Relax - obama Is On The Job

obama tours the east coast area after Hurricane Sandy.

More Benghazi-gate

Here's your Benghazi-gate update ... in pictures.

(H/T The Conservative Treehouse)


There's a story behind the next one. Short version - Facebook is censoring a page run by the Special Operations Speaks PAC (SOS) for posting the image below. Go here for the full story, and here for the SOS Facebook page.

This one is courtesy of the creative mind of kerrcarto over at GGDF. The gentleman in the bottom half is Charles Woods, father of Ty Woods, one of the SEALS who stepped forward to help Americans in danger during the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, and who was killed while requesting help from the obama administration.

kerrcarto's been a busy boy. He also posted this quote that obama vomited forth when he was addressing some Red Cross workers in Sandy's aftermath. Try not to choke on the incredibly insensitive hypocrisy.

"America's tough and we're tougher because we pull together, we leave nobody behind, we make sure that we respond as a nation, and remind ourselves that whenever an American is in need all of us stand together to provide the help that's necessary." - Barack Obama

Finally, Doug Ross put together this chart comparing the media reaction to the Valerie Plame incident during the Bush years and the Benghazi debacle. Most telling, to me at least, are the total number of deaths (Benghazi - 4; Plamegate - 0) and the number of NYT front-page stories devoted to each (Benghazi - 0; Plamegate - 93). Sort of puts things in perspective...

Halloween Funnies

Halloween is a time for costumes. Here's a few you probably haven't seen.

This year, of course, we have the presidential election competing with Halloween for our attention. here's a few cartoons that manage to combine the two.

And then there's the media...

We'll leave it to Linus to put things in perspective.

Lesson Not Learned

I realize that I'm in danger of becoming obsessed with this Benghazi thing, but I come from a military family. Both my father and my father-in-law are combat veterans. My mother was one of the first Women in the Air Force (WAFs), and my mother-in-law was a Red Cross ambulance driver and nurse during WWII. My record doesn't come close to any of theirs, but I did serve during the Viet Nam war. "Leave no one behind" is in my DNA.

I love my country. I respect and admire those who stand "Between their loved home and the war's desolation."  That's why this whole obama "leave 'em to die" thing has me so irate.

How many times will the political elites fail to learn the same lesson that is crystal clear to the rest of us 'ordinary' Americans?

What went wrong in Benghazi is the same thing that went wrong in Afghanistan. It is the same thing that went wrong on the original September 11. It is the same thing that has gone wrong throughout the War on Terror. If we are to learn any lesson from what happened in Benghazi, it should be that American lives come before Muslim diplomacy and that any government which does not put American lives first, which does not take whatever measures are necessary to save their lives, regardless of what Muslims may think, is not an American government, but a post-American government.

Why is that so damn difficult to understand?

IMO obama's failure to act is a textbook example of "dereliction of duty."

Former National Security Adviser Bud McFarlane: For Obama to Do Nothing During Benghazi Attack is “Dereliction of Duty”

You don’t just passively allow Americans to remain under attack for eight hours at a time when you have forces within range and do nothing. The Secretary of Defense was in the White House at five o’clock within an hour of when the attacks started. He could have told him, “Yes. We have special operations people and F18 aircraft that could be deployed right away. To have known what he had available, to have known that Americans were under fire, and to have done nothing, is dereliction of duty that I have never seen in a Commander in Chief from a president of any party.

Outrageous.

Outrageous indeed. That worthless POS should be impeached indicted run out of town on a rail.

As should his media compañeros...

Another Reason To Vote For Mitt

As if you needed one...

Duck And Cover

To all my peeps back East - Good Luck getting through Sandy.

BTW, I have a sister named Sandy. She can be a pain in the butt too...

Sandy is just what obama and his cronies in the media were hoping for - something to divert attention from what a wretched job he did regarding the Benghazi fiasco. (H/T Stilton Jarlsberg)

 

FOD 2012.10.29

The fiasco in Benghazi is disgraceful, disgusting, and despicable.

The Benghazi debacle has three parts: how we neglected security while al-Qaeda was building a presence in Libya; whether the administration tried to mislead the public as to the nature of the attack; and now whether the administration denied pleas for help from operatives on the ground at the consulate.

At best it exemplifies the incompetence of the obama administration. At worst it is criminal negligence, if not outright treason. That miserable failure currently masquerading as the CINC shouldn't be running for re-election. He should be facing impeachment and criminal charges.

Obama Is a Coward and Disgrace

(obama) didn’t care enough to save American lives when he had the opportunity.

The mainstream media is not even covering this story, but is parroting Obama’s talking points deceiving the American public.

Obama is a coward who’s more interested in lying and obfuscating his way into a second term than being a leader who takes responsibility for his actions. He is 100% responsible for the deaths of these four men. He is a disgrace not only to all Americans but also to the human race.

I won't bother to recap what's happened. Others have done so here, here, here, here, and here.

But I will urge you to read this.

And this. (H/T Mellow Jihadi)

And take 3 1/2 minutes out of your day to watch this.


