Something Fishy

"Me? Same-old, same-old. What's up with you guys?"

clickabiggen

Boding of the Fore Kind

Doug Ross:

Those who gathered at Kelly Ingram Park in downtown Birmingham were urged to enlist others who share Obama's vision and to stay away from trying to convert naysayers.

"We're looking for supporters," said DeHaven of Hoover, one of the event's organizers. "We're not looking for a fight. That will come later, when we have an army."

Leading the Way

Covert Cow Infiltration

Government agents monitor cow flatulence.

Odd thing, it's an area in which they've shown surprising competence.

1984

clickabiggen

Amazing how quickly this is happening. Obama says he doesn't want to run the car companies, but he fired the GM CEO. I guess what he meant was that he doesn't want to actually have a desk at GM; he'll just make the business decisions.

The government also reserves the right to take over companies "for the good of the economy." And now they'd like to limit executive pay for, well, everyone:

Congress will consider legislation to extend some of the curbs on executive pay that now apply only to those banks receiving federal assistance, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.

“There’s deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Washington news conference today.

He said the compensation restrictions would apply to all financial institutions and might be extended to include all U.S. companies.

Could it be that the "deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” was engineered by the administration? Were the protection of the AIG bonuses accidentally included in the bailout legislation? Or was it a ploy to manipulate public opinion?

Hula Hooping

Gore Echo

When you find an excuse that works, I say stick with it.

The same guy who leaked Al Gore's utility bills checked up on Al for Earth Hour:

The kicker, though, were the dozen or so floodlights grandly highlighting several trees and illuminating the driveway entrance of Gore’s mansion.

I [kid] you not, my friends, the savior of the environment couldn’t be bothered to turn off the gaudy lights that show off his goofy trees.

So a Gore spokeswoman handled the excuses:

They have undergone renovations to put solar panels on the roof and participate in all of the renewable power programs offered by their local utility.

Obviously she's new, because that was the same excuse they used in 2007, when it was revealed that Gore's utility bills were 20 times the national average. So why isn't she saying that the solar panels have been installed? She also claimed (falsely, or erroneously) that the house is geothermally powered. I'll give her a Mulligan on that, if she'll explain why the solar panels they were putting in last scandal haven't been installed yet.

It'd also be interesting to find out if Gore's Thunder Yacht has solar panels yet.

Waiting for Dad

Taxation

The (amazing) James Taranto noticed:

Two Countries in One!

• "81% Say Congress Can't Raise Taxes Retroactively"--headline, RasmussenReports.com, March 24

• "57% Support 90% Tax on AIG Post-Bailout Bonuses"--headline, RasmussenReports.com, March 23

Obviously, some respondents advocate using time machines.

The Difference Between Cats and Dogs

Baby Faith

Mr. G points to the Anchoress who points this moving love story.

I Remember When

you needed a stamp for google

via

Alert Buffy

There's something funny going on at the high school.

Please Can We Keep Him?

he can help us with math

found, I know not where

On That Special Day

next time, just thrown rice

Fargo

It's just a matter of time, before Justin Timberlake blurts
out that, "President Obama hates white people."

Avoid the Bus

how do you like your blue-eyed boy

Ms. Death?

Just some gal from the neighborhood, Bernardine Dohrn:

Dorhn incited the assembled radicals to join the war against "Amerikkka" and create chaos and destruction in the "belly of the beast." Her voice rising to a fevered pitch, Dohrn raised three fingers in a "fork salute" to mass murderer Charles Manson whom she proposed as a symbol to her troops. Referring to the helpless victims of the Manson Family as the "Tate Eight" (the most famous was actress Sharon Tate) Dohrn shouted:

Dig It. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim’s stomach! Wild!

You've probably heard the quote, which she could get away from with just: "I was a young and stupid kid," but which she won't get away from, because now she's an old and stupid crone.

Anyway, HEY Bernardine, your boyfriend's forehead swastika is getting wrinkled:

Big Scary Charles Manson

Embrace the Change

Assume the position.

'I'm having a very good crisis,' says Soros

Soros:

A hedge fund manager who predicted the global credit crunch has said the financial crisis has been 'stimulating' and the culmination of his life's work.

George Soros, who predicted the global financial crisis twice before, was one of the few people to anticipate and prepare for the current economic collapse.

Mr Soros said his prediction meant he was better able to brace his Quantum investment fund against the gloabal storm.

But other investors failed to take notice of his prediction and his decision to come out of retirement in 2007 to manage the fund made him $US2.9 billion.

So, which presidential candidate do you support if you're in favor of economic collapse? Yobamma. Soros may be evil, but he's not dumb.

