his fellow soldiers to repulse the determined enemy attack and ultimately to defeat the larger force. S/Sgt. Jenkins risk of his life reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.


S/Sgt. Jenkins: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

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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. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:
“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”


Cross posted at Say Anything

Obama's Speech Trumped By Boehner's Full (or Empty) House

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It looks like President Petulant has tried his hand at petty school yard politics. Did you hear about Obama's planned "jobs address"? This wasn't urgent enough to tell the nation before he went on vacation for ten days, but all of the sudden, he wants to make an address to Congress the same day, the same time the Republicans had scheduled a candidate's debate at the Reagan Library.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has asked President Obama to address a joint-session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8, when it wouldn't conflict with the Republican presidential debate.

Citing logistical difficulties, Boehner requested that Obama hold his jobs address, which Obama wants to deliver next Wednesday, one day later.

The Speaker's letter made no mention of the more obvious conflict: between the president's speech, and a Republican presidential debate scheduled on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST. That debate is the first of the post-Labor Day political season, and the first one in which Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is set to participate.


It was a juvenile move. Strictly "bush league" (Small "B"). He wanted to upstage the Republicans on the one hand, and use Congress as a bunch of props and a backdrop to stage the glory that is Obama.
One small problem: The President has to be invited to address Congress. Apparently, the President didn't even ask Congress about the speech, but arrogantly expected that if he said "jump" the peasants would ask "How high?".

Enter the adults with a cold splash of harsh reality for President Petulant. Boehner said that there might be "parliamentary or logistical impediments" that might interfere with his speech. That's right. "Parliamentary" (wink, wink) or "logistical" (nudge, nudge) impediments". If fact, I think that Boehner could probably give Obama an iron clad guarantee that there'd be at the very least a parliamentary impediment to the President's proposed schedule.

Note to the Obama White House: This ain't bean bag.


H/T Memeorandum

Daryl Hannah Arrested at White House

The "Buy This Woman a New Shirt" Telethon starts on Labor Day
"The Blade Runner actress got taken away by Park Police after protesting an oil pipeline in front of the White House" Not sure whether or not to feel sorrier for her that she is a wackadoo environmentalist or that she isn't remembered for anything since "Blade Runner" (1982).
Much-arrested Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah was taken away from the White House in restraints Tuesday afternoon. Hannah was taking part in an ongoing protest against the unbuilt Keystone XL oil pipeline. "Sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice your freedom for a greater freedom," Hannah said in Lafayette Park before her arrest. "And we want to be free from the horrible death and destruction that fossil fuels cause, and have a clean energy future."
H/T Memeorandum

Quote du jour

Events happen. Leaders are elected to lead (from the front, incidentally). That means dealing with events, not plaintively claiming to be their victim.

-Charles Krauthammer

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...

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I may not be sure exactly what she's selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

"His Master's Voice"

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"His Master's Voice"


The old RCA dog had nothing on Obama!

"Words, just Words" - Read While You Wait!

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Appropriately, from this perspective, Obama looks smaller than the teleprompter...and he is. Sheesh! You'd think the guy could say something on occasion without relying on someone else's words!

H/T The War Planner

Quote du jour

“A man of 21 with learning disabilities has been granted taxpayers’ money to fly to Amsterdam and have sex with a prostitute.”

...Why do they need a Dutch hooker? Just another hardworking foreigner doing the jobs Britons won’t do? Given the reputation of English womanhood, you’d have thought this would be the one gig that wouldn’t have to be outsourced overseas.

-Mark Steyn

Monday, August 29, 2011

9/11 - "Like Walking Into Hell"



This hour long National Geographic special is being rebroadcast tonight at 9 PM Eastern (6PM PDT) and again at midnight Eastern. Catch it if you can.

It is not at all clichéd to say, Thank God that George Bush was our president when this terrible thing happened to us.

H/T Hot Air

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.

Quote du jour

Obama is on the receiving end, as unpleasant as it might be for him, of the standard, run of the mill vitriol launched toward a sitting president. George W. Bush had it much worse, far as I can tell, and whined about it far less frequently.

-Keith Koffler

Sunday, August 28, 2011

"Biden Golfed in Hours Preceding Hurricane"

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Joe's a little unclear of the concept of "golf".


Delaware was pounded by Hurricane Irene on Saturday night, but Vice President Biden got in one last round of golf in his home state before the heavy stuff started coming down, Fox News has learned.

Biden played golf at a Wilmington-area course on Saturday morning, according to two sources familiar with his schedule.

Asked directly whether Biden played golf on Saturday, Biden's office would not comment to Fox News.


I don't know why Biden should be shy in fessing up to a round of golf. After all, the Vice President does have to be able to assume all the duties of the President, should something (God forbid!) happen to him!

Themes Like Old Times

Welcome Back, Kotter

Ron Paul: "We Can't Afford the Empire"

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Ron Paul was on Fox News Sunday this AM. On the whole, he said a lot of good things about Obama's Libyan Misadventure and how we cannot know at this time whether or not Quaddafi's successor will be better or worse than he was. Paul goes on and equates all of our foreign policy as if it were the same as in Libya, and this is sadly not the case. And even parts of that he gets wrong.

"The current situation in Libya may be a short term victory for Empire, but it is a loss for our American Republic."
Note the unfortunate and incorrect usage of the word "Empire" (I'm assuming he's talking about the U.S.)

empire: a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, French Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire.


Could I get a list of nations from you, Mr. Paul, of those nations absorbed by the U.S. Empire? Japan, Germany and Italy were conquered by the allies in WWII. We have troops stationed in each of those countries to this day (The wisdom of that can be debated another time.) Are those countries part of our "Empire"? Do they pay tribute to us? Do we rule over them?

Historically, empires seize the resources of conquered nations. That is why to this day, we are pumping American oil out of Kuwait and Iraq. No, wait! We aren't??

