Obamacare: Unconstitutional, and void

Congress does not have the power to force you to buy health insurance.

Obamacare is unconstitutional according to a ruling issued today by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola, Florida. Twenty-six state Attorneys General challenged the individual mandate, which penalizes Americans who do not purchase a government-approved health insurance plan from one of a handful of government-sanctioned sellers.

Judge Vinson agreed, and because of Obamacare's "no severability" clause, all of it has to go.

"I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual mandate," Vinson writes. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void."

Void. Unenforceable. Not operable.

Judge Vinson struck a decisive blow for Freedom today. Yes, Freedom. And Liberty.

Of course the Obama Administration will appeal this ruling faster than Nancy Pelosi can say, "more Botox, Stat!" If there's one thing Barry and his liberal band of socialists hate it's Freedom. Freedom is messy. Freedom means they can't guarantee equality of outcome. Freedom is incompatible with their grand design for wealth redistribution. Freedom gives people the idea that they're in charge of their own destiny, and then who needs a benevolent bureaucracy staffed by elite intellectuals?

Obamacare is the antithesis of Freedom.

Thank God for patriots like Judge Vinson. Coupled with a similar ruling in December by Judge Henry Hudson in Virgina it's likely that the U.S. Surpreme Court will be weighing in sooner rather than later now.

Good.

Give me Liberty, or give me death!

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(Of course there is a Memeorandum thread!)

Posted at 16:31 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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While Obama tilts at green jobs and windmills China leaps ahead with nuclear power

China has unveiled a new type of super-efficient nuclear reactor technology. The Thorium Molten Salt Reactor is the closest thing to a nuclear perpetual motion machine you've ever seen. Seed it with U-233, and then it chugs along on pure Thorium.

The Chinese also recognize that a thorium-fueled MSR is best run with uranium-233 fuel, which inevitably contains impurities (uranium-232 and its decay products) that preclude its use in nuclear weapons. Operating an MSR on the "pure" fuel cycle of thorium and uranium-233 means that a breakeven conversion ratio can be achieved, and after being started on uranium-233, only thorium is required for indefinite operation and power generation.

Are we working on something (anything) similar? Nope.

But we're creating millions of green jobs! Really, we are!

Any serious economist will tell you that subsidizing green energy is simply a modern version of Frederic Bastiat's classic "broken window" economic model. Rather than breaking our own window, replacing and it calling this economic activity we are spending vast sums of money replacing existing reliable, functioning and cost effective energy generating capacity with so-called "green energy" (that is less reliable and more expensive). How does this make any sense?

Just ask Spain, where "green jobs" have been all the rage for almost a decade now. Heavily subsidized, the green sector florishes. But for every green job they created, 2.2 productive private sector jobs were lost. They now have the highest unemployment level in the industrialized world.

But on the plus side, there are all those nice shiny windmills to tilt at.

So let me ask you? Can we afford to lose 2.2 American jobs every time a new wind or solar project staffs up? Or would we perhaps be much better off if we developed an inexpensive, reliable source of electricity. One that pumps out those electrons even if the wind isn't blowing? How about one that works at night too? (There ain't a whole lotta solar power entering the grid at 3 AM, now is there?)

Thorium is a compact and relatively inexpensive fuel. A Molten Salt Reactor operates at atmospheric pressure and only requires a simplified safety system. Ergo, they are mass-producible, for shipment to locations far and wide via truck or train.

Unfortunately, until we are willing to confront our Luddites and Cassandras head-on, nuclear power will remain an also-ran in America. No matter how many times we prove otherwise there are still far too many know-nothings who are firmly convinced that The China Syndrome was a documentary. So we end up spinning our wheels tweaking the twin failed chimeras of wind and solar power. They'll never be as efficient as nuclear (or for that matter, come close to the energy density obtainable from the cumbustion of fossil fuels).

But, windmills and solar arrays do give well-heeled liberals and their tree-hugger brethren that unique sense of smugness and superiority which so successfully sells ad space in The New York Times. And really, isn't that what matters most to them anyway? Nobody ever accused the environmental movement of caring if we all freeze in the dark.

Posted at 12:42 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Mission Accomplished: Obama declares Afghan combat operations have ended

You'd think the end of Afghan combat operations would be front page news, no?

At about 21:39 in this YouTube video interview posted yesterday, President Obama declares, "As I said, we will be out of Afghanistan by the end of this year." Then he declares, "Combat operations in Afghanistan have ended."

Wow, even with all the top-notch reporters out covering the snow somebody should have started cheering. Nope. Media silence. That whole "Mission Accomplished" thing must not have the same sizzle anymore. Maybe because he wasn't standing on an aircraft carrier flight deck while he said it.

What's that? He misspoke? Really? Oh, I see. Was the wrong script loaded into TOTUS? No? You mean President Cerebral, the guy who never misses an opportunity to remind us how smart he is, was confused?

Yup. He was actually speaking about Iraq.

It was unclear whether Obama realized his mistake. He then correctly stated the situation in Afghanistan, saying the United States would start withdrawing some forces beginning in July, with the goal of handing over full security responsibilities to the Afghan government in 2014.

Hey, the guy's tired, everybody makes mistakes, what's the big deal, right?

Sure, give him a mulligan.

It's not as if someone who really has to be on top of their game 24x7, like say Sarah Palin, managed to confuse one war for another. Then we'd have to endure another round of idiotic Tina Fey skits and TNT debauchery — "Iraq? What about my rack?" — sounds sufficiently sophomoric for their tastes and about what we'd expect from America's serious journalists anyway.

The narrative is that he's a brilliant speaker. Facts that interfere with the narrative get ignored.

But of course.

Posted at 15:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you dump that yellow snow in the river

Sure all the snow looks pristine and white. But deep inside every snowbank lurks hidden dangers — threats to the very fabric of Mother Gaia's well-being! — which require strict adherence to government approved snow disposal regulations. Garbage, road salt, sand, dirt and gravel, all manner of horrible stuff could get scooped up as cities and towns struggle to keep their streets clear from record-breaking snowfall totals.

And now they're running out of places to put it.

Which then leads to the discovery that our government regulates where we can, and mostly can't, dump that snow. Parks and ballfields are the traditional local snow dumps, but only if there are no rivers, streams, or wetlands nearby.

The clouds can unload over yonder meadow with an innocuous layer of white, but toss one shovelful from your driveway on top and the DEP will have your ass in a sling.

But fear not! Help is (maybe) at hand. The DEP is considering relaxing their rules! On a case-by-case basis. And only if the town is absolutely, positively, 100 percent certain there's no garbage or other bad stuff in it. Then maybe, if they ask nicely, they can dump their snow in a local river or stream. Their big evil foul-smelling trucks had better not cause any shoreline damage or erosion either.

Gee, thanks! That'll make our lives much easier!

Oh, and the new, friendlier DEP is only extending this fantastic offer to cities and towns. Private businesses and residents will never be given permission to despoil any body of water with their dirty, filthy snow.

Maybe they expect us to store it in the garage? 'Cause I'm really running out of places to put it.

Here's an idea. Let's grab the next tree-hugging, people-hating econut we meet and make him eat the friggin snow.

Posted at 23:24 by Chris Wysocki   []   Comments | Perm Link |
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2012 presidential campaign slogan: B H O ... W T F? ... P A L I N!

Sung, of course, to the tune of M I C ... K E Y ... M O U S E!

Barry's re-election theme, announced during his State of the Union campaign kickoff rally, is "Winning The Future." Or, WTF.

Sarah Palin drove a stake into the heart of that gem on Greta last night.

