The TSA Is Coming To a Highway Near You

"n the dead of night, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) administratively reclassified airport security screeners as Transportation Security Officers. The TSA then moved to administratively upgrade TSO’s uniforms to resemble those of a federal law enforcement officer. They further completed the makeover with metal law enforcement badges. Not surprisingly, government bureaucrats at the TSA left out one crucial component during the artificial makeover – actual federal law enforcement training as is required of Federal Air Marshalls.

Interestingly enough, as TSA officials like to routinely point out, their agency’s acronym stands for Transportation Security Administration, not the Airport SecurityAdministration. This fact has extended the TSA’s reach has far beyond the confines of our nation’s airports. Many of my constituents discovered this first hand this past fall as those familiar blue uniforms and badges appeared on Tennessee highways. In October Tennessee became the first state to conduct a statewide Department of Homeland Security Visible Intermodal Prevention andResponse (VIPR) team operation which randomly inspected Tennessee truck drivers and cars." [ Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)]

Santorum Slams the Cult of the Bachelor’s Degree

"In his comments last week, Mr. Santorum said Mr. Obama’s efforts to get people to go to college were part of an effort to get them into “indoctrination mills” led by liberal professors.

“President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob,” Mr. Santorum said. “You’re good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to tests that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor.” " [Liberty News]

Obama: I’ll veto bill that will provide water to California’s Central Valley

Media finally paying attention to eligibility?

Back last fall Sheriff Joe Arpaio, yep THAT one, of Maricopa Co. Arizona convened a "Cold Case Posse" in response to a petition by a large group of concerned citizens of his county:

"He constituted a special five-member law enforcement posse last year to investigate allegations brought by members of the Surprise, Ariz., Tea Party that the Obama birth certificate released to the public by the White House on April 27 might be a forgery.

The posse is made up of three former law enforcement officers and two retired attorneys with law enforcement experience. Members have been examining evidence since September concerning Obama’s eligibility to be president under Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution, which requires a president to be a natural-born citizen.

Among other issues, there also have been allegations of Obama’s use of a Social Security number that corresponds to a Connecticut address, even though the president apparently had no links there." [WND]

This Posse will present its findings, publicly, tomorrow (March 1st) while scores of media reporters, who have been almost uniformly mocking and ridiculing any attempts to verify Obama's eligibility under our Constitution, to serve as President, have signed up to attend the 3 P.M. EST press conference. [clipper]

Voter Fraud In Minnesota - How Easy It Is

No wonder Al Franken was elected !!!!!

Microsoft unveils Windows 8 for public test

" Microsoft Corp unveiled the first widely available test version of Windows 8 on Wednesday, giving the public the first chance to try out the slick, new-look operating system it hopes will restore the company’s fading tech supremacy.

Windows 8 will come in two main flavours — one that works on the traditional x86 chips made by Intel Corp for desktops and laptops, and a new version for the ARM microprocessors that have become the standard for tablets, smartphones and other portable devices." [Firstpost-Technology]

Jimmy Obama

Take a look and LISTEN to this video .........................

Another Crony Capitalist De-throned

"LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday amid revelations of his company’s political proximity — and his own closeness — to the White House and Obama administration officials.

The Daily Caller first reported one week ago on emails and documents that indicate political ties and numerous meetings between LightSquared and Obama administration officials as the was undergoing regulatory review." [Daily Caller]

Another HUGE $2.6 Billion Tax On All Cars Purchased

Aren't you fed up with the federal bureaucrats jamming more and more down our throats INVOLUNTARILY ?

It must be a slow day in Washington ...... so the bureaucrats write another one. They now have required that all new vehicles be equipped with back-up camera's and monitors beginning in 2014.

We never have a say..... they simply involuntarily add a couple hundred dollars to the cost of a new car. It's no big deal they say ... we haven't done anything for the little people lately, so .........

“We haven’t done anything else to protect pedestrians,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington. “This is one thing we can do and should do.” [New York Times]

The only fatal backing accident with which I am personally familiar was where a child was playing UNDER a vehicle near the rear wheel. His head was crushed when the vehicle backed up. No rear view camera would have prevented that. A walk around the rear end would have.

