House of Cards

More brilliant work from Chris Muir (click to enlarge):

The Arabs Get It, How About Our Press

Faoud Ajami has an excellent analysis of the perception of Obama in the Arab world one year into his presidency titled "The Arabs Have Stopped Applauding Obama." The gist is that the Arab "street" has figured this guy out and they are badly disappointed. The Iranians have him pegged as a weak Jimmy Carter - remember how much fun they had with him?

The key point of this article though is that anti-Americanism is just that. They don't like us very much - it had little to do with W. In fact, as Ajami points out, where the Palestinians were concerned, "Bush offered the Palestinians the gift of clarity—statehood but only after the renunciation of terror and the break with maximalism—Mr. Obama signaled a return to the dead ways of the past: a peace process where America itself is broker and arbiter."

For someone who grew up overseas, Obama has a terrifyingly bad tin ear for culture - the incessant bowing in the Orient is bad enough, but his blame everything on Bush governance has had serious consequences:

Steeped in an overarching idea of American guilt, Mr. Obama and his lieutenants offered nothing less than a doctrine, and a policy, of American penance. No one told Mr. Obama that the Islamic world, where American power is engaged and so dangerously exposed, it is considered bad form, nay a great moral lapse, to speak ill of one's own tribe when in the midst, and in the lands, of others.

The crowd may have applauded the cavalier way the new steward of American power referred to his predecessor, but in the privacy of their own language they doubtless wondered about his character and his fidelity. "My brother and I against my cousin, my cousin and I against the stranger," goes one of the Arab world's most honored maxims. The stranger who came into their midst and spoke badly of his own was destined to become an object of suspicion.

One year into this torturous Presidency our options are badly limited:

There is little Mr. Obama can do about this disenchantment. He can't journey to Turkey to tell its Islamist leaders and political class that a decade of anti-American scapegoating is all forgiven and was the product of American policies—he has already done that. He can't journey to Cairo to tell the fabled "Arab street" that the Iraq war was a wasted war of choice, and that America earned the malice that came its way from Arab lands—he has already done that as well. He can't tell Muslims that America is not at war with Islam—he, like his predecessor, has said that time and again.

And remember those surveys about how much they hated us over there? No change:

Now those surveys of 2009 bring findings from the world of Islam that confirm that the animus toward America has not been radically changed by the ascendancy of Mr. Obama. In the Palestinian territories, 15% have a favorable view of the U.S. while 82% have an unfavorable view. The Obama speech in Ankara didn't seem to help in Turkey, where the favorables are 14% and those unreconciled, 69%. In Egypt, a country that's reaped nearly 40 years of American aid, things stayed roughly the same: 27% have a favorable view of the U.S. while 70% do not. In Pakistan, a place of great consequence for American power, our standing has deteriorated: The unfavorables rose from 63% in 2008 to 68% this year.

So, as we have asked before, how's that "hopey change" working out for you?

The Tingles Are Gone?

Chris Matthews has already compared our Dear Leader to Jimmy Carter, but now it's Neville Chamberlain?? Wow, no more tingles up the leg, eh Chris?

My sense is that at some point, and we have obviously reached it with some in the media, the main stream buffoons will have to ditch this guy and tell the truth in a desperate attempt to salvage some small measure of integrity. Of course they will have to do it in such a way that smokescreens their complicity in his election, but the time is definitely getting closer.

To that point, Peggy Noonan, had a solid piece in the weekend Wall Street Journal titled "He Can't Take Another Bow." Money line:

The Obama bowing pictures are becoming iconic not for those reasons, however, but because they express a growing political perception, and that is that there is something amateurish about this presidency, something too ad hoc and highly personalized about it, something . . . incompetent, at least in its first year.

