It's 27 degrees outside and 46 degrees inside my house, hey PSEG where are my electrons?

Well the good news is, my office has power. The bad news is, everybody here is dead in the water at home. Caldwell, Bloomfield, West Orange, Nutley, Cedar Grove are all dark, and cold.

And nobody has even seen a PSEG truck. The company claims they have crews working around the clock. Maybe that means they're all "working" around some big clock somewhere.

The official estimate says I won't have power at home until Thursday morning.

Brrr.

Schools are closed today, and probably tomorrow too. There are trees down everywhere. My back yard looks like a war zone. Many roads are still blocked, but again, we don't hear any chain saws going and nobody seems to be in any particular hurry to clear them away.

Where's Essex County in all of this? They're supposed to be the guys coordinating "emergency management." No shelters are open though, County Executive Joseph "Joe D" DiVincenzo is too busy arranging his special Howl-o-Ween event at Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange to be bothered with trivialities like downed trees and frozen residents.

How do I know this? Because The Patch asked him. "Absolutely," Howl-o-Ween is on. Shelters? Find out from your municipal officials what their plans are, Joe D doesn't have any info on that. But he "thinks" Cedar Grove and Verona are going to open something.

Yeah, I love paying County taxes. Don't you?

Blogging will be sporadic. AT&T's 3G service is down too. So, no Facebook or Twitter either. Verizon is up; I don't know what AT&T's malfunction is. My BlackBerry doesn't even have phone service. And of course the battery in my FiOS doohickey died a few hours after the power went out. So no landlines at home either. Didn't Ma Bell used to know how to deliver -48VDC come hell or high water? Did they forget?

It's like we've been transported back to the 1820's.

Worst of all, Halloween is gonna be a total bust. It's not safe to walk the streets, and it's too cold for most costumes. Sophie is beside herself because she loves Halloween. Some towns are moving trick-or-treating to Friday. Maybe we can ask Joe D if the county could coordinate that.

Posted at 11:08 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Clifton, NJ protection racket puts the kibosh on popular Halloween display

The police are really concerned about your safety. Which they'll gladly ensure, if you hire off-duty officers to direct traffic.

I saw it last weekend; it was awesome.

This Halloween weekend, the city has posted no parking signs around the neighborhood as a safety measure.

Uh huh, safety.

"The city reached out to me at one point trying to find out how they could mitigate complications of last year of which I'm not sure what they were speaking of because there were no traffic accidents that I'm aware of and no injuries that I'm aware of," [Homeowner Wayne] Gangi told 1010 WINS. "But they were trying to insist that I be paying off-duty police officers to control the traffic in front of my home."

I can just imagine how that conversation went. "Nice little Halloween display you got there, be a shame if nobody got to see it."

Go ahead, tell me that isn't a page right out of Tony Soprano's Shakedown 101 playbook.

The only difference is, when the cops do it, it's legal.

Posted at 10:07 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Because when I think Occupy Wall Street, I think Public Masturbation

Well yes, I do think they're a bunch of jerk-offs, but this is ridiculous.

In Madison, Wisconsin the, er, protests, have gotten out of hand.

A neighboring hotel's staff alleged voiced concerns about having to recently escort hotel employees to and from bus stops late at night due to inappropriate behavior, such as public masturbation, from street protesters.

Yeah, Occupy Wall Street is exactly like the Tea Parties.

Via Instapundit who wryly notes: "Thank you, Madison, for increasing the amount of Google search traffic we get for the term 'public masturbation.'"

I'm happy to be doing my part to help their Google search rankings. Because why should Occupy Wall Street be only about mental masturbation, when the cheezed-off wankers of Madison, Wisconsin are putting all hands on ... deck.

Posted at 21:13 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, The I Got Nuthin' And Neither Does Barry Edition

Has this little exercise in political sarcasm run its course yet? Nobody links it, and hardly any of you read it. The news, it ain't never good, and the Democrats aren't even trying to do anything about it.

Dare I run a poll? Hey, why not.

While we await the results of this pointless plebiscite, here's what passes for economic news on the weekend before Halloween.

Whirlpool is cutting another 5,000 jobs from its U.S. workforce, citing lackluster demand for appliances like washing machines and refrigerators. Seeing as how the unofficial theme song for Occupy Wall Street is Dire Straits' Money For Nothing I can't help but note the "look at them yo-yo's" metaphor.

We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour T.V.'s

That ain't workin'…!

You know what else ain't workin'? Regulations. There are too darn many of 'em, and they're way too complicated. Compliance costs are killing small business. Big businesses already have armies of lawyers. But the little guy? Every dime he spends on lawyers leaves him less money to hire you.

Of course that's not the kind of thing they think about in D.C. Remember their motto?

"If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
— Ronald Reagan

Not what I'd call a formula for success. Unless you measure "success" by reams of paper pushed.

Unexpectedly (dontcha just love how the bad news is always "unexpected?") consumer confidence has tumbled to a 2½ year low, and home prices remain stagnant. It's gonna be a bleak Christmas this year kids. Maybe Santa will bring us a new president.

Posted at 14:59 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Up on the shelf, it's a fruit, it's a vegetable, No!, it's Super Broccoli!

Really, Super Broccoli. Because you know you've been waiting for it.

And here I always it was beans that were good for your heart.

Cue the Michelle Obama school lunch mandate in 3…, 2…, 1…

Posted at 09:19 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ Democrats campaign mailer attacks GOP lawmaker for surviving cancer treatment

Cancer didn't kill NJ State Assemblyman Peter Biondi. So according to the Democrats currently running against him in the 16th legislative district, that's a black mark on his record because he missed a few votes.

Way to stay classy Democrats! Nice campaign slogan you got there — Vote for Marie Corfield and Joseph Camarta because Pete Biondi didn't die!

Meanwhile, Gabby Giffords was unable to comment.

Posted at 13:54 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obamanomics meets student loans. Who pays? The taxpayer of course!

So Barry's got a sop to the Occupy Wall Street commies (and a shameless play for the youth vote) — revamped student loan repayment rules.

Wouldn't want the little dears paying too much, right? College should be free! And after 20 years, it will be.

Under the plan, student debt will also be forgiven after 20 years.

I'm speechless. That degree in Underwater Basket Weaving ain't worth the paper it's printed on, but even if you spent $200,000 to get it you're home free. Just wait 20 years and the American taxpayer will pick up the tab!

Anybody who pays off his student loans (or his mortgage) is a chump. Barack Obama is here to give us free money! Because if we don't re-elect him, personal responsibility might actually rear its ugly head again. And of course we can't have that, it wouldn't combat income inequality.

