As Mitt Romney praised Neil Armstrong last night the left heard "racist birther babble"

Mitt Romney is a racist! And a Birther! Really. That's what a Democrat friend posted on Facebook last night, right after Romney invoked Neil Armstrong to extol the virtues of American Exceptionalism.

I didn't see it until late this afternoon, but wow.

Romney: "When the world needs to do really big stuff, we need an American." Racist birther babble! Too much hair dye.

I'm stunned. Because if praising an American hero is racist, if noting that Americans are the guys who can do anything is somehow code for "Obama was born in Kenya", well my friends, there's no hope for this nation. Everything is racist.

His post got 11 "likes". Which is incomprehensible to me. We can't celebrate the moon landing without it really being about Obama? This might be hard to believe, but America existed before Barack Obama, and God willing it'll exist long after he's gone.

I suppose saying that makes me a racist too.

Posted at 16:11 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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And that was the convention that was

Is Clint Eastwood The Man or what?

"We own this country. . . . It's not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours. . . . And when somebody does not do the job, you gotta let 'em go."

I don't care what the liberal media says, the empty chair thing was brilliant. A perfect stand-in for Obama the empty suit. Everyone could see that the emperor has no clothes.

"... and I haven't cried that hard since I found out that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country. Now that is something to cry for because that is a disgrace, a national disgrace, and we haven't done enough, obviously -- this administration hasn't done enough to cure that. Whenever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem."

There's the one issue Obama doesn't want to talk about. The economy. I have a Facebook friend who pooh-poohed the RNC convention as "hogwash, the DNC will be same shit, different day."

No it won't. What're the Obamabots gonna say about jobs and the economy? "Give us more time?" Or, "Trust us, we'll get it right eventually, and look, George Bush!"

I don't think that's gonna work. They had their chance, they blew it. Harry Reid hasn't passed a budget in 3½ years. The one job he's Constitutionally required to do, and he failed. Obama's budget proposals failed (there's that word again). Twice. Didn't garner a single vote, Democrat or Republican, either time. Not one member of his own party endorsed his vision, nevermind anyone else, and yet we're supposed to believe he's got the secret to America's recovery tucked into his back pocket?

Yeah, no wonder the Dems are scrambling to invent a War on Women. Except women are unemployed too you know. And women do the shopping, they feel the pain at the checkout and at the pump. "Free" birth control doesn't feed the family.

What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs.

Mitt Romney said that last night. He's right of course, but sometimes you have to state the blindingly obvious, especially when the man currently leading the team is unwilling to see the blindingly obvious.

"(Obama) hasn't been working to earn reelection, he's been working to earn a spot on the PGA tour!"
— Mitch McConnell

Heh. That's #16 on John Hawkins' list of the 30 best quotes from the 2012 RNC Convention. And Marco Rubio sounded the same theme last night:

"Our problem with President Obama isn't that he's a bad person. By all accounts, he too is a good husband, and a good father — and thanks to lots of practice, a pretty good golfer."

He's a pretty lousy president though.

Here's Clint again, just chatting with that empty chair.

"I think it is maybe time -- what do you think -- for maybe a businessman. How about that?
A stellar businessman.
And I think it's that time. And I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane.
Though maybe a smaller one. Not that big gas guzzler you are going around to colleges and talking about student loans and stuff like that.
You are an -- an ecological man. Why would you want to drive that around?
OK, well anyway."

And then the ghost of community organizers past must have whispered something to Clint like "Vote for me!", because the deadpan response was pure gold:

"I'm sorry. I can't do that to myself either."

And we won't let Obama do it to the country, again.

Mitt Romney for president!

Because America is tired of bending over and grabbing her ankles.

Posted at 11:18 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obama the Constitutional Scholar wants to repeal the First Amendment

The Democrats swear guest lecturer Barry Soetoro really is a Constitutional Scholar. Maybe. If by "constitution" you mean one like they have in Kenya.

No, that's not a birther joke. It's a socialist dictator joke.

Because only an aspiring tin pot third world dictator would dream of restricting our freedom of speech. But yesterday that's precisely what President Obama said he wants to do during an internet town hall on the website Reddit.

OK first off, here's a not so minor nit — SCOTUS did not "grant" First Amendment rights to corporations. SCOTUS affirmed that the Constitution grants those rights. Free speech isn't like the mythical "right to privacy" Harry Blackmun pulled out of his ass back in 1973. The actual words "freedom of speech" are right there in black and white. They're kinda hard to miss.

And I don't remember anyone complaining about Super PACs back in 2008 when Obama was raising a billion dollars while eschewing the federal funding limits every other candidate had always honored.

But here we are in 2012. Obama's running for re-election, his fund raising is way down, and George Soros is being outspent by Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers. What's an evil billionaire gotta do to get an advantage around here?

Amend the Constitution! Make Fox News illegal! Shut down the websites of organizations that don't toe the Progressive line! Round up those Tea Partyers and read 'em the riot act while you're at it!

In Obama's world money in politics is only bad when it's Conservative money. The SEIU, NEA, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, they're all people. Simple, honest, hard-working people just trying to be heard above the din.

It's those gosh-darned corporations with their right-wing PACs that need to be silenced. They'll use every trick in the book to flim-flam our unsophisticated union brothers and sisters. And that's why corporate money in politics is bad. It could turn natural born Democrats into folks who think for themselves and everyone knows that'll only lead to trouble with a capital T.

Next thing you know a black guy could defect to the Republicans. What's a little censorship compared to a travesty like that?

UPDATE 01 Sep 2012 13:50:
Linked at IOwnTheWorld.com. Thanks Cardigan!

Posted at 21:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Why your next car will be an overpriced golf cart

Don't you wish you could be Barack Obama? He waved a magic wand sprinkled with unicorn farts and decreed from on high that henceforth all new cars will have to get 54.5 miles per gallon. Even if no one knows how to build a car like that yet.

Line up to buy your new Government Motors Volt Jr! Sure it looks a lot like a golf cart, costs more than your first house, and only goes about 30 miles on a charge, but you can always recharge it overnight and why would you need to drive more than 30 miles anyway?

Take the bus you Gaia-hating gas guzzler.

Welcome to the future, courtesy of central planning. How do they double current fuel economy? First, cut the size of the car. A lot. Make it smaller, lighter, and less powerful. Maybe take out that gasoline engine and replace it with a couple of squirrels running on a treadmill. Hope you don't have to get someplace in a hurry!

And when you're inevitably involved in the denouement of Volt Jr. vs dump truck? Well your death is the price society has to pay for clean air.

Meanwhile Obama rides around in an armor-plated limousine that gets 6 miles to the gallon. CAFE standards don't apply to El Jefe.

Ain't socialism grand?

UPDATE 30 Aug 2012 09:33:
Linked in Live At FiveSix at The Other McCain. Thanks Wombat-socho!

UPDATE 30 Aug 2012 22:00:
Also linked at IOwnTheWorld.com. Thanks Cardigan!

Posted at 14:37 by Chris Wysocki   [/agw]   Comments | Perm Link |
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We don't need no education - teacher fired for posting students' anti-Obama pictures

A parent complained, the media swarmed, the Secret Service investigated, and now Robert Duncan is out of a job.

Louisiana teacher Robert Duncan is fighting for his job at Boyet Junior High School after displaying his students' pictures of President Obama in the hallway outside his classroom. According to AOL, while the images indicated diverse political beliefs, several were deemed racist and offensive.

Must not offend the Obamabots! All Hail El Jefe! Or else.