Waterboarding the Data

A computer scientist in Colorado is digging deep into the data dump just executed by CRU in the wake of (no, the beginning of) the "Climategate" scandal and has found solid proof of how badly the data is being handled to create the desired results. It's a little tedious unless you are a computer nerd, but he is drilling down on the "Read Me" notes that are attached to some of the data and finding pearls like this:

I am seriously close to giving up, again. The history of this is so complex that I can’t get far enough into it before by head hurts and I have to stop. Each parameter has a tortuous history of manual and semi-automated interventions that I simply cannot just go back to early versions and run the update prog. I could be throwing away all kinds of corrections – to lat/lons, to WMOs (yes!), and more.

This is written by one of their programmers! This is a scandal worthy of a congressional investigation if not a grand jury. This will make the Piltdown hoax seem inanely trivial when all is said and done. Read the rest of the post here.

China Takes Obama To Task

At least the folks at SNL realize what's going on - sad thing, notice how little the audience laughs. Truth hurts!

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclomation

Here's the actual text: Proclamation

No doubt about the role God had in our founding. We should be grateful for His favor.

Obama Bowing...Again

This time it's the Chinese Premier - at least he's an equal opportunity groveler. O needs to understand that the Presidency of the United States is a symbol of our country, like the flag. This is the same as lowering the flag on our Navy ships...something that is never done.

Global Warming Hoax Revealed

We here at the Rumbler Report have been hollering that the global warming/climate change nonsense was just that - nonsense. Now a hacker/whistle-blower has outed a series of e-mails that document the hoax. These people need to be laughed off the stage, starting with Al Gore and his ludicrous film. Here are some links to fill you in:

PJTV: ClimateGate: Leaked Papers Cast Doubt on Climate Science

Viscount Monckton: They Are Criminals (Monckton is the one who has offered to debate Al Gore anytime anyplace...the idiot coward refuses.)

ClimateGate: The Final Nail in the Coffin

Rumors are swirling that there may be Congressional hearings. Whole industries and policies have been built around this hoax, now maybe we can return to real science and sanity.

Happy Thanksgiving (PJTV)

Ahh, the benefits of a modern public school education on full display!

Minus Fifteen And Falling (Failing)

The lilly hath no gild left.

Dealing With Iran

What with the Iranians once again playing Lucy to the nuclear negotiators' Charlie Brown, here's a straightforward assessment from George Friedman over at Stratfor:

Renouncing Islamism

In a series of interviews with ex-Islamo-fascists, British journalist Johann Hari gets to some disturbing realities and interesting opportunities. The article titled "Renouncing Islamism: To The Brink And Back Again," is a long read, but well worth it.

The folks he interviews are home-grown jihadis. Typically they are second generation emigres whose parents came from places like Pakistan, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Often they were typical naturalized kids, but by their late teens they couldn't fit in and found themselves attracted to the moral certainty of Wahabi Islam. Note - these Imams are Saudi funded...remember, our "friends," whose King Obama likes bowing to. They are actively recruited and turned into active recruiters - just like viruses. The concern over this, of course, is the parallel to Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood killer. We tend to be frightfully naive in the west, thinking our secular openness can convert the most bloodthirsty tribal savage into metrosexual yuppies. The enemy is among us, their numbers unknown. As a recent column by Dan Henninger over at the Wall Street Journal pointed out - the danger is not Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the real danger is Nidal Hasan.

The passions of these jihadis has been inflamed by the actions of the Bush years - Guantanamo, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq - I would add the point of clarification to this: it is not these actions that are the problem, it is the actions of an irresponsible press and a Democrat party so bent on regaining power. Their overstatements and outright lies - remember the flushing Korans - that have created this environment.

The hope in the article is that these people can be converted to rational members of society, but a good deal of this will have to come from the inside of their own faith. A literal interpretation of the Koran will lead to 9/11. An interpretation allowing for nuance and accommodation can lead to a moderated Islam that just might be able to co-exist with other faiths in this world. But in the meantime, their commitment to a new caliphate has to be met head on. Weakness and "wanting to just get along" will only inflame them and allow them a larger foothold in the enormous Muslim population worldwide.