(H/T GGDF)

If that's not enough to get you thoroughly riled up, ask yourself where the hell the media is in all this? Can you imagine their reaction if this had happened during a Republican administration?

Worthless bastards, all of them...

Sunday Funnies 2012.10.28

My wife's out of town, so my 16-year-old daughter decided to have a slumber party last night.

I have never heard so many high-pitched shrieks, giggles, and "Oh My Gawds" in all my born days.

I was banished to my office. Every time I came out the conversation dropped to hushed whispers and I was the subject of suspicious glares until I snagged another beer (hiding it under my shirt, of course) and scurried back into my little refuge.

They were much friendlier the next morning. That could be because I was expected to fix breakfast for them.

Oh well, I'd better enjoy it while I can. In a couple of years she'll be off to college and then gone to who knows where...

 Replace the dogs with girls, and this is what our living room looked like this morning.

It's As Simple As Black And White

The arrogance, ignorance, and hypocrisy of Eric Holder's Justice Department continues to boggle the mind.

KINSTON, N.C. - Voters in this small city decided overwhelmingly last year to do away with the party affiliation of candidates in local elections, but the Obama administration recently overruled the electorate and decided that equal rights for black voters cannot be achieved without the Democratic Party.

The Justice Department’s ruling, which affects races for City Council and mayor, went so far as to say partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their “candidates of choice” - identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black.

The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters’ right to elect the candidates they want.

My head hurts just trying to follow that 'logic.'

Kinston is basically a one-party town: "no one among more than a half-dozen city officials and local residents was able to recall a Republican winning office here." So how is eliminating party affiliations going to violate black voters' rights?

Kinston voters, both black and white, overwhelmingly approved the change.

The measure appeared to have broad support among both white and black voters, as it won a majority in seven of the city’s nine black-majority voting precincts and both of its white-majority precincts.

Even the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights questions the ruling.

“The Voting Rights Act is supposed to protect against situations when black voters are locked out because of racism,” said Abigail Thernstrom, a Republican appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. “There is no entitlement to elect a candidate they prefer on the assumption that all black voters prefer Democratic candidates.”

Tell that to Loretta King, the (unelected) DOJ official who made the ruling.

Ms. King is also the same DOJ political hack unelected official who halted the investigation into the New Black Panther's voter intimidation case.

If I were black I'd be insulted that the obama administration thinks I am so stupid I need a great big (D) by a candidate's name to tell me who to vote for. But since I'm not black all I can do is offer my white perspective.

Blacks do not need the democrat party. The democrat party needs blacks.

Sheesh...

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.10.26

Like I said earlier, today is a choice between (1) a bad liver and a broken heart, or (2) Texas cookin'.

I'm going with the Texas cooking theme.


But if you're interested in the 'bad liver and a broken heart' theme, here's one for you.

Cautious Optimism

Just got back from early voting. Granted, I live in a conservative part of a conservative state, but there was an aura of energy and excitement at the polling location that I haven't felt in quite some time. Lots of cars with Romney stickers, lots of chatter while waiting in line, overall a general sense of shared purpose and 'let's get this done.'

Hopefully that will be repeated nationwide...

Bad Liver And A Broken Heart

I'm conflicted today. For a simple Friday there's a lot going on.

First and foremost, today is my wife and my (mine? mine's? ours? us'ums? our'un?) anniversary. She is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me. She is a saint, a courtesan, a mother, and a blessing to all who know her.

But...

Here it is our anniversary - and on a Friday, no less, leading up to a romantic weekend full of lots of ... well, you know. And what does she do?

Run off to Dallas with her sister for a class reunion, leaving me home alone with a bad liver and a broken heart -- plus two teenagers to babysit. (Yeah, they're old enough to leave home alone, but I remember what I did when my parents left me home alone. No friggin' way that's gonna happen on my watch.)

But I'll give my wife credit. Before she left town she set me up with a date.

Like I said before, I'm not much of a golfer. But a neighbor lady is, and she and her husband were entered in a local couples golf tournament. Then yesterday his back went out, which meant she needed a fill-in. My wife volunteered me. So get your mind out of the gutter. It's purely innocent (wink, wink...).

In other news, October is National Vegetarian Month.

Hah!

On the other hand, today is Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day.

The tastiest holiday of the year is upon us – Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. The official Texas holiday celebrates the soul food of the Lone Star state with restaurants across the state participating by offering chicken fried steak specials, entertainment and a whole lot of chicken fried every year on October 26.

A really good chicken fried steak (CFS) is a gift from God above. The notion that an entire day should be devoted to such a heavenly offering is such a good idea that it has spread beyond Texas throughout the country.

TravelCenters of America, operator of Petro Stopping Centers, has announced it will offer its chicken fried steak at all participating Petro Iron Skillet restaurants across the country for just $5 on Friday in honor of Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day.

If you're a do-it-yourself type of person, here's a pretty good CFS recipe. Even if you're a novice this is an easy step-by-step guide, with pictures. Notice how the finished product is all lovely shades of brown/tan/beige.

That whole shades-of-one-color plate thing drives my wife crazy -- she likes green stuff -- which brings this post back to where it began.