Ah "dishonesty", isn't that the same kind of charge North Korean and Cuban dissidents face? If you oppose the regime you surely can't be trusted. Just ask the gals from Pussy Riot.

Hmmm, maybe this is what Obama meant when he told Putin he'd have "more flexibility" in his second term. Was he imagining himself as Vlad the Jailer, with the power to lock up enemies of the state at the stroke of a pen?

Yeah, it's not as far-fetched an idea as you thought.

And we know where he'll start. With those two traitors Romney and Ryan.

UPDATE 29 Aug 2012 09:15:
Wombat-socho links in Live At Five at The Other McCain. Thanks!

Posted at 19:27 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Media spins success of "2016" - Hollywood never releases anything good in late August

You just have to laugh. The media is doing backflips to spin the overnight success of 2016: Obama's America.

Yeah, all those people lining up to see 2016, they're just settling for a documentary because there's nothing good to see. Uh, huh. Sure. Keep smokin' that Hopium.

Posted at 12:50 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Under the radar, Obama and the FCC push ahead with scheme to tax broadband internet

The FCC wants to extend their Universal Service Fund tax on telephone lines to cover broadband internet services. As you probably know, the USF is responsible for giving out free "Obama Phones" to slackards. Now FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski believes those folks need free broadband internet too, and he's quietly pushing through a plan to pay for it.

That plan? Another Universal Service Fund tax on people like you and me who pay for our own internet lines.

Because hey, we can afford to subsidize porn downloads for welfare dudes, right?

The Universal Service Fund and it's cousin the FCC Subscriber Line Charge are two of the biggest boondoggles in phone service. They're a humongous pool of free money that the government can dish out to favored constituencies. Maybe subsidies made sense back in the 1930's when running copper telephone lines to East Nowhereville was expensive. But every square mile of America must already be wired up by now, because they've surely collected trillions of dollars in taxes over the past 100+ years to pay for it.

Yet every month the FCC sucks that money out of us. My latest phone bill shows $6.86 for USF and $13.92 for SLC. More than twenty bucks a month, for what exactly?

I wish I knew.

The bad news as the FCC sees it is this. More and more people are ditching their landlines in favor of email and cell phones. So the FCC's slush fund revenues are dropping.

There's nothing a bureaucrat hates more than declining tax revenues. They might have to cut back on some of their lavish expenditures.

And so to the FCC extending their Universal Service tax to broadband makes perfect sense. Gotta protect that revenue stream!

I call it more socialism. Wealth transfer. Tax my phone to pay for yours. Tax my health care to pay for some other guy's. Tax my groceries to pass out food stamps. Tax my mortgage to subsidize foreclosed deadbeats. And now tax my broadband to pay for yet another giveaway.

Why work? Why pay for anything? Vote for Obama and the best things in life will be free!

UPDATE 28 Aug 2012 09:29:
Linked in Wombat-socho's Live At Five. Thanks!

Posted at 10:18 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Hurricane Isaac throws a Tampa tantrum and a monkey wrench into GOP convention plans

Breaking News! The Republican convention is being pushed back a day.

Republican officials abruptly announced plans this evening to scrap the first day of their national convention, bowing to a threat posed by Tropical Storm Isaac, churning toward Florida.

Safety first!

They'll officially gavel the convention to order on Monday, then immediately adjourn until Tuesday afternoon.

My first reaction was, "Cue the liberals gleefully labeling this as Mother Gaia's revenge on the Rethuglican Global Warming 'deniers' in 3… 2… 1…"

And then I saw this thread at Democratic Underground.

Given how forecasts change, it is likely it won't hit. But if it did, would it be Gaia's global warming revenge on the know-nothing anti-science Republidiots?

You really can't parody these guys. I probably should give up trying.

Posted at 20:08 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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This is why Planned Parenthood needs taxpayer subsidies for mammograms and pap smears

So their "political arm" can spend $3.2 million dollars on anti-Romney ads.

Ayup, your breast cancer screening and women's health dollars at work. Just not for, you know, actual health care.

Posted at 12:27 by Chris Wysocki   [/feminists]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Democrats tap Cory Booker to soft-pedal their extremist party platform

He's young, he's hip, and he's the most popular Democrat in New Jersey. Cory Booker, Super Mayor!, will leap onto the national stage next month in Charlotte to present the Official Platform of the Democratic Party.

And what a platform it is! While the GOP is focused "like a laser" (to coin a phrase…) on the economy the Democrats are gearing up to celebrate abortion rights and gay "marriage".

Because if they talk about the economy they'll have to defend Obama's policies and, well, damn… Look!, it's a war on women!

Maybe Mayor Booker and Sandra Fluke can go out for midnight mani-pedis together. I think they're fully covered with no co-pay under Obamacare's women's mental health mandate, because according to Booker mani-pedis are "transformative".

Transformers! Metrosexuals in disguise!

Sorry, that just popped into my head when I wrote that last sentence. As for the men going for mani-pedis thing, yuck.

Meanwhile, Mayor Booker is all hyped because he helped get a gay "marriage" plank inserted into the platform.

"At the end of the day, it'll maybe repel some and attract others to be more engaged," Booker told the Associated Press in Detroit earlier this month after a committee meeting.

It's gone down in flames every time it's come up for a popular vote but hey, a guy can dream, right?

So anyway, with Chris Christie keynoting at the RNC, and Cory Booker cheerleading for unnatural marriage and infanticide at the DNC it looks like once again New Jersey will be front-and-center on the national stage. I'll bring the popcorn.

Posted at 10:55 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Expect the Unexpected! Initial jobless claims "unexpectedly" rise. Again.

There's that word again: unexpectedly. Obama's Zampolits at the Bureau of Labor Statistics insist last week's rise in initial jobless claims was completely unexpected.

Remember this graph?

So, if you're still hanging your hat on Christina Romer's rosy scenario, then yeah, "unexpectedly" is the right word. Of course that would also make you a moron, but luckily brains never were a prerequisite for voting Democrat.

Would my dispirited Obamabot friends like some good news? The Fed is going to pull another round of Quantitative Easing out of their ass! Just in time for Election Day!

Minutes from the July 31-August 1 meeting suggested the Fed is likely to deliver another round of monetary stimulus "fairly soon" unless the economy improves considerably.

Because the only thing better than four more years of Obamunism (to really saddle our great-great-grandchildren with crippling debt) is Weimar-style inflation! Oh that, and Taxmageddon.

Talk about a one-two punch. I think it's what Obama meant when he said he wanted to "fundamentally transform" America. Do you know why he doesn't help his brother George in Africa? Because George's standard of living is precisely what Obama aspires to inflict on each and every one of us. George is the culmination of Obamanomics; poverty is the plan.

Think about that while you're distracted by Mitt Romney's tax returns or the Todd Akin sideshow.

UPDATE 23 Aug 2012 12:40:
Gator Doug links, and diagnoses a new liberal malady: Unexpecteditis.

There's a lot of that going around!

Posted at 10:33 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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To attend the DNC convention you must show proof you had an abortion

The Democratic National Convention will be a celebration of abortion rights.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell will be manning the Planned Parenthood booth. Be sure to stop by and say hello.

You can't truly be a complete progressive Democrat woman unless you've murdered your unborn child. Seriously, abortion is a badge of honor at the DNC, and now it'll be front and center. All the cool kidz have had at least one, it's as much a right of passage into modern feminism as their first cigarette or glass of chardonnay.