Because we are not an "Empire". We have influence around the world and with other countries and I see no problem with that. We support the cause of freedom around the world. We support our democratic allies. But, we have no "colonies", nor are we seeking any. Our military actions, at least in the past, have all come with an "exit strategy". You should look that up, Mr. Paul. Empires don't have "exit strategies" when they invade other countries. They plan for continual occupation. Our strategies of "occupation" have to do with the stability and integrity of the countries before we exit. So when he says things like "We can't afford the Empire", is he serious and mistaken, or merely careless with his words?

Speaking of that, did you note the use of his word "silly"? Speaking of the US dealing with Qaddafi (after he "admitted that his country had been trying to develop a broad arsenal of unconventional weapons, and he promised to dismantle them up and submit to international inspections"-NYT):

"But, why is it that we started doing business with him five years ago? Was that a good thing? I think that was silly, too."


"Silly", Mr. Paul? The lesson Qaddafi learned after the Iraq war, was that dictators with WMDs did not "live long and prosper". After renouncing his WMDs and allowing international inspections, why shouldn't we at least move tentatively to encourage those types of reforms? The fact that he had renounced weapons of mass destruction spoke well for leaving him in place, rather than roll the dice that the next government might be worse and we may have helped to put them there. On this, we agree. But, I shudder to think of our next president standing toe to toe with some foreign leader and telling him "That's just silly". Presidents (and candidates for president) ought not to be careless in their language.

And while we're on the subject, I have mentioned before Paul's use of the word "squabble" to describe Israel's fight for its very survival. I think if I were the Israeli Prime Minister, faced with a Paulian presidency, I would begin to explore options to wage the war more aggressively with my neighbors, knowing I could not count on the U.S. to "watch my back". (Kind of like it is now with Obama, only worse.)

Paul claims that a "telltale" of his support is measured by the volume of contributions from active military duty personnel.

"Because of my foreign policy, I get more donations from active military duty people."
Maybe. Or maybe they, like many others, value your position on the Constitution. Active military personnel have volunteered to put their lives on hold and their lives on the line to uphold the Constitution. They, like you, hold it in high regard. But, unless he has received correspondence from a majority of those contributors saying that it is his foreign policy views that prompted them to give, then perhaps his assumption is unfounded.

I noted another, minor, unfounded assumption in his anecdote about Mises. When asked about a country in economic crisis, Ludwig von Mises was asked if he were the leader of that country, what would he do. He said, "I'd quit". Paul took this to mean "in other words, take your hands off it". Only that wasn't what he said. He didn't say he'd reduce government activity, he said he'd "quit". The most likely reasons are, if he was the leader who was responsible for the disaster that befell his nation, he broke it and should not have the authority to break any more, or that he assumed the office with the country in disastrous financial shape and he wouldn't want to be blamed for it. The most likely explanation was, it was a joke, as in, "Why would I want to take on those kinds of headaches?"

If Mises saw that the solution was less government intervention, and he was in a position to make it happen, why would he "quit"? To borrow a phrase from a prominent candidate for president, that's just silly!

Finally, the scariest part of his remarks go to the heart of the Global War on Terror.

"They (American service personnel) don't want perpetual war, when they are undeclared and you don't see the end and you don't know who the enemy is..."


Mr. Paul: No one wants a perpetual war, declared or not, where you don't see the end and you don't know who the enemy is. But, that is the war that has been forced upon us, it was not of our choosing. Al-Qaeda is not a country with a defined border. We cannot defeat them and give their government our terms of peace. And if al-qaeda were wiped off the map tomorrow, that doesn't mean we would be forever free from fanatical terrorists. It has been said that "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom". There's something mighty perpetual in the word "eternal". Just as it applies to our Constitution, it applies to our national security. If we can utilize the military to root out camps and enclaves of extra-national terrorists, then we should do so, and let the host nations know that if they willingly shelter terrorists within their borders, that those actions have dire consequences.

To the extent that Obama's KMA in Libya was an undeclared war, I agree with Paul 100%. But the alternative isn't a wholesale withdrawal to our nation's borders, but rather a judicious examination of our military's mission around the world and eliminate that which does not serve the purpose. But, as long as terrorists fight without uniform or flag, we will not always know our enemy, and we will not see the end in the foreseeable future. That doesn't mean we give up the fight or make a temporary, and ultimately futile, retreat to our borders. Whenever possible, we must carry the fight to the terrorists, and support our allies in their struggles for freedom and self determination.

Paul has said we will treat all countries alike. I cannot see treating Britain and Israel like Libya or Iran. The battle to defeat Western civilization is a global conflict. No nation on the planet is better equipped than this one to provide leadership in that conflict. It is not the path of Empire, but of preservation. The survival of our democratic allies can aid us in our battle top preserve our values and our way of life. Like the word "empire", I don't think Mr. Paul understands that.

Mr. Paul: I salute your attempts to uphold the Constitution, but your foreign policy? If it weren't so deadly serious, I'd call it "silly", too. But, it remains the main reason you will never be president.

Update : "And we do have an empire" 4:34 in. (from 2010)
900 bases in 135 countries = empire. (Or maybe just too many bases?)

Quote du jour

"Those Democratic party SOBs in Washington won’t trust us to pick out our own light bulbs: what makes you think that they’ll let us have our own private manned space program? The only real question is which government agency they’ll use to stamp it out."

-Moe Lane -"This isn't heartwarming"

Saturday, August 27, 2011

A Little Saturday Night Music

Jerry Orbach - Try to Remember (1962)



Ah, Lennie Briscoe...we hardly knew ye!

Saturday Linkaround

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Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page

The Imperial Presidency- Mark Steyn

Why Hasn’t the Economic Recovery that Obama Promised Happened?

Bad Luck? Bad Faith? –Krauthammer

Costco to Remove Electric Car Chargers Because Nobody’s Using Them

Is economic “graceful decline” the true agenda of some warmists?