Exactly

Hat tip IBD.

Marsha Blackburn: My Cool Congressman!

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha - I love your sense of humor:

Press Release

Contact: Claude Chafin 202-225-1112 Blackburn Hails Stimulus Achievements Spending Bill Grants Tennessee More Seats In Congress Than Texas Washington, Nov 17 - Congressman Marsha Blackburn (TN-7) today hailed the Obama Administration’s efforts to create jobs and expand the number of Congressional districts in Tennessee. While the stimulus has only “created or saved” 9,548 jobs in Tennessee, Blackburn was gratified to see that it also increased the size of the delegation by 38 seats. Between 1982 and today, Tennessee only had nine Congressional districts. According to Recovery.gov, Tennessee’s 29th Congressional District gained 20 jobs and more than nine million dollars in stimulus funding. Blackburn’s 7th District only beat the 29th District by 109 jobs. In all, the Stimulus created 28 jobs in Congressional districts that did not exist previously. If the trend continues, Tennessee could have a whopping 49 electoral votes for the 2012 election. “I have been a vocal advocate for transparency in the stimulus bill, but this is more than I could have expected,” Blackburn said. “Not only can we track how many jobs were in created in each of Tennessee’s congressional districts, but in the process we have found dozens of districts we didn’t even know we had. Once we get all these seats filled, Tennessee will have a larger delegation and more clout than Texas. At nearly $400,000.00 per job, we also know that Tennesseans are the most valuable workers in the nation.” In total, the stimulus has awarded over three billion dollars in Tennessee and created fewer than ten thousand jobs, regardless of the Congressional district. Unfortunately, more than three hundred thousand Tennesseans remain unemployed. “Jokes aside, today’s additions to Recovery.gov illustrate what a confused failure the stimulus has been. Clearly, the Administration is incapable of explaining where these funds are being spent or why they aren’t creating jobs. As the debt mounts up, Tennesseans are still looking for work. Tennesseans deserve better and Washington can do better. It is time to incentivize investment and business creation and stop throwing more good money after bad.” Print version of this document

Harry to Nancy: "Mine's Bigger."

So the table of contents alone is 14 pages...Nancy's bill was 1,990 pages. Harry hurtles by with 2,074!

But wait, Nancy's bill will cost $1.2 Trillion; Harry's is only $849 Billion. So on a per-page basis, the better Harpoon in the side of the Ship of State is Nancy's bill at $6 Million per page versus a mere $4 Million per page for Harry. Of course, Medicare was only going to cost $3 Billion - here's an outtake from a 1993 article on the subject:

The cost of Medicare is a good place to begin. At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $ 12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was a supposedly "conservative" estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion.

So those estimates above were for the first 10 years - let's do the same projected miss that Medicare experienced and apply it to our wonderful socialized medicine plan...let's see, 24 years, 89% miss, works out to about 4% per year...times ten...if we are lucky, these plans would ACTUALLY cost $1.7 TRILLION and $1.2 TRILLION respectively, easily wiping out ANY of the so-called "savings" these bills are supposed to produce.

This is madness. The Chinese were busy lecturing Obama about our budget - they don't want us to default on all that debt we owe them - and we are getting ready to saddle ourselves with even more. Farewell freedom, hello planned economy and socia-communism. If you think that the mammogram age push back from the "U.S. Preventive Services Task Force" (which has no MD's on its staff) is bad - wait till they tell you that cholesterol checks won't be necessary till you are 80!

New York Muslims Condone Fort Hood Massacre

The "belly of the beast" allows you to spout your hatred you sick moron. Try preaching a Christian Gospel on the streets of Riyadh, Karachi, Cairo, or Tehran.

Nevertheless, here is a typical New York street urchin who has been pulled into this "religion of peace." This is the next wave of terror and we had better be prepared for it. Either we man up and realize the enemy we are up against and stop the insanity of political correctness by calling these hate filled people what they are: Islamic Terrorists; or we will be fighting them in the streets of our own cities.