As an Illinois state senator, Obama was so supportive of late-term abortions, he resisted efforts to protect unborn children born alive after failed abortion procedures.

The baby must die, or else feminism is a lie.

Remember when Democrats murdered their slaves with impunity too? I seem to recall that a Constitutional Amendment, spearheaded by Republicans, was needed to put a stop to that. So imagine my surprise when a Republican friend posted this on Facebook today:

I'm tired about the abortion discussion. It is the settled law of the land, deal with it! If you don't want an abortion, don't have one. If you do want an abortion, pay for it yourself.

Good grief. Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson were "the settled law of the land" too. Until, you know, they weren't. Do Americans really still believe that a human being, albeit a very small human being who can't vote, is a woman's property, to dispose of as she pleases?

Well yes, because that is an official policy plank of the Democratic Party. Guaranteed unfettered access to abortion. Right next to the plank which abjures capital punishment — that's cruel and unusual dontcha know. No one can hear the baby scream, so, no foul.

Terrorists who wage war against the United States have rights. And they're invited to the DNC convention.

Babies? Not so much.

Susie, Susie, Susie. Didn't you get the memo? You were supposed to have an abortion! See how "inconvenient" your child is? Aren't you being pretty selfish by putting the needs of a child who can't vote above the good of the Democratic Party? They have Important Business to transact, your rugrats are a pointless distraction. Sandra Fluke will explain it all to you when you get to Charlotte. But first you have to prove your commitment by putting your Party ahead of your children.

Ask Maureen Dowd, what would Susan Smith do?

Abortion. It's mandatory. Or you're not a Real Democrat.

Posted at 20:58 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Now we know how to spell Ohio in Austrian

Instapundit says Obama finally found the 57^th state and it's spelled O-I-H-O.

Maybe that's how you spell Ohio in Austrian.

And no, it's not a Photoshop, despite what Gunga Din at the Washington Post might try to tell you.

Dan Quayle was unavailable for comment.

UPDATE 23 Aug 2012 09:28:
Linked by Wombat-Socho's Live At FiveSeven. Better late than never, thanks!

Posted at 14:22 by Chris Wysocki   [/obama_watch]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The GOP goes all-in with their pro-life platform plank

Of course the liberals don't see it as a good thing. POLITICO: GOP rejects rape exception in platform.

Even as Mitt Romney sought to quash the furor surrounding Todd Akin's "legitimate" rape comments, the Republican platform committee here approved an abortion plank that includes no exemptions for rape, incest or even to save the life of the mother.

That's because two wrongs don't make a right. You don't compound the sin of rape with the sin of abortion.

The platform committee instead approved draft language Tuesday, calling for a "Human Life Amendment" that gives legal protection to the unborn. Democrats quickly labeled the GOP language the "Akin Plank," referring to the Missouri Senate candidate's statements that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant.

Like how they conflate two different issues? Let's keep our eye on the ball. Abortion is always morally wrong. An ill-conceived, inarticulate, and ineffective defense of that fact makes it no less of a fact. Todd Akin is not the problem. The 3,000 unborn babies who were murdered by abortionists today (and every day). That is the problem.

The solution is a Personhood Amendment. Kudos to the GOP for recognizing that.

If "the unborn" aren't deserving of legal protection, why is it a federal crime to destroy a bald eagle egg? Or disturb the nest of a piping plover?

Are unborn birds more special than unborn people?

Answer "yes" and you just might be a liberal.

Posted at 08:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Your children will eat what Michelle Obama tells them to eat, and nothing else

Michelle Obama controls your child's school lunch. Right down to the number of grapes in the mandatory ½ cup of fruit. In case you hadn't heard, her federal school lunch standards take effect in September.

Freedom? Liberty? Choice? Not in Obamaville. Big Brother says, all your children are belong to us. Kids will eat what Michelle Obama tells them to eat, and they'll like it.

Face it, the public schools exist to indoctrinate our children into the cult of government. Only our benevolent betters in Washington (and Trenton and Albany and …) know what is best for us. We cannot possibly decide on our own. Listen to the authority of Michelle Obama and Mike Bloomberg. They Know Things!

Independent thought is considered seditious and must be stamped out. Good little automatons will eat their 1/2 cup of fruit with gusto, because to disobey is inconceivable. Parents welcome the nanny state, it absolves them of responsibility. "Eat your vegetables or I'll tell Michelle Obama" is the 21st century replacement for "wait until your father gets home." If there even is a father.

I find it ludicrous that we would cede control of our children to a bureaucratic cabal. Yet day after day they go off willingly to join the Borg. Resistance is futile, we will be assimilated.

UPDATE 22 Aug 2012 09:12:
Linked by Larwyn. Many thanks!

Posted at 14:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obama and the econuts conspire to keep gasoline prices high and prevent domestic energy production

Gasoline prices hit a record high yesterday. Good thing that evil oil man Bush isn't in the White House or the media would be screaming bloody murder.

Except if an oil man was in the White House we'd be increasing domestic energy production to compensate. Instead we have Obama and the econuts conspiring to keep our petrodollars flowing to OPEC and the Saudi kleptocrats. They'll do anything to delay new drilling and pipeline projects.

Despite nearly four years of environmental study and two separate permit applications, TransCanada has been unable to lay a single foot of pipe for the Keystone XL project in the United States. The delay in this project has spanned the publication of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, a Final Environmental Impact Statement, no fewer than five national comment periods and the input of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

You'd think we'd be at the end of the process, right? Oh Hell No! Obama is starting the entire permitting process over from Square One.

Now, as the State Department closes the latest of these public comment periods — this one asking Americans what the scope of its newest environmental review of the project should be — we are about to start this entire process all over again. The delays and forced route changes that TransCanada has been forced to endure have added more than a billion dollars to the cost of the project, suspended tens of thousands of high paying jobs, delayed relief at the pump for millions of American drivers and prevented the project from pumping more than $20 billion into the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile up in Alaska the econuts are suing Royal Dutch Shell and the U.S. government to cancel new drilling permits issued for the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

In a report released Monday, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is urging the government to hold off on approving Royal Dutch Shell's plans for Arctic drilling until more information can be gathered about the project's environmental effects on the region.

How many times can you "gather information" on the environment? There's gotta be mountains of paper filled with studies, charts, projections, photos, and alarmist predictions from every long-haired unshaven green groupie this side of Timbuktu.

Shell has been waging the struggle with its plans to explore offshore Alaska since 2004 and, despite more than seven years of "process" and more than $4 billion invested in the project, has not yet been able to drill a single exploration well.

Seven years! And the econuts still aren't sure they have enough information?

It isn't about "information." It's about delay. And imposing unnecessary costs at every turn. They're not pro-environment, they're anti-people.

And, they're anti-energy in all it's renewable forms too. The Sierra Club is fighting against wind energy projects nationwide. The Audubon Society wants to kill a 399 megawatt solar farm in California. In Oregon a coalition of green groups is ganging up on a geothermal project because, get this, there is piping and Gasp! "heavy equipment" on site.

I presume they were expecting Legos and Tonka Trucks.

There is one small bit of good news though. Someone finally found a suitable use for all those silly cylindrical solar cells turned out by Obama's cronies at Solyndra — Modern Art. Yes, really.

If Obama had lit the $535 million on fire it might've kept a few homeless guys warm for a day or 2. Instead the taxpayers got essentially nothing for their "investment."

And since I don't want to sound like a broken record I won't mention Obama's war on coal again.