Mark Levin

I've been busy this morning so I'll let one of the big brained contribute: Mark Levin.

Why have I been busy? I had to fill out form I-9 on myself, attesting that I have inspected the passport of this employee, me, and that he (I) appear(s) to be a US citizen with proper documentation, and not some illegal Norwegian snuck into the country to take our (their) jobs.

I have to do this despite the fact that the form itself states: "This form is not filed with USCIS or any government agency." It's supposed to be retained by the employer; which is me in this case.

I'll take them the form, which I shouldn't have to take them, plus a copy of the web page that says that until April 3, 2009, this is the form to use, plus a photocopy of my passport. And I'll jump through all these hoops because it's easier than educating them that the law wants employers to fill out this form and file it for later inspection if needed.

Course, there's every possibility that the person who isn't supposed to be asking for this stuff will freeze when confronted with the facts. I may end up having to make a video showing myself putting this form into a filing cabinet, get documentation that the video doesn't appear to be altered in any way, and schedule a screening of the video for the concerned government worker and any necessary witnesses.

It's just over caution. In the government, you can get grief for doing something wrong, but you'll seldom get grief for not doing anything at all. The base I need to get onto found out that illegal aliens were cutting the grass last year. So someone is scared of letting any civilian on base.

So, do you see why putting the government in charge of health care might not be the greatest thing in the world? The bureaucrat who needs to approve your life saving drug might have been yelled at last month for wasting money... so go fish.

And, btw, my headaches with incompetent people in government are minor. Combine flawed humans with a huge bureaucracy and you get good people unable to do their jobs, timid people getting in the way, and dedicated servants losing their jobs for the stupidest of reasons.

Yeah, let's have more of that.

Life Is Like

A banana chocolate.

This is the new obsession at our house. Mawesome - awesome for the mouth. I think Marshals sells them.

I was going to do an Amazon link but it's from a third party, and the shipping was $9.79 for a $5.79 box. That's almost Obama math. True Obama math would be $9.79 for a $5.79 box, and they ship you an empty box.

Get the Important Stuff Right

via

Who Keeps Doing That?

via

Telebinky

tks. nimos

Where's Wesley Snipes?

See more at CollegeHumor.

The Wheel

Could I have a "why", Pat?

made here

Matches Made in Heaven

via

Big Winner

To-Do List for the Unemployed

No, not me, not yet.

Write Letters

And party like it's 1773, in Boston. Which is my way of reminding you that we need to let our elected representatives know how we feel about borrowing on our children's future. Call, e-mail, or write your congressman, senator, and friends. It looks like the O momentum is faltering and the whole rickety plan is getting wobbly. Now is the time to push back.

Pretty Good Deal

Hey, it's worth the price just to avoid having to set-up and take down the pressure washer. Wonder if that includes turtle wax when needed.

Headline

Another headline that says all I need to know:
NASA halts test of space station urine recycler
Very good, no, no details needed. Thanks for the info.

Space-Time Suspended

RB clued me to this insult to Sarkozy:

In a letter described by Chirac as 'very nice,' Obama wrote, 'I am certain that we will be able to work together, in the coming four years, in a spirit of peace and friendship to build a safer world.'

And Drudge noted this:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has held talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, a spokesman for the former Soviet leader said on Monday, in the latest sign of Washington's efforts to "press the reset button" on ties with Russia.

So I'm wondering... as Chris Matthews probably suspects, can our new president travel in time, using just the raw power of his mind? It might explain a lot. (including the "I've campaigned in 57 states so far.." gaffe)

Two Cutes and a Ha

cute overloaded times two:



and sometimes they're funny on the other side:

International Talk Like William Shatner Day

Never Divide By Zero

"Whoops," thought Betsy as the vortex gripped her, "I divided by zero again," times infinity


Eric sees the warning, but thinks the rules don't apply to him. "Maybe if just divide by zero a little..."

Why Half the Story?

AP via Yahoo News tells part of the story:

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A busload of activists representing working- and middle-class families paid visits Saturday to the lavish homes of American International Group executives to protest the tens of millions of dollars in bonuses awarded by the struggling insurance company after it received a massive federal bailout.

About 40 protesters sought to urge AIG executives who received a portion of the $165 million in bonuses to do more to help families.

"We think $165 million could be used in a more appropriate way to keep people in their homes, create more jobs and health care," said Emeline Bravo-Blackport, a gardener.

No word on if they're going to protest Obama's income from the latest book; couldn't that money be better spent buying infant formula, for the children?