Well, speaking of last night, that was a tough speech to sit through and try to stomach because the president is so off base in his ideas in how it is he believes government is going to create jobs. Obviously, government growth won't create any jobs. It's the private sector that can create the jobs. His theme last night in the State of the Union was the WTF, you know, "Winning the Future," and I thought OK, that acronym, spot on. There were a lot of WTF moments throughout that speech.

Not to mention, a lot more BHO WTF moments since January 20, 2009.

A White House full of "experts" who've never held a real job in their lives are still trying to sell the "trust us" Kool Aid of countless new jobs ripe for the creation:

"In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology — an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people."
-- President Obama, State of the Union Address

That's "countless," as in: You won't be able to count them, because they exist only in my imagination.

No more claims of "x" jobs created or saved. Nope, now the intangible benefits are indeed countless. But, trust them, they're experts! They've been right so far, haven't they?

It's time for President Training Pants and his Mickey Mouse ideas to get the old heave-ho. And nothing exposes Obama's mendacity quite like Sarah Palin's little play on acronyms. Which is why the usual liberal defenders of Dear Leader's domestic depredations are apoplectic at the top of Memeorandum today.

WTF indeed.

UPDATE 28 Jan 2011 17:46:
Linked by Bob Belvedere.

Thanks mate!

Posted at 14:28 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Just in time for National School Choice Week: Ohio mom jailed for choosing a better school

The iron grip (more like a stranglehold) the teachers' unions have over our children's education is never more evident than in the case of Ohio mom Kelly Williams-Bolar. She dared to send her daughters to a better school. One that is not crime-plagued and rat infested. And for her trouble she was investigated, harassed, prosecuted, and jailed.

Don't fuck with the teachers' union.

Bad automaton! You must obey the laws of geographic segregation! Who cares if the Akron schools suck? The better schools in the next town over are tantalizingly close, but George Wallace Judge Patricia Cosgrove is blocking the schoolhouse door.

It's for your own good you know. Wouldn't want your kids to grow up with the idea that an education is important, now would we? Who knows where nonsense like that could lead! What's important is protecting the hegemony of the teachers' unions, no matter how many kids fail in the process.

By the way, it really is National School Choice Week. But when it comes to liberals, "choice" means being able to murder your unborn child, not something so radical as wanting a living, breathing son or daughter to aspire to a better education.

Reproductive choice is a fundamental Constitutional Right.

School Choice? That's crazy talk!

Remember, Barry deep-sixed the most successful school choice initiative in the nation — the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program — as a thank-you to the teachers' unions for helping get him elected. And his latest idea of Cash for Education Clunkers is more of the same old, same old. Throwing money at failing schools is not the solution. Forcing them to compete for students is the only way to ensure they'll improve their game.

Alas, there's no danger of that happening in Ohio. The only thing those poor black kids need to learn is their place.

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Find more reactions at the Memeorandum thread.

Posted at 14:28 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Hey, remember me?

No, I haven't been in hiding since the Same Old Jets got crushed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's a flu bug going around, and on Sunday morning it got around to me. My doctor said he's been seeing 8 to 10 cases a day of this latest gastro-intestinal virus. Yippee.

Yes I watched the game. From under a blanket with a Gatorade IV by my side. And for all my trash-talking at his site, Ed from The Daley Gator was gracious in victory, directing his sarcasm not at this down-and-out Jets fan, but at the Internet legions of Cheese Heads and their delusions of Super Bowl glory.

Let's see, what else did I miss? Oh yeah, TOTUS fed Barry another rehash of canned platitudes. Whoop de doo. High Speed Rail? Seriously? Having solved all of our nation's other problems Il Duce is ready to make the trains run on time?

And if that whole "Date of the Union" Kumbaya nonsense is really the bees knees, how come Madam Botox and Dingy Harry didn't think of it when the GOP was in the minority?

I was very disappointed to see John Thune buy into that stupidity. He sat next to Kirsten Gillibrand, the 2^nd biggest bimbo in the Senate. (Al Franken being the first, naturally.) I had high hopes for Senator Thune as the kind of conservative we need to lead us past the Mike Huckabees and Mitt Romneys of the establishment GOP.

Rush Limbaugh:

If there is a common enemy among those who will sit together tonight, it is the Tea Party. The Democrats don't like the Tea Party because it engineered their defeat. Some Republicans don't like it because it illustrates what they have to do to win and they're not really comfortable with that.

Yup. The days of the go along to get along Republican Party are over. And Senator Thune? You're off my short list for 2012. Why? Pat Austin explains:

As someone said to me last night, "Don't those Republicans get it? Didn't they learn anything in November?! We don't WANT them to go up there and hold hands and everyone get along. We WANT things to be different!" I understand this point. Bickering is not necessarily productive, but bi-partisanship is over rated.

Remember, to a Democrat, bi-partisanship means "do what I want". They never compromise, why should we?

Speaking of no compromise, the Religion of Peace™ reacted to the slow pace of construction on the Ground Zero Death To America Victory Mosque by blowing up an airport in Moscow (and a bus in Manila). That'll teach us to defy the Soldiers of Allah! Or something.

Alas, death and destruction is all the Mohammedan knows how to do. Whether it's beheading an uppity wife or crushing an unruly teenager with his car, the Muslim way is to kill first and ask questions later. Sort of like your average Philadelphia abortionist, no?

They destroy; we build. And rebuild. Check out the engineering genius going into raising the Bayonne Bridge:

Imagine building a stretch of four-lane highway 20 stories in the air, and hanging it by steel cables from a gigantic steel arch. Then, imagine staging the job from an area 60 feet below, on a construction site just 20 feet wide, with cars and trucks rushing by on either side, high above a busy waterway.

Hey, we don't do small.

According to the managers and engineers overseeing the project at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, raising the road from 151 to 215 feet above the Kill van Kull, while keeping the bridge open to traffic, will be more than a Herculean feat of engineering and construction. The project would also achieve the dual goals of raising the height clearance of the bridge to accommodate larger container ships, thus assuring the continued viability of the region's port industry, while keeping open a vital commuter link between the two states.

How's that for a "Sputnik Moment", eh Barry?

Posted at 10:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Dr. Kermit Gosnell, Poster Boy for "Choice"

Somehow it is fitting that the full specter of Kermit Gosnell's Philadelphia house of horrors has hit the news just as we gear up for the Annual March For Life in Washington D.C.

Why? Because the real tragedy is the plain fact that Kermit Gosnell and his band of butchers are hardly unique. There are thousands of Kermit Gosnells operating in abortion clinics far and wide, working every day to slaughter millions of innocent babies each year. Joseph Mengele could not have conceived of industrialized murder on such a massive scale.

Add in the statistics which clearly show minority and poor women being their principle target demographic and one can easily see the fruition of Margaret Sanger's racist vision. Abortion is genocide against the Black community, just as she wanted it to be.

Yesterday was Ask Them What They Mean By "Choice" Blog Day. I tried, several times in fact, to craft a post around that theme.

I failed. Really, there are no words. None that could do justice to the supreme sadness which sits in the pit of my stomach, churning in agony.

So, I'll link to some bloggers who found the intestinal fortitude to bear witness. Because we all know what "they" mean by "choice". They mean infanticide.

Jill at Pundette brought me to tears: The brief, painful lives of Baby Boy A, Baby C, and Baby X.

And, she notes that today is a day of prayer and penance:

In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.

Click through, to see the faces of evil.

Stacy McCain says You're Not Disgusted Enough Yet.

What Dr. Kermit Gosnell did in Philadelphia is, as the district attorney said, "barbaric." However, it's something that's been happening every day in America — legally, protected by those "penumbras formed by emanations" discerned by the Supreme Court — for more than 30 years. It's happening today, and will happen tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and it ought to make us sick with grief for the heartless cruelty it represents.