If she runs off and leaves me alone on our anniversary weekend, I'm messing around with the neighbor ladies, limiting my diet to earth tones (ever notice how a Shiner belongs to the same color family as a CFS?), and missing her terribly while she's gone.

There - that'll show her...

And The Truth Shall Set You Free

Following up on yesterday's post:

Democrat Campaign Manager Urges Voters To Commit Election Fraud

Project Veritas has released a new investigation that exposes Representative Jim Moran’s Field Director, Patrick Moran, conspiring to commit election fraud.

When approached by an undercover investigator for advice on how to steal the votes of more than 100 people, Moran advised falsifying documents to satisfy Virginia’s new voter ID law. He said, “Bank statement obviously would be tough, but they can fake a utility bill with ease.”

Moran went on to clarify that, “You’d have to forge it.”

Announcing the release, James O’Keefe said, “This is the most damning evidence to date of the scope of voter fraud in this country. Patrick Moran is not only the son of an 11-term Congressman, but is also the Field Director on his father’s re-election campaign.

As if it needed pointing out, Moran Sr. is a democrat.

O'Keefe goes on to point out that "(Moran) would rather win by fraud than risk seeing the political positions of his father (and) Barack Obama ... rejected by the legitimate voters of Virginia.”

Now project that attitude nationwide. Romney needs to win by a large enough margin to overcome all this BS, because there is absolutely no doubt that the dems are trying every dirty trick in the book to win.

Once the slimeball got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, the Moran campaign tried to limit the damage.

Patrick Moran, son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), resigned from his father's campaign on Wednesday after conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video that shows him offering advice to an undercover videographer who claimed to want to commit voter fraud.

"Effective immediately, I have resigned from the Moran for Congress campaign," Patrick Moran said in a statement to TPM sent from his campaign email address.

"Patrick is well liked and was a well-respected member of the campaign team," the Moran campaign said in an unsigned statement. "This incident, however, was clearly an error in judgment. The campaign has accepted Patrick’s resignation, effective immediately."

Update: Patrick Moran told Politico in an email Wednesday evening that he thought the undercover operative was joking "and only for that reason did I humor him." Moran said he regretted the decision to go along with it. The DNC fired an employee featured in a separate video from O'Keefe's Project Veritas earlier this month.

'Only joking'. Yeah, like electing the president of the United States is a laughing matter.

And if you're wondering why you haven't heard about this (or the other 'isolated incidents'), take a look at the previous post.

All The News That's Fit To Print

The New York Times has a position they call the "Public Editor." It's sort of a cross between an ombudsman representing the readers and what the British term the Loyal Opposition.

That position was held until recently by Arthur Brisbane. While one might quibble with many of Mr. Brisbane's observations, I find myself in complete agreement with at least one statement in his final column:

...the (NYT) is powerfully shaped by a culture of like minds — a phenomenon, I believe, that is more easily recognized from without than from within.

That statement is, of course, cherry-picked and taken somewhat out of context. Mr. Brisbane, like the loyal NYT staffer he was, takes great pains to defend the paper while at the same time acknowledging its faults. I think he gives the Times too much credit for maintaining its objectivity. I'm not the only one.

A just-released Pew Research Center survey found that The Times’ “believability rating” had dropped drastically among Republicans compared with Democrats, and was an almost-perfect mirror opposite of Fox News’s rating. Can that be good?

No, it's not good. But IMO it's well-deserved. Journalism in general, and the NYT in particular, has morphed from 'just the facts, ma'am' to spinning the story to advance the writers' -- or the papers' -- point of view.

It's not just me that's saying that. No less a personage than Clark Kent of The Daily Planet fame feels the same way.

He can leap a building in a single bound, but even Clark Kent seems to be giving up for now on the newspaper industry.

Clark Kent criticizes his Planet editor Perry White, with Kent at one point telling the editor, "I've been a journalist barely five years now. Why am I the one sounding like a grizzled ink-stained wretch who thinks that news should be about -- I don't know, news?"

What is the world coming to when meek, mild-mannered Clark Kent rants about journalism's declining standards?

Thank God for the Internet.

And So It Begins

By all accounts the 2012 presidential election is going to be close. The battle for each and every vote is fierce. obama and his cronies have shown themselves to be utterly without honor or integrity, and capable of the dirtiest of tricks.

While I'm not a conspiracy nut, I am beginning to wonder about the validity of our electoral process, as suggested by the following articles.

Where there's smoke, there's fire...

voters say ballot cast for Romney came up Obama on machine

On Monday, several voters complained that their electronic ballot machine cast the wrong vote...

One of the voters, Sher Coromalis, says she cast her ballot for Governor Mitt Romney, but every time she entered her vote the machine defaulted to President Obama.

Guilford County (North Carolina) Board of Elections Director George Gilbert says the problem arises every election. It can be resolved after the machine is re-calibrated by poll workers.

Yeah, right, and I've got a full head of hair, washboard abs, and am hung like a stallion (well, two out of three, anyway).

It the problem happens every election, why not (1) test the machines before the election, and (2) re-calibrate before the voters arrive? Better yet, find out why the machines are screwed up and fix the root cause.