But that's not the interesting bit. Sure, they're just wackos-on-a-bus, but look whose wackos they are:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A small political party angry at bonuses paid to staff of bailed out insurance giant American International Group is organizing a bus tour to the Connecticut homes of several AIG executives.

"We're all mad at AIG," the Connecticut Working Families Party, a small liberal party, said on its Web site, inviting people to sign up for its "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" bus tour and a rally at the company's Wilton, Connecticut, headquarters, on Saturday.

And who are the Working Families Party? The Wiki say:

New York's Working Families Party was first organized in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions, ACORN and other community organizations, members of the now-inactive national New Party, and a variety of public interest groups. The party blends a culture of political organizing with unionism, 1960s idealism, and tactical pragmatism.

ACORN? You mean Obama's ACORN? So, just to be clear, Obama's Geithner instructed Dodd, (rightly, by the way) to be sure that the AIG bonuses were paid. Then, (a shocked, shocked!) Obama showed his indignation that the bonuses were paid. Then Obama's ACORN handed the torches out to the angry villagers?

Then Obama announces:

The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said.

The outlines of the plan are expected to be unveiled this week in preparation for President Barack Obama's first foreign summit meeting in early April.

Increasing oversight of executive pay has been under consideration for some time, but the decision was made in recent days as public fury over bonuses has spilled into the regulatory effort.

So the outrage Obama engineered has forced him to institute government control of executive pay.

Is Obama creating American Kulaks?

Where I Stand on Ché

By the Way

Smart? Stupid? Diabolical?

The thought popped into my head when the AIG bonuses first came to light: Could the government have approved the bonuses in order to gin up hatred and class envy? It seems a little far fetched, and paranoid, really. But now I see on Drudge:

Obama will call for increased oversight of 'executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies' as part of sweeping plan to 'overhaul financial regulation', NY TIMES reporting Sunday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE... Developing...

"Other companies" too? Not, by the way, that I think the government should have a role in regulating anyone's compensation. But what "other companies" might that be? Just wherever the government has determined that someone is getting paid too much? Is this now America, where if you apply yourself, and work hard, you can grow-up to be anything you want -- within the parameters of what the government will allow?

Anyway, looking for a quote I'd lost track of, I just googled: "government control of the economy is"

first three:

• "government control of the economy is, in fact, wasteful of resources and unable to respond effectively to change."
• "government control of the economy is incompatible with freedom and participation. [B] socialism and freedom can be combined in theory but not in ..."
• "Government control of the economy is what got us into this mess and having more control of the economy is just going to make things worse. ..."

OK, you could expect those. But even better are the suggestions at the bottom of the page:

karl marx economy
the great depression economy
soviet union economy
minimum wage economy

And I don't have to say, do I, that "government control of the economy is" -- socialism?

Just the Headline

Obama asks Americans not to expect too much from him
Way, waaaaay, ahead of you.

Dodd Invited to White House

As soon as Michelle finishes digging the grave.

Let the Asking Nicely Begin!

From Danger Room:

The White House has released a video message to the Iranian people timed to coincide with the Persian holiday of Nowruz. The video, released with subtitles in Farsi, is an appeal by President Barack Obama for "new beginnings" in the U.S.-Iranian relationship. And it includes a direct message to leadership in Tehran: Turn away from nukes.

From the transcript:

The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.

Submit now, Iran, or we're opening up a can of pretty-please. We mean it!

***Update: Well here's a shocker.

TEHRAN, Iran – The Iranian government brushed aside a Persian New Year's message Friday from President Barack Obama offering to resolve years of hostility, saying it wants concrete change from Washington before it's ready to enter a dialogue.

Obama released the video to coincide with the major Iranian festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year on the Persian calendar. In the video, which has Farsi subtitles, Obama said the U.S. is prepared to end the strained relations if Tehran tones down its combative rhetoric.

Who could have predicted that?

OK, so abandon that. Let's focus on wishing for perpetual motion machines and unicorns.

Whoops

Exhibit A:

A nightclub boss who wrote a letter to police denying that drug use was rife in her club has lost her license, after cops found that the letter itself was covered in cocaine.

Pauline Terry wrote the letter in January, denying that Club Compass in Ramsgate, Kent was a haven for drug taking. A police raid on the venue had found 'huge' traces of various Class A drugs in the bar and toilets, including cocaine, heroin and ecstasy.

A police source said: ' It does us a lot of favours when the licencee, in defending her nightclub on drug allegations, sends in a letter covered in cocaine.'