65 Climate Weenies Arrested Near White House

Stolen Valor: Supreme Court Asked to Uphold Military Impostor Law

How Obama Spent His Summer Vacation - In Cartoons

Obamas Share Sacrifice at Pricey Vineyard Restaurant

A contrast of two civilizations


Facing facts on Obama’s Syria miscues –John Bolton

The King of Debt –video

‘Ed Schultz With a Smaller Rack’

Tweet of the Day: Charles Krauthammer

Another "off the radar" taxpayer funded junket

On the Vineyard, Obama fever is no longer raging- “The bloom is off the hibiscus”, to coin a phrase…

Indiana College Bans National Anthem at Sporting Events

Hurricane Irene seen from space - photo

Hurricane Preparedness - a checklist

Leave MLK Jr. Alone

Ron Paul: Ignoring or ignored by the media?

Name that Famous Movie Quote

Why Conservatives Get Paranoid About Obama

MLK Jr Memorial Has Massive Mistake

Idiot Surfer Killed in Virginia Beach Due to Storm In a related story, world average IQ raises 2 points

New Scandal at DoJ as Illegal Guitars End Up In Hands of Mexican Drug Lords -Iowahawk



Rule Five Roundup*:

Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday, Hump Day Rule Five, Rule Five News

Classic Liberal – Cradle of Rule 5 Love

The Daley Gator – Daley Babes: Silvan Krispin, Catherine Oxenberg

Eye of Polyphemus – Annabeth Gish, Flavia de Oliveira, Anne Hathaway, Miranda Kerr

Friday Night Babe – Clair Cooper

Hookers and Booze- Weekend Double

Jake Finnegan - Katy Perry

Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Friday Pin up

Maggie’s Notebook – Girls with guns

Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If All You See..., If All You See…, If All You See…

POH Diaries -Rule 5: Maryeve Dufault

Randy’s Roundtable – Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart


Reaganite Republican – Hot Romanian Chicks, II

Sex in Advertising - Miss Turkey

Soylent Green – Friday Corset

Support your local Gunfighter – Hayden Panettiere

The Last Tradition- Bikini Baristas

Major Hottie

Theo Spark –Bath night

The Other McCain- Rule 5 Monday

Vintage Babe of the Week – Yvonne Furneaux

Barber shop -Woodsterman Style

Saturday Night Sunglasses





*By no means comprehensive.

Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar at Proof Positive. (All spambots must die!)

Cross posted at Say Anything

The Secret of the Runaway Bride

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Eighteen year old Valeriya Shevchenko, was resplendent in her wedding finery at the City Clerk's Office in New York City on Tuesday. She was waiting for her fiance to arrive, when the earthquake hit. She ran through the park with her cellphone, trying to find him. They met up at a subway station nearby and returned to the City Clerk's office to be married.

One small problem: They were trying to keep their marriage a secret, because their families disapproved. As Fate would have it, the young lady fleeing in her wedding dress was just too good of a shot for an enterprising photographer to pass up.

I can just imagine their wedding vows: "Baby, when I look at you, I can feel the earth move!"

Best wishes to the happy couple.

Name That Famous Movie Quote...

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They're here!

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Quote du jour

“President Obama said that even though we’ve been downgraded, we’re still a AAA nation. Unfortunately, he meant in the minor league baseball sense.”

–Jimmy Kimmel

Friday, August 26, 2011

Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Clair Cooper!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

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Gibson Guitar Company in Fed's Crosshairs

By the Left Coast Rebel

Is it any wonder that American business is dying? Is it any surprise that China and India (not to mention several European nations, Asia et al.) are eclipsing the United States in entrepreneurial activity, wealth creation and business friendliness?

A story like this tells us everything that is wrong with the federal government:

(WSJ) (Memeo) Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.

(SNIP)

In 2009 the Feds seized several guitars and pallets of wood from a Gibson factory, and both sides have been wrangling over the goods in a case with the delightful name "United States of America v. Ebony Wood in Various Forms."

....But with the new raid, the government seems to be questioning whether some wood sourced from India met every regulatory jot and tittle.

Cross an international border with an instrument made of that now-restricted wood, and you better have correct and complete documentation proving the age of the instrument. Otherwise, you could lose it to a zealous customs agent—not to mention face fines and prosecution.


Potentially illegal Indian ebony wood? Oh my.

The WSJ also includes an extremely spooky, related story in the link above:

Consider the recent experience of Pascal Vieillard, whose Atlanta-area company, A-440 Pianos, imported several antique Bösendorfers. Mr. Vieillard asked officials at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species how to fill out the correct paperwork—which simply encouraged them to alert U.S. Customs to give his shipment added scrutiny.

There was never any question that the instruments were old enough to have grandfathered ivory keys. But Mr. Vieillard didn't have his paperwork straight when two-dozen federal agents came calling.

Facing criminal charges that might have put him in prison for years, Mr. Vieillard pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Lacey Act, and was handed a $17,500 fine and three years probation.


The delicious irony here is that a lot of musicians -- and creative musical types -- are raging libs that vote in ludicrous gunpoint-enforced laws like this.

Now, when their houses are raided (or companies) and they face airport coercion and molestation, they know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of government largess.

A conservative is a liberal musician who's
been mugged by the federal government


Update (by Proof): I saw this story. I started to comment and then the comment kept growing. Full disclosure: I owned a Gibson twelve string back in the early 80's.

It's sad that the oxymoron known as the Obama Justice Department won't protect the integrity of our voting system by prosecuting hate crimes committed at polling places (if the offender is a certain race or color), won't uphold the integrity of our borders against illegal immigration, failed miserably against tracking illegal gun sales to Mexico, (even encouraging and expediting them), but will enforce laws against raw milk producers and now, regulations about where wood comes from for a musical instrument.

Note to guitar pickers: The cost of your next Gibson just went up.

Note to Gibson employees: The Feds just gave your boss another reason to ship your jobs overseas.

Have a nice day!