Why don't they do that? Because the errors favor the democrats. If the machines recorded a Romney vote every time the obama button was pushed you can bet your bottom dollar there'd be a huge hue and cry, the press would blanket the state with an 'investigative' reporters, and Eric Holder's New Black Panthers DOJ agents would swoop in and hand out AK-47s to everyone in sight.

It's not just the rise of the machines that's so troubling. It's also the presence of the walking (and voting) dead on the voter rolls.

North Carolina Registers Over 583 Democrat Votes Over the Age of 112

There are obviously verifiable vote fraud problems in North Carolina.

In 2010 those problems surfaced meaningfully ... a total Absentee Ballot vote of over 2,660 people over the age of 110.

Now, two years later in 2012, most of those 110 year-old voters are now 112, and apparently sill hale, hearty, and voting.

...832 voters over the age of 112. Of these voters, over 70% were slated as Democrats, with a diminutive 25% counted as Republicans. The rest were unaffiliated.

When peering a little more deeply at the numbers we find that an astounding 2,374 people between the ages of 94 and 100 have already voted in the NC election to date. While an even more astounding 832 votes came from those individuals aged 112. However, according to the Guinness book of world records, the oldest living person in the world, at present, lives in Japan and is 114 years old. It would seem obvious that, according to the NC vote registry, this old fellow might be nudged aside in the near future, especially considering the crop of spry 112 year-olds seemingly alive and well in the old North State.

It's not just happening in North Carolina. It's happening in other places also.

There are 300 more suspected noncitizens on Colorado's voter rolls, Secretary of State Gessler announced Tuesday...

Got that? 300 more. That brings the total to 441 foreigners registered to vote in a U.S. election - and that's just in Colorado.

The latest figures are from the 3,903 people who received letters from Gessler's office questioning their citizenship in August. During a first round of checks, Gessler said 141 others were found to be possible noncitizens based on a federal immigration database.

Of the 441 identified as suspected noncitizens, 232 are unaffiliated, 163 are Democrats, and 37 are Republican.

No surprise there, other than I would have expected the number of illegally registered democrats to be higher.

And the response of the democrat party?

...Gessler should focus on more important issues, like making sure the secretary of state's office website functions properly...

Oh yeah, having a web site up and running is more important than preventing illegal aliens from voting for the president of the United States.

GMAFB.

Now we know why the democrat party is so opposed to voter ID laws...

But not to worry, fellow citizens. The United Nations is sending observers to monitor the election.

In a move drawing fire from voter fraud groups, the largest global election monitoring organization is sending an unprecedented number of observers to U.S. polling stations, paying particular attention to any signs of voter intimidation.

Where were they last year when uniformed and club-toting members of the New Black Panther party congregated outside Philadelphia polling places? Or when the obama administration interfered with the Justice Department's prosecution of those thugs for voter intimidation?

Thank goodness I live in Texas, where we don't take kindly to that crap.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has informed a group of international observers who intend to monitor polls in the Lone Star state on election day, that they best keep their distance. Literally.

He wrote that if observers are found to be stationed within 100 feet of the entrance of a polling place they could be subject to criminal prosecution.

Deer season opens down here the weekend before election day. There could be large numbers of camo-clad armed men wandering about on November 6.

Just sayin'...

What's Wrong With This Picture?

U.S. spending more on Pakistan flood relief than Pakistan

The US government has pledged more money toward this year's flood relief efforts in Pakistan than the country's own government, according to a report this month from the Congressional Research Service.

Floods have devastated swathes of the Pakistani countryside this year. And once again the US is contributing substantial funds despite strained ties between the two governments and large anti-American street protests.

Like many things, at first glance this seems pretty straight-forward. Those damn ungrateful foreigners are failing to appreciate all the help we're giving them. But like most things in life, the real situation is a little more complex than it appears.

But instead of helping repair US-Pakistan relations, the flood aid looks more likely to harden the existing pattern where Americans tire of financially supporting a country where elites are barely taxed and the majority of citizens dislike the US. Pakistan, meanwhile, points out US pledges are often much greater than the aid actually delivered – and what aid does come is spent in a self-interested manner.

"These aid figures are on paper and never really materialize into anything. The foreign aid pledge is always about - this will come, that will happen, but it never does," says Irshad Bhatti, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), an autonomous government body that looks after disaster relief in Pakistan.

The U.S. has pledged $135 million for flood relief. So far, according to the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, it has delivered a mere $100,000. That's not even a rounding error in our national debt.

Years ago I read a book titled "The Ugly American." It's a fictional examination of how and why America's efforts to win the hearts and minds of people in other countries often falls short due to our innate arrogance and failure to understand local cultures. The Pakistan flood relief program seems to fall into that category.

If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's an eye-opener.

For God's Sake, Donald, STFU

Things are going along nicely for Romney. He came through the debates in good shape, the trends are in his favor, and although it's going to be close, I have a good feeling about the election.

And then along comes Donald Trump.

