They Might Be Giants

RIP Walter Cronkite. These guys, say what you will about the stories they covered, these guys never had thrills going up their legs. Or if they did, they kept it to themselves.

While looking for this cover, I came across another one that gave me pause. Can that really be the same Ron Howard? Seems so long ago.

Just Halt It, OK?

Daylife photos; the banner caught my attention, the caption is what got me though:

Children hold a banner for visiting U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton at a Greenpeace climate rescue
station in Mumbai July 18, 2009. The group was
asking Clinton to stop climate change.

What? there is such a thing as a "climate rescue station"? Who knew?

Also, I ran across evidence that the pain pills are still working for her:

ACU Goes Jesse Jackson

Politico has the story of how David Keene of the ACU does political shakedowns à la Jesse Jackson:

The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s support in a bitter legislative dispute, then the group’s chairman flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.

For the $2 million plus, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and/or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”

The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx , which was provided to POLITICO.

The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.

In the three-page letter asking for money on June 30, the conservative group backed FedEx. After FedEx says it rejected the offer, Keene signed onto a two-page July 15 letter backing UPS. Keene did not return a message left on his cell phone.

The American Conservative Union did issue a press release stating support for Federal Express, and claiming that it's just their chairman who disagrees. Um, sure. Glad you cleared that up ACU, so it's only your chairman who is a prostitute. OK folks, nothing to see here, go about your business.

via

Shhhh!

via

Stimulus Dollars at Work - A Priest, a Plumber, and a Rabbi Walk Into a Bar...

Drudge links to a strange sources-sought:

This is a sources sought notice and not a request for quotations. The purpose of this announcement is to seek qualified contractors with the capability to provide presentations for The Department of Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD), Management Meeting with experience in meeting the objectives as described herein.

The Contractor shall conduct two, 3-hour, Humor in the Workplace programs that will discuss the power of humor in the workplace, the close relationship between humor and stress, and why humor is one of the most important ways that we communicate in business and office life. Participants shall experience demonstrations of cartoons being created on the spot. The contractor shall have the ability to create cartoons on the spot about BPD jobs. The presenter shall refrain from using any foul language during the presentation. This is a business environment and we need the presenter to address a business audience.

So hey, I'm all over this one. I've got the money-gone cartoon down, I just need to work on the dollar bill with wings flying off into the horizon. (OK so maybe that head is a little scary, but it was on-the-spot)

Darn it, Drudge ruined everything, so they modified the RFI to "never mind" status. (and after I did all that work -- I was even working on the no-foul-language clause)

Actually, I do government contracting. And I've seen no increase in RFQ's in my field. Course, mostly I work for Department of Defense so I don't expect a lot from the Obama administration. (until he gets us into a war, that is) I do know that the SBA is working hard, and that some people are getting help from the stimulus. Like that cartoonist. Most likely they had someone in mind for this contract. But we ruined that.

Karl Rove in the WSJ

That Karl Rove piece on the stimulus whacks the nail on the head. The money isn't going out the door. We continue losing jobs. Plus, with every hopey-changey idea we go deeper in debt:

So what's a president to do when the promises he made about his economic stimulus program fail to materialize? If you're Barack Obama, you redefine your goals and act as if America won't remember what you said originally. That's a neat trick if you can get away with it, but Mr. Obama won't. His words are a matter of public record and he will be held to them.

When it came to the stimulus package, the president and his administration promised, in the words of National Economic Director Larry Summers, "You'll see the effects begin almost immediately." Now it's clear that those promised jobs and growth haven't materialized.

Joe "Gee, we didn't know it was this bad" Biden is sure there's nothing wrong with the stimulus package. How could there be? They spent many long hard moments skimming parts of it before ramming it down our throats. If there were any flaws, certainly brief perusals would have found them.

Sarah Reads My Mind

Have you read Sarah Palin in the WaPo? No, not the usual article about her second cousin's dog groomer getting drunk at a picnic; it's an op-ed by Sarah Palin, re- Cap and Trade. Favorite bit:

In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also increase.

The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.

The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.

That is the silver lining: that the Change and Hopists have to live in this economy with us. They can't opt out, and you can expect them to notice when their utility bills start growing.

Read the article. This is why Sarah Palin is being attacked long after the presidential race is over - she gets it. They're afraid of debate.

Nancy Pelosi

Didja see the picture of Nancy on Drudge? I won't repost it here because I have a pretty good idea of what she's metaphorically crushing in that clinched fist. From DayLife though there's these:

Ha-ha

"Oh I'm just so happy to be here with you."

Almost forgot, best Daylife photo of the day:

Sigh

Did Obama Even Make It to the Plate?

In fairness, we should note that his real sport is backgammon.

Calling John Connor

Is it too late to disable Skynet?

From Fox News:

It could be a combination of 19th-century mechanics, 21st-century technology — and a 20th-century horror movie.

A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by gobbling up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood, old furniture, even dead bodies.

Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that's right, "EATR" — "can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable," reads the company's Web site.

Russians and Puppies

Liz Cheney in the WSJ, being as right as right can be:

There are two different versions of the story of the end of the Cold War: the Russian version, and the truth. President Barack Obama endorsed the Russian version in Moscow last week.