In fact, aside from a pathetic attempt to foist underpowered and prone-to-spontaneous-combustion electric cars on the American public Barack Obama's energy policy can be summed up in four words — You Can't Have Any. Good thing that Global Warming thing is real, I don't want to freeze in the dark too.

UPDATE 22 Aug 2012 09:18:
Linked by Live At Five at The Other McCain. Thanks Wombat-socho!

Posted at 11:30 by Chris Wysocki   [/agw]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Survey says women drink more after marriage, and it's the husband's fault

Why does a married woman drink more? Because she's trying to keep up with her husband!

The solution is clear fellas. We gotta spend less time at home being a bad influence on our wives and more time out with the boys. Explain to the wife that it's for her own good, because we don't want to see her turn into a lush.

Hey, we're backed up by science. Can't argue with science, right?

UPDATE 21 Aug 2012 09:21:
Linked by Wombat-socho's Live At Five. Thanks!

Posted at 15:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Sunday night quarterbacking, and other random stuff

My friend Mike gave me two tickets to Saturday's Jets - Giants game. Sophie said, "Take me! Take me!" How could I say "no"?

We hopped the #71 bus to Newark Penn Station at 4 PM. The NJ Transit web site said it was the best option. What it didn't say was, #71 goes all over Hell's three acres. And back. I think there was a stop in Pennsylvania. Or maybe it was Delaware. It was hard to tell. But at 5:30 we finally pulled onto Raymond Blvd and into the Penn Station bus lanes.

Whew.

From there it was smooth sailing. As soon as we got off the bus two kids saw our Jets jerseys and started the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets chant. We high-fived 'em and made a beeline for the ticket window. The clerk was a Jets fan! He got us set up with train tickets lickedity split. Well, ticket. Turns out kids under 12 are free on weekends.

Thanks NJ Transit!

Hop the train on track 1, get off in Secaucus, and switch to another train for the short hop to the stadium. I must say, the NJ Transit station in Secaucus is amazing. Helpful staff. Clean. Big, bright signage. Did I mention the helpful staff? We're strolling along and a woman says "you better hurry, the train is leaving in one minute". It helps to wear a Jets jersey! Sophie started running and I huffed and puffed to keep up.

We made the train. What fun! There were Jets fans everywhere, all pumped up for the game. Everyone had beer! That's what I call traveling in style.

The game kinda sucked though. Same old Jets. Sophie had a good time though, hanging with Dad and eating her way through the game. $8.50 for a hot dog? But she proclaimed it the Best Hotdog Ever so who am I to argue?

Mom picked us up after she got off work (Yea Mom!) and we stopped for quick bite at Jose Tejas on the way home.

Sophie slept until noon.

And the paper confirmed what anyone with brains could see during the game, Wayne Hunter is not up to the job at right tackle. Dude, eat some freakin' Wheaties! Tammy thinks it's because he cut his hair, he's not scary anymore. Maybe. Sanchez is dead meat if Hunter can't block and right now everybody knowns that Wayne Hunter can't block his grandmother. If I was the coach I'd put Wilkerson into that spot because they need a big guy to stop the pass rush. Any learning curve on his part can't be as bad Hunter repeating the same mistakes he made last year.

Dude's gotta know he can't phone it in, guaranteed contract or no guaranteed contract. Or this time next year he's coaching high school football in Idaho.

In other news, today was yard work day. Thrilling, I know. Yet, necessary.

The weeds are winning. I'm pretty sure they know that.

Why is it that the deer eat my tomatoes and my flowers and my shrubs but not one single stinkin' weed? Are they in cahoots with the weeds? Is it some kind of conspiracy? I have a hunch they're out to make me crazy.

It's not as hard as you might think.

Posted at 23:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/jets]   Comments | Perm Link |
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NJ unemployment hits 9.8%, tell me again why this state favors Obama by 13 points?

Maybe it's his boyish charm and good looks? Because Obama's policies sure aren't doing wonders for the Garden State.

Democrats were quick to blame Chris Christie for our state's abysmal jobs outlook, but when viewed regionally it's hard to miss the overal picture. Sadly though, mentioning the party affiliation (and presidential endorsements) of Andrew Cuomo, Dan Malloy, and Mike Bloomberg doesn't fit the narrative, so they'd rather we didn't talk about the tri-state area as a whole.

When taken together NJ, NY, and CT are three of the highest taxed states in the nation. It's no wonder then that businesses are retrenching, they're fearful of Taxmageddon, a regulatory climate which strangles everything it touches, and a political class hell-bent on demonizing success.

So what do the voters in this state do? They embrace the anti-business, no-growth policies of Barack Obama by a whopping 13 percent margin. I guess they like living on the dole, or the edge, or some combination of the two.

Remember this graphic?

Recovery Summer, my ass.

I don't get it. There isn't anyone in my neighborhood who can honestly say they're better off today than they were 4 years ago. But Romney backers are harder to find than Bigfoot. Misery loves company? Because if you like misery, Obama is definitely your man.

Posted at 11:47 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Sometimes I wonder about the sanity of the guys running the NJ GOP

OK, that headline isn't entirely fair. Every waking moment, and most of the time while I'm asleep, I wonder about the sanity of the guys running the NJ GOP.

Of all the Republicans we could have picked to run against Bob "corruption is my middle name" Menendez, they dug up Joe Kyrillos? What, Diane Allen said "no"?

Look, I follow NJ politics pretty closely. I couldn't pick Joe Kyrillos out of a lineup. If you held a gun to my head I'd be hard pressed to name three things he's accomplished.

But it's his turn, so hey, let's nominate him for U.S. Senate. And who cares if he's A-OK with raising taxes, the country club Republican set has never felt comfortable with those Tea Party nuts anyway. Go along to get along, right?

And the NJ GOP wonders why I don't send them Dime One.

Thankfully I'm not alone. Meet Congressional candidate Eric Beck.

Eric, you got stones. I admire that. I sent you a few bucks. Because after today the NJ GOP is gonna forget you ever existed. That's how they roll; just ask Anna Little.

Eric Beck for Congress! Because Joe Kyrillos is a putz.

Posted at 21:44 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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New MPEG-H standard uses half the bandwidth of MPEG-4 with no loss in video quality

Your streaming video players are about to get an upgrade.

Believe me when say this is a Big Effing Deal.

MPEG-H products should hit mobile networks sometime next year. Cable and satellite providers will take longer to adopt it, but the allure of such significant bandwidth savings should be very hard to resist.

Oh, and the next time your kid asks you why she should study math, tell her this is why. These video compression algorithms are 100% math. Really cool math, designed for incredibly powerful computer chips.

Like MPEG-2 and -4, H.265 builds on its predecessors. Some improvements include larger block structures with flexible mechanisms of sub-partitioning. In the draft specification, the traditional MPEG macroblock structure is replaced with variable-block-sized coding units, (CUs) which define the sub-partitioning of a picture into rectangular regions. Each CU in turn contains one or more variable-block-sized prediction units (PUs) and transform units (TUs). Each TU is processed by performing a spatial block transform, and quantizing the resulting transform coefficients. Within the prediction loop, an adaptive loop filter (ALF) is applied, then the frame is copied into a reference decoded picture buffer, a process that improves both objective and subjective picture quality. As in H.264, context-adaptive entropy coding schemes are used.

You know, I actually understand most of that. Conceptually anyway. But things sure have come a long way from the linear algebra I learned. And that's why this stuff is so cool.