The inmates are running the asylum.

Posted at 07:49 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Democrat supercommittee math, cut the deficit by spending more money

I do believe the Democrats can't do math. Their representatives to the 12-member "supercommittee" have presented their Republican colleagues with a unique plan — cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade by adding hundreds of billions in new spending.

Yeah you read that right. Democrats believe we can spend our way into savings.

They're looking at around $300 billion in new Porkulus spending. But it's all for show; they're posturing in an effort to paint Republicans as "unreasonable."

Democratic aides, meanwhile, privately expressed little hope that a big deal is possible. They said Senate Democrats might be setting the stage to paint themselves as good-faith negotiators and to lay blame for the failure to reach agreement at the feet of Republicans.

Leadership. Not a word in the Democrats' vocabulary.

Of course, what else would you expect from a group of lawmakers that hasn't passed an actual budget in nearly three years?

Tax and spend is all they know. When that doesn't work, and clearly it hasn't worked, they're out of ideas. So partisan hackery it is! The fact that sane and intelligent people vote for these clowns is proof that insanity is contagious.

Posted at 20:03 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Elizabeth Warren, Grandma to Occupy Wall Street

Well, she called it. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senate candidate from Massachusetts and erstwhile protector of the common woman, claims that she is the intellectual impetus behind Occupy Wall Street.

Way to own that anti-Semitism!

Class warfare? Hey, Elizabeth Warren is all over that shit!

I guess it's only a matter of time before she poops on a police car.

You know, I was wondering why I kept getting hits on "Why does Elizabeth Warren hate women and poor people?" even after Barry chose someone less radical to impose a whole new layer of regulations on Wall Street. Now we find out, Elizabeth Warren isn't content to regulate the big banks, she wants to shut them down and redistribute their assets!

Scott Brown may be a feckless RINO, but even he isn't that stupid.

Posted at 08:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The end of an era, Obama Administration dismantling the last B53, our biggest atomic bomb

Our nuclear arsenal will get significantly smaller today when the last B53 nuclear bomb is dismantled by the Department of Energy.

I suppose the peaceniks will say that we're "safer" now. On the other hand, isn't there a hostile nation with a facility "deep underground" that's the cause of much consternation as of late? And isn't that nation led by an apocalyptic madman hell-bent on initiating a nuclear war? Wouldn't we want some kind of credible deterrent at the ready, and maybe a surefire way to send their holy warriors off to meet Allah before they go and get all jihadi on us?

Personally I think that we're about to be caught with our pants down, and there won't be anything left in reserve to save our sorry asses.

Then there's this:

Since it was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, developing a disassembly process took time. Engineers had to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety.

When it comes to how to make these things, we forgot. How's that for planning ahead? We can take it apart, but like Humpty Dumpty all the King's horses and all the King's men can't put the B53 back together again.

Sure, I feel much safer now.

Posted at 09:50 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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It's almost like they expected the guys dispensing "medical" marijuana to be Boy Scouts

Sometimes I just scratch my head in wonderment at the credulity of our news media. Today's Sunday Star-Ledger, page one above the fold: Vetting of proposed N.J. pot dispensary seems hazy.

It took them 3,000+ words, but the bottom line is this — the guys signing up to dispense "medical" marijuana aren't Boy Scouts.

No shit Sherlock.

The "grower?" He got his "degree" from The Cannabis College of Amsterdam, a joke online "school."

"Remember, it's just for fun!" Get a 90 or better on the 20-question quiz, which even asks how long it takes to get high off of "space cakes," and you can print your very own "Diploma of Higher Education." Don't pass the first time? No worries, just hit reload and try again.

OK, so maybe you don't really need to be a certified horticulturalist to grow pot. But you'd think the medical advisory board would be on the up and up, right?

Wrong!

Only one small problem. Tiny really. Nobody is "authorized to prescribe medical marijuana" yet. Dr. Martirosov is jumping the gun! But he did garner himself a catchy web site name. Could be useful, if he ever gets his pot dispensary off the ground.

There's another problem though, Dr. Martirosov is being sued by Allstate for insurance fraud. I know, it's hard to believe, a guy looking to sell dope skates along the edge of the law. The lawsuit "alleges a sophisticated medical billing scheme that involved runners, or individuals paid to bring in patients, and a tangled web of medical corporations engaging in fraud."

But wait, there's more! The dudes financing "medical" marijuana aren't known for their fiduciary fortitude.

[T]wo directors went bankrupt [and] the foundation is linked to a training school for marijuana growers recently suspended in Colorado.

Yeah, about that Colorado connection, state officials suspended their operations when it was discovered all the principals involved had extensive criminal records.

Again, hard to believe, right? Criminals involved in the marijuana trade!

I mean, a child could have seen this coming. Yet the Star-Ledger acts like it's a news flash. They're shocked, Shocked!, to find that the people dispensing "medical" marijuana aren't upstanding medical professionals dedicated to upholding the Hippocratic Oath. Just like the illegal dope trade, the supposedly legit pot growers are a bunch of two-bit hustlers and shady characters with dubious connections.

It's time to end the charade. "Medical" marijuana is a joke. It's a scam perpetrated by aging stoners who are too lazy to keep driving into Newark or Irvington to score some lids. They're counting on a doctor's note to keep them in weed without the risk of getting ripped off by some street punk. They'll trade a scumbag on the corner for a lowlife behind a counter, and laugh all the way to 7-11 for more Oreos.

We have two choices. Keep marijuana illegal, or end the farce and just sell pot to anyone and everyone. Put it in CVS, behind the counter with the Marlboro Lights and Playboy magazines. Tax the hell out of it and stop pretending pot has any medicinal value. It's a recreational drug like nicotine or alcohol and adults ought to be able to handle it responsibly.

Those that can't? Well, they'll keep the Doritos man busy restocking his shelves. At least until Mom kicks them out of the basement.

Posted at 21:53 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Lech Walesa says "Nie" to Occupy Wall Street

Lech Walesa won't be marching in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street commies after all. He thought they were his kind of guys, but when he found out the truth, he said "Nie!"

I wondered why Mr. Walesa would lend his name to those commie hippies, and it turns out he was misinformed and only temporarily led astray.

The more we know about Occupy Wall Street the less it look like "The 99%."

Posted at 15:33 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the Stimulate Finland edition

Well whaddaya know, Obama can create jobs! In Finland.

In a stunningly wasteful move, apparently made with no research, the Obama administration approved a loan to Fisker Karma, makers of sporty electric vehicles. that can't even be produced in the US.