Then he found a true monster. Someone who views the taking of innocent life as a joke. Yes, this is what passes for wisdom among the glitterati and scions of modern liberalism.

Gator Doug and pjMom say what needs to be said to the defenders of "choice". But alas, the defenders are too obtuse to comprehend the lesson.

One last link. Because we need to know that God loves us.

Antidote: "Because of Love"

Hug your children. Tightly. It is in them that we will find peace. It is for them that we must fight the forces of evil. It is through them that we will see God.

Posted at 13:26 by Chris Wysocki   [/feminists]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Keith Olbermann to be named White House Press Secretary?

MSDNC sacked their "highest-rated host" tonight. Countdown with Keith Olbermann has broadcast its last unhinged diatribe.

Now it's up to Rachel Madcow to carry the torch for libtard talking head television. It's not like she has big shoes to fill either; "highest-rated host" at MSDNC is kinda like "first shift fry cook" at the local Arby's.

The bar is low.

Rumors that Keith will be replacing Baghdad Bob Gibbs as White House Press Secretary could not be confirmed at this time. But unnamed Administration sources are optimistic that Olbermann could bring just the right imbalance of vitriol and insanity needed to keep the Kos Kidz firmly in the Obama 2012 camp.

And really, who else could Barry get? Pinch Sulzberger? Nah, the bar's not that low. Yet.

Oh goody; there's a Memeorandum thread. This should be fun.

Posted at 22:36 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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But if that syphilitic camel was named Mike Huckabee I'd shoot myself immediately afterward...

Via pjMom, the Quote of the Day:

Well, based on the past two years I'd vote for a syphilitic camel if he ran against Obama.

Yes.

Even if it means seeing Chuck Todd doing cartwheels in his Team Obama cheerleader skirt.

Posted at 11:17 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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How about a Christie - Ryan ticket?

A Super Bowl ticket, that is.

Oh, you thought I was talking about 2012 and Rep. Paul Ryan? No, that would be a pretty cool combo too, but right now Governor Awesome is happily singing the praises of another famous Ryan — Rex Ryan, Head Coach of "New Jersey's Jets!"

From the press release:

During a press conference in Newark on Tuesday Governor Christie said that although Rex Ryan was not born in New Jersey, there are few people who are more like New Jersey in so many ways. A Jets fan, the Governor said he hopes Rex Ryan takes "New Jersey's Jets" to the Super Bowl.

An Honorary New Jerseyan! That's better than Veep any old day.

J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!

Posted at 10:17 by Chris Wysocki   [/jets]   Comments | Perm Link |
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For CFL bulbs, reality can't match the hype

They cost 10 times as much as a regular incandescent light bulb.

They're supposed to last 10 times as long, and save energy in the process.

But now that the results are in, it turns out the hype over Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs was wrong, and wrong, and wrong again.

They don't last:

One hitch was the compact-fluorescent burnout rate. When PG&E began its 2006-2008 program, it figured the useful life of each bulb would be 9.4 years. Now, with experience, it has cut the estimate to 6.3 years, which limits the energy savings. Field tests show higher burnout rates in certain locations, such as bathrooms and in recessed lighting. Turning them on and off a lot also appears to impair longevity.

And, the energy-saving claims were specious:

Energy savings attributed to PG&E were pegged at 451.6 million kilowatt hours by regulators, or 73% less than the 1.7 billion kilowatt hours projected by PG&E for the 2006-2008 program.

But other than that, they're a great value!

Um, not really.

From personal experience I can say the DOA rate is completely unacceptable too. About 1/3 of the CFL bulbs I've bought were dead out of the box. That's probably because all the energy saving and relability studies were done using American made bulbs, not the cheap Chinese junk which populates the shelves in Home Depot and Ace Hardware.

Can you remember the last time a regular incandescent bulb was dead out of the box? Me neither.

Not to mention that the quality of the light is awful. That "CFL glow" is unnatural, unappealing, and unacceptably harsh. If you like the industrial look, great. Most of us don't.

The whole CFL scam reminds me of an old National Lampoon (or was it SNL?) skit, "You get less than half the value at more than twice the price!"

But, leave it to German ingenuity to find a way around the 100 Watt incandescent bulb ban — heat balls!

You gotta hand it to German businessman Siegfried Rotthaeuser, who came up with a brilliant run around the European Union ban on conventional incandescent light bulbs — he rebranded them as "Heat Balls" and is importing them for sale as a "small heating device."

Heh.

Posted at 12:36 by Chris Wysocki   [/agw]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Hu's on first

Red Chinese dictator Hu Jintao is at the White House, presumably to visit his money. And tonight Barry and Michelle will bow before him as they host a formal state dinner in his honor. They will dine on expensive and extravagant food while scores are oppressed and placed behind bars by the Chinese government because of their faith and political beliefs.

Baghdad Bob says, they'll talk about that human rights stuff.

"Obviously that is a topic of some significance that the two leaders will talk about," Gibbs told reporters. "We will continue to have difficult conversations" with China on the subject.

Yeah, sure.

You know, it occurs to me that if America had a Real President, one who took the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize as something more than another trophy for his mantel, he could send a very powerful message tonight.

Leave the chair next to Hu empty. On the place card write the name Liu Xiaobo. Nobel Laureates ought to stick up for each other. That is, if the guy who didn't risk his life for the prize felt the responsibility to finally earn it.

Posted at 10:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obama Labor Dept rules may nix Girl Scout cookie sales

Only organized labor could have a beef with Girl Scouts selling cookies.

And only the Obama Administration could take that beef seriously, seriously enough to consider promulgating regulations which could effectively shut down sales of Girl Scout cookies.

No, I'm not making this up.

Under the proposed rules, any business which allows the Girl Scouts to set up a table to sell their cookies in front of or inside of their location must also allow unions into their businesses to cajole employees to organize.

No union goons? No Girl Scout cookies either. If you're scratching your head wondering what one has to do with the other, join the club. Or ask the next SEIU Purple People Beater you meet to explain it to you.

But regardless of why he's doing this, I still have to say, thanks President Obama! Really. Thanks for showing these budding entrepreneurs just how evil and mendacious labor unions truly are. With the stroke of a pen you'll create a whole generation of young women who will fully understand the damage that organized labor can do (and has done) to the free market.

Given a lesson like that there is zero chance these fine young ladies will grow up to become sycophantic Democratic Party supporters. Nope, by taking away their freedom you've just helped to create hundreds of thousands of future Tea Partiers. It's an easy lesson for even the youngest Brownie to absorb; a government big enough to prevent the sale of Girl Scout cookies is far too big indeed.

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Speaking of a government that's "too big", I guess I have to include this mandatory FTC disclaimer. My daughter is a Brownie. She sells Girl Scout cookies. No, we don't personally make any money off of the sale, but her troop does and they will use some of that money to buy her and her friends a pizza. I might even eat a slice or 2. And if she sells enough boxes she can win a teddy bear. The Federal Trade Commission requires that bloggers disclose any "potentially beneficial relationships" with the providers of products which they blog about.

So there you have it. By buying Girl Scout cookies you're probably contributing to my 3 slice a day pizza habit. I hope you can live with yourselves.

UPDATE 19 Jan 2011 09:11:
Linked by Gator Doug.

Thanks!

Posted at 15:33 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Meet another victim of New Jersey's idiotic gun laws

You can always trust the Keystone Kops of the Port Authority Police Department to keep New Jersey safe from legal gun owners. Utah resident Gregg Revell made the mistake of traveling through Newark Airport with a legally owned, unloaded firearm in his checked luggage. He was on his way to Allentown, Pennsylvania but missed his connecting flight when the plane from Salt Lake City arrived too late.