Class Warfare

OK, so the House decided on a 90% tax rate for those retention bonuses. Meaning - when it comes to rich people, contracts aren't really contracts anymore. So if you're an exec at Freddie Mac, what incentive do you have to stay on, risking congressional wrath, and confiscatory taxes? From Bloomberg:

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal regulator defended million-dollar bonuses for executives at the government-run mortgage finance companies as lawmakers prepared legislation that would recoup most of the money.

Fannie awarded a total of $4.4 million in retention bonuses to four of its top six executives in 2008, to be paid out through February, according to a company filing with regulators on Feb. 26.

“It’s a reasonable and well-thought-out plan,” James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said today after a speech in Washington. Keeping personnel of Fannie and Freddie Mac was critical when the two mortgage-finance companies were taken over in September, he said. He said the extra money is necessary to protect taxpayers’ investment in the mortgage-finance companies.

Well, but retention bonuses don't mean anything anymore. So, for a fraction of a percent in savings, we no longer have this tool, the retention bonus, to keep the best available people in place. These people are in charge of getting maximum value out of these government "investments". Are we happy to have second string players in charge?

And apart from the question of getting and keeping the most competent people; there's the question of experience. Don't we need people familiar with the structure and policies of these GSE's to lead the recovery effort? I'm certainly not qualified, but if I was, I'd think long and hard about taking a job with such incredible responsibility for a salary that was forever renegotiable.

The Kiss

**Update: Keeping it real... you may have to clicabiggen to read this one:

Who Will Save Us?

clickabiggen

xkcd

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Magnificent baa-studs..

Random

via

A Lesson From Across the Pond

It's already March and Obama still hasn't transformed health care.... good. From Breitbart:

Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period at the National Health Service (NHS) hospital.....

.......Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: "I apologise on behalf of the government and the NHS, for the pain and anguish caused to so many patients and their families by the appalling standards of care at Stafford Hospital.

"Patients will want to be absolutely certain that the quality of care at Stafford Hospital has been radically transformed, and in particular, that the urgent and emergency care is administered safely," he added.

OK so let's rush into government run health care then. Maybe we'll do it better. Course, maybe there will be more observations like these:

"We saw patients drinking out of flower vases they were so thirsty.

"There were patients wandering around the hospital and patients fighting. It was continuous through the night. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief."

But you know what really has got me curious? Why the silence about the proposed Change and Progress national medical database? The privacy rights crew would be apoplectic if George W had proposed a government database like this. But I've heard not a peep from them. Heck, I'm kind of easy going about my privacy and it's got me concerned. Think the government will protect your personal information? Ask Joe the plumber about that.

I guess we'll just have to see how deep they get into health care. If they get deeply enough into it you would do well to only get diseases that are common, easy to cure, and not exacerbated by long waits. Me, I just made an appointment with my doctor. Just in case health care goes the way of the DMV.

Awwwww....

Making up for my cat blasphemy:

Krauthammer Right Again

Krauthammer on the AIG bonuses, from last night's All Stars, as reported by NRO:

When you get politicians ahead of the mob running companies, you get madness and idiocy here. The contracts are legal contracts, and it wasn't as if these bonuses were unknown or sprung at the last minute. They were written into these agreements over a year ago, long before AIG was even nationalized or partially nationalized.

And the problem here is that by the Congress now trying to break the contracts by a ruse, essentially a 100 percent taxation or confiscation, they're going against a few hundred years of common law where you don't do retroactive confiscation or bills of attainder, which are laws aimed at particular individuals. It's just not done.

And to sacrifice all of those principles of democracy and business and contract over, as Rich indicated, a tenth of one percent of the bailout, is absurd, particularly in a Congress which just a week ago signed a bill with enough pork to fund these bailouts for about 20 years.

Which is exactly right. Sure, it's a butt bite that these highly paid people are doing well in a company that is eating taxpayer money like Rosie at the International House of Pancakes, but a contract is a contract. Is this a new America where contracts don't mean anything? (btw - these bonuses were an inducement for key people to stay with the company as it was going down the tubes -- those people may have missed out on opportunities that they won't get a second chance at)

A big brained friend who works in international development once described one of the biggest problems the FSU countries were having in coming up to speed with the rest of the world: It seems that a large percentage of the population didn't believe that contracts were binding. Even after all parties signed, and the contract was in place, they thought you could insist on changes. Which, duh, kind of makes contracts meaningless.

Class

A sense of propriety:

CALGARY, Alberta – Former President George W. Bush, making his first public speech since leaving office in January, says he wants Barack Obama to succeed and that it's "essential" to support the new leader.