When the label says "Made in Finland," you know it's got the Obama Seal Of Approval!

Why do I smell some kind of UAW work rule silliness behind this fiasco?

Speaking of outsourcing, Federal stimulus money for Oregon jobs hired foreign workers.

At least $7 million in federal stimulus money intended to provide jobs to unemployed Oregonians instead paid wages to 254 foreign workers. Your tax dollars at work under Obama.

Hey, it's only evil when Boeing does it!

Initial jobs claims did decline last week, although they remain stubbornly above 400,000. This is good news, right? Well, maybe. Those initial estimates always get revised upward in a week or 2. Always.

And then there's the underemployment rate which continues to soar.

The Obama presidency, his effects are unprecedented! That is if you don't remember Jimmah Carter. For those of us who unfortunately do, the Misery Index is a familiar statistic, and it's now at a 28 year high. Reinforcing the Carter metaphor — shrinking incomes.

Bottom line: The average individual now has $1,315 less in disposable income than he or she did three years ago at the onset of the Great Recession — even though the recession ended, technically speaking, in mid-2009. That means less money to spend at the spa or the movies, less for vacations, new carpeting for the house, or dinner at a restaurant.

I'm sure that somehow it's all George Bush's fault.

Finally for the week, nostalgia for Bill Clinton? Ayup. William Jacobson's wife found a, uh, stimulating bumper sticker on a car near their house in Ithaca. Trust me, it's worth a click.

Posted at 11:03 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Yes, we live in a police state: NYPD can confiscate your Halloween decorations

The NYPD has an interesting take on "free speech." They can't do anything about the drum-banging rabble in Zuccotti Park because the filty hippies have "rights," but by golly if somebody in Brooklyn gets his nose out of joint over some Halloween decorations, NYPD is johnny on the spot.

A Brooklyn homeowner hung a scarecrow by a rope from a tree in his yard. A local councilman decided it was "racist," mainly because it reminded him of "lynching." Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't — several neighbors said the homeowner really gets into Halloween and meant no harm.

But in Brooklyn there is a Right To Not Be Offended.

Got that? It's "offensive" so NYPD confiscated it. From private property. Without Due Process.

That my friends is the very definition of fascism.

UPDATE 21 Oct 2011 18:29:
Linked by The Daley Gator. Thanks!

Another important point is that Charles Barron is a vile racist himself, just Goggle him, see what you find. It is always the Leftists like Barron who are trampling basic liberties for their own gain.

I knew that name was familiar. Good grief. Charles Barron is a race-baiter of the first order. And, he's a fan of Robert Mugabe. Yes, that Robert Mugabe, the murderous dictator who's utterly destroyed the great nation formerly known as Rhodesia. That makes Charles Barron a complete buffoon in my book.

Posted at 16:07 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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I told you we should have put Steve Jobs in charge of education

Via Instapundit I noticed this excerpt from Steve Jobs' forthcoming biography. During a meeting with President Obama he was characteristically blunt:

Jobs criticized America's education system, saying it was "crippled by union work rules," noted Isaacson. "Until the teachers' unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform." Jobs proposed allowing principals to hire and fire teachers based on merit, that schools stay open until 6 p.m. and that they be open 11 months a year.

If only we'd put Steve Jobs in charge of education.

Posted at 11:20 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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It's the end of the world as we know it! Again. Doomsday Dude says today's the day.

Well it's October 21^st. According to Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping, who really, really, really means it this time, the world will end today.

So, if you're reading this, chances are the world didn't end. Tough break there Rev, I know you were looking forward to it.

Although every morning when I wake up and Obama is still president it feels like the end of the world, so I kinda sympathize with the old guy.

Posted at 09:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Another rat abandons the sinking SS Obama

Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes says sayonara to Captain Hope'n'Change.

Run away....!

Posted at 12:17 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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"Confidence without ability is dangerous"

Just when you thought there was enough NFL coaching drama for the week along comes Rex Ryan. As I walked into work this morning another fellow asked, "did you hear what Rex Ryan said yesterday?" Um, no, not yet, but a quick check of NJ.com led me to this: Open mouth, insert foot.

I laughed and told him that's typical Rex Ryan, exuding confidence no matter what. It's kind of a necessary trait for a head coach. To which my friend, who's a bit of a philosopher, said something that struck me as profound:

"Confidence is great if you have something to back it up, but confidence without ability is dangerous."

Yeah, Exhibit A: Barack Obama.

"I guarantee it's going to be a close election [in 2012] because the economy is not where it wants to be and, even though I believe all the choices we've made have been the right ones, we're still going through difficult circumstances," the president said.

Sheesh, no second guessing? No regrets? No mistakes?

Must be nice, eh?

Even Rex Ryan knows when he's been beaten. He learns from his mistakes, and yes he admits it when he's wrong. Ryan called Norv Turner (coach of the Chargers) to clarify his remarks. And Turner good-naturedly jabbed back:

"I hadn't seen his quote and I was a little bit surprised by the call," Turner said. "And then after I saw the quote, I didn't have a chance to ask him this, but I was wondering if he had those rings with the ones he's guaranteed the last couple of years."

I wonder what Norv Turner would say to President Zero.

"C'mon man!"

Posted at 10:31 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Rick Perry embraces flat tax, entitlement reform

At last, it's the discussion we ought to be having — comprehensive tax code and entitlement reform. Herman Cain opened the door with his 9-9-9 plan, and now Rick Perry has picked up the gauntlet by embracing the concept of a flat tax.

You gotta love a guy who takes a swipe at TurboTax Timmy. And one who's not afraid to touch the proverbial Third Rail:

"The second part of my plan involves the serious commitment to spending, realizing alternatives" to the path taken by Europe, Perry said. In this vein, the Texas governor went on to affirm his commitment to "reforming entitlements, preserving those commitments to those who are on Social Security … and those approaching the age of retirement."

Even crusty old Ron Paul could suddenly find relevence; he's got a plan to trim more than $1 Trillion from the federal budget, and wonder of wonders it's not entirely full of crackpot ideas.

It's about time the GOP got around to seriously talking about real, significant changes to how our government collects and spends our money. The status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable. Some kind of flat tax, or vastly simplified graduated tax plan, is the key to getting America back on track. It gets the government out of the business of picking winners and losers, and it eliminates the need to view every economic decision through the lens of tax policy.