Hat tip BT.

Hundred Trillion

Yup, this is the direction we are headed - that is a HUNDRED TRILLION dollar note from Zimbabwe...guess we'll be able to put Nancy Pelosi on one side of ours and Obama on the other.

Kim Jong O

Every now and then I browse the North Korean news website just for the sheer weirdness of it - here's a sample from this morning:

Double-Cropping Done by Kim Jong Il

Pyongyang, November 17 (KCNA) -- It was on a Sunday of June, Juche 53 (1964). An official who visited the residence of General Secretary Kim Jong Il was perplexed by the unimaginable scenery of the garden. There grew thick trees of economic value in the garden and grain crops, industrial crops, vegetables as well as fodder grass in patches. Sowing soybean as the second crop after wheat in a patch, Kim Jong Il kindly invited the official to join in sowing with a hoe. The leader said that as the after-crop beans sprout leaves not so much, the close planting would not have influence on the sunshine over the crops, indicating the plant-interval to him. When the official said that it was likely to harvest two tons of soybean per hectare, the leader stated with confidence that he anticipated three tons, not two tons and he would reap 6.5 tons altogether in the first and second crops. The official was full of admiration. The leader told the official that he had fixed various species of crops as double-cropping ones and done experimental cultivation for a few years, stressing that the reserves for increasing the grain production were double-cropping and close-planting. The official keenly realized that the patches were not simple experimental ones but a breeding farm for the development of agriculture of the country.

Apart from the awkward English, it suddenly dawned on me how much this sounded like the Obama administrations recent recounting of their great deeds in job creation:

Many Jobs Good Saved By Great Leader Obama

Washington D.C., November 12, 001 (First year of Great Leader)

An important official visiting many states under General President Obama was perplexed at many beautiful jobs created and happiness in land.

Many unicorns strutted in beautiful scenery as happy children sang praises of dear leader. The official smiled and told General President that "many millions" of jobs had been "saved or created" in District 15 of Arizona protectorate. The leader said he worked very hard to make people happy and maybe not "many millions" in District 15, but at least several hundred thousands in 42nd Obamamate in protectorate of Connecticut."

The official keenly aware of Great Leaders beautiful genius in economic recovery and full of great admiration like all people under leader.

Coming to a press box near you soon - it's already at MSNBC.

Fuel Lines Obama Style

This line of cabs is actually in Chongqing, China, where taxi drivers are lined up for natural gas, which is cheaper than gasoline over there. Since Obama won't let us tap our own oil or natural gas, I guess this is what our future over here will look like.

This Takes Chutzpah!

Obama is now worried about the debt??!! WTF? WTFF???

In an interview with FOX (Huh? Did he have some kind of out of body experience?) in China (They probably told him to do it...) our Master Economist says that too much debt is a bad thing:

PresidentBarack Obama gave his sternest warning yet about the need to contain rising U.S. deficits, saying on Wednesday that if government debt were to pile up too much, it could lead to a double-dip recession.

Now, we know what a "stern warning" let alone a "sternest" warning from Obama means...NOTHING! Ask the Iranians, they've been "sternly warned" about a gajillion times on their way to their Science Fair project to make Israel glow. Boy howdee, that sure has shown them! How about the North Koreans... So the "warning" part is obviously a joke. And yes, Mr. O, thanks to you and your squad there's about a 90% chance that we are headed to a double-dip, with the second dip looking a lot worse than the first.

Piece of advice, Mr. O, if you are serious about the debt, you would call up your pals Harry and Nancy and tell them to put health care "reform" and cap & trade legislation on ice NOW. Those two pieces of legislation alone - the very thought of the possibility of them being enacted - are adding such uncertainty to the future that small businesses and the credit markets are frozen in fear.