It didn't help that the airline had misdirected his luggage; the firearm which should have been checked through to Allentown was instead tagged for a final destination of Newark.

Then he met the crackerjack pension padding and taxi service squad we all know and love — the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police.

The next thing Gregg Revell knew, he was under arrest and in a heap of legal and bureaucratic trouble.

Can you say "over-reaction"? Like the Brian Aitken case, Mr. Revell was merely passing through New Jersey. He followed all the federal rules pertaining to the transportation of firearms. And he still spent 10 days in the slammer just for being the victim of an airline snafu.

Gotta buck up those arrest statistics! A white guy with an "illegal" gun is prosecutorial gold. Fortunately a court threw out the charges but it still took the Port Authority PD three years to return Mr. Revell's gun to him. Three years of fighting an uphill battle against an entrenched bureaucracy!

Gregg Revell sued the Port Authority police for violating his Second Amendment rights. Even though various courts have sympathized with his plight they have refused to let his lawsuit against the police go forward.

For the average citizen, ignorance of the law is no excuse. For a Port Authority cop, ignorance of the law gets you a mulligan along with a wink and a nudge from your law enforcement buddies.

Today Gregg Revell's case went before the U.S. Supreme Court. And they denied him justice. In New Jersey your rights end whenever a cop says they end.

Yes folks, we live in a Police State. Gregg Revell is merely its latest victim. He surely won't be its last.

I want my freedom back.

UPDATE 19 Jan 2011 09:07:
Linked by Gator Doug, Theo Spark, and Larwyn's Linx.

Also picked up by Linkiest.

Thanks!

Posted at 11:02 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Planned Parenthood may double their number of infanticide clinics in NJ

They cried poverty when Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a $7.5 million budget subsidy for Planned Parenthood's "women's health" facilities. But it turns out Abortion, Inc. has plenty of money after all, money they will now use to double the number of abortion infanticide clinics they operate in New Jersey.

A "debate" indeed. The liberal feminists won't give up on public funding for infanticide. It's axiomatic to them that taxpayer dollars, even a token amount must subsidize Abortion, Inc. State Senator Loretta Weinberg is their most ardent cheerleader, having successfully promoted legislation which channels $1.1 million to the merchants of death.

Sure it's a token amount, but like I said, the principle is the important thing here.

While the proposed Planned Parenthood expansion does not depend on the bill, [Marie] Tasy [of New Jersey Right to Life] said the group would undoubtedly benefit from the aid over the next few years if it passes and is signed by Christie.

That's right, Planned Parenthood will "undoubtedly benefit" from a continued public subsidy. That benefit is the necessary (to them) perception that taxpayer dollars must be used to pay for abortion. Except it's now obvious that there is more than enough money already available to the purveyors of Margaret Sanger's murderous legacy. Abortion, Inc. is Big Business, and no business announces such a massive expansion plan without having the necessary funding in place.

So Sen. Weinberg, for the last time, get your blood money from somewhere else.

Posted at 10:08 by Chris Wysocki   [/feminists]   Comments | Perm Link |
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And the Jets kick some serious New England butt!

It'll be Jets - Steelers for the AFC Championship Game, just like I predicted. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick can only get to Dallas if they buy a ticket. I hope your couch is comfy fellas; you'll be spending a lot of time on it.

Hey Ed, how 'bout them Pats?

<grin>

J - E - T - S! Jets! Jets! Jets!

Final score, Jets 28, Pats 21.

The Jets defense flummoxed Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, sacking him five times and intercepting Brady for the first time since Week 6. And the offense made plays when needed, led by Mark Sanchez efficiently throwing for three scores (and no interceptions) and the running combination of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson eclipsing four yards per carry.

The Jets Flight Crew is here to help me celebrate.

Oh yeah, we are definitely gonna celebrate!

Watch out Big Ben, you're next!

Posted at 20:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/jets]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Gay activists target Chick-Fil-A

To the proponents of the radical homosexual agenda tolerance only goes one way. We must tolerate them, or else. As for their tolerance toward others, not so much.

The latest target of their ire is Chick-Fil-A. The restaurant chain is under fire because, horror of horrors, a single local franchisee promised to donate some sandwiches to an upcoming marriage conference. Can you guess why? Yup, it's a Christian marriage conference.

The gay rights crowd can't possible accept someone being generous toward those who actually believe marriage is between one man and one woman. Such an idea is positively out of the mainstream, for them anyway. For most of us it's just The Way Things Ought To Be.

Can I call them "haters"? 'Cause there's a whole lotta hate being launched at the entire Chick-Fil-A chain. Wait a sec. Didn't Dear Leader call for a cease-fire in the hater wars?

Clearly these guys didn't get the memo. Maybe they thought it was only addressed to Sarah Palin.

It's actually much ado about nothing. One restaurant is giving away some sandwiches. That's certainly the owner's right, isn't it? To contribute to his community? Or should he have to activate his gaydar before trying to be a nice guy? The CEO of Chick-Fil-A released a statement reiterating their commitment to non-discriminatory policies. They don't ask and don't care if you tell.

Which of course is as it should be.

UPDATE 15 Jan 2011 23:13:
Fishersville Mike is ready to "Eat Mor Chikin".

Me too. I've only eaten Chick-Fil-A a handful of times, but it sure is good. My niece had them cater her high school graduation party — it's what kids want to eat — and there wasn't a scrap left over. Sophie is a fan too, and my girl knows her chicken nuggets.

Why did the gay chicken cross the road?

There was a Chick-Fil-A on this side!

Here's a song for my gay chicken-hating friends:

Posted at 14:53 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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DHS cancels Virtual Border Fence, to be replaced by giant Welcome Mat

What, you thought Janet Incompetano was going to replace it with a real fence? Bwahahaha!

The open borders crowd doesn't want any stinkin' fence. So SBInet is dead.

"The SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment since its inception," Representative Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement which noted that the Department of Homeland Security was ending the project.

Yes, it's a grave disappointment to walk all the way through Mexico to the U.S. border only to be turned back because DHS saw you on Candid Camera.

It's almost enough to make you think they don't want to enforce the law.

Welcome to Aztlan, please wipe your feet.

Posted at 14:38 by Chris Wysocki   [/immigration]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ Supreme Court appoints Special Master to investigate if money grows on trees

The members of the New Jersey State Supreme Court fancy themselves as the Appropriations Committee of the state legislature. From on high they wave their magic gavels and pronounce judgment on the "adequacy" of bugetary line items.

Their favorite target is school funding, with a long and inglorious history of meddling in the politics of tax policy. In their "landmark" 1976 Robinson v. Cahill decision they forced the governor and legislature to impose an income tax. So much for checks and balances. It was their way or the highway, and they've been on a power trip ever since. First they ordered "parity" between the 31 sainted Abbott school districts and their wealthier counterparts. And when test scores still didn't match up they demanded, and got, a funding formula which provides a more than 3 to 1 advantage in favor of the Abbotts.

Then reality struck last year in the form of a nationwide recession and the resultant precipitous decline in tax revenue. Governor Chris Christie was elected to forego the usual tax increases and bond issue sleight of hand. Instead he cut spending.

And the Abbott whingers went scurrying back in horror to their sugar daddies on the State Supreme Court. The future of their gravy train is in peril!

So here we are again. The black robed poobahs have demanded that Gov. Christie prove his cuts in Abbott district spending will not imperil their utopian vision of a "thorough and efficient" public education.

They've appointed a Special Master, Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne, to "investigate", hold hearings, and submit fact-findings and conclusions of law.