Donald Trump to reveal ‘divorce papers of Michelle and Barack Obama’

Donald Trump is to claim that he has unearthed divorce papers of Michelle Obama and the President, according to a respected financial pundit with links to the tycoon.

It is alleged that the eccentric real estate mogul will claim that the documents show the First Lady and the President were at one point in their two decades of marriage seriously considering splitting up.

Who the hell cares? All marriages go through ups and downs (some of us have more downs than ups, but that's another story).

Besides, even barry and michelle are entitled to some privacy. What may or may not have happened in their marriage years ago is their business - no one else's.

If Trump does do this or something equally stupid, it could very well energize the obama faithful and sway some independents to cast sympathy votes for him. That's the last thing we need in what looks like a down-to-the-wire contest.

Hey Donnie, here's some free advice. Sit down and shut the f**k up.

What an idiot - and for once I'm not referring to barry...

Single Nation v. E Pluribus Unum

When discussing long term competitive advantage, I often counsel my students to take into account demographics. Changes in age groups (think "baby boomers"), ethnic makeup (think "Hispanic growth"), and the like have profound implications for corporations.

And for political parties. Although to be honest, I never thought about the emergence of the so-called "Single Nation." (H/T The Cranky Professor)

Democrats have woken up to the huge political rifts that have emerged over the past 30 years—between married and single people, and people with kids and those who don’t have them. And save African Americans, there may be no constituency more loyal to the president and his party than the growing ranks of childless and single Americans.

In the short term at least, the president and his party are seizing a huge opportunity. Since 1960, the percentage of the population that is over age 15 and unmarried increased by nearly half, 45 percent from 32 percent. Since 1976, the percentage of American women who did not have children by the time they reached their 40s doubled, to nearly 20 percent.

Led by Sandra Fluke, no doubt, although why someone who can't draw a dozen people to a public appearance still merits press coverage is beyond me. Anyway...

And even as the president has slipped in the polls, the fast-growing Single Nation has stayed behind him. Unmarried women prefer Obama by nearly 20 points (56 to 39 percent), according to Gallup, while those who are married prefer Romney by a similarly large margin.

Interesting stat. I'm not sure how to explain it, other than the suspicion that unmarried women are more focused on the here-and-now, while married women tend to take a more global, long-term view, and hence are more concerned with the soaring debt burden dumped on future generations by obama's policies.

... In Germany and Japan, the demographic results of this—fewer workers to support more retired people—has led to difficult tax hikes to allow the remaining young workers to maintain the funding for a growing number of aging boomers. This is the Europe’s screwed generation: “the victims of expansive welfare states and the massive structural debt charged by their parents.”

Putting things into perspective:

(In America) there are now more houses with dogs than houses with children.

And in a lot of cases the dogs are better cared for and better treated than the kids. Just compare single women's spoiled mutts with the plight of inner city children.

The emerging “new politics” of the rising Single Nation could impact elections for decades to come, particularly in Democratic strongholds like Chicago, New York or San Francisco. These areas will be increasingly dominated by a vast, often well-educated and affluent class of voters whose interests are largely defined around their own world-view, without overmuch concern with the fate of offspring, along with the urban poor and the public workers who tend to both groups. Since the childless frequently lack the kinship networks that are obliged to provide for them in moments of trouble, they tend to look more to government to care for them in hard times or old age.

"they tend to look more to government to care for them in hard times or old age" instead of taking steps to take care of themselves. I'm 'married with children' (except Al Bundy has more hair) but my wife and I have long term disability and care insurance, prepaid burial plans, life insurance, and other plans to make sure we're not a burden on our children or society as we age. Too bad the Single Nation isn't as unselfish.

But the Single Nation’s grip on power may not be sustainable for more than a generation. After all they, by definition, will have no heirs. This, notes author Eric Kauffman, hands the long-term advantage to generally more conservative family-oriented households, who often have two or more offspring. Birth rates among such conservative populations such as Mormons and evangelical Christians tend to be twice as high than those of the nonreligious.

As a result, Kauffman predicts that inevitably “the religious will inherit the earth” and ensure that conservative, more familial-oriented values inevitably prevail...

That's the good news. The bad news is that the inevitability described above won't kick in for another generation or two. The worse news is that it will probably be too late to fix things, especially this election cycle.

But in the here and now, and especially this November, these long-term trends will not yet be evident. The tsunami of Chasidic and Mormon children are not yet eligible to vote, and won’t be for a decade or two. So even as the president loses among the married, the growing ranks of the Single Nation could still assure his reelection, and propel his party’s ascendency for a decade or more before the whole trend crashes against a demographic wall.

All we can do is hope that there are enough of us old farts, that we hang on long enough, and that we continue to vote in enough numbers to stave off the Single Nation until our kids become old enough -- and hopefully wise enough -- to vote intelligently.

Prediction For Tonight's Debate

I realize that electing the leader of the free world is a big deal, but at this point the debates have pretty much degenerated to this:

Still, I hope Mitt kicks obama's skinny little butt, regardless of how much the debates have morphed from meaningful exchanges to political theater.

There is, however, at least one way to make the debates more watchable.