Posted at 19:09 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Guilty until proven innocent - get ready for Caldwell PD's roving sobriety checkpoints

There's nothing like a little fascism to end your summer on a high note. You're driving along, minding your own business, humming to a tune on the radio when up ahead you spy a line of cars, some orange cones, and there's no turning back, you're guilty until proven innocent at the roving sobriety checkpoint.

Has anyone seen the Fourth Amendment? It doesn't seem to apply when the nanny state is looking out for your own good. And where's the ACLU? Oh yeah, they're too busy protecting the "rights" of illegal aliens.

"Many people believe that after just a few drinks, they're safe to drive," said Gary Poeduebicky, Acting Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety. "Even one drink can impair your judgment and reaction time, putting not only yourself, but everyone on the road, in danger."

Ooh, cue the scary music! There's death on the roads! And it might be your fault, so wait your turn, submit to a cavity search, and don't complain because then the cop will definitely find something to cite you for. The ends justify the means.

They're looking for drunk drivers because they care about your safety, but hey while you're here let's see what's in the trunk, and wow there's a bench warrant with your wife's name on it for some parking tickets she got as a teenager in 1972 and your dog isn't wearing a seat belt so please pull over there while we break out the handcuffs and call a tow truck.

Safety, schmafety, this is about revenue. Drunk driving tickets are expensive, and all those dollars go directly into the local municipal coffers. The guy who had a few beers on his way home from work isn't likely to be a real danger to anyone, but he's good for a coupla grand in fines. Cash-strapped towns see their police departments as a profit center. All those seat belt, cell phone, and scarlet decal laws light up their eyes with dollar signs.

So please, spare me the sanctimony.

Posted at 11:09 by Chris Wysocki   [/caldwell]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Big Brother in the back seat - Feds mandate Black Boxes for all new cars

Every turn you make. Every exit you take. The Federal Government will be watching you. Starting on September 1st all new cars sold in the U.S. have to come with a Black Box, to record your activities in the event of a crash.

The thing is though, it's always recording. So now when you get pulled over the cop doesn't need to consult his radar gun, he can just download your speed from the ever-present electronic spy.

Forget the Fourth Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment too. Your car is working for the government. It knows when you used your turn signal. It remembers that you didn't buckle your seat belt. And it tracks your cell phone usage. All while correlating with the onboard GPS and uploading the data in real time to the State Police.

They'll debit your bank account for the mandatory fines and email you a receipt.

This is known as "progress". It's for your own good.

Posted at 21:55 by Chris Wysocki   [/tech]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Chains, trains, and last century's automobiles - A day in the life of Joe Biden

I must have missed the memo from RNC Headquarters: Joe Biden told a crowd of mostly black supporters that Republicans would put them in chains.

Maybe he meant to say "trains." Joe's a big fan of Amtrak. Especially the part where Amtrak sells a $16 hamburger for $9.50.

The trains don't run on time either. I think there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

Then, here's what I'll call Joe's "Forward, into the past!" moment from earlier today — "Folks, where's it written we cannot lead the world in the 20th Century in making automobiles?" Would somebody please get Joe a calendar? He appears to be experiencing a Y2K glitch.

Actually, of course, we did lead the world in the 20th Century in making automobiles, until the UAW and the idiot managers at the auto companies ruined things.

Ouch.

And to think we only lost $25 billion on the auto bailout. So far. No wonder Obama wants to repeat that success with every other industry. He's gonna put Joe Biden in charge.

UPDATE 16 Aug 2012 09:37:
Linked by Wombat-socho's Live At Five. Thanks!

Posted at 16:50 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Illegal Aliens For Obama, Amnesty for 1.76 million future Democrats takes effect today

Who needs laws? Obama's Nada Deportacion Executive Order takes effect today, and they're coming out of the woodwork for amnesty.

Ah yes, the undocumented youth, brought here against their will, but bravely trying to make of go of it in their new home. Like these guys:

Naturally Obama's got a fairly elastic definition of "in school" too. Middle school dropouts are eligible. Well sure, the less you know the more likely you'll be dependent on government and vote for Democrats.

Here's a question someone should ask Barry — what good are those "work permits" when nobody can find a job? Or does "work permit" == "instant claim for unemployment benefits"?

I think we know the answer to that one. Can you say "pandering to the Hispanic vote?" Sure, I knew you could.

Come to America, get free stuff! That whole "land of opportunity" thing? Nobody believes that shit anymore. Sit down, take a load off, you'll get yours just as soon as Obama is re-elected and the rich start paying their fair share.

Coincidentally, Obama scores a hefty lead among unregistered voters.

Everything you need to know about why Democrats hate Voter ID Laws is right there in that poll.

UPDATE 15 Aug 2012 19:30:
I thought of a silver lining to Barry's Bracero Program.

Now that 1.76 million illegal aliens will be registered and "on the grid" it'll be easier for President Romney and new head of Immigration Enforcement Joe Arpaio to round 'em up and send 'em home.

Posted at 11:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/immigration]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Candy Crowley? What, Helen Thomas wasn't available?

So I'm still playing catchup after the weekend server outage from Hell, and what's everyone around here buzzing about? Three teens from Montclair High School who created a petition on Change.org asking the Commission on Presidential Debates to name a woman moderator.

Presumably because Gwen Ifill wasn't enough of an Obama stooge during the 2008 Vice Presidential debate.

Anyway, CNN's Candy Ryan-Ticket-Death-Wish Crowley is the token female this year. And unable to separate effect from cause, our three starry-eyed debutantes are just giddy over their new found fame.

"We were just jumping for joy, hugging each other, screaming. It was amazing."

Nevermind that nobody would go on record crediting them with anything.

So their precious petition wasn't even read! "But it felt like a victory" because after all, feelings are way more important than say, actual accomplishment. I think that's like the Zeroth Law Of Public Schooling, or something. Feelings, Nothing more than Feelings… Wo-o-o feelings… Or should I chant, Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga, Ooga-chaka ooga-ooga… It's the background music to "I am Woman, hear me petition."

Bard College here they come!

You know what really cracks me up? I posted some of this in the comments at NJ.com and they deleted it. I guess Progbots don't do sarcasm.

Posted at 22:44 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Introducing Phil Orphanidis, a new generation of leadership for Essex County

Note: If you're a West Orange voter who got here searching for information on Mr. Orphanidis, please see the Updates at the end of this post.

One of the cool things about writing this blog is that I get to meet a lot of interesting people. While covering Cedar Grove Deputy Mayor Joe Chiusolo's unsuccessful bid for a seat on the county Freeholder board I was introduced to an energetic and personable young man named Phil Orphanidis. Phil's only 26 but he's already a rising star in Essex County and New Jersey Republican circles.

Last month Phil got in touch with me to follow up on my "Where's Lenny?" post. Len Luciano said he'd be an advocate for Essex County taxpayers, then promptly fell in lockstep with Joe D. Phil Orphanidis took it upon himself to go where Lenny feared to tread; he's now a fixture at Freeholder meetings, standing up for lower taxes and smaller government.

Intrigued, I followed up with Phil, to discuss his role as our self-appointed taxpayer advocate.

Why are you a taxpayer watchdog?

Chris, I love Essex County and I want this county to remain a great place where anyone can come and start a family or create a business and thrive. So the reason why I'm performing this civic duty as taxpayer watchdog is because I want this county to stay great. On a monthly basis I get up in front of the Freeholder Board and tell them that enough is enough and that they need to hold the line on property taxes so that Essex County residents can afford to live here in the future.

How do you see County Government's role in the lives of every day NJ residents?