Update II (by Proof): According to Doug Ross, campaign contributions (or the lack thereof) may have contributed to the raid(s).
One of Gibson’s leading competitors is C.F. Martin & Company. The C.E.O., Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter, with $35,400 in contributions to Democratic candidates and the DNC over the past couple of election cycles. According to C.F. Martin’s catalog, several of their guitars contain “East Indian Rosewood.” In case you were wondering, that is the exact same wood in at least ten of Gibson’s guitars.


It's good to know that the oxymoronically named Obama Justice Department is above being used to punish one's political opponents or reward partisan political support. /sarcasm


Cross posted
. More at Memeorandum

Quote du jour

We’re hurtling toward a precipice at 75 mph, but according to the federal government’s speedometer, we’re only going 55.

-Peter Kirsanow

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Vintage Babe of the Week

Tonight's Vintage Babe* is Yvonne Furneaux!
(*a.k.a. Rule Five Thursday)

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Confounded big hats!

Perry and Barry: "Boys Will Be Boys..."

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Posted without comment.

H/T The Other McCain

Quote du jour

To paraphrase Fred Allen: What Obama knows about economics you could put in the navel of a flea and still have room for a caraway seed and Nancy Pelosi's heart.

-Proof

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sí, Se Puede…¿Como se dice... “Throw the Bums Out”?

The following bilingual post is brought to you by the letters "W, T & F" and by the numbers "2012".

In 2008, Obama won 57 percent of the state’s Hispanic vote, which has historically leaned Republican. Now, 72 percent of Florida Hispanic voters say Obama doesn’t deserve re-election, according to the Magellan poll. And the numbers don’t change when Obama is matched up with Republican candidates:

What is striking is how poorly Barack Obama is doing among Hispanic and Latino voters in Florida. The ballot test between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney finds the president trailing Mitt Romney by 39 points, with 62 percent of Hispanic voters supporting Mitt Romney and only 23 percent supporting Barack Obama. The Perry‐Obama ballot test among Hispanic voters finds 56 percent supporting Rick Perry​ and 25 percent supporting the president. The Bachmann‐Obama ballot test among Hispanic voters finds Michele Bachmann with 51 percent support and 30 percent for Barack Obama.


Okay, okay...¿como se dice...schadenfreude? Yes, we can...throw the bums out!

H/T Weasel Zippers

Medal of Honor

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Captain Jack H. Jacobs


Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Jacobs (then 1st Lt.), Infantry, distinguished himself while serving as assistant battalion advisor, 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The 2d Battalion was advancing to contact when it came under intense heavy machinegun and mortar fire from a Viet Cong battalion positioned in well fortified bunkers. As the 2d Battalion deployed into attack formation its advance was halted by devastating fire. Capt. Jacobs, with the command element of the lead company, called for and directed air strikes on the enemy positions to facilitate a renewed attack. Due to the intensity of the enemy fire and heavy casualties to the command group, including the company commander, the attack stopped and the friendly troops became disorganized. Although wounded by mortar fragments, Capt. Jacobs assumed command of the allied company, ordered a withdrawal from the exposed position and established a defensive perimeter. Despite profuse bleeding from head wounds which impaired his vision, Capt. Jacobs, with complete disregard for his safety, returned under intense fire to evacuate a seriously wounded advisor to the safety of a wooded area where he administered lifesaving first aid. He then returned through heavy automatic weapons fire to evacuate the wounded company commander. Capt. Jacobs made repeated trips across the fire-swept open rice paddies evacuating wounded and their weapons. On 3 separate occasions, Capt. Jacobs contacted and drove off Viet Cong squads who were searching for allied wounded and weapons, single-handedly killing 3 and wounding several others. His gallant actions and extraordinary heroism saved the lives of 1 U.S. advisor and 13 allied soldiers. Through his effort the allied company was restored to an effective fighting unit and prevented defeat of the friendly forces by a strong and determined enemy. Capt. Jacobs, by his gallantry and bravery in action in the highest traditions of the military service, has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.


Capt. Jacobs: We humbly salute you and thank you for your service.

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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. In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy:
“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors; the men it remembers.”


Cross posted at Say Anything

This One Was Photoshopped...

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...in case you couldn't tell the difference!

Obama Says of Bush: Adding $4 Trillion To The National Debt Is “Unpatriotic”


Candidate Obama in 2008


The Internet is such a pesky thing!

H/T Rob Port
More here and at Memeorandum

Michelle and Barry's Excellent Adventures

Photoshop® alert! This apparently isn't one!

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First Lady Michelle Obama


At first, (sorry Michelle!) I thought this was a Photoshop® of Barack trying to make him look (more) effeminate. Then, I saw in the caption it was Michelle. Remember, our Fearless Leader rode a girl's bike, too...

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Then, we find out the price tag for the Obamas vacationing with the "millionaires and billionaires":

The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets.

But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10 million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year.


Guess we need to re-write JFK:

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what your country can do for me!"

-Barack Obama

The First Lady is believed to have taken 42 days of holiday in the past year, including a $375,000 break in Spain and a four-day ski trip to Vail, Colorado, where she spent $2,000 a night on a suite at the Sebastian hotel.

And the first family's nine-day stay in Martha's Vineyard is also proving costly, with rental of the Blue Heron Farm property alone costing an estimated $50,000 a week.

... 'Michelle also enjoys drinking expensive booze during her trips


But, the pressure of being First Lady! It's got to be hell on her not worrying about mortgage payments or where her next gourmet meal is coming from! I hear in the White House, once she even had to draw her own bath!*

While the President and his wife do pay for some of their personal expenses from their own pocket, the website whitehousedossier.com says that the amount paid by the couple is 'dwarfed by the overall cost to the public'.

The magazine also reported that Mrs Obama, whose fashion choices are widely followed, had been going on 'wild shopping sprees', much to the distress of her husband, who, its sources reveal, is 'absolutely furious' at his wife's 'out-of-control spending'.


Now if he could only bring himself to become furious at Congress for their out-of-control spending!




*Probably not true. Staff would have been fired over such a thing!