Of course, the impartial media moderators would probably object to that change.

Finally, here's a short civics lesson. It's an updated version of what we learned in school about the three branches of government.

FOD 2012.10.22

In some states, early voting for the Nov. election has already begun.

Turnout is heavy and the lines are long.

And in other news, Christmas is coming.

I love Christmas lights. They remind me of the people who voted for Obama.

They all hang together; half of them don't work, and the ones that do aren't all that bright...

(Thanks, Bots)

Weekend Follies

Twenty years ago the bank I used to work at was closed by the FDIC - for the second time. I won't repeat that story. If you're interested you can read the gory details here (it's a long post - scroll down to the last five paragraphs for my personal backstory).

Anyway, the people I worked with were a great bunch of folks. In fact, I met my wife there. We've stayed in touch with a number of our friends and co-workers over the years. Several of us get together in Austin twice a year for a weekend of golf and reminiscing. This weekend is one of those semi-reunions.

I'm not much of a golfer. I enjoy the game, but don't devote enough time to it to be very good. But it's fun to get out on a nice course, have a few laughs (and beers), and enjoy the scenery, the weather, the fellowship - oh yeah, and the beers.

We've been known to have such a good time that we're not invited back (did I mention the beers?)

But who knows? This could be the year I score that elusive hole-in-one.

(Warning - the image revealed by clicking the button below is definitely NSFW.)

Friday Follies Happy Hour 2012.10.19

I had gumbo for lunch, which put me in the mood for a little Cajun voodoo music, courtesy of Bobby Bare.

In The Doghouse

Harper is having issues while dogsitting. We don't have to import dogs to have issues. Our own do that quite well enough on their own.

The standard morning routine around here is that our son gets up disgustingly early to attend to various school activities. He generally comes downstairs around 6:00 a.m., lets the dogs out, fixes himself a quick breakfast, and lets them back in around 6:15 on his way out the door.

Today, however, they decided to (1) chase deer, and (2) get into a fight with a raccoon, all the while barking and howling at the top of their furry little lungs. Our son chased after them, yelling at the top of his lungs for them to "come."

Of course, most of the action took place near our bedroom window.

After waiting in vain a few minutes for the ruckus to die down, I  stumbled out of bed, pulled on my robe, stuck my feet into a pair of flip-flops, grabbed a flashlight, and went outside.

Our property is fenced and cross-fenced. The area around the house is fenced, enclosing about 3 acres. The land slopes from front to back, has lots of small rock outcroppings, and is blessed with a lot of vegetation that defends itself with thorns, stickers, and pointy leaves (wait-a-minute vines, agarita, and of course cactus). That is not the best terrain in which to stagger around in the dark while wearing flimsy sandals. Great way to sprain/break an ankle/knee/leg.

The prevailing 'trees' are scrub cedars, which are better described as tall bushes rather than trees. That means the raccoon can't climb high enough to escape the dogs, and the dogs can shake the tree/bush hard enough to dislodge the hapless raccoon and get it on the ground.

Did I mention that a cold front blew through last night, with temperatures in the 40s and winds gusting around 30 mph? Did I also mention that I habitually sleep nude?

So I'm chasing two dogs who are chasing a raccoon who is dashing from tree to tree, but doesn't quite make it to the next one before the mutts catch up to him. The result is a few seconds of intense tumbling furballs punctuated by respites in the cedars. My robe is flapping open, forcing me to divide my attention between dangerous footing, dangling genitals, and battling animals.

The damn coon finally made it to the fence and escaped through it, leaving a pair of extremely excited and frustrated dogs.

And one thoroughly pissed-off almost-senior-citizen.

I had to use the belt from my robe as a makeshift leash to drag the dogs back to the house. Thank goodness it was still dark, because I was in no mood to worry about the neighbors getting an eyeful as my robe flapped freely in the wind.

My wife, of course, slept through the whole fiasco. Worse yet, she showed no inclination to help warm up those parts of my anatomy that had gotten chilled.

Damn dogs...

Always Leave Them Laughing

Say what you will, at least Mitt (or his writers) have a sense of humor. (H/T Ace of Spades)

The Al Smith Dinner is a Catholic charity dinner organized by the Archdiocese of New York. Presidential candidates typically attend, and make speeches featuring political humor. Here's a few zingers that Mitt got in during his turn at the microphone.

Romney on debate prep: "First, refrain from alcohol for 65 years before the debate."

"Speaking of Sesame Street, tonight's dinner was brought to you by the letter 'O' and the number 16 trillion."

"You can't get through an election without someone who truly stands with you. I have my lovely wife Ann, he has Bill Clinton."

"Of course rules have to be enforced, we need to make sure things are fair, (sarcastically) that's why we have the press."

"But the press and I have different jobs. My job is to tell the American people my plans for the country, the press' job is to make sure no one hears about it."

The press maybe sees things in a particular way. They've already written the headlines about tonight's dinner: "Obama embraced by Catholics, Romney dines with Rich people."

Binders Full Of Women

Change Of Pace

I am fed up with politics, debates, liars, media accomplices, and all that crap.

Here's something to make you feel good for a change.