Bush declined to critique the Obama administration in Tuesday's speech, saying the new president has enough critics and that he "deserves my silence."

What this is, is a president not cheapening the office by using his position as a former president to harass his ideological opponents. We owe a debt of gratitude to Jimmy Carter for illustrating how not to do it.

Those of us who aren't former presidents are still expected to speak our minds though.

No Way You Can Win

via

Live Like You're Amused

Some people are upset that Wisconsin is trying to trademark: "Live like you mean it" Well, mainly it's people who have been using that phrase for some time now. But it's silly anyway. How else would you live? Live like it was an accident? Live like you're joking? (though I guess some of us do that)

Anyway, free of charge, I fixed it for them. No need to thank me Wisconsin. The Cabot family has taken care of it.



or maybe...


or

The Dangers of Talk Balloons

via
also from there:

Images

Literacy?

plus - h/t: Pat R

Last day.

Bread fashion.

No fishing

See above.

Nooooo!

Twilight Zone

Best to Just Keep Drinking

Make Veterans Pay for Health Care?

This is insane:

WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

But, well, we are getting that $13.00 a week tax cut. Maybe the stupidest smartest-man-in-the-world thinks he's bought us off.

This serious stuff is getting depressing. I think I'll switch to funny pictures for a bit.


Nom nom nom nom

Good News

I was so relieved to read:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The actor best known as "Borat" tricked the Alabama National Guard into allowing him onto a post, giving him a military uniform and briefly letting him train—all, supposedly, for a German TV documentary.

The ruse, which included comedian Sacha Baron Cohen exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes, was going well until a young cadet recognized Cohen and notified older officers who weren't familiar with the actor.

"It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard," Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons said Monday. "Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Yeah, it's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard, but it means something else: if Cohen has been in Alabama, that means he hasn't been in the White House. So ok, good. I didn't want to stagger from the wreckage of our wasted economy, foraging from dumpsters, avoiding the civilian security force check-points, plus get laughed at by everyone in Kazakhstan for being fooled yet again.

Dog Modification

"There, now she's all pretty."

via

Lincoln?

I hesitated posting this because it may or may not be from Abe Lincoln. It's widely attributed to him, though possibly erroneously:

You cannot help men permanently by doing what they could and should do for themselves. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.

If it's not Lincoln, it should have been. And regardless, it's something our current leaders should contemplate.

Prediction

Maybe, could be, wrong, but I predict these Tea Parties to grow exponentially once guys like me realize they can dress up in revolutionary garb and shout "huzzah!"

Let's see the MSM just try to ignore powdered wigs -- can't be done.

Good Canvas Ruined

I don't mind bad art so much. Even terrible art is often bearable. And somehow, terribly bad art sometimes goes full circle and ends up being good again.

Lowest Level in 30 Years

The red arrow points to roughly Nov. 2006 - the time when Al Gore was warning us about increasing hurricane activity.

*The voluminous evidence now strongly suggests that unless we act boldly and quickly to deal with the underlying causes of global warming, our world will undergo a string of terrible catastrophes, including more and stronger storms like Hurricane Katrina, in both the Atlantic and the Pacific.
-Al Gore

Soooo... this is the kind of track record on which we're going to base doubling energy prices? And if we're going to suck 650 billion dollars out of the economy through carbon taxes; why is only 150 billion going towards ameliorating CO2?

On the upside, oh crap, there is no upside.

chart via Watts

Treat Your Woman Right

more

Wrestlemania

Debt Star

(clickabiggen)

via

Salmon Recipe and a Monkey With a Stick

Don't know how many of you have Friday fish for Lent but I like to mix it up a little. I mean, Mrs. Paul's fish sticks get a little old after awhile. And I've got maybe three methods for cooking salmon but I tried this one, and I like it much better than my old standards. Next time, I'll maybe give it a little longer under the broiler, as the lumber girls aren't crazy about the underdone parts. (oh, and wipe up any of the glaze that runs off onto the baking sheet - it burns on its own)

And also - monkey with a stick:

"How bout you dance for bananas now?"

It's Good to be King

Number one in a "shenanigans happen" google? That would be we.

Oh yeah.

Pi

I'm just happy to have them doing anything that doesn't involve spending money that I don't have. From Politico:

With the world swirling about it, the House took a moment Thursday to honor pi, the Greek letter symbolizing that great constant in mathematics representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

An irrational number that has been calculated to more than 1 trillion digits, pi is a concept not totally foreign to today’s Washington. But in this case, the goal was to promote efforts by the National Science Foundation to improve math education in the United States, especially in the critical fourth to eighth grades.