Perry's allusion to Europe is telling. European socialism is the blueprint for Barack Obama's America; he'd turn us into Greece in a heartbeat if he could. We don't need to keep finding new ways to fund our entitlements; we need to grow our economy enough to reset people's expectations vis-a-vis governmental wealth transfer. Folks have to relearn the concept of self-reliance, and it's a whole lot easier to do that when the government isn't confiscating a huge chunk of your paycheck.

That's the kind of message the Republicans need to put forth, and I'm glad Herman Cain and Rick Perry are driving the discussion in the right direction.

Posted at 16:59 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Good news Comrades, our national Ponzi Scheme will increase payouts by 3.5% next year

Great news Geezers! Your governmental wealth transfer payments will go up next year by an average of 3.5 percent. It's your first increase in 3 years!

And to almost no one's surprise, the Keynesians are trumpeting the benefits of additional "stimulus."

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the COLA would give a boost to consumer spending next year, amounting to about $25 billion in government support, or 0.2 percent more economic growth, if beneficiaries spend it all.

Don't you dare put that money in your mattress!

Twenty five billion doesn't sound like much when we're talking about the trillions in debt racked up by President Zero. But it's $25 billion more that we have to confiscate from productive members of our society, or borrow from the Chinese. Rob Peter to pay Paul, or borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Either way it's not "new" money. So that whole stimulus thing is bogus, and you know it.

The game is rigged too.

All the reward with none of the risk! Don't you wish your 401(k) worked like that? I don't know about you but these days my 401(k) is more like a 201(k). Where's those Class Warfare dudes when you need 'em?

Now the cynic in me says President Madoff rigged the inflation numbers to buy votes. He certainly isn't counting on Pay As You Go seeing as how he's advocating yet another annual payroll tax holiday, which buys votes too.

Let's see, less income and more outgo. Yup, this Ponzi Scheme is unsustainable, but that's par for the course in an election year.

UPDATE 19 Oct 2011 12:08:
The official increase was just announced, it clocks in at 3.6%.

Posted at 08:03 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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What every budding Alinskyite needs: The "I'm Getting Arrested" Android App

When The Man's got you down, and your one phone call isn't enough, the Android Marketplace is here to help.

Because that whole "peaceful protest" thing is so not what the #OWS commies are all about. They're putting on The Full Alinsky and they'll stop at nothing, including tying up the NYC court system with frivolous jury trials just because they can. And it beats looking for a job.

As for the Tea Party, they never seem to have needed an app like this. Go figure. Maybe an "I'm Getting Beaten To A Pulp By SEIU Thugs" App, but curiously I don't seem to see that one listed anywhere.

Posted at 14:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Free Speech for thee but not for me?

One of the most insidious and disingenuous inventions to be born of the progresive left's existential mendacity is the concept of "hate speech." Words are words; stick and stones and all that, right? Nope. When right-wingers use a word it means precisely what any liberal in earshot might pretend that it means, and it always means that their precious feelings have been hurt. Definitions are fungible, and co-opted "code words" are a minefield of -phobia inducing reprobation.

The speech police are legion, but their mission isn't to counter ideas with better ideas. Their mission is to silence anyone and anything which they consider offensive. "Free Speech" is a right, alas only exercisable by those persons who hold acceptably conforming viewpoints.

My friend Donald Douglas is under attack. Zilla has the details, which aren't pretty, and two other friends, Smitty and Bob Belvedere, stand in solidarity with him. As do I. Those who disagree with Donald are not trying to challenge his ideas; they're determined to destroy his livelihood and his reputation with lies and attacks upon his employer.

Donald was the first guy to link WyBlog, way back when I was starting out. And he got me hooked on Twitter too. He's a gentleman and a scholar; really. We don't always agree, but that's OK. Disagreeing without being disagreeable seems to be purely a right-wing / conservative trait. The politics of personal destruction was invented by the Left, and they're masters at it. Silence is Golden, unless it's their own shrill cacaphony which of course must be tolerated by all.

If Free Speech is to mean anything it absolutely must mean that the other guy has the inalienable right to say things you don't like. There is no right to not be offended. Sorry, but that's the truth.

But when you're raising the second (or third) generation of brats who were taught that feelings and self-esteem matter more than achievement it's impossible to avoid their narcissistic bouts of righteous indignation. People who believe they can "save the planet" aren't particularly prone to engaging in the kind of introspection which leads to true maturity and the development of what we used to call "character." To them everything is an injustice which can only be righted by elimination of its source. It is the worldview of a toddler and it has become the de facto standard under which we are forced to operate. Hate Speech is in the ear of the listener, even if she never actually heard it in the first place.

Want another example? Take Viki Knox, the Union, NJ high school teacher who dared to articulate the Christian doctrine regarding homosexuality. All the usual suspects are aggrieved, and naturally they're calling for her to be ousted from her job. Somehow any statement which doesn't praise homosexuality is "anti-gay hate speech," but there is no level of depravity which is off limits when fulminating against Christianity.

There's one of the progressive Left's most blatant incongruities — no member of a designated victim group is capable of slander. All their pronouncements must be viewed through a relativistic lens born of systemic oppression, racism, discrimination, etc. And the remedy is always the same, megaphones for them, and silence for us.

Well I won't be silent. And I won't stand idly by while good men like Donald Douglas are being pressured into silence. I doubt he'll cave, he's a pretty tough old cuss, but I'm sure that sometimes he wonders if the effort is worth the hassle. To which I'll say, "yes, yes it is." We must stand and fight for that which is Right and Just, even more so when the barbarians are at the gates.

Damn the torpedoes my friend, full speed ahead.

Posted at 11:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Yeah that's it Barry. We're just not as smart as you. Uh huh. Sure.

Barack Obama is the smartest darn president we've ever had. Really, just ask him. Us? Well, he thinks our problem is that we're too stupid to appreciate His Brilliancy.

President Obama launched a three-day bus tour through two states critical to his 2012 reelection campaign by kicking Senate Republicans for blocking his jobs bill, saying he is breaking up his plan because "maybe they just couldn't understand the whole thing at once."

Um, sure thing Chief. Tell me, will that be before, or after, you take another vacation and play a few more rounds of golf?

FOAD, jackass.

Posted at 14:47 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Three day BlackBerry outage? There's a free app for that

Look, I'm a computer guy. I get that sometimes "Shit Happens." And last week's worldwide BlackBerry outage was a pretty big deal. (Or, if Joe Biden were here, a Big Effing Deal.) I felt their pain. But don't insult me with platitudes and or try to placate your angry customers with worthless "free stuff." I'm not one of the commies in Zuccotti Park. I don't want free stuff. I want the reliable service I thought I was paying for.