We sell around 13 million new cars and light trucks every year in the U.S. . At $200 per vehicle for the camera and monitor, that means $2.6 BILLION every year for this "safety improvement" which will save some fraction of the 100 children per year who are killed. Would that money be better spent (and our freedom preserved), at a fraction of the cost, by conducting a public education campaign aimed at preventing this hazard? [clipper]

Georgetown co-ed: Please pay for us to have sex … We’re going broke buying birth control

"At a hearing of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee yesterday, a single witness — Georgetown law student and “reproductive rights activist” Sandra Fluke — told sympathetic policy-makers that the administration’s so-called contraception mandate should stand … because her peers are going broke buying birth control." [Hot Air]

At a dollar a condom if she shops at CVS pharmacy’s website, that $3,000 would buy her 3,000 condoms – or, 1,000 a year. [Sex-Crazed Co-Eds Going Broke Buying Birth Control, Student Tells Pelosi Hearing Touting Freebie Mandate ]

The Folly of Interstate Health Insurance Competition

Contrary to much Conservative talk, this Conservative explains why Interstate Health Insurance competition would be a BIG problem..... the Gov't would have its nose even further into the tent. [clipper]

IRS goes after local chapters of Tea Party

Is the IRS Attempting to Intimidate Local Tea Parties? [Big Government]

"The author goes on to note that the questions from the IRS—which include “Please identify your volunteers” and “Are there board members or officers who have run or will run for office (including relatives)?”—are curious. Why, for example, does the IRS want a list of donors when the donations are non-tax-deductible?

Interesting questions indeed. Is someone out to intimidate the Tea Party movement, and if so, who?" [Hot Air]

Road to Road Island

"This week the White House website announced that the Vice President was traveling to "Road Island," an error typical of the many risible illiteracies that regularly appear there, and of the inattention to detail that is the hallmark of the credentialed moronacracy that is this Administration" [American Thinker].

A Bit Of History

Sharon Jasper: Obama's Vision For America

"Sharon Jasper could be the poster child for Obama's re-election campaign. Ms. Jasper has lived on the dole 57 of her 58 years. She was moved out of the St. Bernard housing project after hurricane Katrina. Her current home is a voucher-backed apartment in a private residence. Speaking to a New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter, Jasper said, "...it's pitiful what people give you."

Ms. Jasper, the key word is "give." We taxpayers do not owe you anything. How dare you whine and complain?

This ungrateful, arrogant, entitlement-minded woman called her apartment a "slum." Jasper allowed a photographer to tour her subsidized apartment. She complained about missing window screens, a slow leak in a sink, a warped back door, and a few other details of her residence. Otherwise, Jasper's apartment appeared to have been recently renovated.

Jasper's "slum" also featured hardwood floors and a 60-inch HD TV. " [Lloyd Marcus]

Surprise: UK’s Version of ‘Buffett Rule’ Failing to Bring in Expected Revenue

"In 2010, the UK implemented what could be described as their version of the “Buffett Rule” that President Obama has been proposing in the US.

So how’s that going? Early numbers show that the concerns of those who thought the new tax would backfire like a TVR Cerbera were not unfounded

The controversial 50p tax band is ‘not working’ and revenues have fallen since it was introduced, new figures suggest.

They appear to show the wealthy are finding ways to dodge the tax band levied on incomes of more than £150,000.

So the well-to-do might be simply taking their money elsewhere? What a shocker!" [Michelle Malkin"

Will SCOTUS punt to 2014 on ObamaCare?

It looks like the Dear Leader's minions may have found a way to DELAY the Supreme Court decision on the legality of Obamacare until AFTER THE ELECTION .... in fact, until 2014. [clipper]

Dominique Strauss-Kahn tangled up in hooker orgy investigation

In a report describing the interrogation (again) of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and New York City hooker patron, the author reflects on the lot of politicians:

"Mardi Gras is the perfect time to reflect on what, exactly, the wages of self-indulgence actually are: Does the tenth cookie ever taste as good as the first? It’s self-discipline that leads to freedom — not only because the self-disciplined individual doesn’t have to be disciplined by an outside influence but also because it prevents him from becoming a slave to his own bad habits." [Hot Air]

Obama Faces Fearful Political Geography in November

This writer points out that the so-called "national polls", those conducted by CBSNBCNNAPNYT and others are showing Dear Leader moving upward towards election, are misleading. Using a simple example: his massive margins in California, New York and Illinois, where he has already garnered all the ELECTORAL VOTES possible, could increase to 100% of the popular votes cast, skewing the "national poll" greatly ..... yet it would not move him one electoral vote closer. Similarly, but on the other side of the equation, increasing Republican votes by relatively small amounts in key states such as NC, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and Iowa could win enough electoral votes to put the Republican office. This is true even if Dear Leader won 8,624,332 votes more than the Republican.