(Source)

For the record, I have a cold. That's why my eyes were watering and I needed a couple of tissues.

Debate #2 Round-Up

Last night's debate has sparked a veritable tsunami of commentary. Here's just a few.

Candy Crowley Admits Romney Was Correct About Libya Attack But Simply Couldn’t Stop Herself

CNN’s Crowley first plays umpire, then joins Team Obama

Crowley skews hard for Obama in disastrous presidential debate

If Tuesday night’s presidential debate proved nothing else, it demonstrated one thing: CNN’s Candy Crowley is definitely not an “uncommitted voter.”

Candy Crowley Plays Biggest Loser with Obama

But Crowley is just the latest chapter in the long story of media bias. Another debate, another debacle for America’s media.

Bizarre Coincidence: Democrats Get More Time in All Three Debates

If you want more time to get your message out in debates, it’s good to be a Democrat.

According to the CNN debate clock, President Obama spoke at greater length than Mitt Romney during both debates, as did Vice President Biden during his debate with Paul Ryan...

The same pattern -- moderators consistently favoring obama -- shows up in the number and nature of interruptions.

In the first presidential debate, Jim Lehrer, no slouch at shilling for the Democratic Party, interrupted Mitt Romney 15 times and Barack Obama only five. 

Crowley made Lehrer look like an amateur. She interrupted Obama nine times, (although four of those were when he wouldn’t respect the time limit when discussing assault weapons; he went over his time limit all night long), but when it came to Mitt Romney, she was utterly beyond the pale.

Crowley interrupted Romney 28 times. 28 times. Her desperation to keep Romney from scoring points was so patently obvious that it wasn’t really a surprise when she had her infamous moment: the moment when she interrupted and falsely claimed Romney was incorrect in accusing Obama of refusing to call the Benghazi attack an act of terror.

Same story in the Biden-Ryan debate.

Martha Raddatz, the ABC reporter who moderated the vice presidential debate ... consistently changed the subject when things got too difficult for Vice President Biden, and she interrupted Paul Ryan 31 times, to interrupting Biden just 19 times.

Candy Crowley's blatant support of obama reminded me of the old story about boxer Max Baer.

After being knocked down twice in the third round when fighting Joe Louis, Baer's trainer told him "Don't worry, kid. He hasn't laid a glove on ya".

Baer replied, "Then you better keep an eye on the referee because someone in there is beating the hell outta me."

And what was candidate obama doing while referee Crowley battered Mitt from behind?

Hiding behind her (voluminous) skirts...

(H/T PJ Tatler for the graphic.)

At Least One Democrat Tells the Truth

Note: This post was prepared Tuesday afternoon, before the second obama-Romney debate. I may or may not have something on that later, depending on how it went, how I feel about it, and how much free time I have. But in the meantime, I found this quote telling. (H/T Moonbattery)

Bonus points if you can guess who said it.

“Ideologies aren’t all that important. What’s important is psychology.

“The Democratic constituency is just like a herd of cows. All you have to do is lay out enough silage and they come running. That’s why I became an operative working with Democrats. With Democrats all you have to do is make a lot of noise, lay out the hay, and be ready to use the ole cattle prod in case a few want to bolt the herd.

“Eighty percent of the people who call themselves Democrats don’t have a clue as to political reality.

“What amazes me is that you could take a group of people who are hard workers and convince them that they should support social programs that were the exact opposite of their own personal convictions. Put a little fear here and there and you can get people to vote any way you want.

“The voter is basically dumb and lazy. The reason I became a Democratic operative instead of a Republican was because there were more Democrats that didn’t have a clue than there were Republicans.

“Truth is relative. Truth is what you can make the voter believe is the truth. If you’re smart enough, truth is what you make the voter think it is. That’s why I’m a Democrat. I can make the Democratic voters think whatever I want them to.”

The quote above is from noted democrat political operative James Carville.

For once in my life I find myself agreeing with him...

Hillary And The Bus - Part Two

Following up on the question about why Hillary threw herself under the bus in regards to the Benghazi fiasco - why would she put herself in position to get blamed for the lack of security that led to the deaths of our ambassador to Libya and three other U.S. citizens? Neither she nor Bill are known for their altruism, so the question remains: what's in it for her?

I think I have the answer.

If obama wins reelection (God help us all...) then I predict that sometime between the election and the inauguration Biden will resign for 'health reasons' (everyone is sick of him) and obama will pick Hillary to take his place. That positions her perfectly for a 2016 run for the presidency.

It also puts her one heartbeat away from the presidency in 2013.

barry better be careful ... very, very careful...

Debate Prediction

I said this after the first debate. I still think it's valid today.

"obama will do better next time -- he can hardly do worse -- and then his media puppets will proclaim that obama is back, obama won, obama has momentum, ad nauseam..."

I also think it's no secret that tonight's moderator, Candy Crowley, leans to the left. However, I expect her to be very subtle in how she exercises her bias. For example, the greatest favor she can do obama is to strictly enforce the time limit for his answers. The more time he has to ramble, the more he exposes his numerous shortcomings. By cutting him off she will appear to be doing her job impartially, while at the same time improving his performance.