Judge Doyne has taken us down this path before. He was the Special Master in the last round of Abbott funding follies, ruling in 2008 in favor of that 3 to 1 per-pupil spending advantage now in place.

Here's a "fact" for you Judge. Money can't buy happiness. Or an education. Why don't you go ahead and demand a 4 to 1, or how about a ten to one funding advantage? Spend it all! Just how much money do we have flush down the toilet of failed urban schools before the entire state goes broke? Let's find out!

Because here's another "fact". Money doesn't grow on trees. And this time the taxpayers aren't going to stand idly by while you decree that it should.

"The reason the Supreme Court remanded it to (Doyne) is so he could conduct an evidentiary hearing: What would you have done if you received full funding of the formula? As a result of the cut in state aid, what kinds of staff and programmatic and educational cuts did you have to make? How did that affect the quality of eduction?" said Rutgers University law professor Paul Tractenberg, a former board member of the Education Law Center, the Newark-based advocacy group that brought the case.

Talk about stacking the deck. "What would you have done if you won the lottery?" "Uh, gee, Your Honor, I'm not sure, uh, buy a Porsche?" "Give that man a Porsche!"

Governor Christie understands what's going on, he said so during his State of the State speech:

"We must end the myth that more money equals better achievement. It is a failed legal theory — and we can no longer waste our children's time or the public's money waiting for it to work."

He's right. He's so right that his common sense statement flies completely over the heads of the ossified intellectuals who rule by judicial fiat.

What they decree must be so, for they hath decreed it!

So here's what I think. Fuck 'em. Don't play their game anymore. Stand up to the self-important stuffed shirts on the court and their utopian cohorts at the Education Law Center. Just say flat out, this is how much money you're getting, not a penny more, so you'd better find a way to make it work.

It's not a court's job to decide how much money the legislature should appropriate. What good is an election, especially one where we sent a clear message of fiscal reform, if a small group of unelected, unaccountable judges can operate as de facto dictators? Why have a governor or a legislature at all? To rubber-stamp the decrees of the State Supreme Court Politburo?

Nope. That's not how freedom and democracy work.

Posted at 12:17 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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This is not the recovery you are looking for

Unexpectedly! New jobless claims jumped to a 6 month high.

I forget, is that the Hope or the Change?

Meanwhile, the housing sector is in full-on depression mode.

I think it's safe to say that this is not the Hope we are looking for.

Change? Well, you'll need to scrounge for more change just to buy food and other necessities.

Anyone have a good recipe for stone soup?

Finally for today, Uncle Sam is overdrawn and his credit rating just tanked.

Hey Barry, you think people are pissed now? Wait until you see what happens when Social Security checks start bouncing.

I blame Sarah Palin's hateful rhetoric.

And Glenn Beck. The root cause of all these problems has gotta be Glenn Beck's fault. Somehow. He's so divisive. And hateful.

Why can't they both just accept that Together We Thrive?

The country's going to Hell in a handbasket and all I got was a lousy T-shirt.

Posted at 15:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Geordi La Forge, your new glasses are ready

Imagine an implantable eye lens which can auto focus in less than a millisecond. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a liquid piston: a pair of oscillating nanoparticles which displace minute droplets of a ferrous fluid. The droplets' shape constantly changes as they vibrate, so if you pass light through them, they function as a lens that automatically changes its focal length.

With the aid of special software to filter out the blurry frames the resultant image quality is comparable to that of a cell phone camera.

The droplets' speed and vibration strength can be controlled by changing the strength of the magnetic field which would allow the lens to "lock in" on a particular view while offering a near-instantaneous ability to refocus elsewhere.

And, there are no moving mechanical pieces, so it will never wear out.

Those cool glasses worn by Lt. Cmdr. La Forge in ST:TNG are one step closer to reality.

Posted at 10:52 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ Democrat Assemblywoman gears up for mandatory bicycle registration

Here's an idea so stupid I can't believe Mike Bloomberg didn't think of it first. Mandatory license plates for bicycles. And tricycles. Yes, even that Big Wheel™ your toddler got for Christmas. All for the low, low price of $10 per year. And if junior doesn't register his new bike with the DMV your friendly neighborhood cop can slap him with a $100 fine.

NJ Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark) came up with this brain fart after some geezers in Belleville and Bloomfield called her to complain about rambunctious kids who were riding "recklessly".

There oughta be a law!

Yeah. A law against legislating while under the influence of drugs or alcohol would seem to be in order. But mandatory bicycle registration? That's just insane. What will she think of next? Requiring radio controlled model helicopters to squawk IFF and be registered with the FAA?

If there were clearly visible dunce caps on stupid legislators the citizens could have some kind of recourse too. Maybe even at the ballot box. That is if the residents of the 28^th legislative district feel up to the task of choosing themselves a competent representative. Because they sure did pick a winner with Cleopatra Tucker.

UPDATE 13 Jan 2011 11:24:
Well that was fast.

Assemblywoman Tucker has withdrawn her proposed bike registration law.

I guess she sobered up. The near unanimous public ridicule her idea generated probably helped too.

Posted at 23:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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SnowCare for Troops offers free snow removal for military families

The last thing a guy deployed overseas needs to worry about is whether or not his wife will be able to clear their driveway after a major snowstorm. So when I read about SnowCare For Troops this morning I thought it was an amazing volunteer program that more people need to know about.

All it takes is a phone call and a local snowplow contractor will come to clear the driveway and shovel the sidewalks, for free.

How cool is that?

From today's Star-Ledger:

Let's get the word out! Are you a snowplow operator, or know someone who is? Register to help! Do you know a military family who could use a service like this? Sign 'em up!

God Bless these volunteers. They're the kind of folks who make America great.

UPDATE 13 Jan 2011 08:56:
Linked by Theo Spark, Larwyn, and The Rhetorican.

Also featured as a "Recommended Read" at Pundit & Pundette.

Thanks!

UPDATE 13 Jan 2011 12:31:
Also picked up by Politicaljunkie Mom.

Her husband is currently deployed so it's a particularly timely piece of info. Especially seeing as how Global Warming is making itself felt in 49 of the 50 57 states right now.

It's always good to have one less thing to worry about until Mr. pjMom is back home safe and sound.

Posted at 11:49 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Bill O'Reilly wants to give every Congressman a pet U.S. Marshall

My wife wanted to watch Bill O'Reilly tonight. Elisabeth Hasselbeck was on, and she promised to discuss the latest Whoopi Goldberg temper tantrum.

So, I watched too.

Bill had to pontificate. That is what he's being paid to do. John Stossel is apparently being paid to nod and say "yes, Bill" no matter how ridiculous Mr. No Spin Zone's mutterings turn out to be.

Let's see. Blame "internet crazies" for Loughner's atrocity? Check. Never mind that this is the Official Left-Liberal Media Talking Point and it's been debunked 17 ways from Sunday. Bill's always had a hard-on for the internet; now's his chance to get in another cheap shot.

Way to go Bill. Maybe Pinch Sulzberger can let you fill in the next time Herr Doktor Professor Krugman goes on vacation.

And then O'Reilly outdid himself. He proposed a new law — increase the size of the U.S. Marshalls Service in order to issue a pet U.S. Marshall to every elected official. For "protection".

Stossel did try to note that every Congressman and Senator can request protection if they perceive a threat. But that's not good enough for O'Reilly. He wants to guarantee there'll be no mischief. Too many Marshalls have been diverted to airplane security duty so it's time to beef up this vital cog in the federal law enforcement arsenal.

Then, out in the field, they'll put paid to the demented dreams of the next Jared Loughner. Or something.

OK, so it's not as kooky as Rep. Peter King's Put Your Congressman in a Bubble Act of 2011. But I still think my "issue every American a bulletproof vest" idea is really the way to go.