Spare us the rhetoric oh magical one, let's see actions that back it up.

Liar, liar, jobs on fire...

This whole nonsense of "jobs saved or created" was a hoax from the beginning. If Bush's folks had tried that claim, the lame stream media would have ripped them apart. But wait, it gets better...these idiots were reporting "jobs" in districts that don't even exist!

I first heard about this over at Heritage, but ABC is reporting on it...CNN too! Are we starting to see the cracks in the ice wall?

Still Down...

No wonder O-bow-ma had his Attorney General taking the heat for the decision to move the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York...he doesn't need anything else helping his approval!

O-Bow-ma

As someone that lived in Japan for eight years, I cannot tell you how horrified I was when this came over the wire this Saturday past. I guess Soros and Axelrod know nothing about Japanese culture...and God knows Obama doesn't.

First, you don't bow to the Emperor when you are the President of the United States.

Second, if you must bow, a polite lean forward from the waist with your hands at your sides is somewhat appropriate.

Third, you NEVER shake hands and bow.

Fourth, you don't go looking at the Emperor's shoe-shine job!

Is this the "reset" with the world we were promised? This guy is a rank, embarrassing amateur. The American people deserve a lot better.

Obama on Veteran's Day

Hey Ricky Bobby - any idea what you are supposed to do with your hands when the National Anthem is playing? Didn't think so...

The Chinese Got It Right!

I bet those t-shirts would sell well in Pelosi's district over here. Oba-Mao...indeed!

More Evidence That We Are Not Recovering

Saw this over at the Chart of the Day. Look in the lower left-hand corner and you will see the "You are Here" label. Let's put it this way: if George W. Bush was the President and the stock market was "rallying" like this - i.e. shorter in duration and weaker in growth - would the main stream press be calling this a "recovery?"

Congress Thinks You Are Stupid

Hat tip IBD.

This cartoon epitomizes what the Pelosi Congress thinks of the American people...can't outwit them darnit, even if they are dumb-stoopid, so let's buy them off...

Lou Dobbs Calls It Quits

Looks like the left wingnuts finally got to Lou. Can't blame him - I wouldn't like my house getting shot at either. Lou was about the only balance left on CNN, so it really pushes them completely in the camp of MSNBC and the rest of the "main stream" press. FOX, which the statists, including Obama himself, love to demonize continues to host balanced shows with both sides getting representation. Yes, leftards, even on a show like Hannity, liberals come on and posit their opinions. Something you never see reciprocation for on the rest.

There is a darkening force afoot in America. One that seeks to purge out the non-believers in Comrade Obama. For the first time in my half century, I feel a cold wind blowing across the Constitution. Who will they seek to silence next?

Look, it's Congress!

In Honor of our Veterans

Cooper = Cowardice

"Hi, I'm Congressman Jim Cooper, Democrat from Tennessee. I know I am confused with Barney Frank, but I don't have a speech impediment, and I am not gay. I voted for the Healthcare Reform Bill that Nancy Pelosi's liberal crazies jammed down my throat. I sacrificed integrity and principles for process and Pelosi."

Rep. Cooper Responds

I received an e-mail this morning from Representative Cooper (D) in response to my note to him. Here's the response:

Thank you for contacting me in regards to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I am grateful to the thousands of Nashville-area residents like you who have shared their opinion on health care reform with me. Everyone feels strongly because health care is so important to our lives.

Having read the bill and taught health policy at Vanderbilt for twelve years, I made the decision to vote yes on H.R. 3962. On November 7th, 2009, the House passed the legislation 220-215.

I voted yes to advance the cause of health care reform by forcing the Senate to act. Without passage of this House bill, the Senate could delay reform indefinitely. That would be the worst possible outcome because our current health-care system is not sustainable. Congress needs to pass good health legislation for the good of the country.