So, color me underwhelmed:

Games? Their primary user base is business people like me, and they're honestly thinking that some stupid free games will somehow make us happy?

Fix your freakin' network, OK? And leave the games for the kiddies lined up to buy the latest iPhone.

Posted at 10:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My health insurance premium just got jacked up 18 percent. Thanks Obamacare!

Attached to my latest pay stub was a little love note from the gals in accounting. The annual increase for our medical plan is now due. My next paycheck will reflect the increased contribution of $459.23.

The current rate is $389.54. An eighteen percent increase. Since we're paid biweekly that works out to a new premium of just under 12 grand per year.

Thanks Obamacare! Way to keep those costs down!

You know what really irks me? If I lived in a state with sane politicians I could choose a less expensive plan. One that only covered catastrophic illness for instance, and left me to pay for routine stuff out of my own pocket. But New Jersey doesn't have sane politicans; we have guys like Dick Codey.

Dick Codey has probably done more to increase the cost of my health insurance than anyone else in Trenton. How? By pushing for laws mandating all sorts of "free" coverages in every health plan offered in our state. His greatest triumph involved requiring insurers to provide unlimited coverage for mental health and substance abuse. Seems that his wife suffered from bouts of postpartum depression, and like a good liberal he wasn't content with seeking a solution to her problem, he had to enact a law!

Then there was his infamous assertion that mental patients have a Constitutional Right to air conditioning. Because, you know, stuff like that is free. And of course he was a proponent of including "medical" marijuana in prescription drug coverage.

So thanks to Dick Codey my health insurance will pay for dope, and if I get hooked, it'll pay to wean me off the weed (in air-conditioned comfort) too!

I guess when you think of it like that, 12 grand a year is a bargain.

Posted at 13:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the "We're not here to create jobs" edition

After watching me flounder trying to make a point for the past 10 weeks, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz goes and steals my punch line.

Good to know Deb, good to know.

Maybe that's why Barry's Jobs Bill went down in bipartisan flames in the Senate this week. Yeah, I know the media is telling you it was "Republican obstructionism" which cratered it, but run that by Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Jon Tester (D-Montana). They voted against it.

No worries though, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Illinois) has a new plan. Suspend the Constitution! Rep. Jackson says the president should take "extra-Constitutional measures" and bypass Congress to create jobs. Yeah, if you're gonna suspend Congressional elections you might as well go whole hog and establish a dictatorship, right?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz … Jesse Jackson, Jr. … Bev Perdue … Hey Democrats, you voted for these bozos, what were you thinking?

Speaking of boneheaded Democrats, thanks to that DOJ raid on Gibson Guitars a whole bunch of American jobs are now headed overseas.

Gee, when Eric Holder isn't stimulating the Mexican drug trade by giving them free guns he's fast and furiously destroying one great American company after another. Best Attorney General Evah!

Finally for the week, How about some good news for a change? Teenagers, creating the jobs Debbie Wasserman Schultz won't!

Teen entrepreneurs are embracing the joys of Capitalism, starting businesses, creating jobs, career, and wealth. So move over you Occupy Wall Street protesters! Take for example 15-year old Tavi Gevinson, who created Rookie Magazine, a website that combines fashion and feminism launched last year is already becoming a commercial success. Or 14-year old Robert Nay, creator of Bubble Ball, an app game which can be downloaded to your iPhone. Leanna Archer at 15 is CEO of Leanna?s Natural Hair Products, a company she started at the age of 9 and has grown it to the point of going public and listing it on the NASDAQ. Mark Bao at 18 has had several successes already. From homework organizing software to his latest creation, Threewords.Me, an iPhone app for social networking. Another project, Support Breeze, may revolutionize the customer support industry. Lastly, we have Lizzie Marie Likness, who at the age of 11 runs Lizzie Marie Cuisine. She's been an aspiring chef since the age of 2, believe it or not, and her website is quite popular with recipes and cooking tips.

America is still the Land of Opportunity, …and little children will lead them…

Posted at 15:49 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Circling The Drain Watch: The New York Times plans more staff reductions

Pinch Sulzberger's media empire continues to shrink.

Twenty more New York Times newsroom staffers are facing the axe today mainly because "All the DNC talking points that we can fit in print" still isn't a viable business model.

I'm trying hard to feel bad.

OK, no, I'm not.

Posted at 19:40 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Noted anti-communist Lech Walesa will lend his support to #OccupyWallStreet commies

I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Yup, Lech Walesa is coming to make common cause with the commie protesters in Zuccotti Park.

He "understands?" What? Staring down Soviet communism is exactly like agitating for free college tuition? Or, once you've saved a country from the yoke of totalitarian oppression it's time to vilify the Jews?

If you must "respond" to a list of demands right out of Marxism 101, not to mention a puerile inability to clean up after themselves, may I suggest that the proper response is "get stuffed?"

What exactly about Big Lethargy is so enamoring to a statesman of Walesa's stature?

Mark Steyn: They're the most pampered, blinkered, narcissistic, useless generation in the history of Western civilization. And if they got their way, we would be living in the ruins of a once-glorious civilization. Now I have no quarrels with attacking Wall Street. I do it in my book. I think you can make the case that the American banking system is perhaps the most inept and dysfunctional in the G-7, for example. But these people have no solutions to that. These are people who want to create a society that actually obliges them to do nothing. They want to live a Western lifestyle without doing the work necessary to maintain that lifestyle. And if they were to get their way, we're all done for. And to listen to the president of the United States, the supposed leader of the supposed free world pandering to them, kissing up to them, saying that he understands their frustrations because he's frustrated, too, he should be ashamed of himself.

Yes, Mr. Walesa, by all means stand in solidarity with Hugo Chavez and a plethora of dilettante lefties. Just remember, they're the same kind of useful idiots who flocked to Josef Stalin's side. Birds of a feather, you know. Maybe that was before your time?

(What are the odds that the Memeorandum thread, which is currently populated with progbots cheering Walesa on, will pick me up?)

UPDATE 14 Oct 2011 10:39:
Linked at The Lonely Conservative. Thanks!

Posted at 14:37 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ teacher in hot water over online remarks concerning LGBT pride month

Free speech? Not when you're a Union Township high school teacher.

Naturally the perpetually aggrieved are, aggrieved.

Mr. Paragano must have been one heckuva judge seeing as how he's completely unaware of The First Amendment. Free Speech for me, but not for thee! Yeah, that's pretty much what the "gay rights" guys always say. It's their way or the highway. Oh, and bullying!