H/T Rob Port

Cross posted at LCR. More at Memeorandum


Quote du jour

If I were the Republican candidate for 2012, I would legally change my name to "Not Obama."

-Dennis Miller

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Eliminate Tax Loopholes for the Rich -Starting with GM

I've been thinking a lot about our fearless leader's call for higher taxes on the rich. Close those "tax loopholes" that help them to avoid paying their "fair share".

Let's start here:

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Chevy Volt - Code Blue


The MSRP for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt in the U.S. starts at $40,280. Starts. That's the base model. For a car that goes (according to the EPA) 35 miles in all-electric mode. The total range is 379 miles (gas and electric).

Now, I don't know about you, but thirty five miles will not get me to work and back on any given day. Hell, some days, three hundred and seventy nine miles won't cut it either. So, who buys a car that is not reliable enough to get you to work and back on a single charge and is too small to be comfortable on a long trip?

It is ill suited, therefore to be one's primary or sole means of transportation, so, who is it that can afford a $40,000 subcompact to drive, aside from commutes or vacations? The rich. Anyone could buy a Chevy Cruze, which is a gas version of the Volt (only $23,000 cheaper), with more head room, legroom and a longer range. Who buys an expensive novelty car that's not very practical, just to prove a point, or make one feel better about themselves and the "environment"? This car has Ed Begley, Jr. written all over it!

So, if the rich, or at least, moderately well off, want to buy a Volt, let them! But, about those "loopholes"...

Quantifying just how much taxpayer money will have been wasted on the hastily developed Volt is no easy feat. Start with the $50 billion bailout (without which none of this would have been necessary), add $240 million in Energy Department grants doled out to G.M. last summer, $150 million in federal money to the Volt’s Korean battery supplier, up to $1.5 billion in tax breaks for purchasers and other consumer incentives, and some significant portion of the $14 billion loan G.M. got in 2008 for “retooling” its plants, and you’ve got some idea of how much taxpayer cash is built into every Volt.


But, wait! (As they say) There's more! Let's give every rich person who buys a Chevy Volt a $7,500 tax credit (read: "loophole"), so all the poor people who can't even afford a single new car can help subsidize the rich to buy an extra one!

Now, am I really incensed that the rich are taking advantage of this "loophole", not available to poorer folks? Not really. Even with a $7,500 tax break, the Volt is still overpriced and under featured. The sales numbers of the Volt, even after a flood of government money are anemic and somewhat pathetic.

So, what's the point? It's this: One man's loophole is simply another man's deduction. The demagoguery of using the term "loophole" to generate class envy, by implying an unfair advantage (in areas where you really just want to raise taxes) while ignoring similar tax breaks in areas you want to encourage, is hypocritical to say the least.

When this administration tells you they want to "close the loopholes" so that the rich "pay their fair share", what they are talking about is raising taxes, pure and simple. It has been noted that even taxing "the rich" at 100% and confiscating everything they have, would not solve the problems created by a spendthrift Congress, so "taxing the rich" is just a bit of class envy political theater, used to distract the voters away from the real problem by demonstrating that they are at least "doing something". (And sticking it to those rich guys, doggone it!)

And although Barack Obama has acknowledged that it is not a good idea to raise taxes during a recession, still, he has tried to 1) end the Bush across the board tax cuts last December, 2) eliminate "loopholes" like depreciation on private jets, and 3) calls for a quote unquote "balanced" approach that includes even more tax increases.

And speaking of "balance", if raising taxes in a recession is a bad thing, how is it "balanced" to do a bad thing with a good thing? This whole nonsense about "balancing" spending cuts with tax increases (What about five to one? Ten to one? Etc.) can be illustrated thusly: You've been buying clean ground beef and one day your butcher decides he's going to "balance" that by selling a little beef with e.coli mixed in.

Would this "balanced" approach be more palatable if the mixture is ten to one beef instead of five to one? Or would it still bad for you?

"Balance" is probably a word that "focus grouped" well, and Obama would much rather tell you he's taking a "balanced approach" than to tell you he's actually in favor of raising taxes during a recession. But don't buy it... and change your butcher!

Sex in Advertising

For all you connoisseurs of advertising...

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I may not sure what she's selling, but, I'm pretty sure I'm in the market!

Songwriter Jerry Leiber Dead at 78

From "Hound Dog" to "Stuck In The Middle With You", you probably know more of his songs than almost anyone's.

Jerry Leiber, one of the most important songwriters in the history of rock & roll – whose 60-year partnership with Mike Stoller produced "Stand By Me," "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Young Blood," "On Broadway," "Yakety-Yak" and countless other classics – has died of cardiopulmonary failure. He was 78.


A little taste:



Rest in peace.

Quote du jour

the audience I saw the movie with seemed to have cheerfully low expectations, yet even they didn’t so much leave the theater as recoil from it.

-Leo Grin, on the Conan remake

Monday, August 22, 2011

Quote du jour

Electing Obama for four more years is the same as strapping an economic suicide vest on and then handing the detonator to your ex-wife.

-Neal Boortz

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Obama's "Libya: Days Not Weeks" Anniversary



The five month anniversary of Obama's first "Days Not Weeks" speech was last Thursday.

Sorry I missed it!

Cross posted at Say Anything

Themes Like Old Times

WKRP in Cincinnati

Mitt Romney Channels John Edwards and Al Gore

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View from the beach


LA JOLLA — GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, scheduled to attend a series of fundraisers this weekend in San Diego, is also working on plans to nearly quadruple the size of his $12 million oceanfront manse in La Jolla.

Romney has filed an application with the city to bulldoze his 3,009-square-foot, single-story home at 311 Dunemere Dr. and replace it with a two-story, 11,062-square-foot structure.


Joining John Edwards and Al Gore in the "I don't think my current house is big enough" category, Mitt Romney plans a little ill timed remodeling. No, that's not exactly right. Remodeling is when you change or add to a place. Bulldozing it and replacing it with a structure four times larger is more than "remodeling".