Rounded off, pi equates to 3.14, hence the designation of March 14 as Pi Day under the resolution. Informal celebrations have been held around the country for at least 20 years, but Thursday’s 391-10 vote is the first time Congress has joined the party.

So, I approve. Remember a few years back when there was a hoax that the government was going to change pi? It's distressing how many people thought that it even could be done.

Not even yesterday's actions were grasped by everyone:

But there’s always one: “We were never good at math in my family,” said Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). “I thought I was voting for p-i-e.”

And they called Bush slow?

Who Is?

You are.


This is another one I didn't do. You can find it many places with the internet spelling of: "your awesome". Sheesh.

TGIF

Superbowl commercial.

Worst Action Scene Ever

From where? The 80's, of course.

Corruption

The Wall Street Journal has a couple of good articles on Democrat corruption in the financial sector. One is on Maxine Waters interest in, and promotion of, OneUnited bank. The other is about Christopher Dodd's (head of Senate Banking Committee) interesting land investment. The Dodd one is especially interesting because it's similar to the Rezko model of crooks getting money to government officials in order to further their criminal enterprises. Change: new techniques of corruption. "We are the corrupt government officials we've been waiting for."

Time Waster

Have I posted this before? It's a nice way to kill a half hour.

So Lifelike

From those wacky Japanese:

TOKYO - Japan's robot teacher calls roll, smiles and scolds, drawing laughter from students with her eerily lifelike face. But the developer says it's not about to replace human instructors.

Unlike more mechanical-looking robots like Honda Motor Co.'s Asimo, the robot teacher, called Saya, can express six basic emotions — surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness, sadness — because its rubber skin is being pulled from the back with motors and wiring around the eyes and the mouth.

The facial expression is what got my attention. I'm not sure what you would call the emotion she's expressing, but it's exactly the look I get from women when I take off my shirt.

Grade Obama's Performance

I graded him fairly, I think. Vote here, but keep in mind that this is his first job at the executive level.

More Nostalgia

Another trip in the time machine.

Going Back

Isn't it great that America can finally hold her head high again? Our well traveled and sophisticated president did us proud, as expected, during Gordon Brown's visit: giving a box set of American DVDs in return for a pen-holder that was carved from the timbers of HMS Gannet, built 130 years ago. What do you think the odds are that the DVDs will even play in a EU player? Still, props to Obama for resisting the urge to give Brown a Snuggie, or a case of ShamWows. (even though they're German, and and everyone knows the Germans make good stuff)

So, on the subject of tacky: check out some scans of the 1977 JC Penney Catalog. It's hard to believe we could ever think this stuff was cool.

Lawnmower Repair

This picture is about a dozen years old. Lumberkid was always keen to help turn a wrench when needed. Still got the lawnmower, and the kid.

Worst Job in America

I always head for the door when the doctor says, "Let me know if this gets uncomfortable."

Spread the Wealth

Heritage:

Nothing makes this more clear than President Barack Obama’s budget. Obama’s budget promises to raise $650 billion in revenues by selling carbon permits (which are the exact same thing as an energy tax). Only $150 billion of that pot of money will go to alternative energy production. The rest goes to pay for income redistribution in the form of income tax “cuts” for people that don’t pay income taxes.

Franklin:

"When the people find they can vote themselves money,
that will herald the end of the republic."
-Benjamin Franklin

Sign of the Times

Not sure where I found this one.

Fightin' Words

via

Chad Vader

Weird News

Recent from News of the Weird, because I'm still flu-thumped:

Allahmanamjad Barbel, 21, sought help in February at the police station in Barnstable, Mass., after his sister playfully put handcuffs on him at a birthday party and couldn't get them off. Police removed them and then, after running his name through the computer, discovered several outstanding warrants and immediately re-cuffed him. [Cape Cod Times, 2-11-09]

At Mannerspielplatz ("Men's Playground") near Kassel, Germany, testosterone-fueled office workers can get in touch with their "inner ditchdigger" (according to a January Wired magazine report) and frolic all day long on 29-ton backhoes, 32-ton front-end loaders, jackhammers and various other big, loud vehicles for an admission fee of about $280 a day. At the Men's Playground, the owner said, "We fulfill men's dreams." [Wired, January 2009]

People With Too Much Money: At Tokyo's first fish auction of 2009 in January, the upscale Kyubey restaurant and the more moderate Itamae Sushi dining chain jointly purchased a single, 280-pound bluefin tuna for the equivalent of about $104,000. Kyubey said it would cut its half into slivers priced at about $22 each, while the popular Itamae planned to offer tinier, more affordable slivers. [Wall Street Journal, 1-20-09]