It has also prompted gay rights advocates to question the ability of teachers who express such views to enforce New Jersey's new anti-bullying law, adopted last spring in the wake of the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers student who killed himself after learning he had been watched, via webcam, having sex with another man.

You can think, "Ewwwww…" But you can't say "Ewwwww…" Not on Facebook anyway.

Seems to me I know who the bullies are here. And Viki Knox ain't one of 'em.

Posted at 11:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Cops impound the Detroit Lions' secret weapon - the Booty Bus

The Detroit Lions are 5 and 0. Maybe that's because they've found a whole new way to put the "tail" in tailgating. Until this week anyway. Parked outside of Ford Field was The Booty Lounge - a mobile strip club on a bus. Fans paid $10 a head to climb aboard for a show featuring topless dancers. Yeah, it was a hit.

So naturally, with the Lions emerging from their usual vortex of suckitude, the cops swooped in to shut the booty bus down.

Police say it was cited for not having a state safety inspection and because the driver didn't have a commercial license.

Sounds like the Crime of the Century to me. No safety inspection! I'll just bet that the cops were lined up to inspect the dancers. For their own safety, of course.

Bus operator Joe Parsons noted that Detroit has no ordinance against "mobile entertainment clubs."

The bus has been a fixture on the Lions' tailgating scene in Detroit's Eastern Market district since 2005. But, "Apparently the city of Detroit, now that the Lions are winning, wants to put license and regulations (on the bus)," Parsons said.

Well yeah. That's what politicians do.

Posted at 22:47 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Is a Mitt Romney nomination really "inevitable?"

That's POLITICO's take

Yeah, except…

At times Romney sounded petulant and snarky, and we've already got a president like that. When he refused to even consider that Europe's financial meltdown could impact America I thought, "is this guy deluded?" And his "I'm a leader" schtick came off as sanctimonious. Leaders aren't self-proclaimed, leadership is defined by actions, not words. Again, we've already got a "cult of personality" guy and we don't need another one.

Plus, Romney is still defending TARP. He tried to spin it by saying he wouldn't have included GM and the UAW and he'd have picked the recipients "carefully." So what? It's still government picking winners and losers. That's not the government's job.

Just an aside — is Charlie Rose the most insufferable debate moderator ever? Oh, and why did he enforce the time limits on everyone but Romney? Mittens could have talked for an hour while Charlie just sat their making goo-goo eyes like a teenager in love. But, he cut off Cain and Perry with ruthless efficiency.

Truthfully though I'm glad Romney kept bloviating. It helped me to learn a few things. Like that he's for a trade war with China. The Senate just passed Smoot-Hawley V2.0 and Mitt Romney thinks it's a swell idea. But when Rick Santorum tried to point out that Bernanke devalued our currency too (via round-after-round of "quantitative easing") Romney stared at him like he was from outer space. C'mon Mitt, you're a businessman, right? Surely you understand how inflation works?

Then at the end when Charlie Rose tried to play gotcha with a Reagan clip Romney took the bait. "I'm not worried about rich people, they can take care of themselves." Um, OK. But the whole "help the middle class" mantra sounds an awful lot like a repackaging of Barry's class warfare game. Santorum and Cain had sensible responses — make the US a better place to do business, and "jobs, jobs, jobs."

Can you tell that I'm not sold on President Romney? 'Cause I'm not. The problem is, I've kinda given up on Rick Perry, because he looks like he's given up on himself. He's made too many missteps, and last night he may as well have phoned it in for all the good his presence on stage did. If he can't articulate a coherent message now how's he gonna whup Barry's ass next November?

Now I'm starting to veer off into incoherence here. So for anybody still paying attention I'll just say, gack, none of these guys inspired me last night. I just have a sinking feeling that by lining up behind Mitt Romney we're heading for Bob Dole territory and four more years of President Zero. And can America really survive that?

Posted at 10:14 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Chris Christie will endorse Mitt Romney

Well, that didn't take long. Only a week after he bowed out of the 2012 GOP presidential sweepstakes Chris Christie is throwing his support behind the one guy who we all know isn't a true conservative. Mitt Romney.

Blech.

Posted at 14:34 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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#OccupyWallStreet irony alert: Protesters bemoan "protest freeloaders"

Well if this ain't rich:

Or as one obviously confused protester put it, "Some people haven't quite understood the message of why we're here."

Oh, I think they understand the message perfectly. Wealth Redistribution.

You guys want to take my stuff for yourselves ("Tax The Rich!"). But, you change your tune when somebody takes your stuff.

And the best part is you morons don't even get the irony.

Posted at 10:38 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The incredible shrinking NJ state government

I do believe that Christie fellow is starting to have an impact.

Two observations. There hasn't been any noticeable decrease in state services. In fact judging by the quite effective response to Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee I'd say the government is managing to get by with the people they have.

And, a drop of 3,000 out of 80,000 isn't even a 5% decrease in staffing. Most corporate workforces have endured multiple rounds of significantly larger cuts. A ten percent reduction ought to be Gov. Christie's next target; I'm sure there's still plenty of fat just waiting to be trimmed.

Posted at 12:54 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the same old, same old edition

The September unemployment numbers are out. No change. Maybe that's because the Congress hasn't passed Obama's jobs plan. Or maybe it's because nobody in the Congress wants to pass Obams's jobs plan. More likely though, it's because Obama's jobs plan is a whole lotta nothing.

In another stunning development, nearly half of Americans receive some form of government assistance.

This is actually Good News. Now we can eliminate the middleman! Everybody with a job takes in a layabout. He can sleep on the couch. The #OccupyWallStreet guys should be pleased, it's almost like mom's basement but with better meals.

Speaking of Occupy Wall Street, have you seen their latest poster child? It's a picture of a guy taking a dump on an NYPD squad car. No wonder these bozos are the butt of so many jokes!

Hey America, your president "sympathizes" with these vermin. Maybe he can air drop in some toilet paper.

OK, back to economic news. Home ownership has dropped to Depression-era levels. Some folks may never have a job again.

Nearly one-third of the unemployed -- nearly 4.5 million people -- have had no job for a year or more. That's a record high. Many are older workers who have found it especially hard to find jobs. And economists say their prospects won't brighten much even after the economy starts to strengthen and hiring picks up. Even if they can find a job, it will likely pay far less than their old ones did.

Hope and Change.