Mr. Romney is free to do whatever he wants to with his money. I don't have a problem with that. At a time when people are losing the modest homes they have, building a mega mansion on the beach doesn't exactly scream, "I feel your pain".

It's just one more way in which Romney looks like Obama Lite. It cannot be good for his campaign.

Update : For those who do not remember the 2008 campaign, here's an ad Obama ran against John McCain.



Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.


H/T Memeorandum

Would the Last Person to Leave the Department of Energy Please Turn Out the Lights?

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All this talk about (and begrudging nostalgia for) Jimmy Carter and his handling of the "energy crisis" of 1977 should have taught us something.

Jimmy Carter established the Department of Energy, as a cabinet level office, in the seventies, which has been described as a "governmental department whose mission is to advance energy technology and promote related innovation in the United States". Because, according to Jimmy Carter, "...we are now running out of gas and oil", and because "...we can have an effective and comprehensive energy policy only if the government takes responsibility for it".

So, in the last thirty four years*, how far have we advanced? And when did we run out of gas and oil? I must not have gotten the memo. How's that whole "government taking responsibility for it" thing working out?

The Big Government types at the time, figured yet another government bureaucracy, accompanied by shoveling tons of money into finding a solution would be our salvation. After over forty years, are we any closer to finding a viable alternative to fuel our economy and our society other than coal and oil?

As has been pointed out countless times, neither solar nor wind is economically feasible, nor has the capacity to provide for our country's energy needs 24/7. Atomic power is anathema to most liberals, who incidentally are against hydroelectric power, because it involves damming waterways, nuclear because of the waste, and oil and coal, because they're idiots.

We have not achieved any breakthrough of any significance in the last thirty years*, is it reasonable to expect one in the next thirty*? No one would be happier than I if Doc Brown's "Mr. Fusion" came into being tomorrow, but does it make sense to hold our economy and our society "hostage" (to use the word the liberals like to use) to some Green pipe dream or fantasy that may never come true?

If we'd had a "Department of Lighting", back before Edison invented his marvelous bulb, I'm sure we'd have the finest kerosene conservation methodology on the planet by now. We could have score of bureaucrats cranking out memos on proper wick trimming, kerosene storage and tips on opening our curtains during the day to conserve kerosene. Government cannot mandate innovation. They can, however, stifle it through over-taxation and over-regulation.

As a young man, I was given the advice, If it is within your power, never quit a job until you have another one lined up. We should plan on using our oil, coal and natural gas until such time as a breakthrough is discovered, for two reasons:

1) It constitutes real wealth now. There is a need and a market for energy today. If coal does become obsolete in twenty years, then, how much is that coal worth sitting in the earth? It is real wealth, today, that can provide real jobs and lower the cost of energy to millions, thus increasing their standard of living and the profitability of American manufacturing.

2) Petroleum is used in manufacturing. The keyboard I am typing on was made from petroleum byproducts. Even if "Mr. Fusion" was invented tomorrow, there would still likely be plastic parts somewhere in the product, and if not there, then in other household goods, and we'd still need petroleum to make them.


It has been pointed out that the "Department of Energy" has never produced any. It has failed in its promise to do anything of any significance in reducing our dependence on foreign oil. In fact, it has done the opposite. It has stood in the way of oil exploration and production. It is said that insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results". After thirty plus years*, can we now say that the Department of Energy was a crazy idea and defund it as soon as possible?

(The text of Carter's speech can be found here.)

Cross posted at LCR, Say Anything.



Obama Could Learn a Thing or Two From Jimmy Carter

Remember Jimmy Carter? 39th President. Billy Beer. Lust in his heart. Killer rabbits. That Jimmy Carter? Obama could learn a thing or two from Jimmy. Remember the energy crisis of 1977? I know! There have been so many oil embargoes and crises, and still the government continues to hamstring energy producers. But, in 1977, President Carter took to the airwaves to rally the American people to conserve energy, "the moral equivalent of war". Anyone here old enough to remember that speech? He sat there, looking into the camera sincerely, wearing a cardigan sweater, presumably, because he had turned down the thermostat in the White House to conserve energy. (As opposed to the current resident of the White House, who is known to keep his office quite toasty!) President Carter, long before Bill Clinton ever patented the line, was trying to communicate that he felt our pain, that he willingly shared in the sacrifice he was calling upon everyone to make. Now, it is possible that, after the cameras were turned off, he fired up the thermostat and ran around the Oval Office in his skivvies. (Sorry for the image!) But, at least Carter put up the appearance of empathizing with the people he was elected to lead. Compare and contrast with a president who surrounds himself with all the trappings of power. Someone who doesn't deny himself a thing, but lives like a king or the dictator of some banana republic, throwing lavish parties for himself, hobnobbing with the rich and famous while the peasants beg for crusts of bread. Think about it...other than his annoyance over not everyone doing what he wants them to do, have you seen any evidence at all in the last two and a half years, that Barack Obama is not really enjoying himself heartily? Parties, golf, lavish vacations, world travel, deluxe transportation, gourmet meals, (with chefs flown in from Chicago and Hawaii), people to wait upon his every whim, at his beck and call. Meanwhile, the country goes to Hades in a handbasket. Obama talks the talk about 'shared sacrifice", but by that he means that others should share the sacrifice, not him personally. He doesn't walk the walk. He says his favorite Bible verse is Matthew 25:40 -
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
(Think millions of dollars in book royalties and a half brother who lives in a hut for $12 a year.) No one begrudges protecting the president. Some think a fleet of million dollar "rock star" buses was over the top. No one begrudges the President in taking time off to be with his family. Spending millions of tax dollars to do so is over the top. Say what you will about Jimmy Carter, he was either smart enough and humble enough not to rub people's noses in his good fortune while the rest of the country suffered, or at least he gave that appearance. Little Lord Barackleroy and his wife, spend the nation's money like drunken Congressmen and don't seem to be the tiniest bit embarrassed in flaunting and wasting the wealth and power entrusted to them by their fellow citizens. Some presidents lead by example. Others show great moral courage and integrity. And then, there's Barack...