My vote is not an endorsement of all the provisions of the bill because I find much of the bill to be deeply flawed. Passing legislation is a little like writing a term paper in school. The first draft is usually not very good. The second draft is better - H.R. 3962 is the second draft. The bill that the Senate will vote on will be the third draft, which I expect to show major improvement. The final draft will be written afterword, if we get to that point, when the House and the Senate will vote on the same bill.

I will continue to work hard to make sure that the final legislation helps all of our families get quality, affordable health care.

First, let me say that my note to him on Friday last was a polite plea to uphold his prior pledge to vote against the bill (see post below), not the letter I sent to the Tennessean in response to his voting on the bill. Second, let me thank the Congressman and his staffer for actually responding to me. They may not be reading their mail, but they are at least hitting the "return" button. Now as to the specifics of his letter, some observations:

1. "Having read the bill..." Congressman Cooper said this about the Cap and Trade bill that he voted for also. He really should avoid such grandiose statements. No one could possible read this:

and understand it. The bill was dropped into the House on October 29th - all 1990 pages of it, not counting subsequent amendments...that would mean about 225 pages of gibberish legalese per day, not counting your regular duties as a Congressman and a human being. He has NO IDEA what is buried in this monstrosity.

2. "taught health policy at Vanderbilt for 12 years..." Cooper is extremely qualified to read and understand this thing - he's very bright (on paper): Harvard Law, Oxford, etc. He also has great private experience in managing an equity fund. He should know better.

3. "I voted 'Yes' to advance the cause of health care reform by forcing the Senate to act" So again, even though he is opposed to much of this bill (notice he doesn't say what he is opposed to leaving him room to say that the bill now doesn't deserve his opposition) he needs to move the process forward. Congressman, my advice to you with all your knowledge, is to grow a pair and fix the bill where YOU are responsible for it. This is utter BS and you know it, you are carrying the water for Nancy Pelosi because somehow they (and you) think your district is a safe bet. This is an act of cowardice and he should be ashamed.

Sidebar: Liberals LOVE "process." They love things like the "peace process" and the "legislative process;" how about RESULTS! How about something in this instance that won't add to the pending bankruptcy of this nation?

4. "the final draft will be written afterward..." Yadda, yadda, yadda. Why not just be honest - "I chickened out. I sacrificed my integrity and principles for process and Pelosi."

You are a better man than this Congressman, you should be ashamed.

Letter to Representative Cooper

One of our Congressmen from the Nashville area voted in favor of this abominable dung-heap called "Healthcare Reform." I sent a letter to the Tennessean this morning, which I am sure will never get printed, so here it is:

Dear Editor:

I read with dismay Rep. Cooper’s (D) rationale for voting in favor of the healthcare “reform” bill that the House passed in the waning hours of Saturday night past. A bill which weighs almost 20 pounds and runs close to 2,000 pages not counting the late amendments. There is no way on earth anyone could have read this mish-mash, let alone understood it’s contents! Mr. Cooper “harshly criticized the bill,” because he found much of this $1.2 Trillion mess to be “deeply flawed.” But instead of helping to stop the bill so that real healthcare reform could be achieved, he voted in favor of it so the “process could continue!” So, in other words, we have no idea what we will end up with, but let’s move the process forward, the principle be damned. In political speak, Mr. Cooper gets to say he was opposed to the bill because he railed against it on the House floor - then when he attends the MoveOn.Org fest, he can say he voted in favor of the bill. This is cowardice writ large and unworthy of a representative of the people of Tennessee who are overwhelmingly opposed to this legislation.

Sincerely,


The "Have it Both Ways" Coalition in the House has got to be put out of office in 2010. Theirs is a self-aggrandizement scheme that is as far removed from the intent of the Constitution as the Andromeda Galaxy is to Earth. (Actually, the latter may be closer, but you get the point.)

In case you were wondering how Rep. Cooper told his constituents he would vote - here's his "No" commitment back in July:
"Cooper to vote "No."