-----------
Previously:
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the Yup, It's Another Recession edition
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the Soap And Change Edition
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, expect the unexpected!
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the You Have To Pass This Bill Before I Write It Edition
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the nobody found a job last month edition
My Weekly Obama Jobs Report, the Steve Jobs laid himself off edition
I almost forgot, it's time for the weekly Obama Jobs Report
Regulations, regulations everywhere, and the job market continues to shrink

Posted at 18:50 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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I think Verizon's unions are planning to go on strike again

A few days before the last Verizon strike I started getting a ton of hits on this post from folks searching for "can I collect unemployment while on strike" and similar phrases. And when the strike came I wrote, "now I know where all those hits are coming from."

Well guess what? The search hits are back. In force this morning, including search terms like "Verizon strike." So if I was a betting man, I'd be betting on a new round of union temper tantrums and other classy maneuvers directed at Verizon's management any day now.

Posted at 12:32 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Somewhere Miguel Estrada and Robert Bork are smiling wistfully

Remember when our liberal friends swore that the filibuster was The Backbone of Democracy? Yeah, about that…

I'll admit I don't understand all the intricacies of the U.S. Senate Rules, but moments ago Harry Reid pulled the "nuclear option" in order to prevent Republicans from forcing Senate Democrats to vote on Obama's jobs bill.

Ah yes, the "nuclear option." It was in all the papers back in 2005. Seemed that the idea of Republicans invoking it to move some judicial nominations would have rended the very fabric of our republic.

But when Harry Reid actually goes and does it? He's some sort of hero for countering "obstructionism." Because forcing Democrats to go on record in opposition to Obama's job bill would hurt their, and his, chances for re-election. And of course we can't have that.

The Memeorandum thread oughta be good for a few laughs today as the liberal media ties themselves in knots trying to spin this one.

I'm with William Jacobson:

Who've we got running against Bob Menendez? 'Cause I wanna send him a check.

Posted at 09:48 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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If only we'd put Steve Jobs in charge of education...

Instapundit linked this observation about the late Steve Jobs and his impact on technology.

That old Motorola cinderblock would cost about $10,000 in 2011 dollars, and you couldn't play Angry Birds on it or watch Fox News or trade a stock. Once you figure out why your cell phone gets better and cheaper every year but your public schools get more expensive and less effective, you can apply that model to answer a great many questions about public policy.

Indeed. There is no incentive for government to be competitive. They get paid whether your child graduates and goes on to Harvard or he joins a gang and gets killed in a drive-by. Can you imagine an iPhone designed by the teachers union?

I once had a frustrating conversation with a die-hard, yet clueless liberal. She was gushing profusely about a grant some failing inner city schools had received to purchase a computer for each kid. I said, what good are computers if the kids can't read? "But it's technology!" was her response. "Kids need access to technology!" Uh, but how will it help if they can't read? Wouldn't that money be better spent on some McGuffy Readers and a bunch of competent teachers? "No!" was her emphatic response. "Kids need technology and that's that."

It's the shiny object theory of education. Give 'em the coolest doodads and they'll learn by osmosis. But technology for technology's sake doesn't work. Just ask the Microsoft Zune.

Steve Jobs had a vision, and that's what made Apple's products succeed. The technological wizardry is actually secondary. Sure it's cool, but what makes it cool is the utility that we derive from it, a utility that he was able to imagine before we even knew that we needed it.

There are no visionaries like Steve Jobs in our public schools. They're all a bunch of fad-followers, the Microsoft Zunes of the education set. True innovation, when it rarely manages to emerge, is immediately stifled. (Last year in a nearby district the New Jersey Teacher of the Year was laid off due to budget cuts; she lacked the necessary seniority and that's the only criteria the teachers union cares about.)

Government protects the status quo. It doesn't create. It doesn't innovate. It certainly doesn't "succeed" by any reasonable measure of that term. But Steve Jobs did all three, and he did them better than almost anyone else.

An iPhone designed by the teachers union? No thanks. But if you think about it for a minute, that's exactly what your kids are getting every day when they trudge off to sit through another round of socialist-anarcho-marxist-enviro-awareness-raising-everybody-gets-a-trophy indoctrination at the hands of government employees who'd run screaming in terror if another Steve Jobs came along to upset their union-featherbedded apple carts.

Posted at 10:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Sarah, you broke my heart tonight, and now I'm lost without you

Sarah Palin won't run for president. She broke the bad news on Mark Levin's nationally syndicated radio show this afternoon. I was at Sophie's soccer game and then we went for gelotti followed by homework and dinner so I'm only now catching up on the news.

And it's a damn shame.

So, one of these guys really is gonna be our next president?

I'm guessing it's time to take a flyer on Herman Cain. Because those other turkeys don't have what it takes. I'll do another post with my reasons why they're all deficient, but I want to get one thing about Mr. Cain off my chest right now. We can't go into the election with sentiments like this:

Because our black guy is way, way smarter than their black guy.

No, no, no, a thousand times no. This isn't about race. Obama and his people are married to the race card, we aren't. If Herman Cain is our guy it's because he's the right man for the job. Period, the end. What matters are his qualifications, his experience, and his charisma. They're the same qualities which kept me firmly in the Run, Sarah, Run camp. Because Sarah Palin would have been the most unconventional, and therefore the most underestimated candidate in our nation's history. She coulda been the '69 Mets of presidential politics.

Tomorrow is another day, and we have to keep our eyes on the prize. But right now I feel like a Christian Scientist with appendicitis. Sarah you broke my heart, and I need a good stiff drink.

Posted at 22:49 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Herman Cain to #OccupyWallStreet bozos: Get off your butts and get a job

The more I listen to Herman Cain the more I like him. He's a straight shooter. Talking about the pinkos playing at protesting on Wall Street he said, "Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself."

Amen Brother. These spoiled brats are pissed off because they're not getting enough free stuff. Have you read their "demands?" It's a laugh riot. Or it would be, if supposedly sane people didn't take these clowns seriously. Ben Bernanke for instance. Dude oughta know better, dontcha think?

President Cain should fire his ass.

That's if we manage to have an election. One element of this "peaceful protest" (which if you've been paying attention has been anything but peaceful) is a recurring parallel with the French Revolution.

That's how it all started. The country's leader asking oligarchs and aristocrats to pay the same rates as common folk, for a while, especially since they already owned damn near everything. The answer given by the dukes and bishops and marquiseseses? Heck no! We're the ones keeping it all together. The managers and investors and owners and job-makers. The government can damn well keep its mitts out of our pockets. It's our money, not the state's. Now you can see where I'm going with this. So I won't spell out what happened next.

But just in case we aren't getting the message in full HD, Lauren Weinstein spells it out for us via his Privacy Forum Mailing List:

To assume that similar results couldn't happen here when enough people are frustrated and desperate, might be the biggest mistake our own "ruling class" could ever make. Possibly, their last mistake.