Quote du jour

Why exactly does the president need a 40-car escort to drive past his subjects in Dead Moose Junction? It doesn’t communicate strength, but only waste, and decadence.

-Mark Steyn

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Job Killer the Hutt

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I hear Martha's Vineyard is lovely this time of year!

A Little Saturday Night Music

I may have posted this before. If so, here it is again:

Ian and Sylvia with Gordon Lightfoot - In the Early Morning Rain

John Dingell -Mad Magazine Style

Remember the inside back cover of Mad Magazine? It used to have these pictures, (maybe it still does) where, if you folded them on the dotted lines, it gave you a different picture.

I thought of that when I saw this picture of John Dingell:
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And thought, if you folded it just right, you'd get this:
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Rare Cost Cutting Measure on Capitol Hill - Longest Serving Democrat Demands an Investigation!

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The House’s longest-serving current member, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), is calling on Republican and Democratic leadership to justify their recent decision to terminate the page program.

In a letter sent Friday to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Dingell expressed concerns about the recent cancellation of the program — in effect for nearly 200 years — due to prohibitive costs and advances in technology.


So, the pages were an anachronism, left over from an earlier age where you might need to send a runner from one office to another (or to fetch coffee or the Congressman's dry cleaning), and as a cost saving measure, in difficult economic times, there is no cut so small that some Democrat somewhere will not protest. No program, however antiquated that should be terminated. What was it that Ronald Reagan said? "A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"

Boehner and Pelosi’s offices have not responded to requests for comment. The House leaders announced their decision to terminate the program in a joint statement Aug. 8, saying the program will come to an end as of Aug. 31.

The page program employs roughly 70 high school students to serve as messengers and couriers on the House floor and around the Capitol complex, offering them the opportunity to work and attend high school in Congress for a semester, or for several weeks during the summer.

“This decision was not easy, but it is necessary,” Boehner and Pelosi wrote of the cancellation, noting that the cost to operate the program exceeds $5 million annually.


To paraphrase Everett Dirksen, "Five million here and five million there, and pretty soon, it'll add up to real money!" I wonder if Dingell will ever figure out that he could hire whomever he wants out of his own office budget? Nah. Maybe the honor of having a berry named after him has gone to his head?

H/T Memeorandum

Saturday Linkaround

Cartoon of the Day – NRO Home page Our Long National Nightmare Is Over: Obama Makes It Back To The Golf Course After Seven-Week Lull… The New Britannia- Mark Steyn -Hippohomophobics need not apply Regulations, regulations everywhere, and the job market continues to shrink Sign “O” the Times –TX bank going out of the banking business Obama Bumper Stickers JFK’s Berlin blunder –George Will Obama Administration Won’t Release Pics of Dead Osama But Will Assist With the Movie Obama DID Lie: Obamacare Now Paying for Illegal Immigrants Pakistan Let China Study Downed Osama Raid Super Helo The Crown Heights Riot, 20 Years Ago This Week, The True Story That's Never Told Warren Buffett’s Op Ed Rebuttal Higher Education Bubble, Title IX division 4 Videos on Fast and Furious Why Is/Was CBS Selling Barack Obama Merchandise? The Adventures of Captain America –Jonah Goldberg Michelle Obama takes separate jet to Martha's Vineyard because she didn't want to wait 4 hours for Barack Perfectly Timed Friday Afternoon Obamacare Waiver Dump Chris Matthews: Exceptionally Idiotic Obama’s 9 Impeachment-Worthy Acts General Motors Co (GM.N) is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit over a suspension problem on more than 400,000 Chevrolet Impalas Why Bam’s doomed The 50 Richest Members of Congress (2011) Michelle’s Separate Travel Costs Taxpayers Thousands – In a related story, Michelle is quoted as saying, “Let them eat cake!” Obama To Give Major Speech On Jobs… Next Month Automatic Shotgun Demonstration- video Perusing the Righty Blogosphere . . . Photoshop™ Of The Day Rule Five Roundup*: American Power- Saturday Rule Five -S.I. bodypainting PETA Porn Site Camp of the Saints - Rule Five Saturday, Rule Five News Classic Liberal – Space Lord Rule 5 The Daley Gator – Daley Babes: Mila Kunis, Odette Annable, Cheerleaders, Eva Mendes Eye of Polyphemus – Bar Refaeli, Gabrielle Union, Kristen Bell Friday Night Babe – Brooke Hogan Full Metal Patriot – Midweek Peek -Halle Berry Hookers and Booze - Tuesday Night Jake Finnegan - Karen Alloy Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Friday Pin up Pirates Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup, If all you see..., If All You See…, If All You See… POH Diaries -Rule 5: British Anti-cosmetic surgery league Randy’s Roundtable – Midweek Break, Thursday Nite Tart Reaganite Republican – Alexandra Stan Sex in Advertising -Paris Hilton Support your local Gunfighter – Stefani’s Stepdaughter Poses For Playboy, Halle Berry The Last Tradition- Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr Tuesday Titillation Theo Spark - Bonus Babe, Saturday Toddy, Bath Night The Other McCain- Rule 5 Sunday Vintage Babe of the Week – Angela Lansbury Rule 5 Woodsterman Style - selling margaritas on the beach *By no means comprehensive. Use the comments as an open thread on any of these topics. If you feel that I’ve neglected a link, news, commentary, humor or Rule Fivage, send a link to the contact email on the sidebar at Proof Positive. (All spambots must die!) Cross posted at Say Anything

The King is Dead (Burger King, that is!)

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...about frikken' time!

Burger King has decided to 86 the creepy guy in the plastic head.

In the first of many steps to reinvent itself over the next year, the struggling fast-feeder Friday will announce that it's dethroning the creepy King character — and other wacky, teen-targeting stuff — and refocusing on a customer it had all but forgotten: Mom.