Chris, I believe County government could and should have a bigger role than local government. I think county government here in Essex could achieve a lot of cost savings by merging municipal services into county government so that local taxpayers reap the benefits.

What one thing would you change about County Government?

I would hold property taxes to 0% increases for 5 years, cut our county debt in half over a 10 year period, and eventually cut property taxes. That's the type of aggressive reform that would bring home values up in Essex County.

Do you believe County Government provides us with value for our tax dollar?

I believe that it could, but the Freeholder Board's main concerns are not always in line with the concerns of Essex County taxpayers. I want reform that helps Essex County taxpayers who work hard to make a living, not the donor class in Essex County or across the state who are the recipients of these taxpayer dollars.

What are your thoughts on consolidation of municipalities and school districts?

I'm a proponent of this. I think Essex County would see huge cost savings in the long run.

What role do you envision for the Freeholder Board, and how does the current board stack up to your ideals?

I would like a more competitive Freeholder Board than the one we have at the moment. I like debate but I don't think enough of that takes place with this current Freeholder Board, so if I had my way I think I would like something more balanced. Currently, we have no balance on the Board so of course the system isn't working correctly and what you get is higher spending, higher debt, and higher taxes.

Joe DiVincenzo and his sycophantic Freeholder Board need a breath of fresh air. Essex County could use more young men (and women) like Phil, willing to invest the time and energy to get involved with the nuts and bolts of government, because when you look under the hood it's a mess. Fresh ideas and bold solutions must be found, but the County Democratic Machine exists to preserve the status quo.

Hold their feet to the fire Phil. My daughter is only 10, and the last thing she needs is to be saddled with decades of debt left behind from Joe D's vainglorious patronage machine.

UPDATE 20 Jan 2016 10:33:
Just a quick update on Phil, because he's "maturing," or something.

Phil now works full-time for Democrat Steve Fulop, doling out tax breaks to Jersey City developers. Oh, Phil campaigned for Fulop too, and has said he plans to support Fulop's gubernatorial ambitions.

Phil also campaigned for Democrat Ras Baraka for mayor of Newark.

Phil is now a fan of Democrat Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo. He praised Joe D for wasting taxpayer dollars on McLoone's Boathouse restaurant. So much for holding the Freeholders' feet to the fire.

Phil has recently been posting on Facebook about how much he "trusts" Bernie Sanders and how he "gets" Bernie's supporters.

And now Phil is busy pushing gun control.

So he may still be a "rising star," but Phil's a RINO. That is, if he even calls himself a Republican anymore.

UPDATE 09 Feb 2016 10:32:
A new wrinkle.

Phil defriended and blocked me on Facebook because I dared to ask him some questions about his "evolving" political views. I'm not sure how a guy running for office (he wants to be a West Orange councilman) expects to be immune from hard questions, but hey, Phil's got the Steve Fulop playbook or something as his guide and he's on a mission.

For the record, I wanted to know how a guy who champions tax breaks for Jersey City developers can turn around and condemn tax breaks for West Orange developers.

I also wanted to know how a guy with an MBA from Rutgers could come out in favor of Bernie Sanders' idiotic college loan interest rate scheme (mortgage interest rates are lower than college loan interest rates and That's Just Not Fair!) because surely Rutgers taught him about collateral and risk management, right?

So if you're a West Orange voter and Phil comes knocking on your door, could you please try asking him those questions for me? Hilarity may ensue.

Posted at 14:56 by Chris Wysocki   [/gop]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Some weekend election humor

It's the economy, stupid. The Paul Ryan pick puts our economy front and center. And what's an economy without jobs? The only job Obama cares about is his own.

Moochelle says "Barack's not a superhero." Uh, no shit Sherlock. But Romney and Ryan? They're kicking ass and taking names!

Incidentally, that pic came from a liberal democrat friend on Facebook, with a caption "Let's hope they can defeat the evil empire and restore liberty and free markets." Which is eerily similar to Smitty's post from yesterday — #VotingForObamaBidenIsLike Saying Managed Liberty Is Superior To, You Know, Liberty Liberty.

Tell me again about those polls that show Obama 9 points up? Because I call BS.

Also from Facebook, here's a pic that sums up what many Americans are feeling.

Gotta admit that's way better looking than a syphilitic camel!

Seen on Twitter: Paul Ryan represents Obama's most horrifying nightmare - Math!

I'm pretty sure they didn't have math at Harvard or Columbia. Or if they did, Barry was too stoned to show up for class.

And from the You Can't Make This Stuff Up file, Obama's feminist warriors are lining up in the "V" formation. Code Pink (remember them?) is asking supporters to send their vaginas to the RNC. Not actual pictures, thankfully, just "tasteful, artistic representations" which they'll make into a quilt.

On a related note, Mitt Romney called upon President Obama to get his campaign out of the gutter. Too late for that!

Posted at 11:41 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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WyBlog is back up, but then you probably already noticed that

Our computer room air conditioning is back online.

I think that made Jillian happy.

How about you? Didja miss me?

Since the blog was down I'm extending my "double your donation to Mitt Romney" offer until midnight tonight. Click that donate button up there in the left corner and I'll match your donations (up to the legal limit). Send Chris's money to Mitt! It's easy and it's fun!

Posted at 09:36 by Chris Wysocki   [/misc]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Liberals are cryin' because Romney picked Ryan

Paul Ryan, granny-starver:

Make no mistake. In his decision to make Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny-starver from Wisconsin, his running mate, Romney finally surrendered the tattered remnants of his soul not only to the extreme base of his party, but also to extremist economic policies, and to an extremist view of the country he seeks to lead.

Many years ago the Soviet elites released a propaganda film vilifying the United States for not taking care of old people — their senior citizens are forced to eat cat food! — to which the oppressed peasants responded with awe, they have food just for cats?

The American people will likewise see through the liberal media's blatant, and oh-so-predictable, fear-mongering.

So we'll have a few days of "evil heartless Paul Ryan," then the Democrats will go back to the "clueless rich guy Romney" message and then, if the Romney-Ryan ticket moves ahead of Obama in the polls, they'll start playing the Mormon card with frenzied desperation.

And "the Catholic card" too. Paul Ryan isn't a hippy-dippy Catholic Marxist and that doesn't sit right with the Useful Idiots of the George Soros funded "Nuns on the Bus" tour.

To the media--and to many Catholics--there is only one brand of Catholic Social Teaching. That is the one that looks to big government programs to solve problems of poverty; one that puts economic justice ahead of the sanctity of life; and one that owes more to Karl Marx than the Magisterium.

Paul Ryan's Catholicism runs deeper. Government is not the answer, charity bought at the expense of future generations is not in anyone's best interest.

We don't need more people on food stamps. We need to get America back to work. That's the defining difference between Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan — do you want a handout, or a leg up. Are we a nation of do-ers or a mob of takers. Can we stop asking what our country can do for us and start defining what we can do for our country.

We know what we have to do. Now we just need the courage to do it.

Posted at 12:22 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Paging Ashley Roachclip, your NJ "Medical" Marijuana ID card is ready for pickup

New Jersey's first "medical" marijuana dispensary is set to open next month, right down the road from me in Montclair. And to help them get the word out, these two guys are making a radio ad.

Since this is the 21^st century you stoners can register online for your official Get Out Of Jail Free New Jersey "Medical" Marijuana ID card.

It's only $200. Unless you're on Medicare, Medicaid, or Food Stamps, then all you gotta cough up is a double sawbuck and us taxpayers will helpfully cover the rest of the tab.