The author goes on to speculate what might happen in that event. Would we have a popular uprising to force discounting of the Electoral College results? Let's hope not. [clipper]

Unemployment Rising Again?

"The U.S. unemployment rate, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 9.0% in mid-February, up from 8.6% for January. The mid-month reading normally reflects what the U.S. government reports for the entire month, and is up from 8.3% in mid-January."
[Gallup]

NOAA’s Illicit $300,000 Party Boat

[Gateway Pundit]

3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die

"At a conference in Philadelphia last October, a Wharton professor noted that one of the country's biggest economic problems is a tsunami of misinformation. You can't have a rational debate when facts are so easily supplanted by overreaching statements, broad generalizations, and misconceptions.

Here are three misconceptions that need to be put to rest.

Misconception No. 1: Most of what Americans spend their money on is made in China.

Fact: Just 2.7% of personal consumption expenditures go to Chinese-made goods and services. 88.5% of U.S. consumer spending is on American-made goods and services.
---------------------------------------
Misconception No. 2: We owe most of our debt to China.

Fact: China owns 7.6% of U.S. government debt outstanding.
--------------------------------------
Misconception No. 3: We get most of our oil from the Middle East.

Fact: Just 9.8% of oil consumed in the U.S. comes from the Middle East.

--------------------------------------
[The Motley Fool]

IMPERIAL LEADER Does Not Want To Debate

We see repeatedly that Dear Leader only wants to pick up his marbles and go home. He will not SERIOUSLY debate those who confront his views. Recently, Gov. Brewer of Arizona encountered this. HERE is an audio report from a person who was a Professor at the University of Chicago when Dear Leader was an adjunct lecturer (NOT A PROFESSOR) .

Think about this behavior when you think of how he has handled other confrontations.............. [clipper]

Insurance industry could take hit from birth control mandate

"The insurance industry is concerned it will take a hit from the Obama administration’s mandate that they provide birth control in health plans for employees of religious organizations that object to the coverage.

Publicly, the health insurance industry has avoided getting involved in the fight.

But in private, the industry is dubious of the administration’s argument that the insurance industry wouldn't take a hit because birth control is cheaper than unwanted pregnancies." [The Hill]

Suspect in US Capitol bomb plot a Moroccan immigrant

WHO OVERSTAYED HIS VISA 13 YEARS AGO AND WAS NEVER DEPORTED !!!!

IN OTHER WORDS ........
AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether a lie is protected speech

"Fake hero Xavier Alvarez lied to his fellow Californians.

He never rescued an American ambassador. He was never a Marine. Most definitely, contrary to what he told a Southern California audience, Alvarez was never awarded the Medal of Honor.

He lied, until he was caught. Now, the Supreme Court must decide whether the First Amendment protects Alvarez and other wannabes from prosecution. The consequences could stretch well beyond what lawmakers and veterans call stolen valor." [McClatchy]

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/02/17/139237/supreme-court-to-hear-arguments.html#storylink=cpy

Culture of corruption: What’s happening with the Maxine Waters ethics case?!

The House Ethics Committee is a JOKE !!!! It has been "investigating" the ethics charges against Rep. Maxine Waters for THREE YEARS. Just recently six Committee members recused themselves. [clipper]

"The House Ethics Committee suffers from dysfunction by design. It is chronically understaffed and underfunded. The panel most recently went without a staff director for four months. Its investigative backlog was compounded by the partisan-charged suspension of two staff attorneys last fall who were knee-deep in the Waters’ probe. And the panel’s ranking Democratic member, California Rep. Linda Sanchez, is bogged down with her own ethical conflicts of interest." [Michelle Malkin]