In a new ad campaign set to air this weekend, Burger King will nationally roll out the California Whopper on Monday, made with what's arguably the gastronomic trend of 2011: guacamole. In a serious image twist, the entire commercial shows only the sights and sounds of the fresh ingredients being washed, sliced and diced. There are no words, just pulsating music.


Although, who can forget the high point of his career?

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H/T Memeorandum

Marine, Medal of Honor Recipient, Reunited with Stolen Weapon

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Here's a story to warm the cockles of your heart...

A historic Colt .45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol stolen more than 30 years ago from a Medal of Honor winner recipient in South Carolina has been returned to its rightful owner.

The gun and owner were reunited after a history buff in Medford, who bought the old handgun in an online auction last month, tracked down the retired Marine whose name is engraved on it.


Pretty cool, huh? I'd guess there'd be some people who would see a weapon like that, engraved with the name of a Medal of Honor recipient and see dollar signs. This guy just saw the right thing to do.

"I knew if I found him and it was his gun, I couldn't keep it," said George Berry, 71, who knew little about the history of the gun when he purchased it from an auction house in Pennsylvania.

The story begins when Berry, a retired Navy warrant officer who also served in the Marine Corps, decided this summer to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning one of the historic handguns.

"I've always wanted to own a Colt Model 1911 .45 automatic — always wanted one," he says. "John Wayne had one in every World War II movie I've ever seen him in."

Early in July, he began searching the Internet and discovered that Alderfer Auction, a well-known auction firm in Hatfield, Pa., would be offering three of the Colt .45s in a July 12 auction.

In particular, lot No. 78 caught his eye: "Colt 1911 A1 semi-automatic pistol. Cal. 45. 5" bbl. SN 0103889. Reblued finish on all metal, plain walnut Colt grips, after-market rear sight, no magazine," the description read.

"Faint 'USMC' stamped on right side of slide, partial 'United States Property' wording is visible," it continued. "The name 'John J. McGinty USMC' stamped on left side of slide. Very good."


You can read John McGinty's MoH citation here.

The pistol had been reblued, was missing its original sights or grips. It sold for a lot less at the auction than two other .45s. The new owner started searching the Internet to see what he could find out about this fellow whose name was on the pistol. Turns out, John McGinty had been awarded the Medal of Honor, and that very pistol was mentioned in his citation for the Medal.

As he read more about McGinty and his story, he knew he had to locate him to see if he was the same man who once owned the gun. He also wanted to find out how he parted with the pistol, and whether the former Marine wanted it back.

"His medal citation actually mentions the pistol," Berry observed, referring to the fact the wounded McGinty used it to kill five enemy soldiers attacking his position.

However, Berry did not yet know whether it was the same McGinty associated with his newly acquired pistol. He used the Internet to track down McGinty, 71, in Beaufort, S.C. McGinty had retired from the corps as a captain in October 1976.

The retired Navy warrant officer called the retired Marine Corps officer and asked him if it was his pistol.

"He said, 'Do you mean 0103889?' " Berry recalled, noting McGinty had just recited the gun's serial number.

That's when McGinty informed him the pistol had been stolen in 1978 when it was on display along with his uniform and sword. It was the very same pistol McGinty had used in Vietnam to repulse that final assault.


So, John McGinty was reunited with the pistol that saved his life and George Berry, the man who returned it to him refused to take any money for it. It was just the right thing to do.
Read the rest here.

H/T Support Your Local Gunfighter

Quote du jour

Candidate Obama virtually assured us that he would shut down domestic coal production through costly environmental regulations. I do wonder how he would propose to charge all these electric vehicles, coming home and plugging into their chargers right at the peak of electric demand, without any new hydroelectric, coal, gas fired or nuclear plants to make up the difference in demand? Obama wants the car you're living out of to be a hybrid.

-Proof

Friday, August 19, 2011

"Mama Grizzly" in Iowa



Sarah's got a little "Mama Grizzly" going on in Iowa!

H/T Gina Cobb

Krauthammer on Obama's Martha's Vineyard Vacation

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Charles Krauthammer on Obama's Martha's Vineyard vacation:

His problem about this is not the choice of time, the length of vacation. It’s the choice of place. I think everybody understands a president, any chief executive, has to have time off. And they wouldn’t begrudge him.

But, as an example, if he had chosen to spend it at Camp David, which is not exactly a Marine boot camp, it’s got all the amenities — it’s understood, it’s a place where a president goes. Eisenhower spent a lot of time there. In fact it’s named after his grandson. Presidents go there, everybody accepts it. It wouldn’t have been an issue.


Part of the Left's false equivalence is that if you object to Obama vacationing at lavish and pricy resorts, that you are objecting to him taking any time off at all. Although, I think Charles is being a little kind to Obama about the choice of time. Candidate Obama (he's more candidate than President these days!) says he has a plan to solve the unemployment problem, which is current, immediate and severe, and he says he'll be happy to share the details with us in ten days, after he gets back from his vacation with all those rich folk who don't currently need jobs! If he was serious or if he thought his plan was something more than yet another failed stimulus bill in the making, wouldn't he want to implement it as soon as possible? And since Michelle left for Martha's Vineyard on a separate plane, couldn't he have stayed behind for a day or two, actually done his job and then met her there?



But choosing an exclusive enclave like the Vineyard after spending three days on the road railing against the rich and the wealthy and the millionaires and the billionaires and the corporate jet owners who vacation exactly in the same place — and then spending ten days in their company — speaks of a kind of dissonance or hypocrisy.


Three grueling days of campaigning on his Canadian made, million dollar rock star bus and the guy certainly needs a break! And maybe a fundraiser or two?

You know, the Vineyard doesn’t have any bridges to it. You either get there on a ferry in your Maserati, or on a jet or a helicopter. It’s not exactly where ordinary folks will take a vacation.


Keeps out the hoi polloi, don'tcha know?


Friday Night Babe

Tonight's FNB* is Brooke Hogan!

(*a.k.a. Rule Five Friday)

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