UPDATE 12 Jan 2011 08:57:
Linked by Theo Spark.

Thanks!

Posted at 21:24 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Rep. Peter King introduces the Put Your Congressman in a Bubble Act of 2011

Common Sense? Meet Rep. Peter King (R-NY). Now please help him stop over-reacting to the Tucson shooting incident. Please, before he does something really stupid.

Although I don't know what could be more stupid than this: Rep. King plans to introduce legislation making it illegal for someone to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of certain high-ranking federal officials, including members of Congress.

"It would give law enforcement the weapon they need to protect federal officials and just as importantly, it would provide a large measure of security for those who want to meet with their federal elected officials," said King, who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Have metal detectors, will travel? And while Petey and his Congressional Bubble are in transit will it emit a constantly updating real-time GPS map so us otherwise law-abiding citizens can detour around the Cone of Insanity?

Why doesn't he just buy every Congressman their own (electric, natch) version of the Popemobile? It's only fitting now that the sedia gestatoria are so déclassé.

(Via Memeorandum)

UPDATE 11 Jan 2011 23:39:
OK, really, I was only kidding about the Popemobile thing.

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Indiana) is serious about it.

An aide to Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) tells CBS News that the Indiana Republican plans to introduce legislation next week that would encase the House Gallery in "a transparent and substantial material" such as Plexiglas that would keep members of the public from being able to throw explosives or make other attacks on members on the House floor.

Dan Burton, Man Of The People!

Here's a surefire way to be safe Dan. Dig a hole. A big hole. Climb in it. Don't come out. Ever.

We won't miss you.

UPDATE 12 Jan 2011 23:19:
Linked at The Daily Gator.

Thanks!

Posted at 16:53 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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I am not "Parent 1" and my wife is not "Parent 2"!

Attention Citizens! Our gender-neutral future is at hand!

I meant to write about this last week but the Tucson shooting tragedy pushed it off my radar. What is "it"? The U.S. State Department has replaced the terms "Mother" and "Father" on their passport applications with the generic labels "Parent 1" and "Parent 2". We are all "its" now.

We mustn't offend the non-traditional family units! Offending millions of normal American parents is just another day at the office for our Progressive Overlords in the Obama Administration.

Quite Rightly is not amused.

Little by little the government normalizes deviancy. Tax forms already use the generic "spouse" in place of husband and wife; although the IRS does still note that for federal tax purposes a marriage is the legal union of one man and one woman.

Sooner or later that'll change to "legal union of two disparate individuals of opposite gender" or some other such gobbledygook. And then, of course, to "Taxpayer 1" and "Taxpayer 2". It's inevitable.

How long will it be before public schools adopt the same gender-neutral terms? This is the kind of politically correct idiocy that is tailor-made for the educratic establishment elites. Naturally feminist orthodoxy will also demand that the female womyn parent be identified as "Parent 1" (or counter-intuitively in the case of same-sex couples, the more butch lesbian).

But why stop at two parents? The Big Love demographic deserves official recognition too! Once the government starts numbering us they can easily add more "parents" to the mix. Two gals and a sperm donor? Why shouldn't "Parent 3" have legal standing? The more parents the merrier. It's even Sharia compliant! That there is what the PC crowd would call a "win-win".

Posted at 11:44 by Chris Wysocki   [/rants]   Comments | Perm Link |
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As surely as the sun will rise in the east, Frank Lautenberg's knee will jerk.

New Jersey's senior Senator has the prescription for No More Mass Shootings — a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips!

Gee, why didn't I think of that?

Too late! Carolyn McCarthy's bandwagon has already left the station.

In deference to Frank, he was probably napping during her press conference.

And I do realize that back in his pre-cambrian youth, single shot muskets had not yet been invented. So these newfangled "high-capacity" clips are probably downright scary to an emfeebled old man who can't really make a distinction between criminals and law-abiding citizens.

Of course, to a knee-jerk liberal there is no distinction — we're all guilty. Only a government-certified bureaucrat knows what's best. The police will protect us, and have no fear because they will never, ever misuse their weapons or abuse their authority.

Thanks Frank. Knowing that you're on top of the situation makes me feel safer already. But then, knowing that you're my U.S. Senator makes me weep for America.

Posted at 22:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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OMG! A nut shot some people! Quick, enact more gun control laws!

It's as predictable as it is tiresome. After every tragedy the anti-gun zealots rush to enact even more restrictions on firearms. The fact that the masses of regulations we already have, and which are followed to the letter by law-abiding citizens, don't ever seem to deter those who are determined to cause harm is never seen as a failure of regulation.

The knee-jerk liberal response is always the same: more regulations!

Rep. McCarthy has been on anti-gun crusade since her husband and son were shot on an LIRR commuter train in 1993. What she fails to comprehend though is that New York already had some of the strictest gun control legislation in the nation and it didn't stop a crazed nut from shooting innocent people.

Eighteen years and countless new gun control regulations later her story is still the same. More laws. More restrictions. More, more, more.

Isn't doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result the very definition of insanity? No?

OK, how about we attempt a different regulatory tack. One that is perhaps just as idiotic as anything championed by Rep. McCarthy.

I hereby propose that the Congress enact a federal law requiring every American to purchase and wear a bulletproof vest.

Discuss.

Posted at 11:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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No rush to judgment here

It took about 4 minutes after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting hit the wires for one of my more vitriolic Facebook friends to post a denunciation of "Right Wing Tea Baggers". Can't let the facts get in the way of a good narrative! Saner friends shouted him down and since it was Wild Card Weekend I settled in to watch the Seahawks get their butts kicked by the defending champion Saints.

Except the Seahawks didn't get the memo and they won the game. So much for jumping to conclusions, eh?

We don't know a whole lot about Jared Lee Loughner. But what we do know points to a very disturbed individual who probably shouldn't be permitted to play with sharp objects.

But pundits will opine and the scions at The New York Times quickly jumped on the same bandwagon as my excitable Facebook friend.

While the exact motivations of the suspect in the shootings remained unclear, an Internet site tied to the man, Jared Lee Loughner, contained antigovernment ramblings. And regardless of what led to the episode, it quickly focused attention on the degree to which inflammatory language, threats and implicit instigations to violence have become a steady undercurrent in the nation's political culture.

"If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

That of course was noted domestic terrorist Barack Hussein Obama exhorting his supporters to defeat John McCain in the 2008 election. Which was eons before The Times discovered the supposed undercurrent of vitriol in the nation's political culture.

But then candidate Obama wasn't one of those unhinged teabaggers so naturally his metaphor couldn't possibly be misinterpreted. Certainly not by the mature erudite readers of the nation's Fishwrap of Record!

A quick channel flip before the Jets - Indy game found the MSNBC clown show blaming Sarah Palin for the tragedy. Sadly they weren't the only ones. Not by a country mile. The same media which urged restraint after the Fort Hood shooting was galloping headfirst into an indictment of their favorite bogeymen.

On a positive note, the Jets are headed to Foxborough next weekend! Peyton Manning will be joining his brother Eli on the couch. Maybe Archie can bring the popcorn and invite a few of his Nawlins buddies over for a beer.

Like Yogi Berra said, "it ain't over 'til it's over." We'll eventually know more about Jared Lee Loughner than any of us would ever have cared to know. Until then though let's try to keep our heads about us. And let us pray for his victims and their families.

UPDATE 10 Jan 2011 13:43:
Linked at Conservative Hideout and Republican Redefined.

Thanks guys!

Posted at 12:09 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Let's break out the chainsaws - 5 programs the GOP can cut today

I want to give Speaker John Boehner the benefit of the doubt. Really, I do. But it's hard when he fumbles the gimmes like he did in an interview with Brian Williams of NBC News.