"The ethics-committee probe came after a separate body, the Office of Congressional Ethics, found that Waters probably broke conflict-of-interest rules in her handling of OneUnited's pursuit of federal aid." [Seattle Times]

Obama’s Gas Pains

"Interesting and complementing lead stories in the Washington Post and New York Times this morning, and neither of them can be good for Obama. The Post’s lead story warns of “Taxmageddon” next year, when the payroll tax cut will expire, along with the Bush tax cuts; the Obamacare “surcharges” will also kick in on dividends and capital gains. In all, it will amount to about a $500 billion tax increase next year:

Overnight, the marriage penalty for joint filers will spring back to life, the value of the child credit will drop from $1,000 to $500, and the rate everyone pays on the first $8,700 of wages will jump from 10 percent to 15 percent. . ." [Power Line]

The Progressive Legacy: Part III

"Editor's Note: This is Part III in a series. Part I can be found here. Part II can be found here.

The same presumptions of superior wisdom and virtue behind the interventionism of Progressive Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson in the domestic economy also led them to be interventionists in other countries." [Thomas Sowell]

Iran poised for big nuke jump

"Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a point that would boost how quickly it could make nuclear warheads, diplomats tell The Associated Press.

They said Tehran has put finishing touches for the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges at the cavernous facility - machines that can produce enriched uranium much more quickly and efficiently than its present machines." [AP]

Dear Leader Reneges On Mars Missions

"Barack Obama says it should be possible to send astronauts to orbit the planet Mars by the mid-2030s and return them safely to Earth. The US president made the claim in a major speech to staff and guests at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He was laying out the details of his new policy for the US space agency.

In its budget submitted to Congress on February 13, the Obama administration zeroed out funding for NASA’s future Mars-exploration missions. The Mars Science Lab Curiosity, currently en route to the Red Planet and the nearly completed small MAVEN orbiter, scheduled for launch in 2013, will be sent, but that’s it. No funding has been provided for the Mars probes planned as joint missions in 2016 and 2018 with the European Space Agency, and nothing after that is funded either. This poses a grave crisis for the American space program." [Left Coast Rebel]

Obama's sneaky end run

"President Obama's administration has formally announced that it is going to ask Congress to waive a ban on providing funds for UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, because of its recognition of Palestinian statehood. U.S. law explicitly forbids American funding of international organizations that recognize Palestinian statehood in the absence of a peace treaty with Israel and UNESCO recognition clearly disqualifies it from receiving funding from the United States since there is no peace treaty in place.

The announcement didn't come from a White House press release or from Obama himself. It was made surreptitiously in a footnote to the budget Obama recently provided to Congress. It's as if Obama didn't want the American people to know that he was asking Congress to override and subvert the law, as he has done so many times in the past. Waivers and overriding and subverting the law are hallmarks of the Obama administration (ObamaCare waivers, No Child Left Behind waivers, Presidential appointments without Congressional approval, to offer a few examples) and perhaps he is seeing these hallmarks as a potential liability in the upcoming Presidential election campaign." [Jerry Philipson]

Obama Perverts Ex-Im Bank into Competitor for Domestic Banks

"This administration is making a habit of directing government agencies to change their very jobs without congressional authority. The military isn't there to fight wars, but perhaps to help with disaster assistance. The Department of Education is to issue guidelines on children's diets. NASA is to stop flying into outer space, and instead is to propagandize about the scientific contributions of Islam through the ages. The Department of Energy is to thwart energy independence by denying permits that would produce domestic energy.

And now the Export-Import Bank is to loan money to domestic customers engaging in domestic transactions.

This administration is abusing government, by using agencies for purposes other than their constitutional or statutory functions. This government by executive fiat grows ever more random, ever more disconnected from the reality of the legislation that chartered these departments and agencies as they wander ever farther afield." [American Thinker]

Chicago teachers union demanding 30% pay increase over two years

"... the CTU wants a 30% pay increase over the next two years, plus a reduction in class size, plus additional teachers, plus more time off for conferences and preparation.

It's not like they're doing a bang-up job. The graduation rate for Chicago high school students still hovers around 50%." [American Thinker]

DOORBELL

Obama's Eligibility Diversion

"We've seen Governor Perry's transcripts. Newt Gingrich's divorce papers. Details of Herman Cain's personal affairs. Sarah Palin's e-mails. Mitt Romney's job-creation record at Bain.