Neat trick, if she can pull it off...

Hillary Throws Herself Under The Bus

Amateur Hour at the White House.

First there are reports of escalating tension between obama and the Clintons:

With tensions between President Obama and the Clintons at a new high, former President Bill Clinton is moving fast to develop a contingency plan for how his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, should react if Obama attempts to tie the Benghazi fiasco around her neck, according to author Ed Klein.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller, Klein said sources close to the Clintons tell him that Bill Clinton has assembled an informal legal team to discuss how the Secretary of State should deal with the issue of being blamed for not preventing the Benghazi terrorist attack last month.

Klein said relations between the Clintons and President Obama have reached a new low, most recently with Obama ignoring Bill Clinton’s offer to help him and Vice President Joe Biden prepare for the debates with the Republican ticket.

“He had very clear ideas on how they should do that,” Klein told TheDC. “He never once got a response. And it absolutely sent him into orbit. He was furious that he would be treated this way, especially after what he did, in his view, at the Democratic convention in giving that nomination speech for Obama.”

Added Klein: “His fury turned to deep concern when the Benghazi business unfolded because he was deeply troubled by the appearance that the White House was going to throw Hillary under the bus, which in fact it appears it is doing.”

The author said the situation is obviously complicated by Obama’s re-election, but also the possibility that Hillary would run in 2016.

“If she is left with this stain on her reputation, it could seriously damage her chances for election,” Klein told TheDC. “And this is what is really bothering Bill more than anything.”

We all know that Bill would do just about anything to get back in the White House, even as First Hubby, because that would give him renewed access to a whole new bevy of fresh young interns.

But suddenly, out of nowhere and on the eve of tonight's Presidential debate, Hillary threw herself under the Benghazi bus.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the buck stops with her when it comes to who is to blame for security ahead of a deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

"I take responsibility" for what happened on September 11, Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Elise Labott soon after arriving in Lima, Peru, for a visit. The interview, one of a series given to U.S. television networks Monday night, was the first she has given about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Clinton insisted President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are not involved in security decisions.

Clinton also sought to downplay the criticism that administration officials continued to say the attack was a spontaneous product of a protest over an anti-Muslim film, a theory that has since been discarded.

Something about this just reeks to the high heavens. I don't know what obama promised the Clintons -- or more likely, what he used to blackmail them -- but the timing makes Hillary's mea culpa highly suspicious.

I just hope that Romney's staff is sharp enough to dig out this quote from obama. In an interview on July 13, 2012, barry said:

"Well, here's what I know, we were just talking about responsibility and as president of the United States, it's pretty clear to me that I'm responsible for folks who are working in the federal government and you know, Harry Truman said the buck stops with you."

Bottom line - four Americans are dead on the obama/Clinton watch. Yesterday's post now seems even more appropriate.

Bonus FOD 2012.10.15

A twofer- fuck obama and Hillary!

(idea from here)

FOD 2012.10.15

A bit under the weather this weekend, plus a lot going on this week, so we'll have to settle for pictures today.

Carrying on the "liar" theme from yesterday, we have these two:

Sensing a trend?

And here's one that points out obama's misplaced priorities:

Sunday Funnies 2012.10.14

Lots of accusations that one party or the other is lying these days, so we'll take that as today's topic.

A private, anxious to secure a three-day pass, told his CO a heartwrenching tale about a sick wife pining away for him.

The officer, familiar with the soldier's ways, replied, "I am afraid you are not telling the truth. I have just received a letter from your wife urging me not to let you come home because you get drunk, break the furniture, and mistreat her shamefully."

The private saluted and started to leave the room. He paused at the door, asking: "Sir, may I speak to you, not as an officer, but man to man?"

"Yes; what is it?"

"Well, sir," the private said as he approached the captain and lowered his voice. "You and I are two of the biggest liars the Lord ever made. I'm not married...."

The sages of the general store were discussing the veracity of old Si Perkins when Uncle Bill Abbott ambled in.

"What do you think about it, Uncle Bill?" they asked him. "Would you call Si Perkins a liar?"

"Well," answered Uncle Bill slowly, as he thoughtfully studied the ceiling, "I don't know as I'd go so far as to call him a liar exactly, but I do know this much: when feedin' time comes, in order to get any response from his hogs, he has to get somebody else to call 'em for him."

Pinocchio, Snow White, and Superman are out for a stroll in town one day.

As they walk, they come across a sign: "Beauty contest for the most beautiful woman in the world."

"I am entering!" said Snow White.

After half an hour she comes out and they ask her, "Well, how'd ya do?"

" First Place!," said Snow White.

They continue walking and they see a sign: "Contest for the strongest man in the world."

"I'm entering," says Superman.

After half an hour, he returns and they ask him how he did.

" First Place," answers Superman. "Did you ever doubt?"

They continue walking when they see a sign: "Contest! Who is the greatest liar in the world?"

Pinocchio enters. After half an hour he returns with tears in his eyes.

"What happened?" they asked.

Who's Obama?" asked Pinocchio.