Dude. You're on national television and you can't name one useless government program? Tell me again why we elected you Speaker?

I'm no career politician but I can come up with 5 things to cut without breaking a sweat. Here goes…

1. Ethanol subsidies: $6 billion. Ethanol is a total boondoggle that exists solely because Archer Daniels Midland has great lobbyists. It's inefficient to produce, costs more than gasoline, and even the econuts agree it won't do anything to curb global warming. Shut it down.

2. Department of Education: $63.7 billion. This cabinet level post did not even exist prior to 1979. The federal government has no Constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula. None. But that didn't stop Jimmy Carter from creating a vast bureaucracy to funnel gobs of cash at his buddies in the teachers unions. Yet all that money hasn't improved test scores one bit. Shut it down.

3. Welfare: $888 billion. FY 2011 Welfare spending will exceed the entire eight year cost of the Iraq war under President Bush ($622 billion). So go ahead, tell me how it's military spending which is breaking the bank. For my money I say a modest 5% cut in welfare spending ($44 billion) isn't unreasonable. Heck, the fraud and abuse alone probably exceeds 5%.

4. Sell off excess federal real estate: $250 billion. The federal government owns more than 14,000 unused buildings. The Heritage Foundation estimates that it costs taxpayers $25 billion a year simply to maintain these unused properties. Let's embark on a 10 year sell-off thereby saving us at least that much every year.

5. NEA and PBS: $584 million. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a luxury which we cannot afford. The hippy-dippy artsy-fartsy crowd needs to start paying their own way. The taxpayers aren't Medici Popes who need to commission grand monuments to their legacy. Ditto for public broadcasting. Maybe it made sense back when there were 3 networks and limited choice of media. But in today's Internet world there is no need for the federal government to subsize Big Bird. While we're cutting why not also ax the National Endowment for the Humanities and save another $140 million.

And for grins, let's throw in a 6^th which I just read about this morning.

6. Irish Government Bailout: $5 billion. Seriously? The American taxpayer is bailing out Ireland? I don't recall anybody stepping up to bail us out. Ever. Every time the Euroweenies get in trouble it seems like it's Uncle Sam who has to ride to the rescue. But they still look down their noses at us! It's past time for Europe to stand on its own 2 feet.

Total cuts? Just a wee bit under $145 billion. It really wasn't that hard.

The Heritage Foundation goes even further, proposing more than $343 billion in cuts.

So Mister Speaker, what will it be? Can we count on you to provide the leadership this country so sorely needs?

Posted at 14:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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And now, a look back at the 40 most obnoxious quotes of 2010

2010 produced a bumper crop of libtard idiocy. John Hawkins compiled 40 of their most vile utterances to unequivocally demonstrate the hatred, racism, mendacity, and utter looniness which they espouse on a daily basis.

Here's a sample.

I showed this list to a liberal friend and her retort was, "Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house!"

Except, no she can't, and more importantly Gov. Palin never said that. Tina Fey said it while portraying Palin on Saturday Night Live and the libtard echo chamber just assumed it was an original Palin quote. Why should they let the facts get in the way of a good narrative?

Yeah, limiting that list to 40 must have been tough.

Posted at 09:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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This school bus is brought to you by...

OK, here's a good idea.

Your child's yellow school bus will soon be a rolling billboard. NJ Governor Chris Christie has signed into law a measure granting cash-strapped school districts the right to sell advertising on their buses.

Really, what could go wrong?

Tobacco and alcohol are off limits, but what about Coke vs Pepsi? Viagra vs Cialis? (Nah, the moment probably isn't right.) Chevy Volt? Or BMW?

I don't suppose too many local school boards would be eager to approve an ad for Huntington Learning Centers! But that still leaves the door open for lots of possibilities.

The wheels on the bus go round and round thanks to Michelin because so much is riding on those tires!

Forgot your lunch? Papa John's delivers!

Hmmm. Maybe they'd better run that one by Michelle Obama first.

Southwest Airlines: Failed your math test? Wanna get away?

Two buses side by side; one's a Mac, the other's a PC. Awkward!

Hey, if Apple renames it the iBus is there an app for that?

Our kids are already bombarded with advertising. The sad truth is they probably won't even notice whatever new cruft is plastered on the outside of their bus. But I'm sure some parent somewhere will sooner or later be outraged about something he feels is inappropriate and then the lawsuits will fly.

Free Initial Consultation! No recovery, no fee! Call 1-800-WE-SUE-4-U! Operators are standing by!

Of course they are.

UPDATE 07 Jan 2011 17:05:
Wouldn't you know, we've spotted the first school bus ad.

My wife posted this picture on Facebook today.

See? I told you guys the ads would be tasteless!

Posted at 16:38 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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There are no annoying seatbelt dings in Limo Force One?

Every car in America is required to ding or beep incessently until you buckle your seatbelt. It's the most annoying sound on the planet.

Curiously that Federal requirement does not extend to President Obama's limousine.

And all throughout New Jersey towns run seatbelt checkpoints ("Click it or Ticket") during which they rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for non-compliance.

I'm pretty sure there isn't a "President Obama" exemption written into the seatbelt law, in DC or NJ.

But of course laws are only for us little people. Nobody's about to write Barry a ticket, not even those sanctimonious ticket blitzers in the Cedar Grove PD.

So, since I now know it's possible to turn that stupid ding off (I can't believe Barry and his family ride around in a car which constantly nags them to buckle up) I'm gonna demand that the dealer turn it off in my car too.

If freedom means anything it means that no bureaucrat should be able to dictate that a car which I paid for can annoy the living crap out of me on a daily basis. It should mean that, right? But no, I won't hold my breath.

Posted at 10:02 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Why does Elizabeth Warren hate women and poor people?

Her new Consumer Financial Protection Board doesn't officially go live until July but Elizabeth Warren is already having an effect on how banks operate. Legislation and regulations she championed which limit the fees banks can charge have resulted in, for lack of a better term, "unintended consequences."

For starters, free checking is about to go the route of the Dodo Bird.

Who is most likely to need free checking with low (or no) minimum balance? Poor people. Oops. I guess Elizabeth Warren hates poor people. Sorry, no bank accounts for you! We've got to protect morons who can't balance their checkbooks from being charged for their laziness!

But wait, there's more…

She apparently hates women too; her credit card regulations require that a non-working spouse can no longer use her husband's income to qualify for credit.

I'd say "oops" again, but to be fair feminists loathe stay-at-home moms so this latest swipe at their unwillingness to embrace the radical sisterhood comes as no surprise. It is feminist dogma that women must work outside the home to empower their rejection of the patriarchal family unit.

But still you have to wonder why Elizabeth Warren is so gung-ho to disenfranchise so many folks from the banking system. Someone could have asked her about that if Barry and Harry had ever bothered to submit her nomination for Senate approval. But they were too busy ramming through mountains of legislation that nobody read to bother with such trivialities.

When it comes to liberals, progressives, and feminists, intentions are what matter, not actual results.

UPDATE 05 Jan 2011 22:58:
Instalanche!

Welcome Instapundit readers. Thanks for visiting my little corner of the blogosphere. Please take a moment to explore the site and experience blogging the Jersey way!

UPDATE 06 Jan 2011 10:19:
Also linked by Theo Spark and Motor City Times.

Thanks guys!

Posted at 10:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/feminists]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree

61% of Americans are dumber than a box of hammers.

That's the only conclusion I can draw from a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released on Monday.

Sixty-one percent of Americans polled would rather see taxes for the wealthy increased as a first step to tackling the deficit, the poll showed.