Why don't we have details of Obama's life or career, even in his official capacity as a state senator? Is Obama truly the haloed saint the media portrays -- is his past squeaky-clean, or uncannily unreal?

Instead of anything substantive to place in Obama's vetting file, we got a vague autobiography and a book of campaign speeches. Jack Cashill, author of Deconstructing Obama, has researched and written much about not only the very questionable authorship of both books, but also the inconsistencies in Obama's life story.

After almost four years into the reality of Obama's presidency, many Americans are beginning to wonder if the portrait painted by the media during the 2008 campaign was fiction, or merely the reflection of their own dreams on the blank screen that Obama offered.

Even the conservative media rarely dug into Obama's past. At least Obama had to deflect some criticism from Hillary in 2008. Now, he gets a free pass from members of his own party and the subservient mainstream. And lately, GOP pundits and candidates have been busy attacking each other.

Ordinary Americans are subjected to pat-downs just for holding a boarding pass. Surely the one who will hold the nuclear football deserves some scrutiny. Obama got away with little investigation for this term, but folks are becoming uneasy about giving him a pass for another four years. They want to know more about the history and character of the person who may have to answer that 3 a.m. call." [American Thinker]

More Of Your Federal Tax $$ At Work

Cincinnati-Area School Pays Kids to… Show Up to School

$25/week for Seniors and $10/week for others !!!!!

[Michelle Malkin]

NYT/CBS poll shows conservatives consolidating behind Santorum

"Consider this a corroboration of Gallup and Pew, both of which have recorded a surge for Rick Santorum that makes him the national frontrunner — if not in each state." [Hot Air]

Barack Obama: In the Footsteps of Twentieth Century Despots

"In his public speeches and well-produced appearances, Barack Obama plays the fictional role of someone who cares for the "little guy." He is the people's avenger against those he defines as the enemy, be it the wealthy, the corporations, deeply committed religious groups, conservatives and the Tea Party movement, or those intransigent ideologues in Congress who stand in the way of his nation-saving agenda. In this quest for power, there are no lies or obfuscations too egregious to tell or societal tensions too dangerous to create, as he alone can save the nation" [Steve McCann].

Obama Administration Lies to Dodge Responsibility for the Budget

"President Obama will offer his FY 2013 budget tomorrow. Already, leaks indicate that it will call for more spending, higher taxes, and a $1.3 trillion deficit for the current year. We have now gone for three years without having a federal budget, because the Democratic Senate refuses to pass one. Obama’s proposed budget is more or less irrelevant, as Harry Reid won’t bring it to the floor of the Senate. Mitch McConnell says he will, and if he does, it likely will be voted down 97-0, like Obama’s last proposed budget, or something similar.

It is inconceivable that Obama’s former Director of the Office of Management and Budget does not know that by law, a budget resolution cannot be filibustered. It passes the Senate with 51 votes:

The budget resolution is a “concurrent” congressional resolution, not an ordinary bill, and therefore does not go to the President for his signature or veto. It also requires only a majority vote to pass, and its consideration is one of the few actions that cannot be filibustered in the Senate.

The Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for their irresponsibility on the federal budget. The fact that they are reduced to lying to the American people shows how indefensible their conduct has become." [Power Line]

Nothing but Squid Ink

"Proponents of Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate on preventive care kept telling critics to wait and see what the final rules held. As of Friday afternoon, we now know. It wasn’t worth the wait.

If there was a question Friday morning whether the Obama administration might cede ground, there was no doubt at the end of the day. They haven’t budged.

Despite what President Obama said at his White House press conference, the actual regulations make permanent the “interim final regulations” issued August 3, 2011 — the ones that sparked the furor in the first place." [National Review]

As I have said ever since Dear Leader announced his candidacy...... WATCH WHAT HE DOES, NOT WHAT HE SAYS. They are regularly polar opposites!! [clipper]

In Federal Hill, citizens allowed to record police - but then there's loitering..