Because we're compassionate. And you deserve nothing but the best.

No stems no seeds that you don't need,
Acopulco Gold is...
bad ass weed!

Prices for government dope haven't been set yet. But there are 13 doctors right here in Essex County who'll write you a prescription so you'll be ready when the doobie brothers open their doors. The shop is conveniently located right across the street from the Wellmont Theater where all the cool kids go to get wide and party into the wee hours.

The line forms around the corner.

Posted at 10:31 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The #Obamaloney song

Just because I feel like further lowering the level of maturity in this year's presidential campaign, and hey, Barry completely discombobulated the whole Robin Hood / RomneyHood thing, here's a little ditty I whipped up with help from a Facebook friend.

C'mon, sing it with me Erika. You know you want to.

Posted at 17:38 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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What happened to the melting pot? Census Bureau seeks to further balkanize us by race

Just what we need, more hyphenated Americans.

America used to be the land of opportunity. Now it's one big racial spoils system.

It's all about the Benjamins.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to check a box and instantly be eligible for oodles of free stuff...

Anyone remember when people came here to be Americans? Did your Civics teacher (we didn't have that "Social Studies" nonsense back then!) talk about America as "The Melting Pot?"

No? Then you've been brainwashed by that multiculturalism crap.

America's strength is the sum of her people. You don't get to stand off to the side and reap the fruits of our endeavors while pouting about how unappreciated you feel because your Green Card didn't come with a free Cadillac. Join the party, celebrate the Fourth of July, host a barbecue on Memorial Day, and maybe you'll actually come to appreciate all the hard work and sacrifice that went into making America the greatest nation in the history of forever.

And if you don't like America, go back to whatever Third World hellhole you're insisting I hyphenate into your precious ethnic identify. We're all red-blooded Americans here Jack, and because we're nice guys we'll let you throw a parade once a year and dress up however you like while we stand on the sidewalk and politely applaud your quaint folk dances.

But the other 364 days? We're all in this together. E Pluribus Unum. One Nation Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty and Justice for all.

Posted at 12:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/immigration]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Camden surrenders, city plans to lay off entire police force

Camden, NJ is the most dangerous town in America. Last month there were 13 homicides, and the murder rate is ten times that of New York City.

So naturally city government is laying off police officers. Last year Mayor Dana Redd cut one third of the department, right after giving her cronies big fat raises.

Now the entire police force is getting a pink slip.

Interesting thing though, the Camden Metro Police Division doesn't exist yet. It's a paper police force.

OK, so half of Camden's remaining 270 cops will be joining, uh nobody from the rest of the county, but somehow 400 new officers are gonna hit the ground running by the end of the year.

Sounds more like a retreat to me. Four hundred cops on the outside, mostly to keep the bad guys and mayhem contained within a no-go zone that used to be the city of Camden. Welcome to les banlieues, Jersey-style.

UPDATE 09 Aug 2012 09:31:
Another headliner from Wombat-socho's Live At Five. Thanks!

Posted at 13:03 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The Romney Super PAC ad I'd make: Barack Obama killed Border Agent Brian Terry

A pro-Obama Super PAC is running what is quite possibly the most despicable political ad yet.

The man speaking in the ad, Joe Soptic, says, "Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care and my family lost their health care. And a short time after that my wife became ill." Soptic explains he's not exactly sure when his wife became sick, but that when he took her to the hospital she had undetected, advanced cancer and died 22 days later.

Mitt Romney left Bain Capital in 1999.

Soptic's employer declared bankruptcy in 2001. Who was running Bain Capital in 2001? A big Obama campaign bundler. Curiously Mr. Soptic doesn't mention that.

Mrs. Soptic died in 2006. Seven years after Bain Capital and Mitt Romney parted ways. But according to the Obamabots Mitt Romney personally set out to cause her death. Joe Soptic says so, and his dead wife gives him Absolute Moral Authority.

Except it's utter bullshit, and they know it.

Even CNN acknowledges that the ad is fundamentally dishonest, and they uncover an additional lie: Mrs. Soptic had a job, and health insurance, after her husband lost his at the steel mill. She left her job a year or two later after an injury.

Now my motto is, don't get mad, get even. And when it comes to direct involvement in an innocent person's death, I'll see your Ilyona Soptic and raise you Brian Terry.

Guns given to Mexican drug lords in the Fast And Furious scandal were directly linked to the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Who authorized the Fast And Furious gun-walking operation? Attorney General Eric Holder.

Who hired the ATF clowns that gave the guns to known Mexican criminals? Eric Holder.

Who hired Eric Holder? President Obama.

Who is protecting Eric Holder from a congressional investigation into Agent Terry's murder? President Obama.

In another era we had a president who said, "The Buck Stops Here."

Now we have a president who says, "It's George Bush's fault."

Yeah, I'd definitely make an ad like that. And I don't want to hear word one about "fair."

UPDATE 09 Aug 2012 09:35:
Linked by Larwyn. Thanks!

Posted at 21:14 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obamacare, now making your pizza more expensive

Certain people keep telling me Obamacare will reduce costs. Not my costs though, my premiums only go one way. Up. And not a major pizza chain's costs, Papa John's plans to raise prices thanks to Obamacare.

Pay more for insurance. Pay more for health care. And now pay more for pizza.

Is Obamacare the bee's knees or what?

UPDATE 08 Aug 2012 08:24:
Linked by Live at FiveSix at The Other McCain. Thanks Wombat-socho!

Posted at 18:59 by Chris Wysocki   [/obamacare]   Comments | Perm Link |
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A Montclair educrat scams the system, "School choice for me, but not for thee"

It's not exactly a secret that the education establishment loathes the idea of school choice. Kids are locked into their local public school via an accident of geography, and there's no escape. Unless you're one of the elite.

She had "permission?" Even though Montclair refuses to participate in the state's pilot school choice program? How's that work?

According to Morra, Alvarez knew her family lives in Little Falls, right over the border from Montclair. In direct denial to this statement, Montclair school district attorney Derlys Gutierrez said he had spoken to Alvarez and was told that he had never given the go-ahead to Morra to send her kids to the Montclair schools.

Except there's no paperwork to back up her claims. And like I said, Montclair vigorously opposes any sort of school choice. Which is why they conduct these audits in the first place.

So, what's the punishment for running your own little double-secret school choice program? Demotion.

Interim Montclair superintendent Dr. Clarence Hoover said Morra should be demoted.

They can't fire her, she's in the union!

Now I happen to believe in school choice. Send your kids to the best schools, and let the tax dollars and state aid follow the child. But then crappy schools wouldn't have any students and who's gonna pay for all those tenured teachers and administrators?

Nonwithstanding the new tenure reform legislation Chris Christie just signed the sacred cow of "last in, first out" remains untouchable. Mrs. Slackowitz might be phoning it in after 40 years on the job but by golly she's got seniority and you couldn't push her out that door even with an Act Of God. Meanwhile Mr. Eager-Beaver, beloved of every student and champion of innovative teaching methods was just hired last year so he's got less job security than an NFL coach coming off an 0-16 season.

The union likes it that way. Because they care about the children.

Anyway, back to Ms. Morra. Do you think she'll have to reimburse Montclair for the $16,120 annual cost of her children's education? There's no word yet, probably because the district has to go up against the union on that point too. If they want to.

According to Montclair Patch, they haven't bothered to pursue that remedy in the past.

Perhaps they'll decide to hold one of the people tasked with enforcing their rules to a higher ethical standard.