Speaking to a group of students, our president explained it this way: "The American and Soviet armies were still massed in Europe, trained and ready to fight. The ideological trenches of the last century were roughly in place. Competition in everything from astrophysics to athletics was treated as a zero-sum game. If one person won, then the other person had to lose. And then within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful."

Which reminds me, have I posted any puppy pictures lately?

The truth, of course, is that the Soviets ran a brutal, authoritarian regime. The KGB killed their opponents or dragged them off to the Gulag. There was no free press, no freedom of speech, no freedom of worship, no freedom of any kind. The basis of the Cold War was not "competition in astrophysics and athletics." It was a global battle between tyranny and freedom. The Soviet "sphere of influence" was delineated by walls and barbed wire and tanks and secret police to prevent people from escaping. America was an unmatched force for good in the world during the Cold War. The Soviets were not. The Cold War ended not because the Soviets decided it should but because they were no match for the forces of freedom and the commitment of free nations to defend liberty and defeat Communism.

Exactly. Now one more:

It is irresponsible for an American president to go to Moscow and tell a room full of young Russians less than the truth about how the Cold War ended. One wonders whether this was just an attempt to push "reset" -- or maybe to curry favor. Perhaps, most concerning of all, Mr. Obama believes what he said.

Thank you, Liz. Nail, head, hit right upon. And thanks to Mr Beasley for acting as the visual aid that got everyone to read the post.

Not Sure Where It's From

found

Another Quiz

Here's one I think you guys will do well on. It has a bogus greenhouse gas question, which you have to grit your teeth on... plus it's got the super big controversial question: re Pluto. (which again, I answered what they wanted to hear; not what I knew in my heart to be right)

A side note, Obama's electoral percentage could have been matched by those scoring 8 out of 12 or less. I'm not suggesting he was elected by those people, just that that Pluto denying hoard could have elected him.

Snub? I Dunno

It would appear that either President Obama is being snubbed by Russians, or is introducing our guys to Medvedev. I've watched it several times and can imagine it going either way. This may be one of those things where you see what you want to see.

Well, not just anything that you want to see; I tried several times to imagine this as showing Al Franken with his foot caught in a lawnmower, but it didn't work.

TOTUS Woes

Jake Tapper:

Midway through his speech on urban and metropolitan policy in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building this afternoon, one of his two small glass prompters came crashing down, hitting the wood floor and crashing in many pieces. It made quite a ruckus.

“Oh, goodness,” a startled President Obama said. “Sorry about that, guys.”

He then proceeded on with his remarks, “To pull our economy back from the picnic table laughing yo-yo tape found split recovery shoe lace nation's history.... kitty cat bingo shiny football swimming pool.... ”

It went on like that for over an hour, at which point reporters and spectators began ambling out.

Monday Photos

via

Uff da!

Chris Matthews contributing to a water shortage by causing many to shower unnecessarily:


You're just yucky Chris.

Fewer Abortions

President Obama told Pope Benedict XVI at a Vatican meeting that he
would work to limit how many abortions take place each year in the
United States, according to a Vatican spokesman.

But don't forget:

"I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby," Obama said.

No, the baby-punishment quote wasn't specifically about abortions; but it says a lot about the president's attitude.

The Horse is Dead

But that won't stop me from beating him:


Also, don't know if I'm the only one who's noticed, but those pain pills seem to be working out pretty well for Hillary:

(this one not photoshopped)

and the horse takes another kick to the kidneys:

AutoTune the News

The World Laughs

Muammar Gaddafi, or possibly it's Bob Dylan, is giving President Floaty-change bunny ears.

***Update- Welcome Redstate, and Yiddish Report readers, yes it's a photoshop, as is this one. (identified most often by a small "LJ" in the bottom right corner, except when I forget, which is often) But isn't it more fun to guess anyway? This one for instance... Let's call this one a photoshop too, though I'm sure Hillary has got it in her.

Slowly the Halo Tarnishes

Bad enough the MSM published Obama's ogle-photo. They have the huevos to follow it up with this photo of Michelle? Sheesh, the honeymoon must winding down. Wind faster, I say.

Also, good news - Obama granted the pope an audience. And more good news: Pope Benedict gave Obama an ethics guide. What an optimist.

My Economist is a Black Man

Finally, the latest interview with Thomas Sowell is complete. Watch them all.

Lessons in Being European

"No, I was looking at her sandals. I think
Michelle has got a pair like that at home."

Notice: Sarkozy can look without appearing to be looking. Imagine the commotion if that had been GWB though. (that Obama was ogling)

Ze Magic, She is Gone

Obama is at the G8 and America gets respect again. Course, we no longer let our own self interest get in the way, so yeah, we're easy to deal with.

Roe v. "Those we don't want to have too many of"

From Newsbusters, a bit of truth slips out in a NYT interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

In a July 7 New York Times Magazine article ("The Place of Women on the Court") apparently scheduled to appear in its July 12 print edition (based on its URL), Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told the Times's Emily Bazelon that "at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of."

Who is this "we" Ginsburg refers to?

Alleged reporter Bazelon did not follow up on this astounding admission.

I continue to be amazed at minority support for liberal Democrats.

Google Autocomplete

It's Funny Cuz It's True

Though I'm pretty sure it's not true. Still, a har.

via Moonbattery