"When tech enterpreneuer Scott Cover happened upon a group of Baltimore Police standing over a handcuffed man near Cross Street market early Saturday, he pulled out his camera phone and started recording. Earlier in the day, he'd seen news reports of the Police Department affirming citizens' right to record officers performing their duties in public, and thought what was happening might - who knows - make for interesting video." [Baltimore Sun]

Archbishop to U.S. Troops: Obamacare Reg ‘Is a Blow to a Freedom...for Which You Have Seen Your Buddies Fall in Battle’

"Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, wrote a letter to be read at all Sunday Masses for U.S. military personnel around the world that said that a regulation issued by the Obama Administration under the new federal health care law was “a blow” to a freedom that U.S. troops have not only fought to defend but for which some have recently died in battle." [CNS NEWS]

Americans Are Better Than Who Obama Thinks We Are

"Along with their ever-present accusation that anyone who criticizes or disagrees with America's first black president is a racist, class envy is the centerpiece of Obama's re-election campaign.

It is extremely disheartening that the president of the United States believes he can win the votes of a majority of Americans by exploiting the sin of covetousness and hatred for the rich. In every speech, Obama claims that the rich are not paying their fair share. Please excuse my frankness, but Obama is lying.

Here are the facts. [Lloyd Marcus]

Middle Class Payroll Tax Cut Extension Comes Courtesy of Mortgage Fees on Home Buyers

"The new fee is a minimum of one-tenth of 1 percent on Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans, and is likely to go much higher. It will be imposed for the next 10 years on most mortgages and refinancings and it lasts for the life of the loan. For every $200,000, it amounts to an extra $15 dollars a month." [Michelle Malkin]

The lessons of the fall of communism have still not been learnt

".....in spite of the official agreement that there is no other way to organise the economic life of a free society than the present one (with a few tweaks), there are an awful lot of people implicitly behaving as if there were. Several political armies seem to be running on the assumption that there is still a viable contest between capitalism and Something Else. If this were just the hard Left within a few trade unions and a fringe collection of Socialist Workers’ Party headbangers, it would not much matter.

But the truth is that a good proportion of the population harbours a vague notion that there exists a whole other way of doing things that is inherently more benign and “fair” – in which nobody is hurt or disadvantaged – available for the choosing, if only politicians had the will or the generosity to embrace it.

Why do they believe this? Because the lesson that should have been absorbed at the tumultuous end of the last century never found its way into popular thinking – or even into the canon of educated political debate." [Telegraph]

A World Tax? Keep Your Eyes on the Internet

"The United Nations is finally moving toward the creation of a world tax: .........

That's why elections matter, especially presidential elections. If we haven't learned anything else from President Obama, we should have learned this: any president can circumvent Congress to do just about anything he or she wants to do, and Congress isn't likely to do anything about it. President Obama has made ignoring Congress an art form. He has changed life in the United States in ways that are just now becoming evident, and he has done it without the approval of Congress or the American people.

The stakes in the global change process to which I am referring in this article are much higher than anything that we've witnessed so far. That's an important reason why I'm convinced that we can't afford to re-elect President Obama. By 2016, when the next presidential election is held, life in the United States as we know it may already have been irreversibly changed. We shouldn't allow that to happen."

[American Thinker]

'The Mahdi does not negotiate. Neither should we'

"Several years ago, prior to my retirement from the CIA, I was meeting with a senior Iranian asset in the Middle East. I had finished debriefing him on the intelligence he had to provide, and we had launched into a more expansive conversation about the overall direction of American policy toward Iran. I was trying to explain the rationale behind our sanctions regime and the thought process that had led us to conclude that we could persuade the Islamic Republic of Iran to modify its behavior.

The asset interrupted me. "You really don't have any idea who you are dealing with, do you?" he asked. I told him I was not sure I understood what he meant." [CHARLES S. FADDIS]

Occupiers Scrubbed From McPherson Park

"The Occupy movement is winding down, as protesters in most cities have slunk away. Washington’s McPherson Park is the home–so to speak–of one of the last Occupier outposts. But even Washington has had enough; early this morning, District police officers descended on McPherson Park to enforce the no-camping law:" [Power Line]

Maher: 'We've Lost 500,000 Public Sector Jobs' Under Obama and 'Added 3.7 Million Private Sector Jobs'

"In this week's "Is He Really This Stupid or Just a Bald-Faced Liar" segment, HBO's Bill Maher Friday night once again proved that he is either one of the dumbest people on television or is way too dishonest to have his own show.