Yeah, and they say the Tea Partyers are always the ones threatening violence. Funny that I've never seen a guillotine at a Tea Party rally.

Obviously what we need is to re-elect a president who sticks to his class warrior schtick. Must be that "new tone" we keep hearing about.

So let's review. The Tea Party would like to see limited government and a return to the Founding Principles of our Republic. These protesters, who more than one leading Democrat is rushing to endorse, want to see blood in the streets. Because what this country really needs isn't another Thomas Jefferson, it's an American Robespierre.

And people call me crazy.

Posted at 16:55 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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I'm Number 150! (On the list of the top 150 Conservative websites)

Check out who squeaked his way into the Big Leagues:

Wow.

There are a lot of Big Names on that list, and then there's me!

And I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you from the heart of my bottom for your patronage. I appreciate every WyClick you make. Today, Number 150. Tomorrow, Number 149? Yes! It pays to Dream Big you know…

Posted at 10:56 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Chris Christie is not running for president. Really. He's NOT running. So stop asking, OK?

The big lug is a big tease. Chris Christie gave it "serious consideration". He hinted and he winked. The rumors flew like Elvis sightings. Pundits were in a tizzy waiting for The Announcement. Speculation reached a fever pitch. The suspense was unbearable! It seemed like Chris Christie had become everyone's favorite Jersey Guy.

Will he? Or won't he?

Well, The Announcement has come, and gone. Chris Christie is leaving the GOP at the altar. At a 1 PM statehouse news conference he said what he's said 67,214 times before — he's not ready to run for president in 2012.

Good for him. We need our Governor Awesome right here in New Jersey, kicking butt and pissing off the liberals. He won't abandon his commitment to New Jersey, not while he still has work to do here.

And there's always 2016, or 2020…

Posted at 13:09 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Today is National Taco Day!

Who doesn't like tacos? So chow down and celebrate National Taco Day!

I'm sure there's a Rick Perry in-state discount for tacos joke around here somewhere…

Chevy's Fresh Mex (and others) are giving away free tacos today.

Can you guess what I'm gonna have for lunch?

Yum, tacos!

Tacos, they go with everything!

(Images via HotChicksEatingTacos.com)

Posted at 09:36 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Are you ready for some hypocrisy?

He didn't make a Sarah Palin rape "joke."

He didn't call for beheading bankers.

But ESPN gave Hank Williams, Jr. the bums rush tonight for comments he made this morning about the Obama - Boehner Golf Summit.

At least now we know that "Chimpy McBushitler" was in fact beyond the pale. A day late and dollar short to be sure, but the liberal feelings-o-matic meter never lies. Thou Shalt Not Insult The One. Or run afoul of Godwin's Law, unless you're talking about a Republican.

Posted at 22:34 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Liberals mourn cop killer Troy Davis, cheer execution of Anwar al-Awlaki

Liberal illogic: the death penalty is state-sanctioned murder, unless it's Barack Obama who's pushing the button.

More than 1,000 useful idiots mourned at cop-killer Troy Davis' funeral on Saturday, chanting "I am Troy Davis," the slogan they ginned up to cast aspersions on what the liberal elites call a faulty justice system.

Davis had the benefit of 20 years of trials and appeals, including multiple reviews of his case by the U.S. Supreme Court. And his guilt was upheld at every turn.

But when it comes to terrorist masterminds, that "faulty justice system" is just the ticket every foreign jihadi deserves. Only a civilian trial is good enough for Khalid Sheik Mohammed. Alas, the same cannot be said for U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki.

There's video at the link. Really, you can't make this stuff up. If George W. Bush had ordered al-Awlaki's execution, the New York Times would be lamenting a troubling pattern of unconstitional extra-judicial killings.

Yet when Barack Obama executes people, the anti-death-penalty agitators are strangely silent. No due process. No habeas corpus. No SCOTUS review. Just a Presidential Finding and a drone strike. Scratch one terrorist, and if no liberals show up at his funeral, well that's because it's only evil when they can blame Bush.

There seems little reason to shed tears for Al-Awlaki, a human pustule of at least the second order. But the drone-killing business raises questions. The questions have less to do with the human rights of folks like Al-Awlaki, though, and more to do with fears of abuse in the future. Those require some due-process regulation, which should come from Congress.

Because, you know, The One would never target innocent Americans.

Posted at 09:50 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Their Arab brothers should fund Palestinian Hamasistan, not us

Gee, it's about time.

The United States Congress has blocked nearly $200m in aid for the Palestinians, threatening projects such as food aid, health care, and support for efforts to build a functioning state.

Yeah, because only the United States can fund "food aid" and "health care" for terrorist monsters! Hamas has plenty of Arab brothers, flush with petrodollars. I'm sure somebody else can pick up the slack. If the actual goal is to build a "functioning state."

But guess what? Here's a little fact the New York Times won't mention. The "Palestinian people" already have a functioning state. It's called "Jordan."

Mahmoud Abbas and his Hamas cronies aren't interested in "peace," not in the conventional sense anyway. Their idea of "peace" is the silence we'll hear from the U.N. when the last Jew is stuffed into an oven. Why are we sending our tax dollars to help terrorists destroy Israel?

There have been persistent demands in Congress to withhold up to $600m — the average amount given by the US in bilateral assistance to the West Bank and Gaza every year since 2008 — in the next financial year over the issue.

Good. There are 22 member states in the Arab League. Let 'em pass the hat. I'm sure they can come up with $600 million. If, you know, they're committed to peace.

UPDATE 01 Oct 2011 20:09:
Cross-posted to Right Wing News.

Posted at 18:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/islam]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Would the Feds still demand repayment if the ARC tunnel was a Green Energy fiasco?

The Tunnel to Macy's Basement might be dead and buried, but the "debt" Ray LaHood says NJ owes the federal government lives on. At first he demanded a $271 million penalty for canceling the over-budget and ill-conceived project. But Chris Christie said "no way."

Yesterday they reached a settlement, of sorts, for $95 million and some steak knives.

Whoop-dee-doo. They're "settling" for money we already paid; money that by rights should be New Jersey's.

How much of the $535 million Solyndra wasted will be repaid? Zero!

And what penalties will the Feds demand from Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law if the $737 million solar-power boondoggle loan his firm just received turns out to be Solyndra 2.0? Um, none?

When it comes to key Democrat donors, the federal Green Energy money only flows one way.

But Chris Christie, who may or may not be running for president, is held to a higher standard than Friends of Barry.

It's the Chicago way!

Posted at 10:59 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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