Posted at 11:23 by Chris Wysocki   [/education]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The Scarlet Decal is Constitutional: NJ Supreme Court upholds "Kyleigh's Law"

Today the New Jersey State Supreme Court upheld a law which requires teenage drivers to affix a red decal to their license plates.

But riddle me this, Batman. If it's the driver they're interested in identifying, why tag the car? People share cars. Mom doesn't really need the benefit of Kyleigh's Scarlet Decal.

Wouldn't it make more sense to affix the tag directly to each teenager?

Say by requiring them to sew a yellow star on their shirt?

UPDATE 06 Aug 2012 23:44:
Linked by Gator Doug. Thanks!

Posted at 19:19 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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#Occupy Mars!

Moments after the robotic rover Curiosity landed on Mars it beamed back the first picture to Earth.

President Obama immediately announced plans for a Mars Apology Tour, to be combined with a fundraising event hosted by Shirley MacLaine and Fran Drescher at the home of Valentine Michael Smith.

Posted at 14:57 by Chris Wysocki   [/odds_n_ends]   Comments | Perm Link |
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It's August 6th, time for the annual Hiroshima peacenik apology tour, now with Harry Truman's grandson

Early in the morning of August 6, 1945 an American B-29 Bomber named the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. And the peaceniks have been crying "no nukes" ever since. Nobody apologizes for firebombing Dresden (or for the Bataan Death March, but I digress...). Yet every year it's imperative for Important Americans to rend their garments over how sorry they are for bringing World War II to a quick and decisive end.

Harry Truman's grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel, is the latest poster-boy for the "never again" crowd.

Perhaps Mr. Daniel would prefer that we all spoke Japanese? Or that we had let the Germans finish their heavy-water experiments first? The U.S. was not the aggressor! We. Were. Attacked. And we fought back, with everything we had. That's how you win.

Given the current state of our political class, I oftentimes wonder if we have lost the will to win. Almost as if we are undeserving, and the ideals upon which this nation was founded are nothing special. C'mon, a Global Caliphate wouldn't be so bad, what are you some kind of racist?

Fifty Shades of Grey? That's our foreign policy!

Harry Truman gave 'em hell, and I for one admire him for it.

On a related note, John Carey found an interview with "Dutch" Van Kirk, the last surviving member of the Enola Gay's crew. Mr. Van Kirk makes no bones about it, dropping the bomb was the right thing to do.

Posted at 12:17 by Chris Wysocki   [/news]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Liberal media bias? What liberal media bias? The Star-Ledger covers Chick-fil-A edition

There was a story in Thursday's Star-Ledger on the nationwide Chick-fil-A buy-cott. On Page 20, behind the obituaries, next to the police blotter. You probably missed it.

There's also a story in today's Star-Ledger devoted to the "kiss-in" held yesterday. Prominently featured on Page 3.

Both stories report about events at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Paramus. And both stories are organized around multiple quotes from gay rights activist Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality, describing his displeasure with the restaurant chain and outlining his plans to keep pressure on Chick-fil-A.

Thursday's story was accompanied by a small black-and-white photograph of a man waiting in line. It implied most patrons participating in the buy-cott were motivated by religion.

Today's story features a large full-color photograph of two women smooching in front of the restaurant. It makes sure to note their disdain for Chick-fil-A, and of course is chock-full of cheerleading for "civil rights." Oh, and right next to it is another article citing a new poll which claims the American public "increasingly favors same-sex marriage."

Media bias? I report, you decide.

Posted at 15:35 by Chris Wysocki   [/media]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Forget crumbling infrastructure, Feds send NJ millions of dollars for bike lanes

Yes, bike lanes.

Because rebuilding all those crumbling bridges won't stop Globull Warming.

In all, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced more than $363 million in grants for highway projects across America.

And all we got were bike lanes and some signs? Are Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez two of the most effective Senators or what? Oh, but those signs will have the names of Important People on them, so there's that.

UPDATE 04 Aug 2012 08:57:
Linked by Gator Doug.

And linked by Bill Quick.

Thanks!

Posted at 11:47 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Judge rules Oracle can't abandon HP's Itanium servers

Good news VMS fans! Reports of Itanium's death were, uh, exaggerated. Yesterday a judge ruled that Oracle breached their contract with HP when they dropped support for HP's Itanium servers.

A California judge has ruled that Oracle breached its contract when it decided to drop support for HP's Itanium servers for future versions of Oracle's database software. The judge told Oracle it must continue to make database products for Itanium "until such time as HP discontinues the sales of its Itanium-based servers."

According to the latest HP Product Roadmap, new VMS on Itanium development is guaranteed through the end of 2015, and probably beyond. HP support contracts also provide for a minimum of 24 months of extended maintenance support, thereby ensuring that VMS on Itanium will continue to be viable for at least the next 5 years.

And since this humble blog is hosted on VMS, not to mention that it's also my bread-and-butter at $DayJob, you won't be seeing me fading into the sunset any time soon either.

(h/t Wombat-socho's Live At Five)

Posted at 10:20 by Chris Wysocki   [/vms]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Obama wants you to buy his campaign a drink

Doug Ross calls it desperate and cynical, which of course pretty much sums up everything Obama does.

But if you send Obama your beer money you'll be sober, and if you're sober you'll see through Obama's lies, and if you see through Obama's lies you'll vote for Romney.

I feel like I'm in one of those DirecTV commercials — buy Obama a drink and stay sober on election day or the country will end up in a roadside ditch.

I'm pretty sure that's not the message he was trying to send. But there it is.

UPDATE 03 Aug 2012 08:21:
Linked at The Other McCain's Live At Five. Thanks Wombat-socho!

Posted at 16:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/election]   Comments | Perm Link |
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Congress punts on passing a budget, and now the Obama tax hikes will hit on January 1st

Harry Reid's do-nothing Senate and John Boehner's ineffective leadership skills accomplished exactly nothing this week, unless you count kicking the fiscal can down the road as an "accomplishment."

That means we'll go four years without the Senate enacting a budget. I think that's some kind of world record.

It also means the Obama tax hikes will kick in on January 1st. Taxmageddon, here we come. Cost to the average family of four? A mere $4,100 in new taxes.

Because raising taxes in a recession is good public policy! I guess we can think of it as Barry's parting gift to the American people.

And no, you're not gonna convince me this is somehow solely the Republicans' fault because they won't "compromise." Democrats who keep beating the class warfare drums aren't helping the situation. Hiking taxes, any taxes, is not acceptable.

And if the GOP holds Congress in January it's a message they'd better be hearing loud and clear. Smitty calls it their "come-to-Beavis moment".

Taxmageddon's now inevitable onslaught was completely avoidable, if only we had grownups in Washington instead of an irresponsible clown show headlined by a feckless empty suit. November is fast approaching. Choose wisely America. It may be our last chance to get it right.

Posted at 11:46 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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The DNC comes out of the closet

You gotta believe they had this one all wrapped up in a pink bow just waiting for Dear Leader to give it the come hither smile.

The party of dead babies unanimously advances the zeitgeist of cultural suicide by endorsing non-procreative unions begat of deviant sexual practices. Oh but it's for love! Yes, love of self. Reflexive narcissism as national policy. Because our children need a wobbly moral compass.

Perhaps Archbishop Cordileone would be so kind as to lend them some spiritual guidance, before the entire Democratic Party falls from Grace into the abyss.

UPDATE 02 Aug 2012 09:11:
Linked by Wombat-socho's Live At Five at The Other McCain. Thanks!

Posted at 09:34 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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