States That Need Better Training in Arithmetic: Two Maryland officials (reportedly new on the job) made a simple error in addition in 2007 (in estimating counties' property values) that was revealed in January 2009 to have cost state offices $31 million in overpayments, according to a Washington Post report. [Washington Post, 1-12-09]

In October, the Dallas school district was forced to lay off 375 teachers to ameliorate an $84 million deficit caused by a massive math error in the budget, according to a report by WFAA-TV. [CNN, 10-17-08]

OK, I'm Tired of It Now

Tired of everything being a candidate for that 5 level posterization look. And even more tired of people painting Obama on every surface that will accept paint. How many of these people still wake up wondering, "How can I glorify Obama today?"

As for me and the flu: I think I've been awake about three hours this weekend. And I'm drinking fluids like crazy. Still, feel like I've been run over by a German garbage truck though.

Pep Talk

I'm still down with the flu, but it may be getting better. The hallucinations are getting more interesting anyway.

xkcd

Read Me

Microsoft

Despite the recession, Microsoft is planning to open retail stores to compete with Apple.

Microsoft says that their stores will be just like Apple stores … except the staff will freeze when you ask them a question.

via

Frisky Doggie

Another one I found but can't attribute. Cute though.

Me, I'm testing to see how high blankets can be stacked. Then I crawl in and shiver.
Man. I get the flu shot the last seven years, and nothing. I skip it one year and Bam.

I'm Jealous

Edward Cropper did a great photoshop on a theme I was considering. Probably just as well he did it first, because I'm not sure I would have done as good a job.

Speaking of the Rahm manipulation of the Limbaugh attack, newsbusters has a Susan Estrich quote that I think hits the nail right on the head:

He [Rush Limbaugh] talks for hours every day. He gets paid to talk. Just talk. Doing it well is no small thing; witness the number of people who have tried to be him, or be the NOT-him, and failed. But he doesn't have to build a coalition. He doesn't need the votes of the other side to earn his check. He doesn't have to write the legislation, convince Olympia Snowe, raise money to keep the lights on, put his name on the ballot. All the things he doesn't have to do give him the freedom to be as effective as he is at what he does.

Trying to beat him at his own game when your own game is played by a different set of rules is a losing proposition. He knows that.

She's right, but this really is amateur hour at the White House. Look at the abuse and criticism George Bush put up with. He had books fantasizing about his assassination for God's sake. But he knew that a president can't turn his attention towards his critics. He can, and should, defend his policies against criticism, but attacking his critics is a losing game, and a distraction.

If Obama wants to play a losing game, well ok. But I'd be just as happy to hear him defend his big-government policies. Defend them and we can argue about why you're wrong. Or, waste your time, and support, attacking pundits.

A great man once said, "Don't get into peeing matches with someone who drinks ink by the barrel." Ignore that advice at your peril, Barry.

Anyone Else Get This?

Is anyone else getting visits from an old guy calling himself "the future Elton John"?

He's been e-mailing me for years, urging me to do one thing or another. "Remember, when the time comes, cut the blue wire," is a favorite.

Anyway, now he's on the porch. At first I thought it was the cough medicine, but I drank twice as much and another one didn't appear. Still just the one, rocking in the wicker chair and humming Rocket Man. So, well, got me stumped. I suppose I should take him out a blanket.

Things Are Going to Change, I Can Feel It

Well, not change too much, really. It amazes me that FARS news continues to call these "students". Iran must be really dedicated to adult education.

So, tell the truth; did anyone really think that the US would be looked at in a kinder light once the administration changed? Was anyone so gullible as to think that the problem was that we had never tried to reason with them?

Anyway, also, I guess I do have the flu. Or possibly a Chuck Norris style cold. So I'm sleeping a lot. I'll post when I can, but mainly I've been doing fever-influenced photoshops. (most of which I toss in the trash, so as not to scare the children)

Office of Hope Adjustment

It's 'adjustment' because I didn't know if 'dashment' was a word.

I sent this to the amazing MM, but the ones they're photoshopping are a little different. Well, it's a whole different logo. Completely different. But that's me: rebel to the core.

White House Knocks Jim Cramer

Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs, on Jim Cramer, who called Pres. Obama's budget a "radical agenda," adding, "This is the greatest wealth destruction I've seen by a President.":

"I'm not entirely sure what he's pointing to to make some of the statements," said Gibbs. "And you can go back and look at any number of statements he's made in the past about the economy and wonder where some of the back-up for those are too."