Alternative conclusion — the people at 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair have a congenital case of cranial-rectal syndrome.

Take your pick.

But wait, I hear you cry. The rich need to pay their fair share!

Let's see now. The top 1% of all income earners in the U.S. pay 40.4% of the total taxes collected.

In contrast, 36% of all Americans filing tax returns pay absolutely nothing into the system. Even worse, a typical married couple filing a joint return can now make over $50,000 with two children and pay zero in federal income tax.

How? Refundable tax credits, that's how. The 2010 earned income credit is as high as $5,666 for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children. This is in addition to the $1,000 per child tax credit. That's $8,666 which comes out of some rich guy's pocket only to be redistributed to someone else.

There's a word for a person who does that sort of thing without the imprimateur of a government program — thief.

Unfortunately there are all too many thieves out there, chomping at the bit to tell 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair how much they love that Robin Hood fellow.

How much more can "the rich" pay? Who's to say they'll stand by and let themselves be taxed into penury? Rich people have an uncanny ability to remain rich. That is, they adjust their actions and efforts in order to minimize their tax burden. Really, they do.

Twenty years ago Congress passed a luxury tax on yachts. And suddenly nobody bought yachts. The yacht business went belly up. The carpenters and electricians who built the yachts, the dealers who sold the yachts, the marinas who berthed the yachts, all soon lost their jobs.

The exact same thing happened when the class warriors decided to tax private jets. Thousands of people in the general aviation industry were put out of work.

No worries, right? We'll just find another group of rich people to tax. Sooner or later the money will come rolling in! Someone has to pay for all these entitlement benefits and it sure ain't gonna be us!

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

The end is nigh.

Posted at 08:57 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ Dems version of bipartisanship: do what we want

Well ain't this rich. NJ Democrat legislative leaders are calling on Governor Christie to work with them to enact a plethora of new bills they say will help create new jobs in our state.

"Our Republican colleagues in the Legislature and the governor have an opportunity here. They have an opportunity to show that we stand together to help the working men and women of New Jersey," said Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex). "They need to support this legislation. We've heard chattering in the background already raising questions as to whether or not there s going to be a partisan battle on Thursday."

Did she say it with a straight face. Because that would take more nerve than cheap veal cutlet. Hey Babs, where's the toolkit? You know, the legislation Chris Christie needs in order to lower our property taxes? Where? Languishing in committee, buried by Sheila Oliver? What, you thought we'd forget?

You don't really believe that your bogus 2% cap with more holes than swiss cheese was gonna cut it, did you? There's like 30 some odd bills in Christie's package; and he's been pretty patient while you and your cronies pretend to do your "due diligence".

But now based on nothing more than the opinion of the most lefty liberal think-tank in the known universe you want us to believe you've found the silver bullet which will cure all our ills?

ROFLMAO!

Yeah, I'm sure you're all about "bipartisanship". Not!

Sorry Toots. Steve Sweeney killed that particular meme when he decided to play brinksmanship with Governor Christie's nominations for the State Supreme Court. That little fiasco is about to blow up in all your faces. When Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto retires later this year it'll be the Democrats sitting squarely in the obstructionist's seat as the judicial vacancies stack up.

Oh, but in the interests of "bipartisanship" I'm sure you'll have some cockamamie solution to that situation too. One that no doubt involves Christie doing everything you want done. That there is the Democratic Party definition of bipartisanship in a nutshell — do what we want and someday we might throw you a bone.

Not this time Babs.

"The bottom line is that you've got to at some point take a proactive step," said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union).

You're a laugh riot there Joey. Chris Christie took a proactive step nearly a year ago. Hello, McFly, is anybody home? Pass the toolkit kids. That would be proactive.

We did things your way for far too long. Look where it got us! So stop stalling.

Come November the entire state legislature is up for re-election. Maybe you guys should ask Nancy Pelosi how it feels to ignore the will of the people.

Posted at 17:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunset for the Criminals of Camelot

In another auspicious omen for 2011 Wednesday will mark the first time since 1947 that a member of the Kennedy family has not held federal office. Good riddance to bad rubbish! The Criminals of Camelot have been a pox on this great nation for far too long.

Was John F. Kennedy a great president? Not by me. When part of his legacy includes trying to stop the landmark March on Washington and having his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, bug Martin Luther King's hotel rooms and tap his phones? When he effectively renounced his Catholic faith in a deal with the devil to attain the highest office in the land?

No, their public personae were carefully tailored but the Kennedy clan ruthlessly sought power and prestige for themselves, and only for themselves.

Ask not what the Kennedys could do for America, demand everything America could do for the Kennedys.

And more. Even in death Ted Kennedy still suckles at the public teat. Massachusetts lawmakers have already siphoned off $38 million dollars from the Department of Defense budget to construct the Temple of Ted, aka the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

It's purpose is no doubt to train future generations of Kennedys in the fine art of demagoguery for fun and profit. For instance, they were for the Vietnam War before they were against it. JFK started it! But it was only after Northeastern liberals turned dovish that the Kennedys switched sides. Notorious anti-Semite Joe Kennedy's apples didn't fall far from the tree until it became politically expedient to embrace Israel.

Even on the Democrats' signature issue — health care reform — Ted Kennedy was sneeringly duplicious. He torpedoed Jimmy Carter's efforts on that score because it paid insufficient homage to the Princes of Camelot.

The man who boasted "For four decades I have carried this cause -- from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country" wanted to be damn sure it was his legacy, and his alone. There's no room in Camelot for Southern peanut farmers. Or any other lesser Americans.

Washington DC without a Kennedy? Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment.

Posted at 11:11 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My latest RWN post: Happy New Year to your FSA and HSA from ObamaCare

Good News Comrades! Hidden in ObamaCare are some pretty nasty revisions to how your Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts work. As in they're going to be working a whole lot less for you and a whole lot more for Uncle Sam.

Read it an weep via my latest post over at Right Wing News.

And while you're there don't miss William Teach on how Obama Says To Hold Him Accountable In 2011. Yeah, we can hold Barry accountable alright. It'll just take 12 patriots and a courageous prosecutor. The word you're looking for is Treason.

Posted at 15:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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2011 is going to be The Year Of The Wolverines!

Remember the movie Red Dawn? Patrick Swayze portrayed the leader of a ragtag group of Americans determined to repell a Russian / Cuban invasion force. Their signature tag line — Wolverines! — made the film a cult classic.

Bob Belvedere adapted it (the slogan, not the movie) for the Tea Party.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

On November 3^rd we delivered the message. Loud and clear.

But did they listen? Hell no! We saw the unvarnished leftist, liberal, progressive agenda laid bare and rejected it for the fraud that it is. But Barack Obama and Harry Reid still don't believe that America said "no".

They're proud of cramming so many new entitlements down our throats. They really believe they've achieved "historic" results. Yet, their approval rating stands at 13%.

"Never has a Congress done so much and been so despised for it."

It is time to consign progressivism and it's dream of an egalitarian entitlement state to the ash heap of history. The dream is in reality a nightmare, one which our grandchildren's grandchildren will still be paying for if we don't stop it dead in its tracks. Now. ObamaCare is the straw which broke the voters' back. We need only look at Greece to see our future if this atrocity is not repealed.

Yes we won a major battle. But their lame duck shenanigans show the progressives aren't beaten yet. 2011 is the year when the rubber meets the road. House Republicans have got to do everything they can to derail ObamaCare, foil any and all of Dear Leader's socialist initiatives, and most importantly find a way to get Americans working again.

Remember the rallying cry — Wolverines!

Our cause is just.

Our nation is in peril and we must rise to the occasion.

We will Live Free or Die.

God Bless America.

Posted at 12:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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