On the most recent installment of Real Time, the host emphatically claimed, "We've lost 500,000 public sector jobs since Obama took office and added 3.7 million private sector jobs" (video follows with transcript and commentary): "

Well, as reported by NewsBusters Friday in response to MSNBCer Martin Bashir's idiotic claim that Obama's increased 3 million private sector jobs since taking office, the actual figure from the Bureau of Labor statitics is a decline of 549,000 since January 2009.

As for Obama cutting 500,000 public sector jobs, the federal government - the only one the president has any control over - has increased workers by 39,000 since January 2009. If you exclude the Post Office - which is shedding jobs due to its own problems - public employment at the federal level is up 149,000. " [NewsBusters]♠

Barack Obama Lashes Out at Banks For Risky Mortgages in Weekly Address …Forgets to Mention His Lawsuit Forced Banks to Ease Lending Practices

"In his early activist days, Barack Obama the community organizer sued banks to ease lending practices. ....... Today Barack Obama lashed out at lenders who sold home loans to families who couldn’t afford them in his Weekly Address." [Gateway Pundit]

And they haven't learned yet. Yours truly, clipper, bought the condo in which we now live back in 2006 for just over $500,000. Today, because of having discovered that Chinese Drywall (out-gases fumes reported to be corrosive) was used in construction, the property is now valued by the County Appraiser at ZERO dollars.

Last week I received a phone call from the bank holding our current (obviously underwater) mortgage, offering me a re-finance deal! It seems a "new government program" allows them to re-fi our home with NO APPRAISAL required, minimum closing costs, and very low rates!!!! Here we go again ....... loans on properties beyond that which the property is valued !! I declined the offer. [clipper]

Is Eric Holder now in Contempt of Congress?

This is simple logic......... regarding the "Fast and Furious" gun-walking of thousands of firearms into Mexico (used to kill hundreds of Mexicans and one U.S. Border Agent).... Obama's Attorney General Holder is either LYING or if he really knew nothing about the program he is GROSSLY INCOMPETENT.

In either case, he MUST BE DISMISSED !! [clipper]

Watch several videos of Holder's testimony before Congress and of Dept. of Justice whistleblowers HERE

Amazonian Rainforest Fungus Eats Polyurethane, Potentially Solving a Big Landfill Problem

So..... for all you anti-plastic, enviro-freaks out there...... read this..... there's a bug that loves to eat polyurethane! [clipper]

Reid: No, I don’t plan to bring a budget to the floor this year

"It’s been more than 1,000 days since the Senate has passed a budget, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is unconcerned. In fact, he says he has no plans to bring a budget to the floor in 2012, either.

The Congressional Budget Act requires the president to submit a budget to Congress by Feb. 1 every year. The Senate Budget Committee is to report a budget resolution to the full Senate by April 1. The House and Senate are to reach agreement on a concurrent budget resolution by April 15. Senate Budget Democrats haven’t submitted a budget since 2009." [HotAir]

# people looking for work continues to drop

From the Bureau Of Labor Statistics ....... showing the % of persons "in the labor force". The decreasing numbers show how the pool of people who are employed has dropped since Obama's election in Nov. 2008. [clipper]

Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low

"A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million" [ZeroHedge]

This means these 1.2 million are NOW NOT COUNTED IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS !!! Wow ..... what a way to go ..... just keep telling unemployed to stop looking for work and our unemployment numbers can drop to ZERO. [clipper]

Got Milk?

"Last year, Russia imported 55,000 live cattle to help beef up its dairy herd, which has been in serious decline since, well, since collectivization efforts first began under Stalin." [Weekly Standard Blog]

Getting Nowhere, Very Fast

"California has a huge state debt and Washington has a huge national debt. But that does not discourage either Governor Jerry Brown or President Barack Obama from wanting to launch a very costly high-speed rail system." [Thomas Sowell]

DOJ officials accepted cash bribes, Holder aware but made no arrests

"It appears as though embezzlement, theft, intimidation, cover-ups and even murder (fast and furious) are somehow not enough to lead to arrests at the DOJ. So why would Attorney General Eric Holder bother arresting two DOJ prosecutors when he found out they were accepting cash bribes? Answer, he wouldn’t. And he didn’t." [Liberty News]