When pressed further by Costello, Gibbs said, "If you turn on a certain program it's geared to a very small audience. No offense to my good friends, or friend at CNBC. But the President has to look out for the broader economy and the broader population."

So, Cramer is another guy I should probably listen to more. By the way, I only occasionally listened to Rush up until this last dust-up with the prez. I've been listening almost every day since.

But hey, this is all dead simple. The stock market hasn't been "gyrating", as Obama claims; it's been in free-fall. And Obama is the reason. He promised during the campaign to stop businesses' "free-ride". After being elected, he promised to cut the deficit in half on the backs of businesses and the "wealthy". Who wants to risk buying a stock now that Obama has identified American business as the source of cash for his huge expansion of government? Of course stocks are rocketing down. Along with every working American's retirement account. That's where the bulk of the funds for your retirement reside: in the stock market. Can you imagine how much half of this nation's retirement assets is? I really don't want to know the numbers. It's too depressing.

The corporate tax rate in America is already one of the highest in the world. And Obama doesn't think it's enough. And he's said so loudly. And he won't back down from it. So don't expect a recovery. The smartest man in the world could turn this around by just signaling that he realizes that this isn't the time to tax businesses more. That's all, just an indication that he'll hold off. But no, he's the stupidest smartest man in the world we've had in a long time.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

***Update: hey, I like this guy:

Awwwwww...

A blogfull of mismatches like this.

Two Things

First, what I've been saying: The Economy is Getting Obamaed

and Two: I think I'm getting the flu, so, like don't lick your monitor or anything.

Perfect Day

Well, a perfectly square day. It's Square Root Day, 3-3-9. It only happens nine (9!) times per century: the day times the month equals the year.

So, for those of you not into math, that's (March)X(Tuesday) = 2009
Woo-hoo!

Take the Bus

Not My Dog

No, not my dog. I have had dogs that would run in their sleep, but nothing like this.

I used to work with a guy who claimed, "you have to shoot dogs when they get that dumb." He would do it too, though he'd usually sell the poor critter to a neighbor first.

Awesome Technology

Same killer drones, same people firing them, but now, inexplicably, they are able to strike bad guys. When Bush was president, all they could kill was women, children, and puppy dogs:

A missile attack near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, believed to have been carried out by a U.S. drone aircraft, killed at least eight people Sunday, Pakistani officials said.

The strike, the first of its kind since a high-level Pakistani military delegation visited the United States last week, suggested that the Obama administration intends to press ahead with a campaign of targeting militants in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The two missiles fired Sunday hit a compound near the Sara Rogha area of South Waziristan. The area is a stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban movement.

Local and intelligence officials said at least some of those killed in the strike were "foreigners" -- the term usually meant to describe militants from Central Asia or Arab countries who are suspected of having links to Al-Qaida.

Shenanigans Happen

Don't tell me there aren't shenanigans going on here.

Snow!

I actually have work waiting for me if I could get out on the road. As of now though, it looks like too much effort. I'm pretty much: why shovel it? God always melts it eventually.

Above is happy crafts-fair metal scarecrow man, in the snow, waiting with open arms for the crafts-fair metal scarecrow woman who will never come.

firsts alert -- that's the first time in history those particular words were put together in that particular way.

Well, Duh

Don't say we're not modern; we've even got helmet laws.

From ynet news:

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is "Doubtful" That Iran will respond to offers of engagement, a senior State Department official said on Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Clinton had told her counterpart from the United Arab Emirates that the United States was under "No illusion" Over Iran. "She (Clinton) said she is doubtful that Iran will respond to any kind of engagement and opening the hand out and reaching out to them,"

Feel free to argue to that we're entering a four, or eight, year period in which anonymous sources can't be trusted; but did any adult really believe that peace and butterflies were going to rise up from the ME once Obama was elected?

Of course nothing has changed regarding Iranian development of nukes. It's still bad idea number one for the Middle East. They're still going to pursue them. The only difference is that now the West looks weaker, and now there's a substantial number of people in the US who won't believe it's happening until they see a mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv.

New Advisor

There's a new Advisor available. No need to download the PDF
anymore, just click the link and read it in a browser window.
(Cliff notes: you can feel good about the situation in Iraq today)

Ice is Nice

We're getting snow now -- it was more icy last night. And truth be told, this isn't even a picture from this year; it's more like 2007. I wanted to get a picture of the same tree this year, but President Obama's face kept appearing in sky behind it. I tell you what, photography is going to get a little boring if every Eastern sky has got BHO descending* with trumpets, and cherubim, and all.

* I know he does it with projectors and lasers, but still....