Government Cable

The Fall of the Wall

This would never have been possible....

if not for this:

Imagine a people wanting to be free. To be free of an oppressive government, even one that provided for free healthcare! Imagine that. It can be repeated.

10.2%

How's that hopey change thing workin' for ya? And before you start blaming Bush all over again, cogitate on the following chart: (hat tip Powerline)

The Liberal Paradigm

Great column by John Steele Gordon over at the Wall Street Journal this morning, "Obama and the Liberal Paradigm." It's a nice introduction to the liberal mind set which goes something like this:

a) The majority of Americans are dumb-stoopid! They are sheep and need to be led and protected.

b) Corporations, business people, financiers...you know "Wall Street," are the wolves who want to prey upon the sheep.

c) Liberals are the shepherds who protect the sheep from the wolves. Because of this they are an enlightened lot, pure and wise and all who would be against them must be dumb-stoopid!

This paradigm, as Gordon observes, worked well from the 1890's through the FDR administration. But times have changed and their paradigm has not.

While I agree with Gordon's analysis, I think it falls a little short. Specifically, this paradigm, this mindset, allows them to forgive all forms of malfeasance and misgovernment. Corruption by a liberal? Necessary! The Enlightened cannot be held to the same standard as the sheep. Accountability? Not Necessary! The Enlightened cannot lead the sheep if someone expects results - after all, you never know where the evil wolves will strike next.

I would add that there is a crucial disconnect in the concept of freedom between the sheep and the Enlightened liberal. The liberal views freedom as something that he provides to the sheep - by providing them with redistributive goodies from the state, the sheep are free to graze and enjoy themselves free of consequences. The real meaning of freedom in the American sense is the freedom to choose what we bloody well want to do with the understanding that with this freedom comes the responsibility to be a good citizen and that life has consequences.

The Deficit in Perspective

Take a hard look at this chart. Find your income level and drag your finger over to the column that says "Average rates under current law." That's probably not a number you like a whole lot...keep going and read your rate under the column titled "Rates needed to close deficit." If you are not yelling at your computer screen right now, you must like paying taxes. This chart comes from Investor's Business Daily in a column titled "Paying for Washington Mistakes," and it is worth a read:

The 2009 deficit was larger than the combined federal debt of the first two centuries of the country's existence. As staggering as that is to the mind, the 2010 deficit projects to be even bigger, roughly $1.5 trillion.

Unless Washington issues another foolish stimulus package or decides it will continue its ill-advised bailout business, the deficits should moderate somewhat. But the debt created by the deficits will still have to be paid. Ultimately, taxpayers will have to satisfy Washington's massive tab.

Now, this is BEFORE they pass the $1.2 TRILLION Healthcare "Reform" bill, or the economy killing "Cap and trade." Does it not make sense that when you are bailing as fast as you can, it might make sense not to add more holes to the hull?

This is weird

Umm, it's bad enough that the White House is glowing orange - although you Tennessee fans out there ought to be happy - but the dancing skeletons are a little weird. OK, I'll pass on that it's Halloween and all that...but this, this is a problem:

Wait - is Mr. Rogers handing that kid money? Is that where the stimulus is going? And as IMAO has already pointed out - what's with the Klansman on the right in the back?

Real members of Congress

Does the Nobel give you freedom to lie?

Hat tip IBD.

Michael Ramirez's cartoon over at Investors Business Daily really hits the nail on the head. We all remember with hearty guffaws Al Gore's assertion that he had invented the Internet. I am of the opinion that the day is not far off with Obama's continued lies and fantasies (I "saved" jobs...) will result in the American people not taking him seriously. This happened under Carter - it took about two years - the body politic no longer took Jimmuh's sermons about turning our thermostats down and wearing sweaters seriously. He wasn't so much voted out of office as laughed out. With SNL now willing to take swipes at the Anointed O, it is not far off that everyone else will just start chuckling. Shooting stars have a nasty habit of disintegrating in the atmosphere.